company with an English gentleman, Mr. W. S⸺, and two Italians. It rained
very hard, and the roads were consequently heavy, but our coach was large
and comfortable; the horses were indifferent ones, and I observed one
of our Italian companions express his dissatisfaction, on finding that
we were not to be carried forward by mules, which are more capable of
undergoing fatigue, and, I believe, in this country, twice as valuable as
horses. We did not halt for breakfast until two o’clock in the afternoon,
and as I had taken nothing before leaving Florence, I was really so
unwell about twelve o’clock, that I entreated the driver to allow me to
partake of a piece of bread, which I heard him eating, but he told me he
had just finished it; I felt however sufficiently revived after a hearty
breakfast of mutton-chops, coffee, &c. to be able to walk a few miles,
which we could do at times, as the weather in the afternoon cleared up.
One of our Italian companions was a Roman, and professed himself attached
to mineralogy, and a great traveller, having been amongst the Turks,
Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, and also over the greater part of Europe:
he had, however, yet to visit England, from which he promised himself
great gratification. The plain English of this probably was, that he was
an itinerant dealer in precious stones. Towards evening the rain came on
again, and we had a very heavy journey to Sienna, which we did not reach
until after nine o’clock, when we made a hearty supper, and retired to
bed.
Sienna is described as a pleasant summer residence, but it must from
its vicinity to the Apennines be very wet and cold in winter. There
are several good public as well as private buildings; the streets are
tolerably handsome, but many of them exceedingly steep. The inhabitants
are stated to be hospitable and polished, and to speak the purest Italian
of any modern state. There are said to be many English residents. The
present pope Pius VII. is a native of this place. The cathedral is
magnificent, and particularly famous for its pavement of white marble,
inlaid with Scripture pieces of grey marble, amongst which is Abraham’s
intended sacrifice of his son Isaac. Another piece, representing Moses
striking the Rock, is also greatly admired: the whole, indeed, are of
exquisite workmanship, which it took ages to complete. But as I can give
little other personal account of this place, than what I might derive
from my _dreams_, having passed nearly the whole of the short time I
continued here in bed, I shall say no more respecting it. At six in the
morning we recommenced our journey, notwithstanding which early hour, our
good and pious coachman had been to mass to pray for a safe journey.
We breakfasted at Buono Convento, where the Emperor Henry VII. was
poisoned by a monk with the sacramental wafer, in the year 1314.
The morning was again wet, and the roads rendered very heavy, but in
the afternoon the weather cleared up, and we were enabled to walk for a
couple of hours. At six in the evening, we arrived at an auberge, named
La Scala, where we were to spend the night; it was a single house, placed
at the foot of the hill, and leading up to the village of Radicofani,
situated considerably farther up the mountain, of that name, at a point
inaccessible for carriages; still higher up beyond the village is a rock
of singular form projecting over it, on the top of which stands the
castle Radicofani, the whole forming a most picturesque scene.
Before our arrival at La Scala, a servant had preceded us, and secured
the best apartments for the use of a lady and her family, who were
travelling in another voiture. The lady was stated to be Madame Frimont,
wife of the Austrian general of that name, on her way from Milan to join
her husband at Naples; it is probable, however, that this might be only
a _ruse de guerre_, to secure greater attention; we were glad, however,
to get a supper as we could, and I was obliged to sleep in the same
room with our vittureno, otherwise the poor fellow must have lain down
with his horses in the stable, which it would have been cruel to have
compelled him to have done, particularly as he was the most civil and
accommodating driver I had yet met with; indeed I would sooner have given
up the whole room, than deprived him of half of it.
In the morning, we set off at five o’clock with six horses to ascend the
tremendous hill of Radicofani, and a very severe duty it was for them;
nor could we reasonably relieve them of part of their weight by walking,
as it both rained heavily, and the wind was at the same time boisterous,
and, as we approached the summit, extremely cold. At nine o’clock,
when we had partly descended on the other side, we stopped at the last
village in the Tuscan states, where custom-house officers are stationed
to examine the baggage and passports of travellers; we escaped however
inspection of the former by the payment of a paul each; after this we
proceeded to enter the earthly dominions of his holiness the pope. Soon
after the road became execrably bad, and we stuck so fast in the mud and
ruts, that the poor horses had the greatest difficulty in dragging the
carriage forward; I am informed that this place is in winter frequently
quite impassible; we attempted to walk, but could not proceed without
the risk of being half buried, so that before we resumed our places, our
Italian companions began to cry out for St. Antonio, and half a score
more saints, to come to their assistance.
