Jttiata. £7em $ark Mifitt l^tatorical Sibcacg THE GIFT OF PRESIDENT WHITE MAINTAINED BY THE UNIVERSITY IN ACCORD- ANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE GIFT Cornell University Library DG 975.E3H67 Tour through the island of Elba, 3 1924 028 325 938 to^:^^;^' ^^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028325938 TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND OF ELBA, BY SIR RICHARD COLT HOARE, Bart. ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS DRAWN FROM NATURE, BY SIR RICHARD COLT HOARE, Bart. AND JOHN SMITH. LONDON: PRINTED BY W. BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND-ROW, ST. JAMEs's. SOLD BY JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET ; W. CLARKE, NEW BOND- STREET ; AND JOHN SMITH, ST. GEORGE'S ROW, OXFORD-STREET TURNPIKE. 1814. To JOHN SMITH, Esq. Dear Sir, 1 CONGRATULATE you Hiost sincerelj on the very sudden and unexpected deliverance of the Continent from the heavy yoke of tyranny and oppression which, for so many years, it has been obhged to bear ; and am happy to think that you again mean to employ your pencil in the service of Italy. My Port-folio of Drawings, as well as my Journal, writtdti iti the island of Elba, are at your disposal ; and I shall feel highly flattered if the Subjects contained in the one, or the Notes collected in the other, produce matter of amusement or information to the Pubhck. The love of drawing, imbibed at an early period of my life, and improved under your directions, induced me to visit Italy, a few years previous to that dreadful Revolution which has, for so long a period, convulsed and desolated the greatest portion of Europe. After having followed the usual routine and well-beaten track of travellers and artists to Rome, Naples, Tivoli, Albano, Nemi, &c. &c. the love of novelty roused my curiosity, and induced me to quit the high road, and diverge into the more remote and less frequented Provinces of Italy. Amongst these was the district of ancient Etruria, and the Sea-coast of Tuscany. When at Piombino, the Island of Elba excited my attention as new and untrodden ground ; and upon a minute examination of its interior, my curio- sity was most amply repaid by the singularity of character, the natural history, and picturesque scenery which its surface pre- sented. But little did I then suppose, that, after a lapse of twenty-five years, this sequestered Island would be selected as the retreat of the once e^ebrated Napoleon Bonaparte : a circumstance which will naturally attract the attention of future travellers, and perhaps cause many a visit to the Island. Others may wish to become acquainted with the nature and situation of Elba ; on which account I feel gratified in thinking that this Journal, which has been laid aside in my library for many years, and almost for- gotten, should again be brought to light, and submitted to publick notice. I am. Dear Sir, Your most obedient and humble Servant, RICHARD COLT HOARE. Stourkead, 1814. TO THE PUBLICK. 1 MOST gladly accept the olFer so kindly made to me by Sir Richard Colt Ho are, of the use of his Manuscript Journal through the Island of Elba, and of his Port-foho of Drawings ; and I hope that the Work which I now submit to the PubUck, will meet with their approbation. The extended and varied scenes of Napoleon's triumphs are in general well known ; but those of his destined retirement have been hitherto imfrequented and imperfectly noticed. To illustrate the latter by Views and Descriptions, is the object of my present Pub- lication ; and I flatter myself that Sovereigns, as weU as Indivi- duals, will feel some trifling gratification in becoming better acquainted with an Island that is allotted for the future residence of the exiled Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. JOHN SMITH. A TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND OF ELBA, IN THE YEAR 1789. J\ F T E R an interesting tour to Volterra and Populonia, I arrived, on Saturday, the 25th of April, 1789, at Piombino, the wretched capital of the Principality. For .several years the government of this place was held by the family of Appiano, and, in the year 1594, was raised to the title of a Principality. But Giacomo VII. lived only nine years to enjoy these new honours, having died at the early age of twenty-two years, and left no issue. Various controversies took place, upon his death, respecting succession to the Principality. The inhabi- tants of Piombino, in opposition to the wish of the Spaniards, nominated Carlo Appiano, a descendant of Giacomo III. to the government ; but he was shortly removed from his authority by order of the King of Spain, who took possession of it in the name of the Emperor. The Emperor now declared his intention to invest Belhsario, Orazio, and Annibale, sons of the before-mentioned Carlo Appiano, with the State of Piombino, upon condition that they should receive 3 A TOUR THROUGH the subinvestiture from the King of Spain, and pay into the Impe- rial Chamber the sum of 800,000 florins: upon which terms, D. Isabella Contessa di Benasco, and wife of D. Giorgio Mendozza, was put into possession of the Principality in the year 1611, by order of his CathoUc Majesty, D. Giorgio died in 1619, and his widow, D. Isabella, re-married with Paolo Giordano Orsino. In 1624, D. Matthias Beltras de M^afiurga, took possession of Piombino in the name of his Catholic Majesty, until the family of Appiano should have paid the stipulated sum of 800,000 florins in gold to the Imperial Chamber : but that payment having never been made, it was subinfeuded, in 1635, to D. Niccolo Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregorio XV. who paid for entry one million of florins. He was succeeded, in the year 1675, by his only son, Giovan Batista, and, in 1679? by D. Niccolo Maria. In the year 1700, D. Olimpia, eldest daughter of D. Niccolo, obtained the iiivtetiture of Piombino ; and afl;er her, D. Ippohta, her sister, in the year* 1701. In 1734, Maria Eleanora, daughter of D. Ippolita, who married into the family of Bubricompagrii, Was invested in the feud, and succeeded by her son, D. Gaetkno Buoncompagni, in 1745-6. In the year 1778, his son,.D. Antonio Buoncompagni, obtained the investiture, and now lives in the enjoyment of it. Sunday, 26th April, 1789. I sailed frdffi Piombino, at seven o'clock in the morfling, in a felucca that traverses the chariilerfrom the coast of Tuscany to the Island of Elba every Sunday iand Thursday; and Handed, after a passage of three hours, at the sea-^ port of Rio, and talked to a; towti of the same name about two miles up the country, placed undet sortie high mountains, and in a picturesque situation. The population of this little village^ amounting to two thousand souls, is considerable. I found, by recommendation, a gOod loidging in the house of Signor Pellegrini. In the eveniog,. I ascended a lofty eniifience, two miles distant, on THEISLANDOFELBA. 