and found to my supreme delight both my dear children perfectly well.
Webby surprisingly improved. The baby is as perfect a _lazzarone_
as the Chiaia ever produced: in the first place, he has the appetite
and digestion of a Neapolitan. He is a nice child, but far from pretty.
I found no less than five letters cautioning me strongly against going
to Naples with the baby, as there rages in the town a malignant species
of smallpox, to which 7000 infants have fallen victims, and amongst
them poor Lady Plymouth’s infant.
In consequence of these warnings I have determined upon performing the
operation of inoculation here, and Dr. Gianetti did it this morning.
The consciousness of being under the same roof with my dear children
gives me a sort of tranquil delight, that my mind and spirits are quite
calm: I even feel happy. The siege of Landau is raised. The French are
successful everywhere, and will not be conquered by our vain taunts
and boasts; they verify what they say of themselves: ‘Que la France ne
sera jamais domptée, que par la France.’ This opinion is in the first
page of my political creed, hence I was sanguine when I heard they had
raised the standard of counter-revolution _themselves_.
The alarm here is very great; in the same proportion as that increases
so does hatred and contempt for the English, whom they justly accuse
of having compelled them to break their neutrality, and then promised
support.[118] Manfredini told me that England will cause the ruin of
Italy, whereas _he_ could have saved it by temporising measures.
_14th January, Florence._--The accounts from Paris make one
shudder. The guillotine is active, and hundreds daily perish by that
horrible machine of death. It is reported that a body of 25,000 men are
advancing to meet Lord Moira. In consequence of this intelligence, the
transports that came into Portsmouth are to sail immediately, and the
officers have received orders to re-embark. The army that had taken
possession of Noirmoutier have landed on the Continent and are marching
up the south side of the Loire. Prince Coburg is marching towards
Landrecies and Maubeuge to keep the army of the north in check.
[Sidenote: DISSENSIONS AMONG ALLIES]
Pondicherry is besieged and soon will fall into the hands of the
English.[119] No official account from the West Indies since the
first landing at St. Domingo.[120] It is said that the Spanish
proclamation is totally different from ours, in which they offer to
take the island for Louis XVII. The jealousy between the English and
Spaniards at Toulon was glaring, and violent enough to impede the
success of any undertaking that required mutual exertions. As far as
my feeble judgment carries me, I do not think the allies are taking
the most effectual means to obtain their object. The want of vigour
and consistency in our Ministry forces an opinion of their feebleness
upon the princes, and must make them distrust their intentions. The
declarations at St. Domingo and at Toulon are certainly very different,
and I hear that Lord Moira’s is different from either. He declares
in favour of monarchy, professing not to interfere in internal
arrangements, at the same time disclaiming that monarchy which was
established by that ‘_Risible Constitution_’ in 1789. Why call
_that_ constitution _risible_ which Lord Hood made in some
measure the ground of a negotiation at Toulon? This declaration Lord
Moira read at dinner at Portsmouth, together with a declaration from
the British Army to their _confrères d’armes_ in Brittany.
The inoculation has not taken effect, therefore the poor baby is again
to undergo the operation. He is too pure to be corrupted.
_Sunday, 19th January._--Ld. Hervey lives a good deal with me. He
seems to dislike his recall, and talks of going again into the Navy,
where, by-the-bye, he is very unpopular. W. Wyndham’s appointment is
not much relished, as the Court want a steady, reasonable man, disposed
to soothe matters, and, God knows, poor W. is not capable of filling
that post.
Ld. H. implies his love for Ly. B. I shut my ears, as I abhor those
sort of confidences.
_24th January._--Caught a violent cold, which confined me to my
bed several days.
_3rd February._--Henry has passed through the smallpox very
prosperously. The Austrians have been forced to abandon Fort St. Louis,
which they took in conjunction with the Prussians last November. In
less than eight days the French have regained the whole extent of
territory the allies fought for inch by inch for this whole campaign.
Pondicherry has surrendered, and shortly the French flag will not fly
in India. These distant successes alter very little the public opinion.
Great alarms are entertained about Flanders; the Carmagnols are
gathered in a point ready to invade it again.
