PUBLISHES "PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY"--LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT--CHRISTMAS AT
COLLINGWOOD--LETTER FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE--FARADAY--LETTER FROM
FARADAY--KEITH JOHNSTONE'S MAPS--WINTER AT MUNICH--SALZBURG--LAKE OF
GARDA--MINISCALCHI--POEM BY CATERINA BRENZONI--LETTER FROM
BRENZONI--LETTER FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE--ÉLOGE BY MINISCALCHI--WINTER AT
TURIN--BARON PLANA--CAMILLO CAVOUR--COLLINE NEAR TURIN--GENOA--TERESA
DOVIA--FLORENCE--MISS F.P. COBBE--VIVISECTION--EXCURSIONS IN THE
NEIGHBOURHOOD--CHOLERA--MISERICORDIA--PIO NONO IN TUSCANY--COMET--TUSCAN
REVOLUTION--WAR IN LOMBARDY--ENTRY OF VICTOR EMMANUEL INTO
FLORENCE--LETTERS FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE--MY FATHER'S DEATH--LETTER FROM
MISS COBBE.
We spent the autumn in visiting my relations on the banks of the Tweed.
I was much out of health at the time. As winter came on I got better,
and was preparing to print my "Physical Geography" when "Cosmos"
appeared. I at once determined to put my manuscript in the fire when
Somerville said, "Do not be rash--consult some of our friends--Herschel
for instance." So I sent the MS. to Sir John Herschel, who advised me by
all means to publish it. It was very favourably reviewed by Sir Henry
Holland in the "Quarterly," which tended much to its success. I
afterwards sent a copy of a later edition to Baron Humboldt, who wrote
me a very kind letter in return.
* * * * *
BARON HUMBOLDT TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.
A SANS SOUCI, _ce 12 Juillet, 1849_.
MADAME,
C'est un devoir bien doux à remplir, Madame, que de vous offrir
l'hommage renouvellé de mon dévouement et de ma respectueuse
admiration. Ces sentimens datent de bien loin chez l'homme
antidiluvien auquel vous avez daigné adresser des lignes si aimables
et la nouvelle édition de ce bel ouvrage qui m'a charmé et
_instruit_ dès qu'il avait paru pour la première fois. A cette
grande supériorité que vous possedez et qui a si noblement illustré
votre nom, dans les hautes régions de l'analyse mathématique, vous
joignez, Madame, une variété de connaissances dans toutes les
parties de la physique et de l'histoire naturelle descriptive. Après
votre "Mechanism of the Heavens," le philosophique ouvrage
"Connexion of the Physical Sciences" avait été l'objet de ma
constante admiration. Je l'ai lu en entier et puis relu dans la
septième édition qui a paru en 1846 dans les tems où nous étions
plus calme, où l'orage politique ne grondait que de loin. L'auteur
de l'imprudent "Cosmos" devoit saluer plus que tout autre la
"Géographie Physique" de Mary Somerville. J'ai su me la procurer dès
les premières semaines par les soins de notre ami commun le Chev.
Bunsen. Je ne connais dans aucune langue un ouvrage de Géographie
physique que l'on pourrait comparer au votre. Je l'ai de nouveau
étudié dans la dernière édition que je dois à votre gracieuse
bienveillance. Le sentiment de précision que vos habitudes de
"Géomètre" vous ont si profondement imprimé, pénètre tous vos
travaux, Madame. Aucun fait, aucune des grandes vues de la nature
vous échappent. Vous avez profité et des livres et des conversations
des voyageurs dans cette malheureuse Italie où passe la grande route
de l'Orient et de l'Inde. J'ai été surpris de la justice de vos
aperçus sur la Géographie des plantes et des animaux. Vous dominez
dans ces régions comme en astronomie, en météorologie, en
magnetisme. Que n'ajoutez-vous pas la sphère céleste, l'uranologie,
votre patrimoine, à la sphère terrestre? C'est vous seule qui
pourriez donner à votre belle litérature un ouvrage cosmologique
original, un ouvrage écrit avec cette lucidité et ce goût que
distingue tout ce qui est émané de votre plume. On a, je le sais,
beaucoup de bienveillance pour mon Cosmos dans votre patrie; mais il
en est des _formes_ de composition littéraires, comme de la variété
des races et de la différence primitive des langues. Un ouvrage
traduit manque de vie; ce que plait sur les bords du Rhin doit
paraître bizarre sur les bords de la Tamise et de la Seine. Mon
ouvrage est une production essentiellement allemande, et ce
caractère même, j'en suis sûr, loin de m'en plaindre lui donne le
goût du terroir. Je jouis d'une bonne fortune à laquelle (à cause de
mon long séjour en France, de mes prédilections personnelles, de mes
hérésies politiques) le _Léopard_ ne m'avait pas trop accoutumé. Je
demande à l'illustre auteur du volume sur la Mécanique Céleste
d'avoir le courage d'agrandir sa Géographie Physique. Je suis sûr
que le grand homme que nous aimons le plus, vous et moi, Sir John
Herschel, serait de mon opinion. Le MONDE, je me sers du titre que
Descartes voulait donner à un livre dont nous n'avons que de pauvres
fragmens; le _Monde_ doit être écrit pour les Anglais par un auteur
de race pure. Il n'y a pas de sève, pas de vitalité dans les
traductions les mieux faites. Ma santé s'est conservé
miraculeusement à l'âge de quatre-vingts ans, de mon ardeur pour le
travail nocturne au milieu des agitations d'une position que je n'ai
pas besoin de vous depeindre puisque l'excellente Mademoiselle
de ---- vous l'a fait connaître. J'ai bouleversé, changé mes deux
volumes des "Ansichten." Il n'en est resté que 1/4. C'est comme un
nouvel ouvrage que j'aurai bientôt le bonheur de vous adresser si M.
Cotta pense pouvoir hasarder une publication dans ces tems où la
force physique croit guérir un mal moral et _vacciner_ le
contentement à l'Allemagne unitaire!! Le troisième volume de mon
Cosmos avance, mais la sérénité manque aux âmes moins crédules.
Agréez, je vous supplie, l'hommage de mon affectueuse et
respectueuse reconnaissance,
ALEXANDRE DE HUMBOLDT.
* * * * *
Somerville and I spent the Christmas at Collingwood with our friends the
Herschels. The party consisted of Mr. Airy, Astronomer-Royal, and Mr.
Adams, who had taken high honours at Cambridge. This young man and M.