3 whicli are the ruins of an old castle, called Torre del Giwe, or the Tower of Jupiter ; said to have been destroyed by the celebrated Barbarossa. Froin this spot, to which I was led through a thick grove of ilex, or evergreien oak, there is a very extensive prospect of the adjacent coast and Mediterranean sea. Monday, 27. I directed my steps towards Porto Ferrajo, three miles by land, and two miles by sea ; though the trajet by water may be avoided by making a long detour by land. I passed under the fortress of Volterrajo, situate on a very high and rugged rock, and forming a very prominent feature in the surrounding land- scape. The mountains abound with such a variety of odoriferous plants, many of which are preserved with care in our English conservatories, that during the greater part of my ride, I almost fancied myself in a flower-garden. A brisk gale conveyed me, in less than a quarter of an hour, across the channel to Porto Ferrajo. Having delivered my name to the oflicer on guard (a form required from all strangers), I proceeded to view the few objects Tv<>rthy of attention within the town. PoRTO Ferrajo belongs to the Grand Duke of Tuscany ; and in point of situation, neatness, and construction, differs from every other town in the island. It is protected by two fortresses, II Falcone and La Stella i at the latter of which; a new light-house is now constructing. From these two forts, but especially from the first, a most advantageous view of the port and adjacent country is to be obtained. The approach and entrance to the harbour are rendered picturesque, from the appearance of the houses, which are built on the sides of a hill in the form, of an. amphitheatre ; the harbour is secured by a chain, which is unloosened to give admit- tance to vessels. The interior of the town is neat, and affords an inn, the only one in the island. The fortresses are maintained in good order, and, as the corporal who shewed them to me, observed, '^wanted only men, arms, and provisions, to render them strong." 4 A TOUR THROUGH They have been made at a considerable expense, and the wall in particular has been cut perpendicularly from a great height in the native rock. Two remarkably fine cannon were pointed out to my observation, as founded by Cosmo Cennini, a Florentine, who cast two more at the same time, which are now at Leghorn. On my return from Porto Ferrajo to Rio, I crossed over to a place called Le Grotte, where there are ruins of a very spacious building, situate on an eminence. Many of the subterraneous vaults exist in a perfect state, and are lined with stucco or cement both on the sides, roof, and floor : the exterior is well constructed with stones ranged in the same mariner as the opus reticulaturn, or net-work of the Romans. Having never heard any mention made of these ruins, and having gathered no information respecting them by the inhabitants of the island,! cannot hazard any conjecture; but whatever may have been their ancient destination, they cer- tainly were constructed on a magnificent and extensive scale. I varied my route home to Rio by following the sea-coast for some distance, and then diverged amongst the mountains opposite to the fortress of Volterrajo, which on all sides " uprears its crested head" above the neighbouring hills, and forms, in the eyes of a landscape-painter, the principal object of attraction. In pursuing the rugged and devious path that leads through these mountainous recesses, I found many interesting subjects, and much employment for my pencil. Tuesday, 28. The morning of this day was devoted to the iron mines at'Rio, which were celebrated, in ancient as in modern times, for their extraordinary fertility in ore. Virgil, in speaking of this island, says, " Insula inexhaustis chalybum generosa metallis ;"" and many Other classick authors have made the same allusions. During 'the progress of modern operations in these mines, the caverns opened by the ancients have been discovered, with the THE ISLAND OF ELBA. 5 marks of tools on the rocks ; one of these is still visible ; another, Avhich, according to my information, was a quarter of a mile in length, is now closed. The process of procuring ore is become much more easy, and all the work is carried on above ground, for the entire substance of this large mountain appears to consist of ore, and in general of the richest and most productive species. At the extremity of the above-mentioned cavern the mineral seems to decrease in good quality, and on that account was probably dis- continued by the Romans : but either new metal had been formed by nature, or the soil had fallen considerably into this cavern ; for it was discovered accidentally only three years ago by the modern miners, who worked their way into it. * The number of two hun- dred and twenty men and boys are employed in these works, and upwards of forty asses. The ore, as well as the rubbish, is driven away in carts, by two men, with great agility. Samples of this ore have been eagerly sought for by all collectors of natural history ; but those beautiful specimens which were found some years ago, are no longer to be procured but with the utmost diffi- culty. During my visit at the mines, I witnessed two or three grand explosions. The soil is red, with a mixture of yellow ochre. The metal is not smelted in the island, but conveyed to the coast of Tuscany, where the Prince of Piombino has two founderies : the one at Fellonica, the other at Cornia, near Sughereto. This seems to have been the practice in the earliest times ; for the geographer Strabo informs us that it was transported to the shores of Tuscany as soon as it was dug from the mine. " Non enim ed in * The frequent resort made to these mines by the ancients is well attested by the classick authors, who entertained an opinion that the ore, when dug out, was reproduced in the course of time. " Cum id rarum auditu habet JEthalia, turn quod fossa unde metalla sunt eruta, rursum tractu temporis impkntur.'" Strabo, lib. V. Pliny also says, " Qiium in aliis regionibus effossis metallis terne sint vacua : apud Ilvam hoc esse mirum, quod subltUa renascuntur, et rursus de iisdem locis effodiuntur."" 6 A TOUR THROUGH imulA fornacibus , liqiiari potest^ sed statim atque effbssum est, in conti* nentem perfertur." Strabo, lib. V. Varro also observes that the iron could not be smelted in Elba. " Nascii.quidem illic Jerrum, sed in stricturam non posse cogi nisi transvectum in Populoniam, TuscicB civitatem, ipsi imul(B vicinam." After dinner I rode to Capo Castello, on the north east side of the. island, where, upon an eminence, are seen some ruins, called the Palazzo della Regina d'Elha ; but I can gain no intelligence respecting the pedigree or history of this princess. The fragments still existing denote a la;rge fabrick, though not so extensive as the one opposite to Porto Ferrajo. On examining this building, and comparing the two together, I am inclined to think that they owe their origin to the same period; for I observed three arched apartments lined with stucco, resembling exactly, both in plan and form, those aZ/e Grotte. At the distance of half a mile are the remains of an old church, called S. Miniato, where many antiquities, but not of a very ancient date, have been discovered. On my review of this island, I have found the . sites of villages in more than one instance changed. S. Catarina, near Rio, appears to have been the old place of residence. The population of Le Grotte seems also to have been removed to Porto Ferrajo, and Capo di Castello denotes signs of former population, whereas at present only a few houses are dispersed along that line of coast. On my return home, I again rambled through another part of the fine groves of Hew which are crowned by the exalted summit of Torre del Giove. These trees are well grown, of a great height, and far exceed in beauty iany I have yet seen. The underwood consists of the myrtle, philerea, lauristinus, and erica.* • Mr. Koestlb, in his Letters on the Natural History of Elba, enumerates the follow- ing plants as growing on the mountains : Qmrcm ikx et svier ; imjrtm communis ; erica THEISLANDOFELBA. 7 Wednesday, 29. In my return to Porto Ferrajo, I again passed amongst the romantick rocks under Volterrajo, called Li Stretti, or The Straights ; and not meeting, with a boat, I pursued my journey on horseback. The road winds round a, long bay; and though much more tedious, afforded me an opportunity of seeing the coast in a different point of view, as well as the old and new salt works, which are very productive. The salt is made by the influ- ence of the sun upon SGa- water, which is introduced into pits for that purpose.