[Sidenote: LORD HOLLAND]
Ld. G. Leveson-Gower[121] and Ld. Holland came here the day before
yesterday. The first I knew at Dresden. He is remarkably handsome and
winning; a year or two ago he created a great sensation at Paris,
when Ly. Sutherland introduced him as her _beau beaufrère_; she
also initiated him in the orgies of gambling, an acquisition he has
maintained. _Les mauvaises langues de Paris_ said she was in
love with him; but that was a calumny. Ld. H. is not in the least
handsome; he has, on the contrary, many personal defects, but his
pleasingness of manner and liveliness of conversation get over them
speedily. He is just returned from Spain, and his complexion partakes
of the _Moresco_ hue. He is now in better health. He has a very
complex disorder, called an ossification of the muscles in his left
leg. Fontana says it is a malady of which there are many instances in
the brute as well as the human race. It arises from the calcareous
and phosphoric matter, designed for the formation of the bones, being
deposited on the flesh and muscles. The original cause of the malady is
unknown, but it is probably from the weakness of the vessels destined
to secrete this substance from the blood. When the ossification becomes
general it is, of course, fatal. There are instances of the brain being
indurated. A dissolution of the bones is likewise a very dreadful
thing. La Condamine died of it.
They dined with us, as did Capt. Montgomery, a natural son of Ld.
Pembroke’s. We all went to the Cocomero, and returned here to supper.
Ld. H. quite delightful; his gaiety beyond anything I ever knew; full
of good stories. He seems bent upon politics, and, with his eagerness,
I think it is lucky he is out of the way of saying foolish, violent
things.
_5th._--I went this morning to the Cabinet Physique with Fontana.
He showed me the details of his astonishing _homme de bois_. It is
composed of 3000 pieces of wood that take off from the surface; beneath
there are a variety of others which mark the veins, arteries, etc. In
all there are 250,000 different pieces of wood.[122] Prince Louis
d’Arenberg passed the evening with me; he is very amusing.
_6th._--An order is published this day that expels all the French
domiciliated here who have arrived since the 15th January, 1793. The
pretext is a scarcity of corn, the price of which has been considerably
augmented since the great exportation to France last year. Fontana
dined with us; he tired me so much upon French politics that I quitted
the room from downright _ennui_. In the evening Ld. Hervey
brought Sir G. Elliot; they are just come from Leghorn. Sir G. was
shipwrecked in sight of port, but assistance was so near that no danger
ensued.[123] He was on his return to Toulon. He is trying to obtain
from this Government a permission to allow the poor Toulonese emigrants
to reside here.
_12th Feb._--The Toulonese are permitted to reside in Tuscany.
The King’s speech is very warlike, though nothing declaratory about
the restoration of monarchy in France. The Duke of Portland supports
the war most strenuously. Mr. Windham withholds himself from office,
much as his friends urge him to accept a post that he may share the
responsibility of measures which he promotes and supports. This is the
stale plea of those who accept places and profess disinterestedness.
Windham, Tom Grenville, and Pelham, when I left England, called
themselves the _Virtuous Triumvirate_, and determined not to
take office, from the idea that they could more effectually serve
the Government by convincing the public that they quitted Opposition
merely from a conviction of the wisdom of maintaining the measures of
Administration than from the inducement of holding a place.
_14th._--Surprise and embarrassment have completely overset
me. Oh! what vile animals men are, with headstrong passions. Now! I
have heard from the lips of one who affects morality and domestic
virtues maxims that would revolt all but the most depraved. ‘Pécher
en _secret_, n’est point pécher.’ I told him it savoured of his
Jesuitical education. His justification was that a singular combination
of events arose to create a passion, where, in truth, so little could
be expected in return. His long absence from home, perfect seclusion,
and the strong impression of delight at meeting a countrywoman who
brought back the remembrance of past scenes--this complicated feeling
made him deck the object who revived the recollection in glowing
colours, and in him created a violent and, I hope, a transitory
alienation from sense and propriety. Distress, awkwardness, and
good-nature united made me act like a fool, but I was obliged to be
peremptory latterly, as he proceeded to downright violence. One night
coming from the Pergola I was compelled to get out of the carriage to
avoid his pressing importunities. However, his last words were, ‘Be
_kind and discreet_.’ He is in great alarm at his wife’s knowing
this _écart_, as he affects great conjugal felicity.
