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GARDEN OF THE TUILERIES, PARIS. 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL, 
 
 OR 
 
 TWELVE MONTHS IN EUROPE. 
 
 By HORATIO KING, 
 
 V 
 EX-POSTMASTER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 l An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told.) — Shakspeare. 
 
 WASHINGTON CITY: 
 PUBLISHED BY J. BRADLEY ADAMS. 
 
 "SCHOOL OF MUSIC" PRESS. 
 
 1878. 
 
 ir 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 OF CONGRESS 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, 
 
 By Horatio King, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 
 Printed at the "School of Music" 
 
 joy 8 th street, N. IV., 
 Washington, District af Columbia. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Weiting a book is one of the last things I ever 
 contemplated; and it was not until nearly a year 
 after our return from Europe that I even thought of 
 penning, for weekly publication, this running ac- 
 count of our pleasant trip. Otherwise I should have 
 taken much fuller notes and have had to depend 
 less upon my memory and books of reference. In 
 all essential particulars, what I have taken from 
 other writers is indicated by quotation marks. I 
 have never set up any claim to literary merit. I 
 make no such claim now. I have not strained after 
 originality, but have only sought to give a plain, 
 unpretending sketch of our travels. It takes now 
 the form of a book on the advice and expressed 
 desire of many friends. I hope it may prove for- 
 tunate. 
 
 H. K. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Departure from New York — Sensations of a First Ocean Trip — 
 Welcome to a Land Bird — Original Ocean Hymn — Ode to an 
 Iceberg — Warning Signals — Hour Bells — Literary Reunion — 
 Arrival at Queenstown . - - . . I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Incidents on Landing — Appearance of Queenstown — Cork — Blar- 
 ney Castle and the " Blarney Stone" . . . .7 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Lakes of Killarney — Dunloe Gap — Muckross Abbey — Meeting of 
 
 the Waters — "Sweet Innisfallen" — Old Castle at Mallow . 10 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Dublin — Trinity College — Burke and Goldsmith — Dublin Castle — 
 Bank of Ireland — Houses of the Irish Parliament — St. Patrick's 
 Cathedral — Park and Botanical Gardens — Belfast — Port Rush 
 — Ride in a Jaunting Car — Giant's Causeway . . 1 3 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Glasgow — St. George's Square — The Cathedral — Necropolis — Kel- 
 vin Grove Park — Museum — Birth-place and Tomb of Burns — 
 Alloway Kirk — Tarn O'Shanter and Souter Johnny — Brig o' 
 Doon — Eglinton Castle . _ . . . .20 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Lochs Lomond and Katrine — The Trosachs — Stirling Castle — 
 Mary, Queen of Scots- — John Knox — Cemetery — Wallace Mon- 
 ument — Edinburgh Castle — Heart of Mid Lothian — The old 
 Tolbooth — John Knox's House — The Canongate — Lady Stair's 
 Close . . . , . . . 24 
 
Vlll 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Edinburgh — Roslin Castle — Caiton Hill — Sir Walter Scott's Monu- 
 ment — Canongate Churchyard — White House Inn — Dr. John- 
 son — Gallery of Paintings — Museum — Horatius Bonar — Holy- 
 rood Palace — Queen Mary and Lord Darnley — The Assassina- 
 tion of Rizzio — Arthur's Seat — St. Anthony's Well and Chapel 
 — Jennie Deans — Antiquarian Museum . . 31 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Melrose and Dryburgh Abbeys — Abbottsford — Leamington — Ken- 
 ilworth Castle — Warwick Castle — Stratford-on- Avon — Shaks- 
 peare's House — His Place of Burial — Interesting Particulars — 
 Oxford University and Museum . . . _ - 37 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 London — Westminster Abbey — Poets' Corner — Monuments and 
 Inscriptions — Shakspeare — Addison — Milton — Livingstone — 
 Sir John Franklin — Many others, including Major Andre — His 
 Letter to General Washington . . . . - 34 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 London — Hyde Park — 'Wellington and Albert Monuments — The 
 Thames Embankment — Richmond — Kew Gardens — Albert 
 Hall Concert — Mansion House — Zoological Gardens — Kensal 
 Green Cemetery — Madame Tussaud's — British Museum — 
 Hampton Court .... 
 
 51 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 London — State Dinner of the Clothworker's Company — The Loving 
 
 Cup 58 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 London — South Kensington Museum — National Picture Gallery — 
 East India Museum — Trafalgar Square — Charing Cross — Tow- 
 er of London — Windsor Castle — Eton College — Gray's Elegy . 63 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 London — St. Paul's — Temple Church and Temple Bar — Dean Stan- 
 ley in Westminster Abbey and at his House — Rev. Mr. Spur- 
 geon . . . . . . . - 7° 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. IX 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 London — House of Commons — House of Lords — Parliament Build- 
 ings — Guy Fawkes — Westminster Hall — United States Lega- 
 tion — Newgate Prison — Bonhill-field Burying-ground — Cheap- 
 side to Queen's Road — Wat Tyler — Jack Cade . . 76 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Crossing the Channel — Rotterdam — The Hague — Queen's House 
 in the Woods — Houses of Lords and Commons — National Mu- 
 seum — Amsterdam — Royal Palace — Museum — Zoological Gar- 
 dens — Antwerp — Its fine Churches — Rubens . . - &3 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Brussels — Royal Celebration at the Cathedral of St. Gudule — Na- 
 tional and Wurtz Galleries of Fine Arts — Grand' Military Re- 
 view — Cologne — Its great Cathedral — Up the Rhine — Old 
 Castles — Ehrenbreitstein — Mouse Tower — Bingen . 9 1 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Frankfort — Dannecker's Ariadne — Goethe and Schiller Monuments 
 — Palmer Gardens — The Romer — Jewish Quarter — House of 
 the Rothschilds — Homburg — Nuremberg — Chamber of Inqui- 
 sition — Houses of Albert Diirer and Hans Sachs — Cemetery — 
 Churches of St. Lawrence and St. Sebald — Gallery of Paintings . 99 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Ratisbon — Walhaila — Eger — A Pleasant Traveling Companion — 
 Leipsic — Women and Cows at Work in the Fields — Battle of 
 Leipsic ■ . . . . . . . 107 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Berlin — King's Palace — Unter den Linden Strasse — Brandenburg- 
 Gate — National Monument — Statue of Frederick the Great — 
 Musenm — Beer Garden — Charlottenburg — Potsdam — Its Pal- 
 aces, Gardens, etc.. . . . . . .112 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 1 )resden — Picture Galleries — Military Museum — Museum of Nat- 
 ural History — Green Vaults — German Social Life . . 120 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 Vienna — Scenes and Incidents on the Way — Imperial Painting Gal- 
 lery — Armor Historical Gallery — Schonbrunn — Cathedrals — 
 Laxenburg — Modling . . . . . . 128 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Salzburg — Castle — Lake Konigs — Visit to the Hallein Salt Mines 
 
 — Novel Experience ...... 135 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Munich — Grand Military Review — Cathedrals — Museum — Glyp- 
 tothek — Pinakothek — Art Exhibition — Royal Palace — Royal 
 Foundry — Statue of Bavaria . . . . . 140 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Zurich — Lake Constance — Consul Byers — Interesting Relics — 
 
 Odd Sights — Ragatz — Dr. Schleiden — Tamini Gorge . .148 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Lucerne — Thorwaldsen's Lion — Excursion to Fluelen . . 155 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Interlachen — Brunig Pass — Giesbach Palls — Thun . .160 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Berne — Bear Dens — Federal Palace — Old Clock Tower — Singular 
 
 Sight — Freiburg — Great Organ . . . . 165 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Lake Leman — Lausanne — Ouchy — M. Thiers — Vevay — Castle 
 
 of Chillon — Gorge du Trient 173 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Martigny — Col de Balme — Chamouni — Mont Blanc — Mer de 
 
 Glace — Mont Brevent ...... 181 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Argentiere — Old Mountain Guide — Chamouni to Geneva — De- 
 scription — A good Pun . . . . . 189 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. XI 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Geneva — Mr. Consul Upton — Ferney — Voltaire's House — M. 
 Taine — Pere Hyacinthe — The Cathedral Church of St. Peter — 
 John Calvin — Rath Museum — Touching Incident . - 196 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Mont Cenis Tunnel — Turin — Description — Royal Palace . . 202 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Milan — Painting of the Last Supper — Leonardo da Vinci — The 
 
 Cathedral — Picture Gallery — Lake Como — Varenna to Verona 209 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Verona — Protestant Mission — The Roman Catholics — Juliet's 
 
 Tomb — Tombs of the Scaligers — Cathedral . . . 215 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Venice — Churches — Campanile . . . ' . . 222 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Venice — Bridges — Gondolas — Funeral Procession — Palace of the 
 Doges — Academy of Fine Arts — Bridge of Sighs — Prison — 
 St. Mark's Square — The Doves . . .227 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Padua — Ferrara — Bologna — Love Story — A Fright on the Train 
 
 — Florence — The Misericordia .... 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Florence — Santa Maria Novella — Artists' Studios — Pitti Palace — 
 
 Museum of Natural History — Protestant Cemetery . .241 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 Florence — San Lorenzo — Medicean Chapel — Sagrestia Nuovo — 
 Assassination — The Duomo — Baptistery and Bronze Doors — 
 Fiesole . . . . . . . . 248 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Florence — Uffizi and Pitti Galleries — Michael Angelo's House — 
 
 La Certoza ....... 253 
 
Xll SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XLL 
 
 Florence - — Story of Genevra — Thanksgiving Day — Singular Su- 
 perstition — Freedom of Worship — Santa Croce — Piazza della 
 Signoria, etc. . . - - - . - 2 59 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 Rome — Scenes by the Way — First Impressions ... 266 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 Rome — St. Peter's — The Vatican — Sistine Chapel . .272 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 Rome — Vespers at St. Peter's and Trmita de' Monti — Mr. Van 
 Meter's Schools — Borghese Picture Gallery — Tomb of Augus- 
 tus — Fountain of Trevi — Church of the Capuchins . .278 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 Rome — Farnese Palace — San Pietro in Montorio — Trajan and Ro- 
 man Forums — Appian Way — Footprints of our Saviour — 
 Temple of Bacchus — Ancient Relics — Sculptors' Studios — 
 Barberini Palace — Beatrice Cenci . 284 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 Rome — Father Chatard — Pincian Hill — Vatican Sculpture Gallery 
 
 — The Pantheon — St. Paul's House - . . . 290 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Rome — Visit to Pius IX — Santa Maria Maggiore — A Call from 
 
 Father Chatard — Interesting Account .... 296 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 Rome — Palace of the Caesars — Tarpeian Rock — Coliseum — Ro- 
 man Forum -..___. 303 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 Rome — Christmas at St. Peter's — Church of St. Paul — Arch of 
 Janus — Tomb of Caius Cestius — Graves of Shelley and Keats 
 
 — Marmetine Prisons — St. Pietro in Vincoli — St. Giovanni 
 Laterano — The Santa Scala . . . . . 311 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. Xlll 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 Rome — Santa Croce in Gerusalemme — Santa Maria in Araceli — 
 The Bambino — Corsini Palace — St. Onofrio — Tasso — Gari- 
 baldi — Colonna Palace . . . . - - 318 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 Naples — Virgil's Tomb — National Museum — Italian Beggars — 
 
 Villa Reale . . . - - - - 3 2 5 
 
 CHAPTER LIT 
 
 Naples — Castellamare — Sorrento — Pompeii . - . 331 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 Naples — Trip to Baice — Grotto of Posilido — Pozzuoli — Crater of 
 Solfatara — Lake Avernus — Royal Palace — Vesuvius — Lava 
 Beds 338 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 Rome — Capitoline Museum — Interesting Excursion — Names of 
 the Seven Hills — Church of St. Augustine — Baths of Caracalla 
 — Catacombs — William and Mary Howitt - . . 345 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 Rome to Geneva — Pisa — The great Cathedral, Baptistery, Leaning 
 Tower, and Campo Santo — Spezzia — Genoa — A Fright — 
 View of the City ...... 352 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 Geneva — Coppet — Madame de Stael — Geneva to Paris — Strange 
 Sight — Nice — Toulon — Marseilles — Aries — Nismes — Avig- 
 non — Lyons — Dijon — Fontainebleau . . . 359 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 Paris — Versailles — Palace — St. Cloud — Sevres — Garden of the 
 Tuileries — Churches of St. iCtienne du Mont, Notre Dame, and 
 the Madeleine — The Louvre — Tomb of Napoleon — Hotel 
 des Invalides ....... ^66 
 
XIV SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 Paris — Place de la Concorde — Place du Carousal — Place Napoleon 
 Place and Column of Venddme — Column of July — Place de la 
 Bastile — Place du Trone — Champs filysees — Siege of Paris — 
 Arc de Triomphe — Portes St. Martin and St. Denis — Tour St. 
 Jacques — Palais Royal . . . . - W 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 Paris — Destruction from the War — Reception of the Emperors of 
 Russia and Austria and King of Prussia in 1867 — Emperor and 
 Empress of France — Pere La Chaise — Abelard and Helo'ise — 
 Jardin des Plantes — Pantheon — St. Roche — Palace and Gar- 
 den of the Luxembourg — Hotel Cluny . . . 383 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 Paris to London — The Thames — London to Liverpool — Ocean 
 
 Passage — Home Again . . . . . - 391 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Paris — Garden of the Tuileries. 
 
 Edinburgh — Edinburgh Castle and Scott Monument. 3 O 
 London — Westminster Abbey. 
 Amsterdam. 
 
 Potsdam — Sans Souci. i / b 
 
 Munich — Bavarian Statue and Hall of Fame. / y L 
 i Venice — Court of the Palace of the Doges. 
 Florence. ij 
 
 ! Rome — Coliseum of Vespasian. 
 
 FONTAINEBLEAU — GARDEN AND PALACE. 
 
 Versailles — Palace. 
 Paris — Hotel des Invalides. 
 f- Paris — Place Vendome. 
 
 t Paris — Tour de St. Jacques de la Boucherie. 
 >\ Paris — Luxembourg Palace. 3 ( 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL, 
 
 TWELVE MONTHS IN EUROPE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 tN" undertaking to give some sketches of travel in 
 Europe, it may be as well to start from New York, 
 although there is hardly anything more monoto- 
 nous than an ocean trip on a smooth sea; and as we 
 (myself and wife,) had fine weather the most of the 
 way, our passage over was without any remarkable 
 incident. We sailed the 12th of May, 1875, a good 
 time to start, on the Cunard steamship "Scotia," 
 commanded by Captain Leitch, a first-rate officer. 
 We chose this ship because she has side wheels. 
 The number of passengers did not exceed eighty — 
 all strangers to us except Horatio Stone, the sculptor, 
 who was on his way to Rome never to return. He 
 had formerly resided there a considerable length of 
 time, and in reference to our apprehensions of dan- 
 ger in visiting that city, he ridiculed the idea of its 
 being any more sickly there than in any other city. 
 Whether or no he contracted there the disease which 
 carried him off, we are not advised; but, on reaching 
 Geneva, in September, we heard with sorrow that he 
 had died sometime in July or August, at Carrara, 
 the place of fine Italian marble quarries. 
 
 Our departure from New York was marked by the 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 usual crowd and excitement — friends come to bid 
 farewell — the hurrying to and fro between ship and 
 shore — and finally, as our great vessel moved slowly 
 from her moorings, the casting of pennies into the 
 water as a means of appeasing the evil spirits of the 
 deep — the waving of handkerchiefs and other dem- 
 onstrations of affection — the earnest looking to catch 
 the last view of friends — any one who has ever 
 started on such a voyage knows' all about this. By- 
 ron has truly said: 
 
 "It is an awkward sight 
 To see one's native land receding through 
 The growing waters; it unmans one quite, 
 Especially when life is rather new." 
 
 He means, we imagine, when "life is rather new" 
 in such experiences. A first ocean trip, surely, gives 
 rise to sensations never before felt; but the effect on 
 all persons is not always the same. For ourselves, 
 we are free to admit that we were keenly sensible to 
 the truth of the remarks of Madame de Stael, that 
 "it becomes a much more -serious matter to quit one's 
 country, when in going away it is necessary to cross 
 the sea. Everything," she says, "is solemn in a 
 voyage of which the ocean marks the first steps: it 
 seems that an abyss opens behind you, and that the 
 return may be forever impossible. Moreover, the 
 sight of the sea always makes a profound impres- 
 sion; it is the image of the Infinite which attracts 
 the soul incessantly, and in which, without cessation, 
 the soul appears to lose itself." 
 
 If not deadened by nausea, on finding one's self on 
 the broad bosom, of the ocean in a fair day, one expe- 
 riences a feeling of exhilaration not easy to describe ; 
 but nausea "unmans one quite," and any intellectual 
 effort while in that state should be regarded with 
 
NEW YORK TO QUEENSTOWN. 3 
 
 lenity, as it no doubt generally is, at least on ship- 
 board. Hence, any little squib or original poetical 
 effusion, after the dull monotony of a few days at 
 sea, is quite likely to be received and passed around 
 kindly; and it often serves, too, to open the way to 
 acquaintanceship among the passengers. We se- 
 cured some of these trifles which were perpetrated 
 on our ship, and we will venture to reproduce them. 
 In the afternoon of the day of embarkation the sea 
 became rather rough, and it was less agreeable on 
 the following day, which was raw, drizzly, and cold. 
 We were now far out of sight of land, and the onty 
 cheerful sight during the day was a little land bird 
 which alighted on one of the yard-arms of the vessel. 
 With somewhat of homesickness and disagreeable 
 premonitions of another kind of malady not more 
 pleasant, it was not surprising that the passengers 
 were touched by the following impromptu lines to 
 our sweet visitor: 
 
 Welcome, dear birdie! welcome, I say! 
 Tell me, dear birdie, com'st thou to stay? 
 Tidings, what tidings bring' st thou to me, 
 Of friends, our dear friends, far over the sea? 
 Backward, fly quickly to where they all dwell, 
 And tell them you saw us all sailing on well. 
 
 The next was the following hymn, composed near 
 the end of the week — our sailing day was Wednes- 
 day — and it was sung to the tune of "God save the 
 Queen," as a part of the religious services on Sunday: 
 
 Father of Light and Love, 
 High on Thy throne above, 
 
 Give us Thine ear. 
 All weak and powerless, we, 
 Thy children on the sea, 
 Would turn our thoughts to Thee, 
 
 And nothing fear. 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 O, God, in Thee we trust, 
 In Jesus' bosom must 
 
 Our safety be; 
 Then would we ever rest 
 Our heads upon His breast — 
 The haven e'er the best, 
 
 On land or sea. 
 
 O, take us safe to shore, 
 Thy guidance we implore 
 
 From day to day; 
 To Thee our thanks we bring, 
 Give us all hearts to sing 
 The praises of our King, 
 
 His will obey. 
 
 One day, when the ocean was perfectly smooth, we 
 were gratified with the sight of an iceberg of respect- 
 able dimensions, covering, say, four or five acres in 
 extent, not over a mile off; and we could just dis- 
 cern several others, not probably as large, in the dis- 
 tance. Whereupon was produced this impromptu 
 
 ODE TO AN ICEBERG. 
 Cold, silent sentinel of the vasty deep, 
 Self-anchored on the great highway of life — 
 " Life on the ocean wave " — what mean'st thou 
 By thy stern, stolid look? and in thy rear 
 Yet other glaciers, as if in reserve 
 To serve the purpose of thine own intent. 
 Cam'st thou in threatening guise and day serene 
 To warn of dangers still ahead at night, 
 O'ercast by cloud and storm? or standest thou 
 As mark expressive of all danger past? 
 Silent and cold thou art, and yet methinks 
 I do discern in thy more softened air, 
 As in review we take our leave of thee, 
 That thou art really a sentinel of love. 
 
 There was something in this which seemed to 
 interest the first officer of the ship, for we observed' 
 that he procured a copy of it. Such "silent sentinels " 
 
NEW YORK TO QUEENSTOWN. 
 
 may well be the terror of "all that go down to the sea 
 in ships;" and the wonder is that more vessels are 
 not lost by coming in contact with them in the dark- 
 ness of night and dense fogs such as one seldom fails 
 to encounter in crossing the Atlantic, There is no 
 doubt that many a ship with all on board is thus sud- 
 denly sent to the bottom of the ocean, while the cause 
 of its loss remains forever unknown. It is during 
 such nights when one feels that at any moment he 
 may be engulfed, that he hears at short intervals, 
 in almost breathless silence, the fearful screeching 
 of the steam-whistle and the sound of the bells which 
 are kept ringing as an additional warning to other 
 vessels to keep out of the way. On the other hand, 
 there is a sensation of relief when, late in the night, 
 the sound of the hour-bell strikes the ear, with the 
 cheerful cry of the watchmen, "All 's well." It was 
 in response to this feeling, doubtless, that the fol- 
 lowing lines were penned, likewise by one of our 
 passengers : 
 
 "ALL'S WELL." 
 
 List to the sound of bells, 
 As on the air it swells, 
 And in the darkness tells 
 
 The hour of night; 
 Then hear the watchmen's cry — 
 On lookout to espy 
 All dangers far and nigh — 
 
 That all is right. 
 
 The cheering words, "All 's well," 
 All nervous fears dispel, 
 And to our senses tell 
 
 That safety reigns. 
 Then sink we into rest, 
 Lulled by the foamy crest 
 Upon the ocean's breast, 
 
 In somnous strains. 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Now, when life's end is near, 
 And all seems dark and drear, 
 We breathless list to hear 
 
 The last hour-bell; 
 O, may the joyful word 
 In silver tones be heard — 
 
 " All's well." 
 
 Well, it must be admitted that this is dealing- 
 pretty extensively in rhymes, not to call them po- 
 etry; but how is one better to indite an ocean epistle 
 than to present a view of such small things as tran- 
 spire in the monotony of the voyage? True, all this 
 would be omitted in an account of a stormy and 
 dangerous trip, where fearful exposure and hair- 
 breadth escapes were the order of the day as well as 
 night; but, happily, we were spared this experience. 
 Toward the end of the trip, when the passengers 
 began to get acquainted with one another, we had a 
 sort of literary reunion, two or three evenings, in the 
 dining saloon, where, we remember, we listened to 
 pleasant speeches from Horatio Stone, Mr. Wana- 
 maker, the celebrated Sunday School teacher from 
 Philadelphia, and others; and we had charming sing- 
 ing, also, by a Spanish Countess, as well as by Miss 
 Edith Abell, who, with her mother, was on her way 
 to Italy to study music, and of whose achievements 
 in singing we have since heard very favorable ac- 
 counts. Then, again, there were some quoit and 
 other active games on deck during the day, and 
 some card-playing among a few in the evening. 
 
 All were delighted, when, on the early morning of 
 the 21st of May, land was espied on the coast of Ire- 
 land, and by five o'clock of the same day we our- 
 selves and a few other passengers were safely landed 
 at Queenstown, rejoiced to be once more on terra 
 fir ma. The mails and some freight having also been 
 
QUEENSTOWN. 
 
 transferred to the tender, bearing the British and 
 American flags, our good ship, with most of our com- 
 pagnons de voyage, immediately proceeded on her 
 way to her destined port of Liverpool — a sail of some 
 eighteen hours. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 /J\UEENSTOWN ? May 21.— What a rest to be 
 . ^s^ on land again! and what a pleasant sight was 
 the little village of Queenstown and its adjacent 
 fields as we sailed into her snug harbor and waited 
 for the tender to come and take us on shore. The 
 land rises abruptly from near shore, and the village 
 is situated on the sides of the hills facing the harbor. 
 Much of the land seems fitted only for pasturage, 
 covered here and there with patches of gorse, or 
 furze, a thick, prickly shrub, now in full bloom, its 
 flowers being of a bright yellow color. From a dis- 
 tance the contrast between the deep green of the 
 early grass and the yellow of these flowers was very 
 striking, and with the white-painted houses of the 
 scattered villages on the one hand and the strong 
 fortification on the other, presented a landscape 
 which has doubtless commanded the pencil of more 
 than one artist. 
 
 The custom-house officers were on the tender, and 
 the luggage of the passengers was passed with little 
 ceremony, so that soon after our arrival at the wharf 
 we were ready to proceed directly to the railroad 
 station, a distance of some thirty rods, where the 
 train was shortly ready to take us to Cork. A num- 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ber of Irish beggars, old and young, of both sexes, 
 were ready on the wharf with their pressing appeals 
 for alms, which, judging from their appearance, they 
 were sadly in need of, for they were without shoes 
 or stockings, and the few clothes they had on were 
 extremely mean. 
 
 We hurried on to the station, where we settled 
 with the porters for bringing our luggage, and al- 
 though we thought their charge rather high, we 
 supposed it to be all right until one of our ship 
 companions from New Orleans, a native or former 
 resident of Dublin, made his appearance, and know- 
 ing the legal rates for this service, informed us that 
 we and all the passengers with us who had preceded 
 him had been overcharged. He at once denounced 
 the porters as rascals, when a police officer took the 
 matter up and they made no hesitation in returning 
 what they knew they had no right to charge. 
 
 We were told that far the pleasantest way to Cork 
 was by the steamboat on the river Lee, along which 
 the scenery is said to be very beautiful; but there 
 was to be no boat this evening, and we, therefore, 
 took the cars, which, in a half hour's time, brought 
 us to the city. Fine as the scenery may be on the 
 river, it can hardly be more charming than on some 
 parts of the route by rail. The country through 
 which we passed is very fertile, and appeared to be 
 in the highest state of cultivation. We saw several 
 beautiful residences, the grounds of which were laid 
 out in the most elegant manner. 
 