* The entrance into Porto Ferrajo, by land, presents only a line of fortifications, draw-bridges, &c. I found the popu- lation of the town busily employed in functions to the honour of their tutelar saint. Thursday, 30. A rainy mornirig detained me at Porto Ferrajo till two o'clock ; at which hour I proceeded on my projected excursion into the interior of the island. On leaving the plain, which extends about two miles, and is well cultivated, I began to ascend amongst the mountains, which are covered with thick and fragraiit brush-wood of myrtles, heaths, and other odoriferous plants. Passing within sight of the tonnara, or tunny fishery, belonging to the Prince of Piombino, which is esteemed a more profitable concern than that at Porto Ferrajo, I shortly arrived at the sea-port attached to Marciana, where several vessels were on the stocks. The little plain between the sea and Marciana is well cultivated with vines, &c. The ascent to the town, which is situate in the midst of a thick grove of chestnut trees, is steep. Having carried no letters of recommendation with me, I was obliged to cinerea ; cystus salvi-Jblius, incanus, et monspeliensis ; Jicus carica ; rosmarinus officinalis ; cactus opuntia ; erigeron mscosum ; anethum fanimdum ; arbutus umedo, &c. &c. The same author has subjoined to his Letters a botanical hst of many other plants growing in the island. * " Ces marais donnent annuellement, surtout dans les terns chauds, environ 60,000 sacs de sel, chacun contenant 200 livres de Toscane.'" Koestlin, p. 8. 8 A TOUR THROUGH have recourse to the osteria, which furnished me with a clean bed, some dehcious curds, and good muscat wine. Friday, May 1. I rose at break of day, in order to enjoy a fine view from the Madonna del Monte, which is about a mile distant from Marciana ; but a thick fog obliged me to return home unsa- tisfied and disappointed. These mountains are the highest in the island, and very seldom have their summits free from clouds. After breakfast I continued my ride through Poggio, a little town near Marciana, and alike situate on an eminence embosomed in chestnut trees. Some rivulets murmuring amongst the rocks and groves of venerable old trees produce a pleasing and picturesque scenery. On quitting these woods, the mountains re-appear, covered with heath, &c. but become more stony. From their summit the whole breadth of the island may be distinguished, and the eye enjoys a view of both seas. After dinner, I visited the principal objects of my curiosity in this part of the island ; namely, the stone quarries at Seccheto, which are distant about three miles from S. Piero. I had letters of recommendation both to S. Ilario and S. Piero, two little towns lying near each other, and at no great distance from the sea. I chose the latter as my halting place, being nearer to the objects of my research; and I experienced from the Arciprete Dini that hospitality and friendly reception, which are so acceptable, as well as necessary, to travellers who visit a country where even money cannot procure a lodging. The general surface of the country is stony and barren ; but from an investigation of these mountains, it appears that in former times they were much resorted to, for the sake of the fine granite they contain. On all sides I observed columns and fragments, in the different stages of their progress towards completion, dispersed about the mountain. Three columns of large dimensions remain perfect ; on two of which I noticed the marks of inscribed letters. THEISLANDOFELBA. 9 but so defaced by time that I could not decipher them. I observed also a large block of granite designed for a vase, such as the ancients made use of in their fountains ; the interior excavation is begun, as well as the form of the two handles. On another large block of granite in the bed of the river, and still united with the native rock, I perceived the tracings of another circle, intended probably for the excavation of another vase. The diameter of the vase which is called La Nave, is about six feet nine inches ; that of the stone sixteen feet six inches : so that if designed for a vase, its proportions would have been unusually large. The columns, two of which correspond in their proportions, measure twenty-five feet in length, and in circumference nearly fourteen feet English. This mountain, from its summit down to the sea-shore, presents such a continued succession of columns and fragments, that I have no doubt of its having been much frequented in ancient times, and probably many of those granite pillars boasted of as Egyptian (amongst which are those in the Duomo at Pisa), may have been originally natives of those mountains of Seccheto.* * Being desirous of giving every possible illustration to the history of Elba, I have consulted every book in my library that ojuld tend to that object ; and in the Viaggi delta Toscana by Targioni Tozzetti, I have found some passages which tend to confirm the opinion I had before entertained respecting the granite at Seccheto. He informs us that the Romans frequented Elba on account of its marbles ; and that the great columns of the Cathedral at Pisa, as well as those of the Church of S. Giovamii at Florence, were drawn from thence. The Grand Duke Cosmo caused an immense vase to be brought to Florence from Elba, which is now in the gardens attached to the Palazzo Pitti. Of the same material is the column of the Mercato Vecchio, besides many others in the city, &c. A further proof of the connexion of the Pisans with this island, is the fragment of a rude inscription cut on one of the unfinished columns with these letters O PA P I S A N, i. e. Opera Pisatm, or works of the Pisans. Of the same granite from Elba, and of one block, was the Tribuna del Dumno di Ravenna, or covering stone to the dome of the Cathedral at Ravenna. This is supposed to be the largest piece of granite we know of, as the irotundo measiires in circumference about fifty-four breccia, and in thickness one braccia and a half throughout ; its breadth C 10 A TOUR THROUGH The clear state of the atmosphere procured me an interesting view of the sea-coasts and adjacent islands ; the nearest of which is Pianosa, formerly called Planasia, or Planaria, and mentioned by the classick authors as an accustomed place of banishment, and \*^hither Agrippa Posthumus Avas sent by the Emperor Augustus.* It is distant from Elba about ten miles, and its circuit is calculated at fifteen; it differs materially in its appearance from the other islands, Avhich are numerous in these seas, being entirely flat. My curiosity would have tempted me to visit this unfrequented spot ; but the idea of performing quarantine for some days after my return was a strong motive for relinquishing the project. It re- mained uncultivated for many years after its destruction by Bar- barossa; but lately the inhabitants of S. Piero, and S. Ilario have sown a considerable quantity of corn there, which is in a very flou- rishing state of growth ; and shortly two or three hundred peasants will go over to collect their harvest. The purity of the air is so great, that sick people are fi-equently recommended to try it, and gene- rally return with improved health. There is only one abundant spring of fresh water within the island, and the solid rock has been cut (probably by the Romans) for the attainment of this first necessary of life. Several subterraneous caverns still remain, and are said to be antique ; some of them bear the name of prisons. The castle and outside walls of the town also remain. The cause for enforcing quarantine arises from an idea of the Turks landing occasionally on the island : and as the court of Spain wiU not in diameter is dghteen braccia, and its haght six. The braccia^ according to English measure, is three feet. * Agrippa Posthumus, the only