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 ST. PETERS. THE BRIDGE AND CA5TLE OF ST./lNC&t,(^-:5\ _>,,_- 
 
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TO 
 
 MRS. JOHN PAINE, 
 
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 MOST RESPECTFULLY 
 
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|) r e f a c e- 
 
 Reader ! had I travelled in the days of Montaigne, I might 
 have been allowed like him, from the beginning of my jour- 
 ney, to give the particulars of every stage and of my several 
 resting-places ; to speak without offence even of the cheer I 
 had met with and the wine I had drunk ; as well as to relate 
 the news, incidents, stories, and marvels, I had learned on the 
 way. But the prodigies of modern civilization, the rail-roads 
 and the newspapers, no longer permit, and have in fact, almost 
 proscribed, this part of a traveller's narrative. My adventures 
 would appear common-place, my news out of date, my aston- 
 ishment ridiculous. This peculiarity of the olden times cannot 
 be tolerated now ; at the present day to keep faith with the 
 public, a voyage must be indeed a book. 
 
 I must confess, therefore, for the first time, gentle reader, 
 the soft impeachment of having made a book, and I need not 
 tax your patience any further, than to furnish a few hints, on 
 the important subjects of voiturins, and the proper season for 
 visiting Italy. 
 
 First : in your treaty with the voiturin, a wTitten contract 
 which ought to be worded with as much precision as the lease 
 of a house, or an agreement with a publisher. The poet's 
 precept is very applicable in the case of a voiturin's agree- 
 ment : — 
 
 " D'un mot mis en sa place enseigna le pouvoir." 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 Secondly : though winter is the usual season for travelling 
 in Italy, I would advise no one to follow this custom, unless 
 going under the advice of a physician. The winter does not 
 suit that fine country. 
 
 It is, besides, my opinion, that different countries ought to be 
 viewed with the climates peculiar to them — the hoary winter 
 to Russia, the sun to Italy. 
 
 But, by all means, try to find in Italy some artist, a painter 
 or architect, sketching views, examining monuments on the 
 spot instead of looking at them on paper, working, studying, 
 and loosing the long days, a cheerful companion in mountain 
 excursions, and the horrors of the locanda, or a passenger, like 
 yourself, on board the rapid bark wafted to many a shore, 
 famous in fable or his history, — such is the happy companion- 
 ship that I wish to every real traveller ; and certainly he will 
 find it more agreeable than that of the fashionables who only 
 cross the Alps for the Scala of Milan, the Gascine of Florence, 
 the Corso of Rome, the Chiaja of N'aples and other frivolous 
 rendezvous of European or American vanity. 
 
 " Nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus amico." 
 
 I devoutly wish that my journal, which, from a careful pe- 
 rusal of Valery, has swelled into a laborious work, after having 
 been written in hours stolen from slumber, but not from my 
 lawful profession, may help others to see Europe better and 
 love America more ; for without loving, it is impossible to 
 know either well ! 
 
€ n t t n t Q . 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Dedication, ..o 3 
 
 Preface, 5 
 
 At Sea, 11 
 
 IsiiE OF Malta, 21 
 
 Sicily, ---- 51 
 
 Naples, --.----.-75 
 
 The Classic Coast, 103 
 
 Rome, 109 
 
 Excursion among the Sabine Hills, - - 193 
 
 Road towards Florence, 221 
 
 Florence, 246 
 
 Environs of Florence, 301 
 
 Florence to Bologna, 321 
 
 Bologna to Venice, - 330 
 
 Venice, 337 
 
 Vignette, 484 
 
THE LAND OF THE CiESAR. 
 
AT SEA. 
 
 On a bright moonlight night in the month of March, two 
 travellers stood upon the deck of the steamer "Rameses," 
 shortly after she had passed out of the port of Alexandria. 
 Long and listlessly they watched the receding outlines of the 
 low coast of Egypt, and mused in thoughtful observance, 
 until the land was mingled with the ocean, as the two tall 
 towers of the Farol and Diocletian's Pillar, reared their lone 
 forms like spectres against the sky ; whilst the last faint 
 twinkling of the beacon's light fled with quivering flashes into 
 extinction, and the last glimmer of its meteoric train fell upon 
 the sea, to token the departure of the receding continent of 
 Africa. 
 
 They were two friends who had wandered far from their 
 early western homes into the hoary orient, and, now, met like 
 Eothen, to dream on the broad bright bosom of the Mediter- 
 ranean. Travers had journeyed into the Holy Land, and 
 Clarence on the Mle, and they now viewed together the 
 glories of that scene, with the transports of united hearts, and 
 a communion of unbroken sympathies. 
 
12 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Clarence, who was the first to break the stillness of that 
 hour, observed the gushing sheen of that bright vision on the 
 gleaming waters, and thus addressed his friend : — 
 
 *' Travers, did you ever notice that the moon, when viewed 
 upon water, casts her full shield at the foot of the beholder, 
 and that her rays diverge from the eye of the spectator, en- 
 larging the masses of broad, silvery waves, with increasing 
 beauty in the distance ? Whence then this contrast with 
 the sun, whose rays converge in contrariwise, as you ob- 
 serve, at sunrise, when his full orb rushes with molten glory 
 from the sea, and that his image is mirrored on the horizon, 
 and old ocean is awakened by the expanding beams of his 
 light r 
 
 '' This philosophy of yours is passing strange, and new to 
 me," said Travers, "although, doubtless, true. Is it because 
 she shines by soft and coy-reflected light-^and, maiden-like, 
 would lie at the foot of man — that we must view the sun afar, 
 and her soft sheen much nearer, to our sight ? — So strange, 
 indeed, is it, that the most famiUar phenomena of nature are 
 overlooked by the casual and heedless traveller ; and we, who 
 are wont to look upon ourselves as only admirable, are by 
 ourselves so much obscured, that our own shadows dim the 
 philosophy of earth, and leave us little but ourselves to study. 
 Well saith the poet Hastings :~ 
 
 * What exile from his native land 
 E'er left himself behind ?' 
 
 " Ever thus presumptuous man, relying on his own strength 
 and glorying in boastful ignorance, is often tripped in his am- 
 bitious schemes by some accident of thought." 
 
MOONLIGHT VIEW. 13 
 
 III. 
 
 Just then a veil passed over the surface of the sea. Was 
 it a passing cloud ? So great obscurity betokened an eclipse. 
 We looked for the moon : her cheerful light was hid by the 
 disc of the intervening earth, and darkness moved upon the 
 face of these waters, as when in primeval creation the sun had 
 set upon the first day of this world's first dawn, and the moon 
 had waited an attendant queen to grace his repose by her soft 
 breathings through the nascent night. 
 
 How like that evening's birth of creation was her returning 
 light, as she again lighted up the firmament profoundly deep, 
 as her soft sheen fringed over the disc of the revolving planet, 
 and her moist eye opened with tremulous pulsations, and laved 
 with showery pearls the expanse of sea, washing the welkin 
 with waves of argent beauty. 
 
 " The moon shines bright : — 
 
 On such a night 
 Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan walls. 
 And sigh'd his soul toward the Grecian tents, 
 Where Cressid lay that night." 
 
 — Merchant of Venice, Act 5. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Such was the scene on that placid night, while our travellers 
 looked out on the serene repose of the ocean's slumber. The 
 Mediterranean' was then calm as a summer's sea, and its 
 broad sheen, which was only broken by the soft ripples of 
 kissing winds, or the movement of light — sweet moonlight — 
 dancing in accord with the billow's tones, opened as a mirror 
 before our musing spectatoi. , and woke up reveries of Europe's 
 carnage and of tyrant's blood, as if that surface had been 
 
14 THE LAND OF THE CJSSAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 cliauged by the wizard wand, and, like Medusa's Shield, had 
 become the speculum of inhuman butcheries. 
 
 How still that sea, amid continents of strife and revolu- 
 tions on lands beyond ! — Ocean, in peace, but earth rocking 
 with the ruins of empires and of tottering thrones ! The 
 dreams of Sicily's freedom gleam across those waves. The 
 reckless throbbings, of the, then, demoniac London and her 
 Chartist mob, pulsates through that mystic air ; Austria's 
 imbecile tyrant flies in the coursing breeze ; France staggers 
 between anarchy, royalty and law, in the fluttering folds of our 
 flaunting, reversed tri-color ; and at this moment Lamar- 
 tine rises in the simple grandeur of majestic peace, and with 
 the strong power of his eloquence, stills, through Grod's spirit 
 inspiring man, the tempest of a troubled, stormy world. 
 How grand his soul's nobility, amid the tortured elements 
 of inhuman passions I How sublune a mission was given to 
 this man, to be the apostle of his nation's peace ! 
 
 VI, 
 
 Thus mused the twain, whilst their gentle sympathies were 
 but the faint whisperings of the ascending prayers, which were 
 awakened in the hearts of all generous freemen ; and thus closed 
 the first night of that undertaken-voyage, as the moon sunk in 
 its ocean bed, with us, but rose to lighten another hemisphere 
 beneath. 
 
 VII. 
 
 A different aspect clad the face of the waters, as the 
 morning followed on the previous calm. Wildly howled the 
 winds around our noble vessel, and hideously shrieked their 
 
CAPE PASSARO AFRICA. 15 
 
 chidings through the yieldiug shrouds. The heavy thumps of 
 convulsive waves battered with force our wooden walls, and 
 our ship's staunch sides creaked with her travail and with 
 opening strains. But no storms howl adversity to stout 
 hearts, inured to the tempest's violence, and there is security 
 to those who have confidence in their gallant vessel. 
 
 Our fellow-travellers were soon seated with a goodly com- 
 pany of strangers around the breakfast table. Our pipes and 
 narguillees were soon out after our repast, and, a fig to the 
 tempest, and a plague upon the storm ! while we sit snugly 
 within our cabin, discussing eastern travel, or the troubles 
 of the Republic. 
 
 How these Frenchmen gabble about their Xew Constitu- 
 tion, and what strange vagaries they form, where each man 
 desires a constitution for himself, or frames a charter for each 
 right of man ! What queer ideas they seem to have about 
 Republics or elective franchise, and how like Utopia is the 
 provisional government of France ! 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Xow again — now still stronger the storm rages, and our 
 free ship tosses and pitches like a tormented giant, taunted by 
 the wanton and lascivious waves. Each jolting shock batters 
 the citadel of a heart, and the pallid lip and quivering eye 
 show that confidence is gone ; and — wt are sick. What boot 
 the revolutions of a world, or the flight of kings, when the 
 stomach is unwell and counsellors are sea-sick ? What evil 
 of human government is so desperate, that even sea-sickness 
 cannot cure it ? Who holds our heads then ? 
 
 Thus, at the Yernal Solstice, we felt the influence of the 
 African headlands ; and their wild currents, forced into mid- 
 
16 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 sea, caused us to tremble on the way to Malta. N"o incidents 
 but adverse winds occurred to mar our progress. We were 
 well fed, well entertained, and cleverly associated ; and, on 
 the evening of the fourth day, we espied the light tower of 
 Malta. How wonderfully managed was the pilot's course ! — 
 the vessel's point was directed to the port, her bearing was 
 dead JN". N". E. ; not a point did her compass vary ; aye, the 
 light is nearly ahead ! The heacon is now passed ! Straight- 
 way and onward the steamer plunges in her course. Now she 
 enters the narrow portals of the harbor. The paddle-wheel 
 lags, splashes — backs — dashes ! the crank truckles — ^falls, 
 and lazily halts — and she stops ! The light-house is behind. 
 The order for dropping anchor is given : '' Give way !" — 
 "Bown anchor!" — and away the clattering chain rattles to 
 the sea, and the iron flukes plunge into the very deep. The 
 sea riles at its mordant bite. Then all is still, for, at last, we 
 are in Quarantine, off Malta. 
 
 QUARANTINE HARBOR. 
 
 LAZARETTO. 
 L 
 
 Morning broke upon our steamer as she sat in port with her 
 stern almost touching the walls of the Lazaretto, about the 
 middle of that narrow sea. The galleries and corridors of the 
 " Hospital buildings" bounded one end of this land-locked bay, 
 and rock-bound marginals embraced the blue waters of the 
 Mediterranean, encircling within their barren arms this ap- 
 portioned district of infection, whilst naked and arid chains of 
 limestone, in the distance, ran with varying dips, until they 
 
THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS. IT 
 
 clasped the outskirts of the town, and rose with abrupt and 
 
 bristling outlines to that elevated cliff, above which St. Paul's 
 
 church threw its bold steeple in high relief against the azure 
 
 sky, and where its tall spire, together with the Light-house 
 
 Tower, marked the utmost limits of the prominently impending 
 
 Yaletta. This prospect was only cheered by the busy scene 
 
 of our disembarkation. 
 
 In a few moments the official boat came along side the 
 
 " Rameses," and those who were detailed for Quarantine, at 
 
 Malta, were taken to the landing by the Captain's boat. Our 
 
 party consisted of an English family of three persons, namely, 
 
 Lady C. and her two children, who were travelling with their 
 
 tutor, dragomen and servants, an English clergyman and two 
 
 Americans. 
 
 II. 
 
 As soon as we had been unladen we were shown to our 
 room. We had no sooner been located within the wards of 
 our several apartments, ordered our furniture from the keeper, 
 and selected our dinner from the cuisine of the trattoria, than 
 the '' Ariel" Steamship entered the pratique, bearing with her 
 news from Europe of an exciting character. Greece itself 
 was now in Revolution ! — The Emperor of Austria had abdi- 
 cated I — Naples in a state of siege ! — Paris was unsettled, and 
 Sicily rebellious still ! 
 
 Such terrible news created much apprehension in the mind 
 of the lady C, and in the midst of her alarm, in rushed the 
 loquacious Captain of the " Rameses," and in breathless haste 
 counselled, advised, urged, argumented, and finally persuaded 
 the ladies that the quiet repose of intermediate Malta was no 
 place for females, and that when Europe was in a ferment, the 
 best course was to go to Africa, by way of Socialist Mar- 
 
18 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 seilles. Row natural it was for him to prefer his countrj, 
 even in its present state of peril ! Much to our chagrin the 
 loquacious Captain deprived us of the society of the English 
 party. In a few moments their trunks and equipages were 
 repacked, the Inspector's bill was settled for the whole term, 
 the jolly-boat bore them away to the '' Frenchman ;" and it 
 was with longing, wistful eyes and desponding hearts that our 
 party of three watched the receding outlines of the " Kameses" 
 as she paddled away under her full head of steam, and disap- 
 peared behind the watch-tower, on the headland of Yaletta. 
 
 We sunk under a sense of disappointment, fatigue, and soli- 
 tude, which was only relieved by the appearance of our dapper 
 and jolly Insjpedore, followed up by Bonavia, the Directore, and 
 
 the dinner. 
 
 III. 
 
 Another hour is passed, and the '' Ariel'' then moves off 
 with her passengers and mails for Egypt. Quarantine life at 
 Malta, and its consolations of good cheer and pleasant views, 
 alone remain for our party. 
 
 We are now comforted by the pleasant information that our 
 sojourn will be but six days, for our voyage from Egypt had 
 been counted, and the fractions of the days of entrance and 
 of departure. 
 
 We now sat to work to make our apartments as comfort- 
 able as possible. The original number of our company had 
 engaged a large number of rooms ; and, as they had paid for 
 their furniture and comforts, we resisted all attempts on the 
 part of the keepers to remove their beds and carpets, and so 
 disposed of them for our comfort, as to add to the luxurious 
 adornment of our large saloon. We immediately constructed 
 our dccwan for a lounge. Each one appropriated a ward for 
 
NEW LIGHTS IN PRISON. 19- 
 
 his sleeping-room. The main hall was made our common as- 
 sembling room, where books and pipes, table and deewan, were 
 spread. What a sumptuous apartment it became ! Four 
 huge mattrasses laid on the floor, were covered np bj cover- 
 lets and supported by our bolsters and pillows ; and, on this 
 couch of state, we read, reclined, chatted, smoked, spouted 
 and laughed, through the livelong period of Quarantine. How 
 like grand Turks we inhabited that hospital 1 How cheerful 
 and agreeable, in comparison with all others, are the Lazaretto 
 at Malta, the courtier-like manners of Boniface Bonavia, and 
 the ro,gouts of his excellent trattoria ! 
 
 The whole order of the regulations at Malta is admirable. 
 Each passenger is furnished with a printed copy of the rules, 
 from which you soon learn, that you are, first, counted and 
 enrolled; are allowed to select your rooms, and to furnish 
 them as you like. Conversation is permitted only at the 
 Parlatorio, where you receive visitors and answer calls. Your 
 clothes and other articles must be put on a horse and well 
 aired, during the whole period of your probation. Your 
 letters and papers are well smoked, and all notes addressed to 
 you from abroad are held out to be read — but not touched by 
 you, till after a strong fumigation, and at the end of the 
 tongs by which they are presented. Your penance must be 
 strictly observed and penitentiary well swept ; and any one 
 breach of the regulations not only subjects you to a renewal 
 of your term of imprisonment, but, as in the celebrated case 
 of Captain Tate, may cause the whole island and town of 
 Malta to be put in durance vile, and to be excommunicated 
 from the rest of the world. 
 
20 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 V. 
 
 Among the charms of the Lazaretto at Fort Manuel are 
 the privilege which you enjoy of walking upon the ram- 
 parts and of bathing in the sea, under the eye of a guardiano. 
 But your highest pleasure is derived from the choice cooking 
 and delicious ragouts, which are supplied at the trattoria by 
 Giacchino the innkeeper, whose Carte will be always presented 
 at breakfast, in order to allow your selections for dinner and 
 the whetting of your appetite for supper. 
 
 Thus provided at starting, we soon ceased to remember our 
 absent friends, and began to busy ourselves with various and 
 diverting occupations. My companions were both remarkable 
 men in their way. The Oxonian clergyman, or " English- 
 man," possessed the most remarkable memory that I have ever 
 known ; and he displayed its powers with no little pedantry, 
 by voluminous quotations from the classics, among whom Ho- 
 race seemed to be his favorite. Possessing this poet on a 
 most familiar footing, it only was necessary to give him one 
 word in the middle of a satire to stir up his associations with 
 the Latin muse ; and his ideas, like the unchained link of a 
 broken watch, ran down to a stop only at the end of the 
 works. 
 
 VI. 
 
 We had, therefore, no lack of ''classic hours" amid the 
 shades of our retirement. 
 
 My other friend had graduated at Heidelberg, and was on 
 his return from travels in Palestine and Egypt. He showed 
 evidences of scholarship and good taste in every conversation ; 
 and during our stay, proved to my satisfaction that it would 
 be to the advantage of every American to perfect himself in 
 the modern languages, as well as to marshal his ideas of his- 
 
SKETCH OF MALTA, 21 
 
 tory, prior to any lengthened sojourn in foreign lands. A 
 course of history and geography at Berlin, or any other famous 
 University, would certainly save many of our countrymen 
 from the intrigues of the Parisian lorette, and lead others to 
 think more of the amenities of travel than to boast of imagi- 
 nary favors among grisettes, or conquest by moonshine inside 
 of a diligence rotonde. It is truly surprising to listen to the 
 tales of these travellers, and disgusting to hear of their adven- 
 tures among bar-maids and " dames de comjptoirs^[ or " voyage- 
 antes" With congenial habits, we all spent a cheerful life at 
 the Lazaretto ; and we availed ourselves of our periods of 
 leisure to sketch a history of the island upon which we were 
 immured, 
 
 SKETCH OF THE ISLE OF MALTA. 
 
 Two hundred miles from the African coast, and about sixty 
 from Cape Passaro, the most southern point of Sicily, Malta, 
 with her attendant wards of G-ozzo and Commino, dominates 
 with her fortresses, the peace of Europe. This island was well 
 termed by Napoleon, the Key of the Mediterranean, and was 
 taken by him on his way to Egypt, to allow him the control 
 of the inimical and opposing continent. 
 
 As it rises on that sea, in the longitude of 14° 31' E,, and 
 latitude 35° 54' 46" N., its rock-bound coast bristles with an 
 aspect of defiance, and, with its present strongholds, which 
 have resulted from the accumulated labors of successive con- 
 querors, it dominates the passes of the ocean with assuring 
 prospects for the tranquillity of the world. 
 
 Upon these three islands the lives of one hundred thousand 
 souls depend, and its circumference of sixty miles embraces 
 
22 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 a crowded population, which is as wonderfully observed, as 
 it appears difficult to find subsistence on that soil, and 
 begets sui'prise in the student of human life to discover a cause 
 for the maintenance of so numerous a people. Twenty-four 
 towns, scattered at intervals about the island, lend an exceed- 
 ingly picturesque aspect, when viewed from the heights of the 
 prominent hills ; and, where belts of vegetation cluster 
 among the rocks for nourishment, the valleys cheer the eye 
 with the agreeable, happy effects of culture. The port con- 
 sists of two harbors, which are separated from each other by 
 the lofty promontory of Mount Xiberras, upon which Taletta 
 is built. 
 
 Marsamucetta is that on the Quarantine side, and the 
 capital itself frowns over the waters of the great harbor of 
 Yaletta, which is strongly guarded by the heavy cannons of 
 Fort St. Elmo and the strong works of Fort Ricasoli. 
 
 YALETTA. 
 
 The town of Yaletta derives its name from the Grand 
 Master of the Order of St. John, who founded it in 1566, 
 (A.D.,) and also commenced the construction of the fortifica- 
 tions about four months after the seige of the island by Sulei- 
 man the Magnificent, which was conducted by his general, 
 Mustapha of Buda. 
 
 Eight different languages constituted the Order, and each 
 occupied a separate auherge, which varied according to the 
 taste and sumptuousness of each different commander. 
 
 According to Homer, the island was first peopled by the 
 Phoenicians. It was successively colonized by Greeks and 
 
PICTURES OF ITS HISTORY, 23 
 
 Cartliagenians, and fell into tlie hands of tlie Romans during 
 the second Punic war. 
 
 In the year 454 of the vulgar era, after the fall of the Ro- 
 man Empu'e, it was seized by the Yandals and Goths ; and 
 in turn became part of the Eastern Empire, under BeHsarius. 
 
 In the year ^80, (A.D.), it revolted to the Saracens ; and 
 the presence of the Arabs left a permanent impression in the 
 idiom of the country, which is still recognizable in that pe- 
 culiar dialect, which, under a mixture of Arabic, Turkish, 
 lingo-franco, and gabble, is proverbially known throughout 
 the Mediterranean, as the Maltese. 
 
 More lately it fell under the yoke of the Normans, and into 
 the hands of the Grerman possessors of the throne of Sicily, 
 and thence followed in event the fortunes of the House of 
 Arragon and Anjou. 
 
 In 1522 it was granted to the Order of St. John, after their 
 expulsion from Jerusalem, under Grand Master Yilliers-de- 
 L'ile-de-lAdam, and remained in the possession of the Cavaliers 
 of Malta until it was surrendered to Napoleon, by the trea- 
 chery and weakness of Hompesch, in 1798, when on his way 
 to Egypt. Yarious fortunes followed the voluntary cession of 
 the island to the British. It was, finally, sieged ; and, surren- 
 dered to Nelson, under confirmation of this act, by the Con- 
 gress of Yienna. Afterwards, having sustained one of the 
 most memorable sieges on record, and been fearfully ravaged 
 by the plague, under the administration of Sir Thomas Mait- 
 land, it was taken by the English in 1800, and in their posses- 
 sion it now remains. 
 
 III. 
 
 Such were the curious events in history, which passed over 
 this stronghold of English Empire, and there is scarcely an 
 
24 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AXD THE DOGE, 
 
 inch of the island that is not walled up or fortified. The port 
 of Yaletta is one of the finest in the world, and the largest 
 ships of the line lie within its arms, fearless of wind or weather. 
 
 This little epitome of its history, together with our books, 
 pipes, visits, and mutual narrations of our past and travelled 
 experience, filled up a delightful episode in our prison-life, 
 and varied the leisure of many vacant hours. 
 
 Most of the time the weather was extremely dull, and the 
 cheerful light of our souls alone brightened the halls of our 
 gloomy wards. Whenever sunshine broke through the masses 
 of heavy clouds, it was only to animate an angle of the bas- 
 tioned heights, and to throw, in bold relief, the graceful spire 
 of St. John's Cathedral. 
 
 At one time we endeavored to hire a boat, to relieve our 
 weariness, by rowing about the harbor, and sought, from the 
 keeper, permission to be towed under the eye of a guardian o ; 
 but Casolani was stern in his refusal, and excused his denial 
 by a woeful description of the conduct of Captain Tate. His 
 violation of the pratique will doubtless be handed down to 
 posterity as the breach of Tate, or as bad as " la mal de tete," 
 and every traveller will be silenced in his petitions, by a 
 citation of this case. 
 
 IV. 
 
 A visit to one of our Egyptian companions, who had suc- 
 ceeded us in Quarantine, led us to the Parlatorio, to converse 
 behind the railings. We found Captain P. of the army, in a 
 separate ward, with his wife, who described to us what a de- 
 lightful time they had spent among the sheets of the British 
 newspapers. 
 
LANDING AT THE CITY OF MALTA. 25 
 
 The continuation of a violent sirocco, which had been blow- 
 ing for two days, led us to observations about the winds and 
 currents of the Mediterranean ; and our short stay proved 
 pregnant in the history of storms ; for the Levant blew with 
 its accustomed violence, and all the winds and weathers of 
 Malta exercised themselves, for our benefit, during the six 
 days we remained. 
 
 Glad were we, therefore, at the expiration of the sixth day, 
 to receive the order for our liberation, and hastily we packed 
 up our trunks, in order to depart from the steps of the Laza- 
 retto. We were, indeed, fortunate in our short trial, for we 
 were the second party who had enjoyed the benefit of a cur- 
 tailed pratique, and right happy were we to escape from the 
 halls of that gloomy imprisonment, and to enter our boats, 
 in order to be rowed thence to the city landing. With the 
 exception of a rough swell of the sea, and an opportunity of 
 enjoying some of the importunities of the boatmen, the strong 
 and harsh dialect of the Maltese, and a highly-amusing alter- 
 cation among some very excitable and animated market- 
 women, we were landed at the foot of the Marsamucetta 
 stairs, without any incident or upset. But the moment we 
 reached the platform we were besieged by a crowd of hungry 
 porters, or facchini, who seized upon our baggage by separate 
 pieces, and without asking for license or for rates, thus pos- 
 sessed of all of our dunnage at hand, rushed up the long stone 
 stairway, in breathless haste, to the top. We felt somewhat 
 relieved from our sudden surprise upon learning, that there was 
 an established tariff for each trunk or valise, and a rapid cal- 
 culation soon forced us to silence, and to a more leisurely pur- 
 suit after the luggage, which was then rapidly disappearing, 
 in dim perspective, up the steep ascent of the " Beggar's Lad- 
 
26 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 der — the counter-part stairway to the Nix Mangiare stairs on 
 the opposite side of the town, where a more precipitate de- 
 clivity and some crazy stone steps, are the fixed and stationary 
 posts of all the beggars, ladroni, porters, lazzaroni, cripples, 
 loafers, and varlets of Malta. 
 
 V. 
 
 While stopping to rest on the many platforms of these 
 stairs, we took occasion to admire the fine outlines of Fort 
 Manuel, and cast some long vistas over the walls of the city 
 itself, as it stretched beneath us in the direction of the 
 Point and Light-house ; and then continued on, varying our 
 views with our ascent, until we reached the level of the city 
 proper. 
 
 What a strange aspect was presented as we took our direc- 
 tion towards the Hotel ! What a jumble of houses, women, 
 priests, artisans, clamorous languages, lingo-franco, gabble, 
 donkeys, porters, volantes, mantillas, duenas, horses, carts, 
 verandahs, churches, processions, trades, occupations, din, 
 noises, troops, friars, nuns, &c. ! Every tenth man seemed a 
 priest — or a religious — and wore on his head a segment of a 
 stove-pipe for a hat. Through this strange melange, and al- 
 most transfixed by the sudden apparitions of humanities — 
 which differed so entirely from what we had seen in Egypt, 
 and was rendered doubly striking from the empty void of our 
 Quarantine life — we, at last, reached the hospitable porch of 
 Dunsforth, in the "Strada Reale." 
 
 VI. 
 
 Having quietly seated ourselves at a window overlooking 
 the highway, we enjoyed the active movement in the street 
 
PALACES AND GRAND MASTER. 2t 
 
 below, where we were particularly struck with the mantilla 
 head-dresses of the women, which covered their whole face 
 and figure, and resembled the tbhs of the Cairenes ; while 
 volantes, curious vehicles of a chaise-like construction, with 
 very long shafts, were variously drawn along by mules and 
 horses, and were conducted by postillions, who ran beside each 
 vehicle, on foot. The many curious objects thus presenting 
 themselves from our post of observation, soon disposed us to 
 visit the various interesting sights of the town. Shortly after 
 the comfortable enjoyment of a quiet English breakfast, we 
 started out for the '' Circulating Library," that bibliothe- 
 quical depository so well known all over the Mediterranean, 
 from the universal presence of its books. Here, having sup- 
 plied ourselves with certain general and reliable information 
 about the city, we proceeded to visit the Palace of the Grand 
 Master, which is now used as the residence of the Governor 
 General — a man of equal importance and more chivalrous 
 conduct than history records of the renowned L'ile-de-1'Adam. 
 We were ushered, after entering this mansion, into the apart- 
 ment of the Grand Hall, a large oblong room, which was 
 shabbily furnished, and around its walls, portraits of all the 
 former Grand Masters of the Order of St. John, were hung. 
 "We stopped only to admu*e a superb Caravaggio, and then, like 
 all eager sight-seers, we ascended by a flight of very lengthy 
 stairs to the roof of the building, in order to get a sweeping 
 panorama of the position of the island, and of the topography 
 of Yaletta. On the platform — which was occupied both as 
 an observatory, and as a telegraphic station — we were civilly 
 received by the ofi&cer on duty, and through the aid of his 
 telescope, all the points of that extensive prospect were placed 
 under our complete command. 
 
28 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 THE TIEW FROM THE PALACE TOP. 
 VII. 
 
 There are few spots on earth that fill the eye with more 
 earnest interest than that of Malta. To the northeast of the 
 island, lies Yaletta's Port, being separated from the harbor 
 of the Marsamucetta, by the prominent tongue of land on 
 which Yaletta stands. This point is terminated by the Light- 
 house, and Fort Elmo which guards the approach to both 
 havens. On the south side of the Grand Harbor are two 
 peninsulas of rock pointing towards Yaletta, under the shelter 
 of whose bay-like, ships ships of the largest tonnage can ride 
 with security. Castle St. Angelo and the town of Yittorioso 
 crown one height ; and on the second, Sanglea's village over- 
 looks the strong lines of Buomulo, which rise encircled by the 
 fortifications of the Cotonera. Platforms, terraces, videttes, 
 watch-posts, bastions, escarpments, towers, fortresses, armed 
 walls, the rock-hewn look-outs and deep-mouthed caverns 
 bristle with defiance, under the array of formidable cannons. 
 Every point is embattled ; every rock presents an aspect of 
 suppressed thunder. Thence looking down upon the town be- 
 neath us, we saw the solid cubes of their stone houses, with 
 their flat roofs falling in succession with the declivity of the 
 island, until the whole town presented the appearance of a 
 consolidated castle cut out of the rock that forms the island. 
 
 The effect of the Grand Port was imposing, and the whole 
 offered a view of rare and highly picturesque interest. Wall 
 upon wall, and bastion upon bastion, watch the approach of the 
 narrow entrance. It would be impossible for any ship to enter, 
 either by night or day, without observation. The opening is 
 scarcely 250 feet across, and every vessel must pass close to 
 
ARMORY -CARAVAGGIO. 29 
 
 the forts, wliereby slie would be shivered into ten thousand 
 fragments, if an attempt to force a passage were ever made. 
 No nation could overcome its strength, but by the power of 
 a superior navy : England only obtained possession through 
 the united agency of a combined fleet and a shameful be- 
 trayal by its commander. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The land-approaches are equally well guarded as those 
 from the sea ; and from the narrow neck of rock upon which 
 Yaletta rises, the country stretches out for miles, and is co- 
 vered with numerous hamlets and villages. 
 
 After having passed a full hour in the enjoyment of this 
 rare and interesting scene, with thrilling transport of eye and 
 heart, occasioned by the perception of its richly-colored sky 
 of the serenest blue, and of the bright waves of the placid 
 sea, in a climate of exceeding loveliness, we descended into 
 the interior of the palace, in order to obtain a sight of the 
 armory. 
 
 ARMORY AND SIGHTS. 
 IX. 
 
 Upon entering the chamber in which the ancient armor of 
 the Order and that of other nations and people are collected, 
 we were somewhat surprised to find there, neither, so curious 
 an array, or such splendid suits as one might have been led 
 to have expected in this city of the Knights of Malta. The 
 cabinet, although small, was well arranged ; and our atten- 
 tion was chiefly directed to the armor of Yignacourt, it being 
 the same as that which he wore when painted by Caravaggio. 
 The painting, so very remarkable for the perfect finish of the 
 steel, hangs in the same apartment. A few Turkish or other 
 
30 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 curiosities, ornament this room, which is hung in rich antique 
 tapestry, and contains little else to attract but a queer old 
 copper cannon, secured and strengthened by brass bands, 
 which were bound together by tightly-wound ropes, and these 
 again encased with a exterior coating of lime and leather. 
 
 Beyond the Armory, and in the Library, were about ten 
 thousand volumes, which had been gathered from the private 
 collections of the Knights, wherein several curious missals and 
 manuscripts struck our attention. We were more interested 
 in the Museum, and a room occupied with a small but rare 
 number of antique relics that had been found on the islands of 
 Malta and Gozo, Besides a rare Phoenician monument, seve- 
 ral headless figures from Crendi, and a few altars with parallel 
 Greek and Punic inscriptions, we met with two fine Roman 
 bas-reliefs and two terra-cotta coffins, among the other objects, 
 of various styles and epochs. 
 
 After we had passed down the grand stairway from the 
 magnificent ball-room of the Government House, we escaped 
 into the open air, to be struck with the peculiar brilliancy 
 of the sky, sea, and soil of the city. The bright and glaring 
 limestones of which the houses are built, render its too great 
 intensity of sunlight painful to the sight, and its glaring 
 effects are only relieved by glimpses that are continually to 
 be had of the blue sky and deeper blue of the sea, from the 
 streets ; for you pass always along the crest of the promon- 
 tory on which the city stands. Within the inner city, there is 
 no relief from these striking and painful effects on the sight 
 but projecting balconies, with their striped white and blue 
 verandah -awnings and window-shades ; and very little or no 
 comfort in your longing and wistful looks at them, except it 
 be the satisfaction of having seen a few bright eyes peering 
 
BOOK COCKNEY, AND MUSIC. 31 
 
 out under the folds of a black silk mantle, covering the features 
 of some bewitching Maltese brunette. 
 
 CATHEDRAL. 
 X. 
 
 We were glad to shelter ourselves within the vestibule of 
 the old Cathedral of St. John, and while our nostrils were 
 regaled by the fumes of burniug incense, offered up by myste- 
 rious priests at the altar of a Roman hearth, we could not 
 but cast a few reflections over the kneeling figures around us, 
 or a few inquisitive glances under the veils of the ladies at 
 their oraisons. Three observations claimed our special re- 
 mark : — that, the intrusion of an Englishman, with a red 
 morocco ''Murray's" Guide's Book, into the holiness of the 
 sanctuary, who stalks about through priests, and over women 
 and chairs, and wends his way, always intent upon sight- 
 seeing, as a Cockney after sport, is, to say the least, indelicate ; 
 and that too, in spite of the urgency of your Cicerone, w^ho 
 whispers continually, ^^ Non "porta niente,^^ (''It does not mat- 
 ter.") It is unbecoming a Protestant or a gentleman — even 
 should he be visiting the inside of a Romish Church. Se- 
 condly, it always occurred to us, that very few males ever 
 entered the interior of a church abroad, excepting very old 
 men with white locks, and a few cripples near the door. 
 Thirdly, we thought, that, even amid the paraphernalia of 
 the Roman Catholic Church, its Latin chantings, perfumery, 
 pageant, mumbling priests, and ceremonials, there must be in 
 every spot on earth some cloister for the heart ; and that the 
 prayers of the poor, the supplications of the lowly, confiding, 
 meek and humble penitent would rise through all the veils, or 
 
32 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 schemes, of macliinery of man's invention, so as to reach the 
 ear of a merciful and forgiving God. We have some faith in 
 the silent incense of the heart, and often, when within the fanes 
 of the ancient temples, or amid the demi-religious light of 
 Gothic shrines, it was no uneasy stretch of fancy for our 
 thoughts to wonder up the moving sunbeams, which dropped 
 like feriel webs from their high, remote windows, and to pic- 
 ture forth upon the shadowy lines of their showery, gauzy, 
 veils, the forms of ascending and descending angels, freighted 
 with love to the penitent, or charged with errands of mercy 
 to the soul. These were our Jacob's ladders for their souls, 
 and we have struggled with emotions strong and deep which 
 throttled our apprehensions and our fears ; and our prejudices 
 have vanished when we thought that the heart had every- 
 where, its own pure offspring of incense, silently ascending to 
 heaven from its burning censer, and acceptable on high ; for 
 although unseen by mortal vision ; unkent, by alien man is " the 
 broken spirit, and the contrite heart" of a repentant sinner. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Thus, whilst we stopped to admire the curious parts of the 
 floor, where the arms of all the Grand Masters, were beauti- 
 fully inlaid in various colored marbles, we obtained some 
 instruction in the heraldry of that age, for this church has 
 contributed largely to the illustrations of the books in the 
 Herald's Court. After having overlooked the tombs of seve- 
 ral of the Knights, and surveyed the sarcophagus of Ile-de- 
 I'Adam in the crypt, we obtained a privileged sight of the 
 rich old tapestry hangings of the church, which are, usually, 
 only to be seen at the exposition on the feast day of St. John. 
 Beyond these, a rich, massive, silver railing, in the Chapel of 
 
CEREMONIAL OF THE ARTIST's KNIGHTHOOD. 33 
 
 the Madonna, at the east, vras minutely examined — while onr 
 guide related the cause of its preservation during the French 
 occupation, when it was whitewashed and painted over, so as 
 to conceal the nature of its rich material. 
 
 XII. 
 
 The painting of the Beheading of St. John hanging on a 
 wall in the side chapel, reminded us of an anecdote of the 
 ceremonial of the artist's knighthood, which is as curiously 
 concocted as any of those numerous tales that illustrate 
 the lives and passions of distinguished painters. It is a 
 good painting, but badly preserved. It is said, that the 
 artist painted it, upon condition of his being made a Knight 
 of Malta, but in consequence of the following occurrence : — 
 One of the Knights having offended the artist, the latter chal- 
 lenged him to single combat, and satisfaction having been 
 refused on the plea that he was not worthy to meet his noble 
 antagonist, Caravaggio, sought to obtain that rank which 
 should put him on an equality with his rival. He applied to 
 the Grand Master, therefore, in order to obtain admission to 
 the Order. It was granted, on condition that he should paint 
 this picture. When it was executed, he became a Knight and 
 fought his duel ; but in order to diminish the value of the 
 work which was forced from him under such humiliating 
 terms, by the pride of the Knights, he painted the "Behead- 
 ing" on cotton canvas. Hence its present state of decay, 
 and the difficulty of its preservation. Such is the story. The 
 fact that he painted the picture is as certain as Caravaggio 
 himself. 
 
34 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 xm. 
 
 Our walk from the churcli to tlie terrace heights of Yaletta, 
 overlooking the shipping of the Great Harbor, presented 
 one of those strangely sudden contrasts which are so frequent 
 in travel, and closely assimilate the experience of each hour of 
 idleness to the conflicts of the human heart between peace and 
 the battles of life. What a change from the solemn myste- 
 ries and reverential silence of the sanctuary, to the grim 
 aspect of full-mouthed cannons, this range of ramparts, bar- 
 racks, fortifications, ships of the line, and all this formidable 
 array for grim death, and the fearful contest ! And how soft 
 is the relief, even, here presented, before these visions into war, 
 where the pelluced azure of heaven mingles with the bright 
 deep blue of the sea, and light clouds of gossamer form lightly 
 float, to consort with the white-capped and leaping billows 
 which break against the walls of the fortress ! This view 
 from the terrace always commanded our most thrilling emo- 
 tions. And no less powerful to awake our sympathies were 
 the graves of the brave admirals on the centre of the platform, 
 who had died here in the service of their country and, afar, 
 from England, their sea-girt home. 
 
 " A tear for the brave, the gallant and free, 
 
 From soft maiden's eyes, or stout manly heart ; 
 And deep sighs, like the winds, o'er Ith'yan sea : 
 Such requiems, brothers, Britons impart." 
 
 XIV. 
 
 No less striking in the retrospect than fact, is that singular 
 
 confusion of images and objects which crowd into the hours of 
 
 idleness, as the traveller is hurried from sight to sight, on 
 
 some curious spots of earth. The mind becomes kaleidoscopic 
 
35 
 
 in its perceptions ; and each vague stare obtains for the pos- 
 session of the sigiit, the gratification of many other senses, 
 and a scope of interest, as miscellaneous, as it is startling with 
 emotions of pleasure and surprise, or, oftentimes, with dis- 
 taste and disgust. 
 
 XV. 
 
 "We could not but feel the effect of this changling senti- 
 ment, as we hurried by the deserted auberges of the ancient 
 Knights, which were now occupied by the officers of her ma- 
 jesty's regiments, and walked onward to refresh our eyes, 
 amid the parterres, flowers, walks, hanging vines, and fes- 
 tooned bowers of the cheerful gardens of the Florianna. 
 Such a sweet spot contrasted kindly with the images of war, 
 commerce, priestly mummery, and misery which we had pre- 
 viously enjoyed, and offered us repose after that throbbing of 
 the eyes which fatigues even the most obdurate and confirmed 
 virtuoso. The avenues of these gardens hung on the outskirts 
 of the city walls, and formed an oasis of cultivated beauty 
 amid the glaring hot walls of limestone buildings, and strong 
 forts which surrounded them. ]S"ot less pleasing was it to 
 view the use of their perfumed arbors, by the gallants of the 
 isle, as they walked within their fair parterres, or sat under 
 the trellised vines, and made love to the Maltese, with full, 
 liquid eyes, which opened like pearls under the drooping folds 
 of their coy mantillas. From what spot on earth is the soft 
 passion absent ? and how fitting the abode of love, amid the 
 embowered secrets of the rich flora of the south, or among 
 the many isles of the laughing and frolicking sea I How 
 suitable, again, to find its scenes in that same island, wherein, 
 is Calypso's Grotto." 
 
36 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 While amused with the passing scenes of the garden, my 
 companion left me for a visit to a Capuchin Convent. As I 
 never had any partiality for grave subjects, I was content to 
 hear his description of this order of recluses ; who, it seems, 
 have a custom of embalming their fellow-monks, and have 
 them set in coffins, by ranks, in files, so as to be viewed by the 
 living brothers, in all the ghastly deformity of their mummied 
 bodies. To those brethren, who are still alive, they present 
 the most satisfactory images of cloaked skeletons and death's- 
 heads ; and the Capuchin guide who introduced my friend into 
 this museum of posthumous anatomies, evidenced a composure, 
 equivalent to sang froid, when he recalled the names of the 
 more recent occupants of these obituary cells, and very calmly 
 pointed out the particular spot which he himself expected to 
 occupy. Truly, familiarity v/ith unearthly subjects, breeds dis- 
 respect of Death itself, and there are few topics which do not 
 become revolting and distasteful, when coupled with too great 
 frequency of vision. The Capuchins, we thought were the 
 least offensive of all the religious mendicants, that we saw 
 abroad, and they have often excited our sympathies from the 
 excessive homeliness of their persons, the slovenly habits of 
 their dress, and from the striking camel-like similitude in their 
 dromedary gait, character and aspect. Bound in robes of 
 dingy brown cloth, which were encircled at the waist by a 
 dirty white cord, with tassels, and wearing the cowl, thrown 
 aside of their shorn, but always uncovered heads, the Capu- 
 chine always looked to us, much like a cloaked yellow-jacket 
 wasp when alive, and when dead, more like an Egyptian mum- 
 my than a skeleton. 
 
VISIONS OF NIGHT MARE. 3t 
 
 XVII. 
 
 On our return to tlie hotel, we found various topics of con- 
 versation to while away the hours after our late dinner, and 
 were so heartily tired of Maltese sights, that we were all soon 
 glad to go to bed in order to dream about the many strange 
 and wonderful things which we had viewed, and to be soon 
 enveloped in a cloudy conglomerate of visions, mingled with 
 our waking thoughts and dreams, in which Maltese crosses, 
 silver filigrees, with Knights Templar, Saracens, flag-poles, 
 barracks, deep-mouth guns, men-of-war, hollow-eyed Capuchin 
 mummies, antiquities, and terra-cotta vases, flitted through our 
 troubled brain, and floated together disjunctively, amid the most 
 enrapturing glances from dark eyes under blacker mantillas ; 
 whilst ghosts of red-coated soldiers, sailors, facchini, volantes, 
 and donkeys, danced and reeled through the mazes of our 
 night-revels, until exhausted nature found oblivion and sweet 
 slum.bers in the folds of a comfortable English bed. 
 
 DRIVE OUT IN THE COUNTRY. 
 XVIII. 
 
 It was not a volante, but a proper hackney-coach that bore 
 us away late on the next afternoon to visit the grottoes and 
 the more distant shades of the catacombs. We were not run 
 after by a hallooing and yelping tyrant tiger postillion, lash- 
 ing the horses, or goading the mules, but we were properly 
 trotted out of town by a suitable driver, a proper coachman, one 
 who would have done honor to a Dowager, and quite fat 
 enough to have sat on a box before certain pouting beauties, 
 in their drives, before dinner, through Hyde Park. 
 
38 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Quite briskly we were driven out to Citta Yecchia, and, 
 by the way, found abundant opportunities to get views of the 
 position of the land, and of the peculiar dip of the pervading 
 and prominent strata of limestone. What little soil we no- 
 ticed, had been so assiduously collected together and nicely 
 terraced up by small stone walls, as to present every portion 
 of its surface to the influence of the sun ; and a culture of the 
 vegetation was made so as to husband every particle of earth. 
 The most noticeable quantity or mass of soil, had been dis- 
 tributed through the main or principal valley of the island ; 
 and this vast artery appeared, as if it had been caught in a 
 great geological fault, as it lay embraced within the arms of the 
 two great chains of rock, on the island, which is intersected by 
 cross-ranges of limestone, at various points. From elevated 
 points by the road-side, we "had obtained an extensive view 
 of this rich channel of vegetation, animating the face of 
 the whole country, and had frequent cause to admire the in- 
 dustry and economy of the islanders in thus making the most 
 of their barren and sterile island. It seemed as if they had 
 brought every stone into requisition, and that the rocks had 
 been coaxed up, either for their share of fortification, or to be 
 used as platforms on which to plan the foundations of the 
 terraced gardens. The effect of this minute and elaborate 
 cultivation lent a pleasing and picturesque aspect to all our 
 prospects over the land ; and the intersecting chains of lime- 
 stones, when filled up by occasional groves of olive, clusters 
 of hanging parterres, fertile steps of luxuriant vegetation, 
 and occasional groups of festooned flowers and flowing palms, 
 with figs and fruit of many colors, increased the beauty 
 of our rapid glimpses, as we hurried swiftly on towards the 
 
PASTURAGE, AND CATTLE FROM BARBARY. 39 
 
 end of our promenade. Our astonishment was somewhat 
 heightened upon learning that all the soil had been imported 
 from Sicily. Even, with the aid of this foreign earth, they 
 can scarcely produce sufficient fruit and vegetables for their 
 own consumption, or enough feed for the pasturage of large 
 droves of cattle ; which fodder, in the shape of a delicious and 
 nutritious clover, nourishes all the beasts of the island. The 
 cattle themselves are, no less exotic than the soil upon which 
 they feed, having all been brought over from Barbary, when 
 young. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Before we had arrived at Citta Yecchia we saw some of the 
 twenty-four villages that are dotted about the island, some 
 of which are quite large and thickly populated ; a few are in- 
 significant, with only a few hovels ; but each boasts of a church 
 whose plan is monstrous, and immeasurably disproportionate 
 to the size of the village, but not to the religious wants of the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 We pass over any mention of numerous swift-footed paupers, 
 who ran after our carriage in the hope of obtaining a copper, 
 for vagrancy is so common throughout the continent of Eu- 
 rope, that it may be considered as a national establishment, 
 which has been instituted under the patronage of strangers 
 and travellers. 
 
 We halt only to give due credit to the perseverance of 
 one beggar, who remained by our carriage window for about 
 three miles, and him, we were somewhat surprised to be- 
 hold, on alighting from the vehicle, at the doors of St. Paul's 
 church. 
 
40 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Having bestowed a gratuity upon this mendicant, as a re- 
 ward for his velocipede importunity, we entered inside the 
 Chapel, where we were led about by the old cicerone or ser- 
 vant of the sanctuary. He afterwards conducted us down 
 into the Grotto of St. Paul, wherein, as our guide related, 
 "the apostle of the Gentiles had performed penance during 
 a period of three months." There was nothing peculiar to be 
 seen, to vary the nature of this cavern from other holes in the 
 ground, but the striking feature of its accretion, or depository 
 soil; "for," said our valet, "it is a remarkable fact, that 
 however large or numerous are the fragments of the rock 
 which are removed by curious visitors, it is positively true 
 that the size of the cave has, in no whit, diminished." This 
 constancy to its original form has been, no doubt, materially 
 aided by a continual renewal of the plaster-work on the roof, 
 and the uncertain and unconditional proportions of a grotto 
 which has been favored more by art than by nature. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 In the crypt, a clever statue of St. Paul displayed the talent 
 of a Maltese sculptor ; and, far more interesting than either 
 grot or cavern, were some interesting relics of the Knights 
 chevaliers, which were exhibited in the church, where they 
 were first deposited by them, when, as refugees, they had fled 
 from Rhodes. As we drove away from the cave, through the 
 suburbs of Rabbato, where St. Paul is said to have dwelt as 
 the guest of Publius, then "chief man of the island," the furi- 
 ous onset of a gang of hungry cripples upon our small change, 
 caused us to reflect, and aroused a suspicion that the popula- 
 tion of this quarter was still no less savage than in the days 
 
CURSE OF THE BEGGAR. 41 
 
 of the Apostle, with this saving exception, from their former 
 treatment of the Saint, that " these barbarous people showed 
 us no kindness at all, although they did kindle within us the 
 fires of our indignation." 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 There was no other remedy for these importunities than a 
 walk towards the neighboring Catacombs, where a strong 
 gate, at a narrow lane, and a rapid descent under ground, 
 soon interposed, and rid us of these scamps. 
 
 These subterranean passages, or Catacombs, were very exten- 
 sively laid out, and their distribution into corridors, halls, 
 chambers, sepulchral niches, domes, and saloons, indicated that 
 they must not only have been used as burial places, but for 
 the purposes of habitation and worship. One apartment was 
 evidently intended for a church ; and there is even now a tra- 
 dition afloat, that these grottoes were excavated by the early 
 Christians, who fled to them in order to escape from per- 
 secution. In point of fact, we could never reduce our taste to 
 underground topics, and we are the less particular in our de- 
 scription of these " suburbs of the dead, from the accompany- 
 ing chills and damp disgust, which always caused us both to 
 shudder and shiver when in them, and made us anxious to 
 escape as soon as possible, to a purer air and a brighter sky." 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Alas, for our hurry to get out ; we only escaped from one evil 
 to oppose another ; for, outside the wicket were the same 
 crowds of mendicants, who had previously besieged us in flocks, 
 and now were more vociferous and clamorous, with their 
 shrieks for Carita ! Carita ! Povero ! Signor ! &c. ; and pro- 
 
42 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 minent amid them, the figure of our shadow, who had already 
 ran three miles with the phaeton, was conspicuous. They and 
 he were sadly disappointed, for we gave them nothing but 
 thanks for the many kind wishes they had showered upon us, 
 and drove away only to hear the echoes of their curses and 
 imprecations ; so soon doth the petitioner-beggar change his 
 blessings into curses, when the wish does not prove father to 
 his hope. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Taking it for granted, for we always started with the most 
 unlimited stock of faith in our travels, in that confidence, 
 which is both the security and happiness of the traveller, we 
 stopped awhile outside the Cathedral of St. Paul, which was 
 built on the site of the Governor Publius' Palace, and thence 
 directed our course by an irregular cross-road, which ran 
 through a richly cultivated valley, in the direction of St. Paul's 
 Bay. We believe every body has read of the Apostle's ship- 
 wreck on the island of Melita. Owing to the rocky nature of 
 the coast, we were obliged to descend from our carriage, and 
 to walk towards the sea-shore, in order to obtain a more cor- 
 rect idea of the locality of this remarkable event. 
 
 XXVI, 
 
 The bay itself, which was formed by a gentle indenture of 
 the coast at this point, presented a highly picturesque aspect, 
 at the hour in which we visited it. The sun was about sinking 
 into the sea behind the two pretty little islands of Gozzo and 
 Comino, which approached so near together, as almost to form 
 another gulf in their neighborhood to the Capes of Malta ; 
 and, as the last warm touches of sunlight, gilded the castle 
 walls of the watch-station, on the heights, which rose on our 
 
THOUGHTS ON SHIPWRECK. 43 
 
 left, and stood, in bold relief, prominently out upon the top of 
 tlie impending bluff of the main island, the bright influences 
 of that thoughtful hour, lent easy faculty for memory to pic- 
 ture forth on that placid sea, a vivid sketch of the scene of the 
 shipwrecked Paul. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 In that calm eventide, the mind dwelt with peculiar interest 
 upon the life and action of the Apostle and his mission, It 
 was not difficult to mark the site of the foundered vessel — to 
 picture the mariners afloat and swimming to the shore. Then 
 again, just under the shelter of the castle's towers, on the shelv- 
 ing beach, where two fishermen were then hauling their boats 
 into harbor, we could easily rekindle the fierce flashes of the 
 stubble-fire, around which the barbarian islanders were seated, 
 when they received the Saint with simple hospitality. That 
 castle on the hill, was doubtless, the ancient stronghold of the 
 governor. 
 
 We have never entertained a doubt of the identity of Melita 
 and Malta, in spite of the disquisitions of learned doctors or 
 divines ; and have, therefore, taken the question of locality as 
 proved, from the remarkable coincidences which we observed 
 between the site of the shipwreck and the description which 
 has been left us in the Acts. The peculiar character of the 
 spot, "that certain creek, with a shore into which they were 
 minded to thrust the ship ; their fallmg into a place where two 
 seas met," which corresponds so precisely with the cross-cur- 
 rents running together, between the isles of Gozzo and Mal- 
 ta. The proximity of Syracuse, the next place sought by the 
 Castor and Pollux, after the termination of the Apostle's so- 
 journ of three months, and the successive mention of Rhegium 
 and Puteoli on the coast of Italy, clearly satisfied our minds that 
 
44 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 the Apostle was wrecked on the present island of Malta, and 
 no where else in the Mediterranean. Having decided this 
 point in theology, we entered again our coach and drove home- 
 ward, by the way of Xasciaro. 
 
 XXVIII, 
 
 Our drive, thence, was by no means so varied as that out 
 from town. We caught a far-off glimpse of the mammoth 
 Church of Musta, which is to replace that of Birchiccaio — 
 it having been found inadequate to the size of the village 
 of that name. In this instance, the inhabitants deviated 
 from their usual custom of church-making, and, instead of 
 patching up their old churches, or adding wings or chapels to 
 accommodate the increase of the parishioners, they have in this 
 case outstripped their present wants ; and in anticipation of 
 the necessities of a numerous posterity, and an extraordinary 
 development of outward Christianity, they have commenced 
 to surround the walls of their ancient chapel by the founda- 
 tions of an edifice, which is not only cathedral in its plan, but 
 zealously designed, in their ambition, to eclipse even the 
 vast proportions of the huge St. Peter's at Rome. We hope 
 that these religious aspirants for bulls may not meet with the 
 fate of the frog in the fable. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Having passed through many thriving villages by the way 
 side, we reached the suburbs of the Quarantine Harbor, 
 where a fine promenade and drive afforded us an excellent 
 opportunity to see somewhat of the gay life of the citizens ; 
 and, turning thence, by the way round the Harbor, we entered 
 Yaletta by the Gardens of the Florianna. 
 
ARCH^OLOGICAL REMAINS. 45 
 
 On the next morning, as we returned from tlie Church of 
 St. John — an Episcopal Chapel, which was presented to the 
 English residents, through the liberaUty of the late Queen 
 Dowager Adelaide — our meditations were suddenly startled 
 by a terrible fracas in the street. A Maltese sailor had been 
 run through the body by the bayonet of a British soldier, and 
 great excitement ensued in consequence, which caused much 
 animosity on both sides, and tended to revive the natural 
 jealousy of the people against the soldiers of the occupation. 
 The possession of the island by the English troops has ma- 
 terially affected the character of the inhabitants, and gives to 
 the Maltese the disposition, vices and servile condition of a 
 conquered nation. While this condition exists, the task of 
 government becomes an extremely delicate one, on the part of 
 the mother country ; and it requires much tact to assuage 
 the rebellious humors which are so easily disturbed among 
 such peculiar elements ; and especially so, when the people are 
 almost entirely Romanists, and so sensitive of their servitude 
 under a foreign and Protestant yoke. So sensible was the 
 Home Department of the necessity of quelling every outbreak, 
 and of the need of conciliating these turbid feelings, that 
 every possible concession was made to the innate prejudices 
 of the inhabitants, not contrary to the requirements of a sound 
 government ; and that same year, the foreign office at home 
 had yielded so far to their religious preferences, as to ap- 
 point a Koman Catholic Governor. 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 Independent of the observation, that every person whom 
 we met in the street was either a priest or attached to a 
 
46 THE LAND OF THE CJESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 religious house or office, the sudden arrival of a large number 
 of Jesuits, who took refuge in the island after their expulsion 
 by the people from ISTaples, led one to think that the town 
 would suffer from their inroads, or that the inhabitants 
 might deem them troublesome from their increased wants 
 and necessities. In fact, the Captain of the Order was then 
 in town, and the city was full of these and other refugees 
 from the, then, outpoured vial of popular wrath. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 He who shall leave Malta without first having visited 
 some of the remarkable natural curiosities of the island, will 
 find himself deficient in certain points of archaeological loie or 
 antiquarian research, which could alone complete his claims to 
 a virtuoso or a savan. The Devil's Punch Bowl, or Makluba, 
 no less than the Grotto of Calypso, or the G-arden of Bos- 
 chetto, would contribute much to freight his mind with rich 
 old memories of mythological and classic lore. But the fa- 
 mous ruins of Casal CreUdi far surpass the others in magnitude 
 and age ; and no one should say that he had seen anything 
 truly venerable, ancient, or honorable, who had not gazed on 
 and wondered over the monstrous upright stones at Hagar 
 Keem. 
 
THE KINGDOM 
 
 THE T¥0 SICILIES 
 
BY SEA. 
 
 Early on Monday morning, having learned at tlie Post-office, 
 that the government steamer had been placed under sailing 
 orders, by instructions from Naples, we seized this opportunity, 
 to hasten our departure ; and while my friend was engaged in 
 the necessary duty of having our passports properly regulated, 
 I took occasion to hold a parley, with the Secretary of the 
 Consulate, who was acting in the absence of the learned and 
 gentlemanly Mr. Winslow, then our Consul at Malta ; and 
 thereupon expostulated upon the felonious practice, indulged 
 in by many of our American Consuls abroad, of demanding 
 two dollars for every vise of their fellow-countrymen. In the 
 name of the nation, we protested against paying this tax, for 
 an official identification of our nationality : we thought that it 
 was sufficient compensation, for them to have obtained a sight 
 of a stray American. We felt doubly sore, when he insisted 
 upon his fees, in spite of our remonstrances, and our suggestions 
 as to Mr. Forsyth's, the former Secretary of State, orders to 
 the contrary, for it seemed that he never minded ex-officio's 
 instructions, being confident, that a live ounce was much bet- 
 ter than a dead lion. 
 
 Nevertheless, we must still protest against such habits in 
 our Consuls, and trust that the Government will remedy this 
 inconvenience by attaching liberal salaries to these appoint- 
 ments. 
 
60 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 About seven o'clock in the evening, we took a boat at the 
 foot of the "iS^ix Maugiare" landing, and were rowed by a 
 stalwart Maltese, to the companion-way of the Neapolitan 
 steamer, then lying in the middle of the stream, and about 
 midway between the broadside of Her Majesty's ship of the 
 line, "The Queen," and the walls of the city. This noble 
 vessel of 110 guns, then commanded by Admiral Parker, was 
 the chief boast of the bay and the pride of the navy ; and as 
 she sat there "like a thing of life," at the close of day, a 
 floating palace of, wonderful beauty, we felt a flush of vivid 
 animation mount to our temples, as we thought of our own 
 gallant navy, its misullied honor and matchless prowess. 
 
 III. 
 
 Fond music from "the Queen's" band stole over the waters, 
 just as the sunset-gun boomed across the waters, and the last 
 quivering touches of sunlight passed from daylight into dusk, 
 at the close of that beautiful evening, when our steamer moved 
 gently through the narrow channel of the harbor, beyond 
 the lantern of the outer light, and having passed it safely, fled 
 with swift wings upon her pathway, strewn with the bright 
 golden drops from Heaven's starry dome. 
 
SICILY. 
 
 The sail from Malta to Naples by the way of Sicily, af- 
 forded us an excellent opportunity to visit the several ports of 
 Syracuse, Catania, and Messina, and to catcli frequent views 
 of the grandest of all European volcanoes. Mount ^tna. 
 Sicily is by far too interesting an island to be passed without 
 notice; and as it is seldom travelled over by strangers, no fur- 
 ther apology is needed for an especial account of this charming 
 spot. It is without doubt, the garden of the Mediterranean, 
 as it produces every variety of fruit, flower, and shrub ; and, 
 at the period of our transit, in the early part of April, its 
 vegetation was in full bloom. Our description of each place, 
 at which we stopped, although somewhat imperfect, on ac- 
 count of the recently disturbed state of the kingdom, will be 
 no less interesting from the high state of political excitement 
 then existing among the people ; and it will be doubly valua- 
 ble from the fact that, since that time, Revolutions have ceased 
 for a while, in Europe, and an insidious calm has intervened 
 between the two epochs of the former and the latter storms. 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTIONS. 
 
 Blind Homer gave to Sicily the names of the land of the 
 Sun, and of the Island of the Cyclops and of Giants. The 
 
52 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 cruel and ferocious Listrigonians were certainly its first in- 
 habitants. The Pelagians, Phoenicians, and Lotofagians — 
 (all believed, by some, to be only one people, but who ac- 
 quired different names from the various manners and customs, 
 as well as principles of government) — from the first, led a 
 savage and pastoral life. The Sicanians, of Spanish origin ; 
 the Elimeans, descendants of the Trojans ; the Trojans, and 
 Phoenicians, themselves, afterwards went there to sojourn. 
 
 The imaginary fables of the ancients about the first inhabi- 
 tants, are sufficiently known ; and the reader is well aware, 
 that there is no truth in these mythological falsehoods, either 
 as to the ferocious nature, or the athletic forms of the first 
 settlers. In time, the descendants of the Cyclops were gradu- 
 ally civilized, and passed from a pastoral to an agricultural 
 life ; and thence arose the worship of Ceres, instituted in her 
 honor, who was the first to teach them the culture of the 
 grains, or, perhaps, as a mark of acknowledgment to the earth 
 which produced them spontaneously. 
 
 Thus, this half-civilized people formed the nation called 
 " Sicania," from one Sicano, who is said to have gone to esta- 
 blish himself, with other Iberians, on that island. Others 
 pretend that the Spanish immigrants gave it this name, which 
 they took from a rivulet that issued in Iberia. Whatever 
 may be the origin, it is certain that Sicily was called Sicania 
 from that period, and that the greater part of the inhabitants, 
 being dispersed by the terrible eruptions of Vesuvius, settled 
 themselves on the west coast of the island. 
 
 The Sicilians succeeded to the Sicanians, who changed the 
 name of Sicania into that of Sicilia ; and contemporaneously 
 with them, the Cretes led a colony thither. 
 
 It is the opinion of Pliny and other writers, that Sicily was 
 
CON\TJLSIONS ON LAND. 63 
 
 detached from Italy by the effects of a great convulsion 
 of nature. Other geologists, not less esteemed, in their turn 
 consider the Straits of Messina as one of those valleys which 
 form the boundary of a continuous chain of mountains. 
 
 III. 
 
 Spalunzani, in his voyage through the two Sicilies, goes still 
 farther in saying, that the time will be when Sicily shall be 
 again united to the continent at the point of Peloro, which 
 is the narrowest part of the Straits. 
 
 Without indorsing the above researches, we will now con- 
 tent ourselves with -a chronological account of certain events 
 of which this beautiful country was the theatre. 
 
 We pass over the numerous conquerors into whose hands 
 it fell, from the times of the Greeks and Romans ; and 
 from Goth and Yandal, passing successively into Saracen 
 and Norman hands, until it fell from ISTorman to Spaniard, 
 and thence to the Bourbons, in It 01. We now enter into a 
 more particular description of the fair Island of Sicily, as 
 we saw it, and such as it has remained in the hands of the 
 present king (Ferdinand of Naples), since 1830. 
 
 SYRACUSE. 
 IV. 
 
 The picturesque array of seven steamers in a line cheered 
 our arrival about half-past five o'clock in the morning, when 
 we dropped anchor before the walls of Syracuse. We were 
 informed by a visiting officer, that these foreign vessels were 
 removing the armaments from the forts, and the Neapolitan 
 soldiery were evacuating the town ; also, that there had been 
 
54 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 some fighting at Catania, and the patriots at Messina were 
 preparing to attack the citadel, having ah'eady successfully 
 resisted the royal troops at that place. 
 
 Under the prestige of such news, the town of Syracuse 
 wore a cheerful aspect ; as upon entering it, after a subse- 
 quent landing, we found groups of animated citizens within the 
 walls, as we passed up to breakfast at our hotel ; and, while 
 discussing the animating topics of the hour over our coffee 
 and steaks, we grew suddenly wise, and waxed diplomatically 
 sage over the fate of empires ; and especially certain were we 
 as to the success of Sicily. In our enthusiasm, we were led 
 to utter, " Xoble Sicilians and brave Syracusians, Sicily must 
 be free ! It will assert, and shall maintain its independence as 
 a Republic ! Tyrants must fall, and the people rise ! The 
 King of Xaples will be too wise to resist their noble struggle 
 for freedom !" 
 
 VI. 
 
 Even after we had risen from the table, and were walking 
 out in search of antiquities and to view the town, we remem- 
 ber we cast some very patronizing looks at the troops of the 
 citizen-soldiery, and felt ready even to fraternize — so sure we 
 were of the justice of their cause and the certainty of vic- 
 tory. Somehow or other, we did not enlist in that campaign. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Within the northern section of Syracuse, and shortly beyond 
 the gates under which we had entered, from the wharf, having 
 first crossed over the four draw-bridges that united as many 
 different lines of the fortifications, and almost abutting the 
 
VENUS OF THE BATH. 55 
 
 face of the inner wall, stood the majestic proportions of a 
 cathedral that had been built upon the ruins of the Temple 
 of Minerva, and retains some beautifully-sculptured columns 
 and an architrave which once adorned the ancient shrine. 
 Thence was it, according to Cicero, that the Praetor Yerres 
 transported the most wonderful works of art and costly vases 
 of gold and ivory, when he plundered the Sicilian province. 
 The beautiful baptismal font before the altar was found in 
 an old subterranean church near the catacombs. Behind the 
 altars you might discover a fine Nativity, by Carravagio 
 
 VIII. 
 
 From the Temple we were led to inspect the contents of a 
 National Museum, where, among many things worthy of at- 
 tention, from having been dug up in the vicinity of the city, 
 we found a well-preserved torso, of a ^^ Venus issuing from the 
 Bath,^- one of the best works of the Greek school, and a Jupiter 
 which had been removed from the amphitheatre. The drapery 
 of one " torso" was very light and flowing. Besides several 
 vases of terra-cotta, peculiar to these regions, there were some 
 funereal and lachrymal urns, of rare workmanship. 
 
 We had occasion also to admire a very perfect collection of 
 coins of a Grecian age, and numerous Roman medals. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The celebrated Fountain of Arethusa, which had been wont 
 to awake so many fine images in the fancy of the ancient 
 poets, claimed our mutual admiration and disgust, as we 
 turned from its poetic reveries to watch the more practical 
 labors of some dozens of washerwomen, who were up to their 
 knees in suds and wash-clothes. The garrulous clamor, gabble 
 
56 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and chatter of these Yociferous women, afforded a marked 
 contrast to the classic nymphs of mnocence who were ap- 
 pointed to attend on the chaste Diana. Verily, the goddess, 
 if alive, would in her wrath have changed these hoydens into 
 stone, and would likely have wrung their necks off, over the 
 basin, as they themselves were wringing their clothes after 
 the wash, or rubbing them to thread-bare against the sides of 
 her ancient marbles. 
 
 Fair " Diana^s BatK^ had lost much of the purity of its 
 waters, for the ebb of the sea impregnated its body with a 
 taste of its briny salt. Just beyond this pond we were shown 
 down an immense flight of subterranean steps cut out of the 
 solid rock, and, doubtless, the fact of the perverse undertaking, 
 or the continual droppings from the springs above, led the 
 town's-people to call it the Bath of the Queen. 
 
 Upon returning again on the route to our hotel, we crossed 
 the path of the Equinoctial Line which was drawn by Archi- 
 medes, in front of the Temple of Diana ; and, having found 
 our carriage waiting for us, at the beck of the landlord, we 
 mounted, and were driven off through the narrow and dirty 
 streets of Syracuse, in the direction of the country. As we 
 passed out of the quarter of the ancient Ortigia, the streets 
 still appeared to be animated by fresh gatherings of the ^N'a- 
 tional Guards, who watched, with eagerness and wistful looks 
 of triumph, the retreating steps of the Army of the Evacuation. 
 Under such circumstances the people seemed unusually gay, 
 and walked briskly and jauntily along, as if they were animated 
 by a new impulse, from the prospects of their speedy liberation 
 from then- hated, and domestic tyrants. 
 
THE EAR OF DIONYSIUS. 5*1 
 
 XI. 
 
