birth-place of Columbus: this information excited much interest in my
mind: I was led to reflect upon the manner in which his extraordinary
genius had surmounted the various obstacles opposed to his discovery
of a new world, and to regret the supineness of my own country, which
might otherwise have had the honour of participating in so important an
event; but the enlivening conversation of our party, would not admit of
my indulging freely in such speculations, and ere long we made our entry
through the gates of Genoa.
CHAP. XIII.
GENOA.—VOYAGE TO LEGHORN, AND JOURNEY TO FLORENCE.
The narrowness of the streets prevented our coach from setting me down
at the hotel to which I had been recommended; this is not, however, to
be regarded as any evidence of its want of respectability, for the same
objection lies against almost every other hotel in Genoa: for there
are but three streets in the whole city which will admit of carriages
passing each other, and which are, the Strada balba, the Strada nuova,
and the Strada novissima, consisting entirely of ranges of palaces. I
was disappointed in not finding accommodation at the hotel in question,
and therefore, on the solicitations of a man who had followed me all the
way from the coach, went to the Piccolo Paregé, a large house near the
port, with a tower on the top of it, from whence there is a fine view of
the harbour and shipping. After enjoying the luxury of what was formerly
directed by some of the ancients as a religious ceremony, ablution, I
retired to a comfortable bed, for the first time since I left Nice.
In the morning, after calling at the post-office and at the British
consul’s to ascertain the state of the Neapolitan war, I proceeded to
explore the town; the weather was, however, wet, cold, and uncomfortable,
and I was sensible of a very different climate from that of Nice; indeed,
I was informed that, during some of our finest days at the latter place,
it rained or snowed at Genoa.
The succeeding day was the last of the Carnival, and a great number of
people were parading the streets masked, and in all the fantastic garb
of the season; the business, however, appeared to be kept up with more
spirit than at Toulouse on the preceding winter. In the course of the
evening a person with whom I was walking addressed a female mask, who
said she was cook in a gentleman’s family, and that she must hasten
home to wash the dishes; on parting, we induced her to shake hands with
us; and if I am a judge of the affair, I pronounce that _her_ hand had
never been in dish-water, for a prettier formed, or more delicate one,
I never touched in my life. In the evening, the festival concluded with
masked-balls at the theatres, and other amusements.
On the following day (Wednesday), the weather was still unfavourable.
Several gentlemen, to whom I had forwarded letters from their friends at
Nice, called upon me, two of whom conducted me to various parts of the
city, and described its beauties. It is surrounded by two walls; an inner
one, taking in a circumference of six or seven miles, and an outer one,
making a boundary of not less than thirteen miles, and enclosing various
rising grounds which command the city: there are two fine bridges over
small rivers, one in the eastern, the other in the western part of the
town.
Independent of the three streets which I have already named, Genoa
consists of little better than lanes, so numerous and intricate, that a
stranger is constantly losing his way; and even those who have been some
time resident are not unfrequently at a loss. The cathedral, churches,
Doge’s palace, and various other public as well as private buildings, are
very fine, and well worth the attention of the traveller.
There is an Italian proverb relative to Genoa, which says, that it has
“sea without fish; land without trees; and men without faith.” The first
of these accusations I am satisfied is without foundation: for I was
given to understand that fish, as well as all other provisions, were
plentiful, and even cheaper than at Nice. The wine of the country is not
considered good, but excellent Italian and French wines may be purchased
at a reasonable rate; the best and cheapest way of procuring them is
to go on board some vessel in the port, taste the different qualities,
and select what pleases the palate; any quantity may then be ordered,
but it is advisable to be provided with a porter or two to carry it away
immediately, and to take care not to lose sight of it, until it reaches
home in safety, or it will run great risk of being changed.