surviving grandson of the Emperor Augustus, was by the contrivance of Livia banished to the island of Planasia, and, upon the death of Augustus, put to death by a centurion, and by order of the new Emperor Tiberius. " Primumfacinits Ttovi principatus fuit Postumi Agrippa cades: quern ignarum inermumque^ quamtfis firmatus aaimo, centurio agri confedt. Tadtu^, Annal. lib. I. THE ISLAND OF ELBA. 11 dispense with this ceremony, the Prince of Piombino cannot remove this impediment to the commerce and cultivation of the island. The next island, Monte Christo, consisting entirely of rocks and precipices, is uninhabited, but contains a spring of excellent water, from which vessels are frequently supplied. Saturday, May 2. At break of day, I took leave of my reverend and hospitable host, and walked about a mile and a half to the sea-coast, where I found a felucca in readiness to receive me on board ; for I adopted this mode of conveyance in order to avoid a miserable road over the mountains. Assisted by a fresh breeze, I reached, in two hours, the Funta della Calamita, which is so called from the mines of loadstone that are found on this point of land. The loadstone is intermixed with iron, and the verdigrise issuing from fissures of the rock, seems likewise to indicate copper. On the same spot is a yellow earth, much sought for, and sent in large quantities to Leghorn. The rocks and soil on this point of land appear to be wonderfully rich in natural productions ; the merit and qualities of which, from my total ignorance of mineralogy, could not be ascertained. I landed at the Madonna delle Grazie, and walked to the town of Capo Liveri, where I met my host Pellegrini, who presented me to his friend the Arciprete, with whom we dined. The possessions of this community are esteemed the best in the island, and the inhabitants the poorest. Its situation commands a fine view of the coast, and of Porto Ferrajo and Longone : the latter is distant from Cape Liveri, two miles and a half, and belongs to Spain. The Court of Naples has held possession of it for some years, and maintain a garrison in it : it is situate on an eminence, and is strongly fortified. The greater part of the population is military, and the life of the soldier is rendered so very uncomfort- able by harsh treatment, that desertion is very frequent. The following anecdote will in some degree prove this assertion. A 12 ;a TOUR THROUGH soldier deserted from Porto Longone, and was taken in Porto Ferrajo, and carried before a magistrate, who, after a due exami- nation, ordered him to be conveyed back to the place from whence he had deserted : upon which the offender confessed his having been guilty of a murder in Tuscany, alleging as a reason for this confession, that he was more ready to serve as a galley-slave in Tuscany, than as a soldier in Porto Longone. Quitting the direct road to Rio, I turned off on the left to visit an Hermitage, at a place called Monserrato, so denominated from the pointed forms of the rocks that compose its mountains. This eremetical retirement is placed in a deep recess amongst barren and lofty mountains, which afford many picturesque points of view. One of these, named Sassi Tedeschi, or the German Rocks, presents one of the finest views that Nature ever composed. From thence I could see the whole island as under my feet, and could trace, as on a map, the entire route I had lately made ; and from thence I could distinguish almost every village in the island, namely Rio, and its sea-coast, Porto-Ferrajo, Marciana, and Poggio, St. Ilario and St. Piero, Capo Liveri, Porto Longone ; also the ruined turrets of Giove and Volterrajo, the islands of Pianosa, Corsica, Capraja, Monte Christo, Monte Cerboli, Palmaiolo and Gorgona, Monte Argentaro, together with the Tuscan coasts of Castiglione, Populonia, and Leghorn. Few countries, I think, could produce so varied, so extensive, and so interesting a prospect; and parti- cularly so to me, after having made the tour of the island, by which I became acquainted with each particular object that composed this truly majestic scenery. I returned by moonlight to my former quarters at Rio, pleased and satisfied with the excursion 1 had so happily completed. Sunday, 'May 3. I revisited the mountains and Sassi Tedeschi with fresh ardour and repeated pleasure ; for the approach of night on the preceding evening had curtailed my curiosity. In the THE ISLAND OF ELBA. 13 evening I repeated my visit to the Hermitage of Monserrato, and discovered in its environs many romantic views which had before escaped my notice. Monday, May 4. This morning was employed at Ortano, S. Catarina, &c. where I found nothing worthy of remark. On my return to Rio, a busy scene presented itself on the sea-coast, viz. the weighing and afterwards loading the iron ore, which is done with incredible agility and expedition by men and boys, who carry it in small baskets on their shovJders, and, by means of a boarded path made from the shore, deposit it in the vessel. After the conclusion of a tour, the traveller's mind most natu- rally recurs to what he has seen, and to what he has heard. Having detailed what I have seen, I shall now endeavour to collect the several particulars I have heard respecting this island, its com- merce, and its inhabitants. The Island of Elba, named by the Greeks ^thalia, and by the Romans Ilva, was, both in ancient as well as in modern times, equally celebrated and frequented on account of its valuable iron ore contained in a mountain at Rio, on the sea-coast. Its distance from Piombino is estimated at near five leagues, and its circum- ference at sixty miles ; * in which space there are eight towns or communities, namely, Porto Ferrajo, Porto Longone, Capo Liveri, S. Piero, S. Ilario, Marciana, Poggio, Rio. Porto Ferrajo, said to be the Tortus Argons-^ of antiquity, is in * This modem admeasurement does not coincide with that of the ancients, who state the circumference to be 100 Hules. " Ilva cum ferri metallis, circuitu centum mill, a Popu- lonio decern, a Greecis ^thalia dicta!" Plinius, p. 160. Lambardi, in his Account of Elba, states the distance from Capo della Vita, to the Capo di Sandrea to be 22 miles : from thence to Capo della Calamita 23 miles, and back to Capo della Vita 1 5 miles. + Strabo informs us that this port derived its name from the ship Argos, in which Jason, according to old tradition, sailed in search of the habitation of Circe, which Medea wished to visit, and during his voyage touched at this island. 14 A TOUR THROUGH the possession of the Grand Duke of Tuscany ; and from its supe- rior size and neatness, may be considered as -the capital of the island. It has also been called Cosmopoli, from Cosmo de Medicis Duke of Tuscany ; who, for the defence of Piombino, as well as Elba, ordered Porto Ferrajo to be fortified in the year 1548, under the directions of his architect Giovanni Batista Bellucci da S. Marino, who from his known skill in architecture, was ap- poiiited engineer to Duke Cosmo, and employed in all the military "^orks throughout his dominions : his end was untimely, and ocCa-r sioned by a musket shot, whilst in the act of planting some artillery at a fortress in the district of Chianti. Porto Longone* belongs to Spain and Naples, who possess also all the other small fortresses in the island; so that the whole military force, except that stationed at Porto Ferrajo, is in the power of those courts. The other six districts belong to the Prince of Piombino, and have each their separate communities and magistrates. Rio enjoys superior privileges, being exempted from all taxes whatever. The cause of this indulgence arose from the circumstance of the mines having formerly belonged to the community, who, on certain con- ditions, ceded them to the Prince of Piombino. A physician