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A 
 
 WINTER IN ITALY. 
 
 IN 
 
 A SEKIES OF LETTERS TO A FRIEND. 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. ASHTON YATES. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 1844. 
 
LONDON. 
 
 0. T. PALMER, SAVOY STRET, ST RAM. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 J 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 Perugia 
 
 1 
 
 II. 
 
 Perugia 
 
 . 10 
 
 III. 
 
 Rome 
 
 . 20 
 
 IV. 
 
 Rome 
 
 . 25 
 
 V. 
 
 Rome 
 
 . 33 
 
 VI. 
 
 Rome . 
 
 . 44 
 
 VII. 
 
 Rome . 
 
 . 53 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Rome 
 
 . 61 
 
 IX. 
 
 Rome . 
 
 . 77 
 
 X. 
 
 Rome 
 
 . 94 
 
 XI. 
 
 Rome 
 
 . 109 
 
 XII. 
 
 Cisterna 
 
 . 127 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Naples 
 
 . 142 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Naples 
 
 . 156 
 
 XV. 
 
 Naples 
 
 . 175 
 
CONTENTS. iii 
 
 XVI. Naples . . . .190 
 
 XVII. Naples . . . .208 
 
 XVIII. Naples .... 221 
 
 XIX. Naples . . . .239 
 
 XX. Naples .... 253 
 
 XXI. Naples .... 272 
 
 XXII. Naples . . . .286 
 
 XXIII. Naples . . . .301* 
 
LETTER I. 
 
 Perugia. 
 
 On the second day after leaving Florence, 
 we saw the celebrated lake of Thrasymene, and 
 alighted to get a better view of it than was to 
 be had from the carriage windows. We walked 
 a couple of miles whilst looking upon " the 
 defiles fatal to Roman rashness," and also upon 
 the stream called " Sanguinetto," from the 
 slaughter that rendered it a river of blood, when 
 Carthaginians and Romans contended on its 
 banks ; and we are told, 
 
 " Such the storm of battle on that day, 
 And such the frenzy, whose convulsion blinds 
 VOL. I. B 
 
2 
 
 TERUGIA. 
 
 To all save carnage, that, beneath the fray 
 An earthquake reeled unheededly away ! 
 None felt stern Nature rocking at his feet, 
 And yawning forth a grave for those who lay 
 Upon their bucklers for their winding-sheet ; 
 Such isth' absorbing hate when warring nations meet." 
 
 That awful scene at once of Nature's con- 
 vulsions, and men's raging passions, now looks 
 calm as if the clear waters of the neighbouring 
 lake had never reflected aught but the Heaven's 
 own brightness, and as though its banks had 
 only heard the shepherd's reed, and never had 
 resounded to the clanging armour of the fierce 
 warriors whose bones are still found beneath the 
 green turf that became their sepulchre. 
 
 The sketchers of our party were so charmed 
 with the tranquil beauty of the landscape, that 
 their drawing-books and camp-stools were called 
 for, and they sat down to pourtray in mimic 
 colours the Lake of Thrasymene and its envi- 
 rons; whilst I gathered chestnuts, and with 
 them "chewed the cud of sweet and bitter 
 fancy," and of memory, as it might happen. 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 3 
 
 This delay, together with a tedious examina- 
 tion of our trunks on entering the Papal do- 
 minions, made us later en route than usual, 
 and it was getting dark as we approached Pe- 
 rugia. 
 
 At the last post-house we had been obliged to 
 take a renfort of two additional horses, (making 
 six altogether,) rendered necessary by the situa- 
 tion of Perugia, upon a high hill, although the 
 road leading to it is uniformly level. 
 
 Before we reached the commencement of the 
 formidable ascent, we heard a peculiar kind of 
 shrill lengthened whistle, which being several 
 times repeated, made my blood curdle, and 
 covered me with what is commonly (and in this 
 case appropriately) called a goose's skin. We 
 women, filled with alarm, quaked and trembled, 
 having often heard of sounds we believed ex- 
 actly similar being preliminary to the appear- 
 ance of Brigands. My terrified imagination at 
 once converted these sounds into signals of 
 banditti, and ourselves into prisoners in their 
 hands, with ours at the same moment streaming 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 blood from the tight ligatures that restrained 
 us whilst shut up in one of their dark caverns, 
 whence, alas ! I saw no prospect of knights- 
 errant advancing to our relief. 
 
 When the last ominous sound was sent forth, 
 I covered my face, horror-struck, persuaded it 
 was all over with us, and my heart all but 
 literally died within me ; (there are various 
 ways of hearts dying and breaking, especially 
 amongst our sex). I made ready some mental 
 exclamation, not unlike that Mrs. Beverley ad- 
 dressed to the villain who pursued her, " O that 
 my eyes had Heaven's own lightnings to destroy 
 thee !" Judge of my astonishment, on opening 
 them, instead of armed bandits, looking hideous 
 in the twilight, they rested on two large white 
 oxen, (here called " Bove,") to summon whom, 
 together with their owner, were those sounds 
 uttered of direful import in our ears. The 
 " Bove " were tackled to the carriage, and thus 
 with our " train," not " attendant," but ascend- 
 ant, of six horses, three postilions, two oxen 
 and their driver, we made our entry into Pe- 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 5 
 
 rugia, where we got good beds and slept well ; 
 though I will not answer for it but that some of 
 us encountered in dreams dangers that, on first 
 awaking, made us doubt " were our senses false 
 or trua" 
 
 We ordered breakfast at an early hour, that 
 we might lose no time in sallying forth during 
 the fineness of the morning. On some of our 
 party remarking the excellence of the butter we 
 were eating, our attendant informed us that the 
 hotel is regularly supplied from the Prince 
 Doria's farm near Rome, one hundred miles 
 distant ; adding that his highness has got Swiss 
 and English dairy-maids, who manufacture an 
 article such as was formerly unknown here. 
 The cattle are all kept too busy working in the 
 fields to allow of their supplying the inhabitants 
 with butter ; even milk is very scarce. 
 
 There is something very striking in the ap- 
 pearance of Perugia; "it stands at this day on 
 the very foundations laid by the Etruscans, and 
 occupies the exact surface of the ancient city; 
 surrounded with solid walls covering the crest 
 
6 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 of the hill, on which they rise with close-packed 
 houses and tortuous declivitous streets ; it pre- 
 sents the same appearance which it doubtless 
 exhibited in ages long anterior to the Roman 
 conquest." I believe it is considered one of the 
 most ancient cities in Italy, and boasts of hav- 
 ing been at least middle-aged when Rome was 
 young. 
 
 Though situated on the top of a mountain, no 
 idea of barrenness is connected with it, nor is 
 anything of the kind to be seen in this neigh- 
 bourhood. The varied undulating forms of the 
 Apennines, combine, with the predominating 
 height on which the towers and cupolas of the 
 city stand so conspicuous, to give the place an 
 air of lofty magnificence, and the extreme fer- 
 tility of the land in all directions, adds much to 
 the beauty of the whole scenery. 
 
 We first saw the Tiber here winding its way 
 amongst the hills, and duly honouring the im- 
 portance attached to its name, hailed it with 
 some enthusiasm, though doubtless not so rap- 
 turously as " The Sea, the Sea !" was descried 
 by wayfarers of a more ancient period. 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 7 
 
 We are to devote a couple of days to seeing 
 what is best worth attention in the town and 
 neighbourhood. In the latter are some very 
 remarkable Etruscan tombs, between two or 
 three miles distant. On our way thither, on 
 the slope of a hill, we observed a number of 
 men busy with their spades delving. Two or 
 three large square slabs of old tufa stones were 
 lying half concealed amongst the surrounding 
 olive trees. The workmen confidently asserted 
 them to be doors for closing the entrance to 
 tombs, and that farther excavations will lead to 
 the finding of other ancient Etruscan sepul- 
 chres. We afterwards visited one not far off, 
 (discovered only last year,) and descended 
 twenty or thirty feet to the outer door ; then 
 went along a passage cut in the tufa rock, 
 which led to the sepulchre, consisting of five 
 small chambers, two on either side of the same 
 size, and one at the farther end, larger and 
 more ornamented, and which alone contains 
 several sarcophagi of the purest white travertine. 
 I should have taken them for marble, had I 
 
8 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 not been informed otherwise ; they are about 
 two feet and a half long, by fourteen inches 
 broad, and eighteen in depth. In these were de- 
 posited the ashes of different members of a 
 family named Volumnia. The cover or lid of 
 each is ornamented with a figure sculptured 
 much more beautifully than any I have seen on 
 other Etruscan tombs, in which Egyptian 
 clumsiness seemed to have struggled in the 
 sculptor's mind against the gracefulness of 
 Grecian art. 
 
 We found the entrance to the sepulchre ra- 
 ther damp 3 but the interior was quite dry, and 
 evinced no tendency to moulder or decay ; the 
 walls of the different apartments are smooth 
 and even as if but recently plastered; in the 
 central one hangs an antique lamp, the others 
 are all unfurnished and untenanted by any re- 
 mains of mortality. The family for whose last 
 home they were destined, perhaps became ex- 
 tinct; but it is vain for me to hazard any con- 
 jecture on the subject ; had there even been a 
 mummy I suppose I might have said, 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 9 
 
 44 T need not ask thee if that hand when armed, 
 Has any Roman soldier mauled and knuckled ? 
 
 For thou wert dead, and buried, and embalmed, 
 Ere Romulus and Remus had been suckled ; 
 
 Antiquity appears to have begun 
 
 Long after thy primeval race was run." 
 
 We rambled for some time in the adja- 
 cent olive grounds, and went to the house 
 of the present proprietor of the interesting se- 
 pulchre we had been examining, and there 
 saw many pieces, of ancient disinterred terra 
 cotta. 
 
 To-morrow, I shall resume my account of 
 Perugia ; for the present, adieu ! 
 
 b 5 
 
10 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Perugia. 
 
 We went this morning to see the cathedral 
 and some puhlic buildings, all of which are ren- 
 dered highly interesting by the finished paint- 
 ings of Pietro Perugino, and the early labours 
 of his distinguished pupil, Raffaelle. 
 
 One of the most curious rooms I believe in 
 Italy is the Borsa, or room of the money- 
 changers; it was opened for our inspection, 
 being no longer used for its original purpose : 
 but it is duly honoured and taken the best care 
 of. The door at the outside is surrounded by 
 the richest architectural ornaments ; and within, 
 the vaulted roof, as well as the sides, are co- 
 vered with the fresco paintings of Raffaelle and 
 Perugino, representing various subjects from 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 11 
 
 scripture history; and not a niche or corner 
 but is ornamented with the figures of saints or 
 angels, &c. The whole is well preserved, ad- 
 mirably coloured, and beautifully designed. 
 Raffaelle's pencil was employed upon the least 
 exposed portions, whilst his master reserved 
 those most conspicuous for his own execution. 
 The eye however passes rapidly over them to 
 dwell on the remoter parts, where evidences are 
 seen of that genius which was so shortly after- 
 wards destined to render the youthful artist im- 
 mortal, and to associate his name for ever with 
 our ideas of consummate grace and beauty. 
 
 Adjoining this room, so enriched by the mas- 
 ter and his matchless pupil, and also, strange to 
 say, especially appropriated to the money- 
 changers, (intended perhaps to soften their 
 hearts, and render them more compassionate 
 usurers,) was a small chapel, equally richly 
 adorned with paintings by the same illustrious 
 artists, and still in the best condition. Both 
 apartments appear, from their structure and 
 situation, to have been built at the same time, 
 
12 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 but our cicerone could give us no information on 
 the subject. At present a door leads from one 
 to the other. 
 
 On our return to the hotel, through the 
 market place, we saw large quantities of the 
 finest vegetables, although for the last few 
 nights there has been rather a severe frost, and 
 snow is already covering some of the more dis- 
 tant mountains. The women we met were for 
 the most part pleasing in their appearance; 
 many of them wore the picturesque costume of 
 this part of the country, red bodices, and long 
 white veils hanging behind the head. The 
 weather being cold, we observed some of them, 
 sitting at their stalls, having earthern pots filled 
 with burning charcoal, standing close to their 
 feet, which were more than half covered by 
 their petticoats (and in this respect resembling 
 what Sir Walter Scott asserted of the blue 
 stockings of some ladies whom he vindicated 
 from the charge of pedantry). The chafing 
 dishes were occasionally handed from one to 
 another, for the purpose of affording a partici- 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 18 
 
 pation of the agreeable warmth to the parties 
 assembled together. 
 
 Situated high up in the town there is a re- 
 markably fine, indeed quite a magnificent build- 
 ing, which was a monastery for Jesuits. Under 
 Bonaparte's government, its destination was 
 changed to a University, and such it has con- 
 tinued, and wears throughout a most flourishing 
 aspect. 
 
 # # # # # 
 
 # # * # # 
 
 We left Perugia with regret ; there is so much 
 that is antique in and about it, with but little 
 of those disheartening evidences of decay, that so 
 frequently accompany things and places of remote 
 origin; 9 and its having been, as it were, the cradle 
 of the genius of Raffaelle, and displaying those 
 early labours which acquainted him with his own 
 powers, and what manner of spirit he was of, 
 give to it altogether a peculiar interest. 
 
 The country around is richly diversified, and 
 most charming, the same that Raffaelle looked 
 upon when more than terrestrial beauty filled his 
 
14 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 youthful mind, the fruits of which enriched the 
 world, and have conferred upon him the high 
 title of painter of the gospel. 
 
 Having with regret bade adieu to Perugia, 
 after travelling a few hours, we turned out of 
 the high road, to look at some celebrated 
 churches in a town called Assisi, and surnamed 
 the Seraphic. It is situated upon the very 
 highest pinnacle of a hill, upon which I could 
 scarcely have imagined it possible for so many 
 buildings to be congregated. I suppose the 
 difficulty of finding a level spot caused the in- 
 habitants to put three churches on the space 
 that one usually occupies ; for, like a child's 
 card houses, they are piled, in one remarkable 
 instance, church over church. The undermost 
 contains the bones of St. Francis, and can only 
 be viewed by lamp or torch-light. When he 
 sees company in this way, you might fancy 
 yourself in the salons of a monarch ; such gild- 
 ing, painting, sculpture, and inlaid coloured 
 marbles, are displayed in the apartments, in the 
 centre of which the proprietor is placed. And 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 15 
 
 never was the person of an emperor enveloped 
 more magnificently than are the remains of the 
 saint, which I conclude were embalmed, from the 
 spice-like incense (unless it may be the odour 
 of his good deeds) that fills the air. 
 
 Above this church, and resting on the same 
 foundation, is one of considerable extent, and in- 
 describably beautiful, full of gothic arches orna- 
 mented with the most tasteful and elaborate 
 sculpture ; they are of great breadth, but not <5f 
 great height, and taken singly would be consi- 
 dered out of proportion ; notwithstanding the 
 effect is admirable. The windows are composed 
 of the finest old painted glass, which does not 
 admit the light to enter without tinging it with 
 rainbow hues, which, falling in much brilliancy 
 on some magnificent monuments and particular 
 arches, (while for the most part the building 
 has a sombre air,) add much to the striking 
 aspect and beauty of the whole. A pure white 
 marble monument of a Queen of Cyprus, whose 
 effigy lay under a canopy, surrounded by well- 
 expressed drapery, had quite the appearance of 
 
16 
 
 PERUGIA. 
 
 a lovely female lying tranquil on her snow- 
 white couch, just as her spirit had passed away. 
 She was the fair girl of Venice, Catarina 
 Cornaro, whom the pencil of Paul Veronese 
 has celebrated, putting her crown into the hands 
 of the Doge. It was signified to her after the 
 king her husband's death, that a present of the 
 kingdom he left her would be very acceptable 
 to her native republic, and in fear rather than 
 in love she resigned it, retaining only the empty 
 title of sovereignty, and a revenue allowed her. 
 
 A flight of stairs, consisting of full many a 
 weary step, conducted us to the uppermost 
 edifice, which offers a great contrast to those 
 it surmounts, height being its most striking 
 characteristic. It consists of one great space 
 undivided by arches or pillars, excepting a few 
 of the latter, of colossal dimensions ; immense 
 windows let in a flood of light on its brilliantly 
 painted walls and ceiling; in short, three 
 churches more differing, all beautiful, and all 
 embodied under the same roof, I suppose are 
 not to be found outside the walls of the ancient 
 city of Assisi the Seraphic. 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 17 
 
 # # * # * 
 
 # # # # * 
 
 Terni. 
 
 The day following our departure from Peru- 
 gia, we reached this old town of Terni, in 
 sufficiently good time to allow of our going 
 about three miles to the justly celebrated water- 
 fall. Though a work of art, it surpasses in 
 grandeur all the operations of nature in the 
 same line that I have beheld in Switzerland ; 
 were the finest component parts of all the 
 cascades in that country put together, they 
 would not, I think, equal the sublimity of the 
 fall of the river Velino, for which Dentatus, a 
 consul of Rome, cut a channel to divert its 
 course from the town of Rhetia, twelve miles 
 distant. That town was often inundated by the 
 swelling of the river, and to avert the repetition 
 of such a calamity, a deep bed was made for it 
 through mountains of marble, from the summit 
 of which, its everlasting waters are precipi- 
 tated into a vast chasm beneath, whence, amidst 
 
18 
 
 PERUGIA, 
 
 roaring, boiling, and conflicting sounds, issues 
 a perpetual spray-like rain, that preserves the 
 surrounding thick woods in continual verdure. 
 It is supposed that in this foaming abyss Virgil 
 makes Alecto shoot herself into the infernal re- 
 gions ; and for the angry goddess who had filled 
 a nation with distractions and alarms, no fitter 
 exit could be imagined than here sinking, as 
 it were, in a tempest, and plunging into Hell, 
 amidst the din and uproar of raging waters. 
 The following is Dryden's translation of the lines 
 of Virgil, applied by some to the Falls of Terni: 
 
 u In midst of Italy, well known to Fame, 
 
 There lies a vale, Amsanctus is the name. 
 
 Below the lofty mounts, on either side, 
 
 Thick forests the forbidden entrance hide i 
 
 Full in the centre of the sacred wood, 
 
 An arm ariseth of the Stygian flood ; 
 
 Which falling from on high, with bellowing sound, 
 
 Whirls the black waves and rattling stones around. 
 
 Here Pluto pants for breath from out his cell, 
 
 And opens wide the grinning jaws of Hell. 
 
 To this infernal gate the Fury flies, 
 
 Here hides her hated head, and frees the lab'ring skies ! " 
 
PERUGIA. 
 
 19 
 
 After having visited the waterfall, we re- 
 turned to our hotel at Terni, where we shall 
 pass this evening, and to-morrow we hope to 
 reach Civita Castellana, en route to Rome. 
 
20 
 
 ROME. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 A short day's journey from Civita Castel- 
 lana brought us to Rome; and nearly the 
 whole of the way we were reminded of Ireland. 
 The country in that direction is neither flat 
 nor treeless ; the absence of all appearance of 
 rural cheerfulness however is observable, as 
 well as an indescribable air of tristesse and 
 abandonment, from which the Emerald Isle, 
 "the gem of the ocean," is unhappily not ex- 
 empted. 
 
 We felt considerably excited as we approached 
 the gate of the Piazza del Popolo. This would 
 be altogether a noble entrance to a modern 
 city, but the decorations on the side of 
 the Pincian Hill, (with the never at any time, 
 I think, pleasing representations of Grecian 
 
HOME. 
 
 21 
 
 art from the hands of Frenchmen,) render it 
 dreadfully discordant with one's previous ideas 
 of Rome, the " Mother of dead Empires." 
 
 It is true, fronting the entrance, three streets 
 finely diverge from churches designed by Michael 
 Angelo; the streets are however narrow, and 
 the churches not sufficiently grand and impos- 
 ing for the situation. But, notwithstanding some 
 little feeling of disappointment, our hearts beat 
 high on entering. Thoughts of the consuls, 
 Caesars, conscript fathers, &c. &c, rushed upon 
 our minds as we were about to tread the ground 
 they trod, to look upon the memorials of their 
 actions, a knowledge of the history of which 
 forms a leading portion of the education of the 
 enlightened everywhere, and the impress of 
 whose laws and institutions has been given to 
 the whole civilized world. 
 
 We could scarcely believe that we were on 
 the point of entering within the once invulnera- 
 ble walls of imperial Rome. But no sooner had 
 we done so, than our enthusiasm evaporated at 
 once ; for on one side rushed out the Douaniers, 
 
 10 
 
22 
 
 ROME. 
 
 whose aspect was somewhat formidable, and 
 there was a rapid transition in my thoughts 
 from republics, patriots, orators, and all the 
 greatness of other days, to the recollection of 
 some uncut Genoa velvet lying in one of my 
 trunks, the possible seizure of which (though 1 
 openly avowed its possession) put me into such 
 a trepidation, that kings, consuls, senators, all 
 vanished from my mind. 
 
 This disturbance, however, after a few mo- 
 ments, was somewhat calmed by the sight of a 
 funeral procession issuing from a church exactly 
 opposite the Douane, The worldly spirit that 
 had arisen in my breast was calmed by the 
 solemn aspect of a train of priests, the foremost 
 bearing a cross, the insignia of our holy religion, 
 along with tapers, surrounding the body of one 
 whose course was run — whose feverish dream of 
 life was ended ! But I was not left long to the 
 wholesome musings that suggest feelings con- 
 nected with an " eternal city not made with 
 hands," towards which all are hastening; for our 
 postilions were told to proceed slowly, and two 
 
ROME. 
 
 23 
 
 of the men of office, like the Volanti so much 
 in fashion formerly amongst the Italians, walked 
 by the side of our carriage to the hotel, in the 
 courtyard of which, just as we arrived, a still 
 more embarrassing scene occurred. Whilst our 
 carriage was unloading, and I was suffering 
 from a relapse of the palpitations occasioned by 
 the Genoa velvet, the owner of another albergo 
 made his appearance ; he had expected us to 
 take up our quarters with him,"and, owing to a 
 mistake, (arising from the miscarriage of a let- 
 ter,) we had not gone in the first instance to his 
 hotel. 
 
 The chiefs of the rival houses each claimed 
 us, and such vociferations commenced as gave 
 one the fullest conceivable impression of Italian 
 vehemence and impetuosity. Each combatant 
 looked fierce and warlike, intent on gaining or 
 keeping possession of the prey. In the midst of 
 their shrill clamour and angry speeches, accom- 
 panied by fearfully threatening gestures, my 
 keys were called for. But no keys could I find ; 
 they had been left at Civita Castellana. I 
 
24 
 
 ROME. 
 
 appealed to one of the fighting chiefs to know 
 what was to be done, and although in the heat 
 of battle, yet, seeing a lady in distress, he 
 turned his back on his opponent, that he might 
 be enabled to assist me. He guaranteed to the 
 men of the Douane my trunks remaining un- 
 opened until the keys arrived. Unluckily, those 
 of colossal dimensions exhibited on all sides de- 
 noting the patrimony of St. Peter, served, 
 whenever I stepped out of doors, to remind me 
 of my carelessness. 
 
 Some days elapsed before I got my tiny 
 bunch of keys, and then all was satisfactorily 
 arranged with the Douaniers ; for those gentle- 
 men are not inexorable. Had I been a " clas- 
 sical 99 tourist, such a bouleversement of all ap- 
 propriate ideas and all suitable associations on 
 entering Rome, could not have been thought of, 
 to use an Italian word, but as a « disgrazia " 
 of the first order. 
 
I 
 
 ROME. 25 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 Your letter of the 11th ulto. was most wel- 
 come. I am sorry I cannot send to you an 
 equally voluminous folio sheet; but there is no 
 such sheet to be had. Large thin paper is 
 not made here ; a good-sized, but thick inferior 
 kind, which comes from France, is heavily 
 taxed, because, in post-paying our letters, the 
 smallest enclosure (as used to be the case with 
 us before the golden age of the penny post) 
 causes double payment, and so helps the revenue. 
 If I ever come here again, I shall bring a 
 fine stock of thin paper of ample dimensions, be- 
 sides many other little matters of convenience. 
 
 I walked yesterday above a mile to no pur- 
 pose in search of some common muslin and 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
i 
 
 26 ROME. 
 
 ribbon ; such things are to be had, but not 
 within a walking distance from my present place 
 of abode in the Piazza di Spagna. As I passed 
 along streets of shops of prints, paintings, 
 mosaics, miniature temples, gladiators, Venuses, 
 &c, and all that belongs to les beaux arts, I 
 felt myself to be somewhat in the predicament 
 of the cock who turned up a diamond instead 
 of the grain of barley he wanted, and which 
 would have better suited his purpose. I thought 
 with a sigh of the store of comforts attainable in 
 less than five minutes in the hitherto not suffi- 
 ciently valued street in our immediate neigh- 
 bourhood at home. 
 
 We have been going about at a great rate 
 seeing ruined and habitable palaces, decayed 
 temples, and splendid churches; driving from 
 close, dirty, narrow, over-populous streets to 
 their environs, which latter present a waste of 
 not very verdant soil, uncultivated and uninha- 
 bited. On some high hills in the immediate 
 vicinity, where the breezes come fresh and 
 wooingly, persons cannot live on account of 
 
ROME. 
 
 27 
 
 the malaria that prevails ; whilst beneath, where 
 the odours are oft times most offensive, they are 
 told the air is very good and wholesome, and 
 that their tent may there be pitched with safety. 
 Invalids, who at home have their couches rolled 
 from one chamber to another, not suffering the 
 breath of Heaven to visit them however softly, 
 here go up flights of stone stairs, often sur- 
 rounded with open arches and balconies instead 
 of windows, to rooms which from choice are 
 preferred, because situated higher than our 
 attics. Each story is called " a piano, " and the 
 third or fourth of these is usually selected by 
 the most delicate of our countrywomen as afford- 
 ing the best air. The rooms are so lofty, that 
 each flight of stairs is at least double the length 
 of those to which we are accustomed ; and our 
 wearied limbs make us sensibly feel that it is 
 like any thing but a w flight'' to ascend them. 
 
 Such are the incongruities abounding here, 
 and many more also which I will leave for the 
 present untold, that I may give you some account 
 of Christmas-day. That day so important every 
 
 c 2 
 
28 
 
 ROME. 
 
 where to the christian world, was here ushered 
 in by the firing of cannon from the tower of St. 
 Angelo. We got an early breakfast, and set off 
 for St. Peter's at eight o'clock. On arriving 
 there the scene was most impressive, solemn, and 
 magnificent. It was a sombre morning, yet 
 some light from Heaven shone through the up- 
 permost range of windows, while beneath candles 
 and flambeaux displayed the matchless beauty 
 of the building, which was lined with troops in 
 shining armour, such as was worn in former days. 
 Their suits of mail had no appearance of being 
 disused, for they were burnished bright as if in 
 daily requisition ; strong light partially falling 
 on the steel-clad men, rendered them distinguished 
 amongst the numerous Swiss guards who were 
 decked in their holiday suit of many colours, and 
 stiff close white ruffs. 
 
 At ten o'clock, trumpets sounded; then entered 
 the church a double row of prelates clothed in 
 white and gold, wearing on their heads large 
 mitres ; an equal number of cardinals followed, 
 their long scarlet and ermine robes lifted from 
 
ROM E. 
 
 29 
 
 the ground by train-bearers in some species of 
 clerical costume ; then came four richly, I might 
 say gorgeously, attired Armenian bishops, and 
 after them, and alone, the Roman senator ; for 
 Rome has but one now, and so situated, I thought 
 he resembled a captive monarch gracing a con- 
 queror's triumph ; a sight that Rome had often 
 witnessed in the days of her greatness. A guard 
 of the nobles succeeded ; about two hundred fine 
 looking men dressed in scarlet, and in all respects 
 much like our officers, but having more of waving 
 plumes of white feathers in their military hats ; 
 these immediately preceded the Pope, who, mag- 
 nificently attired in white and gold, was borne 
 high above our heads in a chair of state under a 
 canopy, around and over which waved the thou- 
 sand hues of peacocks' feathers lending their 
 rainbow brightness to the spectacle. 
 
 The whole procession passed from the entrance 
 to the farther and opposite end of the church, 
 where his holiness was allowed to put pied-a- 
 terre, and ascend the steps leading to his elevated 
 throne. The cardinals, bishops, and nobles 
 
30 
 
 ROME. 
 
 ranged themselves beneath on either side ; then 
 various ceremonies were performed, the minute 
 particulars of which I was (in common with the 
 rest of the ladies, excepting the ambassadors' 
 wives and some other great dames, who were 
 more felicitously placed) too far removed to see 
 to advantage, but we heard fine chanting and 
 singing. 
 
 At length, the Pope walked, — ay, actually 
 walked, — about fifty yards, from his throne to 
 the altar, where, having first laid aside his triple 
 crown for his mitre, he officiated in some parts 
 of a mass, which he does only three times a year. 
 He then elevated the Host, and at that moment 
 the soldiers, in and out of armour, the coarse 
 and rudely clothed peasants from the Campagna 
 and the Abruzzi, fine ladies in lace, embroidery 
 and velvets (their heads being however only 
 adorned with the modest veil) ; gentlemen whose 
 toilet might have been arranged for a stroll in 
 Hyde Park — all fell on their knees offering to- 
 gether their common homage to the Deity. I 
 looked up whilst we were engaged in this mute 
 
ROME. 
 
 31 
 
 act of adoration ; not a sound could be heard : 
 around were standing in their niches like silent 
 witnesses the magnificent statues of saints and an- 
 gels that adorn the church ; they seemed as though 
 a celestial band clothed in garments of the purest 
 white had descended from Heaven to approve of 
 and join in our worship of the universal Lord in 
 that noble temple, than which " since 
 
 u Zion's desolation when that He 
 Forsook his former city, what could be, 
 Of earthly structures in his honour piled 
 Of a sublimer aspect ?" 
 
 The short but profound silence was broken by 
 the rising of the crowd from their act expressive 
 of the humblest devotion ; the movement, as we 
 replaced ourselves, sounded like the rush of wa- 
 ters. Various ceremonies succeeded, and all 
 were ended by the Pope in a solemn manner 
 giving his blessing to the assembled multitude. 
 He was then carried as before, in his chair of 
 state, out of the church, followed by the long pro- 
 cession that had preceded his entrance. 
 
 It was about one o'clock when, in the midst 
 
32 
 
 ROME. 
 
 of torrents of rain, we reached our carriage. It 
 is customary, I believe, on Christmas-day for the 
 Pope, after the conclusion of the ceremonies in- 
 side to repair to an open balcony, from whence 
 he gives his benediction to the crowd that usually 
 on such occasions fills the wide area in front of 
 St. Peter's. The elements, however, were adverse 
 to our profiting by his good intentions ; we he- 
 retics felt more likelihood of catching cold than 
 of deriving spiritual benefit if we delayed, so one 
 and all made for our carriages in the utmost 
 haste. 
 
 A few hours later we talked over the events 
 of the day, whilst partaking of roast beef and 
 plum pudding that reminded us of John Bull 
 and our native land. By-the-bye, the two afore- 
 said dishes as well dressed, according to our 
 method, as I have ever tasted, form part of our 
 dinner every Sunday at the Hotel de l'Europe. 
 
ROME. 
 
 33 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 A work published several years ago called 
 " Rome in the Nineteenth Century" we find an 
 admirable assistant ; it gives all the desirable de- 
 tails respecting places deserving the stranger's 
 notice. Madame de Stael in Corinne, and Lord 
 Byron in Childe Harold, have imparted in their 
 descriptions the most rich and glowing colouring 
 to the memorials of bygone ages, which have 
 been so illustrated, by the one in prose and the 
 other in poetry, that whoever would see " the 
 city of the soul, the mother of dead empires,'' 
 so as to understand it with an awakened mind, 
 should be guided by them, for they carried the 
 torch of genius to light up the sombre and moul- 
 dering vestiges of departed glory. 
 
 c 5 
 
34 
 
 ROME. 
 
 The fine arts are the boast of Rome in the 
 nineteenth century, but you must not expect 
 any criticisms with regard to them from my pen, 
 or you will be disappointed ; 
 
 " For I have been accustomed to entwine 
 My thoughts with nature rather in the fields, 
 Than art in galleries.' ' 
 
 " Where the car climbed the Capitol," the 
 artists now hold their triumph. Some of our 
 party were present yesterday at a grand assem- 
 blage there for the distribution of prizes to young 
 aspirants whose works deserved the honours 
 conferred. The venerable Thorwalsden presi- 
 ded, and cardinals, fine ladies and gentlemen, 
 and fine music, graced the scene. But the Capi- 
 tol is not wholly appropriated to les beaux arts : 
 in the centre of it the senator of Rome resides : 
 a statue of a female figure in a sitting attitude, 
 a " Roma Triumphans v judiciously placed in 
 front, marks his abode. This gentleman is ap- 
 pointed by the pope, and his power is less than 
 the shadow of a shade : to my apprehension his 
 position seems not very unlike that of the jester 
 
ROME. 
 
 35 
 
 who, sumptuously or grotesquely attired, served 
 formerly to enrich the pageantry and add to the 
 amusements of sovereign princes. 
 
 On either side of the senator's residence are 
 two others for the conservatori, (who are, I con- 
 clude, equally with him efficient representatives 
 of ancient power,) holding the place of the 
 iEdiles. In all three divisions of the building 
 there are long suites of rooms and galleries, which 
 contain multitudes of busts and statues and some 
 pictures, but not many of the latter. The greater 
 number of chefs-d'oeuvre in sculpture as well as 
 painting, are certainly at the Vatican ; yet several 
 of the finest and most ancient of the marbles and 
 bronzes in Rome are at the Capitol, which is it- 
 self the work of Michael Angelo. It does not 
 however, I think, bespeak the master-hand, for 
 there is nothing in it excepting the approach, 
 externally grand or striking, or more than ele- 
 gant, such as any good architect might have ef- 
 fected. It is wonderful that such a noble site 
 as u The rock of triumph'' presents, u The high 
 
36 
 
 ROME. 
 
 place where Rome embraced her heroes," with 
 all the thick coming images of the past that 
 must have crowded on his mind, did not suggest 
 a design stamped by the genius of Michael An- 
 gelo, he who, on seeing the Pantheon, exclaimed 
 that he would suspend it in the air, and realized 
 the bold declaration by erecting the sublime dome 
 of St. Peter's. 
 
 With great significance, I think, seeing the 
 different aspect affairs wear at present, he turned 
 the front of the Capitol the reverse way ; it now 
 looks towards the seat of authority, the almost 
 united buildings of the Vatican and St. Peter's, 
 whereas in ancient times it fronted the Palace of 
 the Caesars, various temples, the arches of tri- 
 umph of Trajan, of Septimius Severus, of the 
 great Constantine, and, 
 
 " The forum, where the immortal accents glow, 
 
 And still the eloquent air breathes - burns with Cicero." 
 
 The grand combination that those buildings 
 formed (and whence issued laws to the world,) 
 can now, with few exceptions, only be traced in 
 
 10 
 
ROME. 
 
 37 
 
 disjointed ruins, which give evidence of the pre- 
 sence of barbarians, and also of the inflictions of 
 more civilized, but not less direful conquerors. 
 
 " Ah ! poor Italia ! what a bitter cup 
 
 Of vengeance hast thou drain'd ! Goths, Vandals, Huns, 
 
 Lombards, barbarians broke from every land, 
 
 How many a ruffian form hast thou beheld ! 
 
 What horrid jargons heard, when rage alone 
 
 Was all thy frighted ear could comprehend ! 
 
 ****** 
 
 What conflagrations, earthquakes, ravage, floods, 
 Have turn'd thy cities into stony wilds !" 
 
 * * * * * « 
 
 Amidst the wide-spread destruction, the 
 Coliseum was suffered to stand : it is only dila- 
 pidated and despoiled; the triumphal arches also 
 are still erect, left as in bitter mockery to mark 
 how the sons of the conquerors of far distant re- 
 gions were conquered at home, surrounded by 
 their temples and their gods. The modern Ca- 
 pitol, like the world, turns its back on the fallen 
 and the downcast. 
 
 In this quarter of the city, which persons 
 
38 
 
 ROME. 
 
 visit often but never make their abode, lie nearly 
 all the finest of the ancient ruins. At no great 
 distance from the debris of the forum, where we 
 are told, 
 
 " A thousand years of silenced factions sleep," 
 
 is the Palatine Hill, literally covered with the 
 sunken and dilapidated walls of what were the 
 chambers, baths, halls, libraries, &c, of the vast 
 Palace of the Csesars. Mingled with these are 
 now peasants' gardens and humble dwellings, 
 the lowly roof often supported against the broken 
 arch or pillar, emblems of the greatness that did 
 exist, and has passed away for ever, to make 
 room for the brambles and wild-flowers sur- 
 mounting all, and asserting the enduring su- 
 premacy of Nature's most fragile productions 
 over man's boastful and elaborate structures. 
 No longer can it be said 
 
 " The Palatine, proud Rome's imperial seat, 
 (An awful pile !) stands venerably great : 
 Thither the kingdoms and the nations come, 
 In supplicating crowds to learn their doom : 
 To Delphi less th' inquiring worlds repair 
 Nor does a greater god inhabit there ; 
 
ROME. 
 
 39 
 
 This sure, the pompous mansion was design'd 
 To please the mighty rulers of mankind ; 
 Inferior temples rise on either hand, 
 And on the borders of the palace stand, 
 While o'er the rest her head she proudly rears, 
 And lodg'd amidst her guardian gods appears." 
 
 Such was thePalatine : what it is now I have 
 described. No place, I suppose, ever brought 
 before the mind in such strong and picturesque 
 characters as Rome does the mutability of all that 
 belongs to this world and its evanescent greatness. 
 Here stand the mighty, the colossal ruins of pa- 
 laces and temples, (which seem as if intended 
 when perfect to last as long as the world itself,) 
 belonging to rulers and princes who persecuted 
 the early Christians, constraining them to take 
 refuge in underground caverns, where multitudes 
 of their bones are still found. 
 
 We lately went through some of these cata- 
 combs, though not to the extent of many 
 miles as we might have done; but not pos- 
 sessing any of the peculiar tastes or pro- 
 perties of the mole species, we were glad to re- 
 
40 
 
 ROME. 
 
 trace our steps, to regain the balmy air, and 
 emancipate ourselves from those dismallest of 
 haunts where the light or breath of Heaven can 
 never find entrance. We could scarcely stand 
 upright in them. Such were the places of re- 
 fuge sought out and obtained by dint of the se- 
 verest labour of those poor Christians, who 
 found the hard rock, when resorted to for refuge 
 in direful distress, not so unyielding as the 
 breasts of their fellow- men. Some of the sad 
 victims of inhuman cruelty must have stolen out 
 at night, braving all hazards and dangers, to 
 procure provisions for themselves, and the sor- 
 rowful inmates within, now amongst the glorious 
 company of martyrs. 
 
