with nothing but the mere garnish of wealth to adorn it.
But possibly I may have been led by the force of circumstances to
contemplate the present subject in too strong a light; for alas! I
have long been incapable of being deceived by the outward appearance
of things, and habituated to estimate men by their manners, and
conversation, rather than their external and visible signs.
Now peace to the nobles: may they wisdom acquire,
Should their titles have come from their fathers or sire.
I was much surprised one day by a visit from a particular friend, Mrs.
R⸺, lately arrived from Paris, whom I had not seen for the last seven
years, and supposed to be in the West Indies. This lady did me the favour
to introduce me to Mr. and Mrs. K⸺, the friends whom she had accompanied
from Paris. Soon after I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with
General B⸺, Mrs. A⸺, and a number of other English residents, whose names
it would be tiresome to the reader to enumerate, from whom I afterwards
received a series of kind and friendly attentions, for which I feel
greatly indebted to them. I cannot, however, avoid particularizing Mr.
and Mrs. S⸺, whose permission to make use of their valuable collection of
books, proved a source of the highest satisfaction to me.
A very pretty, but small theatre, has been erected at Nice, which was
not opened for dramatic representations during my residence there. It
was, however, made use of for two grand balls, given by a select party
of the nobles and gentlemen of Nice, to the stranger residents; we were
also entertained with a public concert in it; we had, besides this,
several private amateur concerts, in a large room appropriated for such
occasions, and supported by subscription, each subscriber being allowed
to introduce a certain number of persons.
Before giving a dance at a private house, it is necessary, unless you
intend to break up by ten o’clock, to ask permission of the police, who
charge six francs for their licence, and then a soldier is placed at the
door of the house.
I accompanied a party of ladies, one Sunday, to the cathedral, to hear an
eminent French preacher, which is an unusual occurrence here, for they
generally preach either in Italian, or the patois of the country, which
is the most harsh and barbarous dialect I ever heard, worse than the
patois of Provence, which is bad enough, although somewhat similar. It
is however, the common language of the natives when conversing together,
notwithstanding most of the respectable inhabitants speak both French and
Italian.
I shall now notice various natural and meteorological occurrences which
took place during my residence in this city.
On the 3rd of January, the waters of the Paglion came down with so much
force, as to carry away the embankment, raised for the protection of the
workmen employed at the foundation of a new bridge, just commenced over
the river, and which was expected to require two years to complete.
On the evening of the 6th of February, the shock of an earthquake was
sensibly perceived in some parts of the town, more particularly on the
side of the Turin gate; and on the 8th, the wind suddenly rose to a
violent gale, which lasted three or four hours; at the commencement of
which, Reaumur’s thermometer suddenly rose from 3° to 10°. An American
vessel which had left the port the day before, for Marseilles, was upset
during this gale, off Cannes, but the crew were fortunately saved.
The coldest day experienced during the season, was on the 20th of
February, but even then, the lowest point at which Reaumur’s thermometer
was noticed, was 1° above freezing point, or equal to 34¼° of Fahrenheit.
The following is a register of the temperature of the atmosphere, noted
by Dr. S⸺, three times each day, during the first week of January.
+--------++-----------------++-----------------++-----------------+
|January,|| 8 a.m. || 2 p.m. || 8 p.m. |
| 1820. ++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| || Reaum. | Fahrt. || Reaum. | Fahrt. || Reaum. | Fahrt. |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 1st || 3° | 38¾° || 7° | 47¾° || 2° | 36½° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 2nd || 2° | 36½° || 6½° | 46⅝° || 5° | 43½° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 3rd || 5½° | 44¾° || 7° | 47¾° || 9° | 52½° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 4th || 7° | 47¾° || 9° | 52½° || 7½° | 48⅞° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 5th || 7° | 47¾° || 8½° | 51⅛° || 9° | 52½° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 6th || 8° | 50° || 1½° | 35¾° || 6° | 45½° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
| 7th || 5° | 43½° || 9° | 52½° || 7½° | 48⅞° |
+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------++--------+--------+
With respect to the climate of Nice, if I might be allowed, after
five months’ residence, to hazard an opinion, I conceive it the most
delightful one in Europe, and, indeed, preferable to any I have yet
experienced, unless the Bermuda islands are excepted. Some object to the
heat during summer, but it is possible to avoid the inconvenience, by
retiring for this season, amongst the mountains. At a small town, named
Rochabiliare, twenty-five miles inland, are mineral springs, containing
nitre and sulphur, and of different temperatures, the highest being 100°
Fahrenheit. I endeavoured, but in vain, to procure a correct analysis of
these waters.