and surgeon are paid by the community to attend gratis on all the sick people of the district. Each town has its magistrates ; appeals are first made to the governarvgenerai, who resides at Piombino, and those made to the auditor-general at Rome are final. The general aspect of the island is mountainous, and its form very irregular; the plains and valleys are small, and lie conti- * The fortress now called Porto Longone, originally bore the name of Forte Pimontal, and "was constructed in the year 1606, by order of Philip II. and, according to certain agreements at that period, was granted by the Court of Spain to Don Carlo, King of th^ Two Sicilies. — Cesaretti Istoria di PiomMno^ xol. II. p, 198. THE ISLAND OF ELBA. 15 guous to the villages. Cultivation is either badly understood, or much neglected : for the annual crops of corn produced in the island do not supply above three months consumption to the inhabitaiits ; but the vintage is more than sufficient. A few olives are grown near Porto Ferrajo, and there are extensive groves of chestnuts at Poggio and Marciana. At Rio there are many almond, fig, and walnut trees. The very extensive tracts of uncultivated mountains^ are depastured, by goats, from whose milk cheese is made, but not good ; on the contrary, the curds are the most delicious I ever tasted. Nature is very prolifick in the various plants she produces, particularly of the aromatick and evergreen species : for many continued miles the mountains present the appearance of a flower garden, and at this season in the highest perfection of blossom. Aloes and India figs give variety to the general foliage. The ikx, or evergreen oak, predominates stttiorigst the trees of higher growth, and the declivities of the mountains are frequently feathered with myrtles down to the edges of the sea-shore. But this little island derives its greatest source of wealth from the mines. Those of iron at Rio, though conducted without order, skill, or good management, render to the Prince, upon the average, a clear annual profit Of sixty thousand crowns.* These are the * The produce of these mines is so great as to furnish a supply of iron to the island of Corsica, the Repubhc of Genoa, the Kingdom of Naples, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Province of Romagna, and the three furnaces belon^ng to the Prince of Piombino. The annual sate amounts to 1250 quintals, and each quintal consists of 33,333f pounds of siena. The price is from 50 to 52 scudi the quintal, according to the quality of the ore. The superintendant, who presides at the sale, assigns the ore, which is disposed along the coast at Rio, to the several purchasers. The Corsicans have a right of first choice, and to the Grand Duke of Tuscany is allotted, by agreement, the choicest ore of that species called Ferrata. An extra price is however paid for this prime ore, and whoever purchases a quantity of the best is obliged to take a quintal of the small ore, whUst the purchasers of the inferior sort are not obhged to take so much of the refuse. 16 A TOUR THROUGH only mines now worked, perhaps through good poHcy, and to avoid the jealousy of neighbouring powers ; but, according to report, this territory contains also veins of gold,* silver, and copper .-f- I myself visited the quarries of loadstone, granite, and white and mixed- colour marbles. There are two tunny fisheries : one at Porto Ferrajo, belonging to the Grand Duke of Tuscany ; the other to the Prince of Piombino, which is esteemed the most productive. The air throughout the whole island is very salubrious ; the springs numerous, and the water good ; one source at Rio turns fifteen mills. Hares and red-legged partridges abound, considering the general license given to cacciatori. If we except Porto Ferrajo, and Porto Longone, the remaining districts of the island are badly supplied with fish : the low price at which it is sold at home, tempts the fisherman to seek a more distant and advantageous market at Leghorn, and other towns in Tuscany. Flesh is also scarce and indifferent : the wines are in general good, and many of them rich and luscious in their flavour. The most elevated mountains are those of Marciana and Sassi Tedeschi, and the island presents many ruins of old castles and churches ; announcing, if not a more extensive population, at least a change of residence. The roads are practicable only on horse- back, and then scarcely safe. Letters of recommendation to the natives are absolutely necessary, as there is only one house in the island that can claim the title of inn, and that is at Porto Ferrajo. * Koesdin says, that he was informed of a cavern on the sea^.coast still bearing the name of Cava d'Oro, or Cave of Gold. f From Aristotle we learn that there were mines of copper, from which brazen vessels were made, but that they had ceased to be productive of that metal ; but that in the course of time the same mines had become abundant in iron. "Apud Etruriam insula fertur esse nomine jEthalia, in qua ex iisdem metallis anted ees erutwm fuerit ; «nde omnia emea vaaa apud illos confata esse tradunt : posted vera defecisse ; dome longo tempore post in iisdem adparuerit ferrum, quo etiam nunc utuntur Etrusci Populoniam incoletUes. THE ISLAND OF ELBA. 17 The hospitality which I invariably experienced during my excur- sion through the island, made ample amends for such a deficiency in publick accommodations. The population of Elba (not including the military at Longone) is computed at about ten thousand. The people appear to be industrious, and contrive to gain a comfortable livelihood, from possessing either a small vineyard, or a piece of arable land, with- out which advantage their living would be hard, and frequently miserable. The higher class of people owe their comforts to em- ployments and salaries from the Prince, who pays his ministers very liberally. There is certainly a very wide field open for im- provement in this island. The soil is good, and would produce olives in abundance : the mines are rich beyond description, and with better management would be rendered doubly productive. The coast furnishes a continued chain of fine ports adapted to commerce. The air is excellent, the water pure, and provisions cheap. If to these natural advantages were added wise regulations, tending to give encouragement to a spirit of industry among the people, this island might certainly be advanced to a much higher v^tate of cultivation and prosperity. The administration of the Sovereign Prince may, perhaps, be guided by maxims of prudence and good pohcy ; for by neglect- ing many of the natural advantages of his island, and by contenting himself with a moderate revenue, he may avoid the jealousy of the neighbouring powers of Spain and Tuscany, and thereby secure to himself in peace these valuable possessions. The spirituality of the island belongs to the Bishop of Massa, in -the Maremma, who has the superintendance of all the benefices. The most remarkable points of view are from the Torre del Giove and the Sassi Tedeschi, both near Rio ; from the Madonna del Monte, near Marciana : from the Falcone at Porto Ferrajo, and from Seccheto, near S. Piero. D 18 A TOUR, &c. I quitted the island of Elba on Tuesday, 5th of May, and was received at night by my friends at Populonia with their accustomed friendship and hospitality. Such was Elba in the year 1789, at a period when the traveller could examine with security the unfrequented coast of ancient Etruria, and could loiter with enthusiasm along the classick shores of Baiae and Misenum. After a long and oppressive war of desor lation, insecurity, and extermination, whick had banished curiosity not only from Elba, but from the whole extent of Italy, these once happy regions are again liberated, and the man who, but a few months ago, was lord