Leverrier, the celebrated French astronomer, had separately calculated
the orbit of Neptune and announced it so nearly at the same time, that
each country claims the honour of the discovery. Mr. Adams told
Somerville that the following sentence in the sixth edition of the
"Connexion of the Physical Sciences," published in the year 1842, put it
into his head to calculate the orbit of Neptune. "If after the lapse of
years the tables formed from a combination of numerous observations
should be still inadequate to represent the motions of Uranus, the
discrepancies may reveal the existence, nay, even the mass and orbit of
a body placed for ever beyond the sphere of vision." That prediction was
fulfilled in 1846, by the discovery of Neptune revolving at the distance
of 3,000,000,000 of miles from the sun. The mass of Neptune, the size
and position of his orbit in space, and his periodic time, were
determined from his disturbing action on Uranus before the planet itself
had been seen.
We left Collingwood as ever with regret.
[The following is an extract from a letter written by my mother
during this visit:--]
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
COLLINGWOOD, _1st January, 1848_.
... You can more easily conceive than I can describe the great
kindness and affection which we have received from both Sir John and
Lady Herschel; I feel a pride and pleasure beyond what I can
express in having such friends. Collingwood is a house by itself in
the world, there certainly is nothing like it for all that is great
and good. The charm of the conversation is only equalled by its
variety--every subject Sir John touches turns to doubly refined
gold; profound, brilliant, amiable, and highly poetical, I could
never end admiring and praising him. Then the children are so nice
and he so kind and amusing to them, making them quite his friends
and companions.
Yours, my dearest Woronzow,
Most affectionately,
M. SOMERVILLE.
* * * * *
We had formed such a friendship with Mr. Faraday that while we lived
abroad he sent me a copy of everything he published, and on returning to
England we renewed our friendship with that illustrious philosopher, and
attended his lectures at the Royal Institution. He had already
magnetized a ray of polarised light, but was still lecturing on the
magnetic and diamagnetic properties of matter. At the last lecture we
attended he showed the diamagnetism of flame, which had been proved by a
foreign philosopher. Mr. Faraday never would accept of any honour; he
lived in a circle of friends to whom he was deeply attached. A touching
and beautiful memoir was published of him by his friend and successor,
Professor Tyndall, an experimental philosopher of the very highest
genius.
[The following letter was the last my mother received from Faraday:--]
FROM PROFESSOR FARADAY TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.
ROYAL INSTITUTION, _17th January, 1859_.
MY DEAR MRS. SOMERVILLE,
So you have remembered me again, and I have the delight of receiving
from you a new copy of that work which has so often instructed me;
and I may well say, cheered me in my simple homely course through
life in this house. It was most kind to think of me; but ah! how
sweet it is to believe that I have your _approval_ in matters where
kindness would be nothing, where judgment alone must rule. I almost
doubt myself when I think I have your approbation, to some degree at
least, in what I may have thought or said about gravitation, the
forces of nature, their conservation, &c. As it is, I _cannot_ go
back from these thoughts; on the contrary, I feel encouraged to go
on by way of experiment, but am not so able as I was formerly; for
when I try to hold the necessary group of thoughts in mind at one
time, with the judgment suspended on almost all of them, then my
head becomes giddy, and I am obliged to lay all aside for a while. I
am trying for _time_ in magnetic action, and do not despair of
reaching it, even though it may be only that of light. _Nous
verrons._
I have been putting into one volume various papers of mine on
experimental branches in chemistry and physics. The index and
title-page has gone to the printer, and I expect soon to receive
copies from him. I shall ask Mr. Murray to help me in sending one to
you which I hope you will honour by acceptance. There is nothing new
in it, except a few additional pages about "_regelation_," and also
"gravity." It is useful to get one's scattered papers together with
an index, and society seems to like the collection sufficiently to
pay the expenses.... Pray remember me most kindly to all with whom I
may take that privilege, and believe me to be most truly,
Your admirer and
faithful servant,
M. FARADAY.
* * * * *
[My mother wrote of this letter:--]
FLORENCE, _8th February, 1859_.
... I have had the most charming and gratifying letter from Faraday; I
cannot tell you how I value such a mark of approbation and friendship
from the greatest experimental philosopher and discoverer next to
Newton.
* * * * *
We returned to the continent in autumn, so I could not superintend the
publication of my "Physical Geography," but Mr. Pentland kindly
undertook to carry it through the press. Though I never was personally
acquainted with Mr. Keith Johnston, of Edinburgh, that eminent
geographer gave me copies of both the first and second editions of his
splendid "Atlas of Physical Geography," which were of the greatest use
to me. Besides, he published some time afterwards a small "School Atlas
of Ancient, Modern, and Physical Geography," intended to accompany my
work; obligations which I gratefully acknowledge. No one has attempted
to copy my "Connexion of the Physical Sciences," the subjects are too
difficult; but soon after the publication of the "Physical Geography" a
number of cheap books appeared, just keeping within the letter of the
law, on which account it has only gone through five editions. However a
sixth is now required.
* * * * *
The moment was unfavourable for going into Italy, as war was raging
between Charles Albert and the Austrians, so we resolved to remain at
Munich, and wait the course of events. We got a very pretty little
apartment, well furnished with stoves, and opposite the house of the
Marchese Fabio Pallavicini, formerly Sardinian minister at Munich. We
spent most of our evenings very pleasantly at their house. We attended
the concerts at the Odeon of classical music: the execution was perfect,
but the music was so refined and profound that it passed my
comprehension, and I thought it tedious. The hours at Munich were so
early that the opera ended almost at the time it began in London.
In the spring we went to Salzburg, where we remained all summer. We had
an apartment in a dilapidated old château, about an hour's walk from the
town, called Leopold's Krone. The picturesque situation of the town
reminded me of the Castle and Old Town of Edinburgh. The view from our
windows was alpine, and the trees bordering the roads were such as I
have rarely seen out of England. We made many excursions to
Berchtesgaden, where King Louis and his court were then living, and went
to the upper end of the Königsee. I have repeatedly been at sea in very
stormy weather without the smallest idea of fear; but the black, deep
water of this lake, under the shadow of the precipitous mountains, made
a disagreeable impression on me. I thought if I were to be drowned I
should prefer the blue sea to that cold, black pool. The flora was
lovely, and on returning from our expeditions in the evening, the damp,
mossy banks were luminous with glowworms: I never saw so many, either
before or since. We never fail to make acquaintances wherever we go, and
our friends at Munich had given us letters to various people who were
passing the summer there, many of whom had evening receptions once a
week. At the Countess Irene Arco's beautiful Gothic château of Anif,
which rises out of a small pellucid lake, and is reached by a bridge, we
spent many pleasant evenings, as well as at Countess Bellegarde's, and
at Aigen, which belonged to the Cardinal Schwartzenberg. We never saw
him, but went to visit his niece, with whom we were intimate.