After spending two or three days longer at Genoa, I engaged for my
passage in a felucca to Leghorn, and what is singular, it had the same
name, the Divine Providence, as the one I had so lately sailed in from
Nice. A great number of vessels of this kind are continually passing
from hence to Leghorn, and the felucca men, if they have an idea of any
one being about to undertake the voyage, are extremely troublesome in
pestering him, as he passes along the streets, to sail with them, and
will even fish the servants at his hotel, to gain intelligence of his
intended proceedings. In arranging the point of fare with them, it is
necessary to be very cautious, as they will ask four times the usual rate.
I agreed for twelve francs, the sum which the master of the felucca had
found out, that I had paid for my passage from Nice; it cost me, however,
half as much more in gratuities, and other expenses, and I had afterward
the mortification to find, that other passengers had secured the same
accommodations, for only five francs each.
About six o’clock on the evening of Saturday, March the 11th, the captain
came to apprize me that the vessel was waiting. On getting on board there
was very little wind, so that throughout the night, we were obliged to
make use of our oars as well as sails; at day-break a breeze sprang up
from the eastward, which obliged us to turn back for fifteen miles,
towards Porto Fino, where we anchored at ten o’clock, and went on shore
to a miserable auberge.
Among our passengers were two French gentlemen who were friends, but of
very opposite characters; the one was volatile, and thoughtless, and
talked of proceeding to Naples, and offering his services to the patriot
army, the other who, we understood, had been a merchant, was sedate and
thoughtful, so that, I dare say, pounds, shillings, and pence might have
been read in his face. The lively one amused us, not a little, with his
eccentricity; he spoke of having a mistress at Genoa, whom he had engaged
to marry that very morning, but he stated that the present was not the
first time of his having proved faithless to her, and seemed to exult in
her disappointment; it, however, appeared in the sequel that he could not
reconcile himself to give her up, for after we entered Porto Fino, he
began to repent, and earnestly solicit his friend to return to Genoa with
him, offering to pay all expenses; at length, the other acceded to his
wishes, and they left us, which was to myself a source of considerable
regret as I lost, at least, one amusing companion, whose language I could
understand, and had no one left with whom I could converse. In order to
get back to Genoa, these gentlemen had to pull five or six miles, in the
midst of a heavy rain, and in an open boat, in a _contrary_ direction,
until they reached the new road making between Genoa and Spezzia.
This road when completed, will be an incalculable advantage to the
communications with the southern parts of Italy; the old road to
Florence, over the mountains, being a very indirect one; although an
expensive undertaking, there is little doubt but that this will be
compensated, as many thousands, who in order to reach southern Italy, now
go by sea to Lerici and Leghorn, will then prefer the journey by land;
and in the event of an equally good communication being formed between
Genoa and Nice, a strong inducement will be offered to the traveller, to
enter this country by that route, particularly in the winter season. This
has been partially effected under the auspices of Bonaparte; the present
Sardinian government, however, are not disposed to carry it forward, as
they are naturally jealous of affording their neighbours, the French, so
easy an access into the heart of their country.
Throughout the remainder of this, and part of the next day, the weather
continued unfavourable, and we made no attempt to leave Porto Fino;
however, in the afternoon of the latter we sailed, but in the evening
it fell calm, and we took to our oars throughout the night; about noon,
on the following day, a light and favourable air sprang up, which
soon increased to a moderate breeze; about three o’clock we arrived
at the entrance of the Gulf of Spezzia, where to my great concern,
notwithstanding I said every thing to induce him to push on as the wind
was fair, the captain persisted in coming to an anchor, when every one
went on shore, excepting two seamen and myself;—had we continued our
course, we should probably have reached Leghorn before daylight on the
following morning; whereas, from the neglect, our voyage was rendered a
most tedious one. The fact was, that the captain and many of his crew,
were at this place, in the midst of their friends.
In the middle of the Gulf of Spezzia there is a constant spring of
fresh water, which is a matter of astonishment to most people, but the
phenomenon is not difficult to account for; as the ancients who were well
acquainted with this gulf, by them termed Porta Luna, do not name it,
it is probably of subsequent occurrence and volcanic origin, and perhaps
supplied from reservoirs contained within the adjacent Apennine mountains.
