you." I walked quickly forward and made obeisance. Anon, one of the larger
keys in this said bunch was applied to a huge lock, and the folding and
iron-cramped doors of the library were thrown open. I descended by a few
steps into the ante-room, and from thence had a completely fore-shortened
view of the library. It is small, but well filled, and undoubtedly contains
some ancient and curious volumes: but several _hiatuses_ gave indication
that there had been a few transportations to Vienna or Munich. The small
gothic windows were open, and the rain now absolutely descended in
torrents. Nevertheless, I went quickly and earnestly to work. A few slight
ladders were placed against the shelves, in several parts of the library,
by means of which I left no division unexplored. The librarian, after
exchanging a few words very pleasantly, in the French language, left me
alone, unreservedly to prosecute my researches. I endeavoured to benefit
amply by this privilege; but do not know, when, in the course of three or
four hours, I have turned over the leaves of so many volumes ... some of
which seemed to have been hardly opened since they were first deposited
there ... to such little purpose.
However, he is a bad sportsman who does not hit _something_ in a
well-stocked cover; and on the return of the librarian, he found me busily
engaged in laying aside certain volumes--with a written list
annexed--"which might _possibly_, be disposed of ... for a valuable
consideration?" "Your proposal shall be attended to, but this cannot be
done immediately. You must leave the _consideration_ to the Principal and
the elder brethren of the monastery." I was quite charmed by this response;
gave my address, and taking a copy of the list, withdrew. I enclose you the
list or catalogue in question.[87] Certainly I augur well of the result:
but no early _Virgil_, nor _Horace_, nor _Ovid_, nor _Lucretius_, nor even
an early _Greek Bible_ or _Testament_! What struck me, on the score of
rarity, as most deserving of being secured, were some little scarce
grammatical and philological pieces, by the French scholars of the early
part of the sixteenth century; and some controversial tracts about Erasmus,
Luther, and Eckius.
So much for the monastic visit to St. Peter's at Salzburg; and yet you are
not to quit it, without learning from me that this town was once famous for
other similar establishments[88]--which were said anciently to vie with the
greater part of those in Austria, for respectability of character, and
amplitude of possessions. At present, things of this sort seem to be
hastening towards a close, and I doubt whether the present principal will
have half a dozen successors. It remains only to offer a brief sketch of
some few other little matters which took place at Salzburg; and then to
wish you good bye--as our departure is fixed for this very afternoon. We
are to travel from hence through a country of mountains and lakes, to the
_Monastery of Chremsminster_, in the route to Lintz--on the high road to
Vienna. I have obtained a letter to the Vice-President of _Mölk monastery_,
from a gentleman here, who has a son under his care; so that, ere I reach
the capital of Austria, I shall have seen a pretty good sprinkling of
_Benedictins_--as each of these monasteries is of the order of St.
Benedict.
The evening of the second day of our visit here, enabled me to ascertain
something of the general character of the scenery contiguous to the town.
This scenery is indeed grand and interesting. The summit of the lowest hill
in the neighbourhood is said to be 4000 feet above the level of the sea. I
own I have strong doubts about this. It is with the heights of mountains,
as with the numbers of books in a great library,--we are apt to over-rate
each. However, those mountains, which seem to be covered with perennial
snow, must be doubtless 8000 feet above the same level.[89] To obtain a
complete view of them, you must ascend some of the nether hills. This we
intended to do--but the rain of yesterday has disappointed all our hopes.
The river _Salz_ rolls rapidly along; being fed by mountain torrents. There
are some pretty little villas in the neighbourhood, which are frequently
tenanted by the English; and one of them, recently inhabited by Lord
Stanhope, (as the owner informed me,) has a delightful view of the citadel,
and the chain of snow-capt mountains to the left. The numerous rapid
rivulets, flowing into the Salz, afford excellent trout-fishing; and I
understood that Sir Humphry Davy, either this summer, or the last,
exercised his well-known skill in this diversion here. The hills abound
with divers sorts of four-footed and winged game; and, in short, (provided
I could be furnished with a key of free admission into the library of St.
Peter's Monastery) I hardly know where I could pass the summer and autumn
months more completely to my satisfaction than at SALZBURG. What might not
the pencils of Turner and Calcott here accomplish, during the mellow lights
and golden tints of autumn?