 Cork, May 22. — Cork is situated on the north and 
 south branches of the river Lee, which is spanned by 
 many fine bridges. It presented a more cheerful 
 aspect in every point of view than we expected to 
 see. We anticipated seeing here large numbers of 
 
CORK. 9 
 
 that poverty-stricken class of Irish people, so many 
 of whom emigrate from Southern Ireland to the Uni- 
 ted States, but of such we saw comparatively few 
 (there might have been many in the suburbs,) while 
 the great mass of citizens appeared to be well off 
 and to enjoy life without complaint. Judging from 
 what we saw in the short time we remained in the 
 city, we came to the conclusion that every branch of 
 trade was active and prosperous, as much so as in 
 other seaport towns. We visited some of the church- 
 es, in one of which we saw a remarkable statue of 
 Christ. One was the church of the Holy Trinity, a 
 handsome Gothic building, founded by Father Ma- 
 thew, to whose memory a monument has been erected 
 here, being a statue of himself upon a raised pedestal, 
 and presenting an excellent likeness of him as we 
 remember him on the occasion of his visit to Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 In company with six of our fellow passengers we 
 made a visit to Blarney Castle by private carriages, 
 going by one road and returning by another, the 
 distance being about six miles — a most pleasant trip, 
 affording charming views of Queen's College, Black 
 Rock, the Heights of Glenmire and the Groves of 
 Blarney. The ruins of the famous Blarney Castle 
 consist mainly of a large square structure or tower 
 one hundred and twenty feet in height, completely 
 covered with ivy. The "Blarney Stone" is situated 
 twenty feet below the summit in a detached position 
 not easily reached, yet all visitors, ambitious to do a 
 foolish thing, usually try to kiss it. If there is any 
 merit in the act. it is perhaps in the courage shown 
 to accomplish it; for without some person to assist 
 you in maintaining your balance as you lie stretched 
 at full length to reach the stone, you would be in 
 
10 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 
 danger of falling and breaking your neck. However, 
 the feat is attempted, oftener than otherwise, no 
 doubt, "for the fun of the thing;" and for the timid 
 there is on the ground floor another stone, easy of 
 access, and said to possess all the wonderful qualities 
 of the more noted block. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 gI^AKES OF KILLARNEY, May 24.— We came 
 i^^ here in three hours, by rail, from Cork, on Sat- 
 urday evening, the 22d. Our hotel is beyond the vil- 
 lage of Killarney, on the margin of the principal lake. 
 The situation is charming, but we have found the 
 weather a little too cool to make the tour of the lakes. 
 Sunday was to us a welcome day of rest, following so 
 soon after our ten days on the ocean; but on Monday 
 forenoon we rode eight miles, to Dunloe Gap and 
 back, passing the ruins of Aghadoe and Dunloe Cas- 
 tle, which is in good repair. We rode into the Gap 
 to the end of the carriage road, followed by horsemen 
 with their horses and saddles for hire through the 
 Gap. Near the end of our journey, too, several 
 brawny girls, barefoot and in short clothes, ran with 
 the speed of a deer to keep up with our carriage, urg- 
 ing us in the most persistent manner to buy their 
 bunches of wild flowers. Here, also, we were prof- 
 fered "mountain dew" and goat's milk by the grand- 
 daughter of a celebrated character named Kate Kear- 
 ney, who used to ply the same trade, and lived in a 
 stone and mud house, which still serves as a shelter 
 for her worthy descendant. Sufficiently toned up by 
 
KILLARNEY. 11 
 
 the sharp mountain air which came dovm powerfully 
 through the Gap, we were constrained to decline in- 
 dulging in any of her " poteen;" nor did we patronize 
 the two or three native artillerymen who were sta- 
 tioned here, with small cannon, which, for a trifling 
 fee, they fire with remarkable effect in respect to the 
 echoes of the report in the mountains. 
 
 In the afternoon we rode eight or ten miles through 
 the beautiful grounds of Lord Kenmare and the Hon. 
 Mr. Herbert, M. P., to the "Meeting of the Waters,;' 
 where "the picturesque Dinish Island divides the 
 stream. This spot is said to have been warmly ad- 
 mired by Sir Walter Scott when he visited the lakes.'' 
 There is a small inn or half-way house on the island, 
 where refreshments can be obtained, and where fish- 
 ing implements are kept for the use of visitors. On 
 our way back we visited Muckross Abbey, a photo- 
 graph of which is among our collection, and from the 
 back of which we copy: "The well-known ruins of 
 Muckross Abbey are situated in the beautiful de- 
 mesne of Muckross, the property of Colonel Herbert, 
 about two miles from the town of Killarney, and to 
 the antiquary, as well as the general visitor, present 
 considerable attractions. The Abbey was erected by 
 the McCarthys, Princes of Desmond, for Franciscan 
 friars, a. d. 1340. In 1602 it was reedified, and 
 though ruin has resumed its sway, is still in a good 
 state of preservation. The cloisters are the most 
 perfect portion of the ruins, and consist of semi-cir- 
 cular and twelve-pointed arches, overshadowed by 
 the foliage of an immense yew tree, planted at the 
 time of the erection of the Abbey, and whose trunk 
 measures upward of ten feet in circumference. The 
 chancel contains a fine east window, the tracery of 
 which is still perfect. Here were also interred the 
 
12 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 remains of the O'Sullivans, the G'Donoughues, and 
 the MacCarthy More, founder of the Abbey." We 
 brought away with us, as keepsakes, some of the 
 leaves of this famous old yew tree, which we regard- 
 ed with special interest, not unmixed with a sort of 
 reverence inspired by age. 
 
 Killarney, with its lake and mountain scenery, and 
 the highly-adorned estates of Lord Kenmare, Hon. 
 Mr. Herbert, and other wealthy landlords, must be a 
 charming summer resort. The lake — there is really 
 only one — is in three parts; the lower and largest 
 being six miles long and three wide. The upper lake 
 is four miles long and two broad. On the side of one 
 of the mountains is O'Sullivan's cascade, which has a 
 fall of seventy feet, and opposite to this is Innisfallen 
 Island, immortalized by Moore: 
 
 "Sweet Innisfallen, fare thee well — • 
 
 May calm and sunshine long be thine; 
 How fair thou art let others tell, 
 While but to feel how fair be mine. 
 
 "Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell 
 
 In memory's dream that sunny smile 
 Which o'er thee on that evening fell 
 When first I saw thy lairy isle." 
 
 Dublin, May 25. — Leaving Killarney at 7 a. m., 
 we have made good time to reach Dublin, one hun- 
 dred and eighty -six miles, at 5-J- p. m., considering 
 that we stopped two hours at Mallow for the connect- 
 ing train from Cork. These two hours were agreea- 
 bly passed in a walk through the town and a visit to 
 the ruins of an old castle in the vicinity, the history 
 of which we did not learn. It was once the strong- 
 hold, no doubt, of some lord of the manor; but its 
 crumbling walls are now covered with ivy, and the 
 crows and other birds seemed to hold possession 
 
DUBLIN. 13 
 
 The crows especially appear to be quite at home all 
 along the route, and are very tame compared with 
 their American cousins. Evidently they are igno- 
 rant of the smell of gunpowder, or they would be 
 more shy. It was a satisfaction to observe how 
 freely and contentedly they appeared to enjoy life. 
 The buoyant opening of spring, looking from a hu- 
 man point of view, may have conduced somewhat 
 toward this happy state of feeling; for in the words 
 of Shelley — 
 
 " 'T is now the season when the earth upsprings 
 From slumber; as a shepherd angel's child, 
 Shadowing its eyes with green and golden wings." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 |> ELF AST, May 28, 8 o'clock p. M.-We are now 
 on the steamer about to convey us to Greenock, 
 where we are to take the cars for Glasgow. To go 
 back to the solid-looking old city of Dublin, through 
 the center of which runs the river Liffey, which is 
 navigable only for small vessels, — Kingstown, six 
 miles distant, is the principal harbor of Dublin, and 
 the two cities are connected by a railroad. We 
 reached Dublin on the 25th, and stopped until the 
 morning of the 27th, visiting the principal places of 
 interest, including some of the large mercantile hous- 
 es famous for their poplins and Irish linens. We 
 made two visits to Trinity College and its spacious 
 lawns, where the students were flitting from one 
 point to another in their square caps and long gowns, 
 dreaming, no doubt, of distinguishing themselves — 
 
14 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 some in one way and some in another — hereafter. 
 They were very polite to us in giving any informa- 
 tion we desired. The college buildings are so ar- 
 ranged as to form a large open square, in the center 
 of which is the bell tower. In answer to a remark 
 by us that it was a pity such fine buildings should 
 look so dingy — for they are almost black — one of the 
 students replied, "Oh, no, we wish they had a still 
 older look." Connected with the college are fine 
 play -grounds, where, after their daily studies, we 
 saw large numbers of the students playing at ball, 
 pitching quoits, and otherwise stirring their blood 
 and strengthening their muscles by athletic exercises. 
 At the main entrance to the college stand statues of 
 Burke and Goldsmith, who were students here at the 
 same time — about 1746. Oliver was rather a wild 
 youth, and graduated without honors. It was in re- 
 taliation for some jocular epitaphs written upon him 
 by his literary associates long afterward that he 
 wrote on his college companion: 
 
 " Here lies our good Edmund, whose genius was such 
 We scarcely can praise it or blame it too much; 
 Who, born for the universe, narrow'd his mind, 
 
 And to party gave up what was meant for mankind." 
 
 In the college library are busts of many distin- 
 guished Irish characters, among them Dean Swift's 
 and those of some of his contemporaries. We saw 
 here the first English Bible brought into Ireland. 
 The museum is filled with interesting objects, of 
 which we took note particularly of the harp of Brian 
 Boru, of Irish fame, the charter-horn of King O'Kav- 
 anagh, and the writing desk of Charles Lever, the 
 novelist. 
 
 The castle, which, like Trinity College, was found- 
 ed by Queen Elizabeth, is another establishment of 
 
DUBLIN. 15 
 
 great interest as the residence of the Lord Lieutenant 
 of Ireland. In the grand entrance hall we found a 
 company of soldiers with their muskets stacked, 
 and the walls were covered with swords and other 
 weapons arranged in ornamental style, various bat- 
 tle-flags, etc. We went into the different state apart- 
 ments, where, in the winter season, the Lord Lieu- 
 tenant and his lady give splendid entertainments. 
 The chapel, too, with its beautiful stained-glass win- 
 dows, was well worth visiting. Represented upon 
 these windows are the different arms of all the Lord 
 Lieutenants of Ireland. 
 
 The Bank of Ireland, formerly the Irish House of 
 Parliament, is the most imposing structure, perhaps, 
 in Dublin. It is situated in College Green, near 
 Trinity College. The House of Lords remains un- 
 changed, save that in the place of the throne there 
 is a statue of George III. On either side of the hall 
 is a large picture — the one representing the Battle 
 of Boyne Water, and the other the Siege of Derry. 
 The House of Commons is used for one of the offices 
 of the bank. 
 
 Of the churches we visited, St. Patrick's Cathedral 
 was the most interesting, as containing numerous 
 monuments to distinguished persons. Here rest the 
 ashes of Dean Swift and of the "Stella" of his poetry 
 — Mrs. Johnson. This cathedral was built in 1190, 
 and dedicated to St. Patrick, who, in 448, himself 
 erected a church on the same site where the cathe- 
 dral now stands. It is related that while engaged 
 in his mission of preaching to the Irish people he 
 baptized the first converts to the Christian faith at a 
 well which is still shown in the south transept of the 
 cathedral. 
 
 In company with two of our steamer companions. 
 
16 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 a jolly ride in a jaunting car to Phoenix Park and 
 the Botanical Gardens took us through a good part 
 of the city and by the monumental columns erected 
 to Nelson and Daniel O'Connell. whose brother's 
 beautiful estate we forgot to say we saw on our way 
 between Cork and Killarney. Phoenix Park is a 
 royal inclosure at the west end of the city, and em- 
 braces an area seven miles in circumference. Situ- 
 ated therein is the villa of the Viceroy, or Lord 
 Lieutenant, the residence of the principal secretary, 
 an obelisk to Wellington, two hundred feet high, the 
 Hibernian schools, a salute battery, and the ammu- 
 nition magazine. It is regarded as one of the most 
 beautiful parks in the United Kingdom. We were 
 delighted with our ride and what we saw. A jaunt- 
 ing car is a curious vehicle — not seen, we imagine, 
 anywhere out of Ireland. It is a box on two wheels, 
 the seats for passengers running lengthwise over the 
 wheels, with foot-boards to rest the feet upon. These 
 seats each accommodate two persons, who, of course, 
 must ride sideways, and there is room for one person 
 with the driver in front. The only place for luggage, 
 we believe, is on top between the passengers' seats. 
 If you go for a carriage, look to be addressed some- 
 thing in this wise: "I see yer honor and herself have 
 a lanin' for the ould style; shure it's illigant and 
 dacent, not like that baste of a furrin conthrivance 
 beyant. Begorra, sir, I could lep over the likes of it 
 wid this little mare — an' maybe I 'd thry!" 
 
 We had another long ride of one hundred and 
 eighty -six miles from Dublin, by Belfast, to Port 
 Rush, on the 27th. On a good part of the way the 
 country had much the appearance of hilly New Eng- 
 land. It lacked only stone and post and rail fences, 
 in place of the hedge fences, and more forests, to 
 
NORTHERN IRELAND. 17 
 
 make the comparison quite perfect. On the low, 
 swampy grounds workmen were engaged in spading 
 up great quantities of peat, cutting it into pieces 
 about the size and shape of a brick, and piling it up 
 to dry. This serves for a large portion of the fuel 
 consumed in Ireland. From the bog- wood found in 
 these peat beds many articles of merchandise, such 
 as canes, brooches, finger-rings, etc., are manufac- 
 tured. They are quite ornamental — just as good, 
 perhaps, while they last, but not quite as durable as 
 silver and gold. 
 
 After an indifferent table cT hote dinner we rested 
 over night at the "Antrim Arms," lulled by the 
 waves of the Northern Sea — for we were now almost 
 at the extreme northern point of Ireland. Next 
 morning we took a jaunting car for Giant's Cause- 
 way, a distance of six miles, where we spent several 
 hours and returned in time to take the train back to 
 Belfast at 3i p. m. We had for our driver a witty 
 Irishman, who said he had lived in the United States; 
 and as he was well posted, he proved a very accepta- 
 ble guide, pointing out and giving to us a history of 
 all the prominent objects on the way. He appeared 
 quite proud of having— I think the year before — 
 had the honor of driving in his jaunting car over 
 this route General Sherman and his aids, Colonels 
 Audenreid and Fred. Grant. He was particularly 
 delighted with the General's amiable condescension 
 in so freely conversing with him — saying that he 
 talked all the way. Among other things, he said 
 the General was enthusiastic in pointing out the 
 manner in which Port Rush might, by a short break- 
 water from a group of islands off the coast to the 
 main land, be made a most excellent harbor, capable 
 of floating all the vessels in the world. The coast all 
 
18 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 along our road is very rocky, and with the ocean in 
 full view one can hardly imagine a more romantic 
 ride than we enjoyed. Two miles from the Cause- 
 way we passed near the ruins of the Castle of Dun- 
 luce, which stands upon an isolated rock one hun- 
 dred feet above the level of the sea, and is connected 
 with the main land by a bridge only some twenty 
 inches wide. It was founded no one knows at what 
 date, but is known to have once been the residence 
 of the McQuillans, who claimed to trace their family 
 back three thousand years, and to the city of Baby- 
 lon, whence they left for Scotland. Although these 
 ruins are spoken of as the most picturesque in the 
 United Kingdom, we consider the Giant's Causeway 
 as the one great sight of Ireland. Here is a promon- 
 tory extending one thousand feet or more into the 
 sea, and at low tide one may walk over the heads of 
 basaltic pillars, numbering, it is said, not less than 
 forty thousand. They are variously shaped — from 
 triangular to nonagon, or nine sided — and are ar- 
 ranged side by side with such perfect uniformity 
 that one might fancy them to be the work of ingen- 
 ious artificers; still it is questionable whether the art 
 of man could rival the nicety with which each piece 
 is fitted to the other. In one place there is what they 
 call .the Wishing Chair — the projection of the pillars 
 being such as to form a complete seat with back and 
 arms. We were assured by an elderly Irish woman, 
 who urged us to buy some of her "mountain dew," 
 with a small quantity of water from the Giant's 
 Well, another natural curiosity near by, that any 
 wish made by us while sitting in this chair was cer- 
 tain to be granted ! We accordingly tried it (not the 
 mountain dew,) and, wonderful to tell, her assurance 
 in our own case was most happily verified! Conse- 
 
BELFAST. 19 
 
 quently, it would be very unbecoming in us, to 
 say the least, to suggest any doubts on the subject. 
 Other singular formations were pointed out to us — 
 the Amphitheater Gateway, Chimney-tops, the Pul- 
 pit, etc. In the side of a hill, further in shore, there 
 is a series of pillars so arranged as to present the 
 appearance, and they take the name, of the Giant's 
 Organ; and near these is the "Giant's Grandmother, 
 who was petrified for having three husbands at the 
 same time." In the vicinity of the Causeway there 
 are wonderful caves — one forty-five feet high and 
 three hundred and fifty feet in length, and another 
 seventy feet in height and six hundred feet long. 
 They can be entered only by row-boats from the sea. 
 A horse pistol discharged therein makes a report 
 equal to that of a small field-piece in open space. 
 
 We have seen little of Belfast, except what came 
 within our view in going from the railroad depot to 
 the steamboat landing, stopping at the Post Office, a 
 fine building, in the anxious but disappointed hope 
 of hearing from home. We saw enough, however, 
 to satisfy us of what we already knew, that it is a 
 handsome city, full of life and business activity. For 
 two pence, the regular fee, the baggage - master at 
 the depot took care of our trunk while we made our 
 trip to the Giant's Causeway. 
 
20 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 LASGOW, June 1. — After a quiet night on the 
 
 le 
 steamer from Belfast we arrived in Glasgow at 
 six o'clock on the morning of the 29th ultimo, having 
 come by land from Greenock, where we took the 
 railroad cars. We are pleased with everything about 
 this city except the smoke, clouds and rain, which 
 give it a decidedly gloomy character. We have 
 scarcely had a sight of the sun here, and we are told 
 that there is hardly a day in certain seasons of the 
 year when it does not rain. The smoke from the 
 furnaces on the Clyde constantly floats in thick vol- 
 umes over the city, enveloping it in semi-darkness 
 even when there are no other clouds to obscure the 
 sun's rays. The city has a very solid appearance, 
 the buildings generally looking as though they were 
 built for all time. Most of the streets are of good 
 width, and there is an abundance of pure water, 
 brought through tunnels and aqueducts thirty-four 
 miles from Loch Katrine, to keep it clean. The first 
 steamer in Europe, we are told, was launched here 
 in 1812. This is the native place of James Watts, 
 who first demonstrated the power of steam, and in 
 St. George's Square, a spacious and beautiful park, 
 there is a bronze statue of him in a sitting posture 
 and meditative mood. Here also are equestrian 
 statues of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, statues 
 of Lord Clyde, Richard Moore, Sir Robert Peel, and 
 a lofty monument to Sir Walter Scott. On Sunday 
 we attended church at the great Cathedral, which 
 was founded in the twelfth century, and which is 
 one of the grandest in Europe, being, perhaps, un- 
 surpassed in respect especially to its stained -glass 
 
GLASGOW. 21 
 
 windows. After church we took a walk through 
 the adjacent cemetery, called the Necropolis, which 
 rises in terraces to a considerable elevation, and is 
 beautifully laid out. It is the burying-place of many 
 distinguished persons, containing numerous costly 
 monuments — the most conspicuous of which is one 
 to John Knox, the reformer. On Monday we walked 
 to Kelvin Grove Park and Museum in the west end of 
 the city. This Park, containing some forty acres, is 
 very beautiful, and facing it are some of the finest 
 residences. In the Museum we saw a letter written 
 by Lord Nelson, ordering dinner and wine, several 
 letters from the Duke of Wellington, and one written 
 by Robert Burns. Without favors to ask, we called 
 on our consul, whose name, curiously enough, is Sam- 
 uel L. Glasgow, and he and his wife returned our 
 call at the Queen's Hotel. We found in them all we 
 could desire as representatives of our country abroad 
 — unaffected courtesy, ample knowledge of what 
 they were required to do, and a willingness to give 
 advice or to communicate any desired information. 
 
 Of course, we have been to Ayr, which is forty 
 miles by railroad from Glasgow. This took all of 
 one day, which was full of enjoyment. Our route 
 led us through Paisley, famous for its shawls of that 
 name. Burns' cottage is two miles from the village 
 of Ayr. We entered it with alacrity, devouring with 
 our eyes every object that had ever met the vision of 
 the rustic poet. Here, in a little recess in the side of 
 the kitchen, just large enough to admit a bed, the 
 immortal bard first drew breath. Here, too, were 
 the candle-stand chairs, and the old-fashioned dress- 
 er, plates and dishes, which were used by him. An 
 old clock, the case of which reaches from floor to ceil- 
 ing, likewise remains here, still counting the expir- 
 
22 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ing hours since the moment when it noted the last 
 beat of the poet's pulse. The window by the white- 
 washed dresser consists of only four seven-by-nine 
 squares of glass, and the front window is but double 
 that size, while the fire-place is large and high 
 enough to hold an eighth of a cord of wood. The 
 other room of the original cottage was also shown 
 to us. This was the parlor or sitting-room, and 
 here, also, some of the old furniture is yet preserved. 
 The old one-story Alloway Kirk is situated about 
 two miles from the cottage. Only the four walls, 
 with bell-tower and bell, remain standing. It is in a 
 cemetery, flanked on both sides by grave-stones — 
 some of which mark the graves of Burns' father, 
 mother, and sister; and here, too, we were assured, 
 rest the ashes of jolly Tarn O'Shanter and Souter 
 Johnny. 
 
 "O, Tarn, had'st thou but been sau wise 
 As ta'en thy am wife Kate's advice! 
 She tauld thee weel thou wast a skellum, 
 A blethering, blustering, drunken bleilum; 
 That frae November till October 
 Ae market day thou was nae sober; 
 That ilka melder wi' the miller 
 Thou sat as lang as thou had siller; 
 That ev'ry naig was ca'd a shoe on, 
 The smith and thee gat roaring fou on; 
 That at the Lord's house, ev'n on Sunday, 
 Thou drank wi' Kirkton Jean till Monday. 
 She prophesy' d that, late or soon, 
 Thou would be found deep drown'd in Doon; 
 Or catch'd wi' warlocks i' the mirk 
 By Alloway *s auld haunted Kirk." 
 
 Near by the Kirk we stopped at the well "where 
 Mungo's mither hang'd hersel';" and proceeding a 
 short distance from the cemetery we came to the 
 handsome monument erected to the memory of 
 
AYR. 23 
 
 Burns. It is about sixty feet high, surrounded by 
 nine Corinthian columns, thirty feet high, support- 
 ing a cupola which is surmounted by a gilt tripod. 
 It is within an inclosure charmingly ornamented 
 with trees, shrubs, vines, and flowers, and there is 
 an admission, fee of one or two pence. Here we 
 were shown a portrait of Burns, the Bible he pre- 
 sented to his Highland Mary, and a snuff-box made 
 from the wood of Alloway Kirk. Here, too, are 
 kept for sale various articles constructed from wood 
 grown in the vicinity; and no visitor, we imagine, 
 departs without securing some of these choice me- 
 mentos. In a grotto here we saw Thorn's famous 
 statues of Tarn O'Shanter and Souter Johnny, which 
 were exhibited to admiring crowds in the United 
 States about forty years ago. Nothing could more 
 truthfully represent this scene : 
 
 " Ae market night 
 Tarn had got planted unco right, 
 Fast by an ingle, bleezing finely, 
 Wi' reaming swats, that drank divinely; 
 And at his elbow Souter Johnny, 
 His ancient, trusty, drouthy crony; 
 Tarn lo'ed him like a vera brither; 
 They had been fou for weeks thegither. 
 The night drave on wi' sangs and clatter; 
 And ay the ale was growing better: 
 The landlady and Tarn grew gracious, 
 Wi' favours secret, sweet, and precious: 
 The Souter tauld his queerest stories: 
 The landlord's laugh was ready chorus: 
 The storm without might rair and rustle, 
 Tarn did na mind the storm a whistle." 
 