 At present, how changed the scene here ! 
 Many of the professors of Christianity are, by 
 virtue of their office, princes living in palaces, 
 attended by all manner of pomp, parade, and 
 circumstance, whilst every monument that re- 
 mains, denoting the past existence of the per- 
 secutors of the Christians, lies around in ruins; 
 whilst others have been swept away, their site 
 and destination even unknown. 
 
ROME. 
 
 41 
 
 But I have strangely wandered into cata- 
 combs from the Capitol, of which latter I have 
 not said half enough. Imperfect as any account 
 I can give of it must be, I should be guilty of 
 a flagrant omission not to mention that it is ap- 
 proached by a wide and magnificent range of 
 steps — unparalleled in their dimensions, I sup- 
 pose, by any others that have appeared on earth. 
 They lead, not only to the three buildings I 
 have described, but also to a church denomi- 
 nated In-ara-Cceli, containing numerous pillars 
 of red Egyptian granite, besides fine specimens 
 of art both in painting and sculpture. But what 
 renders this church most remarkable is, its being 
 erected on the site, and including, as it is said, 
 some of the walls of the renowned Temple of 
 Jupiter Capitolinus. 
 
 In the area in front of the aforesaid buildings, 
 to which the magnificent flight of steps con- 
 ducts, stands the noble equestrian bronze statue 
 of Marcus Aurelius, touching which an amusing 
 anecdote is told of a French artist, Monsieur 
 Falconet. He had just completed a model of an 
 
42 
 
 ROME. 
 
 equestrian statue of Peter the Great, now at 
 St. Petersburgh, and in giving a lecture to some 
 pupils on the Roman Emperor's horse, he 
 pointed out as many defects in it as a jockey 
 could in an animal he was about to purchase ; 
 but vain as he was of his performance, some new 
 idea struck him as he was about to conclude the 
 harangue, and eyeing his own faultless model, 
 and taking a pinch of snuff in a prolonged man- 
 ner, he exclaimed with a sigh, " Cependant, 
 messieurs, il faut avouer que cette vilaine bete 
 la est vivante, et que la mienne est morte." # 
 
 There are two noble lions of basalt, at the 
 base of the steps leading to the Capitol, or 
 Campidoglio, as it is now commonly called, 
 and so written on the streets contiguous ; it is 
 
 * It is mentioned in one of the papers of the Spectator, that 
 " Architects in Greece, by the laws of their country, were not 
 allowed to inscribe their names on their works, for which 
 reason it is thought that the forelock of the horse, in the an- 
 tique statue of Marcus Aurelius, represents at a distance the 
 shape of an owl, to intimate the country of the statuary, who, 
 in all probability, was an Athenian." 
 
ROME. 
 
 43 
 
 changed, even in name, and owes this modern 
 appellation to Doges having been for a brief 
 period chosen to preside over the destiny of 
 Rome. 
 
44 
 
 ROME. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 In a street called Borgo Nuovo, is a palace 
 built by Cardinal Wolsey, when he was ambas- 
 sador from England to Rome. It now belongs 
 to Prince Torlonia, the great banker, and there 
 he entertains persons of all nations, and of all 
 ranks, who bring the requisite letters of intro- 
 duction. 
 
 The salon, where the belles of London, Paris, 
 Italy, &c. &e. figure in quadrilles and waltzes, 
 making conquests that produce involvements 
 from opposing differences of religion and coun- 
 try, (oftentimes more intricate and perplexing 
 than the mazes of their dance,) I am assured is 
 the same grand apartment in which the prelate 
 (so " lofty and sour to them that loved him not, 
 
ROME. 
 
 45 
 
 but to those men that sought him sweet as sum- 
 mer") gave such banquets as kings could scarcely 
 rival. The suite of rooms appertaining to it is 
 numerous enough for the retinue he had of 
 three hundred sons of gentlemen, besides ser- 
 vants and retainers of all descriptions. 
 
 Since the English nation, like a headstrong 
 and rebellious daughter, assumed to be wiser 
 and better informed than her ancient parent 
 whom she considered in the debility of advanc- 
 ing years to have fallen into too many weak- 
 nesses and whimsicalities for a governing power, 
 and therefore threw off her authority, — we have 
 had no representative at the Court of Rome, ex- 
 cepting during the short interval of Queen 
 Mary's reign. But Prince Torlonia supplies 
 the deficiency with all his might, and at his 
 palace we all feel more or less at home, know- 
 ing that the invitations are regulated by a 
 " sliding scale," which precludes the disappoint- 
 ments and anxious queries oftentimes made else- 
 where with throbbing hearts, as to who will be in- 
 vited or who omitted. One large card generally 
 
46 
 
 ROME. 
 
 invites us to three or four, and sometimes to 
 half-a-dozen of them in succession ; and on the 
 appointed evenings, from before eight o'clock, a 
 continual roll of carriages is heard, like one un- 
 broken peal of distant thunder. The Italians 
 who, for the most part, wisely keep early hours, 
 are returning home from these assemblies while 
 the English are going, and from which they 
 seldom altogether retire before the morning's 
 dawn. The streets leading to the palace are 
 lighted with flambeaux, and when the strong 
 glare falls on the cavalry soldiers, on such occa- 
 sions stationed at intervals, and who are always 
 particularly numerous towards the bridge at the 
 foot of the castle of St. Angelo, (that dark mass 
 of fortification looking most formidable,) I have 
 thought of the night when Rome was taken, and 
 the French king, Charles the Eighth, entered it 
 by torch-light. But in a few minutes after- 
 wards such dread thoughts have been dissipated, 
 for on alighting I have found myself surrounded 
 by many prepared indeed for conquest, yet 
 wearing such smiling faces as to disarm all fear, 
 
ROME. 
 
 47 
 
 whilst the spirit-stirring band excited only to the 
 mirthful dance. 
 
 The Princess Torlonia is a lovely young 
 woman, a daughter of the exalted house of Co- 
 lonna. Her husband received his present high 
 rank from the Pope to facilitate his marriage. 
 She receives her company with much grace, and 
 dazzles them with the profusion and splendor of 
 her diamonds, whilst she re-assures them by her 
 kind attentions. A propos of diamonds, never 
 have I seen them worn in such amazing quan- 
 tities as by the Italian ladies of rank — I under- 
 stand they are not parted with under any cir- 
 cumstances; like the church property with us 
 in the olden time, they may accumulate, but 
 cannot diminish. 
 
 The palaces of the ambassadors at Rome are 
 thrown widely open to all the best company of 
 every nation assembled herg. 
 
 The Austrian embassy now occupies the 
 palace that formerly belonged to Venice, and 
 in size and magnificence it corresponded with 
 her greatness, when she " sate in state throned 
 
48 
 
 ROME. 
 
 on her hundred isles." At one of the receptions 
 of the Princess Lutzen, I found myself acci- 
 dentally placed by a lady, who, of her own ac- 
 cord, for the short time I was near her, entered 
 into easy conversation. I afterwards learned it 
 was the Dowager Princess Esterhazy to whom 
 I had been speaking. Had the wife of an Eng- 
 lish city knight been in her place, she would 
 have given, what is vulgarly called, a cold 
 shoulder to any lady who had not been formally 
 introduced to her, and whose pretensions and 
 qualifications she had not previously scanned. 
 Foreigners excel us in the exercise of those un- 
 bought courtesies of life which have the effect 
 of pleasing without any further consequences 
 resulting from them. 
 
 The English have some very agreeable society 
 here at present amongst their compatriots, and 
 we more than once had the pleasure of meeting 
 in company Mrs. Somerville and Mrs. Trollope. 
 At Rome, as I have always found to be the case 
 elsewhere, persons become more pleasantly in- 
 timate (though I cannot say it was my good for- 
 
ROME. 
 
 49 
 
 tune to be particularly known to these ladies) 
 when they are drawn into smaller circles than 
 is practicable in the wide expanse of London, 
 and some other capitals. Society, like the wood 
 fires we are burning, must have its component 
 parts placed close together, or it will languish 
 and lose all its genial warmth and brilliancy. 
 Show and spectacle amongst us have been too 
 much substituted for better things, and when 
 not intending to enact them our drawing-rooms 
 often resemble theatres for tableaux vivants. 
 Such intercourse of mind as some of our London 
 circles could boast of at no remote period is de- 
 scribed by one who was a member of Mrs. Mon- 
 tague^ and other contemporary brilliant coteries 
 in a charming little poem, called " Conversa- 
 tion," addressed to Mrs. Vesey, in which are the 
 following lines : — 
 
 6i You ne'er the cold gradations need 
 Which vulgar souls to union lead ; 
 No dry discussion to unfold, 
 The meaning caught ere well 'tis told, 
 In taste, in learning, wit, or science, 
 Still kindred souls demand alliance ; 
 VOL. I. D 
 
50 
 
 ROME. 
 
 Each in the other joys to find 
 
 The image answering to his mind- 
 
 But sparks electric only strike 
 
 On souls electrical alike ; 
 
 The flash of intellect expires, 
 
 Unless it meet congenial fires : 
 
 The language to th' Elect alone 
 
 Is, like the mason's mystery I known ; 
 
 In vain th' unerring sign is made, 
 
 To him who is not of the trade. 
 
 What lively pleasure to divine 
 
 The thought implied, the hinted line 5 
 
 To feel Allusion's artful force, 
 
 And trace the Image to its source ! 
 
 Quick Memory blends her scatter'd rays 
 
 ' Till Fancy kindles at the blaze ; 
 
 The works of ages start to view, 
 
 And ancient Wit elicits new." 
 
 My beau ideal of English society is the period 
 when Mrs. Montague, # herself a lady of the highest 
 
 * Doctor Johnson, speaking on some occasion of Mrs. 
 Montague, said, " That lady exerts more mind in conversa- 
 tion than any person I ever met with ; sir, she displays such 
 ratiocination, and such radiation of intellectual excellence, as 
 are amazing." Miss Reynolds has said of the same lady, with 
 reference to her virtues as well as talents, u This brings to my 
 
ROME. 51 
 
 character and talents, reigned paramount in the 
 world of fashion, and banished thence, not ex- 
 hilarating gaiety, which she promoted and de- 
 lighted in, but all such frivolity as we are told 
 of in the letters of " Isaac Tomkins, gentle- 
 man." 
 
 There are, I doubt not, many ladies of ex- 
 alted rank well qualified to fill the station 
 occupied by Mrs. Montague, when Johnson, 
 Garrick, Reynolds, Young, Mrs. Carter, Hannah 
 More, and other lesser, but also brilliant stars, 
 rendered her reunions scenes of high intellec- 
 tual enjoyment and of moral improvement. For 
 the attainment of such an end, some mental 
 
 remembrance the unparalleled eulogium which the late Lord 
 Bath made on a lady he was intimately acquainted with, in 
 speaking of her to Sir Joshua Reynolds. His lordship said 
 that he did not believe that there ever was a more perfect 
 human being created, or ever could be created, than Mrs. 
 Montague. I give the very words I heard from Sir Joshua's 
 mouth ; from whom also I heard that he repeated them to 
 Burke, observing that Lord Bath could not have said more. 
 4 And I do not think that he said too much,' was Mr. Burke's 
 reply." 
 
 D 2 
 
 U ^ERSiTY OF 
 
 ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY, 
 
52 
 
 ROME. 
 
 effort would be necessary in those who take the 
 lead in our social world, and no one will make 
 exertions in these days, excepting for some po- 
 sitive and tangible good that will aid in promoting 
 individual or family ease, luxury, or aggrandize- 
 ment. Works of charity and benevolence do 
 not come under my present observation, as I 
 believe at no period did English ladies make 
 more sacrifices for such objects than at present. 
 But the Montague race I am afraid is extinct. 
 Perhaps in some future moral revolution of the 
 world it may turn up again. During the reign 
 of that queen of literature, her own pen first 
 vindicated Shakspeare from the cold supercilious 
 sneers of " the brilliant Frenchman ;" before 
 foreigners comprehended his writings, or we 
 ourselves perhaps were, generally speaking, suf- 
 ficiently alive to the pre-eminent genius of our 
 countryman, she led the way to the numerous 
 essays that have since followed, on his immortal 
 works ; and amidst modern abundant eulogies 
 and criticisms which they have called forth, 
 Mrs. Montague's Essays on Shakspeare are, I 
 think, not the least discriminating and valuable 
 
ROME. 
 
 53 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 Rome* 
 
 If ever I should come to Rome again I wish 
 Mr. Babbage may happen to be a visitor at the 
 same time to " the Eternal City," and that he 
 will open his house, as in London, and invite, 
 on the same enlarged and liberal plan as he does 
 there, all the best society of the place, in the 
 true acceptation of that term. The English who 
 see company here, generally speaking, are timid 
 and exclusive. A few favourite artists or authors 
 are to be seen at their parties, whilst others of 
 the greatest merit are overlooked, because of 
 their not bearing the imprimatur of fashion. 
 Perhaps it is because we have some innate con- 
 sciousness of being entitled to the appellation 
 " of a nation of shopkeepers," that we endeavour 
 
54 
 
 ROME. 
 
 to fly to the opposite extreme, of making the 
 goddess of many changing hues, Fashion, our 
 idol. 
 
 My curiosity was gratified the other evening 
 by seeing a lady, whom you have often heard 
 me inquire about from my travelled friends. 
 
 The Countess of G i was pointed out to me 
 
 at a soiree. From what I was led to expect, I 
 have been disappointed in her appearance. 
 Fame has done as much to heighten her charms 
 in public opinion, as Mr. Carmine in the farce 
 did to set off those of his one-eyed beauty, Lady 
 
 Pentweezle. It is true the Countess of G 
 
 has golden hair and a fair complexion, but she 
 is altogether far removed from being the sort of 
 person I should have supposed our great mo- 
 dern poet would have " fancied when he loved." 
 She has the air and manner of a lady whose 
 lover never dwelt on any but the most common- 
 place external advantages. She too seems to 
 have fixed her thoughts on them, and her toi- 
 lette likewise, in no small degree. She is low 
 in stature, and more disposed to embonpoint 
 
ROME. 
 
 55 
 
 than suits her height ; altogether, she is far in- 
 ferior, in my opinion, to the elegant and fasci- 
 nating grand-daughter of S n, now a lady 
 
 of high rank, whom I met in the same salon, 
 and whose general sweet affability of manner 
 struck me forcibly. Amongst other instances, 
 I remarked, that in passing along the room she 
 saw a timid girl who was sitting near me, and 
 when the young debutante was hesitatingly 
 
 offering her hand, Lady S stooped forward 
 
 and kissed her in the kindest manner. Her 
 whole demeanor is so free from the cool, calm 
 pretensions of many of her order, and likewise 
 from all apparent consciousness of her superior 
 personal and social advantages, that she might 
 be the wife of any commoner, and never have 
 heard the word beauty associated with her 
 name : 
 
 " Careless of beauty, she is beauty's self." 
 
 * * * $ 
 
 The most remarkable evening we have passed 
 here, succeeded to the morning ceremony of 
 the Cardinal's hat having been conferred on 
 
56 
 
 ROME. 
 
 three candidates. The principal ladies of their 
 respective families received the congratulations 
 of tout le monde. One of the Cardinals in 
 whose honour the assembly met, assisted by his 
 presence in the reception of his friends. Car- 
 dinal Acton was the only one of their eminences 
 who came forward to all the company, without 
 exception ; each party, on their arrival and de- 
 parture, he saluted with grace and animation. 
 After speaking to him, I recollected that in one 
 of Gibbon's letters, he mentions either his 
 father or himself (the latter I think) having 
 fallen sick at some country town in France, 
 and his cousin, Mr. Acton, a young physician, 
 coming from England, to attend him in what 
 proved a long continued illness, of which he re- 
 covered ; but a worse malady, he said, overtook 
 his friend, for he fell in love with a French 
 girl, married her, embraced the Roman Catholic 
 faith, and settled in France. Concluding 
 that the new-made Cardinal is a descendant of 
 the Englishman referred to by Gibbon, I 
 looked upon his amiable countenance with great 
 
ROME. 
 
 57 
 
 interest, thinking what creatures of accident 
 and circumstances we are, and that his present 
 situation in life is owing (and perhaps his being 
 in existence at all) to such an accidental occur- 
 rence as Gibbon's illness in France. 
 
 The Italian ladies put forth all their splendour 
 on this occasion, and many of them were, to use 
 a common phrase, covered with diamonds. By- 
 the-bye, when these brilliant ornaments are 
 worn here, it is in such profusion as quite to 
 extinguish our pretensions in that line. Eng- 
 lish ladies, whose diamonds are considered very 
 splendid at home, find them in Italy so far 
 eclipsed, that they seldom wear any, and trust 
 all to the brilliancy of their eyes and com- 
 plexions. Diamonds are heir-looms in Italian 
 families ; and often, when every other species 
 of property is gone, these remain evidences of 
 departed greatness. In some of our juvenile 
 poetry, we learn that, 
 
 " When house and land are gone and spent, 
 Then learning is most excellent 
 
 but here it seems diamonds are preferred. 
 
 d 5 
 
58 
 
 ROME. 
 
 On our taking leave of the different assem- 
 blies, we found in one of the ante-rooms of each 
 palace, a table covered with laudatory poems, 
 setting forth by his admirers the virtues of the 
 new-made Cardinal, (not the cardinal virtues.) 
 Printed copies of these, in any numbers we 
 pleased, we were all welcome to take. A few, 
 however, sufficed for us, as specimens of the 
 way in which heaven was thankfully applauded, 
 and mankind congratulated upon the benefits 
 conferred on them at large by the recent ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 The soiree of the new-made Italian Cardinal 
 (of the other two one was German and the other 
 English, if Mr. Acton may be called English) 
 was held at the Quirinal Palace belonging to the 
 Pope, and thither all gazers flocked ; the Eng- 
 lish having, for the most part, first paid their 
 respects to Cardinal Acton. 
 
 The usually dim and only half-lighted streets 
 we passed through were, on this occasion, bril- 
 liantly illuminated. All the relations, con- 
 nexions, acquaintances, and tradespeople of the 
 
ROME. 
 
 39 
 
 different families filled their windows with lamps. 
 The public offices and religious establishments 
 did the same, and Rome presented a novel 
 scene to us as our carriages rolled along. 
 
 More than once that we had to stop from the 
 closeness of the throng impeding the way, it 
 was our good fortune to be arrested near to 
 some of the beautiful fountains which abound 
 here, so we were compensated for the other- 
 wise tediousness of delay by those delicious 
 sounds of which the ear never tires. I shall 
 not easily forget the soothing murmurs of the 
 fountain of the Quirinal Hill on that even- 
 ing; as its waters were thrown up, they seemed 
 like an embodied zephyr, light, graceful, and 
 refreshing; or as though some pure bright 
 spirit kept unceasing vigils to guard and bless 
 mankind, or was doing homage to the Creator 
 of the visible and invisible world. I remem- 
 bered Milton's lines:— 
 
 " Nor think though men were none 
 That Heaven would want spectators, God want praise, 
 
ROME. 
 
 Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth 
 Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep 
 All these with ceaseless songs his works behold 
 Both day and night." 
 
ROME. 
 
 61 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 I have not opportunities of judging of Italian 
 society from my own observation, and I should, 
 perhaps, give you erroneous impressions if 1 
 were to communicate my crude ideas on the 
 subject ; but I cannot refrain from mentioning 
 my conviction, from all I hear, that some ob- 
 jectionable peculiarities of manners most noto- 
 rious formerly, and confined to the higher 
 classes, have altogether disappeared. I have no 
 doubt that, as with us, young Italian ladies of 
 the present day are brought into company at a 
 marriageable age, and form lasting attachments 
 and connexions, and also that married women 
 now never have established cavalieri serventi. 
 The temporary domination of the French had 
 
62 
 
 ROME. 
 
 doubtless a salutary influence on manners in 
 this particular ; for, to his honour let it be re- 
 membered, that Napoleon always discouraged 
 persons who did not hold sacred the matrimonial 
 bond ; of which fact there are some striking 
 instances to be found in the entertaining memoirs 
 of the Duchess d'Abrantes ; although his own 
 example does not attest the same right way of 
 thinking ; the ambition of forming a dynasty 
 overcame his better judgment on the subject. 
 
 Speaking of cicisbeism, Doctor Moore, 
 about sixty years ago, gave the following ac- 
 count of it : " In Italy, levity is viewed with 
 contempt, and constancy is, by both sexes, still 
 classed among the virtues. That high venera- 
 tion for the fair sex which prevailed in the ages 
 of chivalry, continued long after, in the form of 
 a sentimental, platonic kind of gallantry. Every 
 man of ingenuity chose unto himself a mistress, 
 and directly proclaimed her beauty and her 
 cruelty, in love ditties, madrigals, and elegies, 
 without expecting any other recompense than 
 the reputation of a constant lover and a good 
 
ROME. 
 
 63 
 
 poet. By the mere force of imagination, and 
 the eloquence of their own metaphysical sonnets, 
 they became persuaded that their mistresses 
 were possessed of every accomplishment of faee 
 and mind, and that themselves were dying for 
 love. As in those days women were constantly 
 guarded by their fathers and brothers before 
 marriage, and watched and confined by their 
 husbands for the rest of their lives ; the refined 
 passions above described were not exposed to 
 the same accidents which so frequently befall 
 those of modern lovers ; they could neither fall 
 into decay from a more perfect knowledge of 
 the lady's character, nor were they liable to 
 sudden death from intimacy. But whilst the 
 women were adored in song, they were miserable 
 in reality ; confinement and distrust made them 
 detest their husbands, and they endeavoured to 
 form connexions with men more to their taste 
 than jealous husbands or metaphysical lovers. 
 # # * The business generally did end as 
 might have been expected; and the only con- 
 solation left the husband was, to endeavour to 
 assassinate the happy lover. 
 
64 
 
 ROME. 
 
 " But when French manners began to spread 
 over Europe, and to insinuate themselves 
 amongst nations the most opposite in character 
 to the French, jealousy was first held up as the 
 most detestable of all the passions. The law 
 had long declared against its dismal effects, and 
 awful denunciations had been pronounced from 
 the pulpit against those who were inflamed by 
 its bloody spirit ; but without effect, till ridicule 
 joined in the argument, and exposed those hus- 
 bands to the contempt and derision of every 
 fashionable society, who harboured the gloomy 
 demon in their bosom. 
 
 " As in England, after the Restoration, peo- 
 ple, to show their aversion to the puritans, turned 
 every appearance of religion into ridicule, and, 
 from the extreme of hypocrisy, flew at once to 
 that of profligacy ; so in Italy, from the custom 
 of secluding the wife from all mankind but her 
 husband, it became the fashion that she should 
 never be seen with her husband, and yet always 
 have a man at her elbow. But before the 
 Italian husbands could adopt or reconcile their 
 
ROME. 
 
 65 
 
 minds to a custom so opposite to their former 
 practice, they took some measures to secure a 
 point they had always thought of the highest 
 importance. Finding that confinement was a 
 plan generally reprobated, and that any appear- 
 ance of jealousy subjected the husbands to rigi- 
 cule, they agreed that their wives should do 
 into company, and attend public places, but 
 always attended by a friend whom they could 
 trust, and who, at the same time, should not be 
 disagreeable to the wife. This compromise 
 could not fail of being acceptable to the women, 
 who plainly perceived that they must be gainers 
 by any alteration of the former system ; and it 
 soon became universal all over Italy, for the 
 women to appear at public places leaning on 
 the arm of a man, who, from their frequently 
 whispering together, was called their cicisbeo. 
 It was stipulated at the same time, that the 
 lady, while abroad under his care, should con- 
 verse with no other man but in his presence 
 and with his approbation ; he was to be her 
 guardian, her friend, and gentleman usher. 
 
66 
 
 ROME. 
 
 " The custom at present is, that this obsequious 
 gentleman visits the lady every forenoon at her 
 toilet, where the plan for passing the evening is 
 agreed upon ; he disappears before dinner, for 
 it is usual all over Italy for the husband and 
 wife to dine together tete-a-tete, except on great 
 occasions when there is a public feast. After 
 dinner the husband retires, and the cicisbeo 
 returns and conducts the lady to the public 
 walk, the conversazione, or the opera ; he hands 
 her about wherever she goes, presents her coffee, 
 sorts her cards, and attends with the most 
 pointed assiduity till the amusements of the 
 evening are over; he then accompanies her 
 home, and delivers up his charge to the hus- 
 band. * # # 
 
 " The cicisbeo, in many instances, is a poor 
 relation or humble friend, who, not being in 
 circumstances to support an equipage, is happy 
 to be admitted into all the societies, and to be 
 carried about to public diversions, as an appen- 
 dage to the lady. 
 
 " Most Englishmen will be astonished how 
 
ROME. 
 
 67 
 
 men can pass so much of their time with women. 
 This, however, will appear less surprising, when 
 they recollect that the Italian nobility dare not 
 intermeddle with politics, can find no employ- 
 ment in the army, and there are no such amuse- 
 ments in the country as hunting or drinking. 
 In such a situation, if a man of fortune has no 
 turn for gaming, what can he do? Even an 
 Englishman, in those desperate circumstances, 
 might be driven to the company and conversa- 
 tion of women, to lighten the burden of time. 
 The Italians have persevered so long in this 
 expedient, that, however extraordinary it may 
 seem to those who have never tried it, there 
 can be no doubt that they find it to succeed." 
 
 In the sequel of the agreeable letter from 
 which I have quoted, Doctor Moore tells of a 
 Frenchman of his acquaintance who, during a 
 visit to Rome, tried to imitate the constancy of 
 the Italians by confining his attention to one 
 lady for a short period. On his friend's inquir- 
 ing how his affairs went on, the marquis replied, 
 " Ah, pour I'amour, cela est a peu pres passe, et 
 
68 
 
 ROME. 
 
 nous sommes actuellement dans les horreurs de 
 Tamitie." 
 
 Happily for all concerned, the cicisbeo's 
 " occupation's gone." Such poor animals no 
 longer place themselves in the treacherous pre- 
 dicament of the moth flying round the candle ; 
 and at no period was the species ever known 
 amongst the middle and lower classes, whose 
 strong legitimate family attachments never suf- 
 fered from the ill effects of chivalry, platonism, 
 metaphysics, or jealousy, which, as it seems, 
 combining together, produced a state of things 
 for the finger of scorn to point at. The French, 
 in their latest visit to Italy as conquerors, no 
 doubt did much mischief; but in having swept 
 away all traces of such perversion of manners 
 as their courtly countrymen had contributed to 
 introduce, it must be allowed that they and 
 their great leader conferred a lasting benefit on 
 the country. 
 
 The point of most difference, I fancy, between 
 the Italian female world and our own, consists 
 in women amongst them retaining the rights of 
 
ROME. 
 
 69 
 
 property as much after, as before marriage, 
 which, in our case, generally speaking, are 
 handed over to the husbands, And far better, 
 I think it, on all accounts, that it should be so, 
 for divided interests might doubtless tend to 
 estrangement in a relation where intimate union 
 is the prime source of happiness. Instances of 
 individual hardship unquestionably do arise from 
 the system, yet, on the whole, 1 am persuaded 
 it is the best. In all ages of the world, and in 
 all stages of society, we find women's line dis- 
 tinctly marked out, in ruder or softer characters, 
 according to the progress of civilization, until 
 the beneficent Author of Christianity gave to 
 our sex an importance and value in society 
 which we can never lose. But it is a law of 
 nature, or of Providence, which is the same 
 thing, and therefore cannot be defeated, that 
 power should belong to man ; and to know that 
 such is the Almighty fiat, and confidingly to ac- 
 quiesce in the wisdom of it, " is woman's hap- 
 piest knowledge and her praise," and also her 
 truest interest. Had she to encounter the per- 
 
70 
 
 ROME. 
 
 plexities and embarrassments that befal men in 
 their intercourse with the world, or the anxiety 
 consequent on the doubtful success of projects 
 which possibly may either ruin or enrich " the 
 bread winner," and the family dependent on 
 him ; if the necessity devolved on her of guard- 
 ing against deception, of meeting the disap- 
 pointments attendant on fallacious hopes and 
 enterprises ; how would such things disenchant 
 the home where a man returns to look for peace 
 and happiness, and, by its affording him which, 
 she feels " twice blessed." 
 
 Amongst us, rather more than a century ago, 
 the less poignant interests of politics were 
 meddled with by women, in a way happily un- 
 known at present, — a masculine-minded Duchess 
 being at one time almost the ruler of the cabi- 
 net, and at another concocting factious opposi- 
 tion to her successful rival. This, no doubt, 
 influenced the tone of society at that period, 
 and in a way so injurious to female attractions, 
 that Addison, who possessed in so remarkable 
 a degree the art of mending manners, whilst 
 
ROME. 
 
 7J 
 
 playing sportively with the foibles of the day, in 
 his capacity of Spectator, assured the ladies that 
 he had never known a party woman, Whig or 
 Tory, who had kept her beauty for a twelve- 
 month ; " and therefore he would advise them, 
 as they valued their complexions, to let alone 
 disputes of that nature." 
 
 In Italy, a woman who is rich retains her 
 money in her own hands, and procures for her- 
 self gratifications, the value of which would pro- 
 bably be increased tenfold if imparted by her 
 husband ; and, if a woman of little or no Ibrtune 
 is married to a rich man, (a circumstance not of 
 very frequent occurrence,) she does not, I un- 
 derstand, gain the right of a full and fair parti- 
 cipation of his fortune, and when his love cools, 
 (an accident to which even the ardent passions 
 of the South are liable,) she feels that a poor 
 woman is united to a wealthy partner, without 
 deriving much farther benefit from his affluence 
 than that of residing in a house of vast and 
 chilling dimensions, under a system of close 
 domestic economy. 
 
72 
 
 ROME. 
 
 There is something not pleasing, or in ac- 
 cordance with the spirit of marriage vows, in 
 this sort of independence subsisting between 
 persons who are bound together so irrevocably, 
 that only death, the great loosener of all human 
 ties, can break their union ; for amongst Roman 
 Catholics, no fault nor crime committed by 
 married people, will entitle the aggrieved party 
 to a divorce. Royal personages are occasionally 
 treated with indulgence on this point, which 
 is not shown to less distinguished sufferers. 
 
 What is the interior menage of Italian fami- 
 lies, few, I believe, of the English, have an op- 
 portunity of knowing. Their houses are vast ; 
 there are whole suites of rooms, which pretty 
 evidently are rarely or never occupied, on what 
 is called the first piano, but which we should 
 name the second floor; — these, when they con- 
 tain pictures, are opened for the gratification of 
 strangers. The owners live in one of the 
 ranges of apartments above, and for a similar 
 suite still higher, they are very often glad to 
 find a good tenant. Such is the state of things 
 
ROME. 
 
 73 
 
 in some of the grandest palaces at Rome, the 
 Palazzo Barberini amongst others. The finest 
 of these palaces have been built by the relations 
 of Popes, by whom great incomes were granted 
 temporarily, or large estates conferred on their 
 nephews especially — Nepotism being a common 
 charge against their holinesses. 
 
 In the course of time, however, in many in- 
 stances, fortunes derived from such sources have 
 become impaired by various causes, as well as 
 lessened by family settlements ; and few ways 
 of replenishing men's resources existing in this 
 country, they have often become slender, whilst 
 the externals of magnificence are preserved by 
 allowing palaces and their furniture to remain 
 in statu quo ; the chairs ranged close against 
 the wall, pretty plainly signify that they have 
 not moved thence for the last fifty years, I 
 cannot tell exactly what it is that gives them so 
 decidedly the air of articles whose locomotive 
 capabilities have long since become extinct. 
 
 Those said fixtures, and some one or two pon- 
 derous marble tables, usually constitute the 
 
 VOL, I. E 
 
74 
 
 ROME. 
 
 furniture, or rather, I should say, appendages? 
 of each room ; for the word " furniture," in its 
 usual acceptation, implies things intended for 
 use and convenience : the Italian nobles appear 
 to consider it an indubitable mark of their family 
 greatness, having these deserted apartments re- 
 maining in statu quo, in the same way that our 
 magnates pride themselves on retaining the pos- 
 session of their extensive estates, however mort- 
 gaged. 
 
 * # # # * 
 
 Since writing the above, I have looked over 
 what Madame de Stael has said in Corinne of 
 the Italian palaces, and I am glad to find my 
 description corroborated by such high autho- 
 rity. 
 
 " Les palais des grands seigneurs sont ex- 
 tremement vastes, d'une architecture souvent 
 tres belle, et toujours imposante; mais les orne- 
 ments de Tinterieur sont rarement de bon gout, 
 et Ton n'y a point l'idee de ces appartements 
 elegants que les jouissances perfectionnees de la 
 vie sociale out fait inventer ailleurs. Ces vastes 
 demeures des Princes Romains sont desertes et 
 
ROME. 
 
 75 
 
 silencieuses ; les paresseux habitants de ces 
 palais se retirent chez eux dans quelques 
 petites chambres inapergues, et laissent les 
 etrangers parcourir leurs magnifiques galeries, 
 ou les plus beaux tableaux du siecle Leon X. 
 sont reunis. Ces grands Seigneurs Romains 
 sont aussi etrangers maintenant au luxe pom- 
 peux de leurs ancetres, que ces ancetres 
 etaient euxmemes aux vertus austeres des 
 Romains de la republique. Les maisons de 
 campagne donnent encore davantage Tidee de 
 cette solitude, de cette indifference des posses- 
 seurs au milieu des plus admirable sejours du 
 monde. On se promene dans ces immenses 
 jardins sans se douter qu'ils aient un maitre. 
 
 " L'herbe croit au milieu des allees ; et, dans 
 ces memes allees abandonnees, les arbres sont 
 tallies artistement selon Tancien gout qui reg- 
 nait en France : singuliere bizarrerie que cette 
 negligence du necessaire et cette affectation de 
 Pinutile ! Mais on est sou vent surpris a Rome, 
 et dans la plupart des autres villes d'ltalie, du 
 gout qu'ont les Italiens pour les ornements ma- 
 
 E 2 
 
76 
 
 ROME. 
 
 nieres, eux qui ont sans cesse sous les yeux la 
 noble simplicite de l'antique. lis aiment ce qui 
 est brillant, plutot que ce qui est elegant et 
 commode. lis ont en tout genre les avantages 
 et les inconvenients de ne point vivre habituelle- 
 ment en societe. Leur luxe est pour Timagi- 
 nation, plutot que pour la jouissance : isoles 
 qu'ils sont entre eux, ils ne peuvent redouter 
 Tesprit de moquerie,— qui penetre rarement a 
 Rome dans les secrets de la maison ; et Ton 
 dirait souvent, a voir le contraste du dedans et 
 du dehors du palais, que la plupart des grands 
 seigneurs d'ltalie arrangent leurs demeures 
 pour eblouir les passants, mais non pour y re- 
 cevoir des amis." 
 
 There are, however, many exceptions to this 
 description, and amongst them is the palace in- 
 habited by our fair countrywoman, the Princess 
 Doria, which is, according to our English no- 
 tions, as elegant and enjoyable as it is splendid. 
 She, and the prince her husband, with extreme 
 liberality, invite to stated grand entertainments, 
 all persons of respectability mixing in society, 
 who have previously left cards at their door. 
 
ROME. 
 
 77 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 The Church here, in one way or other, en- 
 grosses nearly, if not quite, all offices of honour 
 and emolument. Happily for Prince Torlonia, 
 banking does not fall within its purposes. To 
 have a son created a cardinal is an object of 
 ambition with every noble family ; and if there 
 are several sons, no objection is made by parents 
 in general to any of them who please (except- 
 ing the heir to a title) becoming priests. For 
 unmarried daughters willing to take the veil, 
 there are one or more convents set apart espe- 
 cially for noble ladies, while for fair votaries in 
 general, there are most numerous and extensive 
 nunneries. The number of monasteries exceeds 
 all belief. I cannot but attribute, in some mea- 
 
78 
 
 ROME. 
 
 sure at least, the inferior state of cultivation of 
 the soil in the Pope's dominions to the multi- 
 tudes of such communities, where able-bodied 
 men pass their lives in chanting and going 
 over and over set prayers, consuming the fruit 
 of other men's labours, unmindful of Heaven's 
 decree, that man shall live by the sweat of his 
 brow. 
 
 It would have been an additional honour to 
 Pope Ganganelli, who dissolved the society of 
 the Jesuits, (the Protestant Pope as he was 
 called,) if he had passed a decree prohibiting 
 any men, whatever might be their vocation to a 
 life of idleness, from entering monasteries pre- 
 viously to attaining their grand climacteric. At 
 sixty-three, or sixty-five years of age, or later, 
 infirmity, where it existed, might entitle them 
 to a life of ease ; or if healthy, habit would pro- 
 bably make them continue industrious, useful 
 members of society. 
 
 But whilst fully alive to impressions respect- 
 ing the present inutility of the monastic orders, 
 we should not forget how deeply indebted to 
 
ROME. 
 
 79 
 
 them the world is for their services in times 
 past ; " when wild war's deadly blast" would 
 have swept away (judging by appearances) 
 learning and religion from the world, those in- 
 stitutions were their safe depositories; and as 
 the ark preserved faithful believers in the true 
 God, amidst the all-destroying deluge, so, the 
 barbarous hordes of heathens, Goths, and 
 Vandals, with all their unnameable tribes and 
 ramifications, poured their myriads over the 
 civilized globe, leaving unharmed and over- 
 looked those quiet retreats, whence were to 
 issue, in better times, the materials for enlighten- 
 ing a darkened world. We must give due 
 honour to monastic institutions for the good 
 they have done, whilst we acknowledge that 
 their mission is fulfilled, their benefit to society 
 consummated. 
 
 Besides the numerous convents and monas- 
 teries that I have noticed, there are here a 
 great variety of seminaries for clerical instruc- 
 tion — the young men belonging to which, or 
 
80 
 
 ROME. 
 
 indeed to the different religious establishments, 
 seldom or never walk out alone. They are 
 sometimes to be seen in parties of three or four, 
 but oftener in bodies of eighteen or twenty; 
 they walk after the manner of school-boys ; and 
 oftentimes with good reason, many of them not 
 being older than the young gentlemen who, 
 amongst us, carry satchels, when " with shining 
 morning face" they leave their parents' house 
 for that of the pedagogue. But here the peram- 
 bulating bodies are of different ages — embryo 
 priests, of from seven or eight years old, up to 
 manhood. 
 
 The elderly clergy do not move about in 
 squadrons ; they walk singly, or together, like 
 the rest of us. There is great variety in their 
 costume ; some sets are dressed in white, as 
 pure as a flock of sheep just shorn; others in 
 white also, with the addition of large scarlet 
 cloth crosses sewed on the breast on one side of 
 their garments; in general effect, not unlike the 
 marks with which sheep are branded. Black 
 
HOME. 
 
 81 
 
 is of course most commonly worn ; but even this 
 is, in many instances, diversified by scarlet 
 edgings and cordings, Purple also is intro- 
 duced, and in a few cases scarlet stockings are 
 worn. Each clerical body one meets wears a 
 uniform dress. 
 