Of course, in a town so full of curiosities of every description, I am not
able, during so short a stay in it, to transmit you any intelligence about
those sights which are vulgarly called the _Lions_. But I must not close
this rambling, desultory letter, without apprising you that I have walked
from one end of the _Mönschberg_ to the other. This is an excavation
through a hard and high rocky hill, forming the new gate, or entrance into
the town. The success of this bold undertaking was as complete, as its
utility is generally acknowledged: nor shall it tarnish the lustre of the
_mitre_ to say, that it was a BISHOP of Salzburg who conceived, and
superintended the execution of, the plan. A very emphatic inscription
eternises his memory: "TE SAXA LOQUUNTUR." The view, from the further end
of it, is considered to be one of the finest in Europe: but, when I
attempted to enjoy it, every feature of the landscape was obscured by
drizzling rain. "It always rains at Salzburg!"--said, as you may remember,
the postilion from Lauffen. It may do so: but a gleam of _sunshine_ always
enlivens that moment, when I subscribe myself, as I do now, your
affectionate and faithful friend.
[77] See vol. i. p. 199.
[78] It is thus entitled: _Bibliothecæ Ingolstadiensis Incunabula
Typographica_, 1787, 4to.: containing four parts. A carefully
executed, and indispensably necessary, volume in every bibliographical
collection.
[79] [I rejoice to add, in this edition of my Tour, that the LOST SHEEP has
been FOUND. It had not straggled from the fold when I was at Landshut;
but had got _penned_ so snugly in some unfrequented corner, as
not to be perceived.]
[80] [A vision, however, which AGAIN haunts me!]
[81] This copy has since reached England, and has been arrayed in a goodly
coat of blue morocco binding. Whether it remain in Cornhill at this
precise moment, I cannot take upon me to state; but I can confidently
state that there is _not a finer copy_ of the edition in question
in his Britannic Majesty's united dominions. [This copy
now--1829--ceases to exist... in Cornhill.]
[82] On consulting the _Typog. Antiquities_, vol. ii. p. 510, I found
my conjectures confirmed. The reader will there see the full title of
the work--beginning thus: "_Eruditissimi Viri Guilelmi Rossei opus
elegans, doctum, festiuum, pium, quo pulcherrime retegit, ac refellit,
insanas Lutheri calumnias," &c._ It is a volume of considerable
rarity.
[83] The charges were moderate. A bottle of the best red ordinary wine
(usually--the best in every respect) was somewhere about 1s. 6d. Our
lodgings, two good rooms, including the charge of three wax candles,
were about four shillings per day. The bread was excellent, and the
_cuisine_ far from despicable.
[84] We learn from Pez (_Austriacar. Rer._ vol. ii. col. 185, taken
from the Chronicle of the famous _Admont Monastery_,) that, in
the year 1128, the cathedral and the whole city of Salzburg were
destroyed by fire. So, that the antiquity of this, and of other
relics, must not be pushed to too remote a period.
[85] Before the reader commences the above account of a visit to this
monastery, he may as well be informed that the SUBJOINED bird's-eye
view of it, together with an abridged history (compiled from
Trithemius, and previous chroniclers) appears in the
_Monasteriologia of Stengelius_, published in 1619, folio.
[Illustration]
The monastery is there described as--"et vetustate et dignitate nulli
è Germaniæ monasteriis secundum." Rudbertus is supposed to have been
its founder:--"repertis edificiis basilicam in honore SANCTI PETRI
construxit:" _Chronicon Norimberg._ fol. cliii.; edit. 1493. But
this took place towards the end of the sixth century. From Godfred's
_Chronicon Gotvvicense_, 1732, folio, pt. i. pp. 37, 39, 52--the
library of this Monastery, there called "antiquissima," seems to have
had some very ancient and valuable MSS. In Stengelius's time, (1620)
the monastery appears to have been in a very flourishing condition.
[86] As it is just possible the reader may not have a very distinct
recollection of this worthy old gentleman, and ambulatory abbot--it
may be acceptable to him to know, that, in the _Thanatologia of
Budæus_ (incorporated in the _Tres Selecti Scriptores Rerum
Germanicarum_, 1707, folio, p. 27, &c.) the said Neander is
described as a native of Sorau, in Bohemia, and as dying in his 70th
year, A.D. 1595, having been forty-five years Principal of the
monastery of St. Ildefonso. A list of his works, and a laudatory Greek
epigram, by Budæus, "UPON HIS EFFIGY," follow.