My friends at Nice, with the exception of Dr. S⸺, thought me insane,
when, on the approach of spring, I declared my intention of proceeding
southward, to make the tour of Italy, as the whole of the country was
in an agitated state, in consequence of the advance of the Austrians
upon Naples, hostilities having actually commenced on the frontiers.
In addition, the Milanese and Piedmont were supposed to be highly
discontented, and an insurrection was anticipated throughout the whole
of Italy; but when my resolution is fixed, I do not allow myself to be
deterred by the anticipation, or dread of difficulties; in the event of
the fears of my friends being realized, I was disposed to think I should
have an equal, or better chance of getting safely away from Florence,
than from Nice; for instance, I could, in a few hours reach Leghorn, at
which place there would be every probability of my being able to embark
on board an English vessel, or of getting to the neighbouring island
where Lord Byron desires Bonaparte to hasten, concluding his verse with a
just compliment to his own country.
“Then haste thee to thy sullen isle,
And gaze upon the sea;
That element may meet thy smile,
It ne’er was ruled by thee.”
On the contrary, in the event of a revolution at Nice, there would be
little chance of getting away, by sea or land. My ideas, in this respect,
were in some degree realized; a revolution did take place there, and for
three days the greatest consternation prevailed, as there was an embargo
laid upon all horses at Nice, in order to facilitate the movements of the
king and his government; and at the same time not an English vessel off
the port.
On arriving at Florence, it was my intention to regulate my future
movements according to circumstances, and the alternatives of these
it was not difficult to foresee. In the event of the Austrians being
successful in the first instance, the war was certain to be of short
duration; whereas, on the other hand, if the Neapolitans proved able to
support the onset, there was little doubt but that the whole of Italy
would be in arms, to assert its independence, and to compel a free
constitution from its rulers.
Influenced by these considerations, I determined to proceed, nor have I
found any reason to regret the decision.
CHAP. XII.
VOYAGE TO GENOA.
On the 26th of February, 1821, I left Nice in the Divine Providence
felucca, of eleven tons, bound to Genoa, with a freight of passengers
only, not having been able to procure a cargo.
Some time elapsed, after getting on board, before I felt able to inquire
into the persons, or characters of my fellow-passengers; my mind was
too deeply absorbed in the painful emotions, occasioned by taking leave
of a family with whom I had so long and happily resided, and for whom I
must ever entertain an affectionate regard. In time, however, I found
that, besides myself, our vessel contained three English gentlemen, who,
indeed, had taken their passage at my suggestion, instead of pursuing
their journey to Genoa, over land, with mules, as they had intended.
It was, however, their third attempt to get farther into Italy by sea.
They had first endeavoured to reach Leghorn in an American vessel,
which, on some account or other, put back to Villa Franca: after this
they sailed for Civita Vecchia, but a contrary wind, and roughish sea
arising, after they had left port a few hours, the master of the vessel
became frightened, and notwithstanding, every argument to induce him to
persevere, returned to port. In order to make progress, it is preferable
to coast it in small vessels, rather than trust to the open sea in larger
traders, for they never keep out in bad weather, if it is possible to
reach a port.
Besides these gentlemen, our party consisted of three Frenchmen, and two
ladies, one French, and the other an Italian.