I was informed by the sailors, that a new light-house is nearly completed
at the entrance of this gulf, which must be a most important security to
vessels passing that way.
The town of Carrara, so celebrated for its quarries of beautiful marble,
used for the purposes of sculpture, is situated in this neighbourhood.
We were tacking about all the following day, and at times assisted with
the weather oars, at which I occasionally took my place, by way of
exercise; in the forenoon we passed the mouth of one river, and in the
evening arrived at the entrance of another, the Sier, distant about eight
miles from the Arno, and twenty from Leghorn.
We entered the mouth of this river, and secured our vessel under a fort,
with the object of procuring provisions, for our Genoa stores were now
nearly exhausted. We had an additional view, to seek for protection and
security, for the weather had become very cloudy, and the captain felt
assured that the night would prove stormy, which in fact it did, a severe
gale, with heavy rain, coming on at ten o’clock.
The whole of the next morning, we had high wind with heavy rain, and I
began to meditate, in case the weather cleared up, walking to Pisa with
the captain, which place was nine miles distant from the fort, and then
taking coach for Leghorn. The captain had, this morning, to go a league
and a half to procure provisions for his crew; these coasting vessels
seldom carry more then three or four days store with them, and in case
of necessity trust to getting into some port for supply, and which they
appear particularly fond of doing. When on the contrary, I urged the
captain to proceed, he would silence me by asking, why he should wish
to go into port, when it would expedite the voyage, and save the extra
expenses of maintaining his crew, to keep out of it?
About noon we had the pleasure of finding it become quite fair, and the
wind favourable; we weighed anchor at two o’clock, and stood towards the
Arno, for the purpose of discharging part of the cargo, consisting of
goods for Pisa; this detained us about an hour; after which we made sail
for Leghorn, with as fresh a breeze as our vessel could stagger under,
and made the port in fine style, running a distance of twelve miles, in
less than an hour and a half. I could hardly credit the circumstance,
when they wanted to thrust me into the boat like a bale of goods; the
fact was, that it was necessary, before we could be allowed to quit the
vessel, to be examined at the health-office, and it wanted but a few
minutes before this would be closed, in which case we should have been
detained on board till morning. I left the vessel, without my baggage,
which the captain promised should be taken on shore immediately after
me; but here he deceived me, for after getting on shore, I was given to
understand that it could not be sent before morning; he offered however,
to accompany me wherever I might wish to go, and I lost no time in making
my way to the Aquila Nira, where I proposed to take up my residence.
After the luxury of washing, and partaking of a good dinner, I retired to
rest, in a bed large enough to contain at least four persons, and where
I was for some hours, incapable of sleeping from excess of enjoyment.
In the morning my baggage was brought according to promise, and the
day being fine, I engaged a valet-de-place to deliver some letters
of introduction, but had the misfortune to find all the gentlemen to
whom they were addressed out of the way; after this I amused myself in
exploring the town.
At the table d’hôte we had a party of twenty-five natives of various
nations, many of whom like myself, had been enjoying the pleasures of
felucca travelling, of which they gave woful accounts. Among them was
a merchant from Saxony, who, hearing that I intended to set off by
diligence for Florence on the following morning, recommended me to take
a place in a _voiture de voyage_ in preference, as both cheaper, and more
expeditious, in consequence of its taking a shorter route, and at the
same time offering to secure me a place in company with himself. This
proposal was very agreeable to me, and after dinner we walked together
to the voiture office, but the clerk was not within; the merchant,
however, assured me, that I need feel no uneasiness respecting a place,
and that all events he would, if necessary, give me up his own, and take
the outside. I then left him, and proceeded with my valet to visit the
English burial ground, where, amongst many other neat tombs, may be seen
that of Smollet, who has here a small monument erected to his memory;
I was not a little affected in tracing, under such circumstances, the
character of this man as deduced from his writings, but I could not spare
time for extending my reflections. A few of the tombs were surrounded by
cypress-trees, others by neat railings of cane-work enclosing a variety
of flowers; the ground is protected by a wall, and the entrance kept
locked, the key being placed under the care of a person, who preserves
every thing neat and clean, and of course expects a small gratuity for
shewing it. I should have been glad to have spent more time in examining
this interesting spot, but had an engagement to meet a gentleman at my
hotel, the time for which was approaching.