[87] For the sake of juxta-position I here lay before the reader a short
history of the issue, or progress of the books in question to their
present receptacle, in St. James's Place. A few days after reaching
_Vienna_, I received the following "pithy and pleasant" epistle
from the worthy librarian, "Mon très-revérend Pasteur. En esperant que
vous êtes arrivé à Vienne, à bon port, j'ai l'honneur de declarer à
vous, que le prix fixé des livres, que vous avez choisi, et dont la
table est ajoutée, est 40 louis d'or, ou 440 florins. Agréez
l'assurance, &c."
[Autographs]
I wrote to my worthy friend Mr. Nockher at Munich to settle this
subject immediately; who informed me, in reply, that the good monks
would not part with a single volume till they had received "the money
upon the nail,"--"l'argent comptant." That dexterous negotiator
quickly supplied them with the same; received the case of books; and
sent them down the Rhine to Holland, from thence to England: where
they arrived in safe and perfect condition. They are all described in
the second volume of the _Ædes Athorpianæ_; together with a
beautiful fac-simile of an illuminated head, or portrait, of
_Gaietanus de Tienis_, who published a most elegantly printed
work upon Aristotle's four books of Meteors, _printed by Maufer_,
in 1476, folio; and of which the copy in the Salzburg library was
adorned by the head (just mentioned) of the Editor. _Æd.
Althorp._ vol. ii. p. 134. Among the books purchased, were two
exquisite copies, filled with wood cuts, relating to the Æsopian
Fables: a copy of one of which, entitled _Æsopus Moralisatus_,
was, I think, sold at the sale of the Duke of Marlborough's books, in
1819, for somewhere about 13l.
[88] In Hartmann Schedel's time, Salzburg--which was then considered as the
CAPITAL OF BAVARIA--"was surrounded by great walls, and was adorned by
many beautiful buildings of temples and monasteries." A view of
Salzburg, which was formerly called JUVAVIA, is subjoined in the
_Nuremberg Chronicle_, fol. CLIII. _edit._ 1493. Consult
also the _Chronicon Gotvvicense_, 1732, folio, pt. ii. p.
760--for some particulars respecting the town taking its name from the
river _Juvavia_ or _Igonta_. Salzburg was an Archbishopric founded by
Charlemagne: see the _Script. Rer. German._ edited by _Nidanus et
Struvius_, 1726 folio, vol. i. p. 525.
[89] On the morning following my arrival at Salzburg, I purchased a card,
and small chart of the adjacent country and mountains. Of the latter,
the _Gross Klokner_, _Klein Klokner_, are each about 12000
feet above the level of the sea; The _Weisbachhorn_ is about
11000 feet of similar altitude; _Der Hohe Narr_ about the same
height; and the _Hohe Warte_ about 10,000; while the
_Ankogl_ and _Herzog Ernst_, are 9000 each. The lowest is
the _Gaisberg_ of 4000 feet; but there is a regular gradation in
height, from the latter, to the Gross Klokner, including about 25
mountains.
[Illustration]
LETTER VIII.
SALZBURG. TO CHREMSMINSTER. THE LAKE GMUNDEN. THE MONASTERY OF
CHREMSMINSTER. LINTZ.
_Lintz; on the road to Vienna, Aug. 26, 1818._
In order that I may not be too much in arrear in my correspondence, I
snatch an hour or two at this place, to tell you what have been my sights
and occupations since I quitted the extraordinary spot whence I last
addressed you. Learn therefore, at the outset, that I have been, if
possible, more gratified than heretofore. I have shaped my course along
devious roads, by the side of huge impending mountains; have skirted more
than one lake of wide extent and enchanting transparency; have navigated
the celebrated _Lake of Gmunden_ from one end to the other--the greater
part of which is surrounded by rocky yet fertilized mountains of a
prodigious height;--have entered one of the noblest and richest monasteries
of Austria--and darted afterwards through a country, on every side pleasing
by nature, and interesting from history. My only regret is, that all this
has been accomplished with too much precipitancy; and that I have been
compelled to make sketches in my mind, as it were, when the beauty of the
objects demanded a finished picture.