 Shortly after we had passed beyond the gates, we obtained 
 a favorable point whence to survey the fortifications of the 
 new city, now standing so conspicuously out on a long promon- 
 tory that projected from the main-land, as to present a full front 
 within the encircling arms of its fine harbor. By means of 
 ditches and moats, the city can be entirely separated and in- 
 sulated from the country, so that all access to it would be 
 impossible, save by the letting down of the draw-bridges and 
 portcullises. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Not far from the fort we turned off by a cross-road, just 
 where the solitary column of the ancient Temple of Ceres 
 marked the way, and from the quarter of Keopoli, or the 
 new city, where scarcely a trace remains of Proserpine's 
 temple, our ride soon brought us to the remains of the Roman 
 Amphitheatre ; though covering a vast extent of ground, we 
 found it in excellent preservation, and visited every part. 
 Our view of the adjacent country and the distant city was 
 peculiarly striking, from the height of these interesting ruins. 
 Not far off were the still visible traces of the Theatre Max- 
 imus, so called by Cicero, and somewhat further to the north of 
 both these arenas, and at about equal distances from either, lies 
 that celebrated quarry and prison, known in his reign of terror 
 as the Ear of Dionysius — '' That Famous Tyrant of Syracuse !" 
 
 XIII. 
 
 We rode down to it, through the arches of the modern 
 Aqueduct, and suddenly halted at the base of a naturally- 
 formed amphitheatre, that had been somewhat widened by 
 excavations from the limestone cliffs. 
 
58 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 This cavity, appearing somewhat like an artificial enlarge- 
 ment of the original fissures in the rock, bore some huge re- 
 semblance to the opening of the human ear ; but it has been 
 more appropriately entitled to the name from the fullness of its 
 acoustic properties. It appeared to have been hollowed out 
 from a single mass of rock. At first the cavity opens so wide 
 on a horizontal space, as to admit the passage of a carriage. 
 The entrance in front, from being very wide, soon narrows its 
 wadth, and then so extends its side-walls with many sinuosi- 
 ties and tortuous windings, as, with the roof over head, to 
 assume the shape of a horse's ear, rather than that of a man. 
 There is no doubt but that this cavern was originally used as 
 a quarry for building-stones. Its extreme dimensions are 190 
 feet in length, by 108 feet in height. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The lowest articulation of sound was distinctly reported 
 along its v.^alls ; the discharge of our pocket-pistols resounded 
 with reverberations like a cannon ; and the mere rumpling or 
 tearing of a piece of paper was so accurately repeated, as to be 
 heard easily at the height of the roof, !Near the top of this 
 cave, was the chamber wherein the eaves-dropping tyrant 
 hung in miserable suspense over the cries and agonies of his 
 victims who were within. Thence was it, that he listened to 
 the mourning and plaints of the prisoners below, and turned 
 the natural complaints of his Athenian slaves into accusa- 
 tions of treason, and hurried these objects of his vengeance 
 or suspicions away, and without trial, to the tortures of im- 
 prisonment, or to be butchered, to make a Roman's holiday, 
 in the arena of the Amphitheatre near at hand. Modern 
 history, whilst furnishing the parallel portraits of kings, 
 
ROMANTIC ROPE-WALKS. 69 
 
 shows, in Scott's "Fortunes of Nigel," "that such mon- 
 strosity lacked not an imitator in the first of the House of 
 the Stuarts." 
 
 XV. 
 
 It is surmised by some historians, although contradicted 
 by others, that Diouysius himself listened from a concealed 
 chamber, to hear the cries of his numerous victims. There 
 are some who date this grotto at a period subsequent to 
 the reign of this tyrant. The parabolic construction of the 
 cavity is sufficient to establish its remarkable acoustic capaci- 
 ties, and to place this phenomenon among the most celebrated 
 of the echoes of the world. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 When we visited it, this fearful storehouse of barbarian 
 despotism had been changed by Nature's magic into a grotto, 
 with a blooming valley before it ; rich clustering vines spread 
 their mantles over the portals of this ancient charnel-house, 
 and sweet wild flowers smiled by the side of gentle rills, gush- 
 ing from the melting tears of its moist rocks. They might 
 have borne analogy to some of the weeping slaves of that 
 ancient despot. But we sought rather to think of their like- 
 ness to the braver spirit of liberty which has risen from the 
 ashes of martyrs, or of those tears which have been the 
 "dew of the womb of our morning," of civil and rehgious 
 regeneration. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Near by, there were other of these latomise, or prisons, as 
 they are now called, where humble peasants were spinning out 
 threads of twine, in these natural rope-walks, and workers in 
 saltpetre were digging this substance from the earth. 
 
60 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 What has changed the condition of the poor serf since 
 Sicily's Dionysius ? Why are serfdom and slavery ever the 
 same ? Answer, thou, heart ! For tyrant's alter not, though 
 the world grows old I 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 From the Ear of Dionysius to the Fountain of the Nymph, 
 *' which still supplies the sources of the waters for the modern 
 Aqueduct, was no ordinary change in travel ; and our next 
 variety was no less an evidence of this fact, than it was strik- 
 ing in the interest, which caused us to turn from the stone 
 seats of the old Greek Theatre, into the ancient paths of the 
 Via Sepulchra, formerly appendant to the ancient City, and 
 whereon we could still trace out the deep ruts of the ancient 
 chariot-wheels, on the road-side over which we rode. 
 
 From the summit of this Cemetery, you catch one of the 
 finest panoramic views on the island, for it embraces in its 
 extent, the landscapes, city, distant inland, and sea. From 
 this spot, the vegetation of the island appeared luxuriantly 
 rich, and the fine groups of every variety of shade-trees, 
 growing among the scattered rocks, deep dells, and fertile 
 vales, rendered this prospect one of the most agreeable and 
 picturesque in Sicily. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Passing by the Tombs of Archimedes and Timolus, without 
 stopping, further, than to gather a few wild flowers from their 
 tombs, we hurried beyond to the Garden of Casula, which pre- 
 sented a peculiar manner, in the cultivation of this island of 
 verdure, truly, worthy of remark. The principal feature of these 
 horticultural curiosities, was presented in those strikingly sin- 
 gular contrasts, where the wildest, and most grotesquely 
 
TROPICAL FRUITS. 61 
 
 shaped rocks and grottoes, assuming the forms of bastions, 
 escarpments and towers, coped with the most beautiful varie- 
 ties of luxuriant gardens, bedecked with rich display of flowers, 
 hanging in rich clusters, and vines climbing to the crevices of 
 their natural supporter ; and thus offered soft gushes of relief, 
 in shade and color, as they burst suddenly upon the sight. 
 Tropical plants were growing in close affinity with the indige- 
 nous fruits. Exotics found sympathy with naturals ; and even 
 here, no less than in Egypt, the papyrus and lotus were culti- 
 vated. These fair and beautiful flowers seemed to have soft- 
 ened down the harsh conditions of these rocky prisons, wherein 
 nobles had been confined for foul treason to the Imperial 
 State. 
 
 XX. 
 
 The grandest, and most beautiful, of these latomiae or im- 
 prisoned bowers, is to be found in the ancient quarter of the 
 Acradina, and is attached to the Convent of the Capuchins, 
 whose monks have delighted to amuse their leisure by the 
 cultivation of these delicious gardens, and by such industry 
 have lent to them a most enchanting and romantic aspect. 
 
 XXI, 
 
 In one of our turns of moods and humors in travel ; or, 
 " From grave to gay, and from lively to severe," 
 
 we were induced to terminate our saunterings by a look into 
 the great catacombs extending under the modern chapel of St. 
 John ! These immense regions of emburial, caused a sense of 
 stupor and wonderment in viewing merely their entrances ; 
 and so vast were they, that they seemed like large subter- 
 ranean cities, which had been excravated out of the livins; 
 
62 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 rock ; and althougli it would liave required two days at least, 
 to have explored such parts as have already been discovered, 
 it would have been more exhausting at the end, on learning 
 that they have only been half-disclosed. With the exception 
 of a few paintings and Greek inscriptions, there is nothing to 
 be seen on their walls, but a darkness far more dreadful than 
 the Egyptian. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 We were very glad to have finished our sight-seeing and ex- 
 cursions, when we had escaped from the tombs to daylight. 
 
 It was pleasant to admire the richness of the outspread 
 landscape of Sicily, and the exceeding loveliness of the scene 
 which was then spread before our eyes. This beautiful 
 island was then decked out in the first blushing honors of 
 Spring. Afar off was the distant city of Syracuse, lying in 
 sweet repose on the bosom of the blue Mediterranean. A 
 glorious sky, checkered by floating fleecy clouds, on the azure 
 field of heaven, was above. Every variety of herb, foliage 
 and flowers, on tree, shrub, or plant, was decking the inter- 
 stices of romantic and scattered rocks ; and the air around was 
 redolent with song of birds, and breathed of the perfumes of 
 rich flowers. Warm draughts of the coursing breezes fanned 
 our cheeks with gentle and healthful kisses, and all nature 
 wore an aspect of gentleness and love, reflecting of goodness, 
 and buoyant with young hopes, while everything conspired to 
 make that day — such as the gentle Herbert sung — 
 
 " Sweet day, : 
 
 Bridal of the earth and sky." 
 
PERPETUAL SNOWS. 63 
 
 CATANIA. 
 XXIII. 
 
 Shortly after noonday we left Syracuse and run out to sea, 
 after having rounded the picturesque Citadel standing at the 
 extremity of the promontory of the ancient Ortigia. The 
 weather that afternoon was extremely beautiful ; the wind, 
 rather fresh to the windward ; the sea, not over rough, and 
 under a full head of steam, we very soon caught a jBrst view 
 of Mount .Etna's perpetual snow, as its peak of dazzling 
 whiteness loomed far aloft above the summits of the Catanian 
 mountains, and appeared sublimer still from the enchanting 
 distance at which it was beheld. We sailed always in sight of 
 the coast, and caught frequent glimpses of the approaching 
 town of Catania. The majestic JEtna lifted its glorious out- 
 line ever before our vision, and lent a strong interest to our 
 journey thitherward, for its brilliant crown of snow rose high 
 above the rich verdure of its base ; and as it poured out 
 volumes of scoria and vapor, they seemed like the full puffs from 
 an eternal altar. Heavy masses of smoke curled slowly and 
 gracefully out of its imperial crater, and as they were fitfully 
 thrown out by its hidden fires within, they floated away on 
 the coursing breeze, like plumes of rich ermine, or, as when 
 fleecy clouds roll from off the face of the silver moon at night ; 
 or, again, as when for awhile the storm-wind's coursers 
 darkens her sheen, and whenever fierce flashes of vivid light- 
 ning burst through the sullen drapery of the midnight tempest. 
 Thus iEtna lured at night. Thus wrapped in the contemplation 
 of its beauty, and so entranced, we scarcely observed our en- 
 trance into the port of Catania at about four o'clock, that 
 same afternoon. 
 
64 THE LAND OF THE C^3AR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 XXIY. 
 
 Xo one entering this town from sea, could doubt the vol- 
 canic origin of its formation. The abnormal appearance of 
 numerous huge and mis-shapen rocks, lying scattered and 
 strewn broadcast about the entrance of the port, and appear- 
 ing like vast masses of slack from a giant's iron foundery, or 
 small mountains washed from the inundation into the dJuge, 
 and eaten out, by the action of volcanic fires, to their very 
 cores, clearly indicated the igneous agency of many severe 
 and terrible eruptions. Although there has been none more 
 recent than that of 1693, the aspect of the harbor, as we 
 entered it, in order to cast anchor, was much like that 
 which would be presented in this country, if all the pudding- 
 stones of Xew England could be spasmodically scattered, in 
 grand confusion, over and about the waters of Jamaica Pond, 
 in Roxbury. 
 
 The port of Catania was by no means so capacious as that 
 of Syracuse, and appeared to us rather as a rough indentation 
 of the shore, whereon enormous lumps of blackened lava had 
 rushed headlong from the volcano to line the coast. "Whilst 
 thus geologically occupied, our attention became suddenly di- 
 verted by a deputation of the National Guards, and a horde 
 of the lazaroni from the town. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 We landed — for I recollect that we were rowed ashore by 
 a boatman — ^not far from the usual quay, and soon walked 
 away, to see the town and its people. We were surprised to 
 find such elegant specimens of architectural taste as were dis- 
 played in the forms of their houses, which were far superior in 
 point of beauty, but not so high in their elevation ns those 
 
STREET BRIDGES. 65 
 
 of the Syracusians. The streets were large and straight, with 
 ample and convenient parks, adorned with fountains, and 
 paved mtli large square flag-stones. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 As we passed along through the streets, (for one usually 
 walks in the middle of the street, abroad,) we were somewhat 
 at a loss to account for the presence of bridges in the middle 
 of the highway, and apparently there, (in our ignorance,) with- 
 out any cause ; but, when we looked up to the tops of the 
 hills, which almost ran into the back of the town, we became 
 suddenly aware that the necessity existed in those sudden 
 deluges which occur usually in these regions, from the rapid 
 overflow of the mountain-torrents, and which, without such 
 reliefs in the middle, would render the streets impassable for 
 the inhabitants, without the help of boats. 
 
 We also found the people aroused to a fanatical sense of 
 liberty. Every corner was crowded with gatherings of ex- 
 cited citizens and enraged patriots, who seemed ready to shed 
 their last drop of blood, in a war against tyranny. 
 
 XXVII, 
 
 Again, as we were walking along the wharves, we met with 
 a very civil old gentleman, who, in the course of our conversa- 
 tion with him, proffered his services, in his desire to show us 
 the town. We thanked him for his civility ; but, not wish- 
 ing to insult so respectable and venerable a citizen, and a 
 patriot too, by using him as a guide, we availed ourselves of 
 his continued politeness, in order to discover our way to an 
 hotel. With his aid, we soon found the Albergo ddla Coruna 
 di Ferro — the " House of the Iron Crown" ; and, having pro- 
 
66 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 cured the services of a valet, we started out, (the old man still 
 accompanying us ;) and all together, improved our time by 
 looking at some of the most interesting monuments and anti- 
 quities of the place. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 In the cathedral, we saw some fine columns that had been 
 taken from an ancient theatre, as well as its porch in front. 
 Not far off, we descended into the subterranean remains of 
 the theatre itself, where we spent some time in examining the 
 stairway of the amphitheatre and its three successive ranks of 
 corridors and galleries, bearing the evidences of a construction 
 of vast extension and strength. ISTear by, we observed the 
 relics of a small drome. Toward dusk, we hastened to a more 
 distant part of the city, and almost to the outskirts, to visit 
 the celebrated Monastery of San Nicholas of the Benedictines. 
 This, the most spacious and elegant of the convents that 
 I saw in Europe, was built by Cottini, and with its three 
 plans of a Composite Order, is more worthy to be called a 
 palace than an asylum for penitents, as it combines within 
 its walls every object of nature and art — stairways, corri- 
 dors, gardens, groves, precious marbles, paintings, sculptures, 
 bas-reliefs, mscriptions, vases of elegant workmanship and of 
 Grecian form — and where all objects of variety, of virtu and an- 
 tiquity, ara brought together in its museum, where are united 
 the choicest and most wonderful productions of the three 
 kingdoms of Nature. We were mostly pleased with the views 
 from the beautifully-planned terraced gardens, which over- 
 looked the city and the bay. And grander yet, and more 
 affecting, was a magnificent view of the distant snows of the 
 volcano, which now towered fearfully above the city and 
 
BATHS OF HERCULES. 6t 
 
 the sea, and loomed up like a mighty spirit through the, now, 
 dusky light of the enchanting evening. There was always a 
 fascination in that scene to me. Yolcanoes are sights of 
 epic grandeur ; and their belching fires, immense height, and 
 perpetual snows, always imaged to my mind types of gran- 
 deur, power, sublimity, and love, restraining wrath. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The attractive novelty of a torchlight visit, induced us to 
 follow our guide into the Baths of Hercules, over whose 
 ancient foundations, the Church of St. Maria del Rotundo 
 had arisen. On the walls of its ruins the traces of some 
 bas-reliefs were still visible. The same waters which were 
 used in these ancient baths still flow through the chambers of 
 the ancient aqueduct, and are still supported by some vene- 
 rable and graceful arches. The side-walls were formed of 
 large blocks of lava, neatly and compactly fitted, without 
 a particle of cement. Having now bathed, in fancy, we 
 concluded to return to our dinner at the hotel ; and, 
 whilst discussing our soup and viands, we regretted to learn 
 that our host's family had met with a recent affliction, in the 
 the loss of the proprietor, Signor Abate, who had fallen a 
 victim to the late Revolution of January. On leaving the 
 house for the boat, we were surprised to find that our re- 
 spectable old gentleman was still waiting for us at the porch ; 
 but at the suggestion of the boy who served us, we were led 
 to discover that all his former courtesies had not been en- 
 tirely disinterested, although self-proffered, for he accepted 
 our gratuity with a ^^ grazicuP and bade us ^^ Buena notte, 
 buon viaggio, Signore" as he pocketed our francs, and 
 departed. 
 
68 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 MESSINA. 
 XXX. 
 
 It was quite early on the following morning after we had 
 sailed away from Catania, that we arrived off the port of 
 Messina. Owing to the recent outbreaks of the populace, we 
 were forced to cast anchor in the outer harbor. Our view 
 of the city, from this roadstead, as it was situated midway 
 between the shore and well-wooded mountains in the back- 
 ground, overlooking the town, was sufficiently picturesque ; 
 while its fine palaces on the short Marina, or quay, with 
 its inner fortress and citadel at the outer bay, united to 
 form a very agreeable prospect. Not wishing to tarry for 
 the usual delays at the custom-house, I obtained permission to 
 disembark at once ; and, having reached the shore, walked a 
 long distance by the sea-side, until I finally arrived at the 
 main city and an hotel. The entire place and populace wore 
 an aspect of excitement and revolt. Cannons were still stand- 
 ing in the middle of the streets ; bands of soldiers were on 
 foot, and barricades of barrels and boxes closed up some of 
 the cross-ways and side-paths. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Our first visit, after our friends had joined me, was to the 
 Cathedral — a fine building of the Florentine style — contain- 
 ing some fine antique columns in the interior, with a richly- 
 sculptured doorway, in white marble, in front, and a tall 
 campanula, some little way detached from the church itself. 
 
 During the late bombardment by the Neapolitan garrison 
 in the citadel, its roof had suffered greatly from the balls and 
 
RANDOM SHOTS. 69 
 
 bombshells that had fallen through it ; and a pyramid of can- 
 non balls and. bombs rested on one of the altars, as a proof of 
 the bad gunnery and sacrilegious aims of the royal archers. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 The principal square of the city— that immediately in front 
 of the Cathedral — presented an array of elegant and costly 
 edifices ; while the overthrown and mutilated statue of their 
 hated king, Ferdinand, of Xaples, evidenced the violence of 
 the mob, by the fragments which were strewn about the 
 piazza. Having ascended by a very lengthy flight of stone 
 steps, we arrived at a broad terrace, extendmg in front of 
 the Chapel of St. Gregory ; from thence we obtained a mag- 
 nificent prospect, commanding not only a view over the town 
 at our feet, but of the harbor, the bay, a wide expanse of sea, 
 and the distant Straits intervening between this coast and that 
 of Italy. The little church, from which we surveyed the scene, 
 was remarkable for the richness of its mosaic ornaments in the 
 interior, and for the beautiful frescoes of its ceiling, by Filo- 
 camo. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Having discovered, to our regret, upon our descending 
 thence to the city, that the justly-celebrated Museum of the 
 University was closed, we turned our feet in another direction, 
 with a determination to reach the very summit of the hills 
 dominatmg the town, and especially to visit that particu- 
 lar height upon which the patriots had erected that which 
 was called "The Citizen's Fort;" it having been thrown up 
 during the late troubles. Its site was that of an old for- 
 tress, and well chosen ; for it was so far above the position of 
 the citadel on the bay, that every ball shot from their cannons 
 
TO THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 fell plumply within the centre of the enemy's camp. Their 
 artillery was managed by a daring ^^NTeapolitan — a youth of 
 about twenty, whom we afterwards met. The view from that 
 point overlooked not only the town and harbor, with its ship- 
 ping, but extended far back into the country of the interior, 
 and embraced the full stretch of the narrow neck of land 
 upon which the Parol light-tower stood out into the sea, and to 
 where the coast of Italy was faintly outlined, at the narrowest 
 point of the Straits of Messina, and around which the rushing 
 tides of Scylla hurled their swift whirlpools around the more 
 formidable rocks of Charybdis ; and about which the fretted 
 sea, broken into eddies and fearful rapids, wreaked out its 
 madness in a rage of foam, with curls of scorn on its whit- 
 ened crest. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Afterward, during the day, there was a review of the 
 citizen soldiers ; they appeared to be a resolute and hardy 
 set of men, full of fire, but lacking discipline alone to make 
 them the trusty and staunch guardians of their liberties and 
 firesides. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 No one can depart from Messina without fit praise for its 
 beautiful Marina, or walk, along the sea-shore. It is the 
 peculiar feature of this town and Palermo, each to possess 
 one of these delightful and picturesque promenades by the 
 very margin of their bays, and within full view of the ocean, 
 and of the shipping — with mountains on one side, and vistas of 
 distant islands and coasts on the other, united with the per- 
 fect enjoyment of healthful breezes from the sea, the society 
 of fair maidens, city life, and roll of carriages, and of pedes- 
 trians, in the very neighborhood of the most busy portion of 
 
JOACHIM MURAT SHOT. Tl 
 
 the city ; and yet all this without the annoyance, dust, bustle 
 or rattle of the busy mart, or the din of trade, to break its 
 repose or disturb its happy leisure. The views of, and from 
 that Marina, are superb. Its very gravel and the pebbled 
 walk touch the waters of their native homes, in these seas. 
 The sunset's beauty gilds the opposite hills of Italy, to give 
 back to Sicily its beautiful reflective joys. It was by the 
 Marina that we left this city ; and, as our boat crossed over 
 its waters toward the shores of Italy, schools of dolphins 
 leaped in their playful gambols, with kaleidoscopic colors in 
 our vessel's wake, and these colors more variable even than 
 beauty, radiated through the waves, even as the brilliant tints 
 of sunset were then changeably penciling the western horizon. 
 The sky itself was lovely — purely, wholely, Italian ; while the 
 sunset's last quivering touches softened into the blush of 
 dewy twilight, and gradually losing its charms, with suffusing 
 tinges, fled gently over our last landscape, in beautiful Sicily, 
 and sunk into rest behind the deep outlines of the Messinian 
 hills. 
 
 MESSINA TO NAPLES. 
 XXXVI. 
 
 We remained all night at San Griovanni, a town on the 
 Italian side of the Straits, nearly opposite Messina, and in 
 the morning heard a report by telegraph, of another Revolu- 
 tion in K'aples. 
 
 Quite early after we had started again, we passed in sight 
 of Pizzi, where Joachim Murat was arrested and shot. The 
 sail during the whole day was along the coast of Calabria, 
 and perfectly delightful — the shore being close to our board, 
 and boldly displayed the forms of the rocks and forests, dales 
 
72 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and valleys, towns and yillas, as we were propelled onward by 
 our steam. Pizzo lies snugly nestled under a high cliif, and 
 occasionally the snowy caps of distant mountains showed 
 themselves glimmering with alternate sunshine and shadow, 
 whilst cooling breezes fanning our cheeks, warned us of the 
 neighborhood of their icy glaciers. 
 
 About noon we reached Paolo ; and whilst remaining here, 
 we had an opportunity of seeing a few sans culottes boatmen. 
 The absence of breeches was rendered necessary by their 
 occupation by the sea-side, for, as they were constantly 
 engaged in carrying their boats and passengers through the 
 surf in order to land them, they preferred to be disengaged 
 from the bother of pantaloons, of which habit many well 
 dressed and more civilized, persons have already had a surfeit. 
 At this port we took on board several passengers and one 
 carriage, a nobleman's, of course. Here, also, the Italian 
 sugar-loaf hat first claimed our attention, and we observed 
 the swathed legs, or bandaged leggins of the peasants who 
 came on board, from which we inferred, that the term 
 " bandy-legged" w^as first derived, for, in those countries where 
 this habit of binding had not been introduced, legs are not so 
 straight as their eyes. 
 
 The remainder of our sail along shore developed somewhat 
 of the characteristics and talents of our fellow-passengers : we 
 enjoyed the buffo-songs of one man very much indeed ; the 
 music of some Germans on board contrasted markedly with 
 that of the Italians, so as to present a very striking comparison 
 in our mind ; nor did we cease to be entertained by the various 
 incidents of life, characters, drollery and fun, which occurred 
 on board the steamer, which was never out of sight of land, 
 until w^e landed on the next day at our destined port. 
 
THE KII&DOM OP lAPLES 
 
 E. a Napoli scopria I'alta beltade : 
 La regina del mar, la Dea del mare. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 " Thus Naples discovered its beauties to me, 
 Like Goddess mid ocean, the Queen of the Sea." 
 
 Thus sang Tassoni of the approach to this beautiful city, 
 whose bay and environs of charming spots and picturesque 
 islands were not unfit emblems of the myrmidons of that Yenus 
 whose progress he celebrated in these lines, as she passed, in 
 her bark Cognetto, from Leghorn to Xaples. Before his 
 time, the brilliancy of its beautiful w^aters had been sung by 
 Lucretius ; and its sunny smiles still remain, and the gentle 
 pulses of its waves beat on with the same laughter, resounding 
 in its splash as when Catullus sung. 
 
 It has suffered nothing since the flight of ages, and, with 
 Yalery, we can still rejoice " that it is for poets and painters 
 alone to describe the enchantments of the Gulf of Naples, 
 with the graceful and imposing mixture of woods, mountains, 
 houses, forts, churches, chapels, ruins, and, we may add, vol- 
 cano and skies, which decorate this magnificent amphitheatre." 
 
 No less enchanting w^as its aspect as we entered it from the 
 sea, at early morning, when the brilliant fires of Mount Vesu- 
 vius were casting their lurid flames over the waters, and a 
 mysterious glare of crimson light, deeper in hue than the rosy- 
 fiugered morn, preceded the advent of Aurora, and lent to the 
 scene a coloring partaking somewhat of the beams of the 
 
76 THE LAND OF THE C/ESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 midniglit suns at the Xorth Cape, as we slipped into port 
 under the brow of Yesuvius, which was then pouring out deep 
 and rich streams of molten lava at red heat. 
 
 11. 
 Upon our landing, we felt the usual oppression of the 
 custom-house inspections and delays, and were equally an- 
 noyed with the pryings of officials, and the eager gaze from 
 the eyes of the ragged crowd, who surveyed us as we passed 
 along the quay, amid the vociferous noises and gabble of the 
 lazaroni, who are proverbially the noisiest people in the world. 
 Our trunks were,, of course, opened by some highly and richly- 
 uniformed officials, whom we should have been somewhat 
 ashamed to have offended, as too well dressed to be needy, 
 had they not wistfully hinted at the gratuity, which we gave 
 them, for performing their natural duty with a bad grace. 
 
 III. 
 
 Our English friends — an old East India officer, his wife, and 
 myself — sought lodgings at the " Yilla di Roma," which is 
 situated on the Bay, between the arsenal and the "Castle of 
 the Egg." This hotel has the best views. It is near the 
 Palace, not far from the Villa Reale, or public promenade ; 
 and from the upper windows you can always have Yesuvius 
 in sight — that never-failing source of grand impressions and 
 never-ending illumination and sublime effects — the grand theme 
 of Naples, and a splendid movement in the overture of iSTaples; 
 now more than ordinarily attractive, because its fires have 
 been fiercer of late, and another eruption is fearfully threat- 
 ened. It is a grand and powerful feeling to have the idea of 
 Yesuvius ever constant liefore you — even if it is in your mind's 
 
CHAT ON THE BACK PIAZZA. It 
 
 eye. It was very funny, ho\yeyer, to have recollected, after- 
 wards, that we seldom saw it m the day-time ; and it was so 
 very chilly in the balcony of our back piazza, we hardly ven- 
 tured to look out at night. Besides, Mrs. ^N'orton did not like 
 to expose herself, and her husband was somewhat of an old 
 granny, or a half-pay officer on the retired list. 
 
 IV. 
 
 As we had taken apartments for a family — for I afterwards 
 persuaded my American friend Clarence to quit his solitude in 
 the Chiaja — we soon settled down, in a domestic way, to enjoy 
 a delightful sojourn of a fortnight in a round of perpetual 
 sight-seeing, pleasant conversation, and cozy, familiar fireside 
 chat. 
 
 I was saying that we were near the Castle, with Vesuvius 
 in fall sight — but nearer the Palace, which we passed several 
 times a day, in our walks to the Strada Toledo. But we did 
 not enjoy much of these subjects of interest, for our first day 
 was spent in the house, and a miserable northern storm was 
 brewing outside, so that we could only amuse ourselves that 
 day by watching the white-caps which dashed furiously 
 against the walls of the neighboring mole, and settled down 
 in foam around the rocks in the bay. 
 
 When we did go out, we were English enough to call a 
 cab ; and that, in Naples, in spite of the French and Austrian 
 domination, carried us up to the Capo di Monte — the very top 
 of the hill, which was joined to the principal mountain, on 
 which the city is built, by a bridge that had been constructed 
 by the French. Capo di Monte offered us nothing for our 
 
*r8 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 labor, but an attack from every species of beggar and of 
 cripple ;. and we had little for our pains, until we dismounted 
 upon the noble terrace of this property, whence we enjoyed an 
 extensive view of the bay, and a grand panorama of the city, 
 as it then lay sloping beneath our gaze, and stretching itself 
 along the declivity of the hills, to the margin of the sea. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The Bourbon Museum delighted us chiefly from the interest 
 with which we regarded the Egyptian collection, as two of us 
 were freshly from the laud of mummies and of bondage. An 
 Osiris, the gem of this department, appeared grand and su- 
 perb to us. The nine statues of the Balbus family, found at 
 Herculaneum, are nobly simple ; besides, a dying Gladiator, 
 a Bacchus, and a fine statue of the Just Aristides, which was 
 always admired by Canova, and the first visited by him when 
 he went there — again, the Faraese Bull, a Hercules of majes- 
 tic repose and strength, as if conscious of his powers, and an 
 Atlas, of magnificent effect, claimed our regard ; and, apart 
 from all these, the graceful statue of the Yenus Callipyge 
 struck us as superior to all the Yenuses around, but not to 
 Love, or a sioeet little winged Cupid, seated on a dolphin, of 
 excellent workmanship. 
 
 As we were not enabled to see the gallery of paintings 
 during this visit, we rode through some very narrow and dirty 
 streets of the city, in order to attend the Cathedral. We 
 reached this edifice, at length, after hanng passed some fine 
 fountains and monumental ornaments. This church has been 
 so modernized as to have scarcely retained a trace of its 
 original Gothic characteristics. The ceiling was a flat and 
 richly-ornamented entablature, and the walls were huno- with 
 
BLOOD — SMELLING-BOTTLE, 19 
 
 several good paintings. Here, also, and within the chapels 
 of St. Januarius, the sacred vial of his miraculous blood is 
 kept, which is only exhibited in its liquified state at three 
 different periods during the year. Some of the columns were 
 taken from the ruins of the two ancient temples of Xeptune 
 and Apollo. An antique vase of Egyptian basalt serves for a 
 baptistery, whereon the sculptured attributes of Bacchus — the 
 vine and grape — become also emblematic of the elements of 
 the Christian sacrifice. 
 
 VII. 
 
 " I witnessed," says Yalery, " the miracle of the blood in the 
 chapel of the Treasury. The vials containing the blood of 
 St. Januarius are kept in a tabernacle behind the altar, which 
 has two keys, one held by the city deputies, the other by the 
 archbishop. Some time before the ceremony, a number of 
 women of the lower orders place themselves near the balus- 
 trade, as a place of honor ; some old faces among them were 
 singularly characteristic. These women are called the Rela- 
 tions of St. Januarius ; they pretend to be of his family, and 
 when the saint delays the liquifaction too long, they even 
 think themselves privileged to waive all show of respect, and 
 to abuse him. They repeat in a hoarse voice Paternosters, 
 Aves, Credos; were it not in a chapel, no one would have 
 imagined their horrid clamor to be prayers, and for a moment 
 I thought the scolding had begun — it was another femineo 
 ululatu, far less pathetic than YirgiPs. About ten o'clock, 
 the vials were taken out of the tabernacle ; one was like a 
 smelling-bottle, but contained only a mere stain of blood — the 
 other is rather larger ; both of them are under glass, in a 
 case resembling a carriage-lamp. They were shown to the 
 
80 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 persons admitted within the balustrade, and some tall English 
 ladies advanced to the altar, and leaned forward, curiously 
 examining them with their eye-glasses. It has happened, 
 when the miracle did not take place in due time, that the 
 people have attacked foreigners, whom they supposed English 
 and heretics, and regarded as an obstacle to the miracle. I 
 was told, that about the end of the last century, the Prince of 
 S. and the Count of C. were turned out of the church and 
 pelted with stones. Such a situation must be cruel : it is 
 a sad thing to be a martyr without faith, which, in our days, 
 in certain political circumstances, has not been impossible. 
 The miracle was complete at noon, as it had been foretold 
 me when I was invited to return, and the roar of cannon 
 announced the happy news. If the life of St. Januarius be 
 almost unknown, there is no saint more popular. Yoltaire 
 speaks considerately of St. Januarius, and wisely defends him 
 against Addison and the Protestant writers. ' All these 
 authors,' says he, 'might have seen, that those institutions 
 are not injurious to morals, which should be the chief care of 
 civil and ecclesiastical government ; that, probably, the ardent 
 imaginations of hot climates require visible signs, to place 
 them continually under the divine protection ; and, in short, 
 that these signs cannot be abolished, until they are despised 
 by the very people that revere them.' Another genius, as 
 far removed from credulity and fear, Machiavel, treats those 
 persons as fools who would forbid the people such devotions. 
 The worship of St. Januarius has not produced any of the 
 excesses of fanaticism ; it has often prevented great mis- 
 fortunes, and has been constantly respected by the different 
 masters of Naples." 
 
LAPIS LAZULI. 81 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Xo less different in style, than remote in their distances 
 from each other, were the proportions of the vast temple of 
 San Francesco di Paolo, which stands opposite the Palace. 
 Its architecture is of a very bad taste, and but a poor imi- 
 tation of the Parthenon. One is rather struck with its pre- 
 tensions for colonnades and pilasters, which excel in numbers 
 rather than in the grace or harmony of their distribution. 
 There are some fine columns in the interior, and the outer 
 panelin^s of the sacristy are beautifully inlaid with a mosaic 
 of lafis lazuli, agates and other precious and rare stones. 
 The whole building has rather the air of a temple than that 
 of a church. Your notice would be sooner attracted to those 
 two huge equestrian statues of Charles III. and Ferdinand 
 the King, which stand in the square before the Palace — the 
 first of which has alternately served for Bonaparte and Joa- 
 chim, and the colossal steed has also been forced to change 
 its position, in order to suit the character of its different 
 riders. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Kings pleased us not, nor colossal bronzes of such monarchs, 
 who ruled their subjects with an iron rod. We were glad to 
 turn from these sights for awhile, and drive among the beau- 
 tiful palaces of the Chiaja, and so on to the refreshing gardens 
 of the Yilla Reale — that sweet spot of verdure on the shore, 
 which is washed by the waves of the sea — with its parterres 
 and squares filled with statues, flowers, vases, and groves of 
 acacia and myrtle. We recollect, even now, its pretty white 
 temple, of circular form, in the middle, and the admirable 
 views from this, one of the finest and most delightful of public 
 promenades ; nor shall we ever forget the Neapolitan flower- 
 
82 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 girls, who used to pelt us with bouquets of fresh flow-ers, and 
 were even so confident of our honesty as to throw their fra- 
 grant offerings into our carriage as we were whipped along 
 in our continued drive to the suburbs beyond. There for 
 awhile we would rest before the porches of the Casino, near 
 the gates, and, from the hill, look back upon that glorious 
 panorama of the Bay, with Yesuvius, the Castles, the Lan- 
 terna, the white porcelain cubes of the houses dotting the 
 shore from the Portici to the Molo, and presenting a brilliant 
 phalanx of shields, of roofs, and of habitations, in ranks of 
 successive beauty, from the declivity of the amphitheatre of 
 its hills, to the extreme horns of its semilunar gulf. That 
 scene of incomparable beauty claims for Xaples a position 
 scarcely inferior to Genoa, and sustains no oival, but a paral- 
 lel, in Constantinople and the Bosphorus. 
 
 CAST ELL AM ARE. 
 X. 
 
 A railroad by the shores of the Bay of IS'aples, and in face 
 of the fires and steam of Yesuvius, might shock the nerves of 
 some sensitive people, and spoil their prurient notions of 
 romance. But we rejoice to behold the valleys exalted and 
 the mountains brought low, under Providence, who made even 
 the Sabbath for the use of man, and has also suffered man, in 
 His goodness, to make the very elements his servants, and by 
 their agency to forward the ultimate purposes of an all-wise 
 and beneficent Creator. Besides, there is true poetry in the 
 steed, " whose breath kindle th coals, and out of whose mouth 
 goeth a flame of fire." And as the rattling train is pulled 
 
IROX-HORSE. JOB. 83 
 
 along, under the power of the iron-horse, the cars look not 
 unlike the vision of Ezekiel : — " And behold, as a whirlwind 
 it Cometh out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire unfolding 
 itself ; and the winged creatures go every one straight for- 
 ward ; as the spirit icas to go, ihej icent ; and ran, as the 
 appearance of a flash of lightning." Who hath not read of 
 the leviathan in Job, and not thought of that description, so 
 appUcable to an ocean steamship ? And who has not won- 
 dered over the first chapter of the prophet, at the similitude 
 of his picture to a steam-engine and a train of cars ? He who 
 hath not, let him read that he may run, and let him not 
 think it strange that we claim an epic movement in a railroad, 
 or something more than heroic in the birth of steam. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Away went we, after the locomotive, for Castellamare. 
 Our road passed through the pretty villages of Portici, Torre 
 del Greco, and La Xuuziata. Castellamare is a small seaport, 
 with the usual activity of fishermen aud their boats, situated 
 under the brow of ancient Lactarius, once so celebrated for 
 the aromatic herbs growing on its surface ; and not less 
 noted for a very rank fodder for the cows, which used to kill 
 themselves by over-eating of such dainty pasturage. The town 
 is still visited for its mineral waters, and is resorted to by the 
 best of Xeapolitan society, many of whom have their country- 
 seats at this place. Opposite to Castellamare, on the other 
 side of the promontory, is the justly-celebrated towa of 
 Amalfi, where the pandects were discovered. Both sides of 
 the railroad appeared very highly cultivated, and were laid 
 out in vegetable patches ; and most of the way back, extensive 
 vineyards claimed our attention, from the hanging festoons of 
 
84 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 the Tine running over the trellises of frame-work, near our 
 pathway. We had a full view of the bay-shore as we rode 
 along, and were somewhat struck at the dold farniente pos- 
 tures of some dozens of lazaroni, who were sunning themselves, 
 at full length, on the warm scoria sands of the sea-side. We 
 never saw such perfect listlessness in pose as they exhibited. 
 Well were they named " Lazaroni," from Lazarus the beggar, 
 whom they resembled only in his poverty and rags, but, we 
 fear, not in his hopes for a better world. Having been 
 thoroughly beset by beggars, and a crowd of pestering and 
 impertinent guides, who insisted on proffering their services, 
 whether we wished them or not, we sought relief in the return- 
 train for 
 
 POMPEII. 
 XII. 
 
 ''Tusculanum et Pompejanum valde me delectant," vrrote 
 Cicero, in his time, who had a summer-seat at the latter. 
 So we may truly say, Herculaneum and Pompeii were equally 
 attractive to us, as we entered the latter by the two solitary 
 upright posterns of the principal ancient gateway. 
 
 " Antiquity at Pompeii," says Yalery, " ceases to be the 
 vague, remote, and uncertain antiquity of books, commen- 
 tators and antiquarians — it is real, living antiquity, in propria 
 persona, if the expression may be allowed. It may be felt, 
 seen, and touched." 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Accompanied by one of the appointed guides of the district 
 — a soldier — we made our first visit to the former residence of 
 
THE SENTINEL. 85 
 
 Diomedes — one of the finest houses in the suburbs — which 
 afforded a fine specimen of the pubUc and private life of the 
 Romans. We may remark here, that the plans of both were 
 usually alike. That generous old citizen — he was tcry ancient 
 — was, doubtless, an epicure — fond of good living, and a 
 smackler of good wines ; for he had an ample cellar, with an 
 arched vaulting, in which several large amphorae, or jars, were 
 still standing. Near the outer gangway, they point out to 
 you the impress of his wife's face on the side of the wall. 
 You could not mistake it if you wished, for the imprint of her 
 bosom was visibly distinct in a mould of lava when they 
 excavated here. It seems that she and the other ladies of 
 the house had fled into the cellar for safety, and when 
 her skeleton was discovered, in digging out the basement, 
 her bracelets and all her personal ornaments were found 
 upon her. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The Street of the Tombs followed closely to this mansion ; 
 and not far from it was that of the family of Diomedes. The 
 Road of the Tombs, (or, the so-called Yia Diomitiana,) is a 
 real street of the dead. The most remarkable monument is 
 that which was erected by Nevolaja Tychi, in honor of her 
 husband Caius Numitius, having in its front, in alt-relief, a 
 vessel entering port. He was evidently a sea-captain, who 
 sailed from this port. And another, that of Caius Calvetius, 
 is considered the best-preserved cenotaph of antiquity. 
 
 The streets of Pompeii were evidently very narrow, and 
 many of them quite crooked, as you may perceive by the ruts 
 of the chariot-wheels that can be very plainly traced out 
 as you pass near the guard-house, where the sentinel was 
 
86 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 surprised, and buried at his }30st — a figure rendered ever- 
 memorable by Bulwer, for such fidelity and loyalty in the 
 discharge of duty, is an honor to the human race. 
 
 The house of Sallust appeared to us the most complete and 
 commodious of any that were among the ruins ; and ad- 
 joining it was a shop where the products of his farm had been 
 sold, such as wines and oils. The jars for the latter and the 
 amphorae for the first still remained on the counter ; and on 
 one of the jars we read the name of the maker, or, the potter. 
 
 The apartment of the ladies stood nearest the garden, 
 and was generally adorned with proper and characteristic 
 paintings. 
 
 The oven stood in the kitchen, ready to bake ; and the 
 millstones for grinding corn were clogged to their full with 
 ashes, just as their molars had ceased to move at the date 
 of the eruption. 
 
 XV. 
 
 IS'ot far off was a house of disrepute, so indicated by 
 the appropriate and emblematic priapus hanging over the 
 door. The House of the Yestals, with the accompanying 
 apartments and baths, stood in the neighborhood. Not far 
 off was that of Castor and Pollux, which was very capaciouy, 
 containing on its walls several well-preserved paintings, as well 
 as some excellent game and fruit-pieces. The Mansion of the 
 Faun was very profuse in its display of mosaics and paintings ; 
 and in the front of the garden was a finelj^'-sculptured Sphinx. 
 It was from this house that they removed the great mosaic of 
 Alexander's victory over the Persians; that invaluable relic 
 of most precious estimation, because it is supposed to be a 
 copy of the original painting by Apelles. 
 
FOUNTAIN IN MOSAIC. 8t 
 
 One of the most interesting features of this quarter was 
 a beautiful little fountain, in mosaic, where all the shells that 
 surrounded and composed its height were in perfect preserva- 
 tion, although its style was rather too minute and Brock-like 
 to be thought in good taste. A fine bronze statue adorned 
 the margin of a simple little fountain in an adjoining house. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 We were pleased to remark the present condition of the 
 warm and cold public baths. It showed that the people 
 were cared for in this luxurious suburban city. These were 
 very commodious and well lighted, with pavements in mosaic 
 — the ceilmgs supported by figures of caryatides, well- 
 preserved, and the walls ornamented with good paintings. 
 Their whole plan was very similar to those of the Orient and 
 Levant ; and no wonder that the descendants of the Greeks 
 should have brought their fathers' domestic comforts with 
 them, to their new homes, by the sea. 
 
 On looking at the temples, they appeared so small and dis- 
 proportionate to the elegance of their houses, that we con- 
 cluded the deities must have been little esteemed. Even the 
 Shrine of Isis formed no exception, which was placed quite 
 near to the Tragic Theatre and the Odeon ; thus showing 
 rather a preference for the stage and the forum. 
 
 One of the most interesting of the novelties of this spot 
 was a house that had been uncovered within a short time. It 
 was ornamented with several beautiful frescoes, and a garden 
 with a large fountain, round the borders of which were seve- 
 ral statues of small animals, and everything around in mi- 
 niature. The whole place reminded us strikingly of that 
 simply-neat little town in Holland, called Brock. 
 
88 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 XTII. 
 
 Thus Pompeii appeared to us iu its propei^ person. We 
 had no doubt, from the traces of the Custom-house which we 
 made out, and from the ship on the tomb of the sea captain, 
 that Pompeii had been a wealthy and populous town with a 
 seaport, and extensive commercial relations. It was resorted 
 to, doubtless, as a bathing place, like our own Xewport, in 
 its palmier days of prosperity, now revived again by fickle 
 fortune, for the sake of fashion, and display, and beauty. 
 You can infer a high state of luxury and a subsequent 
 decKne, from the construction of their houses, the petitessc of 
 their manner of furnishing, the evidence of vice consequent 
 upon luxuriousness and ease, and from the elegance and cost 
 of their tombs. By such a picture of one of the provincial 
 towns, we may gather a faint idea of the extent, opulence, 
 and magnificence of the Roman Empire. When this, a third 
 class colony-town, offers at this day so many evidences of 
 wealth and elegance, what must have been the pomp and cir- 
 cumstance of Ancient Rome ? 
 
 The situation of the town was on the sea, previous to the 
 eruption of '63, and its waves washed the shores of the proud 
 Pompeii. That sea has vrithdrawn in its fright since its 
 destruction, and in its stead the silence of its plain gives forth 
 a mournful tale of the past in ruins. Your only relief from 
 this painful picture, is by a retrospect to the mountain, from 
 which its fierce vengeance came. As you walk through the 
 streets of the deserted city, you catch glorious and pre-emi- 
 nently splendid views of the majestic Vesuvius. It holds 
 that whole campagim still in a thraldom of terror, and frowns 
 solemnly, though sublimely, down upon those ruins which were 
 buried forever in the ashes of its avalanche of fire. 
 
ASCENT OF THE VOLCANO. 89 
 
 EXCURSION TO VESUVIUS. 
 XVIII. 
 
 He wlio lietli awake all niglit on the top of this mountain, 
 to climb up its side by torchlight, for the purpose of seeing 
 the sunrise from the Hermitage, will miss his mark as much as 
 the man Diogenes, who searched for truth with a lantern. 
 The high hills surrounding the position of the beholder, will 
 materially lessen the effects of the sun, and it will be broad 
 daylight before the sun is really up to him. Besides, the vol- 
 cano is sullen, and almost invisible by day, and you can see 
 nothing of its sublimity under the clouds of smoke, vapor, 
 and ashes, which it pours out into the face of the sun. Who 
 can behold the lightning at mid-day ? 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Walk with us, therefore, from the station at Portici on some 
 sunny afternoon, at four, and be sure to get Michele, that 
 faithful cicerone, to guide you to Kesina, the nearest town to 
 Yesuvius, where fleet and sure-footed horses and mules can 
 always be hired for the ascent to the Montogna. The after- 
 noon was fair, and we urged our horses at full speed, in order 
 to get up to the top and enjoy the sunset, which promised to 
 be glorious. We had several views at the turns of the road, 
 of the distant city of Naples, which lay nestled and almost 
 asleep, like her beautiful children, at the head of its bay. 
 Onward we clambered with breathless haste, over the rocky- 
 ribbed scoria of our sterile pathvray, and raced over the road 
 with wistful glances over the vine-clad scope of the hills below 
 us. Nor even did we stop at the Hermit's Lodge, where our 
 
90 THE LAND OF THE C-ESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 progress was more intricate and stubborn, but sped up and 
 onward, now halting to lead, until we dismounted at last, in 
 order to leave our horses in charge of the guide. 
 
 XX. 
 
 From this landing we commenced our undertaking on foot, 
 but soon found it so laborious and tedious, that we were 
 glad to seek the assistance of some pullers, one of whom 
 having passed a strap around our bodies, dragged us up, 
 while another pushed us from behind ; thus favored, we were 
 hoisted up the marginal base of the crater, and while at rest, 
 caught a sight of the majestic orb of the setting sun, which 
 illuminated the whole horizon, and then plunged into the sea 
 with all his fires. The sunset was incomparably gorgeous. 
 The huge cone of Yesuvius, and the whole of its crater was 
 bathed in violet tints of the reflected light of the declining 
 sun, and the lurid hues which were cast from the volcano's 
 blaze, prolonged the richness and color of its crimson to the 
 ,sky. This beautiful tone of light was suifused over hill, dale, 
 abyss, and crag of the mountain, reached the distant islands 
 of Procida and Ischia, and lighting up the nearer coast and 
 bay, and threw its last mantle of gauzy golden rays, to crown 
 the city, before it fled into the purple of deep twilight, behind 
 the dark forests of the Neapolitan mountains, 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Vesuvius burned that night with increased activity, and 
 hurled out its fiery showers of molten-red lava and scoria. 
 Each eruption was preceded by a deep sound like muflied 
 thunder, and in every throb the ignited masses gushed forth 
 like the discharge of myriads of rockets, casting their red 
 
FIRED MOUNTAIN, 91 
 
 glare over the mouth of the Yolcauo, with a noise like the 
 whizzing of balls or the hisses of an army of angry serpents, 
 and, falling, rolled in the recoil down the sides of its conical 
 peak, with a ratthng and grating sound like clinkers of coal 
 cast over the sheathing of an iron vessel. 
 
 Xo language can describe the awful sublimity of the sight ! 
 it was as if the thunder, lightning, hailstone and mountain had 
 united to raise a vast forge for Yulcan, or to cataract a Ma- 
 gara of fire on Yesuvius. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 We slid down Vesuvius with an Alpen stock and a rush. 
 After our descent, we had the rising moon casting her rich 
 light over that scene, thus adding enchantment to the terrors 
 of the volcano ; and her argent glory stealing over the moun- 
 tain, and among the irregular and confused masses of scoria 
 and lava, ploughed the crevasses and fissures in furrows of 
 silvery light. We were almost beside ourselves in the exhila- 
 ration, caused by such a union of sublimity and beauty ; 
 and when we had arrived at Resina, after a furious gallop 
 down the mount, we called at the inn for a bottle of the 
 genuine Lachryma, and drank a health to Yesuvius and Yul- 
 can the Ancient ; thence we were driven off in a calessi, for 
 our villa in IS'aples, and by fairy moonlight, through Portici, 
 on the Bay. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Even now, as we write, at over 3,000 miles from that spot, 
 "distance lends enchantment to the view," and the vision of 
 the grandest reality on earth invokes inspiration to our brow, 
 where imagination, aided even by the vivid powers of memory 
 
92 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 aud fancy, cannot afford adequate expression for the. mould- 
 ing of our thoughts upon this volcano. 
 
 Despite the disasters of its different eruptions, and the 
 terror which this volcanic eartli, furro^yed with lightning like 
 the heavens, must inspire, the outbreakings of Vesuvius, says 
 Yalery, have not the utterly destructive effects of the inunda- 
 tions and other dreadful plagues of the North ; the pavement 
 of the city is supplied by the lava, the brilliant scoria? of which, 
 tinted with azure, ultramarine, yellow, and orange, are trans- 
 formed into jewels and fancy articles, which are sold abroad ; 
 the ashes it has vomited forth, produce excellent fruit, and 
 the nice wine of Lachryma Christi, so gloriously sung by the 
 poet, and if taken to excess, would make you, too, so 
 gloriously drunk. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 It is remarkable, that districts which were previously ste- 
 rile, have been made fertile from the ashes of the eruptions. 
 Neither in Pompeii nor at Vesuvius, is there any probability 
 that any great loss of life resulted from their outbreaks, for 
 very few bodies have ever been discovered in digging up the 
 soil. 
 
 A numerous population is supported, and derive the means 
 of existence from Vesuvius. This immense furnace, created 
 by the shore of the sea, which is its moving power — La Mon- 
 tagna — thus familiarly called so at Naples — is more loved 
 than dreaded by the Neapolitans ; he makes it his pride and 
 his glory ; it is the most majestic decoration of his fine amphi- 
 theatre — he Vf^ould be grieved to have it disappear ; and the 
 inhabitants of Resina, Torre del Greco, and La Nunziata, 
 have rebuilt their houses on the identical spot from which 
 
BRONZES IN ART. 93 
 
 they were swept away. In fine, Yesuvius, even in the midst 
 of its greatest fury, seems to have engulfed Pompeii only to 
 preserve it miraculously, for the curiosity and admiration of 
 posterity, who now enjoy the highest privileges of study, in 
 the inspection of the relics of the arts, both of Pompeii and 
 Herculaneum, which are preserved in the 
 
 MUSEUM, 
 XXV. 
 
 The collection, called the Museum of the smaller Bronzes, 
 stands probably the best on the Continent, and is equally curi- 
 ous and unique. It brings us back to the daily life and occupa- 
 tion of the ancients, and we are indebted again to the fostering 
 care of Yesuvius, who has thus preserved these relics under its 
 ashes, and thus become a guardian of antiquity and of histo- 
 rical arts. 
 
 They were as far advanced in some of the Arts as ourselves. 
 We were particularly interested in some of the lamps, and the 
 stands for the same ; a pair of nicely-adjusted scales, and a 
 beautifully chased cup which was ornamented with the figures 
 of an eagle and swan, of exquisite symmetry in form, and taste- 
 ful in its decoration. Many implements of household use 
 showed somewhat of the economy of their firesides and home ; 
 there were thimbles, cups, urns, rouge, spindles, needles, jewels, 
 and pitchers, for the ladies. You could not but be pleased 
 with the patterns of their cooking utensils, which were so 
 much like our own ; and a real tea-pot. I wonder if they 
 drank tea in those days ? and whether it was Who long ? or 
 Shoe strong ? They were very funny people in those days, if 
 one can judge anything from the Reserved Cabinet, and, no 
 
94 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 doubt, they properly belonged to the Age of Bronze, when the 
 images of their vices were so strong as to resist the action of 
 the fires of Yesuvius. It is very certain that their morals did 
 not last so long — although some of their maxims were very 
 pithy and wise. After looking at some pastry and cakes, which 
 still looked very nice, and several kinds of preserved stone- 
 fruit, we dipped our pencil in the seven-faced inkstand, be- 
 fore we passed through the Gallery of Paintings, where there 
 was little to admire, except some landscapes of Salvator Rosa. 
 In the Duke of Salerno's collection, we saw a fine head of Co- 
 lumbus by Parmegiauo, and a very good portrait by Raphael. 
 The Studj contains a splendid array of large Bronzes. The 
 figure of the young Mercury — so full of grace and artless — 
 (wanting only his caduceus,) was found at Pompeii. There is 
 only the head remaining of a noble horse's bust, for the 
 body was melted down into church bells, by a certain arch- 
 bishop — whom we w^ont name — a zealot. 
 
 XXVI, 
 
 A fine single horse still remains entire ; and besides the finest 
 bust of Plato you could possibly imagine, of serene beauty 
 of countenance, and the hair most artfully wrought, a fine 
 Seneca, two discoboli, an Apollo, and two Satyrs, one sleep- 
 ing, the other lying on his bottle, and snapping his fingers — 
 the idea of a drunkard, and the exquisite head of a Roman 
 lady, were the only attractive pieces that occupied our atten- 
 tion. Thus having closed our course of inner sight, we with- 
 drew from the Museum, in order to be driven once more over 
 the Capo di Monte. 
 
ETHIOPIAN MINSTRELS. 95 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Again we dismouiited to walk over its beautiful grounds 
 and found the prominent point whence we could catch our last 
 view of Naples from this quarter. 
 
 While descending the mountain in an opposite direction, we 
 rode by the side of some highly-cultivated vineyards, over 
 which we could get a fair prospect of the Campagna, the bay 
 and Mount Yesuvius, through the interstices of the leafy fes- 
 toons of the vines, which hung from their trellised arbors. 
 
 Soon after we crossed over by the side of the Ponte Rosso 
 — the ruins of an ancient Roman acqueduct — another evidence 
 of the strength of the Empire — and as we were turning off on 
 to another road, from this point, we were beset by a parcel of 
 !N"eapolitan beggar-boys, who amused us exceedingly, by their 
 musical performances on their jaws, or by the chattering of 
 their teeth — a species of amateur practice which they indulge 
 in for charity, but so skillfully executed, that it would have 
 been creditable to any of the celebrated bone-players among 
 the Ethiopian Minstrels, Erom this diversion we were con- 
 ducted to the walls of the City Cemetery, which was laid out 
 in the Italian style, the stone lying flat over the graves, and 
 ornamented according to the usual taste of the Orient. After 
 having concluded our walk through the grounds, we took our 
 seats again in the carriage, and by the most direct road pro- 
 ceeded to the city. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 As we were driving, after dinner, upon the Chiaja, we met 
 the king as he was taking an airing in an open barouche, and 
 driving himself, having now no other escort than two out- 
 riders in front of his carriage. 
 
 That evening we spent at the San Carlo, listening to " Na- 
 
96 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 bucho." The company was in better voice than on a former 
 occasion, but like all Yerdi's music, we found the Opera roisy 
 and tempestuous, for it was rather a composite of many other 
 operas, by Genius, than a creation of his own, 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 In omitting to state, that the collection of vases in the 
 Museum had many objects of interest, besides being very 
 gifted with articles of great worth, and that many of the 
 models were of a form much superior to the works of the 
 present day, I had almost forgotten a place for the very 
 choice assembly of stucco paintings, adorning the walls of 
 a lower department of the Bourbon G-allery, and most of 
 which were gathered from Herculaneum and Pompeii. 
 
 There were several admirable fruit and game-pieces, which 
 had been removed from the dining rooms of different houses ; 
 but the finest paintings were a fresco, representing the separa- 
 tion of Briseis from Achilles, and a line-drawing on marble, 
 of Theseus killing the Centaur, which is the best-preserved 
 drawing of antiquity, and will bear close and minute examina- 
 tion. Every one knows of the mosaic of the Pompeii 
 Doves. Some of the dancing-girls are full of grace and 
 aerial ; and there are numerous other paintings, which com- 
 bine simplicity of design and expression, with the most care- 
 fully-finished workmanship. Several mosaics, and some 
 humorous scenes, prove the high state of perfection which the 
 Greeks had attained in works of that kind. The gem of the 
 Medal Gallery is the celebrated Cup of Sardonyx, one foot in 
 diameter, representing the Nile, Orus, Isis, and the Nymphs 
 of the Nile, which is, otherwise, known as the Farnese Tazza, 
 and was found in the ruins of Adrian's villa, near Rome. 
 
BROTHERS IN WHITE HOODS. 9t 
 
 THE CAMULDULITES. 
 XXX. 
 
 The Yomero, over which the road to the Camuldulite Con- 
 vent passes, seems to be the crater of an ancient volcano, in 
 which arise several hills, covered with the strongest, most 
 varied, and confused vegetation, presenting a singular and 
 enchanting aspect. Our bridle path was cut through the 
 natural fissures of the hill, and, at one point, where two cliffs 
 separated, the chasm opened, so as to give a fine prospect of 
 the fortress of Mount St. Elmo. The convent is prettily 
 situated on the summit of the mountain, and has one of the 
 finest views in the world — commanding, from its terrace, the 
 Gulfs of jS'aples and Pozzuoli, with their islands, the extin- 
 guished craters of Solfaterra and Astrumi, the Lake of 
 Agnaiio, Cape Misenum, the castle of Baiae, and the bound- 
 less sea. Yesuvius crowns the extreme arm of the Bay of 
 Xaples, and, with its shores lined with pretty white villas, just 
 dotting the margin like shells on the sea-coast, is embraced 
 within the reach of this noble panorama. We never saw a 
 spot better suited for retirement, or a convent ; the monks 
 are Benedictines, and, with their long beards, their gowns and 
 hoods of white woolen, and wooden sandals, are themselves 
 quite picturesque. We were shown about the grounds ; and the 
 remarkable places to be seen from thence, were pointed out 
 by one of the brothers, who afterwards showed us their 
 church, and refreshed us with an excellent glass of native 
 wine. Who would not be a monk on the top of Camuldino, 
 if pure air, and simple life and habit, give such health and 
 
98 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 roses to the cheeks, as bloomed on the lips of this amiable 
 friar ! — " Buon giorno fraile ! Buon giorno lei ! Acldio — 
 grazia ! Addio." 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 We had an amusing donkey-race on our way down the 
 mountain, which kept our hoy on a very brisk trot, until we 
 were pitched over the back of the little beast ; but, we 
 started again, running at full tilt, until we arrived at the foot 
 of the hill, where our carriage awaited us. In the village, we 
 saw some of the people at their country cafes, and soldiers 
 pitching the discus as we were driven by them, and from one 
 shop we were saluted by a band of industrious females, while 
 beggars ever besieged the carriage with their cries of ''Ah I 
 Carita ! Signor ! Carita ! me-mori di fame ! piccuola moneta ! 
 Signor por Dio ! — Signor ! buon viaggio ! Addio !" 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Again we are in the broad street, or Toledo — the active, 
 bustling thoroughfare of Kaples — the heart of the metropolis — 
 with its hurrying crowds and gay plumage ; where carriages, 
 soldiers, and plebians, block the way. The current of human 
 life throbs fearfully and higlily through this great arter}' of 
 the city ; and the conflicts of human passions, the hopes, fears, 
 loves, ambition, and disappointments, stir up the blood of its 
 people with the same terrible emotions, as the upheavings of 
 its moving fires of Vesuvius, or the swells of its beautiful sea. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Thus Naples appeared to us on the eve of our departure, 
 with its volcano and waters, bays, palaces, beggars, lazaroni, 
 and joys ; it has passed from our vision, but not 
 
NEAPOLITAN SCENERY. 
 
 " Like snow upon a river, 
 A moment seen, then gone forever !" 
 
 But it still lingers among the beautiful gems of thought and 
 travel which we have gathered together in the cabinet of our 
 memory. We have only, on leaving, to take our last look at 
 its skies, waters and mountains, and to say — not like the 
 cockney traveller — " be sure to eat macaroni at Naples, and 
 roast an egg on Vesuvius," but rather, what an Italian once 
 said to the English lady — in the ecstasy of his praise, — 
 " Vede Napoli, 6 poi mori." 
 
ROME 
 
 THE PAPAL DOMINIONS 
 
THE CLASSIC COAST. 
 
 I. 
 
 Owing to recent robberies committed by brigands on the 
 Cape, and a longing to be in Rome at the festivals of the 
 holy-week, preceding Easter Sunday, we were unable either 
 to enjoy the salubrious air of Sorrento — under whose sky 
 Bernardo Tasso wrote, ''Men were immortal" — or to visit 
 the ruins of Poestum and the Azure Grotto, in the island of 
 Capri — so called from the beautiful hue it receives from the 
 reflection of the waters. 
 
 We left Xaples by sea in advance of an anticipated cou;p- 
 d- etat, and in spite of numerous objections which had been 
 urged against the steamer " Maria Christina," and also in the 
 very face of a violent rain, which totally spoiled the effects 
 of the sunset on the gulf. 
 
 The storm continued w^ith unabated force for some time, 
 and the wind increased with such violence towards the eve- 
 ning, that our captain deemed it prudent to put into the port 
 of Baice, and stop there for the night. Our boat was filled 
 with passengers of both sexes, and the ladies' cabin was 
 crowded with the wives and children of the officers of the 
 Swiss Guards of the palace — those mercenary soldiers of the 
 king — accompanied by their favorite poodles. 
 
 These families had not yet overcome the out-bursting of 
 
104 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 deep grief attendant upon tlieir separation from tlieir husbands 
 and parents. Tlie scene, at parting, was truly heart-rending 
 and affecting, even to a stranger looking on. Such leave- 
 takings were witnessed, as only could be called forth by those 
 who dreaded that they should never meet their protectors and 
 guardians again on earth. It was very evident to us, that 
 something more than a political storm was brewing, and thai 
 the cloud which hung m the gloom of sorrow, upon their 
 brows, would break forth in torrents of blood and terrible 
 revolutions. 
 
 We had two storms, therefore, to contend with — the ele- 
 ments without, and the deeper struggles of emotions and of 
 feelings of passionate affections within. 
 
 III. 
 
 The glorious orb of day rose upon us in the Bay of Baioe, 
 affording in its rich and gladsome light a strong contrast 
 to the gloom and storm of yesterday, no less so than that 
 which its present low coast, with its old, lonely, and forlorn 
 castle, presented to that delightful shore which Horace cele- 
 brated as the most delicious in the universe, — 
 
 " Nullus in orbe sinus Bajis proelncit amcenis/' 
 
 We fear Horace flattered, as he was the toady of his patron 
 Augustus ; for Cicero once apologized to the senate for having 
 been seen in Baioe, and history tells us of its associations with 
 the tyranny of Marius, Ceesar, and Pompey, of its connection 
 with the poisoning of young Marcellus, and of the inhuman 
 lusts, prodigal luxury, and horrid nature of the Emperor 
 Kero. 
 
 The wreck of its miserable castle still survives to rear its 
 
ELYSIAN FIELDS. 105 
 
 towers in relief against the promontory of the tall Cape of 
 Misenum. Its bridges and mole are still picturesque in 
 their aspect ; and the ruins of the ancient Roman baths still 
 remain ; whilst around are the classic grounds of Yirgilian 
 beauty, where the sounding names of Avernus and Lake Lu- 
 crine mingle with the debris of the amphitheatres and temples, 
 and the old, familiar sounds of the " Styx, Acheron, and the 
 Elysian Fields," are not forgotten, in the presence of the 
 Grotto of the Cumoean Sybil. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Having sailed from this harbor about eight o'clock, we con- 
 tinued on our way, passing always in sight of the coast, near 
 the islands of Ischia and Xisida, and within full view of the 
 bold parapets of the State Prison on the former, and the 
 Lazaretto of the latter. Geata, again, recently rendered 
 famous by the presence of Pius the Xinth in exile, was 
 the only spot of interest that we passed, until we came within 
 the jurisdiction of the Roman seas, at Terracina. 
 
 Pius the Sixth, whose name is also connected with the 
 draining of the Pontine marshes, by building a palace, vast 
 granaries, and other edifices there, had almost revived the 
 memory of its ancient power and civilization, when Terracina 
 was a port of entry, and possessed an active and extensive 
 commerce. At the western end of the Pontine marshes, Monte 
 Circello, which boasts of a more than classic fame, reminded 
 us of the fabulous metamorphis of Ulyses' crew of sailors, who 
 were turned into swine by the fascinating Circe. The pigs 
 now abounding in the neighborhood claim to be the regular 
 descendants of the companions of Ulyses, who were sung by 
 Ilomer. ^Modern discovery, and the use of approved charts 
 
106 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and the compass, caused us to be relieved of every anxiety 
 and apprehension of danger to our vessel, as she rounded the 
 tall cliff of the bold Cape ; and, as we had not the fascina- 
 tion of even a single lovely female to allure us from the 
 object of our travel, we had no excuse for not arriving at 
 Civita Vecchia early on the following morning. 
 
 The entrance to this port, supposing it to have been the 
 ancient Ostium, or near it, was as narrow as it was difficult ; 
 but once within its mouth, the vessel was soon snugly moored 
 under the lee of the Mole of Trajan. After having effected 
 a landing through the usual array of policemen and custom- 
 house officers, we had some difSculty in finding the American 
 Consul. 
 
 As it was necessary to have him countersign our passports, 
 before we could leave this town for Rome, while awaiting his 
 return, (for we afterwards found him, and also learned from 
 him that he was an Italian and no American, ) we endured a 
 strict examination of our baggage at the Duano, during which, 
 I regret to recount the loss of a little temper, and the ruin of 
 a pair of my best pantaloons. The proper official, not having 
 handled my valise as promptly as was desirable, in my hurry, 
 and my displeasure being somewhat increased by his coolness, 
 fthe nonchalance of all public servants is remarkable,) and 
 being more or less irritated in proportion to their delay, or 
 their want of proper understanding of the Italian of the schools, 
 I became desperate. You get very mad abroad, if you are 
 green ; and, in a fit of national independence, of the American 
 wood-sawyer's kind, I seized the trunk, and threw it with a 
 violent jerk clear into the room of the Duano. The affrighted 
 
JONATHAN IN A HURRY. 107 
 
 official moved both his eyes and his toes ; and when we opened 
 the trunk for examination, it was quite melancholy to per- 
 ceive that my best inexpressibles had taken a large dose of 
 pure castor oil, and the rest of the bottle had surfeited the 
 trunk. 
 
 For the good of mankind, I append this moral to our tale — 
 " Friend Jonathan, never be in too great a hurry in your 
 travels in foreign parts ; and pour a little oil on the waters, 
 but not in your valise." 
 
 VI. 
 
 At last, our Consul being found, we tendered our thanks 
 for his courtesy. He refused (rare instance of self-denial ! ) 
 to take any fee for his vise. He amused us, during this visit, 
 by an account of a famous brigand, who was imprisoned in the 
 castle of the city. The rumor was that this celebrated cap- 
 tain of banditti had killed some thirty persons during a 
 career of thirty years. But the robber indignantly denied the 
 accusation, and charged a slander upon those maligners who 
 had defamed his reputation. "It was not so," he said; he 
 ''would not be libeled thus." He had "never killed but fif- 
 teen." " He confessed to that number." There is nothing like 
 precision in the statement of particulars, even in case of hang- 
 ing. One may show reason, even in his madness ! 
 
 In company with a Spanish gentleman, Clarence and myself 
 joined in taking an extra post-chaise for Rome ; and the post- 
 illion having packed the carriage, outside the gate, under the 
 eye of a gens d^arme, we started away, and after two relays 
 and five hours of hard driving, arrived at the postern of the 
 Barberini Gate. 
 
108 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 YIII. 
 
 It was locked and bolted. " What ! shut out from Rome ?" 
 said Clarence. " Xo," said the seiior. A gruff voice, behind 
 the bars, cried — " Qui eke? forestiere? Non! Amid, amid! 
 my friend !" — '' Signore cki va ? que patria ? Romano, II pape ! 
 Buono ! Entrate! — via!^^ The heavy bolts were then sullenly 
 drawn aside ; the chains rattled as the massive door swung 
 lazily on its hinges out ; a mysterious head peered through 
 the open door ; a lantern is thrust into the carriage-window 
 — then a hand ! It is withdrawn with a clenched fullness ; 
 perhaps a colonnata is in its folds. A laugh follows. Then — 
 *' Buona notte, signore ! Andate cavalli!^^ The Condottori 
 mounts his box — the doors slam to — and whip-lash snaps like 
 a spark of hickory — the wheels roll round, and away we rattle 
 through the suburbs of the Imperial City. 
 
ROME. 
 
 We entered Rome by moonlight, and tlie Eternal City, 
 hushed in the solemn silence of the night, was bathed in a 
 flood of the richest light. We were wheeled right by the 
 porticoes of Saint Peter's ; and the moonbeams slept upon the 
 colonnades, whilst the light sheen of the merry fountains 
 glistened in the court, and the broad shadow of the obelisk 
 marked the solemn hour of One. 
 