 Friars are sometimes in companies, but not 
 generally — these have the worldly air of men 
 intent upon business ; they dress in large ugly 
 brown cloth garments, having for the most part 
 their heads enveloped in hoods of the same ma- 
 terial. We never fail to encounter, "in the course 
 of the day, an astonishing number of the afore- 
 said different religious bodies, either professedly 
 such, or in the course of preliminary training, 
 diversified by every gradation of externals, from 
 their eminences the Cardinals, who move about 
 in fine scarlet and gilt coaches of an old-fashioned 
 shape, (such as occur in the prints of Hogarth,) 
 with richly caparisoned horses, and two or three 
 liveried footmen, to the coarse garbed friars, 
 looking as if they hardly belonged to a more 
 
 e 5 
 
82 
 
 ROME. 
 
 civilized state of society than the Esquimaux, 
 but wearing an aspect rather like the surly 
 Diogenes seeking an honest man, than that of 
 the frigid, unmeaning savages of the North, 
 
 I attribute the circumstance of such immense 
 numbers becoming members of religious bodies 
 amongst the middling and lower classes, to the 
 disinclination felt by the Romans to common 
 labour. They like well enough to be employed 
 in such occupations as are connected with the 
 Fine Arts; but all agricultural pursuits beyond 
 the cultivation of gardens and vineyards they 
 seem to have no relish for, and to consider beneath 
 them. And yet it is surprising, that with regard 
 to buildings requiring for their erection a plen- 
 tiful supply of " hewers of wood and drawers of 
 water/' no similar backwardness or disinclina- 
 tion to common labour apparently has existed ; 
 for their buildings of all descriptions are ex- 
 tremely massive. The houses, according to our 
 notions of domestic utility, are unnecessarily 
 ponderous and vast in their dimensions, cer- 
 
HOME. 
 
 83 
 
 fcainly bespeaking anything but a dearth of hard 
 labour. 
 
 It is possible that the Neapolitans, who are 
 in the habit of coming to work in the fields, may 
 have given their assistance to perform the most 
 laborious and inferior parts, and perhaps the 
 Jews were constrained to do the same, for we 
 are told that the Hebrew captives achieved the 
 Coliseum — that mighty work, which, like others 
 erected by them, whilst in captivity, for their 
 Egyptian task-masters, would doubtless now, 
 after the lapse of eighteen centuries, stand un- 
 impaired, as do the pyramids that number thou- 
 sands of years, if the despoiling hand of man 
 had not anticipated the effects of time — for not 
 only has the Coliseum been used as a fortress 
 in time of war, but it has served the purpose of 
 a quarry for several of the noble families of 
 Rome, whence to draw materials for the erec- 
 tion of their palaces, in allusion to which is the 
 following epigram : — 
 
 " Quod non fecerupt Barbari, fecerunt Barberini." 
 
84 
 
 ROME. 
 
 But the Farnese, and other powerful families, 
 and the government also, for public purposes, 
 contributed, as well as the Barberini, to the 
 work of demolition, until Pius VII. put an end 
 to it by setting up little altars in the arena, and 
 consecrating the ground. Successive Popes 
 have followed his example, and the Coliseum is 
 likely, as far as we can foresee, to remain in 
 statu quo for many a long year. Thither a 
 friar repairs, on a particular day in each week, 
 to preach, exhort, and pray ; he passes from one 
 to another of the fourteen altars, followed by the 
 crowd who assemble on such occasions. This 
 is a striking sight. On the exact spot, which 
 gladiators and wild beasts once rendered a 
 hideous scene of lawless passions and of blood, 
 and where tradition relates that early Christians 
 were cast amongst them to expiate the crime of 
 believing in His doctrines who taught " a more 
 excellent way," now may be seen thronging crowds 
 listening with rapt attention to the eloquent 
 persuasions of the earnest old man, who incul- 
 
ROME. 
 
 85 
 
 cates peace and goodwill to all of human kind, 
 as the injunction of that Saviour, who, by his 
 death, set the seal to his precepts, and " opened 
 for us the joyful gates of resurrection 
 
 At one of these meetings, surrounding a par- 
 ticular altar, every person we saw was kneeling. 
 No accessories assuredly could so powerfully 
 aid devotional feelings — not " the long-drawn 
 aisle" — " the fretted vault" — and " dim religi- 
 ous light" — as the associations connected with 
 the bare, dilapidated gigantic walls of the Coli- 
 seum, open to all the winds, and covered only 
 by the canopy of Heaven. 
 
 # * # # 
 
 The pride of birth as Romans, has never de- 
 parted since the period when St. Paul declared 
 he was free born ; and an observer will often 
 perceive indications of their reminiscence of past 
 greatness in other ways, as well as in the names 
 frequently given by the lower classes to their 
 children. I have several times heard half- 
 clothed ragaxzi called Julius Caesar. Augustus, 
 Claudius, &c, (Brutus seems to be a name 
 
86 
 
 KOME. 
 
 quite forgotten,) and it is not wonderful that 
 the Caesars and Augustuses should shrink from 
 the anvil and the plough, and hand them over 
 to the light-hearted Neapolitans, who seem to 
 love cheerfulness and pleasure unencumbered 
 with any sense of native dignity, or longings 
 after what they are not. There are no manu- 
 factures but of priests unconnected with les 
 beauw arts, so that one can see good reason why 
 a large portion of men are willing to put their 
 sons into well-provided religious establish- 
 ments, who are " too proud to dig, and to beg 
 are ashamed." 
 
 Although the lower order of Romans are not 
 unwilling to be engaged as servants, it is for the 
 most part persons from a distance, designated 
 Forestieri, who do all the drudgery necessarily 
 falling on that class, and the mode in which the 
 Italians employ their domestics hardly infringes 
 on their dignity. A certain number come to 
 their masters' houses for a few hours in the day, 
 and during that period wear livery, and if in 
 the higher departments, mount cocked-hats — 
 
ROME* 
 
 87 
 
 such as Prince Eugene and Marlborough figured 
 in at Blenheim and Malplaquet. These sig- 
 nori having strutted their appointed time, go 
 home, where they have their meals, and resum- 
 ing their ordinary habiliments, follow their own 
 occupations ; their places are supplied in the 
 same way by others pro tempore, and on days 
 or evenings when company is received, the 
 whole muster-roll assemble in the ante-rooms, 
 where the guests walk through a regiment of 
 servants, or what might as properly be called 
 retainers. 
 
 A Roman woman will not be hired to scour 
 a floor, nor do any such menial offices ; and ac- 
 cordingly, in the best hotels, which are kept by 
 clever men who have travelled, and are either 
 not Romans, or have lived a good deal from 
 home, females are procured from remote parts 
 of the country to afford their customers, the 
 English particularly, the neat accommodation 
 required ; and in no hotels are to be found any- 
 where better kept, or more comfortable apart- 
 ments than in Rome. Indeed, I am persuaded 
 
88 
 
 ROME. 
 
 that the English cannot continue to reside here 
 in such numbers as I see around me, for many- 
 successive years, without producing beneficial 
 changes in the habits of the people; just as 
 we, I imagine, were indebted about the time of 
 Queen Elizabeth, and still earlier, to the visits 
 of refined Italians for many improvements being 
 adopted, and abominations done away with, 
 that had previously been common amongst us. 
 
 Houses that are thoroughly clean, and free 
 from nuisances, produce so much more money 
 to their owners, that in this respect alone there 
 is an immediate incentive to improvement ; and 
 the Italians, who have in everything so lively a 
 perception of the beautiful, cannot withhold 
 their approbation from the beauty of cleanliness, 
 which is the first step towards following the 
 good example. 
 
 They once had a favourable influence on our 
 habits in this respect, and if absenteeism, which 
 we in England deplore on the part of our Irish 
 countrymen, should prove advantageous to other 
 lands, as the winds of Heaven send fertilization 
 
ROME. 
 
 89 
 
 to barren and far distant spots, we must never- 
 theless rejoice that the English living abroad 
 tends to the improvement of their places of 
 abode. 
 
 There is but little street-music here, or any- 
 thing out of doors going forwards that is en- 
 livening. I sometimes see groups of peasants 
 who come from the country at this Christmas 
 season, for the purpose of playing on the zam- 
 pogna, (an instrument resembling the Scotch and 
 Irish bagpipes,) before a picture of the Ma- 
 donna, who has the reputation of being an ex- 
 cellent judge of music, though the airs selected 
 on these occasions are particularly simple — to 
 please, as it is said, the Bambino. 
 
 The general aspect of Rome is sombre, and 
 from its appearance, I can easily believe the 
 circumstance mentioned by Lord Byron, of his 
 hearing, whilst riding round the walls, the simple 
 lament of the labourers' chorus, " Roma ! Roma ! 
 Roma non e piu come era prima." The triste 
 appearance which I have remarked, is increased 
 by bodies of men occasionally passing through 
 
90 
 
 ROME. 
 
 the streets connected with the hospitals and 
 some religious establishments, whose dress is 
 frightfully lugubrious. It is composed of some 
 deep-coloured grey material, which covers, not 
 only the whole person, but also the head and 
 face, two holes being made just large enough for 
 the eyes, the rolling of which, as thus presented, 
 looks fearful and ominous. 
 
 But a still more depressing sight is often 
 beheld ; — great numbers of prisoners clothed in 
 a particular kind of dingy dress, chained, (and 
 the chains clanking,) each two so fastened toge- 
 ther as to admit of their walking through the 
 streets to the work upon which they are em- 
 ployed in different places, escorted by soldiers. 
 Many of them are fine young noble-looking 
 fellows, and Fancy, " importunate and vain," 
 will busy itself in conjecturing what those de- 
 graded Romans might have been under other cir- 
 cumstances. Their punishments may, perhaps, 
 be only as moderate as they deserve; but one 
 cannot be sure of this, as the courts in which 
 thev are tried are kept closed. Public opinion, 
 
ROME, 
 
 91 
 
 that great and powerful resort of appeal which 
 makes judges in other countries tremble to do 
 the slightest wrong to the humblest individual, 
 exists not here; nor can it be even sought or 
 hoped for; there must be absolutely no can- 
 vassing of the acts of the constituted authori- 
 ties. The advocates of the right of doing to 
 others as you would not have them do to you, 
 have things all their own way. 
 
 Our visit to the Castle of St. Angelo was ren- 
 dered appalling by the crowd of wretched pri- 
 soners amongst whom we had to pass. Their 
 dwelling is low down, beneath the ramparts, 
 from whence, above close high walls, they can 
 behold but a scanty portion of the bright blue 
 sky that is their country's boast — enough how- 
 ever, w r e may hope, to remind them that " there 
 is another and a better world." 
 
 When any disapprobation is felt, or hard- 
 ships endured, connected with the acts of go- 
 vernment, silence must be maintained, or the 
 transgressor is put in durance. Whether the 
 punishments inflicted bear any just proportion 
 
92 
 
 ROME. 
 
 to the offences, we could not learn, farther than 
 that all those of a political nature are treated with 
 an awful degree of severity. Where the laws 
 of a country are good, the courts of justice 
 open, and a free press permitted to discuss and 
 comment on the acts of governors, guilty per- 
 sons, though at all times affecting objects of 
 contemplation, (for who can presumptuously say 
 that in altered circumstances he might not have 
 been the delinquent?) may be viewed with 
 comparatively little sympathy. But it is other- 
 wise in Rome, where offenders may be in- 
 carcerated for venturing to assert the inde- 
 feasible rights of man, as well as for break- 
 ing the known, necessary, and justifiable laws 
 of society. 
 
 A brave commander of the Castle of St. 
 Angelo, in a time of war, was, on some occa- 
 sion, called upon by the enemy to surrender; 
 his answer was worthy of Wellington him- 
 self, — " That he would do so, when the angel 
 surmounting the fortress sheathed its sword." 
 Although the angel in question remains a 
 
ROME. 
 
 93 
 
 passive spectator of human misery, its drawn 
 sword, still emblematic of suffering and woe 
 as when first beheld by mortal eyes, it may 
 be devoutly wished that a Howard or a Fry 
 should arise in this and every country, and 
 carry into the abodes of the wretched and 
 the degraded, blessings such as the prisoners 
 of England owe to those friends of their spe- 
 cies. 
 
94 
 
 ROME. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 In a former letter I remarked that the streets 
 of Rome have a sombre air, and in compa- 
 rison with those of some other great cities 
 they may be called gloomy. Churches of the 
 greatest magnitude, and the richest in the trea- 
 sures of art generally bespeak their pre-emi- 
 nence externally ; but there are many of them 
 depositories of some of the finest productions, 
 which, in outward appearance, are merely ordi- 
 nary places of worship ; so that they do not, 
 in proportion to their numbers and internal mag- 
 nificence, contribute to embellish the streets; 
 nor do the artists' studii embellish them at all, 
 though their walls enclose paintings and statues 
 
ROME. 
 
 95 
 
 " that enchant the world," more especially nu- 
 merous of the latter description. 
 
 " Forms, 
 
 By love imagin'd, by the Graces touch'd, 
 
 The boast of well-pleas'd Nature ! Sculpture seiz'd 
 
 And bids them ever smile in Parian stone." 
 
 Men of genius of every nation, who make the 
 Fine Arts their profession, settle at Rome, and 
 their studii are amongst the many interesting 
 objects visited by all pilgrims to the Eternal 
 City. Their contents are " among the chief 
 beauties of Almighty Rome." These emporiums 
 of art, which send forth the loves and graces 
 to decorate the princely residence, castle, or 
 palace — heavenly forms at once to adorn the 
 altar and kindle religious fire, or to impart more 
 solemn effect to the deepening shades of the 
 cathedral aisle — that furnish our assemblies of 
 men of science and learning in their halls and 
 porticoes, with likenesses of the elder chiefs, 
 who transmitted downw r ards to the present time, 
 the light of knowledge, passing the torch from 
 
96 
 
 ROME. 
 
 one to another ; these studii, to which we are 
 so much indebted, do not in their outward ap- 
 pearance announce the extent and importance 
 of the treasures within. The artists generally 
 ensconce themselves in some of the lesser streets. 
 The passer-by perceives roughly made folding- 
 doors, such as, when seen in London, we sup- 
 pose afford entry to coach-houses, or similar de- 
 positories. Here you ring, and in due time the 
 bolt is drawn aside either by the master or his 
 man, who politely invites the stranger to pass 
 the threshold. On his doing so, instead of the 
 common-place objects that might, from the 
 appearance of the place, have been reasonably 
 expected, one is greeted by antique and modern 
 beauties — all looking young and fair, as they 
 stand around singly, or in groups — an assembly 
 that to Fancy's eye might have descended from 
 Olympus, to bestow their gifts on the honoured 
 mortal, beneath whose roof they deign to come, 
 and whom we should deem a chosen and espe- 
 cial favourite, did we not see their perfect forms 
 gracing the studii of many artists. 
 
 5 
 
ROME. 
 
 97 
 
 On opening one of the aforesaid rudely con- 
 structed doors, Psyche, with her attendant 
 zephyrs, seems ready to take the opportunity of 
 winging her way to meet the companion of her 
 joys in bright regions where she was promised 
 that her blighted earthly love should be renewed 
 in unceasing bliss ; — with involuntary impulse 
 the stranger closes the outlet, lest she should 
 vanish from the ravished sight ! One is next, 
 perhaps, arrested by "the speaking sybil about to 
 utter those words of fate which Eneas sought to 
 hear, when in exile, a wanderer from his native 
 shore, he learned his high destiny was to found 
 a city that should give laws to the world. At 
 the next moment the toil-worn Ulysses, forgotten 
 by all but his dog, calls for our sympathy ; and 
 whilst yielding to the claim, a Cupid so full of 
 grace is discovered directing his unerring dart, 
 and taking such sure aim as makes one in danger, 
 like Prometheus, of falling in love with a statue. 
 But in an instant we see the urchin boy riding 
 the lion's back, and his mother, with bewitching 
 smiles and irresistible charms, gaining over 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
98 
 
 ROME. 
 
 Vulcan to her purpose; — teaching us the fact, 
 that love and tenderness will soften and render 
 amenable the most violent, as well as the rudest 
 and most obdurate natures, 
 
 It may be, at the next turn of our head, we 
 perceive the spirited grace of Alcibiades, which 
 we are told had some share in obtaining for him 
 the favour of the wisest of men ; — or perhaps 
 we observe the sister Muses, without whose in- 
 spiration, or at least until it had been humbly 
 prayed for, no poet would venture to touch his 
 lyre. Now, indeed, in these days of curtail- 
 ment, the plnces they held are voted by the 
 younger sons of Apollo to be mere sinecures. 
 Still, their graceful forms are prized, and so far, 
 they are more fortunate than many other Nymphs 
 abandoned by their ci-devant worshippers. 
 
 But I must put an end to my catalogue 
 raisonee, or I shall weary you ; for I cannot 
 convey to you any idea of the beauty of the 
 various works of the studii ; they overpower the 
 senses with the portrayed charms of classic lore, 
 or impress historic incidents on the mind in a 
 way scarcely to be forgotten. 
 
ROME. 
 
 99 
 
 Again, on repassing the threshold of the 
 clumsy door, (the opening of which had intro- 
 duced us into a paradise at least equal, as re- 
 gards beauty, to Mahomet's) we return to the 
 same ill-conditioned precincts we had left ; the 
 magic spell of the sculptor's art is broken, and 
 we are made to feel as sometimes happens when 
 a person bids us farewell, whose eloquence, whe- 
 ther in public or private, has opened to us new 
 sources of pleasure, and imparted higher ideas 
 of excellence — we are constrained on such occa- 
 sions to acknowledge that even here there are 
 two kinds of existence, that which belongs to 
 the " work-day world," and another causing the 
 mind to travel beyond itself and all the ordinary 
 concerns of life. 
 
 Thorwalsden is the greatest artist of the pre- 
 sent time, and in my poor judgment he is greater 
 than was Canova, in many of whose works I can 
 only see graceful imitations of his Grecian pre- 
 decessors. The monument of white marble 
 which Canova executed in St. Peter's on the 
 death of the royal Stuarts, seems to me un- 
 
 f 2 
 
100 
 
 ROME. 
 
 worthy of his name. There are two angels 
 beautifully designed and executed, 'tis true, 
 placed one at either side of the heavy door of a 
 sepulchre, above which are three medallions, 
 like the heads on coins enlarged, bearing the 
 names of James IL, his son, and grandson. 
 If the design for the monument was left to Ca- 
 ll ova 5 (as I conclude was the case, or he ought 
 not in justce to himself to have undertaken it,) 
 he might fairly have represented the unhappy 
 monarch as putting aside a crown with one 
 hand, whilst grasping the Bible with the other, 
 indicating the sacrifice he made to his zeal and 
 religious opinions, all of which latter, Canova 
 being a good Roman Catholic, could not but take 
 for granted were found in the sacred volume. 
 Anachronisms, I suppose, are admitted in sculp- 
 ture as well as in painting ; and though the 
 pretender and his son could not have been pre- 
 sent at the act, he might have introduced them 
 as applauding or confirming, like holy martyrs, 
 the resignation of the crown which doomed 
 themselves to exile and poverty. Some such, 
 
ROME. 
 
 10! 
 
 or much better, exercise of the imaginative 
 powers on so exalted a subject might, I think, 
 have been expected from the great sculptor of 
 his day ; and perhaps it was from the impression 
 that he had done so little justice to this passage 
 of our history, that I did not sufficiently ad- 
 mire the light draperies of his Dansetrici and 
 Psyches. 
 
 At Chatsworth there is a likeness, from Ca- 
 nova's chisel, of Madame Letitia — Bonaparte's 
 mother — a very fine piece of sculpture ; but, as 
 far as I recollect, it is an almost exact copy of 
 the dignified seated figure of Agrippina at the 
 Capitol. But at the Capitol, some of the lower 
 apartments are filled with busts that do Canova 
 the greatest honour. Some are the work of his 
 own hand, but for the most part they were exe- 
 cuted by others, and all at his expense ; he em- 
 ployed various artists and workmen, whose 
 names, as well as those of the persons repre- 
 sented, are inscribed on the busts. They are a 
 vast number, manifesting that all the genius 
 Italy had produced was dear to him. There are 
 
102 
 
 ROME. 
 
 the busts of every distinguished historian, poet, 
 painter, man of science, composer of music, 
 or sculptor, that has lived since the days of the 
 great men of the empire, (whose physiognomy 
 for the most part had been previously ren- 
 dered sufficiently familiar), but not so that of 
 their successors ; and all the Italians of every 
 grade, who by their works assisted in the revival 
 of literature, or by their talents in any way re- 
 fined the taste of their countrymen, are here 
 presented to our view. In short, he has com- 
 memorated all his compatriots who deserved that 
 honour. A project so noble, having its source in 
 so high a feeling of amor patrice, cannot fail to 
 interest as deeply as do the works of art them- 
 selves by which it is so worthily carried into ex- 
 ecution. 
 
 After wandering, delighted, from one room to 
 another, in the last we saw a fine has relief mo- 
 nument erected to Canova himself, reminding us 
 with a sad conviction that in the grave were 
 ended his labours of love, and the torch of his 
 genius was quenched. 
 
ROME. 
 
 103 
 
 Rome, however, besides many artists of sur- 
 passing merit, can still boast of Thorwalsden ; 
 he is above seventy years of age, but still a 
 robust, hale looking man. Though his features 
 are decidedly much handsomer than those of 
 Dr. Franklin, as represented in busts and pic- 
 tures, their fine animated expression is very 
 similar. Thorwalsden himself is a native of 
 Copenhagen ; though his father and all his fa- 
 mily were Icelanders. He told me that he has 
 resided forty-five years in Rome, during which 
 period he has visited Denmark three times, and 
 urgently has he been solicited to fix his abode 
 there. But his reply is, that all the fabled in- 
 spiration feigned or sought for by poets in the 
 Castalian spring, artists, who have been once 
 here, really experience in Rome. It is a fact 
 that Bonaparte (whose purposes we know it was 
 not easy or always safe to contradict) entreated 
 Canova to settle in Paris, and adorn that city 
 by his works. He replied that the attempt 
 would be vain; that his powers would depart 
 from him if he left Rome, for there only was he 
 
104 
 
 ROME. 
 
 a sculptor. Thus the " mother of dead em- 
 pires" has become the nurse of living genius, 
 and here Thorwalsden still pursues his calling 
 with unabated vigour. In the north of Europe, 
 where formerly the fine arts were little culti- 
 vated, he has, with respect to them, created a 
 new era, or rather diffused a new light — an 
 aurora borealis spreading widely around its lu- 
 minous brightness ; he has kindled a love for 
 them in those frozen regions where, like deli- 
 cate exotics, it would seem they could hardly 
 thrive ; such has been the power of mind he 
 has brought to bear on his art, that he has sur- 
 mounted all obstacles, and in that quarter of the 
 globe every civilized kingdom possesses his 
 works, and exults in his genius ; the orders he 
 is receiving continually from thence exceed his 
 powers of execution. 
 
 Nor does Thorwalsden forget, in the sunny 
 clime where he is the object of universal re- 
 spect and admiration, the far distant home of 
 his family. We saw at his studio, amongst 
 other most beautiful pieces of sculpture, a group 
 
ROME. 
 
 105 
 
 representing our Saviour and the children of 
 whom he said, " Suffer them to come unto me, 
 and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom 
 of Heaven." Thorwalsden has just finished it 
 for the purpose of presenting it to a church in 
 Iceland. Our holy religion being adapted to 
 the wants of man in all countries, and under all 
 circumstances, it is his high destiny to aid in 
 making its acknowledged truths to be felt by all 
 descriptions of persons. The mild dignity of 
 our blessed Saviour's expression of ineffable be- 
 nevolence, and of power self-controlled, were, I 
 think, never more felicitously displayed than by 
 Thorwalsden. He appears to me the Raffaelle 
 of sculpture, deeply imbued with the spirit of 
 Grecian art, but not its servile imitator; he 
 does not make all his men Greeks, and his 
 women nymphs ; he thinks of the world at large, 
 and bears in mind that character is developed 
 differently under different modifications of so- 
 ciety. And although no one excels him in de- 
 picting the fair productions of the flowery gar- 
 den of mythology, he does not confine him- 
 
 f 5 
 
106 
 
 ROME. 
 
 self to its fanciful and elegant forms. From 
 that gay parterre, with its flowers and winged 
 insects, he ranges forth in imagination as it 
 were amidst the solemn groves where majestic 
 oaks spread their broad shade, and Druids 
 might have worshipped.* 
 
 Before I take my leave of sculpture, I must 
 not omit mentioning that we have been to see 
 the statues in the Vatican by torch-light. 
 
 Were the whole of the galleries well lighted, 
 kings might assemble from all parts of the 
 world, to wonder and behold their glory. Very 
 different, in the first instance, was our proceed- 
 ing. We went in the dark, like conspirators, 
 muffled up, not to avoid discovery, but to escape 
 the chilling cold of the place. On our arrival, 
 a group of men, whom we could scarcely dis- 
 cern, received us very angrily, for we had un- 
 avoidably kept them waiting ; indeed they ex- 
 pressed such vehement displeasure as quite 
 alarmed us, and it occurred to me that a speedy 
 
 * Since these letters were written, an account has been re- 
 ceived of the lamented death of Thorwalsden. 
 
ROME. 
 
 107 
 
 retreat would be an advisable measure. At 
 last, however, they became pacified, lighted their 
 torches, and we proceeded to look at one fine 
 statue after another. We thought the white- 
 ness of the marble not so profound and chilling as 
 when seen by daylight, nor yet does the warmer 
 tinge approach too near to life. The statues so 
 viewed one might imagine to resemble some 
 bright creations above humanity, whilst par- 
 taking of some of its characteristics. On the 
 whole, the strong light and deep shadows pro- 
 duced by the flashing torch had a very fine 
 effect, more so in some instances than in 
 others. 
 
 The god of day was the greatest night beauty 
 of all ; but, however his form is viewed, its sur- 
 passing excellence must be felt and acknow- 
 ledged ; nor can any one be surprised that Jupiter 
 should have had cause to complain of the 
 ladies of Greece deserting his majestic statues 
 to worship at those of the beardless Apollo. 
 When the torch was placed behind this statue 
 of matchless dignity and grace, we beheld 
 
103 
 
 ROME. 
 
 (or fancied that we did so) admirably por- 
 trayed — 
 
 "In his eye 
 And nostril beautiful disdain, and might, 
 And majesty, flash their full lightnings by, 
 Developing in that one glance the Deity.' 
 
 We had the pleasure of Mr. Gibson's com- 
 pany on the occasion of our torch-light ramble 
 in the Vatican, and we found the comments 
 of that distinguished artist of great value. 
 
ROME. 
 
 109 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 It cannot be said here that " the school- 
 master is abroad ;" he is stationary as any of 
 the fixed stars, and consequently Rome is more 
 unlike the rest of the world than any place I 
 have seen. In England, life, in all its forms 
 and modifications, is busy and progressive — 
 society amongst us in all classes is in movement. 
 Science and every species of knowledge have 
 changed their wonted habits of abstract specu- 
 lation, and are rendering services to the com- 
 munity that not only enlarge our intellectual 
 pursuits and extend our information, but pro- 
 mote our comfort and well-being in the minutest 
 particulars as regards our " work-day world.'' 
 On the contrary, here as much pains are taken 
 
no 
 
 ROME. 
 
 to arrest the desire of advancement as elsewhere 
 to encourage that which is the destiny of man, 
 We in England contemplate the middle ages 
 and their stand-still, Chinese-like preservation 
 of antique lore, as we read of the Grecian and 
 Roman republics, with a passive belief that such 
 things were, though we see nothing around us, 
 excepting some few institutions and magnificent 
 gothic buildings, to remind us of their period. 
 Being at Rome makes one feel somehow like the 
 man in the story, who, by dipping his head into 
 water, was enabled to behold far distant scenes. 
 
 1 own there is a great charm for me in the cir- 
 cumstance that all apparently is the same here 
 as in centuries long past ; though I cannot re- 
 concile this sentiment with many of my fixed 
 principles and opinions. I suppose I resemble 
 the person who said, " Virtue I approve, but 
 pleasure wins my heart." Certainly there is a 
 great deal here that I do not approve, but alto- 
 gether the effect produced upon the mind by 
 Rome is that of its being delightful as it is 
 unique. 
 
ROME. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Theological learning, which forms the great 
 business of the seminaries and colleges, is, I be- 
 lieve, in statu quo, and so I imagine are the 
 laws, which are administered by churchmen as 
 they were with us when that lofty prelate, 
 Wolsey, was our chancellor. 
 
 The church here presents now, as formerly, 
 so vast a variety in its professors as puzzles 
 one to imagine how — its members being so dif- 
 ferent in externals — it can be uniform in its 
 purposes. Truly it is of capacious as well as 
 of elastic construction. There is the Pope, 
 that " servant of servants," with his triple 
 crown ; cardinals are seen everywhere drawn in 
 their state carriages, accompanied by fine li- 
 veried attendants, or walking in processions, 
 the weight of their scarlet and ermine robes 
 sapported by train-bearers. From cardinals 
 downwards are met at every turn different 
 grades of the clerical body ; some richly dressed 
 — purple and scarlet mingling in their habili- 
 ments, others more plain, until the coarsely- 
 garbed friars bring up the rear, their bare feet 
 
112 
 
 ROME. 
 
 and uncovered heads aiding in appearance their 
 equal pretensions with the meanest beggars to 
 the extreme of poverty. 
 
 What a diversity of tastes are thus accommo- 
 dated within the bosom of the church, for which 
 in ours there is no provision ! And, therefore, 
 probably arise our different sects ; and this it is 
 that gives to us, who belong to the reformed re- 
 ligion, the character of being divided, whilst the 
 Roman Catholics lay claim to unity from having 
 arrangements made within their own body, to 
 suit many men of many minds. Some amongst 
 us who abjure pomp, turn Quakers ; others, who 
 love it, even in holy orders, are candidates for 
 rank and seats amongst our peers ; again, those 
 who are stubborn, and will not recognize epis- 
 copal authority, are Presbyterians, Indepen- 
 dents, &c. &c. ; whereas, amongst the Roman 
 Catholics, diversity of opinion as to church go- 
 vernment, and many other matters, I believe, is 
 really as great, (always allowing for agreement 
 as to there being one infallible temporal head of 
 the church ;) and yet Dominicans, Franciscans, 
 
ROME. 
 
 113 
 
 and other denominations, though differing as 
 widely perhaps from their parent-stock, as do 
 many of our sectaries from the established reli- 
 gion, are not considered Separatists, because 
 more of human skill is to be found in the con- 
 struction of the Roman Catholic, than in that 
 of the Reformed Church. 
 
 In subordinate points, too, we are surpassed 
 in policy, that is to say, if we shrink from the 
 taunts cast upon us for our apparent divisions. 
 Our churches are kept inviolably for the use of 
 our established clergy ; none who has not sub- 
 scribed to the Thirty-nine Articles can enter the 
 pulpit of any parish church ; whereas, in Rome, 
 the churches are thrown open to all zealous 
 preachers, and it is not uncommon to see a 
 poorly clad friar holding forth under the splendid 
 dome of the Jesuits, as well as in many others 
 of the most magnificent churches. What would 
 the Bishop of London's chaplain or secretary 
 say to an itinerant methodist proposing to preach 
 from his lordship's pulpit ? He would assuredly 
 
114 
 
 ROME. 
 
 direct him to go by the shortest road to a lunatic 
 asylum. 
 
 Pray observe that I am not discussing which 
 is the best mode of proceeding. I am only en- 
 deavouring to explain the ideas that have arisen 
 in my mind on the subject of the divisions in the 
 Reformed Church, contrasted with the unity 
 boasted of in that of the Roman Catholics ; but 
 I own it is a topic much too weighty for me to 
 enter upon, and I shall conclude with this re- 
 mark, that the Catholics, as such, presume that 
 they have a superior claim to Heaven ; but our 
 church is more prone to exclusion in its worldly, 
 though not in its spiritual arrangements. 
 
 WWW 
 
 Our acquaintance with a young clergyman, 
 who had some interest amongst the Cardinals, 
 obtained for us the honour of an interview with 
 the Pope. We were a party of about twelve, and 
 on being told that we were all English, he dis- 
 pensed with our bending the knee, or showing 
 him any mark of homage to which our stiff-necked, 
 
ROME. 
 
 115 
 
 stiff-limbed people are unaccustomed. Horace 
 Walpole, it is said, on being presented, drew back, 
 loth to pay the tribute of respect good Catho- 
 lics were doing to the slipper, which the Pope 
 perceiving, kindly addressed him, — " My son, 
 don't be afraid of showing respect to an old 
 man." We, not being called on to pay any such 
 implied homage, placed ourselves at once in a 
 circle around his holiness. He was plainly ha- 
 bited in a loose white cloth robe, made like a 
 dressing-gown ; his slippers only were orna- 
 mented, being composed of crimson and gold; 
 he is an animated, benevolent-looking old gen- 
 tleman of about seventy years of age. One of 
 his bishops, an Englishman, stood near, (the 
 Pope was himself standing, leaning his back 
 against a table,) and told him who some of us 
 were, mentioning that one of the party was a 
 member of parliament, another a naval captain, 
 &c, and to each person he spoke in Italian on 
 subjects appropriate to their callings. From us 
 ladies he inquired how long we had been in 
 Rome ? Had we travelled much ? And ordi- 
 
116 
 
 ROME. 
 
 nary questions of the sort, which, though very 
 interesting to us, coming from his lips, were 
 probably, as well as our answers, very tiresome 
 to him. In about half an hour he called for his 
 hat and cloak, and bowing, left us to take a 
 walk in the adjoining garden. 
 
 No other sovereigns lead so solitary and cheer- 
 less a life as do the Popes ; they never walk out 
 beyond their gardens, never ride on horseback, 
 invariably dine alone, and, worse than all, they see 
 no ladies mingling in the grave society of church- 
 men with whom they associate, except in cases of 
 formal introductions, such as I have described. 
 This ascetic mode of life, I believe, was enjoined 
 by the Council of Trent, in order to preserve 
 the papal character from the reproaches to which 
 it had been liable from the free manner of living 
 of some such Popes as Leo X., who hunted and 
 enjoyed, without distinction, the good fellowship, 
 to say the least, of ordinary persons. Most cer- 
 tainly, though the manner of living adopted after- 
 wards by the Popes appears unnecessarily strict, 
 and too far removed from wholesome and allow* 
 
ROME. 
 
 117 
 
 able gratifications, still it must be admitted that 
 the habitual self-denial they severally practise, 
 adds much to their dignity and respectability. 
 
 Strange to say, it is the custom for the Pope 
 to go very seldom to St. Peter's, never but on oc- 
 casion of some of the principal festivals. We 
 lately saw there the ceremony on Candlemas- 
 day, of his blessing candles some feet in length, 
 which were lighted, and so borne through the 
 church by cardinals, bishops, and various infe- 
 rior orders of the clergy. (I imagine the Roman 
 Catholics must think that Heaven is lighted up 
 by wax candles, and some of our own divines 
 seem to be coming over to this opinion.) The 
 long procession was followed by richly-dressed 
 choristers, each two of them holding a book and 
 chanting very finely. In none of the ceremo- 
 nies at St. Peter's have we ever heard an organ ; 
 the absence of its swelling peals, which form 
 an addition so appropriate and powerfully grand 
 to all sacred music, is, I think, a great defi- 
 ciency. If the ceremonies we have witnessed 
 were about half their present length, we should 
 
118 
 
 ROME. 
 
 have found them much more impressive; they 
 are so prolonged, that the attention becomes 
 fatigued, and droops. 
 
 In one of the most interesting ceremonies we 
 have seen, the Pope did not officiate at all ; it 
 took place at the Capitol. In one of the principal 
 apartments, on a raised seat, placed on what re- 
 sembled the dais of the olden time, was the se- 
 nator of Rome — one of the conservatori sat on 
 either side, all three gorgeously clothed in scarlet 
 and gold. At some little distance, in front of 
 them, were rows of benches for gazers like our- 
 selves. At two o'clock, the room being as full 
 as it could hold, in walked three Jews, very re- 
 spectable, dejected-looking men, dressed in 
 black : a sort of straight silk mantle hung loose 
 at the back, not unlike what priests wear on 
 some occasions ; they were followed by a boy 
 holding a silver tray, with a large bunch of 
 flowers laid thereon. Most inappropriate to the 
 occasion seemed the festive-looking, odorous, 
 bright flowers ; but to be sure these are not mo- 
 nopolized alone by the happy, for love oft times 
 4 
 
ROME. 
 
 119 
 
 strews them over the grave, where its dearest 
 hopes lie crushed and buried. In the midst of 
 the bouquet there is concealed a purse, contain- 
 ing eight hundred scudi, or crowns. Though 
 not exactly applicable, I thought of Lady 
 Macbeth's direction, 81 Look like the flower, 
 but be the serpent under it !" This sum 
 of eight hundred scudi is exacted annually from 
 the Jews, who by the payment thereof obtain an 
 exemption from the hardships — I might say 
 miseries — which they formerly endured. 
 
 It is said that all the Roman Jews are descen- 
 dants of the prisoners brought from Jerusalem 
 by Titus, who caused the Coliseum to be erected 
 by them. The Hebrew people live in one 
 quarter of the city, which has sentries posted at 
 the two entrance gates ; these are closed at an 
 early hour in the evening, when all are locked 
 in until the following morning. But to return 
 to my subject. 
 
 The three Jews deputed to present the flowers 
 stood before the platform where were the se- 
 nator and his companions, who made a most 
 
120 
 
 ROME. 
 
 conspicuous appearance in their rich and showy 
 garments. The poor Jews, as well became them, 
 looked humble and downcast in their deep 
 mourning ; one of them made a speech ; his voice 
 was tremulous and indistinct, so that none of us 
 could tell whether he spoke Latin or Italian. 
 His faint murmurings being ended, he presented 
 the flowers, which the senator received, saying 
 that he accepted them with satisfaction, as a 
 proof of the loyalty and attachment of the Jews 
 to the government under which they enjoyed so 
 many and great blessings, and promising a con- 
 tinuance of the same, so long as it was deserved 
 by peaceable good conduct, &c. All this 
 harangue was spoken clearly and distinctly in 
 Italian — in tone and manner as different from 
 what had preceded it, as the respective situations 
 of the parties so strangely brought in juxta- 
 position. 
 
 The congratulatory style in which this latter 
 address was delivered seemed to me as little 
 called for by the occasion, as it would be for 
 those on deck to tell the forlorn beings in the 
 
ROME. 
 
 121 
 
 hold of a slave-ship, that they might exult in 
 the fine air and bright sky, around and above 
 them. The purse thus given, nolens^ volens, 
 defrays all the expenses of the races during the 
 carnival, the opening of which is preceded by 
 the affecting ceremony I have attempted to de- 
 scribe. 
 