 Hard by are "the banks and braes o' bonnie Doon," 
 and we watched its rippling waters from the "auld 
 brig o' Doon," whose substantial stone abutments 
 and arch look as though they might defy the rav- 
 
24 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ages of time. The "two brigs/' also immortalized 
 by the poet, are nearer the village of Ayr, on our 
 way to which, near Paisley, an ancient oak was 
 pointed out to us as the one under which Wallace is 
 said to have hid from the English forces. We also 
 passed Eglinton Castle; but the great interest of our 
 trip to-day centers in Burns and the place where he 
 lived and died. An indefinable charm seems to be 
 imparted even to the leaves gathered as keepsakes 
 from under the window of his humble cottage and 
 around his tomb. As we walked over the same 
 ground he used to tread, imagination carried us 
 back fourscore and ten years to the time of his 
 death, and we felt like exclaiming with Roscoe: 
 
 " Rear high thy bleak, majestic hills, 
 
 Thy sheltered valleys proudly spread, 
 And, Scotia, pour thy thousand rills, 
 
 And wave thy heaths with blossoms red; 
 But, ah! what poet now shall tread 
 
 Thy airy heights, thy woodland reign, 
 Since he, the sweetest bard, is dead, 
 
 That ever breathed the soothing strain ? " 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 QJ^DINBURGH, June 2. — Sending our baggage 
 <^^i direct by mail from Glasgow to this city, we 
 started yesterday morning on the northern route, by 
 the way of the lakes — the Trosachs and Stirling — 
 and reached here the same day about 10 o'clock p. 
 M. , at which hour we could still see to read easily by 
 twilight. We came first by train thirty miles to 
 Ballock, at the foot of Loch Lomond, where we took 
 
LAKES OF SCOTLAND. 25 
 
 the steamer Rob Roy, and sailed nearly the length 
 of the lake, in which there are thirty -three islands, 
 to Inversnaid, where a huge coach, ascended by a 
 ladder, was in waiting to take us five miles over a 
 romantic road to Stronachlacher, on Loch Katrine. 
 Here is a small inn, and as we had a half hour 
 before the steamer could return to take us over the 
 lake, we strolled into the pasture among the ferns 
 and heather to obtain a near view of Rob Roy's 
 house, which stands back a little distance from the 
 lake. Here in these highlands was his stronghold, 
 better than a fortress. From this point the steamer 
 was about one hour in going to the eastern end of 
 the lake, where, passing near Ellen's Isle, we landed 
 in a sort of rustic arbor charming to behold. We 
 were fortunate in having a pleasant day for this 
 trip. The lakes were almost as smooth as glass, 
 and, mirror-like, reflected the landscape so perfectly 
 that it was sometimes impossible to discover the 
 dividing line between the real and the shadow. The 
 view from the steamer of the rugged mountains of 
 Ben Lomond and Ben Venue to the" north could not 
 have been better. Another coach ride of eight or 
 ten miles through the Trosachs and along by Loch 
 Vennachar brought us to Callander, the terminus of 
 the railroad from Stirling. Our driver was dressed 
 in a red coat and white silk hat, so that he was not 
 likely to be taken for one of the passengers, of 
 whom there were enough — all English but ourselves 
 — to fill the coach. As on the previous coach, we 
 were all seated on top, the inside being for luggage; 
 and as we were driven through the woods up over 
 the heath-covered highlands, where flocks of sheep 
 were quietly grazing, the picture thus presented was 
 worthy of the pencil of an artist. Taking the cars 
 
26 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 at Callander, which is a small village scattered for 
 a mile or more along the highway, we were soon at 
 Stirling, where we stopped two hours to see the old 
 Castle, cemetery, and other objects of interest. This 
 Castle is famous as the ancient residence of the Kings 
 of Scotland, and of Mary, Queen of Scots. It is now 
 used as a barrack for soldiers, and we had for our 
 guide an old veteran who told us all about it. He 
 took us into the room in which James II. assassi- 
 nated William, Earl of Douglas, because he had 
 refused to cease his opposition to him, and the King's 
 attendants threw his body out of the window. Next 
 to this is the small room, called the Secret Chamber, 
 which we also entered, where witnesses were secre- 
 ted to listen and betray. We likewise visited the 
 Chapel connected with the Castle, where Mary was 
 crowned Queen of Scots; and from the top of the 
 Castle we looked through a hole in the wall where 
 she used to sit concealed and witness the feats of 
 the Knights of the Round Table in their tournaments 
 on the lawn below. This lawn, laid out for some 
 game, is still kept in that shape. From the walls 
 of the Castle we could see the field where the great 
 battle of Bannockburn was fought, and eleven other 
 battle-fields. In one room we saw the pulpit, chair, 
 and communion-table of John Knox, a Bible two 
 hundred years old, and in another room some of 
 the old crown jewels and many other interesting 
 relics. The old church in which James VI. was 
 crowned, and John Knox preached his coronation 
 sermon, was likewise an object of special interest. 
 This is at the entrance of the cemetery, through 
 which we wandered, reading the curious inscriptions 
 on the tombstones and monuments. One of these 
 monuments consists of a marble group of three fig- 
 
STIRLING. 27 
 
 ures on a circular pedestal covered with glass. One 
 of the figures represents a maiden, seated with the 
 Bible in her lap; at her feet sits a more youthful 
 maiden, and behind them stands an angel — with 
 wings, of course. From this very unique monument 
 we copied the following: 
 
 " Margaret, Virgin martyr of the 033.111 wave, with her like-minded 
 sister Agnes. 
 
 "Through Faith, Margaret Wilson, a youthful maiden, cho.se rather to 
 depart and be with Christ than to disown His holy cause and covenant to 
 own Erastian Usurpation and conform to Prelacy enforced by cruel laws. 
 Bound to a stake within flood-mark of the Sol way tide, she died a Martyr's 
 death, on nth May, 1685. 
 
 "Love many waters cannot quench — God saves 
 His chaste, impearled One! in covenant true. 
 O, Scotia's Daughters! earnest scan the Page 
 
 And prize this Flower of Grace, blood-bought for you." 
 
 On an eminence called the Abbey Craig, three 
 hundred feet high, near the city of Stirling, and near 
 where the battle of Stirling was fought in 1297, stands 
 a handsome monument to Wallace. This monument, 
 being two hundred and twenty feet in height above 
 its base, is seen from a long distance. From Stirling 
 to Edinburgh one may go either by steamer or rail ; 
 and as the more speedy mode we chose the latter. 
 
 Through the kind introduction and advice of our 
 consul at Glasgow, we find ourselves at a nice private 
 boarding-house, 22 York place, kept by the Misses 
 Thompson, and where our consul for Edinburgh, 
 John T. Robeson, Esq., also boards. It is in a cen- 
 tral position, a short distance only from Princess 
 street — which is the Broadway of Edinburgh — and 
 the Scott monument. We prefer it to a hotel. To- 
 day ;yve have visited the Edinburgh Castle, which is 
 on a high ledge, so precipitous that it is accessible 
 only from the eastern side. On one occasion, how- 
 
28 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ever, in 1313, history tells us that it was recovered 
 from the English by the Earl of Moray, assisted by 
 thirty men, who, in the darkness of night, scaled the 
 western precipice, guided by one of their number, 
 "who had been in the habit of descending and re- 
 ascending the cliff surreptitiously to pay court to his 
 mistress." In the crown room, within a grated in- 
 cisure, we saw the insignia of Scottish royalty, con- 
 sisting of a crown, scepter, and sword of state, and 
 with them is the Lord Treasurer's rod of office — all 
 which had been concealed in an oak chest in 1707, and 
 not discovered until 1818. The most attractive point 
 here is Queen Mary's room, where her son, James VI., 
 was born, and when only six days old was let down 
 from a window of his room in a basket, to be taken 
 to a place of greater safety. It makes one dizzy to 
 look from this window to the ground. A remarkable 
 portrait of Queen Mary hangs in this room, and on 
 the wall, surmounted by the Scottish arms, is the 
 following inscription : 
 
 " Lord Jesu Chryst that crounit was with Thornes, 
 Preserve the Birth, quhais Badgie Heir is borne, 
 And send Hir Sonne successione, to Reigne stille, 
 Lang in this Realme, if that it be Thy will. 
 Als grant, O Lord, quhat ever of Hir proceed, 
 Be to Thy Honer, and Praise sobied. 
 19th IVNII, 1566." 
 
 In this chamber Queen Mary's bedstead, and one 
 of her chairs in which we had the honor of sitting, 
 still remain. 
 
 On the bomb battery lies dismounted a gigantic 
 cannon, called "Mons Megs," capable of discharging 
 a twenty-inch ball. It was made of thick iron bars 
 hooped together, at Mons, in Brittany, and was em- 
 ployed at the siege of Norham Castle, in 1513. In 1684 
 

 EDINBURGH. 29 
 
 it was removed to the Tower of London, where it was 
 regarded as a most interesting relic until 1829, when 
 it was restored to the Castle. It burst in 1682, while 
 being used in firing a salute to the Duke of York. 
 
 On our way from the Castle we gazed with strange 
 interest upon the " Heart of Mid Lothian" — the form 
 of a heart set in the cobble-stone pavement on the 
 spot where stood the old Tolbooth, in which Effie 
 Deans was incarcerated, and where the Porteous 
 mob, so vividly described in Scott's ''Heart of Mid 
 Lothian," took place. A little further on, in a lower 
 part of the city, we came to the house of John Knox, 
 which is a very old and odd-looking affair; but three 
 rooms — the sitting-room, bed-room and study — are 
 all that are shown to visitors. It was provided for 
 him when he was elected Minister of Edinburgh in 
 1559, and he occupied it, with some interruptions, 
 from 1560 until his death in 1572. Over the door is 
 the following inscription: 
 
 LUFE.GOD.ABOVE.ALL.AND.YOUR. 
 NEIGHBOUR.AS.YOUR.SELF. 
 
 Under the window, from which it is said he used to 
 address the populace, is an effigy of him in the atti- 
 tude of speaking. 
 
 Continuing our walk along this part of the old 
 town, called "The Canongate, " we came to the 
 house now, or lately, used as a printing office, in 
 which Boswell, the biographer of Johnson, resided, 
 and in which he received Johnson in 1773. Opening 
 from Longmarket street is a narrow alley called 
 "Lady Stair's Close," in which is laid the scene of 
 Sir Walter Scott's romantic story, "My Aunt Marga- 
 ret's Mirror." Over the doorway of the house de- 
 scribed in the story is the inscription: "Fear the 
 Lord and depart from evil." 
 
30 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 EDINBURGH CASTLE AND SCOTT MONUMENT. 
 
EDINBURGH. 31 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 j]^DINBURGH ? June 8.-We have had a week's 
 (c^H delightful enjoyment in old Edinburgh and 
 vicinity, going one day a few miles out of town to 
 visit Roslin Castle, only the ruins of which remain. 
 The Chapel near by, however, has been preserved, 
 and is much admired for its exquisite architecture, 
 including what is called the "Apprentice's Pillar/' 
 which has been reproduced in plaster in the South 
 Kensington Museum, London. Nothing could be 
 more charming than the scenery surrounding the 
 Castle, and through Hawthornden, the home of the 
 poet Drummond in the the time of Shakspeare. 
 
 "Here, too, are labyrinthine paths 
 To caverns dark and low, 
 Wherein, they say, King Robert Bruce 
 Found refuge from his foe." 
 
 Edinburgh is conspicuous not only for its solid stone 
 edifices, but also for its monuments. In Parliament 
 Square is a fine equestrian statue of Charles II. In 
 one street are statues of Pitt, George IV., John, the 
 fourth Earl of Hoptonn, and a column, one hundred 
 and thirty-six feet in height, to Lord Melville, sur- 
 mounted with his statue; and, then, on Calton Hill 
 are Nelson's monument, two hundred feet in height, 
 Dugald Stewart's monument, and an unfinished na- 
 tional monument, after the style of the Parthenon, 
 erected in honor of the heroes of Waterloo. Besides 
 these monuments on Calton Hill, which overlooks 
 the city, there is an observatory from which a splen- 
 did view is had of the surrounding country, em- 
 bracing Arthur's Seat, Lammermoor, and Pentland 
 Hills. 
 
32 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 "Traced like a map the landscape lies 
 
 In cultured beauty stretching wide; 
 There Pentland's green acclivities, 
 
 There ocean with its azure tide, 
 There Arthur's Seat — and, gleaming through 
 The eastern wing, Dun Edin blue; 
 While in the orient Lammer's daughters — 
 
 A distant giant range — are seen 
 
 North Berwick Law, with cone of green, 
 And bass amid the waters." 
 
 But the most graceful monument, perhaps, in Europe 
 is that to Sir Walter Scott in Princess street garden. 
 It takes two hundred and eighty-seven steps to reach 
 its top. Under the canopy is a statue of Sir Walter 
 in a sitting posture, his faithful dog by his side. 
 The niches are filled from characters in Scott's nov- 
 els, such as Prince Charles, Meg Merrilies, the Lady 
 of the Lake, and the Last Minstrel. At a short 
 distance from this monument is a bronze statue of 
 John Wilson, (Christopher North,) and a little fur- 
 ther on is a white marble statue of Allan Ramsay. 
 
 In the Canongate churchyard we saw the stones 
 that mark the graves of Adam Smith, author of 
 the ''Wealth of Nations," Dugald Stewart, David 
 Allan, artist, and Ferguson, the poet. That over 
 the grave of Ferguson was erected by Robert Burns, 
 "to remain forever sacred to the memory of Robert 
 Ferguson, born September 5, 1751, died October 16, 
 1774," to which record are added these lines: 
 
 " No sculptured marble here, nor pompous lay; 
 No storied urn, nor animated bust — 
 This simple stone directs pale Scotia's way 
 To pour her sorrow o'er her poet's dust." 
 
 The White House Inn, now in a dilapidated con- 
 dition, is another object of curiosity, as the house 
 where Dr. Johnson put up when he visited Edinburgh 
 
EDINBURGH. 33 
 
 in 1773, and where he met that "unlucky specimen 
 of Scottish cleanliness" referred to by Boswell: "He 
 asked to have his lemonade made sweeter, upon 
 which the waiter, with his greasy fingers, lifted up 
 a lump of sugar and put it into it. The Doctor, in 
 indignation, threw it out of the window." This re- 
 minds one of Daniel Webster's throwing overboard 
 his tooth-brush, greatly to the surprise of a "green- 
 horn" fellow-passenger, who had requested merely 
 the loan of it — which was granted! 
 
 The large Gallery of paintings and extensive Mu- 
 seum here afforded us much pleasure. So, likewise, 
 the view of the Parliament House and Library, St. 
 Giles' Church, and a ramble on Calton Hill. On a 
 Sunday we listened to what we thought a rather dry 
 sermon from the writer of hymns, Horatius Bonar, 
 who is pastor of a small church in the suburbs of the 
 city. He is about sixty, and resembles Martin Van 
 Buren at that age. In the evening we heard the 
 Rev. Dr. Alexander, a more distinguished divine. 
 
 In Holyrood Palace, "the ancient residence of 
 Scottish royalty," we were brought again, as we 
 could but feel, very near the unfortunate Queen 
 Mary. We first entered the picture Gallery, "upon 
 the walls of which are suspended De Witt's fanciful 
 portraits of one hundred and six Scottish Kings in a 
 style of art truly barbarous, an interesting portrait 
 of Mary, Queen of Scots, excepted. " There are also 
 other portraits of more or less historical interest. 
 We were next shown the rooms of Lord Darnley, in 
 which, among other portraits, are one of the youth- 
 ful Lord Darnley, and one of his brother. From 
 these rooms is a private stairway leading to the 
 Queen's rooms above. Next we came to the tapestry 
 room, the walls of which are hung with old tapestry; 
 3 
 
34 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and in one of the rooms we saw the bedstead of 
 Charles I. The large, old fire-places in some of the 
 rooms are very curious. Queen Mary's apartments 
 were the most interesting. It is said they remain in 
 nearly the same state as when she left them. In her 
 bed-room are her bed and other ancient furniture. 
 "On one side of the room is the door of the secret 
 passage by which the conspirators entered, and ad- 
 joining is the cabinet or closet where they found their 
 victim, Rizzio. It is said that he was dragged out 
 from this to the door of the audience chamber, where 
 he was finally dispatched, and the exact spot where 
 the body lay is identified by marks of blood, still visi- 
 ble," and which we saw. Another account states 
 that Lord Darnley, "who himself headed the con- 
 spirators, first entered, and casting his arm fondly 
 round the Queen's waist, seated himself beside her at 
 table. Lord Ruthven followed in complete armor, 
 looking pale and ghastly, as one scarcely recovered 
 from long sickness. Others crowded in after them, 
 till the closet was full of armed men. While the 
 Queen demanded the purpose of their coming, Rizzio, 
 who saw that his life was aimed at, got behind her 
 and clasped the folds of her gown, that the respect 
 due to her person might protect him. The assassins 
 threw down the table and seized on the unfortunate 
 object of their vengeance, while Darnley himself 
 took hold of the Queen and forced Rizzio and her 
 asunder. It was their intention, doubtless, to have 
 dragged Rizzio out of Mary's presence, and to have 
 killed him elsewhere; but their fierce impatience hur- 
 ried them into instant murder. George Douglas, a 
 natural brother of the Earl of Morton, set the exam- 
 ple by striking Rizzio with the dagger which he had 
 snatched from Darnley's belt. He received many 
 
 
EDINBURGH. 
 
 other blows. They then dragged him through the 
 bedroom and anteroom, and dispatched him at the 
 head of the staircase with no less than fifty -six 
 wounds. The Queen continued to beg his life with 
 prayers and tears; but when she learned that he was 
 dead, she dried her tears and said: 'I will now study 
 revenge. ' " 
 
 From the Queen's apartments we descended to the 
 Chapel, which was founded in 1128, and is now in 
 beautiful ruins — the walls only remaining. On a 
 tablet in the wall is the following inscription, placed 
 there at the instance of Charles I. : 
 
 BASILICAM HANC, SEMI RUTANI, 
 
 CAROLUS REX, 
 
 OPTIMUS INSTAVRAVIT, 
 
 1633- 
 
 He shall build ane house for my name, and I will stablish 
 
 the throne of His kingdom forever. 
 
 In the belfry tower is a marble monument to Lord 
 Belhaven, (1639,) and in one corner of the Abbey "is 
 the royal vault, in which are deposited the remains 
 of David II. , James II. , James V. , and Magdalen, his 
 Queen; Henry, Lord Darnley, and other illustrious 
 persons." Rizzio's grave and the tombs of many 
 others of the Scottish nobility are located in different 
 parts of the Abbey. While examining the inscrip- 
 tions on these old tombs we were happily surprised 
 at the appearance of a friend from Washington, Mr. 
 J. H. Wilkinson, of the Treasury Department, who, 
 about to return home, kindly offered to report in per- 
 son to our friends on his arrival. 
 
 Rising immediately from Holyrood Palace, which 
 is on the eastern edge of the city, Arthur's Seat, 
 eight hundred and twenty-two feet in height, is con- 
 spicuous; and one fine day we walked to its rocky 
 
36 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 summit, taking our lunch (cakes and sparkling lem- 
 onade, purchased there of a Scotchwoman,) and sat 
 on the highest point of the ledge — dangerous of as- 
 cent and descent, except to youthful persons like our- 
 selves. It was a day never to be forgotten. Far 
 below us, around the' brow of the cliff, is the Queen's 
 Drive. This walk took us to the very spot where 
 Jennie Deans is represented to have met with the ruf- 
 fian Robertson, and along the foot-path or Salisbury 
 Crags, past the ruins of St. Anthony's Chapel, only 
 small sections of the walls of which remain, and also 
 by St. Anthony's Well, from which we quenched our 
 thirst, and which is thus alluded to in an old song: 
 
 "Now, Arthur's Seat shall be my bed, 
 
 The sheets shall ne'er be pressed by me; 
 St. Anton's Well shall be my drink, 
 Since my true love 's forsaken me." 
 
 This Well is very shallow, being only a common 
 spring of good, pure water, gushing up from beneath 
 a large boulder on the hillside. "The path along 
 Salisbury Crags," says Sir Walter Scott, "used to be 
 my favorite evening and morning resort when en- 
 gaged with a favorite author or new subject of 
 study." 
 
 In the Antiquarian Museum, among all sorts of 
 Egyptian antiquities, we saw various instruments 
 of punishment and torture formerly used in Scot- 
 land; for instance, the "branks," an iron instrument 
 to fasten on the head "as a correction of incorrigible 
 scolds;" the "thumbikins," used against the Cov- 
 enanters; and the "maiden," or Scottish guillotine, 
 by which many of the Scottish nobility were be- 
 headed. Here, also, is the repentance stool from 
 old Grayfriars' Church; John Knox's pulpit from 
 that church; the stool which the celebrated Jenny 
 
. 
 
 MELKOSE. 37 
 
 Geddes hurled at the head of the Dean of St. Giles' 
 when he essayed, on one occasion, to read the Litur- 
 gy; a banner of the covenant, used in the battle of 
 Both well Brig in 1679; autographs of Queen Mary, 
 James VI., Charles I., Cromwell; and many other 
 relics. It might be tiresome to further particularize. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 (^jlgONDON, June 12.— We left Edinburgh at 3 
 -^^ p. m. on the 8th instant for Melrose, where 
 we stopped over night at the " King's Arms." We 
 arrived in time to visit Melrose and Dryburgh Ab- 
 beys before sundown; and in the evening we had 
 the pleasure of viewing Melrose Abbey by "pale 
 moonlight" — certainly a beautiful picture. Dry- 
 burgh Abbey is about five miles from Melrose, and 
 in going there we had to leave our carriage near 
 the end of our route and walk the rest of the way, 
 crossing the Tweed on a foot toll bridge. Only 
 some sections of the walls of this Abbey remain 
 standing. In the best preserved part of the building 
 are the tombs of Sir Walter Scott, his wife, his 
 eldest son, and Lockhart, his son-in-law and bi- 
 ographer. The site on the banks of the Tweed is 
 both beautiful and picturesque. Sir Walter's re- 
 mains were deposited here by his special request, 
 and we have a photograph showing the exact posi- 
 tion of these tombs in the ruins. Near by is a 
 colossal statue of Wallace. Melrose Abbey is better 
 preserved than Dryburgh, some portions of it being 
 yet under roofs. Many of the royal families of 
 
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Scotland had this for their burial place, and the 
 body of Alexander II. and the heart of Robert Bruce 
 here found their last resting-place. The Monks' 
 Walk is said to have been a favorite resort of Sir 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 On the following morning we were driven three 
 miles to Abbottsford, Sir Walter Scott's large man- 
 sion, and were shown through the house. It is 
 finely situated on the Tweed. His study, we were 
 assured, remains very nearly as he left it. It is a 
 small room, containing his books of reference in 
 galleries on two sides, his writing-desk, arm-chair, 
 and other furniture. The library is much larger, 
 and is said to contain 20,000 volumes. What most 
 interested us here were the clothes he last wore — 
 a broad -brimmed, white fur hat, plaid pantaloons, 
 striped vest, thick leather shoes, and gaiters. A 
 cast of his head taken after his death also attracted 
 our special attention. In one room, called the armo- 
 ry, are numerous weapons and other curiosities, 
 among which are Rob Roy's musket, bearing the 
 initials R. M. C; a sword presented by Charles I. 
 to the Marquis of Montrose; a hunting-flask of James 
 VI. ; Roman spears; two pistols found in Napoleon's 
 carriage after the battle of Waterloo, supposed to 
 have belonged to him; the huge key of the old Tol- 
 booth at Edinburgh; and an axe presented by Wash- 
 ington Irving. In a case are a large number of 
 valuable presents of various kinds from distinguished 
 persons. In the dining-room and library are many 
 handsome portraits and pictures, among them a por- 
 trait of Sir Walter's eldest son, represented as a 
 dragoon standing by his horse, and another of Crom- 
 well. In the drawing-room we saw an ebony chair, 
 presented by George IV. 
 
. 
 
 STRATFOKD - ON - AVON. 39 
 
 Bidding adieu to Melrose, we took the express 
 train at half past eleven a. m. and reached Leam- 
 ington, via Carlisle, Lancaster, Crew, Stafford, Rug- 
 by, and Kenilworth, by ten p. m. Leamington is 
 quite a summer resort, and is probably the best 
 place to stop for the purpose of visiting Kenilworth 
 and Warwick Castles and Stratford -on -Avon. It 
 is ten miles from here to Shakspeare's birth-place, 
 and we went there the next day, taking Warwick 
 on our way back. We passed one or two hours in 
 Shakspeare's house, which looks just as represented 
 by the pictures we often see of it. It is a very rough 
 structure, coarser inside even than on the exterior. 
 The old kitchen fire-place takes up a great part of 
 one side of the room, which has a stone floor. The 
 rough-plastered walls and ceilings of the rooms are 
 scribbled over with the names of visitors — a fashion 
 of leaving one's card which was prohibited many 
 years ago. The small window-panes are scratched 
 in like manner, and on one of them we read the 
 name " : W. Scott," showing that Sir Walter approved 
 of the fashion. In one of the chambers there is a 
 portrait of Shakspeare, said to be authentic. The 
 engraved likenesses we see of him, we should think, 
 were taken from it. One or two of the larger rooms 
 are devoted to a Shakspearian museum, which con- 
 tains many most interesting relics, of which, among 
 some of the most prominent, are the following: Deed 
 made in 1596, proving that John Shakspeare, the 
 father of the poet, resided in this house; the letter 
 from Richard Quyney to Shakspeare, in 1589, asking 
 for a loan of £ 30, the only letter addressed to Shaks- 
 peare known to exist; Shakspeare's gold signet ring, 
 with the initials W. S. and a true - lover's knot be- 
 tween; his ancient desk from the grammar school; 
 
40 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 jubi- 
 
 his jug, from which Garrick sipped wine at the jubi- 
 lee in 1769; a specimen from an original copy of the 
 " Merry Wives of Windsor;" a sword, said to have 
 belonged to Shakspeare, and a sign of the Falcon 
 Inn, where he is said to have imbibed too freely. 
 From a curiously printed old pamphlet, containing 
 his portrait and one of his plays, we copied the fol- 
 lowing, attributed to Ben Jonson : 
 
 "IT) THE READER. 
 
 "This figure that thou seest put, 
 
 It was for gentle Shakspeare cut; 
 Wherein the Grauer had a strife 
 
 With Nature to outdoo the life: 
 O, could he have but drawne his wit 
 
 As well in brasse, as he hath hit 
 His face, the print would then surpasse 
 
 All that was ever writ in brasse. 
 But since he cannot, Reader looke 
 
 Not on his Picture, but his Booke. B. I." 
 
 Hanging framed in the museum is the following 
 verse, written by Lucien Bonaparte during his visit 
 here many years ago : 
 
 "The eye of genius glistens to admire 
 How memory hails the sound of Shakspeare' s lyre; 
 One tear I '11 shed to form a crystal shrine 
 For all that's grand, immortal, or divine." 
 
 From Shakspeare's house we walked to the old 
 church on the banks of the Avon, where he was 
 buried. His grave and that of his wife are in the 
 chancel, and over his is a plain slab bearing these 
 lines cut in old Roman letters : 
 
 "Kind Friend, for Jesus sake forbeare 
 To dig the dust enclosed heare; 
 Blest be the man yt spares thes stones, 
 And cvrst be he yt moves my bones." 
 
 In the side wall above is a Latin inscription and a 
 
WARWICK CASTLE. 41 
 
 bust of Shakspeare. The sexton showed us an old 
 parchment book, in which we read the record of the 
 birth of William Shakspeare, April 23, 1564; of his 
 baptism, April 26, 1564; and of his death, April 23, 
 1616. This unpretending building, called the Church 
 of the Holy Trinity, dates back to the eleventh cen- 
 tury. We passed, without entering, the Red Horse 
 Hotel, celebrated as the house where Washington 
 Irving put up when he was here. 
 
