JUNE 17, 1830--FEBRUARY 2, 1831
Working hard.--Trip to Genzano.--Lake of Nemi.--Beggars.--Curious
festival of flowers at Genzano.--Night on the Campagna.--Heat in Rome.--
Illumination of St. Peter's.--St. Peter's Day.--Vaults of the Church.--
Feebleness of Pope.--Morse and companions visit Naples, Capri, and
Amalfi.--Charms of Amalfi.--Terrible accident.--Flippancy at funerals.--
Campo Santo at Naples.--Gruesome conditions.--Ubiquity of beggars.--
Convent of St. Martino.--Masterpiece of Spagnoletto.--Returns to Rome.--
Faints portrait of Thorwaldsen.--Presented to him in after years by John
Taylor Johnston.--Given to King of Denmark.--Reflections on the social
evil and the theatre.--Death of the Pope.--An assassination.--The
Honorable Mr. Spencer and Catholicism.--Election of Pope Gregory XVI.
During all these months Morse was diligently at work in the various
galleries, making the copies for which he had received commissions, and
the day's record almost invariably begins with "At the Colonna Palace all
day"; or, "At the Vatican all day"; or wherever else he may have been
working at the time.
The heat of the Roman summer seems not yet to have inconvenienced him,
for he does not complain, but simply remarks: "Sun almost vertical,...
houses and shops shut at noon." He has this to say of an Italian
institution: "Lotteries in Rome make for the Government eight thousand
scudi per week; common people venture in them; are superstitious and
consult _cabaliste_ or lucky numbers; these tolerated as they help sell
the tickets."
While working hard, he occasionally indulged himself in a holiday, and on
June 16 he, in company with three other artists, engaged a carriage for
an excursion to Albano, Aricia, and Genzano, "to witness at the latter
place the celebrated _festa infiorata_, which occurs every year on the
17th of June."
After spending the night at Albano, which they found crowded with artists
of various nationalities and with other sight-seers, "We set out for
Genzano, a pleasant walk of a little more than a mile through a winding
carriage-road, thickly shaded with fine trees of elm and chestnut and
ilex. A little fountain by the wayside delayed us for a moment to sketch
it, and we then continued our way through a straight, level, paved road,
shaded on each side with trees, into the pretty village of Genzano."
Finding that the principal display was not until the afternoon, they
strolled to the Lake of Nemi, "situated in a deep basin, the crater of a
volcano." Those Italian lakes which he had so far seen, while lovely and
especially interesting from their historical or legendary associations
and the picturesque buildings on their shores, seemed to the artist (ever
faithful to his native land) less naturally attractive than the lakes
with which he was familiar at home--Lake George, Otsego Lake, etc. He had
not yet seen Como or Maggiore. Then he touches upon the great drawback to
all travelling in Italy:--
"Throughout the day, wherever we went, beggars in every shape annoyed us,
nor could we scarcely hear ourselves talk when on the borders of the lake
for the swarms which importuned us. A foolish Italian, in the hope
probably of getting rid of them, commenced giving a _mezzo biochi_ to
each, and such a clamor, such devouring eyes, such pushing and bawling,
such teasing importunity for more, and from some who had received and
concealed their gift, I could not have conceived, nor do I ever wish
again to see so disgusting a sight. The foolish fellow who invented this
plan of satisfying an Italian beggar's appetite found to his sorrow that,
instead of thanks, he obtained curses and an increase of importunity....
"After dinner we again walked to Genzano, whither we found were going
great multitudes of every class; elegant equipages and _vetture_ racing
with each other; donkeys and horses and foot travellers; and not among
the least striking were the numbers of women, some of whom were
splendidly dressed, all riding on horseback, a foot in each stirrup, and
riding with as much ease and fine horsemanship as the men.
"When we arrived at Genzano the decoration of the streets had commenced.
Two of the principal and wide streets ascend a little, diverging from
each other, from the left side of the common street which goes through
the village. The middle of these streets was the principal scene of
decoration. On each side of the centre of the street, leaving a
good-sized sidewalk, were pillars at a distance of eight or nine feet
from each other composed of the evergreen box and tufted at the top with
every variety of flowers. They were in many places also connected by
festoons of box. The pavement of the street between the pillars in both
streets, and for a distance of at least one half a mile, was most
exquisitely figured with flowers of various colors, looking like an
immense and gorgeously figured carpet.