About noon, we reached the first post in the Roman states, where we
breakfasted at a miserable inn, Madame Frimont making her appearance soon
after us. The day now turned out uncommonly fine, and we proceeded in
good spirits; we were shortly after checked by the custom-house officers
belonging to his holiness, whose scruples, however, were readily silenced
by the sight of a paul from each of us. Shortly afterwards we were
detained, to have our passports examined, at the village of Aquapendente,
famous for being the birth-place of the great anatomist Fabricius. This
detention mortified us exceedingly, as in the interim, Madame Frimont,
of whom we had previously the start, passed without interruption, and
thus got irretrievably a-head of us. This exemption our driver attributed
to the military connexion of the lady, and I believe that, on the same
score, I might have refused an examination of my passport; they had,
however, the assurance to charge us a paul for inspecting them. The road
now became very good, and enabled us to walk for a considerable distance;
and the conversation of the party, who all spoke French, proved very
agreeable. We met, however, with some unpleasant incidents on the way;
amongst which I may name the mangled limbs of a fellow creature who had
been executed, exposed on the road side. This unfortunate wretch had no
doubt been a robber, perhaps a murderer, and a disgrace to human nature;
but granting all this, it appears repugnant to Christian feeling, to
exhibit so disgusting a spectacle to the purer part of the community.
To check the progress of crime, it is doubtless necessary to inflict
punishments, and to make the example more efficacious, to accomplish this
before the public eye; but when the penalty has been paid, surely it
would be preferable to withdraw the remains of mortality, and place them
where they may unoffensively mingle with their parent dust, rather than
to leave
“What better to oblivion were resign’d,
Still hung on high to poison half mankind.”
Our detention at Aquapendente caused the evening to close in upon us
before we expected, and it became so dark, when we were about a league
from our destined resting-place for the night, that the driver was
obliged to walk at the head of his horses, and guide them in the right
road. Before we had proceeded far in this way, we were obstructed by a
number of persons with lights in front of us. We had received various
intimations of the dangerous nature of the country we were now in, as
infested with banditti, and which no doubt is attributable to the poverty
of the peasantry, and number of fishermen inhabiting the borders of the
lake of Bolsena, which we were passing at no great distance. We were,
however, relieved from our fears, on finding that the circumstance
arose from a vehicle having broken down in the middle of the road, and
which had detained even our consort voiture, that had passed us at
Aquapendente. It was some time before we could proceed, and we were then
obliged to be guided on our way with lights for two miles, until we
reached the town of Bolsena.
The Austrian lady’s servant, however, had preceded us, and secured all
the best apartments, so that we were obliged to make shift with what were
left: my companions were better able to take care of themselves than I
was, so that I fared worse than any, and was obliged to sleep in the
passage at the head of the stairs.
We certainly thought the lady very inconsiderate, for she not only
secured bed-rooms for herself and children, but had taken one with four
beds in it as a sitting-room, which she might have dispensed with,
particularly as she knew that there was a coach-full of passengers
arrived at the same time. We did not fail to express our sentiments
loudly, both in French and Italian, and in such a manner, that we were
sure of her becoming acquainted with them. In addition, we had to wait
for our supper until she had finished, and this so long, that Mr. W. S.
tired of the delay, went to bed without refreshment.