of Italy, nay almost of the world, is now, by the just and unexpected decree of Providence, confined to the narrow limits of one insignificant island. The recollection of what that man was, and what he now is, may prove both interesting and useftil ; it will point out to us the insta- bility of human power, when grounded on ambition, injustice, and oppression ; it will shew that nations may for a period submit to the greatest tyranny, and to the privation of their hberty and dearest privileges ; but that the time will come when human nature will revolt, and outraged justice find its avengers. Such noble avengers now tread the exalted stage of glory ; and in future days, whenever the historian may record the unparalleled events of the last twenty years, the names of Alexander, Francis, Frederick, Blucher, and Wellington, will stand conspicuous in his annals, as the avengers of tyranny and usurpa- tion, as the advocates of humanity, and as the generous and fortu- nate deliverers of the Continent from a state approaching to the most abject servility. [19] BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. JNapoleost, born at Ajaccio, in the island of Corsica, on the 15th of August, 1769, is the son of Charles Bonaparte, by Letitid. Raviolini, who had also four other sons, namely, Joseph, Lucieii) Louis, and Jerome. In his youth he displayed a military inclina- tion, and came to Paris in 1785, to complete his studies at the Academy; He was afterwards promoted by Barras to the rank of General of Brigade, and was very active in retaking Toulon from the English. In 1795, he was entrusted with a military command at Paris, and married to Madame Beauhamais. In March 1796, being appointed to the command of the army of Italy, he opened the campaign in the same month, pointing out to his soldiers the fertile plains of Lombardy as a field for future gtoTy and resources. The Sovereign Princes of Sardinia, Parma, Modena, Milan, and Tuscany, shortly submitted to his will : the Pope, as well as the King of Naples, followed their example, and, according to the words of his biographer, " in one short compaign the conqueror carried the influence of his arms from the straits of Sicily to the passes of the Tyrol." In 1797, the strong fortress of Mantua yielded to the same over- powering influence ; and the Emperor of Austria, finding all fur- ther resistance useless, concliided the treaty of peace at Campo Formio. The new Cisalpine Republic was now formed, and its govern- ment modelled. According to Oppenheim, its territorial dimen- sions Contained 3,567 square miles, and 3,447,384 souls. It com- prehends the Duchies of Milan and Mantua, with the Principalities of Castiglione and Salferino ; the provinces formerly belonging to 20 BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. the Republick of Venice, viz. the Bergamesco, the Bresciano, and the territories of Verona and Rovigo, situate on the right bank of the Adige, the White Canal, the Tartaro, the Canal Polisella, and the Po ; the Duchy of Modena, with the Principalities of Massa and Carrara ; the lands obtained from the Duke of Parma, the Duchy of Guastalla, Sabionetta, and BozzoUa ; the three Legations, Ferrara, Bologna, and Romagna, formerly a part of the Papal Dominions ; the Territories of the Grisons, belonging to Worms, Cleves, and the Valteline, and the four Italian Bailiwicks. In May, 1798, Bonaparte sailed from Toulon, with a squadron coniposed of 194 vessels, on an expedition to Egypt, and in his way surprised Malta. Landing his army successfully on the Egyptian coast, he attacked the city of Alexandria, and after a warm contest took it. But the same good fortune failed him before St. John d' Acre, where, by the intrepid conduct of Sir Sidney Smith, he met with a repulse. Fortune again favoured him in his escape from Egypt, from whence he fled in October 1799, and landed in safety on the French coast at Frejus.* He was shortly afterwards appointed to the office of First Consul. In October 1800, a conspiracy was formed against his life, and several persons, supposed to have been implicated in it, were condemned to death. In the following month of December, a similar attempt was made by a new and singular mode of destruction, viz. a cart full of combustibles, which was intended to be blown up at the moment when Bonaparte passed it in his carriage. In March, 1802, peace was concluded at Amiens, and Bona-^ parte was proclaimed Consul for life. In the commencement of the year 1803, the Legislative Body decreed that the coin of the * The coincidence of human events is oftentimes singular, but especially with regard to Bonaparte ; for the same sea^port of Frejus, which protected him in the year 1799, on his escape from Egypt, was destined to receive him, as an exile, on his voyage to the Island erf Elba, in 1814. BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. 21 realm should bear the effigy of Bonaparte. In the month of April, war Was again declared with England. In May, 1804, the Tribu- nate expressed its wish that Napoleon Bonaparte should be named hereditary Emperor of the French; and he was consequently crowned in the Church of Notre Dame, at Paris, on the 2nd of December, 1804, by Pope Pius VII. who journeyed from Rome to perform this ceremony. On the 18th of March, 1805, he was proclaimed King of Italy, and on the 26th of May following, he was honoured at Milan with the iron crown of the Lombard Kings. Returning from this new kingdom, he visited Genoa, where the union of that ancient Republick with France was proclaimed. Elate with success, he now cast his ambitious eye over the straits that separate France from Albion, and visited his camp at Botdogne, in. order to hasten the immense preparations that he had been making for the invasion of Britain ; but his attention was soon called off by the threatening posture which Austria had assumed; and such was his activity, that in less than a month, the French army was transported from the shores of the ocean to those of the Danube, and a German army of 80,000 men was annihilated in less than a fortnight. Success and victory still attended his banners; for on the 11th November, 1805, he entered Vienna in triumph as a conqueror ; and the subsequent battle at Austerlitz, which took place on the 1st of December, forced submission from the Emperors of Ger- many and Russia. The treaty of Presburg put an end to this short campaign, which had terminated so much to the advantage of Napoleon ; for the Emperor Francis ceded to the conqueror the Venetian States, the Brisgaw, the county of Saltsburg, Dalmatia, and the Tyrol. The King of Prussia also gave to France the country of Neufchatel, a part of its territory in Westphalia, with the town of Wesel, which was assigned to Joachim Murat, brother- in-law to Napoleon. 23 BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. The Electors of Bavaria and Wurtemburg were created and ac- knowledged Kings ; and Eugene Beauharnais, the adopted son of Napoleon, having married a Princess of Bavaria, was appointed Viceroy of Italy, with the addition of the territories formerly belonging to Dalmatia and Venice. Joseph Bonaparte was also raised to the throne of Naples and Sicily. In the year 1806, another of the Bonaparte family (Louis), who had married a daughter of Madame Beauharnais, was created King of Holland; and the Emperor Francis resigned the imperial honours of Germany, at Vienna, on the 6th of August. This same year put Napoleon in possession of the city of BerliUj, the strong Prussian fortresses, the sword of the Great Frederick, and the scarf he wore during the seven years war. In the month of November, the French, under Mortier, took possession of Hanover. In the year 1807, a conference took place between the Empe- rors of Russia and France, and the King of Prussia, on a little island in the Niemen, the result of which meeting was the peace of Tilsit. The year 1808 was rendered memorable by the further additions of the kingdom of Spain, the State of Tuscany, the Dukedoms of Parma and Placentia, and the Papal Dominions, to the power of France. Joseph Bonaparte was proclaimed King of Spain and India, on the 6th June, 1808, by an imperial decree from his brollier Napoleon. In 1809, Napoleon Louis, eldest son of Louis King df Holland, was created Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves ; and the government- general of the States of Tuscany was conferred by Napoleon on his sister Eliza, Princess of Lucca and Piombino, wife of Prince Felix of Lucco and Piombino, and commander of the troops in Tuscany. In tMis year also the King of Sweden was dethroned, and the government assumed by Ms unote, the Duke of Sudep- mania. BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. 