 It would be considered extraordinary — " pass- 
 ing strange" — were it not the fulfilment of pro- 
 phecy, that the Jews who fell so continually 
 from their faith, when under the sensible and 
 unequivocal superintendence and direction of 
 Jehovah himself, should (whilst the light of his 
 countenance is withdrawn) so firmly adhere to 
 it in adversity, and under all variety of circum- 
 stances, during eighteen centuries of suffering 
 caused by that very adherence. But I am not 
 going to discuss either the backslidings of the 
 seed of Abraham, or their indomitable resistance, 
 as a body, to the truths of Christianity, but only 
 to say, that when I saw them here represented 
 by three of their fraternity " clothed in humi- 
 lity" and deep mourning, paying a hard-earned 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 G 
 
122 
 
 ROME. 
 
 tribute to the descendants of their conquerors ; 
 their long past woes and captivities (when they 
 " hung their harp upon the willows, and sat down 
 and wept") all rose before me, and the low, fal- 
 tering address to the Senator I could, from not 
 hearing it at all, convert into some such prayer 
 as, "Lord, remember David, and all his trouble P 
 " Oh ! Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou 
 be angry with thy people ?" &c. &c. 
 
 The senator's speech being ended, the meet- 
 ing broke up. He got into a splendid coach 
 that waited for him at the foot of the Capitol, 
 and accompanied by a troop of horse proceeded 
 to the Corso, where his arrival was announced 
 by the firing of cannon. 
 
 The Corso is a long street terminating in a 
 square at one end, and at the other in the 
 Piazza del Popolo, where the starting and 
 winning-posts are severally placed. The senator 
 and his squadrons passing along was the signal 
 for the opening of the carnival. Then all our 
 carriages immediately followed, and for a couple 
 of hours we drove up and down in two regular 
 
ROME. 
 
 1-23 
 
 lines, until we were cleared oft* by a troop of 
 dragoons. The foot-passengers, however, re- 
 mained stationary on either side unscathed. 
 Our party repaired to a balcony commanding a 
 view of the scene of action. 
 
 After waiting about an hour, we saw eight or 
 nine most gaily caparisoned horses, dash along 
 the Corso, without any riders, achieving as well- 
 run a race as possible. No jockeys could have 
 directed them with more intensity of purpose to 
 the winning-post ; there is something very beau- 
 tiful in their own volition, as it appears, sending 
 them thus fleetly on. Gold-paper was attached 
 in some way slightly to their housings, and kept 
 dropping in small particles, — looking as if their 
 feet kicked up gold-sand or dust at every 
 movement. They are, I am told, urged forwards 
 by small spurs, which act as they move, but which 
 are concealed. The noble animals seem as if they 
 were flying of their own accord before the wind, 
 as one might imagine Arabian steeds scouring a 
 desert, pleasure their sole incentive. 
 
 In the following week, the carnival gaieties 
 
 g 2 
 
124 
 
 ROME. 
 
 were resumed on Tuesday and Wednesday : 
 Thursday being a holiday there was a cessation, 
 and on Friday and Saturday they recommenced. 
 The proceedings were the same in all parti- 
 culars on each of these days, excepting the last 
 few hours of Saturday evening. The carriages 
 assembled at two, and were driven along the 
 Corso till four o'clock. The higher class of 
 Italians, as far as I could judge, take no part 
 whatever in the carnival, except looking on oc- 
 casionally from their balconies. The long pro- 
 cession of carriages was formed by those of the 
 English principally, and other foreigners, and 
 by a low class of the natives, who got into hired 
 open carriages, bedecked in the most absurd and 
 tawdry manner. Several of the coachmen were 
 dressed in women's attire, and their using the 
 whip in Amazonian style, had a ludicrous effect. 
 There were not many who represented charac- 
 ters — some gentlemen there were, as well as 
 others, who did so. About half of the per- 
 sons on foot wore their ordinary clothes, and as 
 for the rest, with some exceptions, one might 
 
ROME. 
 
 125 
 
 fancy that a mob had seized on the old cast-off 
 trumpery belonging to a theatre. 
 
 The English, as they passed in their car- 
 riages, assailed each other with vollies of com- 
 fits and other confectionary, as well as bunches 
 of flowers. The same was also practised by the 
 foot-passengers, and showers of different things 
 fell on our heads from the balconies, from the 
 size of small comfits to that of walnuts — some 
 made of sugar and others of lime. The gen- 
 tlemen often threw very pretty kinds of bon bons 
 into the carriages ; we all defended our faces 
 with wire-fans, whilst every one did as much of 
 playful mischief to his neighbours as possible 
 Handsome velvet gowns and shawls were none 
 the better for the powdering they received. 
 
 At the same hour as before, the Corso was 
 cleared by dragoons ; the horse-races followed, 
 and concluded each day's amusement, excepting 
 Saturday, when all terminated with an additional 
 pastime. It was just becoming twilight when 
 the race was over ; in an instant, everybody had 
 a lighted wax-taper in hand — the object of all 
 
126 
 
 ROME. 
 
 was to put out their neighbours 1 lights and pre- 
 serve their own. This latter was a matter of some 
 importance, as whoever was without a light was 
 liable to be assailed, rudely enough, unless suf- 
 ficiently well defended by strong arms of others 
 or their own. The balconies were filled with 
 lights — everywhere the conflict was going on. 
 Amongst so many moving tapers, and a depar- 
 ture from all order and restraint, I became 
 alarmed ; and amidst outrageous noise, confu- 
 sion, and cries of <c Smoccolato ! Smoccolato f M 
 we made the best of our way home. 
 
CISTERN A. 
 
 127 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Cisterna. 
 
 After much consultation in fixing on the 
 exact period for our visit to Naples, we came to 
 the decision of bending our steps thither on 
 the 2nd of March ; and, accordingly, our pre- 
 parations being made, we set forward on that 
 day. 
 
 We left Rome at the opposite side from that 
 by which we had entered three months ago. The 
 environs we had recently traversed wore, in some 
 respects, a different aspect. In this, as well as 
 in other directions in the immediate vicinity of 
 the city, the land is occupied by gardens, occa- 
 sionally by villas, and also by Columbaria, the 
 habitations of the dead ; as well as by many 
 convents and vineyards bounded and intersected 
 
128 
 
 C1STERNA. 
 
 by high walls, which latter passing along either 
 side of the common roads, exclude thence all 
 view. Beyond, the campagna stretches wide, 
 uncultivated and forlorn ; no tillage, nor trees, 
 and rarely the abode of man, or shed, or shelter 
 for cattle, are to be seen ; a poor, meagre, dingy 
 kind of turf spreads all around, — reminding one 
 of the following lines : — 
 
 " Far as the eye could reach no tree was seen, 
 Earth clad in russet scorned the lively green ; 
 No birds, except as birds of passage flew ; 
 No bee was heard to hum, no dove to coo ; 
 No streams, as amber smooth, as amber clear, 
 Were seen to glide or heard to warble here*" 
 
 Yet there is something of sublimity in the 
 stillness and solitude of this region, unvaried as 
 it is by few objects, excepting the whole or dila- 
 pidated arches of ancient acqueducts, that serve 
 like ships upon the ocean to break the dull mo- 
 notony of the scene, which is here, however, 
 grand in its very desolation. For those who 
 enter Rome in this direction, such a solemn, 
 sombre approach, is appropriate to the capital 
 
CISTERNA. 
 
 129 
 
 which was once the queen of cities, but now, 
 mournful and discrowned, sits amongst the 
 stupendous ruins of what had been her pride 
 and glory — monuments of the past existence of 
 a race of sons who were the conquerors and 
 masters of the world. The fine arts now 
 flourishing in Rome, as the Acanthus we see 
 everywhere wreathing itself amongst fallen 
 columns, seem like flowers that deck the grave 
 of freedom. 
 
 The encouraging words addressed to Eneas 
 by the shade of Creiisa are no longer appli- 
 cable to the present state of things ; she bade 
 him go 
 
 " Where gentle Tiber from his bed beholds 
 The flow' ry meadows and the feeding folds." 
 
 I have not as yet seen a great deal of fine 
 scenery in Italy ; some I certainly have seen, of 
 surpassing beauty, but in Switzerland I saw 
 nothing else. All descriptions and previous 
 conceptions fell far short of the glorious realities 
 there presented by the " mountain and the 
 
130 
 
 MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 flood." Yet, strange to say, though the love of 
 father -land burns intensely in every Switzer's 
 breast, that feeling has not produced either 
 great painters or poets to extol their country ; 
 whereas here such master spirits have abounded, 
 and sent forth to the whole world their im- 
 pressions glowing and ardent as the sunbeams 
 that kindle them, and beautiful as the skies by 
 which they are cheered and solaced. 
 
 Mola di Gaeta. 
 Our second day's journey was performed 
 through the celebrated Pontine marshes. To 
 the left lay the long unbroken chain of the 
 Apennines, from whence flow those waters 
 that have baffled ancients and moderns to expel 
 from the level ground at their base. The road 
 was for the most part bordered by trees, and 
 the general appearance of the country through 
 which it conducted us, was not unlike a 
 scene I have observed in England, when the 
 fields were partially flooded after heavy rains. 
 I have been told that whoever travels this road 
 
MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 131 
 
 should have Horace in his head, or at least carry 
 him in his pocket, because he mentions every 
 day's progress in this direction. I am unfor- 
 tunately not so provided in either department ; 
 I cannot therefore enrich my scanty notices with 
 his terse descriptive remarks. It is some com- 
 fort, however, amidst my deficiencies, to know 
 that more than a hundred years ago, when 
 Addison, who was furnished with classic lore 
 cap-a-pie passed this way, he said places wore 
 so different an aspect from what they had done 
 formerly, that in going back by sea from Naples 
 to Rome, he found it much easier to trace out 
 the way Eneas had taken than that of Horace, 
 because Virgil has marked it out by capes, is- 
 lands, promontories, and other natural objects 
 which are not so subject to change or decay, 
 as are towns, cities, and the works of man. 
 
 We had not long quitted the marshes before 
 we entered into the bright and balmy region of 
 the south. The territory of the Pope is di- 
 vided from the kingdom of Naples at Terracina, 
 where we came upon the shore of the Mediter- 
 
182 MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 ranean sea. This latter, as we looked upon it, 
 vied in blueness with the sky, which seemed, 
 Narcissus-like, to love its own beautiful reflected 
 image, and to shed its softest influences on our 
 lower world. 
 
 * # # # 
 
 Fable tells us that Jupiter oft in the olden 
 days abandoned the destinies of Olympus, when 
 he sought for pleasure on this earth, or upon the 
 waters, such time as he bore Europa through 
 the waves ; and in scenery like this now around 
 me, Faney^ left to its own musings, might easily 
 beileve that here his descent had, on some oc- 
 casion, been made, and that the impress of his 
 glowing smile still remained upon the fertile soil. 
 
 We reached this place, (Mola di Gaeta,) a 
 town built on the ancient Formiae, just as a 
 finely setting sun was enveloping every object 
 in its radiant brightness. The land, that gently 
 slopes from the road to the water's edge, is 
 covered with orange and lemon trees laden with 
 fruit, all of which was deepened in colour by the 
 surrounding glow. 
 
MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 133 
 
 . Instead of pursuing our journey immediately, 
 we resolved to pause here for a day or two at 
 least, and luxuriate in the beauties of nature. 
 The hotel, which affords us very good accom- 
 modation, is close to the spot where 'tis said 
 stood Cicero's villa, Formiana. In these 
 gardens lie ruins of vaulted chambers, on the 
 stucco of which may still be seen traces of the 
 gay and tasteful patterns that adorned them. 
 Vying with these in elegance, are the cluster- 
 ing wild flowers and acanthus twining around 
 the fallen columns and their broken capitals. 
 Never was a more delicious site chosen for an 
 ancient or modern residence ; and it commands 
 also what Vitruvius required for some palace, 
 a full view of the setting sun. The sea from 
 our windows looks like a large wide-spread lake. 
 Hills, promontories, and distant mountains come 
 into view on all sides, together with towers, 
 castles, and monasteries ; some of these latter 
 lying sheltered beneath, and others boldly placed 
 on the highest summits. The foreground is a 
 mass of orange and lemon trees weighed down 
 
134 
 
 MOLA DX GAETA. 
 
 with fruit, which young hands are just now 
 busily engaged in gathering into many baskets, 
 preparatory to being despatched to Naples. 
 These golden treasures will soon be replaced, 
 for already do their successors, in the shape of 
 bursting buds and flowers, send their sweet 
 odours to us upon the passing breeze. 
 
 The neighbouring hills are richly clothed 
 with vines and olive trees ; violets are mingling 
 amongst daisies in equal profuseness, and the 
 hedges along the high roads are composed of 
 lauristinus in full blow. I remember once a 
 friend of mine perceiving this shrub on a bleak 
 winter's day still decked in its glossy green 
 leaves, and tiny yet massive flowers, said " In 
 truth it is a good-humoured shrub." At pre- 
 sent this epithet is not particularly called 
 for ; as there are mingling with it myrtles and 
 other plants prodigal of their gay flowers : for 
 the charms of the south have here burst upon 
 us in such splendour as would lead us to sup- 
 pose, were there no pocket almanacks, that 
 already May had lifted o'er the world " her blue 
 voluptuous eye.*" 
 
MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 135 
 
 We went a distance of three miles to see the 
 fortress of Gaeta: its high and strong fortifications 
 bespeak the full command it possesses over every 
 sail which is unfurled on the sea that expands 
 around it. The rock on which it is built, jutting 
 far into the sea, forms from hence a most beau- 
 tiful point of view. I could scarcely be per- 
 suaded that it was practicable to reach it by 
 land, but on getting into one of the little car- 
 riages of the country, I was soon convinced of 
 my error, and taken to the spot where the 
 
 . " Matron of immortal fame, 
 Here dying, to the shore hast left thy name ; 
 Cagita still the place is called from thee, 
 The nurse of great Eneas' infancy. 
 Here rest thy bones in rich Hesperia's plains ; 
 Thy name ('tis all a ghost can have) remains." 
 
 In more modern times were deposited there 
 also the remains of the gallant Bourbon who 
 was killed in scaling the walls of Rome, whilst 
 in the army of the emperor Charles V. He 
 was fighting against the Pope, then the ally 
 of the French king, Francis V. That sove- 
 
136 
 
 MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 reign's forgetfulness of the past services of the 
 brave Constable, would not alone have converted 
 his devotedness into enmity, had not injuries 
 been heaped upon him so overpowering as to 
 extinguish the pure and ardent flame of loyalty 
 that burned in his breast. When that light 
 became darkness he sought for death, and found 
 it in the hour of victory. In this latter 
 circumstance, as well as in undaunted courage, 
 our own Nelson resembled him. The Bourbon 
 fell as Rome did also when his conquering 
 arms were turned against her. France could 
 not claim his remains; the Emperor did not 
 seek for them; they were deposited and re- 
 spected in the strong fortress of Gaeta, until 
 they were disposed of otherwise by the allies, 
 after the downfall of Bonaparte. 
 
 Gaeta is also remarkable as having been the 
 sole remaining place in the kingdom of Naples 
 held by the French when the great Captain 
 Gonsalvo besieged, and took it, adding there- 
 by the last leaf to his laurel wreath. 
 
 From this fortress we walked above a mile 
 
MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 137 
 
 to see a deep and narrow cleft in a mountain 
 which the inhabitants of Gaeta fully believe 
 was rent asunder when our Saviour was cruci- 
 fied. Every body who observes how closely 
 the convex parts of one side correspond to the 
 concave of the other, must be satisfied that the 
 division was caused by an earthquake; but 
 whether that took place or not at the time spe- 
 cified, the tradition serves the purpose of keep- 
 ing present to the people's minds the awful 
 event to which it relates. 
 
 We met many votaries on the road we tra- 
 versed ; Friday, the day on which we happened 
 to go, being the especial day for visiting the 
 memorable spot. On arriving there, we first 
 entered a small chamber, where a man sits sell- 
 ing little pieces of marble taken from the nearest 
 portion of the fissure ; these we were assured 
 would save the happy owners from all chance 
 of being drowned. Our incredulous looks, 1 
 suppose, betrayed our not believing them to 
 possess the saving properties of cork jackets. 
 The vendor of the treasures seemed surprised 
 
138 
 
 MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 that we did not wish to purchase some of his 
 inestimable collection. At length, our guide 
 told him significantly that we were English 
 people, and did not understand the value of 
 them ; on receiving which information he pro- 
 bably pitied and forgave us. 
 
 We descended by a long flight of stone steps 
 cut in one of the high rocks, by means of which 
 there was just room to pass ; on the right we 
 were shown the impression of the fingers of some 
 unfortunate infidel, whose hand had stuck there, 
 the rock having yielded like wax to punish him 
 for his doubts. We continued long going down- 
 wards, and the light yielded to darkness as the 
 rocks rose higher and higher above us. A pagan 
 in our place might have supposed he was about to 
 step into the realms of Pluto ; but far different 
 was the reality. Our spirits were revived on en- 
 tering a small, bright, pretty chapel decked with 
 flowers and paintings, and dedicated to God, 
 who rent the rocks asunder when his blessed 
 Son bowed his head and made known to the 
 world that man's redemption was completed. 
 
M OLA DI GAETA. 
 
 139 
 
 From the windows of the chapel we looked 
 down upon the clear green sea running through 
 the rocks, and heard the loud ceaseless billows 
 beating against them, the white foam rising 
 in the air like birds of silvery plumage. It 
 was a striking and solemn scene, well calculated 
 to call forth deep emotion in the breasts of all, 
 especially in those who were flocking there to 
 pray. 
 
 In returning to our hotel we stopped to see 
 the tomb of Cicero, a lofty, circular, half-ruined 
 pile ; the inner portion, however, which is said 
 to contain his ashes, is unbroken. This se- 
 pulchre is supposed to have been erected on the 
 spot where he was murdered in his litter, when 
 endeavouring to make his escape to Greece from 
 the destroyer of his country's freedom, with 
 whom he would at no time unite himself ; not 
 even previously, when the mighty Julius Caesar 
 himself visited him at his Formian villa, en- 
 treating his co-operation in specious purposes 
 that cautiously concealed their ultimate object. 
 Cicero detected the serpent lying beneath the 
 
140 
 
 MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 flowers presented to him, and rejected all 
 his offers, to fall at last by the base stratagem 
 of Octavius Caesar's adopted son. Augustus 
 was born whilst Cicero was consul, and the 
 world was filled with wonder and admiration at 
 the skill with which he unravelled and defeated 
 the conspiracy of Cataline. Vain mortals that 
 we are ; the same moment that we exult in 
 our prosperity, and liken ourselves to beings of 
 a higher nature : that very moment perhaps 
 the train is laid for our destruction ! So it was 
 in Cicero's case, as it is in that of many a one 
 who says to himself " Soul, take thine ease !" 
 The Scriptures, history, and our own observa- 
 tion of passing events, supply us with similar 
 matter for reflection. 
 
 The guide-book mentions that Cicero's se- 
 pulchre was erected either by his freedmen, or 
 by his daughter. Certainly it was not the 
 pious work of the latter, for he lived deeply to 
 deplore the loss of his Tullia. He told the 
 frends who attempted in vain to console him, 
 that formerly, amidst all his cares and distrac- 
 
MOLA DI GAETA. 
 
 141 
 
 tions, he could recur to her sweet conversation 
 and drop all his anxieties and troubles ; but 
 without her, he could find no remedy for his 
 public or his private sorrows. Sulpicius assured 
 him that if there be any sense in the dead, such 
 were Tullia's love and piety towards her father, 
 that she must be concerned for his affliction. 
 His friends reminded him of the destruction he 
 had witnessed of the empire, and the havock in 
 all the provinces, and then asked him — " After 
 those dread events how can you be so much 
 shocked to be deprived of the fleeting breath of one 
 little woman?" Perhaps Cicero anticipated our 
 Shaksgeare by remarking, " He speaks to me 
 who never had a child. " However this may be, 
 he wrote a book of consolation, to divert the 
 grief occasioned by his Tullia's death ; it is 
 full of examples drawn from history, of persons 
 w r ho had suffered in like manner, with patience 
 and fortitude such as he wished to imitate. 
 
142 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 We entered Naples at twilight; the lamps in 
 all directions were supplying the place of day, 
 which, as an old song says, " by nature wants 
 no light at all ;" the evening was fine, and a 
 busy population were full of animation. My 
 first impression of the place was cheerful, and 
 it was strengthened next morning by the life and 
 sunshine displayed in all directions. So beau- 
 tiful is this city and its entourage, that I am not 
 surprised it has been called " un pezzo di cielo 
 caduto in terra." It is situated in the centre of 
 a large crescent, in which form the deep blue 
 sea is bounded by the land, that extends about 
 seven or eight miles on either side. The view is 
 terminated in one direction by the mountains of 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 143 
 
 Vesuvius and Somma, and in the other by the 
 hills of Mergyllina, sloping gently to the sea, 
 covered with gardens, villas, and plantations, 
 and ending in a bold, craggy promontory. 
 
 The islands of the bay, some near, others 
 more distant, varying in shape and hue, impart 
 n degree of beauty to the scene that words are, 
 I think, inadequate to describe, and such, I 
 suppose, was the opinion of him who said, 
 " Vedi Napoli, e poi mori." The nearest of 
 the islands is Nisida, which is bold and pictu- 
 resque, composed of rock and wood. There 
 Brutus, after he had " struck the foremost man 
 in all the world," held the last interview with 
 his Portia, " dearer to him than the ruddy drops 
 that visited his sad heart." 
 
 The more distant island is Capreae, about 
 four miles in length, exactly in front of the bay- 
 formed crescent. It rises from the sea like the 
 guardian of the opposite shore, a protection from 
 storms and invaders ; it is a grand and beautiful 
 object, varying continually in its aspect whenever 
 the clouds above change theirs. It appears from 
 10 
 
144 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 hence, based as it is in the deep sea, to partake of 
 all the skyey influences that render it oftentimes 
 so serene and lovely, that it seems a fit spot for 
 mortals or immortals to hold intercourse with 
 Heaven, rather than to be the abode, as it was 
 once, of a monster that disgraced human nature. 
 But one may truly say of this sea-girt isle, 
 that previous associations are quickly ba- 
 nished — 
 
 " Look on its face and you forget them all." 
 
 The Chiaja, where we have delightful apart- 
 ments, is a mile in length ; houses are only on 
 one side ; they are for the most part palaces. 
 A wide open pavement for carriages is separated 
 by an iron railing from a garden of flowers and 
 shrubs, amongst which beautiful marble statues 
 are tastefully arranged, copies from the finest 
 specimens of the antique, and not in any way 
 impaired. Here Venus is fresh and fair as if 
 she had only just emerged from the neighbour- 
 ing sea, surrounded by all her family con- 
 nexions, friends and lovers included. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 145 
 
 There are no illegible inscriptions to " craze 
 antiquarian brains with endless doubt nor 
 effigy that 
 
 Some headless hero, or some Caesar shows 
 Defective only in his Roman nose. 
 
 Nor Venus is there, having a black eye or broken 
 forehead; nor Hercules crippled like an old 
 beggar, with scarce a leg to stand on, such as 
 one often sees elsewhere, " standing in the open 
 air," as if an hospital had turned out its incura- 
 bles. 
 
 But these bright creations of poetic minds are 
 not the only objects that arrest the attention, 
 for there are two elegant structures, not large 
 enough to be called temples, formed by the 
 hand of taste, in one of which is the bust of 
 Tasso, and in the other that of Virgil. 
 
 Italy, since the decline of Greece, has been 
 pre-eminently the land of poetry, and Naples, 
 above other places, abounds in rich materials 
 for that art, a sort of birthright, for it claims to 
 be founded by the syren Parthenope, who, being 
 at sea, (on some yachting excursion, I suppose,) 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
146 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 was shipwrecked on this coast, and we may 
 fancy, 
 
 " Her eye caught new pleasures, 
 As the landscape round she measures," 
 
 for she lost no time in building a town to which 
 she gave her name. The jealousy of the inha- 
 bitants of Cumee caused them to destroy it ; but 
 on the same site was erected the new city, 
 Napoli. How far this is true history I will not 
 pretend to say, but you must take it for poetic 
 history, and let me return to the Giardino 
 Reale, which I should but half describe if I 
 omitted the mention of a double row of the ilex 
 or evergreen oak beyond the gay parterre, af- 
 fording thick shade from the sun's too ardent 
 rays, and planted close to the sea, whose mur- 
 murs along the pebbly coast are unceasing as 
 the impelling waves, which here never ebb, at 
 least in any considerable degree. 
 
 At one extremity of this beautiful garden, 
 and separated from it by a slight paling, fisher- 
 men locate themselves amidst a prolonged 
 shrubbery, for the purposes of repairing their 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 147 
 
 boats, mending and making nets, and several 
 other aquatic requirements. Their wives and 
 children often join them, bringing their meals 
 and aiding in their work as they extend them- 
 selves in groups along the sandy shore. The 
 Neapolitan fishermen appear to be a remarkably 
 fine, athletic race. They are coarsely and 
 lightly clothed, and wear a Phrygian cap of 
 bright colour, commonly scarlet, which, from 
 falling on one side, has a careless and pictu- 
 resque effect, and reminds one of their Grecian 
 origin, of which their language also partakes, 
 according to the opinion of competent judges, 
 some of whom have asserted that " the cha- 
 racter of the Neapolitans is essentially Greek ; 
 their levity and playfulness, their taste for so- 
 phisms and specious arguments, as well as their 
 national dances and festivals — all is Greek 
 among them." 
 
 The weather now, in the beginning of March, 
 is so brilliantly fine that it reminds us of the de- 
 scriptions the poets used to give of May, before 
 the seasons and the calendar got a twist. 
 
 h 2 
 
148 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Violets are everywhere in as profuse blossom as 
 " the wee modest crimson-tipped flowers" are 
 with us, when Nature 
 
 " Spreads her sheets o' daises white 
 Out o'er the grassy lea 
 
 and in a garden where I was walking this morn- 
 ing, bright hyacinths had already burst their 
 leafy sheaths, mingling their sweetness with the 
 rich odours of Auriculas and Jonquils. 
 
 One of our first visits was to the north-west 
 end of the city, where spreads a long verdant 
 ridge, which I have somewhere read was called 
 by the early Greek colonists, Pausilipo, (" the 
 end of sorrow,") intimating thereby that the 
 inhabitants of this favoured spot are exempted 
 from the ills elsewhere common to our race. 
 On the summit stands the tomb of Virgil. 
 
 We climbed a steep ascent, and passing 
 through a vineyard, reached a small flat-roofed 
 chamber, in which about half-a-dozen persons 
 could stand upright; but the ashes of the genius 
 that once reposed there are no longer to be 
 
NAPLES 
 
 149 
 
 found. It is said that the urn which contained 
 them was, during the civil wars, removed to the 
 Castel Nuovo for greater security, and it is sup- 
 posed has been irrecoverably lost, for no trace 
 of it has been discovered; an inscription in 
 Latin remains, which has been translated 
 thus : — 
 
 " In Mantua born, but in Calabria bred, 
 
 Fair Naples owns me now ; the past'ral charge, 
 
 And agricultural toils and arms, I sung." 
 
 Had our gifted countryman, Byron, visited 
 this spot, he would doubtless have left the im- 
 press of his glowing mind, and these flat lines 
 would have been discarded for some bright ema- 
 nation of his genius. He would have rendered 
 some offering at the poet's grave more durable 
 than the laurel planted by Petrarch, of which 
 not a leaf remains, and more tangible than the 
 promise Boccaccio made, when, kneeling be- 
 side it, according to his own account, he " felt 
 suddenly seized by a sacred inspiration, and en- 
 tered into a daring vow with himself that his 
 name should not perish with him." Had he 
 
150 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 carved that vow on marble or on brass, he 
 could not have rendered it more durable than 
 he has done by his many-pictured tales of life 
 and manners, and by the services his indefati- 
 gable zeal effected for the cause of learning. 
 I have read in Gibbon and elsewhere, that for 
 all the moderns know of Greek they are in- 
 debted to Boccaccio, the business of whose life, 
 in the midst of poverty and difficulties, was to 
 save from destruction those manuscripts that, 
 but for his exertions, never would have been 
 recovered. He rescued valuable Greek writings 
 from oblivion and probable annihilation, as Pe- 
 trarch did those of many of the Latin authors. 
 It is said that these two great men first met at 
 the tomb of Virgil, and then commenced the 
 friendship that ended but with their lives. 
 Boccaccio, we are told, seemed to hear his own 
 knell when informed that Petrarch was no 
 more ; he survived scarcely a year, and after all 
 his wanderings and adventures, died at the re- 
 tired house that was his father's, at Certaldo, 
 near Florence, 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 151 
 
 The sepulchre, like an empty casket, no 
 longer containing the jewel it was formed to 
 hold, has now no ornament but such as are 
 found in the thoughts of those who visit it, and 
 in the field flowers and large-leaved acanthus that 
 hang around in wild luxuriance. But the view 
 from the spot makes all ornament superfluous. 
 The city of Naples lies beneath, encircling the 
 sea, whose deep tranquillity imparts a volup- 
 tuous beauty to the scene. Vessels gliding 
 along, their sails catching the sunbeams and 
 gentle breezes, look as if pleasure was their 
 sole object, as they pursue their bright path 
 along the water. In one direction, Vesuvius is 
 beheld divested of all terrors, a soft, white, 
 feathery vapour playing round its head, like the 
 graceful plume on the warrior's helmet in 
 " piping times of peace." In another direction 
 are seen the Elysian fields where the poet sent 
 the child of his genius to solve the enigma of 
 the grave, and hold converse with departed 
 spirits. Various besides are the objects of 
 interest that come into view from the elevated 
 
152 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 site, whence we could scarcely withdraw our- 
 selves, for the drive we had proposed to take to 
 Pozzuoli. 
 
 On descending to our carriage, we passed 
 through the celebrated grotto of Posilipo, three 
 quarters of a mile long, the origin of which has 
 been variously accounted for. The common 
 people, hearing of Virgil's fame, and ignorant of 
 the magic of his verse, attributed the piercing 
 of the mountain to his knowledge of the black 
 arts, by means of which they believed he had 
 achieved it in one night. The only circum- 
 stance, however, that in rational minds could 
 countenance the popular belief is, that the 
 height so immensely exceeds what is required 
 for a mere passage. We must therefore, I 
 think, incline to the opinion that it was used as 
 a quarry, or give Virgil altogether the credit of 
 it. Towards the centre it is lower than at 
 either end ; the whole length is dimly lighted by 
 small lamps. On reaching half way, we per- 
 ceived the representation of a Virgin and Child, 
 better illuminated, which seemed placed there 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 153 
 
 to impress on the rustic moralist the truth, so 
 important to us all to realize in our own breasts, 
 that religion, the aspiration of the soul after 
 heavenly things, cheers the dark passage of 
 life. 
 
 On emerging from the grotto, (in England we 
 should say tunnel,) a scene of brightness and 
 beauty met our eyes in every direction, and we 
 had a charming drive by the sea-side to the 
 town of Pozzuoli, the place at which St. Paul 
 stopped after the dreadful storm described in 
 the twenty-eighth chapter of the Acts. In the 
 fourteenth verse is mentioned his having tarried 
 there seven days previously to going to Rome. 
 He then probably saw standing in lofty magni- 
 cence the temple of Jupiter Serapis, which now 
 lies in ruins; it was destroyed by one of the 
 many earthquakes that have visited this place. 
 The great mole, constructed by Agrippa to 
 render Pozzuoli a convenient harbour, was de- 
 stroyed in the same way. Some traces of it are 
 still seen above the water. At no great dis- 
 tance from them is the Monte Nuovo, which, 
 
 H 5 
 
154 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 about three hundred years ago, was in one night 
 thrown up out of the bosom of the Luerine 
 lake. 
 
 The Terra di Lavoro, as it is called, would 
 seem to have been at all periods subject to great 
 transformations ; for Virgil tells us — 
 
 " Th' Italian shore 
 And fair Sicilia's coast were one, before 
 An earthquake caused the flaw ; the roaring tides 
 The passage made that land from land divides ; 
 And where the land retired, the rushing ocean rides, 
 Distinguished by the straits on either hand, 
 Now rising cities in long order stand, 
 And fruitful fields ; so much can time invade 
 The mould'ring work that beauteous Nature made." 
 
 Time is indeed the grand invader of all 
 below ; and even where the earth has not been, 
 as here, shaken to its foundations, nor its hidden 
 fires burst forth destroying the works of man, 
 where the footsteps of time are noiseless and 
 stealthy as the thief who robs in darkness, yet, 
 " triumph, arch, pillar, all he doth displace, 
 scoffing." But here the usual progress of his 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 155 
 
 work has been anticipated ; columns and pillars, 
 destined by their artificers to last for ages* in 
 the temple of Jupiter, were all prostrated by one 
 of earth's momentary upheavings. Such of them 
 as are unbroken are dispersed, and adorn 
 churches and palaces elsewhere ; a few only are 
 remaining near their original site, and these, 
 even by their solidity, attest the nothingness of 
 the works of man when any collision with the 
 elements drives them from their foundations, like 
 chaff before the winds. 
 
 Sylla, it is said, often made Pozzuoli his 
 place of residence after he resigned the dicta- 
 torship of Rome. The sulphureous baths in 
 the neighbourhood were probably his induce- 
 ment, for his bodily plagues were great, though 
 they could scarcely be commensurate with his 
 wickedness. 
 
156 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 This morning we were to have gone on a 
 distant excursion, but the clouds fell so low, 
 and wore so lowering an aspect, that we gave up 
 the projected expedition. We afterwards found 
 the high cold wind rendered our driving about 
 the streets disagreeable, even for a short time. 
 Our Italian servant, hearing us exclaim at the 
 sudden alteration in the weather, told us this 
 month is especially liable to such fitful changes 
 from one extreme to another, and it is said, " il 
 mese di Marzo e un Pazzo." 
 
 In passing along the quays about four o'clock, 
 we saw several distinct groups collected of the 
 lower class of people, who were listening to re- 
 citers of the poetry of Petrarch, Ariosto, and 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 157 
 
 Tasso. Such reunions, I am told, are of daily 
 occurrence, consisting of fishermen, whose habits 
 alternate between periods of exercise and longer 
 intervals of inaction than are usual amongst the 
 labouring class. All, however, seem to find 
 time enough for the cultivation of their taste for 
 poetry. 
 
 The most numerous body of hearers stood 
 around a man, who showed that he fully entered 
 into the spirit of the poem, which describes the 
 Christian enterprise to deliver Jerusalem. Al- 
 though he was a cripple, his shoulders resting 
 on crutches, which he could not flourish u to 
 show how fields were won," his arms were free, 
 and gave effect to most admirable and expres- 
 sive recital, and his voice was full, rich, and 
 varied in its tones. Had we not known that 
 written poetry was falling from his lips, we 
 could have imagined him an improvisitore under 
 one of the highest inspirations of that class ; in 
 fact, this maimed son of Apollo proved, that if 
 not possessed of the furor poeticus, he had at 
 all events the talents of a first-rate actor. 
 
158 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 But the attention of the ragged gentry in 
 Naples is not given during the whole of the 
 day to the charms of poetry, although the spirit 
 of adventure may be excited thereby ; for gen- 
 tlemen who walk in the streets, (ladies never do 
 so,) on returning home, generally find their 
 pockets relieved of all previous contents. They 
 are sure to be minus pocket-handkerchiefs. An 
 Englishman of our acquaintance told us the 
 following anecdote, as having, to his certain 
 knowledge, occurred not long ago. A com- 
 patriot was robbed of his handkerchief in the 
 Strada Toledo. An honest Italian saw the thief, 
 and denounced him to the police. This man 
 was instantly stabbed, and nearly killed, by an 
 accomplice, who ran a stiletto into his back. 
 The two criminals were tried and found guilty • 
 the man convicted of larceny received twelve 
 stripes, the other one hundred, and both were 
 let loose amongst the crowd, who laughed 
 heartily at the proceedings, especially that part 
 when the executioner of the laws described the 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 159 
 
 offences for which the culprits were about to 
 suffer such severe punishment. 
 
 The love of gaming is lamentably prevalent 
 amongst the lower classes of Neapolitans. The 
 children play for oranges in the streets, where 
 men, dressed as citizens and soldiers, are fre- 
 quently seen in groups sitting at cards. This 
 unhappy passion no doubt leads to many crimes, 
 the causes of protracted sufferings. Now tha 
 capital punishments are done away with (ex- 
 cepting in some very rare instances) by the pre- 
 sent king, prolonged confinement, and hard 
 labour, under painful circumstances, are the 
 substitutes, and of these there is always a re- 
 mission of some years on the queen's giving 
 birth to a child, or on a royal marriage. There 
 is something pleasing in having the lowest 
 classes participate in the happiness of the 
 highest; but it can be hardly supposed that 
 such casualties, influencing the condition of de- 
 linquents, can ultimately have a good effect on 
 society. It is still the spirit of gambling, the 
 essence of which is uncertainty, that gives them 
 
160 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 hope within the prison ; they look to chance for 
 their release from that durance, to which chance 
 has led them by the path of crime. 
 
 Of the better class of Neapolitans, we have 
 received the most favourable impressions, never 
 in our intercourse with them having experienced 
 any but the most satisfactory conduct, and in 
 some instances unusual politeness and honesty. 
 We were lately at a shop, where the persons 
 keeping it neither knew our names nor address, 
 and we had only occasionally purchased a few 
 small matters ; in making a payment some 
 change was to be given ; the shopkeeper had 
 none, and he insisted on our taking back the 
 piastre we had offered, saying he would rather 
 we remained in his debt, for then he should be 
 sure of our returning to his shop :— a refined 
 sort of compliment this, in its way. But a more 
 substantial favour was done by a tradesman 
 who returned three piastres that we had over- 
 paid ; and another took the trouble of bringing 
 a gold chain and some ornaments that my 
 daughters had very carelessly left on his counter. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 161 
 
 He was a dealer in the same things, but these 
 purchases had been made elsewhere ; he fortu- 
 nately knew our address, and lost no time in 
 replacing the stray articles, even before they 
 were missed. 
 
 The picturesque Lazzaroni are, I am happy 
 to say, daily diminishing in number, owing to 
 the improvement of their condition. They are 
 not by any means so large a class, nor so dis- 
 tinct from the ordinary poor, as I believe they 
 were formerly, and as I expected, from different 
 accounts, to find them. 
 
 The person in whose house we have the good 
 fortune, pro tempore, to be domiciled, on the 
 Chiaja, is an Englishwoman, who has resided 
 here for twenty-five years, and she assured me 
 that she never found the least indisposition to 
 work, on the part of the poor, and that they are 
 always thankful for employment, with which the 
 present government most creditably endeavours 
 to supply them. But such was not always the 
 case, and when thirty thousand destitute, able- 
 bodied men denominated Lazzaroni were loose 
 
16'2 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 upon society half-famished, (as the dogs are de- 
 scribed to be in Constantinople,) surrounded by 
 luxury and civilization, of none of the advantages 
 of which they partook, it is, I think, a proof of 
 their extreme mildness of character, that they 
 never assumed the formidable aspect of the 
 Janissaries in " The City of the Sultan." In 
 my opinion, it is wonderful that there have not 
 been many Masaniellos. Nothing but actual 
 starvation here causes even an emeute amongst 
 the suffering class. A very different temper 
 might naturally have been engendered where a 
 people have been peculiarly liable to an unset- 
 tled state of things, physical and moral. 
 