 Warwick Castle, the residence of the Earl of War- 
 wick, is a noble structure, and is kept in good repair. 
 The rooms shown to visitors are filled with a great 
 variety of rare and curious things, including costly 
 inlaid tables, one of which is valued at $50,000; wea- 
 pons of various descriptions — a gun -barreled re- 
 volver made two hundred years before Colt ever 
 thought of such a thing; a valuable collection of 
 paintings, etc. We saw in the porter's lodge some 
 of the most wonderful things which belonged to 
 Guy, the giant Earl of Warwick, (tenth century,) 
 who measured eight feet, eleven inches from head to 
 foot, and whose breast-plate weighs fifty pounds, his 
 shield thirty pounds, and his two-handed sword, 'five 
 feet, five inches long, twenty pounds. His tilting 
 spear, halberd, chain coat-of-mail, cane, and horse's 
 armor are likewise preserved here; also, his porridge- 
 pot, or punch-bowl, made of bell metal, said to hold 
 one hundred and two gallons. Here, too, are cannon 
 balls which were fired at the Castle by Cromwell 
 We have a fine photograph of this old Castle as we 
 viewed it from a bridge over the Avon, which runs 
 at the base of the rock on which the Castle is built. 
 
 On the 11th we took the train, five miles, to Kenil- 
 worth, and walked along the country road, enjoying 
 the scenery, to Kenilworth Castle, about one mile 
 
42 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and a half beyond. The ruins of this famous old 
 Castle are scattered over an extent of an eighth of a 
 mile or more, and the only part inhabitable is what 
 is called the Gate House, a building one or two hun- 
 dred feet square with four towers. Here the keeper 
 resides with his family. The detached portions are 
 every where covered with ivy. Originally there was 
 "a pool, containing one hundred and eleven acres, 
 well stocked with fish," and its waters could be let 
 into the moat, sections of which still exist, around 
 the Castle. The Park, in which this pool or lake was 
 located, but which, was drained in the time of Crom- 
 well, contained a large extent of territory with for- 
 ests well stocked with deer and other game. It was 
 in this Castle that the Earl of Leicester, in 1575, 
 entertained Queen Elizabeth and her Court seven- 
 teen days at a cost of $85,000, a pretty large sum in 
 that period. 
 
 On the morning of the 12th we left Leamington 
 for London, stopping over one train to visit the Col- 
 leges of Oxford, of which there are nineteen in all, 
 called collectively, the University of Oxford. From 
 our carriage our guide informed us of the names of 
 the various Colleges, all the buildings of which look 
 very dingy. In one of them, specially noted on that 
 account, Cromwell kept his horses. In the Bodleian 
 Library we were greatly interested in several very 
 ancient books and manuscripts shown to us. This 
 Library is said to contain 240,000 volumes; and there 
 is also a picture Gallery here, where we saw what is 
 considered one of Van Dyck's oldest and best pic- 
 tures. In the Museum, among other interesting 
 relics, we saw the lantern carried by Guy Fawkes 
 when he undertook to blow up the British Parlia- 
 ment buildings. 
 
LONDON. 43 
 
 _ 
 
 Leaving behind Oxford and its history of a thou- 
 sand years, at 5 p. m., we are in still more ancient 
 uidon — a world immediately before us. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 |OKDON, June 16.— After enjoying for a few 
 1 days the elegant hospitalities of an English 
 family whose urgent invitation to make them a visit 
 we found it hard to decline, we are settled down in 
 a private boarding house on Queen's Road, in Bays- 
 water West, near the Royal Oak, and two minutes' 
 walk from Kensington Park. We are likewise with- 
 in one minute's walk of a station of the Metropolitan 
 Underground Railway, by which we can go to al- 
 most any part of the city and return for from four 
 pence to nine pence the single passage; or we can 
 take an omnibus either from Kensington Garden or 
 Royal Oak for about the same price. 
 
 Our first day in London being Sunday, we imme- 
 diately turned our steps to that great center of at- 
 traction, Westminster Abbey, where we attended 
 service. On that occasion, and during subsequent 
 visits, we have for hours been deeply absorbed in 
 wandering through this wilderness of tombs, busts, 
 statues, and other monuments of the distinguished 
 lead. We were first drawn to the Poet's Corner, 
 ind at once to the slab over Charles Dickens' grave, 
 ipon which lay a cross of faded flowers. Above 
 Jtand the busts of Macaulay, Thackeray, and others, 
 he statues of Shakspeare, Addison, Thomas Camp- 
 >ell, and Thomson, and close by, the statues, busts, 
 
44 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 or other monuments of Garrick, Goldsmith, Gay, 
 Southey, Prior, Milton, Chaucer, Dryden, Beaumont, 
 Gray, Spenser, Samuel Johnson, Sheridan, Cowley, 
 Ben Jonson, and many others. 
 
 In one of the principal aisles we stood over the 
 new-made grave of Dr. Livingstone, indicated by a 
 marble slab in the floor, bearing his name and date 
 of death; and on this slab some friendly hand had 
 placed a wreath of flowers. In another part of the 
 church is a monumental bust of Sir John Franklin, 
 with appropriate inscriptions — the affectionate tri~ 
 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 45 
 
 bute of Lady Franklin, recently deceased. We tran- 
 scribed from this monument the following: 
 
 " O ye frost and cold, O ye ice and snow, 
 Bless ye the Lord: praise Him and magnify His name forever. 
 Not here: the white North has thy bones; and thou, heroic- sailor soul, 
 Art passing on thy happier voyage now toward no earthly pole." 
 
 On the wall opposite is a monumental slab to Isaac 
 Watts. 
 
 The inscription on the base of Addison's statue is 
 as follows: 
 
 "Whoever thou art, venerate the memory of Joseph Addison, in whom 
 Christian faith, virtue, and good morals found a continual patron; whose 
 genius was shown in verse, and every exquisite kind of writing; who gave 
 to posterity the best examples of pure language, and the best rules for 
 living well, which remain, and ever will remain sacred; whose weight of 
 argument was tempered with wit, and accurate judgment with politeness, 
 so that he encouraged the good and reformed the improvident, tamed the 
 wicked, and in some degree made them in love with virtue. He was born 
 in the year 1672, and his fortune being increased gradually, arrived at 
 length to public honors. Died in the forty-eighth year of his age, the 
 honor and delight of the British nation." 
 
 This epitaph on Addison, written by Thomas Tic- 
 kle, is inscribed on the marble slab which marks the 
 spot where he was buried: 
 
 " Ne'er to these chambers, where the mighty rest, 
 Since their foundation, came a nobler guest; 
 Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed 
 A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade. 
 Oh, gone forever! take this long adieu, 
 And sleep in peace next thy lov'd Montegue." 
 
 Next to Addison's is the grave of Charles Mon- 
 tegue, the first Lord Halifax, who lived in the reigns 
 of William III. and George I. 
 
 The statue of Shakspeare is very graceful, and the 
 likeness bears a strong resemblance to his portrait in 
 his old house at Stratf ord-on-Avon. In the left hand 
 
46 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 is a scroll, on which appear the following lines from 
 "The Tempest:" 
 
 "The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
 The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
 Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve; 
 And, like the base fabric of a vision, 
 Leave not a rack behind." 
 
 Oliver Goldsmith's likeness is given in profile, 
 under which, on the marble slab in the wall, is a 
 Latin inscription, stating in substance that "he was 
 eminent as a Poet, Philosopher, and Historian; that 
 he scarcely left any species of writing unattempted, 
 and none that he attempted, unimproved; that he 
 was master of the softer passions, and could at plea- 
 sure command tears or provoke laughter; but in 
 everything he said or did, good nature was predom- 
 inant; that he was witty, sublime, spirited, and face- 
 tious; in speech pompous; in conversation elegant 
 and graceful; that the love of his associates, fidelity 
 of his friends, and the veneration of his readers had 
 raised this monument to his memory." 
 
 John Gay wrote his own epitaph, which we are 
 told is censured by some for its levity. Nevertheless 
 it is on his monument in these lines: 
 
 " Life is a jest, and all things show it: 
 I thought so once, but now I know it." 
 
 Underneath are the following lines by Alexander 
 Pope: 
 
 "Of manners gentle, of affection mild; 
 In wit a man, simplicity a child; 
 With native humor temp' ring virtuous rage, 
 Form'd to delight at once and lash the age; 
 Above temptation in a low estate, 
 And uncorrupted e'en among the great; 
 A safe companion and an easy friend, 
 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 47 
 
 Unblamed through life, lamented in thy end; 
 These are thy honours; not that here thy bust 
 Is mix'd with heroes, or with kings thy dust; 
 But that the worthy and the good shall say, 
 Striking their pensive bosoms, ' Here lies Gay! ' " 
 
 He was but forty-five when he died, in 1732. 
 On the monument of Edmund Spenser is the fol- 
 lowing: 
 
 " Here lies (expecting the coming of our Saviour Christ Jesus) the body 
 of Edmund Spenser, the Prince of Poets in his time, whose divine spirit 
 needs no other witness than the works which he left behind him. He was 
 born in London in 1553, and died in 1598." 
 
 The remains of a great many of the sovereigns 
 of England and Scotland are interred here. There 
 is a splendid monument to Mary Stuart, Queen of 
 Scots, erected by her son, James I., soon after he 
 ascended the throne. In 1612 he had her remains 
 privately removed to this church from the Peter- 
 borough Cathedral, where they were first buried in 
 1587. He also caused to be erected here a magni- 
 ficent monument to his predecessor, Queen Eliza- 
 beth. The inscription thereon says that "she was 
 the mother of her country, and the patroness of re- 
 ligion and learning; she was herself skilled in many 
 languages; adorned with every excellence of mind 
 and person, and endowed with princely virtues be- 
 yond her sex; that in her reign religion was restored 
 to its primitive purity; peace was established; money 
 restored to its just value; domestic insurrection 
 quelled; France delivered from intestine troubles; 
 the Netherlands supported; the Spanish Armada 
 defeated; Ireland, almost lost by the secret contri- 
 vances of Spain, recovered; the revenues of both 
 universities improved by a law of provisions, and, 
 in short, all England enriched; that she was a most 
 
48 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 prudent governess, forty -five years a virtuous and 
 triumphant Queen, truly religious, and blessed in 
 all her great affairs; and that after a calm and 
 resigned death, in the seventieth year of her age, 
 she left the mortal part to be deposited in this church, 
 which she established upon a new footing. She died 
 March 24, 1602, aged seventy." 
 
 Many of the inscriptions, especially those of the 
 royal families, recite important historical facts. For 
 instance, there is an altar erected by Charles II. to 
 the memory of Edward V. and his brother, "who, 
 by their treacherous uncle, Richard III. , were mur- 
 dered in the Tower." The inscription says: 
 
 "Here lies the relics of Edward V., King of England, and Richard, 
 Duke of York, who, being confined in the Tower, and there stifled with 
 pillows, were privately and meanly buried, by order of their perfidious 
 uncle, Richard, the usurper. Their bones, long inquired after and wished 
 for, after laying one hundred and ninety-one years in the rubbish of the 
 stairs, (leading to the chapel of the White Tower,) were, on the 17th of 
 July, 1674, by undoubted proofs, discovered, being buried deep in that 
 place. Charles II., pitying their unhappy fate, ordered these unfortunate 
 Princes to be laid among the relics of their predecessors, in the year 1678, 
 and the thirtieth of his reign." 
 
 In allusion to this inscription a writer observes: 
 "It is remarkable that Edward was born November 
 4, 1471, in the sanctuary belonging to this church, 
 whither his mother took refuge during the contest 
 between the houses of York and Lancaster; at eleven 
 years of age, upon the death of his father, 1483, 
 he was proclaimed King; and on the 23d of June, in 
 the same year, was murdered in the manner already 
 related. Richard, his brother, was born May 28, 
 1474, and married while a child to Anna Mowbray, 
 heiress of Norfolk." 
 
 On the monument to George Canning, born April 
 11, 1770, died August 8, 1827, is the following: 
 

 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 40 
 
 "Endowed with a rare combination of talents, an eminent statesman, 
 an accomplished scholar, an orator surpassed by none, he united the most 
 brilliant and lofty qualities of the mind with the warmest affections of the 
 heart; raised by his own merit, he successfully filled important offices in 
 the State, and finally became first minister of the Crown. In the full 
 enjoyment of his sovereign's favor, and of the confidence of the people, 
 he was prematurely cut off when pursuing a wise and large course of 
 policy, which had for its object the prosperity and greatness of his own 
 country, while it comprehended the welfare and commanded the admira- 
 tion of Foreign nations." 
 
 Longer than by any other, perhaps, we were in- 
 clined to linger by the monument of the unfortunate 
 Major John Andre, so well known, in this country 
 at least, as having been hung as a spy by order of 
 General Washington. On a molded paneled base 
 and plinth, in the wall, is a sarcophagus, surmount- 
 ed by a half -reclining female figure, her head bowed 
 in grief, and in bas-relief on the front are repre- 
 sented on the one hand Washington's headquarters 
 in an open tent, and on the other the British quar- 
 ters, disclosing in company with officers, what are 
 supposed to represent the mother and sister of Andre 
 in deep distress, and between the two camps a Bri- 
 tish officer is represented as bearing a flag of truce 
 to Washington, with a letter from Major Andre, 
 begging that he might be shot instead of being hung. 
 On the base is the following inscription : 
 
 Sacred to the Memory 
 
 of 
 
 MAJOR JOHN ANDRE, 
 
 who, raised by his merit at an early period of life to the rank of Adjutant- 
 General of the British forces in America, and employed in an important 
 but hazardous enterprise, fell a sacrifice to his zeal for his King and 
 country on the 2d of October, A. D. 1780, aged twenty-nine, universally 
 beloved and esteemed by the army in which he served, and lamented even 
 by his Foes. His gracious sovereign, King George the Third, lias 
 caused this monument to be erected. 
 
50 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 On the plinth is an inscription to the effect that by 
 direction of his Royal Highness the Duke of York, 
 the remains of Major Andre were removed from 
 Tappan, N. Y., and on the 28th of November, 1821, 
 deposited in a grave near this monument. It is a 
 singular fact that the head of Washington's figure 
 on this monument has been twice taken off; whether 
 from motives of spite or from mere wanton curiosity 
 it is uncertain; but charity might lead us to suppose 
 the latter reason, since the heads also of some of the 
 other figures have been removed — "being so well 
 executed they were too great a temptation for the 
 curious pilferer to withstand." Here is the letter 
 addressed to General Washington by Major Andre 
 the night previous to his execution, and borne to 
 him under this flag of truce: 
 
 " Sir — Buoyed above the terror of death by the consciousness of a life 
 devoted to honourable purposes, and stained with no action which can give 
 me remorse, I trust that the request which I make to your excellency at 
 this serious period, and which is to soften my last moments, will not be re- 
 jected; sympathy toward a soldier will surely induce your excellency, and a 
 military tribunal, to adapt the mode of my death to the feelings of a man 
 of honour; let me hope, sir, that if aught in my character impresses you 
 with esteem towards me — if aught in my misfortunes mark me as the 
 victim of policy, and not of resentment, I shall experience the operations 
 of those feelings in your breast, by being informed I am not to die on a 
 gibbet. I have the honor to be, your excellency, 
 
 "JOHN ANDRE, 
 "Adjutant of the British forces in America." 
 
 It was all in vain; he died on the gallows. 
 
HYDE PARK. 51 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LONDON, July 3.— Our English friends, with 
 whom we have been sojourning as guests, sup- 
 port a handsome team with servants in livery, and 
 have entertained us in regal style. We have had 
 several drives in Kensington and Hyde Parks every 
 pleasant afternoon, where the aristocracy of London 
 vie with one another in their elegance of outfit, and 
 where we had the opportunity of seeing many of 
 them face to face. The principal drive is between 
 Apsley House, the palatial mansion of the Duke of 
 Wellington, and the Albert Monument, a magnifi- 
 cent structure somewhat after the style of the Scott 
 Monument in Edinburgh, lately raised by Queen 
 Victoria in honor of her lamented husband, Prince 
 Albert. Across the street from the Monument is the 
 Royal Albert Hall of Arts, built in circular form, and 
 capable of seating fifteen thousand people. At this 
 point the carriages turn and the great procession 
 moves back and forth on the same carriage-way, 
 lined with thousands of spectators on foot. Contin- 
 ually passing and repassing one another, the occu- 
 pants of the carriages are enabled to exchange salu- 
 tations and enjoy a view of the whole inspiring scene. 
 The Queen sometimes drives in the Park, but we 
 have. not seen her. The Princess of Wales is often 
 in the procession and bows pleasantly to those who 
 offer their respects. 
 
 Parallel with the carriage-way is a horse-course for 
 horseback riding, and this extends, indeed, through 
 the Park and along Rotten Row, another part of 
 Hyde Park, where, at two o'clock in the afternoon, 
 thousands of ladies and gentlemen congregate and 
 
52 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 promenade for exercise in the open air. On the 
 north bank of a beautiful lake, called the Serpentine, 
 is the Ladies' Mile, another charming drive. From 
 the end of Oxford street, Hyde Park is entered under 
 the marble Arch, a noble structure, which used to 
 stand in front of Buckingham Palace. Opposite the 
 Piccadilly entrance, and near the Apsley House, on 
 an elevated pedestal, is the grand bronze statue of 
 Achilles, inscribed, "By the women of England to 
 Arthur, Duke of Wellington, and his brave compan- 
 ions in arms." The statue was cast from ordnance 
 taken from the enemy during the Peninsular war, 
 and the cost of its erection ($50,000) was entirely de- 
 frayed by subscriptions of the fair sex — an example, 
 perhaps, for the women of the United States, if it be 
 that our Washington Monument is ever to be com- 
 pleted. 
 
 A ride one day to the Thames embankment took us 
 through many parts of the city. This embankment, 
 which has reclaimed from the muddy Thames fifty 
 acres of land, is a great modern improvement, add- 
 ing much to the beauty as well as to the health of 
 the metropolis. Another ride six or eight miles to 
 the village of Richmond, by the famous "Star and 
 Garter" Hotel, and through the great Richmond 
 Park, swarming with sheep and deer, was equally 
 enjoyable. On the edge of this Park is the residence 
 of Lord John Russell, nestled among forest trees. 
 On our way we visited Kew Gardens, said to contain 
 one of the most splendid collections of plants in the 
 world. The palm-house, three hundred and sixty 
 feet long by ninety feet wide, is believed to be the 
 largest glass building in existence, except the Crystal 
 Palace at Sydenham, which we have likewise visited, 
 and where we heard concert singing. We may men- 
 
GENERAL POST OFFICE. 53 
 
 tion that we attended a concert also at Albert Hall, 
 where we heard Mesdames Christine Nilsson and 
 Trebelli Bettoni, Mesdemoiselles Titiens and Varesi, 
 Signor Campinini, and other famous singers. The 
 Hall being pretty well filled, the audience alone was 
 a magnificent sight. 
 
 The Mansion House, where we saw the Lord Mayor 
 holding court, is one of the prominent public build- 
 ings; and Guildhall, the Hotel de Ville of the city of 
 London, is another which we have visited. In the lat- 
 ter the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of the city are elect- 
 ed, and here, exalted on lofty pedestals on either side 
 of the west window, are the ancient colossal figures 
 of Gog and Magog, which, being of wood and hollow, 
 used to be carried in the procession on the Mayor's 
 show day. They seem to have been carved to repre- 
 sent giants. We have paid our respects to some of 
 the head officials of the General Post Office, and 
 witnessed some of its wonderful workings. In one 
 room are one thousand clerks of both sexes, whose 
 entire duty it is to attend to the postal telegraph 
 business. Messages are dispatched from here to the 
 various postal stations throughout the city, and re- 
 ceived therefrom, by means of pneumatic tubes. 
 
 A good part of one day in the Zoological Gardens, 
 where we had the pleasure of meeting Grace Green- 
 wood and her daughter, was pleasantly spent, afford- 
 ing, as it did, an opportunity of seeing all sorts of 
 animals, fowls, birds, etc. Among other interesting 
 sights were some young seals, which surprised us by 
 their almost human intelligence under the training 
 of a funny little Frenchman. 
 
 One afternoon we wandered among the tombs and 
 monuments at Kensal Green Cemetery, where we 
 plucked leaves from the grave of Thomas Hood. On 
 
54 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 one side of the base of Ms monument, in bas-relief, 
 are figures representing a drowned girl being borne 
 "tenderly" in the hands of men; on the other side, 
 the figure of an aged person apparently in distress, 
 and in front that of another man convulsed with 
 laughter. On the top of the square column is a large 
 bust of the poet. Allan Cunningham, John Murray, 
 the eminent publisher, Sydney Smith (Peter Plym- 
 ley), the Duke of Sussex, Anne Scott, daughter of Sir 
 Walter Scott, and Thackeray, were also buried here. 
 An hour or two at Madame Tussaud's exhibition of 
 waxworks reminded us of inimitable Artemas Ward 
 and his show of "wax figgers." Taken as a whole 
 it is a ridiculous collection. While Washington and 
 Franklin are tolerably represented, the figures of 
 Lincoln, McClellan, Beecher, and even Dickens, are 
 the merest burlesques. Those of Andrew Johnson 
 and General Grant, grouped with Lincoln and Mc- 
 Clellan, might possibly be recognized. The best 
 things here — and these are really good — are a sleep- 
 ing beauty, with internal machinery causing her 
 chest to rise and fall as if she were breathing; a 
 standing figure of Madame Tussaud, very life-like, 
 with her bonnet on, viewing the Queen and other 
 members of the royal family before her; and lastly, 
 the form and likeness of William Cobbett, the picture 
 of Horace Greeley, sitting as if looking at the show, 
 his broad-brimmed hat and spectacles on, and a snuff- 
 box in his hand. We were assured that this figure 
 has sometimes been taken for real flesh and blood, 
 and that visitors have turned indignantly away from 
 the placid old gentleman because he would not deign 
 to answer their questions or give them a pinch of 
 snuff. With a little more care this exhibition might 
 be made to possess a much greater merit. We sought 
 
BRITISH MUSEUM. 55 
 
 out one of the proprietors of the concern present and 
 earnestly protested against burlesquing our modern 
 statesmen, warriors and divines in such a shocking 
 manner, when, with a little more pains, they could 
 be correctly represented. 
 
 Years might be usefully spent in the study of the 
 British Museum, the granite building of which covers 
 acres. We devoted a rainy day to it. It is open to 
 the public, free, three days in the week. There are 
 the Botanical Museum; the Mammalian, Zoological 
 and Mineral Galleries, the Gallery of Egyptian, Greek 
 and Roman Antiquities, the Sculpture Gallery, in 
 one part of which the curious marbles from Mneveh 
 are exhibited; and then there is the Library of nearly 
 one million printed volumes, and manuscripts and 
 prints without number. Embraced with these is the 
 entire library, seventy thousand volumes, of George 
 III., regarded as very valuable, presented by his suc- 
 cessor, George IV. We were highly interested in 
 the room appropriated to autographs, ancient books, 
 etc. We noticed among the autographs those of 
 Washington, Queen Elizabeth, Mary, Queen of Scots, 
 Chaucer, Voltaire, Napoleon, Shakspeare, the Georg- 
 es and other Kings of England. Here are copies of 
 some of the first books ever printed. "Among the 
 one thousand, six hundred and fifty different editions 
 of the Bible here, is the first issued from the press, 
 called the Mazarine Bible. It is printed on vellum, 
 in the Latin language, by Gutenberg and Faust, in 
 1455." There is an endless collection of coins of all 
 nations, old jewelry, curious weapons, and almost 
 every other old curiosity under the sun. The Port- 
 land Vase is regarded as wonderful, first, because, 
 we believe, its composition is a lost art, and secondly, 
 because, after being broken into one hundred pieces, 
 
56 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 more or less, it has been restored almost to its ori- 
 ginal beauty. It is of dark blue glass, adorned with 
 delicate white medallion pictures. The lamented Dr. 
 Horatio Stone, the sculptor, who crossed the ocean 
 with us, advised us to be sure not to overlook it. A 
 fine life-sized bronze statue of Stonewall Jackson is 
 on exhibition here. We understand it is to be sent 
 to Richmond as a present from some of his English 
 admirers. Dean Stanley mentioned to us a singular 
 fact, that while there was in Westminster Abbey an 
 expensive monument — a reclining statue, which we 
 have seen — of the Duke of Montpensier, brother of 
 Louis Philippe, King of France, the only figure of 
 Washington to be seen in any of the memorial halls 
 of London is the small likeness on Major Andre's 
 monument and a large bust in the basement of the 
 British Museum. We observed this bust, which, if 
 memory serves us, is of plaster, and in an out of the 
 way place. On our visit to the Museum we had the 
 pleasure of seeing the good Queen of Holland,* who, 
 in company with several gentlemen, was also on a 
 visit to this establishment. We should say she is 
 about fifty, tall, with light hair and eyes, and pleas- 
 ant looking, but not handsome; and our lady com- 
 panion says she wore a plain dress of dark bluish 
 purpled plaid, and bonnet trimmed with black. 
 
 Starting one day for Hampton Court, when we 
 reached Victoria Theater, near Waterloo Bridge, and 
 near where we were to take the cars, we learned that 
 Moody and Sankey were about to hold services in the 
 Theater building, and we stopped to hear them. The 
 house was crowded, the stage being occupied by one 
 hundred or more clergymen, among whom was New- 
 
 * Died June 2, 1877, aged fifty-nine years. 
 
HAMPTON COURT. 57 
 
 man Hall, who made a short address after Mr. Moody 
 closed. Since then we have heard Mr. Hall preach 
 one Sunday at St. James' Hall. After an hour's 
 delay we proceeded to Hampton Court, and walked 
 through thirty -two rooms of the palace filled with 
 pictures — eight hundred or more in all — many of 
 them by the old masters, — Titian, Raphael, Van 
 Dyck, and others. There are some wonderful tap- 
 estries here. In one room we saw the bed of Queen 
 Anne. This palace was built by Cardinal Wolsey, 
 and presented to Henry VIII., but was subsequently, 
 under the direction of William III. , much enlarged. 
 It is of red brick, with stone facings. The garden, 
 adorned with sculptured fountains and beautiful 
 shade trees, is one of the most charming in England. 
 We did not omit to see here the far-famed maze, 
 nor the famous grape - vine, on which there were 
 twelve hundred bunches of green grapes, and which, 
 being one hundred and nine years old, is said to 
 have borne in a single year as many as three thou- 
 sand bunches. True to his trust, the attendant 
 could not be prevailed on, even for money, to part 
 with a single leaf from its branches. It is trailed 
 under a glass roof. 
 