"The devices were in the following order which I took note of on the
spot: first, a temple with four columns of yellow flowers (the flower of
the broom) containing an altar on which was the Holy Sacrament. In the
pediment of the temple a column surmounted by a halfmoon, which is the
arms of the Colonna family. Second was a large crown. Third, the Holy
Sacrament again with various rich ornaments. Fourth, stars and circles.
Fifth, a splendid coat-of-arms as accurate and rich as if emblazoned in
permanent colors, with a cardinal's hat and a shield with the words
_'prudens'_ and _'fidelis'_ upon it."
There were twenty of these wonderful floral decorations on the pavement
of one street and fourteen on that of the other and all are described in
the notes, but I have particularized enough to show their character. The
journal continues:--
"All these figures were as elegantly executed as if made for permanency,
some with a minuteness truly astonishing. Among other decorations of the
day was the free-will offering of one of the people who had it displayed
at the side of his shop on a rude pedestal. It was called the 'Flight
into Egypt,' and represented Joseph and Mary and the infant on an ass,
and all composed of shrubs and flowers. It was, indeed, a most
ludicrous-looking affair; Joseph with a face (if such it might be called)
of purple flowers and a flaxen wig, dressed in a coarse pilgrim's cape
studded over with yellow flowers, was leading by a hay band a green
donkey, made of a kind of heath grass, with a tail of lavender and hoofs
of cabbage leaves. Of this latter composition were also the sandals of
Mary, whose face, as well as that of the _bambino_, was also of purple
flowers and shapeless. The frock of the infant was of the gaudiest red
poppy. It excited the laughter of almost all who saw it, except now and
then some of the ignorant lower classes would touch their hats, cross
themselves, and mumble a prayer."
After describing some of the picturesque costumes of the _contadini_, he
continues:--
"It was nearly dark before the procession, to which all these
preparations had reference, began to move. At length the band of music
was heard at the lower end of one of the streets, and a man, in ample
robes of scarlet and blue, with a staff, was seen leading the procession,
which need be no further described than to say it consisted of the usual
quantity of monks chanting, with wax-tapers in their hands, crosses, and
heavy, unwieldy banners which endanger the heads of the multitude as they
pass; of a fine band of music playing beautiful waltzes and other
compositions, and a _quantum suff._ of men dressed in the garb of
soldiers to keep the good people uncovered and on their knees.
"The head of the procession had arrived at the top of the street when--
crack! pop!--went forty or fifty crackers, which had been placed against
the walls of a house near us, and which added wonderfully to the
solemnity of the scene, and, accordingly, were repeated every few
seconds, forming a fine accompaniment to the waltzes and the chanting of
the monks. In a few minutes all the beauty of the flower-carpeted street
was trodden out, and the last of the procession had hardly passed before
all the flowers disappeared from the pillars, and all was ruin and
disorder.
"The procession halted at a temporary altar at the top of the street, and
we set out on our return at the same moment down the street, facing the
immense multitude which filled the whole street. We had scarcely
proceeded a third of the distance down when we suddenly saw all before us
uncovered and upon their knees. We alone formed an exception, and we
continued our course with various hints from those around us to stop and
kneel, which we answered by talking English to each other in a louder
tone, and so passed for unchristian _forestieri_, and escaped unmolested,
especially as the soldiers were all at the head of the street.
"The effect, however, was exceedingly grand of such a multitude upon
their knees, and, could I have divested myself of the thought of the
compulsory measures which produced it and the object to which they knelt,
the picture of the Virgin, I should have felt the solemnity of a scene
which seemed in the outward act to indicate such a universal reverence
for Him who alone rightfully claims the homage and devotion of the
heart."
Whether this curious custom still persists in Genzano I know not;
Baedeker is silent on the subject.
It was nearly dark before they started on the drive back to Rome, and
quite dark after they had gone a short distance.
"We passed the tombs of the Horatii and Curiatii, which looked much
grander in the light of the torches than in the day, and, driving hastily
through Albano, came upon the Campagna once more. It was still more like
a desert in the night than in the day, for it was an interminable ocean,
and the masses of ruins, coming darker than the rest, seemed like
deserted wrecks upon its bosom.