 THE COLISEUM. 
 
 II. 
 
 " Arclies on arches, 
 Her Coliseum stands ; the moonbeams shine 
 As 't were its natural torches ; for divine 
 
 Should be the light which streams here, to illume 
 This long-explored but still eshaustless mine 
 Of contemplation. 
 
 Ptuins of years." 
 
 — Childe Harolde, ccxxxiv. 
 
 It was a transport of deep joy to be in Rome, there to col- 
 lect mementoes for a life-time, and a day from which to date 
 an epoch. We looked upon the Coliseum and its colossal 
 mass, by moonlight, with all the grand effect of that mystical 
 light aggrandizing its ruins, and its arcades appeared truly 
 
110 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 resplendent. Each step, as we clambered over the different 
 stages of the majestic pile, varied the wonderful effects of light 
 and shadow, as the moonbeams poured in argent beauty 
 through the open portals of the arches, and opened a new 
 chapter in the history of the changes which had taken place 
 during eighteen centuries. Grander still, and more magically 
 mysterious, when torch-light glared upon the rich solemnity of 
 its fallen grandeur, and lent a feature of enchantment, as 
 broader shadows were thrown, and more varied views ob- 
 tained, as we looked through the porches to the starry sky 
 above. Ko monument of antiquity — for none so fit to repre- 
 sent the image of . ancient Rome — has experienced so many 
 different fortunes, or such a diversity of uses, as this. A mag- 
 nificent circus of gladiators, under Titus — an arena of martyrs, 
 under Diocletian, and a military redoubt ; it was an hospital 
 during plagues, or a list for tournaments of knights ; then a 
 stone quarry, from which most of the palaces of Rome have 
 been built, and almost converted into a woolen-factory under 
 Sixtus V. ; it was saved from such desecration, only to suffer 
 a demolition of one half of its ancient proportions to construct 
 a better half in good repair. What barbarians have handled 
 its vastness, to corrupt its beauty by a taint of their sacrile- 
 gious art ! Its ruined appearance is one of its greatest beau- 
 ties. It has already been too much renovated, and rebuilt, 
 and modernized. 
 
 The Cross is now planted within the walls of the amphi- 
 theatre where Christian martyrs were burned, — 
 
 " Ta3da lucebis in ilia, 
 " Qua. stantes ardenti, qui fixo gutture furaant,'" 
 
 and the early Neophytes bled, and breathes its soft influences 
 
A POINT ON THE PIAZZA, 111 
 
 over the remains of a barbarous age, and over scenes of gla- 
 diatorial shows. 
 
 It still stands a monument of the victories, festivals, crimes, 
 and imperial pleasures of ancient Rome — the ruined Mauso- 
 leum to thee. 
 
 " Rome ! — my country ! — city of the soul ! — 
 The Orphans of the Heart must turn to thee ; 
 Lone mother of dead empires, come and see 
 The Niobe of nations ! There she stands, 
 Chaos of ruins ! Who shall trace the void. 
 O'er the dim fragments cast a lunar light, 
 And say, ' Here was, or is,' where all is doubly night ?'* 
 
 * * * >ii ^ * 
 
 ' ' A ruin ! — yet what ruin ! From its mass 
 Walls, palaces, half cities, have been rear'd !" 
 
 * >fi ;k * ^ * 
 
 " While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand : 
 When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall : 
 And when Rome falls — the world !" 
 
 — Childe Harolde, cxlv., et passim. 
 
 ST. Peter's. 
 
 III. 
 
 If Rome be the chief object of the traveller in Italy, St, 
 Peter's is the first wonder that he seeks to contemplate. 
 
 We have spoken of the famous colonnade of Bernini, the 
 chef d''c£iivre of his theatrical compositions, which incloses the 
 magnificent oval piazza, and serves as a proscenium to the 
 colossal peristyle of St. Peter's. This double colonnade of 
 travertine marble seems light and simple, from a certain point 
 of the piazza ; and I have heard of an Englishman, a consci- 
 
112 THE LAXD OF THE CESAR AXD THE DOGE 
 
 entious traveller, who, not liaving been informed of it during 
 his stnj at Rome, returned post to this spot, alighted from 
 his carriage, and, after viewing it a moment, resumed his 
 journey with satisfaction. 
 
 In the middle of the piazza rises the obelisk of red granite, 
 which, being without hieroglyphics, can only be a Roman 
 imitation of the Egyptian obelisk brought over by Caligula. 
 The two majestic fountains, that throw up their waters on 
 each side of the piazza, worthily complete its decoration, 
 whether seen by day, when the rays of the sun form brilliant 
 rainbows, or at night, when the moonlight adds to the white- 
 ness of their foaming streams, whose unceasing murmurs in- 
 spire and cherish the soul's imaginings. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The history of the construction of St. Peter is almost the 
 history of the art. This first of basahcs, begun by Bra- 
 mante in 1503, erected on the basalic built by Constantino, 
 continued by Guiliano and Antonio San G-allo, Giocondo, 
 Raphael, Peruzze and Michael Angelo, was not finished till 
 the seventeenth century, by Carlo Maderno. Its front, by 
 the last, is more fitted for a palace than a temple, and, by a 
 deplorable fatality, the vrorst of the projects was the one that 
 prevailed. Opposite the principal door is the celebrated 
 mosaic, called the jN"avicella, or little boat of St. Peter, by 
 Giotto and his pupil. The basso-relievos of the middle door, 
 very inferior to the doors of the baptistry at Florence, are 
 still distinguished for the beautiful divisions of the compart- 
 ments, which are executed with remarkable delicacy, and are 
 interesting for the accuracy of the costumes. The frames 
 present divers subjects of mythology and history, where may 
 
A WORLD IN ITSELF. 113 
 
 be observed Jnpiter and Leda, the Rape of Ganymede, some 
 nymphs and satyrs, with other smgular devices for the en- 
 trance of the most imposing of Christian temples. The 
 plan is that of a Latin cross, and is composed of three 
 naves. 
 
 The impression produced by the sight of the basalic inside, 
 when we viewed it at the ceremony of "Washing the feet of 
 the Twelve Apostles," by the Pope, was not adequate to our 
 preconceived ideas of its extent, and it seemed less than it 
 really was. Although the cortege was imposing, and there 
 were several elegant costumes to be seen, as the church was 
 in mourning, it was impossible to get a just idea of its vast 
 proportions. 
 
 The sense of disappointment wears away after a few visits, 
 when the study of the different parts has convinced you of its 
 immensity. Then it becomes a living city, through which one 
 loves to wander. Its light, though too brilliant to be reli- 
 gious, and its climate (if one may so say,) are all softness ; 
 for it has been remarked that the temperature is nearly 
 always the same, and that a kind of agreeable vapor is dif- 
 fused through the air. 
 
 V. 
 
 A world in itself — it fills the eye and satisfies the soul. A 
 vast multitude moved on it, and yet it seemed unfilled. 
 
 The population, the manners of the city, moreover, offer a 
 thousand contrasts ; poor peasants, loaded with theu' bag- 
 gage, prostrate themselves on this pavement of marble, and 
 before the altars resplendent with gold and precious stones. 
 On entering, they had kissed the holy door, which profane 
 and thouo-htless travellers cover with their names. Persons 
 
114 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 of the lower order talk of their affairs before a confessional, 
 with their Confessor, who is inside — a familiar conference, 
 which precedes the confession of each. A penitentiary taps 
 the faithful gently on the head, with a long wand, as they 
 kneel before him — a species of public penance for their sins. 
 The penitentiaries of various languages come to receive at 
 their tribunal the ever-differing, but still substantially the 
 same, expression of our frailty and wretchedness. Confrater- 
 nities ranged in order, or other monks, take their stations at 
 the altars, while, in the distance, resounds the solemn chant 
 of the priest performing the services in the chapel of the choir, 
 with the pealing of the organ ; or else the slow and harmo- 
 nious chiming of the bells of St. Peter's falls on the ear. ♦At 
 times, the basalic is a vast and silent desert ; the pure rays 
 of the setting sun penetrate the diaphanous recesses of the 
 temple with then- golden fires, and fall on some brilliant 
 mosaic, the imperishable copy of some masterpiece of paint- 
 ing ; while some artist or some sage, undeceived as to this 
 world's things, such as can be found only at Rome, gives way 
 to his musings in some retired corner, or some poor man, 
 still more indifferent, sleeps profoundly, stretched along a 
 bench. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The interior of St. Peter's is rich, ornate, and magnificent, 
 rather than tasteful ; but tlie bad and exaggerated which 
 abounds there, does not fail, on the whole, to contribute to 
 the effect, and to have a kind of grandeur. 
 
 It must ever be a matter of regret, that the Greek cross of 
 Michael Angelo was not preferred to the lengthening of the 
 Latin Cross of Maderno. 
 
 The bronze statue of St. Peter, whose right toe has been 
 
THE BADALCHIX. 115 
 
 worn out by the kisses of the devotional, was not a Jupiter, 
 as some suppose. This custom of kissing statues of great 
 men, was common among the ancient Romans ; for Juvenal 
 makes mention of a bronze statue of a citizen, whose hands 
 had been worn away by the repeated kisses of the Roman 
 people — an expression of respect to his greatness. 
 
 The great badalchin placed over the bodies of St. Peter 
 and Paul, was an enormous conception of Bernini — not desti- 
 tute of ingenuity nor of brilliancy, although somewhat ca- 
 pricious in the taste of putting the head of a braying ass 
 on the base of the columns — meaning thereby, to represent 
 his rival, Borromini. It required the genius of Michael An- 
 gelo to execute the conception of Bramante, in the immortal 
 cupola which completes this sublime creation of architectural 
 grandeur. Thanks be to him who raised it so high aloft ! 
 
 VII. 
 
 This greatest and chief of basalica, vrith the grand idea of 
 Bernini seating the four doctors of the Greek and Latin 
 Church to uphold the Apostle's Pulpit — ^its mausoleums and 
 tombs of costly workmanship and art — its chapels, so-called, 
 with the richest decorations — its exquisite paintings, relievos, 
 and innumerable fine statues, adequately represent the splen- 
 dor of that Church which ruled the world for ages, by the 
 thunders of the Yatican. It is to modern Rome what the 
 Coliseum is to the ancient. It would be useless to enter into 
 further details as to what constitutes the beatitudes of this 
 edifice. It has already been better described by Yalery. 
 Under the auspices of such names as Bernini, Bramante, 
 Raphael, and Michael Angelo, there is no wonder that it has 
 always been the glory, pride and boast of the Universal 
 
116 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Roman Church, and will forever remam to be considered as 
 the triumph of human art. 
 
 One must ascend to the cupola to judge truly of the extent 
 of St. Peter's, and to admire Michael Angelo as he deserves. 
 He was eighty years old when he finished this work. It is a 
 kind of journey to the top. A population of workmen, always 
 occupied in repairs, inhabits the summit of the temple, which 
 seems like a public place in the air. 
 
 The stairs lead to the interior entablature near the glorious 
 promise made to the first apostle, inscribed in letters six feet 
 high, (they seemed not a foot from the pavement), with 
 
 '' Tu es Petrus, et sujper hanc jpetram edificabo ecdesiam meam^ 
 et tihi dabo claves regni ccdorumP 
 
 ''Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my 
 church, and I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven." 
 
 From the famous bronze ball, which is large enough to hold 
 sixteen persons seated, the aspect of the city, the Campagna 
 of Rome, the Apennines, and the sea, is most magnificent. 
 
 CEREMONIES OF HOLY WEEK. 
 
 vin. 
 
 The ceremonies of the day of Palm Sunday had concluded 
 on the night that we entered Rome, the day on which the 
 Church coraniemorates the triumphal entry of our Saviour into 
 Jerusalem, and on which the Pope blesses and distributes the 
 palm as he receives, successively, the proper homages from all 
 the dignitaries of his domhiion. 
 
 We were in time, therefore, for all the interesting ceremo- 
 
THE pope's MASS. 11*1 
 
 nies of the Holy Week, the season when the Roman Catholic 
 Church wears the grandest insignia of her pomp, and an occa- 
 sion which is far more instructive and interesting than the 
 festivals of the Carnival, because a deep philosophy is hidden 
 under the higher pageants of the Church. The object of exter- 
 nal rites in religion, says the Rt. Rev. Bishop England, is the 
 promotion of enlightened piety, by the instruction of the mind 
 and the amelioration of the heart. The great object of her 
 ceremonial is to exhibit the tragedy of the redemption by 
 the use of such natural modes as to produce deep impressions 
 for the religious improvement of a redeemed race. 
 
 The Pope is not only a bishop, but the visible Head of 
 the Church. He is also a temporal sovereign, and has his 
 proper state officers attached to his court. 
 
 These, and his body of clerical attendants, are to be found 
 in his private chapel, where the offices are performed by his 
 clergy, but in which the proper respect is always paid to his 
 Holiness, both as the pontiff and the sovereign; and he oc- 
 casionally performs some few of the ecclesiastical functions. 
 The beautiful hymn of the " Siabat Mater" is generally sung 
 at the offertory of his Holiness' Mass. 
 
 THE TENEBRCE, OR " THE SHADES." 
 IX. 
 
 The nocturns or vigils of the afternoon of Wednesday, 
 properly belonging to Thursday, are among the most im- 
 pressive of the services, performed during the Passion Week ; 
 and the office, called tenebrce, or darkness, either because it was 
 celebrated in the darkness of night, or, more probably, from 
 the obscurity in which the church is left at the conclusion of 
 
118 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 the office, when the lights are extinguished from the triangle 
 of the thirteen candles, is as imposing as any of the ceremo- 
 nies of this season. 
 
 The thirteen candles, representing the Saviour and the 
 t\Yelve apostles, are successively put out, except one at the 
 apex, as the services draw to a close, apparently to typify the 
 desertion of each apostle in their order, leaving Christ alone, 
 in the awful crisis upon Calvary, who, as the orient ou high, 
 was to shed his light upon the darkness of the world. 
 
 The Pope wore a reddish purple cope of satin, and a red 
 surge cappa. The Cardinals were in violet cassocks and 
 cappas — the other attendants in the usual dress. 
 
 The antiphon of the first Psalm is introduced in soprano, 
 which the choir takes up ; after the versicle, the PaUi- noster 
 is said in a low voice ; four voices sing in parts, the lesson of 
 the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah; then the invocation 
 to the Jews, and all sinners to be converted : the invitation is, 
 "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! turn to the Lord thy God!" 
 The responsories to each lesson vrere sung by some of the cho- 
 risters ; then the lessons of the second nodiirn, were a homily 
 from the fifty-fourth Psalm, and those of the third nodurn are 
 from the first chapter of Corinthians, relating to the mstitutiou 
 of the blessed Eucharist by the Saviour, on the night that he 
 was betrayed. 
 
 After these lessons, and their proper responsories, the office 
 of the Laud commences. The proper antiphon, "Thou wilt be 
 justified, Lord," &c., precedes the psalm Miserere. When 
 the other psalms, and the canticle of Moses, after the passage 
 of the Red Sea, have been concluded, and all the candles on 
 the stand have been extinguished, save the one on the summit 
 of the triangle, the versicle is sung, the antiphon to the can- 
 
ALLEGKl's MISERERE. 119 
 
 tide of Zacliary — " The traitor gave them a sign, saying, 
 whomsoever I shall kiss is he, hold ye him," is performed : 
 the canticle ^' Benedict us, ^^ is next sung : then the antiphon is 
 repeated. As soon as the lights upon the altar, and upon the 
 balustrade, have been put out, the holy father comes down 
 from his throne, and whilst two treble voices sing the versicle, 
 which follows : " Christ tvas made for us obedient, even unto 
 death" — he kneels, the Lord's Prayer is secretly said : after- 
 wards four voices sing the Miserere of AUegri, in alternate 
 verse, but they all join in the last passage, with other voices, 
 which, dying away, seem about to be lost, until they again 
 rise upon the concluding notes. 
 
 The Pontiff now reads the closing prayer, the last words of 
 which are scarcely audible, and a noise succeeds, like that 
 which was made in the Jewish assemblies, when, in reading 
 the book of Esther, the name of Aman was mentioned ; it is 
 significant of that confusion of nature, which occurred at the 
 Redeemer's death, v/hen the Centurion, and they who were 
 with him, returned into the city, declaring that he was indeed 
 the Son of God ; many striking their breasts, bewailed their 
 offences, and were truly converted. Such are the sentiments 
 in which the Church desires her children should depart from 
 this office, says Bishop England. 
 
 Nothing of human sound could be more sweet and solemnly 
 affecting than the chanting of the Miserere, in the chapel of 
 the Sixtine, that afternoon. 
 
 On the evening of this and the two following days it is 
 usual, at the Hospital della Trinita, for many respectable 
 persons — among wliom will frequently be found cardinals and 
 prelates — to wait at table upon pilgrims, who are received to 
 hospitality in this establishment, for some days, whilst they 
 
120 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 perform tlieir religious duties. The same acts of humility and 
 chanty are performed by some of the most respectable and 
 religious ladies of Kome, in a separate apartment for the fe- 
 male pilgrims, who, at this solemn time, come to indulge their 
 devotions in the Holy City. 
 
 MAUNDY THURSDAY. 
 X. 
 
 So called from the mandatum or command given by the 
 Saviour, is usually celebrated after the performances of High- 
 Mass and the papal benediction of the people. After the 
 Cardinals have changed their vestments and returned from the 
 gallery at the front of St. Peters, a few precede the Pope to 
 the place prepared for the ceremony of washing the feet. The 
 thirteen poor persons, whose feet were to be washed and who 
 afterwards dined with the Pope, were priests from the Convent 
 of the Trinity, The object of the ceremony was two-fold : 
 lirst, to preserve the recollection of the interesting passage in 
 the lives of the Saviour and his apostles, and secondly, to give 
 the Pontiff the opportunity of learning and practising a lesson 
 of humility taught by his Divine Master. 
 
 The priests whose feet were to be washed — they did not 
 appear to be very dirty — were seated on elevated benches, 
 wearing white habits. 
 
 When the holy father had left the gallery of the benedic- 
 tion, and had changed his former garments for a purple stole, 
 a cope of dark-red satin with a silver breast-plate and a mitre 
 of silver cloth, he came to the place prepared for him in the 
 hall. After he rose from his seat, the attendant-squire seemed 
 to do all the washing and to dry the feet, and then a towel 
 
HOLY RELICS. 121 
 
 and a nosegay were presented to each, after his holiness had 
 touched the foot with a clean and prettily-laced towel. A 
 treasurer followed, who, in turn, gave to each a medal of gold 
 and one of silver. 
 
 His holiness having returned to his seat, his towel is re- 
 moved, and the assistant prince pours water on his hands ; the 
 first cardinal priest presents the towel to dry them ; the holy 
 father resumes his cope, intones the Pater nosier, and recites 
 the concluding prayer, beseeching the Almighty not to despise 
 the fallen race of men, which is yet the work of his own hands. 
 
 During this ceremony there were over one thousand candles 
 burning around the balustrade of the badalchin of St. Peter. 
 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 XI. 
 
 By that peculiar grace of Divine Providence, by which our 
 joys arise from sorrows, and our best gifts from affliction, the 
 day of our blessed Lord's crucifixion has come to be called, 
 by Christians, " Good Friday." The Romish Church, while 
 observing it, from its earliest period, as a day of mourning and 
 of solemn ritual observance, has also marked its event by the 
 exhibition of the most precious relics. On the evening of 
 Friday, the Pope and Cardinals come in procession from the 
 Sixtine Chapel to St. Peter's, and exhibit the three most 
 remarkable, from the balcony over the image of St. Yero- 
 nica. They are believed to be a portion of the true cross, 
 the blade of the lance with which the Saviour's side was 
 pierced, and the figure of his face, impressed upon a cloth, 
 applied by a pious daughter of Sion, when he labored on his 
 painful way to Calvary. 
 
122 THE LAND OF THE CJESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The sublime strains of the Miserere of Cherubini swept 
 through the aisles of St. Peter's, at the close of the day ; and 
 in the evening, at the Church of the Monte di Pieta del 
 Pelerini, there was an abundant supper prepared for the 
 multitude of pilgrims who had resorted to Kome during 
 Passion Week. The ceremony of washing their feet was 
 performed in an upper chamber, upon the poor, by some of the 
 noblest ladies and princesses of the city ; and whilst they were 
 engaged in their graceful acts of disinterestedness, up-stairs, 
 many of the nobles and princes of the empire were equally 
 active, in their humility, in serving the male members of their 
 common faith, at several lengthy tables, that had been 
 spread through the corridors and halls of the Convent Re- 
 fectory. 
 
 SATURDAY. 
 XII. 
 
 To-day the noble Church of St. John of Laterano offers a 
 grander spectacle than the Papal Chapel. At the Sixtine, the 
 blessing of the fire and incense and of the paschal candle — 
 the enkindling of the new light, at new fires — the High Mass 
 and Yespers, with the '' Magnificat," close the series of this 
 week of Passion. The celebrant, who sings the closing prayer, 
 repeats the " Dominus vobiscum," and the deacon adds two 
 "alleluias" to his '' Ita missa est." The Pontiff gives the 
 usual blessing ; the celebrant publishes the usual indulgences, 
 and the cardinals and others retire. The administration of 
 the sacrament of holy baptism, and the ordination of deacons 
 at St. John in Laterano, gave us an opportunity to visit 
 this imposing edifice. Like every other church in Rome, this 
 
PAGEANT OX THE PIAZZA. 123 
 
 one, also, possesses its own peculiar associations connected 
 with its foundation. Tradition claims for it the hallowed 
 scene of the baptism of Constantine the founder, by Pope 
 Sylvester. 
 
 Under the beautiful portico of Fontana, adjoining the 
 church, they still preserve the twenty-eight steps of Pilate's 
 house, which were ascended and descended by Jesus Christ, 
 under his passion. The steps of the Scala Santa were so worn 
 out by the faithful, who ascends them on their knees, that the 
 stone stairs were covered with thick planks to protect them : 
 these have been worn out and renewed several times. We 
 regret to say that one or two of the devotees did not strictly 
 knuckle down to their penance, but rather whipped his majesty, 
 the devil, round the stump, as the vulgare term this pre- 
 tence of pilgrimage ; and one or two seemed very much dis- 
 posed to hurry through their duty ; and, rather than ascend 
 by the ordinary slow, painful and tedious process of climbing 
 up by the force of their knees, materially assisted themselves 
 by their heavy-shod clogs. 
 
 The piazza of St. John presents the most colossal and no- 
 ble obelisks in Rome — that of Thoutmosis II. — which was re- 
 moved from Egypt to the Circus Major by Constantine, and 
 thence to this spot, by Sixtus Y. It is a single block of red 
 granite, ninety feet high, and covered with hieroglyphics. 
 
 The interior of the church shows in the principal nave, one 
 of the most splendid ceilings ever known, and the elaborate 
 workmanship of the architect Borromini. The curious Gothic 
 tabernacle standing in the middle of the building, contains 
 the heads of St. Peter and Paul — relics of the most sacred 
 estimation — under this work-piece of the fourteenth century. 
 It is a remarkable fact that they were both consumed during 
 
124 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 a fire that destroyed tlie church, but by some miraculous 
 agency, best kuowu to Urban, the Pope, they were restored 
 to the impatient crowd of his subjects, who regarded this 
 event, as one of the most brilliant achievements of his glorious 
 pontificate. 
 
 " Credat Judseus Apelles," — says Juvenal. 
 " Tell that to the Marines." — Old Saw. 
 
 The beautiful Chapel of the Corsini is simple and rich in 
 its ornament, and contains a sujDcrb porphyry sarcophagus of 
 Clement XII. which was formerly under the Pantheon. The 
 central nave is adorned with twelve colossal statues of the 
 Apostles, whose persons are rather draped than dressed with 
 garments, which would surely encumber theu' movements in 
 walking. Four elegantly-gilt bronze pillars support the altar 
 of the Holy Sacrament : these were taken from the temple of 
 Jupiter Capitolinus, and made from metal of the ships taken 
 at Actium, by Augustus ; others claim that they were brought 
 from Judea by Yespasian. 
 
 The ceremonies of the day took place under the dome, the 
 only part of the church retaining anything of the charac- 
 teristics and gilding of its early history. As, in this church 
 there are colleations of monuments from every age and coun- 
 try, so at Rome, all history may be found. This admira- 
 ble city assembles the mysterious monuments of Egypt, the 
 poetic ckefs-d^ccuvre of the Greeks, the relics of Judea, and 
 her own grand monuments. 
 
 Outside, under the porches and walks of tlie old cloisters of 
 St. John, several curious relics, besides the debris of the 
 former church, and its sainted heads, were preserved. There 
 were to be seen, the stone tablet on which the soldiers cast 
 
THE CLOISTERS AND COURTS. 125 
 
 lots for the garment of the Lord ; one or two pillars, also, 
 from Pilate's palace, and last, not least, the tahh of the Last 
 Supper, of which our Saviour partook with his disciples. 
 These were all exhibited under the crypts of the corridors 
 running out from the cloisters. We went to the basalic of 
 Santa Croce, but were not able to get a sight of a piece of 
 the true Cross. Even this little church, which was founded 
 by St. Helena, after the plan of the Holy Sepulchre at 
 Jerusalem, had some fine columns of granite, and its associa- 
 tion of historic greatness and infamy ; for it was standing on 
 the ruins of the Gardens of Heliogabalus. It is now used for 
 the sale of indulgences, that are here served by the Bei'- 
 nardine monks. If all the pieces of the supposititiously too 
 numerous and true crosses could be brought together, they 
 would construct a vessel ample enough to carry, even, the 
 large multitude of indulgences, granted by this church. 
 
 Many ancient and beautiful ruins decked the wayside, in 
 this uninhabited section of the suburbs, as we passed from 
 Santa Croce to the noble front of Santa Maria Maggiore, 
 which resembles St. John, both in having an obelisk and 
 fountain, and in the over-gilding and corrupt taste of its archi- 
 tecture. On entering this grand basahc, which is one of the 
 most showy and splendid in Rome, one is struck with the array 
 of thirty-six Ionic columns of white marble, taken from a temple 
 of Juno, its superb ceiling of gilt panels, and its badalchin sup- 
 ported by four pillars of porphyry. The whole decorations 
 and ornaments of this edifice have a rich, sumptuous, and 
 worldly effect — almost too gaudy and gay in its attire, and, 
 were it not a consecrated spot, might be profaned to the 
 image of a theatre. A magnificent porphyry baptism, the 
 gift of Leo XII., was formerly in the Vatican. 
 
126 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The Chapel of the Presepio, ordered by Sixtus Y., when 
 Cardinal Montalto is admired for its form and sj-mmetry, 
 which is strikingly contrasted with the prodigious richness of 
 the Borghese. Some of the mosaics of the choir date back 
 to the thirteenth century, while those over the arch and 
 columns of the middle nave, bear a still greater age. Thus it 
 often happens, and only, we believe, in Rome, that it is pos- 
 sible to find simplicity and extreme magnificence combined in 
 one and the same edifice. 
 
 EASTER SUNDAY. 
 X. 
 
 Owing to the kindness of our excellent friend, Signer C, 
 one of the Pope's secretaries, it was our fortune to obtain an 
 excellent seat during the whole celebration of the ceremony 
 of High Mass, at Easter. This, the most high of the festi- 
 vals of the Church of Rome, took place at St. Peter's, at 10 
 o'clock, A. M. The Pope officiated in person, and all the 
 pomp and circumstance of Romanism was invoked to swell 
 the most gorgeous pageant of the Catholic Church. 
 
 St. Peter's, earth's grandest Basilica, was a fit theatre 
 for this brilliant ceremonial ; no other edifice could have held 
 the vast multitude which was there assembled to behold ; 
 and as the crowd moved about among the numerous chapels, 
 and spread themselves over the marble floor of the central 
 aisle, it appeared as if a world had come together to mag- 
 nify the glories of this holiday. 
 
 The scene of the ceremony was at the grand altar, and in 
 the space between the badalchin aud the choir, a hollow 
 square had been decorated, and a chamber prepared, for the 
 
TRUMPET SOUND. 12 1 
 
 seats of the College of Cardinals and the throne of the Pope. 
 Two long ranges of stalls had been set apart for the ladies, 
 who were veiled, as the court etiquette required. On our left 
 w^ere the reserved places for all the Foreign Ambassadors 
 at court, who were ' in full dress ; and on both sides of the 
 benches of the Cardinals, the lower dignitaries of the Church 
 took their position, according to their respective ranks. 
 "Within the square, and ranged on either side, were the Swiss 
 Guards, who stood in their picturesque costumes, after Ra- 
 phael's decorations, with their halberts erect. The order of 
 the procession was announced by the entrance of the Papal 
 body-guard, wearing Roman helmets, decked with long, black, 
 drooping plumes of horse-hair, and dressed with richly em- 
 broidered coats of scarlet, and white shorts, in long cavalry 
 boots. 
 
 Shortly after, the sound of a trumpet denotes the approach 
 of his Holiness ; the procession files slowly in, as the music of 
 the choral band is heard. As soon as the Pope enters, the 
 choristers intone, " Tu es Petrus, et sufer hcinc jpetram cedijicaho 
 ecchsia7n imam, etc." — the long, full blasts of the trumpet peal 
 through the air, as its notes mark the moment of his elevation, 
 and he enters the conclave, borne aloft, on his chair, sur- 
 rounded by the fans and ensigns of the Papal See, and 
 crowned with the triple tiara, indicative of his triple sove- 
 reignty — over heaven, earth, and hell. After he is set down, 
 his tiara is removed by a deacon ; he prays shortly, opposite 
 the holy sacrament, and then takes his seat on the epistle side 
 of the altar ; then each Cardinal, in turn, approaches him, and 
 does him homage, by kissing his hand ; and next, in the order 
 of their respective ranks, bishops, priests, and deacons, follow 
 on, with their salutations. After this ceremony, he is clothed 
 
128 THE LAXD OF THE CESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 with liis mitre, and his sandals are put on by the hereditary 
 Prince of the office. The entire ceremony proceeds with due 
 solemnity and splendor ; books are blessed, high mass is per- 
 formed by the Pope in person, and every act increases in 
 interest, until the procession to the altar. Every function is 
 indicative of deep meaning ; every action is significant and 
 progressive, and the worshipper is borne along with the tide 
 of ceremonial, and excited with intense sympathy, until this 
 point, where he is elevated aloft, as the supreme head of the 
 Church — a symbol of the resurrection of our Lord — at the 
 happy moment when he came from the tomb, and, leading cap- 
 tivity captive, rose triumphant over death. 
 
 'No less affecting was the office of the Pope's Communion ; 
 nor less touching, the kiss of peace, or the giving of fellow- 
 ship. 
 
 Passing over the frequent changes of vestment, all of which 
 are replete with philosophical intent, and full of charms, that 
 have a power over the imagination, by which to enchain the 
 souls of the believer, we found all the duties of mass had been 
 performed, and the offices concluded. 
 
 Soon after, the Pope was borne out on the shoulders of his 
 attendants, and the chair was carried, under canopy of flabellas 
 and flags, into the middle of the principal nave. The proces- 
 sion then halted, in order that his Holiness might witness the 
 exhibition of the sacred relics. Again the procession moves 
 onward, and its march is toward the southern corner of the 
 church ; and, by a stairway in that part, the Pope ascended 
 to the gallery, in front of St. Peter's, in order to bless his 
 people. 
 
 Kow everybody rushes eagerly to the square. The whole 
 piazza of St. Peter's is alive with a sea of living heads, and 
 
THE POPE IN STATE. 129 
 
 its fountains of current life beat no less vividly and gayly than 
 those of the waters at the basins in front. All heads are now 
 turned upward, with eager gaze and strain, and the murmurs 
 of this ocean of living numbers was superlatively grand and 
 vronderful. The Pope appears now, at the window of the 
 balcony in front. Universal silence prevailed, as the venera- 
 ble father called down blessings upon the assembled multi- 
 tude, and besought Heaven to bestow its benediction upon his 
 beloved people. 
 
 The scene is soon changed — and whilst the Cardinal Dean 
 felicitates the Pope, Pio jSTono, on the recurrence of the festi- 
 val, the military bands strike up their responsive salutations, 
 the bells of Rome proclaim the joyful sound to the surrounding 
 cities, and booming cannon of St. Angelo send forth reverbe- 
 rating echoes, which scarcely permit the gratulating chimes of 
 the bells to be heard, as they mingle in celebrating the tidings 
 of the glorious resurrection at Easter. 
 
 THE ILLUMINATION. 
 XI. 
 
 . In the afternoon of that day, we attended the Episcopal 
 Service, at the English Chapel outside the walls — which 
 afforded a marked contrast to the ceremonies of the Romish 
 Church, but no less appealing to the heart. I do not believe 
 any one will be much affected by the pageants of glorious Rome, 
 if he has no inclination towards Komanism. We had but to 
 be at the Papal See, to prize more highly the simplicity of the 
 Episcopal form of worship. The nearer one gets to Rome, 
 the less apt is one to be influenced by the superstitious rites 
 of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
130 THE LAXJ OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 The effect of the illumination of the whole facade and dome, 
 in the evening, was superlatively grand. Its huge cupola, 
 suspended so gracefully in the air, was like another firmament 
 of night, studded with brilliant stars. The dark dome of the 
 church was thrown in bold relief ; the chiaro ohscuro of the 
 cupola was grand, and it appeared as if the whole mass of its 
 vast pile was clad with the blackest lustre of rich velvets, 
 studded with crowns of gold. At eight o'clock, the entire 
 scene changed, as if by magic — the whole edifice and the por- 
 ticoes were lighted up with a flood of brilliant light — an appa- 
 rition of flame covered all the temple, and ten thousand 
 torches cast their lurid glare into the midst of the sky, 
 appearing, from the Pincian Hill, like a huge pyramid of fire. 
 
 THE VATICAN. 
 XII. 
 
 The Tatican represents the religious grandeur of Modern 
 Rome, as the Capitol did the martial and triumphant great- 
 ness of Ancient Kome, But this palace, once noted for its 
 eleven hundred rooms — the pontificial court, long so pom- 
 pous — is now all sunplicity and moderation, the Pope's expen- 
 diture barely exceeding that of a President, The Tatican no 
 logger thunders ; in our days it is nothing more than the 
 most extensive of museums, and a curious monument of the 
 architectural talent of Bramante, Raphael, San Gallo, Pirro 
 Ligorio, Eontana, Carlo Maderno, and Bernini. 
 
 The grand stairway is one of Bernini's cleverest and most 
 magical constructions — (there are eight principal and about 
 two hundred small staircases) — and the great frescoes of the 
 Salia regia, representing glorious actions in the history of the 
 
THE VATICAN. 131 
 
 Popes ; among which, the massacre of St. Bartholemew's Eve 
 is conspicuous, which was planned at Rome, and exulted over, 
 when approved, in full consistory, by Gregory XIII, form a 
 fit entrance to the Chapel of the Sixtine. 
 
 The Sixtine Chapel was ordered by Sixtus lY., a Pontiff 
 little acquainted with painting, but who felt and loved the 
 glory that the arts can give. The Last Judgment was a sub- 
 ject singularly suited to the vast and daring genius of Michael 
 Angelo, his skill in drawing, and his cleverness in fore-shorten- 
 ing. It appears that the artist spontaneously turned his at- 
 tention to this subject, and Pope Paul III., having heard of 
 the studies he had made, visited him, attended by ten Cardi- 
 nals, to advise him to treat that subject, and almost to entreat 
 him — an honor, which stands alone in the annals of painting, 
 and manifests the great importance, and consideration of the 
 artist ! But besides the grandeur of the style, and the inspi- 
 ration of Dante, the spectator feels that this awful fresco, 
 begun after the sack of Rome, is impressed with the desola- 
 tion of the time, and the sombre melancholy of the painter. 
 The elect appear almost as furious as the damned. This sub- 
 lime fresco of the Sixtine, which has suffered from age, hu- 
 midity, neglect, and the explosion of the powder magazine of 
 St. Angelo, in lt9t, narrowly escaped destruction under 
 Paul IV., on account of the nudities inseparable from the sub- 
 ject ; and Michael Angelo has represented, under the sem- 
 blance of Midas with ass's ears, Messer Biagio, master of 
 ceremonies to the Pope, who had stupidly denounced them. 
 Michael Angelo's answer to the person who informed him of 
 the Pope's vandal determination, was severe — " Tell the 
 
132 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Pope that is but a trifle, and Diay be easily remedied ; let him 
 correct the world, and I will instantly correct my picture." 
 
 Daniel of Yolterra, Michael Angelo's greatest pupil, under- 
 took to veil the damned, a ridiculous operation, that procured 
 for him the nick-name of Brachet-tone (breeches-maker,) and 
 drew on him the piquant verses of Salvator Rosa : — 
 
 " There never was mistake so brutal, or so great, 
 As when Dafiiele, tailor-like, did undertake 
 To sit in judgment o'er his master's pate !" 
 
 "How many persons will my work prove to be bunglers?" 
 the immortal author was heard to say, as he thought of the 
 wretched imitators which this great master-piece would pro- 
 duce. Raphael alone contrived to escape this danger, and to 
 profit by the beauties of Michael Angelo, 
 
 At the age of sixty-seven, and in the space of seventy months 
 from the year 1507, Michael Angelo had executed, with as- 
 sistance, the compartments of the immense roof of the Sixtine, 
 paintings as highly finished as the Last Judg^nmnt^ represent- 
 ing divers subjects, from the Old Testament, with a host of 
 prophets, sibyls, patriarchs, and other academic figures. 
 
 The Eternal Father, in the Creation of the World, has been 
 revived with marvelous originality; there is nothing to be seen 
 but his immense head, and his hands in a little space, as if to 
 show that God is all intellect and power. The Eve has that 
 native grace which could belong to none but the first woman, 
 and which contrasts with the force and terror of the other 
 paintings, and the grotesque figures of the compartments. 
 The prophets and sibyls, the finest in the world, seem inspired. 
 The Isaiah called to by an angel, is turning slowly towards 
 him, so profound is his meditation. 
 
MUSIC OF THE SIXTIXE. 133 
 
 I attended the services of the Sixtiiie Chapel, a sight ren- 
 dered imposing by the jDresence of the Pope and Cardinals. 
 The aspect of this Christian Senate shows the power, majesty, 
 and independence of the Church, an imperishable Society 
 which subdued the ancient world, civilized the modern, and 
 would fall short of its destiny in opposing the enlightenment 
 and improvement of the human race. 
 
 The music of the Sixtme, formerly the admiration of artists, 
 seems like that of St. Peter's, to be near its end. All the mu- 
 sical power of the Chapel is now included in Allegri's Miserere, 
 executed by two choirs without an instrument, during Passion 
 Week. It was formerly forbidden to copy under pain of ex- 
 communication, but Mozart made himself completely master 
 of it after two hearings 
 
 The two frescoes of St. Peter's Crucifixion, and the Ccnver- 
 sion of St. Paul, in the PauUne Chapel — the last paintings of 
 the extraordinary Michael Angelo — are very inferior to those 
 of the Sixtine, and almost obscured by the smoke of the ta- 
 pers burnt round the Holy Se^julchre during Passion Week. 
 
 What a power of invention ! What terror, even in the 
 imagination of this great artist ! How frightfully horrible are 
 the contortions of the old Cardinal's face, as his body is writh- 
 ing in the folds of the e^iormous serpent in the fresco of the 
 " Inferno'" ! 
 
 Raphael's loggia. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Raphael, the prince of the Roman school, like the mag- 
 nates of the East, or the feudal lords of the Middle Ages, 
 seems never to have entered the Yatican, without a train 
 of fifty painters, vassals of his genius, who were attracted 
 
134 THE LAND OF THE CAESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 towards him, by the charms of his character. It is, therefore, 
 probable that some of the compartments of the Loggia were 
 executed by his pupils under his guidance. What must have 
 been the effect, in their primitive freshness of the brilliant 
 stuccoes and arabesques of Giovanni d'Undina, that skillful 
 painter of flowers, fruits and ornaments of every kind, is 
 proved by the incident of the Pope's groom, who, running to 
 fetch a carpet for his master's use, was deceived by the imita- 
 tion, and snatched at one of the little carpets of the Loggia. 
 
 The arabesques of the Seasons^ the Ages of Life^ figured by 
 the Fates, are real pictures, fall of poetry. The most admi- 
 rable of the Frescoes, known by the appellation of Ra;phaeVs 
 Bible, is God Dividing the Light from the Darkness, by the 
 great master himself. He executed four different figures of 
 the Eternal Father — but, all sublime. The Creation of the 
 Sun and Moon is also of rare beauty. 
 
 The Deluge, by Guilio Romano, is most powerful, and pa- 
 thetic in expression. The Three Angels appearing to Abraham 
 have a kind of oriental grace in their forms. The composition 
 of Lot and his Daughters is perfect. The four subjects from 
 the History of Joseph possess a rich and vigorous coloring. 
 The Moses Rescued from the Water shows freshness of tone, in 
 the tints of the color of the Nile. The Judgment of Solomon 
 is distinct, precise, and eloquent in the Pantomine of the 
 Mothers. In a Last Supper, which appears to be by Ra- 
 phael, the colors are better, and it is more scientifically exe- 
 cuted, as it is the last division. 
 
 Those by Raphael have an air of grandeur and design, 
 which show that he must have benefited from his clandestine 
 visits to the Sixtine, and that an inspection of Angelo's fres- 
 coes had determined an important revolution in his talent. 
 
PAGAN INSCRIPTIONS. 135 
 
 CORRIDOR OF THE INSCRIPTIONS. 
 
 XV. 
 
 " Caesare magna fuit, nunc Roma est maxima : Sextus 
 Eegnat Alexander ; ille vii% iste Deus." 
 
 This well-turned and curiously servile and blasphemous 
 distich, reminding you immediately of the Borgia apartment 
 once occupied by the infamous Alexander YI., is proper 
 to precede the long lapidarian gallery of the Pagan inscrip- 
 tions occupying the right wall, and the Christian monuments 
 which take up the whole of the left of the corridors, running 
 through to the entrance of the Vatican Library. These stone 
 manuscripts are the delights of the learned and artiquarians, 
 while the Christian monuments furnish abundant subjects for 
 the interest of the curious in those symbols of the faith, such 
 as the vine, dove, fishes, anchor, &c., which were removed from 
 the ancient cemeteries or catacombs. 
 
 The Pagan inscriptions are arranged, according to rank and 
 condition, from divinities down to slave ; but, with the excep- 
 tion of the consular, no such aristocracy reigns in the order of 
 the Christian monuments. 
 
 THE VATICAN LIBRARY. 
 XVI. 
 
 The first beginning of the Yatican dates from the time of 
 St. Hilary, who collected together some few hundred manu- 
 scripts in his palace of St. John, in Laterano, in 465. It was 
 afterwards transferred to the Yatican by Mcholas Y., en- 
 riched by the liberality of SixtusIY, and enlarged to the size of 
 the present spacious edifice by the menaces and pertinacity 
 
136 THE LAND OF THE C-ESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 of the fifth Pope, Sixtus, who succeeded in getting it built in 
 one year ; but he seems to have paid more attention to the 
 decoration of the building than to the increase of the books. 
 
 The collections of manuscripts and books were materially 
 augmented by the efforts of Leo X., that admirable Pope, who 
 was not less serviceable to letters than to art, and not less 
 zealous than his successors Adrian YI. and Clement III., who 
 were indifferent to its advancement. 
 
 Amid all its successive accessions, by gift or the additions 
 of the libraries of distinguished nobles, it is somewhat curious 
 that its most precious contents have been the proceeds of pil- 
 lage. It now contains over 100,000 volumes and 25,000 
 manuscripts. Much more has been expended on the external 
 adornment of the shelves, cases and ceilings, than on the 
 books ; and, while walking through its vast extent of four 
 hundred paces, you see nothing but richly gilded and decorated 
 cupboards, behind which the imagination pictures a precious 
 array of curious books and priceless manuscripts. Such is the 
 mystery of its book-cases, that you would hardly suspect what 
 literary treasures it contains. It was formerly necessary to 
 have the autograph of a Pope, on penalty of excommuni- 
 cation, before you could take a single volume out, without 
 permission of his Holiness ; and we believe, that now they tear 
 out whole pages of old books, if they breathe anything of the 
 spirit or history of liberty. 
 
 MUSEUMS OF THE VATICAN. 
 XVII. 
 
 Hardly sixty years ago, the Museum of the Vatican, now 
 the largest and richest in the world, was beo:un in a court and 
 
OLD AGE OF PAINTERS. 13 1 
 
 a garden. One cannot but admire the zeal of the pontiffs and 
 the fecundity of the soil which has produced so many chefs- 
 d^oBuvre in so short a time. In Pliny's day, there were as 
 many statues as inhabitants in Rome, and over 1 0,0 00 have 
 been exhumed up to the present time. 
 
 How numerous must the edifices have been, how glorious 
 the splendor of the Eternal City, when peopled with this mul- 
 titude of figures, uninjured and new, within the porches of 
 their sumptuous buildings ! 
 
 The vast Chiaramonti Museum, the beginning of the won- 
 ders of " rediviva Roma^^ was created by Pius YII. and 
 arranged by Canova. The most distinguishable amongst tliis 
 collection of the statues were, the beautifully-elegant Minerva, 
 surnamed by Canova " The Apollo of the draped figures" ; the 
 colossal Nile, noble and poetic, with the sixteen little figures, 
 emblems of the sixteen cubits necessary to inundate Egypt ; a 
 graceful Ganymedes ; a Demosthenes, whose stuttering is seen 
 and heard in the motion of the lips ; a pretty little Venus 
 Anadyomem; and a superb Antinous, under the form of Yer- 
 tumnus. 
 
 These were but a few of the great number of known and 
 unknown personages, whose physiognomies often differed from 
 thek fame, and like apparitions rose, in this resurrection of 
 antiquity, to stand within this hall,— 
 
 " Or, turning to tlie Vatican, go see 
 Laocoon's torture, dignifying pain ; 
 Or view the lord of the unerring bow, 
 The god of life, and poesy, and light." 
 
 The two thousand statues bought by Pius YL, who aug- 
 mented the former collections of Clement XIII. and XIY., have 
 given a name and celebrity to the Museum Pio-Clementino. 
 
138 THE LAND OF THE CAESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 One of the most admirable subjects of this collection, was 
 a beautiful bust of the youthful Augustus — one of the most 
 perfect and interesting faces ever expressed in marble — of 
 great simplicity and nobleness of mien — ^loeariug a striking 
 resemblance to the features and head of young ]S"apoleon. 
 
 There is true freshness in the sublime torso of Ajpollonius — 
 one of the best pieces of sculpture in the Yatican, and ap- 
 parently one of the latest master-pieces among the Greeks, 
 before the loss of liberty. Michael Angelo said he was a 
 pupil of the torso, although Winckleman complains of its want 
 of anatomical perfection, and compares its back to a series of 
 muscular hills. There is a true love of art shown in the tra- 
 dition, that the greatest of painters, Angelo, when blind, in 
 his old age, had to feel the torso with his hand — such was the 
 passion for antiquity that existed among the artists of that 
 epoch. 
 
 Under the portico of the court, and in separate little cabi- 
 nets, connected by doors with each other, stood the celebrated 
 Mdeager — a statue of great hardness and formality ; but it 
 rather shows the care with which the ancients executed ani- 
 mals, for the boar's head is perfect. The Perseus of Canova, 
 stood in a cabinet-chamber, adjoining the ignoble statues of 
 his wrestlers, Damoxenes and Creugas ; and, in its turn, the 
 Mercury, usually called the Antinous of the Vatican, is perfect 
 in grace, vigor, and effect. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 All deem, with Pliny, the Laocoon the sublimest perform- 
 ance known. Laocoon and his sons, though sacrificing at the 
 altar in the Temple of Minerva, are quite naked ; and yet, on 
 
THE APOLLO BELVIDERE. 139 
 
 beholding this isolated ideal representation of suffering hu- 
 manity — this spectacle of terror and pity, excited by the 
 anguish of the father and his children — the eye does not miss 
 the robes of the high priest, or the fillets of Laocoon, so much 
 is truth superior to reality, and so completely does the imagi- 
 nation pass over the latter to contemplate the former. This 
 soul-stirring group is terrible to look upon. There is a force, 
 however, in the agony of the sufferers, which causes any one 
 to shudder with a chill of intense sympathy, and your nerves 
 are unstrung to sadness at the sight of 
 
 " A father's love and mortal's agony 
 With an immortal patience blending ; vain 
 The struggle ; vain against the coiling strain 
 And gripe, and deepening of the dragon's grasp, 
 The old man's clench ; the long envenom'd chain 
 Rivets the living links ; the enormous asp 
 Enforces pang on pang, and stifles gasp on gasp." 
 
 — Childe Harold, clx. 
 
 XX. 
 
 In the last cabinet, under the portico of the Pio-Clementino, 
 behold that statue which enchants the world — the Apollo! 
 There is a beam of inspiration in the shape of its noble head. 
 " A transparent glow of genius, almost akin to divinity, trans- 
 cends the cold form of the marble, which seemed self-luminous, 
 as if the light of the exulting springs of love were struggling 
 for issue toward the glorious beams of heaven." Byron has 
 truly depicted it with thoughts that breathe, even like the god 
 of the bow : — 
 
 " The sun in human limbs array 'd, and brow 
 All radiant from his triumph in the fight ; 
 The shaft has just been shot — the arrow bright 
 
140 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 With an immortal's vengeance ; in his eye 
 And nostrils beautiful disdain, and might 
 And majesty flash their full lightnings Iby, 
 Developing in that one glance, the Deity." 
 
 — Childe Harold, clxi. 
 
 Poetry alone can frame proper language for tlie illustration 
 of a poetical idea. Winckleman, in his celebrated and em- 
 phatic description of Apollo, deems it the sublimest of antique 
 statues ; his countryman, Mengs, with more exaggerated 
 praise, declares it to be the only complete example of the 
 sublime. We alone wonder that its position in the Baths of 
 Nero had not excited generous emotions in the breast of that 
 monster-tyrant. The group of the Laocoon was found in the 
 hot-baths of Titus ; they might have been properly displaced. 
 The shuddering anger of the conqueror of Python, does not 
 impair his divine beauty — " which, if made by human hands, 
 is not of human thought." 
 
 XXI. 
 
 The Hall of Animals, a museum of beasts, and a menagerie 
 of art, succeeds to the cabinet's statues of the court. It is a 
 further proof of the wonderful skill of the ancients in repre- 
 senting the brute creation, and in imparting to them a peculiar 
 kind of beauty. A Stag, of colored alabaster, a Tiger, a 
 Lion, in yellow breccia, a great Lien, in higio, a GriffiM, of 
 flowered alabaster, are worthy of notice, and show an adapta- 
 tion of material to their various subjects. The emperor Covi- 
 mod'iLS, on horseback, throwing a javelin, stands prominent 
 among the beasts of tliis gallery, before you enter that of the 
 statues ; in the front of this second hall a fine Caligula is pre- 
 sented, and a superb Amazon, drawing the bow; besides a Venus^ 
 
HALL OF THE MUSES. 141 
 
 with a vase, supposed to be a copy of the Vemcs of Praxitiles, 
 and the forsaken Ariadne, long called Cleopatra — a noble com- 
 position, which had almost given a reputation for dignity to 
 the frivolous and voluptuous Egyptian, the real Armida of an- 
 tiquity, and somewhat like the Lola Montes of modern, times. 
 The celebrated statue of Jupiter, seated in the last chamber 
 of the beasts, claims notice for its tranquillity — with his 
 sceptre and thunderbolt in his hands, and the eagle at his feet. 
 The cabinet of delle Maschere — so called from the magnificent 
 pavement of the masks, taken from Adrian's villa — contains a 
 graceful Ganymedes and the eagle, the Venus ready to bathe, 
 the basso-relievo of Adrian^ s Apotheosis, and a Diana, 
 
 XXII. 
 
 In the Hall of the Muses, where Melpomene's is the finest, 
 there is an extremely interesting collection of the portraits of 
 distinguished philosophers : — A Hermes of Sophocles, very rare ; 
 the orator ^schines, unique ; an inferior Aspasia, veiled ; a 
 Hermes of Pericles, covered with a helmet, very scarce ; Alci- 
 biades, and a Hermes of Sophocles. The Apollo Citharceda, 
 crowned with laurels, in a long robe, singing and dancing, is 
 very fine. 
 
 The well-lighted Rotunda, possessing one of the richest and 
 largest mosaics existing, has a magnificent bowl of porphyry, 
 found in the Thermae of Titus ; a colossal head of Jupiter, 
 and a colossal Juno, bronze. 
 
 The door of the spacious Hall of the Greek Cross is one of 
 tlie most imposing ever seen. Two colossal Sphinxes, of red 
 granite, guard tlie entrance, at the head of the grand stair- 
 case ; while the recumbent forms of two rivers recline at 
 their feet. 
 
142 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The apartment of the Biga — so named from the elegant 
 antique chariot standing in the middle — leads to the long 
 gallery of the Candelabras, which are very elegant in form ; 
 in this there is a mosaic, representing fish, a pullet, asparagus, 
 dates, &c. ; quite curious from its haying been the floor of 
 a Triclinium. 
 
 STATUES OF THE VATICAN BY TORCHLIGHT. 
 XXIII. 
 
 Notwithstanding the cortege with which the visit of the 
 statues by torchlight is usually made — a cortege worldly 
 enough, and but little favorable to emotion — years will not 
 obliterate the impression which that visit makes upon the mind. 
 
 By this light the colored marble glows and becomes flesh ; 
 all the physiognomies of the Roman emperors are alive again ; 
 they seem animated with the violent, sanguinary, or abject 
 passions of those masters of the world ; and the head of Tibe- 
 rius seems overloaded with his crimes. The anatomical details 
 and the slightest touches of the chisel are distinctly shown by 
 the reflection of the torches, which the custodi dexterously 
 wave close by the outlines. This visit also affords an inte- 
 resting study in an artistical point of view, as some of the 
 antique master-pieces, such as the Laocoon, placed in ob- 
 scure subterranean thermce, or haths, were intended to be 
 viewed by this light. 
 
 The Gregorian Museum is consecrated to Etruscan art. 
 This excellent collection of the late Pope Grregory seems called 
 to high archaeological destinies, and already deserves a place 
 in the foremost rank of similar cabinets, for its tomhs, its 
 furniture^ its jewels, and especially its bronzes and painted 
 
ARAZZI TAPESTRY. 143 
 
 vases. Among the bronzes may be distinguislied a trijpod, and 
 the celebrated statue of a woman found at Yulci ; among 
 the vases, that of Jupiter accompanied by Mercury scaling Alc- 
 mena^s loindoio, and the curious amphora of Orpheus pursued 
 hy an enraged woman. 
 
 The tapestry (Arazzi), executed at Arras, and in the towns 
 of Elanders, from the cartoons of Raphael, although some- 
 what faded in color, these celebrated productions faithfully 
 express the broad design and style of Raphael. The most 
 admirable of these compositions of the artist's best days, 
 probably finished during the last two years of this life, and one 
 of the first monuments of his mighty genius, are, St. Peter 
 and St. John Healing the Cripple, which, under a rich portico, 
 and beside the noblest figures, offer the contrast of the two 
 lame beggars ; Jesus Christ giving the Keys to St. Peter ; the 
 Miraculous Draught of Fishes ; St. Paul Preaching at Athens, 
 reckoned the finest of the tapestries, and the Adoration of the 
 Magi, so striking for the diversity of the clothes and orna- 
 ments, the pomp of the Asiatic cortege, with its elephants and 
 camels, and especially the contrast of such gorgeous grandeur, 
 at the feet of a child, with a manger for a cradle. 
 
 Italy no longer possesses the cartoons of this precious col- 
 lection, ordered by Leo X., a part of the exquisite ornaments 
 of which allude to the glory of the Medici — seven of the 
 principal cartoons have passed into England, and may be seen 
 in the Gallery of Hampton-court Palace. These magnificent 
 draperies hang like huge curtains of goblin tapestry over the 
 museum of the Yatican of Art, and fifty adorn the entrance 
 to the Stanze of the Paintings. 
 
144 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 THE VATICAN GALLERY. 
 XXV. 
 
 *' Whom the gods love, die young," might be a consolatory 
 reflection to those who lament the early death of Raphael 
 Sanzio d'Urbino, whose Transfiguration will be considered 
 an immortal work, as long as Art itself exists. This chef-d^ 
 cBuvre of painting has been praised and admired for centuries, 
 and will, with three or four others, among the same collection 
 of fifty pictures, make the Gallery of the Yatican one of the 
 best in the world. Raphael died in his thirty-seventh year — 
 this great work was the finest decoration of his funeral ! 
 What might he not have done had he lived to the old age of 
 Michael Angelo, or the period of the century of Titian ! 
 Perhaps Raphael had attained perfection at an earlier season, 
 and in the kind ways of Providence, was withdrawn, because 
 he was incapable of surpassing his last, and best, great paint- 
 ing. The two-fold action of the Transfiguration, in con- 
 formity with the evangelical narrative, is connected, and pro- 
 ceeds simultaneously : (Matt, x.; Mark x.; Luke x.) In this 
 magnificent composition, heaven, earth, and hell, contribute to 
 recognize the God-man. The upper part, on the mount, is 
 superb — the divinity is visible in the figure of our Lord. The 
 figures of the three apostles, apart by themselves, are tremu- 
 lous with a reverential fear. The group of the rest of the apos- 
 tles, looking up, as if awaiting their return, presents a scene full 
 of pathos, whilst the contrast of the female kneeling, and the 
 demoniac, foaming at her side, is strikingly grand in its design 
 and conception. After the sublime accomplishment of that 
 painting, it was a privilege for genius to die — in his glory. 
 
Raphael's stanze. 145 
 
 The Communion of St. Jerome, the best painting at Rome, 
 after the Transfiguration, is admirable for the unity and design 
 of its composition, and the truth and simplicity of the figures. 
 In the celestial expression of resignation, given to the Saint, 
 Domenichino displays the immense moral power which the 
 arts have, and which the genius of eloquence or poetry cannot 
 always attain. 
 
 St. Rornauld and his Disciples, has long been regarded as 
 one of the four paintings of Rome, and the Madonna di Fo- 
 ligno — one of Raphael's most bewitchmg and beautiful paint- 
 ings, presents expressions of ravishing grace and shape, almost 
 akin to the angelic, in the smiles of the Infant and in the meek- 
 ness of the Yirgin. These four great classical master-pieces 
 of the Italian school appeared to throw a brilliancy about 
 their own effects, which rendered all the other paintings of the 
 gallery scarcely worthy of the effort of contemplation. 
 
 ST A N z E . 
 XXVI. 
 
 But the Stanze (chambers) of Raphael exhibit the triumph 
 of painting, and nowhere else does art appear so grand, so 
 varied, or so powerful. The two great paintings of the Dis- 
 pute en the Holy Sacrament, or Theology, and the School of 
 Athens, are his most sublime productions. 
 
 The vast mosaic work-room, which occupies a part of the 
 ancient palace of the tribunal of the Inquisition, presents a 
 collection of enamels of various shades and colors, amounting 
 to many thousands. This slow work in the art which Monti 
 describes as — 
 
 " L'arte che i dipinti emula e serba," 
 
146 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 — for it requires twenty years to complete some pictures — is a 
 very tedious and painful handicraft ; and, after all, but an 
 imitative, copying talent — although it may render the great 
 works of painting, imperishable, by the execution of them in 
 stone. It is, however, a class of manufacture peculiar to 
 Rome, and indigenous to the people. Signor Barberi, whose 
 grand works decorate the palaces of all Europe and America, 
 resides beyond the Piazza di Spagna. His work-shop is the 
 principal resort for strangers, who derive much pleasure and 
 interest from the Cavalliere B., who is both a superior artist 
 and a gentleman. The Gardens of the Yatican, attached to 
 the Pontifical Palace, are prettily laid out in walks and 
 flower-beds. The two colossal jpeacocks, and the phie-apple, 
 in bronzes, were taken from Adrian's mausoleum, and now 
 stand in the inner garden. We delighted to wander through 
 the many- winding paths of the woods, beyond the reach of 
 art, and to court the quiet of forgetfulness and seclusion 
 under the shady forest-trees of the Yatican, yet within sound 
 of the gushing fountains, and in view of the statues of the 
 garden, which, in its centre, guarded the form of the pretty 
 Casino. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 The Camjpi d' oglio, (or Field of Oil,) revives whatever 
 recollections may remain of the ancient Capitol of Bome. 
 The approach, by a fine stairway with double balustrades, is 
 guarded by two lions of black granite, near one of which 
 Bienzi caused his sentences of death to be promulgated, and 
 where, also, his own death took place, from the sword-thrust 
 of an artisan, who feared the effects of his popular eloquence 
 — a strange victim of Roman liberty, near the spot which was 
 once its proudest refuge. 
 
CAPITOL BELL. 
 
 14t 
 
 The Capitoline and Palatine, the most illustrious hills in 
 the world, seem almost historical monuments, exhibiting and 
 uniting the double contrast of Republican and Imperial 
 Kome — of freedom and servitude. The great centre of the 
 Ancient City, seems to have been placed between the Forum 
 and the Capitol. 
 
 The colossal statues of Castor and Pollux leading their 
 steeds, as well as the trophies ornamentuig the landing, 
 are relics of her victories, and the gatherings of time, from 
 the ruins of the Ancient City, The view from the top of the 
 Capitol is magnificent, while you stand in the belfry — that 
 being the central-point between the ancient and modern 
 Capitol. Before you, in the south, the range of the Yolgian, 
 Sabine and Etruscan hills, run toward the points of Frascati 
 and Tivoli. The bell in the tower — a trophy taken from the 
 Yiterbians, in the Middle Ages — announces, by strange con- 
 trast, the death of a Pope or the beginning of Carnival. 
 
 The view is the finest and most interesting in Rome ; and 
 from this height, the immense mass of the Coliseum seems ele- 
 gant and light. Time has so changed the surface of the 
 soil — so ploughed the earth with the deep furrow of his 
 share— that the outlines of Rome's famous seven hills are 
 scarcely less distinguishable than the form of the terrible 
 Tarpeian Rock, which is now barely fifty feet out of the 
 ground ; that distant ridge, which parts the horizon to the 
 north, is "lone Soracte's height" — the '' Gelidum Sorade" of 
 Horace — not now in s7iow, but far-off, and isolated ; it looks 
 as if the waves of the sea had been arrested in their progress, 
 and frozen into grace. The books of antiquity are opened 
 by the sight of the ancient ruins beneath your glance. The 
 vast Campagna, that sea of desolation which sweeps over the 
 
14.8 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 sterile plains of the environing country, excites the mind to 
 profound contemplation, and arouses the realms of your classic 
 and extensive readings. The soul expands, as the throbbing 
 heart vibrates with pulsation of earnest and active feeling ; 
 and whilst the thoughts of Rome's ancient grandeur rush 
 through the chambers of an awakened memory, you think, 
 from the now mouldering remains of that city, over the 
 various courses of her history, from the time that she ruled 
 as mistress of the world, and run down through the line of 
 her kings and consulates, republics and empire, to mourn with 
 painful sorrow over the solemn lesson of human destiny, which 
 is breathed still in the very air of that vast Campagna. 
 
 XX VIII. 
 
 The edifice of the Capitol Museum, is rather to the left of 
 the stairway as you descend towards the city, and contains a 
 fine collection of bronzes, vases, statues, and bas-reliefs. The 
 chamber of the Urn owes its name to the great and pre- 
 cious Sarcophagus — that attributed to Alexander Severus — 
 because the subjects of its side sculptures are from scenes in 
 the life of Achilles, whom that Emperor was ambitious to 
 imitate. 
 
 Beside the stairway as you pass to the landing of the first 
 floor, the imperishable plan of ancient Rome is modeled into 
 the side of the wall — on marble. The incomplete fragments 
 of this mass on stone, are indelible and well calculated to 
 preserve the image of the Eternal City. Under the vestibule 
 of the corridor below, the drapery of the Diana of matchless 
 grace, will not fail to surprise and please. In the chamber of 
 the Vase, the bronze vase, which Mithridates presented as a 
 
THE DYING GLADIATOR. 149 
 
 prize to the Gymnasium, will be proven by its Greek inscrip- 
 tion. Notwithstanding the great Mosaic of Pompeii, the 
 beautiful mosaic of the Pigeons is the largest and finest in the 
 world. The celebrated Iliac table is valuable, in showing the 
 progress of mythological ideas in the education of Roman 
 youths. A pretty little statue of Camillus, a youthful minis- 
 ter of the sacrifices, is full of grace and beauty. 
 
 How fine a position, and what matchless dignity is displayed 
 in the statue of Agrippina, which is so prominent among the 
 many busts in the Hall of the Emperors ; where also are those 
 exquisitive basso-relievos of Andromeda delivered by Perseus, and 
 Endymion asleep on a rock with his Dog. 
 
 The saloon has two amazingly well-preserved and superb 
 Centaurs, and an Infant Hercules. The fine ^^intoxicated 
 Faun,''^ of rosso antico, gives its name to the room in which 
 it stands ; wherein are also several unobjectionable statues, 
 among which the Antinous excels — so full of vigor and manly 
 beauty, the most perfect of his statues, 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " I see before me the Gladiator lie." 
 
 This statue affects more vividly than all the others. The 
 very restorations of Michael Angelo, only serve to carry out 
 the perfection of the original, although they are matchless in 
 imitation — one feels for that young barbarian, the agonies of 
 his dying frame seize the mind in its terror. You fancy him 
 sinking into dissolution, in the centre of the arena of the 
 Amphitheatre, and can easily surround him, with all the 
 pageant and pomp of a festival, and loud huzzas of the multi- 
 tude, feasting its passions over the games of the Coliseum ; 
 
150 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 you can conjure up all the ceremonies and shouts of that gala, 
 on which he was butchered to make a Roman's holiday. By- 
 ron's description is fit to close the range of our thought on 
 him : — 
 
 " He heard them, but he heeded not — his eyes 
 Were with his heart, and that was far away ; 
 He reck'd not of the life he lost nor prize, 
 But where his rude hut by the Danube lay, 
 There were his young barbarians all at play, 
 There was their Dacian mother — he their sire, 
 Butcher'd to make a Roman holiday — 
 All this rush'd with his blood." 
 
 Oh, Byron ! thy heart was but the harp of poesy, through 
 whose chords the spirit of antiquity or ruined man, could 
 alone awake the eloquence of genius, to intone such praise and 
 song, as such a monument had power to inspire. 
 
 The Capitoline Yenus, coming from the bath, was equally 
 delectable to be seen, in a separate chamber, by itself. It is 
 the truest, the most life-like and desirable of all the Yenuses. 
 Owing to the very strong light at noon-day, it was impossible 
 to get such shadows on the statue as to relieve the most pro- 
 minent lines of its beautiful proportions. It is best observable 
 by torchlight, with the bust of Marcus Brutus and other noble 
 statues in this hall. 
 
 PALACE OF THE CONSERVATORS. 
 XXX. 
 
 From the contemplation of these statues of singular and 
 unique beauty, pass over to the Palace of the Conservators 
 opposite, where attention will be enlisted and drawn into ad- 
 
RESERVED VENUS. 151 
 
 miration of the fine group of the Lion tearing a Horse in the 
 court, the statue of B.ome Triumphant, and the eight rooms 
 of the Protomoteca, which are devoted to the busts of illus- 
 trious Romans, (Italians, for all the great of Italy are repre- 
 sented.) 
 
 The principal object of attraction in these halls is the 
 classically celebrated bronze She-Wolf, connected with the 
 early legendary history of Rome, and her foundation under 
 Romulus and Remus. This wolf was celebrated by Cicero, 
 both in prose and verse, in his orations on Cataline, and in his 
 poem on the Consulship. The Capitoline Tablets, which con- 
 tain the annual succession of the Consuls, have a valuable 
 historical interest. 
 
 The Gallery of Paintings, with the exception of Guercino's 
 Sybil and his St. Petronilla, and some Titians, contains but a 
 few good subjects. Some of the fine Graces, and some 
 naked figures were removed thence, to add to the formation 
 of a secret or reserved cabinet. None can doubt the 
 baneful and pernicious tendency of making a specialty of 
 thfese subjects of reserved cabinets. To the pure, all things 
 are pure — ^^ Honi soit qui mat y pense" — ^is the motto under 
 which all such examples of the beautiful and simple may 
 be admired. There is no doubt that the purity of a refined 
 taste is superior to any lascivious tendency or immoral thought. 
 It is pernicious, therefore, to call attention to these subjects, 
 when set apart by themselves. The lascivious idea only 
 enters in with the reserved cabinet. They arise from the sup- 
 pression or subjection of the pure ideal to the mere passion of 
 the plastic body, like contrabands from legislation ; and when 
 thus signalized to the curious, it is no less true, that what is 
 nominally hid to the public is proverbially seen by every one. 
 
152 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Among the numerous groups of statuary, or amid the multi- 
 tude of the objects of virtu in this large collection, both the 
 Yenuses of Titian and the simple figures of the Three Graces 
 would pass unsuspected, or, at least, unimpassionately, by the 
 real lovers of the beautiful and the true in Art. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 •' Rome and her Ruins — past redemption's skill : 
 Shrines of all saints, and temples of all gods, 
 From Jove to Jesus — glorious ruins !" 
 
 We shall never forget the courtesy of that worthy man, 
 Signer Guillermo, who guided us during one entire day through 
 the antiquities of Ancient Kome. This amiable and agreeable 
 person — the ideal of an antiquary, whose life had almost been 
 spent in the topography of Rome — ^unlike the scoffing philo- 
 sopher of Walter Scott, was ardent and enthusiastic in the 
 offices of cicerone and friend, and proved a proper and zealous 
 benefactor in the discharge of his disinterested duties on this 
 day. Under his charge, Travers and myself started on our 
 journey, through the Past of her History ; and often, during 
 our wandering had we occasion to think that we should have 
 had but a poor idea of the magnificence of the ancient Ro- 
 mans, had not the proffered service of our excellent guide 
 caused us to forget even the hardships of a beginnings and to 
 overlook the difficulties of that Pons Asinorum, or its omi- 
 nous sign, flaring with the significant words, " C^est le 'premier 
 pas qui coute^' — for the first step is always the most perplexing 
 of all, in every new undertaking. 
 