I left Salzburg on the afternoon after writing my last epistle; and left it
with regret at not having been able to pay a visit to the salt mines of
_Berchtesgaden_ and _Hallein_: but "non omnia possumus omnes." The first
stage, to _Koppf_, was absolutely up hill, the whole way, a short German
league and a half: probably about seven English miles. We were compelled to
put a leader to our two horses, and even then we did little more than
creep. But the views of the country we had left behind us, as we continued
ascending, were glorious in the extreme. Each snow-capt mountain appeared
to rise in altitude--as we continued to mount. Our views however were mere
snatches. The sun was about to set in a bed of rain. Large black clouds
arose; which, although they added to the grandeur of picturesque
composition, prevented us from distinctly surveying the adjacent country.
Masses of deep purple floated along the fir-clad hills: now partially
illumined by the sun's expiring rays, and now left in deep shadow--to be
succeeded by the darkness of night.
The sun was quite set as we stopped to change horses at _Koppf_: and a sort
of premature darkness came on:--which, however, was relieved for a short
time by a sky of partial but unusual clearness of tint. The whole had a
strange and magical effect. As the horses were being put to, I stepped
across the road to examine the interior of a small church--where I
observed, in the side aisle, a group of figures of the size of life--which,
at that sombre hour, had a very extraordinary effect. I approached nearer,
and quickly perceived that this group was intended to represent the _Agony
in the Garden of Gethsemane_. Our Saviour, at a little distance, was upon
his knees, praying; and the piety of some _religieuse_ (as I afterwards
learnt) had caused a white handkerchief to be fixed between his hands. The
disciples were represented asleep, upon the ground. On coming close to the
figures (which were raised upon a platform, of half the height of a man)
and removing the moss upon which they were recumbent, I found that they
were mere _trunks_, without legs or feet: the moss having been artfully
placed, so as to conceal these defects when the objects were seen at a
distance. Of course it was impossible to refrain from a smile, on
witnessing such a sight.
The horses were harnessed in ten minutes; and, having no longer any
occasion for a leader, we pursued our route with the usual number of two.
The evening was really enchanting; and upon the summit of one of the
loftiest of the hills--which rose perpendicularly as a bare sharp piece of
rock--we discerned a pole, which we conjectured was fixed there for some
particular purpose. The postilion told us that it was the stem of the
largest fir-tree in the country, and that there were annual games
celebrated around it--in the month of May, when its summit was crowned with
a chaplet. Our route was now skirted on each side, alternately, by water
and by mountain. The _Mande See_, _Aber See_, and _Aller See_, (three
beautiful lakes) lay to the left; of which we caught, occasionally, from
several commanding heights, most magnificent views--as the last light of
day seemed to linger upon their surfaces. They are embosomed in scenery of
the most beautiful description. When we reached _St. Gilgen_, or _Gilling_,
we resolved upon passing the night there.
It was quite dark, and rather late, when we entered this miserable village;
but within half a league of it, we ran a very narrow chance of being
overturned, and precipitated into a roaring, rapid stream, just below the
road--along the banks of which we had been sometime directing our course. A
fir-pole lay across the road, which was undiscernible from the darkness of
the night; and the carriage, receiving a violent concussion, and losing its
balance for a moment--leaning over the river--it was doubtful what would be
the issue. Upon entering the archway of the inn, or rather public
house--from the scarcity of candles, and the ignorance of rustic ostlers,
the door of the carriage (it being accidentally open) was completely
wrenched from the body.
Never, since our night's lodging at _Saudrupt_,[90] had we taken up our
quarters at so miserable an auberge. The old woman, our landlady, seemed
almost to cast a suspicious eye upon us; but the valet in a moment disarmed
her suspicions. It was raw, cold, and late; but the kitchen fire was yet in
full force, and a few earthen-ware utensils seemed to contain something in
the shape of eatables. You should know, that the kitchen fire-places, in
Germany, are singularly situated; at least all those at the public inns
where we have stopped. A platform, made of brick, of the height of about
three feet, is raised in the centre of the floor. The fire is in the centre
of the platform. You look up, and see directly the open sky through the
chimney, which is of a yawning breadth below, but which narrows gradually
towards the top. It was so cold, that I requested a chair to be placed upon
the platform, and I sat upon it--close to the kitchen fire--receiving very
essential benefit from the position. All the kitchen establishment was
quickly put in requisition: and, surrounded by cook and scullion--pots,
pans, and culinary vessels of every description--I sat like a monarch upon
his throne: while Mr. Lewis was so amused at the novelty of the scene, that
he transferred it to his sketch-book.