"It is considered dangerous in the summer to sleep while crossing the
Campagna; indeed, in certain parts of it, over the Pontine Marshes in
July and August, it is said to be certain, death, but, if the traveller
can keep awake, there is no danger. In spite of the fears which we
naturally entertained lest it might be already dangerous, most of us
could not avoid sleeping, nor could I, with every effort made for that
purpose."
The days following his return to Rome were employed chiefly in copying at
the Colonna Palace. The heat was now beginning to grow more oppressive,
and we find this note on June 21:--
"In the cool of the morning you see the doors of the cafes thronged with
people taking their coffee and sitting on chairs in the streets for some
distance round. At _mezzo giorno_ the streets are deserted, the
shop-doors are closed, and all is still; they have all gone to their
_siesta_, their midday sleep. At four o'clock all is bustle again; it
seems a fresh morning; the streets and cafés are thronged and the Corso
is filled with the equipages of the wealthy, enjoying till quite dark
the cool of the evening air.
"The sun is now oppressively warm; the heat is unlike anything I have
felt in America. There is a scorching character about it which is
indescribable, and the glare of the light is exceedingly painful to the
eyes. The evenings are delightful, cool and clear, showing the lustre of
the stars gloriously.
"_June 28._ In the evening went to the piazza of St. Peter's to witness
the illumination of its magnificent dome and the piazza. The change from
the smaller to the larger illumination is one of the grandest spectacles
I ever beheld.
"The lanterns which are profusely scattered over it, showing its whole
form in lines of fire, glow brighter and brighter as the evening advances
from twilight to dark, till it seems impossible for its brilliance to
increase. The crowds below, on foot and in carriages, are in breathless
expectation. The great bell of St. Peter's at length strikes the hour of
nine, and, at the first stroke, a great ball of light is seen ascending
the cross to its pinnacle. This is the signal for thousands of
assistants, who are concealed over its vast extent, to light the great
lamps, and in an instant all is motion, the whole mass is like a living
thing, fire whirling and flashing over it in all directions, till the
vast pile blazes as if lighted with a thousand suns. The effect is truly
magical, for the agents by whom this change is wrought are invisible."
After the illumination of St. Peter's he went to the Castle of St. Angelo
where he witnessed what he describes as the grandest display of fireworks
he had ever seen.
"_Tuesday, June 29._ This day is St. Peter's day, the grandest _festa_ of
the Romish Church. I went with Mr. B. early to St. Peter's to see the
ceremonies. The streets were filled with equipages, among which the
splendid scarlet-and-gold equipages of the cardinals made the most
conspicuous figure. Cardinal Weld's carriage was the richest, and next in
magnificence was that of Cardinal Barberini.
"On entering St. Peter's we found it hung throughout with crimson damask
and gold and filled with people, except a wide space in the centre with
soldiers on each side to keep it open for the procession. We passed up
near the statue of St. Peter, who was to-day dressed out in his papal
robes, his black face (for it is of bronze) looking rather frightful from
beneath the splendid tiara which crowned his head, and the
scarlet-and-gold tissue of his robes.
"Having a little time to spare, we followed a portion of the crowd down
the steps beside the pedestal of the statue of St. Veronica into the
vaults beneath the church, which are illuminated on this festival. Mass
was performing in several of the splendid chapels, whose rich decorations
of paintings and sculpture are but once a year revealed to the light,
save from the obscure glimmering of the wax-taper, which is carried by
the guide, to occasional visitors. It is astonishing what a vast amount
of expense is here literally buried.
"The ornamented parts are beneath the dome; the other parts are plain,
heavy arches and low, almost numberless, and containing the sarcophagi of
the Popes and other distinguished characters. The illumination here was
confined to a single lamp over each arch, which rather made darkness
visible and gave an awful effect to some of the gloomier passages.
"In one part we saw, through a long avenue of arches, an iron-grated
door; within was a dim light which just sent its feeble rays upon some
objects in its neighborhood, not strong enough to show what they were. It
required no great effort of the imagination to fancy an emaciated,
spectral figure of a monk poring over a large book which lay before him.