[Sidenote: THE RETREAT FROM TOULON]
According to Sir G. Elliot’s account the retreat from Toulon must have
abounded with affecting situations of distress and wretchedness. In
the midst of the conflagration of the ships in the harbour, houses,
magazines, etc., three small boats heavily laden with women and infants
approached the _Victory_ (Admiral Ld. Hood’s ship), near which
they tossed up and down in speechless agony, not daring to ask the
relief which they needed so much, but expressing their entreaties
with uplifted hands and deep groans. What anguish! A merciless enemy
behind, a vast expanse of dreary sea before, and not a friendly
shore to land upon. Although the ship was already filled by hundreds
of refugees, yet Sir Gilbert persuaded Ld. Hood to admit these. He
landed at Corsica, which he describes as being in a curious situation,
unlike any country in civilised Europe. The whole country up in arms,
without discipline or officers, yet alert and obedient. Paoli is their
chief, who without possessing any superior abilities has the talent
of conciliating and governing the people. His word is a decree, his
power patriarchal, a compound of sovereign and parental authority. The
natives have offered to put themselves under the protection of England,
and Sir G. is occupied in promoting this, as he wants to be made
Governor. They offer to expel the French if they can gain assistance.
They are a hardy, bold, and intrepid race, every Corsican esteeming
himself equal to his companions. This notion gives them a bold freedom,
especially when political affairs are discussed, when they look upon
themselves as entitled to be auditors at least.
I have again heard ----’s last words, ‘I love you, for my passions are
stronger than my reason: your being good, gentle, and handsome justify
me: for the sake of others be discreet.’ I will indeed! Rochefoucauld
lay upon my table: he opened it at the 514th maxim, which he observed
was fallacious, and gave himself as a contradictory proof, ‘On passe
souvent de l’amour à l’ambition; mais on ne revient guère de l’ambition
à l’amour.’
On February 15, 1794, the Websters left Florence on their
way to Rome, taking the road which passes Siena and Lake
Bolsena. After a stay of two days at Rome, they left on the
22nd for Naples.
[Sidenote: LORD HOLLAND]
_Florence, June 10th._--Reached Naples on the 26th February.
Lodged at Severino’s. For the whole six or seven weeks I passed in
that lovely spot I had not activity enough to occupy myself in any
way but in lounging and talking. Ly. Bessborough and Ly. Spencer were
there. A numerous band of young Englishmen from college; gambling and
gallantry filled up the evenings and mornings. My favourite, Ld. G.
Leveson-Gower, used often to come to me in the evening, as I sat at
home a good deal on account of my _grossesse_ and disliking the
card parties. His companion, Ld. Holland, is quite delightful. He is
eager without rashness, well bred without ceremony. His disposition
and turn of mind are reckoned very like his uncle, Mr. Fox: his manner
resembles his maternal uncle, Colonel Fitzpatrick. His politics are
warm in favour of the Revolution, and his principles are strongly
tinctured with democracy. It is the brilliant side, and apparently
the honest one; all young men are hit by it at first, but when they
see more of the world they cure of their honesty and love of liberty.
But he would lament with all the reasonable men should revolutionary
doctrines obtain in England, as he thinks the actual form of government
the best suited to the country. Though so zealous, he is totally
without any party rancour; in short, he is exactly what all must like,
esteem, and admire. His spirits are sometimes too boisterous, and may
occasionally overpower one, but he is good-humoured enough to endure a
reproof.
His bosom friend, Mr. Beauclerk,[124] is far from resembling him in any
one amiable point of view: he is silent and sulky, and when he opens
it is to tease his friend. I am told, however, that he is remarkably
sensible, good-humoured, and pleasing to those who know him, but this
must be taken upon trust, as he is the counterpart of Lord Burleigh in
_The Critic_. He is deeply in love with Ly. B., and abhors Ld.
Granville, who is his rival. I understand that I am odious to him;
_je me venge_ in feeling as much against him as he possibly can
towards me. Mr. Marsh[125] is very sensible; he is one of the very few
_rational_ beings I met with. I carried him to Italinski one day,
who was mightily pleased with his scholarship and conversation: he also
lived much with me. Ld. Morpeth improves the more he is known; I always
liked him.
I never saw Lady Ann Hatton before, and to my surprise found her in
company with Ly. Plymouth, who is the great retailer of anecdotes
against this slippery Hibernian, and whom she declared against
receiving. Her face is not regularly handsome, her figure enchanting,
an airy nymphlike form as youthful as a Hebe. She is, however, past
thirty considerably. Her sister, Ly. E. Monck, is divinely beautiful;
her head is angelic.
Ld. Digby[126] fell in love with Ly. Bruce, who only coquets with him.