Besides this burial ground, there are many objects, in Leghorn, worthy
the notice of the stranger; as the cathedral, a number of churches, the
Greek and Armenian chapels, the Jews’ synagogue, the coral manufactories,
lazarettos, &c. &c.
In the course of this walk, I met two of the English gentlemen, who had
sailed in company with me from Nice, and left us at Cerf; on comparing
notes, I found they had very little the start of me, notwithstanding my
protracted felucca voyage.
The harbour of Leghorn is divided into two ports, the outer one defended
by a pier; large vessels, however, anchor in the roads, about two miles
from this pier; there is a light-house built on a rock, called the
Malora, situated in the open sea, a mile distant from the mole, and which
is lighted every night by means of thirty-two lamps; there is also a
smaller light on the outer pier, within which the merchant-ships lie, the
inner harbour, from its shallowness, being only adapted for boats, and
very small craft.
From the accounts which I received of this city, I should have been glad
to have prolonged my stay in it a few days longer, had I not arranged to
set out for Florence in the morning.
Before leaving Leghorn, I called upon Dr. P⸺ a Scotch medical gentleman,
practising at this place. While at his house, Dr. D⸺ of Florence, for
whom I had letters, came in, having just arrived in charge of the corpse
of Captain Broughton of the royal navy, who had died in that city, and
which he had brought for burial at Leghorn.
Early in the morning I got ready for the voiture, but had the
mortification, notwithstanding the assurances of the Saxony merchant,
to find myself left behind, as it was stated to be quite full; I had,
however, a resource in the diligence, which fortunately was on the point
of starting, with a vacant place, which I immediately secured, paying
twenty-five pauls for my fare.
We stopped at the gates of the town to have our passports and baggage
examined, and I may take this opportunity of remarking, that in both
these respects, I suffered less inconvenience at Leghorn than usual in
consequence of being _un militaire_. In this case, the passport has
only to be signed by the commandant, who does it with much civility,
and without any charge; my baggage was neither inspected on entering or
leaving the town.
We had no conducteur to Florence, and changed the postillion at every
post, who, as in England, expected a gratuity at the end of it; I had
an instance here of the indisposition of native passengers, to give
information to strangers, to prevent their being imposed upon; for one to
whom I applied, on this occasion, evaded a direct answer for a length of
time, before he could be brought to state, that it being a long stage,
and equal to a double post, he should give a paul, being at the rate of
half a paul for each post.
We were driven the first post from Pisa tolerably well, but afterwards,
for a time, made very slow progress, contrary to what I had understood
respecting the rapidity of Florentine travelling. On inquiry, it was
stated, that we should get on faster by paying the postillion extra,
which we then agreed to do, and I am not aware, that I was ever better
driven in my life, than after this compromise.
In about nine hours we arrived at the gates of Florence, where we were
detained some time in the examination of passports and baggage. I here
attempted to take advantage of my experience, at Leghorn, of the value of
a military character, but it would not do; after irritating the Italian
officer, whose language I could not comprehend, but my pretending for
some time not to understand his demand to inspect my baggage, I was
obliged to descend, and lay open my portmanteau. This soon settled the
business, and we shortly after arrived at the Swiss Pension, kept by
Madame Hembert, to which I had been recommended by my slippery Saxony
merchant, and for which at least, I afterwards found my acknowledgments
were due to him.
CHAP. XIV.
FLORENCE, AND JOURNEY TO ROME.