After leaving the harbour, the wind was light and variable, and the water
smooth, so that by dint of rowing and sailing, we proceeded at the rate
of three miles an hour. On arriving off the town, and principality of
Monaco, we stood towards the shore, and took on board three sailors,
belonging to a Sardinian frigate, lying at Genoa, who had been visiting
their friends at Monaco, and agreed to work their passage back to the
former place.
At sunset, the captain provided each of us with a straw mattress for our
repose; my companions, accordingly, laid themselves down for the night
on the floor of the cabin, but I placed mine in preference, on the bench
upon which I had been sitting.
We glided on smoothly until midnight, when the wind changed to the
eastward, accompanied by small rain. The master expecting bad weather,
now bore up for a small port called Cerf, where we anchored about three
o’clock in the morning; at seven, we landed at the town of Cerf, situated
on the side of so steep a hill, that the streets consist of continued
flights of steps. We were conducted to a small auberge, the best however
in the place, where we got some hot water, and refreshed ourselves,
after our miserable night, with tea, cold meat, &c. of which we had
been cautious to lay in good stores before leaving Nice. The care of my
friends had supplied myself with no less than a couple of large tongues,
a dozen loaves, smoked herrings, coffee, sugar, wines, &c. I name these
particulars, because their kind consideration, in the sequel, proved
important to me.
After breakfast, the whole of our party, except the Italian lady and
myself, set off on mules for Genoa, we having determined to remain in
hopes of the wind shortly becoming favourable, in which case, we doubted
not, by pursuing our original plan, still to reach Genoa before them, and
avoid a difficult and expensive journey by land.
To amuse myself in the interim, I visited the church, and also a
miserable auberge, where our captain took me. We here found a number of
low-lived fellows, some playing at cards, and others smoking, drinking,
and quarrelling. On my return to the auberge, I found the Italian lady
solitary, and out of spirits, in consequence of our detention. At five
o’clock, we were asked to take refreshment, and informed, that they
could give us soup and macaroni, but, on tasting the former, it was
composed chiefly of water, with some onions and vermicelli, and a large
quantity of oil floating upon the surface; this fare I could not relish,
and determined to wait until we returned on board, as we intended to
do shortly, in order to take advantage of any favourable change in the
weather, and when I could avail myself of my own stores.
After returning to the vessel, and making a hearty meal, we lay down upon
our mattresses as on the preceding night, myself on the bench, the lady
on the floor, and the captain and crew in the forepart of the vessel.
The wind, which throughout the night had continued fresh, in the morning
became more moderate and favourable; soon after day-light we weighed
anchor, stood out of the harbour, and beat up along shore during the day,
making what sailors call a long leg and a short one, or perhaps what will
be more intelligible, a long tack and a short one, the wind being three
points on the right side of our noses; about evening it freshened, and
was fed by small rain. A Swedish brig passed us at two p.m. which was
running out of the gulf of Genoa, with a fine fair wind. About eight in
the evening, the wind had increased in such a degree, that the captain
thought it necessary to seek shelter for the night, but it was become so
dark, that in running for a place he had been accustomed to, the vessel
took ground, under the lee of some small uninhabited island. The whole
crew, including himself, now made such a hue-and-cry, that one would have
thought, nothing less than immediate destruction was to be the result of
this mistake; however, we made shift to secure the vessel to the rocks,
with an anchor, and it was fortunate that we succeeded in effecting this,
for the wind soon increased to a tremendous gale, with heavy rain, which
continued through the present night, and the following day and night also.
I had now plenty of occupation in calming the fears of my companion,
who, as may be imagined, became dreadfully alarmed; partly with this
intention, and partly from necessity, I changed my mattress from the
bench to the floor; for the former station was too much exposed to the
cold wind and rain, to make it longer tenable. Our cabin was not a
close room, but covered over with a tilted roof like a waggon, and had
temporary canvas screens, at each end, to secure us from the weather.