COLUMNS EQUERIA. 153 
 
 It was this learned friend who opened to our instructive 
 reading the careful researches of the architect Antonini, and 
 the classic volumes of Sir William Gell ; from whose works we 
 were enabled to receive full information, in our progress 
 through Rome and its vicinity. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Under this favorable conduct-ship, we started on our stroll 
 for the day ; and, after having sipped our cup of cafe-latte 
 and roll of U^pfel at the cafe, near the Custom-house, we com- 
 menced our walk from the column of Antoninus, erected by the 
 Senate and Roman people, to Marcus Aurelius. ?^ot far from 
 this spot the prostrate form of a fallen column checked our 
 advance toward the remains of some ancient equeria, where 
 the circular form of a modern edifice still retains its antique 
 shape. That pillar was supposed to have stood, formerly, in 
 the front of the portico, which led up to these stables, where 
 other relics indicated their appropriation, to reconstruct the 
 foundations of the great Palace of Monte Citorio. In the 
 neighborhood are the remains of the Temple of Antoninus — 
 the present Custom-house — whose front, of eleven majestic 
 columns of white marble, renders it one of the noblest rem- 
 nants of antiquity. A few minutes' walk brought us to the 
 tomb of Caiiis Bibulus, one of the monuments of the Republic. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Passing thence, and in the direction of the Forum, we en- 
 tered into the interior of the Mamertine prison — that terrible, 
 ancient dungeon, formed of enormous stones, joined together 
 without cement — in which there is now a chapel consecrated to 
 St. Peter and St. Paul, who, by tradition, are said to have 
 
154 THE LAND OF THE C-ffiSAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 been imprisoned there. It was in this prison that Jugurtha 
 died of shame and hunger, after entering it with a jest : — 
 " By Hercules 1" exclaimed the African, when thrown almost 
 naked into his jail, ''thermae (hot baths) are cold in Rome !" 
 Thence the conspirators, with Cataline, could listen to the 
 voice of Cicero accusuig them in the Temple of Concord. The 
 Church of Aracoeli probably occupies the site oi the Temple 
 of Jupiter Capitolinus. The Franciscan monks now worship 
 within its porches, and the procession of the Santissimo ham 
 bino annually starts from its magnificent stairs, which were 
 taken from the Temple of Romulus ; on which occasion its 
 marbles are covered with the prostrate forms of worshippers 
 during the exhibition of the wooden figure of the infant, at 
 the feast of the Epiphany. Between this Church and the 
 Temple of Juno, on the opposite hill, was the Intermontium, 
 where the modern Capitol now stands, and within its halls 
 all the records of the Republic and of the Senatu Consulta were 
 preserved. A walk under ground carried us through the re- 
 mains of the ancient Temple of Juno, and brought us to day- 
 light a little to the east of the famous Tarpeian Rock, and in 
 the vicinity of the Eorum Romanum. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Some have mistaken the three elegant columns of the Tem- 
 ple of Jupiter Tonans, and charged these wrecks to Saturn, 
 in which you can only trace out the plan of a foundation ; 
 Yespasian's temple stands in front, and by its side, the outlines 
 of the Temple of Concord, now shapeless, and of no interest, 
 but from its associations. The noble and heavy arch of Sep- 
 timus Severus, marks the period of the decline, at the north 
 of the solitary column of the tyrant Phocus ; while far be- 
 
VIA SACRA. HORACE. 155 
 
 yond, and between the Basilica Julia, and the Curia Hostilia, 
 three superb Corinthian columns arise, from the remains of 
 the Graecostasis. Between the Curia and the Comitium stood 
 the famous fig-tree, under whose branches Romulus and Ke- 
 mus were suckled by the wolf, and thus the word ruma (a 
 teat) became symbolic of the empire and eternity of Rome. 
 
 The Umbellica, or mile-post, from whence, as from a com- 
 mon centre, the distances from every part of the empire, were 
 reckoned, stood near the Arch of Severus. 
 
 The foundations of the Temple of Mars, of Etruscan date, 
 and the beautiful rests of the Temple of the Minerva Pallas, 
 show the magnificence and arrangements of these ancient edi- 
 fices, as well, in the classic models of the Temple of Antoninus 
 and Faustina, as in the beautiful little shrine of Romulus and 
 Remus, which still retains its bronze door and its fastenings, 
 which are remarkable as specimens of ancient lock-work. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 The three majestic arcades of the basalic of Constantine^ 
 usually known as the remains of the Temple of Peace, stand 
 on the northern side of the " Yia Sacra" ; and these, with 
 the vestiges of the Temple of Yeuus and Rome, close up the 
 long array of reins, which are spread over and about the 
 limits of the Forum — the most illustrious spot in the universe. 
 This classic ground, which once resounded with the magnifi- 
 cent language of the Roman orators, has given place to the 
 Campo Yaccino, or the cattle-market ; and the lowing of 
 oxen is heard in those groves of the "Sacred way" where 
 Horace was wont to roam, amid his pleasing reveries. The 
 Rostrum was in the centre of the monuments with which the 
 
156 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Forum was crowded — for free and open space for public use, 
 was not deemed indispensable until modern days. 
 
 The two basso-relievos — the best Roman works known — 
 adorning the porches of the Arch of Titus, were admirably 
 displayed to us, as we passed under its roof at mid-day. They 
 represented Titus on a triumphal car conducted by an allego- 
 rical figure of Rome and the captive Jewish soldiers, the 
 table, the seven-branched candlestick, and other spoils from 
 the Temple of Jerusalem. It is remarkable, that the two 
 best-preserved monuments of Rome — the Coliseum, and the 
 Arch of Titus — are connected with the traditions and history 
 of the Christian religion. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Soon after leaving this arch, we passed by the side of the 
 Meta Sudans, where the Gladiators sponged their bodies after 
 the contests of the Coliseum — near to the site of the ancient 
 Palatine, once the most celebrated of the Seven Hills of Rome, 
 but now presenting only a mass of irregular ruins, covered 
 with scrub-oaks, laurels, and the clustering ivy. The Palace 
 of the Caesars, having been severally rebuilt, and enlarged by 
 the different emperors, was finally so extended in its propor- 
 tions by Xero, as to reach from this Mount over to the Esqui- 
 line. The Farnese Gardens at length reclaimed a portion of 
 the ruins, under the skillful designs of the architect Yignola ; 
 and now again, as a modern antiquity, it claims the notice of 
 the passing stranger, from its contrast with the Vigna Pala- 
 tina, where the neat habitation and courteous attention of an 
 Englishman, Mr. Charles Mills, open to the sight one of the 
 most charming views in Rome. 
 
 The Arch of Constantine, with its magnificently-decorated 
 
CONVERSATION. NOONING. 151 
 
 basso-relievos, taken from an unknown Arch of Trajan, em- 
 bracing that of the Victory over the Daciaus, closed over our 
 morning walk, with its appropriate inscription — " Fundatori 
 quietus''^ — announcing the end of our visit to the Forum. 
 
 Leaving the Coliseum behind us, we strolled through the 
 grounds of a fine garden, which ran by the side of the Palace 
 of the Caesars, to sit down under the porch of a humble inn ; 
 and here at rest whilst waiting for our dish of salads and 
 bread, we enjoyed the pleasui'es of the rural life and of the 
 country air. Our friend Gruillermo chatted pleasantly and 
 mirthfully with us, whilst the sight of ruined Rome before us, 
 inspired our thoughts, as we sat in the presence of the most 
 ancient of the Caesars' palaces ; and, over our lunch, we 
 turned the conversation naturally enough, from the contempla- 
 tion of the Emperors of Roman fame, to Napoleon himself — 
 the greatest of modern conquerors. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 After dinner, we passed on towards the site of the ancient 
 Circus Maximus, the scene of the old Rape of the Sabines, 
 under Romulus ; the situation of this theatre, between the 
 Palatine and Aventine hills, outside the gates, and the 
 successive ranges of its descending terraces, very clearly 
 indicated the position of these semi-circular ruins, and marked 
 out the forms of the ancient seats. It was in the vicinity of 
 the Imperial palace, which frowned over this arena, that 
 the Emperor gave the signal to the Roman soldiers, who 
 played either at their military games, or fought with wild 
 beasts inside. 
 
 Having made a digression to the beautiful little Temple of 
 Yesta, situated at the foot of the Palatine, and which, from 
 
158 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 the discovery of the burial urns of the Yestals, must decide 
 its true position between this hill and the " Curia Julia," we 
 stopped to admire the elegant character of the architecture of 
 this little temple, which is girt with three Corinthian columns 
 of Parian marble, the most exquisite in Rome. We discussed 
 the games of the Roman Amphitheatre, the varied, cruel, and 
 sportive scenes of the arena, and the cry of the populace for 
 "Fan et Circences P^ — "Bread and sport !" — as we sat in the 
 Circus Maximus, over a bottle of self-styled " Falernian," and 
 then proceeded to the Arch of Janus Quadrifrons, whose 
 majestic form stands near the lesser marble Arch of ensculp- 
 tured beauty, which had been dedicated to Severus by the 
 Argentarii — silversmiths and salesmen. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 'Not far distant, and in the quarter of the Yelabriura, we 
 paused awhile, to consider the superb work of the Cloaca 
 Magna, or " Great Roman Sewer." Pliny declares, that " it 
 was a quarter of a mile in length, and that a loaded cart-full 
 of hay could pass through, without moving a straw." It is 
 certainly an evidence of the grandeur of Rome, under Tarquin 
 and the Kings, when it was more powerful and magnificent 
 than under the first republic, although Etruscan workmen 
 had been employed in the construction. It is impossible to 
 imagine a more noble monument of public utility, than this 
 structure, formed of huge blocks of peperino, joined without 
 cement, which, after twenty-three centuries, is still serviceable. 
 A pretty brook of pure and wholesome water, at which the 
 people go to drink in summer mornings, as a specific against 
 certain maladies, falls into the Cloaca. 
 
BIJOUX SHRINES. BRIDGE. 159 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 ]S"ot far from the Bocca di Verita, " The Mouth of Truth," 
 (for no liar, as the children believe, can draw his hand from the 
 mouth of this mask of stone,) the beautiful little Temple of 
 Pluto, miscalled that of Yesta, with its twenty Corinthian 
 columns, overlook the waters of the turbid Tiber. Farther 
 off, the temple of Fortuna Virilis, one of the oldest in Rome, 
 was erected to the fickle goddess by Servius Tullius, whom 
 she had delivered from the bonds of slavery for the chains 
 of royalty. We believe its Ionic columns are the best 
 specimens extant of that order. 
 
 The celebrated Pons Suhlicius, the first bridge built by the 
 Romans, witnessed the exploit of Horatius Codes, who, single- 
 handed, defended it against the enemy. Livy rather doubts 
 these traditions of his countrymen, imagined by the ancients, 
 to console the self-pride of retreating armies. It derived its 
 name, Sublicius, from the beams of which it is composed ; 
 and now, under the name of " the Senatorial," is loaded with 
 the plebeian features of fishermen's huts and boats, no less 
 picturesque than popular in their forms. 
 
 The view of the different ruined bridges and towers, which 
 extend over the river from this point of the city, is peculiarly 
 striking. On the opposite bank of the Tiber, is Etruria. At 
 some distance from this bridge there is a house, that is some- 
 times called that of Pilate — at other times, Rienzi's. It is 
 more probable that it never harbored either of these famous 
 men, and belonged rather to one Lorenzo. The outside of its 
 ruined walls was covered with inscriptions and antique frag- 
 ments ; for these, we are told, Rienzi had a peculiar liking. 
 In his epoch, which was one of popular eruptions, caused by 
 inequality and oppression, it is curious to observe that the 
 
160 THE LAXD OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 numerous revolutionary outbreaks were almost co-simultane- 
 ous. The tribuneship of Rienzi was contemporary with the 
 democratical conspiracy of the Yenetian Doge, Marino Faliero, 
 and the massacres of the Jacquerie, in France. The same 
 fourteenth century had seen the great riot of the Ciompi, at 
 Florence, the insurrection of William Tell, the revolt of 
 Artevelde, in Flanders, and of Wat Tyler and Jack Cade, 
 in England. 
 
 XL. 
 
 The Theatre of Marcellus, of a mixed Order of the Republic 
 and the Empire, would contain thirty thousand spectators. 
 It was consecrated by Augustus to the young son of Octavia, 
 and so happy was the distribution of this theatre, that the 
 different classes of the senators, the knights, and the people, 
 had separate seats, which they could enter or leave without 
 meeting or interfering with each other. Its elegant columns 
 served as models for the Doric and Ionic Orders, and the 
 skillful disposition of the two orders, placed one over the other, 
 has been often imitated. In common with all the monuments 
 of Rome, it has experienced many different destinies ; and, 
 having passed to the Orsini family, is now the palace of a 
 modern Roman prince. 
 
 The Portico of Octavia, which once comprised within its 
 walls two temples — the ruins of which are still visible, and was 
 once decorated with the most beautiful statues — (the Yenus 
 of Medicis was discovered here) — now stands in the quarter 
 of the fish-market. The presence of these superb fragments in 
 the miserable buildings of the Strada Pescaria, (Fish-street,) 
 offers no unfit simile of the traces of the ancient grandeur of 
 the Roman people, through the porio.l of its decline. 
 
CENCI PALACE. 161 
 
 XLI. 
 
 No less indicative of antiquity is the Glietto, or Jews' quar- 
 ter, the residence of that ancient people, amid the ruins of 
 less ancient Rome. Until the present Pope, they had been 
 excluded from all intercourse with Christians ; but under the 
 liberality of Pius the Ninth, this crowded populace presented 
 the happy spectacle of their emancipation. The walls which 
 had hitherto separated them from the other inhabitants of the 
 city, had but recently been thrown down, when all the gates 
 were entirely removed. Such was the contempt in which they 
 were held in the sixteenth century, that Paul the Fourth, com- 
 pelled them to wear a yellow badge, as a distinguishing mark 
 of their degradation. Although the Ghetto is the most filthy 
 and confined district in Rome, such is the effect of its popu- 
 lousness that it is less unhealthy and more free from maV aria 
 than those sections which are further from the Tiber, and in 
 the bosom of some of the finest villas. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 Through a narrow portal, not far from the Jew's quarter, 
 we passed into the square of the Cenci Palace. This must 
 have been one of the grandest old mansions in Rome, in the 
 earlier times, when this quarter was very sparsedly built up. 
 Whilst there, our cicerone gave us a new version of the Cenci 
 legends. His story was not so poetical as that in Shelly's 
 poem, of that name, but somewhat more true to history, and 
 more clearly developed the character of the ambitious Paul Y,, 
 through whose line, the family of the Borghese, have risen into 
 notice. " It is a bloody tale," said we, as he told us of the 
 avarice, and villainy, of that reigning monster ; and its recital 
 would fill the mind with horror, when you listened to the 
 
162 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 story of her love, and her imprisonment, and of the deep plots 
 which were wrought for her destruction, or of the subse- 
 quent fall of her family, and the aggrandizement of the Bor- 
 ghese ; for after she was beheaded on the scaffold, the line 
 and honor, domains and wealth of the Cenci, passed forever 
 into the heritage of the Borghese. 
 
 " Sad, indeed, but true ! Alas ! poor Cenci !" said Gruil- 
 lermo, as we turned away from the palace, and his tale — to 
 seek our lodgings. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 Whilst we were in the direction of our homeward return, 
 and after we had taken a good look at the Yidoni Palace, the 
 best authenticated and most considerable work of Raphael, 
 as an architect at Rome, we did not fail to stop and gaze 
 at the celebrated mutilated torso of Pasquino, whose reputa- 
 tion is world-spread, and whose fame is the origin of our 
 word "pasquinade." This fragment owes its name to a 
 tailor, who had his shop over the spot where it was found ; 
 and, doubtless, if he was as good at a quill as his own goose, 
 he was not behind-hand in displaying his genius at satire, that 
 faculty so peculiar to the Romans, and so cutting when it fits. 
 The last joke — the piquant gibe at the governors — the ribald 
 jest, or pert pun, were placarded over this stump. It was 
 often-times the mouth-piece of the government itself, to divert 
 public opinion, and it rather licensed the freedom of its wit. 
 It now seldom exercises its severity, except on individuals, 
 and still retains much of the pleasanterie of the ancient charac- 
 ter of the tailor Pasquino, and his workmen. Thus from 
 grave to gay, we passed a delightful day amid the remains 
 of Ancient Rome ; and many happy hours, beguiled by 
 
THE TORSO, 163 
 
 the joyous mirth of our friend, and the excitement of active 
 walking, were sweetly spent between the Forum and the 
 Torso. 
 
 THE CHURCHES. 
 XLIV. 
 
 Rome has not only a Saint, but a Church, for each day in 
 the year. Whether you begin at St. Peter's, in which all the 
 glories of the churches are united; or the Pantheon, the "pride 
 of Ancient Rome," representing, by its present modern use for 
 worship, the conversion of heathenism to Christianity, which 
 has overspread the world since its day, or terminate with the 
 humble little shrine of Santa Maria della Transportina, occu- 
 pying the place where Romulus is said to have been interred, 
 there is, in each, some feature worthy of peculiar notice and 
 attraction, and every one has some charm of art, some legend 
 of antiquity or tradition of miraculous wonder, to either ele- 
 vate the thoughts, instruct the mind, or adorn the fancy with 
 images of beauty, wonderment and speculation. " Amid these 
 relics of nobler days and noblest arts !" the Pantheon of 
 Agrippa stands. "Despoiled, yet perfect, and to art a 
 model," not only as the most elegant edifice of Ancient Rome, 
 and the best preserved of its antique remains, but, at the 
 present moment, the finest monument of Modern Rome. The 
 simple and noble portico, with its superb columns of Egyptian 
 marble, displays the prodigious knowledge of statics in its 
 Greek and Roman architects. The majestic interior retains 
 most of its antique lining of precious marble. This admirable 
 work of eighteen centuries has not been conquered by time, 
 but has suffered from men who have torn away from the 
 roof the ornaments of silver and ffilt bronze, which the ancients 
 
164 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 adopted in the " vast and wondrous domt^ Raphael, " the 
 immortal," lies interred in the Pantheon — the temple of all 
 the gods. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 How inferior to the gloomy, desolate and ruined aspect 
 presented by the Coliseum, in the approach from ^NTaples, and 
 how poor an entrance to Rome from the north, is the rambling 
 piazza of the Porta del Populo, with its pitiful statues, obe- 
 lisks and sphinxes. According to a popular tradition, as old 
 as the close of the eleventh century, a large tree once stood 
 near this porta, (or gate,) on which a raven used constantly 
 to perch. The omen led to digging up the earth at the foot 
 of the tree, and an urn was found with an inscription, stating 
 it to contain the ashes of Nero. They were scattered to 
 the winds ; but on the spot where the urn was discovered, 
 Pope Pascal 11. founded the Church of Santa Maria del 
 Populo. 
 
 It has several fine chapels, and is rich in paintings. The 
 choir has a superb ceiling, by Pinturicchio, and the Chapel 
 of the Virgin is very finished and aerial. Behind the altar 
 are the beautiful painted windows of Claude and Guillaume, 
 French stainers ; remarkable as being the only painted win- 
 dows in Rome, and v/hich, after three centuries, retain all 
 their pristine beauty of color. The Ghigi Chapel, one of the 
 most renowned in Rome, derives its interest from the belief 
 that the four cartoons of the ceiling were designed by Ra- 
 phael, and the Jonas^ an imitation of Antinous, enjoys the 
 celebrity of his fame. 
 
"GEZU." PORTUGUESE. " THE WIND." 165 
 
 XL VI. 
 
 It has been well said, that rainy days are excellent for 
 enjoying picture-galleries and libraries. We took advantage 
 of them in visiting the churches of Rome ; and on one oc- 
 casion found ourselves at the pretty little Church of St. Anto- 
 nini dellcu Portuguese, which is remarkable, only, for its exqui- 
 site marbles and the beautiful simplicity of its chaste designs. 
 It was in striking contrast with the Church of the Gezu, 
 the professed house of the Jesuits, in which, the too ornate 
 decoration of the roof and its travertine portal, are not in 
 keeping with its pure and elegant disposition. There is always 
 a strong breeze blowing near this church, owing to the elevation 
 of the Capitoline Hill, and the direction of the streets. The 
 Roman populace tell a story of the Devil walking one day 
 with the wind, and when he reached this church, he said to 
 his companion, '* I have something to do, in here ; wait for me 
 a moment." The devil never came out, and the wind is still 
 waiting for him at the door. The sumptuous Chapel of St. 
 Ignatius, though singularly formal, has a globe of lajpis lazuli, 
 the largest in the world, and the richest altar, under which is 
 the tomb of the saint. 
 
 The Church of St. Peter, in Viiiculo, which was built to 
 receive the chain that had bound the apostle in the prison of 
 Jerusalem, is no less celebrated by the presence of Michael 
 Angelo's great statue of Moses. The haughty expression of 
 countenance given him by the artist, little characterized him, 
 who was the meekest man of his day. At some little distance, 
 the features partake of great power and majesty of mien. Its 
 anatomical details are strikingly correct and beautiful, al- 
 though, like all of his works, somewhat exaggerated. The 
 drapery of the figure is by no means pleasing, but open to 
 
166 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 much censure, and the beard is enormous. The whole statue 
 has more of the bold air and proud attitude of a haughty pon- 
 tiff, than that of a Hebrew legislator ; and it has been truly 
 observed that '' the body seems to wear a flannel waist- 
 coat ; and the kind of pantaloons with gaiters which cover 
 the thighs and long legs, are scarcely in character for a 
 Moses." 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 The fine Church of St. Louis of the French, was founded 
 by Catherine de Medecis. Its paintings and tombs make it 
 very interesting. A good copy of Raphael's St. Cecilia is by 
 Guido, and the brilliant frescoes of the ceiling, by Domeni- 
 chino ; a fine painting of the Virgin, in the Sacristy, passes 
 for the work of Corregio. 
 
 The French tombs of St. Louis have a different character, 
 and present some touching contrasts in the tomb of d'Ossat, 
 the son of a shoeing-smith, afterwards ambassador, and one of 
 the most elegant of French writers ; that of d'Agincourt 
 attests a pure and philosophic life, passed in the bosom of 
 Kome, in devotion to art and antiquity ; and the sarcophagus 
 of Cardinal de La Grange d'Arquien, father-in-law of the 
 great Sobieski, who died at the age of a hundred and five 
 years — the oldest cardinal known — would have something 
 patriarchal about it were it not for the indecent revelations of 
 St. Simon, respecting the unbecoming life of this prelate : — 
 " Homme d' esprit, de honne comjpagnie, fait cardinal a quatre- 
 vingtdeux ans, gaillard, qui eut des desmoiselles fort au dela de at 
 age, qui ne dit jamais son breviaire, et qui s'en vantait.'' 
 
JIT. CELIO. IMPERIA, 16^ 
 
 XLYIII. 
 
 Four Sibyls, by Raphael, are the glory of the Church of 
 Santa Maria della Pace. The old Sibyl to the right, and the 
 one seated with her head turned to the left, are admirable, 
 and sufficient to give an idea of the force and beauty of the 
 original work, despite all the injuries and retouchings that 
 have been inflicted upon the Church. Michael Angelo valued 
 each head worth of itself one hundred crowns. The vast 
 Church of St. Andrew ddla Valle, is remarkable for its good 
 paintings, and the Choir of Lanfrauco : the four pendentives 
 of Domenichino, of broad and easy execution, are in that 
 master's loftiest style. The Strozzi Chapel, of Michael An- 
 gelo's architecture, has his Piety, in bronze. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 St. Gregory sul monte Celio, which was built on the site of 
 the monastery founded by the Patriarch Gregory, is served by 
 the Camadulite Monks. This church derives its celebrity 
 from the rival frescoes of Domenichino and Guido, in the 
 Chapel of St. Andrew's. The Scourging of the Saint, by the 
 former, is a chef-d'-OBuvre for elevation, force of designs, and ex- 
 pression, and beauty of composition ; the flogger, with his 
 back turned towards the beholder, is admirably drawn. The 
 fresco of Guido — St. Andrew adoring the Cross before his Mar- 
 tyrdom — ^licher and more vigorous in coloring than Domeni- 
 chinos's, is after all inferior. 
 
 The Concert of Angels, in the roof of the gallery of the 
 Chapel of St. Silvia, is by Guido. At the bottom of the 
 Chapel of St. Andrew's is the statue of St. Gi-egory, sitting, 
 which was rough-hewn with genius by Michael Angelo, and 
 finished by his pupil, called Franciosino. It was at San 
 
168 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Grregory that the celebrated Koman courtesan Imperia — the 
 Aspasia of the age of Leo X. — obtained the honor of a public 
 monument, and strange epitaph : — 
 
 ^^ Im'perea cortisana Romana, quce digna tanto nomine, rara 
 inter homines former specimen dedit," 6fc. 
 
 Both monument and inscription were defaced, not from a 
 sense of decency, but through inadvertency, during certain 
 repairs. The existence of Imperia, and the kind of dignity of 
 a Koman courtesan, are features characteristic of the pagan 
 manners of the literati at the revival. Imperia was sung by 
 her learned friends, in Latin and Italian verse. Bandalo 
 relates, such was the luxury of her apartments, that the 
 Ambassador of Spain repeated the insolence of Diogenes, by 
 spitting in the face of a servant, saying, he could find no other 
 place for it. It appears that she was no less accomplished 
 than Bavaria's favorite, and cultivated in music and in tongues. 
 There is an amusing story told of an old Roman parasite, 
 Titus Tamisius, who sent his valet to the market to ascertain 
 where the best fish went to. Being informed that the head 
 of an iLmhra (turbot) was sent to one of the Conservators — 
 according to an usage as old Juvenal — then presented to two 
 Cardinals, and to the Banker Ghigi, he followed it with much 
 fatigue and anxiety, until* it went at last to Imperia, to whom 
 Ghigi sent it, crowned with flowers in a gold dish, and with 
 whom the impudent Tamisius succeeded in dining. 
 
 The view of the ruins of the Caesars' palace is wonderfully 
 picturesque, from the Gallery of the Chapel of St. Silvia, in 
 the " Church of St. Gregory sul Monte Cellio." 
 
PRIMITIVE BASILICS. 169 
 
 L. 
 
 The ancient church, Santa Maria, in Dominica, called 
 Dellcb Navicdla, from a little vessel put in the front by Leo 
 X., was cleverly renovated on Raphael's designs. 
 
 The numerous paintings in the Church of St. Stephen, II 
 Rotundo, an antique edifice, converted into a church about 
 the fifth century, representing the different martyrdoms of 
 saints, bad enough, are the most hideous and complete col- 
 lection of executions that can be imagined. 
 
 LI. 
 
 Michael Angelo was in his eighty-eighth year when he drew 
 the design of the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, over 
 the principal hall of Diocletian's vast Thermse. The Greek 
 cross, which was taken as the plan of this edifice, shows how 
 grand would have been the effect at St. Peter's, if the plan 
 of Michael Angelo had been followed. Eight colossal 
 columns of granite, left in the original position, and buried at 
 their base by the architect, on account of the humidity of 
 the soil which he was obliged to raise, support this spacious 
 hall. The whole aspect of this church was more pleasing and 
 striking than any other that I had seen in Rome. 
 
 LII. 
 
 The antique Church of St. Clement, presents the best 
 preserved model of the disposition of the first basilics. It 
 retains the double pulpit, for the public reading of the Epistle 
 and the Gospel. The Bishop's chair was in the middle of the 
 seats in the consistory behind the altar. The different compart- 
 ments of the aisles show that the number of female worshippers 
 was greater than that of the males, from the larger space 
 
110 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 allotted to the former sex, as they also indicated the various 
 grades. The Church was then a militant body, which had 
 its degrees of advancement, and virtue alone produced the 
 distance. It is no unreasonable supposition, that in the centre 
 of the atrium, formerly stood the fountain in which the pagans 
 purified themselves — probably the origin of the Christian holy- 
 water-vase. The unconverted were not allowed to enter the 
 inner temple, but remained standing outside, waiting for the 
 efficacy of the prayers of the faithful inside, to be transformed 
 into new creatures. 
 
 How simply-grand were the arrangements of the primitive 
 Christians ! Some traces of this early religious equality seem 
 perpetuated at Rome, in the practices of the public services. 
 Everybody kneels on the bare pavements of the temples, and 
 we see nothing of the devotional comforts of our parish 
 churches, in pews or cushions, kneeling-benches or stalls, to 
 mark a distinction of rank. 
 
 The foundation of St. Clement's, with all its antiquity, is 
 not so old as the fifth century. 
 
 LIII. 
 
 On beholding the rebuilding of St. Paul's extra muros, we 
 could not but regret that such enormous expenditure should 
 have been made so far from the city, in the midst of an un- 
 healthy and infected plain; especially where the edifice, with 
 all its magnificence, contributes nothing to the ornament of 
 Rome, and will be but an imperfect substitute for the former 
 venerable basalic, which was founded by Constantine ; neither 
 in respect to art and picturesque effect, is the restoration 
 desirable. With its crumbling vaults, forest of columns 
 calcined by fire, and vast gaping walls, invested with the 
 
ALABASTER FOR COLUMNS. Itl 
 
 mantling ivy, with which nature delights to deck her ruins, 
 it might have become an object to be admired, and have been 
 taken for the ruins of an ancient highway. 
 
 The funds, for the re-construction of this church over the 
 bodies of St. Paul and Peter, have been collected throughout 
 Europe. The old transept in front, has some of the mosaics 
 which escaped the fire of 1823. The cloister of St. Paul, 
 finished in 1815, is very remarkable. Four hundred small 
 columns, of a spiral form, and of different shapes, ornamented 
 with mosaics, as well as the entablature, support the portico. 
 The new entrance to the basilic is on a magnificent plan ; the 
 middle aisle is supported on either side by double rows of 
 stately Corinthian columns, and the dome of the consistory 
 and bishop's chair will be upheld by the four splendid columns 
 of Egyptian alabaster, which were presented to the basilic, 
 by Mahomet Ali, the Pacha. By slow ascent up an irregular 
 stair-way, we mounted nearly up to the roof, and walked across 
 the platform of the staging, where the work of stuccoing and 
 gilding medallions, was in full activity. The workmen seem 
 like a vast population in mid-air, and at such a giddy height, 
 we sighed for a firmer footing. We descended, to enter our 
 carriage, and on oui* return to Rome, thought of no temple 
 else : — 
 
 " But thou, of temples old, or altars new, 
 Standing alone — with nothing like to thee." 
 
 ROMAN PALACES. 
 LIV. 
 
 The imposing and severe aspect of the Roman palaces, has a 
 selfish and forbidding look. They seem stern and repulsive. 
 
1T2 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and possess not the public architecture of the Romans, with 
 its forums, thermae, and amphitheatre, made for the multitude ; 
 but they are the vast and gloomy residences of their masters, 
 who are often, not only proud and poor imitators of feudal 
 lords, but foreigners to the interests, and excluded from the 
 business and life of their fellow-men. This aspect of a 
 Roman palace offers the most fantastical contrasts ; its 
 barred windows give it the air of a prison — grass grows in 
 the court, at the bottom of which may be seen a heavy coach, 
 the only trace of modern magnificence to be found there. 
 The marble stair is so badly cleaned, that it seems black, or 
 brown, and its columns are arrayed with cobwebs. On the 
 first floor, always very high, one sees in the antechamber, a 
 lofty canopy, covered with the master's arms — a privilege pe- 
 culiar to the princes and the four Roman marquises, who are 
 called, on that account, canojpied marquises ; and on the balus- 
 trade of this monument of vanity, hang the meanest house- 
 hold instruments ; but amid all these abominations, the ceiling 
 is often a vast picture, the work of some great master. 
 The servants, many in number, are dirty and dilatory ; the 
 custode, a self-important domestic, whose office is to explain the 
 paintings, in which he sometimes succeeds very well, so natural 
 is a taste for the arts to Italians, leads you into other apart- 
 ments where the same contrasts are repeated ; the floor, if not 
 of mosaic, is of badly-jointed bricks ; the door-posts are mar- 
 ble, and in the saloon, beside the most admirable paintings, 
 columns of lapis lazuli, or vert antique, the furniture is paltry, 
 a little old time-piece, huge arm-chairs that seem as if fixed in 
 their places and not to have been moved for centuries, and a 
 little narrow sofa. Such is not the social saloon of France, 
 with its simple, elegant, convenient furniture, arranged for 
 
TASTE.— FLOWERS. CORSO. 113 
 
 conversation, with its piano, harp, books, flowers, and album, 
 and which one need but cross to feel the charms of the life led 
 there. This palace saloon never has a flower, and a sight of 
 a rose in the apartments would make all the Roman ladies fall 
 into hysterics. A fine anemone was one day shown to one of 
 them, and she exclaimed with delight, " E tanto jpiu hella die 
 non puzza niente'^ — " It is all the finer for not stinking." This 
 word, puzzare, is generally used to designate the perfume of 
 flowers. The antipathy of the modern Romans to flowers, is 
 surprising, when we recollect the profuse and frequent use of 
 them by their ancestors. Instead of the merry blazing chim- 
 ney fire, there is nothing to be seen in the palace-room but the 
 dull and unhealthy brazier. In fine, this majestic abode, the 
 monument of vanished glory, pretty much in keeping, however, 
 with the gravity of the pontifical government, seems as if 
 made to be visited rather than inhabited ; there one neither 
 feels the sweetness of a home, nor the splendor and pleasures 
 of the world, and the transeuntibus may be applied to it, in a 
 different sense, as well as to the Chartreuse ; at least, so says 
 Yalery, and we have ever found him to be good authority, 
 in all matters of taste. 
 
 The Eternal Cor so is lined with palaces and shops — that 
 famous street which comprises the minor trades of Rome and 
 the ennui and vanities of her great, who go there every day 
 to show them, at different hours, according to the season. 
 The CoRso is favorable to the opinion which esteems popula- 
 tion a means of salubrity, for the air of this trading street 
 passes for the purest in the town, while the beautiful and 
 solitary villas are infected. 
 
Hi THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 LV. 
 
 We think with certain scientific experimenters, that the 
 MaVariah effects have been somewhat exaggerated at Rome ; 
 for it is as easy to counteract it with hygieine and the use of 
 flannel, as the ancient Roman did. This air has always been 
 considered good for old men, and been proved so by many 
 who have breathed it, to a good old age. 
 
 In the midst of her decline, Rome still retains some traces 
 of splendor, which belong to her alone. The pavement of 
 the streets is still of blocks of basalt ; and, as we walk over 
 the slabs of lava with which the Corso is paved, let us look 
 into one of the palaces which is worthy of mention in its 
 line — i. e., that of the Ruspoli. 
 
 The architecture of this palace is both judicious and pure 
 in its style. Its celebrated stairway of one hundred and 
 twenty steps of white marble, each of a single block, passes 
 for the finest in Rome. 
 
 As the whole of the ground-floor of this building is occupied 
 by a cafe and restaurant, we find it proper to mention here, 
 that the coffee-houses of Rome, under an absolute govern- 
 ment, are almost, as the vent-holes and safety-valves of 
 opinion, the same as our journals and opposition. Whatever is 
 printed abroad, in Paris or Vienna, is spoken there, at the Cafe 
 Ruspoli. The nervous and rude sarcasm of the frequenters, 
 their violent censures of tlie Roman court and the acts of 
 the government, sometimes even on the part of its agents, 
 may give a tolerable idea of what the unrestricted liberty of 
 the press would be among them. 
 
 Every coffee-house has its distinctive character, and, as 
 we say of a journal, its color. The Cafe Greco and the 
 Lepre are the rendezvous of artists — French, Italian, German, 
 
GALLERIES AND VIRTU. 115 
 
 and American — where they smoke and speak aloud, with 
 freedom and candor, of the new works and the different repu- 
 tations. The coffee-house of Monte-citorio, called de^Bah- 
 bione, or Cafe Old Papas, or Old Quidnuncs, is frequented by 
 professors and men of learning. The antiquarians resorted to 
 the coffee-house of the Trevi Fountain, where peasants came, 
 afresh from the fields, with their newly-found relics. In these 
 various companies, no less than in the Ruspoli, the scandal of 
 the day is warmly discussed ; for the Romans of to-day are 
 neither less curious nor less eager after news than their 
 predecessors, in the days of Horace and Juvenal. 
 
 LVI. 
 
 The vast and naked Colonna Palace dates from the illus- 
 trious Martin Y. (Colonna.) The gallery is one of the first 
 in Rome, and contained, among other celebrated paintings, 
 the Eurojpa by Albano, a Holy Family by Andrea del Sarto, 
 and one or two good landscapes. As you are entering the 
 grand gallery, the extraordinary and wonderful elaboration 
 of two huge armoises claims your regard, from their exqui- 
 site carvings in ivory, one of which is covered with basso- 
 relievos, showing in its centre a depiction of the figures in the 
 Universal Judgment of Michael Angelo. 
 
 The grand hall of this palace was beautifully decorated 
 with frescoes, representing the victory of Colonna over the 
 Turks. Prom this hall you pass out into a garden worthy 
 of the palace, and there see two fine fragments of a well-exe- 
 cuted antique frontispiece, which were supposed to have once 
 adorned the Temple of the Sun. 
 
 Before proceeding to the Quirinal, we were led to visit the 
 celebrated Cabinet of Virtu, known as that of the " Cam- 
 
176 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 pagna Museum," and were well repaid in looking over this 
 collection of relics of every age and art, from the Etruscan to 
 the Chinese. The assemblage of paintings and vases were of 
 the same style as those at Naples, but inferior in extent. 
 The display of bracelets and rich gold ornaments, for the 
 adorning of the ladies, were more perfect than even that of 
 the Ethnological Society of Denmark. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 The piazza of Monte Cavallo, on the summit of the Quiri- 
 nal, agreeably situated, ornamented with handsome edifices and 
 a charming fountain,, is more particularly embellished by its 
 superb colosses of Castor and Pollux, which, however perfect 
 as chefs-d' muvre of the Greek school, were neither by Phidias 
 nor Praxiteles. Canova never wearied of admiring the noble 
 simplicity, artless grandeur, and ana.tomical precision of these 
 statues, and he shrewdly observed the vicious restoration of 
 the two groups ; the horse and esquire must have been origin- 
 ally placed almost facing, and on the same line, in order to 
 preserve unity of disposition. The study of these colosses 
 prepares the mind for an entrance into the pontifical palace 
 of the Quirinal, which ofi'ers little of attractive art to admire, 
 except in the stucco of a v/ainscot, representing Alexander at 
 Balylon, by Thorwaldsen, Here the extensive gardens of the 
 palace stretch their delightful shades over the circumference 
 of a mile — where its broad paths, ornamental statues, cooling 
 fountains and umbrageous walks, overhung with thick foliage 
 of shade and forest-trees, create a delicious retreat from the 
 vapors and heats of the town. While there, the vast Raspig- 
 lioso Palace called us to admire the Aurora of Guido, which 
 is preserved on the ceiling of a small temple in the garden. 
 
PALACE OF THE HARP. BARBARIANS. ItT 
 
 It is one of the most perfect works of that great master, and 
 is likely to retain the freshness of its tones, if left unmolested 
 by the retouchings of meddlers. 
 
 In the direction of the picturesque little port of Ripetta, 
 and with an extent surpassing that of the P'itti at Florence, 
 the front of the immense Borghese palace stretches its 
 length, in the form of a harpsichord, and is thence known by 
 the name of // Cembalo di Borghese. The gallery, the richest 
 in Rome, and kept in the best order, has seventeen hundred 
 paintings. Among this collection, the following should claim 
 particular notice : — the Descent from the Cross, by Garofolo, 
 which has some figures of extraordinary power ; the two 
 portraits of Ccesar Borgia and Michiavel — the action and the 
 thought of the fifteenth century — are from the hand of Ra- 
 phael, and indicate no less his genius than that touching 
 master-piece of his twenty-third year, Christ deposited in the 
 To?nh, so full of grace and pure in design. Here is also the 
 often-copied Diana^s Chase, by Domenichino, of more than his 
 usual delicacy of touch, and his Citmcean Sibyl, inferior to Guer- 
 cino's Persica, although, perhaps, more expressive and in- 
 spired. Dawj^e, by Corregio, as superb in flesh as the excel- 
 lent copy of Fornarina, which hangs beyond, another of 
 Guil'.o Romano's, and many others ; — were these not enough 
 to claim for this gallery a rank superior to all the other paint- 
 ings in Rome, except the unrivaled four of the Vatican ! 
 
 " Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini," or '' what 
 the barbarians left undone, the Barberini (family) did," 
 
1T8 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 towards the destruction of the Coliseum, by the removal of 
 its stones for the building of their palace, has caused this 
 pun on the name of the Barberini to be a common saying 
 at Rome. 
 
 The Barberini Palace occupies the site of the Circus of 
 Flora, once noted for the abominable feasts celebrated there 
 at night, by torchlight, in honor of a deified courtesan, who 
 had bequeathed the wealth acquired by her debaucheries, to 
 the Koman people, then unworthy of such an heritage. The 
 rigid Cato, unwilling to interrupt the public pleasures, thought 
 proper to retire from these games, which they dare not, out 
 of their respect for his virtue, begin in his presence ; and the 
 wags of Rome wittily asserted, that he came for the sole pur- 
 pose of going away. 
 
 The Fountain of the Triton in the Court, with but a scanty 
 supply of water, is the clever composition of Bernini, the 
 architect, who also finished and adorned the magnificent front 
 of the palace. Its fine winding-stair is not less ingenious than 
 the ensemble is majestic. Some few of its sculptures and 
 paintings give it a high rank in Rome. The celebrated 
 Sleeping Fau7i is gone to Munich. A Lion, an antique 
 basso-relievo, adorning the principal staircase, is superb. 
 The ceiling of the hall of the upper apartment is adorned 
 by an immense fresco, of a fantastical, half-pagan, half- 
 Christian allegory, representing the Triumph of Glory, 
 which was painted in honor of the Barberini, and is 
 considered one of the master-pieces of the architect and 
 painter, Pietro di Cortona. The Gallery of Paintings has 
 five Titians, in the hall of portraits ; an authenticated 
 Piety, of Michael Angelo ; a sweet Virgin and Infant 
 Jesus, by the accurate Andrea del Sarto ; Albert Durer's 
 
CENCI. — FORNARINA. 1T9 
 
 Christ DispiUing with the Doctors; and the Martyrdom 
 of St. Catharine, which bears all the energy of Cara- 
 vaggio. 
 
 LX. 
 
 But the valued gem of the lower apartment is Guidons 
 Cenci — beautiful beyond expression — and a touching picture, 
 which speaks its own story, of a devoted Roman matron, 
 who preserved her virtue, even to the sundering of all the ties 
 of filial affection, rather than yield her honor. The pathetic 
 head of La Cenci, dressed with elegance and coquetry, is sup- 
 posed to be the work of Guido's early youth, and to have 
 been made from memory, after he had seen the heroine mount 
 the scaffold, where she addressed the executioner, who was 
 binding her hands, in these forcible Koman words — " Tu leghi 
 il corpo al supplicio, e sciogli Vanima al Vimmortalita'^ — ''You 
 bind my body to destroy it, but you loosen my soul for im- 
 mortality." La Cenci was the true type of an Italian maiden, 
 and the head of Guido has wonderfully expressed this ardent, 
 tender, and simple character. The prison of the La Cenci 
 is still shown in the ancient Tor di Nona, now become the 
 Theatre of Apollo, the property of Torlonia ; but the legend 
 of her martyrdom is worthy of a Roman daughter, and 
 of a place in history next to that of Virginia. 
 
 The portrait of La Petite Boulangere, the baker's daughter, 
 or La Fornarina, the beloved of Raphael, hangs in the same 
 cabinet, and under the Cenci. This copy, which has been 
 ascribed to Guilio Romano, from the blackness of the shades, 
 shows a head which, at first sight, is little attractive, and 
 requires some attention to seize all its beauty ; and which, 
 notwithstanding the difference of costume and head-dress. 
 
180 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGK 
 
 must have been taken from the same model as the Fornarina 
 of the Tribune of Florence, far superior in coloring. 
 
 The Barberini Library possesses about 60,000 volumes, 
 and some precious manuscripts, among which are the valuable 
 autographs of Petrarch and Tasso. The notes of the latter, 
 and the hand-writing of his father, Bernardo Tasso, on the 
 pages of the Latin version of Marsiho Ficino's edition of 
 Plato, show to what an extent the beautiful language and 
 poetic dreams of the Grreek philosopher were studied and 
 meditated in this family. 
 
 LXI. 
 
 When the workmen were digging out the ground for the 
 foundation of the Sciarra Palace, many beautiful objects of 
 antiquity were discovered, which, independent of the fixtures 
 of the gallery, would render it one of the most delightful 
 places of resort in the city. The most important paintings 
 are two grand and vigorous subjects, by Valentino — i. e., The 
 Beheading of St. John whose dark prison-ground in keeping, 
 scarcely permits any clearness in the shadows ; and the Rotm 
 Triwni'phant, remarkable for the trunk and head of the Tiber. 
 What a galaxy of fine Art is assembled in one room, where 
 you will find upon the walls the Young Musician, called' // 
 Suonatore, by Raphael — the collar of the young man's coat 
 is so exquisitely finished that the fur seems alive ; the 
 Gamesters, by Caravaggio ; the Modesty and Vanity of Leo- 
 nardo da Yinci ; two Magdalens, by Guido ; and a family, by 
 Titian ; — any one of which compositions would give celebrity 
 to any palace in the world. 
 
GHIGI, THE BANKER. 181 
 
 LXII. 
 
 Nearly all the paintings in the immense Doria Palace are 
 excellent. The edifice itself is one of the finest in Rome. 
 Its three different sides were added by various architects, at 
 successive periods, and, what is singularly rare at Rome, has 
 the evidences of its being well kept and sustained. It has a 
 Holy Family by Raphael, several fine landscapes by Poussin 
 and Salvator Rosa, an excellent Madonna by Murillo, the 
 celebrated Misers by Albert Durer, the two finest landscapes 
 by Claude Lorraine, (one of which is the famous scene of 
 the Mill,) Abraham's Sacrifice by Titian, the Country Wedding 
 by Teniers, and the beautiful portrait of the second Queen 
 Griovanni of Naples, by Leonardo da Vinci. We pass over 
 the Grhigi Palace, with its rich library, because it has but a 
 few paintings, and these in a neglected condition, and the 
 many remarkable works of the Corsini Palace and Library, to 
 the Farnesina, which was ornamented by Raphael and his 
 school. This dilapidated monument of the splendor of art in 
 the sixteenth century was built by the Roman banker Ghigi, 
 who wished to receive Leo X. there, and perpetuate his own 
 reputation as a man of taste. This Ghigi was the Moecenas 
 of modern times, who, on one occasion, when he feasted at 
 a banquet the fourteen cardinals and all the ambassadors 
 of Christendom, fed them from gold plates, which, after 
 they were taken from the table, were thrown into the Tiber. 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 There is much beauty in the decorations and paintings of 
 the Farnesina. 
 
 The fresh and vigorous triangle of the Three Graces of the 
 FaUe of Psyche, passes for the work of Raphael. Ghigi on 
 
182 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 being informed that he often interrupted his labors to pay a 
 hasty visit to Fornarina, paid him the attention to invite her 
 to his house, to save the artist's time. The flying Mercury, 
 seen face-wise, is life-like, serial ; the group of the Apotheosis 
 of Psyche, full of grace ; and Jupiter, embracing the son of 
 Yenus, presents a mixture of majesty at once naive, familiar, 
 and sublime. The Council, the Banquet of the Gods, are mag- 
 nificent inspirations from Homer ; notwithstanding the re- 
 touchings of this rich decoration, the general effect has gained 
 thereby, as the ground is now of a deeper blue. The poetical 
 fresco of Galatea, is by Raphael. It was in the Farnesina 
 that Michael Angelo drew a colossal head in charcoal, and 
 left it as his visiting-card, to advise his pupil Daniello of his 
 arrival, one day, when he was awaiting for him in the hall 
 below. The paintings of the ceiling, representing Diana on a 
 Car, and the History of Medusa, produce such an illusion, 
 that Titian himself took them for ornaments in relievo, and 
 wished to have a ladder brought that he might touch them, 
 a wonderful effect which these paintings still display. 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 The Lante Yilla, a pretty Casino on the Janiculum — one 
 of the spots affording the finest view of Rome — is a master- 
 piece of Julio Romano's talent in painting and architecture. 
 But, as we found it impossible to gain an entrance, in order to 
 see the eight womens' heads of the bathing-room, which are 
 reputed to be the portraits of Raphael's mistresses, we con- 
 tented ourselves in another source of inspiration, drawn from 
 the stump of ''Tasso's Oak," which had been blown down in 
 the storm of 1842. As we came from the garden where the 
 tree was planted, we entered into the church and convent of 
 
183 
 
 St. Onuphrius, which are immortalized by the death and tomb 
 of Tasso. There are some precious relics of this poet in the 
 library, besides his inkstand. A bust which is shown, taken 
 ;post mortem, beams with the evidences of mortality upon its 
 lines. There is also a Madonna of Corregio, in the corridor of 
 the convent. A monument is slowly arising for the bard of 
 the Gerusalemme; kings and emperors have subscribed, but 
 we doubt whether this pompous and cold mausoleum will pro- 
 duce the profound impression of the little slab of marble, pro- 
 visionally placed there by the monks, whose brief inscription 
 began with the words, " Torquati Tassi ossa." The latter 
 brought before us the last moments of this great man, and 
 recalled the religious asylum that his ardent piety had chosen. 
 I love to believe in the glory of the old oak — it stands in a 
 magnificent point of view, and seems to have deserved the 
 honor of affording Tasso the hospitable shelter of its boughs, 
 when alive, and to fitly mark the spot of his consecrated tomb. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 We have done justice to the poet, and now we seek with 
 pleasure to recall the Farnesina, in order to yield our tribute to 
 the Poet of Painters, Raphael. Notwithstanding the common 
 opinion, Raphael did not die from excessive debaucheries. It 
 seems certain, from a recent contemporary authority, that, 
 being obliged to hasten suddenly from the Farnesina to the 
 Vatican, he reached it quite breathless, and stopped in the 
 great hall to discuss the works of St. Peter's, and he there 
 caught cold. Soon after his return home he was attacked by 
 a fever, and died from no other cause than this sudden chill — 
 
 '* Resquiescat in pace" — 
 
]84 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 with the Yidoni Palace, the best authenticated, and his most 
 considerable work as an architect, at Rome. 
 
 We closed our visits to the Palaces with the Spada, which 
 is situated in a remote quarter of the town, and possesses a 
 gallery, that without being first in rank, has some excellent 
 paintings and a few statues. The David with GoliaKs Head^ 
 by Guercino ; a Roman Charity, by Annabale Carracio, tell- 
 ing the tale of the old man and his nursing daughter^ 
 
 " Which, has not thy story's purity," 
 
 and a Dido, by Guercino, complete the choicest of the pic- 
 tures. The rooms below contam the celebrated antique sculp- 
 ture of Aristotle, and the best-preserved basso-relievos of Rome. 
 The colossal naked statue of Fompey, at whose feet Caesar fell 
 by Brutus' dagger, though somewhat doubtful, was the last 
 object seen, as we left the Spada. Thus ended our loiterings 
 among the Palaces of the Eternal City. 
 
 THE VILLAS. 
 LXVI. 
 
 Those abodes of splendor, the villas, which are outside the 
 walls of the city, are the link that unites the ancient Roman, 
 and the modern. The present palaces differ from those of 
 antiquity ; the villas of our days are a close approximation to 
 the antique, and in their principal parts they almost resemble 
 their majestic disposition. The national taste for the same 
 magnificence is perpetuated, notwithstanding the contrast be- 
 tween the two states of society. The houses of pleasure, or 
 summer resorts, are generally turned towards Rome, a superb 
 liorizon, in harmony with the pomp of thc-'w nrchiteotnro, and 
 
HIPPODROME ASCENT. 185 
 
 the marble statues, columns, vases and fountains, which em- 
 bellish them. The gardens, planted with a noble regularity 
 so far superior to the zig-zag of the English style, do not dis- 
 play the capricious pretension to create sites, which are found 
 without, already made by nature, but they are destined for 
 the promenade of powerful friends of art, who seek, in their 
 repose, to contemplate its chefs-d^-mtvre. Though too fre- 
 quently deserted, and suffered to decay, the Roman villas have 
 not lost their original character, and their gloom even seems 
 to increase their grandeur, 
 
 AVe have already spoken of the beautiful Lante villa, and 
 of its pretty casino and fine view over Rome, with its charming 
 frescoes on the Janiculum. 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 We hardly know where to begin, amid these resorts of 
 pleasure which abound in the vicinity of Rome, except it be 
 at that one of the places most dear to the Roman people, and 
 so often frequented in our walks, the Borghese villa ; which 
 attests the magnificence of that family, and was so much em- 
 bellished by the last prince, Camillo. On a fine afternoon we 
 strolled out there, to witness the ascent of a balloon. The 
 scene presented on that occasion was extremely interesting, 
 and the various groups of happy people in parti-colored cos- 
 tumes, scattered about the circle of the hijpjpodrome, afforded 
 us many subjects for study and remark. The brilliant light 
 of the evening sun threw the forms of the numerous pines, in 
 bold relief, against the bright blue of its Italian sky, and thus 
 heightened its happy effects upon the lake, the model hippo- 
 drome, the temple, and the foliage of the various shade-trees, 
 as well as amons: its laurel bowers, which are so well known 
 
186 THE LAND OP THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and admired. The ascent was graceful, and perfectly success- 
 ful was the flight of the aBronaut, until lost to the sight of all 
 beholders. At another time we sought its shady walks and 
 embowered arbors, after we had visited the celebrated Museum 
 which was purchased for the French, under the empire, for 
 14,000,000 francs, as Napoleon told Canova, 
 
 The Casino has many fine busts and statues, and each room 
 is appropriately named after some peculiar works of art it con- 
 tains ; for the decorations of the walls and ceiling are in ex- 
 cellent taste and keeping with the chief object, from which the 
 apartment is named. Under the portico, a half-colossal torso 
 of Apollo Bending the Bow, is exquisite, and another torso 
 of an emperor's statue seated — very natural. The basso-relievo 
 of Romulus and Remus, suckled hy the Wolf, found near the 
 Tiber — an excellent work, and among the best of Roman 
 productions — is curious as a monument of the origin of Kome. 
 The immense and magnificent Saloon has a good head of Ves- 
 pasian, a colossal head of Isis, with the lotus^^ow^er, and a 
 statue of Diana. In the Hall of Ceres, the famous basso- 
 relievo of the education of Telapkus, a work of Adrian's time, 
 which, for delicacy of execution, seems a large cameo ; and a 
 torso of a young man holding a vase, perhaps a Ganymedes, 
 remarkable for the choiceness of the marble. The fine statue 
 of Hercules, in the hall of that name, is adjusted like the Far- 
 nese Hercules. The great and curious-colored mosaic, called 
 the Borghese, represents a combat of gladiators against wild 
 beasts. It was attributed to Greek artists, and is in the first 
 rank of mosaics, for size. The little and plain Nelli villa, near 
 the Borghese, was possessed by Raphael. 
 
VILLA BELRESPIRO. 18t 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 The Medici villa, which once possessed the Yenus, and other 
 antique master-pieces of the Florence Gallery, and was the 
 prison of Galileo during his trial, is now the Academy of 
 France. The position of this villa, with its vast gardens and 
 admirable view, presenting on one side a complete prospect 
 of Rome, St. Peter's, and the Vatican ; and on the other, the 
 solitude and pines of the Borghese villa, should inspire the 
 artists in this charming abode which they have chosen. 
 
 The Pincian, the ancient CoUis Hortorum— so called from 
 the Gardens of Sallust, Lucullus, and Domitian — ^has again 
 become worthy of its first name, since the creation of its public 
 promenade, the only one in Rome. How admirable, also, is 
 the view of the Aventine on Mount Coelius, from the villa 
 Mattel, the property of the prince of peace ! 
 
 We obtained the favor of visiting the impenetrable Ludovisi 
 villa, from the Prince Piombino ; but, as it was impossible to 
 be there on the day appointed, (Thursday,) for a sight of the 
 excellent collection of sculptures in the picturesquely-embowered 
 casino, we can only say, that the ceiling of the Aurora, by 
 Guercino, is considered his chef-d^ceuvre. Guido's fresco in the 
 Ruspiglioso, has possibly more majesty ; but that is superior 
 in movement, picturesque, and color. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 Of all the villas of Rome, that of the Pamfili-Doria, or 
 Belrespiro, (its poetical Italian surname,) with its wood of um- 
 brella-shaped pines — charming trees — that harmonize as well 
 with the sky of the country as they afford a shade, and leave 
 the light ; its view extending to the sea ; its verdant turf 
 enamelled with aneraonies ; its grottoes, basins, cascades, and 
 
188 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 antique fragments, is the most diversified, extensive, and de- 
 lightful. The several ceilings of the casino are ornamented 
 with stuccoes, in extreme taste and elegance. The ill-begotten 
 wealth of the celebrated Olimpia Pamfili alone taints the 
 fairness of this beautiful resort. 
 
 Some few years since, excavations at the villa led to the 
 discovery of several well preserved Colwjiharia and certain 
 curious inscriptions, which are interesting for the history of the 
 funeral usages and monuments of the ancients, and form a 
 little antique cemetery, very picturesquely disposed in the 
 middle of a wood. 
 
 ]Sr ot far from this villa, and on the declivity of Mount Mario, 
 the presence of a vast quantity of marine shells offer conclusive 
 proof of the geological fact of a long inundation, at an eleva- 
 tion of 440 feet above the level of the sea. At the extremity 
 of the Janiculum, the Madama villa, although in a delapi- 
 dated condition, has become, from the designs of Raphael 
 within it, a kind of modern antiquity unceasingly studied and ad- 
 mired by the artists. The view from its summit, embraces the 
 abundant waters of the Pauline fountain gushing at your feet, 
 and extends from the Janiculum, beyond, to the distant pyra- 
 midical monument of Cains Sextus. From this superior posi- 
 tion, one is struck with the discrepancy between the monu- 
 ments of Roman grandeur and the most admired modern 
 edifices — the former are less distinguished for their ruins than 
 their majesty ; and besMe the gigantic masses of the Temple 
 of Peace, the Coliseum, and the dome of the Pantheon, the 
 Barberini and Farnese palaces, and even St. Peter's itself, 
 look diminutive. 
 
ARTIFICIAL RUINS. 189 
 
 LXX. 
 
 The Albani villa, a magnificent creation of Cardinal Ales- 
 sandro — somewhat pompously styled the Adrian of his times — 
 displays the judicious taste of his friend Winckelman, in the 
 decorations and details of the Casino. The grounds, though 
 prettily laid out, appeared in a neglected condition. The 
 basso-relievos and a few statues of the best style of Grecian 
 art, justly claim for this villa a rank, only, the third in Rome. 
 What marks the contrast of Torlonia's palacinizzo's exe- 
 crable taste, but a servile attempt in this banker prince, to 
 imitate the grandeur of ancient Rome, by constructive tem- 
 ples, ruins, arches and cascades. The place was so full of 
 fantastical whimsicalities and absurdities, that it seemed to us 
 the greatest natural curiosity in the vicinity of Rome. Oh, 
 CofkriAv Romano ! — 
 
 '* Qudm quod ridiculos homines f ant P"" 
 (How very ridiculous it makes them !) 
 
 — Juvenal III. Sat. 135. 
 
 THE FOUNTAIN OF EGERIA. 
 LXXI. 
 
 On a beautiful afternoon, Oliver, with the gentle Terry, our 
 artist friend at Rome, and Clarence, visited the classic ground 
 of Egeria, in the Aracinian Grove, where this Goddess was 
 worshipped. Passing through the Arch of Drusus, and by 
 the side of the conduit made by Caracalla over the arch, 
 which is still visible, as well as part of the aqueduct intended 
 for his baths, we arrived at the fountain about an hour 
 before sunset. The situation of the valley is lovely enough ; 
 
190 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 but the fount has lost much of its original beauty, from the 
 desecration of its purity by the hand of man. The Fountain, 
 a part of the temple, was still there ; and a beautiful grove of 
 Ilexes, through whose leafy bowers we obtained a charming 
 view, extending over the Campagna to Frascate and the 
 range of the Sabine hills, beyond, which were tinged, at 
 that sweet hour of evening, with the purple tones of an 
 Italian landscape. 
 
 LXXII. 
 
 Here we indulged an hour in pleasant reverie, and recalled 
 the images of the past, whilst the inspiration of the place 
 and scene of the " Sacred Grove^^ invoked the form of Xuma. 
 It was here that the Roman Solon, in order the more strongly 
 to recommend his laws and instil into his people a reverence 
 for religion, persuaded them that he made nightly appoint- 
 ments with the goddess Egeria, (whom Juvenal calls his 
 nocturnal mistress, as if describing an intrigue,) and, from 
 her mouth received the whole form of his government. In 
 the grove where we were, anciently stood a temple sacred 
 to the Muses, and to this goddess, whose fountain watered 
 the grove ; for it is fabled that she wept herself into a foun- 
 tain, from grief, at the death of Xuma, her lover. 
 
 The site of the vale of Egeria seems authentic ; but if the 
 name be sweet, and the mysterious tradition touching, the 
 place is moist and ugly enough. A mutilated statue of a 
 young man, reclined like a river, may be seen at the extre- 
 mity of the ancient Nymphea, which some persons have 
 been disposed to put in place of the ancient fountain, although 
 only a construction of Vespasian's time. 
 
 The marble statue recalls the verses of Juvenal, who re- 
 
AURORA OF THE FOUNTAIN. 191 
 
 gretted that the Fountain of Egeria was no longer in its 
 natural state : — 
 
 " In vallem Egerios discendimus et speluncas 
 Dissimiles veris. Quanto prsestantius esset 
 Numen aquae, viridi si margine clauderet undas 
 Herba, nee ingenuum violarent marmora toplium ?" 
 
 —Juvenal III. Sat. 16-20. 
 
 How unlike natural caves, as now being profaned with arti- 
 ficial ornaments and robbed of their natural simplicity ; and 
 how much more pure and poetical would have been the legend 
 of the fountain, if, instead of having the water inclosed 
 with marble and other ornaments, it were adorned with its 
 statural border of never-dying grass and rude sand-stone, 
 (tophum !) 
 
 LXXIII. 
 
 We have faith in this goddess, whom Numa loved. It 
 seems in perfect keeping with the manners and religion of the 
 Romans, and we could love Egeria with Byron : — 
 
 " Egeria ! sweet creation of some heart 
 
 Which found no resting-place so fair 
 As thine ideal breast ; whate'er thou art 
 
 Or wert — a young Aurora of the air, 
 The nympholepsy of some fond despair ; 
 
 Or, it might be, a beauty of the earth, 
 Who found a more than common votary there 
 
 Too much adoring ; Ty-hatsoe'er thy birth 
 Thou wert a beautiful thought, and softly bodied forth. 
 
 " The mosses of thy fountain still are sprinkled 
 With thine Elysian water-drops ; the face 
 Of thy cave-guarded spring, with years unwrinkled, 
 Reflects the meek-eyed genius of the place, 
 
192 THE LAND OF THE CJiSAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Whose green, wild margin, now no more erase 
 Art's works ; nor must the delicate waters sleep. 
 
 Prison' d in marble, bubbling from the base 
 Of the cleft statue ; with a gentle leap 
 
 The rill runs o'er, and round, fern, flowers, and ivy creep 
 
 •' Fantastically tangled : the green hills 
 
 Are clothed with early blossoms, through the grass 
 The quick-eyed lizard rustles, and the bills 
 
 Of summer-birds sing welcome as ye pass ; 
 Flowers fresh in hue, and many in their class 
 
 Implore the pausing step, and with their dyes 
 Dance in the soft breeze, in a fairy mass ; 
 
 The sweetness of the violet's deep blue eyes, 
 Kiss'd by the breath of heaven, seems color'd by its skies 
 
 " Here didst thou dwell, in this enchanted cover, 
 
 Egeria ! thy all-heavenly bosom beating 
 For the far footsteps of thy mortal lover ; 
 
 The purple midnight veil'd that mystic meeting 
 With her most starry canopy, and seating 
 
 Thyself by thine adorer, what befell ? 
 This cave was surely shaped out for the greeting 
 
 Of an enamor'd goddess, and the cell 
 Haunted by holy love — the earliest oracle !" 
 
EXCURSION AMONG THE SABINE HILLS. 
 
 ROME TO TIYOLI. 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 Our party was composed of two English ladies, an archi- 
 tect, (who now resides in Boston,) Travers, and myself. As 
 to the ladies, we had never been introduced to them until we 
 met at the door of their lodgings, just as we were about to 
 start in the vettura. The whole plan of the excursion was 
 projected by Mr. S., the able artist of this prosperous journey. 
 Thus we joined a party of English people, taking them for 
 better or for worse, and thus suddenly thrown into each other's 
 society, we remained together for a period of eight days. 
 
 On the Monday morning, of a fine May-day, and the first 
 of the month, we started off for Tivoli. The road to Tivoli, 
 in some parts, follows the ancient Yia Tiburtina. After the 
 tenth mile out, we passed over the large polygonal stones of 
 volcanic basalt, and by the side of the stepping-stones with 
 which it was bordered. About four miles out, the Anio was 
 crossed, by the Ponte Mammolo — perhaps the oldest bridge in 
 the environs of Rome — where the green foliage of the beeches 
 on the banks forms an agreeable coup-d^-ceuil. Shortly after- 
 wards, the canal and lake of Solfaterra reminded us of their 
 presence by a strong sulphurous odor exuding near the remains 
 of the antique Bridge of Lucano, of which nothing is left but 
 the foundations in the bed of the river. This point of view is 
 
194 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 the original of one of Pouissin's finest landscapes. Beyond this 
 we saw the noble mausoleum of the Plautia family, with its 
 solid structure and brilliant cornice, rearing its tall form on 
 high, before we arrived at the site of Adrian's former villa ; 
 from which point we were slowly driven up the hill through 
 the quinconze lines of a rich olive-grove, to Tivoli. 
 
 LXXV. 
 
 Tivoli — the ancient, the poetical Tibur, of Greek origin — 
 existed 462 years before the foundation of Rome. Tibur 
 joined the Grauls twice in their irruption into Italy ; but soon 
 after the inhabitants were subdued by the Romans, and it 
 became a Roman municipality. Honored by the residence of 
 Horace, Catullus, Augustus, and Mecoenas, it was destroyed 
 by Totila ; re-established by him as a military colony, it lost 
 its ancient name, and assumed that of Tivoli, about the eighth 
 century, only to suffer all the vicissitudes of Italy during the 
 middle ages, and became the most important ally of Rienzi, 
 when he was tribune of the Roman people a second time. 
 The present Tibur is a town of about seven thousand souls, in 
 a good situation, but dirty, and irregularly built, and is still 
 damp, like the uduin Tihur of the poet. It has two locande, 
 (the Regina and the Sibilla,) with travellers, artists, numerous 
 manufactories of leather, iron, paper, and oil and powder- 
 mills. Notwithstanding its trading aspect, it is impossible not 
 to be struck with the strong and noble beauty, or the carriage 
 and mien of the girls of the lower order. 
 
 LXXVI. 
 
 We started from the Sibilla to take our first look at the 
 Falls, and the Temple, formerly, overlooking the cascade, prior 
 
TEMPLE OF THE SIBYL. 195 
 
 to the diversion of its waters into a new channel, which has 
 too artificial a character to be deemed poetical. This temple, 
 said to be that of the Sibyl, and afterwards of Testa, stands 
 on a point of rock above the fall of the Anio, which is preci- 
 pitated into the valley with much more noise than in Horace's 
 days, {praceps Anio,) and presents at once a most exquisite 
 wreck of art, and one of the finest scenes in nature. The bril- 
 liancy of the ten fluted Corinthian columns, and of the foam- 
 ing waters, become still more resplendent by moonhght. 
 "Whilst walking down the hill-side path from the banks, we 
 looked into the Grottoes of the Sibyl, and caught many diver- 
 sified and beautiful views of the cascades. The Cascatdhj 
 interspersed and varieg^.ted with a luxurious vegetation, which 
 seemed almost as if formed and arranged by art, shine in the 
 sun, and produce brilliant rainbows. The best point of view 
 to observe them is in a vineyard, at the bottom of the valley. 
 The impression of these famous sites, painted, described, and 
 sung thousands of times, must vary according to the dispo- 
 sition of individuals ; their roaring noise, accompanied by the 
 thumping of hammers and the clanking of machinery, .would 
 not be very agreeable to the lovers of silence. Our walk ter- 
 minated with a sight of the Grotto of Neptune and that of 
 the Syrens, the most picturesque of the antres, into which the 
 Anio falls ; the latter is a hollow and gloomy cavern, of hor- 
 rid darkness — an ever-inundated cave — where the effects of 
 the perspective and its blackness strikingly contrasted with its 
 pleasing name, 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 After dinner we all walked to the villa d'Este, a large and 
 deserted country-seat, founded by Cardinal Ippolito ; the 
 magical disposition of the grounds is said to have suggested 
 
196 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 to Tasso, the idea of the Palace of Armida. It is a splendid 
 ruin, and the only monument of modern magnificence at Tivoli. 
 
 One may judge from the remains of its cascades and traces 
 of the garden, of the vastness and elegance of its primitive 
 character. The two principal fountains are as fine as any 
 that can be cited, and Michael Angelo surnamed that ddh 
 Ovato (of the oval), the Queen of Fountains. "We were 
 heartily amused at the whimsical and capricious inventions of 
 the garden. The little model of Rome in plaster, in a bower, 
 and its noble monuments in miniature, were perfectly absurd 
 and ridiculous. 
 
 We remained until sunset, and enjoyed the splendid effects 
 on the view which we had from the palace terrace, embracing 
 in extent the immense length of the vast campagna ; including, 
 within its range, the neighboring mountains, the faint outlines 
 of Rome, and the purple Vv^aves of the distant Soracte. 
 
 We had arranged with our landlord to have a ball at the 
 Sibyl, and at our return to the inn, we found the hall filled 
 with the town's people. The Saltarella, the popular dance of 
 the country, was performed with some grace and greater 
 vigor by the young men and maidens, so that this exhibition 
 contributed greatly to our evening's amusement. The women 
 of Tivoli have been long celebrated for theu' fine forms and 
 good features, and police list of street-fights show the vol- 
 canic spirit of its hardy inhabitants. 
 
 Adrian's villa. 
 
 LXXVIII. 
 
 It may perhaps give one an adequate image of the emperor 
 Adrian's idea of filling his villa with copies of the monuments 
 
VELVET LAWNS AND FLOWERS. 191 
 
 of art or wonders of nature, that he had seen in his travels, to 
 state, that the ruins of his collection now cover an extent of 
 seven acres ! 
 
 Most of the finest and renowned statues of Rome were dug 
 up from this villa, and the remains of the copies of the Poecile 
 of Athens, the library, palace, Prcetorian barracks, baths, 
 circus, theatre, academy, and odeon, are but a few of the ex- 
 tensive ruins which belong to the favorite resort of Adrian, 
 and show the magnificence of his undertaking. 
 
 A strong vegetation of cypresses, fig-trees, holm-oaks, ivy, 
 and clematis, smother and destroy the ruins. An odoriferous 
 flower, a kind of syringa, planted there by Adrian, is said to 
 grow in no other place. How singular are the powers of na- 
 ture ! The foreign monuments of the master of Rome disap- 
 pear, strewing the earth with their vast ruins ; this simple 
 exotic flower survives them, and continues to shed its perfume 
 to this day. 
 