 The government here has partaken of the un- 
 quiet nature of the terra di lavaro over which 
 it has been placed. In the same century in 
 which the Normans paid us a memorable visit, 
 " leaving their foot-prints on the sands of time/' 
 they came here professedly to assist the Greek 
 colonists against the Saracens, and after vari- 
 ous fortune, not so decisive at first as on our 
 shores, established themselves as sovereigns of 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 163 
 
 this part of Italy. De Hauteville, an ancestor 
 of Tancred, with whose exploits we have all 
 been made familiar, in connexion with the holy 
 sepulchre, was amongst the first who led the 
 way. His gallant sons (of whom he had twelve) 
 followed, and fixed their supremacy on the soil 
 their swords had won ; and for about two hun- 
 dred years their descendants retained their con- 
 quest. The last of that race of heroes (who 
 reckoned amongst them William Bras de Fer, 
 Robert de Guischard, and others of note) was 
 Count Roger, whose only child, Constantia, 
 married the Emperor Henry the Sixth, son of 
 Barbarossa the Suabian. We are, however, 
 more especially familiar with his name, because 
 of the sympathy excited in every young English 
 breast for our gallant Richard Cceur de Lion, 
 whom he treacherously detained prisoner on his 
 way from the Holy Land. His cruelty obtained 
 for him the surname of the severe. Probably 
 private injuries, added to public wrongs, sharp- 
 ened the detestation in which the Norman 
 princess held her husband, for she poisoned 
 him. 
 
164 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Frederick, the son of this princess, reigned 
 during a long period over Naples and Sicily. 
 On being called to the throne of the empire, he 
 resigned his Italian dominions to his son Conrad ; 
 but Pope Innocent IV. claimed the city of 
 Naples for the Holy See, on pretence that Fre- 
 derick was excommunicated when he died. He 
 had successfully resisted the encroachments of 
 the Holy See in his dominions, and had thus 
 called down its anathemas on his head. His 
 sons Manfred and Conrad fought desperately 
 for their rights. Manfred was killed at the 
 battle of Benevento, in 1265. Conrad besieged 
 Naples and took it, the inhabitants having en- 
 dured much suffering at his hands. He died 
 shortly after, leaving his inheritance to his son 
 Conradin, whose melancholy fate 1 shall here- 
 after have occasion to notice. 
 
 From Frederick's death, in 1250, there fol- 
 lowed a dismal period of fifteen years of strife, 
 change, and invasion. At length Urban IV., 
 (son of a shoemaker at Troyes,) having suc- 
 ceeded to the popedom, during his short reign 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 165 
 
 of three years, conferred the kingdom of Naples 
 on Charles of Anjou, who, acceding to the pre- 
 tensions of the Pope as feudal lord, and engag- 
 ing to pay tribute, was crowned at Rome, 1266 ; 
 contrary, some historians assert, to the remon- 
 strances of his brother, Saint Louis, the king 
 of France, who was too just to approve of the 
 usurpation. The island of Sicily, in 1282, 
 passed to Peter of Arragon, the husband of 
 Manfred's daughter, and was released from the 
 tyranny of the French occupants by their mas- 
 sacre, commonly designated the Sicilian Ves- 
 pers, from the hour of the day when it oc- 
 curred. 
 
 The crown of Naples remained with the de- 
 scendants of Charles of Anjou until the death 
 of Joan II., in 1435. She, like her unfortunate 
 aunt Joan I., died childless; and being weak 
 and vacillating, laid the foundation of fierce con- 
 tests betw een the houses of Anjou and Arragon, 
 of which Naples was, at different periods, the 
 field of battle. She first declared the Duke of 
 Anjou should be her successor, and afterwards 
 
166 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 named Alphonso. The Spaniard by his sword 
 maintained his claim, established himself on the 
 throne, and received the surname of the Wise. 
 He was succeeded by his illegitimate son, Fer- 
 dinand, who it was thought better deserved the 
 cognomen given to his father. Many enlightened 
 and good laws were created during his reign, 
 but from his death, in 1494, a period of great 
 wretchedness followed. 
 
 The sceptre of Naples next passed to the 
 hands of no less than seven princes in about as 
 many years. Louis XII. of France, and Fer- 
 dinand of Spain, combined to partition the 
 country between them, and thus to settle their 
 respective claims. Frederick, the king of Na- 
 ples, perceiving he could make no head against 
 such powerful antagonists, abdicated ; and a con- 
 test arose between the successful sovereigns 
 as to their several rights. At first they resorted 
 to negociation to reconcile their differences, 
 and it was proposed that the grandson of Fer- 
 dinand, an infant in his cradle, (afterwards the 
 Emperor Charles V.,) should be betrothed to 
 
 5 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 167 
 
 Claude, the daughter of Louis, and that thence- 
 forward the juvenile sovereigns should bear the 
 title of king and queen of Naples. The Arch- 
 Duke Philip (the father of Charles) repaired to 
 Paris to further the project, the accomplishment 
 of which, as the 'means of continuing at peace 
 with the French king, he much desired ; and 
 supposing that matters were adjusted to the sa- 
 tisfaction of all parties, sent instructions to Gon- 
 salvo di Cordova, to suspend the war he was 
 waging in the kingdom of Naples, on the part 
 of Ferdinand. But the great captain disre- 
 garded the mandate, having received no order 
 to that effect from his master, who denied 
 having granted such powers of treating with 
 Louis as his son-in-law asserted had been en- 
 trusted to him. Accordingly war, in all its de- 
 solating processes, continued to rage, and the 
 campania felice, as well as other parts of the 
 country, exhibited a picture of the evils men's 
 passions can inflict on scenes where Providence 
 had stamped the impress of its beneficence. 
 The flower of the chivalry of France, including 
 
168 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Bayard and his friend Sandricourt, on one 
 side; — Gonzalvo, Navarro, and their persever- 
 ing followers on the other, encountered in dread 
 conflicts ; and " few, few did part, where many 
 met." The final issue was, that the Spanish 
 general and his army, having performed such 
 astounding feats of valour as amazed the world, 
 drove the French beyond the Alps. Gaeta was 
 the last strong position held by the latter in the 
 Neapolitan dominions, the taking of which 
 fortress concluded the military career of the 
 great captain — an appellation by which Gonsalvo 
 di Cordova has been recognised during succeed- 
 ing centuries. 
 
 This hero, the disperser of armies, it is said, 
 was so tenderly attached to his fair daughter 
 Elvira, that she was the companion of his for- 
 tunes in " the tented field ;" we may hope, there- 
 fore, that domestic life had compensations for 
 him, which he did not receive according to his 
 deserts from the sovereign he served so well, 
 which circumstance gave rise to the opinion en- 
 tertained by some, that Ferdinand was jealous 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 169 
 
 of the fame of the soldier who had made him 
 sole master of one of the fairest portions of the 
 globe. 
 
 The kingdom of Naples, laid prostrate and 
 trampled on by contending armies, was hence- 
 forward, from the year 1504, governed, and ill- 
 governed, by Spanish viceroys; — made a prey to 
 the extortionate demands of pachas, who fleeced 
 it, not only of money, but of every work of art 
 that was from time to time brought to light. 
 Fortunately the earth still remained closed over 
 the buried cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, 
 or their treasures too would have been sent with 
 others to adorn the capital of the victor and his 
 successors. 
 
 For nearly five centuries the possession of the 
 kingdom of Naples had oscillated between the 
 royal houses of France and Spain. The vice- 
 regal administration was the worst form of go- 
 vernment that had been inflicted on the suffer- 
 ing country. At length an end was put to the 
 greater misrule of deputies, in 1734-5, by the 
 
 VOL. i. i 
 
170 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 grandson of Louis XIV., Philip V. of Spain 
 making his second son Charles, King of Naples ; 
 and in the same branch of the house of Bourbon 
 the sovereignty has continued ever since, with 
 the exception of the interval, during which 
 Bonaparte's phantom kings, Joseph and Murat, 
 wore the kingly crown. 
 
 Not only the kingdom of Naples, but the 
 whole of Italy, presented a melancholy spectacle 
 at the period when France and Spain were 
 putting forward their rival pretensions. That 
 beautiful country, like the fabled Phoenix, had 
 risen from its ashes, since Goths, Vandals, and 
 Huns had steeped it in unnumbered woes, but 
 the barbarians could not always resist the kindly 
 influences of nature and art by which they were 
 surrounded, their descendants forming close 
 connexion with the enlightened natives of the 
 soil, were new-modelled by altered circumstances, 
 and by the clime, " whose sun-enlivened ether, 
 wakes the soul to higher powers." It was said, 
 that where the invader's horse had stamped its 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 171 
 
 foot the grass would never grow; but Italy's 
 fertile shores again bloomed. Commerce rolled 
 the treasures of the East into its busy har- 
 bours, 
 
 " And sculpture, painting, architecture, bent 
 Fronl ancient models to restore their arts, 
 Returned." 
 
 The ample pages of long-lost treasures of 
 knowledge were by means of diligent and 
 anxious exertions, again unfolded, and from 
 ancient wisdom was borrowed new. Universi- 
 ties, pre-eminent in art and science, were esta- 
 blished, and sent forth historians, philosophers, 
 and, above all, poets of the highest order. Na- 
 vigators, of daring souls, explored unknown re- 
 gions, one of whom discovered a new world, 
 whilst another sublime spirit traversed the 
 starry hemisphere, and disclosed its hidden won- 
 ders to mankind. 
 
 And here let me ask — Wherefore, when her 
 sons were led on in such various paths by the 
 
 i 2 
 
172 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 hand of Genius, was the surpassing civilization 
 of Italy, a second time overcome and conquered 
 by brute force ? The reply is — Because Italy 
 was as a house divided against itself. The im~ 
 port of the fable of the bundle of sticks was not 
 well understood, or at all events not acted on. 
 A common enemy, with which time and chance 
 occasionally afflict other countries, would have 
 been a light evil in comparison with that plague 
 with which it was familiar, — enemies swarm- 
 ing at home, bred within its own parental 
 arms ; each petty state thought only of its indi- 
 vidual narrow and immediate interests, and 
 looked upon its neighbour's welfare or aggran- 
 dizement with envy and jealousy. While other 
 kingdoms were consolidating their powers, Italy 
 was frittering hers away by internal strife; — 
 Genoa waged war upon Venice, and vice versa ; 
 — Rome intrigued with one foreign sovereign 
 after another, using spiritual weapons for tem- 
 poral purposes, to despoil Italian princes. Pa- 
 triotism was extinct, and private virtue at a low 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 173 
 
 ebb. Intense selfishness was the ruling passion, 
 and to its baneful effects the French and Ger- 
 mans owed their desolating triumphs over the 
 land that nature had done everything to render 
 a paradise. The Genius of Liberty mournfully 
 asks, — 
 
 " Are these the vales, that once, exulting states 
 In their warm bosom fed ? The mountains these, 
 On whose high blooming sides my sons of old, 
 I bred to glory ? The dejected towns 
 Where mean and sordid life can scarce subsist, 
 The scenes of ancient opulence, and pomp ? 
 Come ! by whatsoever sacred name disguis'd, 
 Oppression, come, and in thy works rejoice." 
 
 Guelphs and Ghibelines, Bianchi and Neri, 
 what have you not to answer for ! 
 
 But surely this land, " bright as the sum- 
 mer," will not always remain thus fallen. The 
 present torpor will doubtless pass away, and 
 Italy will again rise as before — the light of the 
 world, 
 
 " Italy, 
 
 Time which hath wrong'd thee with ten thousand rents 
 
174 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Of thy imperial garment, shall deny, 
 And hath denied, to every other sky, 
 Spirits which soar from ruin : — thy decay 
 Is still impregnate with divinity." 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 175 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 We have been to-day to Solfaterra, which lies 
 a little to the right of Pozzuoli, and never was 
 I in so strange and fearful a place. This part 
 of the neighbourhood of Naples certainly does 
 not deserve to share the appellation of " un 
 pezzo di cielo caduto in terra," — for it might 
 rather be taken for a specimen of what Hamlet 
 designates " the other place !" In fact, a learned 
 Neapolitan writer has declared his opinion that 
 it is one of the mouths of*the infernal regions ; 
 and truly appearances would seem to justify the 
 conjecture. The more distant authorities, how- 
 ever, of poetic fable, mention it as having been 
 the scene of battle between Hercules and the 
 giants, and afterwards used as Vulcan's assem- 
 
176 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 bly room. Whatever it may have been, it is at 
 present a large flat enclosure of considerable 
 extent, entirely surrounded by steep hills ; the 
 ground is composed of loose white ashes ; the 
 sides of the hills appear to consist of the same, 
 though vegetation struggles there for a location, 
 and tries to cover them with a scanty mantle of 
 dingy green. 
 
 In one part of the level space is a large build- 
 ing, in which is carried on the celebrated ma- 
 nufacture of sulphur ; it has numerous chimneys 
 protruding from the sides of the walls, all smok- 
 ing. I entered it; but the difficulty of breath- 
 ing that ensued made me run out instantly. We 
 marvelled how the poor men could remain as 
 we saw them at work. I suppose that they have 
 either no lungs, or that they have become ac- 
 climate to the dreadful atmosphere. Judging 
 by my own sensations, I am inclined to the 
 former hypothesis ! Why may not some persons 
 be without lungs, as well as others " without a 
 heart" — which we often hear confidently asserted? 
 Certain it is, however, whether with or without 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 177 
 
 lungs, that only very young and robust men 
 can support such occupation even for a short 
 time. 
 
 Connecting the appalling miseries of killed 
 and wounded, (from the contemplation of which, 
 even in idea, the affrighted imagination shrinks,) 
 with the manufacture of sulphur, one of the 
 constituents of gunpowder, this scene appears 
 to me, notwithstanding ancient and modern 
 authorities, as more resembling the devil's 
 workshop than anything else ; enabling men 
 to extend widely the horrors of carnage, and to 
 drench the fair and pleasant fields given us for 
 enjoyment and support with the blood of our 
 fellow* creatures. I think it had been much 
 better if our pugnacious propensities had no 
 vent but in the confined use of the bows and 
 arrows of former times, that now serve only for 
 the healthful pastime of young ladies and gen- 
 tlemen, instead of the fulminating, detonating 
 engines that we owe to the vaunted discovery 
 of the 1 5th century. 
 
 On leaving the sulphur manufactory, alias 
 
 i 5 
 
178 
 
 NAPLES 
 
 Pandemonium, we went a short distance to see 
 the process of alum-making. Deep stone basins 
 of water are placed beneath a covered shed; 
 these are kept boiling by the natural heat of 
 the ground, and the deposit becomes alum. 
 Steam arose around them in all directions, just 
 as if they were over a furnace. From the side 
 of one of the hills we also saw the same kind of 
 smoke or steam proceeding. On putting our 
 hands to an aperture near the boiling water, we 
 found the steam that issued thence so hot that 
 we could not suffer our hands to remain in con- 
 tact with the scorching vapour. 
 
 The guide told us that during an eruption 
 of Vesuvius, the smoke and subterranean heat 
 of the Solfaterra exceedingly decrease, its latent 
 fires no doubt being in requisition elsewhere. 
 A large stone was thrown several times on the 
 ground, from whence a hollow sound reverbe- 
 rated as though a great chasm was below a thin 
 surface, and it set the ashes on vyhich we were 
 standing, shaking very perceptibly. 
 
 It is said that when Murat was king, he had 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 179 
 
 the ground penetrated, and at the depth of forty 
 feet boiling water was reached. It was not 
 without some reason that the ancients called 
 the shores of the bay of Naples, Phlegrsei Campi, 
 or burnt fields. 
 
 Never did I see a more awful place than the 
 extinct volcano of Solfaterra, if extinct it can be 
 called, whilst sending from subterranean fires 
 heat that will burn and destroy whatever comes 
 in its way not properly defended. One could 
 imagine that some wretched town had met the 
 fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose ashes lay 
 still smoking around. And yet such is the 
 almost indomitable power of vegetation, that 
 even here grows a dwindled heath, putting forth 
 white blossoms like the flowers of death. 
 
 On the highest point of one of the adjacent 
 hills stands a solitary, gloomy gothic tower. It 
 is probably the residence of the superintendent 
 of the labourers employed in the sulphur and 
 alum works below. I could fancy it to have 
 been a refuge for any who survived the destruc- 
 tive flames that have apparently turned the 
 
180 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 green earth, and all that it inherits, into dust 
 and ashes. 
 
 On leaving the precincts, that looked cursed 
 by peculiar wrath, we quickly reached an eleva- 
 ted poipt from whence we beheld one of the 
 most beautiful scenes that imagination can 
 picture, all bathed in glowing sunshine ; the 
 bay of Naples outstretched; the city, situated 
 in a curve like Diana's crescent; steep hills 
 behind partly built on, and intermixed with 
 trees ; before us, islands near and distant, and 
 promontories protruding boldly forward. Such 
 a glorious contrast do these afford to the blasted 
 scene we had just left, that if our faith were not 
 firmly fixed on the " Rock of Ages," the supreme 
 Lord of all, we might have been in danger of 
 contemplating* as founded in possibility, the 
 opinion of the Gnostics, that there are two 
 opposite powers in the universe, good and evil, 
 holding divided empire. 
 
 We returned to the Strada Nuovo. On the 
 rocks that projected over the road we observed 
 the purple stock growing luxuriantly ; the rich 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 181 
 
 perfume of its flowers was wafted to us by the 
 sea-breezes. 
 
 If I were to say that there is any want at 
 Naples it is of the common green turf; there are 
 an abundance of flowers, and a sufficiency of 
 trees ; amongst the latter, dark evergreens are 
 especially numerous. There are also plenty of 
 mutilated, disfigured stumps destined to support 
 the vines ; and when these latter are in leaf, 
 they doubtless hide the defects of the partners 
 allotted to them ;— like beautiful and good-tem- 
 pered wives, whose charms are employed to 
 conceal the defects of crabbed, ill-favoured 
 spouses. But the greenness so delightful in our 
 own country, and above all others in Switzerland, 
 where the unwearied eye revels in it for ever, 
 
 is not to be found here. 
 
 # # # # # 
 
 Our servant Eugene recommended that we 
 should not make arrangements for going to any 
 distance, during even the beginning of next 
 week, (Holy week,) as assuredly there will be a 
 great deal of boisterous weather ; the anniversary 
 
182 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 of the period of our Lord's sufferings being 
 always marked, he says, by " Cattivo tempo !" 
 There is something very touching in the belief 
 that Nature, which made such dread manifesta- 
 tions at the crucifixion of our Saviour, still 
 shows signs of disturbance as the revolving year 
 brings round the period when the great sacrifice 
 for man was made, when the earth trembled, 
 the light was turned into darkness, and the 
 graves gave up their dead. 
 
 ^ ^ T^f ^ ^ 
 
 Eugene, who, 
 
 " Like the poor Indian, whose untutored mind 
 Sees God in clouds or hears him in the wind," 
 
 had his anticipations as to the " cattivo tempo" 
 fully realized at the commencement of this 
 week ; as were ours also, though we founded 
 our expectation on different data ; the equinoc- 
 tial gales being then due ; and very punctually 
 they arrived, in such force as to render the 
 usually tranquil waves before our windows up- 
 roarious. On Thursday, however, the jarring 
 elements were at rest and all was again calm. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 183 
 
 From an early hour in the morning not a car- 
 riage was to be seen ; from that time the use of 
 all kinds of vehicles in the city is prohibited 
 until the afternoon of Saturday : and the silence 
 now reigning in these commonly most noisy of 
 all streets is deeply impressive, associated as it 
 is with the solemn occasion. 
 
 On Thursday morning there was high mass 
 performed in the King's chapel, at which the 
 Archbishop assisted. It is a very beautifully 
 decorated building. The doors were freely 
 thrown open to all comers, but so great were 
 the attractions in several other places of worship, 
 that it was not by any means too crowded. 
 
 The royal family attended, dressed in deep 
 mourning, as was every body else. The music 
 was very fine. The evening before we had heard 
 in the church of San Pietro, the Miserere of 
 Zingarelli, which is allowed to be a masterly 
 composition ; and on the morning of Wednesday 
 the " sette parole" of Haydn was executed at 
 the Musical College in a style of great excel- 
 lence. 
 
 5 
 
184 
 
 NAPLES- 
 
 From the early dawn of Thursday, services 
 were being performed in every church in Naples, 
 except at short intervals, until a late hour at 
 night. Although the sun (as if in complaisance 
 to the popular feeling) was veiled in sombre 
 clouds, the churches had the windows universally 
 darkened, the interior being dimly lighted with 
 candles, until the evening, when they exhibited 
 a blaze of light: music and services at the altar 
 continuing till after twelve o'clock. 
 
 At three o'clock on Thursday a grand pro- 
 cession issued from the palace in the centre of 
 the town. First, a regiment of servants in full- 
 dress liveries, walking three or four abreast, im- 
 mediately preceded the civil officers of state; 
 these were followed by different military corps 
 dressed in the greatest variety of beautiful uni- 
 forms I ever saw, vying, in the splendour of 
 their colours, with the plumage of tropical birds. 
 In general it soon becomes tiresome to look at a 
 great body of troops if they are only walking, 
 without performing any military evolutions; but 
 here the dresses were so different both in form 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 185 
 
 and colour, and so rich, that it was quite another 
 affair. There were, I conjecture, specimens 
 exhibited on this occasion of the habiliments o£ 
 the soldiers of every part of northern, as well as 
 of southern Europe. 
 
 Then came the king, walking like the rest. 
 The queen, and queen-mother were on either 
 side of his majesty, who wore a military uniform. 
 The ladies were dressed in mourning, their 
 long velvet trains borne by gentlemen. Nume- 
 rous princesses followed, their brothers and 
 husbands accompanying them. 
 
 Next came a set of most highly ornamented, 
 unoccupied sedan-chairs, bearing on the out- 
 side crowns and other insignia; liveried lac- 
 queys surrounded them : I suppose these were 
 in readiness in case the inclemency of the 
 weather should render shelter necessary for any 
 of the royal pedestrians. To the sedan-chairs 
 succeeded the same number of troops (all carry- 
 ing their arms reversed) as had preceded them, 
 and in equally magnificent costume ; each regi- 
 ment had a band that performed only sotto voce ; 
 
186 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 the muffled drums being faintly heard. The 
 king was bareheaded, as likewise were all but 
 the ladies, who wore long black veils. The 
 appearance of so many royal ladies on foot gave 
 a fine antique effect to the whole proceeding. 
 They were not in the least incommoded by the 
 thronging populace, between whom and the 
 cortege no barrier was placed ; nor were the 
 streets lined either with soldiers or police ; the 
 people of their own accord kept at a proper 
 and respectful distance. 
 
 The procession passed through the street of 
 the Toledo ; and the royal family, before they 
 returned in the same order to the palace, visited, 
 and made obeisance at, seven churches. We 
 were in a well-situated balcony in the Toledo, 
 which circumstance has enabled me to give so 
 particular an account of the whole affair. The 
 usually gay debonair populace were as orderly 
 and sedate as possible; impressed, no doubt, 
 with the solemnity of the occasion, they behaved 
 themselves suitably to their mourning garb, 
 for all who could afford it were dressed in black, 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 187 
 
 which was the case also on the following Friday, 
 when there was an entire absence of the previous 
 ceremonies and performances in the churches. 
 If practised at all, one would suppose these 
 ceremonies particularly called for on the com- 
 memoration of tliat great day that consummated 
 the work of redemption ; but such cessation of 
 observances always occurs among the Roman 
 Catholics. I can only account for this by sup- 
 posing the sense of awe to be so profound as to 
 suspend all attempts at ordinary modes of cele- 
 bration ; — with the same feeling (to make a 
 most unworthy comparison, having reference 
 to the ceremonies only) that the Grecian painter 
 depicting the horror and grief of the attendants 
 on Iphigenia at the moment of sacrifice, con- 
 cealed her father's countenance as beyond his 
 art to give it suitable expression. 
 
 As ceremonies are not what we unimaginative 
 English lay much stress upon, we resorted to 
 our own church, where service was well per- 
 formed and fully attended. 
 
 During the Holy week, I understand the al- 
 
J 88 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 moners of the royal family are much employed 
 in the distribution of alms and donations to 
 individuals and charitable institutions. Of the 
 latter there is no dearth in this city; and some 
 of them are superintended and conducted in the 
 best manner by the higher classes, who, be it 
 spoken to their honour, give more personal at- 
 tendance to such matters, than is often done by 
 those of a similar grade in other cities. There 
 is an immense establishment for the poor, ad- 
 mirably well managed, we have been told, 
 where all beggars are received, well fed, clothed, 
 and made to work, We understand that Naples 
 has undergone great improvements as regards 
 the condition of the poor within the last ten or 
 twelve years, and as far as I can judge of the 
 interior of their houses, they are by much the 
 most cleanly we have seen in Italy. Along the 
 Strada Nuovo, where the fishermen have scooped 
 dwellings in the sides of the rock through which 
 the road is cut, we have often been struck by 
 the neatness of the beds and the whiteness of 
 the linen. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 189 
 
 •I must not forget to mention the excellent 
 establishment there is here (worthy of imitation) 
 for decayed servants. It is supported by the 
 higher classes. 
 
190 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 Easter Sunday being now over, the streets have 
 resumed their usual aspect ; offering the most 
 complete contrast imaginable to those of Rome, 
 the quietness of which is most remarkable. At 
 the latter place I have often been struck, not only 
 by the stillness, but by the scowling glance of 
 pedestrians, whose cloaks, wrapped around 
 them with a peculiar and misanthropic air, so 
 as in part to cover the mouth and lower portion 
 of the face, give the idea of persons who are 
 gloomily indignant at strangers coming among 
 them. 
 
 The streets in Naples, on the contrary, at all 
 times wear the bustling, animated appearance, 
 which other towns exhibit during an election or 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 191 
 
 some great public festival; the sounds and 
 sights that abound are of every variety of de- 
 scription. I am first awoke at an early hour of 
 the morning by the tinkling of bells placed on 
 the necks of droves of goats passing through the 
 streets : at a later hour these are generally suc- 
 ceeded by groups of Calabrian peasants more 
 than half clothed in sheepskins, who perform to 
 a pipe and zampogna a sort of dance, wild as 
 their own appearance : priests accompanying 
 juvenile sets of choristers, with open books in 
 their hands, and wearing an air of abstraction 
 from worldly things as great as if they were 
 under fretted vaults, and pacing long-drawn 
 aisles, are chanting and moving in one direc- 
 tion, while Punchinello screeches and excites 
 roars of laughter in another. Open and closed 
 carriages, of the handsomest description, filled 
 by the rich and gay, mingle with those of a 
 commoner kind, which are in great request, and 
 are not unlike our market carts, always crowded 
 with jocund, mirthful, ragamuffins ; sometimes 
 as many as eight and ten cram themselves toge- 
 
192 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 ther, or cling by exterior portions of the crazy 
 vehicle, while the one horse attached to it, as if 
 to compensate him for being driven at the top 
 of his speed, is decked out in feathers, often a 
 bunch of the peacock's stuck at one ear, whilst 
 the part of the mane near the forehead is twisted 
 so as to stand upright, and bedecked with many 
 coloured tapes or ribbons ; and wherever room- 
 can be found for them, the harness glitters with 
 double rows of bright brass nails. 
 
 In close proximity with these extraordi- 
 nary machines and their noisy fare, is often met 
 the funeral cortege. On the bier lies exposed to 
 view the deceased person, who is being carried 
 to the grave, and who looks rather like one 
 coming thence to admonish a thoughtless world. 
 The funeral of a priest is conducted differently ; 
 the body is covered with a black pall, and 
 placed within a carriage like an omnibus, only 
 with open sides ; four priests sit one in each 
 corner, holding a light : there are lights also 
 about the carriage, the tout ensemble of which 
 is a most lugubrious affair. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 193 
 
 The sombre impression produced on the mind 
 by the spectacle just described, is sure to be 
 dissipated by some immediate counteracting 
 influence, perhaps by pressingly offered flowers 
 sweet and bright, that speak to one of the youth 
 and freshness of a primeval world, and which 
 seem to promise that Paradise is not lost to us, 
 though we are for awhile bound to the turmoil 
 of earth. 
 
 At the corner of every street, and indeed 
 wherever there is room to place them, are stalls 
 made gay not only by fruits and flowers, but also 
 by painting and various other decorations. 
 Suppose a table, the lower part, front and sides 
 made solid, and having a canopy overhead sup- 
 ported by four pillars ; the whole surmounted 
 by a picture of the Virgin. Strings of oranges 
 and lemons hang all around in festoons, after 
 the manner of beads or shells on the body of 
 an Indian chief. At the base is painted some 
 scripture story, and according, I imagine, to the 
 attractiveness of the whole apparatus are the 
 numbers that wait on the presiding lady, who 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
194 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 stands at the back, and deals out cooling liquors, 
 iced waters and cooling lemonade to her humble 
 customers. What becomes of the ambulatory 
 shop in the night I do not know; I suppose it 
 walks off on four wheels to some place of security, 
 like an animal to its lair. 
 
 There being no trottoirs for pedestrians, all 
 the variety the streets contain are thrown into a 
 melee that is most amusing to us who view it 
 from our carriage, for it is inadmissible in point 
 of etiquette, and impossible in point of fact 5 for 
 ladies ever to walk the streets. They find com- 
 pensation, however, in the extensive and beautiful 
 promenade opposite to our windows, where the 
 bustle of horses and carriages, and of buyers and 
 sellers, is excluded ; there refreshing exercise may 
 be enjoyed by the side of the tidelesssea that never 
 departs thence, but flows on, its waves varying 
 in sound with every passing breeze, and its sur- 
 face partaking of every changing hue lent to it 
 by the canopy above. 
 
 We went yesterday a distance of a few miles 
 to see what is called Virgil's School. Not that the 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 195 
 
 poet ever acted the part of Jedediah Cleishbotham; 
 but the tradition is, that he was there initiated 
 in the lore, without which perchance he might 
 have been u mute and inglorious," and never 
 have become his country's pride, nor incited 
 youths unnumbered to cultivate the charms of 
 divine poetry. 
 
 " Nurse revered 
 Of generous counsels and heroic deeds." 
 
 On alighting at a door which was immediately 
 unlocked, several mendicant ragazzi offered their 
 services as guides, one of whom was made happy 
 by being allowed to run before us, on a path 
 leading down a very steep hill covered with vines, 
 as were also the finely diversified rising grounds 
 adjoining. We had not been long en route be- 
 fore we came to some late excavations where we 
 saw standing many dilapidated pillars, and still 
 compact basement stories. It is the opinion of 
 well-informed persons that these debris have 
 been, by the labour of man, uncovered before, 
 and that some second earthquake reburied 
 them. 
 
 k 2 
 
196 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 After pausing sufficient time to satisfy 
 our curiosity, we proceeded along a rapid 
 descent to a rocky promontory, were we 
 looked upon the site of Virgil's School. We 
 found it quite inaccessible ; schoolmasters did 
 not, it appears, in his tyro days go much 
 66 abroad." We saw some remains of a dwelling 
 and of a rude staircase, venerated from the idea 
 that it was once trod by the young poet of 
 Mantua. 
 
 Not far from this spot is the bona fide dwelling 
 of a hermit ; around it on all sides are huge bold 
 masses of rocks, some rising precipitously out of 
 the sea. Small boats which pass in that direc- 
 tion find it convenient, probably on account of 
 the depth of the water, to steer between some 
 of these and the hermit's abode. A projecting 
 stick, having a basket attached to it, hangs for- 
 ward towards the sea, not to catch fish as an 
 ignoramus might suppose, but to receive the 
 seaman's contribution ; and no boat ever glides 
 past without each one on board dropping into it 
 a small donation. A figure" of the hermit is 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 197 
 
 placed on a higher point, to remind the wayfarer 
 of his duty to himself and his neighbours. 
 
 Hermits and monks, considered by us as 
 superfluous gentry in the present era, are, we 
 must admit, valuable, if in no other way, by 
 adding much picturesque variety to the external 
 forms of society, that are fast becoming too uni- 
 form and monotonous ; whilst, at a dark period, 
 the latter at least proved important members of 
 the community from having made their retired 
 cloisters storehouses of learning, creating or 
 guarding treasures that would either never have 
 existed, or would have been dissipated but for 
 the safe lodgment found in their well-ordered 
 cells. 
 
 We saw the hermit who has led me into this 
 train of thinking ; he was clothed in a franciscan 
 monk's dress, and walking on the little beach 
 near to his dwelling. So magnificent is the 
 surrounding scenery, it inclines one to hope 
 that in his solitude he finds 
 
 * There is a rapture on a lonely shore, 
 There is society where none intrudes, 
 By the deep sea, and music in its roar.'* 
 
198 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 In bending our steps homeward, we stopped 
 at the elegant villa of Mr. Keppel Craven. The 
 situation is so eminently beautiful that but little 
 room is left for embellishment, and that little 
 is added in the best possible manner. We also 
 alighted at the Duke de Rocca Romamana's 
 residence, situated on a steep declivity over- 
 hanging the bay. Infinite pains have been 
 well bestowed to render it attractive in dif- 
 ferent ways; shrubs and flowers are disposed 
 most gracefully, not only out of doors, but also 
 in several apartments appropriated to birds and 
 other animals, stuffed so well, that they appear still 
 alive, luxuriating amongst the products of the ve- 
 getable world in which they most delighted. 
 Fruits, flowers, and foliage are so successfully 
 imitated, that the feathered tribe, squirrels, &c, 
 for whom such treasures are spread around, 
 seem to be the happiest of their kind. Other 
 apartments are occupied, not by stuffed, but by 
 living specimens, unconfined by cages, tenants 
 of ample-sized rooms divided by fine wire net- 
 work into compartments ; and low down in a 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 199 
 
 cavern amongst the rocks, is a species of ex- 
 traordinary and beautiful fish, not unlike good- 
 sized trout, having wings (not fins, as you might 
 suppose) of the most brilliant hues, shaded 
 from light clear azure, to the colour of lapis 
 lazuli and deep violet. They rise with incre- 
 dible swiftness to the surface, from the bottom 
 of the water, where they exhibit their won- 
 drous brilliancy. I marvelled whether these 
 were the same blue fish, or the descend- 
 ants of those whom the Princess Cara- 
 this, mother of the renowned Caliph Va- 
 thek, consulted for their reputed prophetic 
 lore, and who, being duly exorcised, replied, 
 " From gills to tails we are yours ; what seek 
 ye to know?" But I, not possessing the occult 
 learning, or wishing to share anything, even 
 knowledge, in common with that dread lady, did 
 not venture to open my lips, lest 1 should 
 hear that " from gills to tails" the small blue 
 creatures before us might be willing to obey ; 
 although, to say the truth, in their quick Sittings 
 to and fro, I could perceive no symptoms of pro- 
 
200 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 bable submission to commands. By means of 
 grated doors, the sea is made at all times to pass 
 gently through their abode ; and like a ferocious 
 animal that has had its fangs drawn, it can never 
 display any injurious roughness towards the in- 
 mates of the reservoir. 
 
 After seeing the two charming villas belong- 
 ing to Mr. Craven and the Duke de Rocca 
 Romamana, we alighted for a few moments to 
 look at the dilapidated unroofed palace at no 
 great distance that was once owned by the un- 
 fortunate Joan I., Queen of Naples. Eugene 
 informed us, it belongs at present to the king, 
 who will not suffer it to be restored, although 
 occupying one of the most beautiful situations 
 that can be imagined ; he added also that this 
 palace was built by the " Cattiva Regina ;" for 
 as such the unfortunate queen is handed down 
 to posterity by the vulgar. 
 
 It seems very strange how such gross calum- 
 nies as have attached a lasting stigma to her 
 name could have been propagated with respect 
 to her, though of the crime laid to her charge 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 •201 
 
 she was fully and honourably acquitted by her 
 contemporaries, with the exception of the rela- 
 tives and partisans of her unfortunate hus- 
 band, Andrew of Hungary, a man all ac- 
 counts agree in representing as coarse, brutal, 
 and ill-tempered, and that his rude, supercilious 
 manners, and the haughty bearing of his fol- 
 lowers, (especially of his governor, a Hungarian 
 monk, Fra Rupert, of whose rudeness and 
 coarseness Petrarch has made mention,) dis- 
 gusted the Neapolitan nobility. These latter, 
 intending to confer a great kindness on the 
 queen, by ridding her of an unworthy husband, 
 and themselves of an intolerable master, on one 
 of the evenings when a brilliant soiree was given 
 in the palace, strangled the prince in his own 
 apartment, and threw him from the battlements. 
 There are, however, no just grounds for believ- 
 ing that the queen was in any degree cognizant 
 of, or accessory to, this horrible transaction. 
 Young as she was, scarcely eighteen years 
 of age, and approaching the period of her 
 first confinement, nature rejects the idea of 
 
 k 5 
 
202 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 giving credit on insufficient authority to such 
 atrocity. 
 
 On the crime being laid to her charge, she 
 openly denied and resented the cruel imputa- 
 tion, and appealed to the Pope in person, who 
 was, by-the-bye, deeply interested in her con- 
 demnation, for some years before, on the death 
 of her grandfather, King Robert, the Papal See 
 made strenuous exertions to get possession of 
 her dominions, her right to which would as- 
 suredly have been forfeited, if she could have 
 been proved guilty. 
 
 Notwithstanding the unfavourable bias to 
 which interested motives might have been ex- 
 pected to give rise, when the queen repaired to 
 Avignon, and there met her accusers, she re- 
 pelled the foul charge so convincingly, in a 
 solemn assembly, consisting of the Pope, all the 
 cardinals and judges, that they unanimously ac- 
 quitted her of having any knowledge of, parti- 
 cipation or connivance in, the death of the 
 prince. Her youthful simplicity doubtless acted 
 powerfully in her behalf. She frankly acknow- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 203 
 
 ledged that she disliked and lived unhappily 
 with her husband ; but instead of enlarging on 
 his detestable qualities, she attributed their dis- 
 union to witchcraft. It is remarkable that all 
 the writers who lived near her time, including 
 Giannone, (said to be the best authority of his 
 day,) concurred in the opinion of her inno- 
 cence. 
 
 Two years after her acquittal, the queen mar- 
 ried her cousin, the Prince of Tarento, who, 
 though the) had been separated, loved her from 
 childhood. He too, and it appears no less un- 
 justly, has shared in the obloquy cast upon her 
 at a later period. They lived most happily to- 
 gether for several years ; no witchcraft disturbed 
 their union — until a power more potent dis- 
 solved it by his death. She subsequently twice 
 married, probably from political motives, and 
 feeling unequal to the undivided cares of go- 
 vernment ; she had no child to share the 
 burthen. Her attachment was unbounded to a 
 younger sister and her family, who usually re- 
 sided with her. Charles de Durazzo, her bro- 
 
204 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 ther-in-law, professed such sense of obligation 
 and strong affection, that he was in the habit of 
 calling her by the endearing name of mother ; 
 yet, notwithstanding all her claims upon him, 
 he allowed himself to be made the instrument 
 of her destruction. 
 