23 A proclamation from the Archduke Charles to the Austrian army, issued on the 6th of April, and another from the Emperor Francis, on the 9th, announced a fresh rupture with France. Fortune still favoured the legijons of Napoleon, and he once more entered Vienna as a conqueror on the 10th of May. At the battles of Aspern and Essling, victory seemed to favour the Austrians ; but the decisive battle of Wagram brought on a suspension of hos- tihties, and further concessions to Bonaparte. By a decree dated the 17th May, the Pontifical States were united with the French Empire. This year concluded with a dissolution of marriage between Napoleon and Josephine ; and the ensuing year, 1810, was rendered memorable by the celebration of a marriage between Bonaparte and Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. In the month of July, 1810, Louis Bonaparte resigned the sove- reignty of Holland, which was united to France, and Charles Augustus (Bemadotte) Prince of Ponte Corvo, was nominated Crown Prince of Sweden. In the year 1811, Hamburgh, Lubeck, and Bremen were an- nexedr to France ; as well as the Valais in Switzerland. On the 20th of April, the Empress Maria Louisa was delivered of a son, at Paris, who was immediately honoured, with the title of King of Rome. The year 1812 was signalized by the greatest military conflict that Europe ever experienced. Napoleon, not satisfied with the immense power and preponderance he had acquired, still meditated further and more distant conquests; his vindictive arms were directed against Russia, because that power would not consent to exclude British commerce from her ports. Armed with a gigantic force, amounting to upwards of four hundred thousand men, he quitted Paris the 9th of May, crossed the Rhine on the 13th, the Elbe on the 29th, and the Vistula on the 6th of June. After nu- merous engagements and successful battles, Napoleon found 24 BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. himself, on the 14th of September, in possession of Moscow, the ancient capital of Russia. Here let us pause, and reflect a little on the past career of this extraordinary man, who at this period seems to have been at the point of seeing his most ardent wishes accomplished. From the year 1796, when he made his first appearance on the mihtary stage, Fortune had been his constant and faithful attendant. He had gained possession of all Italy, destroying the very ancient Repub- licks of Venice and Genoa, and banishing the holy PontiiF from his throne and his dominions. He had assumed to himself the illustrious title of Emperor, and had created his infant son, King of Rome. He had placed Kings of his own family, and adherents, on the thrones of Spain, Holland, Naples, and Sweden ; and by his fiat had raised Electors to sovereignty. He had destroyed the nerves of the Germanick Body, had taken possession of Vienna and Berlin, and dictated the most humiliating concessions to the Sove- reigns of Austria and Prussia. Russia alone remained unconquered ; and to the subjection of this extensive realm, his last ambitious efforts were now devoted. How appropriate to Napoleon are the energetic lines which Dr. Johnson applied to Charles XII. of Sweden, in his parody of the Tenth Satire of Juvenal. " No joys to him pacific sceptres yield, War sounds the trump, he rushes to the field ; Behold surrounding Kings their powers combine, And one capitulates, and one resigns ; Peace courts his hand, but spreads her charm in vain : ' Think nothing gaitf d,' he cries, ' till nought remain ; ' On Moscow's walls till Gallic standards fly, ' And all be mine beneath the polar sky.' The march begins in mihtary state, And nations on his eye suspended wait ; Stem Famine guards the sohtary coast, And Winter barricades the realms of Frost. IJe comes, -nor want nor cold his course delay." BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. 25 His triumphant banners now waved on Moscow's antique turrets, and his ambitious projects had thus far met with the most unex- pected success. From this conquered capital he thought he could not only procure, but even dictate, an advantageous peace to the Emperor Alexander : but his expectations were vain, and the genius of Good-fortune, which had hitherto supported him, and raised him to the pinnacle of her temple, now began to abandon the favourite she had so long protected. " He reached Moscow," says the Emperor Alexander in his proclamation to the Russians, " and he believed himself invincible and invulnerable. He now exulted in the idea of reaping the fruit of his toils ; of obtaining for his soldiers comfortable winter-quar- ters, and of sending out from thence, next spring, fresh forces to ravage and burn our cities, make captives of our countrymen, overthrow our laws and holy religion, and subject every thing to his lawless will. Vain presumptuous hope, insolent degrading menace !" A population of forty millions, attached to their King and Coun- try, and devoted to their religion and laws, the least brave man of whom is superior to his unwilling confederates and victims, cannot be conquered by a heterogeneous force which he could muster, even of treble its late amount. At Moscow the fatal die was cast, the die of shame, misery, and disgrace. " Hide, blushing glory, hide Smolensko's day ; The vanquished hero leaves his broken bands, And shews his miseries in foreign lands." Johnson. On the 5th of December, Napoleon most basely deserted his army, intrusting the chief command to his relation Murat, King of Naples, and travelled incognito under the title of the Duke of Vicenza, a name borrowed from Caulincourt his compagnon de E 26 BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. voyage in this most humiliating flight. On the 14th of December, he reached Dresden, and on the 18th arrived at Paris. The glorious result of this campaign procured hberty to the King of Prussia, a restoration of his capital, Berlin, and a great part of his former dominions. 1813. Undismayed by the annihilation of the finest army that ever entered a field of battle, still vindictive and jealous of the un- broken power of Russia, and further bent upon its destruction, Napoleon, in the month of April, again quitted Paris, having ap- pointed the Empress Maria Louisa Regent of the Empire during his absence. By the accession of the Elector of Saxony to his cause. Napoleon added a very considerable force to his army, which was, in the month of August, counterbalanced by the union of the Emperor of Austria with the Alhes. Many severe battles were fought between the contending powers ; but the battle of ILeipsic, which terminated in favour of the alHed forces, and in consequence of which the Elector of Saxony was taken prisoner, and deserted by his army, proved the coup de grace, or death-blow, to Napoleon, who again took flight, and arrived in his capital at Paris on the 9th of November. The immediate result of these glorious successes was the Dissolution of the Rhenish Confederacy, a Revolution in Holland in favour of the Prince of Orange, and the Restoration of Hanover and its appendages to the Crown of England. Still, by the generosity of the allied powers. Napoleon might have made peace, and upon advantageous and honourable terms ; but, as Bemadotte once said in his proclamation, " The Emperor Napoleon cannot live in peace with Europe, unless Europe be his slave.