 This happy mingling of verdure with masses of fallen tem- 
 ples, arches, and columns, offered many admirable subjects to 
 our artists. Whilst there, the whole air breathed of the fra- 
 grance of sweet wild flowers, growing under the bright blue 
 sky of this fair day, so as almost to remind us of the Yu'gilian 
 scenes of the Elysian Fields, as we passed over the green 
 pastures and velvet lawns of the Campagna of that name. 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 In the afternoon of oui* second day, we walked down a road 
 that led us to the valley of the Anio, in another direction, 
 taking us in the neighborhood of the location of Mecsena's 
 villa — now an iron foundry, moved by an arm of the river. 
 
 As we continued on our path beside the left bank of the 
 
198 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Anio, we enjoyed a beautiful succession of small water-falls, 
 dashing over their mountain-beds with fury, and in white, 
 foamy streamlets. Their effects were varied continually by 
 our relative position to the heights, and by various combina- 
 tions of light and shadow, so as to produce the happiest in- 
 fluences which cascades can excite. Some of these views, and 
 especially the last, obtained from our stand in the valley, at 
 an immense distance below the Temple of the Sibyl, would 
 have furnished happy compositions for the painter ; in fact, 
 in no part of this interesting country could an artist or poet 
 fail to gather materials for the improvement of his taste, the 
 cultivation of his genius, or the study of a life-time — so rich, 
 varied, and abundant are the brilliant and beautiful scenes 
 which nature has here displayed, for the culture, admiration, 
 and praises of mankind. 
 
 Horace's sabine farms. 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 " Satis beatus Unicis Sabinis." 
 (Happy enough among the Sahine Hills.) 
 
 Despite the contradictions of the Abbe Chaupy, who will 
 not allow more than one house to the poet Horace, we longed 
 to visit the estates which made him independent, on the banks 
 of the Digentia, in the country of the Sabines. Too much 
 cannot be said in praise of the man who could prefer his 
 humble abode on the Esquiline, the summer air of Prseneste, 
 his pleasure-house villa at Tibur, or the serenity and peace, 
 like the glassy surface of his own Bandusian Fountain on the 
 Sabine farm, to all the splendors of affluence. 
 
monks' hospitality. 199 
 
 The first part of our journey, from the Gate of San Gio- 
 vanni, was highly interesting. The weather was favorable at 
 the start, and the bright sunshine of a fair spring morning 
 shed its gladsome light upon the scenery, adorning the valley 
 of the Anio, through which we were passing. 
 
 At but a short distance out of town, we observed traces of 
 three ruined aqueducts — the Claudian, the most prominent 
 among them — and, beyond the latter, under the brow of the 
 famous old Madama Castle, that belonged to the Orsini 
 family, a fine old feudal ruin frowned over our path, from its 
 perch on the summit of an abruptly impending cliff, so as to 
 command the entire valley. A little beyond the picturesque 
 village of Yico Yaro, the hospitable porch of the Convent of 
 St. Cossimato, opened its doors to our wearied beasts, and 
 entertained our party with its legends of St. Benedict, 
 whilst the kindly monks of the mansion were providing us with 
 a stock of provisions and excellent wine. Here our fortunate 
 weather changed with our mode of conveyance ; and very 
 shortly after we had mounted our mules, the heavens opened 
 upon us, in the narrow valley skirting the plain of the 
 river Digentia, where a copious shower poured its floods upon 
 our ill-provided persons, and causmg us to take shelter from 
 the storm, drove us, in common with the peasants of the 
 country, under the roof of a small Chapel of the Yirgiu, at a 
 short distance from the village of Licenza. Here, while the 
 peals of thunder broke over our heads, and flashes of vivid 
 lightning glared over the horizon, the country people in their 
 fright betook themselves to their rosaries, and prayed to the 
 Madonna ; and, whilst our artists sketched the most pictu- 
 resque of the women around us, Clarence fell half in love with 
 a sweetly pretty girl, whose name was Rosa. So wild was the 
 
200 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 lurid lightning, and so heavily thundered the storm's crashing 
 echoes through the dells of the valley, with a pelting rain of 
 unabated fury, that we were forced to turn back and retrace 
 our steps, v,athout having seen the fertile Sabine farm of Ho- 
 race, or drunken of the sweet, clear waters of the Bandusian 
 Fountain. We saw enough, however, to satisfy us of the good 
 taste of the poet in his selection of this secluded spot, 
 and were charmed with the beautiful outlines of the valley ; 
 and saw — 
 
 " AVhere yon bar 
 Of girdling mountains intercepts the sight, 
 The Sabine farm -was till'd — the weary bard's delight" — 
 
 in front of the sight of the summit-crowming Licenza and the 
 bold castles, which were perched on the very tops of the 
 neighboring hills. The habit of locating their village on the 
 crest of the isolated mountains of these regions, is a feature 
 peculiar to the ranges of the Yolges and Sabine Hills. Some 
 of them have interesting histories connected with the trouble- 
 some conflicts of the turbulent middle ages. Our drive back 
 to Tivoli was attended with more pleasant weather, as the 
 storm cleared away before sunset, and we were permitted to 
 enjoy the delightful views of the cheerful valley of the Anio. 
 
 DRIVE TO SUBIACO. 
 LXXXI. 
 
 The storm was again renewed in the morning, before we 
 had taken our lunch, or, could start away from Tivoli. About 
 mid-day we were enabled to leave ; and having taken the 
 road of yesterday, as far as the Convent of St. Cosimato, our 
 course continued to follow the valley of the Anio, until it ran, 
 
PRETTY WOMEN. 201 
 
 in divergence, around the base of the mountain-topped village 
 of Sarracenesca, so called from the evident traces of its early 
 Sarracenic inhabitants, and still celebrated for its pretty women. 
 Shortly after, we passed in sight of Roviano, and lunched 
 with Anticoli in view, while Miss B. took a sketch. Beyond, 
 at Agosto, are the sweet springs of Sirene, and further on, 
 the town of Cerbera lies in the very jaws of two impending 
 crags. The sight of the distant Subiaco, on our approach, 
 was truly superb and peculiar. The Palace of the Arch- 
 bishop crowns the supreme point of its most elevated heights. 
 It is n.ow principally visited by landscape painters, as its 
 charming site, its woods, its lake, its grottoes, rocks, cascades, 
 and ruined castle, render it exceedingly picturesque. We 
 visited the monastic Church of St. Scholastica, whose different 
 buildings announce the introduction of the Gothic style into 
 Italy, and mark a period in the decline of art, no less remark- 
 ably than the monastery of San Benedict, a mile beyond, whicli 
 is called the Sacro Speco, and presents various ornaments, in 
 a succession of chapels, cut out of the solid rock. The main 
 chapel is built over the grotto, where St. Benedict, the great 
 legislator of the monastic orders of the West, spent his days 
 in pious practices and virtue. In the garden, a small parterre 
 of roses was the field of thorns on which the Saint rolled him- 
 self, as St. Francis after him, to cool the ardor of his passions. 
 The evergreens outside the wall of the grotto, which were 
 wont to bow to St. Benedict, when he took his walks in the 
 garden, remain unmoved ever since his death. 
 
 LXXXII. 
 
 The greater part of our next morning was spent in ob- 
 serving the picturesque costumes and occupations of the towns- 
 
202 THE LAXD OF THE CJISAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 people, and in admiring some pretty bits of art about the 
 village. After messo-giorno, or the morning-lunch, we left for 
 Olevano, on mules. About half-way over the mountain, our 
 sumpter-mule, a beast of awkward , habits, and unmannerly 
 wheezings or brayings, was most ridiculously oyerturned on 
 the road, occasioning some diversion in our weary path- 
 way, not far from the town of Affili. We stopped awhile at 
 Rojati, the scene of an attack made on an American artist, a 
 few years since, to await the subsiding of another heavy rain- 
 storm ; but finding it rather doubtful, and being somewhat 
 pressed for time, we hm-ried on with the ladies, and. rode all 
 the way thence to Olevano, in the rain. The views among the 
 rugged crags and cliffs around the base of Monte-Carpeneto, 
 were declared by our English friend to be somewhat like the 
 Trossacs in Scotland. Whatever they may resemble, I am 
 sure that nothing could exceed the beauty of the position of 
 Olevano. 
 
 Whilst descending the hill which overlooked this village, 
 and nearly opposite the perchiky town of Civitella, we enjoyed 
 a glorious panorama, extending far and widely over the 
 mountains and the distant campagna, for miles. Having, at 
 length, reached the hospitable roof of an inn at this place, all 
 wet, and wearied, and depressed, we were heartily glad to 
 slip, first, into the old clothes and boots of Don Pratese, our 
 host, and, after we had all warmed ourselves at a fire-place, 
 which reminded us of the hearths of Maine, refreshed our- 
 selves with a hearty supper, and revived our spirits with our 
 landlord's mulled wine, we were heartily glad to slip under 
 cover, and into clean beds, under the attic. 
 
ANCIENT WINDOWS. 203 
 
 OLEVANO TO PALESTRINA. 
 LXXXIII. 
 
 On the following day we spent an honr in climbing up the 
 rugged sides of the Serpentara, a high bluff, back of the town, 
 in order to get the best view of this pretty village and its 
 picturesque old castle in ruins. On our way to the summit, 
 we crossed several streams, which were occupied by animated 
 groups of active washer-women, who were more busy at the 
 washing of other people's clothes than awake to their own 
 nudity and strange positions. 
 
 Here, whilst one of our lady-artists was engaged with a 
 sketch of the scene — which, with the old ruins, might have 
 served for the foundation of Salvator Rosa's women at the 
 stream — we were joined by the other members of the party 
 ^^'ho had preceded us to Olevano ; and thus, again united, we 
 were driven, after dinner, on our way to Palestrina, by a road 
 \^•hich passed through rather a flat country, until we arrived 
 at Gennesaro. 
 
 We stopped here awhile, leaving the carriage outside the 
 gates, and walked up to view the ruins of the old Colonna 
 Palace, which occupied the top of a high hill. Here we left 
 Mr. S. to take a drawing of some very beautiful, ancient 
 Gothic windows which remained in the walls of an antique 
 stone frame, and descended again to the gates, in order to 
 enter our carriage, so as to be enabled to reach our destina- 
 tion before night-fall. The ride beyond Gennesaro to Pales- 
 trina was much more interesting than that which had pre- 
 ceded, and in some points, near Cave, it was extremely pic- 
 turesque. It was too late, however, to enjoy much more than 
 
204 THE LAXD OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 the gorgeous effects of sunset upon the landscape, or to 
 listen to the warblings of numerous nightingales, making the 
 woods alive. As it was, we did not reach the town of 
 Palestrina before nine o'clock in the evening, but '^ che im- 
 porta^' — what matters it ? We put up for the night at " mine 
 hostess" of the ^' Cappelajo," where everything turned out — 
 as it promised — well ; and, should I say it, that ought not, 
 she had a pretty daughter Balbina. 
 
 PALESTRINA. 
 LXXXIV. 
 
 This town, the frigudum Prseneste, which was sung by 
 Horace for its coolness, has an origin more remote than Rome 
 and not less obscure, than the fabulous traditions of its founda- 
 tion. It was, and still appears on its mountains, a kind of 
 stronghold. Its cyclopean walls of calcareous rock, held to- 
 gether without cement, render it now as formidable, as when the 
 Colonne nobles resisted the forces of the Popes. The inhabi- 
 tants settled on the spot, where the celebrated Temple of 
 Fortune had stood. This magnificent temple, the most in- 
 teresting ruin at Palestrina — which made the ambassador 
 Carneades — the philosophic Athenian, say to the senate, 
 that he had never seen a fortune more fortunate than that, 
 and whose oracles, {sortes prcenestmce,) outlived all others, 
 furnished the famous mosaic of different colors, which is now 
 placed in one of the apartments of the Barberini palace. It 
 evidently represented the celebration of the ceremonies which 
 took place at the annual inundation of the Nile, for the groups 
 of the various animals, the hippopotamus, the ibis, and the 
 
SUNDAY FESTIVAL. 205 
 
 giraffe, have their names written in distinct Greek characters 
 on the floor of the pavement. As we were passing upward on 
 our way to the top of the mountain, we found it to be a holi- 
 day Sunday, and the people were holding festival, fair, and 
 service, within and outside the precincts of St. Peter's. We 
 were not a little surprised at this strange mingling of military 
 and religious exercises on this occasion ; and no less sensibly 
 shocked to hear Mass at one ear, and listen to the chants at 
 the organ, whil^ in the intervals, reports of artillery were heard 
 at the other, outside the church door. It seemed, rather, more 
 like the services of a saturnalia, than those usual on the Sab- 
 bath. There is a picturesque feudal Castle in ruins, near the 
 church, and the view from La Rocca, one of the most remark- 
 able in the environs of Rome, embraces the heroic theatre, of 
 her first exploits, of her wars so vigorously prosecuted, so 
 wisely terminated, and which early announced the future mas- 
 ters of the world. Our party returned to Rome, on Monday 
 morning, and having entered by the superb gate of the 
 Porta Maggiore, we separated, at our respective lodgings — 
 Travers to the via Balbuina, and I to the via Torlonia, and 
 to my room in the Hotel d^Angleterre, not far from the Piazza 
 di Spagna. 
 
 PIAZZA DI SPAGNA. 
 LXXXV. 
 
 The Piazza di Spagna, without the grand and noble 
 structure of the stairs of the Trinita de Monti, would 
 really appear, with its numerous hotels, clean, new, and 
 characterless, the square of a provincial town. 
 
 Whatever is great and distinguished visits Rome, Madame 
 
206 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 de Stael wittily surnamed this admirable city the '' Drawing- 
 room of Europe" ; and if its monuments are associated with 
 all ages, the foreigners who meet there comprise every 
 country. The simple contemplation of Rome, and a pro- 
 longed residence, may supply the place of long studies and 
 much travelling. It must be added, that these strangers 
 come to see, to know, or to repose themselves, and that they 
 are taken and observed at the best moment. Therefore, 
 Rome, with its ruins, reminiscences, and the important persons 
 it receives, is the spot of the earth where the gaze of wonder 
 is least seen. It would be useless and stupid to aim at effect 
 there ; and many a wit, not apprised of this, has thrown off 
 his dissertations, thoughts, and witticisms, with only his 
 trouble for his pains. 
 
 LXXXVI. 
 
 It was oifr good fortune to have made no claims on my 
 countrymen in Rome. The few I met were travellers like 
 myself, and such as I should be pleased to acknowledge 
 as my friends and acquaintances elsewhere. We always 
 deemed it a loss of time to seek out the society of the resident 
 artists' famihes ; for, however clever the men themselves 
 might be in their studios, they passed into a browner study at 
 home ; since the wife of one of them foolishly declared to me, 
 that it was a bore to entertain so many of her countrymen 
 abroad. 
 
 Some of my pleasantest evenings were passed in the family 
 of Professor Mercurio and his lady, whom I always found very 
 polite and agreeable — who as kindly corrected, as they ex- 
 cused my bad Italian, and gratified my taste, by singing and 
 playing from the choicest selections of the operas of the great 
 
MEN OF TRASTEVERE. 20t 
 
 masters. I shall never forget the gentle tones of the erudite 
 and amiable professor, or the naivete of the manners of their 
 only daughter, who used to aid me in my Italian converzationes ; 
 nor can I forget the instructive seasons spent in the apart- 
 ments of the Commendatore Hiiysen, that polished gentleman 
 and scholar, who, for twenty years, had represented the Court 
 of Portugal, as her ambassador at Rome, and had there sur- 
 rounded himself with a choice library of excellent selection, 
 and had in his possession one of the most valuable private 
 galleries of paintings in Rome. Such, however, was his 
 passion for travel, that even after so long a sojourn, he 
 longed for'a change, and sought for nower pleasures and more 
 refreshing climes. 
 
 LXXXVII. 
 
 Of the general habits and customs of the people of the city 
 we could say little, for we gathered less, from the modern 
 Romans. We only observed the noble mien and stately bear- 
 ing of the womcH on the Corso, who seemed, to walk like 
 queens, and, appeared worthy to be the descendants of the old 
 patricians' daughters. 
 
 But of the haughty Trasteverines, of whom so much has 
 been said, we may remark, they still retain, under their devo- 
 tion and new fanaticism, some vestiges of the energy and 
 spirit of their ancestors. As in ancient times, the people of 
 Rome are easily excited by spectacles. Its noisy carnival is 
 only a repetition of the saturnalia. On one occasion, a Swiss 
 of the Pope's Guard having repeatedly put back one of these 
 men, who was desirous to obtain a too close view of the Pope 
 praying to St. Peter's, at last the Trasteverine, drawing back, 
 thus scornfully addressed the halberdier : — " Barlaro, son di 
 
208 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 sangue romano, anche Trojano /" — " Barbarian ! I am of Roman 
 blood, although a Trojan !" Castiglioue cites the anecdote of 
 a peasant who, when complaining to the podesta of the loss 
 of his ass, which had been stolen, wound up his statement 
 and the eulogium of his ass by saying, that, when he had his 
 panel on, he was quite a Cicero. This medley of imagination 
 and ancient traditions is found even in the language of the 
 women of the lower orders ; and a young Roman gu'l, on 
 seeing a handsome lad pass by, would say, that he was Console 
 di Belta, (a Consul of Beauty.) The country people repeat 
 familiarly the words, via Ajpjpia, via Flaminia, when showing 
 us the road ; and all swear per Bacco ! 
 
 In no part of the world is the recommendation of a hand- 
 some face so efficient as at Rome, and hunchbacks and 
 deformed people are hardly deemed men. Cardinal Odaleschi, 
 who had a pleasing countenance, used occasionally to preach 
 before he became Cardinal. The Roman gossips then met 
 under the pulpit, and made quite a scene in expressing their 
 admiration of his face. A cardinal, Lante, received the sur- 
 name of the Carina cardinal (charming,) and he was commonly 
 called by that title in society. 
 
 OUR LAST EXCURSION. 
 LXXXVIIL 
 
 It was the colonel, my Boston friend, who proposed an 
 excursion to Frascati, and over Cave, by Albano, and back to 
 Rome ; and this proposal was no sooner made than accepted, 
 and the carriage ordered for an early start in the middle of 
 May. I have little recollection of the ride across the dreary 
 
OUR ARMY AND WARD. 209 
 
 waste of the Campagna, except that the colonel observed the 
 great lack of forest and shade trees in this region, and, in fact, 
 throughout Europe ; to which I assented, and drew up the 
 top of the cari'iage to shield us from the rays of the scorch- 
 ing sun. 
 
 We arrived at Frascati about one o'clock at noon, and 
 after a refreshing wash, walked up the hill to the villa Mon- 
 dragone, not deeming it worth our while to stop at the Ta- 
 venia, which was built below it, by Cardinal Scipione, a 
 nephew of Paul Y., who inhabited it, and who always found 
 two advantages in building — the first was, the embellish- 
 ment of Rome, the second, the employment of workmen, 
 for whom he thought it better to find work than to give 
 them alms. 
 
 The immense Mondragone villa, with its three hundred and 
 seventy-four windows, now in decay, owed its foundation to 
 the attentions of a Roman courtier. When Pope Gregory 
 XIII. , accompanied by Cardinal Altemps, was passing over 
 those heights, struck with the beauty of the view, he ex- 
 claimed, " What a fine position for a villa !" The Cardinal 
 had this sumptuous palace built immediately ; and the first 
 time he went into the country {vilkggiare,) he managed to 
 pass that way with the Pope, who was surprised, nay, 
 amazed at the sudden elevation of the edifice. Such flat- 
 tering courtesy paints the ancient magnificence of the Roman 
 Court. The broken walls command the most extensive view- 
 in the environs of Rome, embracing the Campagna, the Sea, 
 and all the Sabine, and adjoining, mountains. 
 
210 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 TUSCULUM. 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 
 " but beneath thy right 
 
 Tully reposed from Rome." 
 
 On our way up to Tusculum, we stopped at the Convent of 
 Camuldino, and visited the churcli and cells of the monks, 
 who treated us very courteously, and regaled us with a tumbler 
 of good native wine. While there, we enjoyed a fine view, 
 from their terrace, of a double horizon of sea and mountains, 
 which was sublimely grand, as at that moment there was 
 a thunder-storm in the direction of Tivoli, and the heavy 
 shadows which were thrown on the plain, by the clouds inter- 
 vening between the sun and the earth, lent to the Campagna 
 the aspect of a sullen and rolling sea. The Rufinella, a de- 
 lightful villa, in the midst of woods, on the summit of a moun- 
 tain, with an admirable view of Rome and the sea, is in excel- 
 lent air, like all the old houses of the Jesuits. A pretty 
 anecdote, well told by P. Roberti, in his letter sul p-endere 
 Varia e il sole, proves the reputation of those fathers on this 
 head : — A lord of Bologna had ordered of Cav. Guiseppi 
 Crispi a painting representing his country casino, in which he 
 required the salubrity of the air to be indicated. Crispi made 
 a cloudless azure sky, a limpid brook, cooling waters ; he 
 painted a verdant sward, an abundant vegetation, the vines 
 loaded with golden grape, (uva Paradisa,) which ripens at 
 Bologna, is kept and eaten at the Carnival suppers, can even 
 be sent abroad, and of which the Bolognese Senate made a 
 present to the Emperor Charles YI. every year. Despite the 
 smiling aspect of the landscape, the gentleman found that the 
 
SUPERB RUINS. 211 
 
 wholesomeness of the air of his casino was not precisely indi- 
 cated, as most of the details might be attributed to the good- 
 ness of the soil. Crispi then resolved to place before the door, 
 in a green meadow, just after sunset, two bald Jesuits, with- 
 out caps, reading a book : " See now," said he, " whether the 
 air is good or not ?" — Vechte se qui e hon aria ? — and the 
 exacting master found the argument unanswerable. 
 
 The Palace of Rufinella, once possessed by Lucien Bona- 
 parte, is now owned by the king of Sardinia. 
 
 xc. 
 
 At length we reached Tasculum, or the site of its antique 
 ruins, but soon had to hide ourselves in a cave until the brunt 
 of a sudden heavy rain-storm was over. Shortly after, we 
 made our escape from this spot — which we had peopled with 
 an image of the famous scene of (Eneas and Dido, in the 
 thunder-storm in Yirgil — and explored the remains of the 
 Theatre, which vfas wonderfully preserved, and retained its 
 pedestal and seats of Tusculum stone. We also examined a 
 part of an ancient aqueduct, the traces of an old street, and 
 some recently-excavated chambers, with a good mosaic pave- 
 ment. Further down the hill are the remains of the house of 
 Catullus in some parts of the rooms occupied by the servants 
 and stables, which have been erroneously attributed to Cicero's 
 villa. The house of Cicero, previously Sylla's, was on this 
 mountain, which seems still to have an air of antiquity, and 
 offers deep, solitary, and philosophic shades, like those which 
 inspired the Tusculana. Some superb ruins are reputed to 
 have belonged to Cicero's Academia ; near, but lower down, 
 are some mural ruins. An aqueduct that ends there is curious, 
 as its last arcade is perfectly Gothic ; which is not the only 
 
212 THE LAND OF THE CJiSAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 instance of this kind among the monuments of antiquity, for 
 the Greeks and Romans well knew how to employ it, when 
 essential to solidity. So true it is, that architecture has its 
 proper foundation and beginning, no less tlian art, in nature 
 — a reflection which struck us in Egypt, vrhen we saw the 
 arched grottoes of Hagar Silsilis, near Assuau. Whilst de- 
 scending the hill, we enjoyed a fine prospect over the Cam- 
 pagna as far as the capital, the distant mountains as well as 
 to the heights of Monte Cave, Rocca di Pappa, and the sea. 
 
 XOI- 
 
 After an hour's walk, we arrived at Grotta-Ferrata, an 
 abbey of Greek Monks, of the Order of St. Basil, who always 
 perform the services in their liturgy under the protection of 
 the French Consulta at Rome — although with the aspect of a 
 fortress, rather than that of a monastry — a charming wood, a 
 fine avenue of elms and plane-trees, with a pretty fountain, 
 render this solitude agreeable. 
 
 The Chapel of St. Nilus, founder of the Abbey, by 
 Domenlchino, is one of his finest chefs-d'auvre. He executed 
 it in his twenty-ninth year, having been recommended by his 
 master, Annibale Carraccio, to Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, 
 Abbot of Grotta-Ferrata. The Saint receiving the Emperor 
 Otho III., is perfect in composition and execution ; the grace- 
 ful head of the youth, with a white plume on a blue cap, who 
 is drawing back from Otho's prancing horse, is the portrait of 
 one of those young girls of Frascate, long celebrated for their 
 beauty, whom Domenichino loved, but could not obtain her 
 hand from her rude and vulgar parents, who, enraged at the 
 sight of this portrait, obliged the artist to make his departure, 
 and return to Rome. The courtier in a green mantle, dis- 
 
FRASCATI. 213 
 
 mounting from his horse, represents the learned Giambattista 
 Agucchi, Domenichino's benefactor ; the different expressions 
 of the three trumpeters on horseback, indicate the various 
 tones of their instruments ; one really seems to hear this 
 astonishing painting. In the Miracle of the Saint holding up 
 a Column — a very natural and picturesque fresco — a scene of 
 masonry, with some burlesque details, St. Bartholomew, who 
 is examining the plan of the monastery presented to him by 
 the architect, has a pair of spectacles ; the figures of the 
 Greek bishops at the top of the Chapel, also by Domenichino, 
 are superb in color and character. 
 
 XCII. 
 
 On our return to Frascati, we saw several other villas, 
 and enjoyed other picturesque landscapes ; but the Colonel 
 was heartily fatigued by the long journey through which he 
 had been led, and, as we sat after dinner, in repose, I tried to 
 soothe his weariness and humors, by a description of our 
 resting-place. 
 
 Frascati has risen near, but below the ruins of the antique 
 Tusculum, which was destroyed — utterly destroyed — at the 
 end of the twelfth century, by the Romans of the middle ages, 
 as ruthless as the citizens of ancient Rome. Then the un- 
 fortunate inhabitants of Tusculum were compelled to live 
 under huts made of branches, (frasche,) whence it derived its 
 barbarous Latin name of Frascatwn, now Frascati. The 
 situation of Frascati is pleasant, and its air excellent ; the 
 population amounts to five thousand souls ; the spacious 
 Square and Cathedral are rather imposing, and the various 
 villas, so harmoniously disposed around the town, are mag- 
 nificent. 
 
214 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 XCIII. 
 
 At 5 o'clock, of a dewy morning, we started away from 
 Frascati, with a fine air, at a brisk trot, for Rocca di Fappa. 
 Our road was partially over the ground of yesterday ; but 
 near the Grotta-Eerrata we turned off in another direction, 
 and by a picturesque bridle-path, hurried up to this rock- 
 seated town, which was perched on the very summit of a 
 mountain. From this point, we scoured across the plain of 
 Hannibal to Monte Cave, and before reaching the top of this 
 hill, we rode over the Roman chariot-way, which led to the 
 ancient temple on the summit. 
 
 Our view from the heights of Monte Cave were as 
 extremely interesting and beautiful as they were panoramic in 
 extent, for they embraced not only the picturesque Lakes of 
 Albano and Nemi, but several little towns which stood upon 
 their margins. 
 
 xciv. 
 *' Lo, Nemi ! naveird, in the woody hills." 
 
 We descended finally to the border of Lake Nemi, and 
 followed the road which skirted its beautiful waters and 
 terminated in an avenue of trees, running nearly around the 
 entire circumference of its glassy, oval, mirror. As we ap- 
 proached the town of Nemi, the scenery increased in loveliness 
 and attraction. The pretty lake of Nemi, which from its form 
 and clearness of its waters was gracefully styled in the my- 
 thology, the Mirror of Diana, {Sjpeculum Diance,) is bordered 
 with a smiling and luxuriant vegetation of trees and flowers. 
 On one side of it, is Genzano, of four thousand inhabitants, 
 renowned for its air, wine, pears, and the charming mosaic of 
 flowers with which the pavement of the approaches to its 
 
GALLERY OF OAKS. 216 
 
 spacious cliurch is covered on the octave of the festival of 
 Corpus Domini,— a brilliant decoration, indicative of some kind 
 of taste and inclination for art, in a little town. The situation 
 of Genzano is by no means as pleasant as that of ^emi, where, 
 it is supposed, there was formerly a temple of Diana. We 
 saw some very pretty women at Genzano, before whom we 
 stopped to inquu'e the way to Albano. Xothing could exceed 
 the pleasantness of our ride from Genzano to Larricia, or 
 the lovely character of the landscape and features of the 
 country. From Larricia, we left the ordinary road to Al- 
 bano, and by another route struck off through the woods, 
 into a fine avenue of forest-trees bordering the way-side 
 on our ride to Castel-Gandolfo. Here we dismounted for 
 awhile, in order to view the beauty of the shores of Lake Al- 
 bano and the position and face of the town. The Gallery, a 
 fine avenue of evergreen oaks, leads from Castel-Gandolfo 
 to Albano. The lake which fills the nearly oval crater of an 
 ancient volcano, also offers its superb emissario, a tunnel of 
 half a league in length, cut through the mountain, which, 
 after 2230 years, attests the power of Rome in her earlier 
 days — a monument of that patriotic superstition which con- 
 tributed so much to her greatness. 
 
 xcv. 
 
 Every body recollects the old Etruscan augury, which 
 predicted that the Romans would never take Yeii, if the 
 rise of the lake did not find an issue, otherwise than into the 
 sea. 
 
 A Xymphea, called by the peasants Grotta di Bergantino, 
 and by the learned, the Bath of Diana, a reticulated construc- 
 tion in the form of a grotto, formerly intended for a cool re- 
 
216 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 treat, and enveloped by a vigorous vegetation, is of a singu- 
 larly picturesque aspect. 
 
 The large village of Castel-Gandolfo dates only from the 
 twelfth century. Its plain palace is the only country-seat 
 possessed by the Pope. 
 
 Having again regained our position on horse-back we 
 dashed onward through the town, and shortly afterwards 
 were quietly seated in the Salon of the " Parigi,^^ at Albano. 
 The change from the wild shores of Lake Nemi to the trim 
 and cultivated Albano, was quite perceptible, and Y\'e soon dis- 
 covered from the external aspect of objects, that Xature had 
 parted with half her charms for the art and fashion of this 
 town. Albano is the most fashionable summer residence in 
 the environs of Rome. On the door of the Church of Santa 
 Maria della Kotonda, are some magnificent marble ornaments 
 sculptured in acanthus leaves, taken from some antique edifice. 
 The two ruins, called the Tomh of Ascanius, founder of Alba 
 Longa, and the tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii must have 
 been magnificent mausoleums. 
 
 xcvi. 
 
 The vast garden of the Barberini villa presents considerable 
 remains of the country-house and Thermae of Domitian, mixed 
 with fine trees. Here we overlooked the whole Campania of 
 Rome, an uncultivated desert sown with ruins, in which the 
 pontifical city, with its gilded domes, its marble columns, its 
 granite obelisks, its immense palaces, looks like a majestic 
 oasis of monuments. 
 
 We returned on that afternoon to Rome ; and the setting- 
 sun tinged the golden ball of St. Peter's shrine, as we entered 
 again the gates of the Imperial City : — 
 
MAGNIFICENT VIEW. 217 
 
 But I forget. My Pilgrim's shrine is won, 
 
 And Rome and I must part, — so let it be : 
 His task and mine alike are nearly done ; 
 
 Yet, once more, let us look upon the sea ; 
 The midland ocean breaks on him and me, 
 
 And from the Alban Mount we now behold 
 Our friend of youth, that ocean, which, when we 
 
 Beheld it last by Calpe's rock unfold 
 Those waves, we follow'd on till the dark Euxine roll'd 
 
 Upon the blue Symplegades : — 
 My task is done : — my theme — Farewell ! — Farewell ! 
 
 Oh, Rome ! — my country !— city of the soul ! — Farewell !" 
 
THE DUKEDOM 
 
 TUSCANY AND FLORENCE 
 
THE ROAD TOWARDS FLOREJS^CE. 
 
 We must imagine a vetturino, tackled with two sorry 
 horses, (which the condottori, on our asking, if his '' cavalli 
 were bnoni," swore "per Bacco," they were; "Si signore, 
 vdoce como un Urramotop as swift as an earthquake,) stand- 
 ing outside the gate of the Piazza del Popolo, just opposite 
 the gate of the Borghese villa ; and our friend, Signor Jack- 
 son, attended by Travers and myself, walking out after the 
 vehicle, and having gone to a certain distance, standing for 
 a mutual leave-taking and shaking of hands, and we shall have 
 a very faithful imitation of that classical scene, when Juvenal 
 attended his old friend TJmbricius, at parting ; excepting, that 
 they waited for their wagon to arrive — which was going to 
 Baioe, in the south — but, contrarily, in our case, the carriage 
 now waited for us, and we were about journeying to the north, 
 in the direction of Florence. 
 
 Thus we separated from our excellent friend, and, with a 
 "buon viagge" and buon giorno lei, and mutual exchanges of 
 civilities in due form, we were driven away from him, and 
 were soon rattling over the Fontt MolJe, formerly the Pons 
 Milvius, one of the most famous spots in history, which wit- 
 nessed the arrest, by Cicero's orders, of the Allobroges envoys, 
 Cataline's accomplices, the nocturnal orgies of Xero, and, above 
 all, the religious and social victory of Constantine over Max- 
 entius. It retains nothing antique, now, but some of its piles 
 
222 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 II. 
 
 The setting sun, from the centre of this bridge, is one of the 
 finest scenes in the Campagna of Rome. The gilded moun- 
 tains of La Sabina, the course of the Tiber, the long files of 
 shattered aqueducts, form one of those sights, full of grandeur 
 and melancholy, nowhere else to be found. A small foot-path 
 which runs along the river side from the town to Ponte Molle, 
 was one of the favorite walks of Poussin, who selected from 
 this majestic and poetical horizon the skies and back-ground 
 of his landscapes. 
 
 We soon passed by the Sarcophagus of Publius Yibius Ma- 
 rianus, which is always called Nero's Tomb, by the postillions, 
 (in spite of the inscription and sculpture,) among whom his 
 great crimes and public works have created for him a kind 
 of popularity. 
 
 In this part of Italy, art seems superior to nature, and the 
 road lies through a dreary and desolate region, which con- 
 tributes much to sadden the departure from the Imperial City, 
 and lends a sombre and mournful cast to your thoughts and 
 reflections, which is not relieved until you breakfast at Bac- 
 cano. From Baccano, Rome sinks gradually from view, and 
 the ball of St. Peter's is no longer visible ; at which point, the 
 termination of the Campagna, by the peculiar volcanic basin 
 formed in an amphitheatre of low hills, so diverts the mind as 
 to open the way to fairer and more enlivening scenes. 
 
 III. 
 
 We were shortly interested by a sight of the ancient walls 
 of Nepi, where the arcades of an aqueduct, encumbered with 
 vegetation, stretched its range over the bed of a small stream. 
 This poor and little town, mentioned by Livy as one of the 
 
LONE SORACTE. 
 
 two gates of Rome on the side of Etruria, was a fortress in 
 the Middle Ages. Its location on the very extremity of a 
 dell, with its singularly-marked characteristics, rendered it 
 quite picturesque to view. Our ride continued to be more 
 and more interesting, until we reached Civita Castellana, 
 where we stopped for the night. 
 
 During our stroll before sunset, vre visited its Cathedral, 
 and beheld the fine old citadel, built by Julius II., v/hich is 
 now a state prison for the confinement of political offenders ; 
 and the views which we caught of the '' lone Soracte's height," 
 were superlatively grand, as the sun departed behind its purple 
 ridge. The noble and picturesque bridge, which spans over a 
 torrent rolling through a deep ravine bordered with rocks, is 
 of a magnificence and strength which reminds you of an Au- 
 gustine age. There are also many interesting Etruscan fea- 
 tures remaining near the town, where the natural fissures in 
 the rocks seem to have been used for the sepulchration of the 
 dead, and some traces of rudely-made tombs are still visible 
 among the clefts in the volcanic chasms. During dinner we 
 enjoyed the society of some ladies who were going to Ancona ; 
 one of them, a charming young widow, with whom we soon 
 grew into familiar chat, and whose esprit and beauty had con- 
 tributed much to the liveliness of our meal, coquetishly joined 
 us in smoking a cigar after the dessert. 
 
 CIVITA CASTELLAN TO TERNI. 
 IV. 
 
 On the morning of the next day, we passed over the plain 
 near Borghetto, where Macdonald made his celebrated re- 
 treat in 1798, and crossed over the T'bcr with his army, after 
 
224 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 having routed forty thousand Neapolitans, under Mack. 
 From this point there is a steamboat to Rome ; which shows 
 the Tiber to be navigable, to some extent, with small boats. 
 This early ride through an interesting and highly picturesque 
 country brought us, about noon, to Narni, with its strong 
 position and little old citadel. A little below the town and 
 about a half a mile from the road, are the superb remains 
 of the bridge of Augustus, the ancient passage of the via 
 Flaminia over the ]N"era. The scenery of the valley at this 
 spot was very striking, and a view from under one of the re- 
 maining arches, embracing in its scope a distant convent and 
 some graceful hills in the background, was truly picturesque. 
 The various combinations and contrasts of foliages, with the 
 cultivated richness of the olive groves and umbrella-pines, of 
 waters and rocks, shadows and lights, together with the 
 warm tints which were intoned by a brilliant sky over the 
 various kinds of grains and fruits, and harmoniously sustained 
 by undulating hills, ragged fissures, and romantic dales, con- 
 tributed to produce and perfect that peculiar effect and name- 
 less charm which is summed up in one's idea of an Italian 
 landscape ; or, if it could be named, might be called the 
 " Poussin-Salvator-Claude" of pictorial romance. 
 
 In the afternoon, we walked to the Convent-Church of the 
 Zoccolanti, to see one of the rare works of Spagna, who, next 
 to Raphael, was the best pupil of Perrugino, whom he resem- 
 bled in coloring. It represents an Episcopal Ceremony, which 
 is remarkable for the purity and nobleness of its design, and 
 the happy disposition of the different figures. Our carriage 
 having been forwarded to meet us at the road-side, near the 
 convent, we entered, and were again in motion. 
 
 The road as far as Terni, through a country planted with 
 
CASCADE OF TERNI. 225 
 
 olive trees, and with an admirable view of the green plains of 
 Umbria, and the woody summits of the Apennines, both stud- 
 ded with conspicuous white mansions, became, at every step, 
 more and more captivating and magnificent. 
 
 Terni, a charming town, in having vainly claimed the 
 honor of giving birth to Tacitus, is more especially cele- 
 brated for its cascade, which is one of the wonders of Italy. 
 No sooner had we arrived here, than we hired a phaeton, 
 and with a spirited pair of horses and a mounted postillion, 
 were jockeyed off at a rapid pace, to visit the Falls. 
 
 Every foot of the road was interesting to us ; and, as we 
 ascended the hills in the vicinity of the waters, we obtained 
 lofty perspectives of the villages of Terni and Papigno in the 
 distance. Each turn on the mountain gave us a new series 
 of delightful prospects, excepting that alone where a fine 
 old feudal castle surmounting the last hill, dominates the 
 valley ; for it marked the ravages of a French domination 
 in Italy. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the sublimity of the effects that con- 
 trolled us on our immediate approach to the Falls, or the 
 emotions produced at the sudden glimpse which we had of the 
 cascades, as they burst upon the sight at a sudden turn in the 
 road. The noble pyramidical hills, swelling upward from the 
 plain, '' where rich verdant valleys smile from their embraces," 
 and the view of those distant mountain-gnomes, with the rich 
 effects of light and shadow glowing and alternating over the 
 abyss of the Neri, formed a fit frame-work for that beautiful 
 flood of waters, which leaped impetuously from the fountains 
 of the Yelino. We were thrice happy in those brilliant effects 
 
226 THE LAND OF THE CAESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 which the rich golden fires of sunset cast under the uplifted 
 curtains of the swiftly-passing storm-clouds. This admirable 
 cascade does not roll and bound like a savage cataract, 
 through steep and barren rocks, but plunges into a smiling 
 and fertile valley planted with orange trees. It showers 
 around its impetuous dews over the flowers and herbage, and 
 is in perfect keeping with the sky, the sun, and the horizon 
 of Italy. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The best views, from above, are those which are to be had 
 from a kind of balcony on a rock, and from the little casino on 
 a green knoll about a quarter of a mile below. The cascade 
 ought to be first seen from below. As you descend toward the 
 valley, each succeeding view surpasses the others in grace and 
 beauty, whilst the effects of its ancient channels, and the deep 
 grottoes of its silent workings, relieve and interest the sight, 
 until you cross to the opposite bank, where you get a full and 
 perfect panoramic view of the Falls, and the eye embraces the 
 entire sweep of its impassioned course, as it falls headlong, 
 " and is lost in a mist of its own creation." 
 
 Truly, Neri may be described as the finest cascade in Eu- 
 rope, and in picturesque effect, as far surpassing Niagara ; 
 if it could be permitted to compare two wonders, so perfect 
 in their respective orders, — Niagara, the image of sublimity 
 and beauty — Terni, that of beauty overwhelmed by madness. 
 
 *' The roar of waters ! — from the headlong height 
 Velino cleaves the ■wave--worn precipice ; 
 The fall of waters ! rapid as the light 
 
 The flashing mass foams, shaking the abj'ss ; 
 The hell of waters ! where thev howl and hiss, 
 
LOVE WATCHING MADNESS. 221 
 
 And boil in endless torture ; while tlie sweat 
 Of their great agony, wrung out from this 
 Their Phlegethon, curls round the rocks of jet 
 That gird the gulf around, in pitiless horror set, 
 
 " And mounts in spray the skies, and thence again 
 Returns in an unceasing shower, which round 
 With its unemptied cloud of gentle rain. 
 Is an eternal April to the ground. 
 Making it all one emerald : — how profound 
 The gulf ! and how the giant element 
 
 From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound. 
 
 Crushing the cliffs, which downward worn and rent 
 
 With his fierce footsteps, yield in chasms a fearful vent. 
 
 *' To the broad column which rolls on, and shows 
 More like the fountain of an infant sea 
 Torn from the womb of mountains by the throes 
 Of a new world, than only thus to be 
 Parent of rivers, which flow gushingly 
 With many windings, through the vale : — Look back ! 
 
 Lo ! where it comes like an eternity, 
 As if to sweep down all things in its track. 
 Charming the eye with dread — a matchless cataract, 
 
 " Horribly beautiful ! but on the verge, 
 
 From side to side, beneath the glittering morn, 
 An Iris sits, amid the infernal surge, 
 
 Like Hope upon a death-bed, and, unworn 
 Its steady dyes, while all around is torn 
 By the distracted waters, bears serene 
 
 Its brilliant hues with all their beams unshorn ; 
 Resembling, 'mid the tortures of the scene. 
 Love watchins; Madness, with unalterable mien." 
 
228 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The road by which we returned, led through the little 
 village of Papigno, famous for the size and flavor of its 
 peaches, whence the roar of the cascade, though three miles 
 distant, is still audible. After passing through some shady 
 olive-groves, and by the rapid waters of the Yelino and Nera 
 united, we reached the delightful villa of the Graziani, which 
 was once occupied by the Princess of Wales ; the road then 
 descended into a valley, through a succession of woods and 
 enchanting spots, which make this valley one of the finest 
 districts in the world. Happy were we to arrive back at 
 Terni, on having been favored by Heaven in upholding the 
 rain just long enough to make the pleasant excursion; and 
 before the full drops fell to obscure the sky. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 On Wednesday, the mountain of La Somma presented all 
 the majestic beauties of the savage nature of our native 
 forests ; and the oxen of the Clitumnus, which helped the 
 weary horses of the vetturino to draw us over its summit, 
 were formerly grand and sacred victims, that conducted the 
 triumphers of Rome to the temples of the gods. 
 
 *' Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges, et maxima taurus 
 Victima, soepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro 
 Romanos ad templa DeCim duxfere triumplios." 
 
 — Virg. Geor. 11. 147. 
 
 After passing La Somma, the country assumed a sweeter 
 aspect, and we descended to the valley of Spoleto. The 
 citadel of Spoleto, on a hill, has some remains of Cyclopean 
 walls. The gate called Hannibal's, a Roman work, bears 
 
FRESCOES AT SPOLETO. 229 
 
 witness to the resistance made by this ancient town to the 
 Carthaginian Captain, and proves its fideUty to the Romans ; 
 it further shows how powerful the towns of Italy must have 
 been to brave such a conqueror, and arrest his progress. 
 
 The Cathedral is ornamented by the frescoes of the elder 
 Filippo Lippi, an adventurous artist, who, having fled from a 
 convent, and been made a slave in Barbary, was freed and 
 honored for his talent, and afterwards died at Spoleto, from 
 the effects of poison administered to him by the relatives of a 
 great lady whose affections he had won. He who had pre- 
 viously carried off a boarder from a convent, was honored by 
 Lorenzo de Medici, who erected a tomb over his remains, in 
 this church, with an epitaph by Politian. The view from the 
 piazza in front, is magnificent and extends as far as the town 
 of Trevi, which rises like an amphitheatre on the slope of the 
 mountains, and is very picturesque. 
 
 One of Spagna's frescoes which formerly stood on the 
 wall of a fortress had been removed to the public palace ; a 
 curious relic, or e\idence of the richness of Italy in art, where 
 frescoes Avere so abundant that it seemed they could afford to 
 have them painted on the fronts of their dwellings, and ex- 
 posed to the open air. 
 
 The inhabitants of Spoleto, whose celebrity for finesse and 
 cunning was equal to the Luccanese of the present day, carried 
 political fanaticism to the extreme verge of ferocity in the 
 civil wars of the Guelphs and Ghibilines. In one of their 
 chronicles, the following tale was found, which might supply 
 our painters and poets with a pathetic subject : — When the 
 Ghibilines were setting fire to the houses of their adversaries, 
 a woman, married to a Guelph, seeing her Ghibiline brother 
 directing her house to be set on fire, went to the top of the 
 
230 THE LAXD OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 tower with her two children in her arms, and asked him to 
 pity them and herself. The ruthless Ghibiline told her to 
 throw the two embryo Guelphs into the flames, and he would 
 save her ; but a mother's love was strongest, and the woman 
 was burnt with her two children. 
 
 IX. 
 
 At the gate of the post-town delle Vene, near which rises 
 the Clitumnus, a river once sacred, that was sung by Yirgil, 
 and ingeniously described by Pliny, who seems to have sup- 
 plied the name of the place, — 
 
 " Hunc suite?' fons exit, et expri?mtur plurihus venis^^ — "For 
 near this spot the spring issues, and gushes out from many 
 reins J^ 
 
 The classic Clitumnus, now a mere brook, is no longer 
 navigable to its source, as in Pliny's days. 
 
 The enchanting site was rich in lovely landscapes which 
 were beautifully displayed, under the warm light of the ver- 
 nal noon, and the rich plain which it watered, mingled its 
 velvet lawn with the ripe bright furrows of the cultivated soil, 
 and interspersed its percolating streams through ripe fields of 
 golden grain, where well-trimmed fruit-trees were bedecked 
 and linked together with festoons of running grape-vines. 
 The pretty antique temple, which was also an early Christian 
 chapel, was, I believe, the origin of Pouissin's landscape of 
 Phocion, and inspired Byron with a tributary piece : — 
 
 " But thou, Clitumnus ! in thy sweetest wave 
 Of the most living crystal that was e'er 
 The haunt of river-nymph, to gaze and lave 
 
 Her limbs where nothing hid them, thou dost rear 
 Thy grassy banks, wherf^on the milk-white steer 
 
MADONNA DI FOLIGNO. 231 
 
 Grazes ; the parent god of gentle waters ! 
 
 And most serene of aspect, and most clear ; 
 Surely that stream was unprofaned by slaughters 
 A mirror and a bath for Beauty's youngest daughters ! 
 
 •' And on thy happy shore a temple still, 
 Of small and delicate proportion, keeps, 
 Upon a mild declivity of hill, 
 Its memory of thee ; beneath it sweeps 
 Thy current's calmness ; oft from out it leaps 
 The finny darter with the glittering scales. 
 
 Who dwells and revels in thy glassy deeps ; 
 While, chance, some scatter'd water-lily sails 
 Down where shallower wave still tells its bubbling tales. 
 
 " Pass not unblest the Genius of the place ! 
 If through the air a zephyr more serene 
 Win to the brow, 'tis his ; and if ye trace 
 Along his margin a more eloquent green. 
 If on the heart the freshness of the scene 
 Sprinkle its coolness, and from the dry dust 
 
 Of weary life, a moment lave it clean 
 With Nature's baptism — 't is to him ye must 
 Pay orison for this suspension of disgust." 
 
 We stopped at Follgno, a pretty and well-built town, where 
 the three roads to Rome, Florence, and the Marches, meet — 
 which is on a high promontory, overlooking the valley and 
 plain for many miles. From the Canopea, or public prome- 
 nade, we had an enchanting view, at sun-set, over the ricli 
 plain of the Clitumnus, which was bordered by the forests of 
 Umbria and the rugged spurs of the sterile Apennines. The 
 majestic Cathedral has a badalchin, imitated from St. Peter's. 
 We were hnppy, in our walk about the town, to meet with 
 
2o2 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 some of those sweet countenances which inspired the pencil of 
 Raphael, and recognized in one lovely face that we saw, a 
 lovely girl, who reminded us of his Madonna di Foligno, in 
 the Louvre, at Paris. 
 
 AS S I S I. 
 XI. 
 
 The fourth morning of our journey brought us on our way 
 to Assisi, by the interesting little town of Spello, where travel- 
 lers are shown the immense pretended measure of the giant 
 Orlando, and the supposed mark of his knee, which was very 
 high. Popular traditions of the fabulous glory and exploits 
 of this ogre, and Italian imaginations, have really made Or- 
 lando, the Hercules of the Middle Ages ; and these having 
 multiplied his stories, labors, not unlike those of the antique 
 epic hero, Ariosto had only brilliantly embodied these differ- 
 ent traditions, which have been handed down in songs and 
 tales for more than six centuries, in his fine poem of " Orlando 
 Furioso." 
 
 The situation of Assisi, " lodged half-way down the moun- 
 tain," sustains Dante in his picturesque sketch, — 
 
 '< Fertile costa d' alto monte pende." 
 
 Whilst walking up the mountain upon which it hangs, 
 M^e caught many fine views over the rich plains of Umbria, 
 still stretching its length through the valley of the Topino, 
 which was dotted with its pretty villages and neat white 
 farm-houses, and prominently in its midst was the grand 
 church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. 
 
 This dull, deserted, and monastic town, is full of the memory 
 
CHURCH UNDER GROUND, 233 
 
 of St. Francis, and was the birth-place of two elegant Italian 
 poets, Propertius and Metastasio, 
 
 In the public square, the ancient Temple of Minerva pre- 
 sents a superb portico of fluted columns, under which sundry- 
 antique fragments are collected, forming a small and interest- 
 ing museum. An aqueduct, a tomb, a converted theatre, a 
 superb wall, are the other wrecks which attest the importance 
 of the ancient Assisium. 
 
 The fine Church of Saint Clare has some good windows 
 of painted glass, and a few frescoes of Giotto, which have 
 luckily escaped the barbarous brush of the mason. St. Rufinus, 
 the cathedral, has a richly-ornamented front and some richly- 
 elaborated works in marble. 
 
 The Convent of the Franciscans is grandly perched on a 
 rock, which commands the entire panorama of this region, 
 and extends as far as to embrace a view of the remote town 
 of Perrugia. The church belonging to this Order is one of 
 the most celebrated in Italy ; contains, in fact, three distinct 
 chapels. The convent has much the aspect of a fortress in 
 the distance. 
 
 XII. 
 
 The underground church, which is gloomy and austere, 
 breathes an atmosphere of penitence and grief. The Gothic 
 style of its architecture is a noticeable peculiarity in this re- 
 gion, as the production of a German, one Jaco-po il Tedesco, 
 and derives its chief interest from the fact that it dates the 
 epoch of the introduction of the German architecture into 
 Italy. This subterranean chapel, which is composed of 
 vaulted ceilings, supporting the floors and walls of a superior 
 church edifice, has an obscure and sombre aspect about it, 
 
234 THE LAND OF THE CJESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 which comports well with the saddened and repentant humors 
 of the sinners, who pray here at the shrine of "fet. Francis. 
 
 The roof is beaatifnlly ornamented with scrolls and vigne- 
 rons, and adorned with rare old frescoes, by Griotto and his 
 pupils. The four poetical compartments of the ceiling of the 
 cross-aisle, representing the principal virtues practised by 
 St. Francis, such as Poverty, Chastity, Ohedience, and also 
 his Glorification — Griotto's finest frescoes, so admirable for 
 shape, attitude, and expression — prove how much he had sur- 
 passed his master Cimabue, whose remarkable paintings we 
 shall see in the upper church. Dante is said to have given 
 Giotto the idea of these pictures, and doubtless alludes to 
 this triumph of Giotto at Assisi, in the celebrated verses, — 
 
 " Credette Cimabue nella piutura 
 Tenor lo campo ; ed or a ha Giotto il grido, 
 Si che la fama di colui s'oscura." 
 
 " 'Twas thought in painting Cimabue held the field, 
 But now to Giotto he the palm must yield, 
 So much obscures this all the former's fame !" 
 
 The most perfect paintings of this basilic were the spirited 
 group of the Sibyls and Prophets, by Andrea of Assisi, a 
 pupil of Perugiuo, and a rival of Raphael, who was surnamed 
 the Wit (il Ingegno), from his marvelous disposition. We 
 were also pleased with a Yirgin, by Perugino. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The church above the chapel, so brilliant and luminous, 
 formed an ingenious contrast with the lower sanctuary. 
 Here the frescoes of Cimabue are astonishing for that epoch. 
 The solitary oriel window at the end presented some superb 
 
MATERNAL TENDERNESS. 235 
 
 coloring in glass. The tomb and shrine of the Saint has been 
 placed in a pretty mausoleum of marble, surrounded by a 
 light palisade, which is regarded the first in the world, after 
 the Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 A walk of an hour soon brought us again to the plain, and 
 inside of the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. In the 
 middle stood, as at Loretto, a small house which had been 
 converted into a chapel ; and there were the rude walls in 
 which St. Francis had given his rules, and having resolved, 
 practised evangelical poverty to the letter, before he pro- 
 claimed his doctrines to his disciples and the world. The 
 church called the Chiesa l^uova, occupies the site of the house 
 where St. Francis was born, and the traveller may see there 
 the prison in which he was confined, bound like a madman, by 
 his father, a rich tradesman, who was exceedingly provoked 
 at the pious dissipation of his alms, and whence his more com- 
 passionate mother delivered him. 
 
 PERRUGIA. 
 XIV. 
 
 The highly picturesque town of Perrugia, which was kept 
 constantly in view during our walk up the last three miles of 
 its mountain, fully repaid our laborious ascent, by the sur- 
 passing beauty of the outspread landscape, which was height- 
 ened in effect from our lofty position. Perrugia on the 
 mountain, with its fortifications, the ditches of which have 
 been filled up and converted into a public promenade, is no 
 less interesting with respect to art, antiquities, and literature. 
 
 There are no less than one hundred churches and thirty 
 monasteries distributed among fourteen thousand inhabitants, 
 
236 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 among which the Convent of the Benedictines of St. Peter 
 ranks as one of the most extensive and richest ecclesiastical 
 establishments in the Roman States. The church, which has 
 some of Yasari's best paintings, is more particularly remark- 
 able for the fine wood carvings of the choir, executed from 
 Raphael's designs. These arabesque scrolls and ornaments 
 fully sustain the evidences of the versatility of his genius and 
 the fertility of his talent. 
 
 The Hall dd Camhio, the Exchange of Perrugia, in the 
 fifteenth century, is decorated with frescoes, by Perugino, 
 who was aided by his pupil, 11 Ingegno. These admirable 
 frescoes represent the portraits of illustrious men of antiquity ; 
 and in the chapel adjoining divers subjects from the Old and 
 New Testaments, which have been ably celebrated by the 
 poets of Italy. Even here we trace the pencil of Raphael as 
 well as at the Convent of the Camaldulities of San Severo, 
 where his frescoes still adorn its chapel. They are a little 
 damaged, but yet full of his grace and his life-like expres- 
 sion. The Christ is replete with divinity. 
 
 The University, which is considered one of the most dis- 
 tinguished in Italy, embraces within its walls a botanical 
 garden, an archaeological and mineral cabinet, many superb 
 Etruscan remains, and an academy of fine arts. 
 
 The different views of the interior of the town are singularly 
 interesting, especially in that quarter of the public palace 
 where the style of the edifices approaches the Yenetian Order 
 of Architecture. 
 
 The Piazza Grimara presents the finest remains of the 
 Etruscan circuit of the town, where there is a picturesque old 
 castle, and a gate flanked by two towers, called the Arch of 
 Augustus. 
 
BATTLE, BY LIVY. 231 
 
 " Once more in movement, and I roam 
 By Tlirasimene's lake, in the defiles 
 Fatal to Roman rashness, more at home ; 
 For there the Carthagenian's warlike wiles 
 Come back before me, as his skill beguiles 
 The host between the mountains and the shore, 
 
 Where Courage falls in her despairing files, 
 And torrents swollen to rivers with their gore. 
 Reek through the solitary plain, with legions scatter'd o'er ; 
 
 '' Like to a forest felFd by mountain winds ; 
 And such the storm of battle on this day. 
 And such the fury whose convulsion blinds 
 To all save carnage, that beneath the fray 
 An earthquake reel'd unheedingly away ! 
 None felt stern Nature rocking at his feet. 
 
 And yawning forth a grave for those who lay 
 Upon their bucklers for a winding-sheet ; 
 Such is the absorbing hate when warring nations meet ! 
 
 " The earth to them was as a rolling bark 
 Which bore them to Eternity ; they saw 
 The ocean round, but had no time to mark 
 The motions of their vessel ; Nature's law, 
 In them suspended, reck'd not of the awe 
 Which reigns when mountains tremble, and the birds 
 
 Plunge in the clouds for refuge, and withdraw 
 From their down-toppling nests ; and bellowing herds 
 Stumble o'er heaving plains, and man's dread hath no words, 
 
 " Far other scene is Thrasimene now ; 
 
 Her lake a sheet of silver, and her plain 
 Rent by no ravage save the gentle plough ; 
 Her aged trees rise thick as once the slain 
 Lay where their roots are ; but a brook hath ta'en — 
 
238 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 A little rill of scanty stream and bed — 
 
 A name of blood from that day's sanguine rain ; 
 And Sanguinetto tells ye where the dead 
 Made the earth wet, and turn'd the unwilling waters red." 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The aspect of the country bordering on the Lake of 
 Perrugia, the ancient Thrasimene, perfectly explains the battle 
 described by Polybius and Livy, " an action," proudly remarks 
 the latter, " that was one of the few defeats of the Roman 
 people." It is easily seen that the Consul Flaminius had a 
 confined and bad retreat along the lake ; and one almost 
 expects to see the Numidian cavalry rush from the mountains 
 to intercept him — the superstitious recollection of this dis- 
 aster produced, to parody the Latin historian, one of the 
 frequent discomfitures of the Pope's soldiers, who were beaten 
 on that very spot by the army of Lorenzo de Medici. 
 
 The approaches to the Lake of Thrasimene are full of 
 beauty, and especially so in that view which you obtain as 
 you turn over the brow of the mountain to descend to its 
 shores. How supremely lovely it appeared on the evening of 
 our arrival, just as the ashes of the day were shaken from the 
 chariot wheels of the sinking Phcebus, as the sun sank to rest 
 behind the rich fringes of the purple forests on the hills ; 
 whilst the whole atmosphere was bathed with a bloom of 
 roseate hue, and the lake itself reflecting its tones of beauty 
 on its mirrored surface, caught up the luminous flushes of 
 eve's suffusing blush, when the day itself expired. How 
 softly the moonlight stole over its waters in its turn, and laved 
 the banks with the melting moods of her kisses, as the waves 
 of the lake by day, would wanton with its own fostering 
 shores ! — We slumbered, as the moon went down. 
 
AREZZO. — CATHEDRAL. 239 
 
 CORTONA AND AREZZO. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Trasimene's limpid and azure waters were still the subject 
 of our mutual praises and admiration, on the following morn- 
 ing, as we journeyed towards Todi and Cortona. 
 
 The latter, like most of the Etruscan cities, was admirably 
 situated on a high mountain. Leaving our vetturino at the 
 foot of the hill on which it was placed, we walked into the 
 town for an examination of the Praetorian palace, which is 
 now the seat of the Etruscan Academy, and contains an 
 excellent museum of the antiquities of this region. We had 
 an enchanting view from the tower of the old church of St. 
 Margaret and its monastery, surrounded with cypresses, that 
 occupy the summit of the mountain of Cortona ; it embraced 
 the entire range of this district, looking back as far as the 
 Lake of Thrasimene. After having purchased a bottle of 
 " vino sancto," a wine celebrated in this country, we regained 
 our carriage at the foot of the hill, and hurried on to Casti- 
 glioni for dinner. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 About sunset we reached the ancient and historical town 
 of Arezzo, which rises in the form of an amphitheatre on its 
 lovely hills. It boasts of its number of illustrious men, 
 among whom are Petrarch and Vasari. 
 
 The Church of della Pieve, the most ancient in the town, 
 presents some relics of an ancient temple, supposed to have 
 been a temple of Bacchus. The fantastic caryatides, columns 
 and capitals, rising in three successive ranks of stories, ex- 
 
240 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 hibited great facility of architectural construction, and struck 
 us as a grand peculiarity in the order of church buildings. 
 
 The magnificent Cathedral is a work of splendid effect and 
 of a singularly venerable aspect, and contains a brilliant 
 painted window, representing the " Calling of Saint Mat- 
 thew," which excited Yasari's unbounded enthusiasm. The 
 frescoes of the middle nave are evidently imitations of Ra- 
 phael's Loggia in the Vatican ; and the high altar, by 
 Pisani, is rich in wrought marbles, representing scenes in the 
 life of the Virgin and the Martyrdom of Saint Donatus. 
 
 The Mausoleum of Gruido Tarlati is also very curious, and 
 displays different subjects of history, sculptured in marble on 
 its sides, such as the Crowning of Louis of Bavaria at Milan, 
 and the taking of towns and cities ; in which the little 
 figures are very natural, distinct and elegant, and are worthy 
 of the best days of art. 
 
 We saw the house where Petrarch was born in the Borgo 
 delFOrto, a small street near the cathedral, as we were 
 informed by a lengthy inscription put on the outside of the 
 house in 1810. 
 
 The elegant Church of the Badia of Santa Flora offers one 
 of those cupolas of architectural painting, extraordinary for 
 perspective, by the famous P. Pozzi. In the ancient refectory 
 of the cloister the Banquet of Ahasuerus, a vast composition 
 by Yasari, given by him to his natal town, and containing his 
 portrait under the guise of an old man with a long beard, is 
 one of the few works which would have immortalized the 
 artist's name had he been wise enough to paint less. 
 
 The Hall of the Ahasuerus, the place where the sittings 
 of the Arezzo Academy of Art, Sciences, and Literature are 
 held, has taken the title of Petrarca. 
 
PECULIAR INN. — GARDEN OF ITALY. 241 
 
 Under the advantage of an unusually long twilight, which 
 prolonged the glories of a superbly rich and particularly bril- 
 liant Italian sky, we continued to travel on until we arrived at 
 the post-town of Poggio Bagnano that night. The inn was 
 somewhat peculiar in having the stable under the parlor and 
 dining-room, a matter of little consequence to us, who at the 
 hour of midnight, arrived too much fatigued to allow ourselves 
 the privilege of being annoyed by the neighings of the horses 
 and animals, which were in-stalled beneath our bedroom. 
 
 XX. 
 
 About eight, on the next morning, we followed the banks 
 of the Arno, on our road to the Capitol, which was pleasantly 
 varied by the several towns of Monte Yarchi, San Giovanni, 
 and Filigne. We took a lunch at Monte Incisa, where the 
 Arno is crossed by a bridge, which throws its graceful span 
 quite picturesquely over the waters. The first view of Flo- 
 rence, on our approach by the gate of St. Nicolas, was mag- 
 nificent ; and, as the majestic dome of the cathedral loomed 
 upward through the forest of the Campanillas which surrounded 
 it, it seemed to hang like a hemisphere in free suspension, and, 
 poised by the equilibrium of its own noble gravity and solemn 
 repose, it appeared to float like a dream over this beautiful 
 vision of the garden of Italy. 
 
FLORENCE. 
 
 ** But Arno wins us to the fair white walls, 
 
 Where the Etrurian Athens claims and keeps 
 A softer feeling for her fairy halls. 
 Girt by her theatre of hills, she reaps 
 Her corn, and wine, and oil, and plenty leaps 
 To laughing life, with her redundant horn. 
 
 Along the banks where smiling Arno sweeps 
 Was modern Luxury of Commerce born. 
 And buried Learning rose, redeem'd to a new morn." 
 
 The approach to Florence and its environs, displays a forci- 
 ble expression of Italy — the Italy of letters and art. Nature 
 there appears brilliant and ornate ; the cultivation is perfect, 
 and every eminence is studded with charming villas, inter- 
 spersed with clumps of olive trees — which are no less typical 
 of beauty and abundance than the prototype of the natural 
 and indigenous flowers of her gardens — ^from which, through 
 Fiori, she herself partook of the name of Florence. 
 
 We shall never forget the first sight of the noble dome of 
 the glorious old Cathedral of Santa Maria di Fiori — rivaling 
 St. Paul's in magnitude, and suggesting to Michael Angelo 
 the more superb idea of his dome at St. Peter's — as we stood, 
 on the evening of our first day, in Florence, and gazed upon 
 its form, from the Baptistery, in the Piazza. It seemed as if 
 we had taken a flight into the medieval epoch of Art and 
 
GALAXY OF GENIUS. 243 
 
 History, there to be in Florence, still mindful of the period 
 of htr commercial greatness — that great city, which proved in 
 tlie brilliant reign of the Medici family, that Republics could 
 foster Art with glory, and excel in Literature and Poetry ; 
 and that, too, when wars were raging and devastating the 
 country about her, and pestilence devouring her people and 
 her strength. 
 
 If Florence may be called the capital of the Middle Ages, 
 the Palazzo Yecchio, its frowning, solid, picturesque old palace 
 — which was erected at the close of the thirteenth century, in 
 the days of its prosperity, ornamented with the escutcheons of 
 its different governors, painted in fresco under the battlements, 
 and surmounted by its bell and lofty belfry — is singularly 
 characteristic of its prowess and renown. 
 
 Perhaps, after Rome, one of the most interesting cities in 
 Italy is Florence ; and it is, certainly, second to none in those 
 rich and sublime specimens of art which deck her palaces and 
 churches. Her peculiar charms spring from that illustrious 
 period in her history which centred in the ages of the Medici 
 and Leo X., the glory of whose rule was immortalized by 
 that brilliant cortege of genius and talent which adorned their 
 courts, and embracing some of the most celebrated names that 
 have ever surrounded the reign of any earthly monarch, 
 gathered in the galaxy of its brightness a band of artists, 
 philosophers, statesmen, poets, historians, and conquerors, such 
 as have seldom combined to illuminate the splendors of any 
 age, or to cast renown over the annals of any kingdom. 
 
 -Here repose 
 
 Angelo's, Alfieri bones, and his, 
 
244 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 The starry Galileo, mth his woes ; 
 
 Here Machiavelli's earth return'd to whence it rose." 
 
 "These are four minds, which, like the elements. 
 Might furnish forth creation." 
 
 Here also lived the three Etruscans — Dante, Petrarch, and 
 Boccacio — "whose names alone were mausoleums of the Muse," 
 and the presence of whose glorious works still exists among 
 the attractions of the city. In fact, the memories of her former 
 glories charm no less than the natural beauty of Italy ; and 
 Florence, " la bella cittd" abounds in monuments of her past 
 renown. She is the cabinet treasure-house of her middle-age's 
 wonders, and her old Ducal Palace frowns yet with the same 
 grand and gloomy aspect of the olden times. Her works 
 of art recall the genius and school of Raphael — the forcible 
 power of Angelo ; her tower of Galileo still points to the 
 greatness of his fame, and the brilliant discoveries in Astro- 
 nomy ; and her Cathedral — the work of three hundred years 
 of progress — marks the epoch of her height, her arrogance, 
 and her decline. 
 
 III. 
 
 The legend of her origin is no less beautiful than her name, 
 which almost seems to have issued from the "Jlowers^' of her 
 fields ; for, in the traditions of her poetry it is held that Fiesoli 
 was the cradle of Florence. This, one of the numerous Tuscan 
 towns which were always lodged on the declivity of a moun- 
 tain, for the better security of the location, and from an eco- 
 nomical disposition in the early inhabitants to leave the plains 
 entirely open to agricultural purposes, was the early introducer 
 of the future capital of Tuscany. In ancient times, the people, 
 naturally descending to the level country in order to dispose 
 
HISTORICAL LEGExVD. 245 
 
 of tlieir various wares and merchandises, and finding it incon- 
 venient to return to the interior after night-fall, began by 
 establishing booths, or places, for shelter or repose, which were 
 soon converted into lodging-houses, and these, in due com. 
 of time, accumulated into villages ; and this situation being 
 esteemed favorable, from the salubrity of the ah' and the delights 
 of the climate, it rapidly advanced in size and importance. 
 At length the village was transferred from the mountain- 
 side to the plain, and finally became Florence — a name which, 
 as we have said before, was derived from "Jlori, i. e.Jlowers" 
 and was exceedingly appropriate, from the rich character of 
 the soil, and its own flourishing condition. Its present 
 position, surrounded by an amphitheatre of beautifully undu- 
 lating hills, whose sides are dotted over with the white cubes 
 of innumerable villas and country-seats, and whose garden- 
 grounds are richly cultivated, with every variety of shade and 
 fruit-trees, the boughs of which are often interlaced and bound 
 together by festoons of hanging vines and graperies, render 
 the coup de mdl, from any prominent point of vision, one of 
 the most picturesque and delightful that can be conceived or 
 painted. These views, its own lovely climate and beautiful 
 skies, its proximity to the sea, and charming position as the 
 centre of Italy, united to the happiness of her people, who are 
 gently swayed by the parental authority of an amiable 
 sovereign, combine to render Florence one of the most agree- 
 able places of sojoui'u in Europe. 
 
 The present Grand-Duke has contributed much to advance 
 his own security and the prosperity of his subjects, by a 
 proper attention to the irrigation of her fertile lands, by the 
 
246 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 fatherly administration of his government ; and in the late 
 reforms, he has always yielded to a sense of the necessity 
 of all prudent and conservative innovations : for he has 
 chosen rather to consider his duties to be such, as relate 
 to the happiness of a family whose head he is, than to 
 exercise the stern prerogatives of royalty on his people, 
 as if they were only fit objects for an arbitrary and despotic 
 rule. 
 