He is good-humoured, and full of good useful sense. There was a bad lot
of drinking Irish, with Ld. Tyrone and Mr. Jefferies at their head,
but I knew little of them. Mr. Brand continues his _belle amitié_
for me, rather sentimentally tiresome when he gets upon that topic.
Italinski as usual. Drew delighted to see me. He is discontented with
the Bessboroughs. Ld. Berwick behaved shockingly to poor Ly. Plymouth:
she is very unhappy. He speaks to her and of her with the most
disrespectful familiarity. The Hamiltons were as tiresome as ever; he
as amorous, she as vulgar.
I made an excursion to Sorrento with Ld. Holland and Italinski: we
slept there. I was terrified at crossing the bay. On my return I was
foolish enough to get out of the boat on the Portici shore, and return
home in a _calecino_.
A book just published by Sir William Hamilton. He got Italinski to
correct the English, upon which Mr. North said, ‘He has made the Knight
as clear as day.’
Ld. Henry took his seat in Parliament, and made a maiden speech which
I hear from other quarters was esteemed very good. He said he was
terrified at the silence of the assembly. His friend Canning has
decidedly abandoned his patron and friend Sheridan, and is coming
into Parliament under the auspices of Mr. Pitt. Ld. H. regrets this
precipitation; though he of course likes him to act on his side, yet
he thinks the law would have been a more certain friend to him than
the favour of a Prime Minister. Wallace[127] has totally failed in
speaking, and his principles out-Herod Herod, for the Ministers could
not support him in some assertion he made as to the King’s power of
landing foreign troops without the consent of Parliament. This heresy
to the British Constitution was in consequence of some Hessians landing
from the Isle of Wight.
[Sidenote: SOCIETY AT NAPLES]
During my stay at Naples I went, as I was told, at the peril of my
life, to see Baron d’Armfeldt, who it seems is pursued by the Regent
of Sweden, the Duke of Sudermania. He is accused of having formed a
conspiracy to murder him, and obtain the keeping of the minor King’s
person. Be this as it may, he has been demanded of the Court of Naples
by that of Sweden formally to be delivered up as a fugitive rebel, but
the Queen is interested about him, and has him concealed. The Swedish
emissaries are active in their search, and have several times fired
at him, and once at a person getting out of his carriage, whom they
mistook for this supposed delinquent. The accusation is black, but the
truth of it uncertain. Ld. Henry laughs at me for calling him ‘The
Victim’: he is at Stockholm, and can judge of the story. I passed a
pleasant day at Cumæ with the Palmerstons. I took Italinski, Mr. Marsh,
and Ld. Holland in my carriage. We were joined by Count Rumford, etc.
At Rome, which I reached early in May, or, I believe, towards the
middle of April, I lived in the Villa di Matta, a charming situation
upon the Pincian Hill overlooking the city, and commanding a grand view
of the distant hills and Campagna. Almost the whole of our Neapolitan
set was there, with the exception of Lords Digby, Boringdon, G.
Leveson, who for reasons best known to themselves fled the enjoyments
of Italy to fulfil some dull, unimportant duties in England, where
nothing short of compulsion shall ever drag me.
[Sidenote: ‘SAL VOLATILE’]
We all made an excursion to Tivoli, Bessboroughs, Ld. Grandison, and
the young men. I conveyed Ld. Holland, Mr. Marsh, and Beauclerk. We
lodged at a nobleman’s villa, took our own provisions and cook, and
passed our time with jollity. Lord Bessborough grew very cross, and
from a fit of jealousy about Mr. Beauclerk, compelled us all to return
to Rome, and disquieted our mirth. We got back late at night. I had
seen Tivoli the year before: a charming group of cedars in the garden
of the family d’Este. In the course of our evenings Ld. H. resolved
to make me admire a poet, of whom I had heard but little, Cowper: he
is excellent, and amply repaid the labour of reading many hundred
lines in blank verse, many of which are inharmonious. Mr. Marsh used
to read to me Murphy’s translation of Tacitus. A sharp fit of gout,
brought on by drinking Orvieto wine, did not increase the good temper
of my companion; decorum, not inclination, made me keep at home. My
evenings were agreeable; _he_, however, did not mar my comfort by
partaking of my tranquil society. Went out every morning with Ly. B.
Ld. Holland’s delightful spirits cheered us so much that we called him
_sal volatile_, and used to spare him to one another for half an
hour to enliven when either were melancholy.