The war being over, we went by Innsbruck and the Brenner to Colà, on the
Lago di Garda, within five miles of Peschiera, where we spent a month
with Count and Countess Erizzo Miniscalchi, who had been our intimate
friends for many years. The devastation of the country was frightful.
Peschiera and its fortifications were in ruins; the villages around had
been burnt down, and the wretched inhabitants were beginning to repair
their roofless houses. Our friends themselves had but recently returned
to Colà, which, from its commanding situation, was always the
headquarters of whatever army was in possession of the country around.
On this account, the family had to fly more than once at the approach of
the enemy. In 1848 the Countess had fled to Milan, and was confined at
the very time the Austrians under Radetsky were besieging the town,
which was defended by Charles Albert. Fearing what might occur when the
city was surrendered, the lady, together with her new-born infant and
the rest of her family, escaped the next day with considerable
difficulty, and travelled to Genoa.
Although not acquainted with quite so many languages as Mezzofanti,
Count Miniscalchi is a remarkable linguist, especially with regard to
Arabic and other oriental tongues. He has availed himself of his talent,
and published several works, the most interesting of which is a
translation of the Gospel of St. John from Syro-Chaldaic (the language
probably spoken by our Saviour) into Latin. The manuscript, from which
this translation is made, is preserved in the Vatican.
* * * * *
[While we were at Colà my mother received a visit from a very
distinguished and gifted lady, the Countess Bon-Brenzoni. As an
instance of the feelings entertained by an Italian woman towards my
mother, I insert a letter written by the Countess some time
afterwards, and also an extract from her poems:--]
FROM THE COUNTESS BON-BRENZONI TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.
VERONA, _28 Maggio, 1853_.
ILLUSTRE SIGNORA,
Fui molto contenta udendo che finalmente le sia giunto l'involto
contenente le copie stampate del Carme, ch' ebbi l'onore di poterle
offerire, mentre io era in gran pensiero non forse fossero insorte
difficoltà, o ritardi, in causa della posta. Ma, ben più che per
questo la sua graziosissima lettera mi fù di vera consolazione, per
l'accoglienza tutta benevola e generosa ch' Ella fece a' miei versi.
La ringrazio delle parole piene di bontà ch' Ella mi scrive, e di
aversi preso la gentil cura di farlo in italiano; così potess' io
ricambiarla scrivendo a Lei in inglese! Pur mi conforta la certezza
che il linguaggio delle anime sia uno solo; mentre io non so s' io
debba chiamar presunzione, o ispirazione questa, che mi fa credere,
che esista fra la sua e la mia una qualche intelligenza, e
quantunque i suoi meriti e la sua bontà me ne spieghino in gran
parte il mistero, pure trovo essere cosa non comune questo pensiero,
che al mio cuore parla di Lei incessantemente, da quel giorno ch' io
l'ho veduta per la prima e l'unica volta!
Ah se è vero che fra i sentimenti di compiacenza ch' Ella provò per
gli elogi ottenuti de' suoi lavori, abbia saputo trovar luogo fra i
più cari quello che le destò nell' animo l'espressione viva e
sincera della mia ammirazione e del mio umile affetto, io raggiunsi
un punto a cui certo non avea osato aspirare!
Il trovarmi con Lei a Colà, od altrove che fosse, è uno de' miei più
cari desideri, e son lieta delle sue parole che me ne danno qualche
speranza.
Voglia presentare i miei distinti doveri all' eccelente suo Sig^re
marito ed alle amabili figlie; e mentre io le prego da Dio le più
desiderabili benedizioni, Ella si ricordi di me siccome di una
persona, che sebbene lontana fisicamente, le è sempre vicina coll'
animo, nei sentimenti della più affetuosa venerazione.
Incoraggiata dalla sua bontà, mi onoro segnarmi
amica affezionatissima
CATERINA BON-BRENZONI.
The "Carme" spoken of in the above letter form a long poem on modern
astronomy, entitled "I Cieli," (published by Vallardi. Milan: 1853).
The opening lines contain the following address to Mrs.
Somerville,--doubtless a genuine description of the author's feelings on
first meeting the simple-mannered lady whose intellectual greatness she
had long learned to appreciate:--
Donna, quel giorno ch' io ti vidi in prima,
Dimmi, hai Tu scôrto sul mio volto i segni
Dell' anima commossa?--Hai Tu veduto
Come trepida innanzi io ti venia,
E come reverenza e maraviglia
Tenean sospesa sull' indocil labbro
La parola mal certa?--Ah! dimmi, hai scôrto
Come fur vinte dall' affetto allora
Che t'udii favellar soave e piana,
Coll' angelica voce e l'umiltade,
Che a' suoi più cari sapïenza insegna?--
Questa, io dicea tra me, questa è Colei,
Di che le mille volte udito ho il nome
Venerato suonar tra i più famosi?
Questa è Colei che negli eterei spazj
Segue il cammin degli astri, e ne misura
Peso, moto, distanza, orbita e luce?
* * * * *
Another record of our visit to Colà is in a letter of my mother to my
brother.
MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
TURIN, _4th Dec., 1849_.
MY DEAREST WORONZOW,
We arrived here all well the day before yesterday, after a fair but
bitterly cold journey, bright sunshine and keen frost, and to-day we
have a fall of snow.... It was a great disappointment not finding
letters here, and I fear many have been lost on both sides, though
we took care not to touch on political events, as all letters are
opened by the Austrian police in Lombardy. We spent five weeks with
our friends the Miniscalchis very agreeably, and received every mark
of kindness and hospitality. They only live at Verona during the
winter, and we found them in their country house at Colà situated on
a height overlooking the Lago di Garda, with the snowy Alps on the
opposite side of the lake. The view from their grounds is so fine
that I was tempted to paint once more. They took us to see all the
places in the neighbourhood; often a sad sight, from having been the
seat of war and siege. The villages are burnt and the churches in
ruin. But the people are repairing the mischief as fast as possible,
and the fields are already well cultivated. The Count is a man of
great learning and is occupied in the comparison of languages,
especially the Eastern; he knows twenty-four and speaks Arabic as
fluently as Italian. He is in the habit of speaking both Arabic and
Chaldee every day, as there is a most learned Chaldean priest living
with them, whose conversation gave me great pleasure and much
information. The Count has moreover a black servant who speaks these
languages, having been bought by the Count during his long
residence in the East, and is now treated like one of the family. I
obtained much information which will be useful in my next edition of
the Physical Geography....