It might have been as we imagined; we had not time to examine, for the
sound of music far above us summoned us into the regions of day again,
and we arrived in the body of the church just as the trumpets were
sounding from the balcony within the church over the great door of
entrance. The effect of the sound was very grand, reverberating through
the lofty arches and aisles of the church.
"We got sight of the head of the procession coming in at the great door,
and soon after the Pope, borne in his crimson chair of state, and with
the triple crown upon his head and a crimson, gold-embroidered mantilla
over his shoulders, was seen entering accompanied by his fan-bearers and
other usual attendants, and after him the cardinals and bishops. The
Pope, as usual, made the sign of the cross as he went.
"The procession passing up the great aisle went round to the back of the
great altar, where was the canopy for the Pope and seats for the
cardinals and bishops. The Pope is too feeble to go through the ceremony
of high mass; it was, therefore, performed before him by one of the
cardinals. There was nothing in this ceremony that was novel or
interesting; it was the same monotonous chant from the choir, the same
numberless bowings, and genuflections, and puffings of incense, and
change of garments, and fussing about the altar. All that was new was the
constant bustle about the Pope, kissing of his toe and his hand, helping
him to rise and to sit again, bringing and taking away of cushions and
robes and tiaras and mitres, and a thousand other little matters that
would have enraged any man of weak nerves, if it did not kill him. After
two hours of this tedious work (the people in the mean time perfectly
inattentive), the ceremony ended, and the Pope was again borne through
the church and the crowd returned."
On July 7, Morse, with four friends, left Rome at four o'clock in the
morning for Naples, where they arrived on the 11th after the usual
experiences; beggars continually marring the peaceful beauty of every
scene by their importunities; good inns, with courteous landlords and
servants, alternating with wretched taverns and insolent attendants. The
little notebook detailing the first ten days' experiences in Naples is
missing, and the next one takes up the narrative on July 24, when he and
his friends are in Sorrento. I shall not transcribe his impressions of
that beautiful town or those of the island of Capri. These places are too
familiar to the visitor to Italy and have changed but little in the last
eighty years.
Prom Capri they were rowed over to Amalfi, and narrowly escaped being
dashed on the rocks by the sudden rising of a violent gale. At Amalfi
they found lodgings in the Franciscan monastery, which is still used as
an inn, and here I shall again quote from the journal:--
"The place is in decay and is an excellent specimen of their monastic
buildings. It is now in as romantic a state as the most poetic
imagination could desire. Here are gloomy halls and dark and decayed
rooms; long corridors of chambers, uninhabited except by the lizard and
the bat; terraces upon the brow of stupendous precipices; gloomy cells
with grated windows, and subterranean apartments and caverns. Remains of
rude frescoes stain the crumbling ceiling, and ivy and various wild
plants hang down from the opening crevices and cover the tops of the
broken walls.
"A rude sundial, without a gnomon, is almost obliterated from the wall of
the cloisters, but its motto, '_Dies nostri quasi umbra super terram et
nulli est mora_', still resists the effects of decay, as if to serve the
appropriate purpose of the convent's epitaph. At the foot of the long
stairs in the great hall is the ruined chapel, its altar broken up and
despoiled of its pictures and ornaments.
"We were called to dinner by our host, who was accompanied by his wife, a
very pretty woman, two children, the elder carried by the mother, the
younger by the old grandparent, an old man of upwards of eighty, who
seemed quite pleased with his burden and delighted to show us his charge.
The whole family quite prepossessed us in their favor; there seemed to be
an unusual degree of affection displayed by the members towards each
other which we could not but remark at the time. Our dining apartment was
the old _domus refectionis_ of the convent, as its name, written over the
door which led into the choir, manifested. After an excellent dinner we
retired to our chambers for the night.
"_Tuesday, July 27._ We all rested but badly last night. The heat was
excessive, the insects, especially mosquitoes, exceedingly troublesome,
and the sound of the waves, as they beat against the rocks and chafed the
beach in the gusty night, and the howling of the wind, which for a time
moaned through the deserted chambers of the convent, all made us
restless. I rose several times in the night and, opening my window,
looked out on the dark waters of the bay, till the dawn over the
mountains warned me that the time for sleep was passing away, and I again
threw myself on the bed to rest. But scarcely had I lost myself in sleep
before the sound of loud voices below and wailings again waked me. I
looked out of my window on the balcony below; it was filled with armed
men; soldiers and others like brigands with muskets were in hurried
commotion, calling to each other from the balcony and from the terraced
steps below.