 Fiesole has nothing left to it but its prospects, ruins, 
 churches, and picturesque convent ; but Florence remains 
 still more beautiful from the Past, and, gathering around it 
 the memories of its departed greatness, will ever live in the 
 praises of mankind, as long as there is nature in her fields 
 or art in her galleries. 
 
 PALAZZO VECCHIO. 
 V. 
 
 The various rebuildings and renovations of this gloomy 
 old palace, with its high tower of the Barberia, looming fear- 
 fully and grandly up, and overtopping the roofs of the neigh- 
 boring houses, would somewhat surprise the architect, Aruolfo 
 di Lapo, and his art-successors ; for such changes have been 
 made in their original designs, that they would not be able to 
 recognize their own works, should they again revisit the 
 earth. An incident connected with its first construction, 
 gives us an idea of the passions and influence of the Florentine 
 democracy of that time : — When the foundations were being 
 laid, the people would not allow them to extend over the 
 ground defiled by the houses, of the Uberti and other factious 
 persons, demolished by the populace who had also expelled 
 
ANGELS AS MASONS. 24t 
 
 the owners, detested as nobles and Ghibilines ; and the sym- 
 metry of this palace of the Seignory, who had ordered its 
 erection, was sacrificed to such a desire. 
 
 Immediately after crossing the threshold of this stern 
 palace, one is struck with an agreeable contrast frequently 
 met with in the interior of other Florentine palaces. The 
 portico is formed of columns of stucco, with a gold ground ; 
 the ceilings are covered with arabesques of Raphael's school ; 
 and a porphyry fountain, of most elegant architecture, rises 
 in the centre of the court. The masons, who then were repair- 
 ing the immense council-chamber, executed by Cronaca, fur- 
 ther reminded us of the republican manners of the State, 
 when a thousand citizens deliberated there on public affairs. 
 Such was the rapidity with which this spacious hall was con- 
 structed, that it was said, "the angels aided as masons." 
 
 The arched roof and the two great walls were covered with 
 easy paintings by Yasari, representing the war with Pisa on 
 one side, and that against Siena on the other. There are 
 several remarkable statues in the Hall: — Cosmo, the Father of 
 his Country ; an Adam and Eve, by Bandinelli, and an un- 
 finished Victory, by Michael Angelo, which was to have made 
 part of the Mausoleum of Julius II. 
 
 VI. 
 
 On the site of the tower called Barheria, the imprisoned 
 Cosmo, found in Malavolti, the most honorable and delicate 
 of all jailors mentioned in history, as his prisoner affection- 
 ately embraced him as an acknowledgment of his kind treat- 
 ment. It was in this narrow space, says Machiavel, that he 
 heard the assembled people, the clashing of arms in the 
 square, and the bell that convoked the hnlia, a kind of com- 
 
248 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 monalty of Florence, enough to make him tremble for his life. 
 The several apartments of the old palace, each bearing the 
 device of a Medici, are painted in fresco by Vasari and his 
 school, among which the following may be distinguished : — 
 Cosmo, the Father of his Country, departing into exile ; his Re- 
 turn to Florence, in the midst of the people, women, and 
 children, carrying olive branches, and strewing the streets 
 with flowers. 
 
 The door of the Hall of Audience, adorned with figures, 
 ornaments, and excellent mosaics in wood by Benedetto di 
 Maiana, is magnificent. Instead of arms, escutcheons, and 
 other usual signs of vanity, the first magistrates of Florence 
 had the portraits of Petrarch and Dante painted on the fold- 
 ing doors, a just homage rendered to the first writers of the 
 Italian tongue, and suitable embellishments for the place 
 where these magistrates received the Florentine people. 
 
 VII. 
 
 On the ceiling of one of the four rooms composing the 
 apartment of the Grand Dutchess Eleonora, wife of Cosmo I., 
 John Stradan, a painter of Brages, had well represented in 
 oil, the virtuous and almost unknown action of the fair Gaul- 
 drada. 
 
 The emperor Otho lY. having come to Florence at the 
 festival of St. John, was struck with the exceeding beauty of 
 the daughter of Messer Bellincione Berti de' Ravignani, 
 seated in the circle of ladies, and asked to whom she be- 
 longed. Messer Bellincione, who stood near the emperor, 
 having answered before the courtiers that she was the daugh- 
 ter of a man who would permit the emperor to kiss her, the 
 young Florentine rose and indignantly replied — " Father, be 
 
THE FAIR GUALDRADA. 249 
 
 less liberal in your promises respecting me, for I will never be 
 kissed but by my lawful lord." Otho, charmed with this 
 virtuous answer, immediately called one of his barons, Guido 
 Xovello by name, made him a Count, endowed him with 
 Casenthio and a part of Romagno, and presented him as a 
 husband to the daughter of the unscrupulous Messer Bellin- 
 cione. They began the line of the Counts Guidi, one of 
 whose descendants, (their own valiant nephew Guido Guerra,) 
 Dante has placed in his Inferno for the crime of sodomy : — 
 " Nepote fu della buona Gualdi-ada." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 At the entrance of the old palace, are the two celebrated 
 colossal statues, Hercules Slaying Cacus, by Bandinelli, and 
 Michael Angelo's David. Despite the exaggerations of Ban- 
 danelli's Hercules, the grouping of the figures is grand ; the 
 joining of the neck and body in the figure of Cacus is regarded 
 as admirable ; and Michael Angelo, even, to whom a mould 
 of it had been sent to Rome, agreed that it was very fine. 
 
 The David, v/hich the chisel of Michael Angelo drew out of 
 the enormous block of Carrera marble, where it had Ip.in hid 
 nearly a century, is the first specimen of his style so terribly 
 grand. Michael Angelo's patriotism induced him to leave the 
 brilliant and lucrative woxk of the "Vatican to undertake it. 
 It is easy to conceive that, with such a position, and with the 
 consciousness of his own superiority, the superb young artist 
 behaved with so little ceremony to the Senator Pietro Sode- 
 rini, then gonfalionier, w^ho had found the nose too large ; 
 he feigned to retouch it, and with the other hand threw into 
 the eyes of the first magistrate of the Republic a cloud of 
 marble-dnst enough to blind him. 
 
250 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The impetuosity with which Michael Angelo executed his 
 statues, even in his old age, has been often remarked ; he 
 lopped off enormous quarters of marble with his chisel ; one 
 might have said that, having discovered the figure he had 
 imagined, he fiercely struggled against the block which re- 
 sisted his efforts. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Piazza of the Grand Duke, before the old palace, has 
 not the extent of some squares in great capitals, resembling 
 fields or plains, with pavement, posts, and carriages ; but it is 
 rich in wonders of art. Beside the Hercules and David, is 
 the superb fountain of Ammanato, one of the grandest compo- 
 sitions of modern sculpture, and the artist's best. The light- 
 ness of this colossal Xeptune, drawn by four horses, is ex- 
 treme ; the Tritons, and other little sea-deities, in bronze, are 
 exquisitely wrought. The statue of Cosmo I., by Giovanni 
 Bologna, is a noble and harmonious monument. The basso- 
 relievos on the pedestal are excellent ; one of the minor figures 
 on the pedestal is a portrait of the dwarf at the Court of 
 Tuscany. 
 
 THE LOGGIA. 
 X. 
 
 The Loggia de!Lanzi d^Orgagna, a prime monument of 
 the history of the art, is the chief ornament of the Piazza 
 of the Grand Duke, and may safely be called the finest 
 portico in the world. The elegance and solidity of the con- 
 struction, with the grandeur and good taste of the arcades, 
 are much admired. Althouprh the Corinthian columns evince 
 
THE LOGGIA. THE JTDITH. 251 
 
 the barbarism of the time, such is the merit of the sculpture 
 and cornices, that they seem in perfect keeping. Cosmo I., 
 afterwards wishing to complete the embellishment of the 
 piazza, applied to Michael Angelo for a plan ; and his answer 
 was, that nothing better could be done than continuing Or- 
 gagna's work. Architect, sculptor, painter, poet, this great 
 and prolific Tuscan artist of the fourteenth century, seems 
 himself a premature Michael Angelo. Orgagna seems to have 
 prided himself on the yariety of his talents, and to have been 
 anxious that posterity should not forget them. For this 
 cause, he never omitted inscribing his name on his paintings : — 
 " Orgagna, sculptor " and on his sculptures, " Orgagna, pictor." 
 From the arcades of the Loggia, the ancient rostra of the 
 Florentine, the people, convoked by the old palace bell, were 
 harangued. There the installation of the gonfalonier took 
 place ; the generals received the baton of command, and 
 citizens the knightly insignia. Thence, too, the decrees of 
 the government were promulgated. These noble arcades took 
 the name they still retain, when they were only the quarters 
 of the lancers of Cosmo's Guard. This Loggia is ornamented 
 with superb statues. 
 
 XI. 
 
 The Judith of Donatello, which has rather the air of a 
 novice, sword in hand, whose reputation was heightened by 
 political events, passed from the palace of the cowardly tyrant 
 Pietro de Medici, after his flight, before the entry of Charles 
 YIII. ; and, erected in the Loggia of the Seignory Palace, it 
 became an allegory and a public monument of the deliver- 
 ance of Florence ; and the following impressive words were 
 then inscribed and are still visible : — " Eremplum saht. pull. 
 
262 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 cives posuere MCCCCXCV. ; a popular menace, which never 
 disturbed the paternal governments of the Grand Dftkes of 
 Tuscany. 
 
 XII. 
 
 The Perseus^ a master-piece of Benvenuto Cellini, though 
 somewhat elaborate, is a fine statue. When we recollect 
 the circumstances attending its casting, the spirit with which 
 the artist, exhausted with fatigue, parched up with fever, 
 leaped from his bed to continue and hasten the melting of the 
 bronze, into which he threw all the pewter vessels of his 
 household ; his devout and fervent prayer ; his sudden cure, 
 and his joyous repast with all his men — this statue becomes a 
 sort of action, reflecting the manners of the time, and the 
 character of the extraordinary man that executed it. On the 
 pedestal are four excellent small figures, in bronze. Below 
 one of these four little chefs-cVauvrt, the statue of Jupiter, 
 standing erect, ready to launch his thunderbolts, are inscribed 
 these words : — " Te fill, si qibis laserit, ultor ero^' — " I will 
 have revenge of any one who may injure thee, my son !" — 
 an inscription which seems as suitable to the violent artist 
 as to the god. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The bold group of the Rape of a Sabine, by Giovanni Bo- 
 logna, is, in reality, little more than an ale-house scene — a 
 husband knocked down, and a soldier running away with his 
 wife. Such, however, is the power of the beautiful — ever 
 pure, grave, serious, be the subject what it may — that these 
 great stark-naked figures are neither indecent nor ludicrous. 
 
 The appearance of this group was hailed with rapturous 
 acclamations throughout Italy, though not universally so, if 
 
LION. MARZOCCO. 253 
 
 we refer the question to the curious gentleman, (English, of 
 course,) who, having travelled on horseback from Rome to 
 Florence, for the purpose of seeing it, approached the Loggia, 
 and, without dismounting, turned his horse to go back, ex- 
 claiming, " Is that the thing they make so much noise about V^ 
 ^^Questa dunque la cosa cli cui si fa tanto ehiassoV It is 
 probable that this connoisseur could not see, from his horse, 
 the superb bronze basso-relievo on the pedestal, the Ka'^e, of a 
 Sabine. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The Lion of the Loggia, by Yacca, a studious imitator of 
 the ancients, is worthy of the Greek chisel, and was the finest 
 production of modern Italy, until Canova's celebrated Lions. 
 The lion with the lily composes the arms of Florence, and 
 is not less ancient. At the left angle of the old palace, 
 and on the steps of its front, there still stands a little old 
 sta^tue of a lion, in stone, called Marzocco, a popular nick- 
 name for thick-headed persons. 
 
 Among the six antique colossal statues of women, inside 
 the Loggia, representing the Priestesses of Romulus, there is 
 one with her hand raised to her face, which has an admirable 
 expression of sadness and melancholy. 
 
 Two of the first monuments of the Piazza of the Grand- 
 Duke — the group of the Sabine, and Cosmo's statue — are 
 the works of a Flemish sculptor, the cleverest of Michael 
 Angelo's pupils. The Uguccioni Palace, built on a superb 
 design, appears, decidedly by Raphael ; for it is altogether 
 in the style of other palaces at Rome, recognized as his 
 works. 
 
 Florence, distinguished by so many famous artists, has 
 seen foreign masters, from distant countries, come and devote 
 
254 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 their talents to its service, and in a manner naturalize 
 themselves there, as if it were the metropolis of glory and 
 genius. 
 
 UFFIZ J. 
 XV. 
 
 The XJffizj, now the picture-gallery, though at first intended 
 for the magistrates of Florence, who still occupy part of the 
 ground-floor, is an edifice of good architecture, which does 
 honor to the talent of the builders, Yasari and Buontalenti. 
 The three corridors and the twenty chambers of the galleries 
 have not the imposing coup d'ceuil of the gallery of the 
 Louvre. Placing statues, busts, and basso-relievos, between 
 the windows, does not seem a very happy arrangement, as 
 one-half is in a wrong light ; and the small locked-up rooms 
 are more like cabinets of curiosities than the halls of an im- 
 perial museum. The paintings of the three corridors are the 
 least remarkable, though several are by great masters. One 
 is so surrounded by the multitude of beautiful subjects which 
 adorn the corridors, that it is impossible to attain more than 
 to a selection during the first visit. Among the statues, are 
 the famous Wild Boar, in the second vestibule, admirable for 
 its truth and style ; the Two Dogs, barking, that seem to 
 guard the museum ; the most complete collection of emperors' 
 busts ; the graceful group of Cujpid and Psyche; and the 
 celebrated copy of the Laocoon, by Bandenelli, affected and 
 formal, which the artist presumptuously vaunted, was better 
 than the original — a boast which drew upon him Michael 
 Angelo's sarcastic reply, so applicable to all kinds of trans- 
 lators and imitators, '' That he uho follows in anoth^rh steps, 
 
VENUS DI MEDICI. 255 
 
 cannot very well get before him ;" as well as Titian's caricature, 
 executed in wood, by Nicliolao Boldrini, which exhibited a 
 large monkey and two smaller ones, embraced in the coils 
 of two serpents like the group. 
 
 XYI. 
 
 One never tires while beholding the fine outlines of the city's 
 edifices, as they rise on both sides of the Arno, whenever your 
 walks lead you by the path of the bridges, and your fancy 
 floats between the combined creations of Art and Xature, 
 fostering fit frame of mind for an introduction to the Gallery 
 of the TJfiBzj, wherein the ablest masters have left their imita- 
 tive types of what was pleasing in one, and most striking in 
 the other. 
 
 TThilst walking through these avenues of statues, the boast 
 of their own age, and models for the artists of our own, one is 
 rather apt to be lost in musicgs over the true philosophy of 
 Art, for one almost grieves that the golden period of man's 
 beatitudes has rolled away in the perfection of its own com- 
 pleted cycle, were it not that Hope still whispers flattering 
 fortunes of its recovery, and Faith, the strong anchorage of 
 genius, fosters a belief in inspirations of a diviner nature, 
 when the age of reality will take the place of the plastic 
 semblance and shadows, in that purer Age of Truth, when 
 genius will strive to perfect the images of the heart, and the 
 earnest birthright of the spirit of love will ripen, into grace, 
 every beautiful conception of the soul of man. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 What a treasury of enjoyment is gathered up in the cele- 
 brated Trihuna of the Florence Gallery, which strikes the 
 
256 THE LAND OF THE CAESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 visitor on Ms entrance as the sanctuary of the Arts ! A mys- 
 terious light reigns therein ; the cupola is incrusted with 
 mother-of-pearl — the pavement with precious marbles ; and it 
 unites some of the greatest master-pieces of ancient sculpture 
 and painting. 
 
 " There stands the statue which enchants the world." 
 The Venus, of Cleomenes, set in the middle, seems the di- 
 vinity of the sanctuary. 
 
 •' There, too, the Goddess loves in stone, and fills 
 The air around with beauty ; we inhale 
 The ambrosial aspect, which beheld, instills 
 Part of its immortality ; the veil 
 Of heaven is half undrawn ; within the pale 
 We stand, and in that form and face behold 
 What Mind can make, when Nature's self would fail." 
 
 This Yenus seems just to have issued from the berth of her 
 ocean-home, and looks the shrinking beauty of a mythological 
 modesty — ^for it is certainly not maiden modesty, which some 
 good people have wished to discover in the goddess of Gnidus — 
 however impossible it is not to admire the voluptuous form of 
 this, the most perfect type of ancient art, and which still 
 stands unsurpassed, aye, the unequaled model for sculptors. 
 
 It may be studied in every posture and in every light, and 
 its lines of grace and beauty are so exquisitely drawn that 
 the eye revels under the fascinating influences of its charms, 
 whilst the mind fills with those delicate emotions of gently-un- 
 dulating thoughts, as pure as light fusing through the rose 
 leaves, or the play of prismatic colors through the clear glist 
 of the limpid crystal ; so consonant is the idea of purity with 
 the beautiful in art and nature, and so constituted is that 
 admiration which arises from the contemplation of the purest 
 
ROTATOR, OR WHETTER. 25 1 
 
 embodiments of inspiration, that nothing earthly or material 
 can exist between the first intentions of noble designs or con- 
 ceptions, and their happy and perfect execution as they pass 
 fi'om their fountains in thought to their life of action and 
 vivid expression. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 *' There he more things to greet the heart and eyes 
 In Arno's dome of Art's most princely shrine. 
 Where Sculpture with her rainbow- sister vies ; 
 There he more marvels yet." 
 
 The four other antique chefs-d'oBuvre^ are the little Apollo, 
 perhaps the most perfect model of the graceful ideal ; the Ro- 
 tator, or Wketter, so true and natural, seems decidedly the 
 Scythian slave whetting his knife, who was ordered by Apollo 
 to flay Marsyas ; the group of the Wrestlers, unique in its 
 kind, and admirable for vigor, precision, and anatomical skill ; 
 and the Faun, gay, animated, lightsome, the head and arms 
 of which were very cleverly restored by Michael Angelo. 
 
 It must be owned that the scarcity of Michael Angelo's 
 easel-pieces makes nearly all the merit of his Virgin, with the 
 infant Jesus and St. Joseph. M. Angelo disdained painting 
 in oil as "a woman's occupation, only fit for idlers and per- 
 sons with nothing to do" — " Arte da donne, e da personn£ 
 agiate ed infingarde." 
 
 XIX. 
 
 How admirable and flesh-like are the pleasing forms of 
 Titian's two Yenuses, especially the one holding the flowers, 
 which is truly sublime in coloring — the voluptuous languor of 
 her features wonderfully expresses the vague passion of a 
 young woman. These two great Yenuses of a beauty so 
 
258 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 blooming and real, the antique Venus, and the elegant furni- 
 ture of the Tribuna, give this cabinet an aspect not over 
 decent ; one might call it a public boudoir. 
 
 Of six paintings by Raphael, five are immortal chefs-d^-(suvre, 
 differing in kind ; the two Holy Families ; the St. John in the, 
 Desert, vigorous and inspired — but time has darkened the land- 
 scape too much ; the graceful FornariTia, with an air of power- 
 ful, irresistible beauty; and the portrait of Julius II., a powerful 
 expression of the strength of mind and genius of that Pontiff. 
 ''It frightens one," said Yasari, "just as if he was living." 
 
 Charles V. after his Abdication, by Vandyck, is a fine 
 portrait composition ; he is riding on horseback, on the beach 
 of an agitated sea ; in the absence of the storms of the world, 
 which he regrets, he seems to seek and contemplate those of 
 the ocean. The Virgin adoring the Infant Jesus, is reckoned 
 the best of the four paintings by Correggio. Herodias re- 
 ceiving the Head of St. John Baptist, by Leonardo da Yinci, 
 offers a dreadful contrast of joy to that of the dancer and the 
 grinning headsman. 
 
 It would be a useless task to enumerate the ten thousand 
 paintings of the other galleries. Every school is well repre- 
 sented in the Florentine of Art. There is, besides, a good 
 collection of ancient and modern bronzes, and also several fine 
 statues and torsos in the antique room, among which is the 
 terrible colossal head of Alexander Dying, which inspired 
 Alfieri with a fine sonnet, and was taken at the moment when 
 he bemoans his fate as a monarch forsaken by the gods. 
 
 XX. 
 
 One would say that Dante had visited the Hall of Niobe, 
 created in the last century, when he exclaims, at the sight of 
 
NIOBE. DYING CHILD. 259 
 
 the finely-sculptured figures that he found on the road to Pur- 
 gatory— 
 
 *' Niobe, con che occhi dolenti 
 Veder' io te segnata in su la strada 
 Tra sette e sette tuoi figliuoli spenti !" 
 
 — Purgat. XII. 37. 
 " Wherein the agony of her own suffering is forgotten in her mo- 
 ther's protection of her children." 
 
 The ancients disserted much less on the passions than we 
 do, but there is profound and manifold truth in their manner 
 of expressing them. The pain of Niobe is not the same as in 
 the Laocoon ; the horror-struck mother covers her daughters, 
 regardless of the shafts which menace her. The priest of 
 Apollo struggles to free himself as well as his sons ; his rack- 
 ing pains have something of menace ; Mobe's is tender, artless, 
 and, despite her anguish, always noble and ideal. After Niobe, 
 the Dying Child is, perhaps, the most remarkable statue of 
 this great, pathetic scene. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 In the Hall of Portraits, the collection of painter's portraits 
 contains the autographs of their own likenesses, and is curious 
 from this custom — that when this species of Pantheon gets too 
 crowded, the poorest are sent to some of the Grand Duke's 
 villas. The sight of these mute countenances of artists once 
 celebrated, causes a real emotion. Noble features are gene- 
 rally found to accompany superior genius, and there is a 
 harmony between the respective talents and physiognomies of 
 the painters. For instance, Titian, with his strong expression ; 
 Leonardo Yinci, the finest portrait of the whole, full of gran- 
 
260 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 deur and majesty ; Paul Yeroneso, brilliant, magnificent ; 
 Michael Angelo, gloomy, harsh ; Andrea del Sarto, chaste, 
 easy, and uninspired, &c. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 In the centre of this apartment is the famous Medici Yase, 
 on which the sacrifice of Iphigenia is sculptured. Agamemnon 
 has a veil over his head, but it does not cover his face as those 
 of Timanthus, and a basso-relievo in Grecian style, sculptured 
 on a puteal of this same gallery. 
 
 The works of eminent writers have made amateurs sufii- 
 ciently acquainted with the fine collection of articles composing 
 the Florence cabinet of medals, consisting of fifteen hundred, 
 which are judiciously classified. The collection of Cameos, an- 
 cient as well as modern, the principal pieces of which may be 
 seen in the two publications of the Florence gallery, is the 
 richest known, and amounts to more than four thousand. 
 
 THEDUOMO. 
 XXIII. 
 
 Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo of Florence — one of the 
 most remarkable edifices in Europe, and the first great church 
 built free from the Gothic taste, though not altogether in the 
 ancient — is also the work of Arnolfo di Lapo, the architect of 
 the Palazzo Yecchio. On reflecting that at this very epoch 
 the seignory had the city surrounded by a third wall, the 
 baptistery covered with marble, and the granary, called the 
 St. MichaeVs Tower, erected, one is forcibly struck with the 
 number and splendor of such undertakings. The grand and 
 beautiful monuments of Florence date from the republic, for 
 
WELLS FOR EARTHQUAKES. 261 
 
 the Medici themselves constructed no building but the much 
 less solid one of the Uffi,zi. The law of the Florentine Re- 
 public, which orders the reconstruction of the temple, is alike 
 noble in its language as it is honorable to the architect who 
 was appointed. Arnolfo di Lapo, one of the great men of 
 modern architecture, was worthy the choice of his fellow- 
 citizens of the thirteenth century. Deep wells were dug 
 within the building to counteract the accredited effects of 
 earthquakes, attributed by the public opinion of the time to 
 currents of subterranean water. According to tradition, the 
 artist is said to have thus proudly addressed his monument : — 
 '' I have preserved thee from earthquakes — may GOD preserve 
 thee from lightning I'' 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 This noble Church attracts more, the oftener it is visited, 
 and one can only obtain a just idea of its magnitude by walk- 
 ing entirely round its circumference, by which alone the ad- 
 mirable effects of its rich marble casing can duly be embraced. 
 Although the work was never interrupted, Santa Maria del 
 Fiore was a hundred and sixty years in building, and, conse- 
 quently, exhibits the progress, improvement, and decline of 
 art, under the successive efforts of Arnolfo's followers, who 
 were Giotto, Orgagna, Filippi, and lastly, Brunelleschi, whose 
 prodigious cupola, the model of St. Peter's at Rome, is the 
 master-piece. The most glorious homage this cupola has re- 
 ceived is that of Michael Angelo, who marked out himself the 
 place of his own tomb, in Santa Croce, in such a manner that, 
 when the doors were open, one could see from thence the 
 daring monument which his lofty independent genius had imi- 
 tated. The Duomo is visible from every point in Florence. 
 
262 THE LAND OF THE CJESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Brunelleschi exhibited that versatility of talent which was not 
 uncommon with the artists of his age — architect, sculptor, 
 painter, goldsmith, clock-maker, and geometrician ; he was 
 also an orator of no mean merit, if we may judge from the 
 discourse which he delivered at one of the conferences, pre- 
 vious to the construction of the cupola. Day by day he 
 directed his workmen, and examined the quality of the ma- 
 terials present ; and when the cupola was complete, except 
 the exterior of the drum and lantern, he died on the scene of 
 his exertions. 
 
 Though without a front, Santa Maria presents an extremely 
 noble and harmonious aspect ; the marble of various colors, 
 with which the whole building is lined, produces the most bril- 
 liant effects. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 On entering the church, one is struck with the beauty and 
 brilliancy of the pavement, and the various-colored marble — 
 a charming performance, by an unknown author — which seems 
 like a garden enameled with flowers. Such a decoration is 
 worthy the Church del Fiore, and the Cathedral of Florence, 
 one of the cities of Europe where the luxury of flowers is 
 carried to the highest pitch, and which retains the lily in its 
 arms. The lily was at first white, afterwards red ; this 
 change, the consequence of revolutions, is regretted by Dante — 
 
 " Non era ad asta mai posto a ritroso clie'l giglio 
 Ne per divisione fatto vermiglio." 
 
 The lily is sa.id to have always grown wild in the vale of 
 Florence. It still flourishes there, and sometimes may be 
 seen shooting out of old walls, like our gilliflowers. 
 
 The Duomo has some illustrious tombs ; such is Brunel- 
 leschi's ; the sepulchre of his family was at St. Mark's ; he 
 
GREEN-HUED FRESCOES. 263 
 
 has been most properly buried within the walls that so loudly 
 proclaim his glory. The tomb of Giotto, the restorer of 
 painting, is beside it, with a bust and the mausoleum of 
 Misilio Ficino, the first and the most intelligent interpreter of 
 Plato, whose tomb was erected by the State. These three 
 neighboring monuments — a just tribute to architecture, paint- 
 ing, and philosophy — singularly honor Florence, setting it 
 forth as the real cradle of the arts and philosophy, and 
 showing how deeply we are indebted to that city. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 The vast paintings of the Cupola, by Yasari and Frederico 
 Zuecari, chiefly taken from the Divina Commedia, presenting 
 above three hundred figures, are more extravagant than 
 grand, and strike solely from their size. These figures are 
 fifty feet high — Lucifer's is even much larger ; and, as Zuecari 
 says, "si smisurata, che fa jparelel e altre figure di bamiini" — 
 " so enormous, that the others are made to appear like babies." 
 
 Uccello's bold paintings, on the green-hued frescoes of the 
 tomb of Sir John Hawkswood — an English condottiere, who, 
 with his company, passed from the Pisan to the Florentine 
 service — reminds you of a jest of the captain's, quaintly told 
 by Sacchieti : — " Two lay brothers, who went to see him at 
 his chateau near Cortona, gave him this pious salutation, — 
 * God grant thee peace I' — ' Dio vi dia la pace P To which 
 Hawkswood replied, ' God take away your charity I' — * Dio vi 
 tolga la vostra elemosina P The monks were rather puzzled at 
 this answer, and asked him its meaning. 'IVon sapete che io 
 vivo di guerra,^ said he, 'e che la pace mi farehhe morir di 
 fameV — 'Don't you know that I live by war,' said Sir John, 
 ' and that peace would make me die of hunger V " 
 
264 THE LAND OF THE C-ESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Against the wall, near the door in the side nave, is an old 
 painting by an unknown author, apparently of the time, re- 
 presenting Dante standing, in a red gown, with a laurel 
 crown over his cap, and holding an open book in his hand. 
 The physiognomy is expressive of kindness and good nature. 
 On one side is a view of ancient Florence, on the other, an 
 allusion to the three parts of his poem, with a singular inscrip- 
 tion, by the poet and scholar Salutati, terminating with — 
 
 " Nil potuit tanto mors sgeva nocere poetoe, 
 Quem vivum virtus, carmen, imago facit." 
 
 This worthless monument is the only one erected by the Flo- 
 rentine Republic to the man who had thrown so great a lustre 
 on his country. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 The choir, in marble, executed by the order of Cosmo I., 
 and ornamented with eighty-eight figures in basso-relievos, by 
 Bandenelli and his pupil Giovanni dell'Opera, is admirable. 
 No one has been able to explain what these superb figures 
 are intended to represent ; and they are probably the crea- 
 tions of the author's fancy. Behind the high altar is Michael 
 Angelo's last work, a pathetic Piety, an unfinished group, 
 brought from Rome, and intended by the author for his tomb, 
 which he proposed preparing at St. Mary Major. The very 
 simple inscription alluding to this subject is extremely 
 touching, as it marks the close of the glorious life and in- 
 defatigable old age of this great man. The celebrated Piety 
 of St. Peter's was one of the earliest works of Michael An- 
 gelo's youth. It is remarkable to see this stern genius begin 
 and end his career with a subject so tender and soothing. 
 
THE CAMPANILE. 265 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The celebrated gnomon of the Duomo was reckoned by La- 
 lande the greatest astronomical instrument in the world. 
 This fine meridian was traced as early as 1468 by the Floren- 
 tine physician, philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, 
 Paolo Toscanelli, a man of searching, innovating spirit ; he 
 corresponded with Columbus, and his scientific researches 
 were of great service to that navigator ; in fact, his grand 
 discovery w^as indirectly due to Toscanelli, who had persuaded 
 him to try the western passage to India. 
 
 The fine door leading to the sacristy, ornamented with 
 several compartments, with bronze carvings, is admirable, and 
 remarkable as being the one which afforded a sanctuary to 
 one of the Medici, flying from the murder of his brother, and 
 which were generously closed upon him by Politian, a man 
 whose courage equaled his talent. In this church one has an 
 opportunity of seeing how poorly adapted are octagonals for 
 domes, and how much more objectionable they are rendered 
 by indifl'erently bad paintings ! 
 
 XXX. 
 
 The Campanile of the Duomo of Florence, of the German 
 Gothic architecture, was erected by Giotto. After more 
 than five centuries, this wonderful structure so highly adorned, 
 so brilliant and light, the first of steeples and finest of towers, 
 still stands firm and upright, a remarkable fact in a country 
 where more than one leaning tower shows the unstable nature 
 of the soil ; which clearly proves that this creator of modern 
 painting was no less skilled in the art of building. Charles 
 T. so greatly admired the Campanile, that he would have 
 liked to put it under a glass cover that it might only be 
 
266 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 seen on certain days ; and Politian has sung its praises in 
 Greek and Latin verse. " Fine as the Campanile,^^ is a favo- 
 rite simile of the Florentines, who, like the inhabitants of all 
 other Italian cities, are proud of their monuments. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 The Church of St. John, formerly a cathedral and after- 
 wards a baptistery, was first founded in the sixth century by 
 the amiable Queen Theodolinda, when Tuscany was subject 
 to the Lombards. The doors and bronzes of St. John are re- 
 garded as the finest in the world. 
 
 Michael Angelo declared that the middle door by Ghiberti 
 was fit to be the gate of paradise. '' Ghiberti," said he, on 
 another occasion to a friend, in justification of his celibacy, 
 " left an immense property and many heirs ; but who would 
 now know that he ever existed, if he had not made the doors 
 of the baptistery ? His wealth is dissipated, his children are 
 dead, yet his bronze doors are still standing." The two 
 superb doors of St. John were ordered by the seigniory and 
 heads of the Merchants' Confraternity, after the cessation of 
 the dreadful plague of 1400, to embellish the temple of the 
 protector of Florence. The finest monuments in Italy are 
 in most cases connected with religious or patriotic motives. 
 Such works, and the erection of the Duomo, with the superb 
 Temples of Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, and the Holy 
 Ghost, commanded at the same epoch by this small commer- 
 cial state, amid wars, calamities and seditions, are splendid 
 testimonies of the Florentine taste and genius for the arts, 
 and the liberality of its government ; they prove, that a mer- 
 cantile spirit and republican forms do not always exclude 
 splendor and dignity from public works. 
 
267 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 The principal door of the baptistery presents different sub- 
 jects from the Old Testament, in ten compartments ; around 
 it are small, elegant figures of prophets, sibyls, and some 
 excellent busts, among which a bald-headed one, in the centre 
 of the cornice, is the author's, and another is Bertoluccio's, his 
 master and father-in-law, a clever goldsmith of Florence, who 
 had assisted him. 
 
 The Creation of Adam avd Eve, is a noble, graceful, and 
 poetical composition ; the woman does not issue from a rib, 
 but is raised by four little angels ; God receives her, and a 
 group of angels in the air seem to survey her with love and 
 respect as the fairest work of creation. The side-door repre- 
 sents the Life of Jesus Christ. The compartment of the 
 Res2irredion of Lazarus is sublime ; the Lazarus, erect, tomb- 
 less, statue-like, enveloped in his shroud, a chrysalis phantom, 
 whose limbs can only be traced indistinctly, is a new and bold 
 creation. The calm dignity of the Saviour, the eagerness of 
 Magdalen, the gratitude of Lazarus' relatives, the cool, con- 
 templative air of the disciples, accustomed to such miracles, 
 complete by their contrasts the effect of this wonderful compo- 
 sition. The bronzes of Ghiberti, true pictures in everything 
 but coloring, (if painting, the art of illusion, had not its limits 
 distinct from statuary), are models of taste, nature, purity, 
 and harmony. A single fact is sufficient for their glory : 
 Cicognara states that Raphael himself made them his study, 
 and a source of inspiration. The interior of the baptistery is 
 also very fine. 
 
 In a side-street, just out of the square of the baptistery, or 
 Piazza del Duomo, and close to the houses, is a spot religiously 
 preserved, where there formerly stood a bench on which Dante 
 
268 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 used to sit. The words " Sasso di Dante" are inscribed there. 
 Perhaps there he mused over the factions and anarchy of Flo- 
 rence, and created his Inferno. 
 
 " Ungrateful Florence ! Dante sleeps afar ! " 
 
 PALACES. 
 XXXIIL 
 
 The architecture of the palaces of Florence seems singu- 
 larly grand, solid, and gloomy. The masses of rocks that 
 abound in the country, and served for the colossal construc- 
 tions of Etruscan antiquity, were also used by the first Floren- 
 tine architects. The public manner, the quarrels of powerful 
 families, and the continual riots, contributed likewise to the 
 erection of these fortress-like edifices. 
 
 Such is the long-existing spirit of order, and the trading 
 propensity of the people of Tuscany, that in these superb 
 palaces there is commonly a small wicket, between two win- 
 dows on the ground-floor, where the noble master's wine is 
 sold. When a customer knocks, the wicket opens, and he 
 puts in his fiaschetti, with the regular price, and immediately 
 receives it filled This selling, which it would be silly for 
 people to laugh at, is a vestige of old manners, at the time 
 every Florentine was a tradesman ; and it ought to displease 
 no one in a State where, ever since the establishment of the 
 grand-dukedom, the princes have nominally made part of the 
 XIY Arts. The same custom of retailing at one's town-house 
 the wine produced on the estate, was common in antiquity, 
 and existed under Louis XIY. at Paris, among the lawyers, 
 whose estates were always prudently managed. In a pretty 
 
OASIS OF ITALY. 269 
 
 play by Dancourt — La Maison de Champagne — a magistrate, 
 M. Bernard, tired of regaling the visitors attracted to his 
 house, feigns to metamorphose it into a hotel, and he answers 
 his wife, a vain, extravagant woman, whom this arrangement 
 annoys — " Is it not just as well to sell my wine in the 
 country, as to retail it by the pot at Paris, like most of my 
 brethren ?" Apartments are also let in the Florentine pa- 
 laces, and the price is not over-dear. Mr. Cooper, whose ele- 
 vated talent has condescended to give a minute description of 
 the hotels and common affairs of Italian life, occupied a fine 
 furnished apartment on the first floor in the front, composed 
 of ten rooms, besides kitchens, &c., for sixty dollars a month. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 The Pitti Palace, begun by Brunelleschi, was finished for 
 the abode of Cosmo I. Compared with the imposing old 
 Republican palace of the Seigniory, built on a confined spot, 
 prescribed by the people, this monument seems a good expres- 
 sion of the political contrast of the two epochs, and the archi- 
 tecture of its lengthy front has all the stately gloom and 
 oppressive uniformity of absolute power. The awe-striking 
 aspect of the Pitti palace but little resembles the princes who, 
 for a century, have governed Tuscany with so much sagacity, 
 mildness, and wisdom, and who make that happy country the 
 political oasis of Italy. 
 
 The celebrated court of Ammonato, rich, majestic, and a 
 master-piece of its kind, presents a grotto supporting a gush- 
 ing fountain on its roof, its picturesque feature, and the best- 
 imagined of the harmonious whole of its tasteful decorations. 
 The walls of the great hall on tlie ground-floor, present some 
 incidents from the life of Lorenzo de' Medici as a patron of 
 
2t0 JUE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 letters, which are whimsical in their particulars : — ^philosophers 
 and poets flying, several of whom stumble and fall, take refuge 
 with Medici ; Homer groping his way to the gate of Flor- 
 ence, is wonderfully expressed ; at this gate also are Sap;pho 
 bedrubbed by a Fury, and behind Dante in a red robe, thrown 
 headlong from the stairs leading to Parnassus. The graceful- 
 ness and truth of the four basso-relievos, imitating marble, 
 which support the roof, are much admired ; they were invented 
 and executed by Giovanni di San Griovanni. 
 
 Canova's Venus, despite its renown, the honors it received, 
 the enthusiasm it excited when brought to Florence to replace 
 the absent Yenus de Medici, the surname of Italica conferred 
 by the public voice, the numerous copies made of it by himself 
 and others, the beauty of the marble, and the excellence of the 
 omked, struck me as vulgar in expression and mien : larger 
 than the antique statue, it is less ideal and divine. Above all, 
 it has not the same voluptuous bashfulness. One might call 
 it in plain terms, a grisette wiping herself. (Even Canova's 
 delicate modesty would not permit it to be placed in the gal- 
 lery on the old pedestal of the Greek Yenus.) Perhaps, too, 
 the curtains, the dim light of the cabinet where it is placed, 
 and the glasses which reflect it on all sides, contribute still 
 further to give it that air of a boudoir figure which speaks 
 more to the sense than the soul, and make it appear still more 
 terrestial and modern. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 The Pitti Gallery is one of the first, and perhaps the 
 choicest galleries in Europe. The most eminent masters have 
 
A TOPING PARSON. 271 
 
 contributed their different master-pieces to this wonderful se- 
 lection, viz. : — 
 
 Salvator Kosa — several Marine views ; his famous Cataline^s 
 Conspiracy, too much extolled, there being nothing Roman, 
 or antique about it, and his celebrated view called the Fhiloso- 
 p/m-^s Landscape : Titian — his Mistress, called Titian's Fair 
 One, like his Tenus at the Tribuna ; the portrait of Cardinal 
 Ippolito, in Hungarian costume : Andrea del Sarte — a Descent 
 from the Cross, and a Dispute on the Trinity, both very fine : 
 Raphael — the portraits of Maddelona Doni and her husband 
 Angela; the Madonna delta Seggiola, the harmony and ele- 
 gance of which the rival engravings of Morghen and Gara- 
 vaglia cannot render ; the portrait of Leo X., between the 
 Cardinals Guilio de Medici and Rossi — ^notwithstanding the 
 admii'ation of more than three centuries, it has always ap- 
 peared to offer a strange contrast with the reputation for 
 elegance, accorded to both the painter and the pontiff ; this 
 father of letters and art, this Pericles of modern Italy, were 
 it not for the Roman purple, would have the air of a toping 
 parson ; the Madonna del Baldacchino ; the small sublime Vision 
 of Ezehiel ; the Madonna of the Grand Duke : Rem- 
 brandt — his valuable portrait : Yandyck — an excellent por- 
 trait of Cardinal Gui Bentivoglio : Rubens — the allegory of 
 the Ravages of the War : Carlo Dolci — St, Peter, weeping ; 
 St. Andrew : Michael Angelo — the terrible Fates, so grave, 
 thoughtful, severe : Leonardo Yinci — a woman's portrait 
 called the Nun, sweet, tender, and melancholy : Domenichi- 
 no — a Si. Mary Magdalen : Guilio Romano — the little Dance 
 of Apollo and the Muses, so magically colored, and its figures 
 seem to dispute for gracefulness and truth with antique sculp- 
 tures, &c., &c. 
 
THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Few collections claim so many curious and rare books, as 
 the library of the Pitti Palace. The foundation laid by 
 Rewiczky and Poggiali has been constantly augmented with 
 the best and scarcest works in Italian, English, French, and 
 German. The following may be remarked : — the collection ad 
 uswm Delphini, complete ; that of the Elzevirs, perhaps one 
 of the richest known ; the selection of authors quoted by the 
 Academy della Crusca, the most complete extant. The works 
 on art, the books of natural history, the voyages are superb, 
 and the collection of geographical maps, the finest probably 
 ever made. Among the most curious are, a small parchment 
 book of one hundred pages in Tasso's writings, the manu- 
 scripts of Machiavel, and Galileo's Thoughts on Tasso. 
 
 BOBOLI GARDENS. 
 XXXYII. 
 
 The solemn Boboli, the garden of the Pitti Palace, laid 
 out by Tribolo and Buontaleuti, with its majestic amphi- 
 theatre, its statues and fountains seems rather a creation of 
 art than the work of nature ; Yersailles has united and far 
 surpassed its wonders. 
 
 The heights of the Boboli Gardens are noted for the view 
 of Florence. I confess, I preferred the view from the tower 
 of Galileo ; that is the place to contemplate Florence and its 
 environs. The aspect of the city, although not extensive, is 
 singularly grand, historical, aod poetic. What edifices can 
 equal her Duomo, her , Palazzo Yecchio, her Santa Croce I 
 This latter church, from its austere form and walls, seems 
 truly, in the midst of so many noble fabrics, like the mauso 
 leum of genius. The noise of the city is not the vulgar cry 
 
VERSES OF ALFIERI. 213 
 
 of tlie streets, but a kind of buzzing as of bees, which invites 
 to reverie. I have more than once saluted Florence from this 
 smiling hill, and I love to repeat there with him who sung her 
 great men and her glory, — 
 
 " Qui Michel Angiol nacque ? e qui il sublime 
 Dolce tester degli amorosi detti ? 
 Qui il gran poeta, che in si forte rime 
 Scolpi d'inferno i pianti maladetti ? 
 
 " Qui il celeste inventor, ch'ebbe dall'lme 
 Valli nostre i pianeti a noi soggetti ? 
 E qui il sovrano pensator, ch'esprime 
 Si ben dei Prence i dolorosi eflfetti ?" 
 
 —AI fieri Son. XL. 
 
 " Here, Michael Angelo was born ! and in this city, 
 Our sweetest poet — bard of the fond amorous ditty ; 
 Here, also, that great man, whose nerves of rhyme 
 Pluck'd from the burning shores the curse of crime. 
 
 " He, also, that Inventor of celestial fame, 
 Who made the planets subject to his plane. 
 And him, the lord of thought, who spoke 
 Of chains which princes made, but people broke." 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 It is at Santa Maria Novella that Boccaccio places the 
 meeting of the seven Florentine damsels, after the plague of 
 1348, who, to divert themselves, go into the country and re- 
 cite the merry, touching, satirical, and something more than 
 voluptuous novels, which compose the Decameron. The name, 
 and ornamental, smiling aspect of this church, which Michael 
 
274 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Angelo, in his admiration, called his wife, {la sua sposa,) 
 seems now to have some connection with the most agreeable 
 and interesting of all tale-books. Among other attractive 
 points which this church presents, is the door, one of the 
 finest ever seen, by Alberti. The front has two astronomical 
 curiosities — the first, a marble dial, intended to measure the 
 celestial are included between the tropics, the oldest meridian 
 in Europe — the second, Ptolemy's armilla ; they were both 
 placed there by the Dominican, Ignazio Dante, mathematician 
 and astronomer, and cosmographer to Cosmo I. 
 
 Its paintings and sculptures interest no less than its noble 
 architecture. The soldiers in the Martyrdom of St. Catherine, 
 were drawn by Michael Angelo, to expedite the work — Bu- 
 giandiui being too slow and hesitating a painter. Cimabue's 
 celebrated Madonna^ the first monument of the revival of the 
 art at Florence, excited prodigious enthusiasm on its first 
 appearance, and was borne in triumph by the people, amid 
 the flourishing of trumpets, from the painter's studio to this 
 church. 
 
 Charles of Anjou, brother of St. Louis, on his way to Tus- 
 cany, after being crowned King of Sicily by the Pope, came 
 with all his court to see this Madonna in Cimabue's studio, 
 situated near St. Peter's gate. It is supposed, at Florence, 
 that the name of Borgo Allegri, by which this quarter is still 
 known, is derived from the joyous concourse of men and 
 women attracted by the King's visit, and the glorious 
 triumph of the Madonna. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Michael Angelo is supposed to have assisted in the grand 
 frescoes of the choir, by his master, Ghirlandajo, and they are 
 
EGGS AND DINNER UPSET. 275 
 
 a key to his works in the Sixtine Chapel. This strange 
 pupil, who, instead of paying his master, was paid by him ; and 
 he received ten florins annually, from his fourteenth year, for 
 his aid. 
 
 In the compartment of the Virgin, the girl followed by two 
 women, is the celebrated Ginevra de Bend, one of the beauties 
 of her day. These fine frescoes cost only a thousand florins, 
 and were finished in the year Lorenzo the Magnificent, died. 
 The following inscription on the wall, well expresses the glory 
 and prosperity of Florence : — ''Anno 1490, quo jpulcherrima 
 civitas ojiiius, vidoriis, artihus, (Rdificiisque nohilis, copia, salu- 
 britate, pace perfruebatu?-" 
 
 The wooden Crucifix, of Brunelleschi, a heart-rending ex- 
 pression of suftering, was a fine lesson given by him to 
 Donatello, after his ignoble Crucifix of Santa Croce, and the 
 following incident connected with its erection^ is a faithful 
 picture of the almost rustic simplicity of the artist's manners 
 at the time : — The two friends were going to dine together, 
 and Donatello carried the eggs, and other provisions for the 
 repast, in his apron ; when conducted unwittingly by Brunel- 
 leschi before the Crucifix he had privately executed, Donatello 
 could not help exclaiming, with the frankness of real talent, 
 '' You have the gift of making Christs, and /peasants !" and, 
 in the height of his admiration, he let go his apron, and 
 scattered his eggs and dinner on the floor. 
 
 XL. 
 
 The vast frescoes of the Strozzi Chapel representing Hell and 
 Paradise, by Andrea Orgagna and his brother Bernardo — an 
 imitation of Dante, whom Andrea passionately loved — manifest 
 the progress of the art, and have all the warmth, fire, move- 
 
2t6 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 ment, and sublime fantasies of the poet. The man placed in 
 Hdl, with a paper in his cap, is the town-bailifif, who had 
 levied a distress on the artist. In the Paradise, there are 
 some pretty women's heads, apparently portraits. 
 
 The Chapel of the Spaniards, of vast and elegant pro- 
 portions, offers some fine poetical frescoes of Taddeo Gaddo 
 and Simone Memmi, the friend of Petrarch, and was falsely 
 supposed to have contained portraits of Petrarch and Laura. 
 
 The fifty Lunettes, representing memorable actions of dis- 
 tinguished saints, by Florentine artists, and the long colonnade 
 of the columns, render a rich effect to the interior court. 
 
 There is a dispensary of the Dominican Friar attached to 
 the church, which enjoys some celebrity, and exhibits good 
 management on the part of the monks. These brutal inqui- 
 sitors, who in bygone days burned men alive, now distill 
 simples, and the medicines are all prepared by the brothers. 
 The profession of apothecary is no less reputable than ancient, 
 at Florence. We may see by some of its apothecaries, that, 
 in the best days of literature, trade formed no discordant 
 union with the cultivation of letters and the exercise of the 
 highest offices. The famous burlesque poet Lasca, tlie founder 
 of the Academy della Crusca, had been an apothecary, as well 
 as the great scholar, politician and historian, Matteo Palmieri, 
 who was several tunes ambassador, and even became gonfa- 
 lonier of the Republic ; and the learned philosopher, acade- 
 mician and excellent comic poet, Gralle, was a hosier {cal- 
 zajuolo) all his life. Thus much for Santa Novella ! 
 
 XLI. 
 
 The old Church of St. Lawrence was rebuilt by Brunell- 
 schi, in 1452. Here, for the first time, the Corinthian order 
 
FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. 2t7 
 
 re-appeared, with all the regularity of its proportions and the 
 elegance of its capitals, in the fine disposition of its archi- 
 tectural lines, which are greatly admired. 
 
 In the centre of the church, a broad pavement of porphyry, 
 serpentine, and other marble, covers the tomb of Cosmo, the 
 elder. On it are these words : — " Here reposes Cosmo de Me- 
 dici, surnamed Father of his Country, by a public decree ; he 
 lived seventy-five years, three months, and twenty days." In 
 the vault is an equally simple inscription, stating that the tomb 
 was erected to him by his son. Such moderation on the tomb 
 of this great man is very affecting, when we remember that 
 he was for thirty years the able chief, the absolute master 
 of the government of Florence, and that he was destined to 
 give his name to the most brilliant age of modern literature 
 and art. Cosmo has been diversely judged. Michiaval, Sis- 
 mondi and Niccolini have treated him harshly. Comines 
 pretends that his authority was mild and amiable, such as 
 was necessary in a free city. Rousseau said to Bernardin de 
 St. Pierre, '' I have been much inclined to write the history 
 of Cosmo de Medici. He was a private individual, who 
 became the sovereign of his fellow-citizens by making them 
 happier. His good deeds alone procured the elevation and 
 maintained it." Such was the well-ordered liberality of 
 Cosmo, that when he died almost every Florentine of note was 
 his debtor for considerable sums. A cu'cumstance less re- 
 marked shows that his riches likewise gave him political 
 influence abroad equal to that of our most powerful bankers 
 and capitalists : when the Venetians entered into a league 
 with Alfonso of Aragon against the Florentine Republic, he 
 withdrew his funds from Yenice and Naples, and forced the 
 allies to remain quiet. 
 
2t8 THE LAND OP THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The old sacristy, by the same artist, has a fine sarcophagus 
 erected over the two sons of the elder Cosmo ; and is remark- 
 able for its elegant designs, and the ornaments and casting of 
 its bronze doors. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 The new sacristy, the first and one of the best architect- 
 ural performances of Michael Angelo, which he did at about 
 forty, already announces, by the ordonnance of the pilasters of 
 the second story, his independence and originality in this art, 
 as in all others. The soft, still light, which falls from the lan- 
 tern on the statues of the tombs, leads to and increases the 
 profound, melancholy impression they produce. 
 
 These celebrated sepulchres of Guliauo de' Medici and Lo- 
 renzo, Duke d'TJrbino, the most extraordinary chefs-d^ceuvrc 
 of Michael Angelo's chisel, have done more honor to the 
 author than to the princes they enclose. What a singular 
 effect of Michael Angelo's talent, the most unfinished and 
 least animated figure. Night, is the most life-like 1 Among 
 the many verses, Latin and Italian, composed for these sta- 
 tues — an eternal mania of poetizing still common in Italy — 
 may be cited the Strozzi's quartrain : — 
 
 " La Notte che tu vedi in si dolci atti 
 Dormir, fa da un Angelo scolpita 
 In questo sasso, e perche dorme ha vita ; 
 Destala, se nol cred6, e parleratti." 
 
 " The Night which you see in such graceful attitude 
 Sleeping, was sculptured by Angel's beatitude, 
 In yonder stone. It is alive, because asleep ; 
 Accost it, if you doubt, and it will surely speak." 
 
ARMS OF TUSCANY IN STONE. 2Y9 
 
 Charles Y., in the ecstasy that he felt from contemplating 
 the figures of these two monuments, was surprised that he did 
 not see them rise and speak ! 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 The Chapel of the " Medici," behind the choir in the church 
 of St. Lawrence, has been much and justly criticized for the 
 octagonal form of the cupola. This work has been in pro- 
 gress for more than two centuries ; it is incrusted with jasper 
 and granite, and presents the arms of all the Tuscan cities 
 in fine stones. The colossal frescoes of the cupola, the finest 
 and richest that painter has ever embellished, was completed 
 in 1836, after nine years' labor. The subjects, judiciously 
 selected from the Scriptures, are in strict conformity with the 
 sepulchral destination of the chapel. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 " St. Mark's" is remarkable for some master-pieces of art and 
 the most illustrious tombs of the revival. The brilliant chapel 
 of the Serragli, with its six excellent paintings — among which 
 the Last Supper, by Santi Titi, is the most admired, and the 
 great Crucifix, painted on wood, with a gold ground over the 
 principal door, by Giotto, are the most attractive objects of 
 its interior. 
 
 The Convent of St. Mark, from the designs of Michelozzo, 
 presents some fine lunettes in its two cloisters, painted in 
 fresco by Pocetti, Dandini, and old Gherardini ; among the 
 numerous paintings of Fra Bartolommeo, who was a Monk of 
 St. Mark, a St. Vincent has been thought worthy of Titian or 
 Giorgione, for its coloring. In this convent you may see the 
 cell of Geronimo Savonarola, prior of St. Mark, to which this 
 
280 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 dark enemy of the Medici always retreated when Lorenzo, 
 whose family had founded the convent, came to visit it, or 
 appeared in the garden. This religious tribune of Florence, 
 and the intrepid foe of the abuses of the Roman Court, a 
 monkish demagogue, had such a prodigious ascendancy over 
 his fellow-citizens, that he one year induced them to renounce 
 the carnival, and at his eloquent voice huge pyramids of books, 
 paintings, musical instruments, with cards and dice, were burnt 
 in the square before the old palace. The scarcity and exces- 
 sive price of the first editions of Dante, Petrarch and Boc- 
 caccio, was owing to this book auto-da-fe ; and the greatest 
 painter of Florence, shocked at the seductions of his art, 
 threw his voluptuous works into the same fire, took the habit 
 of St. Dominick, and had no glory thenceforward but under 
 the name of Fra Bartolommeo, or the frate. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 The celebrated old library of this convent was first classified 
 by one Sarzana, a monk, who afterwards became a great Pope, 
 under the name of Nicholas Y. ''St. Mark" seems thus to 
 have originated the first catalogue, which served as a model 
 for the other libraries of Italy and the Continent. 
 
 Xot far from the latter, the noble equestrian statue of Fer- 
 dinand I., third Grand-Duke of Tuscany — the best and most 
 beloved of the Medici — adorns the fine Piazza of the Annun- 
 ziata ; it was cast from the cannons taken from the Turks by 
 the Knights of St. Stephen. 
 
 The lunettes of the church, which gives the name to the 
 square, are covered with some good paintings by eminent 
 artists ; among which the S^osalizo, by Franciabigio, not 
 finished, still bears the marks of his hammer, when indignant 
 
A DROWNED MAN. 281 
 
 at the preniature exposure of his fresco by the monks. The 
 Birth of the Virgiii, and the Adoration of the Magi, by Andrea 
 del Sarto, contain portraits of the artist and his wife. The 
 effect of the interior is very brilliant, from an excess of gilded 
 ornaments. The Virgin in the Chapel of the Annunciation, 
 appeared so marvelous at the time it was painted, as to give 
 rise to a report that angels had descended to the work, while 
 the artist had fallen asleep for the express purpose of letting 
 them come from heaven to aid him. The gallery and cupola 
 of this edifice, in a rotundo-like shape, as large in the vault as 
 the Pantheon, without windows or an opening, is a structure 
 of most extraordinary effect, and justly-considered as one of 
 the wonders of Florence. The basso-relievo of the tabernacle 
 was executed by Thorwaldsen. The lunettes of its magnificent 
 cloister present some frescoes of singular merit : — The Resusci- 
 tation of a Drowned Man, by Poccetti, very fine, is reckoned 
 one of the best paintings in Florence. The celebrated Ma- 
 donna del Sacco, admired by Michael Angelo and Titian, is a 
 master-piece* for grace, nature, and purity, by Andrea del 
 Sarto. 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 Some few feet of wall, painted in fresco, will make the 
 Church del Carmine live forever in the annals of art. This 
 primitive painting of Masolino da Panicale, Mossaccio, and 
 Filippo Lippi, is already perfect. In the Baptism, the cele- 
 brated figure of the man without clothes, who seems quaking 
 with cold, makes one shiver to look at him ; the Adam and 
 Eve were copied by Kaphael, in his Loggia, without altera- 
 tion. This Chapel of the Holy Sacrament is as the source of 
 the grand Italian painting ; it was there that Leonardo Yinci, 
 Michael Angelo, Andrea del Sarto, Perugino, Raphael, and 
 
282 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 Era Bartolomeo, studied and formed their taste ; and these 
 admirable artists seem less surprising after such a precursor as 
 Massaccio. 
 
 XLVII, 
 
 ♦' In Santa Croce's holy precincts lie 
 Ashes which make it holier, dust which is 
 Even in itself an immortality, 
 Though there were nothing save the past, and this, 
 The particle of those sublimities 
 Which have relapsed to chaos.'' 
 
 The piazza of Santa Croce witnessed about the middle of 
 the thirteenth century, the formation of the popular authority 
 of Florence, when the wealthiest citizens, weary of aristocratic 
 influence and oppression, assembled there, took arms, deposed 
 the podesta, and, after dividing themselves into twenty com- 
 panies according to their respective quarters, each of which had 
 a chief and a standard, replaced the podesta by a new judge 
 with the title of captain, formed his council of twelve anziani, 
 and created, in the very heat of a riot, the constitution, which 
 during ten years was the source of so many honorable actions. 
 This square is now the rendezvous of the masqueraders and 
 follies of the carnival. 
 
 Santa Croce which was built about the end of the thir- 
 teenth century by the great architect Arnolfo di Sapo, has 
 been restored on the designs of Yasari. This vast church, 
 naked, gloomy, severe, lighted by superb Gothic windows of 
 stained glass, filled with illustrious tombs, has justly been 
 styled the Pantheon of Florence. In contemplating the mau- 
 soleums of Michael Angelo, Machiavel, Alfieri, and Galileo, 
 within so small a space, humanity seems aggrandized. The 
 
GENIUS. — CELEBRATED TOMBS. 283 
 
 religious character of the edifice is almost lost in its national 
 character and the religious feelings of another kind inspired 
 by genius ; but the faculties accorded to such men supply a 
 new motive for admiring the hand of Providence. 
 
 Michael Angelo's mausoleum is deficient in unity and gran- 
 deur, although the three statues of Architecture, Sculjpture, 
 and Painting, that adorn it, are by able sculptors. The body 
 — he died at Rome — was directed by the Pope to be buried 
 at St. Peter's, but Cosmo de Medici, jealous of such a conquest, 
 had it clandestinely removed by night, and transported to 
 Florence in a package of merchandise. 
 
 The ashes of Machiavel remained nearly three centuries 
 without receiving any honorable distinction, and it is a singu- 
 lar fact that an English peer, Lord Cowper, headed the first 
 subscription formed by the Florentines. 
 
 G-alileo's mausoleum gives too much evidence of the corrupt 
 taste of the sculptors of the time. When we saw these two 
 tombs facing each other, it seemed to us that, in the new ca- 
 reer of philosophy and science, the torch of genius had never 
 ceased to shine at Florence, and that it then passed without 
 interruption into the lands of the Tuscans. 
 
 To supply the place of Dante's tomb, a colossal cenotaph 
 has recently been erected to him. This monument is now 
 only a magnificent testimony, that Dante is not there. These 
 are but a few of the illustrious tombs of Santa Croce — the 
 Westminster of Florence. 
 
 " But where repose the all Etruscan three — 
 Dante, and Petrarch, and scarce less than they. 
 The Bard of Prose, creative spirit ! he 
 Of the Hundred Tales of love — where did they lay 
 Their bones, distinguish'd from our common clay, 
 
284 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 In death as life ? — Are they resolved to dust, 
 And have their country's marbles nought to say ? 
 Could not her quarries furnish forth one bust ? 
 Did they not to her breast their filial earth intrust ? 
 
 " Ungrateful Florence ! Dante sleeps afar, — 
 Like Scipio, buried by the upbraiding shore : — 
 Petrarch, upon a far and foreign soil. — 
 Boccaccio to his parent earth bequeath'd 
 His dust, — and lies not here her Great among ; 
 And Santa Croce wants their mighty dust; — 
 
 While Florence vainly begs her banish'd dead, and weeps." 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 The Church of the Trinity, by Nicolas Pisani, simple but 
 effective in its proportions, was greatly admired by Michael 
 Angelo, It has a number of excellent paintings ; and the in- 
 genious pulpit, designed by Buontalenti, is highly esteemed. 
 On the square before the church is a granite column, sur- 
 mounted with a colossal porphyry statue of Justice, insolently 
 erected by Cosmo I., in commemoration of his victory over 
 the Florentines at Montemurlo. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 We looked in at the Church of Or-San-Michele, on the way 
 to the Riccardi (formerly the Mediciy Palace, which is one 
 of the most imposing and characteristic of the edifices of 
 Florentine architecture. Erected by Cosmo, the elder, it be- 
 came the asylum of the refugee Greeks of Byzantium and 
 Athens, and the cradle of science, letters, and modern civili- 
 zation. On entering it, with thoughts preoccupied with the 
 grandeur of such recollections, we were somewhat disappointed 
 
PROTEUS OF PAINTING. LUXURY OF THE MEDICI. 285 
 
 in finding the oflQce and administration of the land-tax in- 
 stalled there. It passed from the descendants of Cosmo, to 
 be sold to the government, in 1804. The last days of Cosmo 
 were full of sorrow ; the ill health of his son Pietro, and the 
 loss of his favorite Griovanni, rendered him unfit for business, 
 and it was but shortly before his death that he exclaimed, 
 with a sigh, when carried into the apartments of his splendid 
 palace — " This house is too large for so small a family." 
 
 The entablature of the Riccardi Palace, although rich, is 
 rather massive ; the eight marble basso-relievos in the court, 
 imitated from antique stones and cameos, are an excellent 
 work, by Donatello. The gallery is celebrated for its ceiling 
 in fresco, a master-piece of Luca Giordano, surnamed the 
 Proteus of painting, from his clever imitation of different 
 masters. This work — a prodigy of ease, brilliancy, and ima- 
 gination — is a poetical allegory on the vicissitudes of human 
 life, mixed with mythological stories, and oddly crowned with 
 the Apotheosis of the Medici. 
 
 L. 
 
 The Collegiate Church of Or-San-Michele, (St. Michael's 
 Garden,) a detached Gothic edifice, is one of the noblest and 
 most characteristic in Florence, combining the master-pieces 
 of her first artists. Among the bronze and marble statues 
 which occupy the niches, stand the Apostles, as the patron 
 saints of the different corporations of the trades, of which the 
 St. Mark was so admired by Michael Angelo, that he addressed 
 it with — " JS'^arco, perche non mi parliT' — " Mark, why do you 
 not speak to me ? " The superb tabernacle, containing the 
 miraculous image of the Yirgin, is one of Orgagua's most 
 celebrated wonders, and one of the monuments of that luxurv 
 
5J8b THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 of the arts to which the thrifty spirit and republican govern- 
 ment of Florence was no obstacle. The magnificence of the 
 Medici has been widely celebrated ; but it must be confessed 
 that they only followed the usages of popular governments, 
 that this splendor was in the manners, and that these politic 
 masters were compelled to employ it as a means of domination. 
 Despite the calamities of the times, the tabernacle of Or-San- 
 Michele cost the heavy sum of eighty thousand gold florins. 
 
 On St. Anna's, July 26, this church is decorated with the 
 twenty-one ancient gonfalons of the major and minor crafts of 
 Florence — white, blue and red banners, covered with armorial 
 bearings, float on the outside of its walls, in commemoration 
 of the attack, for which the afternoon bell was the signal — 
 and expulsion of that mean tyrant, Gauthier de Brienne, oddly 
 called the Duke of Athens, who had no defenders but his 
 guard, the butchers, some few of the populace, and the four 
 families of the people who had elected him. At night the old 
 edifice is full ; it glitters with the light of tapers illuminating 
 the airy pyramids of its brilliant tabernacle ; it echoes with 
 religious songs ; and one might there have fancied himself in 
 the halcyon days of the Florentine Seignory. 
 
 ITALIAN LITERARY SOCIETY. 
 LI. 
 
 We insert here a picture of Italian literary society, which 
 is no less perfect at this day, than at the time of Yalery's 
 visit to Florence, in 1834. It is so admirable % portrait, and 
 so true to the life of the society of the present day, that we 
 do not scruple to insert it verbatim ; and more especially and 
 heartily do we inscribe it, as a slight tribute to the virtues 
 
LITERARY DRAWING-ROOMS. 287 
 
 and many pleasing attributes of a lady of high birth, in 
 our own country, whose urbanity, charity, and nobility of 
 character, has long contributed to illuminate the social circles 
 of a neighboring city, and whose loss will ever be felt by that 
 city, which can only claim its appellative of " Athens," from its 
 vicinity to a University, rather than from the gentleness of 
 its own people, or the exclusive mist of its own Scotch 
 affinities. 
 
 LII. 
 
 "The house of Signora Carlotta Lenzoni Medici, well 
 worthy this last name and the neighborhood of Sante Croce, 
 presents a statue of Psyche, by S. Tenerani, a sculptor of 
 Carrara, one of the most graceful and poetical performances 
 of modern sculpture in Italy, and very pleasingly described by 
 S. Giordani, as ^ La jirima ajffiizione cVun cuore innocente, ossia 
 una PsicheJ The amiable mistress has one of those Italian 
 drawing-rooms, that assemble every night the literary men of 
 the town and well-educated people of fashion, and become 
 real academies, without pride, constraint, or pedantry. The 
 imagination, moreover, is singularly charmed at hearing an- 
 nounced, in these saloons, the immortal names of Buonarotti, 
 Peruzzi, Alberti, and others, borne by men of merit, who, in 
 the absence of glory, have obtained esteem, and whose family 
 traditions are sometimes worth collecting. 
 
 " In these old and true Italian societies, there are sometimes 
 literary readings totally unexpected — no previous announce- 
 ment having been given, where one is allowed to be candid. 
 The pastimes, songs, stories — all the intellectual diversions 
 painted by Castiglione, in his Cortegiano, and by Bargagli, in 
 his Vagghie, Sanesi — are still kept up in these parties of hearty 
 
288 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 aDiusement and mirthful gayety. These ladies, so lively and 
 natural, are, moreover, capable of most gravely discussing 
 questions of ancient and modern literature, the fine-arts, or the 
 present interests of civilization ; and conversations on these 
 subjects occasionally start up in the midst of these pastimes, 
 and are treated in a superior manner. The deep learning 
 and literary talents of the Italian ladies of the sixteenth 
 century, may still be found among those of the present epoch. 
 Florence has produced and possesses some of the most dis- 
 tinguished. Signora Carniani Malvezzi married at Bologna, 
 a good poetess and able Latinist, has translated some of the 
 philosophical and political works of Cicero, vrith great fehcity, 
 and her translation of the Repuhlica is even superior to that 
 of Prince Odaleschi. In a different kind, her translation in 
 verse of Pope's Rajpe of the Lock, is esteemed for its elegance 
 and harmony. This lady is still engaged in composing an 
 epic poem on the expulsion of the Duke of Athens from 
 Florence ; and the cantos already published have made the 
 public anxious for the rest, Signora Fantastici Sulgheri 
 Marchesini, improvisatrice of Florence, justly celebrated, has 
 successfully translated parts of Bion and Anacreon. Inde- 
 pendently of the Italian women noted for their writings, there 
 is a multitude of others, merely lovers of learning, who relish 
 and duly appreciate good works, are conversant with modern 
 and ancient languages, have even followed scientific lectures, 
 and, with all this learning, have not the slightest trace of pre- 
 sumption, vanity, or affectation. In fine, they have that 
 quiet sterling merit spoken of by La Bruyere — * Qii^elles m 
 'peuvent couvrir de toute leiir modestiej " 
 
BRIDGE OVER HELLESPONT. 289 
 
 CELEBRATED HOUSES. 
 
 LIII. 
 
 Few cities offer so many illustrious modern houses as 
 Florence. The house where Cellini was born, and acquired 
 his name of Benvenuto, v/as in the street Chiara nel pojpolo di 
 San Lorenzo. His dwelling-house, a present from Cosmo I., 
 in which the memorable founding of the Perseus took place, 
 was in the street del Rosaio, where inscriptions on marble 
 slabs perpetuate the memory of these facts. 
 
 The house of Frederico Zuccari was in the street del Man- 
 dorlo, where the embossed architecture invented by him still 
 bears witness to the caprice of his taste. 
 
 In the street called GhibeUina, a name associated with the 
 wars, discords and proscriptions of Florence, in this to\yn, now 
 so quiet, is the house of Michael Angelo, the first of these cele- 
 brated abodes, which was still inhabited by a descendant, the 
 Cav. Cosmo Buonarotti. This house has become a monument 
 of Michael Angelo's glory. A series of pictures in the gal- 
 lery represents divers incidents of his life. These paintings 
 were executed by the most eminent artists of the time ; but 
 some of them are far from excellent — Michael Angelo pre- 
 senting the plan of the Laurentian Library to Leo. X., by 
 Empoli, is the best. During the three-fourths of a century 
 that this prodigious man, who undertook at once the Last 
 Judg/neiit, the Moses, and the cupola of St. Peter's, held the 
 sceptre of the arts, seven Popes loaded him with wealth and 
 honors. He was solicited by Francis I., Charles Y., Alphonse 
 d'Este, and the Republic of Venice ; Soliman even wanted 
 him to unite Europe and Asia by a nrirlgc over the Darda- 
 
290 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 nelles, and he by himself was like another power. In this 
 house may be seen his first performances in painting and 
 sculpture. A sketch of the Virgin sudiing the Infant Jesus, 
 is extraordinary for the vigor and avidity of the child. An 
 expressive Christ on the Cross, in red chalk, is quite surprising 
 for its finished execution, when we remember the impatient 
 talent of the artist. Michael Angelo painted with his left 
 hand, like Holbein, and sculptured with the right. He 
 adopted this habit from necessity — the handling of marble 
 having so far weakened his right hand that he was obliged 
 to color with his left. The question as to which of the two 
 arts he excelled in, is not easily decided. Cicognara and some 
 other writers think him greatest in painting ; Quatremere 
 seems to think otherwise. An unscientific person can only 
 speak of his impressions, and I confess that the Chapel of the 
 Tombs affected me much more than the Last Judgment, which, 
 it is true, is much impaired by time. When, in addition 
 to these, we call to mind the dome of St. Peter's, and his 
 poems, so passionate, religious, energetic, and as his genius, 
 so Dante-like, he really seems, as the poet has beautifully 
 expressed it, "the four-souled mam!^ — " uom di quattr' alme." 
 