I congratulated myself on having arrived safely at this universally
admired city, and had the additional pleasure of finding the hotel, to
which I had been recommended, exceedingly comfortable; the establishment
was excellent, and the charges, at the same time, reasonable; every thing
was conducted upon a fixed system, the prices for rooms and meals being
undeviating; nor did they charge for any thing which was not actually
partaken of. The rates were as follows:—breakfast, a paul and a half
(the paul being little more than five pence sterling); there was a table
d’hôte at two o’clock, chiefly frequented by merchants of all nations;
and another at five, for the accommodation of those who were travelling
for amusement, comprising amongst other articles a good substantial
English dinner; for each of which, with a good bottle of wine, the charge
was five pauls, somewhat less than half-a-crown sterling; and the bedroom
was charged three pauls per night.
The table d’hôte was nearly over when I arrived, but I contrived to
make a good dinner from the remains of a roasted turkey, during which I
recognised the voice of the Saxony merchant entering the house, and of
whom I had gained ground half an hour; but he did not come near me, for
the two or three days that he remained at this hotel.
I was not disposed to consider my present visit to this city, more than
_en passant_ on my way to Rome, intending to take it more at leisure on
my return; my present observations are therefore to be regarded as very
casual ones.
Madame H⸺ had the kindness to procure me a servant, but it was not easy
to gain much information from him, as he was an Italian, and not in the
least acquainted with the French language; however by his naming, as he
had been ordered, each street and public building, as we passed along,
I soon began to acquire a general idea of the town, and contrived to go
wherever I wished, so as to call upon my friends and explore most parts
of the city; the weather, however, was unfavourable, and, notwithstanding
the advanced state of the spring, both cold and wet, so that for the nine
days I staid at Florence, we were only one day exempt from rain more or
less: as compared with Nice, it might be considered an English climate.
The cathedral is a beautiful edifice, paved with fine marble, as is also
the Duke’s chapel, which is said to contain some exquisite paintings
over the altar. On Sunday I was present at the ceremonies of this chapel,
where I heard some fine vocal and instrumental music; after which I
proceeded to attend divine service at the house of our ambassador, which
is opened for that purpose to English residents and visitors: and I could
not avoid contrasting its devout and simple solemnity, with the pompous
ritual of the Roman church.
There were few public places of amusement open, during my stay at
Florence, it being the season of the Carême, or Lent. I visited the
Theatre Cocomero, and heard the Barber of Seville, an opera so well
known, that it would be superfluous to enter into any description of
it; but I cannot resist stating the extraordinary effect produced upon
me by the singing of the prima Donna. I thought I could have given the
world to have seen her pretty face and figure; the tones and expression
of her voice, however, appeared to connect themselves in my mind, by
pure sympathy, with exact delineations of her person and attitudes, and
to excite the most intense desire to possess the power of vision, which
I ever recollect to have experienced since I had the misfortune to lose
it. I heard, I felt, I saw or _imagined I saw_, every thing which words,
gestures, and actions could convey: I rose, leaned forward, and felt
an almost irresistible impulse to spring upon the stage, to ascertain
whether my ideas were illusive or real; and what may be thought more
strange my desire to see, appeared to originate from a wish to convince
myself that I could not see. I may be thought to overcharge this
description with too vivid or affected sentiment, but I can assure the
reader, that it contains only a small portion of the exquisite feelings
which I experienced.
I am unable to give any account of the state of society at Florence, my
intercourse being confined to a very few friends, who were chiefly former
acquaintance.
I met with a gentleman just arrived from Rome, who assured me that every
thing was quiet and safe there, and I consequently determined, whatever
might be the result of the Austrian and Neapolitan war, to advance
forward to that place; but my determination was still more confirmed, the
day before my proposed departure, by the official news which arrived,
of the Austrians having entered the Neapolitan states, without any
considerable opposition. At the same time we received intelligence of a
revolution having broken out at Turin, Genoa, and Nice, and I could not
but feel an equal concern for my friends at the latter place, with what
they had previously felt for me; but my apprehensions on this score soon
subsided, on finding the effort immediately checked by the Austrians
stepping into Piedmont; so that in fact they appear to have taken upon
themselves the guardianship of all Italy.