At six in the morning we recommenced our journey through Montefiascone,
celebrated for its wines, and reached Viterbo for breakfast. A party of
Austrians returning from Naples, unfortunately followed us into the inn,
and carried away the attentions of our host and his myrmidons. After
breakfast, Mr. W. S. and myself set off before our coach, and walked
up the mountain of Viterbo, and when we reached the top experienced a
delightfully refreshing breeze, and my companion was gratified with a
most magnificent view of villas and villages, with lake Vico on the
right, which at first he mistook for the sea. At a distance on the
left, was a palace of the king of Naples. We now re-entered the coach,
and descended the hill with rapidity, contesting the race with Madame
Frimont’s voiture. I cannot say, however, the companionship afforded us
any gratification, as we had all the disadvantages without the pleasures
of it; for we had not once the honour of conversing with the lady, or
of course the merit of voluntarily sacrificing our comforts for her
accommodation; it was all one whether we got in first or last, there
appeared to be so good an understanding between her servant, the drivers,
and the people of the inn, that we were sure to come off only second best.
We reached Ronciglione for the night. At this place, we had the pleasure
of meeting with _Mr. John Bull_, lately from England, but last of all,
from Rome, where he had been studying the _finer arts_, that is, the
arts of eating and drinking, and who was now on his return to his native
city of London, by way of Florence. He had engaged a voiture of the same
description with the one we were travelling in, for the exclusive use
of himself and his servant, _William Simple_, who did not presume to
speak any other language than what his mother had thought right to teach
him, while Mr. Bull, by three months’ practice, and the assistance of a
dictionary, had acquired sufficient Italian to enable him to call for the
various objects of his affection. He was loud in his complaints against
his Italian coachman, _Antonio Sulky_, who, contrary to the assurances
of the person from whom he had hired his carriage at Rome, was disposed
to do everything to please himself, but nothing which he, Mr. Bull,
was desirous should be done. Poor Simple, however, appeared to come
more immediately under his displeasure, for, having neglected to secure
himself a bed, and which he endeavoured to excuse, by saying that he did
not know how to ask for one; “Why you fool,” retorted the master, “go up
stairs, look out for an empty room, lock the door, and put the key in
your pocket.”
Notwithstanding the waiter was too much hurried to think that he had any
right to be civil, I got a pretty good supper and bed, nor was I without
bed-fellows, and had I been as active as they were lively, the dancing
of St. Vitus would not have been comparable with my exertions. But I
comforted myself with the certainty of its being the last night of the
journey, whereas, poor Mr. Bull had but just commenced his. I cannot but
acknowledge, that I amused myself highly with the thoughts of the manner
in which he would be jerked out of the Roman into the Tuscan states, an
operation of which, I am sure he could himself have no idea.
On the following morning, Saturday, March the 31st, we set off at six
o’clock, under the delightful prospect of reaching Rome in the afternoon,
being now only twenty-five miles distant. After a rainy morning, we
arrived about noon for breakfast at a house nine miles from the city;
here Mr. W. S⸺, meeting some friends, took his leave of us. We had a
party of Austrian officers to breakfast at the same table, who treated
me with marked attention, reminding me of our having met at Florence. At
half past one, we pursued our journey, and at length reached the Ponte
Molle, where we crossed the far-famed Tiber,
“⸺whose yellow water flows
Around these fields, and fattens as it goes,
⸺among the rolling floods,
Renown’d on earth—esteemed amongst the gods.”
After this, our road lay for two miles along the ancient Via Flaminia,
to the gate formerly of the same name, but now degraded to the vulgar
appellation of Porto del Popolo,—that gate, which once poured forth a
race of heroes, almost the rivals of the gods themselves, the founders of
the glory of Rome, and supporters of its virtue.
“Illustrious names! that once in Latium shin’d,
Born to instruct, and to command mankind;
Chiefs, by whose virtue, mighty Rome was raised,
And poets, who those chiefs sublimely praised.”
It is impossible to describe the feelings which overpowered me, when
after passing through this gate, I found myself in the midst of that
city, to which my most ardent wishes had been directing me—the once
celebrated, and yet interesting Rome,—which
“Propt on seven hills, sat like a sceptered queen,
And aw’d the tributary world to peace.”