 LIY. 
 
 A bundle of Ricordi, m Michael Angelo's hand-writing, 
 found in his house, containing even the expenses of his journey 
 to Yenice in 1529, and the measure of the marble he had 
 ordered at Carrara, proves that, with all the fire of his 
 genius, he was methodical and careful, and managed his affairs 
 with great regularity. Among the papers preserved is a 
 letter from Michael Angelo's nephew, addressed to Cosmo I., 
 respecting the erection of the mausoleum in Santa Croce, 
 
PULLIXG BY THE HAIR. 291 
 
 containing this singular wish : — He desires that the figure of 
 sculpture may have the first place, on account of the pre- 
 eminence which he asserts his uncle to have accorded to that 
 art over painting — an opinion in unison with his letter to 
 Yarchi, in which he pretends that sculpture is to painting 
 what the sun is to the moon. He seems to have prided 
 himself more in his talents as a sculptor ; and among the 
 different manuscripts of the Buonarotti-house were several 
 letters signed " Michel Angela, Buonarotti, ScultoreP This sin- 
 gular and unjust preference of Michael Angelo's may, how- 
 ever, be explained by the character of his painting, which is 
 anatomical, confused, agitated, terrible, and destitute of the 
 touching philosophy of Raphael and Poussin. 
 
 The first marble sculptured by Michael Angelo, when eigh- 
 teen years of age — not Hercules fighting the Centaurs, as stated 
 by Yasari, but a fantastical, youthful composition — presents 
 already some admirable details ; such are the figure pulling the 
 other by the hair, and the one behind striking with a club. 
 In the choir of the Duomo of Florence we saw the artist's 
 last work, (the Piety.) It seems to me that it might be most 
 fitly placed beside this ; there would be something pleasing in 
 contemplating and comparing them in this house — another 
 temple, of which Michael Angelo is the deity. 
 
 Near the old Gianfigliazzi Palace, and opposite the Casino 
 of the nobility, is the small but illustrious house of Alfieri. 
 He dwelt there from 1793 to 1803, the epoch of his decease. 
 The air, the prospect, the comforts of this house, had restored 
 to him — he writes, in his living memoirs — a great part of his 
 intellectual and creative faculties, excepting his dramatic 
 powers (tramelogidie,) which his seventeen chefs-d'aiuvres had 
 doubtless exhausted. 
 
292 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DUGE. 
 
 The house of G-alilio, at Florence, was not far distant from 
 that since built by his loving pupil, Yicinzo Viviani. It was 
 on the Costa, near the fortress of Belvidere. 
 
 The small house occupied by Macliiavel, as stated by an 
 inscription, is in the street de^ Guiccardini, opposite the vast 
 black palace of the historian, his dear and constant friend, 
 who, notwithstanding the difference between their dwellings 
 and dignities, appreciated the merits of his illustrious neigh- 
 bor, and treated him precisely as his equal. It was there that 
 Machiavel died, poor, in discredit with his party, on the 2 2d 
 of June, 152 1, aged fifty-eight, killed by excessive doses of 
 pills that he had administered himself, supposing them effica- 
 cious against his stomach, complaints. 
 
 ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS. 
 LV. 
 
 The Florence Academy of Fine Arts, one of the most 
 splendid establishments of the kind in Italy, presents an inte- 
 resting collection of the works of the Old Masters, which is so 
 arranged as to afford an excellent opportunity for the pro- 
 gressive study of the art, from its earliest epoch to the decline 
 of painting. This gallery, which ranks next to the two great, 
 Uliizi and Pitti, contains two superb paintings, the Assump- 
 tion, by Perugino, and his Dead Christ, which has such fine 
 old men's heads and touching holy women, as to clearly indi- 
 cate the master of the immortal Raphael. 
 
 A St. Francis, by Cigoli, is connected with a story not 
 very honorable to his feelings as a man, were it not explained 
 by the painter's passion for truth. While Cigoli was in some 
 embarrassment about expressing the languor of the saint's fea- 
 
STUCCO. — PIETRO DURO. 293 
 
 tures, a pilgrim, worn out with hunger and fatigue, presented 
 himself, asking alms ; the artist, enchanted with this lucky 
 chance, entreated him to sit a moment ; the pilgrim con- 
 sented, but almost immediately swooned : Cigoli, instead of 
 relievmg him, took advantage of his condition to give the face 
 of the saint the fainting expression so much admired. 
 
 Thus we have selected from the numbers of this gallery. 
 Perhaps it is an evil to stimulate that excess of culture which 
 generates mediocrity. Inspiration is then less frequent, and 
 art seems to sink into a trade. Thus, at all epochs, and par- 
 ticularly at Rome, under the last emperors, the great number 
 of artists was a token of decline. The multitude of poets, the 
 immensity of the armies, the great number of statesmen, have 
 not been more favorable to the genius of poesy, war, or 
 government. 
 
 There is a school of Scagliola at the Academy, and with 
 this new species of stucco, brilliant and unchanging paintings 
 are there executed, representing flowers, animals, landscapes, 
 and buildings. The manufacture of hard stones (jpietro du- 
 ro), a celebrated and splendid branch of Florentine industry, 
 which has produced the fine tables of the Pitti Palace, the 
 large octagonal table of the gallery, and the works of the 
 Medici chapel, is still kept up by the Grand Duke on his 
 own account, and is worthy of its reputation. 
 
 LVI. 
 
 Having occasion to visit the studios of our countrymen at 
 Florence, I early sought for Powers ; I found him that 
 pleasing man of whom description did not anticipate the 
 admiration and delight, experienced at this interview. Al- 
 though entirely wrapped in, and surrounded by the ideal, 
 
294 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 he still retained enough of the practical virtues of this life to 
 let intelligence beam through the modesty of manhood ; and 
 his affability, which soon put me at ease, lent a charm to a 
 character of so winning an influence and such gentle suavity 
 as to irradiate the whole discourse of that hour, with such 
 genial warmth of enthusiasm and surprise, as could not be 
 much unlike those soft embodiments of thought which had 
 animated his marble figures with expression of humanity and 
 beauty. We spoke of the Yenus ; and from him I learned 
 that some parts of the goddess of the Tribuna were not origi- 
 nal. We agreed that there were faults and slight defects in 
 the anatomy of her back, but that was somewhat relieved by 
 the graceful throw of the arm. There appeared to be a want 
 of proper balance in the plastic of the thighs. While there I 
 saw his " Fisher-Boy," simply beautiful, with truth ; an un- 
 finished model of a Psyche, so full of soul, and eyes beaming 
 with the languishing suspense of a wounded thought ; there 
 were also copies of his Eve and Gh-eek Slave in the atelier of 
 the workmen. His room for study was exclusively his own, as 
 it was necessary for him to retain the most profound secrecy 
 about his late discoveries in the manipulation of his busts and 
 the recondite mysteries of his profession. 
 
 EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. 
 LVII. 
 
 The Egyptian Museum, collected in Egypt during the years 
 1828 and 1829, by S. Rosellini — the disciple, companion, and 
 successor of Champollion — although not extensive, is choice 
 and curious. The mummy of one of those Greeks, who settled 
 in Egypt under Ptolemy, is in such wonderful preservation, 
 
EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. 295 
 
 that the hands and thighs may still be traced under the very 
 clean bandages covering them. We may also form an idea 
 of the oddness of the Greek costume of that epoch, by the 
 full-faced portrait of the deceased painted on the mummy. A 
 Scythian war-chariot, of beech, without iron or metal, a rude 
 trophy, taken by an Egyptian, has been deposited in his tomb. 
 The painting on one of the steles or columns, represents a 
 woman seated before an altar, with her favorite monkey under 
 her chair ; a taste for these pets seems to have been common 
 among the Egyptian ladies. Another basso-relievo on a fu- 
 neral stele, sixteen hundred years anterior to the Christian 
 era, represents the goddess who bore the two names of Justice 
 and Truth, and presided at judgment of the after-state ; it 
 came from the tombs of the kings, who were the first subjected 
 to this noble and terrible deity. One stele, of excellent work- 
 manship, presents the Scribe Amentiba, and Dgioa, his wife, 
 after their decease, sitting, and receiving funeral homage from 
 their three daughters. A stone stele shows a Ptolemy pre- 
 senting two vases to Isis ; although it suffers from the bad 
 taste that prevailed under the Ptolemys, an epoch of decline 
 in Egyptian art, it has the merit, perhaps, of being unique for 
 its small proportions. A great painting offers one of those 
 funeral banquets that the Egyptians gave to the relations and 
 friends, after depositing the mummy in the tomb ; the men are 
 served by slaves — the women by maid-servants ; and at the 
 end of the room are a set of harpers. Twelve paintings larger 
 than life, with explanatory hieroglyphics, still retaining a 
 freshness of coloring, commemorate the exploits of Ramses I. 
 over the Scythians, in the fifth year of his reign, 1565 years 
 before our era. A large fragment of arenaria stone, found in 
 Nubia, near the second cataract, goes back almost to Abra- 
 
296 THE LAND OF THE C-ESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 ham's days. There we see the Pharaoh Osortasen, to whom 
 the god Mendu (the Egyptian Apollo) conducts, with their 
 hands tied, various nations of Ethiopia, each of whom has the 
 name of his natal-place inscribed. This antique stele may be 
 regarded as an important monument for both the history and 
 ancient geography of Africa. 
 
 LYIII. 
 
 The Museum of Physics and Natural History is curious. 
 Several rooms contain the celebrated collection of anatomical 
 pathology, displaying the different parts of the human body in 
 wax, colored, but not too faithfully. The sight of all the 
 muscles, viscera, arteries, and entrails, of all this materiality, 
 all this reality of our being, has something dreadful and affect- 
 ing. We infinitely preferred the botanical series, with its 
 charming assemblage of model wax-flowers, or the cabinets of 
 shells, the most complete in existence ; and we were more 
 pleased in the department appropriated by Galileo, so prettily 
 adorned with frescoes of different scenes in his eventful life, 
 which contained a telescope and several astronomical instru- 
 ments that had been executed under his direction. 
 
 RAFFAELANA. 
 
 LIS. 
 
 Raphael and his works never tire or exhaust your admira- 
 tion or your taste, or we should feel bound to excuse this late 
 mention of a work of architecture which particularly charmed 
 us, in the way to a private mansion. The Pandolfini Palace, 
 occupying the corner of two streets, of rather moderate pro- 
 portions, struck us as being peculiarly adapted for purposes 
 
A DISCOVERY OF ART. 29t 
 
 of daily occupation and comfortable use. It was erected after 
 the designs of Raphael, for the Bishop of Troja, Gianozzo 
 Pandolfini, a virtuous prelate, says an historian of the time, 
 detested by the other prelates of Florence, who were, for 
 the most part, abandoned to vice. It is impossible to find a 
 more judicious, elegant, or noble specimen of architecture ; 
 the entablature which gracefully crowns the palace, is ranked 
 with truly classic models, and the gallery running around 
 with pilasters, supporting a hanging garden, completes the 
 beauty and harmonious elegance of the whole construction. 
 
 Having passed this palace, we hastened to visit a remark- 
 able work of Raphael, that had but recently been discovered. 
 In the old " Yia Foutinella," where formerly stood the Con- 
 vent of St, Onofrio, and since that time, a remise, or stable, is 
 the spot where, but three years since, a beautiful fresco of 
 Raphael Sanzio was disclosed to light. The manner of the 
 " Coenaculum" is that of his early style. This " Last Supper" 
 is even better than Leonardo Yinci's great master-piece, which 
 is so well known from the engravings by Raphael Morghens, 
 and shows all the treatment of his first method, prior to his 
 change to a second, about the age of twenty-two. The fea- 
 tures of the Apostles are earnest and noble, and indicative of 
 those simple fishermen who were early called by the Saviour 
 to be "fishers of men." The group of Christ and the beloved 
 Apostle John, is full of touching simplicity and love. The 
 face of our Lord beams with a holy consciousness of the di- 
 vine benefits of that sacred feast— the Holy Communion of the 
 blessed body and blood of Jesus — whilst the sweet repose of 
 the gentle John betokens that rest which innocence alone can 
 frame in a placid calm of love, in harmonious keeping with the 
 painful solicitude of his brethren. Judas Iscariot sits apart, 
 
298 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and aloof, in front of the table, as a polluted sinner, as if he 
 had no part or lot in the sanctity of that solemn sacrament. 
 
 It contributed no little joy to my gratification to have met 
 Professor Jesi on the spot, who was engaged in taking an 
 excellent drawing of the fresco, in crayon. He seemed to 
 have succeeded perfectly in catching the marked expressions 
 of the different features, the freshness of which have been 
 much injured by the effects of time, or the more cruel abuses 
 of man. 
 
 His excellent copy of the scene gave me an increased inte- 
 rest in the subject, and, in due course of time, will be followed 
 by an engraving on steel, which we trust will be worthy of 
 Florence and her devoted sons of art. 
 
 FESTIVALS AND FEASTS. 
 LX. 
 
 It was our good fortune to have visited Florence in the 
 season of her festivals. On one sad occasion I was present 
 at the cathedral (de Fiore) and listened to the solemn service 
 of the Requiem over the dead of the recent battles of Italy. 
 The combined effects of the dim religious light, and modu- 
 lated rays streaming in gorgeous webs through the painted 
 windows of the church, contrasted richly with the lambent 
 flames of a thousand consecrated candles, and lent an im- 
 posing aspect to the vast and crowded concourse which had 
 assembled on this occasion. A stranger even could not help 
 being touched by a compassionate sympathy with the be- 
 reaved and the widowed. That cataplasm was pregnant with 
 a mournful struggle for the birth of Italian freedom, but 
 history had to blot out a page in the annals of republics. 
 
FACTS AND FANCIES. 299 
 
 Liberty had failed again to rouse the life of the ancient Ro- 
 mans' prerogative ; and now the solemn presence of death, and 
 the thoughts of the horrors entailed by wars did not cease to 
 revive the anger of a son of freedom, even amidst the accla- 
 mations for the most illustrious victories of the nation. 
 
 There was also a brilliant illumination of Florence on the 
 occasion of other victories and battles won by the native sol- 
 diers ; and on a beautiful June night, the lights from the Pitti 
 and Riccardo palace, and from the ten thousand windows of 
 the Long' Arno showed the flaming lustre of myi'iads of 
 lights, pouring their breath of oriflamme over the sheen of 
 the troubled and bounding Arno. 
 
 FACTS AND FANCIES. 
 LXI. 
 
 It was but a tame spectacle after the Girandola of Castle 
 St. Angelo at Rome ! At least, so thought we all, as we 
 took tea with the ladies, and looked out through the windows 
 of Xo. 1189 Long' Arno, whence by stra,nge change of travel, 
 names of more ancient celebrity than are now connected with 
 their modern fame, such as Emerson, Chauncey, Hooker, 
 Farnese, Ambrose, and Bruen, were joined in conversation, 
 or interchanged proprieties, about art and travel, Egypt, 
 cockneys, and mummies. " Lamplight and moonlight," I ob- 
 served, "have equally delusive effects," and many strong 
 lines of feature which are revealed by daylight are softened 
 by shades at evening. Even so, philosophers ! as to render 
 beauties less critical, and females more attractive, by half-a- 
 moon. 
 
 Time and again one spends an hour in the Tribuna ! You 
 
300 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 never tire of the rich gems that are there displayed. You 
 become earnestly, peculiarly so, admirers of the Yenus — 
 that most graceful relic of the antique, which courts the close 
 inspection of every line of its gracefully plastic form, seem- 
 ing to swell in cadence with almost the moving inspirations 
 of his creative mind that first moulded it into life. How often 
 are Raphael's paintings dwelt upon and admired, and how 
 closely viewed is the Fornarina — beauty of matchless eyes 
 and face ! — what a melting beam of loveliness ! and how 
 ravishing her charms must have been, who could fascinate into 
 madness the highest genius of invention in Art ! — Raphael 
 Sanzio d'Urbino ! 
 
ENYIRONS OF FLORENCE. 
 
 POGGIO IMPERIALE. 
 
 By whichever bridge you seek to cross the Arno, whether 
 it be that of the " Grazt^ the Carraja, or the bold, light, and 
 elegant bridge of the Trinity, which spans its waters in three 
 noble arches, presenting its model elliptic to the opposing 
 current of its struggling waves ; whatever be the way, I 
 repeat it, you will pass over the Arno, despite that you say, 
 " Ah, no !" Although the first river in Tuscany, with all the 
 sweetness and almost poetry of its name, it is but a tortuous 
 and devastating torrent : — 
 
 " Un fiumicel che nasce in Fatterona 
 E cento miglia di corso nol sazia," 
 
 says Dante, describing its numerous windings. The soil it 
 washes down gives the stream a yellow hue, and the water is 
 not drunk at Florence, 
 
 By whichever road you may take when you get over on the 
 other side of the river, you will finally be driven into the 
 avenue of the Poggio Imperiale, formed of yews, pines, 
 cypresses, and old oaks. This, one of the first of palace- 
 avenues, is a kind of natural monument ; imposing, precise, 
 and well-trimmed, like most royal parks, is somewhat dull and 
 tame, lacks much of the interest of nature, and contrasts 
 strikingly at Florence with the charming variety of the Cas- 
 cine, or Royal Farms. 
 
802 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 This palace was formerly the Baroncelli villa. It is said 
 that a member of that ancient family, Tommaso Baroncelli, 
 most cleTotedly attached to Cosmo I., having gone from his 
 villa to meet his master returning from Rome, was so enrap- 
 tured on learning that he had received the title of '^ grand duke'' 
 from the Pope, that he died of joy, an instance of enthusiasm in 
 servitude that must appear strange now-a-days ! The Poggio 
 afterwards passed from the Salviati family into the hands of 
 Cosmo I. Among the solemnities common to Poggio, as well 
 as other palaces of princes, was the performance of the tragedy 
 of " St. Ursula,''^ by the family, during the sojourn of Prince 
 Stanilaus, in 1625. This piece of St. Ursula was followed 
 by a ball, in which more than a hundred ladies took part ; 
 and a superb halletto di cavnlli (horse-opera,) executed in the 
 neighboring meadow, transformed into an amphitheatre, and 
 
 illuminated. 
 
 II. 
 
 Above the Poggio is the pretty hill of Acetri, sung by the 
 poets for its delicious white wine — 
 
 " La verdea soavissimfi d'Arcetri," 
 and immortalized by the residence, the prison, and the death 
 of Galileo. On the road is the tower called di Galilio, a 
 peasant's house and rustic observatory, whence the view of 
 Florence and the envu'ons is very fine. The little house, now 
 the Bonajuti villa, in which that great man dwelt ten years, 
 seemed to me agreeable and worthy the surname of Griojello, 
 (jewel,) which it formerly bore. Towards the end of his life, 
 he received the youthful Milton there, then only a scholar 
 and elegiac poet. There also may be seen the chamber of 
 the illustrious captive, hung with ordinary leather, and fur- 
 nished with plain chairs, as well as the terrace on which he 
 
BIRTH-DAYS OF GENIUS. " 303 
 
 used to pass hours together. It was, perhaps, there that he 
 lost his sight, at the age of seventy-four, when, despite his old 
 age and misfortune, he continued with unwearying courage 
 his tables of Jupiter's satellites : — 
 
 ' ' Yien quegli occhi a mirar che il ciel spiarno 
 Tutto quanto, e lui visto, ebber disdegno 
 Veder oltre la terra, e s'oscurarno." — Monti. 
 
 " And when those eyes had seen all that heavenly host. 
 And having seen, declined to look on earth. 
 Those balls grew dim, and were to vision lost." 
 
 Galileo, a lover of the country, who could read only in the 
 book of nature, and regarded towns as prisons of the human 
 mind, occupied this house from the end of December, 1633, 
 to his latest day, Wednesday the 8th of January, 1642, the 
 very year of Xewton's birth. We have seen that he entered 
 the world two days before Michael Augelo's death ; so that 
 it may be said that genius was destined to precede and follow 
 
 Not far from Galileo's house, on another agreeable hill, 
 called Bellosgua)-do, at Montici, was the abode of Guicciardini. 
 He, too, ended his days there, after having been an actor in 
 the events of which he wrote the history. The table used 
 by him in writing his history is religiously preserved ; and we 
 are told that he labored with such ardor as to pass whole 
 days without eating or sleeping. Although in profound re- 
 tirement, Guicciardini seems to have been poisoned — a new 
 and fatal example that seems to make the destiny of histo- 
 rians of those times run parallel with that of their heroes. 
 Despite the fatigue caused by his long periods, the author of 
 the History of Italy, like all statesmen who have written 
 
304 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 history, has well explamed and wisely judged the actions of 
 which he writes. The loyalty and impartiality of his narra- 
 tives is perhaps unique, for he himself is no more spared than 
 many of his culpable contemporaries. The last act of Guicci- 
 ardini's life was honorable and pure. Although a partisan of 
 republican governments, he stood forth alone in the council, 
 after the murder of Duke Alexander, for the monarchical 
 form, which he caused to be adopted, when he saw that no- 
 thing else could guarantee his country against revolutions 
 and civil war. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Following the course of the Arno, we rode over the Iron 
 Bridge and arrived at the Cascino at the fashionable hour of 
 the sunset-drive, having passed among the ^preserves of the 
 grand duke which run by the side of the river's bank. The 
 agreeable promenade of the Caserne, (Royal Farms,) on the 
 banks of the Arno, with its forests of pines, holm-oaks, grass 
 plots, pheasants, and rustic . palace, is far superior to the 
 generality of those ordinary rendezvous of the vain idlers of 
 great cities. The hour of this citizen-promenade varies with 
 the seasons ; the equipages are numerous, and many of them 
 have chasseurs ; the vanished greatness of thrones and thea- 
 tres comes in contact there. The circus of the Cascine, with 
 its carriages full of pretty and elegant women, is charming to 
 the eye. The common people, too, who repair thither on 
 Sundays, are remarkable for their bearing, good mien, be- 
 coming dress, and I think there is less difference nowhere, 
 between those who go on foot, and the occupants of car- 
 riages. 
 
 The prate al Prato which is somewliat beyond the avenues 
 
Boccaccio's villa. 305 
 
 of the Cascine owes its name to the meadow where the young 
 Florentines formerly amused themselves with different games, 
 and particularly the Calcio, said to be revived from the 
 Greeks, a noble game of ball, to which only soldiers, gentle- 
 men, lords and princes were admitted. It was at the gate al 
 Prato that Benvenuto Cellini, charged with fortifying it 
 during the war against Siena, had that singular dispute with 
 the Lombard captain guarding it, to whom he could not make 
 his system of fortification understood. The defences of the 
 other gates were confided to other artists. Michael Angelo 
 had been named director-general of the fortifications of Flo- 
 rence, when it was beseiged in 1529, by the imperial and 
 pontifical forces. Xear this same gate is the fortress da 
 Basso, built by Clement YII., to control the Florentines, a 
 monument of San Gallo's science. Other great artists of this 
 epoch, most of them endowed with such diversified talent, 
 were also engineers, and distinguished themselves by the same 
 kind of works. 
 
 On the road to Fiesole, beside the Mugnone torrent, the 
 Palmieri villa de^ Trevesi stands conspicuous, called also the 
 villa del Boccaccio, the retreat, during the plague of Florence, 
 of the company of women and young men who tell the stories 
 of the Decameron. This villa, repaired and renovated, is at 
 present only a large plain English house ; it cannot be com- 
 pared to the bellissimo e ricco palagio of Boccaccio, then deco- 
 rated with all the art and magnificence that one would sup- 
 pose to belong to a villa of the sixteenth century, and ofi'ering 
 un bello e gran cortile net mezzo e con logge e con sale e con camere, 
 iutte, dascnna vwsn di se bellissima, e di liete dipinture ragguar- 
 
306 THE LAXD OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 devole e ornata, con pratelli dattomo e con giardini marivigliosi. 
 This villa takes its name from the learned Matteo Palmieri. 
 The philosophical, or rather theological poem of Palmieri, al- 
 though not printed, acquired some celebrity from its con- 
 demnation by the inquisition ; the author asserts therein that 
 our souls are the angels that remained neuter when Satan re- 
 belled. 
 
 VI. 
 
 La Bad'ia, a superb foundation by Cosmo, the elder, of 
 Brunelleschi's architecture, is now in part occupied by the 
 Poligrafia Fiesolana. In the ancient refectory, a fresco by 
 Giovanni di San Giovanni, a composition at once grave and 
 grotesque, represents the Lord ministered to by angels in 
 the desert, in which the artist has introduced some female 
 angels ; the demon, whom the angels are endeavoring to keep 
 off, is the figure of the butler of La Badia, who had given 
 the artist stale wine that he might not get drunk while at his 
 work. He has also muffled this demon-monk in a capuchin's 
 gown, to express his dislike of the good fathers for begging 
 so often. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Careggi, two miles from Florence — although, for fifty years, 
 a private country-house, and now the Orsi villa — still exists in 
 its primitive state. Built by Cosmo, the elder, with Miche- 
 lozzo for his architect, it has the aspect of a large square 
 tower, with an elegant interior portico. This villa, one of the 
 most renowned for historical associations — which, under Lo- 
 renzo de' Medici, became one of those sanctuaries where 
 ancient poetry and philosophy found such fervent adorers — 
 this illustrious villa, in 1834, was let furnished, at 25 sequins 
 
GARDENS OF CAREGGI, kC. 307 
 
 a month, ($55,) to two old English ladies, whose people un- 
 pityinglj repulsed from the house, and even the gardens, all 
 Platonic pilgrims. 
 
 The image of Plato was erst inaugurated in these gardens, 
 laid out like the groves of Academus, but in purer air ; and 
 every year, on the 7 th of November, the anniversary of his 
 birth was celebrated there and at Florence, by a sumptuous 
 banquet, as the practice was at Athens twelve centuries 
 before. 
 
 Careggi witnessed the pastimes and literary familiarity of 
 Lorenzo and his friends — Pico della Mirandola, Politian, and 
 Marsilio Picino — who ended his days there. In its gardens 
 Lorenzo was, perhaps, the first to cultivate a collection of 
 uncommon plants. In this place, so intimately connected 
 with the Medici, Leo X. passed his infancy, and two of the 
 most illustrious characters of that family — the Father of his 
 Country, and Lorenzo, the Magnificent — are buried. There, 
 too, the latter, attacked with a fierce and unknown disease in 
 the forty-third year of his age, when dying, pressed the hand 
 of Politian, who turned away his eyes, suffused with tears, and 
 was leaving the apartment to give free vent to his grief ; Lo- 
 renzo called him back, and expressed his regret that Pico 
 della Mirandola had not visited him once during his illness ; 
 and when the latter arrived, conversing with them on books 
 and philosophy, he said, gayly, that death ought to leave him 
 some few days to complete the library he intended for them. 
 
 YIII. 
 
 A contemporary relates a very different scene that followed 
 this pathetic parting. The haughty Savonarola, the implaca- 
 ble enemy of the Usurpation of the Medici, entered, after a 
 
308 THE LAXD OF THE CyESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 second summons by Lorenzo : — '' I would confess, but am with- 
 held by three sins, which almost drive me to despair." — " What 
 are they ?" " The first is the sack of Yolterra, in which many 
 maidens were violated and unbounded excesses committed ; 
 the second, the confiscation of the Monte delh Fanciulle, which 
 has caused so many young women to remain unmarried for 
 want of portions ; the third, the affair of the Pazzi, in which 
 many innocent persons perished." — "Lorenzo, yield not to 
 despair, for GOD is merciful, and he will grant you grace if 
 you observe the three things I submit to you." — " What are 
 they ?" " The first, that you have a strong and living faith 
 that GOD can and will pardon you." — " My faith is great." 
 "It is further necessary, that everything you possess be re- 
 stored to its rightful owner, as far as may be, only leaving to 
 your sons what is necessary to private citizens of Florence." 
 After reflecting a moment, Lorenzo replied, " It shall be 
 done." — "Lastly, Florence must be restored to liberty and 
 popular government as under the republic (a uso di republica") 
 Lorenzo turned away and answered not, and Savonarola de- 
 parted without continuing the* confession farther. 
 
 VALL 'OMBPvOSA. 
 IX. 
 
 Now, I pray thee, gentle reader, listen to our litterateur's 
 account of his visit to the Ombrosial Yale : — " I was at Yal- 
 lombrosa on the Feast of the Assumption ; there was a grand 
 dinner at the convent, attended by the priests and many 
 Franciscan monks of the neighborhood. That day, the 
 monks, in pursuance of a long-established and affecting cus- 
 tom, had been allotting dowries to some poor girls. Outside, 
 
CHARMS OF NATURE. 309 
 
 for all but the dancing, it was the fair of St. Germain or St. 
 Cloud ; there were improvisator! singing alternate couplets, 
 to the immense gratification of their audience. Although this 
 popular feast, in the very bosom of solitude — this contrast of 
 woods and rocks crowded with people — was not destitute of 
 sweetness or charms, it seemed to me that I lost the severe 
 aspect of Yallombrosa. Setting aside all effect produced by 
 the festivity I witnessed in those places, I do not believe they 
 ever can appear horrible. Yallombrosa has, indeed, some re- 
 semblance to our Chartreuse ; but it is a Chartreuse of the 
 Apennines, less wild than that of the Alps, with an Italian 
 sky and a view of the sea. The superb and gloomy firs that 
 envh'on the abbey, were planted in quincunx, some centuries 
 ago, and consequently have a regular and symmetrical, rather 
 than savage, magnificence. The waters have been ably di- 
 rected, and the Vicano there is less a torrent than a fine 
 cascade. 
 
 Yallombrosa has been wonderfully sung by the three 
 greatest poets who have visited it. Ariosto thus attunes 
 his praise : — 
 
 ' ' Vallombrosa ; 
 (Cosi fu nominata una badia 
 Ricca e bella, ne men religiosa, 
 E cortese a cliiunque vi venia.)" — Orlando. 
 
 Milton, whose song is — 
 
 " Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks 
 In Vallombrosa, where th' Etrurian shades 
 High over-arch'd imbower." — Paradise Lost. 
 
 And Lamartine, in ^' L^Ahhaye, dc Vallomb reuse -^ 
 
 HarISIONIE XI. 
 
310 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Benvenuto Cellini says, that he made a pilgriDiage to Yal- 
 lombrosa, to thank GOD for his success in the execution of 
 certain figures. He started from Florence, guided by his 
 workman, Cesare, and chanted hymns and prayers — a strange 
 pilgrim — who seems to have occupied himself, during his 
 journey, more about gold and silver mines, and fortifications, 
 than devotion. 
 
 " Although the monk who received me," says Yalery, " was 
 rather taken up with the company at the convent, he showed 
 himself, as in times of Roger and Bradamante, when the con- 
 vent did not exist, cortese a chiunque vi venia. I asked him for 
 the Life of St. Griovanni Gualbert — founder of the Order of 
 Yallombrosa — a scarce book, ornamented with pretty en 
 gravings. He left me several hours shut up alone in the 
 convent ; for everybody was either at church or at table, and 
 I could go about as I pleased, reading my quarto Life of the 
 Saint — an interesting history, with a touch of romance. 
 Independently of his virtues or his character, it must be 
 owned, that this monk of the eleventh century, who be- 
 longed to a rich and noble family of Florence, was a good 
 judge of the beauties of nature, when, while on a pil- 
 grimage, he fixed his retreat in such a spot, near these 
 majestic forests, picturesque rocks, and clear murmuring 
 fountains." 
 
 Above the convent is the hermitage, called // JParadishw, 
 or the Celle, situated on the point of a precipitous rock, 
 whence the eye discovers the Arno, the fertile plains through 
 which it winds, Florence, and the sea. 
 
 Although I did not ascend to the Camaldulites, whence, 
 
ARIOSTO'S VIEW. 311 
 
 according to Ariosto, both the Mediterranean and Adriatic 
 may be seen — 
 
 " Apennin scopre il mar Sciavo e il Tosco," — 
 
 I have rambled over the environs of Yallombrosa. I had 
 gone thither on foot from Pelago, by a way inaccessible even 
 to mules, and which offered me new and diversified aspects of 
 the Apennines. On my return, I took the ordinary road, 
 through the woods of firs and chestnuts. I went over the 
 fields, and saw some agricultural establishments belonging to 
 the monastery. These monks are certainly not retrograde; we 
 have seen them portioning girls ; their land is admirably 
 cultivated ; and they introduced potatoes into Tuscany. This 
 precious tubercle, as our agricultural societies say, grows well 
 at Yallombrosa, and the potatoes of this convent have still 
 some repute. 
 
 The guide I had taken was one of those peasants of the 
 Val cP Arno, with a charming daughter, a brunette, dressed 
 in silk, a true type of Italian beauty, lodged in a pretty 
 house with a separate room for the girl, possessing that sweet- 
 ness and elegance of rustic manners which seemed revived 
 from the Shepherds of Arcadia, speaking that pure primitive 
 Tuscan, the tongue of Dante and Boccaccio, which Alfieri 
 studied in these fields, and which my barbarian ear could not 
 appreciate. It is, nevertheless, under the shade of a convent, 
 under what is called absolute power, that this astonishing 
 civiUzation flourishes — a prodigy that must excite the envy of 
 freer and more civilized countries." 
 
 XI. 
 
 Near the steep road leading to the hill of San Miniato, are 
 the remains of the bastion and fortifications raised bv Michael 
 
312 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Angelo. This great artist, who hastened to shut himself up 
 in Florence to repel the attack of foreigners, afterwards re- 
 fused to build the citadel that Duke Alexander wished to 
 erect for the oppression of his fellow-citizens. The well- 
 planned works of Michael Angelo enabled the inhabitants to 
 make frequent and effective sorties, and kept the army of 
 Charles Y. and Pope Clement VII. in check for eleven 
 months, though it amounted to thirty-six thousand men, and 
 the Florentines had only sixteen thousand, beside volunteers. 
 The means employed by this engineer of genius to protect the 
 beautiful steeple of San Miniato from the enemies' balls, have 
 been cited as remarkable. He enveloped it with woolen 
 mattrasses, and a piece of cannon, placed on the same steeple, 
 fired on the besiegers with impunity. Yarchi and other his- 
 torians have falsely attributed to fear, the precipitate voyage 
 Michael Angelo made to Ferrara ; it is now known that he 
 was sent by the Seigniory to the Duke, and this perilous mis- 
 sion across the imperial and pontifical lines, must be added to 
 the other marks of courage that he displayed during the siege. 
 
 XII. 
 
 San Casciano is a large town, about seven miles from Flo- 
 rence, on the road to Siena, on a pleasant and well-cultivated 
 hill. But at the Campana, the present indifferent inn, there 
 is no Machiavel talking to the peasants, asking them the news 
 of the country, playing, shouting, disputing with the landlord, 
 the miller, the butcher, and two lime-burners of the place, 
 after passing tlie forenoon in birding, in cutting his wood, and 
 calming, as he himself confessed, by this low life, (pretty con- 
 
BOOK OF THE PRINCE. 313 
 
 formable, however, with Italian manners,) the effervescence 
 of his brain. The neighboring villa of Machiavel, called La 
 Strada a Santa Maria in Fercussina, passed by inheritance to 
 the Rangoni family of Modena, can be hired, of late years, for 
 ten sequins a month, and' now belongs to the Mazzei family of 
 Florence. In this obscure retreat Machiavel composed nearly 
 all his works, and his famous Book of the Prince, after putting 
 off his peasant's dress in the evening before entering his closet, 
 and clothing himself in his court dress. *' Then," he eloquently 
 says, " I advance into the antique sanctuary of the great men 
 of ancient times ; received by them with kindness and bene- 
 volence, I feast on that food which alone is made for me, and 
 for which I was born." The Book of the Prince, according 
 to his own acknowledgment, was then intended for the use of 
 a n«w sovereign. In my opinion, however, there has been too 
 general an inclination to regard the maxims of this treatise as 
 those of an age in which it appeared, as our De Thou, who 
 wrote about the end of that same century, and had visited and 
 sojourned in Italy, professes an opinion diametrically opposite. 
 Machiavel's writings, his Italian patriotism and statesman-like 
 gravity, seemed to have so much preoccupied his different 
 biographers, that they have overlooked his real character, 
 which commands little esteem during the latter years of his 
 life. A part of his works, beginning with the Prince, is only 
 a succession of servile petitions addressed to the Medici, his 
 enemies, by whom he had been stripped of office, tortured, and 
 banished, when nearly fifty, married, father of five children, 
 without that kind of independence and social separateness 
 which render such errors almost indifferent in the eyes of the 
 world, we see him again at San Casciano, inconstant, licen- 
 tious, trifling, and prodigal. The two-fold aspect under which 
 
314 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 MacMavel has portrayed himself at San Casciano, seems to 
 present the images of two men co-existing in him — of the 
 moral man and the literary man — of his irrational, degraded, 
 vulgar life, and his noble and vigorous genius. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Certaldo, thirty-five miles from Florence, is a pretty village 
 on a charming hill, with a brook at its foot. This place is 
 immortalized by the origin, residence, and death of Boccaccio, 
 who assumed its name (II Certaldese.) He was not born 
 there, as supposed ; this creator of Italian prose, this first 
 and most elegant of story-tellers, was brought into the world 
 at Paris, the fruit of a tender attachment. There are two 
 Certaldos ; this, the lower one, is a new village sprang up 
 within the last thirty years, and its inhabitants, dealers in 
 wood and charcoal, as in Boccaccio's time, are still exactly 
 like those he so humorously describes, agiati, (at their ease,) 
 and the taste for hearing and telling stories continues popular 
 in the country. 
 
 Boccaccio's house, solidly built of brick, with a small 
 tower, the monument of this village, is not, like the residence 
 of his friend Petrarch at Arqua, relinquished to peasants to 
 be made an article of traf&c. There, he led that sweet, rural, 
 and philosophical life he has so well described. There, he 
 died but a little more than a year after his master and bene- 
 factor, Petrarch, and in the centre of the church of St. 
 James, still called the Canonica, is a sepulchre, where an 
 epitaph announces that 
 
 " H Boccaccio gentil riposa in quelle" 
 
LEVANTINE COSTUMES. 316 
 
 THE EXCURSION TO LEGHORN. 
 XIY. 
 
 The face of the country from Florence to Leghorn, through 
 which you are hnpelled by steam-engine, is studded or rather 
 covered with towers and battlements in ruins, which recalls a 
 scene of warfare and civil discord. Behold the difference be- 
 tween epochs of civilization and barbarism ! the quarrels of 
 Athens and Sparta, of Rome and Carthage, are immortal ; 
 the violent struggles of the republics of the middle ages are 
 almost lost in obscurity, notwithstanding the labors of erudite 
 historians. The memory of those times of hatred and murder 
 strikingly contrast with the gentleness, industry, and easy, 
 happy condition of the inhabitants of those same fields. 
 
 Before you reach Leghorn the aspect of the land seems flat 
 and dull as you near the sea-shore, and you pass within the 
 gates of the city as noiselessly as if you had entered into an 
 apparently lifeless town. There is little to interest except its 
 business and the superb building of the Lazaretto. The pro- 
 menade of Ardenza, laid out in fine walks along the sea-shore, 
 is frequented by the fashionable world of Leghorn. This 
 even becomes here, in this commercial mart, a kind of trades- 
 man's Corso. It has lost of late years the reverie fitness of 
 its sea-side, and even the dash of the picturesque supplied by 
 the Levantine costume, and instead of fishermen and light 
 barks, it presents now only a double line of carriages on 
 rough ground and persons in European dresses. 
 
 XV. 
 
 I escaped from Leghorn and its port, and went to Lucca, 
 by way of the railroad from Pisa. The situation of Lucca, 
 
316 THE LAX!) OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 on a plain, nestled among the mountains near the banks of 
 the Serchio, is charming. Several of its churches and palaces 
 are very interesting as works of art. 
 
 The vast Cathedral of St. Martin has an exterior front of 
 three stories, by the sculptor Guidetto, dating from 1204. A 
 lunette, over the little door, has a Deposition from the Cross, 
 by Nicolas Pisano, expressive and well composed. The inte- 
 rior of the church is principally ornamented with the chefs- 
 d^ceuvres of the great Lucchese sculptor, Matteo Civitali, 
 whose works are nearly all confined to Lucca and Genoa, 
 and who seems like the transition from the true art of the 
 fourteenth century to the ideal of the fifteenth. The pulpit 
 and octagonal temple are also by him. Among the paintings 
 may be remarked, a Last Shipper, by Tintoretto, a CrucifixiGn, 
 by Passignano, the Virgin, St. Stephen, and St. John, and a 
 delightful little Angel playing on a lute, an excellent composi- 
 tion for design, expression and coloring, by Era Bartolommeo. 
 
 The ramparts of Lucca, an ancient fortification, which cost 
 the state the pretty round sum of nine hundred and fifty-five 
 thousand one hundred and sixty-two crowns, form a long and 
 charming promenade, well planted and fit for carriages, infi- 
 nitely preferable to most of the dull corsi of Italy ; and from 
 it the mountains which surround Lucca, present a fresh and 
 pleasing amphitheatre. 
 
 The traveller passing through the Duchy of Lucca, must be 
 struck with the pleasing variety of the sites, the richness of 
 the hills, covered with vines, olives and chestnuts, and must in 
 particular admire the laborious intelligence of the Lucchese, 
 an acute and subtle people, good farmers, who may be called 
 the Normans of Italy. This astonishing agricultural pros- 
 perity, this population which, in proportion with the superficies 
 
THE CLIMATE OF PISA. 31 1 
 
 of the soil, is one of the most numerous on the earth, proves 
 the advantage of small estates ; for nearly all, even the moun- 
 taineers, are land-owners. Every year, during the winter 
 months, when the labors of husbandry are suspended, the 
 great part of the population emigrate and find employment in 
 the hard but lucrative labors of the maremme of Tuscany, or 
 the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, whence it brings back 
 additional capital to increase the public weal. A certain phi- 
 losophical improvement seems to have prevailed for a long 
 time in this little state, which never had any Jesuits. The 
 Encyclopedia was re-printed as early as 1758-tl ; philanthro- 
 pical institutions, such as mad-houses and mendicity asylums, 
 though small, are numerous and well managed ; and Lucca, 
 which was the first town in Italy that had the glory of 
 founding an hospital as early as the year 118, was also the 
 first in Southern Italy to introduce vaccination, as a public 
 measure. 
 
 XVL 
 
 The road back to Pisa led through a fertile valley, teeming 
 with luxuriant vegetation, and exhibiting the well-cultivated 
 farms of the industrious peasant of this region. Garlands of 
 rich-clustering vines hung in graceful festoons, suspended from 
 tree to tree ; and the varied culture of fruits, grains and 
 shade-trees, lent a fascinating aspect to the intervals of lands 
 which bordered the outskirts of the many pretty towns 
 through which we passed on the return. On arriving at Pisa, 
 I was struck with the serial and beautiful effect of the outside 
 of the Duomo, the bronze doors of which edifice exhibit in 
 the front some remarkable specimens of castings. Some of 
 the best paintings of the interior are the productions of An- 
 drea del Sarto. 
 
318 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The Duomo, not unlike other churches of Italy consecrated 
 to victory, recalls the great battle gained by the Consul of 
 the Pisans, Orlandi, when he triumphantly forced the port of 
 Palermo, and avenged the affronts his country had received 
 from the Saracens. This church, dedicated to the Yirgin, is 
 still the most national monument, and the most magnificent 
 trophy raised by victory. 
 
 Although Pisa is now little more than a sepulchre, and of 
 the hundred and twenty thousand souls it contained under its 
 Consuls, only about twenty thousand remain ; although the 
 solitude of the streets is such that some of them have echoes, 
 and that of two foreigners I knew there, the one who wagered 
 they should meet no one in riding round its walls, won, its 
 four grand monuments and University, still place it among the 
 capital cities of Italy. Its climate, when not horribly rainy, 
 as I have experienced it, with Alfieri — 
 
 " Mezzo dormendo ancoi' doinando : Piove ? 
 Tutto la intera notte egli h piovuto, 
 Sia maladetta Pisa ! ognor ripiove ; 
 Anzi, a dir meglio, e' non e mai spiovuto," etc. 
 
 " Half asleep I ask again, ' Does it rain .' ' 
 Already hath it rain'd the live-long night ; 
 Cursed be Pisa ! for it always rains," &c. — 
 
 is cited for its mildness in winter. Pisa then revives a little ; 
 the grand duke lives there several months, and it is the re- 
 sort of the weak, delicate, and indisposed, who have sometimes 
 found benefit from its air. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 The four principal monuments of Pisa — the Duomo, Bap- 
 tistery, Leaning Tower, Carapo Santo — all standing in one 
 
CAMPO SANTO. 319 
 
 square at the extremity of the towu, rich, ornamented, ma- 
 jestic, have an extraordinary aspect ; one might call it a part 
 of some deserted Eastern city. 
 
 The Baptistery, a kind of museum of fragment, and orna- 
 ments of antique sculpture, built in an incredibly short space 
 of time, contains a splendid Pulpit, by Nicolas Pisano. 
 
 The CaTTipanik, or the celebrated Leaning Tower, built in 
 11*14, one of the six best towers in Italy, is remarkable for its 
 lightness, the beauty of the marble, its singular form, and the 
 workmanship of its staircase. The prodigy of its inclination of 
 eleven feet three inches, probably arose from the giving away 
 of the soil, when discovered too late to discontinue its progress. 
 The prospect is wonderful, from the contrasts presented by the 
 aspect of the rich surrounding fields, baths, aqueducts, the 
 sea, Leghorn and its port. The inclination of this tower was 
 useful to Galileo, to find the measure of time and calculate 
 the fall of heavy bodies. These old monuments, of such curi- 
 osity and importance with respect to art, are also mementoes 
 of the grandest discoveries of science ; for it was by observing 
 the regular and periodical motion of a lamp suspended from 
 the roof of the cathedral, that the measure of time by the 
 pendulum was revealed to Galileo — an idea which he realized 
 fifty years afterwards, by executing a clock for astronomical 
 purposes. Thus are they a two-fold honor to Italy. 
 
 By the way of Empoli, we went back to Florence, because 
 the Campo Santo — that funereal museum of all ages and 
 nations, and splendid style of sepulchral architect — did not 
 please us. 
 
 Thus, having concluded our excursion, by reversing the 
 order of the poet, from ''gay to grave," we returned to Flo- 
 rence by the charming country lying about Empoli, and 
 
320 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 over its hills, which were then decked out in every variety of 
 foliage and verdure that nature could bestow upon the fertile 
 banks of the valley of the Arno. 
 
 By this hurried glance at the Mediterranean, at Leghorn, 
 and the ride to Pisa, we had been enabled to settle the dis- 
 puted points of the Leaning Tower, and were left at ease to 
 proceed on our way to Venice, by the way of Bologna and 
 Padua, 
 
FLORENCE TO BOLOGNA. 
 
 BY DILIGENCE. 
 
 About sunset, in the early part of June, we left Florence 
 by the Gate of San Gallo, and were soon lost in a cloud of 
 dust and darkness. The "San Gallo" had been erected in 
 It 39, to commemorate the accession of the House of Lorraine 
 to the throne of Tuscany, at the death of Gaston, the last of 
 the Medici, an impotent and foolish prince. It was through 
 this gate that the great Maria Theresa, with her consort, the 
 new sovereign Francis IL, made their entry. Although 
 copied from the arch of Constantine, this Lorraine triumphal- 
 arch is very inferior in grandeur and character to the Roman 
 arches ; but it was not, like them, and most monuments of 
 the kind in Europe, erected by the woes of humanity ; and, 
 instead of a haughty, oppressive domination, it recalls the go- 
 vernment of paternal and beneficent princes. It is, notwith- 
 standing, the only gate in Florence worthy of notice ; and, as 
 we said above, we were driven under its portals when we passed 
 from the city towards Bologna. 
 
 Our road commenced with an ascent up a mountain, and 
 continued so until deep sleep and the deeper shadows of the 
 night so enveloped us, as to preclude any ideas of our progress 
 or our position in the country. 
 
 We woke up next morning, just at the Pontifical Dogano, 
 where an ugly official asked us for our passports, and there, 
 
322 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 having breakfasted and remounted, we were soon ready to 
 enter into all the wildness, grandeur, and sublimity of that 
 sterile and rugged rock-ribbed district, laid down on the maps 
 of Italy as the region of the Apennines — a poetical and 
 strictly appropriate title, we conceived it to be, derived from 
 a penna, for these hills were as barren of trees as Plato's man 
 was, in the type of a cock without feathers. 
 
 The road from Florence to Bologna crosses the Apennines, 
 which, on this side, have an appearance altogether different 
 from the grandeur of the Alps ; they present neither the rude 
 sky nor the harsh green of the firs on the latter ; they neither 
 resound with the roar of torrents or cascades, nor the crashing 
 of the avalanche. Xo majestic rivers or limpid streams origi- 
 nate there ; the vegetation is colorless and scrubby ; while, 
 instead of the bold and precipitous peaks of the Alps, darting 
 straight upward to the skies, the Apennines resemble a pile 
 of hills heaped on each other — one would almost say that they 
 had been built, and, like other edifices, that the weakness of 
 man requires ages on ages to complete, they also seem to 
 have been interrupted and resumed. 
 
 A very fine storm witnessed, in the month of June, among 
 these gloomy, arid, naked mountains, gave them, however, 
 some animation and a dash of grandeur. The effect of the 
 rainbow and an Italian sun, piercing the clouds and pouring a 
 flood of light into the valley, was marvelous. 
 
 It was not until within a few miles of Bologna, that their 
 slopes seemed to have been subdued into cultivation ; and 
 where the first pleasing indications of the fruits of industry 
 were observed, the estates of the Prince Pii showed forth the 
 
TOWN ASPECT. UXIVERSITT. 323 
 
 towers of this branch of Savoy nobility. Thence, to the 
 very gates of the walls of Bologna, followed a succession of 
 pretty villas and farms, which dotted the road-side, so as to 
 form a delightful and beautiful entrance to the long-arched 
 highway of this brilliantly white-washed Bologna, so celebrated 
 for its sausages and literary women. 
 
 III. 
 
 This first impression produced by the common-place appear- 
 ance of the town, was soon effaced. Bologna is still justly 
 regarded as one of the most illustrious cities of Italy. 
 Although it never was the residence of a court, and has long 
 ceased to be a seat of government, it is not surpassed in 
 civilization by the first capitals ; it has the dignity of science, 
 and still exhibits, in manners, spirit, and opinions, something 
 of its ancient device, lihertas, which it has retained. Bologna 
 is said to have been the town preferred by Lord Byron to 
 all others in Italy. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The University of Bologna, well known to be the oldest in 
 Italy, witnessed some of the finest discoveries achieved by the 
 mind of man, besides the first dissection of the human body 
 and galvanism. The celebrity of its learned professors ex- 
 tended even to the civil troubles of 1831, when Yaleriani, 
 professor of political economy — Tommasini, of the theory and 
 practice of medicine — Orioli, of natural philosophy — Mezzo- 
 fanti, of Greek and Oriental languages — and Schiassi, of 
 archeology, held their chairs with distinction. Bologna pos- 
 sesses the few new faculties, the professorship of which, were 
 
324 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 divinity, law, medicine and surgery, sciences and letters, 
 (philology.) The medical studies predominate over the other 
 branches of instruction. 
 
 V. 
 
 The University of Bologna is embellished with that pro- 
 fusion of art common to Italy. The front is by Pelligrini, 
 and the fine spacious court by Bartolommeo Triachini, a 
 Bolognese artist, of the sixteenth century. The paintings in 
 the cabinet of natural philosophy, by Nicolas dell 'Abate, are 
 graceful, and the fine frescoes of Pelligrini, in the Loggiato, 
 were thought worthy of imitation by the Carracci. This 
 learned institution has not, therefore, been foreign to the 
 progress of painting. 
 
 In the middle of the Court, a Hercules at Rest, is a singular 
 work of Angelo Pio. Statues have been erected in this court 
 and on the staircase to several of the professors. Bologna 
 might have shown there some of its ancient masters. I 
 should have been better pleased to have seen the features of 
 that Novella d' Andrea, daughter of a famous canonist of the 
 fourteenth century, so learned that she acted as her father's 
 substitute, and so handsome, that in order not to distract the 
 attention of the students, she had, according to Christina de 
 Pisan, a little curtain before her, probably over the holy ca- 
 nons, when lecturing. The ladies of Bologna are still remark- 
 able for their learning. It was said in an eulogy of Mile. De- 
 launay, by her husband, that she was better acquainted with 
 the human body than any other lady in France. The Univer- 
 sity had conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws and Medicine 
 on two ladies. Ginguene thinks it contrary to nature for la- 
 dies to teach : — "We could hardly allow women to assume 
 
THE LEARNED BEAUTY. MEZZOFANTI. 325 
 
 the habit of the Nine ; how should we then suffer them to 
 take a doctor's costume V This French exaggeration is 
 founded on utter ignorance of the ancient manners and cus- 
 toms of Italy : — " Is there any harm in knowing Greek ?" a 
 question to which Corinne puts an excellent answer in the 
 mouth of her ingenuous compatriots : — *' Is it WTong to earn a 
 living by one's own exertions ? Why do you laugh at such 
 a simple affair ?" Doubtless, it was the attraction of these 
 literary ladies that must have occasioned Byron's preference 
 for Bologna, as one of the most delightful residences in Italy. 
 
 The Museum of Antiquities contains the celebrated frag- 
 ment of the mystic mirror called the Cospiana Patera, repre- 
 senting the Birth of Minerva, who issues, armed cap-a-pie, from 
 Jupiter's brain, whilst Yenus is caressing him — a relic which 
 shows that the ancients were possessed of the art of en- 
 graving. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The University Library has eighty thousand volumes and 
 four thousand manuscripts. The most renowned librarian was 
 the late Abbe Mezzofanti, afterward Prefect of the Vatican, 
 and cardinal, who was famous throughout Europe for his vast 
 acquirements in languages, of which, including dialects, he 
 knew over thirty-two. Such learning is truly prodigious, for 
 this philologist and distinguished Orientalist was even con- 
 versant with several rustic brogues, and was truly an apostle 
 for the gift of tongues as well as piety. In the " Detached 
 Thoughts" of Lord Byron, published at the end of his Me- 
 moirs, reflections so true, natural and pathetic, are the follow- 
 ing remarks on the Abbe Mezzofanti : — " I do not recollect 
 
826 THE LAND OF TPTE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 a single foreign literary character that I wished to see twice, 
 except, perhaps, Mezzofanti, who is a prodigy of learning, a 
 Briar eus of the parts of speech, a walking library, who ought 
 to have lived at the time of the tower of Babel, as universal 
 interpreter — a real miracle, and without pretension too. I 
 tried hun in all the languages of which I knew only an oath 
 or adjuration of the gods against postillion, savages, pirates, 
 boatmen, sailors, pilots, gondoliers, muleteers, camel-drivers, 
 vetturini, post-masters, horses and houses, and everything in 
 post 1 and, by heaven ! he puzzled me in my own idiom." 
 
 ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS. 
 VIII. 
 
 The Gallery of Bologna, consisting principally of the chief s- 
 d^couvres of the Bolognese school, is an admirable national 
 ornament. It is an especial glory for a town to have given 
 bu-th to so many eminent scholars and brilliant artists. By a 
 peculiarly happy arrangement some of the most ancient paint- 
 ings are placed at the entrance of the gallery, thus affording an 
 excellent means of observing and following the progress of the 
 art. As in literature, some fine works of the earlier times, 
 placed by themselves, precede the real chefs-cfauvres ; the 
 superiority of the latter is not thereby weakened, but ac- 
 counted for. The Yirgins of Francia, who founded the 
 Bolognese school, are full of simplicity, gracefulness and free- 
 dom of outline, like elegance and perfection in style, can only 
 be attained by practice and study. The Holy Family, by 
 Innocente d'Imola, a pupil of Francia, is one of the finest 
 holy families extant, and already worthy of Raphael. A 
 copy of it was taken in 1 826, for the King of Prussia, who is 
 
COQUETTE MAGDALEN. 32t 
 
 said to have experienced profound emotion at the sight of this 
 painting, so powerfully did the figure of the Yirgin call to 
 mind the features of his ycung and noble consort. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Carracci are like a tribe of painters, of which Ludovico 
 is the worthy chief ; his Transfiguration is in imitation of 
 Correggio and the Yenetians, but full of grandeur and inspira- 
 tion, the only good ; in the Conversion of St. Paul, on the 
 contrary, he is himself, and not less admirable. The cele- 
 brated Martyrdom of St. Agnes, by Domenichino, is a com- 
 position altogether dramatic, exciting terror and pity in the 
 highest degree. 
 
 The grief portrayed in Guido's Madonna delta pieta is not 
 of the earth, but, if the word may be allowed, of heaven. 
 This work exhibits the greatest variety of perfections in the 
 several parts — from the gracefulness of the little angels below, 
 to the affliction of the virgins and angels weeping above. 
 Among the beautiful productions of the Bolognese school are 
 some master-pieces of other schools, such as the immortal St. 
 Cecilia, by Raphael. There is a vast difference between the 
 pious enthusiasm, the mystical frenzy of this patron of mu- 
 sicians, and the profane charms of the muse Euterpe. Music, 
 like speech, seems really a gift of GOD, when it appears under 
 such an emblem. How shall I describe the perfections of such 
 a painting ? — the ardor, the triumphant joy of the seraphim 
 singing the sacred hymn in heaven, the purity and simplicity 
 of the saint's features, so well contrasted with the frivolous 
 and coquettish air of Magdalen ? Worthily to render all 
 these beauties, one must be able to exclaim with Correggio, 
 when he first contemplated this work, " Anch' lo son pittore !" 
 
328 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 The St. Margaret kneeling before ike Virgin and Infant Jesus, 
 by Parmegiano, was honored by the admiration of the Car- 
 racci and Guido, who studied it ; the head of the Yirgin and 
 the Saints are sublime and affecting, as are all the many 
 figures of women that adorn this museum. In this respect 
 the gallery is truly enchanting, and never did beauty appear 
 more exquisite or in greater variety. 
 
 The elegant Church of St. Petronius, which takes prece- 
 dence even of the ancient Cathedral of Bologna, the Palaces 
 of the Comune and Publico, or of the Hercolani, whose library 
 contains a manuscript register of Guercino's expenditures, 
 which evidence the exceeding charity and liberality of this 
 artist, afforded us their pleasing contrast to the white-washed 
 walls and monotonous arcades which every other view of the 
 city presented. The public square of Bologna unites nearly 
 all the remarkable edifices of the place, and prominent among 
 these are the towers of Asinelli and La Garisenda. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Of all the towers, domes, steeples, and light-houses, that a 
 traveller, blessed with a conscience and legs, may have to 
 climb, one of the very rudest to ascend is, doubtless, the 
 Asinelli, for its winding stair-way, a kind of long ladder, is so 
 little practicable. This tower, the most elevated in Italy, 
 and even some feet higher than the dome at the InvaKdes, is 
 sometimes used for astronomical observations. I should not 
 be much surprised, though very sorry, if one of the astronomers 
 who mount it, were one day to experience the accident of La 
 Fontaine's astrologer. 
 
LEANING TOWERS. 329 
 
 The view is pleasing : it has neither the immensity of that 
 from the Duomo of Milan, nor the unique horizon of the 
 steeple of St. Mark, but the plain is smiling ; and the Apen- 
 nine, on this side, instead of its arid summits, only presents a 
 succession of pretty well-wooded hills, covered with charming 
 villas. 
 
 XII. 
 
 The leaning tower near the Asinelli is not so high, but the 
 Garisenda has supphed Dante with one of his numberless 
 picturesque images, in which he compares the giant, who 
 stoops to seize him and his guide, to this tower, when the 
 clouds are flying above its battlements : — 
 
 " Qual pare a riguardar la Garisenda 
 Sotto '1 chinato, quand' un nuvol vada 
 Sovr' essa, si, ch'ella in contrario penda ; 
 Tal parve Anteo." — Inf xxxi. 
 
 The inclination of the Grarisenda is not an effect of art, but 
 of the sudden sinking of the soil. It is amazing that it has 
 since withstood so many violent earthquakes. It appears, 
 henceforth, immovable, like certain minds, that an early ca- 
 tastrophe has much rather surprised than overwhelmed, and 
 which seem, on the contrary, strengthened bv the fall. 
 
BOLOGNA TO VENICE. 
 
 BY FERRARA. 
 
 I MUST confess that the loss of a wheel, by the breaking of 
 our tire, was the only incident which marred the course of 
 our otherwise pleasant journey, as we travelled by vetturino, 
 from the gates of Bologna, toward the walls of Ferrara, This 
 dull and deserted town, whose " wide and grass-grown streets" 
 still breathe a kind of courtly grandeur and magnificence, and 
 the castle, which is occupied by the legate, with its bridges, 
 towers, and elegant balustrades, still retains in its exterior a 
 fairy-like air, in accordance with its poetical recollections. I 
 was much struck by its aspect on the evening of my arrival, 
 as I contemplated it by moonlight, which was reflected in its 
 broad and brimming moat. My visit to the apartments on 
 the morrow completely dissipated the illusion— they had been 
 freshly painted by an artist and dillettante of Ferrara — and, as 
 I looked around inquisitively for some traces of the sojourn of 
 the princely house of Este, the custode apprised me, with an 
 air of self-complacency, that there was not a single corner left 
 untouched by his Highness. Could I have suspected such a 
 disappointment, I think I should have despised the castle like 
 Michael Angelo, when, as he passed incognito to Ferrara, 
 during the siege of Florence, on being invited by Duke Al- 
 phonso to lodge in the palace, he proudly chose to remain at 
 his inn. 
 
FANATIC POET. 331 
 
 II. 
 
 The Cathedral, of the twelfth century, still retains the 
 Gothic character of its exterior, and its front is covered with 
 uninjured basso-relievos representing the Life of Jesus Christ, 
 the Last Judgment, the Seven Mortal Sins, with numberless 
 emblems, sacred, grotesque, profane, and even something 
 more. On one side is the Statue of Albert d^Este, in a pil- 
 grim's dress, who returned from Rome in 1390, and 
 
 " Rapporte de son august e enceinte 
 Non des lauriers cueillis au champ de Mars 
 Mais des agnus avec des indulgences, 
 Et des pardons et des belles dispenses," 
 
 i. e., deeds and bulls that are seen in sculpture there. 
 
 III. 
 
 The Library of Ferrara, and the house of Ariosto, are the 
 boast and monument of the Ferrarese ; and Tasso is their 
 glory and their shame. His prison will be enough to excite 
 compassion for his fate and sufferings, and disgust at the in- 
 gratitude of Alphonso. Goethe maintains that the story of 
 his imprisonment is an idle tale, and as such, only shows the 
 mistaken enthusiasm of Byron, who was shut up in the cell of 
 Tasso by the porter, at his own request. "He staid there 
 two hours making violent gestures, striding about, striking his 
 forehead, or with his head sunk on his chest and his arms 
 hanging down, according to the porter's story, who watched 
 him ; and when the latter went to rouse him from his reverie, 
 Byron gave him his fee, saying, ' Ti ringrazie, buon uomo\ i 
 pensieri del Tasso stanno ora tutti nella niia mente e nel mio 
 more r — 'I thank thee, good man, the thoughts of Tasso all 
 
332 THE LAND OF THE CJiSAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 remain in my head and in my heart I' " Shortly after his de- 
 parture from Ferrara he composed his Lament of Tasso, 
 which sadly betrays some such inspiration. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Po is the limit of the Papal States, and it was passed 
 at Ponte di Lagoscuro, where a simple ferriage is obtained by 
 the force of current acting upon a number of small boats, 
 which are connected together by a series of ropes. The fron- 
 tiers are very strictly guarded by the restrictions and annoy- 
 ances of the Papal officers of the customs — men who will 
 make the most minute inspection of your stock of books, in a 
 very civil and polite manner, and as if they felt somewhat em- 
 barrassed even at being engaged in a very ridiculous business. 
 Beyond the Po is the small and rather noisy town of Rovigo, 
 with a great square, in which stand several tall red masts. 
 
 The road from Rovigo is regularly planted with shade trees 
 as far as Monselice ; so much so, as to become monotonous 
 from too great an extent of fine road, and a little mountain 
 would be somewhat acceptable. Monselice, however, breaks 
 the even tenor of the way and lifts its picturesque heights 
 above the plain beyond. 
 
 v. 
 
 Arqua, four leagues from Padua, is celebrated as the burial 
 place of Petrarch ; for, says Byron — 
 
 " There is a tomb in Arqu^, rear'd in air, 
 Pillar'd in their sarcophagus, repose 
 The bones of Laura's lover." — Childe Harold, xxx. 
 
 On the road we passed by a great picturesque manor- 
 house, called Ca^taio, formerly noted for the paintings of Ze- 
 lotti and its museum of antiquities. 
 
PETRARCH AND LAURA. 333 
 
 The situation of Arqua, amid tlie Euganean hills, too often 
 sung, but little known, is delicious. Childe Harold and its 
 notes contain a poetical and minute description of the site ; 
 but, while describing the beauty of the orchards of Arqua, 
 and of its little groves of mulberry-trees and willows, inter- 
 laced with festoons of vines, it would have been just to men- 
 tion its excellent figs, which enjoy a well-merited reputation 
 in this country. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Petrarch's house is at the end of the village. On the walls 
 of the chambers are some coarse paintings relating to his 
 love, taken from the first canzione. 
 
 A register is kept there, to receive the names of visitors, 
 and their thoughts, if they happen to have any. I confess, 
 however, that I am no great partisan of those eternal inscrip- 
 tions which so many travellers seem to think almost obliga- 
 tory. It appears to me, that the multitude of vulgar names 
 which crowd the tomb of a great man intrude upon the sanctity, 
 silence, and calm of the grave. This inscribing-vanity has its 
 selfishness and vandalism. The lodges of Raphael, the fres- 
 coes of other great artists, already so much injured by age, 
 are still further spoiled and disfigured by the list of all itine- 
 rary scribblers. 
 
 Petrarch's real or metaphysical love for Laura is, perhaps, 
 one of the most controverted and least explained questions 
 in history. From his labors, discoveries, encouragement and 
 sacrifices, he must be regarded as the real creator of letters in 
 Europe. 
 
 " They keep his dust in Arqud, where he died." 
 
334 THE LAXD OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 PADUA. 
 YII. 
 
 I must confess that the banks of the Brenta, after passing 
 Padua, seemed far from deserving the praise lavished upon 
 them. Padua in the rain appeared to me a great, long, 
 melancholy-looking town, although I arrived there in June ; 
 and had it not been for the Cafe Pedrocchi, which stood near 
 the inn, I should have been at a loss for amusement, for the 
 Cathedral was remote, and the gardens of Padua were under 
 a flood. 
 
 The elegant and spacious coffee-house is a structure of too 
 beautiful an architecture to be passed over in silence. It is 
 used not only for the ordinary custom of the proprietor, but 
 served as an assembly-room and casino, and is certainly one 
 of the most magnificent inns in the world. All the columns, 
 the walls and the pavement are marble ; there is not even a 
 bit of stucco ; and, unless a person were apprised of the reality, 
 such a building would appear to him much more like a palace 
 or a temple, than a coffee-house. 
 
THE LAND or THE DOGE 
 
 Ecco, sorger dall acque io veggo altera 
 La canuta del mar saggia reina, . . ." 
 Alfieri Sonnet. 
 
VENICE. 
 
 ON THE LAGOON. 
 
 The railroad from Milan, which has been extended to 
 Yenice, has almost taken from the queen of the Adriatic her 
 peculiar character and wondrous aspect. 
 
 It would be difficult to describe the impression produced 
 on its first appearance from the bridge over the Lagoon. I 
 entered Yenice about sundown, while the rich sunset diffused 
 its magical effects through the diaphanous veil of mist which 
 lingered after a recent shower, and its gorgeous hues instilled 
 " the odorous purple of the new-born rose" over the surface of 
 its glassy waters. The paler colors of evening fled ere the 
 myriad of lights were reflected like spectral forms upon the 
 bosom of the canal, when her palaces and, domes were filled 
 with tapers, and the charms of enchantment came down upon 
 its waves, to lend its mysterious influence to my first vision of 
 this peculiar city. 
 
 The multitude of domes, temples, palaces, columns, rising out 
 of the bosom of the waters, looked at a distance like a city 
 under water, and produced a feeling of surprise and fear. Her 
 palaces seemed to rise out of the sea ; and the churches sat so 
 easily upon the waters, that a feeling of sudden engulfment 
 appeared to be among the most natural fancies of the moment. 
 The lighting up of St. Mark's at the hour of my arrival, con- 
 tinued to heighten the magic of the spell. I could scarcely 
 
338 THE LAND OF THE C>ESAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 imagine that I was at the end of my journey and the de- 
 stined place of my sojourn. 
 
 The paintings of Canaletto have so familiarized us with the 
 harbor, the squares, and monuments of Yenice, that, when 
 we penetrate into the city itself, it appears as if already known 
 to us. 
 
 II. 
 
 The chief peculiarity of Venice is its insulated position in 
 the Lagoon, and you move about Venice entirely by gondola. 
 To use any other mode of conveyance would be but to 
 disturb the high associations connected with this " queen of 
 the seas," and would be attended with no less inconvenience 
 than fatigue. What could be more pleasant than the noiseless 
 tread of waters in a floating barge ? What more myste- 
 riously fascinating than a passage around and among her 
 palaces and churches, in a dark and mystic boat, with nothing 
 to disturb your reveries but the light splash of the well-turned 
 oar, or the long cry of a passing gondolier ? To have missed 
 the sight of Venice would have been to have blotted out a 
 day ! Next to Rome, what city is freighted with such pleasing 
 memories of the past ? To look upon St. Mark's place by 
 moonlight was hke a waking dream of Elysium. 
 
 III. 
 
 Bonington, an English artist of a melancholy cast, has 
 painted some new views of Venice, in which he has sketched 
 its present state of desolation ; these, compared with those of 
 the Venetian painter, resemble the picture of a woman still 
 beautiful, but worn down by age and misfortune. 
 