At length I had the pleasure of succeeding in my attempts to restore
the lady’s confidence, and she afterward amply compensated me by her
cheerful manners, and agreeable conversation. Sterne may dilate upon the
delicacy of his situation by land, when shut up for eight hours in a
room, half as large as our whole ship, and a third person in an adjoining
closet, with a widow lady of thirty, who could coolly draw up articles
to regulate their conduct; but what was his case compared with mine,
enclosed, as I was, for two nights and a day in the cabin of a vessel,
and scarcely within hearing of a living soul, with a young married female
of five-and-twenty, and whom my imagination might lead me to suppose
beautiful as an _Houri_. The whole of this time passed away like a night
to me; for as it was cold, we shut ourselves up close, to keep out the
wind and rain; like our sailors on the northern expedition, during this
state of confinement, it made no difference, whether we dined in the
night or day, for it was just as easy for me to serve out our provisions
in the former, as in the latter; and with respect to sleep, I think I
had the best of it in the day-time, as the lady’s fears were less on
the _qui vive_, for whenever the sea at night struck us a little harder
than usual, she would cry out in terror, “_Monsieur! Monsieur! nous
sommes contre les rochers_,” and I must have had indeed a heart of rock,
had I not poured in all possible consolation: I had the pleasure indeed
of thinking that the assurances of my _animated tongue_, were not less
serviceable to her, than the enjoyment of my _lingua mortua_, which no
doubt contributed very efficaciously to support her strength and spirits,
for I soon found by the lightness of the basket, that her own stores were
insufficient for so prolonged a voyage, or as sailors would express it,
that she was in danger of experiencing a southerly wind in the bread-bag.
It was true that this was Friday, but my fair companion was not in a
situation to think of _maigre_ day, even had it been _Vendrédi saint_
itself. I believe the influence of the French Revolution, has contributed
materially to lessen the superstitions of the Catholic countries, which
have been exposed to its action. I have heard a French officer remark,
that for his part he had met with a sufficient number of maigre days
during the war, and could now afford no more, but must live _gras_ to
make up for what he had lost. The priests still contrive to make many
women, children, and servants, observe their ordinances, but the men have
ventured, pretty generally, to throw off their restraint.
On Saturday, soon after day-break, the lady, peeping out of a hole in
the canvas screen, found that the vessel was moving along, by observing
the masts pass by the trees on shore; and immediately called out aloud
for the captain. We at first attributed her exclamations to her fears;
but soon perceived that the ship was actually drifting from the shore,
and taking the anchor with her. All hands were called, and the anchor
got in, when we fortunately found that the wind, although far from fair,
had become moderate enough, to allow us to make sail, and as the day
advanced, it became still more propitious. About four in the afternoon,
we got round cape Noli, being obliged however to make a few tacks to
accomplish it; at this point I heard the sea beating against the rocks,
and roaring in the hollow caverns, and could perceive, by the motion
of the vessel, that we were near breakers; but so long as our sailors
expressed no fears, I felt no apprehension, as I was satisfied, that
while they could use their eyes they would run no risk. The character
of the Italian, differs widely from that of the British sailor; the
former loses his presence of mind by his fears, and makes confusion more
confused; the latter, so long as his ship continues unbroken, retains his
undaunted spirit, and only contemplates how to apply his energies with
most effect.
“⸺E’en should danger round his fenceless head,
Her threatening weight of mountain surges spread,
He, like a whale, amid the tempest’s roar,
Smiles at the storm, nor deigns to wish it o’er.”
After weathering cape Noli, the wind became more favourable, and allowed
us to shape our course for Genoa, and had we pursued it properly, I am
persuaded that we might have made the lighthouse of that place in four
hours, but our captain, in reply to my urgency in this respect, stated,
what was certainly not unreasonable, that as his provision was exhausted,
if by any chance we should be blown off the coast, the vessel might be
lost, or the crew perish from hunger. He therefore determined to put into
Noli, off which place we anchored at nine o’clock, when, with a part of
his crew, he immediately went on shore to procure provisions, and amuse
himself.