Now, alas! little more than a monument, and shadow, of her former
greatness. “_How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations._”
Before concluding the present chapter, it may not be unacceptable to such
travellers, as propose to pass from Florence to Rome, by way of Sienna,
to state various circumstances, which may be useful in directing their
proceedings. In the first place, I shall allude to the contract I had
made with the proprietor of the voiture. My bargain was, that we should
leave Florence on a fixed day, and proceed forward to Rome, occupying
five days and four nights on the journey, resting on the successive
nights at the following places, viz. Sienna, La Scala, Bolsena, and
Ronciglione. He was to convey myself and luggage, providing me with
coffee every morning before setting out, breakfast about noon, and a
supper and bed at night; bearing every expense, excepting custom-house
fees; for these advantages, I agreed to pay him three Napoleons and a
half, with a _buona mana_ of five francs on arriving at Rome, in case he
conducted himself properly.
From experience, I would now recommend as a modification of the above
plan, after reaching Sienna on the first night, to rest there for a day
or two, which not only gives an opportunity of seeing this interesting
town, but serves to recruit the horses, or mules, so as to expedite the
remainder of the journey. It will be desirable to leave Sienna at four
o’clock in the morning, in order to reach La Scala in time to secure good
accommodations; in addition, by arriving early, the horses will have
a prolonged rest, before undertaking, the next morning, the fatiguing
journey over Radicofani: after staying the third night at Bolsena, it is
very necessary to set off early on the following morning, to enable you
to reach Ronciglione; for although better accommodation might be found at
Viterbo, this place is too distant, to make it easy to reach Rome on the
following evening, and there is no town between these points which offers
any comfortable accommodation.
On arriving at the gates of Rome, your carriage will be taken possession
of by custom-house officers, termed _doganieri_, who conduct you to the
custom-house, where a close inspection of baggage takes place; but it is
possible to avoid this detention, by writing to your banker, to obtain a
_lascia passare_, or permission to pass, which should be left directed
for you at the gate.
Possibly, instead of contracting with the vittureno to perform the
journey in a limited time, it might be preferable to engage with him by
the day. In this case, you might rest for any time on the road, when
points of interest presented themselves; or if he behaved ill, or from
any cause became unable to proceed, he might be discharged.
CHAP. XV.
ROME.
I took up my residence at Francis’s hotel, in the Strada Conducto; this
house has a table d’hôte, said to be the only one in Rome, ready at four
o’clock, and consisting of partly an Italian, and partly an English
dinner, for which, with a bottle or more of good wine, they charge six
pauls, equal to about two shillings and nine pence sterling. The house
being very full, I did not succeed in getting so good a bed-room as I
could have wished.
In the morning, I engaged a _servitore de piazza_, or _valet de
place_, and sallied forth to deliver the letters with which I had been
intrusted, and particularly to call upon Dr. Clarke, to whom I had an
introduction. After attending the English divine service, I visited that
most magnificent of all Christian temples, the church of St. Peter’s, in
which every Christian country in the world, at the time of its erection,
may fairly claim a proprietorship, as each contributed largely to its
edification. On entering it, I felt myself impressed with awe and
veneration, and notwithstanding the distinctions of ceremony, did not
fail to offer up my humble adoration and thanks to the Almighty, for his
protection, and mercies so abundantly bestowed upon me, since the first
moment of my existence.
It would be ridiculous in me to attempt a description of this grand and
magnificent structure, while so many correct and interesting delineations
exist.