 At the period when there were rival Popes, 
 she favoured the unsuccessful candidate, and his 
 opponent, being seated in the chair of St. Peter's, 
 united with her old enemies, the Hungarian 
 family, to attack Naples. She was taken pri- 
 soner, and suffocated in the Castel Nuovo, by 
 order of Charles de Durazzo, who hoped to get 
 immediate possession of the throne, which 
 might have been his at no distant period had 
 he waited for the natural decease of his kins- 
 woman and benefactress. He met his re 
 ward by falling a victim to the perfidy of 
 those with whom he was associated against 
 her. " Thus even-handed justice commends 
 the ingredients of our poisoned chalice to our 
 own lips." 
 
 The tomb of Andrew of Hungary in the ca- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 205 
 
 thedral, bearing the Latin inscription, which in- 
 culpates the queen, 
 
 " Joannae uxoris dolo et laqueo necato, 1345," 
 
 is not a testimony of the least weight, when we 
 consider that Charles de Durazzo's children 
 ascended her throne, contrary to the last will 
 of their unfortunate aunt. Ladislaus was ac- 
 knowledged king, and was succeeded by his 
 sister, Joan II., whose name is handed down 
 merely as that of a weak woman, not possessing 
 one of the fine, elevated, or fascinating qualities 
 of her murdered predecessor, the fondly-attached 
 sister of her mother. 
 
 Doubtless to vindicate his father's memory, 
 and more especially to substantiate his own 
 right to the throne, Ladislaus would not scruple 
 to criminate, as far as a lying epitaph could do 
 so, the name of the queen, who appointed ano- 
 ther heir, and owed her violent death to his 
 father ; and no successor has since been on the 
 throne who could reasonably be supposed to take 
 much interest in her vindication. The King of 
 
206 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Arragon succeeded to the crown after the death 
 of Joan II., contrary to the pretensions of the 
 house of Anjou, from which she was in the ma- 
 ternal line descended. 
 
 Joan I. had another sister besides the Duchess 
 de Durazzo, — she was illegitimate, — never- 
 theless, the fair Lady Mary was a prime 
 favourite with the queen, of whose court she 
 formed a constant and brilliant inmate. Her 
 attractions drew thither the enamoured Boc- 
 caccio, whose sentiments, an old writer says, she 
 fully returned, on account of " sa belle plume et 
 son beau dire." He was besides handsome, and 
 often called upon to assist the mistress of his 
 soul in all suitable observances when she pre- 
 sided, as frequently happened, at courts of love 
 and tournaments, as the Queen of Beauty. He 
 has celebrated her with " sa belle plume/' under 
 the appellation of Fiammetta. It is conjectured 
 from one of his sonnets, that her death emanci- 
 pated him from Love's fetters, before he left 
 Naples to return to his native home, a year or 
 two previously to the horrid catastrophe which 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 207 
 
 terminated the gay and brilliant amusements of 
 that court, to the agr emeus of which, it is said, 
 the witty Florentine largely contributed, parti- 
 cularly by the first recital, in the queen's cote- 
 ries, of the Tales of the Decameron, although 
 another origin was afterwards attributed to them. 
 
 As I looked around the ruined palace, its 
 large doorways, where no doors remain, opening 
 to vast apartments and blackened walls, where 
 probably banqueting and revelry had been held 
 with great pomp and circumstance — the fancied 
 contrast of things as they were, with the present 
 hideous desolation, had somewhat the appalling 
 effect on the imagination of lightning momen- 
 tarily flashing through midnight gloom and 
 darkness. 
 
208 
 
 POMPEII. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 POMPEII. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 We formed a most agreeable party to visit 
 Pompeii, in company with some friends, whose 
 acquaintance was made during our stay at 
 Rome, a circumstance which we consider as 
 amongst the best fruits of our travels, and not 
 likely, I hope, to end with them. The day fixed 
 on for our excursion was very fine. We left 
 Naples before nine o'clock ; and our road lay 
 through Portici, where the king has a palace, 
 that, I understand, is never visited by any of the 
 royal family, except on occasion of the death of 
 one of its members. This house of mourning, 
 with all its appendages of park and gardens, and 
 also a pretty considerable town, are built directly 
 
POMPEII. 
 
 209 
 
 over the city of Herculaneum, which lies from 
 seventy to a hundred feet entombed beneath the 
 surface; six or seven different eruptions of lava 
 having elevated the ground. The number of 
 the eruptions is ascertained by the layers of soil 
 lying between the beds of lava. The accidental 
 circumstance of a peasant's endeavouring to sink 
 a pump, led to the awful disclosure of a buried 
 city. Only a small portion of it has been exca- 
 vated, lest the superstructure, the town of Por- 
 tici, might fall a sacrifice ; but that small por- 
 tion, besides houses, disclosed a theatre, ex- 
 ceeding in size that of St. Carlo, which is 
 the largest in Europe, and many of the greatest 
 treasures of art that have been discovered were 
 found in the comparatively little space which 
 has been yet penetrated, and unless Portici 
 should be destroyed at some future time by the 
 same fearful process that, a. d. 79, placed Her- 
 culaneum in Cimmerian darkness, there is no 
 likelihood that any further researches will be 
 made, notwithstanding the temptation of the 
 
210 
 
 POMPEH. 
 
 superb acquisitions in bronze and marble that 
 rewarded former labours. 
 
 After leaving Portiei, and a succession of 
 small villages en suite, our road lay through a 
 tract of country from whence lava had banished 
 every symptom of vegetation, " making the 
 green one" black ; all around looked partly com- 
 posed of dark mould that had been turned up 
 by the plough, and partly of cinders. Vesuvius 
 lies to the left, " the monarch of all he sur- 
 veys" — in that direction at least. With the 
 eagerness of tempest- tossed sailors, who first 
 descry land after contemplating only dread ma- 
 nifestations of power around them, we hailed 
 with pleasure the sight of verdure ; some trees 
 were putting forth their tender green leaves — 
 they are willows, appropriately placed at the 
 entrance to the Street of Tombs. This avenue 
 of death lies directly outside the ancient walls 
 of Pompeii ; on either side are marble tombs, 
 many of them of the oblong square description 
 that are placed above our family vaults, orna- 
 
POMPEII 
 
 211 
 
 mented a good deal with sculptured flowers and 
 leaves. These, perhaps, were to indicate the 
 hope entertained even by pagans, that an eternal 
 spring, after the long winter of death, would 
 call forth the enshrined dust again into form 
 and beauty. It is a great advantage that the 
 tombs have not been removed from their ori- 
 ginal site. Some pieces of marble lie there, in 
 the decoration of which the sculptor's chisel had 
 been employed, but had left its task incomplete ; 
 the work was evidently in progress, when he 
 who was preparing the tomb for another was 
 buried himself. 
 
 We then proceeded through the once gay and 
 busy streets of Pompeii, the inhabitants of 
 which, according to tradition, were, like their 
 degenerate kinsmen of Greece, a most pleasure- 
 loving people. Innumerable streets of roofless 
 houses, crossed by other streets, met our view 
 in all directions; the greater part, judging from 
 their moderate size in general, were the dwell- 
 ings of a middling class, such as are not often 
 found of great antiquity elsewhere. Of the 
 
212 
 
 POMPEII. 
 
 buildings of past ages, for the most part ves- 
 tiges of those only that were great and mas- 
 sive, whether destined for public or private 
 purposes, exist at the present day, and 
 they are marked by the processes of decay 
 made gradually by the great innovator, Time, or 
 have been hastened into ruin by the rude shocks 
 of war, and the wanton violence of barbarians, 
 such as combined to desecrate the temples and 
 palaces of Rome. But far different are the re- 
 mains of Pompeii, which present the only spe- 
 cimens perhaps extant, of ruin without decay, 
 excepting that some portion of Herculaneum 
 has been brought to light in the same manner. 
 
 Vesuvius, in one dread night, (a. d. 79,) 
 plunged this living city in utter darkness. 
 Nearly two thousand years ^lapsed, during which 
 period new countries rose to splendour and 
 greatness, whilst the incumbent load of ashes 
 lay unmoved from this buried but not prostrate 
 city ; the walls are standing, and in a wonderful 
 state of preservation ; they were filled up by 
 the lava and ashes that bore down every roof, 
 
POMPEII. 
 
 with one or two exceptions, at once destroying 
 that portion of the houses, whilst it kept the 
 remainder unharmed by the elements. No 
 storms or rain entered there to obliterate the 
 exquisite decorations which had their origin in 
 Grecian art. 
 
 The houses are painted in a plain manner 
 (generally red) at the outside, but within most 
 tastefully, on a thick coating of stucco or com- 
 position, which received a high polish on the 
 surface, forming an admirable ground for the 
 disporting of birds amongst flowers, which still, 
 painted as they are on the walls, look as if no 
 long night of centuries had interposed its dark- 
 ness between them and the sunshine and fresh 
 breezes that have, during the last fifty years, re- 
 visited them, along, too, with less kindly in- 
 fluences, which, however, have done these gay 
 productions less detriment than could be sup- 
 posed by any one who had not personal oppor- 
 tunity of admiring the glowing hues of these 
 bright creations. 
 
 The mosaic pavements of most of the houses 
 
POMPEII. 
 
 are perfect as ever; in many instances not one 
 of the tiny particles of which they are composed 
 has been displaced by the avalanche of ashes, if 
 I may so speak, that annihilated equally the 
 lofty dome and the lowly roof. The houses of 
 Sallust, of Cicero, of Diomede, and of Panza, 
 were of a large and handsome order, as 
 were others also whose owners are unknown 
 to fame. In the centre of this larger descrip- 
 tion of dwelling was a square, the covering of 
 which was supported by pillars. It is said, on 
 good authority, that the guests of the mansion 
 assembled in the largest apartment, as formerly 
 in the halls of our castles when the wassail 
 bowl went round, but instead of the blazing 
 yule log, that assisted in warming and cheering 
 our northern revellers, a fountain here threw up 
 its cooling waters for purposes of beauty and 
 refreshment. 
 
 In some of the adjacent rooms we occasionally 
 observed at one end a bow containing spaces 
 for three windows — a common shape with us. 
 The bed chambers, as our guide called them, 
 5 
 
POMPEII. 215 
 
 that are yet extant are all small, and the stairs 
 (in many instances sound and good) which led 
 to the upper and destroyed apartments, are 
 small likewise. 
 
 The pillars of several temples are partly 
 standing. They were made of brick, so formed 
 as to be fluted, and when covered with the same 
 incomparable stucco that overlaid the walls, must 
 have had the appearance of marble ; the bases 
 on which they rest are three or four feet in 
 depth, polished, and painted red. 
 
 There are several admirably made public 
 baths, some prepared for the using of cold 
 water, and others for being warmed by vapour. 
 One or two of these are in perfect preservation, 
 and not unroofed ; these being the only speci- 
 mens of roofs that have escaped the otherwise 
 common destruction. 
 
 Wells of water were evidently in great re- 
 quest. These are surmounted by cylinders of 
 marble nearly a yard in height, which are just 
 as perfect and firmly set as when first made, 
 and bear such an impression of being worn by 
 
216 POMPEII. 
 
 the ropes used in drawing the water, (which of 
 course was dried up,) as I have been told prove 
 that the ropes must have moved thereon for 
 centuries to have occasioned such deeply in- 
 dented marks. 
 
 After wandering and wondering until some- 
 what fatigued, we reached the Forum, where 
 our utmost admiration was excited by the for- 
 lorn grandeur of the place. It is a great oblong 
 square, and must have been at least four times 
 as large, judging from present appearances, 
 as was the principal Forum at Rome, in 
 close vicinity to which were many of the 
 principal public buildings comprised in so 
 small a compass that a modern inquirer is per- 
 plexed to understand where they could have 
 found sufficient space. But of the existence of 
 some of those edifices there are no traces, except 
 in records of unquestionable authority, that leave 
 no doubt of their having been so situated. 
 
 At Pompeii there were probably not several 
 Forums, as at Rome, and most likely not more 
 than the large one before mentioned. On the 
 
POMPEII. 
 
 217 
 
 four sides were magnificent public buildings, 
 not drawn closely together, but allowed " ample 
 room and verge enough." The ground-plans of 
 the Basilica, of the senate-house, and of dif- 
 ferent temples, can be traced on the spot, as 
 many portions of the walls still remain, and fully 
 attest how grand a spectacle the whole must 
 have once exhibited. 
 
 On the debris of "some fallen pillars we sat 
 down, and on others our servants placed the 
 contents of baskets, which, in the spirit of the 
 trusty Sancho, they had well filled for our use. 
 Whilst partaking of our refreshing meal, I 
 thought we looked like a set of Arabs that had 
 located near Palmyra, or in some desert where 
 a proud city had once claimed empire. 
 
 Vesuvius, dark and fearful, was before us, 
 overlooking the mighty destruction it had 
 achieved ; from its summit waved a gently 
 moving column of smoke, like the flag on a 
 castle that announces the chieftain's presence 
 — behind us, at a little distance, was the sea. 
 Thus hemmed in, Pompeii could never have 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
218 
 
 POMPEII. 
 
 enjoyed " the pomp of groves, and garniture of 
 fields ;" vines and hot-bed productions it might 
 have had in perfection. 
 
 On quitting the forum, we passed through 
 two theatres, the tragic and comic, and also 
 through an amphitheatre. Buildings for these 
 same purposes have been so often described 
 that I will not trouble you with an account of 
 them ; a general similarity prevailed amongst 
 the different species in ancient times. 
 
 Having had rather a hard day's work, we 
 were glad to reach our carriages, and in return- 
 ing we saw Vesuvius wearing a different aspect. 
 A mantle of purple (like the hue that heath 
 gives to distant mountains) was lent to it by 
 the setting sun ; and from its cloud cap pro- 
 ceeded a white vapour, that had, as I observed 
 before, the effect of Marabout feathers. 
 
 On the top of a high hill, that stands fright- 
 fully near the great destroyer, are a convent 
 and church, no other building being near them ; 
 a situation that one would suppose might have 
 been suitable for a maison de plaisance for 
 
 4 
 
POMPEII. 
 
 219 
 
 Vulcan, or some of his family, but which no 
 mere mortals could have had the temerity to 
 select for a residence, — yet there a body of 
 Christians dwell, apparently under the protec- 
 tion, and at the tender mercy of, the awful Ve- 
 suvius. The rays of the setting sun imparted a 
 dazzling brilliancy to the windows of both 
 church and convent, in which my fancy saw a 
 type of the ardent Christian's faith, that can 
 make life endurable under the most trying cir- 
 cumstances of danger and privation. 
 
 As we proceeded, we beheld at intervals full- 
 sized figures, that we had not previously ob- 
 served, in an elevated position, on different 
 buildings, all facing Vesuvius, and bending for- 
 ward, each having one hand raised, like the 
 monumental popes. These are all statues of 
 St. Jenuario, the patron saint of Naples and its 
 neighbourhood ; and it is said that since these 
 deprecating hands have been uplifted, no serious 
 injury has been inflicted by Vesuvius. The 
 people, I suppose, attribute to the saint's kindly 
 interference that the eruption which took place 
 
 l 2 
 
220 
 
 POMPEII. 
 
 three years ago destroyed only two hundred per- 
 sons and about fifty or sixty habitations. 
 
 After passing again through Portici, we drove 
 part of the way home by the shore. As we ap- 
 proached Naples, the sea was 
 
 " Fill'd with the face of heaven, which from afar 
 Came down upon the waters; all its hues, 
 From the rich sunset to the rising star, 
 Their magical variety diffuse." 
 
 Who that has looked upon a glowing sunset 
 reflected in the bay of Naples can ever forget 
 what are the glories of the parting day set forth 
 in that mirror ? 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 221 
 
 LETTER XVIIL 
 
 Naples. 
 
 This day (April 1st) we were to have gone 
 10 Baiae, but during the night a high wind 
 arose, that shook our windows, and announced 
 a sirocco — a violent gale proceeding from the 
 coast of Africa. Yesterday the sea was brightly 
 blue, its slightly-curling waves, catching the 
 sunbeams, looked all sparkling, as if the stars 
 had been transferred from above, and held their 
 mystic dance on the surface of the waters ; but 
 such was the transformation to-day, that I was 
 reminded of Prior's poem of " The Lady's Look- 
 ing-glass." 
 
 " Celia and I, the other day, 
 Walked o'er the sand-hills to the sea. 
 
222 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 The setting sun adorned the coast. 
 His beams entire, his fierceness lost* 
 And on the surface of the deep 
 
 The winds lay only not asleep, 
 
 * * # # * * 
 
 But O the change ! the winds grow high ; 
 Impending tempests charge the sky ; 
 The lightning flies, the thunder roars, 
 And big waves lash the frightened shores." 
 
 Thunder and lightning we have not had as 
 yet, hut the sea now looks as if it consisted of 
 molten lead, varied in colour in one part by a 
 lurid green, its tumultuous waves seeming 
 fraught with destructive power. The sky has 
 been equally metamorphosed ; the light fleecy 
 clouds of the last evening are replaced by a 
 dense lowering mass, that looks as if the world 
 was about to be drenched with ink. The 
 islands, that by their differing in extent, form, 
 and colouring, usually add so much to the 
 beauty of the bay of Naples, are wholly ob- 
 scured. The soft smiling scene we have 
 hitherto dwelt on with such admiration is 
 changed to one awfully sombre, that brings to 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 223 
 
 our recollection Martin's bold attempt to ima- 
 gine and depict Nature's dark and appalling 
 aspect on " the eve of the deluge." 
 
 ****** 
 
 For several days our excursion to Baiae was 
 necessarily deferred from the uncertainty of the 
 weather, or rather I may say from its continuing 
 wet and stormy ; more unfortunate days could 
 not have been murmured at in our own too 
 much abused climate than we have recently ex- 
 perienced over the fire during the first ten days of 
 April. We could have patiently endured such at 
 home, as a matter of course ; but here we consi- 
 dered ourselves very ill-used, and deprived of our 
 just right to bright skies and balmy zephyrs. 
 
 At length, tired of our sedentary manner of 
 life, we set out, somewhat doubtingly as to the 
 day continuing fine ; it did so, however, and we 
 had a very pleasant excursion. We first went 
 to the ancient and once magnificent city of 
 Pozzuoli, now a small poor town ; and immedi- 
 ately after leaving it saw on our right a cliff 
 where there are some little remains of a villa of 
 
224 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Cicero's, which is said to have been very mag- 
 nificent. It was built to resemble the Academy 
 at Athens, and afforded him the pleasure of 
 angling from his own windows, where we may 
 suppose he sometimes caught his dinner when 
 he had not other fish to fry, or wrote the books 
 entitled <; Questiones Academicas," (composed 
 there,) perhaps on days too sunny for his baits 
 to allure the finny tribe. However that may 
 have been, there are undoubted traces of the 
 walls having been washed by the sea, between 
 which and their scanty remains is now a broad 
 piece of land, including a good road. 
 
 You will, of course, take it for granted, that 
 the sea has receded, not being aware of the 
 different relative proceedings adopted by land 
 and water in this country, from those pursued 
 by them elsewhere. Instead of the sea trans- 
 gressing its due bounds, it has been nearly sta- 
 tionary, while the land has risen higher than its 
 former level. But this movement of the earth 
 was a trifle in comparison to other more agile 
 and ambitious performances in the neighbour- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 225 
 
 hood, for, at a short distance, is Monte Nuovo, 
 near which our road lay ; it is three miles in 
 circumference at the base, and four hundred 
 and forty feet above the level of the sea. It was 
 thrown up from the Lucrine lake, in the course 
 of one night, in the year 1 538, after an awful 
 earthquake, which swallowed up the whole of a 
 large village, called Tripergole, situated between 
 the sea and the lake. The ground opened, 
 ejecting flames and smoke, intermixed with sand 
 and burning stones, of both which latter, Monte 
 Nuovo is composed. The sea, it is said, burst 
 forwards, during the great convulsion, but re- 
 turned within its former bounds, excepting in 
 part, where it remained covering the ground 
 on which the village of Tripergole stood. At 
 a short distance is another more ancient volcanic 
 mountain, called the mount Barbara, but 1 be- 
 lieve it is not known when that arose. 
 
 The psalmist's query would not here be at all 
 strange, of " why hop ye so, ye high hills ?" 
 for truly in this region of steep hills and deep 
 vales, scarce anything has been quite stationary ; 
 
 l 5 
 
2*26 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 the sea may lay claim to more fixedness of cha- 
 racter than most other objects. The Lucrine 
 lake had nearly all its waters dried up, by 
 the rising of the Monte Nuovo ; a small por- 
 tion only remains, by which we passed, as 
 we turned off the road, to walk to the lake 
 Avernus, about a mile distant. Our path was 
 embellished by budding myrtles, and wild flowers ; 
 amongst the latter was very conspicuous, the 
 crimson Cycleman. Close to the lake are the 
 ruined walls of a considerable sized building, 
 called by our guide the temple of Pluto, whose 
 peculiar domain lay in this quarter, though by 
 no means confined to it. 
 
 The lake Avernus is considered to be the 
 crater of an extinct volcano ; its name is derived 
 from a Greek word, signifying without birds. 
 The sulphureous exhalations which proceed 
 thence were kept within narrow bounds, by 
 thick forests, growing on the surrounding hills ; 
 and those exhalations being fatal to the feathered 
 tribe " no skylark warbled o'er" the dark wa- 
 ters which, from the same cause, were destitute 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 227 
 
 of fish. What food the Cimmerians had, who 
 lived (as the story goes) in deep sunk caves, 
 on the borders of the lake, it is hard to imagine, 
 unless they were fire-eaters, in which case they 
 certainly lacked no supply of provisions, if they 
 betook themselves to sporting in the Phlegroean 
 fields. Augustus cut down those forests on 
 which tradition has breathed so brown a horror, 
 and now the hills are covered with brushwood, 
 the sulphureous exhalations exist no more, and 
 the Cimmerians have decamped. 
 
 We went, lighted by torches, into a deep cavern 
 in the side of one of the hills ; it was a favourite 
 place of resort of the Cumean sybil, who visited 
 her friends occasionally, or took a bath. She 
 had an exit from, as well as an entrance to it, 
 probably afterwards used by some less classic 
 personages, as it is of ample dimensions to suit 
 the purposes of a band of robbers. A small side 
 aperture showed, as the torch was held near it, 
 a narrow passage, which the ancients considered 
 led, by a rapid descent, to the infernal regions. 
 
 One person at a time could just rub through 
 
2-28 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 the sides of the rock, and having done so for 
 some length of way, we reached a fearful looking 
 and sounding piece of black water, which some 
 of our party crossed, not in Charon's boat, but 
 on men's backs. I begged to decline that tra- 
 jet, and hastily as 1 could pushed my way back 
 to the larger cave, where I breathed (by com- 
 parison) more freely ; but was happy to escape 
 altogether to the outer air from the torches' 
 glare and smoke, amidst which a vociferous set of 
 ragged athletse appeared, downright ferocious in 
 their invitations to accept of their unwished for 
 services. They looked most picturesquely 
 fitted denizens of the cave on the threshold of 
 which we first saw them ; their patois language 
 and fierce gesticulations as they quarrelled 
 amongst themselves, suiting the action to the 
 word, and tearing their passion to rags, was 
 quite in accordance (I will not say harmony) 
 with the scene. 
 
 Whilst retracing our steps we observed on an 
 extreme high point of Monte Barbara (part of 
 the crater of an extinct volcano) what we could 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 229 
 
 scarcely believe is a building, but there actually 
 is one, on that pinnacle; a hermitage where 
 three Franciscan monks dwell, truly lifted above 
 the world and its cares, if, indeed, the difficulty 
 of procuring necessary food, which is supplied to 
 them by the poor inhabitants beneath, does not 
 sometimes cause them anxiety, especially if, 
 like Sancho Panza, they are desirous of having 
 their wallets well filled. The place of residence 
 they have chosen is nearly as extraordinary as 
 that within the bowels of the earth, (which we 
 were assured formerly was not untenanted,) from 
 whence we had just emerged. 
 
 After reaching the carriage, we proceeded to 
 Baise, so called, 'tis said, from Bajus, the com- 
 panion of Ulysses, being buried there. En 
 route we alighted to look at the baths of Nero. 
 They consist of six long narrow corridors. As 
 we advanced in one of them, the hot steam that 
 issued from the farther part drove us back, 
 and instead of being parboiled ourselves, we 
 were satisfied with seeing an egg go through the 
 process of being wholly so, in two minutes, by 
 
230 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 the natural heat of the vapour. Nero had a 
 palace in the neighbourhood, and those baths 
 or sudatories were supposed to contribute to the 
 preservation of his valuable health and life. 
 Again I was glad to escape to the carriage. 
 
 At about the distance of a mile, we stopped 
 to see the remains of three temples. One was 
 probably dedicated to Mercury, for in the centre 
 of it was found the incomparably beautiful bronze 
 statue of the messenger of the gods, now in the 
 museum at Naples. The walls of the temple 
 are of a cone-like form ; they remain entire, 
 and are of great dimensions, the space enclos- 
 ed is one hundred and forty-six feet in diameter. 
 Light is admitted by a circular opening at the 
 top, as in the Pantheon. The faintest whisper 
 spoken close to the wall is plainly heard at the 
 opposite side, though not by a person standing 
 in the centre, the wall being the conductor of 
 sound. 
 
 In an adjoining field are the considerable 
 ruins of a Temple of Diana. At a little dis- 
 tance, at the opposite side of the road, and close 
 
NAPLES 
 
 23 i 
 
 to the shore, are the still high walls of what 
 must have been a magnificent temple, dedicated 
 to Venus, whose sway was particularly acknow- 
 ledged in this vicinity which a poet calls 
 
 " Land of Venus, golden coast ! 
 Nature's fairest gift and boast 
 Happy Baiae !" 
 
 The only substantial remains of buildings now 
 existing on the shores of Baiae, once so thickly 
 inhabited, belonged to the ideal personages 
 of Olympus, whilst the palaces of men of 
 the Augustan, and a subsequent period, are 
 seen no more excepting in their foundations 
 beneath the water, or on the side of the hill, in 
 which they are so embedded as to be scarcely 
 distinguished from it. Forsyth says, " Baiae 
 was usurped by the great alone ; they admitted 
 no towns, no commonalty, nothing but palaces 
 on their golden shore. Men who possessed 
 half a province elsewhere, contended here for 
 a single acre. They who wanted room on the 
 bank built into the sea, and met there the fresh- 
 
232 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 ness and salubrity of another element. In the 
 course of a few minutes, you sail past the highest 
 names of antiquity. You see Marius, Sylla, 
 Pompey, Piso, Caesar, Tiberius, Nero, all crowd- 
 ing in for the most beautiful angles, and elbowing 
 each other's villas. Yet what are those villas 
 now ? Alas ! nothing but masses of built tufa, 
 which you can hardly distinguish from the tufa 
 of the hill, naked walls, skeletons which were 
 concealed from the ancients themselves, and 
 covered with marbles too beautiful to remain." 
 
 Baise was the favourite winter retreat of the 
 rich and luxurious Romans. They retired there 
 from the turmoils of the great city, to enjoy the 
 finest climate within their reach, enchanting 
 scenery, and an excellent kind of fish that they 
 found in perfection at that season, for so had the 
 masters of the world degenerated, that the plea- 
 sures of the table had become amongst their 
 prime objects. The cultivation of cabbages 
 was quite abandoned by the patriots of the 
 empire. Seneca, in speaking of the luxurious 
 abodes of Baiae, said they were so enervating, 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 233 
 
 that all who wished to have a command over 
 their passions should flee from them. Naught 
 of these seductive haunts of pleasure now remains 
 but some cemented stones, that mark, as Forsyth 
 says, where one palace elbowed another. 
 
 " And wrapt in weeds the shore of Venus lies, 
 There Baiae sees no more the joyous throng ; 
 Her bank all-beaming with the pride of Rome : 
 No generous vines now bask along the hills, 
 Where sport the breezes of the Tyrrhene main ; 
 With baths and temples mixed, no villas rise ; 
 Nor art sustain'd amid reluctant waves 
 Draw the cool murmurs of the breathing deep." 
 
 Not even a fisherman's hut is to be seen on 
 or near the envied site of former palaces. At 
 the back of the commanding height that rises 
 from the shore is a small village called Baulis, 
 consisting of one poor street of peasants' humble 
 habitations that seem to attest, 
 
 " Man wants but little here below," 
 
 although, doubtless, the lofty edifices formerly 
 in their vicinity were calculated to convey a 
 very different impression. 
 
 Assuredly man, of all animals, is the 
 
234 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 most versatile in his capacities ; he can shrink 
 himself so as to be the tenant of an abode 
 little better than the beaver constructs, or he 
 can amplify his demands until acres are covered 
 by the foundations of his dwelling. Between 
 the worm that grovels on the ground, and the 
 butterfly in its expanded state, launching through 
 realms of air, there is not a greater difference in 
 external circumstances than exists between the 
 requirements of the man constrained by dire 
 necessity to confine himself within the narrow 
 bounds of a bare subsistence, and his fellow- 
 creature made after the same pattern and of like 
 properties, who can ransack the different quar- 
 ters of the globe for his luxuries, 
 
 44 And entertains a score or two of tailors 
 To study fashions to adorn his body. 1 ' 
 
 On the summit of the hill which we ascended 
 some old walls had remained. Murat added to 
 and included them in a castle which he caused 
 to be erected; and though, in fact, not much 
 more than extensive barracks, the situation is so 
 singularly fine, that at every point of view in 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 235 
 
 which it is seen, it excites admiration as a most 
 striking and picturesque object. We continued 
 our way through vineyards until we arrived at a 
 farmhouse which overlooks the two bays of Baise 
 and Misenus. We seated ourselves in a rustic 
 porch ; our servant unpacked a basket of provi- 
 sions, and we had our goblets filled with some 
 of the farmer's excellent Falernian wine. The 
 pleasure afforded by our rustic meal was much 
 enhanced by the contemplation of the glorious 
 scenery that lay outstretched before us ; not far 
 distant were the islands of Ischia and Procida,like 
 gems set in the expansive blue sea. Beneath was 
 
 " Baiae's viny coast, where peaceful seas 
 Fann'd by kind zephyrs, ever kiss the shore. ,, 
 
 And on all sides were objects that filled the mind 
 to overflowing with interest and admiration. 
 So situated we might have counted hours as 
 minutes, had not our guide invited us to proceed 
 down a rugged path, to a boat in which, being 
 seated, we were rowed across the bay. Some of 
 the debris of the epicurean villas we had been 
 talking of were frequently to be seen beneath 
 
236 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 and above the water ; it appears that in many 
 instances they were built not only quite at the 
 water's edge, but also on submarine bases, like 
 the houses at Venice. As our boat advanced, 
 we had cautiously to steer amidst protruding 
 angles, and masses of fallen walls that had 
 been doubtless full of symmetry. One of 
 our party, whose voice is often in requisi- 
 tion for our entertainment, especially on boat- 
 ing excursions, (when music is, I think, most 
 sweet,) sang, as being quite appropriate, that 
 beautiful melody composed on a far distant 
 shore. 
 
 u As the fisherman strays, 
 When the clear, cold eve's declining, 
 He sees the round towers of other days 
 In the wave beneath him shining ! 
 
 Thus shall memory often, in dreams sublime, 
 Catch a glimpse of the days that are over ; 
 Thus sighing, look through the waves of time, 
 For the long faded glories they cover. ,, 
 
 Our guide called our attention to the exten- 
 sive ruins of Julius Caesar's Palace ; of that of 
 Piso, where the conspiracy against Nero was 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 •237 
 
 formed ; and also of Domitia, the tyrant's aunt, 
 whom he had poisoned that he might get her 
 wealth. The names of others known to fame 
 were likewise enumerated by the practised cice- 
 rone, all whose habitations, or rather the rem- 
 nants of them, are mingling with the sand and 
 the sea- weed. 
 
 Whilst we were thinking of bye-gone men 
 and things, our guide and boatmen fell into 
 earnest discourse about some heroes of the pre- 
 sent time, our own gallant seamen, whom they 
 called " i diavoli del mare.'' On a late occasion, 
 the king of Naples was disposed to treat a por- 
 tion of our countrymen very ill, who, on the faith 
 of treaties, had embarked large fortunes in the 
 manufacture of sulphur in Sicily, which would 
 have been lost to them, and the acquisition of 
 sulphur rendered difficult to us, if the monopoly 
 of that article by a French company, (who were 
 to pay the king a large sum of money,) had been 
 persisted in. No satisfactory reply could be 
 obtained by our government, to repeated remon- 
 strances on the subject; so, one fine morning, 
 
238 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 two frigates, some sloops of war, and a steam- 
 boat, appeared in the Bay of Baiae, with that 
 flag unfurled which is never seen " in the battle 
 or the breeze" without exciting awe, or obtaining 
 homage and respect. An answer from the go- 
 vernment of Naples on the sulphur question was 
 peremptorily demanded within a short given 
 space of time, and a very satisfactory reply was 
 promptly conceded to our significant messengers. 
 Our vessels withdrew, and their commander, with- 
 out having had occasion to fire a shot, might have 
 written his consequent dispatch in the three 
 celebrated words, " veni, vidi, vici." And thus, 
 whenever they leave their sea-girt home, " that 
 precious stone set in the silver sea," to fight for 
 her honour on the ocean, our great field of battle, 
 may " i diavoli del mare" continue, after every 
 achievement, to leave behind them the prestige 
 of their superhuman skill, force and courage, 
 and the track of their glory on the pathless 
 waters, making the name of Englishmen to be 
 for ever honoured as it is now, in all quarters of 
 the globe ! 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 239 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 We had yesterday a most prosperous and 
 delightful expedition ; the carriage put us down 
 at the foot of Monte Nuovo, (which is only a 
 short distance from Pozzuoli). We set about 
 walking to the top ; at first the ground was bar- 
 ren and loose, giving way under our feet at even 
 instant, as if it were composed of cinders ; but, 
 after proceeding a short way, we found flowering 
 shrubs of a low growth springing up in all direc- 
 tions, and nature assuming " her youthful form 
 robust." We observed myrtles, white flowering 
 heath, yellow broom, and a shrub resembling 
 our gorse ; the flowers yellow also, and growing 
 in thick clusters, the perfume charming, more 
 like jessamine, and not so heavy as that of the 
 
240 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 gorse, which is best when « winnowed o'er the 
 land" and borne on the breeze. A. pretty dwarf 
 eistus was profusely flinging around white flowers, 
 which I took, until closely examined, for wild 
 roses. 
 
 I found the ascent steep, but not very diffi- 
 cult ; we stopped some time on the edge of the 
 crater, which the guide said is more than two 
 hundred feet in depth ; the sides are verdant, 
 the bottom is a round level space of rather an 
 undetermined colour, inclining to green ; down 
 there goats sometimes wander, and persons who 
 follow them have perceived a hot fluid very near 
 the surface ; we saw steam issuing from an aper- 
 ture just where we were standing, much too 
 warm to allow of our putting our hands near it 
 more than momentarily. We had, from the 
 summit, a very fine view of the bay of Pozzuoli 
 and the adjacent coast on one side, and on the 
 other, of the Lucrine lake, and the lake Avernus 
 with its ruined temple. 
 
 I could willingly have remained much longer 
 but that our plans for the day made it necessary 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 241 
 
 we should effect our retreat, and we did so in an 
 opposite direction from that by which we had 
 ascended. We came rapidly down, and before 
 quite reaching the bottom, we arrived at a vine- 
 yard, full of vine -dressers, men and women, boys 
 and girls, who were singing gaily, whilst pursuing 
 their work. As well as vines there were many 
 fig-trees ; these latter abound in the environs of 
 Naples; they are just now very striking; their 
 deep festooning upturning branches of a silver 
 grey colour, are all bursting at the points into 
 bunches of large light leaves, in the midst of 
 which is disclosed the solid, round, dark fruit 
 that has been nurtured within them ; in its pre- 
 sent state, the fig-tree is quite an object of our 
 admiration. 
 
 Whilst thus writing to you of some of the 
 beauties of the opening spring, the following 
 passage in one of Dr. Channing's works occurs 
 to me, which you will like to read if unacquainted 
 with it; " How much of God may be seen in 
 the structure of a single leaf, which, though so 
 frail as to tremble in every wind, yet holds con- 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
242 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 nections and living communications with the 
 earth, the air, the clouds, and the distant sun ; 
 and, through these sympathies with the universe, 
 is itself a revelation of an omnipotent mind. 
 God delights to diffuse himself everywhere. 
 Through his energy, unconscious matter clothes 
 itself with proportions, powers, and beauties, 
 which reflect his wisdom and love. How much 
 more must he delight to frame conscious and 
 happy recipients of his perfections, in whom his 
 wisdom and love may substantially dwell, with 
 whom he may form spiritual ties, and to whom 
 he may be an everlasting source of moral energy 
 and happiness !" 
 
 The present season of spring, " bella madre 
 de' fiori," is that which more particularly, I 
 think, above the rest, brings the Creator fre- 
 quently to our minds ; when nature, after long 
 dryness and inertness, is re-awakened at the 
 appointed time from deep repose, and life and 
 beauty silently emerge, pervading all things. 
 Eternal youth rises up before us, dressing the 
 world in varied charms, and giving to all sen- 
 
 4 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 243 
 
 tient things, means and capabilities for enjoy- 
 ment. His Spirit breathes around, and the 
 gentle passing breeze seems to whisper in our 
 ears, " God is love." 
 
 Having loitered rather too long amongst the 
 vine-dressers, we hastened to Cumae, and through 
 the Arco Felice, a gateway one hundred and 
 sixty feet in height, we entered, not a proud 
 city, that claimed to be the first founded in 
 Italy, and was once suitably announced by the 
 lofty pile, but saw before us only green fields 
 and vineyards, their boundaries frequently 
 marked by some small remains of ancient 
 strongly cemented walls ; " Grass now grows 
 where Troy's' walls stood," is the report of tra- 
 vellers, and the same may be said literally of 
 Cumae, which latter, tradition relates, was built 
 by the Cumcxans of the Isle of Euboea, in 
 Greece, who, along with the Calcedonians, 
 came into Italy to find a new place of abode 
 soon after the destruction of Troy. The situa- 
 tion they fixed on, and the country around were 
 so charming, that it was called at a later period 
 
 m 2 
 
244 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 by the Romans " fortunata" and " felix." Their 
 last king, Tarquin the Proud, made Cumae his 
 retreat, and died there. It became a city of 
 great importance and strength. 
 
