Here we are by the sea-side once more, in a trading town too; and I
should think myself in England almost, but for the difference of dresses
that pass under my balcony: for here we were immediately addressed by a
young English gentleman, who politely put us in possession of his
apartments, the best situated in the town; and with him we talked of the
dear coast of Devonshire, agreed upon the resemblance between that and
these environs, but gave the preference to home, on account of its
undulated shore, finely fringed with woodlands, which here are wanting:
nor is this verdure equal to ours in vivid colouring, or variegated with
so much taste as those lovely hills which are adorned by the antiquities
of Powderham Castle, and the fine disposition of Lord Lisburne's park.
But here is an English consul at Leghorn. Yes indeed! an English chapel
too; our own King's arms over the door, and in the desk and pulpit an
English clergyman; high in character, eminent for learning, genteel in
his address, and charitable in every sense of the word: as such, truly
loved and honoured by those of his own persuasion, exceedingly respected
by those of every other, which fill this extraordinary city: a place so
populous, that Cheapside alone can surpass it.
It is not a large place however; one very long straight street, and one
very large wide square, not less than Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, but I think
bigger, form the whole of Leghorn; which I can compare to nothing but a
_camera obscura,_ or magic lanthron, exhibiting prodigious variety of
different, and not uninteresting figures, that pass and re-pass to my
incessant delight, and give that sort of empty amusement which is _à la
portée de chacun_[Footnote: Within every one's reach.] so completely,
that for the present it really serves to drive every thing else from my
head, and makes me little desirous to quit for any other diversion the
windows or balcony, whence I look down now upon a Levantine Jew,
dressed in long robes, a sort of odd turban, and immense beard: now upon
a Tuscan contadinella, with the little straw hat, nosegay and jewels, I
have been so often struck with. Here an Armenian Christian, with long
hair, long gown, long beard, all black as a raven; who calls upon an old
grey Franciscan friar for a walk; while a Greek woman, obliged to cross
the street on some occasion, throws a vast white veil all over her
person, lest she should undergo the disgrace of being seen at all.
Sometimes a group goes by, composed of a broad Dutch sailor, a
dry-starched puritan, and an old French officer; whose knowledge of the
world and habitual politeness contrive to conceal the contempt he has of
his companions.
The geometricians tell us that the figure which has most angles bears
the nearest resemblance to that which has no angles at all; so here at
Leghorn, where you can hardly find forty men of a mind, dispute and
contention grow vain, a comfortable though temporary union takes place,
while nature and opinion bend to interest and necessity.
The _Contorni_ of Leghorn are really very pretty; the Appenine
mountains degenerate into hills as they run round the bay, but gain in
beauty what in sublimity they lose.
To enjoy an open sea view, one must drive further; and it really affords
a noble prospect from that rising ground where I understand that the
rich Jews hold their summer habitations. They have a synagogue in the
town, where I went one evening, and heard the Hebrew service, and
thought of what Dr. Burney says of their singing.
It is however no credit to the Tuscans to tell, that of all the people
gathered together here, they are the worst-looking--I speak of the
_men_--but it is so. When compared with the German soldiery, the English
sailors, the Venetian traders, the Neapolitan peasants, for I have seen
some of _them_ here, how feeble a fellow is a genuine Florentine! And
when one recollects the cottagers of Lombardy, that handsome hardy race;
bright in their expression, and muscular in their strength; it is still
stranger, what can have weakened these too delicate Tuscans so. As they
are very rich, and might be very happy under the protection of a prince
who lets slip no opportunity of preferring his plebeian to his patrician
subjects; yet here at Leghorn they have a tender frame and an unhealthy
look, occasioned possibly by the stagnant waters, which tender the
environs unwholesome enough I believe; and the millions of live
creatures they produce are enough to distract a person not accustomed to
such buzzing company.
We went out for air yesterday morning three or four miles beyond the
town-walls, where I looked steadily at the sea, till I half thought
myself at home. The ocean being peculiarly British property favoured the
idea, and for a moment I felt as if on our southern coast; we walked
forward towards the shore, and I stepped upon some rocks that broke the
waves as they rolled in, and was wishing for a good bathing house that
one might enjoy the benefit of salt-water so long withheld; till I saw
our _laquais de place_ crossing himself at the carriage door, and
wondering, as I afterwards found out, at my matchless intrepidity. The
mind however took another train of thought, and we returned to the
coach, which when we arrived at I refused to enter; not without
screaming I fear, as a vast hornet had taken possession in our absence,
and the very notion of such a companion threw me into an agony. Our
attendant's speech to the coachman however, made me more than amends:
"_Ora si vede amico_" (says he), "_cos'è la Donna; del mare istesso non
hà paura è pur và in convulsioni per via d'una mosca_[Z]." This truly
Tuscan and highly contemptuous harangue, uttered with the utmost
deliberation, and added to the absence of the hornet, sent me laughing
into the carriage, with great esteem of our philosophical _Rosso_, for
so the fellow was called, because he had red hair.