 All those gondolas, hung in black, a species of floating 
 sarcophagi, look as if they were in mourning for the city ; and 
 
"ah! eh 1" GONDOLIER. 339 
 
 the gondolier, instead of singing the verses of Ariosto and 
 Tasso, is neither more nor less than a poor boatman, with but 
 little poetry in his composition, whose only song is a harsh, 
 screaming "ah I eh 1" at the turning of each calk, to avoid 
 the danger of collision with other gondolas that are not un- 
 mediately visible. 
 
 IV. 
 
 This aspect of Venice has a something in it more gloomy 
 than that of ordinary ruins. Other ruins may decay with 
 beauty ; here these new ruins will rapidly perish, and this Pal- 
 myra of the sea, retaken by the avenging element from which 
 it was conquered, will leave no trace behind. I^o time ought 
 to be lost in visiting "Venice, to contemplate the works of Ti- 
 tian, the frescoes of Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese, the 
 statues, the palaces, the temples and the mausoleums of San- 
 sovino and Palladio, which are tottering on the very verge of 
 destruction. Her singular position on the bosom of the waves, 
 disposes one to many hours of reverie and repose ; and even 
 now, in her decline, she seems to have slept away from the 
 date of her ancient glories, as listlessly as she herself seems to 
 have slidden off from the terra firma of the shore. 
 
 Some years ago, a bold plan was proposed by a zealous 
 Venetian, in order to prevent the ruins of his city, which was 
 to join Venice to the Continent. A road of communication 
 was to have been made at the narrowest point of the Lagoon. 
 This has, in a measure, been superseded by the railroad from 
 Milan, a project no less useful, though not so poetical or 
 imaginative in its aspect. 
 
340 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 PIAZZA OF ST. MARK. 
 VI. 
 
 The Piazza of St. Mark's has not its like in the world ; the 
 East and West are there brought into each other's presence. 
 On one side, the Ducal Palace, with the indented architec- 
 ture, the balconies and galleries of Arabian monuments, and 
 the Church of St. Mark, with its angular front and lead- 
 covered cupolas, remind the beholder of a mosque at Constan- 
 tinople or Cairo ; on the other, regular arcades, with shops, 
 similar to the Palais-Royal at Paris. The same contrast is 
 to be found among the men : — there are Armenians, Turks, 
 Greeks — some lying down, others taking coffee and sherbet 
 under large awnings of different brilliant colors, resembliog 
 tents — some smoking perfumes in their long amber-tipped 
 pipes of rosewood — (a crowd of indolent and majestic auto- 
 mata) — while European travellers, and others, occupied with 
 their business, are hurriedly passing to and fro. 
 
 The infinite number of pigeons that cover the Piazza of St. 
 Mark's, the cupola of the church, and the roofs of the ducal 
 palace, add also to the oriental aspect of these monuments. 
 These pigeons have been in Yenice from its earliest days, and 
 such was the interest they excited, that, to comply with the 
 wishes of the public, it was decreed that they should not only 
 remain unmolested but be fed at the expense of the state. 
 
 VII, 
 
 Venice still palpitates in the Piazza of St. Mark's. This 
 brilliant decoration costs a million annually in repairs ; while 
 other distant quarters, some of which possess magnificent pa- 
 
THE HEART OF VENICE. 341 
 
 laces, are left to fall into ruins. This corpse of a city, to use 
 the expression of Cicero's friend, is already cold at the ex- 
 tremities — the life and heat remaining are confined to the 
 heart. Florian's coffee-house, under the arcades Procuratie 
 Niwve, has not survived the decline and fall of the city. Flo- 
 rian was formerly the confidant and universal agent of the 
 Yenetian nobility, and the friend of Canova, who never forgot 
 the kindness of the .benefactor of his youth, and modeled his 
 leg and foot so that the shoemaker could take his measure 
 without putting the gouty Florian to pain. 
 
 This leg of a coffee-house keeper appears to me no less 
 honorable to Canova than his Theseus ; it is pleasing to 
 esteem him as a man whom we admire as an artist. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 At the extremity of the Piazza there are three 'pili or flag- 
 staffs, which formerly bore the glorious standard of St, Mark, 
 now replaced by the Austrian flag. The pedestals of these 
 masts are in bronze, by Leopardo, and possess the elegance 
 and taste of the Grrecian artists. Independently of the great 
 pains taken by the artist, they are so beautifully polished that 
 the figures have all the appearance of having just quitted the 
 workshop ; whereas they have been there upwards of three 
 centuries, exposed to the injury of the air, the African siroc- 
 cos, and to the misty saline spray of the raging Adriatic. 
 
 CHURCH OF ST. MARK. 
 IX. 
 
 The basilic of St. Mark's, begun about the tenth century by 
 the Doge Orsolo, is of a checkered architecture, a mixture of 
 
342 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Greek and Koman, but more especially Gothic. On looking 
 at her minarets, mosaics, sculptures, basso-relievos, and ara- 
 besques of ornamental art, one feels that the Adriatic has been 
 wedded to the East, and that those peculiarities which are 
 usually received from strangers, here, have only been trans- 
 ferred in the varieties of her commerce. There are brilliantly- 
 blended Grecian elegance, Byzantian luxury, and the talents 
 of the Venetian masters. On seeing these splendid compart- 
 ments — the golden-arched roofs, the pavement of jasper and 
 porphyry, the five hundred columns of black, white, and 
 veined marble, of bronze alabaster, vert antique, and ser- 
 pentine — one would feel inclined to take this Christian temple, 
 except that it is somewhat too gloomily lighted, to be a pa- 
 lace of the Arabian Nights. Religion has preserved all these 
 riches, which might have been dissipated in the speculations 
 and enterprises of a commercial and navigating people. The 
 wrecks of the magnificence of ancient Rome ornament the 
 cathedrals of the modern city, its successor. St. Mark's has 
 collected the costly spoils of Constantinople. Italy tlms em- 
 braces the ruins of these two imperial cities. 
 
 The be.nitier, or holy-water vase, of porphyry, is supported 
 by an antique altar of Grecian sculpture, ornamented with 
 dolphins and tridents. One of the bronze doors of the bap- 
 tistery appears to have been brought from the basilic of St. 
 Sophia. The bronze gate of the vestry occupied thirty years 
 of Sansovino's existence. The grand chandelier of St. Mark's, 
 notwithstanding the oddness of its base, is considered one of 
 the most remarkable works of its kind, for the taste and na- 
 ture of the figures and the elegance of the ornaments. The 
 
STONES OF VENICE. 343 
 
 very stones of Venice are indelibly impressed with her history. 
 A red marble pavement marks the nave of the ancient church 
 of St. Germain, and the original limit of the place of St. 
 Mark. A white stone, not far thence, in a retired street, 
 shows where the Cataline of Yenice, Boemondo Tiespolo, was 
 killed by the accidental fall of a flower-pot, dislodged by a 
 curious old woman, who was watching his procession, as he 
 passed beneath her window. 
 
 XI. 
 
 St. Mark's presents also a collection of relics of the greatest 
 antiquity, the various mementoes of conquest and revolution. 
 The four famous horses of Corinth, or the Carrousel, have re- 
 sumed their former position on the tribune, over the principal 
 door. Never was a trophy of victory more modestly placed, 
 or worse, for they are scarcely perceptible. Won at Constan- 
 tinople, brought back from Paris, these Greeks or Roman 
 steeds are associated with the two grandest instances of taken 
 towns that history records. 
 
 XII. 
 
 The Lion of St. Mark's is replaced on his column, though 
 mutilated ; he ought never to have left it. Though insig- 
 nificant as a work of art, at Yenice it was a public and na- 
 tional emblem of its ancient power. It is venerable on the 
 piazza of St. Mark's ; but on the esplanade of the Invalides, it 
 was only a superfluous mark of the bravery of our warriors, 
 less noble than all those tattered flags taken on the battle- 
 field, and suspended in the nave of the church. It was, more- 
 over, a singularly ilkjudged and odious act of a rising Repub- 
 lic to humiliate, and spoil of the vestiges of their past glory 
 
344 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 such old Republics as Venice and Genoa. The Sacro Catino, 
 and the Lion of St. Mark were there, patriotic monuments 
 worthy of respect ; elsewhere they sunk into mere shop or 
 cabinet curiosities, the prey of ruthless conquest. 
 
 The Campanile of St. Mark is a bold structure, and one of 
 the solidest and most elevated in Italy, or even Europe. The 
 ascent to its summit is by a path — a real foot-path — of brick, 
 smooth, and without steps ; so that you will not be too 
 fatigued, when you arrive at the belfry, to enjoy the view. 
 Thence you clearly observe how Yenice sits "queen of the 
 waters," and ocean-born, like Yenus, her namesake, and proto- 
 type of birth and beauty, springs into life from the sea. The 
 numerous little islands sleeping on the bosom of the Lagoon, 
 are apt suggestions of her attendant nymphs. This panorama 
 — not only embracing the sea, Yenice rising from its bosom, 
 the resplendent verdure of the fields on terra firma, the hoary 
 tops of the Frioul Alps, the crowd of islets grouped around this 
 imposing city, but including also the coast of Istria, Italian 
 Tyrol, Padua, and the Adriatic — presents a point of view 
 which may almost be called a prodigy. 
 
 on. 
 
 But it is at evening that the Piazza of St. Mark awakes a 
 golden or Gothic vision of Eastern splendor and architectural 
 grace. Then the noble old Duomo, with its gilded cupola, 
 silvered over with a rich frosting of moonlight, revives the 
 tales of the Arabian Nights, or the splendors of the vales of 
 the Alhambra. ISTear by, stands the old Clock Tower, where 
 two mechanical figures strike the hours as they pass ; and on 
 both sides are the facades of the Procuratie palaces, those 
 
giant's stairs. 345 
 
 brilliant structures of Sansoviiio's genius, displaying the per- 
 fection of their architectural symmetry. 
 
 Amid all these, the high, grand, luminous mass of the Cam- 
 panile looms upward towards the sky, towering above all, and 
 guardian of that scene of magical effects below, where the 
 crowds of motley wear are moving in promenade, over the 
 pavement, or seated at table with their ices, under the 
 arcades of the palaces of St. Mark. 
 
 DUCAL PALACE. 
 XIV. 
 
 The Ducal Palace — the boast of Yenice — by its architecture 
 and stern, gloomy aspect, gives no bad representation of its 
 ancient government ; it is the capitol of aristocratic power ; 
 its origin, even, is surrounded with terrors ; the Doge wlio 
 began it, Marino Faliero, lost his head, and the architect, 
 Filippo Calendario, was hung as a conspirator. The names, 
 too, of some parts of it, are in unison with the impression it 
 produces. The Gianfs Stairs, a superb structure, witnessed 
 the coronation of the Doges, and the Bridge of Sighs has the 
 shape of a large sarcophagus suspended over the sea. A 
 palace, a prison, and a tribunal, one might say, if the word 
 centralization were not ridiculous, applied under such circum- 
 stances, that the Ducal Palace had the first and most terrible 
 example. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Notwithstanding the heavy, forbidding appearance of the 
 Ducal Palace, the interior has some rich works of art, which 
 adorn her ceilings, and cause you to forget the terrors of the 
 Inquisition, the Lion's Mouth, or deep dungeons of the Pozzi. 
 
346 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Its exterior has some elegant details, and in some parts is re- 
 markable, in an artistic point of view. The capitals of the 
 Tuscan columns, in the front, ornamented with foliage, figures, 
 and symbols, original master-pieces of a taste at once bold and 
 pure, and so interesting for the history of art, are chiefly by 
 Calendario, the Michael Angelo of the middle ages — equally 
 eminent as a sculptor and architect, whose foundations of the 
 Ducal Palace, on the unstable soil of Yenice, are still a miracle 
 for solidity. The Loggietta is one of the most frequently- 
 mentioned works of Alessandro Yittoria ; there are eight 
 beautiful Grecian statues on the clock-front ; the two colos- 
 sal statues of Wlars and Neptune, on the Giant's Stairs, are 
 of the latter years of Sansovino ; and the golden staircase, 
 magnificently embellished by him, is ornamented with stuccoes 
 by Yittoria. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The by-gone glory and splendor of Yenice are conspicuous 
 in every part of the Ducal Palace ; the interior walls are 
 decorated with the frescoes of Titian, the paintings of Yero- 
 nese, the superb works of Palladio, and the immense entabla- 
 tures of Tintoretto, which recall the grand events of its his- 
 tory. These beautiful works breathe a species of patriotism. 
 Yenice ever stands forth in them as the emblem of might, 
 grandeur, and beauty ; she is a powerful goddess, who breaks 
 the chains of the bondsman, and receives the homage of subju- 
 gated cities ; she is seated in Heaven amid the saints ; she is 
 represented sitting between Justice and Peace ; she is en- 
 circled by the Yirtues, crowned by Yictory, or appears in the 
 clouds amid a throng of deities : allegory there loses its ordi- 
 nary coldness, as it serves to express a feeling of patriotic 
 pride. 
 
A BLANK QUADRANT. 34 t 
 
 XVII. 
 
 The Hall of Four Doors is by Palladio ; over its superb 
 doors supported by elegant columns and adorned with Eastern 
 marble, are four beautiful statues by Moro, Castelli, Cam- 
 pagna and Yittoria. 
 
 The Rape of Europa, a master-piece of Paul Veronese, is 
 in the room called the anti-collegio : Europa is in the Yene- 
 tian costume ; and but for the majesty of the god, which 
 transpires even through his bull's head, one might think she 
 was flying through the lagoons like another Biauca Capello. 
 
 The Hall of the celebrated Council of Ten is now the em- 
 peror's picture gallery. The ceiling painted in camdieu by 
 Paulo Yeronese and other Yenetian artists, is perhaps the 
 most magnificent in Italy. 
 
 The wainscoting of the ancient Hall of the G-reat Council 
 presents a portion of the collection of the Doges' portraits, 
 painted by Tintoretto, Leandro Bassano, and the younger 
 Palma. In the place where Marino Faliero should have been 
 painted, is the famous inscription, in a frame on a black 
 ground, — ^^ Hie est locus Marini Falieri, decapitati pro crimini- 
 bus," — a deadly menace held out to power in its very palace. 
 The rest of the sequence of the collection is in the Balloting 
 Chamber. In the general decay of Yenice the Doge's au- 
 thority had declined with everything else • the first magis- 
 trate of the Republic was then only a mere shadow, an obe- 
 dient puppet charged to appear in public and hold levees in 
 pompous robes, and whose principal function was the espousing 
 of the Adriatic. 
 
 The vast paintings which cover the walls and ceiling of the 
 
348 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 Great Council Chamber, independently of their beauty, have 
 also an historical interest, as a great number represent the 
 religious, military, and political events, when they had the 
 most influence on the destinies of European nations. The im- 
 mense painting of the Glory of Paradise, a work of Tinto- 
 retto's old age, so greatly admired and extolled by the Car- 
 racci, fills the end of this hall. 
 
 The Balloting Chamber contains the Universal Judgment, 
 one of the master-pieces of the younger Palma ; and as you 
 pass beyond this under the Gallery in which you must observe 
 a fine dead Christ, by Giovanni Bellini, you are led out into tlie 
 court of the Cistern by the steps of the Giant's Stairs. 
 
 XIX, 
 
 The Hall of the Great Council has received St, Mark's Li- 
 brary : these books are, I believe, the most magnificently 
 lodged in the world ; but all the grandeur and beauty of the 
 paintings which surround them, and the antique statues placed 
 in the middle of their apartment, throw them in the shade, 
 and they iiave only the appearance of accessories. Petrarch 
 really laid its first foundations, as he expresses himself, in a 
 letter respecting the donation of manuscripts that he sent to 
 Venice, in acknowledgment for the hospitality he had found 
 there dui'iug the plague. 
 
 XX, 
 
 ** Although inserted in some erudite collections, the letter 
 in which Bessarion announces to the Doge and the Senate tlie 
 present of his manuscripts to St. Mark's, may not be devoid of 
 
eessarion's gift. 349 
 
 interest here ; it portrays at once the illustrious man and the 
 epoch of the reyival, when books, on appearing, were hailed 
 with such a lively enthusiasm ; it also contains a very line 
 panegyric of the Yenetian government, without the concetti of 
 Petrarch's letter, written on a like occasion, in which he said 
 that, if Venice were environed with waves salsis, it was de- 
 fended by counsels salsioribus. 
 
 " ' To the most illustrious and invincible prmce Cristoforo 
 Mauro, doge of Venice, and the most august senate, Bes- 
 sarion, cardinal and patriarch of Constantinople, sends 
 greeting : 
 
 " * From my earliest youth I have applied all my attention, 
 efforts, and zeal, to the collecting of books on the different 
 sciences. In my boyhood I transcribed many with my own 
 hand, and the little money that a thrifty, frugal life afforded 
 me, I devoted to the purchase of others. It seemed to me 
 that there did not exist in the world an article more useful, a 
 treasure more precious : books, indeed, contain and present us 
 with the words of the sages, the examples of antiquity, its 
 manners, laws, and religions ; they live, converse, and speak 
 with us ; they give us instruction and consolation, and lay be- 
 fore our eyes the remotest objects as if actually present. Such 
 is their power, their dignity, their majesty, their divinity even, 
 that if they did not exist we should all be ignorant barbarians ; 
 there would remain no trace or memory of the past ; we should 
 have no acquaintance with things human or divine, and men's 
 names would be buried with their bodies in the tomb. Although 
 I have ever been occupied in searching for Greek books, my 
 zeal and ardor redoubled after the ruin of Greece, and the ever- 
 to-be-laraented taking of Constantinople, and T devoted all ray 
 
350 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 powers to colleet them ; I feared, I trembled that so many ex- 
 cellent works, so much of the labor and midnight toils of great 
 men, so many lights of the world, might be exposed to immi- 
 nent destruction To the utmost of my abilities, 
 
 I have, in all cases, preferred merit to quantity, being satisfied 
 with a single copy of each ; I have, therefore, obtained nearly 
 all the books of 'the learned Greeks, especially those which 
 were scarce and diflScult to find. I nevertheless regarded all 
 my exertions as insufficient, unless I provided that the books 
 collected with so much difficulty were so disposed of in my 
 life-time, that at my death they could neither be sold nor dis- 
 persed, but that they might be established in a secure and 
 convenient place, for the use of learned Greeks or Latins. 
 Of all the Italian towns, your illustrious city appeared to me 
 most suitable for the purpose. What country could offer a 
 safer asylum than yours, ruled in equity, obedient to the laws, 
 and governed by integrity and wisdom ; where virtue, mode- 
 ration, gravity, justice, and loyalty, have fixed their abode ; 
 where power, although very great and extensive, is also equi- 
 table and mild ; where liberty is exempt from crime and li- 
 cense ; where sages govern, and the good command the 
 wicked ; where individual interests are unanimously and unre- 
 servedly sacrificed to the public welfare ; merits which give 
 ground to hope (as I really do) that your state may increase 
 from day to day in strength and renown ? I also felt that I 
 could not choose a place more convenient or agreeable for my 
 countrymen than Yenice, whither flock nearly all the nations 
 of the world, and particularly the Greeks, who resort thither 
 from their provinces, and land there, and for whom it is like 
 another Byzantium. Could I, indeed, choose more appropriate 
 objects for such a gift than those to whom T am attached by 
 
MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES. 351 
 
 numerous benefits received ? What city could I prefer to tLnt 
 ■which I chose as my home after Greece had lost its liberty, 
 and in which I have been so honorably received ? Knowing 
 that I am mortal, feeling the advances of age, and afflicted 
 with numerous diseases, to prevent all possibility of accident, 
 I intend giving all my Greek and Latin books to the venera- 
 ble library of St. Mark, of your illustrious city, 
 
 that you, your children, and descendants may see how deeply 
 I was penetrated with your virtue, wisdom, and kindness, that 
 you may derive abundant and perpetual advantages from my 
 books, and impart the enjoyment of them to those who delight 
 in good studies. I therefore address to you the deed of gift, 
 the catalogue of the books, and the bull of the sovereign pon- 
 tiff, praying God to grant your republic all possible prosperity, 
 and that it may be blessed with peace, tranquillity, repose, and 
 perpetual concord. From the baths of Yiterbo, the last day 
 of April, 1468.'" 
 
 Bessariou was the most liberal donor at St. Mark's. The 
 Museum of Antiquities annexed to the Library of St. Mark, 
 possesses some precious morceaux, works of the best times 
 of Greece. The little group of the Carrying off of Gany- 
 mede, the eagle of which is so spirited, and the fairest, most 
 lascivious, and most truthful Leda and the Swan are the most 
 perfect of their kind that I have ever beheld. 
 
 TWO PRISONS. 
 XXI. 
 
 The loss of liberty is the oldest and worst of misfortunes ; 
 and the histories of prisoners are most replete with touching 
 interest. The Yenetian Casanova, the prisoner of the Piombi, 
 
352 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 is one of the first heroes of these tales — he who refused to 
 read the Consolation of Boetius during his captivity, because 
 it pointed out no means of evasion. I saw the window by 
 which he escaped with such adventurous boldness. The cham- 
 ber was then occupied by the graceful pigeons of St. Mark, 
 of which mention has been made. The Piomhi, or prisons, 
 were only the upper parts of the Ducal Palace, just under 
 the leads, and the prisoners passed the periods of their im- 
 prisonment there without injury to their health, even after a 
 detention of ten years — there being a current of air sufficient 
 to counteract any excess of heat. Howard acknowledged the 
 salubrity of the Venetian prisons. No prisoner there was ever 
 loaded with irons. These terrihk Piombi are now delightful 
 and much- sought-after apartments — (in Italy apartments in 
 the upper stgries are generally preferred ;) and we wish that 
 many of our readers may never be lodged worse. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 The Pozzi formerly consisted of several stories, two of 
 which are still in existence ; and the majority of these dun- 
 geons were boarded up with planks, in order to prevent hu- 
 midity, and were provided with bedsteads like those of the 
 Trappist, some attention having been paid to the comforts of 
 the prisoners. The vulgar opinion that these cells are under 
 the canal is erroneous ; nor have boats ever passed over the 
 heads of the guilty parties who were confined in them. It is 
 very probable that the Pozzi of Yenice were not more horrible 
 than the other dungeons of that period. Every age and regime 
 have their peculiar prisons, in accordance witli the various 
 degrees of civilization ; but the impenetrable prisons of des- 
 potism are always cruel. The forts of the Empire were not 
 
ON THE RIALTO. 353 
 
 inferior to the ancient donjons. At an era of reason, liberty 
 and industry, prisons are changed into a sort of workshops ; 
 subject to continual inspection and superintendence, they are 
 merely the instruments of the impassive magistrate who en- 
 forces the law. 
 
 THE GRAND CANAL. 
 XXIII. 
 
 Not far from where barge and boat, and Levantine vessels 
 of light tonnage, were lying moored, within sight of the 
 Bridge of Sighs, we stepped from the quay into our gondola, 
 to while away the hours of morning between the Ducal Palace 
 and the Rialto. The Grand Canal, bordered by magnificent 
 marble palaces, erected in the course of ten centuries by 
 the best architects, would be, if paved, the finest street in the 
 world. These palaces of different ages exemplify the pro- 
 gress of Italian art, and form a vast, majestic and instructive 
 gallery of architecture. By a whimsical refinement of luxury 
 aud grandeur, the mud-buried pile-work of some is composed 
 of the precious wood of Fernambuca ; so that the founda- 
 tions were neither less splendid nor less costly than the 
 marbles and columns of the sumptuous superstructure. 
 
 On festival days, when barks freighted with flowers and 
 gay occupants, full of musicians, pass along the canal, they 
 produce a truly enchanting effect, and remind you of the lost, 
 past pleasures of this fallen city, as you move along under the 
 skillful paddle of the gondolier. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 There is a soft and melancholy pleasure in gliding along the 
 grand canal, in wandering amid those superb palaces, those 
 
354 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 ancient aristocratic dwellings which bear such fine names, and 
 are the memorials of so much power and glory, but are now 
 desolate, shattered, or in ruins. These Moorish windows, 
 these balconies, whence the fair Venetian, shut up hke the 
 Eastern dame, but volatile as the European, appeared to her 
 lover, as he reluctantly retreated to his gondola, are now 
 dilapidated, without glass, or rudely boarded. Some few of 
 them, in good condition, only bear the inscription of some of 
 the authorities of Austria, or the national arms of some indo- 
 lent consul. In the midst of this distraction the gardens sup- 
 ply the place of the buildings, at Yenice. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 The desertion of the Yenetian palaces began in the last 
 century with the fall of the Republic, when the degenerate 
 patricians preferred lodging in a casino, near the Piazza of St. 
 Mark, to inhabiting the palaces of the fathers, which were 
 too great for their littleness. Gambling, celibacy, and that 
 species of social selfishness which they produce, had enervated 
 the manners of the nobility. The Yenetian patriciate may -be 
 regarded as the most ancient and the most national in Eu- 
 rope, since it originated with the founders of the Republic, 
 and preceded by many centuries the ancestors of the oldest 
 aristocracies. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 We often went to Florian's to revive those pleasing recol- 
 lections of the days of her former greatness, when noble beau- 
 ties walked on the grand square, and her merchant princes 
 conned their schemes of wealth under the arcades. How 
 many hours of idleness they passed there, either in watching 
 the passing crowd or hearing the news of the day ! We 
 
YOUNG MOONLIGHT. 355 
 
 could only listen to the song of a strolling beggar-girl, who 
 craved our pittance of alms, and would go away, only to 
 return and renew her music for another gift, under a new 
 dress of counterfeited charms. Again, a family of female 
 violinists would regale our ears in turn, while we waited for 
 the lighting of the gas upon St. Mark's, that we might watch 
 the magical effects of the illumination, as a thousand lamps 
 threw their bright flashes of light over the marbles of its 
 pavement, and struggled into faintness to intone into concert 
 the chiaro-oscuro of a young moonlight, which was penciling, 
 with softer touches, the more indistinct forms of the distant 
 buildings, that fronted on the margin of the grand canal. 
 How wondrous is the moonlight at Yenice I 
 
 PALACES. 
 XXVII. 
 
 Among the palaces which are along the Grand Canal, the 
 
 Giustiniani, situated not far from the Academy of Fine Arts, 
 will merit attention, from some of its fine paintings. The 
 ancient Foscari Palace is in ruins, but its majestic and 
 melancholy aspect is in unison with the reflections it suggests. 
 The observer feels that it must have been the residence of 
 that unhappy family — fallen from power, punished by im- 
 prisonment, exile, and death — the Stuarts, of aristocratic 
 famihes. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 The Mocenigo Palace on the Grand Canal, was occupied 
 by Lord Byron. We have heard much of his several years^ 
 residence at Venice, and of the scenes which took place at 
 
356 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 this palace, which cause one to regret that esteem is not 
 always the inseparable companion of glory. Byron may, how- 
 ever, deserve some indulgence, on account of his abundant 
 charities, which were quite equal to his dissipation and shame- 
 ful licentiousness. The life of Yenice — that life of quietude, 
 pleasui-es, night-studies, and reading — must, however, suit the 
 taste of a poet. Few cities have been sung more frequently 
 or better than Yenice. Petrarch called it la Citta d/oru. 
 The classic verses of Sannazzaro, in which he sets forth its 
 superiority over Rome, are well known : — 
 
 " niam homines dices, hanc posuisse Deos." 
 
 The fine sonnet of Alfieri : — 
 
 " Ecco, sorger dall' acque io veggo altera 
 La canuta del mar saggia reina," 
 
 And the romantic strophes of Childe Harold : — 
 
 " She looks a sea Cybele, fresh from ocean, 
 Kising with her tiara of proud towers 
 At airy distance, with majestic motion, 
 A ruler of the waters and their powers : 
 And such she was ; — her daughters had their dowers 
 From spoils of nations, and the exhaustless East 
 Pour'd in her lap all gems in sparkling showers. 
 In purple was she robed, and of her feast 
 Monarchs partook, and deem'd their dignity increased." 
 
 Among the fine paintings of the Mocenigo Palace, is the 
 sketch of the celebrated Glory of Paradise, painted by Tinto- 
 retto, now preferable even to the picture, which is to be seen 
 in the ancient Hall of the Great Council, since it has not had 
 the misfortune to be retouched. 
 
PRIESTLY ROBBER. 35 1 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The Barbarigo Palace bears imprinted on it, the traces of 
 Titian, who lived in this family, preferring a residence in his 
 dear Yenice, to the proposals made to him by the popes Leo 
 X. and Paul III., and to the honors pressingly offered to him 
 by Philip II., a strange suitor, rejected by the painter. At 
 this palace is to be seen his celebrated Magdalen, less ideal 
 than true, found at his house at the moment of his death, and 
 which may be regarded as the original of his several Magda- 
 lens, and a St. Sebastian, his last work, on which he was 
 employed, when the horrible plague of 15 1 6 carried him off, 
 full of health, at the age of ninety-nine. 
 
 The last moments of Titian were frightful. He expired on 
 the same couch as his cherished son and pupil, Horace, who 
 could not close his eyes. A band of robbers pillaged his 
 house, and carried off, before his eyes, even his most treasured 
 works, which he would not sell at any price. Shortly after 
 his demise, his second son, Pomponio, a priest of most dis- 
 reputable character, came post from Milan, sacrificed what- 
 ever property and valuables remained after the robbery, and 
 after having dissipated his inheritance in a few months, did 
 not blush to dispose of the small patrimonial house of Cadore, 
 leaving the last resting-place of his glorious father tombless 
 and unknown. 
 
 One of the most magnificent and elegant of Venice, remark- 
 able for the pure and noble taste of its front, vestibule, and 
 lower story, is the Grimani Palace, which is now occupied as 
 the Austrian post-ofBce. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 The celebrated Mercantile Bridge of the Rialto, by the Ve- 
 netian architect of the sixteenth century, da Ponte, is showy 
 
358 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 and substantial, and carries the mind back to the origin of 
 Venice, its festivals, and prosperity. The wanderers, who 
 were the first inhabitants of the kind of islet with which it 
 communicates, and the name of which it bears — those men 
 compared by Cassiodorus to birds that build their nests on 
 the waters — doubtless had no idea that they were founding a 
 powerful Republic, which was one day to have dominion over 
 Italy, to take Constantinople, to resist the league of kings 
 and emperors, to monopolize the commerce of the world, and 
 to last fourteen centuries. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Some few curiosities, and a rich gallery of the different 
 schools of painting, are the most notable objects of the Man- 
 frini Palace, where you may observe the Three Portraits, by 
 Giorgione, who seems triumphant there. This last master- 
 piece drew from Byron several stanzas of admiration, in his 
 Yenetian tale of Bepjpo, two verses of which are not, however, 
 very accurate, as Giorgione was never married, viz. : — 
 
 " 'T is but a portrait of his son, and wife, 
 And self, but such a woman love in life," — St. xii. 
 
 The works of the old painters — Cimabue, Giotto, and Mon- 
 tegna— are very judiciously placed together in one room. 
 
 FAMOUS HOUSES. 
 XXXII. 
 
 The houses of Teotochi-Albrizzi and Cicognara, but a short 
 distance from each other, equal palaces by their inhabitants. 
 Like Aspasia, Signora Albrizzi was a Greek, and like her, 
 
CELEBRATED HOUSES. 359 
 
 too, the friend of illustrious men differing in genius and talent, 
 whom she had succeeded in portraying with faithfulness and 
 ingenuity, in a style impregnated with all the grace of her sex. 
 In the centre of her drawing-room is a bust of her compatriot, 
 Helen, a figure full of charms and voluptuousness, presented 
 to her by Canova, as an acknowledgment of his gratitude for 
 the description of his sculptures, given by Signora Albrizzi j 
 this bust has been sung by Byron : — 
 
 " In this beloved marble view, 
 
 Above the works and thoughts of man. 
 What nature could, but would not, do, 
 
 And beauty and Canova can ! 
 Beyond imagination's power, 
 
 Beyond the bard's defeated art, 
 With immortality her dower, 
 
 Behold the Helen of the heart /" 
 
 The head-dress has the form of a truncated ^^^, a felicitous 
 allusion to the birth of Leda's daughter. Signora Albrizzi 
 died in the year 1836, aged sixty-six, after a long illness, 
 which had neither impaired her lively imagination nor the at- 
 tractions of her mind. During this illness the Memoirs of 
 Madame Lebrun, her contemporary and friend, were read to 
 her, and they brought to recollection her Yenice of forty 
 years past, with its joyous pleasures, its beautiful religious 
 music, and its good society of French emigrants ! In this 
 manner did the authoress of the Ritratti find her pains allevi- 
 ated by the narrative of our great portrait-painter. 
 
 XXXIII, 
 
 Cicognara possessed Dante's Beatrix, another of Canova's 
 chefs-d^-auvre, given by him to this amiable, learned, and ex- 
 
860 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 cellent man, his worthy and partial friend, as a friend ought 
 always to be, whatever Plato's proverb may say to the con- 
 trary. A writer, who unites elevated thought with delicacy 
 of feeling, thus relates, in an important work, the origin of 
 this figure : — " An artist of pre-eminent renown, a statuary 
 who, not long since, shed so great a lustre on the glorious 
 country of Dante, and whose graceful fancy had been so often 
 exalted by the master-pieces of antiquity, one day saw, for the 
 first time, a woman, who seemed to him a living apparition of 
 Beatrix. Full of that religious feeling that genius ever im- 
 parts, he immediately required the marble, ever obedient to 
 his chisel, to express the sudden inspiration of that moment, 
 and tlie Beatrix of Dante passed from the vague domains of 
 poetry into the reality of art. The feeling which resides in 
 this harmonious countenance has now become the new type 
 of pure and virginal beauty, which, in its turn, gives inspira- 
 tion to artists and poets." This woman is a celebrated French 
 lady, celebrated for the charms of her person and her noble 
 character. It is some honor for France to have revealed to 
 tlie first statuary of Italy the conception of that mysterious 
 ideal beauty sung by her greatest poet. 
 
 ALDUS. 
 
 xxxiv. 
 
 I deeply regretted not being able to find any certain traces 
 of the dwelling of Aldus Manutius, where he assembled that 
 venerable typographic academy, composed of the most learned 
 characters, who spoke nothing but Greek when engaged in the 
 examination and discussion of the classics. The press of 
 Aldus Manutius and his son would now be a real monument ; 
 
FLOATING DREAMS. 361 
 
 it was the only treasure that the former of these great men 
 left to the second, after devoting his fortune and his profits, 
 and discovery and purchase of old manuscripts in Greek and 
 Latin, and occupying his whole life in deciphering, complet- 
 ing, correcting, and publishing them. It is easy to conceive 
 with what almost poetical enthusiasm the discovery of this 
 all-powerful art m«st inspire a man so learned as the elder 
 Aldus, and so passionately attached to that reviving antiquity 
 which he thus saw rendered indestructible and universal. The 
 rather strange inscription over the door of his chamber shows 
 the extraordinary ardor of his application : — 
 
 " Quisquis es, rogat te etiam atque etiam ; ut, si quis est quod 
 a se velis, 'per.paucis agas, deinde aduium abeas, nisi tanquam. 
 Hercules, defesso Atlante, veneris suppositurus humeros. Semper 
 erit quod et tu agas, et quotquot hue attulerint pedes." 
 
 " Whosoever thou art, Aldus entreats thee again and again, 
 if thou hast business with him, to conclude it briefly, and 
 hasten thy departure ; unless, like Hercules to the weary 
 Atlas, thou come to put thy shoulder to the work. Then 
 there will ever be sufficient occupation for thee, and all others 
 who may come." 
 
 IHE ISLE OF ST. LAZARO. 
 XXXV. 
 
 On the tenth of June, either from inadvertency on my part, 
 (for one lives almost in a perpetual waking dream-life at 
 Venice, ) or from my boatman not having rightly interpreted 
 my instruction as to the visits of this day, I awoke from my 
 reverie only to discover that my gondala had been floated 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
362 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 nearly down to the little island of St. Lazaro ; the most 
 graceful of those that arise out of the bosom of the Lagoon. 
 This little accident only led me to enjoy the spot inhabited by 
 the Armenian monks, an affable and industrious sect who 
 publish in their tongue good editions of the most useful and 
 esteemed books, and I did not regret so pleasing an incident 
 which had led me to those shores which had been visited 
 daily, for several hours, by Lord Byron, who went there in 
 winter in order to take Armenian lessons from the librarian, 
 Don Pasquale. Byron, dissatisfied, tired of the world, and 
 satiated with most things of this life, sought to penetrate the 
 difficulties of an Eastern idiom ; he found no interest but in 
 difficulties ; and this impetuous poet studied a grave, cold, and 
 historical literature of translations and polemics. 
 
 The Armenian monks have always been good Catholics, 
 and have only differed from the Roman Church in a small 
 number of rights. Despite its religious liberties and com- 
 mercial spirit, Venice never admitted toleration, and Comines 
 had already remarked and praised the reverence which the Vene- 
 tians lore to the service of the Church. 
 
 By a singular opportunity, while I was hospitably enter- 
 tained by the amiable librarian of the Monks, for whose kind- 
 ness I suppose I was somewhat indebted to their recollections 
 of Lord Byron, of whom they spoke with feelings of pride, 
 I was enabled to see here, some crocodiles' eggs and an Ihis, 
 both of which I had failed to discover when engaged in my 
 travels up the Nile. 
 
 sxxvi. 
 
 The return to Venice at night, by moonlight, is one of the 
 finest scenes of Italy. The silence of the City, and the Ori- 
 
THE PRINCESS C. 363 
 
 ental aspect of St. Marks and the Ducal Palace have at this 
 hour something enchanting and mysterious, and the pale 
 splendor reflected on the sea, and the marble palaces contrast 
 with the black gondola gliding solitarily over the waters. 
 These palaces are no longer illuminated, as heretofore, in the 
 days of pleasure, sports, and dissipations of this brilliant city, 
 and the moon, called by artists, the Sun of Ruins, is particu- 
 larly suited to the grand ruin of Yenice. 
 
 THE CHURCHES. 
 XXXVII. 
 
 The number of churches was considerable at Yenice ; and 
 the ecclesiastical population was in greater proportion there 
 than in the first Catholic States, and gave one person of the 
 clergy to every fifty-four inhabitants. 
 
 The liberties of the Yenetian Church approach much nearer 
 to the Greek schism, which is ever submissive to authority, 
 than to the seditious spirit of reform. It is very singular 
 that divorce was one of these privileges. It was equally per- 
 mitted in Poland, by means of preconcerted pretexts of nullity, 
 I have been told that the Princess C***, now retired into a 
 convent at Rome, at her daughter's marriage, went up to the 
 altar, before the ceremony, and in the presence of the whole 
 congregation, gave her daughter two slaps, which she received 
 with the utmost indifference. Some persons but little ac- 
 quainted with these customs ran up to the princess, greatly 
 excited, when she gave this simple explanation : — " Those 
 slaps are proofs which may aid in procuring my daughter's 
 divorce, in case she be unhappy with her husband ; she will 
 be able to say that I forced her." It is not easy to figure the 
 
364 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 countenance of the bridegroom, during this strange scene of 
 maternal tenderness and foresight. 
 
 A two-fold interest, of glorious reminiscences of distant 
 periods and wonders of art, due to the great Venetian artists, 
 is possessed by the churches of Yenice. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 The old Church and Monastery of St. Zacharias dates from 
 the beginning of the ninth century. Until the latter days of 
 the Republic, it was the spot of one of the oldest and most 
 pompous Venetian fetes ; and every year, at Easter, the 
 Doge attended the services and the procession. 
 
 The Abbess Morosini and the nuns of that rich monastery, 
 flattered at receiving the Chief of the State, made him a 
 present of a kind of republican diadem, called coroio ducale, 
 of inestimable value. It was of gold, surrounded with twenty- 
 four large pearls. On the top glittered a superb eight-faced 
 diamond ; a brilliant ruby of enormous size was in front ; 
 the cross, composed of precious stones and twenty-four eme- 
 ralds, surpassed all the rest. It was decreed that this costly 
 present should be used at the coronation of the Doges ; and 
 every year, in the procession, it was carried on a salver, and 
 shown to all the sisters of the convent by the Doge himself. 
 
 St. Zachary has four fine paintings, by Palma, at the high 
 altar, and a bust of John Baptist, by Yittoria, whose tomb is 
 marked by a slab on the marble pavement. 
 
 The choir is rich and magnificent, being composed of Go- 
 thic frame-work videttes, which are carried over the arches 
 of the pillars. There is a good Virgin and Saints, by Bel- 
 lini, the founder of the Venetian school, which was very much 
 soiled by its removal to Paris. 
 
PARDONABLE VISITS. 365 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 St. George Major is one of Palladio's miracles, a noble 
 church which would have been faultless had he lived to com- 
 plete it. One appreciates the high order of its excellent style 
 of architecture, by a certain sense of fitness and elevation 
 which attract the eye upon entering this and every perfect 
 type of constructive form. A sensation of completion seems 
 to indicate and even graduate the scale of those proportions 
 which should claim our admiration or dislike. The chief 
 paintings, are, the Nativity, and Martyrdom of St. Lucy, by 
 Bassano ; and the Virgin Crotoned, a Last Supper, the 
 Manna in the Desert, and the Resurrection, by Tintoretto. 
 
 At the high altar, four bronze statues of the Evangelists, 
 by Campagna, support an enormous globe on which the Re- 
 deemer stands, a beautifully harmonious composition, which 
 nobly expresses the triumph of the Gospel — a master-piece of 
 art, compared to the Jupiter Olympus of Phidias, and rightly 
 placed over the pulpit of St. Peter, by Bernini. 
 
 On one of the pilasters is an inscription which seems to 
 carry the doctrine of indulgences to an indefinite extent, as it 
 says, that " the absolute pardon of all his crimes is accorded to 
 every person loho shall visit this church.'^ This eloquent inscrip- 
 tion is of the period of the St. Bartholomew massacre, and 
 breathes but too strongly of the pontifical spirit of that day. 
 Beside the church, in a small corridor but little worthy of 
 such a monument, is the tomb of Doge Domenico Micheli, 
 both the Saint Bernard and Godfrey of the Yenetian cru- 
 sades. The victor of Jaffa, the conqueror of Jerusalem, Tyre, 
 and Ascalon — who compelled the emperors of the East to re- 
 spect the flag of his country — transported from the Archi- 
 
366 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 pelago the two columns of the Piazzetta, ravaged the coast 
 of Dalmatia, and had these words for his epitaph — 
 *' Terror GrcBcorumjacet hie." 
 
 XL. 
 
 Those acts of gratitude, which, in the Middle Ages, were 
 conceived to be due after the happening of any public cala- 
 mity, often found expression in the erection of some noble 
 edifice, or the presentation or deposition of some costly gift 
 at the altar of a church. With this end, as a proper offering 
 of their gratefulness after their delivery from the pestilence, 
 the " Salute" was erected by the Yenetians after the great 
 plague of 15 1 6. 
 
 The sumptuousness of the Salute, which is destitute of 
 neither majesty nor grandeur, and the multitude of ornaments 
 with which this temple is overloaded, announce the decline of 
 Yenetian architecture. The revolutions of taste are appa- 
 rently the same in all the arts. San Micheli precedes Pal- 
 ladio, as Lucretius precedes Yirgil ; Corneille, Racine ; Bour- 
 daloue, Massillon ; energy comes before purity ; bad taste, 
 which deems itself good, succeeds, and produces Seneca, Clau- 
 dian, Marini, and Longhena, the architect of the Salute. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 This church, notwithstanding its richness, is especially inte- 
 resting for the paintings by Titian, at various periods of his 
 life, an artist who is always productive, always new. Tfatese 
 are — the eight small ovals of the choir, where are represented 
 the Evangelists and the Doctors, one of whom is a portrait of 
 Titian ; the Descent of the Holy Ghost, painted in his sixty- 
 fourth year ; in the sacristy, the little St. Mark in the midst 
 
TRULY PRODIGIOUS. 36*1 
 
 of Four Saints, one of the scarce works of his youth, remark- 
 able for the softness of the light and the delicacy of the flesh 
 of the St. Sebastian ; and the Death of Abel, the Sacrifice of 
 Abraham, and David Killing Goliah, and the finest works in 
 the Salute, w^hich are admirable for the execution of the naked 
 parts, and truly prodigious, when we recollect that the study 
 of anatomy was not tolerated in Italy at that epoch. 
 
 The bronze chandelier of the high altar, more than six feet 
 in height, after that of Padua, the finest in the Venetian 
 state, and of infinite grace in its many parts, completes the 
 celebrated ornaments of this church. 
 
 The Mausoleum of Sansovino, w^hich is now at " Salute," re- 
 minds you of the unsettled history and many unhappy changes 
 of his life. The ashes of this great artist, a wanderer while 
 living, and a fugitive from the sack of Rome, who had no 
 settled restiug-place for more than tw^enty years, and the 
 builder of so many churches, tombs, and monuments, and the 
 founder of a celebrated school, aw^aits their last asylum. 
 " Sic transit ffloria mundi." 
 
 It would be difficult to express the deep sensation produced 
 by the sight of the Church of tlie Redentore, the chef-d'-ceuvre 
 of that immortal artist, Palladio — the Virgil, Racine, Fenelon, 
 and Raphael of architecture. This brilliant specimen of his 
 genius fills the eye with beauty on your approach, and is 
 no less attractive and striking in its interior. The elegance, 
 lightness, and purity of the edifice are combined with solidity ; 
 and, after more than two centuries, it stands immovable and 
 still young amid the waves. The light of the Redentore, due 
 to its beautiful architecture, has a wonderful effect, especially 
 
368 THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 in the evening ; and the prayer of the Capuchins, to whom 
 this magnificent temple has been restored, is, at that hour, 
 one of the most religious church-scenes, as well as the most 
 poetic and picturesque that can be imagined. 
 
 Some fine paintings adorn the interior, among which the 
 Flagellation and Ascension, by Tintoretto, will claim your ad- 
 miration, as well as that sweet little painting, in the closet of 
 the sacristy, by Giovanni Bellini, the Virgin, with the Infant 
 Jesws sleeping on her knees, between two angels, playing on the 
 mandoline, a painting of astonishing grace and expression. 
 Bellini, Titian's master, explains his pupil, as the paintings of 
 Perugino in the Cambio of Peruggia, explain Raphael. 
 
 XLUI. 
 
 The Redentore, as well as the Salute, is a monument erected 
 after the cessation of a plague. It is difficult to account for 
 so much splendor after such ravages — that 7?ial qui repand 
 la terrewr seems at Yenice and Florence to produce the most 
 brilliant wonders of art. 
 
 The plagues of Venice were caused by its extensive deal- 
 ings with the East, in the then flourishing state of its com- 
 merce ; those were the days of its glory ! The other towns 
 of Italy also celebrated the termination of a plague, by the 
 erection of temples and chapels ; and while our dreadful 
 cholera obscurely died away in the mendacious bulletins of 
 the police, the men of those times of faith loved to show the 
 evidences of their gratitude towards the Divinity by superb 
 public monuments. It ought also to be remarked, to the 
 honor of Italian and Christian civilization, in the fifteenth 
 and sixteenth centuries, although the princes were so vicious 
 and criminal, that none of the terrible plagues which then 
 
SINGULAR FUNEREAL HONOR. 369 
 
 desolated Italy, excited among the people those outrages and 
 murders, arising from fear or stupid credulity, of which our 
 great cities in the nineteenth century, with all their im- 
 provements and progress, were the theatre, when the same 
 cholera afflicted them. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 One of the best-executed basso-relievos in Venice, is over 
 one of the small doors of the Frari ; it represents the Virgin, 
 the Infant Jesus, and two little angels. The author of this 
 master-piece of taste, nature, and harmony, is unknown ; per- 
 haps it is by Nicholas of Pisa, or some of his pupils. Amid 
 the multitude of elegant and magnificent tombs which adorn 
 the superb Temple of the Frari, an inscription of two lines, ou 
 the pavement, point out the spot where Titian reposes ; but 
 the fact is somewhat uncertain ; for, if Titian, though a 
 victim of the plague, was buried at the Frari, the Senate 
 having excepted his body from being destroyed with the other 
 infected dead, (a singular funereal honor done to the remains 
 of this great painter,) the place where he was buried is not 
 positively known, and the inscription is long posterior to his 
 death. For more than thirty years past, continued proposals 
 have been made, and much anxiety shown, for the erection of 
 a monument to Titian, but hitherto without ejffect. The 
 present would be a very seasonable opportunity to realize this 
 desirable object, since the discovery and resurrection of his 
 master-piece, the Assumption. 
 
 The majestic Choir of the Frari has some beautiful stalls in 
 wood, of the year 1468, which are a perfect specimen of 
 wainscoting and carving. A fine painting of some of the 
 Pesaro Family, a fine work bv Titian, in which slight nesili- 
 
310 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 gences of the drapery are cleverly managed to give effect 
 to the figure, is among the numerous remarkable Dictures that 
 adorn the walls of this church. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 Canova's monument, a huge pyramid of Carrara marble, 
 containing his heart, is now completed. Never did talent re- 
 ceive such exceeding homage, as in the amounts contributed 
 by various nations, in erecting this tribute to his memory, 
 which resembles that of Maria Christina, at Yienna, and that 
 to Paul lY., at St. Peter's. England supplied a fourth part 
 of the expense ; France and Germany contributed another 
 quarter ; North America subscribed forty sequins, and Italy 
 and principally the Yenetian towns, made up the rest. 
 
 Notwithstanding the hyperbole common to monumental in- 
 scriptions — ^^Ex consolatione Eurojpa universoz^^ — falls short of 
 the truth ; it was really erected at the expense of the whole 
 world. 
 
 As we passed away from the Prari, a loaded gondola, 
 freighted with gay people and various wares, glided past the 
 quay. This boat, with her little receptacle full of fresh 
 flowers at her prow, kindly revived in our memories fond 
 images of the past glories of the Republic and of the Floral 
 Festivals of the more poetic age of Yenice. That little 
 tripod of fair flowers adorning her bows, hung like a propitia- 
 tory offering to appease the waves, as if it were '* a savor of 
 sweet incense" to the attendant nymphs of the Goddess of the 
 Love and Beauty, who, having fled, with the splendor of her 
 classic age, could have left nothing of her presence on earth 
 but the sweet imagery which still lingers in the similitude of 
 her name-sake, Yenice. 
 
ST. roch's confraternity. 311 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 We are informed by an inscription placed over the rich and 
 elegant high-altar of St. Roch, that this church and confra- 
 ternity were, among the other wonders of art, due to the 
 plagues of Venice. It seems that, unlike most other people, 
 the Yenetians v/ere not prostrated by calamities. The estab- 
 lishment of the Yenetian confraternities, and the splendor of 
 their palaces, especially of that of St. Roch, one of the richest 
 buildings of modern architecture, give a favorable idea of the 
 old government ; as there can be no doubt of the easy circum- 
 stances and happiness of a people who spontaneously erects 
 such monuments at its own cost. The staircase of these mer- 
 chants of Yenice, these Antonios, a magnificent work, com- 
 pleted by Scarpagnmo, is superior to that of Yersailles ; and 
 by a singular refinement, a strange excess of sumptuousness 
 and profusion, the steps are sculptured on the under surface as 
 well as the upper. On the landing, half-way up the stairs, are 
 two paintings — the first, Titian's Annunciation, in which the 
 flight of the angel is so light and rapid, and the wings, dra- 
 pery, and hair, extremely fine ; the second, Tintoretto's Visi- 
 tation. One of the chefs-d'-a.uvre of the latter — the immense, 
 original, and sublime Crucifixion — is in the room called the 
 Albergo, in which also is his portrait by himself, and the com- 
 partments of the ceiling, representing the six great companies 
 of Yenice. The upper room is entirely by him, and the worth 
 of this great painter cannot be appreciated elsewhere than at 
 Yenice. 
 
 Among the carvings in wood — an art now lost — which 
 decorate this same room, are some by Michael Angelo, who 
 seems to have sculptured all nature — wood, stone, marble, 
 
372 THE LAND OF THE CESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 brass, and even snow — as it proved by the ephemeral statues 
 that he executed at the command of Pietro Medici, the un- 
 worthy successor of Lorenzo. 
 
 XLVTI. 
 
 There was an exposition of the Holy Communion at St. 
 Salvatore, ou the day that we visited this church, and the altar 
 was brilliantly lighted at mid-day, giving a curious effect to 
 its interior. Besides the many noble monuments which this 
 church incloses, there are two statues of A^ittoria — his St. 
 Rock and St. Sebastian ; the last very natural and graceful. 
 By-the-by, we had often been singularly struck on calling to 
 mind the number of St. Sebastians that we had seen in Italy, 
 and with the merit and beauty of the greater number. It is 
 probable that the contrast of the immobility and suffering of 
 the body, with the ardor and sublime enthusiasm of the soul 
 and its heavenly hope, is one of the most touching and poetical 
 subjects that art can offer to the eye. Despite its fatal re- 
 touching, the Annunciation shows the variety of Titian's talent, 
 and the modest beauty of the stooping, announcing angel, with 
 his arms crossed on his heart, differs totally from the aerial 
 and haughty angel of St. Roch. This work of the artist's old 
 age, being regarded by his enemies as beneath him, and attri- 
 buted to another, in his indignation he has written the word 
 fecit twice over after his name. The Transfiguration, energetic 
 and full of imagmation, was also of Titian's old age, and was 
 evidently painted rapidly when his sight was weakened. He 
 executed the famous Last Supper of the Escurial, between the 
 age of eighty and eighty-seven ; one would say, from all these 
 paintings, that his talent had neither slackness nor decrepitude. 
 The great artists of Venice, like her first captains — Daudolo, 
 
CELEBRATF.D ORG AX. 373 
 
 who took Constantinople, and Carlo Zeno, who delivered Cy- 
 prus, both at eighty years of age — seem to have vanquished 
 time ; and St. Saviour is, as it were, the theatre of this pro- 
 digious triumph. The celebrated organ of this church is the 
 first to which a chromatic finger-board was adapted — an im- 
 portant progress of modern music, due to Italy. 
 
 ST. JOHN AND PAUL. 
 XLVIII. 
 
 This church, which is one of the vast basilics of the Middle 
 Ages, with windows at once brilliant and sombre, and a na- 
 tional monument full of magnificent mausoleums of the doges, 
 generals, and great men of Yenice, seems to be the Westmin- 
 ster Abbey, or rather, if you choose, the St. Denis of a re- 
 publican aristocracy. The immense size of these tombs 
 almost startles one ; they seem to intrude upon the proper 
 usages of the sanctuary, as if to show in their pretentious 
 proportions that the rivalry of these haughty doges extended 
 even to their sepulchres. It seems almost presumption for 
 the tomb of man to occupy so much space in the house of the 
 Lord ! The rival vanities of the patrician families explain 
 the extravagance of such sepulchres, which is not, however, 
 the useless profusion of the world of fashion, but has power- 
 fully promoted the development and splendor of art. 
 
 Several excellent paintings of the most eminent artists 
 adorn the interior of this church. The great Crucifixion, by 
 Tintoretto, is superb ; and his Virgin receiving the homage of 
 Venetian Senators is nobly expressive. But the master-piece 
 surpassing all, is Titian's Martyrdom of St. Peter, the Domini- 
 can, a composition full of poetry, expression, and pathos ; a 
 
3H THE LAND OF THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE, 
 
 scene of murder by a robber in a lonely wood, but neither 
 gliastly nor bloody ; the trees have even a touch of ideal 
 beauty. The contrast between the terror of St. Peter's com- 
 panion and the heavenly hope which illumines the counte- 
 nance of the latter, is admirable. In such a work there is a 
 kind of intrinsic power which obtains the object of the art 
 without an effort. This is not the kind of painting that may 
 be learned, rather correct and regular than vigorous and 
 grand. Titian seems to create paintings, while others make 
 them. A decree of the senate forbade the Dominicans of 
 St. John and Paul, under pain of death, to sell this marvel- 
 lous painting ; its surpassing excellence justifies and explains 
 such an attack on the rights of property. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 The Colleoni Monument, on one side of St. John and Paul, 
 was erected with the money bequeathed for that purpose by 
 that general. The inscription simply states that the statue 
 was erected — " ob militare imperium optime gestuinJ^ The Co- 
 rinthian pedestal of this monument, the work of Leopardo, is 
 the first in existence for the elegance and good taste of the 
 ornaments ; the statues of princes are inferior in this point to 
 that of the condotiieri. It is the work of Andrea da Yerroc- 
 chio, a Florentine, one of the first artists of his time, a painter, 
 sculptor and architect, the master of Perugino and Leonardo 
 Yinci. The history of this statue, related by Yasari, por- 
 trays the passion, jealousy, and self-love, as well as the 
 independence and activity of the artists of that epoch. When 
 Yerrocchio had finished the horse, he learned that the execu- 
 tion of the figure was about to be conceded through favor to 
 Yellano of Padna, who was patronized by certain patricians. 
 
BORROWED SPLENDOR. 375 
 
 In his indignation, he broke the head and legs of the horse, 
 and privately fled to Florence. The Venetian Senate imme- 
 diately let him know, that if he ever dared to show himself 
 there again, it would be at the peril of his head ; he re- 
 plied, that he w^ould take good care of that, since the sig- 
 noria could not replace his head if once cut off, so easily as 
 he could repair the head of the horse he had broken. 
 This answer was favorably received, and Yerrocchio obtained 
 permission to return. He recommenced his w^ork with such 
 ardor, that he was seized with an inflammation of the lungs, 
 of which he died, and Leopardo was charged with the clearing 
 and casting of the statue. 
 
 L. 
 
 The first Yenetians, like the Romans, attached great po- 
 litical importance to the married state. Every year on the 
 Feast 'of the Purification nearly all the marriages of the city 
 were celebrated together in the same church, that on the 
 small island of Olivolo, now Santa Maria Formosa. It was 
 once decreed that twelve young maidens, selected from the 
 most virtuous and beautiful, should be portioned at the public 
 expense, and conducted to the altar by the doge in his state- 
 robes, followed by his retinue. The government carried their 
 delicate attentions so far as to adorn them with gold, pearls, 
 and diamonds, that the self-love of these rosieres might not be 
 wounded by the rich attire of the brides ; but after the cere- 
 mony they laid aside tkis borrowed splendor and retained only 
 their portion. 
 
 LI. 
 
 A catastrophe that happened in 944 gave still greater so- 
 lemnity to this fete in after years. During the previous night 
 
3*76 THE LAXD OF THE CyESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 certain pirates of Trieste succeeded in placing an ambuscade 
 unperceived behind the island of Olivolo, and in the morning, 
 hastily crossing the canal, they leaped ashore, sword in hand, 
 rushed into the church at the time of the nuptial benediction, 
 seized the intended brides in their brilliant dresses and carry- 
 ing their arcdlas, dragged them to the boats, leaped on board 
 with them, and fled with all speed. This rape, however, did 
 not turn out like that of the Sabines, and the piratical Romu- 
 lus of the Adriatic had not the same success as the founder 
 of the Eternal City. The ravishers, being pursued to the 
 lagoons of Caorlo by the Yenetian bridegrooms with the doge 
 at their head, were attacked while in the act of sharing the 
 women and the booty, totally defeated, and all thrown into the 
 sea. The small port on the coast of Friuli where this action 
 was fought, immediately took the name of Porto delle Don- 
 zelle (port of the Maidens), which it still retains. The fete 
 delle Marie, to which the return of the betrothed and their 
 eventful marriage gave rise, was celebrated annually at Santa 
 Maria Formosa until the latter days of the Republic. 
 
 THINGS AND THOUGHTS. 
 LIT. 
 
 It was always a source of gratification to our party that we 
 were lodged in the fine old palace of the " Grazie," which 
 was not far from the Old Foscari, and directly opposite the 
 mansion of the Infanta of Spain. Such a position was well 
 calculated to revive bright images of the ancient glories and 
 splendor of the city. Day-dreams upon her canals, with 
 nightly visions of Aladdin lustre, by her moonlights and the 
 torch-flames of St. Mark's piazza, were the sum and rounding 
 
'tis passing strange. 3TT 
 
 of our life at Venice. Sit with ns, on one such night, while 
 we sip our coffee at Florian's and discuss the topics of the 
 day, or amuse ourselves by watching the movements of the 
 ever-varying, active, and gay crowds, that are displayed by a 
 rich moon, over the pavements of the marble quadrangle. 
 Perhaps you may fall, as we did, into conversation with an 
 old familiar face, which you had seen on the night before — 
 strangers to each other — still a common humanity and the 
 amenities of travel render you communicative, and "a fellow- 
 feeling makes you wondrous kind." Be not surprised if you 
 find your Venetian friend, though perfectly polite and court- 
 eous, willing to learn, but happier in his ignorance ; and do 
 not let him perceive your alarm when you discover that educa- 
 tion, on all general subjects, is not so universally diffused there 
 as in this country. Nay, still further — be not shocked if he 
 does not happen to know, whether America is governed by a 
 President or a King ! All these strange ignorances may fall 
 under your observation and your pity ; but restrain your won- 
 der, and repress your fears, until you find, as we did, that 
 even Tasso and Petrarch were not known by an Italian of, 
 otherwise, good sense, whom we met, although we suggested 
 that they were his most distinguished compatriots. 
 
 LIII. 
 
 But the moon shines gloriously on, despite of the lack of 
 man's knowledge, and Venice is always 
 
 " A thing of beauty and a joy forever;" 
 
 and such spots of woeful darkness upon the mind are but the 
 vapors of passing clouds which temporarily obscure the surface 
 only to render her re-appearing light more bright. With 
 
3t8 THE LAND OP^ THE C^SAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 what a mild and holy aspect shines the moon among the rich 
 masses of white clouds which relieve her light, like a silver 
 globe on a robe of ermine, while the deep azure of the vault 
 of heaven, like a suspended dome of Lazuli, form a sublime 
 back-ground in the horizon, against which the towers and 
 steeples, campaniles and temples of Yenice are thrown in bold 
 relief, while their shadows fall in reflections upon the water's 
 sheen. 
 
 THE GONDOLA. 
 LIV. 
 
 How noislessly and gracefully the fairy barks glide over the 
 broad Lagoon, suggesting to the mind the very poetry of mo- 
 tion ! To-day our gondolier brings us to the Island of Murano, 
 which still contains the manufactories of glass and crystal, for 
 which Venetian industry was formerly renowned ; but,we found 
 it closed against our admission. With no better success, we 
 returned to the city, and souglit to enter the Arsenal, which 
 was not opened on that day. Thence pa.ssing out from the 
 canal, still keeping in our view the figures of the Lions of 
 Athens, which guard the gates of the Arsenal, we ordered the 
 gondola to be moved towards Lido. It was upon the firm 
 and solitary bank of the Lido, that Lord Byron took his daily 
 ride. Had he died at Venice, it was his wish to have reposed 
 there, near a certain stone, the limit of some field, not far from 
 the little fort, so as to escape, by a wild caprice, his native 
 land, too heavy for his bones and the abhorred funeral obse- 
 quies of his relatives. 
 
 The shore is prettily shaded by trees, and extends its length 
 for some distance along the Lagoon. The view of Venice 
 
A '*■ beggar" afloat. 379 
 
 which is thence presented, embraces its finest front with all 
 their campaniles and steeples, as they tower over her palaces 
 and gardens. 
 
 LV. 
 
 The public gardens are prettily laid out at the extremity of 
 the city, so as to command a fine prospect of the port and all 
 the distant islands of the Lagoon. They seemed, however, to 
 be but little resorted to, so superior are the attractions of the 
 place of St. Mark which draws thither the fashion of the city, 
 and offer to all classes of her citizens many more agreeable 
 sights and livelier scenes. 
 
 As we passed on through the quarter of St. Lorenzo, I was 
 struck with a number of pretty faces among the women, which 
 I observed with more than usual curiosity, for, until that 
 moment, I had been at a loss to discover in Venice, from 
 what section the old painters had derived the models for 
 their most beautiful subjects. Proceeding on, I was joined 
 by some American friends who forsook their boat to enter 
 into my own ; and soon after their arrival, we were some- 
 what amused to see a novelty in Yenice, even a gondoliering 
 beggar, or a cripple afloat, who having no legs, had been 
 forced to take to a travelling mendicity for a support. His 
 boat having drifted across our bows, we were soon persuaded 
 into yielding our alms. In fact, it was so great a curi- 
 osity for us to have met a beggar in a gondola, that we 
 were loathe to deprive ourselves of the pleasure of giving, 
 in order that we might see a pauper, whose occupation would 
 have been gone on dry land, but who in Yenice, alone, thus 
 lashed to the bottom of his boat, could float his vessel with 
 one hand, while he reached out the other, to obtain the means 
 
380 THE LAND OF THE CJESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 of livelihood. Just after sunset we passed the brilliant 
 square of St. Mark, which was lighted up with a full blaze of 
 beauty, lamp-light, and the rising moon ; and when we returned 
 from our evening stroll on the piazza, coy Luna shone in all 
 the splendor of her fullness, sprinkling the waters with the 
 sparkles of her smiles, and illuminating the walls of the 
 palaces on the sides of the canal, with alternate floods of 
 bronze and argent. 
 
 Oh ! gondolas, ye are the moving spirits of Yenice ; What 
 graceful postures and figures have your gondoliers ! 
 
 THE GALLERY OF FINE ARTS. 
 LVI. 
 
 The Academy of Fine Arts at Venice is an inestimable in- 
 stitution or asylum in the midst of the dispersion and decay of 
 so many chefs-d^-mivres as would otherwise be lost, were it not 
 for the establishment of this hospital of art. It has already 
 collected many works from the oppressed churches and con- 
 vents, and will doubtless be still serviceable in the advancing 
 ruin of Yenice. This rich collection of more than four hun- 
 dred paintings, consists almost entirely of works by the great 
 masters of the Yenetian school — a school, admirable rather 
 for its adherence to nature and truth than the ideal, and for 
 brilliancy of coloring, boldness, and the picturesque rather 
 than purity of drawing. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 Amid the decay of Yenice, the discovery of Titian's master- 
 piece, the Assumjption, which he executed before the age of 
 thirty, is a kind of compensation for so many losses. This 
 
Titian's master-piece, 381 
 
 painting is, perhaps, the most extraordinary for effect ; the 
 wonderful management of the lights, the mystery of the head 
 of the Father, the brilliancy and softness of the group of the 
 Yirgin, and thirty little angels near ; her heavenly grace and 
 etherial elevation into the infinity of the skies ; the marvelous 
 contrast of light and shade ; and the conception of the whole, 
 are different merits, that cannot be described. One appre- 
 ciates Titian fully in this gallery, where he claims his rank 
 among the first of the old masters. His St. John is preferable 
 to that of Raphael, and depicts the sublimity of his mission in 
 the spiritual elevation of the eyes, as those of man prophetic 
 of a higher destiny ; one who foresaw the exceeding glory of 
 his successor, of whom he was only the forerunner, to prepare 
 the way, and " whose shoe's latchet he was unworthy to un- 
 loose." His " JPrese7itation" is noble, and distinguishable for 
 its perspective. 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 The Academy of Fine Arts is in the old Confraternity of 
 Charity. The ceiling of the grand hall is connected with a 
 singular anecdote : — The brother Cherubino Ottale, who had 
 engaged to gild it at his own expense, being unable to obtain 
 permission of the brotherhood to have an inscription, stating 
 that they were indebted to him for that magnificence, ordered 
 a little angel of eight wings to be placed in the middle of 
 every square, so that the name of Cherubino Ottale is repeated 
 a thousand times in that way. A Frenchman could not have 
 imagined a better expedient of Venetian vanity. 
 
382 THE LAND OF THE CAESAR AND THE DOGE. 
 
 THE ARSENAL. 
 LIX. 
 
 The Arsenal of Yenice was one of its wonders, its boast, 
 and its most glorious and useful monuments. The fleets which 
 it constructed, in combatting and repelling the continual in- 
 vasions of the Turks, preserved the civilization of Italy and 
 the south of Europe. It is, at this day, only a magnificent 
 testimony of the decline of Yenice. How it differs, in its soli- 
 tude, from that arsenal so admirably painted by Dante, who, 
 in his description, has introduced the naval technicalities, and 
 rendered them harmonious, poetic, and imitative — so great 
 were the descriptive powers of this prodigious genius ! 
 
 " Qual neir arzana, de Veneziani 
 
 Bolle rinverno la tenace pece 
 
 A rimpalmar li legni lor non sani 
 
 Che navicar non ponno ; e'n quella vece, 
 
 Chi fa suo legno nuovo, e cM ristoppa 
 
 Le coste a quel che piu viaggi fece ; 
 Chi ribatte da proda, e chi da poppa, 
 
 Altri fa rami, ed altri Tolge sarte, 
 Chi terzeruolo ed artimon rintoppa." 
 
 LX. 
 
 Many different mementoes of Yenice are to be found in the 
 arsenal. There is the pretended helmet of Attila, and the 
 sort of clumsy harness for his horse ; the veritable helmets of 
 the Yenetian Crusaders, the companions of Dandalo ; the 
 arms and flowing standards of brilliant colors, taken from the 
 Turks at the battle of Lepanto, and some frightful instruments 
 
THE SAILOR HERO. 383 
 
 of torture used by the Inquisition. A little model of the Bu- 
 centaur is now kept in one of the small rooms. 
 
 The plain and solid armor of Henry lY. forcibly recalls the 
 beautiful verse of the Henriade upon the arms of his soldiers : — 
 " Leur fer, et leurs mousquets composaient leurs parures." 
 
 LXI. 
 
 Opposite the armor of Henry IV. is the cenotaph, erected 
 by the Senate of Yenice, to the high-admiral Angelo-Emo, 
 who died at Malta in It 92, one of the first and best executed 
 works of Canova. In the midst of the universal degeneracy 
 of Yenetian morals, Emo proved himself a citizen. It was he 
 who, after the dispersion of his fleet by a tempest at Eleos, 
 and the loss of two vessels, a disaster in which Emo, having 
 fallen into the sea, narrowly escaped drowning, came to the 
 senate and said, " Allow my property to be employed in re- 
 pairing the losses the republic has just experienced." 
 
 LXII. 
 
 This great man might probably have prevented the igno- 
 miny of the last moments of his country. Courage and honor, 
 extinct in the councils of the Republic, still survived in the 
 arsenal ; and, as if the element which first afforded refuge to 
 the founders of Yenice was ever to animate, excite, and re- 
 invigorate their descendants, the last of the Yenetians was a 
 sailor ! 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 " In Venice Tasso's echoes are no more, 
 And silent rows the songless gondolier ; 
 Her palaces are crumbling to the shore, 
 And music meets not always now the ear : 
 
384 
 
 THE LAND OF THE CiESAR AXD THE DOGE. 
 
 Those days are gone — but Beauty still is here ; 
 
 States fall, arts fade — but Nature doth not die. 
 Nor yet forget that Venice once was dear. 
 The pleasant place of all festivity, 
 The revel of the earth, the masque of Italy !" 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 "How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of sea-faring 
 men, the renowned city, which was strong in the sea ! 
 
 " The isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy de- 
 parture." — Ezekiel xxY\. It, 18. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 H 117 891« 
 

 
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