I spent the evening at Dr. Clarke’s, where I had the pleasure of meeting
a gentleman, Mr. L⸺, who had been robbed three nights before, on his
return from Tivoli. He did me the favour to relate the circumstances,
which were as follow:
Having, with three other gentlemen, engaged a carriage for the day, to
see the falls of Tivoli, the party imprudently deferred their return,
until the approach of evening. On arriving within two miles of Rome,
they were compelled to turn out for a short distance, into a temporary
road, in consequence of the main one being under repair; here, from the
darkness of the night, which had become so intense that they could not
see their horses’ heads, the coachman lost his way, and was obliged to
make inquiries of various charcoal drivers, whom they fell in with; as
they were on the point of regaining the main road, the coachman cried out
“_Genti, Genti_,” immediately upon which, the carriage was surrounded by
banditti. The gentlemen attempted to rush out of the carriage, in hopes
of escaping through the darkness of the night, but, with the exception
of Mr. L⸺, were immediately secured and plundered. The latter gentleman,
after having a musket discharged at him, the fire of which singed his
coat and waistcoat, while the ball passed so near as to leave a black
mark on his side, succeeded in getting to a dry ditch, bounded by a wall,
which he in vain attempted to scale; he therefore determined to lie quiet
until the affair was over, taking a valuable watch out of his pocket, and
concealing it in one of his gaiters: shortly after, he heard his friends
calling him by name, and concluding that the robbers were gone, quitted
his place of concealment, in order to rejoin them, when, to his great
surprise, he was seized and plundered. They felt for his watch, which he
pretended not to have with him, but this would not do; with a dagger at
his breast, they menaced instant death if it was not produced; he then
stated that he had left it at his place of concealment, and begged them
to accompany him to search for it, when after pretending to seek for it,
he gave it up, requesting that one particular seal might be returned:
this however, after a consultation with their captain, was refused.
The banditti now departed, directing them not to stir until they were
off the ground, when they proceeded without farther interruption to
Rome. The reason of Mr. L⸺ being called by his friends to be robbed, was
this; that the banditti, fully aware of a fourth person having escaped,
threatened to murder the whole of the three, unless he was produced,
so that they found it necessary for their own safety to discover him.
One of the gentlemen was slightly wounded in the hand by a stiletto, in
his attempt to escape. On reaching Rome, they immediately repaired to
the police, who expressed concern, but took the matter very cooly, and
instead of sending out a party in pursuit, desired them to call again
in the morning; and here the affair ended. Strong suspicion fell on the
charcoal drivers, for they had passed many of their carts just before;
and such persons, as well as the peasantry of this country, are notorious
robbers, whenever a convenient opportunity offers.
I shall follow up the above anecdote, with an account of another
occurrence of the same nature, that took place about this time.
A French ship of war having put into Civita Vecchia, the captain, with
his surgeon and another officer, engaged a carriage to take them to Rome;
at one o’clock they stopped to dine at a small village, and set off again
at three; soon after this they all fell into a sleep, from which they
were roused by four peasant-like fellows, armed with muskets, who made
them get out of the coach, and lie on the ground upon their faces, one
man standing sentry over each officer, while the fourth plundered the
carriage; while this was proceeding, the captain ventured to propose to
his companions, in French, which the banditti did not understand, that
each should spring up, at a signal, and seize his guard by surprise,
expressing his belief that he could overpower his man before the one
from the coach could get to assist him, in which case he should be ready
for his reception; the proposal was acceded to; the word given, and
the attack made; after a severe struggle they succeeded in disarming
the whole four, who scampered off, the Frenchmen firing after them in
their retreat, and wounding one of them; they then entered Rome with the
captured muskets in triumph.
On the following day, after delivering letters and arranging some private
business, I visited Monte Cavallo, so named from two colossal statues
representing Castor and Pollux, each holding a horse. The figures of
these gods are remarkably fine antiques, the one supposed to be the
production of Phidias, the other of Praxiteles, and once adorned Athens.
The horses are very inferior, and of modern workmanship. Afterward I
returned to dinner at my hotel, and had the pleasure of meeting there
Count K⸺, whom I had known at Nice. Two English ladies also dined to-day
at our table d’hôte; and some American naval officers belonging to the
Peacock sloop, who had been cruizing off the coast of Barbary; these
gentlemen, from the similarity of their uniform, were, by some of the
English, mistaken for British officers.
As I proposed to spend at least a month in Rome, and found the bustle
of an hotel unpleasant, Dr. Clark did me the favour to procure me
comfortable lodgings in the Piazza di Spagnia, and within a very short
distance of his own residence. I cannot too strongly acknowledge the
kindness of this gentleman and his lady, during my residence in this city.
On Wednesday, the fourth of April, I began, in company with two friends,
to examine the remains of antiquity which abound in this city. We first
directed our steps to Trajan’s pillar, in our way to which we passed a
parade of his holiness’s soldiers; they were fine bodied men, but their
state of discipline evidenced the degeneracy of the warriors of modern
Rome.