Noli was formerly a place of some repute, constituting a republic of
fishermen: it is now a mere fishing-town. The castle still remains.
The captain returned between ten and eleven o’clock, and, according to
my request, brought with him some bread and wine to increase my little
store. The bread had a peculiar sweet taste, which, I was informed, was
in consequence of chesnuts being mixed with the wheaten flour. The wine
was good, and made us merry before lying down for the night, and we felt
happy in the prospect of reaching our destined port on the following
day. In the early part of the next morning, on passing Savona, the
captain went on shore, to order some new sails, which he stated were to
be procured cheaper there than at Genoa, and returned at twelve o’clock;
when a contrary breeze having sprung up, he declared his intention of
running into that port, as he was confident that we were going to have
bad weather, and should be obliged to put back to it at last. Thus we had
the mortification of being again detained at the distance of thirty miles
from Genoa, and only ten from the port we had left in the morning, after
having already occupied six days in a voyage, which, with a fair passage,
ought to have been completed in forty-eight hours, and has sometimes been
effected in sixteen.
We anchored at Savona about one o’clock, and experienced a delightful
afternoon. The port at this place is by nature very fine, and was
formerly capable of receiving vessels of war, but has been obstructed
materially at its entrance, by the jealousy of the Genoese, under the
specious pretence of preventing its harbouring hostile shipping.
As there was no prospect of continuing our voyage to-day, my companion
and myself went on shore, after dinner, and amused ourselves with a walk
in the country; after an hour’s march, we reached a small town, named
Albisola, remarkable for its porcelain manufactory; my companion saw,
however, nothing but black plates: on our way, we fell in with a genteel
young man, a native of Albisola, who gave us much local information;
after which, we passed a lady and gentleman, who, we were informed, were
the mayor of the place and his lady, on their way to a concert at Savona.
We found Savona a small neat town, pleasantly situated, and entering some
of the shops, made a few trifling purchases, and were remarkably struck
with the politeness of the Italian shop-keepers. On inquiring the time of
day, we were answered, “twenty-three hours and a half;” this appeared a
very extraordinary manner of noting the time: the fact is, however, that,
in Italy, their calculation always commences at sun-set, which is their
twenty-fourth hour, and consequently, must vary according to the varying
seasons of the year, which makes their mode of computation exceedingly
difficult for a stranger to comprehend. In addition to the above, I had
another indication of being in Italy, from the universal use of that
language; in short, my companion conversed with every one in Italian, and
then translated it for me into French; and I was much pleased with the
specimen I here received both of the manners and language of the country.
In the evening we returned to our vessel to sleep, in order to be
prepared for any favourable change in the wind, but determined, in case
of its not shifting, to disembark with our baggage in the morning, and
proceed to Genoa by land. We were cheerful and happy in the prospect of
our difficulties being soon terminated, and after regaling the crew with
wine, retired to rest.
We rose with day-break, and finding the wind still adverse, after
settling with the captain, went on shore, and taking places in the
voiture to Genoa, determined no longer to be the sport of the winds.
There were but two vacancies in the coach, and finding our anxiety to
proceed with it, the conducteur would fain have taken advantage of it,
but the lady managed the affair well, for offering what she knew to be
the usual sum, viz. five francs for each of us; on their refusal to
accept it, under the plea that there was no other coach that day, we
walked off, and pretended to be indifferent about it: this manœuvre
brought them to, and before we had proceeded the length of a street, the
conducteur came running after us, to say that he was willing to take
us; after this, however, we had some trouble to get our luggage to the
carriage, and were obliged to walk part of the way out of town, in doing
which we were followed by the most importunate host of beggars I had ever
witnessed in my life; my companion was so confused that she could with
difficulty count out her money to pay the porters, &c. At length our
supplicants dropped off, one by one, until we literally out-walked them
all.
I ought not to take leave of Savona, without mentioning, that at this
point the maritime Alps terminate, and the Apennines commence.