"While perplexed in conjecturing the meaning of what I saw, Mr. C. called
at my door requesting me to rise, as the whole house was in agitation at
a terrible accident which had occurred in the night. Dressing in great
haste, I went into the contiguous room and, looking out of the window
down upon a terrace some thirty feet below, saw the lifeless body of a
man, with spots of blood upon his clothes, lying across the font of
water. A police officer with a band of men appeared, taking down in
writing the particulars for a report. On enquiry I found that the body
was that of the old man, the father of our host, whom we had seen the
evening before in perfect health. He had the dangerous habit of walking
in his sleep and had jumped, it is supposed, in that state out of his
chamber window which was directly beneath us; at what time in the night
was uncertain. His body must have been beneath me while I was looking
from my window in the night.
"Our host, but particularly his brother, seemed for a time almost
inconsolable. The lamentations of the latter over the bloody body (as
they were laying it out in the room where we had the evening before
dined), calling upon his father and mingling his cries with a chant to
the Virgin and to the saints, were peculiarly plaintive, and, sounding
through the vacant halls of the convent, made a melancholy impression
upon us all.... Soon after breakfast we went downstairs; several priests
and funeral attendants had arrived; the poor old man was laid upon a bed,
the room darkened, and four wax-lights burned, two each side of the bed. A
short time was taken in preparation, and then upon a bier borne by four
bearers, a few preceding it with wax-lights, the body, with the face
exposed, as is usual in Italy, was taken down the steep pathway to its
long home.
"I could not help remarking the total want of that decent deportment in
all those officiating which marks the conduct of those that attend the
interment of the dead in our own country. Even the priests 'seemed to be
in high glee, talking and heartily laughing with each other; at what it
perplexed me to conjecture.
"I went into the room in which the old man had slept; all was as he had
left it. Over the head of the bed were the rude prints of the Virgin and
saints, which are so common in all the houses of Italy, and which are
supposed to act as charms by these superstitious people. The lamp was on
the window ledge where he had placed it, and his scanty wardrobe upon a
chair by the bedside. Over the door was a sprig of laurel, placed there
since his death.
"The accident of the morning threw a gloom over the whole day; we,
however, commenced our sketches from different parts of the convent, and
I commenced a picture, a view of Amalfi from the interior of the grotto."
Several of the notebooks are here missing, and from the next in order we
find that the travellers must have lingered in or near Sorrento until
August 30, when they returned to Naples.
The next entry of interest, while rather gruesome, seems to be worth
recording.
"_Wednesday, September 1._ Morning painting. In the afternoon took a ride
round the suburbs and visited the Campo Santo. The Campo Santo is the
public burial-place. It is a large square enclosure having high walls at
the sides and open at the top. It contains three hundred and sixty
vaults, one of which is opened every day to receive the dead of that day,
and is not again opened until all the others in rotation have been
opened.
"As we entered the desolate enclosure the only living beings were three
miserable-looking old women gathered together upon the stone of one of
the vaults. They sat as if performing some incantation, mumbling their
prayers and counting their beads; and one other of the same fraternity,
who had been kneeling before a picture, left her position as we entered
and knelt upon another of the vaults, where she remained all the time we
were present, telling her beads.
"At the farther end of the enclosure was a large portable lever to raise
the stones which covered the vaults. Upon the promise of a few _grains_
the stone of the vault for the day was raised, and, with the precaution
of holding our kerchiefs to our noses, we looked down into the dark
vault. Death is sufficiently terrible in itself, and the grave in its
best form has enough of horror to make the stoutest heart quail at the
thought, but nothing I have seen or read of can equal the Campo Santo for
the most loathsome and disgusting mode of burial. The human, carcasses of
all ages and sexes are here thrown in together to a depth of, perhaps,
twenty feet, without coffins, in heaps, most of them perfectly naked, and
left to corrupt in a mass, like the offal from a slaughter house. So
disgusting a spectacle I never witnessed. There were in sight about
twenty bodies, men, women, and children. A child of about six years, with
beautiful fair hair, had fallen across the body of a man and lay in the
attitude of sleeping.