 We have been to the Drury Lane and Haymarket 
 Theaters; neither remarkable for anything we heard 
 or saw there. Indeed, in the latter, where we saw 
 Sothern as Lord Dundreary, we thought the play 
 was decidedly stupid. We have seen him do much 
 better in Washington. 
 
58 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 W^ONDON, July 8. — It is an event in a man's 
 <|=^ life to have dined once with the Cloth workers' 
 Company at their magnificent hall in Mincing Lane, 
 London. This is an immensely wealthy society, 
 dating back two hundred years or more; and al- 
 though it was organized by clothworkers, and under 
 their management for a century, more or less, it is 
 said there is not at present a single clothworker 
 connected with it. The membership is now com- 
 posed principally, if not entirely, of the aristocratic 
 classes, and everything attending their proceedings 
 is conducted on a grand scale. Their great wealth 
 has been acquired by the rise of real estate, left from 
 time to time to the society by its former members, 
 and they appropriate from it, in acts of benevolence, 
 large sums every year. Its permanent officers are a 
 Master, four Wardens and a Clerk. The Clerk, 
 Owen Roberts, Esq., M. A., is the working officer, 
 who has to attend to all the details. At their state 
 dinners, which are given about once every month, 
 the number of plates set is one hundred and twenty — 
 one table being arranged at the head, and one on 
 either side, lengthwise of the grand hall. The seat 
 of the Master of Ceremonies is at the center of the 
 head table. All the officers wear long robes, and 
 their guests, who are expected to appear in full dress 
 suit, are first received in the saloon or drawing-room, 
 which is elegantly furnished. Dinner is served at 
 nine o'clock, and each member or guest, as the case 
 may be, finds or is conducted to his place at table, 
 where his name appears on a handsome card, bear- 
 ing the coat of arms of the society. By his plate, 
 
A LONDON DINNER. 59 
 
 also, he finds the bill of fare and an elaborate pro- 
 gramme containing the names of the officers of the 
 society and of the artists who are to furnish the mu- 
 sical part of the entertainment. This bill and pro- 
 gramme, too, bear the society's coat of arms, whose 
 motto is, "My trust is in God alone," and both are 
 printed in the highest style of "the art divine." All 
 the pieces to be sung, ten in number, are printed in 
 full in the programme, and it should be observed that 
 the musicians have position at the lower end of the 
 hall, facing the Master of Ceremonies, and that it is 
 their province to perform during dinner. Grace is 
 said, with responses, in Latin, "composed by John 
 Reading, a. d. 1681" — all printed in the programme. 
 As Washington City is famous for its dinner par- 
 ties and sumptuous state dinners, especially those 
 given by the foreign legations, it may interest some 
 to present a list of the good things served on the occa- 
 sion of a grand dinner by the Clothworkers' Society, 
 in Mincing Hall, July 7, 1875, thus: 
 
 MENU. 
 Soups. 
 
 Turtle Clear Turtle 
 
 Fish. 
 
 Souche de Carrelets 
 
 Cotelettes de Saumon a la Calcutta Truite a la Verte 
 
 Salmon Turbot Whitebait 
 
 Entrees. 
 
 Vols au Vent a la Financiere 
 
 Ris de Veau en Caisses aux Petits Pois 
 
 Cailles aux Truffes a la Chesterfield 
 
 Removes. 
 
 Perigord Pies Chickens aux Pointes d' Asperge 
 
 Warden Pies Boiled Capons a la Toulouse 
 

 60 SKETCHES OP TRAVEL. 
 
 Roast Chickens Hams 
 
 Tongues 
 
 Haunches Venison 
 
 
 Ducks Turkey Poults 
 
 Goslings 
 
 Entremets. 
 
 
 Prawns 
 
 
 Poudins d' Orleans 
 
 Clear Jellies 
 
 Macedoine aux Fruits 
 
 Pine Creams 
 
 Marrow Pudding Me 
 
 ringues de Chantilly 
 
 Flans d' Abricots Maids of Honour 
 
 Removes. 
 
 
 Nesselrode Pudding 
 
 Iced Souffles 
 
 Ramaquins 
 
 
 Dessert and Ices 
 
 
 Of course, the choicest brands of wine were also 
 served in profusion. 
 
 Dinner over, the first toast, to Her Majesty the 
 Queen, was drunk standing, and then, all joining 
 with the choir, came 
 
 THE NATIONAL ANTHEM. 
 
 God save our gracious Queen, 
 Long live our noble Queen, 
 
 God save the Queen! 
 Send her victorious, 
 Happy and glorious, 
 Long to reign over us, 
 
 God save the Queen! 
 
 Thy choicest gifts in store 
 On her be pleased to pour, 
 
 Long may she reign! 
 May she defend our laws, 
 And ever give us cause 
 To sing with heart and voice, 
 
 God save the Queen! 
 
 The Prince of Wales and other members of the 
 royal family were next toasted, but without rising 
 from the table, they being subjects only, like the 
 rest of the people. 
 
A LONDON DINNER. 61 
 
 Then was sung, by Miss Annie Sinclair, 
 
 THE ECHO SONG. 
 My own true love is far away, 
 
 And I am wandering lonely here 
 To tend my flocks till close of day, 
 
 While mem'ry wakes the silent tear. 
 I 'm sure his heart is true to me; 
 
 Tho' other lands he 's doomed to roam, 
 His constant prayer I know will be 
 
 To view once more his native home. 
 
 Sweet hope is whisp'ring in my heart, 
 
 While time is winging fast away, 
 That we shall meet no more to part 
 
 When Springtime brings the flowers of May. 
 Ah! then what happy days in store! 
 
 We '11 wreathe with joy the fleeting hours; 
 No clouds shall darken o'er us more 
 
 To blight the summer flowers. 
 
 Next, after other appropriate toasts, came a glee, 
 (four voices,) by Horsley, entitled 
 
 "MINE BE A COT." 
 Mine be a cot beside a hill, 
 
 A beehive's hum shall soothe my ear; 
 A willowy brook, that turns a mill, 
 
 With many a fall shall linger near; 
 The swallow oft beneath my thatch 
 
 Shall twitter from her clay-built nest; 
 Oft shall the pilgrim lift the latch, 
 
 And share my meal a welcome guest. 
 
 Around my ivied porch shall spring 
 
 Each fragrant flower that drinks the dew, 
 And Lucy at her wheel shall sing, 
 
 In russet gown and apron blue. 
 The village church among the trees, 
 
 Where first our marriage vows were given, 
 With merry peals shall swell the breeze, 
 
 And point with taper spire to heav'n. 
 
62 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Stiir other toasts intervening, the songs, all good, 
 were continued to the close, and this (also by four 
 voices) was the last — 
 
 "GOOD NIGHT." 
 Bim, bim, hear us singing, 
 
 Now sounds the midnight hour! 
 Hark! how the chimes are ringing: 
 Voices your way be winging 
 
 ITigh to our lady's bower, ( 
 
 Charm her with magic power: 
 While we our watch are keeping, 
 
 May she in slumber light, 
 Calm and secure be sleeping: 
 
 So let us say, "Good night." 
 
 Bim, bim, chimes are ringing! 
 
 Ye zephyrs lend your aid! 
 What we afar are singing, 
 Still to her ear be bringing: 
 
 Breathe o'er this gentle maid, 
 
 Where she in rest is laid! 
 While we our watch are keeping, 
 
 May she in slumbers light, 
 Calm and secure be sleeping: 
 
 So let us say, "Good night. '* 
 
 The company left the table about midnight, the last 
 act in the evening's entertainment, except smoking, 
 being the passage of the " Loving Cup." This cere- 
 mony is thus described by F. W. Fairholt, F. S. A. : 
 
 •'The Loving Cup" is a splendid feature of the 
 Hall-feasts of the City and Inns of Court. The cup 
 is of silver or silver-gilt, and is filled with spiced 
 wine, immemorially termed "Sack." Immediately 
 after the dinner and grace, the Master and Wardens 
 drink to their visitors a hearty welcome; the cup is 
 then passed round the table, and each guest, after 
 he has drunk, applies his napkin to the mouth of the 
 cup before he passes it to his neighbor. The more 
 
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM. 68 
 
 formal practice is for "the person who pledges with 
 the Loving Cup to stand up and bow to his neighbor, 
 who, also standing, removes the cover with his right 
 hand, and holds it while the other drinks; a custom 
 said to have originated in the precaution to keep the 
 right or 'dagger hand' employed, that the person 
 who drinks may be assured of no treachery, like that 
 practised by Elfrida on the unsuspecting King Ed- 
 ward the Martyr, at Corfe Castle, who was slain 
 while drinking. This was why the Loving Cup pos- 
 sessed a cover." 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 f^90KDON, July 10. — We have passed portions of 
 ^^ several days in the South Kensington Museum, 
 which is about twenty minutes' walk through Ken- 
 sington and Hyde Parks from our boarding house — 
 admission free three days in the week. This Muse- 
 um, founded in 1852, is to us the most interesting of 
 anything of the kind in the city. The antiquarian 
 might find more to command attention in the British 
 Museum, because it is there where are deposited all 
 the strange old things that have been brought to 
 light from under and above ground since the days of 
 Adam; but to passing travelers like ourselves there 
 is vastly more of stirring interest in the Kensington 
 collection. One long room in the basement is given 
 to ancient state vehicles, including a sedan chair, 
 which are well worth seeing. Models of the great 
 monuments, and of other wonders of the world are 
 brought and to be brought here ; and by and by one 
 
64 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 need not go beyond London to see copies or facsim- 
 iles of almost every object of art, of which we read, 
 in all parts of the world. Here is a reproduction in 
 plaster, full size, but in two sections, of the Trajan 
 column in Rome; and the same also of the "Appren- 
 tice's Pillar" in Roslin Castle. Full-sized models of 
 celebrated gates and other Eastern monuments are 
 likewise presented, as well as a large collection of 
 sculptures, porcelain, jewels, arms, armor, paintings, 
 carvings in ivory, wood and stone, unique furniture, 
 tapestries, and thousands of other things impossible 
 to enumerate. Extravagant prices have been paid 
 for some of these articles. There is a French candle- 
 stick of date 1550, in Henri deux earthenware, which 
 cost $3,750, and in the same ca&e four other articles 
 of the same ware, the whole costing $9,100. Many 
 of the paintings and large quantities of the most ex- 
 pensive jewelry here are the private property of the 
 nobility, who have loaned the same for the gratifica- 
 tion of the public. Like other valuable collections of 
 pictures, etc. , in the Museum, many of these doubt- 
 less will eventually become the property of the insti- 
 tution as donations outright. The collection of paint- 
 ings, called the Sheepshanks Collection, comprises 
 two hundred and thirty -four oil paintings, and the 
 Vernon Collection one hundred and sixty-two, be- 
 sides seven cartoons of Raphael, brought from Hamp- 
 ton Court. In the former are masterpieces by Land- 
 seer, Wilkie, Leslie, and Rosa Bonheur; and among 
 the latter, choice works by Gainsborough, Eastlake, 
 and other celebrated artists. The cartoons by Ra- 
 phael were executed in 1514, by order of Leo X., as 
 patterns for tapestries in the Sistine Chapel of the 
 Vatican. They represent the Death of Ananias; Pe- 
 ter and John at the Beautiful Gate; Christ's Charge 
 
NATIONAL PICTURE GALLERY. 65 
 
 to Peter; Healing the Lame Man; Paul and Barnabas 
 at Lystra; Elymas, the sorcerer, struck blind; Paul 
 preaching at Athens; and the Miraculous Draught 
 of Fishes. There is an Art School and Library con- 
 nected with the institution. 
 
 The National Picture Gallery, free to visitors Tues- 
 days, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and to artists 
 on Thursdays and Fridays also, is another point of 
 attraction. It is situated on the north side of Tra- 
 falgar Square. Here we had the pleasure of meeting 
 Mr. Miller, one of our most talented Washington 
 artists. Besides the large number of paintings per- 
 manently located here, others by the various artists 
 of the metropolis and from the interior are from 
 time to time placed here on exhibition and for sale. 
 This Gallery is said to contain pictures not only by 
 the best English artists, but also by some of the 
 greatest painters of the Italian, Spanish, Dutch, 
 French, and Flemish schools. Among the latter 
 may be mentioned Raphael's Catherine of Alex- 
 andria, which cost $25,000, and his Pope Julius II.; 
 Correggio's Holy Family, Ecce Homo, and Mercury 
 Instructing Cupid, for which $50,000 was paid; The 
 Rape of the Sabines, and Judgment of Paris, by 
 Rubens; Visions of a Knight, and The Holy Family, 
 by Murillo; Christ Disputing in the Temple, by Leo- 
 nardo da Vinci; and The Family of Darius, by Paul 
 Veronese. In the hall stands the celebrated Water- 
 loo Vase, composed of materials taken during the 
 Peninsular war from a French ship, which was con- 
 veying them to Paris to be converted into a monu- 
 ment to Napoleon. 
 
 In the East India Museum we saw a large collec- 
 tion of dresses, weapons, ancient and modern, idols, 
 agricultural and other instruments, specimens of the 
 5 
 
6$ SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 natural productions of the East Indies, and, indeed, 
 of almost everything else to be seen in that country. 
 One day at the South Kensington Museum, among 
 the visitors, we were pleased to meet twenty East 
 Indiamen, dressed in their native costumes. They 
 were from Bombay, probably in a merchant ves- 
 sel, but were called Alaskians. Some of them wore 
 immense turbans, and their shoes were pointed at 
 the toes. It did us good to see them enjoy the 
 sights. 
 
 Trafalgar Square, ten minutes' walk from West- 
 minster Abbey and the Parliament buildings, is one 
 of the great central points of London. It is a large 
 open space, where a considerable number of streets 
 converge. Here stands a magnificent monument to 
 Nelson, a column one hundred and seventy- seven 
 feet in height, surmounted by his statue. On the 
 four sides of the base, in bronze bas-relief, are repre- 
 sented the Death of Nelson; the Battle of the Nile; 
 the Battle of St. Vincent; and the Battle of Copen- 
 hagen. At each of the four corners of the base is 
 an immense granite figure of a lion, couchant, the 
 work of Sir Edward Landseer. There is also in this 
 Square a fine equestrian statue of George IV., and 
 bronze statues of Sir Charles Napier and General 
 Havelock. 
 
 Charing Cross is another famous point, and to 
 feel ourselves quite at home here in Piccadilly and 
 Fleet streets, in the Strand, Trafalgar Square, and at 
 many other points, with familiar names, in London, 
 is a new and pleasant experience. To the south of 
 Charing Cross are Whitehall and Parliament streets; 
 and to the west Cockspur street and Piccadilly. At 
 the head of Parliament street is a bronze equestrian 
 statue of Charles I. The name of Charing Cross is 
 
TOWER OF LONDON. 67 
 
 supposed to have been derived from the village of 
 Charing, "though tradition has it that the place was 
 so called after Eleanor, the chere reine (dear Queen) 
 of Edward L," who caused to be erected here a hand- 
 some cross to her memory. This cross "stood a 
 monument of royal love for more than three hundred 
 and fifty years, and was at last, in June and July, 
 1647, pulled down by order of the Long Parliament, 
 and its stones used to pave the street before White- 
 hall !" Subsequently this was the scene of the exe- 
 cutions of many of the regicides. Here, on the 21st 
 of June, 1837, Victoria was proclaimed Queen. 
 
 We went on a free day to see the Tower of London, 
 when we encountered at the entrance gate such a 
 crowd, generally not of the most genteel appearance, 
 that we were glad to retire from their company. We 
 thought it quite proper in a burly policeman to cau- 
 tion us to keep an eye on our watch-chains. We 
 found it every way better to pay our shilling admis- 
 sion fee, as we did on a subsequent day, when, with 
 a small company, guided by a warder in the pictur- 
 esque costume of a yeoman of the time of Henry 
 VIII. , we had a good view of such parts of this old 
 fortress as are shown to visitors. It consists of vari- 
 ous ranges of buildings and several streets, compris- 
 ing within its walls an extent of upward of twelve 
 acres. In the various armories are kept arms suffi- 
 cient to equip over one hundred thousand men. Tro- 
 phies of celebrated victories, every kind of ancient 
 weapons, instruments of torture, and thousands of 
 other curiosities find a place here. In the Horse 
 Armory are figures of the Kings of England, on 
 horseback, chiefly dressed in the ancient armor. 
 Swords, pikes, spears, pistols, and other war instru- 
 ments are arranged on the walls in many curious 
 
68 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 devices. Queen Elizabeth is represented as standing 
 by the side of her horse, arrayed in the same dress 
 and armor she wore at Tilbury in 1588, when she 
 made her memorable speech to the assembled army. 
 We were in the Bloody Tower, where Richard III. 
 had his two nephews put to death; in the Boyer 
 Tower, where the Duke of Clarence is said to have 
 been drowned in a butt of Malmsey; in the Brick 
 Tower, where Lady Jane Grey was confined; in the 
 Beauchamp Tower, where Anne Boleyn was impris- 
 oned; and in the White Tower, where Sir Walter 
 Raleigh was beheaded, and where we saw the fatal 
 block and axe in the execution room. We entered 
 his prison lodgings, a cell ten feet long and eight 
 feet wide, formed in the thickness of the wall, and 
 receiving no light except from the doorway. It was 
 here within this Tower that, tradition says, Sir Wal- 
 ter Raleigh wrote his history of the world. The 
 crown jewels, which are immensely valuable, are 
 kept carefully guarded in a small room of the Tower 
 and within an iron grating. Among these is the 
 crown made for the coronation of Queen Victoria, at 
 a cost of $600,000; St. Edward's crown, made of gold 
 and embellished with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, 
 pearls and sapphires; the Prince of Wales' crown; 
 the Queen's diadem; St. Edward's staff; the Ancient 
 Queen's crown; the royal scepter; the Queen's scepter; 
 the ivory scepter made for Marie d' Este, James II. 's 
 Queen; the rod of equity, the curtana, or pointless 
 sword of mercy, two swords of justice, a baptismal 
 font, a beautiful service of sacramental plate, the 
 coronation bracelets and spurs, and the anointing 
 vessel and spoon, all used at the coronation; and 
 last, but not all, a golden salt-cellar of most beauti- 
 ful workmanship. These gems were all pointed out 
 
WINDSOK CASTLE. 69 
 
 and their use fully explained to us by a special at- 
 tendant. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 30th of June we rode three 
 quarters of an hour by rail to Windsor Castle. The 
 Queen being there we were admitted only to the 
 Round Tower, the Chapel, and the "Mews," or 
 Queen's stables. In the Mews we saw seventy beau- 
 tiful horses, many of them with pet names, and a 
 great many carriages. In one building are the car- 
 riages in use by the Queen and Prince Albert during 
 his lifetime; but since his death she has not allowed 
 them to be used, and they will probably pass into 
 the catalogue of royal relics intact. In the vault of 
 St. George's Chapel are the remains of many of the 
 sovereigns of England and of other members of the 
 royal family. The marble monument here to the 
 Princess Charlotte, wife of Leopold I., is touchingly 
 beautiful. There is a fine monument, also, to the 
 Duke of Kent, and one in bas-relief 'to Prince Albert, 
 whose remains were deposited in a mausoleum a 
 short distance from the Castle. The Prince of Wales 
 was christened and married in St. George's Chapel. 
 The following hymn, composed by his father, was 
 sung at the wedding, Jenny Lind Goldschmidt assist- 
 ing the choir: 
 
 "This day, with joyful heart and voice, 
 To Heaven be raised a nation's prayer: 
 Almighty Father, deign to grant 
 Thy blessing to the wedded pair. 
 
 *■' So shall no clouds of sorrow dim 
 
 The sunshine of their earthly days; 
 But happiness in endless round 
 
 Shall still encompass all their ways." 
 
 The sexton, who opened the doors to us, said he was 
 present at the baptism and marriage of the Prince. 
 
70 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 The view from the tower, where a communicative 
 soldier is stationed to point out all places of interest, 
 is very fine. Not more than half a mile off, on the 
 other side of the Thames, lie the village of Eton and 
 Eton College in plain sight. We could see the col- 
 lege boys playing on the green. At the right we 
 could see the house of William Penn and the little 
 church and monuments in the graveyard where Gray 
 wrote his immortal Elegy. Near by is Runnymede, 
 where King John signed the Magna Charta. Ex- 
 tending westwardly from the Castle is the Long 
 Walk, three miles, bordered by forest trees. From 
 the tower we looked down upon a garden of flowers 
 in full bloom. A walk around the terrace of the 
 Castle was very pleasant, and had there been time 
 we should have been glad to take a stroll through 
 the Park, which comprises about three thousand 
 eight hundred acres. The village of Windsor is an 
 interesting old place. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 |g)ONDO]Sr, July 12.— We have been to the top 
 o^ of St. Paul's and conversed in the Whispering 
 Gallery across or around the inner circle of its spa- 
 cious dome. We have also attended service here, 
 when we heard a good sermon by Rev. Dr. Wright, 
 on the efficacy of prayer. The music was magni- 
 ficent. There are two large organs, facing each 
 other at the end of the choir or chancel, and near 
 the pulpit, over which is suspended a sounding- 
 board from the rim of the dome. One organist 
 
st. Paul's cathedkal. 71 
 
 plays on both organs at once, by means either of 
 pedals extending from one to the other under the 
 floor, or by electricity. The grandeur of the sur- 
 roundings added much to the effect, sitting there, 
 as we did, under the beautiful dome, with statesmen, 
 scholars, and warriors, all in sculptured marble, and, 
 as we imagined, looking down upon us and listening 
 to words of wisdom and to music whose echoes 
 softly expired in the distant recesses of aisle, tower, 
 and transept in strains of heavenly melody. Like 
 Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's is a place of tombs 
 and monuments to the distinguished dead. In the 
 crypt lie the remains of Nelson and Wellington, 
 side by side, and of Sir Christopher Wren, the archi- 
 tect, who designed and superintended the erection 
 of this magnificent structure, which was completed 
 from its foundation in thirty -five years. The re- 
 mains of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, Sir 
 Thomas Lawrence, and James Barry were also bur- 
 ied here, and among the principal monuments are 
 those of Bishop Heber, John Howard, Sir John 
 Moore, Nelson, Wellington, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
 Lord Cornwallis, Sir Ralph Abercrombie, and Dr. 
 Johnson. Many of the officers and soldiers of the 
 army, as well as sailors, painters, and poets are com- 
 memorated by monuments mere or less elaborate. 
 We were especially interested in one inscription, 
 which we copied from the base of two life-size mar- 
 ble statues, standing side by side in officers' uniform, 
 as follows : 
 
 "Major General Sir Edward Pakerihani and Major General Samuel 
 Gibbs, who fell gloriously on the 8th of January, 1815, while leading the 
 troops to an attack on the enemy's works in front of New Orleans." 
 
 The tomb of Sir Christopher Wren bears the follow- 
 ing inscription in Latin : 
 

 72 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 "Beneath lies Christopher Wren, the architect of this church and city, 
 who lived more than ninety years, not for himself alone, but for the public. 
 Reader, do you seek his monument ? Look around! " 
 
 St. Paul's stands in an elevated position at the end 
 of Ludgate Hill, in the city of London proper. It 
 is in the form of a Latin cross, five hundred and 
 fourteen feet in length and two hundred and eighty- 
 seven wide. It is built of Portland stone, and is 
 said to have cost $4,000,000. The dome is supported 
 by eight immense piers, each of them forty feet at 
 the base. There are three domes, in fact; an outer 
 one of wood, covered with lead, and an inner, with 
 a brick one between. Its great bell, which strikes 
 the hour, and is heard from a long distance, is never 
 tolled except on the death of some one of the royal 
 family. The view from the dome is superb. 
 
 In the forenoon of the 4th of July, which was Sun- 
 day, we went to Temple Church near Temple Bar. 
 This church is more than six hundred years old, and 
 used to be the church of the Knights Templar, as it 
 is now of the Barristers. It contains many monu- 
 mental effigies and sculptured portraits of its ancient 
 owners. Oliver Goldsmith was buried here. Close 
 by are the Temple Gardens, celebrated by Shaks- 
 peare as the scene of the plucking of the red and 
 white roses — the badges of the Houses of York and 
 Lancaster. Temple Bar is so called from its being 
 the boundary line between London and Westminster, 
 which used to be marked by a bar, posts, and chains. 
 These were superseded by a gate, which was taken 
 down after the great fire, and on that as well as on 
 the present gate, erected in 1670, the heads of rebels 
 and traitors used to be exposed. This custom was 
 continued as late as 1772. "The curious custom of 
 closing the gates and not admitting royalty into the 
 
DEAN STANLEY. 73 
 
 city until permission had been demanded of the 
 Mayor standing on the city side, was last observed 
 when the Queen opened the Royal Exchange in 1844." 
 In the afternoon of the 4th we listened to a glori- 
 ous discourse by Dean Stanley, in Westminster Ab- 
 bey. The church was packed with attentive listeners 
 as far as his voice could be heard. He took for his 
 text the 21st and 22d verses of the fifth chapter of 
 St. Matthew: "Ye have heard that it was said by 
 them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever 
 shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I 
 say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his bro- 
 ther without a cause shall be in danger of the judg- 
 ment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, 
 shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall 
 say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." He 
 spoke of the evil of hard words, both between indi- 
 viduals and nations; and in the concluding portion 
 of his sermon he referred to the relations between 
 Great Britain and the United States, comparing the 
 past with the present, in a manner most gratifying 
 certainly to every American present. "What Amer- 
 ican," he asked, "is there who is not proud of that 
 English ancestry which he then [in the time of the 
 Bevolution] spurned behind him? What Englishman 
 is there who is now not proud of the once dreaded 
 name of Washington?" and he quoted this stanza: 
 
 "No distance breaks the tie of blood: 
 Brothers are brothers evermore; 
 Nor wrong, nor wrath of deadliest mood, 
 That magic may o'erpower." 
 