I saw the Pope[128] give his benediction to a kneeling and believing
multitude. The sight was imposing. He is an excellent actor; Garrick
could not have represented the part with more theatrical effect
than his present Holiness. I was grievously disappointed at the
_Miserere_, the composition of Pergolesi, sung by differently
modulated voices in the Sixtine Chapel. The illumination of the great
cross inside St. Peter’s was very striking: the effect of the light
upon the monumental effigies raised the painful recollection of death,
the _sombre_ of the objects and the locality inspired melancholy.
We went about to various chapels, where we found many a debauched fair
one in the comely attire of matronly humility, expiating in penance
and prayer many a dear sin, for the sole purpose of beginning a fresh
catalogue of the cherished crimes. I saw occasionally the old Santa
Croce, Cardinal Bernis, etc., etc., but Ly. Bessborough, Ld. Holland,
Messrs. Marsh, Brand, etc., were those I lived habitually with.
I became very eager to get to Florence, as I received an account from
Mrs. Wyndham of her arrival, and her being installed in her diplomatic
functions. I parted with regret from Ly. Bessborough, who is to return
by Loreto to England. I went the Perugia road to Florence, and arrived
late in the night at Florence.
My first impulse was to seek with eagerness my little friend, but to
my surprise I found her in a state of despondency that checked my joy.
She abhors the prospect of residing here, and looks back with regret to
England, and even to Bignor, which, whilst there, she detested. With
some difficulty I contrived to make my house tolerably comfortable.
It is a palace belonging to the family of Ginori, but not calculated
for English habits, as it contains only three fireplaces, and _I_
have not one of the three; my tormentor has one, the nursery and a
sitting-room the others. Lord Holland and Mr. Beauclerk passed a few
days here on their way to Venice. Ld. H. assured me he came merely to
make me a visit. The Palmerstons and Ly. Spencer came for a few days.
Sir G. Elliot came over from Corsica to pass a few days.
[Sidenote: LORD WYCOMBE]
On the twelfth of June I was brought to bed of a little girl,
christened by Mr. Penrose at Wyndham’s: her name is Harriet
Frances.[129] Lady Bessborough, Mrs. Wyndham, and Wyndham were the
sponsors. A few days before her christening Ld. Holland returned from
Venice; he came to await the arrival of Lord Wycombe,[130] who joined
him a few days after. Lord Wycombe is a very eccentric person. For
the welfare of himself and family it is to be hoped that his actions
are directly opposite to his sentiments; if not, he must be a scourge.
Ld. H. tells me that the ladies who live with Ld. Lansdown, Miss
Vernon[131] and Miss Fox, call him, ‘A Lovelace without his polish.’
His style of conversation is grand and declamatory, his humour
excellent. He is very gallant: he began by making love equally to me
and Mrs. Wyndham. We half thought of a project of playing him a trick,
and treating him as Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page did the humorous knight,
but Ld. H. said it was playing with an edged tool.
The months of July, August, and September were passed very pleasantly.
Early in September I set off on a solitary expedition to see Lucca
Baths. I went through the town of Lucca, and arrived at the Baths
in time for dinner. I dined with Ly. Rivers: I got up early in the
morning, and went in a _portantine_ to see the hills, etc. The
Prato Fiorito was too distant for a morning excursion; I went from
thence to ----, where I lodged in the house of a Marchese; they gave
me a very good supper, good bed, and received me with cordiality. I
spoke no Italian, and knew none of the party, which was very numerous;
however, I got through the evening tolerably. They must have thought me
a strange person, young, pretty, and alone, travelling merely to see
the quarries of Carrara! It was perhaps an odd freak.
I dined the next day at Massa. I had a letter to a descendant of the
Greek Emperor Paleologus, his name is Paleologo. He is a single man; to
avoid a _tête-à-tête_ with a perfect stranger, the visit to whom
was whimsical in itself, I admitted my maid _en tiers_. I was in
high spirits and very jolly. I went in a _chaise-à-porteurs_ into
the quarries at Carrara. They produce the finest marble after that
found at Paros. My royal Greek was very careful of me. He escorted
me through all difficulties, torrents, chasms, precipices, etc. Upon
the whole I expect he took me for an _aventurière_; indeed, he
well might, though my suite rather imposed upon him, for I went in my
own chaise, my maid with me, and on the seat my cook and a footman,
and André was on horseback. I am sure he thought there was something
_mysterious_, at least, about me.