"But I cannot describe the positions of all without offence, so I
forbear. We were glad to turn away and retrace our steps to our carriage.
Never, I believe, in any country, Christian or pagan, is there an
instance of such total want of respect for the remains of the dead."
[Illustration: DE WITT CLINTON
Painted by Morse. Property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art]
On September 5, he again reverts to the universal plague of beggars in
Italy:--
"In passing through the country you may not take notice of a pretty child
or seem pleased with it; so soon as you do the mother will instantly
importune you for '_qualche cosa_' for the child. Neither can you ask for
a cup of cold water at a cottage door, nor ask the way to the next
village, nor even make the slightest inquiry of a peasant on any subject,
but the result will be '_qualche cosa, signore_.' The first act which a
child is taught in Italy is to hold out its hand to beg. Children too
young to speak I have seen holding out their little hands for that
purpose, and so mechanical is this action that I have seen, in one
instance, a boy of nine years nodding in his sleep and yet at regular
intervals extending his hand to beg. Begging is here no disgrace; on the
contrary, it is made respectable by the customs of the Church."
On September 6, after visiting the catacombs, he goes to the Convent of
St. Martino, and indulges in this rhapsody:--
"From a terrace and balcony two views of the beautiful scenery of the
city and bay are obtained. From the latter place especially you look down
upon the city which is spread like a model far beneath you. There is a
great deal of the sublime in thus looking down upon a populous city; one
feels for the time separated from the concerns of the world.
"We forget, while we consider the insignificance of that individual man,
moving in yonder street and who is scarcely visible to us, that we
ourselves are equally insignificant. It is in such a situation that the
superiority of the mind over the body is felt. Paradoxical as it may at
first seem, its greatness is evinced in the feeling of its own
littleness.... After gazing here for a while we were shown into the
chapel through the choir.... In the sacristy is a picture of a dead
Christ with the three Marys and Joseph, by Spagnoletto, not only the
finest picture by that master, but I am quite inclined to say that it is
the finest picture I have yet seen. There is in it a more perfect union
of the great qualities of art,--fine conception, just design, admirable
disposition of _chiaroscuro_, exquisite color,--whether truth is
considered or choice of tone in congruity with the subject's most
masterly execution and just character and expression. If any objection
were to be made it would, perhaps, be in the particular of character,
which, in elevation, in ideality, falls far short of Raphael. In other
points it has not its superior."
Returning to Rome on September 14, the only entries I find in the journal
for the first few days are, "Painting all day at home," and a short
account of a soirée at the Persianis'.
"_Monday, September 20._ Began the portrait of the celebrated sculptor
Thorwaldsen. He is a most amiable man and is universally respected. He
was never married. In early life he had two children by a mistress; one,
a daughter, is now in a convent. It was said that a noble lady of
England, of great fortune, became attached to him, and he no less to her,
but that the circumstance of his having two illegitimate children
prevented a marriage. He is the greatest sculptor of the age. I have
studied his works; they are distinguished for simple dignity, just
expression, and truth in character and design. The composition is also
characterized by simplicity. These qualities combined endow them with
that beauty which we so much admire in the works of Greece, whether in
literature or art. Thorwaldsen cannot be said to imitate the antique; he
rather seems to be one born in the best age of Grecian art; imbued with
the spirit of that age, and producing from his own resources kindred
works."
The following letter was written by Morse before he left Rome for Naples,
but can be more appropriately introduced at this point:--
TO THE CAVALIER THORWALDSEN,
MY DEAR SIR,--I had hoped to have the pleasure of painting your portrait,
for which you were so good as to promise to sit, before I left Rome for
Naples; but the weather is becoming so oppressive, and there being a
party of friends about to travel the same road, I have consented to join
them. I shall return to Rome in September or October, and I therefore beg
you will allow me then to claim the fulfilment of your kind promise.
What a barrier, my dear sir, is difference of language to social
intercourse! I never felt the curse that befell the architects of Babel
so sensibly as now, since, as one of the effects of their folly, I am
debarred from the gratification and profit which I had promised myself in
being known to you.
With highest respect, etc.
Curiously enough, Morse never learned to speak a foreign language
fluently, although he could read quite easily French and, I believe,
German and Italian, and from certain passages in his journal we infer
that he could make himself understood by the Italians.