^^ Fortunately for Europe, and for the whole civilized world, the restless ambition of this man could be satisfied with nothing short of universal Empire : he had in the two last campaigns received BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. S7 a very severe and important lesson ; but he was loo madly ambi- tious to profit by it; " Quern Deus vult perdere, prius dementat." The Allies had crossed the Rhine, and in their turn had become the invaders, still offering and wilUng to make peace. But not even the entreaties of his own Senate, who saw the danger that awaited them, could prevail on Napoleon to listen to pacific measures. " Sire," said the Senators, " obtain peace by a last effort, worthy of yourself and of the French ; and let your hand, so oflen victo- rious, let fall your arms, after having signed the repose of the world. This, Sire, is the wish of France, the wish of the Senate, and is the wish and want of the human race." 1814. The Emperor Napoleon once more quitted his capital, on the 25th of January, to resume the command of his armies ; but the day of victory and prosperity was fled, and his sun was sink- ing, to set in darkness. The month of February witnessed the Bourbon flag waving triumphantly over the Gallic fortresses, and the faded lilies once more beginning to revive. The 'ensuing month put the English forces in possession of the city of Bourdeaux, which Sir William Beresford entered on the 12th of March. The battles fought on the 29th and 30th, in the neighbourhood of Paris,, terminated in favour of the Alhes, and decided not only the fate of France, but of Europe. At this eventful period we no longer recognise in Napoleon the hero, the conqueror, or the sovereign ; we behold him still cast " a longing, Ungering look behind," on that Empire he had just lost, offering first to abdicate it in favour of his son, and afterwards supplicating for his own life. The reply made by the Allies to Marshal Ney, was, " That nothing but a full and entire abdica- tion would be accepted." That Abdication has now most happily taken place, and the httle sequestered Island of Elba is assigned to Napoleon Bonaparte, as a retreat for fife. 28 BONAPARTE AND HIS FAMILY. There, from the exalted pinnacle of Monte Giove, he may reflect on his former greatness, or, amidst the sohtary rocks of Volterrajoi endeavour to repent of his past atrocities. / demens, curre per Ilvam, Ut pueris placeas, et dutdamatio fins. JirvENAL. He left a name, at which the world grew pale. To point a moral, or adorn a tale. Jobxson. [29] CONCLUSION. E V E RY history, nay every tale, has its moral ; and from the poli- tical events of the last twenty years, a most important and useftil lesson may be leamt. Kings will be taught the necessity of putting a curb to their ambition, and nations will be taught the value of just laws, and a preservation of their hberty. Let us retrace the progress of Napoleon, from the year 1796, the epoch of his first military expedition, to the year 1814, during which period he had carried his victorious arms from the shores of Boulogne, to the Straits of Messina ; and from thence to the banks of the Danube and the Vistula. How sudden his exaltation, almost, I may say, to universal dominion ! but how much more sudden and unex- pected has been the Usurper's fall ? Fortunately there are boxmds set to the ambition of man, and a directing Providence exclaims, " Hitherto shalt thou go, but no farther," At some distant period, when the historian may record the eventfiil incidents of the present era, though with the strictest adherence to truth, I question if his annals will not be suspected of bearing the marks of fiction and even romance : for we ourselves, who have been eye-witnesses to them, can scarcely credit what we have seen — what was, and what now is. But, however we may deplore, with honourable feelings of sen- sibility, the general desolation that has taken place over the whole Continent of Europe, and the extraordinary depopulation of the human race ; this gratifying thought must occur to the mind of every well disposed Briton : " That England has stood foremost in this most arduous cause of liberty and humanity, and, by her 30 CONCLUSION. military and naval prowess, essentially secured the independence of two powerful kingdoms, Spain and Portugal ; and that by her national resources, she has been enabled to aid so essentially the general cause of her AlHes, and forward the grand and generous plan, which we now live to see so happily accomplished." And whilst we review " in our mind's eye," the miseries and vicissitudes of fortune which every other power has experienced, whilst our own sea-girt Isle, together with its valuable Constitution, have remained uninvaded and unimpaired ; let us, in gratitude, lift up our hands and hearts to that Almighty Providence which has so nobly supported us in the day of adversity, and exalted the British name and character to such an unexampled pitch of honour and renown. [31] ISLAND OF ELBA. Tor the ancient and undoubted history of this island, so much frequented by the Romans, on account of its valuable mines and quarries, we must refer to the various Greek and Latin authors, who have made mention of it in their writings, and especially to that indefatigable geographer Cluverius, who, in his description oflLVA, has collected in one chapter, the nmnerous quotations from the classick authors. The following more modern publications may tend to throw some interesting light on Elba, and more especially on the natural history of it. 1. Deir acqua marziale di Rio nell' Isola dell' Elba, trattato di Alberto Giuseppe Buzzegoh, &c. 4to. Firenze, 1762. 2. Osservazioni Mineralogiche su la Miniera di ferro in Rio, ed altre parti dell' Isola d'Elba, di Ermenegildo Pini, 8vo. Milam, 1777. 3. Lettres sur I'histoire naturelle de I'isle de FElbe, ecrites d Monsieur le Comte de Borch par Charles Henry Koestlin, 8vo. Vienne, 1780. 4. Istoria del principato di Piombino, Cesarotti, 2 tomi, 4to. Firenze, 1788. 5. Memorie antiche e moderne dell' Isola d'Elba, Lambardi, 8vo. Firenze, 1791. 6. Voyage a I'Isle d'Elbe par Thiebaut de Bemeaud, 8vo. Paris, 1808. 33 ISLAND OF ELBA. In the arrangement of the Map affixed to my Journal, I have availed myself of the outline of the French map, which appears more correct in that respect than the one I procured from a surveyor in Elba. Those inserted in the Italian publications, and in Magini's Atlas, are too incorrect to be noticed. Several names of places have been added, as the French map is rather deficient in that particular, and I have also reversed the position of Porto Ferrajo, and placed it to the South, instead of the North, as being in that situation more illustrative of my tour through the island : and the place to which every traveller from the opposite coast of Tuscany will first direct his attention. R. C, H. Note. As the descaiptive names of places in this map are written in the Italian language, it may perhaps be necessary to give some httle explanation of some of the words, such as spiaggia and marina, the sea-coast ; capo, and punta, a cape, or head-land ; cola, a bay, or road for ships.—The places of anchorage are designated by the mark of an anchor. L^iJon : Printed by W. B ilinsr and Cj. Clevelaad-row, St. Jdmes's,