Your affectionate mother,
MARY SOMERVILLE.
[After my mother's death, our old friend Count Miniscalchi made a
beautiful and touching "éloge" on her at a meeting of the Royal
Italian Geographical Society, to a numerous audience assembled in
the great hall of the Collegio Romano at Rome.
My mother was an honorary member of this Society, besides which the
first gold medal granted by them was voted by acclamation to her.
Her Recollections continue as follows:--]
* * * * *
From Colà we went to Turin, where I became personally acquainted with
Baron Plana, Director of the Observatory. He had married a niece of the
illustrious mathematician La Grange, who proved the stability of the
solar system. Plana, himself, was a very great analyst; his volume on
the Lunar Perturbations is a work of enormous labour. He gave me a copy
of it and of all his works; for I continued to have friendly intercourse
with him as long as he lived. As soon as he heard of our arrival, he
came to take us out to drive. I never shall forget the beauty of the
Alps, and the broad valley of the Po and Dora, deeply covered with
snow, and sparkling in bright sunshine. Another day the Baron took us to
a church, from the cupola of which a very long pendulum was swinging,
that we might see the rotation of the earth visibly proved by its action
on the pendulum, according to M. Foucault's experiment. He devoted his
time to get us established, and we found a handsome apartment in Casa
Cavour, and became acquainted with both the brothers to whom it
belonged. Count Camillo Cavour, then Minister of the Interior, was the
only great statesman Italy ever produced in modern times. His premature
death is deplorably felt at the present day. He was a real genius, and
the most masterly act of his administration was that of sending an army
to act in concert with the French and English in the Crimean war. By it
he at once gave Italy the rank of an independent European power, which
was the first step towards Italian unity. He was delightful and cheerful
in society, and extremely beloved by his family and friends.
* * * * *
In spring we hired a villa on the Colline above Turin. The house was in
a garden, with a terrace, whence the ground sank rapidly to the plain;
low hills, clothed with chestnut forests, abounding in lilies of the
valley, surrounded us behind. The summer had been stormy, and one
evening we walked on the terrace to look at the lightning, which was
very fine, illuminating the chain of Alps. By-and-by it ceased, and the
darkness was intense; but we continued to walk, when, to our surprise, a
pale bluish light rose in the Val di Susa, which gradually spread along
the summit of the Alps, and the tops of the hills behind our house; then
a column of the same pale blue light, actually within our reach, came
curling up from the slope close to the terrace, exactly as if wet weeds
had been burning. In about ten minutes the whole vanished; but in less
than a quarter of an hour the phenomena were repeated exactly as
described, and were followed by a dark night and torrents of rain. It
was a very unusual instance of what is known as electric glow; that is,
electricity without tension.
On our road to Genoa, we went to see some kind Piedmontese friends, who
have a château in the Monferrat, not many miles from Asti, where we left
the railroad. We had not gone many miles when the carriage we had hired
was upset, and, although nobody had broken bones, I got so severe a blow
on my forehead that I was confined to bed for nearly a month, and my
face was black and blue for a much longer time. Nothing could equal the
unwearied kindness of our friends during my illness.
When I was able to travel, we went to Genoa for the winter, and lived on
the second floor of a large house on the Acqua Sola, and overlooking the
sea. Here first began our friendship with the Marchesa Teresa Doria,
whose maiden name was Durazzo; in her youth one of the handsomest women
in Genoa, a lady distinguished for her generous character and cultivated
mind, and who fearlessly avowed her opinions at a time when it was a
kind of disgrace to be called a Liberal. Her youngest son, Giacomo, has
devoted his life to the study of natural history, and his mother used
all her influence to encourage and help him in a pursuit so unusual
amongst people of rank in this country. Later, he travelled in Persia
for two years, to make collections, and since then resided for a long
time in Borneo, and is now arranging a museum in his native city. The
Marchesa has always been a warm and devoted friend to me and mine.
It was here that we got our dear old parrot Lory, who is still alive and
merry.
* * * * *
Our next move was to Florence, where we already knew many people. We had
a lease of a house in Via del Mandorlo, which had a small garden and a
balcony, where we often sat and received in the warm summer evenings. My
daughters had adorned it and the garden with rare creepers, shrubs, and
flowers.
We had a visit from our friend Gibson, as he passed through Florence on
his way to Switzerland. He told us the history of his early life, as
given in his biography, and much that is not mentioned there. He was
devotedly attached to the Queen, and spoke of her in his simple manner
as a charming lady.
Miss Hosmer was travelling with Gibson, an American young lady, who was
his pupil, and of whose works he was very proud. He looked upon her as
if she had been his daughter, and she took care of him; for he was
careless and forgetful when travelling. I have the sincerest pleasure in
expressing my admiration for Miss Hosmer, who has proved by her works
that our sex possesses both genius and originality in the highest
branches of art.
It was at Florence that I first met my dear friend and constant
correspondent, Frances Power Cobbe. She is the cleverest and most
agreeable woman I ever met with, and one of the best. There is a distant
connection between us, as one of her ancestors married a niece of Lord
Fairfax, the Parliamentary general, many of whose letters are in the
possession of her family. A German professor of physiology at Florence
roused public indignation by his barbarous vivisections, and there was a
canvass for a Memorial against this cruel practice. Miss Cobbe took a
leading part in this movement, and I heartily joined, and wrote to all
my acquaintances, requesting their votes; among others, to a certain
Marchese, who had published something on agriculture. He refused his
vote, saying, "Perhaps I was not aware that the present state of science
was one of induction." Then he went on explaining to me what "induction"
meant, &c., &c., which amused me not a little. It made my family very
indignant, as they thought it eminently presumptuous, addressed to me by
a man who, though a good patriot and agriculturist, knew nothing
whatever about science, past or present. A good deal of political party
spirit was brought into play in this instance, as is too often the case
here. It is not complimentary to the state of civilisation in Italy,
that in Russia and Poland, both of them very far behind her in many
respects, there should exist societies for the prevention of cruelty to
animals, to which all the most distinguished people have given their
names.
[I rejoice to say that this stain on Italian civilisation is now
wiped away. My mother just lived to hail the formation of the
Società Protettrice degli Animali.--ED.]
In summer we sometimes made excursions to avoid the heat of Florence.