The portrait of Thorwaldsen was completed and became the property of
Philip Hone, Esq., who had given Morse a commission to paint a picture
for one hundred dollars, the subject to be left to the discretion of the
artist. Mr. Hone valued the portrait highly, and it remained in his
gallery until his death. It was then sold and Morse lost track of it for
many years. In 1868, being particularly desirous of gaining possession of
it again, for a purpose which is explained in a letter quoted a little
farther on, he instituted a search for it, and finally learned that it
had been purchased by Mr. John Taylor Johnston for four hundred dollars.
Before he could enter into negotiations for its purchase, Mr. Johnston
heard of his desire to possess it, and of his reasons for this wish, and
he generously insisted on presenting it to Morse.
I shall now quote the following extracts from a letter written in
Dresden, on January 23, 1868, to Mr. Johnston:--
MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter of the 6th inst. is this moment received, in
which I have been startled by your most generous offer presenting me with
my portrait of the renowned Thorwaldsen, for which he sat to me in Rome
in 1831.
I know not in what terms, my dear sir, to express to you my thanks for
this most acceptable gift. I made an excursion to Copenhagen in the
summer of 1856, as a sort of devout pilgrimage to the tombs of two
renowned Danes, whose labors in their respective departments--the one,
Oersted, of science, the other, Thorwaldsen, of art--have so greatly
enriched the world.
The personal kindness of the late King Frederick VII, who courteously
received me at his castle of Fredericksborg, through the special
presentation of Colonel Raslof (more recently the Danish Minister at
Washington); the hospitalities of many of the principal citizens of
Copenhagen; the visits to the tomb and museum of the works of
Thorwaldsen, and to the room in which the immortal Oersted made his
brilliant electro-magnetic discovery; the casual and accidental
introduction and interview with a daughter of Oersted,--all created a
train of reflection which prompted me to devise some suitable mode of
showing to these hospitable people my appreciation of their friendly
attentions, and I proposed to myself the presentation to His Majesty the
King of Denmark of this portrait of Thorwaldsen, for which he sat to me
in Rome, and with which I knew he was specially pleased.
My desire to accomplish this purpose was further strengthened by the
additional attention of the King at a later period in sending me the
decoration of his order of the Danebrog. From the moment this purpose was
formed, twelve years ago, I have been desirous of obtaining this
portrait, and watching for the opportunity of possessing it again.
Here follows a detailed account of the circumstances of the painting of
the portrait and of its disappearance, with which we are familiar, and he
closes by saying:--
"This brief history will show you, my dear sir, what a boon you have
conferred upon me. Indeed, it seems like a dream, and if my most cordial
thanks, not merely for the _gift_, but for the graceful and generous
manner in which it has been offered, is any compensation, you may be sure
they are yours.
"These are no conventional words, but they come from a heart that can
gratefully appreciate the noble sentiments which have prompted your
generous act."
Returning from this little excursion into later years, I shall take up
the narrative again as revealed in the notebooks. While occasionally
visiting the opera and the theatre, Morse does not altogether approve of
them, and, on September 21, he indulges in the following reflections on
them and on the social evil:--
"No females of openly dissolute character were seen, such as occupy
particular parts of the theatre in England and America. Indeed, they
never appear on the streets of Rome in that unblushing manner as in
London, and even in New York and Philadelphia. It must not from hence be
inferred that vice is less frequent here than elsewhere; there is enough
of it, but it is carried on in secret; it is deeper and preys more on the
vitals of society than with us. This vice with us, like a humor on the
skin, deforms the surface, but here it infects the very heart; the whole
system is affected; it is rotten to the core.
"Theatres here and with us are different institutions. Here, where
thousands for want of thought, or rather matter for thought, would die of
ennui, where it is an object to escape from home and even from one's
self, the theatre serves the purpose of a momentary excitement. A new
piece, a new performer, furnishes matter for conversation and turns off
the mind from the discussion of points of theology or politics. The
theatre is therefore encouraged by the Government and is guarded against
the abuses of popular assemblage by strong military guards.
"But what have we to do with theatres in America? Have we not the whole
world of topics for discussion or conversation open to us? Is not truth
in religion, politics, and science suffered to be assailed by enemies
freely, and does it not, therefore, require the time of all intelligent
men to study, and understand, and defend, and fortify themselves in
truth? Have we time to throw away?