 We ascended the height near the Arco Felice, 
 whence we saw at a short distance the site 
 of the ancient Liternum, where Scipio Africanus 
 retired in disgust ; his countrymen, for whom 
 he fought and conquered, not satisfied with the 
 laurels he had already obtained, as well as the 
 certainty of future wealth, demanded money at 
 his hands, which had been distributed to his 
 soldiers ; he turned his back on ungrateful 
 Rome, and passed the remainder of his days at 
 Liternum. In an old account given of his 
 house and baths, they are described as having 
 been surrounded by high walls to defend his 
 dwelling against the incursions of wild boars 
 and banditti, and within these walls he died ; a 
 tomb was there raised to his memory by his 
 friends, inscribed, 
 
 " Ingrata patria, nec ossa quidem mea habes." 
 
 When Cumae became a Roman colony under 
 
NAPLES 
 
 245 
 
 Augustus, it is supposed that tomb, so disgrace- 
 ful to the Roman name, was destroyed, and the 
 sarcophagus that contained the hero's ashes 
 transported to Rome, (like Bonaparte's to Paris,) 
 and placed in the family sepulchre, near the 
 gate of St. Sebastian, at Rome ; but it was not 
 allowed to rest there, being removed thence, 
 some years ago, to the Vatican, which it now 
 adorns. In after times a tower was erected on 
 the spot where ScipuVs house stood, and, it is 
 supposed, was raised with the same materials as 
 had been employed for the monument; amongst 
 the stones, one was found on which the word 
 " Patria" was inscribed; this is included in the 
 present building, and hence probably that part 
 of the country immediately in its vicinity, which 
 gave the illustrious self-exile a home, is in com- 
 mon parlance called " Patria." 
 
 We next turned our thoughts and steps to- 
 wards what had been the Sibyl's cave, which 
 lies at some distance from the Arco Felice. The 
 common account of this lady is that she too 
 came from Eubcea, and probably accompanied 
 
246 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 her compatriots when they transferred them- 
 selves to Italy, that she might perform the office 
 of repeating the oracles as she had previously 
 done at Delphos ; hence she is called the Sibylla 
 Delphica, and her successor, who was born on the 
 spot, and prophesied there about five hundred 
 years later, is designated the Cumaean Sibyl ; 
 (she also called herself Amalthea.) It was she 
 who offered for sale to Tarquin, king of Rome, 
 the books of the oracles ; he at first declined 
 the acquisition, upon which she burned several ; 
 but, like a spirited woman, demanded still more 
 for the few that remained ; to which imposition 
 he, like a paltry customer, was obliged to sub- 
 mit when he wished for them, and found they 
 could be had on no better terms. There was 
 no putting in the funds, nor purchasing of rail- 
 road shares in those days ; so what investment 
 she made of her money, history does not inform 
 us. 
 
 We walked through bean and corn-fields, in- 
 termixed with budding vines to her (the sibyl's) 
 cave, where we did not see " a hundred pas- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 247 
 
 sages, a hundred doors;" it is a large open 
 space in a rock not now more than a hundred 
 feet in depth ; the more distant part is filled up 
 with stones, rubbish, &c. Like modern ladies, 
 it seems she was fond of travelling, and often 
 left home. We certainly did not expect to find 
 either 
 
 " The mad prophetic sibyl on her rock reclined," 
 
 Or, 
 
 " Names inscribed on leaves, 
 In order laid before the cavern's entrance. 
 
 Instead of these, we found what was much more 
 substantial, viz. several large barrels of wine de- 
 posited for the king's use. The cave, tradition 
 says, was most beautifully decorated, and lined 
 with marble, at the time when JEneas, skilled 
 how to approach " the frantic maid," paid her 
 his homage. Above it was situated a strong 
 castle, which some of the Gothic kings fortified 
 as a depository for their treasures. The Em- 
 peror Justinian's general could only find access 
 to this castle by his engineers working through 
 the roof of the sibyl's cave, and thus he brought 
 
248 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 down walls and rubbish that filled it up, leaving 
 only the comparatively small part that remains 
 open, which at present serves the purpose of a 
 cellar for his majesty. Whether the wine im- 
 bibes any inspiration from the place, as the cask 
 derives odour from the wine, those best can tell 
 whose cheering goblets are replenished from 
 thence. 
 
 At a little distance from the dismantled castle 
 are the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, in which 
 was placed his celebrated statue brought from 
 Attica, and which is said by ancient writers to 
 have shed tears on several melancholy occasions ! 
 Certainly, if given at all to the melting mood, 
 he had abundant cause to exercise a lachrymose 
 tendency in this spot where his priestess's abode 
 was dishonoured, and his own shrine violated and 
 abandoned. Finding matters irremediable, I 
 suppose he stepped into his chariot of the sun 
 to dissipate his chagrin at the turn affairs had 
 taken. 
 
 We retraced our steps ; sometimes observing 
 the broad flat stones of the Appian way appear- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 249 
 
 ing amongst briars and brambles, and the earth 
 banked up in many places by portions of the 
 walls of the houses, or ramparts of Cumae. 
 
 We drove round by the lake now called Fusaro, 
 once named Acheron, the Tartarus, so much 
 dreaded by the wicked, at least by such as had 
 poetical belief. This lake is supposed to be the 
 crater of an extinct volcano. It seems the 
 Greeks were unacquainted with volcanic explo- 
 sions and effects, except on the shores of the 
 Mediterranean, and wanting such materials at 
 home to aid the imagination, they were fain to 
 export the souls of their friends wholesale for 
 trial, reward, or punishment, to encounter, ac- 
 cording to their deserts, " blasts from hell 1 ' or 
 " airs from Heaven ;" but instead of Charon and 
 his boat, we saw a fisherman getting oysters ; 
 women were also employed in gathering shells ; 
 we ought, I suppose, to have mistaken them for 
 some of the aforesaid unhappy wanderers ; but 
 we were too hungry to indulge in visionary 
 matters, (notwithstanding the example of the 
 renowned Knight de la Mancha, whose physical 
 
 m 5 
 
250 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 cravings rarely interfered with those of the ima- 
 gination.) 
 
 We sat down upon the grass, and made our 
 repast at a short distance from the lake, which 
 is only separated from the sea by a narrow strip 
 of land. A small piece of water was nearer to 
 us than the lake ; it flows into the sea, and, our 
 guide assured us, was the veritable Styx ; this 
 is, however, doubted by the best judges, who 
 think that Virgil knew more about the matter 
 than we moderns, and placed it between Aver- 
 nus and Elysium. 
 
 The wanderers on this classic ground find a 
 great advantage in its not being broken up into 
 places for present occupation, manufactories, or 
 dwellings ; the changes that have taken place 
 are geographical ones, and, owing to Nature's 
 own movements, which, it must be allowed, are 
 sufficiently frequent ; but no new, uncongenial 
 objects, the work of men, intrude themselves ; 
 the very loneliness and desertion impart a suit- 
 able solemnity, and we see many things around 
 us but little different from what generations long 
 passed away once beheld them. 
 
NAPLES, 
 
 251 
 
 Having ate, rested, and talked as much as 
 we liked, we thought it time to leave Tartarus 
 and proceed to the Elysian fields, — which we 
 entered without bearing any golden branch to 
 obtain us admittance. Mulberry-trees and vines 
 were the sole occupants of the ground that we 
 found there, excepting some few poor labourers 
 and their poor houses. At the sides of the 
 upper road, which passes through the fields, 
 there are great numbers of ancient sepulchres ; 
 some of them are actually converted into dwell- 
 ings by the " miserabili, ,, as our guide called 
 those poor creatures who find their home in the 
 tombs. We pursued our way for a distance of 
 two or three miles along the banks of another 
 lake called Mare Morto, on one side of which 
 we saw a succession of tombs. They are not in- 
 habited either by the " rniserabili" or the more 
 happy dead ; the niches are all distinctly sepa- 
 rate rows, where were formerly placed the urns 
 of the latter around the semicircular, hollowed, 
 cavities, which constitute the mausoleum, and 
 still, in many instances, preserve portions of the 
 
•252 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 stucco and traces of ornaments that decorated 
 them. It is remarkable, that in Christendom 
 there ever has been less of outward observances 
 and respect paid to the deceased than was prac- 
 tised amongst the civilized heathen. It may 
 be that we expend comparatively less care on 
 the poor remains of humanity, because of the 
 assurance we have in Scripture, that our bodies, 
 rendered vile by death, will become glorious 
 bodies — that the mortal will put on immor- 
 tality. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 253 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 Our next excursion was by boat, from Poz- 
 zuoli to the Cape of Misenum, which we are 
 told was called after a Trojan follower of JEneas, 
 who was buried there. On our way, we passed 
 by the shore of Baiae and the Elysian fields, 
 which places lie not far apart. 
 
 Our boat then directed its course to a little 
 distance, and brought us under a perfectly per- 
 pendicular rocky cliff of immense height, on the 
 top of which we were told may still be seen, by 
 those who will take the trouble of visiting them, 
 the extensive ruins of a palace and two theatres ; 
 and also that the palace had belonged to Lucul- 
 lus, and was erected on account of the enlarged 
 
254 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 view it commanded, extending to the Sicilian 
 and Tuscan seas. The name of Lucullus oc- 
 curring so frequently wherever there are traces 
 of a fine villa, castle, or palace, reminds one of 
 the Marquis of Carrabas, whom Puss in Boots 
 ordered should nominally be the owner of every 
 possession that a powerful monarch noticed in his 
 morning's ride; certain it is, we often in the 
 course of our present drives hear of his having 
 been an almost equally great proprietor. 
 
 Our guide went on to say that Tiberius after- 
 wards possessed the palace, and there died. His 
 predilection for a sea-girt abode was the same 
 living or dying. Having that execrable being 
 so constantly on the borders of his kingdom, 
 Neptune was certainly no friend of our race, or 
 he would have allowed one or two of the ser- 
 pents that put the priest of Apollo and his 
 sons to a dreadful death to have given an 
 equally effective embrace to the person of 
 one who was a curse to so important a portion 
 of his species. To that palace, as well as to 
 his philanthropy, succeeded (though not imme- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 255 
 
 diately) an almost equally admirable owner in 
 Nero, whose preparations for bathing and other 
 purposes are pointed out in a great grotto made 
 for a reservoir, called Dragonaria. There are a 
 vast number of the most picturesque deep-sunk 
 grottos all along the coast, so that persons are 
 puzzled to distinguish the natural from the artifi- 
 cial ; even the latter have been subjected to such 
 variations in the course of years, as to render 
 them pretty much on a par with the others. 
 Our boat passed through one near Baiae, that 
 was just like a good-sized arch of a bridge. 
 
 We did not land at Misenum. It forms a 
 beautiful and striking object in the landscape 
 when seen at a distance, but when approached, 
 it is sombre, treeless, and altogether very unin- 
 viting. We passed close under the steep cliff 
 on which the palace was situated ; no traces 
 either of vegetable or animal life were visible ; 
 it looked as if Cain might have chosen it as a 
 suitable place of refuge, when he bore the mark 
 that raised every man's hand against him. Not 
 
256 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 a single object was to be seen on the cliff, ex- 
 cepting one dark, solid, gothic tower, placed 
 on the summit, not at all in ruins, but as if 
 ready for the accommodation, at the present 
 time, of some robber chief, who exacted tribute 
 from every passing sail ; like the inhabitants of 
 the strong passes on the banks of the Rhine in 
 the olden time. 
 
 We could see in the distance, Vesuvius throw- 
 ing up its smoke as it did (but at present only 
 in a light and graceful manner) when Pliny the 
 elder fell a victim to its excesses in that line ; 
 he commanded the Roman fleet in the port of 
 Misenum, at the period of the ever-memorable 
 eruption that occurred in the reign of the Em- 
 peror Titus, and which buried Herculaneum and 
 Pompeii. The younger Pliny described his uncle 
 as a natural philosopher desirous of making ob- 
 servations on the awful occurrence, being also 
 induced to go to the immediate neighbourhood 
 of Vesuvius, for the purpose of assisting 
 some friends who had communicated to him 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 257 
 
 the alarm and dismay with which they were 
 filled by the premonitory symptoms that had 
 occurred. Thus doubly moved by the love of 
 knowledge, and of friends, he went, hoping to 
 make interesting observations on what was pass- 
 ing, and to remove his friends from their perilous 
 situation, but perished himself along with them. 
 Eustace, in his classical tour, on every possible 
 occasion, exhibits a generous, elevated, as well 
 as a refined mind ; and in writing on this subject, 
 he condemns the younger Pliny for remaining 
 at Misenum, and not accompanying his uncle 
 either to share his danger, or to assist in extri- 
 cating him. Yet, perhaps, it was the presence 
 and entreaties of a fond mother which detained 
 the youth by her side, and so helped to obtain 
 for him the blessing promised in the fifth com- 
 mandment, or he too would probably have pe- 
 rished with the other sufferers. 
 
 After leaving Misenum, the next point we 
 touched at was the Island of Procida, where we 
 landed at a long quay. There, and in other 
 directions, fishermen's houses are the only visible 
 
258 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 habitations. The island is mostly composed of 
 ashes and lava. Some geologists say that it 
 originally formed a portion of the island of 
 Ischia, while others maintain that it must have 
 been attached to Misenum ; but I believe all 
 agree in opinion as to its being an offset from 
 one or the other, and that some earthquake 
 added to the incomparable beauty of the sur- 
 rounding scenery, by placing it >vhere it now 
 proudly stands. Being composed of ashes and 
 lava, it was of course very barren ; but the fer- 
 tilizing influences of nature which begin to 
 clothe the coral-reef as soon as it emerges from 
 the ocean, were aided by the industry of the in- 
 habitants, originally a Greek colony. The soil 
 has become particularly productive in corn and 
 wine, and also in different kinds of fruits, which 
 latter ripen there earlier than in the neighbour- 
 ing places, and the sale of these is found very 
 lucrative at Naples. The island contains nine or 
 ten villages, and at no distant period was con- 
 sidered more populous in proportion to its size 
 than any other spot in Europe ; to our cursory 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 259 
 
 observation it seemed a little kingdom of sailors 
 and fishermen ; but they are perhaps amphibious 
 animals, and at another season of the year may 
 be transformed into agriculturists. 
 
 In the circumference of the island (about 
 seven miles) there are several sandy creeks, 
 some of which serve as docks for the building 
 of small vessels. The women of Procida wore 
 the Greek dress commonly until of late years ; 
 at present it is laid aside* and only used on Sun- 
 days and other festas. Expecting to see very 
 good cqstumes, we were disappointed on per- 
 ceiving everybody in ordinary habiliments. As 
 some of us had brought sketching materials, we 
 thought it worth while to make inquiries on the 
 subject, in consequence of which a handsome 
 young girl put on her festa Greek dress, and sat 
 for her picture. 
 
 Whilst the sketchers were employed with 
 their pencils, the rest of our party walked up a 
 very steep ascent through a village called " la 
 Madonna delle grazie. n Wherever an open 
 space between the houses on either side oc- 
 
260 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 curred, the view was beautiful ; at one part, we 
 overlooked a deeply indented little bay, where a 
 small quantity of coral is found, and from thence 
 we were told the explorers after coral proceed 
 to more distant shores to find in greater abun- 
 dance that article, which is at present in great 
 demand amongst the visitors at Naples. Many 
 who never cared for coral since their infant 
 hands grasped and cast it aside, are suddenly 
 overtaken with a mania for it — a certain kind of 
 scarlet fever ; and all who come to Naples, old 
 and young, turn coral-hunters in the numerous 
 shops, which are amply provided to allay the 
 craving desire that seems to prevail like an 
 epidemic amongst the ladies. In Procida, coral 
 is only to be had in its raw state ; there are no 
 jewellers to give it the irresistible forms it as- 
 sumes at Naples. 
 
 The ladies of our party are not very fanciful 
 purchasers, but it is a fact that soon after our 
 arrival at Naples we unexpectedly found that 
 the acquisition of pins, ear-rings, bracelets, &c, 
 (which we never previously dreamed we 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 261 
 
 wanted) had become matters of the last ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 On reaching the top of the hill, we were de- 
 lighted in looking over a battlemented wall at 
 the grand and extensive view before us. In the 
 distance, we could perceive the promontories of 
 Gaeta, and of others in its vicinity, and of the 
 hills of Formise. The deep blue of the sea be- 
 neath and around contrasted finely with the 
 varied colouring of the nearer and more remote 
 mountains and islands. Vesuvius was directly 
 in front, throwing up its white vapour, soft and 
 fleecy looking as the clouds above, with which 
 it mingled. 
 
 Pozzuoli, recalling the idea rather of its an- 
 cient magnificence than of its present altered 
 condition, was seen to great advantage at the 
 edge of the sea, on a rising ground, its houses, 
 domes, and campanili backed by the sombre 
 mountains of Avernus and Barbaro, and in the 
 rear, at some distance, were seen the snow- 
 covered Apennines, which in one direction 
 bounded the horizon. The beautiful and pe- 
 
262 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 culiar shaped island of Caprese, and the high 
 pointed crest of the island of Ischia, came under 
 our observation. Neither pen nor pencil could 
 portray, or convey even a faint idea, of the 
 beauty of that scene. 
 
 The battlemented wall, from whence " our 
 eyes caught new pleas ares" formed an appen- 
 dage to a former palace, now converted into a 
 prison, where many a poor wretch is doomed to 
 linger out his days. Hundreds of carbonari who 
 attempted some revolution about twenty years 
 ago, are still confined there, the sad survivors 
 of companions from whom Death has struck off 
 their chains, thereby emancipating many an 
 aching heart and limb. 
 
 I do not know why it is that the sight of pri- 
 soners in Italy affects me more than anywhere 
 else. Perhaps it is that the beauty of the 
 country and the charm of the climate, which 
 seem created for purposes of happiness, are in 
 painful contrast with the condition of persons 
 debarred from their enjoyment, prevented from 
 partaking of the munificent bounties prepared 
 for them by Providence, added to the suspicion 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 263 
 
 that many a noble ill-directed impulse, by un- 
 toward circumstances, works evil where, under 
 happier auspices, it might be productive only 
 of good to the patriot and his country. 
 
 Whilst we stood at the battlemented wall, lost 
 in admiration of the scenery we were gazing on, 
 our attention was suddenly called thence by 
 hearing the clanking of chains, and, turning 
 round, we saw a fine gallant-looking young man 
 of high undaunted bearing, notwithstanding his 
 sad predicament, conducted for the first time to 
 the adjacent prison by two soldiers. The in- 
 mates of that sad abode are sent to Naples, 
 when disease lays merciful hold on them, to 
 prepare for that common grave where all equally 
 lay down their burdens, whether of pomp and 
 greatness, or of poverty and sorrow. 
 
 Everybody says the present king is a truly 
 amiable, pious, benevolent man, and were his 
 advisers equally good, Naples might rejoice in 
 his rule. Those who have immediate access to 
 royal personages incur great responsibilities, as 
 the necessary circumvallation of etiquette which 
 
264 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 confines sovereigns to the society of a compara- 
 tively small circle, renders them liable to receive 
 from that limited number many of their impres- 
 sions. Wisdom, which comes to others from 
 the various casualties of life, (as the winds of 
 Heaven, blowing from every point, carry ferti- 
 lizing particles,) is conveyed to princes, hedged 
 round as they are, through narrower channels, 
 with the exception of the press, that " chartered 
 libertine," which, like the atmosphere they 
 breathe, walls cannot exclude ; and most happy 
 amongst sovereigns are those who reign in 
 countries where a free press and well-considered 
 and understood laws guard their subjects' 1 rights, 
 thus relieving them from that " curse of kings," 
 the apprehension of self-interested persons 
 making in their royal ears " the worse appear 
 the better reason." 
 
 In former times, Procida was governed] by a 
 succession of feudal lords. On the death of 
 Frederick II., who had reigned fifty-three years 
 in Sicily, the pope, as I have already mentioned, 
 in defiance of the just rights of his heirs, made 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 265 
 
 over the Sicilies to Charles of Anjou, who esta- 
 blished himself at Naples, where he ruled with 
 a rod of iron. His presence, however, contri- 
 buted to suppress outbreaks of discontent ; but 
 in Sicily, where no such restraint was felt, the 
 haughty overbearing conduct of the French be- 
 came insupportable, and a deep conspiracy was 
 formed, headed by John, the lord of Procida, to 
 destroy those hated rulers and tyrants. A train 
 was laid which required but the application 
 of a spark to produce an explosion. This 
 was furnished by an insult offered by the French 
 to a lady of Palermo in the streets of that 
 town. Being completely off their guard, the 
 French were massacred on Easter Sunday, 
 1282, during the singing of the vespers at Pa- 
 lermo.* John of Procida was the principal 
 author and contriver of the scheme, which, hor- 
 rible as it was, originated in his deep sympathy 
 
 * The French were long made to remember the defeat they 
 sustained on this occasion, and which was felt so severely at 
 first by Charles of Anjou, that on hearing of it he exclaimed, in 
 an agony of grief, " O God, if thou hast decreed to humble me, 
 grant me at least a gentle and gradual descent from the pinna- 
 cle of greatness !" At a later period, Henry the Fourth said, 
 "If I am provoked, I will breakfast at Milan, and dine at 
 Naples." " Your Majesty," (replied the Spanish Ambassa- 
 dor,) " may perhaps arrive in Sicily for Vespers/' 
 VOL. I. N 
 
266 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 for his suffering countrymen, and they cast off 
 the cruel yoke that had been laid on them. 
 The Sicilians chose for their king Peter of 
 Arragon, who had married the grand-daughter 
 of their former beloved sovereign, Frederick II. 
 The two Sicilies remained separated until, after 
 long and harassing wars, they were united, in 
 1504, under Ferdinand the Catholic. 
 
 Charles of Anjou, king of Naples, left no 
 means untried to get into his power the lord of 
 Procida, who had mainly contributed to rescue 
 from his usurping grasp the magnificent island, 
 of Sicily. But he was revered by his countrymen, 
 and, though an outlaw and an exile, was never 
 betrayed by them. On the accession of the 
 good king Robert, (the friend of Petrarch,) he 
 was allowed to return and resume possession of 
 his confiscated property. But being then ad- 
 vanced in life, and possibly not of Sancho 
 Panza's opinion, that it is the easiest and most 
 delightful thing possible to govern an island, he 
 sold Procida, with all his feudal rights, to a 
 family of the name of Cossa. Afterwards, 
 feudal lordships being abolished, that island 
 passed into the possession of the crown. 
 * # # # 
 
 Our plans for the day included a visit to Ischia 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 267 
 
 which, however, w r e were not able to effect. 
 Ischia is only two miles distant from Procida, and 
 is much larger, being eighteen miles in circum- 
 ference. The history is no doubt authentic that 
 informs us that Jupiter, desiring to put an end to 
 the war the giant Typhseus had presumed to wage 
 against his authority, hurled down from Olym- 
 pus the island of Ischia, which crushed, but did 
 not utterly destroy, the rebel, whose impatience 
 under his load is said to have since caused, at 
 various times, upheavings, which men call 
 earthquakes. Whether the victim, finding his 
 lot irremediable, is more disposed than formerly 
 to submit to his burden and to lawful authority, I 
 cannot say, but certain it is, there has been such 
 a long interval since his last writhings, that 
 Ischia has become quite a flourishing place, and 
 a favourite resort, in summer, of the Neapo- 
 litans. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the monster on whose 
 state of repose the security of the inhabitants is 
 said to depend will not hear of the treadmill, 
 
 n 2 
 
268 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 and become dissatisfied with his present mode 
 of punishment, which he may think § should be of 
 an improving and not of a vindictive character. 
 But, perhaps, like others that Addison describes 
 in his account of the mountain of misery, he 
 may, on examination of modern improvements, 
 prefer his own burden to that of his neighbour; 
 and the sub-marine Atlas will continue to 
 manifest the same kind of patience he has 
 latterly exhibited. Apropos of Jupiter, we 
 wished that we had interest to get him to pro- 
 long one day into three on the present occasion, 
 that we might have time to run over the island 
 of Ischia, but seeing no probability of such 
 an exertion being made in our favour, we 
 unfurled our sails, and bade adieu to Pro- 
 cida, the sky, that in the earlier part of the day 
 was so serene and cloudless, became dark and low- 
 ering ; a gale of wind sprang up, and the waves 
 rose in tumultuous billows. We met several fish- 
 ing-boats. The weather-beaten sailors who were 
 guiding them and hauling in their nets (the sea 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 269 
 
 being too rough for fishing) did not seem to 
 partake of our consternation, judging by the 
 hearty cheers they gave us. We ladies re- 
 pressed the expression of our fears, which were 
 in a degree dissipated by the cries of the jolly 
 tars, which amused and enlivened us, particu- 
 larly when we heard the first English words, 
 spoken by our crew in a parrot-like manner, 
 " Pull away, Jack — pull away, boy." These 
 were several times repeated, and comprised, as we 
 learned, the whole of their knowledge of our 
 language. 
 
 Our captain, a very fine, bright-countenanced 
 young man, gave us an account of some 
 English sailors of his acquaintance ; he said 
 they were very fine fellows, but strange in their 
 ways of living, not caring for macaroni, but in- 
 sisting on meat, and drinking rum and water. 
 " And when they take our wine, they do so," 
 said he, throwing himself from side to side, 
 meaning that they got intoxicated ; and then he 
 imitated their fierce looks, and put himself in a 
 boxing attitude. 
 
•270 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 " And you run away from them," I replied. 
 He shook his head, and laughed heartily. 
 
 We were to have gone to look at some pillars 
 belonging to an ancient temple that are under 
 water, at a short distance from Pozzuoli. But 
 I was too happy to escape, myself being in the 
 same predicament, to care for the disappoint- 
 ment of not seeing them, as we were told the 
 roughness of the sea rendered it impossible to 
 obtain the desired view. 
 
 On approaching Pozzuoli, our crew began 
 singing, in parts, " II pescatore." I find it is 
 invariably their custom to sing on approach- 
 ing home; to communicate, I suppose, to 
 anxious wives and children the pleasure they 
 feel in drawing near to them. Suddenly, 
 however, they ceased their joyous carol, took 
 off their caps reverently, and stopped rowing, 
 whilst the crews of some other boats we per- 
 ceived had dropped upon their knees. All was 
 silence, excepting the murmur of the waves and 
 the sound of the vesper bell, which latter had 
 called forth their unspoken but finely-expressed 
 devotion. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 271 
 
 As we got into our carriage to return to 
 Naples, that sweet evening Italian benison met 
 our ears, addressed to us by many kind voices, 
 of " Felice notte, Felice notte !" 
 
272 
 
 naples- 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 Having spent so many days lately in the 
 country, we devoted the greater part of yester- 
 day to seeing some of the apartments in the 
 Museo Borbonico that we had not previously 
 visited. It is a large modern building tilled 
 with works of art, of great interest. In a suite 
 of rooms, on either side of the entrance, as well 
 as in others on a higher story, are deposited 
 the mosaics, fresco paintings, statues, vases, 
 lamps, candelabra, &c, discovered at Hercula- 
 neum, Pompeii, and elsewhere ; besides all the 
 vast treasures brought from Rome inherited by 
 the royal family on the extinction of the house 
 of Farnese. 
 
 The collection of marbles here is small in 
 comparison with the congregated numbers at 
 
NAPLES, 
 
 273 
 
 the Vatican and the Capitol ; nevertheless it is 
 of very considerable extent, and contains chefs 
 d'ceuvre of Grecian art, amongst which stands 
 the statue of Aristides, " so simply so severely 
 great'" as to impress the beholder with the be- 
 lief that the epithet, Just, had been worthily 
 bestowed and handed down through succeeding 
 ages. But the bronze statues are the pre-emi- 
 nently fine portion of the treasures of the Mu- 
 seum. These are altogether unrivalled, I be- 
 lieve, considering their numbers and excellence. 
 
 The rooms appropriated to paintings are less 
 richly adorned; even the chambers labelled 
 " Capo dopera " do not bear any comparison 
 in point of value with the other departments* 
 In passing through them, we looked in vain for 
 those splendid landscapes of the Abruzzi, and 
 the rocky coast of Naples, which one is led to 
 expect in the country that gave birth to Salvator 
 Rosa, and of which we had seen some grand 
 specimens in the Pitti Palace, at Florence. 
 
 In fact, the deputies who governed Naples 
 during a long series of years, robbed the country 
 
 n 5 
 
274 
 
 NAl'LES. 
 
 of all moveable works of art, and despatched 
 them to Spain. Fortunately, the emporiums 
 of Herculaneum and Pompeii remained sealed 
 in the abyss of night, until after the present 
 family came to the throne. Whilst our attention 
 was occupied by some of their contents, we re- 
 tracted the wishes expressed by us at Hercula- 
 neum and Pompeii, that the beautiful decora- 
 tions of those extinct, and partially disinterred, 
 cities had been left on the spots where they 
 were discovered, and an appropriate museum 
 built at each place, containing their respective 
 exhumations. These are not for the most part 
 found, like poor mortal remains, converted into 
 dust or disfigured to revolting hideousness, by 
 the spices and cerements which make so futile 
 an attempt to preserve from decay our spiritless 
 untenanted forms. Lear, weeping over Cor- 
 delia, says, " Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, 
 have life, and thou no breath at all?'' 1 and in- 
 fluenced by somewhat of the same kind of feel- 
 ing, one is too apt to speak, or think, on seeing 
 the crumbling blackened vestiges of the bodies 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 275 
 
 found in Diomed's house, when compared with 
 the graceful, dignified likenesses of the consul 
 Balbus and his family, dug out of the lava that 
 filled up the theatre at Herculaneum. These 
 are now here ; they are in white marble, and 
 wear the same aspect they did two thousand 
 years ago. The mother is noble and command- 
 ing, but (like most matrons who have grown up 
 families) not beautiful. One daughter is repre- 
 sented lovely as the sculptor's hand could render 
 her; and another, it occurred to us, must have 
 been a striking resemblance, we were so reminded 
 by it of the appearance of many common-place 
 young ladies. The youthful Balbus, spirited 
 and graceful, sits upon his powerful horse, exhi 
 biting the command of mind over mere physical 
 brute force. 
 
 These statues adorn the Museum as they 
 once did the theatre — whilst the fond parents 
 who thus handed themselves and their children 
 down to posterity — where are they ? 
 
 In front of the entrance, and at some distance 
 from it, in the interior of the building is a stair- 
 
 4 
 
276 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 case ; on the landing-place of the first flight 
 of steps is a grand and most finely executed 
 colossal lion, found at Herculaneum. The 
 nostrils are dilated, the tail lashing as if the 
 animal were just at the instant in fierce anger: 
 which, by-the-bye, one might very well fancy 
 him to be, at the bad taste exhibited in the 
 statue placed just above, of the king, Fer- 
 dinand the First, grandfather of his present 
 majesty, who is dressed as Minerva. How- 
 ever great a lover of wisdom the royal patron 
 of the Muses might have been, it was not, I 
 think, judicious to robe him as that goddess. 
 He might have been contented with appro- 
 priating some of her attributes, (as Hercules to 
 denote his strength wore the lion's skin,) with- 
 out adopting altogether her costume, petticoats 
 included. 
 
 The Lion looks as though he had been the 
 appointed guardian of Olympus, and was as in- 
 dignant at the improper freedom taken with 
 Jove's own daughter, as any shepherd's dog 
 might be supposed to be, if an ass carried off one 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 •277 
 
 of the guarded flock, and dressed himself in its 
 skin — as a wolf has done on more than one oc- 
 casion, if fables be true. 
 
 It was this Ferdinand (alias Minerva) whom, 
 with his family, an English fleet protected in the 
 island of Sicily, for many years that we kept 
 them out of the clutches of Bonaparte. Shortly 
 after their restoration to Naples, whilst his ma- 
 jesty's gratitude towards us was warm, he over- 
 heard a conversation in his salon, relating to 
 the great rebellion in England. When the 
 manner of Charles the First's death was spoken of, 
 he showed much displeasure, and asserted there 
 was no foundation whatever for such a calumny, 
 that the English were too good and loyal a people 
 to maltreat a sovereign, and he harshly admo- 
 nished the surprised courtier never to repeat so 
 malignant a falsehood.* Of the truth of this 
 anecdote, I believe there is not the least doubt ; 
 
 * The said king Ferdinand gave, as a reason for not having 
 the Herculaneum MSS. unrolled, that if they were found to 
 contain matter against the truth of Christianity, his confessor 
 would not absolve him. 
 
278 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 it was much discussed at the time the circum- 
 stance occurred, and is still remembered. 
 
 In some of the upper apartments are exhibited 
 a curious and interesting collection of the smaller 
 culinary utensils found in the buried cities, prin- 
 cipally at Pompeii, of which a much larger por- 
 tion has been opened than of Herculaneum, 
 although the latter place has better repaid the 
 expense of excavation, by the greater number 
 of fine works of art that have been discovered, 
 We observed, in goodly rows, silver plates, 
 dishes, spoons, a waiter or tray of the same, and 
 also drink? ng-eups finely carved, wreathed with 
 vine and ivy leaves, and a tea-urn that is con- 
 structed as like as possible to that indispensable 
 portion of our English tea equipage, having a 
 place for the heater in the centre, and a con- 
 trivance to admit air, from which we might with 
 advantage take a hint, as ofttimes, for want of 
 such, " the bubbling and loud hissing urn throws 
 up a steamy column" too vociferous. 
 
 By-the-bye, I have never seen a tea-urn at 
 any of the inns or houses where I have been in 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 279 
 
 Italy, and it was like meeting an old acquaint- 
 ance, thus recognising one that had adorned a 
 tea-table in Pompeii. 
 
 After all, I am doubtful whether the good 
 people of that city had tea wherewith to fill, as 
 we do, cups that ' ; cheer, but not inebriate." 
 1 suppose Alexander did not bring any speci- 
 mens of the invaluable shrub amongst his laurels 
 from India, lea, however, might possibly have 
 been got from China, for silk certainly was by 
 means of the Persians. An act was passed at 
 Rome, by the senate, a. d. 16, prohibiting 
 men's disgracing themselves by the effeminate 
 delicacy of wearing silk apparel, — at that early 
 period the marvellous achievements of the silk- 
 worm were unknown to the Italians, equally 
 with the powers of the steam their hot-water 
 urns sent forth. 
 
 But, if tea was unknown, the apparatus 1 
 have been describing might have been found 
 useful in extracting the essence from other 
 plants, of an equally pleasing flavour to some 
 palates, — for instance, camomile, — on which I 
 
280 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 have heard that the late Dr. Baillie always 
 himself breakfasted, and I know frequently re- 
 commended to others, who, but for such high 
 authority, would probably have preferred a 
 dejeune a la fourchette. However, it is in vain 
 to speculate on the fresh or dried herbs that 
 were in use at Pompeii. 
 
 However, though tea may have been unknown 
 at Pompeii, fruits were not ; for a dessert found 
 there is laid out, consisting of walnuts and other 
 nuts, prunes or plums, figs and currants, besides 
 bread or cakes formed as neatly as any of the pro- 
 ductions that, cased in tin, come o ut of our ovens. 
 
 I must not forget, whilst on this subject, to 
 notice a full set of the paste-cutters, such as con- 
 fectioners of the present day employ in the ma- 
 nufacture of ornamental pastry, and I am not 
 sure if some of the happiest devices attributed 
 to Gunter's imaginative powers may not be 
 found to have been borrowed from this ancient 
 school of gastronomic art. But, I will say no 
 more on this subject, lest further suspicions of 
 a similar nature, on my part, might be attributed 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 281 
 
 to the envy we ladies feel towards that unri- 
 valled artiste, with whose services, do what we 
 will, we cannot dispense ; though, after feasting 
 us on good things, fit for Lucullus' table, 
 when supper was ordered in the Apollo cham- 
 ber, these are too often followed by such a me- 
 morandum as causes us to make wry faces, and 
 sets our minds ill at ease, if not our teeth on 
 edge. But to turn from a disagreeable subject 
 to one always pleasing. We saw a glass- 
 covered table in the middle of the room, which 
 displayed necklaces, pins, bracelets, earrings, 
 &c, composed of coloured stones and gold finely 
 wrought, all apparently of the most modem de- 
 scription, though fabricated there is no saying 
 how much more than eighteen centuries ago. 
 The English ladies now in Naples are procuring 
 from their jewellers the most captivating articles 
 possible, of the same description, and I over- 
 hear a good deal of discussion as to whether 
 the facsimiles of the earrings of Diomed's 
 daughter, or of those of his wife, are to be pre- 
 ferred. 
 
282 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 In an adjoining room, we saw the papyri in 
 different stages. In the first instance, it resem- 
 bles sticks of burnt charcoal, most hopeless in 
 appearance ; but what will not skill and per- 
 severance accomplish? A gentleman was in 
 the act of unrolling one of the pieces, which to 
 uninitiated eyes seemed only fit for fuel. He 
 had by him a box of very minute portions of 
 goldbeater's leaf, or stuff like it, not much larger, 
 I apprehend, than the black patches worn by 
 the ladies in the days of the Spectator, such as 
 Will Honeycomb recommended Mrs. Truelove 
 to re-adjust when she was in a state of excite- 
 ment about Dr. Sacheverel, or Titus Oates. 
 By the aid of a fine camel's-hair pencil, those 
 delicate applications were laid under the wound- 
 ed parts, on the side where no writing had been. 
 The ci-devant manuscript (now tinder) is at- 
 tached horizontally to silk ribands, and is un- 
 rolled by means of a small handle, which turns 
 like that of a barrel-organ, moved, however, in 
 a most slow, delicate manner by one person, 
 whilst another"' places underneath the aforesaid 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 283 
 
 small portions of goldbeater's leaf, which being 
 done, the words may be discerned, and if this 
 country possesses a Useful Knowledge Society, 
 like ours, there is no telling how it may become 
 enriched by ancestral wisdom. When the 
 anxious work is accomplished of unfolding a 
 substance, to all appearance fragile as the film 
 we sometimes see floating on the bars of our 
 grates, or black and shrivelled as burnt paper, 
 (which latter it is in fact,) then is it laid and 
 gummed on vellum, and afterwards framed and 
 glazed like a print, or drawing. When thus ex- 
 hibited hanging on the walls, some of the most 
 ruined look at a distance like portions of sea- 
 weed, when the fibres are distended in water. 
 Still even on such, from the shade or relief of 
 the ink or paint originally employed, single 
 letters, and sometimes a word, can be made out. 
 These suggest to the acute minds of the Savans 
 all the rest that have been destroyed, which they 
 are not backward in supplying, and they give to 
 the world new impressions of old works neatly 
 printed, having not more than about three parts 
 
284 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 out of four added by their own ingenuity ! The 
 number of charcoal-looking manuscripts (so un- 
 like the illuminated treasures of the convents) 
 are altogether about one thousand seven hun- 
 dred, of which one thousand three hundred are 
 yet untouched. 
 
 By persons working as diligently as at pre- 
 sent, in the course of two or three centuries it 
 may be hoped that the contents of the whole 
 number will be laid before the public, unless 
 Vesuvius, insensible to the tastes and well- 
 being of the learned world, as the destroyer of 
 the Alexandrian library, should, in the mean 
 time, complete the work of destruction so nearly 
 accomplished. 
 