One year we went to Valombrosa and the convents of La Vernia, and
Camaldoli, which are now suppressed. We travelled on mules or ponies, as
the mountain paths are impracticable to carriages. I was disappointed in
Valombrosa itself, but the road to it is beautiful. La Vernia is highly
picturesque, there we remained two days, which I spent in drawing. The
trees round the convent formed a striking contrast to the arid cliffs we
had passed on the road. The monks were naturally delighted to see
strangers. They belonged to the order of St. Francis, and each in his
turn wandered over the country begging and living on the industry of
others. We did not pay for our food and lodging, but left much more than
an equivalent in the poor-box. Somerville slept in the convent, and we
ladies were lodged in the so-called _Foresteria_ outside; but even
Somerville was not admitted into the _clausura_ at Camaldoli, for the
monks make a vow of perpetual silence and solitude. Each had his little
separate hut and garden, and some distance above the convent, on the
slopes of the Apennines, they had an establishment called the _Eremo_,
for those who sought for even greater solitude. The people told us that
in winter, when deep snow covers the whole place, wolves are often seen
prowling about. Not far from the Eremo there is a place from whence
both the Mediterranean and the Adriatic can be seen.
We occasionally went for sea-bathing to Viareggio, which is built on a
flat sandy beach. The loose sand is drifted by the wind into low
hillocks, and bound together by coarse grass thickly coated with silex.
Among this and other plants a lovely white amaryllis, the _Pancratium
Maritimum_, with a sweet and powerful perfume, springs up. We often
tried to get the bulb, but it lay too deep under the sand. One evening
we had gone a long way in search of these flowers, and sat down to rest,
though it was beginning to be dark. We had not sat many minutes when we
were surrounded by a number of what we supposed to be bats trying to get
at the flowers we had gathered, but at length we discovered that they
were enormous moths, which followed us home, and actually flew into the
room to soar over the flowers and suck the honey with their long
probosces. They were beautiful creatures with large red eyes on their
wings.
* * * * *
Our life at Florence went on pretty much as usual when all at once
cholera broke out of the most virulent kind. Multitudes fled from
Florence; often in vain, for it prevailed all through Tuscany to a great
extent. The terrified people were kneeling to the Madonna and making
processions, after which it was remarked that the number of cases was
invariably increased. The Misericordia went about in their fearful
costume, indefatigable in carrying the sick to the hospitals. The
devotion of that society was beyond all praise; the young and the old,
the artisan and the nobleman, went night and day in detachments carrying
aid to the sufferers, not in Florence only, but to Fiesole and the
villages round. We never were afraid, but we consulted Professor
Zanetti, our medical adviser, whether we should leave the town, which we
were unwilling to do, as we thought we should be far from medical
assistance, and he said, "By no means; live as usual, drive out as you
have always done, and make not the smallest change." We followed his
advice, and drove out every afternoon till near dark, and then passed
the rest of the evening with those friends who, like ourselves, had
remained in town. None of us took the disease except one of our
servants, who recovered from instant help being given.
The Marquis of Normanby was British minister at that time, and Lady
Normanby and he were always kind and hospitable to us. At her house we
became acquainted with Signora Barbieri-Nini, the celebrated
opera-singer, who had retired from the stage, and lived with her
husband, a Sienese gentleman, in a villa not far from Villa Normanby.
She gave a musical party, to which she invited us. The music, which was
entirely artistic, was excellent, the entertainment very handsome, and
it was altogether very enjoyable. As we were driving home afterwards,
late at night, going down the hill, our carriage ran against one of the
dead carts which was carrying those who had died that day to the
burying-ground at Trespiano. It was horribly ghastly--one could
distinguish the forms of the limbs under the canvas thrown over the heap
of dead. The burial of the poor and rich in Italy is in singular
contrast; the poor are thrown into the grave without a coffin, the rich
are placed in coffins, and in full dress, which, especially in the case
of youth and infancy, leaves a pleasant impression. An intimate friend
of ours lost an infant, and asked me to go and see it laid out. The
coffin, lined with white silk, was on a table, covered with a white
cloth, strewed with flowers, and with a row of wax lights on either
side. The baby was clothed in a white satin frock, leaving the neck and
arms bare; a rose-bud was in each hand, and a wreath of rose-buds
surrounded the head, which rested on a pillow. Nothing could be
prettier; it was like a sleeping angel.
* * * * *
Pio Nono had lost his popularity before he came to visit the Grand Duke
of Tuscany. The people received him respectfully, but without
enthusiasm; nevertheless, Florence was illuminated in his honour. The
Duomo, Campanile, and the old tower in the Piazza dei Signori were very
fine, but the Lung' Arno was beautiful beyond description; the river was
full, and reflected the whole with dazzling splendour.
I made the acquaintance of Signore Donati, afterwards celebrated for the
discovery of one of the most brilliant comets of this century, whose
course and changes I watched with the greatest interest. On one occasion
I was accompanied by my valued friend Sir Henry Holland, who had come to
Florence during one of his annual journeys. I had much pleasure in
seeing him again.
Political parties ran very high in Florence; we sympathised with the
Liberals, living on intimate terms with the chief of them. As soon as
the probability of war between Piedmont and Austria became known, many
young men of every rank, some even of the highest families, hastened to
join as volunteers. The most sanguine long hoped that the Grand Duke
might remember that he was an Italian prince rather than an Austrian
archduke, and would send his troops to join the Italian cause; but his
dynasty was doomed, and he blindly chose the losing side. At last the
Austrians crossed the Mincio, and the war fairly broke out, France
coming to the assistance of Piedmont. The enthusiasm of the Tuscans
could then no longer be restrained, and on the 27th April 1859, crowds
of people assembled on the Piazza dell' Indipendenza, and raised the
tri-coloured flag. The government, who, the day before, had warning of
what was impending, had sent sealed orders to the forts of Belvedere and
del Basso, which, when opened on the eventful morning, were found to
contain orders for the bombardment of the town. This the officers
refused to do, after which the troops joined the popular cause. When
this order became generally known, as it soon did, it proved the last
blow to the dynasty, although the most eminent and respected Liberals
used their best efforts during the whole of the 27th to restore harmony
between the Grand Duke and the people. They advised his immediate
abdication in favour of his son, the Archduke Ferdinand, the
proclamation of the Constitution, and of course insisted on the
immediate alliance with Piedmont as their principal condition. It was
already too late! All was of no avail, and in the evening, whilst we
were as usual at the Cascine, the whole Imperial family, accompanied by
the Austrian minister, and escorted by several of the Corps
Diplomatique, drove round the walls from Palazzo Pitti to Porta San
Gallo unmolested amid a silent crowd, and crossing the frontier on the
Bologna road, bade farewell for ever to Tuscany. The obnoxious ministers
were also permitted to retire unnoticed to their country houses.