"More than this, have we not homes where domestic endearments charm us,
where domestic duties require our attention, where the relations of wife,
of husband, of children have the ties of mutual affection and mutual
confidence to attach us to our firesides? Need we go abroad for
amusement? Can the theatre, with all its tinsel finery, attract away from
home the man who has once tasted the bliss of a happy family circle? Is
there no pleasure in seeing that romping group of children, in the heyday
of youth, amuse themselves ere they go to rest; is there no pleasure in
studying the characters of your little family as they thus undisguisedly
display themselves, and so give you the opportunity of directing their
minds to the best advantage? Is there no amusement in watching the
development of the infant mind and in assisting its feeble efforts?
"He must be of most unsocial mould who can leave the thousand charms of
home to pass those precious hours in the noxious atmosphere of a theatre,
there to be excited, to return at midnight, to rise from a late bed, to
pass the best hours of the day in a feverish reverie succeeded by the
natural depression which is sure to follow, and to crave a renewed
indulgence. Repeated renewal causes indifference and ennui to succeed,
till excitement is no longer produced, but gives place to a habit of
listless indifference, or a spirit of captious criticism.
"_Monday, November 8, 1830._ A year to-day since I left home.
"_Tuesday, November 9._ Ignorance at post-office. Sent letters for United
States to England, because the United States belong to England!
"_Wednesday, December 1._ Many reports for some days past prepared us for
the announcement of the death of the Pope, Pius VIII, who died last
evening at nine o'clock at the Quirinal Palace."
The ceremonies connected with the funeral of the dead Pope and with the
choice of his successor are described at great length, and the eye of the
artist was fascinated by the wealth of color and the pomp, while his
Protestant soul was wearied and disgusted by the tediousness and mummery
of the ceremonials.
"_December 14._ Much excitement has been created by fear of revolution,
but from what cause I cannot learn. Many arrests and banishments have
occurred, among whom are some of the Bonaparte family. Artists are
suspected of being Liberals.
"An assassination occurred at one of the altars in St. John Lateran a few
weeks ago. A young man, jealous of a girl, whom he thought to be more
partial to another, stabbed her to the heart while at mass.
"_Saturday, January 1, 1831._ At the beginning of the year, as with us,
you hear the salutation of '_felicissimo capo d'anno_,' and the custom of
calling and felicitating friends is nearly the same as in New York, with
this difference, indeed, that there is no cheer in Rome as with our good
people at home.
"_Friday, January 14._ In the afternoon Count Grice and the Honorable Mr.
Spencer, son of Earl Spencer, who has within a few years been converted
to the Catholic faith, called. Had an interesting conversation with him
on religious topics, in which the differences of the Protestant and
Catholic faiths were discussed; found him a candid, fair-minded man, but
evidently led away by a too easy assent to the sophistry and fable which
have been dealt out to him. He gave me a slight history of his change; I
shall see him again.
"_Tuesday, January 18._ Called with Count Grice on the Honorable Mr.
Spencer at the English College and was introduced to the rector, Dr.
Wiseman. After a few moments went into the library with Mr. Spencer and
commenced the argument, in which being interrupted we retired to his
room, where for three hours we discussed various points of difference in
our faith. Many things I urged were not answered, such as the fruits of
the Catholic religion in the various countries where it prevails; the
objection concerning forbidding to marry; idolatry of the Virgin Mary,
etc., etc.; yet there is a gentleness, an amiability in the man which
makes me think him sincere but deceived.
"_Wednesday, February 2._ Went this morning at ten o'clock to hear a
sermon by Mr. Spencer in the chapel of the English College. It was on the
occasion of the _festa_ of the purification of the Virgin. Many parts
were good, and I could agree with him in the general scope of his
discourse.
"While we were in the chapel the cannon of St. Angelo announced the
election of the new Pope. I hurried to the Quirinal Palace to see the
ceremony of announcing him to the people, but was too late. The ceremony
was over, the walled window was broken down and the cardinals had
presented the new Pope on the balcony. He is Cardinal Cappellari who has
taken the title of Gregorio XVI. To-morrow he will go to St. Peter's."