 • So much pleased were we with this discourse, that 
 on the following day we ventured to address a note 
 of thanks to the Dean, and request a copy of it for 
 publication at home. Taking this note to the Abbey, 
 
74 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 we were directed to his adjoining residence, and de- 
 livered it to his doorkeeper, who shortly returned 
 with an invitation from the Dean for us to walk up 
 stairs, and we were conducted to a room which ap- 
 peared to be used both for a sitting and dining room. 
 In a few moments the Dean came in with his sermon 
 in his hand and extended to us a cordial greeting. 
 He is, we should judge, not much over sixty, slightly 
 built, rather below medium size, and frail looking. 
 His manners are wholly free from anything ap- 
 proaching ostentation, and his countenance beams 
 with kindness and benevolence. He loaned us his 
 sermon without hesitation, and we have copied and 
 sent a large portion of it for publication in the Chris- 
 tian at Work, New York. In the course of a pleas- 
 ant conversation he called attention to a large num- 
 ber of portraits suspended around the room, observing 
 that they were those of nearly all of his predecessors. 
 We took leave, much pleased with our call. On a 
 subsequent day, when we called to return his sermon 
 and get him to decipher some words we could not 
 make out — much of it was written in a sort of short 
 hand — he received us as though we had been old 
 acquaintances, and gave us two of his autographs. 
 We have his photograph, also bearing his autograph, 
 in our collection. 
 
 At the solicitation of the publisher, we took to 
 London a bound volume of the Christian at Work, 
 New York, for the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon, who had 
 expressed a desire for it because it contained several 
 articles he had written for it. On our arrival we 
 addressed a note to him, asking where we should 
 leave the volume, and expressing a desire to hear 
 him preach. In answer he sent us two tickets, 
 and said he would be pleased to have us bring the 
 
SPURGEON. 75 
 
 book to his Tabernacle on a succeeding Sunday, 
 when he should be present to conduct the services. 
 Accordingly, when the day arrived, we ventured 
 to invite an English lady friend to accompany us, 
 believing that by using the big volume for one ticket, 
 three of us would be able to pass the guard at the 
 gate. Strangers are admitted only on tickets of ad- 
 mission. We were correct in our calculation, being 
 all admitted without hesitation, and immediately 
 conducted to good seats on the main floor. The 
 clerk was then sent for the book, which we had left 
 with the gatekeeper, and took it with our card to 
 Mr. Spurgeon's study, returning with an invitation 
 for us to call at his room after service. The main 
 floor of the Tabernacle is provided with three hun- 
 dred and fifty- one pews, the first gallery with one 
 hundred and forty, and the second with one hundred 
 and seven. These galleries, which are very wide, 
 extend entirely around the interior, and at one end 
 there is a spacious raised platform instead of a 
 pulpit. Under this is a low and more spacious plat- 
 form, which was occupied by inmates from a blind 
 asylum and other people. The room is lighted by 
 a small dome or lantern from above, as well as from 
 the side windows. It is well adapted for hearing; 
 and there are seats for five thousand persons, or 
 space for six thousand five hundred sitting and stand- 
 ing. It was crowded the day we were there. The 
 leading singer sits, with many others, on the pulpit 
 platform, and occupies a position at the front during 
 the singing. There is no musical instrument, and 
 the congregation, all standing, generally assist in 
 singing. Mr. Spurgeon read the first hymn, and 
 afterward repeated the whole or part of each verse 
 as the singers took it up, he joining with them. 
 
76 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 During the singing of the following two hymns, 
 while the congregation stood, he kept his seat, join- 
 ing occasionally in the music. Without any attempt 
 at eloquence, he gave us a plain, practical discourse 
 occupying about one hour, commanding rapt atten- 
 tion throughout. His strength evidently lies in his 
 powerful physique and voice, and in the earnestness 
 with which he enforces his views, founded in piety 
 and deep conviction. As soon as the services were 
 over, we all three went to his study, and, although 
 many were waiting to see him, were first admitted. 
 He received us in a jovial manner, as though he had 
 long known us, remarking upon our royal cognomen, 
 and inquiring, with much apparent interest, after his 
 friends in New York. He was much pleased to re- 
 ceive the volume, saying he desired to preserve 
 copies of his own writings. He wished us every 
 happiness in our journey, and his bearing toward us 
 was in all respects most cordial. He is broad-shoul- 
 dered, stout, with a full round face, and under fifty, 
 if he is over forty years of age. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 m 
 
 "ONDON, July 15.— Through the politeness of 
 W^ our minister to the Court of St. James, General 
 Schenck, who gave us a card of introduction to Hon. 
 Mr. Anderson, M. P. from Scotland, we have been 
 several times into the House of Commons and House 
 of Lords while those bodies were in session. Mr. 
 Anderson waited upon us with great kindness each 
 time we called on him, and on his pass we were 
 
PARLIAMENT. 77 
 
 readily admitted to the galleries. Once we had seats 
 in the Diplomatic Gallery of the House of Lords on 
 General Schenck's official admission tickets, which 
 were not supposed to be transferable — thus, by in- 
 ference, at least, having had the honor of represent- 
 ing the United States before that august body. From 
 our short experience we might judge that the position 
 is an easy one to fill. The gallery set apart for the 
 Diplomatic Corps and other officials is but one or two 
 seats deep, and extends on both sides of the hall. 
 Among the few members we heard speak in the 
 House of Lords was Lord Stanhope. The proceedings 
 were of little interest to us. In the House of Com- 
 mons, where the members sit with their hats on, we 
 were better entertained. Once or twice the ladies of 
 our party (some English friends were with us) were 
 given seats in the ladies' gallery, set apart for the 
 ladies of the nobility, where they are shielded from 
 the gaze of the members by a lattice work; or, more 
 properly speaking, perhaps, where they are thus pre- 
 vented, either by frowns or fascinating smiles, from 
 bringing to bear any undue influence upon the mem- 
 bers below. We were sorry not to see Gladstone; 
 but we saw Disraeli, Mr. Ward Hunt, head of the 
 Admiralty, and Mr. Bright, several times, and heard 
 the two former speak. We also saw Professor Faw- 
 cett, the blind member, whose wife, a charming 
 lady, we one day called on with our English friends; 
 and some other noted members were likewise pointed 
 out to us. On one occasion the question before the 
 House was whether there should be a naval school 
 established at Dartmouth, the government side being 
 in the affirmative. Many members spoke, and the 
 debate was both lively and spicy. When the vote 
 came to be taken, a division was called for, tellers 
 
78 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 were appointed, and every member except one left 
 the room — those in the affirmative going out at one 
 door at the end of the hall, and those in the negative 
 at another on the opposite side. A stranger at our 
 elbow informed us that the single member remaining 
 was from Ireland, and that he was allowed to keep 
 his seat for the reason that he came to the House 
 as he came into the world, without either arms or 
 legs. We do not know on which side he voted; 
 but one thing is certain, though he might be the 
 most inveterate Fenian, he could never be guilty 
 of taking up arms against his government. In the 
 vote thus taken the government was sustained by 
 ten majority only. 
 
 One afternoon Mr. Anderson took us all through 
 the Parliament buildings, into the libraries, commit- 
 tee-rooms, chapel, (there is a small chapel here with 
 a baptismal font in one corner,) crypt, and out into a 
 fine open space, accessible only to members, directly 
 on the banks of the Thames, where they can go for 
 a quiet siesta, or for exercise, without the danger of 
 being disturbed. He showed us in the crypt the 
 exact spot where Guy Fawkes placed the gunpowder 
 to blow up the Parliament buildings in 1604 — the 
 grand object of which horrible plot was "to prepare 
 the way for the restoration of the Roman Catholics." 
 This bold conspiracy, notwithstanding it was "com- 
 menced by its daring contrivers with every possible 
 precaution that seemed necessary to secure success," 
 failed through timely discovery. The present House 
 of Parliament, or New Palace of Westminster, stands 
 on the site of the old Houses of Parliament, which 
 were destroyed by fire in 1834. It fronts nine hun- 
 dred feet on the river, and covers eight acres of 
 ground. It is a noble structure, but it would look a 
 
WESTMINSTER HALL. 79 
 
 great deal handsomer were it on an eminence. It 
 stands low, communicating with Westminster Hall, 
 which is sometimes flooded at high tides by the 
 waters of the Thames. The exterior is of hard mag- 
 nesian limestone, from Yorkshire. Its cost was 
 $8,000,000. 
 
 Westminster Hall, founded originally by William 
 Kufus in 1097, "was rebuilt in its present form by 
 Richard II., who, in 1399, kept his Christmas here 
 with great magnificence, the number of his guests 
 amounting to ten thousand each day." The main 
 room, which is on the lower floor, is immense, and 
 this is the principal entrance to the Houses of Parlia- 
 ment. It " appears to have been designed for royal 
 banquets and entertainments, and the coronation 
 feasts have been held here for ages. Courts of jus- 
 tice were, however, held here in very early times, in 
 which the sovereign himself was accustomed to pre- 
 side; and the ancient stone bench, whereon the mon- 
 arch sat, is said to be yet in existence beneath the 
 pavement in the upper end. Hence the Curia Dom- 
 ini Regis, or Court of King's Bench, which is one of 
 the four Supreme Courts now regularly held beneath 
 this roof — the other Courts being Chancery, Com- 
 mon Pleas, and Exchequer." These Courts are now 
 held in comparatively small rooms, opening from 
 the main hall, in which the barristers in their black 
 gowns and powdered horse-hair wigs, looking very 
 funny, are every day seen promenading with one 
 another or with their clients. We often looked into 
 these Court-rooms, where the judges, also in wigs 
 and red robes, were seated on high benches, consid- 
 erably above, the bar. "In cases of Parliamentary 
 impeachment the spacious area of the hall itself is 
 fitted up as a Court, as it was for the trial of William 
 
80 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Wallace, Sir Thomas More, the Protector Somerset, 
 Thomas, Earl of Stratford, Minister of Charles I., and 
 also that of his equally ill-fated sovereign. Here, 
 likewise, in modern times, were tried Hastings, for 
 misconduct in India; Lord Byron, Lord Ferrers, 
 Lofd Melville, in 1806, for misappropriation of the 
 public money. The last coronation dinner held there 
 was that of George IV." 
 
 Directly across the street from the House of Par- 
 liament and Westminster Hall is Westminster Ab- 
 bey, all on the west side of the Thames, which at 
 this point runs due north, while further down it runs 
 nearly due east, so that the London Tower, on the 
 same side of the river, stands on its northern banks. 
 Viewing the Thames from the dome of St. Paul's, it 
 has the appearance of a huge serpent pursuing its 
 tortuous course through the city. The magnificent 
 Westminster Bridge spans the river immediately at 
 the north end of the Parliament House. Five min- 
 utes' walk from here, by Westminster Abbey, on 
 Victoria street, is the office of the United States lega- 
 tion. General Schenck and daughters reside near 
 Kensington Gardens, in the western part of the city. 
 He told us he frequently walks to or from his office 
 through Kensington and Hyde Parks. They hold a 
 weekly reception, and we have done ourselves the 
 honor of paying our respects to them, when we were 
 happy to meet at their house Mrs. Henry Howard, 
 the accomplished daughter of George W. Riggs, Es- 
 quire, on her way to the Hague, where her husband, 
 so long and favorably known as one of the secreta- 
 ries of the British legation in Washington, has been 
 promoted to a higher position. General Schenck, 
 being in ill health that day, was not present at the 
 reception; therefore his daughters, who appear to be 
 
NEWGATE PRISON. 81 
 
 very popular with our English cousins, were obliged 
 alone to do the honors of the occasion. 
 
 In one or two of our excursions through the city 
 we have had a good view of Newgate, the principal 
 prison, so well known, in London. This is where all 
 criminals sentenced to death for crimes committed 
 in the county of Middlesex suffer the last penalty 
 of the law. "The antiquity of this building is pro- 
 digious if viewed in connection with what it was 
 meant to continue or restore; for on this spot stood a 
 Roman fort. If considered in its present capacity 
 as a prison, it is still very ancient. During nearly 
 seven hundred and fifty years have the guilty or un- 
 fortunate been here incarcerated. An underground 
 passage leads from the cells to the dock in the Old 
 Bailey Sessions House;" and there is a prison van, 
 which just fits this aperture, thus preventing the 
 escape of prisoners during removal. 
 
 In our wanderings one day we went as far as 
 Bonhill-field Burying-ground, in Bonhill Row, Fins- 
 bury. It appeared to be away to one side of the 
 city; and our guide said it used to be one of the 
 great fields appertaining to Finsbury Farm, Bonhill- 
 field, Wallow- field, and the High -field, where the 
 three windmills stood. It was used as a pest -field 
 during the great plague of 1665, when nearly one 
 hundred thousand of the population of London fell 
 victims to that terrible disease. Soon after it was 
 converted into a cemetery for the Dissenters, and so 
 it has been continued ever since. John Bunyan was 
 buried here, in the vault of his friend Strudwick, a 
 grocer, in whose house he died August 31, 1688. 
 There is a fine monument to him here with figures 
 illustrative of the ' ' Pilgrim's Progress. " The mother 
 of John and Charles Wesley was also buried here, 
 6 
 
82 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and so was De Foe. The inscription on her tomb 
 states that she, was the mother of nineteen children. 
 From near the tombs of all these noted persons we 
 plucked leaves to send home. On the opposite side 
 of the street to the cemetery we saw the house in 
 which John Wesley died, and his tomb is just in the 
 rear thereof. 
 
 We can go nowhere in London without seeing; 
 more or less to interest. One day, abandoning all 
 thought of care, we walked all the way from Cheap- 
 side along: Newgate street, Holborn viaduct, High 
 Holborn, Oxford street, and Edgeware and Bishop's 
 road, to our own lodgings in Queen's road, half the 
 length of the city. Hearing only English spoken, 
 we might have forgotten and thought ourselves in 
 New York; for some portions of the business streets 
 seemed like Broadway. Cheapside is the great cen- 
 ter of the retail trade, and perhaps the most active 
 and crowded part of London. It is said to have 
 derived its name from having been the market of 
 the Ward of Chepe. " It was the northern boundary 
 of Roman London, all beyond being marsh and bog." 
 In 1631 it was called the "Beauty of London." It is 
 full of historical recollections. It was here that Ed- 
 ward I. erected one of the nine Crosses raised in 
 memory of Eleanor, his Queen. It stood for over 
 three hundred years on the spot where her body 
 rested, on the way from Lincoln to Westminster, 
 but was finally "demolished on the 2d of May, 1643, 
 in the mayoralty of the regicide Isaac Pennington, 
 to the noise of trumpets, the tramp of horses, and 
 the cries of the multitude." It was here that Wat 
 Tyler caused Richard Irons and others to be behead- 
 ed in 1381; and in 1450 Jack Cade caused Lord Say 
 to be put to death here in the same manner. 
 
CROSSING THE CHANNEL. 83 
 
 Having purchased Cook's tickets to Geneva, via 
 Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Austria, taking 
 the principal cities in Switzerland and Chamouni in 
 our route, we must bid good-bye to London for the 
 present. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 tMSTERDAM, July 18.— Here we are in Hol- 
 land, stopping at the Amsted Hotel, the lead- 
 ing public house in Amsterdam, and said to be the 
 best in Holland. We left London in a pouring rain, 
 at seven p. m., on the 16th, took the steamer from 
 Harwich about nine, and reached Rotterdam next 
 morning at half -past nine, after a most wretched 
 night of sea -sickness, so far as the writer was con- 
 cerned. His fair companion having been so fortu- 
 nate as to secure a lounge, passed the night quite 
 comfortably. No such luck for him! Every berth 
 in the gentlemen's cabin was engaged, and the best 
 that could be done for him was a mattress on the 
 cabin floor across the stern of the boat, a hard pillow 
 about two inches thick, one blanket, and a wash-bowl 
 as a compagnon de lit. This arrangement, how- 
 ever, had this advantage — it avoided the necessity 
 of undressing. But such a bed, and such an irreg- 
 ular rocking, pitching, and twisting! All night long 
 the boat was dancing a crazy jig, and you might 
 as well have tried to dodge chain-lightning as at- 
 tempted to accommodate yourself to its erratic mo- 
 tions. Travelers between England and the Conti- 
 nent may well bid the day good speed when they 
 
84 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 may make the passage by rail through a submarine 
 tunnel. We made only a short stop in Rotterdam, 
 but long enough to see that it is a large city; and we 
 had a good view of it as we approached it by the 
 river Meuse, whose green banks, after such a night, 
 were beautiful to behold. The city is threaded by 
 canals, with draw and stationary bridges, and much 
 of the communication is by ferryboats. In the mar- 
 ket-place there is a bronze statue of Erasmus, and 
 the house in which he was born, in 1467, is still 
 preserved. 
 
 From Rotterdam we proceeded to the Hague, the 
 capital of Holland, and a charmingly neat and 
 clean city, also abounding in canals. The streets 
 and sidewalks are well paved and shaded by long 
 rows of trees, and extending into the city stands 
 a large forest, kept entirely clear of all underbrush. 
 A drive of one or two miles through this forest 
 took us to the "Queen's House in the Woods." The 
 grounds around it are beautifully laid out, and 
 adorned by flower gardens, fountains, and statuary. 
 In appearance the exterior of the Palace is unpre- 
 tending, but its rooms and furniture are remarkably 
 fine. The ball - room is very spacious, and is full of 
 paintings, many of which illustrate the life of Fred- 
 erick, the first King of the Netherlands. Family 
 portraits adorn the billiard - room. There is a Chi- 
 nese and likewise a Japanese room, each provided 
 with furniture from those countries respectively. 
 The former has furniture upholstered with white 
 embroidered silk, and the latter with light green 
 silk, elaborately worked, all gifts to the Queen from 
 those countries. We understand that the Queen's 
 family consists of herself, husband, and two sons. 
 The King occupies his Palace in the city, paying 
 
THE HAGUE. 85 
 
 only occasional visits to the Queen; Harper's Hand- 
 book says "once a year/' but that seems unrea- 
 sonable. We passed but did not enter the King's 
 Palace. We have visited the old and new House of 
 Lords and House of Commons, having to pay fees 
 to three attendants before we could get in; as we 
 were obliged to pay, also, one guilder (one franc 
 each) admission fee to the House in the Woods. 
 The chief attraction was in the National Museum, 
 (admission free,) formerly the Palace of Prince Mau- 
 rice, where there is a large collection of paintings, 
 mostly by Dutch and Flemish artists. We saw here 
 the famous picture of the "Young Bull," by Paul 
 Potter. It is stated that Napoleon seized this picture 
 and had: it hung up in the Louvre in Paris, notwith- 
 standing the Dutch government offered him $100,000 
 to leave it undisturbed. It represents a young bull 
 with white and brown spots, a cow reclining on the 
 greensward before him, a horned ram, with a sheep 
 and lamb, lying at his head, and an old cowherd 
 leaning against a large tree, under the shade of 
 which and an adjoining tree all (life size) seem to 
 be resting in quiet contemplation. Another noted 
 picture is "Venus Asleep," by Poussin. We turned 
 away, without reluctance, from a large painting by 
 Rembrandt, representing the dissection of a dead 
 man by a professor and his pupils. It is considered 
 a great work of art. There is here also a Royal 
 Cabinet of Curiosities, comprising costumes of the 
 Chinese and Japanese,, a large collection of Japan- 
 ese ware, weapons, coats -of -mail, and thousands of 
 other things of more or less interest. 
 
 Amsterdam is an hour and a half by rail from the 
 Hague. Here, too, there is a Royal Palace, regarded 
 as the most magnificent building in the city. We 
 
86 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 AMSTERDAM. 
 
AMSTERDAM. 87 
 
 went into the bell -tower and stopped to hear the 
 chime of bells there. From this point we had a 
 good view of the city and surrounding country. The 
 whole city rests on piles, and it is divided by deep 
 canals into no less than ninety islands, which are 
 connected by hundreds of bridges. Descending from 
 the tower, we were shown through the various rooms 
 of the palace, one of which, called the marble room, 
 is unusually superb, and in all of which are many 
 fine paintings, the most striking of which, perhaps, 
 is a large one representing the blowing up of his 
 ship by Van Speyk rather than surrender to the 
 Belgian forces. In the Museum, likewise, we saw 
 some five hundred pictures, with some of which we 
 were much pleased. Those of the Dutch and Flem- 
 ish schools predominate. One large painting by 
 Rembrandt represents the " Night Patrol;" and a still 
 larger one, considered the masterpiece of Van der 
 Heist, "represents a banquet of the Garde Bour- 
 geoise, which took place June 18, 1648, in the grand 
 Salle de St. Loris Docle in the Single at Amsterdam, 
 to celebrate the conclusion of the peace of Munster." 
 There are twenty- five figures, said to be all portraits, 
 in this picture. Rembrandt's "Five Masters of the 
 Draper's Company" is also regarded as one of his 
 greatest works. 
 
 From the Museum, wishing to take a carriage to 
 the Zoological Gardens, we were not a little amused 
 as well as puzzled to find that we were utterly unable 
 to make any of the hackmen understand what we 
 wanted. We did not understand a word of Dutch, 
 and those "foreigners," as Mark Twain might call 
 them, were equally ignorant both of English and 
 French, which we tried upon them in vain. At 
 length an omnibus driver, who understood a few 
 
88 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 words of French, came to our relief, and, showing 
 a handful of Dutch coin, we managed, through our 
 interpreter, to get one of the hackmen to understand 
 what he was to receive to carry us to the Zoological 
 Gardens and thence to our hotel. He took us to the 
 Gardens, where the gate - keeper, who speaks French 
 as well as Dutch, instructed him, at our request, to 
 be ready at a given hour to convey us the rest of the 
 way. When that time arrived he was nowhere to 
 be found, and a perfect bedlam was raised around 
 our heads by a dozen other hackmen who wished to 
 get a job. Finally, disgusted with all Dutch hack- 
 men, we started on foot, and soon came to a street 
 car which brought us to our hotel, where we expect- 
 ed our hackman would call for his money. Strange 
 to say, however, he did not make his appearance; 
 but, as we were to leave that afternoon and desired 
 to be on the safe side, we handed the stipulated sum 
 to the cashier of the hotel, to be given to the hack- 
 man should he call; and this notwithstanding the 
 latter fulfilled a part only of his contract. The 
 probability is that he knowingly left us in the lurch 
 because he secured a more lucrative job, and that 
 the hotel clerk appropriated our small change to his 
 own use. Before visiting Deutschland again we in- 
 tend to take a few lessons in Deutsch. 
 
 There are many elegant dwelling houses in these 
 cities, and one peculiarity of nearly all of the dwell- 
 ings is that small mirrors are hung extended outside 
 of the windows, the one reflecting up and the other 
 down the street, so that the inmates may see what 
 passes outside without being themselves seen. All 
 the women in the streets are very neat in appear- 
 ance, and either wear funny looking caps pinned on 
 by fantastic looking pins, or go with their heads 
 
ANTWERP. 89 
 
 bare; and they wear, also, long aprons. Some of 
 the laboring classes of both sexes wear pointed 
 wooden shoes. Netherlands is an appropriate name 
 for Holland, since its whole territory, we imagine, 
 is flat, low land. As far as we have been able to 
 see the face of the country, it is a web of dykes and 
 canals, navigated by boats and canoes. Lots, not 
 containing more than one acre of ground, on which 
 stand the farm-house and other buildings, are en- 
 tirely surrounded by water; and the country is every- 
 where dotted with windmills. 
 
 Antwerp, July 20. — For compartment compan- 
 ions from Amsterdam last evening we had three 
 young Scotch gentlemen on their way to Switzer- 
 land, and a part of the way two interesting young 
 school girls, who, understanding only Dutch and 
 Flemish, contributed much to our amusement, while 
 they were equally amused by our strange language 
 and efforts to make ourselves understood by them. 
 In company with our new Scotch acquaintances we 
 have had a very enjoyable day in Antwerp, which is 
 a much more interesting city than we expected to 
 see. Here are three or four of the most beautiful 
 and richly adorned churches in Europe; and this is 
 the native place of Antoine Van Dyck, whose paint- 
 ings, with those of Rubens and others, contribute so 
 much to their adornment. Here, in the principal Ca- 
 thedral, is the great masterpiece of Rubens, "The De- 
 scent from the Cross," and what is regarded as his 
 next best work, "The Elevation to the Cross;" also, 
 his "Resurrection of the Saviour," and " Assumption 
 of the Virgin." In the Church of St. James, too, 
 there are many of his paintings, among them his 
 "Holy Family;" and in the Church of St. Augustine 
 his great picture of "The Marriage of St. Catherine." 
 
90 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 In the latter church "The Ecstacy of St. Augustine/' 
 by Van Dyck, attracts marked attention. On the 
 outside of St. Paul's Church there is what purports 
 to be a representation of Calvary — statuary figures 
 representing Christ on the Cross, Mary Magdalene, 
 and others in attendance; beneath, Christ lying in 
 the sepulchre, a sort of grotto; and at the side, Pur- 
 gatory, behind an iron grating, exhibiting numerous 
 unfortunate sinners, apparently suffering the "tor- 
 tures of the damned." We ventured to suggest that 
 they had suffered long enough, and that St. Paul's 
 would be improved by the removal of the whole 
 frightful picture* There is a very large collection of 
 paintings in the Museum, including one of Van 
 Dyck's greatest works, "The Crucifixion," Rubens' 
 "Dead Christ," and his "Crucifixion of Christ be- 
 tween two Thieves;" "Boors Smoking," by Teniers, 
 also a native of Antwerp, and other noted works by 
 celebrated artists. Among the artists copying pic- 
 tures here, w^e met one evidently very accomplished, 
 a gentleman without arms, who held his brush by 
 the toes of his right foot. His name, which he 
 wrote with a pencil in our catalogue, is Charles 
 Felu. He was engaged in and had nearly finished 
 copying a portrait of "Our Saviour," regarded as a 
 very superior work of art; and strange as it may 
 seem, the copy appeared equal in every respect to 
 the original. We here sat in a chair which Rubens 
 kept as his favorite seat. We rode along Rubens 
 street past the house, a handsome edifice, in which 
 Rubens lived and died, and over the front of which 
 there is a bust of the great painter. In the square, 
 in front of the Cathedral, there is a fine bronze 
 statue of him. 
 