Thus ended this bloodless revolution; there was no disorder of any kind,
which was due to the young men belonging to the principal families of
Florence, such as Corsini, Incontri, Farinola, and others, using their
influence with the people to calm and direct them. Indeed, so quiet was
everything that my daughters walked about the streets, as did most
ladies, to see what was going on; the only visible signs of the
revolution throughout the whole day were bands of young men with
tri-coloured flags and cockades shouting national songs at the top of
their voices. As I have said already, we took our usual drive to the
Cascine after dinner, and went to the theatre in the evening; the
streets were perfectly quiet, and next morning the people were at work
as usual. Sir James Scarlett was our minister, and had a reception the
evening after these events, where we heard many predictions of evil
which never were fulfilled. The least of these was the occupation of
Florence by a victorious Austrian army. The Tuscan archdukes precluded
all chance of a restoration by joining the Austrian army, and being
present at the battle of Solferino. At Florence a provisional
government was formed with Bettino Ricasoli at its head; a parliament
assembled three times in the Sala dei Cinquecento, in the Palazzo
Vecchio, and voted with unanimity the expulsion of the House of
Lorraine, and the annexation of Tuscany to the kingdom of Italy. In the
meantime the French and Italian arms were victorious in Lombardy. As,
however, it is not my intention to give an historical account of the
revolution of 1859, but merely to jot down such circumstances as came
under my own immediate notice, I shall not enter into any particulars
regarding the well-known campaign which ended in the cession of Milan
and Lombardy to Italy.
We were keenly interested in the alliance between the Emperor Napoleon
and the King of Italy, in hopes the Quadrilateral would be taken, and
Venice added to the Italian States. We had a map of Northern Italy
spread on a table, and from day to day we marked the positions of the
different headquarters with coloured-headed pins. I can hardly describe
our indignation when all at once peace was signed at Villafranca, and
Napoleon received Nice and Savoy in recompense for his aid, which were
given up to him without regard to the will of the people. When the peace
was announced in Tuscany it caused great consternation and disgust; the
people were in the greatest excitement, fearing that those rulers so
obnoxious to them might by this treaty be again forced upon them; and it
required the firm hand of Ricasoli to calm the people, and induce the
King to accept the annexation which had been voted without one
dissentient voice.
Baron Ricasoli had naturally many enemies amongst the Codini, or
retrograde party. Hand-grenades were thrown against the door of his
house, as also at those of other ministers, but without doing harm. One
evening my daughters were dressing to go to a ball that was to take
place at the Palazzo delle Crocelle, close to us, in a street parallel
to ours, when we were startled by a loud explosion. An attempt had been
made to throw a shell into the ball-room, which had happily failed. The
streets were immediately lined with soldiers, and the ball, which was
given by the Ministers, as far as I recollect, took place.
When the war broke out, a large body of French troops, commanded by
Prince Jerôme Napoleon, came to Florence, and were bivouacked in the
Cascine. The people in the streets welcomed them as deliverers from the
Austrians, whose occupation of Tuscany, when first we came to reside in
Florence, was such a bitter mortification to them, and one of the causes
of the unpopularity of the Grand Duke, whom they never forgave for
calling in the Austrian troops after 1848. The French camp was a very
pretty sight; some of the soldiers playing at games, some mending their
clothes, or else cooking. They were not very particular as to what they
ate, for one of my daughters saw a soldier skin a rat and put it into
his soup-kettle.
We were invited by the Marchesa Lajatico, with whom we were very
intimate, to go and see the entry of Victor Emmanuel into Florence from
the balcony of the Casa Corsini in the Piazza del Prato, where she
resides. The King was received with acclamation: never was anything like
the enthusiasm. Flowers were showered down from every window, and the
streets were decorated with a taste peculiar to the Italians.
[I think the following extracts from letters written by my mother
during the year 1859 and the following, ever memorable in Italian
history, may not be unwelcome to the reader. My mother took the
keenest interest in all that occurred. Owing to the liberal opinions
she had held from her youth, and to which she was ever constant, all
her sympathies were with the Italian cause, and she rejoiced at
every step which tended to unite all Italy in one kingdom. She lived
to see this great revolution accomplished by the entry of Victor
Emmanuel into Rome as King of Italy; a consummation believed by most
politicians to be a wild dream of poets and hot-headed patriots, but
now realised and accepted as a matter of course. My mother had
always firm faith in this result, and it was with inexpressible
pleasure she watched its completion. Our intimacy with the leading
politicians both in Tuscany and Piedmont naturally added to our
interest. Ricasoli, Menabrea, Peruzzi, Minghetti, &c., we knew
intimately, as well as Camillo Cavour, the greatest statesman Italy
ever produced. No one who did not witness it can imagine the grief
and consternation his death occasioned, and of which my mother
writes in a letter dated June 19th, 1861.]
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
FLORENCE, _May 5th, 1859_.
MY DEAREST W.,
Your letter of the 28th would have made me laugh heartily were we
not annoyed that you should have suffered such uneasiness on our
account; the panic in England is ridiculous and most unfounded. The
whole affair has been conducted with perfect unanimity and
tranquillity, so that there has been no one to fight with. The
Austrians are concentrated in Lombardy, and not in Tuscany, nor is
there any one thing to disturb the perfect peace and quietness which
prevail over the whole country; not a soul thinks of leaving
Florence. You do the greatest injustice to the Tuscans. From first
to last not a person has been insulted, not a cry raised against
anyone; even the obnoxious ministers were allowed to go to their
country houses without a word of insult, and troops were sent with
the Grand Duke to escort him and his family to the frontier. Martha
and Mary went all through the town the morning of the revolution,
which was exactly like a common festa, and we found the
tranquillity as great when we drove through the streets in the
afternoon. The same quiet still prevails, the people are at their
usual employments, the theatres and private receptions go on as
usual, and the provisional government is excellent. Everyone knew of
the revolution long before it took place and the quietness with
which it was to be conducted. I am grieved at the tone of English
politics; and trust, for the honour of the country and humanity,
that we do not intend to make war upon France and Sardinia. It would
be a disgrace and everlasting stigma to make a crusade against the
oppressed, being ourselves free. The people here have behaved
splendidly, and we rejoice that we have been here to witness such
noble conduct. No nation ever made such progress as the Tuscans have
done since the year '48. Not a word of republicanism, it has never
been named. All they want is a constitutional government, and this
they are quietly settling....
* * * * *
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
FLORENCE, _29th May, 1859_.