It was midnight when we attacked our _potage_--in the only visitor's
bed-room in the house. Two beds, close to each other, each on a sloping
angle of nearly forty-five degrees, were to receive our wearied bodies. The
_matériel_ of the beds was _straw_; but the sheets were white and well
aired, and edged (I think) with a narrow lace; while an eider down
quilt--like a super-incumbent bed--was placed upon the first quilt. It was
scarcely day-light, when Mr. Lewis found himself upon the floor, awoke from
sleep, having gradually slid down. By five o'clock, the smith's hammer was
heard at work below--upon the door of the dismembered carriage--and by the
time we had risen at eight o'clock, the valet reported to us that the job
was just _then_ ... in the very state in which it was at its
_commencement_! So much for the reputation of the company of white-smiths
at _St. Gilgen_. We were glad to be off by times; but I must not quit this
obscure and humble residence without doing the landlady the justice to say,
that her larder and kitchen enabled us to make a very hearty breakfast.
This, for the benefit of future travellers--benighted like ourselves.
The morning lowered, and some soft rain fell as we started: but, by
degrees, the clouds broke away, and we obtained a complete view of the
enchanting country through which we passed--as we drove along by the banks
of the _Aber_ lake, to _Ischel_. One tall, sharp, and spirally-terminating
rock, in particular, kept constantly in view before us, on the right; of
which the base and centre were wholly feathered with fir. It rose with an
extraordinary degree of abruptness, and seemed to be twice as high as the
spire of Strasbourg cathedral. To the left, ran sparkling rivulets, as
branches of the three lakes just mentioned. An endless variety of
picturesque beauty--of trees, rocks, greenswards, wooded heights, and
glen-like passes--canopied by a sky of the deepest and most brilliant
blue--were the objects upon which we feasted till we reached _Ischel_:
where we changed horses. Here we observed several boats, of a peculiarly
long and narrow form, laden with salt, making their way for the _Steyer_
and _Ens_ rivers, and from thence to the Danube. To describe what we saw,
all the way till we reached the _Traun See_, or the LAKE OF GMUNDEN, would
be only a repetition of the previous description.
At _Inderlambach_, close to the lake in question, we stopped to dine. This
is a considerable village, or even country town. On the heights are
well-trimmed gravel walks, from which you catch a commanding view of the
hither end of the lake; and of which the sight cheered us amazingly. We
longed to be afloat. There is a great manufactory of salt carried on upon
these heights--at the foot of which was said to be the best inn in the
town. Thither we drove: and if high charges form the test of the excellence
of an inn, there is good reason to designate this, at _Inderlambach_, as
such. We snatched a hasty meal, (for which we had nearly fifteen florins to
pay) being anxious to get the carriage and luggage aboard one of the larger
boats, used in transporting travellers, before the sun was getting too
low ... that we might see the wonders of the scenery of which we had heard
so much. It was a bright, lovely afternoon; and about half-past six we were
all, with bag and baggage, on board. Six men, with oars resembling spades
in shape, were to row us; and a seventh took the helm. The water was as
smooth as glass, and of a sea-green tint, which might have been occasioned
by the reflection of the dark and lofty wood and mountainous scenery, by
which the lake is surrounded.
The rowers used their oars so gently, as hardly to make us sensible of
their sounds. The boat glided softly along; and it was evident, from the
varying forms of the scenery, that we were making considerable way. We had
a voyage of at least nine English miles to accomplish, ere we reached the
opposite extremity--called _Gmunden_; and where we were told that the inn
would afford us every accommodation which we might wish. On reaching the
first winding or turning of the lake, to the left, a most magnificent and
even sublime object--like a mountain of rock--presented itself to the
right. It rose perpendicularly--vast, craggy, and of a height, I should
suppose, little short of 2000 feet. Its gray and battered sides--now
lighted up by the varied tints of a setting sun--seemed to have been
ploughed by many a rushing torrent, and covered by many a winter's snow.
Meanwhile the lake was receiving, in the part nearest to us, a breadth of
deep green shadow, as the sun became lower and lower. The last faint scream
of the wild fowl gave indication that night was coming on; and the few
small fishermen's huts, with which the banks were slightly studded, began
to fade from the view. Yet the summit of the mountain of rock, which I have
just mentioned, was glowing with an almost golden hue. I cannot attempt a
more minute description of this enchanting scene.