 The Italians neither measure nor manage 
 time according to our practice; the hour of two 
 being come by our watches — fourteen or fifteen 
 by those of the custodi — we could no longer re- 
 main at the Museo ; the doors were closed ; so 
 whilst our impressions were recent as to the 
 bracelets and other ornaments worn by the 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 285 
 
 belles of Pompeii, we repaired to our jeweller's 
 to see if he was executing some we had ordered 
 in strict accordance with the antique models 
 we had been examining. 
 
286 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 LETTER XXIL 
 
 Naples. 
 
 A facetious story-teller relates that on some 
 occasion the tragedy of Hamlet was enacted, 
 leaving out the part of the prince so called, and I 
 think my stupidity would be equally memorable 
 if I were to leave Naples, and not give you an 
 account of our visit to Vesuvius, which, accom- 
 panied by some friends, we performed yester- 
 day. 
 
 The morning was rather unpromising for 
 commencing such an undertaking : however, 
 after some vacillating opinions as to what should 
 be done, we resolved to take our chance of the 
 heavy clouds that alarmed us, being lifted up 
 instead of coming down. We set forward soon 
 after eight o'clock for Resina, a village a little 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 287 
 
 beyond and almost joining Portici. A great 
 part of the inhabitants, we were told, subsist on 
 the money spent by travellers, who there take 
 horses and guides. We were soon surrounded 
 by a numerous party of both, and then amidst 
 loud vociferations we were conducted into a 
 courtyard. From an upper balcony dogs as- 
 sailed us by their barking, while children 
 squalled a discordant chorus with their canine 
 friends ; — below where we stood, asses brayed ; 
 bells, fastened on their heads, tinkled at every 
 movement, the horses of the party were not al- 
 together silent, sometimes joining with a neigh 
 in the universal uproar; a number of men im- 
 petuously addressed each other and us, occa- 
 sionally in rapidly spoken language, and with 
 excessive vehemence ; and altogether the asses, 
 dogs, bells, children, &c, precluded our being 
 embarrassed in making an attempt to compre- 
 hend a word that was uttered. 
 
 What was to be the result of all this uproari- 
 ous din of confused and discordant noises we 
 were at a loss to conjecture. We soon per- 
 
288 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 ceived, however, that the necessary business 
 was as steadily progressing as any grave matter 
 for deliberation could do that was under the 
 consideration of an assembly of quiescent 
 Quakers ; and in little more than five minutes 
 of actual time (though to our afflicted ears it 
 appeared ten times as long) we were all seated 
 in our saddles, and emerging from the courtyard 
 into a close lane that was long, and had many 
 turnings; — on leaving which we proceeded up- 
 wards by a narrow rugged road, having vine- 
 yards and gardens on either side, and in pro- 
 portion as we ascended, the portentous mists 
 and clouds moved off, and the country around 
 opened to our view, displaying innumerable 
 beauties, to which the brightly budding vines 
 formed a lovely foreground. 
 
 At length, these were seen no more ; instead 
 of their tender verdure, dark masses of black 
 cinders lay before us, like the refuse of a world 
 that had been destroyed by fire ; we seemed to 
 have entered on the wide domain of the giant 
 of despair, where all belonging to life and hope 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 289 
 
 was extinguished ; and it was almost pleasing 
 (by contrast) to escape from that sombre scene 
 into a deeply sunken narrow road, where the 
 banks on either side were so high we could per- 
 ceive nothing but the loose stones on which our 
 cavalry had to erect themselves in an almost 
 perpendicular position, so steep was the ascent 
 to the hermit's abode, which we at length 
 reached, as much to our satisfaction ; (for I felt 
 fatigued and overheated,) as any knight, I fancy, 
 ever experienced on penetrating within the 
 strong enclosure that confined his " ladye love." 
 Our eyes, delighted as if he had been an angel, 
 robed in light, rested on the hermit, who 
 came forward to meet us ; he is a monk of the 
 Augustinian order, a bulky personage, whose 
 ample woollen petticoats were bound by a girdle 
 from which hung a rosary. His grey hair was 
 confined by the small black cap that covers the 
 bald part at the top of the head, where an ab- 
 sence of hair is indispensable even in the 
 youngest member of the clerical fraternities — of 
 course, the razor must be resorted to until they 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
290 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 are saved such trouble by time, the general 
 Shaver, giving a touch of his scythe, some far- 
 ther use of which exempts them, in common 
 with all human beings, from every worldly care 
 and embarrassment. 
 
 Mine host of the hermitage, all accounts 
 agree in representing as an amiable, benevolent 
 man, and such his countenance bespeaks him. 
 His house is erected on a small level piece of 
 ground; where it, and one that was its pre- 
 cursor, have stood above two hundred and fifty 
 years, during which time neither abode has suf- 
 fered in the least degree from any one of the 
 many eruptions that have taken place in the 
 immediate vicinity, although so near to Ve- 
 suvius, that the hermit might occasionally 
 realize the account old Croaker, in the play of 
 " The Goodnatured Man," gives of his insen- 
 sible family, when he complains that they would 
 fry beef-steaks at a volcano. 
 
 The house, to which a chapel is attached, is 
 small and indifferent. It is surrounded by a few- 
 stunted trees; the front is judiciously turned 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 291 
 
 away from its awful neighbour. Notwithstand- 
 ing its insignificant dimensions, it is, from being 
 whitewashed, and in so elevated a situation, a 
 conspicuous object at even a great distance. 
 When seen relieved by the black mountains in 
 its rear, it looks like a bright star that directs 
 the navigator in the midst of a perilous and 
 trackless path. 
 
 The road, five miles in length, by which we 
 ascended from Resina, is on a ridge of land 
 distinct from the adjacent mountains of Somrjia 
 and Vesuvius. On a portion of it the her- 
 mitage is placed, and from thence it continues 
 pretty level, and of a saddle-shape, for about 
 two miles, when it terminates at, or rather 
 joins, Vesuvius — the eruptions from which run 
 down in burning lava, leaving this high ridge of 
 land (composed of original soil) free from the 
 overwhelming deluge that falls on the declivities. 
 Encouraged by the wonderful manner in which 
 the hermitage has hitherto escaped, the govern- 
 ment are at present erecting very near it, by 
 order of the king, a building for the promotion 
 
 o 2 
 
292 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 of scientific objects. A great many workmen 
 are employed, and, when completed, the edifice 
 will be inhabited by a competent savant, who 
 is to possess all the instruments, apparatus, 
 " appliances and means to boot,*" for making 
 such observations as the awful locality affords. 
 We are acquainted with the clever, scientific 
 gentleman, Signor Fazzini, under whose direc- 
 tion the establishment is advancing, and re- 
 specting which he is enthusiastic in his antici- 
 pations. It will include a garden for the culti- 
 vation of any plants that will grow there. 
 
 After resting a little time at the hermitage, 
 we remounted our horses and mules, and pro- 
 ceeded along the level ridge I have described, 
 called, from several wooden crosses placed at 
 intervals, " La Montagna delle Crocelle." On 
 our left were the mountains of Vesuvius and 
 Somma, rising from one base about thirty miles 
 in circumference. We were told that Somma 
 is fertile, and inhabited on the other side ; but 
 on that presented to us it is scarped, jagged, 
 and covered with volcanic materials. It is the 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 293 
 
 opinion of geologists that Somma, at some dis- 
 tant period, in the darkness of ages gone by, 
 when no scientific register was kept, brought 
 forth Vesuvius, suffering much in shape by the 
 prodigious birth, since which event the parent 
 has remained in repose, and the offspring so far 
 followed the example, that about eight or nine 
 years before the first recorded eruption, a. d. 
 79, Spartacus and ten thousand men, gladiators 
 and helots, ensconced themselves in its crater, to 
 the dismay of the surrounding inhabitants, who, 
 perhaps, dreaded an irruption from thence of 
 armed men, more than their successors have 
 since done the outpourings of living fire. 
 
 As we advanced towards Vesuvius, it looked 
 fearfully black and steep. My courage failed, and 
 I decided on letting the rest of the party ascend 
 without me. I dreaded encountering the sul- 
 phureous vapour which, when the wind is in cer- 
 tain points, produces distressing effects on per- 
 sons forced to inhale it. 
 
 Being arrived at the place called " Atrio dei 
 Cavalli," (Horse Court,) the adventurers dis- 
 
294 
 
 NAPLLS. 
 
 mounted, as horses can go no farther ; they pro- 
 ceeded, and I, having wished them a safe and 
 satisfactory excursion, returned slowly towards 
 the hermitage, musing on the scene before me. 
 After my eye had passed over the black lava 
 that, like a deluge, had covered the ground to a 
 far extent, towards the base of the mountain, I 
 saw a succession of towns along the coast, in 
 which it is computed are eighty thousand inha- 
 bitants. Churches, vineyards, gardens, culti- 
 vated fields, were there likewise, and all appear- 
 ances of tranquil enjoyment and prosperity. 
 The bright sea was enlivened by boats and 
 other vessels — the sails of many looking like 
 the distended wings of birds passing along the 
 blue expanse. Islands, promontories, and moun- 
 tains were grouped in such beauty and variety, 
 that the magnificent scene seemed created when 
 Nature " wantoned as in her prime, and played 
 at will her virgin fancies." 
 
 The lowering morning had given place to a 
 midday of bright sunshine — a few clouds only- 
 serving the purpose of casting some partial and 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 295 
 
 fine shadows. I should probably have lingered 
 en route until the party who had left, rejoined 
 me — but that my horse quickened his pace, 
 wishing to find himself in the stable of the her- 
 mitage, at a short distance from which I alighted. 
 Just where ten or twelve large up-raised flags 
 higher and more massive than common tomb- 
 stones, are placed in a double row at short in- 
 tervals, I sat down on a bench attached to the 
 end, and largest one of them. In each, deeply 
 inlaid to preserve it from the effects of weather, 
 is placed a small and coarsely-painted picture, 
 with an appropriate text, descriptive of the last 
 hours of our Saviour's life. Before going to 
 their morning's labour, we were told the neigh- 
 bouring peasants assemble to offer their devo- 
 tions at those rude " stations" as they are 
 called 
 
 . Not honoured 
 
 With fond shekels of the tested gold, 
 Or stones whose rates are either rich or poor, 
 As fancy values them ; hut with true prayers, 
 Prayers that rise up to Heaven, and enter there, 
 Ere sun-rise." 
 
296 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Of the state of religion amongst the higher 
 classes in Naples and the neighbourhood, we 
 have had no means of forming any opinion, but 
 amongst the lower grade I can bear testimony 
 to there being every appearance of great devo- 
 tion. The principal station, at which I sat, con- 
 tained a representation of our blessed Lord's 
 crucifixion ; and as I looked from it to the black 
 mountain before me, whose consuming flames 
 had dried up vegetation, and still from time to 
 time sends forth 
 
 " The fiery deluge fed with ever-burning sulphur/' 
 
 my fancy pictured it as a physical image of 
 sin, which caused the sacrifice that Calvary wit- 
 nessed. 
 
 I remained seated at the station where solemn 
 thoughts were suggested to my mind by the 
 place and surrounding objects, and was not aware 
 how quickly the time had passed until I saw 
 one of our party, who had preceded the rest, 
 riding towards me with great glee and satisfac- 
 tion in her countenance, to relate her adven- 
 tures — and tell of the roasting of eggs by the na- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 297 
 
 tural heat on the summit — the ignition of sticks 
 by putting them into crevices, &c. But no 
 sight, she said, was to be compared in interest 
 to looking down upon the unroofed dwellings 
 and monumental solitude of Pompeii, which lay 
 immediately beneath, all but a portion of its 
 walls and fallen pillars, consumed, forlorn, and 
 drear. 
 
 No attempt was made by any of the party to 
 descend into the crater, though some hardy 
 spirits occasionally venture downwards. Fifty 
 years ago that achievement was practicable to a 
 greater extent than at present. Now I am told 
 that little can be distinguished in the abyss, ex- 
 cept loose, huge masses of lava, which, some 
 suppose, judging from appearances, will pro- 
 bably be ejected thence before very long. At 
 the period of an eruption, geologists are of opi- 
 nion that the lava at the bottom of the crater 
 glows with the splendour of a meridian sun ! 
 
 We soon joined the rest of our party in the 
 little open space before the hermitage, which 
 just then presented a scene of great bustle, such 
 
 o 5 
 
298 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 as was frequent at hostelries when pilgrimages 
 to the shrine of some distant saint or virgin, 
 congregated together numbers of the higher 
 and lower classes. Guides and peasants were 
 busily engaged in adjusting some on their saddles, 
 and helping off others, whilst the hermit, as- 
 sisted by a neighbouring priest, was speeding 
 the parting, or welcoming the coming guests. 
 
 We heard German, French, Italian, and Eng- 
 lish spoken at one and the same moment. Some 
 parties were arriving, others were making 
 arrangements for mounting their horses and 
 mules to descend to Resina. Young and fair 
 faces were there full of animation, and middle- 
 aged ladies also were attended by their respec- 
 tive cavaliers. In the days of chivalry only the 
 young and handsome were thought of, but hap- 
 pily for our sex at large in these more prosaic 
 times, attention and consideration are not con- 
 fined to those who are enjoying the brightest 
 period of existence. 
 
 From what I say on this subject you will sus- 
 pect my particular feelings are akin to those of 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 299 
 
 the French lady, who, at eighty-five years of age, 
 being asked when the devoirs of gentlemen ceased 
 to be agreeable, answered with true French 
 esprit, that she could give no reply, as she had 
 not attained the period of life in question, and 
 that a more aged lady than herself must be re- 
 sorted to for the purpose of solving the matter. 
 
 I do not know of any distinguished person in 
 the London world, who, during the season, re- 
 ceives in a single day more company than the 
 hermit does at present. The guide told us he 
 had made inquiries, and that since the early 
 morning above a hundred persons, besides their 
 attendants, had called at the hermitage, en route 
 to Vesuvius. During the winter months, the 
 case is different. The hermit and one poor ser- 
 vant live quite alone. 
 
 Our obliging friend, Signor Fazzini, had se- 
 cured for our accommodation one of the few rooms 
 in the hermitage ; he had an excellent cold din- 
 ner prepared, of which we partook very heartily. 
 The priest, before mentioned, kept us company; 
 he comes to officiate on Sundays at the ad- 
 
300 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 joining chapel, and generally remains for a day 
 or two during the week. He told us that Mil- 
 ton had been several times to Vesuvius, an ac- 
 count of whose visits was traditionally handed 
 down from the hermit who had the honour of 
 receiving him, to his successor, and so was trans- 
 mitted to the present owner of the hermitage. 
 Our illustrious bard, from observations made 
 there, probably derived ideas for some of those 
 sublime descriptions, which only Dante, plunging 
 boldly in imaginative powers into the infernal 
 regions, ever equalled. After we had been re- 
 galed most agreeably, both by food and con- 
 versation, we ordered our cattle, and reached 
 Resina just at the decline of day, 
 
 "As twilight melted beneath the moon away." 
 
NAPLES* 
 
 301 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Naples. 
 
 There are two very remarkable castles 
 here; one, called St. Elmo, is situated on 
 the high steep hill which rises at the back of 
 this city. The early Greek colonists gave 
 it the appellation of Ermo, from a Phoeni- 
 cian word meaning lofty or sublime. On that 
 bold, commanding site the Norman followers of 
 De Hauteville erected a tower, named by them 
 Belforte. At a subsequent period, Charles II. 
 added to it, and converted it into a strong 
 castle ; and by the Emperor Charles V. it was 
 made a regular citadel. At present, St. Elmo 
 exhibits nothing fine in point of architecture — 
 there are neither battlemented walls nor towers ; 
 but it is imposing and magnificent from the idea 
 
302 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 it conveys of power, seeming, in its massive, 
 sombre strength, like a gloomy monarch, hold- 
 ing all the smiling world beneath at his com- 
 mand ; it looks a place of defence formed by 
 nature itself — " a giant guardian of an enchanted 
 land." Much of it is composed of the rock on 
 which it is placed, hewn into walls. The whole 
 has the appearance of being neither more nor 
 less than the living rock itself, elevated by other 
 power than man's puny efforts to such solid, 
 massive greatness. 
 
 We ascended to this castle, and found that 
 all admittance is denied without an order, with 
 which we were not provided. We are told that 
 we had no loss, as the interior has no recom- 
 mendations, and is only a great depot for arms 
 and artillery. 
 
 At a little distance beneath, is the church of 
 San Martino, where formerly was a country 
 house of the kings of Naples. Robert the 
 Good yielded to the request of his son, the 
 Duke of Calabria, who desired it might be su- 
 perseded by or converted into a sacred build- 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 303 
 
 ing ; and accordingly, a church, with a monas- 
 tery attached, was there erected in 1325, en- 
 dowed first by the king, and afterwards by his 
 grand-daughter and successor, the unfortunate 
 Joan I. ; and, at a later period, the former was 
 embellished by magnificent paintings of the 
 first masters, as well as by finely carved Brazi- 
 lian wood and sculptured marbles. 
 
 The monastery was employed by the French, 
 in 1807, for the accommodation of a different 
 fraternity from that which had found shelter 
 within its walls, — it was converted into bar- 
 racks. Whether the building has been re- 
 stored to its original destination I cannot say, 
 but I conclude this to be the case from the fact 
 of the ladies of our party being excluded, (sol- 
 diers would certainly not have refused us ad- 
 mittance,) while the church was shown to the 
 gentlemen by a monk. 
 
 The other castle which I mentioned as being 
 remarkable, is that named Castello dell' Uovo, 
 from some supposed likeness in its form 
 (which I could never perceive) to the shape 
 
304 
 
 NAPLKS. 
 
 of an egg, not even to that of an ostrich. 
 It stands in the sea, and is connected by a 
 narrow, artificial passage with the land. It is 
 said that an earthquake caused it to slip away 
 from the high hill of Pizzo Falcone in its rear, 
 so called from a chase for falcons that it af- 
 forded to Charles of Anjou. How this may 
 have been I will not undertake to say, for in 
 the terra di lavoro much that was high is low, 
 and vice versa ; but certainly no castle was ever 
 placed by earthquake or by the hand of man in 
 a more picturesque, or, for purposes of defence, 
 more important situation than that which it oc- 
 cupies at the entrance of the harbour, where 
 only under its favour can any vessel advance. 
 It stands in all directions visible, to protect 
 or command those who approach the city by 
 sea. It is always a noble object, whether looked 
 at in the grey morning, when occasionally mists 
 amplify its grandeur, or seen gilded by the rays 
 of the setting sun, which fall on it gloriously. 
 We have sometimes sat in the garden of the 
 Villa Reale, watching the waves, if the wind 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 305 
 
 was at all high, running up its imperturbable 
 walls like sea monsters, assailing them with 
 mad and impotent fury, or, like tempest-driven 
 snow, dispersing in light atoms against the 
 barren mountain's side. 
 
 This castle is said to have belonged to that 
 distinguished epicurean, Lucullus ; but I am 
 rather incredulous as to any one man having 
 been the owner of so many residences as we are 
 told belonged to him, even in this neighbour- 
 hood, independently of his luxurious dwellings 
 near Rome. If, on this subject, tradition be 
 correct, he must have had at least twice as 
 many villas and palaces as history informs us 
 Bluebeard had wives. Whether or not he had 
 a residence of either description on this spot, it 
 formed so obviously an important site for a 
 strongly fortified building, that it was con- 
 verted into a castle not less massive and impreg- 
 nable, to all appearance, than that of St. Elmo. 
 
 The honour was conferred upon this build- 
 ing of becoming the prison of the young 
 Augustulus, the last Emperor of Rome, who 
 
306 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 was banished by Odoacer, king of the Heruli, 
 and first king of Italy, about 475. Suc- 
 cessive sovereigns have made additions to 
 it, and it now looks like a twin brother of the 
 castle of St. Elmo, placed in an opposite but 
 equally advantageous position for the defence 
 of the city and the harbour. It stands for- 
 ward, ready to meet half way any bold in- 
 truder; and in every point of view conveys the 
 idea of protection, and heightens the beauty of 
 the surrounding scenery. 
 
 There is another very remarkable castle, 
 called Castel Nuovo, not situated either so 
 high or so low as the others I have attempted 
 to describe. On one side its round towers are 
 seen in the midst of houses, and on the other it 
 fronts the sea and the Mole, on which latter 
 has been erected a light-house that has a strik- 
 ing and beautiful effect, particularly when seen 
 from a distance. The Castel Nuovo was built 
 by Charles I., of Anjou, who did not consider 
 the ancient palace, Castello Capuano, (now 
 called Vicaria, and converted into courts of 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 307 
 
 justice,) sufficiently secure for his residence, and 
 capable of being defended. The fortifications 
 that surround it were commenced by Alphonso 
 I., of Arragon, and completed by the great 
 Captain Gonzalvo de Cordova, who, had he ac- 
 ceded to the proposal made to him by the 
 Neapolitans, of becoming himself their king, 
 might here, with the aid of his devoted soldiers, 
 have defied all assailants ; but the offer of a 
 crown could not for a moment shake his loyalty 
 to the sovereign whom he served, — on one occa- 
 sion, indeed, too literally for his own honour, 
 by allowing his pledged word to the Duke of 
 Calabria, guaranteeing him a free passage to 
 join his abdicated father in France, to be 
 broken. In consequence of Ferdinand's com- 
 mands, he caused the young prince to be 
 stopped, and brought back to Tarento — which 
 place had capitulated on terms including the 
 duke's liberty — and from thence he was sent to 
 Spain, where he remained a prisoner. This 
 transaction is the only stain that tarnished the 
 lustre of the hero's name. His various fine 
 
308 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 qualities were set forth even by his enemies, 
 when they called him " gentil capitaine, et 
 gentil cavalier." For himself he disregarded 
 wealth ; but though he obtained permission — 
 probably because it could not well be refused — 
 liberally to reward his companions in arms, his 
 economical master, Ferdinand, was nevertheless 
 heard peevishly to exclaim, " It little boots for 
 Gonzalvo de Cordova to have won a kingdom 
 for me, if he lavishes it all away before it comes 
 into my hands."" 
 
 At that period, such were the achievements 
 and bearing of the gallant youths of France, 
 Spain, and Italy, that, in allusion to them, an elo- 
 quent writer of the present day has said : 
 " The romantic Muse of Italy, then coming 
 forth in her glory, did little more than give a 
 brighter flush of colour to the chimeras of real 
 life, The characters of living heroes, a Gon- 
 zalvo, a Bayard, a Paredes, and a La Palice, 
 readily supplied her with the elements of those 
 ideal combinations in which she has so grace- 
 fully embodied the perfections of chivalry." 
 
NATLES. 
 
 809 
 
 " Magnanima menzogna ! or quando e il vero 
 Si bello, che si possa a te preporre ?" 
 
 But to return from these seductive Paladins 
 to the castle from whence I have rambled. 
 After passing the outer fortifications, between 
 two towers is the triumphal arch erected in 
 honour of the entry of Alphonso of Arragon 
 into his then newly-acquired dominions. The 
 whole is of marble, encrusted with statues and 
 bassi relievi, now much discoloured by time; 
 and so numerous are the actions of his majesty 
 illustrated by the sculptor's art, that modern 
 patience does not suffice, as far as I can judge, 
 to attempt comprehending them through the 
 medium of the laboured and crowded perform- 
 ances in marble of the Chevalier Pietro di Mar- 
 tino, Alphonso's architect and historian. 
 
 Near to the arch is a magnificent bronze 
 gate, ornamented also with bassi relievi, record- 
 ing warlike achievements. Amongst the heroes 
 and destroyers of our species, the most conspi- 
 cuous of the latter description is a great stuffed 
 crocodile, six feet long, placed over the arch- 
 
310 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 way. It was pointed out to me by our servant 
 Eugene, and on his authority I venture to re- 
 cord that it ate innumerable prisoners in the 
 dungeons underneath. Whether the horrid 
 creature owed its death to the great captain, or 
 to some other chevalier " sans peur," Eugene 
 could not inform me. 
 
 We next passed into the square called the 
 Place d*Armes, where is an antique chapel 
 ornamented with paintings and marbles. The 
 former theatre is converted into an armoury, 
 which contains arms for sixty thousand men. 
 A gallery passes under arches, and forms an 
 internal communication (which might be found 
 useful in case of attack or insurrection) between 
 the castle and the present royal palace, which 
 latter is situated in a square at no great dis- 
 tance. 
 
 The Castel Nuovo is no longer used as a re- 
 sidence by the kings of Naples ; the palace, 
 which they occupy, is of great extent, but not 
 at all handsome externally. 
 
 Opposite to the latter is the very grand church 
 8 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 311 
 
 of St, Francis, erected by the late king in conse- 
 quence, it is believed, of a vow made by his 
 father, Ferdinand, which he had not the power 
 to fulfil. The form of the church, on a smaller 
 scale, is the same as the Pantheon, and lighted 
 also by one circular aperture at the top. The 
 dome is said to be twelve feet larger than that 
 of St. Paul's, in London. The interior is beau- 
 tifully decorated ; there are many fine statues 
 in white marble, the work of native artists ; on 
 the outside it is very different from the time- 
 honoured " dread Pantheon, so simply, so se- 
 verely great." Here the church is approached 
 by a handsome new colonnade and a range of 
 shops up to the entrance. Altogether, however, 
 it forms a suitable vis-a-vis to the palace. 
 The other sides of the square in which these 
 are situated — called M il Largo del Castello " — 
 are occupied on the one hand by a palace be- 
 longing to the queen-mother, and on the other 
 by handsome public offices. There is in the 
 centre a fine bronze equestrian statue of the 
 late king Francis. 
 
312 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 The church that interested me above all 
 others in Naples is that of Santa Maria del 
 Carmine, in the market-place. There is buried 
 young Conradin, the last of the Hohenstauffens. 
 He was the undoubted heir to the throne of 
 Naples, and, accompanied by his cousin, the 
 Duke of Austria, proceeded thither. Confident 
 of support from the Ghibeline party, they ad- 
 vanced with a small body of German troops, 
 hoping to drive Charles of Anjou from his 
 lately-acquired dominion, usurped under the 
 authority of successive popes. They were, 
 however, defeated, and fled for shelter to 
 Frangipani, a nobleman of Asturia, who basely 
 betrayed and gave them up to their enemy, 
 and the young men were imprisoned. 
 
 The mother of Conradin, the Empress 
 Margaret, repaired to Naples, taking with 
 her a Jarge sum of money for their ran- 
 som. On arriving, the answer she received 
 to her eager inquiries was, that the prince and 
 his cousin had been executed some days before. 
 The gold she fondly hoped would have restored 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 313 
 
 her son to her arms was employed upon his funeral 
 and in procuring masses to be said for his soul. 
 She was permitted to have his body, and also 
 that of the duke, transferred from an outer 
 part of the church (which she greatly enlarged) 
 to a tomb behind the high altar, on which the 
 names of the royal youths are inscribed. They 
 were assassinated in October, I 269. 
 
 In Brantome's memoirs there is a most inte- 
 resting account of the spirited and dignified 
 deportment and words of Conradin in his last 
 moments ; and also of the grief he expressed for 
 the fate of his cousin : which I happened to read 
 very lately, and which I will now transcribe. 
 There are some old French words and others 
 employed in an obsolete manner, that you must 
 take as you find them. After narrating how 
 Conradin and his cousins were taken prisoners, 
 he proceeds — 
 
 " Au vino-t-troisieme d'Octobre Ton etendit 
 des couvertures de Velours Cramoisi au milieu 
 du marche de Naples, au lieu ou fut mise de- 
 puis une Colonne devant l'eglise des Carmes. 
 VOL. i. p 
 
314 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 Et furent amenes sur les couvertures Conradin 
 et le Due d'Austriche, et autres en grand 
 presse du peuple, non seulement de France, et 
 Neapolitans, mais de toutes les villes voisines, 
 qui etoient accourus a ce cruel spectacle, lequel 
 aussi le Roi Charles vit, combien qu'il fut en 
 une tour assez loin de la, regardant tout ce 
 qui s'y faisait. 
 
 "Quand ils furent venus — Maistre Robert de 
 Barry, premier Greffier du Roi Charles, monta 
 sur un Perron, que l'on avoit dresse tout expres 
 et lut la sentence de mort contre les susdits, 
 pour avoir trouble la paix de l'Eglise, avoir 
 faussement usurpe le nom du Roi, vouloir oc- 
 cuper et attenter contre la propre personne du 
 Roi meme ; a quoi Conradin dit en langue 
 Latine a celui qui la pronon^a, la valeur de 
 telles paroles. c Traitre, paillard Mechant, tu 
 as condamne le fils du Roi, et ne sais tu pas 
 qu'un pareil sur son pareil n'a point de com- 
 mandement ni de puissance, et ne le peut con- 
 damner a la mort/ 
 
 "Puis il n'y a qu'il eut voulu ofFenserTEglise, 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 315 
 
 mais seulement conqueter le royaume qui lui 
 appartenoit, et qu'on lui retenait a tort, mais 
 qu'il esperoit que sa mort seroit vengee, et 
 tirant un gand de sa main, le jetta vers le peuple, 
 comme un signe d'investiture, mais plutot de 
 vengeance, disant qu'il laissoit son heritier Don 
 Frederic de Castille fils de sa tante. 
 
 u Ce dit gand fut recueilli d'un chevalier, et 
 depuis porte au Roi, Pierre d'Arragon. 
 
 " Cela fait, le premier fut le Due d'Autriche a 
 qui la tete fut tranchee, laquelle separee du 
 corps cria par deux fois Jesus Maria I 
 
 41 Et Conradin, Tayant prise la baisa tendre- 
 ment et la serrant contre sa poitrine, pleura le 
 malheur de son compagnon, s'accusant soi- 
 meme qu'il avoit ete cause de sa mort, l'ayant tire 
 d'avec sa mere, et l'ayant mene avec soi a si 
 cruelle fortune. Puis se mit a genoux les mains 
 et les yeux levees au Ciel, demandant pardon, 
 et sur ce point l'executeur de tel office fit voler 
 la tete et a d'autres apres. 
 
 " Et a ce ministre bourreau un autre pour 
 cela appareille fit le semblable qui'il avoit fait 
 5 
 
316 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 aux autres, lui coupant incontinent la tete, 
 afin qu'il ne se put jamais vanter d'avoir re- 
 pandu si noble sang. 
 
 " Les corps sans tetes demeurerent sur terre 
 long temps, etne fut homme sihardi d'y toucher, 
 jusques a tant que Charles eut commande qu'ils 
 fussent ensevelis. 
 
 " Telle fut la fin, miserable de ce jeune Prince 
 Conradin, plaint et pleure de tous ceux qui le 
 virent mourir." 
 
 Bran tome farther records the execrations, loud 
 and deep, that followed this fearful crime ; from 
 the effects of which, both the perpetrator, 
 Charles of Anjou, and his descendants suffered 
 much. 
 
 # # # * # 
 
 We went yesterday to see the church of Santa 
 Chiara, one of the finest in Naples. It contains 
 remarkable massive and striking monuments 
 erected to the memory of King Robert, (the 
 Good,) the founder of the church; also of his 
 son, Charles Duke of Calabria, and of his 
 grand-daughter, Queen Joan the First, whose 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 317 
 
 misery he sealed by the precaution he took to 
 secure, as he hoped, her welfare by uniting her 
 to her relative, Andrew of Hungary ; but as 
 Burns truly says, 
 
 " The best laid schemes o' mice an' men 
 
 Gang aft agley, 
 And lea'e us nought but grief and pain 
 
 For promised joy." 
 
 There is a convent attached to this church, 
 which is only separated from the chapel belong- 
 ing to it by a large grille at the back of the 
 high altar. As I stood there, I saw several of 
 the nuns passing and repassing. I thought 
 they might perhaps often, in looking through 
 the grille upon the royal tombs we had been 
 observing, derive subject for wholesome contem- 
 plation, calculated to make them feel satisfied 
 with the peaceful seclusion of their own lot, far 
 removed from the contrasts of dazzling splen- 
 dour and sombre vicissitudes of such as those 
 whose remains present a lesson to all hearts. 
 
 We went afterwards up a steep but short 
 ascent to see the church called 64 Del Parto." 
 
 p 3 
 
318 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 It is small, and not remarkable for its architec- 
 ture, or ornaments. It possesses, however, great 
 interest from being built, as well as an adjoining 
 convent, by the amiable and elegant poet, Sanna- 
 zarius, on the site of his favourite villa, Mer- 
 gellina, the beauty of which he has celebrated 
 in verse. It was destroyed during the siege of 
 Naples by the French. In the church is his 
 tomb, adorned with statues and bassi relievi 
 representing the subjects of his poems. The 
 statues of Apollo and Minerva were in requisi- 
 tion to do him honour, and are well executed ; 
 but the monks, not liking such interlopers, have 
 treated them like gentiles brought within the 
 pale of true believers; they have inscribed the 
 name of David on the former, and Jove's own 
 daughter is called Judith ! To the lovers of 
 the sculptor's art this homage to tender con- 
 sciences makes no difference, 
 
 " A rose 
 
 By any other name would smell as sweet." 
 
 The Latin epitaph was composed by his 
 contemporary Bembo ; it has been translated 
 thus : 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 319 
 
 Upon the sacred dust be flow'rets spread ; 
 
 He sung like Maro once ; he rests by Maro, dead.* 
 
 The Neapolitans are justly proud of Sanna- 
 zarius ; he was not only an admirable poet, but 
 evinced qualities of the noblest kind ; amongst 
 other instances may be cited his devoted fidelity 
 to his abdicated sovereign, King Frederick, who 
 continued to be, whilst in adversity, (a pensioner 
 of France,) the subject of several of his sweetest 
 productions. Adversity, which, like winter silenc- 
 ing the songs of birds — commonly puts an end to 
 the bard's laudatory effusions, did not chill such 
 as came " warm from his heart, and faithful 
 to its fires." The verses (some of which fondly 
 predicted his master's restoration, and that of 
 his dynasty,) proved Sannazarius to be a poet, 
 
 * Bembo, who afterwards became a cardinal, was the au- 
 thor of an exquisite sonnet scarcely inferior to the well-known 
 lament of Filicaja of a later date ; it begins, 
 
 " O pria si cara al ciel del mondo parte, 
 
 Che Tacqua eigne, e*l sasso orrido serra ; 
 
 O lieta sopra ogn'altra e dolce terra, 
 
 Che '1 superbo Appennin segna e diparte," &c. &c. 
 
320 
 
 NAPLES* 
 
 but no prophet, as the hoped for event never 
 came to pass. 
 
 The church and grave of the poet did not 
 detain us very long, and we got into our carriage 
 to take, I am afraid for the last time, (for we 
 are on the point of leaving Naples,) the most 
 beautiful of all drives, along the Strada Nuovo. 
 In returning, we stopped to see a villa belonging 
 to the Prince d'Angrie, whose ancestor came 
 from Genoa, where he had borne a part in the 
 victories achieved by Andrea Doria. We as- 
 cended by rows of terraces one over another cut 
 in the rock at doubtless great expense. " Bloom- 
 ing rocks," which Pope wrote of, in badinage, 
 are there truly to be found. The Mesymbri- 
 anthums, which scarcely require any soil, have 
 taken root in every niche and shelving spot ; 
 and now that these are in blossom, their crimson 
 flowers are hanging in profusion down the side 
 of the rocks, as if summer threw her embroi- 
 dered mantle over the chill dreariness of winter. 
 The terraces, also, are bordered with the 
 richest flowers of every dye Ranunculuses, 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 321 
 
 anemones, and roses, are the most conspicuous, 
 mingled with shrubs, amongst which latter the 
 deep purple of the lilac and its rich clusters 
 could not be overlooked. 
 
 The villa is modern, extremely handsome and 
 well kept, but not adorned with paintings or 
 marbles ; nothing, however, is found wanting 
 there ;— the senses are charmed amidst exquisite 
 flowers, and the views of that delicious shore 
 
 " Where slumbering seas forget their wonted roar." 
 From thence the beautiful bay appears all but 
 surrounded by mountains and islands. The 
 city of Naples, and the towns and villages at the 
 base of Vesuvius, and of the more distant moun- 
 tains, were all, as it were, lighted up by the 
 radiance of the sky, which was preparing for 
 the setting of the sun in the opposite direction. 
 
 After leaving the villa, we ascended on foot, 
 the very steep hill, or I should say mountain, at 
 the back, a portion of the Vomero that rises so 
 perpendicularly behind Naples. We paced 
 along terraces cut zig-zag, surrounded on all 
 sides by fig-trees and vines coming into leaf, and 
 
322 
 
 NAPLES. 
 
 already so green that the only want we have 
 hitherto observed, a want of verdure, is now 
 abundantly supplied, and beautifully so, by the 
 vines wreathing from one tree to another ; light 
 and graceful, as if created to sport with the 
 wanton zephyrs playing around them. 
 
 We got into the carriage, on reaching the 
 summit of the steep ascent we had climbed, and 
 there again a scene awaited us, such as I should 
 in vain attempt to describe. The convent of 
 Camaldoli on a dark steep hill was on our right ; 
 before us we saw the harbour and ancient city 
 of Pozzuoli, and the small green island of 
 Nisida. In the distance we could distinguish 
 the Arco Felice at Cumae, by which we had 
 reached the Sibyl's cave, and the Elysian fields, 
 and the eye traversed from thence along the golden 
 coast of Baise, terminating in the bold promon- 
 tory of Misenum, beyond which lay the islands 
 of Procida and Ischia ; and over all, not cast 
 into deep shade, fell the glowing tints of a set- 
 ting sun. Memory and imagination were both 
 kindled, and we could fancy the masters of the 
 world luxuriating in this unrivalled scenery. 
 
NAPLES. 
 
 323 
 
 We lingered until the bright hues fast dis- 
 appearing, and advancing shadows warned us 
 home ; whilst reflecting that the time for our 
 departure was come, I could not help exclaim- 
 ing, in the Miltonic language of our great ma- 
 ternal ancestor 
 
 " And must I leave thee, Paradise !" 
 But I fortunately recollected, and it helped to 
 suppress my sighs, that although she had c< the 
 world before her where to choose," it did not 
 contain London to afford her its comforts and 
 agremens, which locale, by-the-bye, the tra- 
 velled and accomplished Lord Chesterfield said 
 is superior for nine months in the year to any 
 other place, and as good for the other three. 
 But, it must be admitted, he was more adapted 
 to live in the beau rnonde than to find delight in 
 the " pomp of groves and the garniture of 
 fields," or in " the dread magnificence of 
 Heaven." Wax lights and sparkling chande- 
 liers were doubtless more to his taste than 
 " stars, which are the poetry of Heaven." 
 end or VOL. I. 
 LONDON ; 
 
 TRUSTED BY G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
LATELY PUBLISHED, 
 
 By the same Author, 
 
 an Autumn in Switzerland. 
 
 volt, 15s. 
 
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