BRUSSELS. 91 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 p^RANKFORT, July 26.— In one hour from Ant- 
 Jy§k werp we reached Brussels on the evening of 
 the 20th of July, and remained there about three 
 days. Brussels is pleasantly situated on the river 
 Senne, although some of the streets running back 
 from the river are rather too steep. It stands mostly 
 on the acclivity and top of a hill. It has a mag- 
 nificent park, two grand boulevards, and many fine 
 squares. On the 21st there was a royal parade, 
 and religious services were held at the Cathedral 
 of St. Gudule, it being the anniversary of the late 
 King's death. There was a great crowd and con- 
 siderable military display. With some difficulty we 
 obtained admission to the church, where we hired 
 chairs to stand upon, in order to see over the heads 
 of the populace. There were present the King and 
 Queen, judges of the court, officers of the army, 
 all the foreign ministers, and other officials, all in 
 their uniform or regalia, save the American consul, 
 who represented the United States on that occasion, 
 our minister, Mr. Jones, having recently resigned 
 and left for home. The judges wore long robes, 
 faced with scarlet silk. Most of the officials had 
 taken their seats before the arrival of the King and 
 Queen, on whose appearance they all rose, and the 
 King and Queen bowed pleasantly right and left 
 to them as they passed to their seats at the right 
 of the altar. We had a good view of all these 
 dignitaries. The King is a tall, fine looking man, 
 between forty and fifty, we should judge, and the 
 Queen, a very pretty lady, is somewhat, younger. 
 At the close of the ceremonies they passed out first, 
 
92 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 bowing as when they came in. There was a grand 
 flourish of trumpets both inside of the church and 
 in the streets. We have a photograph of the pulpit 
 of this church, and, like the one in St. James' at 
 Antwerp, of which also we obtained a good photo- 
 graph, it is remarkable for the beautiful carving, 
 which must have cost no small sum. "The pulpit 
 of St. Gudule is formed of wonderfully carved groups 
 of figures, representing the expulsion of Adam and 
 Eve from Paradise. The figures are the size of 
 life. Above the pulpit, which is supported by the 
 tree of knowledge, stands the Virgin, holding the 
 infant Jesus in her arms, who is endeavoring to 
 thrust the cross into the serpent's head." In fact, 
 the churches, some of them, in both these cities 
 abound in wonderful carvings, mostly of wood, but 
 some in ivory — all remarkably perfect. In the old 
 square in the lower part of the city, where the Hotel 
 de Ville is situated, the architecture of four several 
 centuries is represented. Brussels is regarded as 
 perhaps the best place for laces; therefore we made 
 it an object to visit several lace stores and manu- 
 factories of lace in different parts of the city. All 
 the people here whom we met spoke French, thus 
 enabling us to transact business with them much 
 easier than we could do in Holland, where Holland- 
 aise and Flemish are the languages generally spoken 
 among the common people. Besides several of the 
 churches, all interesting as containing magnificent 
 altars and many fine paintings, we visited the Na- 
 tional Gallery of Fine Arts, and a gallery of very 
 beautiful modern paintings and statuary near the 
 King's Palace. The former is divided into three 
 departments; "the first contains the paintings of 
 the great Flemish masters, from Van Eyck to Ru- 
 
BRUSSELS. 93 
 
 bens, and their numerous pupils; the second contains 
 a splendid Library of two hundred thousand volumes 
 and twenty thousand manuscripts; many of the lat- 
 ter were collected at a very early period by the Dukes 
 of Burgundy, and are of great value; the third, the 
 Museum of Natural History, which is in the lower 
 story, and surpasses in extent and value every other 
 in the kingdom." In the gallery of modern paintings 
 are many of Verboeckhoven's works, remarkable 
 for their true resemblance to nature, his sheep and 
 cattle being perfect. We have been also to the fa- 
 mous Wertz Gallery, where there are some very 
 curious pictures, better designated, perhaps, as mon- 
 strosities. There is one horrible picture here, rep- 
 resenting a person come to life in his entombed 
 coffin. Among the natural pictures we were partic- 
 ularly struck with one of an old concierge sitting 
 asleep by a window, his newspaper open before him. 
 Beneath was a picture of two beautiful maidens — 
 one leaning over the window- sill, showing both bare 
 arms and bust, and the other showing head, shoulder, 
 and one side of bust. Near the floor a fine picture 
 of a dog, with white nose and paws, lying asleep 
 in his kennel by his lunch bowl. Another, the pic- 
 ture of a maiden leaning out of a window on her 
 right arm, and showing most of her bosom, in her 
 right hand a flower and in the left a bouquet, and 
 pressing back the green window curtain. Looking 
 over her shoulder is the beautiful face of another 
 maiden. All these figures stand out from the canvas 
 in a wonderful manner. 
 
 On the 22d there was a grand military review by 
 the King; and from the number of regiments present 
 we infer that the whole military force of Belgium 
 was called out on that occasion. Preferring to visit 
 
94 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the Gallery and other places of interest, we did not 
 seek positions on the field, but we saw great bodies 
 of troops marching through the streets, affording 
 a good opportunity to judge of their appearance. 
 What struck us as most remarkable was the small 
 size of the men. Compared with some of our own 
 regiments we used to see in Washington during the 
 late war, they were little more than pigmies; never- 
 theless, they doubtless understand well how to handle 
 the musket and saber. Beyond the military the 
 crowd was immense. On the evening of the 21st we 
 witnessed splendid fireworks at the foot of the Park. 
 Our pleasant Scotch friends took leave of us in 
 Brussels, where we at the same time made the ac- 
 quaintance of Mr. Usher, United States Marshal, 
 from Massachusetts, with whom we made a trial to 
 find our Minister, not then knowing that he had 
 gone home. 
 
 We left Brussels at two o'clock p. m., and arrived 
 at Cologne at ten p. m. on the 23d. We have never 
 anywhere seen more productive fields than we saw 
 on this route, particularly between Brussels and 
 Liege. They are loaded with grain, now being cut 
 and stacked, rank potatoes, beets, clover, etc. On 
 this part of the route the face of the country is quite 
 level, and the order in which trees are growing in 
 the fields and on both sides of the highways, together 
 with the abundant crops, gives the observer a land- 
 scape view on which it would seem the eye could 
 never tire. 
 
 At Cologne the greatest interest centers in the 
 Cathedral, which, although commenced in 1248, is 
 not yet completed. It is most remarkable for its 
 great dimensions and magnificent Gothic architect- 
 ure. As a Gallery of Art it is far behind two or 
 
COLOGNE. 95 
 
 three of the churches we visited in Antwerp; but it 
 contains some fine paintings by Rubens, who was a 
 native of this city, and other artists. Numerous 
 wonderful relics are shown here, for pay — among 
 them the bones of the three wise men of the East, 
 who came to Bethlehem to present their offerings to 
 the infant Saviour; one of St. Matthew's bones; and 
 the skulls of the Magi, crowned with diamonds. In 
 the Church of St. Ursula, likewise, there are other 
 relics equally wonderful, including "the chains with 
 which St. Peter was bound, and one of the clay 
 vessels used by the Saviour at the marriage in Cana." 
 The skeleton of St. Ursula herself, surrounded by 
 the skulls of some of her followers, is also exhibited 
 in a coffin; and in the Cathedral there is a large 
 painting of her with her eleven thousand virgins, 
 who, tradition says, made a pilgrimage with her on 
 foot from Basle to Rome, where they were received 
 with great honors by the Holy Father. She was the 
 daughter of the King of Brittany; and on their re- 
 turn, we have it from the same authority, that, 
 because they refused to break their vows of chastity, 
 they were all put to death by the Huns. 
 
 There are at least three bridges across the Rhine 
 at Cologne — one being built on boats; one of iron, 
 three arched spans; and the third a square-built, 
 massive structure of iron and stone, with two sep- 
 arate carriage-ways. We walked over the latter, 
 from which we had a good view of the river as well 
 as of the city, through the business part of which 
 we also chose to make our way on foot and look, at 
 pleasure, at whatever attracted our attention, not 
 forgetting to buy a couple of bottles of Cologne at 
 the very headquarters of that celebrated article. 
 
 At the moment of starting from Cologne up the 
 
96 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Rhine, at nine o'clock on the morning of the 25th, 
 Mr. Trask, from Portland, Maine, who was travel- 
 ing with his wife, introduced himself and wife to us, 
 and we all became companions for the day, which, 
 though a little raw, was passed very pleasantly. 
 The varied scenery which came under our view as 
 we glided along afforded us much pleasure. Cities 
 and villages, castles and ruins of castles, sweet cot- 
 tages and elegant mansions, with their adornings, 
 terrace above terrace, sometimes to the number of 
 thirty or more, along the rugged banks, covered 
 with grape-vines — fields of waving grain — together 
 presented a picture bpth novel and beautiful. 
 
 " Above the frequent feudal towers 
 Through green leaves lift their walls of gray, 
 
 And many a rock which steeply lowers, 
 And noble arch in proud decay, 
 
 Look o'er this vale of vintage bowers." 
 
 We were the most interested, perhaps, in the many 
 castles on either side, the names of which we learned 
 as we passed them. A few miles above Bonn, on the 
 opposite side of the river, is the celebrated Drachen- 
 fels, the highest of a group of seven mountains, on 
 the summit of which stands an old castle, said to 
 have been once the fortress and watch-tower of the 
 robbers of the Rhine. 
 
 " The castled crag of Drachenfels 
 
 Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine, 
 Whose breast of waters broadly swells 
 Between the banks which bear the vine." 
 
 At or near Falkensberg stands the old Cathedral 
 of St. Clements and the restored Castle of Rhein- 
 stein, the summer residence of Prince Frederick of 
 Prussia. At the base of this Castle is a sweet little 
 chapel, and both are nestled in a forest of shade 
 
THE RHINE. 97 
 
 trees upon the side of the precipice, on a peak of 
 which, near by, is an elegant summer house, resem- 
 bling a Swiss cottage. On one of her visits to Prus- 
 sia, Queen Victoria was entertained here. At Cob- 
 lentz the river is spanned by boats, forming a bridge 
 from that city to the strong fortification of Ehren- 
 breitstein on a high point opposite. It is said that 
 this fortification, perhaps the strongest in Germany, 
 is capable of accommodating one hundred thousand 
 men, and that provisions for eight thousand for ten 
 years could be stored in its magazines. At Coblentz 
 there is a royal residence sometimes occupied by the 
 Emperor of Germany. Opposite the Castle of Eh- 
 renfels is the celebrated " Mouse Tower," associated 
 with the tradition graphically related in rhyme by 
 Southey. The story goes that the summer and au- 
 tumn had been so wet that in winter the corn con- 
 tinued to grow and lay rotting on the ground; yet, 
 rather than gather it, 
 
 " Every day the starving poor 
 Crowded around Bishop Hatto's door, 
 For he had a plentiful last year's store." 
 
 At length, having become tired of their begging, he 
 appointed a day for them all to come to his great 
 barn, promising to furnish them there with a win- 
 ter's supply of food. 
 
 " Rejoiced at such tidings, good to hear, 
 The poor folk flocked from far and near; 
 The great barn was full as it could hold 
 Of women and children and young and old. 
 
 " And when he saw it could hold no more, 
 Bishop Hatto he made fast the door; 
 And while for mercy on Christ they call, 
 He set fire to the barn and burnt them all. 
 
98 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 " ' I' faith it is an excellent bonfire! ' quoth he, 
 ' And the country is greatly obliged to me 
 For ridding it, in these times forlorn, 
 Of rats that only consume the corn.' " 
 
 The result was that the Bishop never slept again. 
 The next morning he found the rats had eaten his 
 portrait out of its frame on the wall, consumed all 
 the corn in his granaries, and that an army of ten 
 thousand of them was on its way to attack him. 
 Filled with consternation, he hastened across the 
 river and shut himself up in this tower; but the rats 
 followed, and, breaking into the tower, soon de- 
 voured him. 
 
 "They gnawed the flesh from every limb, 
 For they were sent to do judgment on him." 
 
 A short distance above the " Mouse Tower" is 
 "Bingen on the Rhine;" a place also made famous 
 by song. We will not attempt to relate the story of 
 the dying soldier whose home was "on the vine -clad 
 hills of Bingen — fair Bingen on the Rhine." "He 
 who runs may read." Most of the way, thus far, 
 the shores on either side are more or less mountain- 
 ous; but as we approach Johannisberg, celebrated 
 for its fine wines, and as the residence of the late 
 Prince Metternich, the country grows more level, 
 and so continues as far at least as Mayence, where, 
 late in the evening, we took the cars and arrived at 
 our hotel in Frankfort about half - past eleven. 
 
FRANKFORT. 99 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 UREMBERG, July 28.— Before leaving Lon- 
 don we provided ourselves with a few £10 
 circular notes, which we found very convenient, 
 and, being drawn to our order, they were quite safe. 
 On some parts of the continent they bring a small 
 premium. Going to the bank in Frankfort on the 
 morning of the 26th to get one of these changed, 
 and observing in the same building the sign of the 
 United States consul, we stopped to pay our respects 
 to him, and were kindly received. Mr. Webster, 
 the consul, had just returned from Homburg, and 
 informed us that return tickets to that celebrated 
 watering-place were sold for fifty cents each — the 
 cars running several times a day. He proposed that 
 we should make a trip there, and that he should 
 meet us on our return late in the afternoon. To this 
 we readily agreed. Meantime, however, we took a 
 turn through the city to see some of the monuments, 
 and Dannecker's noted statue of "Ariadne" — a nude 
 female figure seated on a tiger. This statue, pic- 
 tures of which are often seen, is regarded as a re- 
 markable work of art. It is a novel way of showing 
 off the beauties of the human form. It matters little 
 what name is given to these statues. This is called 
 "Ariadne." Some are called "Eve," some "Venus/' 
 some "The Greek Slave," others "Proserpine," "Cly- 
 tie," and so on. Near the villa in which this statue 
 of "Ariadne" is exhibited is a massive monument, 
 erected by the King of Prussia to the memory of 
 the Hessians who fell in defense of Frankfort. The 
 base is of granite, surmounted by a military device, 
 cast from cannon taken from the French. In the 
 
100 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 city are the triple Gutenberg monuments, and fine 
 bronze statue monuments also of Goethe and Schil- 
 ler. Schiller's represents him crowned with laurel 
 and holding a book in his hand. We spent a good 
 part of the day delightfully at Homburg, which 
 must not be, as it sometimes is, confounded with 
 Hamburg, the great commercial city on the Elbe. 
 Until within a few years, Homburg, like Wiesbaden 
 and Baden-Baden, not to mention other similar 
 watering-places, was a great resort for gamblers, 
 and for summer recreation of everybody else who 
 might desire a charming location where they could 
 enjoy free of charge the mineral waters of the 
 springs, the daily music of a large band, and the 
 luxurious drawing and gambling rooms of the Kur- 
 saal. It is a paradise of a place. The springs, the 
 waters of which are like those of Saratoga, are situ- 
 ated in a grove, some fifteen minutes' walk from the 
 Kursaal, which is on the main street of the village. 
 Connected with the Kursaal, which is still kept open 
 and provided with a reading-room where newspa- 
 pers from all quarters may be perused, there is a 
 first - class restaurant, beautiful garden, music pavil- 
 ion, etc. On the north side, fronting the garden, 
 through which are walks leading toward the springs, 
 there is a spacious veranda, where visitors may sit 
 and sip their coffee, wine, or beer, and listen to the 
 music of the band. In one part of the building there 
 is a theater room, and another part is devoted to 
 baths, medicinal or not, at one's pleasure. Since 
 gambling has been prohibited here, visitors, if they 
 come to stop a few days or more, are taxed a rea- 
 sonable sum toward defraying the expenses of the 
 band and keeping everything in order. We were 
 happy to meet here Mrs. Senator Sprague, who, with 
 
FRANKFORT. 101 
 
 one of her children and maid, had come over from 
 Nauheim, where they are stopping, to spend the day. 
 On our return to Frankfort, Mr. Webster met us at 
 the station, and took us in his carriage to the Palmer 
 Gardens, a new and most charming place on the 
 border of the city, where there is a Kursaal, not 
 unlike that at Homburg, and where the band dis- 
 coursed sweet music during the evening. There are 
 here, also, an extensive hot -house of plants, flowers, 
 etc., and an artificial lake for boating and skating. 
 On the following day Mr. Webster again joined us 
 and showed us other 'principal places and objects of 
 interest in the city. The Romer, or Town Hall, is a 
 singular - looking old building, in which the ancient 
 Emperors of Germany flourished, and where we saw 
 full-length portraits of forty -six of them. Like 
 many of the houses in the old part of the city, the 
 building stands gable - end to the street and has very 
 steep roofs, with windows of very small -sized glass. 
 The different roofs connect at the eaves. In the 
 Jewish quarter we saw the house in which the elder 
 Rothschilds, three generations back, were born, and 
 which the family would never allow to be taken 
 down, notwithstanding some of the adjoining houses 
 of the same character fell a few years ago, and, as 
 we were informed, killed some of the inmates. This 
 and several others of the old houses near it, look as 
 though they were ready to fall. They bear curious 
 inscriptions and devices over the doors, and are in 
 all respects unique. Luther's house, which we also 
 saw, has a much more respectable appearance; and 
 so has the house in which Goethe was born, August 
 17, 1749 — the date of his birth inscribed in German 
 over the door, where his father's coat of arms, three 
 lyres, is still preserved. 
 
102 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Our next stopping place was Nuremberg, six hours 
 by rail from Frankfort, on the afternoon of the 27th. 
 This is off the usual route of European travelers; 
 but we do not regret the diversion. Nuremberg is a 
 very old city, of some eight hundred thousand in- 
 habitants. It is situated on both sides of the river 
 Pegnitz, which is crossed by six or eight bridges. 
 The old wall and dry moat fifty feet wide, and the 
 turrets on the wall still remain. We entered the 
 city over a bridge spanning the deep moat, and 
 through one of the old gateways. The houses, built 
 in every imaginable shape, on narrow, tortuous 
 streets, and all their surroundings, give the place a 
 very ancient and odd appearance. The next morn- 
 ing after our arrival we called on our consul, Colonel 
 James M. Wilson, from St. Louis, who spent the day 
 with us in going about the city, and invited us to 
 tea, when we made the acquaintance also of his 
 accomplished wife, and of the vice-consul and sis- 
 ters. We went first to the old Inquisition Chamber, 
 which is under ground; or, rather, there are several 
 rooms connecting with each other, some of which 
 we saw only by the light of a tallow candle, carried 
 by our female guide. The walls of the first room 
 are covered with instruments of torture. Here is 
 what was called the "Spanish Cloak," being a bar- 
 rel with one head out, and the other perforated to fit 
 the neck of the victim, whose head was encircled by 
 a wire cage. Thus enrobed, drunkards, and others 
 guilty of such minor offences, were condemned to 
 walk the streets. The "Torture Chair," seat, arms, 
 and back is filled with iron spikes, and the victim 
 was strapped to it and weights attached to his hands 
 and feet. If this was not sufficient, a spiked cylin- 
 der was rolled over his body. Here, likewise, are 
 
NUREMBERG. 103 
 
 thumb - screws, thumb -hammers, instruments for 
 cutting off, little by little, the ears, nose, tongue, 
 and fingers, and for pulling out the tongue; also 
 ladles for applying melted pitch or lead. A kind of 
 spring tongs, with long handles, was used to catch 
 persons to be arrested. This instrument, on being 
 pressed against the back of the neck, would open 
 and encircle it by a "Spanish Collar" of iron spikes, 
 and then spring back, holding the victim as in the 
 jaws of a steel trap. Other instruments were for 
 cutting off the head; and these, with the beheading 
 block, are also to be seen. Still lower underground 
 are other rooms, or vaults, provided with other 
 frightful instruments of torture. One is called the 
 "Stretcher," by which the victim was slowly torn 
 limb from limb by means of a windlass, his feet 
 being fastened to iron rings in the floor, and his 
 arms to a yoke under a hole in the ceiling, through 
 which the windlass was worked. Another, called 
 the "Spanish Mule," is a high board, sharpened at 
 the upper edge, and the victim, seated thereon, had 
 heavy stones attached to his suspended feet. "The 
 Cradle" is a half cylinder, with pointed spikes for 
 mattress and pillow. Colonel Wilson informed us 
 that as late as 1803 a woman was rocked to death 
 in this cradle. Her husband being accused of theft, 
 both were put to the rack to make them confess. 
 He survived the proof of his innocence, but soon 
 after died also from his cruel treatment. The cir- 
 cumstance had the good effect to cause the people 
 to rise against such horrible punishments, and the 
 law was abolished. The most barbarous instrument 
 of all remains to be described — "Die eiserne Jung- 
 frau," being an iron case about eight feet high, with 
 the form and features, when closed, of a woman. 
 
104 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 It is provided with doors like a wardrobe, on the 
 inside of which are twenty- three iron spikes, from 
 six to eight inches long — one for each eye, and 
 twenty- one to pierce the body of the victim. Being 
 placed inside, the doors were closed upon him and 
 pressed home by means of a lever from the opposite 
 wall of the narrow vault. This, of course, was 
 certain death; but that there might be no mistake, 
 the body was dropped through a trap door under- 
 neath, and, falling upon a set of knives worked by 
 machinery, was cut in pieces! We secured photo- 
 graphs of this "Iron Maiden," showing both her 
 exterior and interior features. 
 
 From viewing the statue and house of Albert Dii- 
 rer, and the house of Hans Sachs, we drove a mile 
 or two out of town to see Diirer's tomb in the old 
 cemetery. It is a plain stone, about one foot thick, 
 resting on a low molded base, with a raised head- 
 piece for the inscription. As Longfellow, in his 
 poem on Nuremberg, beautifully says: 
 
 "Emigravit is the inscription on the tombstone where he lies; 
 Dead he is not, but departed — for the artist never dies." 
 
 Hans Sachs, the cobbler poet, was also buried here. 
 Many of the tombstones were very singular. One 
 had upon it a bronze casting of a man's skull, jaw 
 and thigh bones, with a nail through the skull, to 
 indicate that the person buried here was killed by a 
 nail driven into his head by his loving wife. But 
 the oddest sight, perhaps, was at the house in the 
 cemetery where the dead are laid out, as if asleep in 
 bed, with the handle of a bell - wire in one hand, that 
 they may ring a bell should they come to life. Their 
 bodies are conveyed there immediately after death, 
 and allowed to remain several days before burial. 
 
NUREMBERG. 105 
 
 We looked through the glass windows and doors at 
 seven corpses lying there at the time. On the way 
 to the cemetery, cut in an old stone wall skirting one 
 side of the road, are seven representations of figures, 
 the principal of which is that of Christ bearing the 
 cross — the last description showing that he had 
 fainted and fallen under it. They are very odd- 
 looking. 
 
 We went into the Church of St. Lawrence, a 
 Gothic building erected in 1274-1477. The western 
 front, with a majestic chief portal, is adorned with 
 splendid sculpture.3 of events in the life of Christ. 
 On the north is the magnificent "Bridal Door." In 
 the interior, in addition to many splendid pictures, 
 the beautiful star - window over the organ, and other 
 painted windows of beautiful design, there is the 
 " Sakramentshaeus' Cherr," the superb work of Ad- 
 am Krafft — a shrine reaching from the floor nearly 
 to the roof, the base of which consists of three kneel- 
 ing figures — the master workman and his two as- 
 sistants — supporting the whole structure on their 
 shoulders. Of this Longfellow writes: 
 
 " In the church of sainted Lawrence stands a pix of sculpture rare, 
 Like the foamy sheaf of fountains, rising through the painted air." 
 
 There are several superbly carved altars in this 
 church; and the pulpit, also, is very remarkable. - 
 
 The Church of St. Sebald is equally interesting. 
 It dates back to the tenth century. Both of these 
 churches, each having two towers, were wrested 
 from the Roman Catholics by the Protestants in the 
 Reformation, and are still held by them. The main 
 door on the south side of St. Sebald's has a repre- 
 sentation in bas-relief of "The Last Judgment," a 
 work, we should think, of years; and the "Bride's 
 
106 
 
 SKETCHES OP TRAVEL. 
 
 Door," on the north, is richly ornamented by figures 
 showing the Wise and Foolish Virgins. The great- 
 est treasure of this church is the world -renowned 
 bronze "Shrine of St. Sebald," by Vischer— 1508- 
 1519. The admirable statues of the Twelve Apostles 
 stand at the side of pillars, which support the can- 
 opy; above them the Prophets, masterpieces of art 
 and workmanship. At the base of the eight pillars- 
 Nimrod, Samson, Perseus, Hercules; and the virtues' 
 Strength, Temperance, Charity, and Justice: 
 
 "In the church of sainted Sebald, sleeps enshrined his holy dust 
 And in bronze the Twelve Apostles guard from age to age their trust." 
 
 Behind the high altar are three figures in bas- 
 relief representing Judas' Kiss, the Mount of Olives 
 and the Lord's Supper. The stained windows are 
 splendid. In this church there is a taper, in a small 
 suspended vessel of oil, which has been kept burning 
 for two or three hundred years, and the order is that 
 it shall never be extinguished. A person, in recog- 
 nition of some merciful deliverance, left by will a 
 sum of money, the interest of which goes to defray 
 the expense of this perpetual offering. 
 