... Everything is perfectly quiet here; the Tuscans are giving money
liberally for carrying on the war. We have bought quantities of old
linen, and your sisters and I spend the day in making lint and
bandages for the wounded soldiers; great quantities have already
been sent to Piedmont. Hitherto the war has been favourable to the
allied army. God grant that England may not enter into the contest
till the Austrians are driven out of Italy! After that point has
been gained, our honour would be safe. To take part with the
oppressors and maintain despotism in Italy would be infamous.
Tuscany is to be occupied by a large body of troops under the
command of Prince Napoleon. A great many are already encamped on the
meadows at the Cascine--fine, spirited, merry young men; many of
them have the Victoria medal. They are a thorough protection against
any attack by the Austrians, of which, however, there is little
chance, as they have enough to do in Lombardy. There is to be a
great affair this morning at nine o'clock; an altar is raised in the
middle of the camp, and the tricolour (Italian) flag is to be
blessed amidst salvoes of cannon. Your friend, Bettino Ricasoli, is
thought by far the most able and statesmanlike person in Tuscany; he
is highly respected. Martha and I dined with Mr. Scarlett, and met
... who said if the Grand Duke had not been the most foolish and
obstinately weak man in the world, he might still have been on the
throne of Tuscany; but that now he has made that impossible by going
to Vienna and allowing his two sons to enter the Austrian army....
We have had a visit from Dr. Falconer, his two nieces and brother.
They had been spending the winter in Sicily, where he discovered
rude implements formed by man mixed with the bones of prehistoric
animals in a cave, so hermetically shut up that not a doubt is left
of a race of men having lived at a period far anterior to that
assigned as the origin of mankind. Similar discoveries have recently
been made elsewhere. Dr. Falkner had travelled much in the
Himalayas, and lived two years on the great plain of Tibet; the
account he gave me of it was most interesting. His brother had spent
fifteen years in Australia, so the conversation delighted me; I
learnt so much that was new. I am glad to hear that the Queen has
been so kind to my friend Faraday; it seems she has given him an
apartment at Hampton Court nicely fitted up. She went to see it
herself, and having consulted scientific men as to the instruments
that were necessary for his pursuits, she had a laboratory fitted up
with them, and made him a present of the whole. That is doing things
handsomely, and no one since Newton has deserved it so much.
* * * * *
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
FLORENCE, _5th June, 1859_.
... All is perfectly quiet; a large body of French troops are now in
Tuscany, and many more are expected probably to make a diversion on
this side of the Austrian army through Modena; but nothing is known;
the most profound secrecy is maintained as to all military
movements. Success has hitherto attended the allied army, and the
greatest bravery has been shown. The enthusiasm among the men
engaged is excessive, the King of Sardinia himself the bravest of
the brave, but exposes himself so much that the people are making
petitions to him to be more careful. The Zouaves called out in the
midst of the battle, "Le roi est un Zouave!" Prince Napoleon keeps
very quiet, and avoids shewing himself as much as possible. The
French troops are very fine indeed--young, gay, extremely civil and
well bred. The secrecy is quite curious; even the colonels of the
regiments do not know where they may be sent till the order comes:
so all is conjecture.... The young King of Naples seems to follow
the footsteps of his father; I hope in God that we may not protect
and defend him. How anxious we are to know what the House of Commons
will do! Let us hope they will take the liberal side; but the
conservative party seems to be increasing.
* * * * *
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
FLORENCE, _22nd August, 1859_.
... Public affairs go on admirably. A few weeks ago the elections
took place of the members of the Tuscan parliament with a calm and
tranquillity of which you have no idea. Every proprietor who pays 15
pauls of taxes (75 pence) has a vote. There are 180 members,
consisting of the most ancient nobility, the richest proprietors,
the most distinguished physicians and lawyers, and the most
respectable merchants. They hold their meetings in the magnificent
hall of the Palazzo Vecchio--the Sala Dei Cinquecento. The first two
or three days were employed in choosing a president &c., &c.; then a
day was named to determine the fate of the house of Lorraine. I
could not go, but Martha went with a Tuscan friend. There was no
speaking; the vote was by ballot, and each member separately went up
to a table before the president, and silently put his ball into a
large vase. Two members poured the balls into a tray, and on
examination, said, "No division is necessary; they are _all_
black,"--which was followed by long and loud cheering. They have
been equally unanimous in the Legations in Parma and Modena; and the
wish of the people is to form one kingdom of these four states under
an Italian prince, excluding all Austrians for ever. The union is
perfect, and the determination quiet but deep and unalterable. If
the Archduke is forced upon them, it must be by armed force, which
the French emperor will not likely permit, after the Archduke was
fool enough to fight against him at Solferino. All the four states
have unanimously voted union with Piedmont; but they do not expect
it to be granted. The destinies of Europe are now dependent on the
two emperors....
* * * * *
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
FLORENCE, _23rd April, 1860_.
You would have had this letter sooner, my dearest Woronzow, if I had
not been prevented from writing to you yesterday evening.... The
weather has been atrocious; deluges of rain night and day, and so
cold that I have been obliged to lay in a second supply of wood. The
only good day, and the only one I have been out, was that on which
the king arrived. It fortunately was fine, and the sight was
magnificent; quite worthy of so great an historical event. No
carriages were allowed after the guns fired announcing that the king
had left Leghorn; so we should have been ill off, had it not been
for the kindness of our friend the Marchesa Lajatico, who invited us
to her balcony, which is now very large, as they have built an
addition to their house for the eldest son and his pretty wife. We
were there some hours before the king arrived; but as all the
Florentine society was there, and many of our friends from Turin and
Genoa, we found it very agreeable. The house is in the Prato, very
near the gate the king was to enter. On each side of it stages were
raised like steps in an amphitheatre, which were densely crowded,
every window decorated with gaily-coloured hangings and the Italian
flag; the streets were lined with "guardie civiche," and bands of
music played from time to time. The people shouted "Evviva!" every
time a gun was fired. In the midst of this joy, there appeared what
resembled a funeral procession--about a hundred emigrants following
the Venetian, Roman, and Neapolitan colours, all hung with black
crape; they were warmly applauded, and many people shed tears. They
went to the railway station just without the gate to meet the King,
and when they hailed him as "_Rè d'Italia!_" he was much affected.
