The grand staircase is adorned with the richest marble; the upper
vestibule to which you ascend by this noble stair, is an octogon also,
and surrounded by twenty-four pillars of yellow marble, each of which
is of one piece of eighteen feet high, without including the pedestal
or capital. From this upper vestibule there are entries into—But I
have a notion you are tired of this description, which I assure you is
likewise my case. I beg, therefore, you may take it for granted, that the
apartments within, particularly their Majesties, and that destined for
balls and theatrical entertainments, correspond with the magnificence of
the external appearance.
Among the workmen employed in finishing this palace and the gardens,
there are one hundred and fifty Africans; for as the King of Naples
is constantly at war with the Barbary States, he always has a number
of their sailors prisoners, all of whom are immediately employed as
slaves in the gallies, or at some public work. There are at present
at Casserta, about the same number of Christian slaves; all of these
have been condemned to this servitude for some crime, some of them for
the greatest of all crimes; they are, however, better clothed and fed
than the Africans. This is done, no doubt, in honour of the Christian
religion, and to demonstrate that Christians, even after they have been
found guilty of the blackest crimes, are worthier men, and more deserving
of lenity, than Mahometan prisoners, however innocent they may be in all
_other_ respects.
The gardens belonging to this palace are equally extensive and
magnificent. A great number of fine statues, most of them copies of the
best antique, are kept in a storehouse till the gardens are finished,
when they will be placed in them. The largest and finest elephant I ever
saw is here at present; he is kept by African slaves: they seem to know
how to manage him perfectly; he is well thriven, and goes through a
number of tricks and evolutions with much docility and judgment.
In the garden, there is an artificial water and island. This, if one
may venture to say so, seems a little injudicious; it brings to our
memory the bay of Naples, with its islands, a recollection by no means
favourable to this royal contrivance. In this island there is a kind of
a castle, regularly fortified, with a ditch around it, and ramparts,
bastions, sally-ports, &c. &c. and a numerous train of artillery, some of
them nine or ten _ouncers_. I no sooner entered this fort, than I wished
that Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim had been of our party; it would have
charmed the soul of the worthy veteran and his faithful servant.
I asked the man who attended us, What he imagined this fortification
was intended for?—Sir H—— F—— said, “The cannon were certainly designed
against the frogs, who were continually attempting to scale the ramparts
from the ditch.”—I asked again, What was the real design of erecting
this fort? The man answered, stretching out his arms, and making as wide
a circle with them as he could, “Tutto, tutto per il sollazo del Re.”
“Yes,” said I, “it is surely in the highest degree reasonable, that not
only this fort, but the whole kingdom, should be appropriated to the
amusement of his Majesty.”—“Certo,” replied the man. I wished to see how
far the fellow’s liberality would go—“Not only this kingdom,” continued
I, “but all Europe would be highly honoured in contributing to the
amusement of his Majesty.” “Certo, certo,” said the man.