At last he appeared riding a fine English horse, Prince Carignan on
one hand and Baron Ricasoli on his left, followed by a numerous
"_troupe dorée_" of generals and of his suite in gay uniforms and
well mounted. The King rides well; so the effect was extremely
brilliant. Then followed several carriages; in the first were Count
Cavour, Buoncompagni, and the Marchese Bartolommei. You cannot form
the slightest idea of the excitement; it was a burst of enthusiasm,
and the reception of Cavour was as warm. We threw a perfect shower
of flowers over him, which the Marchesa had provided for the
occasion; and her youngest son Cino, a nice lad, went himself to
present his bouquet to the King, who seemed quite pleased with the
boy. I felt so much for Madame de Lajatico herself.... I said to her
how kind I thought it in her to open her house; she burst into
tears, and said, though she was in deep affliction, she could not be
so selfish as not offer her friends the best position in Florence
for seeing what to many of them was the most important event in
their lives, as it was to her even in her grief. The true Italian
taste appeared to perfection in every street through which the
procession passed to the Duomo, and thence to the Palazzo Pitti.
Those who saw it declare nothing could surpass the splendour of the
cathedral when illuminated; but that we could not see, nor did we
see the procession again; it was impossible to penetrate the crowd.
They say there are 40,000 strangers in Florence.... I was much too
tired to go out again to see the illuminations and the fireworks on
the Ponte Carraja; your sisters saw it all, so I leave them to tell
you all about it. The King and Prince are terribly early; they and
Ricasoli are on horseback by _five_ in the morning; the King dines
at twelve, and never touches food afterwards, though he has a dinner
party of 60 or 80 every day at six.... Now, my dearest Woronzow, I
must end, for I do not wish to miss another post. I am really
wonderfully well for my age.
Your devoted mother,
MARY SOMERVILLE.
* * * * *
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO W. GREIG, ESQ.
FLORENCE, _19th June, 1861_.
... Italy has been thrown into the deepest affliction by the death
of Cavour. In my long life I never knew any event whatever which
caused so universal and deep sorrow. There is not a village or town
throughout the whole peninsula which has not had a funeral service,
and the very poorest people, who had hardly clothes on their backs,
had black crape tied round their arm or neck. It was a state of
consternation, and no wonder! Every one felt that the greatest and
best man of this century has been taken away before he had
completely emancipated his country. All the progress is due to him,
and to him alone; the revolution has called forth men of much
talent, yet the whole are immeasurably his inferior in every
respect--even your friend, Ricasoli, who is most able, and the best
successor that can be found, is, compared with Cavour, as Tuscany to
Europe. Happily the sad loss did not occur sooner. Now things are so
far advanced that they cannot go back, and I trust that Ricasoli,
who is not wanting in firmness and moral courage, will complete what
has been so happily begun. I am sorry to say he is not in very good
health, but I trust he will not fall into the hands of the physician
who attended Cavour, and who mistook his disease, reduced him by
loss of blood, and then finding out his real illness, tried to
strengthen him when too late. There was a most excellent article in
the "Times" on the two statesmen.
[My mother's recollections continue thus:--]
* * * * *
One night the moon shone so bright that we sent the carriage away, and
walked home from a reception at the Marchesa Ginori's. In crossing the
Piazza San Marco, an acquaintance, who accompanied us, took us to the
Maglio, which is close by, to hear an echo. I like an echo; yet there is
something so unearthly in the aërial voice, that it never fails to raise
a superstitious chill in me, such as I have felt more than once as I
read "Ossian" while travelling among our Highland hills in my early
youth. In one of the grand passes of the Oberland, when we were in
Switzerland, we were enveloped in a mist, through which peaks were dimly
seen. We stopped to hear an echo; the response came clear and distinct
from a great distance, and I felt as if the Spirit of the Mountain had
spoken. The impression depends on accessory circumstances; for the roar
of a railway train passing over a viaduct has no such effect.
* * * * *
I lost my husband in Florence on the 26th June, 1860.... From the
preceding narrative may be seen the sympathy, affection, and confidence,
which always existed between us....
[After what has already been said of the happiness my mother enjoyed
during the long years of their married life, it may be imagined what
grief was her's at my father's death after only three days' illness.
My mother's dear friend and correspondent, Miss F.P. Cobbe, wrote to
her as follows on this occasion:--]
"I have just learned from a letter from Captain Fairfax to my
brother the great affliction which has befallen you. I cannot
express to you how it has grieved me to think that such a sorrow
should have fallen on you, and that the dear, kind old man, whose
welcome so often touched and gratified me, should have passed away
so soon after I had seen you both, as I often thought, the most
beautiful instance of united old age. His love and pride in you,
breaking out as it did at every instant when you happened to be
absent, gives me the measure of what his loss must be to your warm
heart."
* * * * *
[The following letter from my mother, dated April, 1861, addressed to
her sister-in-law, was written after reading my grandfather's "Life
and Times," the publication of which my father did not live to see.]
* * * * *
FROM MRS. SOMERVILLE TO MRS. ELLIOT, OF ROSEBANK, ROXBURGHSHIRE.
FLORENCE, _28th April, 1861_.
MY DEAR JANET,--
I received the precious volume[14] you have so kindly sent to me
some days ago, but I have delayed thanking you for it till now
because we all wished to read it first. We are highly pleased, and
have been deeply interested in it. The whole tone of the book is
characteristic of your dear father; the benevolence,
warm-heartedness, and Christian charity which appeared in the whole
course of his life and ministry. That which has struck us all most
forcibly is the liberality of his sentiments, both religious and
political, at a time when narrow views and bigotry made it even
dangerous to avow them, and it required no small courage to do so.
He was far in advance of the age in which he lived; his political
opinions are those of the present day, his religious opinions still
before it. There are many parts of the book which will please the
general reader from the graphic description of the manners and
customs of the time, as well as the narrative of his intercourse
with many of the eminent men of his day. Your most dear father's
affectionate remembrance of me touches me deeply. I have but one
regret, dear Jenny, and that is that our dear William did not live
to see the accomplishment of what was his dying wish; but God's will
be done.... We are all much as usual: I am wonderfully well, and
able to write, which I do for a time every day. I do not think I
feel any difference in capacity, but I become soon tired, and then I
read the newspapers, some amusing book, or work.... Everything is
flourishing in Italy, and the people happy and contented, except
those who were employed and dependent on the former sovereigns, but
they are few in comparison; and now there is a fine army of 200,000
men to defend the country, even if Austria should make an attack,
but that is not likely at present. Rome is still the difficulty, but
the Pope must and soon will lose his temporal power, for the people
are determined it shall be so....
I am, dear sister,
Most affectionately yours,
MARY SOMERVILLE.
To MRS. ELLIOT, of Rosebank, Roxburghshire.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 14: The Rev. P. Somerville's "Life and Times."]