 We visited a fine Gallery of paintings, among 
 which are many by Albert Diirer-one the portrait 
 of an old Burgomaster, is considered remarkable 
 "King Midas as Judge, the Passions assailing him-" 
 "The Triumphal Entry of Maximillian;" and the 
 "Band of the Town Musicians," all by Diirer, are 
 also regarded as masterpieces. In allusion to him 
 Longfellow observes: 
 
 " Fairer seems the ancient city, and the sunshine seems more fair 
 lhat he once has trod its pavement, that he once has breathed its air! " 
 
 The Castle here, founded by Emperor Conrad II 
 in the tenth century, is another point of some attrac- 
 
DONAUSTAUF. 107 
 
 tion, as having been the favorite residence of nearly 
 all of the old German Emperors. It contains some 
 fine pictures, by Diirer and other artists. In differ- 
 ent squares there are four beautiful fountains, and 
 several monumental statues, including one of Me- 
 lancthon. In fact, we could not go the length of a 
 square anywhere in the city that we did not find 
 more or less to excite our curiosity. It is altogether 
 one of the most quaint and interesting old places we 
 have visited. 
 
 "Quaint old town of toil and traffic, quaint old town of art and song, 
 Memories haunt thy pointed gables like the rooks that round them throng." 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 2)ERLIN, August 1. — We left Nuremberg at sev- 
 en on the morning of the 30th ultimo, and 
 going to Ratisbon,— or Regensberg, as it is called 
 on some of the maps, — we hired a coachman to drive 
 us six miles to the Walhalla, or Temple of Fame, 
 a magnificent white marble edifice, erected by the 
 late King of Bavaria, in the northern end of which, 
 opposite the main entrance, is a niche destined to 
 receive his statue. It is situated on a hill several 
 hundred feet in height, overlooking the Danube and 
 surrounding country for a long distance. Its length 
 is two hundred and eighteen feet, its breadth two 
 hundred and two feet, and it is surrounded by fifty- 
 two fluted Doric columns, like the Parthenon at 
 Athens and the Church of the Madeleine in Paris. 
 The main saloon is one hundred and sixty feet long, 
 forty- eight wide, and sixty feet high. It is intended 
 
108 SKETCHES OP TRAVEL. 
 
 as a great memorial hall, and to contain, among 
 other works of art, the busts and statues of the 
 most distinguished men of Bavaria. Being compar- 
 atively new, the number is not yet large; but among 
 about one hundred busts are those of Albert Diirer, 
 Martin Luther, Schiller, Goethe, Mozart, Wallen- 
 stein, and Charlemagne; and there are also six an- 
 gelic w^hite marble statues of "Victory," by Rauch. 
 We say angelic, because they are full-length figures, 
 life-size, of beautiful females, with wings. They 
 are differently posed, but all except one hold one 
 or two wreaths, and this one holds a laurel branch 
 in her right hand. They are all exquisitely beautiful, 
 and we readily recall them to sight as well as mind 
 by photographs of them in our collection. There 
 is, we think, a carriage road to or quite near to 
 the Temple on one side; but, as being the shorter 
 way, we were left to walk a quarter of a mile to 
 it in a foot-path up the steep hill, covered to the 
 top by a fine forest. Were this magnificent Temple 
 not so far out of the course of ordinary travel, it 
 would undoubtedly be universally visited and ad- 
 mired. Returning by coach to the village or city 
 of Ratisbon, we again took the train and reached 
 Eger at eight p. m. , where we stayed over night. 
 
 It was a long ride from Eger to Leipsic, our next 
 stopping place (it took from half past eight in the 
 morning till half past four in the afternoon) but 
 we were fortunate in having for a traveling com- 
 panion Mr. E. J. Sobeck, of Luditz, Bohemia, who, 
 although unable to speak his own Bohemian tongue, 
 could speak German, English, French, Spanish, and 
 Italian. At present his principal business is that 
 of an extensive hop merchant, shipping enormous 
 quantities of that article to all quarters of the world. 
 
LEIPSIC. 109 
 
 He is also an architect and a professional musician, 
 but has not practised the latter profession for many 
 years. He told us that in 183G he traveled through 
 most of the United States as a member of a Bohe- 
 mian band, playing on the clarionet. He said they 
 performed in Washington, and spoke of the pleasure 
 he enjoyed in a call on President Jackson, whom 
 they saluted with a serenade. From Baltimore to 
 Pittsburg they rode in a mail stage. Subsequently 
 he was the leader of a band in the service of the 
 Queen of Spain; and when Jenny Lind was in her 
 glory he traveled and performed for a time with her. 
 He is a man of commanding appearance, fine ad- 
 dress, and evidently well educated; in fact, our true 
 ideal for a Senator. Everything on the route was 
 interesting to us. The buildings are odd looking, 
 the costumes of the peasantry queer, especially of 
 the women, who work with the men in the fields; 
 and the manner in which oxen are harnessed, with a 
 yoke passing directly below their horns, thus draw- 
 ing from the head instead of the breast, added to 
 the novelty. Cows are also made to work in the 
 same manner. The crops seem abundant. At the 
 stations, where very short stops were made, beer 
 was brought for sale at the car windows. It is 
 offered in thin pint glasses the shape of wine casks, 
 and sold very cheap, glass and all — the glass to 
 be thrown away after its contents are drunk. We 
 have, however, preserved one of them, and may find 
 it useful. 
 
 Our approach to Leipsic carried us directly through 
 the field where the principal part of the great battle 
 of Leipsic was fought, on the 16th, 17th, and 18th o£ 
 October, 1813, between the army of Napoleon on the 
 one side, and the allied armies of Prussia, Russia, 
 
110 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and Austria on the other, resulting in the defeat of 
 Napoleon, who occupied the city at the commence- 
 ment of the battle. His force was said to have 
 numbered one hundred and seventy thousand men 
 against three hundred thousand of the allied army, 
 whose loss was only fifty thousand, while his was 
 eighty thousand. Sir Walter Scott, in his "Life of 
 Napoleon," gives a description of the town and a 
 vivid account of the battle. He says: "The venera- 
 ble town of Leipsic forms an irregular square, sur- 
 rounded by an ancient Gothic wall, with a terrace 
 planted with trees. Four gates — on the north those 
 of Halle and Ranstadt, on the east the gate of Grim- 
 ma, and on the south that called St. Peter's gate — 
 lead from the town to the suburbs, which are of 
 great extent, secured by walls and barriers. Upon 
 the west side of the town, two rivers, the Pleisse 
 and the Elster, wash its walls, and flowing through 
 meadows divide themselves into several branches 
 connected by marshy islands." On this side, thus 
 protected, Napoleon was enabled, or permitted, lest 
 his troops if headed off at every point might become 
 desperate, to keep open a line of retreat toward the 
 Rhine. It is supposed that he did not expect any 
 serious attack on the northern side; therefore his 
 preparations were chiefly made on the southern side 
 of the city; but on the second day the Prussian 
 General, Blucher, made a violent attack, and ob- 
 tained great advantages on the north side. The 
 next day was occupied, without any serious conflict, 
 by both armies in preparation for the final struggle 
 of the 18th, which resulted in Napoleon's defeat and 
 iziost disastrous retreat. In retreating, nearly his 
 whole army was obliged to pass through the city; 
 and, although commenced on the night of the 18th, 
 
LEIPSIC. Ill 
 
 it was morning before all succeeded in making their 
 escape. They were then fiercely pursued by the 
 victorious allies, joined by the Saxon and Baden 
 troops, who, at the moment of his defeat, had aban- 
 doned Napoleon; and the fight was continued hand 
 to hand through the city. Added to this, the only 
 bridge to serve as an exit for the whole French 
 army having been mined by Napoleon's orders, to 
 be blown up as soon as his army should be safely 
 over, was, through some mischance, thus prema- 
 turely destroyed, and a large number of the French, 
 unable to escape, were taken prisoners. 
 
 It was with no slight interest that we looked upon 
 the scene of this great battle, during which Napoleon 
 had his headquarters at the Rathhaus, or Town Hall; 
 and it was in this Hall that the commander of the 
 allied army, Marshal Schwarzenberg, afterward died. 
 We visited the market-place, from which we were 
 soon, however, driven by an awful smell of what 
 they called cheese; went to the University, through 
 the principal business streets, park, etc. Not caring 
 to stop here longer, we left on a slow train at one 
 in the afternoon, and reached Berlin, the capital 
 of the German Empire, at half -past six, on the 
 31st of July. 
 
112 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ^ERLIN ? August 4. — Our first day in Berlin, 
 August 1, was Sunday, and in company with 
 Hon. H. N. Conger, of New Jersey, United States 
 Consul at Prague, and his wife, we went to the 
 house where it was expected religious services in 
 English would take place, but none were held, there 
 being no minister, and we turned our steps toward 
 the King's Palace, to which we were admitted on 
 payment of one mark, about twenty- five cents, each, 
 and were shown through the principal rooms. This 
 magnificent edifice, called the Old Palace, has an 
 interior inclined plane walk, wide enough for a car- 
 riage-way, paved with brick, to the third story. 
 Whether the old sovereigns used to ride over this 
 road or not, we did not learn; but we found it easy 
 of ascent. The seven or eight rooms shown to us 
 were sumptuously furnished, and the Royal Chapel 
 contains many fine works of art. The throne room 
 is very large, and is gorgeously decorated. Another 
 splendid room contains statues of the Brandenburg 
 Electors and various allegorical figures. Before en- 
 tering these rooms, as in the Temple of Walhalla, 
 we were all obliged to put on over our shoes large 
 felt slippers, which could be kept on only by sliding 
 along without raising the feet. The floors of pol- 
 ished wood are as smooth as glass, and this precau- 
 tion is observed to prevent injury. There is a story 
 to the effect that this Palace was formerly haunted 
 by a ghost in the shape of a lady in white who made 
 her appearance only when some member of the royal 
 family was about to depart from this life. At the gate 
 of the Palace are two bronze horses with grooms. 
 
BERLIN. 113 
 
 On entering Berlin we were at once attracted to 
 its magnificent boulevard, called Unter den Linden 
 strasse, which runs from one end of the city to the 
 other. The Royal Palace and many other splendid 
 mansions, as well as shops, are situated on this 
 street, at the head of which, where it enters a forest 
 of grand old trees, is the Brandenburg gate, sur- 
 mounted by a magnificent triumphal arch erected in 
 1789. On top of this arch is the car of victory, 
 which Napoleon took to Paris, and returned after 
 the battle of Waterloo. Just beyond this gate, in 
 the edge of the grove, stands the new monument to 
 commemorate the victory of the Germans over the 
 French in their late war. It is very grand and 
 beautiful. Its base is of polished stone, like the 
 Scotch marble, with bronze entablatures on the four 
 sides, representing in bas-relief a battle, the surren- 
 der, return home of the army, and their welcome 
 reception. The likenesses of the Emperor William, 
 Bismarck, and Von Moltke are readily recognized. 
 Others, doubtless, are equally good. Next above 
 these entablatures is a gallery surrounded by marble 
 pillars, and next a tall column of granite or sand- 
 stone, embraced by three rows of cannon cut in the 
 stone, pointing upward, and connected by wreaths, 
 all in gold leaf. The whole is surmounted by a 
 splendid statue of Victory, also in gold leaf, with a 
 wreath in her right hand and a scepter in her left. 
 
 In the middle of Unter den Linden street is the 
 colossal equestrian statue of Frederick the Great — 
 one of the grandest monuments, no doubt, in Europe. 
 The pedestal is of granite, twenty- five feet in height, 
 on the four sides of which are bronze groups, life- 
 size, of thirty- one of the leading generals and states- 
 men of the Seven Years' War. Over these, on each 
 
114 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 corner of the pedestal, are figures of Justice, Pru- 
 dence, Fortitude, and Temperance; "between these 
 are has -reliefs representing different periods in the 
 life of Frederick: the Muse teaching him history; 
 Mercury giving him a sword; walking in the gar- 
 dens of his Palace, surrounded by his favorite com- 
 panions, greyhounds; playing on. his flute; in the 
 weaver's hut, and drawing the plan of a battle 
 after his defeat at Rollin. On the front tablet is 
 the following inscription: 'To Frederick the Great. 
 Frederick William III., 1840, completed by Fred- 
 erick William IV., 1851.' The equestrian statue is 
 seventeen feet high, and most perfect in all its pro- 
 portions; a mantle hangs from the monarch's shoul- 
 ders, his stick hanging from his wrist; all is most 
 perfect and true to life." 
 
 We have visited the Museum, at the entrance of 
 which stands a fine bronze statue of the Amazon, 
 and an enormous vase of polished granite sixty- six 
 feet high. The city abounds in statues, the fronts 
 of several of the mansions on Unter den Linden 
 street being surmounted by them. The exterior 
 front of the Museum is ornamented by frescoes, 
 representing allegorically the creation of the world. 
 The interior consists of three departments — the An- 
 tiquarian on the first floor, the Sculptures on the 
 second, and the Picture Gallery on the third. The 
 number of interesting things here is endless; and we 
 cannot attempt any lengthy description. Among 
 the noted pictures is Raphael's "Madonna Ancajani," 
 representing the Virgin and child in the stable; a 
 series of twelve paintings, by Van Eyck, called 
 "The Worship of the Spotless Lamb;" "lo and the 
 Cloud," and "Leda and the Swan," by Correggio; 
 "Resurrection of Lazarus," by Rubens; and "St. 
 
CHARLOTTENBURG. 115 
 
 Anthony Embracing the Infant Saviour," by Mu- 
 rillo. We were particularly interested in many of 
 the relics to be seen here, including Napoleon's hat 
 and his decorations as Emperor, which, in haste to 
 escape, he left in his carriage at Waterloo; also the 
 walking cane, flute, and the uniform of Frederick 
 the Great, which he wore on the day of his death, 
 and a cast of his f^ce after death; likewise the 
 tobacco pipes and other articles which belonged to 
 his father. 
 
 The principal shops here are unusually fine; and 
 many of these are under or in an extensive arcade 
 abounding in almost everything to attract the eye 
 and invite the expenditure of money. 
 
 One evening, in the heart of the city, we went to 
 a gorgeous beer garden, an open space capable of 
 holding ten thousand people, surrounded by build- 
 ings with shade trees, and lighted by seventy thou- 
 sand gas jets in every form of beauty almost that 
 ingenuity could invent. It presented a perfect fairy 
 scene; and there were two fine bands, one in a 
 balcony on either side in the center, and they played 
 alternately. Visitors could be seated or promenade 
 at their pleasure. 
 
 An excursion of a few miles to Charlottenburg 
 was very enjoyable. Here is a plain Palace built by 
 Frederick I.; but what we went specially to see were 
 the monuments of Frederick William III. and his 
 Queen, Louise, so celebrated for her beauty, and a 
 photograph of whose full length portrait is now 
 before us. Their tomb and marble monumental 
 statues are in a small Doric temple. The statues 
 are separate, each in a reclining position, as upon a 
 bed or lounge, and raised on a beautifully carved 
 and paneled marble base. The works are considered 
 
116 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 SANS SOUCI. 
 
POTSDAM. 117 
 
 the masterpieces of Ranch, the sculptor previously 
 mentioned in these sketches. The temple is located 
 in one of the sweetest of groves. 
 
 On the 3d of August, in company with the Rev. 
 Henry M. Field and niece, now on their tour around 
 the world, and of his nephew, Lieutenant Field, on 
 leave of absence from the United States steamship 
 Franklin, we passed the day most agreeably at Pots- 
 dam, eighteen miles by rail from Berlin. There are 
 here five royal residences, called, respectively, the 
 Royal Palace, the New Palace, the Marble Palace, 
 Babelsburg, and Sans Souci — all of which we visited. 
 As some of these Palaces are two or three miles 
 apart, we hired a coachman for the day. They are 
 all situated in a beautiful park or garden, adorned 
 with fountains and statuary. In the old Palace, 
 or in Sans Souci, we saw some of the furniture used 
 by Frederick the Great, including stuffed chairs, 
 in some of which he used to have his dogs sit with 
 him at table; and on the covering of one in which 
 he died are spots stained by his blood, from having 
 been bled in his last hours. The rooms containing 
 this furniture are said to be nearly in the condition 
 in which he left them. The apartments which Vol- 
 taire used to occupy when on his long visits to the 
 King were also shown to us. The New Palace, 
 erected by Frederick the Great after the Seven Years' 
 War, is very costly and grand, and contains many 
 fine paintings and other rare works of art. One 
 great hall, called the Grotto, is a marvel of art and 
 beauty. It is spacious, and lined throughout with 
 shells and precious stones artistically arranged. For 
 instance, flowers are represented by shells, amethyst, 
 sapphire, amber, crystal, onyx, agate, coal, quartz, 
 copper, silver, and gold, in their original state, etc. 
 
118 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 The large chandeliers are entirely of white crystal. 
 The fairies could not desire a more enchanting grot- 
 to. Sans Souci is approached by a succession of ter- 
 races, covered with vines and ornamental trees. 
 There is a succession of low buildings with a colon- 
 nade, from which a fine view is obtained of the gar- 
 den and adjacent palaces. Frederick the Great died 
 here, where we saw the old clock, which he used 
 himself to wind up, and which was stopped at the 
 moment of his death, twenty minutes, past two. 
 Near by stands the famous historical windmill, 
 which Frederick the Great desired to purchase, that 
 he might pull it down and extend his gardens in 
 that direction. The miller refusing to sell, the King 
 brought suit against him and was defeated. He 
 afterward erected the present windmill "as a monu- 
 ment of Prussian justice. 5 ' In the vicinity of Sans 
 Souci, also, there is a beautiful villa, called the 
 Charlottenhof, built in Pompeian style, with a bath, 
 fountains, statues, and bronzes, taken from the ruins 
 of Pompeii. Here we entered two small rooms 
 which Baron Von Humboldt occupied when residing 
 with the King. His writing desk, chair, toilet stand, 
 with comb, hair-brush, and small mirror, and other 
 furniture, are seen as he left them. 
 
 In the Garrison Church, an unpretending house 
 of worship here, we stood by, and saw by the light 
 of a candle, the metallic coffin of Frederick the 
 Great. It is in a plain vault, to which we were 
 conducted by the female custodian entrusted with 
 the key to his tomb. 
 
 After an hour for lunch and rest, we went to 
 the Babelsburg Palace, the most charming of all, 
 where the Emperor and Empress now reside. In 
 Germany it is customary to sleep singly, and, like 
 
POTSDAM. 119 
 
 us travelers, the Emperor has his single bedstead, 
 and a very plain one indeed — a common low wooden 
 article, such as you may buy anywhere in the shops. 
 The walls of one small room are covered with a 
 large number of horns and stuffed heads of wild 
 animals, all slain by him in his earlier years. We 
 were shown his walking stick, a rough twig with 
 part of the bark peeled off, which he cut when a 
 lad, and wiiich he still uses in his garden walks. 
 We felt like doing a little Yankee whittling on it; 
 but presuming he prefers it as it is, we did not 
 offer our services. . 
 
 Of all the palaces we have yet seen, could we have 
 our choice for a residence we should choose this. 
 Taken with all its surroundings, its beautiful apart- 
 ments furnished with everything in the way of art 
 that heart could desire, the enchanting view of river, 
 fountains, gardens of flowers, or other charming 
 sight, no matter in which direction the eye is turned, 
 it comes the nearest to what we might fancy Para- 
 dise to be of any place within our knowledge. Our 
 advice is, if you go to Berlin do not fail to see Pots- 
 dam. 
 
120 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 4l^RESDEN, August 16. — We came here from 
 C^^f Berlin on the afternoon of the 4th instant, and 
 were driven directly to a private boarding-house 
 previously kindly recommended to us by Lorenzo 
 Brentano, Esquire, United States consul, where we 
 have been made comfortable and quite at home 
 during our stay. The house is kept by the wife 
 of a Hungarian officer, now absent on duty, to be 
 gone two years. She is a lady of refinement, and 
 has two beautiful children, a girl and boy. Dresden 
 is pleasantly situated on both sides of the Elbe, 
 the part called the "Old Town" being on the right 
 and the "New Town" on the left bank of the river. 
 The old stone bridge connecting the two towns is 
 a magificent structure one thousand four hundred 
 feet in length and thirty- six in width. "On the 
 center pier a bronze crucifix has been erected to 
 commemorate the destruction of the fourth pier from 
 the side of the Alstadt by Marshal Davoust, to facili- 
 tate his retreat in 1814, and its restoration the same 
 year by the Emperor of Russia." There is also a 
 railroad, carriage and foot bridge half a mile further 
 down. 
 
 We have spent a good deal of our time in the 
 picture Galleries, which are among the finest in 
 the world. Admission is free four days in the week. 
 These Galleries, the Armory, and the Museum of 
 Natural History are all contained in a building called 
 the Z winger, which "was originally intended as the 
 vestibule of a new palace, which Augustus II. in- 
 tended to erect in the early part of the eighteenth 
 century, but was never carried further. It is a fine 
 
DRESDEN. 121 
 
 group of buildings surrounded by an inclosure plant- 
 ed with orange trees, and forming an elegant prom- 
 enade, much frequented by the citizens." Only an 
 artist may hope to give any satisfactory description 
 of the pictures in these Galleries, the more noted 
 of which have been often described. Here is Ra- 
 phael's "Madonna di San Sisto," with its angelic 
 faces, a separate room being devoted to its exhi- 
 bition. It is being constantly copied and engravings 
 and photographs of it are common. Holbein's "Ma- 
 donna" is likewise exhibited in a separate room set 
 apart for it. Some of Correggio's most celebrated 
 pictures are seen here, — "The Virgin and the Infant 
 Christ in the Manger;" "The Virgin and Child with 
 Saint George;" "The Virgin and Child with Saint 
 Francis;" and his "Recumbent Magdalen." Other 
 noted pictures are the "Reclining Magdalen," by 
 Bartoli; "Tribute Money," by Titian; "St. Cecilia," 
 by Carlo Dolce; "Adoration of the Wise Men," 
 "Marriage in Cana," and "Finding of Moses," by 
 Paul Veronese; "Judgment of Paris," and "Gar- 
 den of Love," by Rubens; "The Entombment," by 
 Rembrandt; Van Dyck's portrait of "Old Parr," at 
 one hundred and fifty- one years; "Bacchus and 
 Child," by Guido; "The Vestal Virgin," by Angelica 
 Kauffman; and "The Chocolate Girl." This last is 
 a full-length portrait of a beautiful waiting maid, 
 carrying a cup of coffee on a small waiter. At- 
 tracted by her great beauty, an Austrian nobleman 
 made her his wife, and so she became famous as 
 "La Belle Chocolatiere. " 
 
 The Military Museum is a store of interesting rel- 
 ics and curiosities. Here are all sorts of weapons, 
 from the early ages to the present time. The trap- 
 pings of the war horses are richly set with precious 
 
122 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 stones and gold and silver decorations, while the 
 armor of their riders is fashioned to protect the 
 human form in the fiercest contest with the spear or 
 sword. We saw here the robes worn by Augustus 
 the Strong at his coronation as King of Poland; also 
 the horse -shoe which he broke by the pressure of 
 his hand, his cuirass, weighing one hundred pounds, 
 and his iron cap, twenty- five pounds. "He is said 
 to have lifted a trumpeter in full armor, and held 
 him aloft in the palm of his hand; to have twisted 
 the iron bannister of a stair into a rope; to have 
 made love to a coy beauty by presenting in one 
 hand a bag of gold and breaking a horse - shoe with 
 the other." We were not less interested in seeing 
 the cocked hats of Peter the Great and Frederick 
 the Great; also, Napoleon's boots, which he wore at 
 the battle of Dresden, and the shoes he wore at his 
 coronation. Goethe's note -book was also shown 
 to us. 
 
 The Museum of Natural History afforded an hour's 
 agreeable entertainment. The wonder of Dresden, 
 however, is the "Green Vaults." These are in the 
 basement, or on the ground floor of the Schloss, or 
 Royal Palace. An admission fee of two thalers 
 ($1.50) is charged for one to six persons. This is the 
 treasury of the Saxon royal family, and is said to 
 contain the most renowned collection of precious 
 things on the continent of Europe. "It occupies 
 eight rooms of the western wing of the Royal Pal- 
 ace, and comprises not only the jewels and the silver 
 vessels of the royal family, but also a great many 
 specimens of the finest works of art from the end of 
 the sixteenth to the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century." The name "Green Vaults" is supposed 
 to have come from the green hangings which origin- 
 
DRESDEN. 123 
 
 ally adorned the rooms. This rich collection of 
 treasures was begun in the reign of Duke George 
 the Bearded (1539;) but "the Elector Augustus, who 
 reigned between the years 1553 and 1586, was the 
 first who deposited in these vaults a large collection 
 of various rare and valuable productions of art, 
 which he partly inherited, purchased, or received as 
 presents from, other princely persons." What these 
 sovereigns began their successors completed; "but 
 it was not till the reign of Augustus the Strong, 
 whose taste for the fine arts was cultivated and 
 refined by travel and study, that this collection was 
 raised to its present state of excellence." The first 
 room is devoted to bronzes, the larger portion being 
 statues, groups, and models of different sizes, and 
 works of art, for the most part copies of ancient 
 sculptures. The most remarkable of these is a cru- 
 cifix, by John of Bologna. The expression given to 
 the dying Saviour is very striking. Here is a small 
 statue of Charles II. of England, known by the 
 name of "St. George and the Dragon." It was 
 worked out of a solid piece of iron by a blacksmith 
 of Nuremberg, who lived in the sixteenth century. 
 Next is a group representing "Hercules Crushing 
 the Giant Antaeus," supported by his mother, the 
 earth. "A Nymph Bathing" is a pretty thing, and 
 so is "Venus with the Mirror." Scores of other 
 interesting objects elicit our attention as we pass 
 around the room and enter the Cabinet of Ivories, 
 which are very wonderful in construction. The art 
 of carving is here carried to the highest point of 
 ingenuity and excellence. Almost everything is rep- 
 resented from a goblet to a battle scene and allegori- 
 cal groups of every nature. Here is a model of a 
 Dutch Frigate, by James Zeller (1620.) On the sails 
 
124 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the arms of Saxony and Brandenburg are carved in 
 relief, and on the frigate the names of the Saxon 
 Electors till the time of George I. The cordage is of 
 gold wire. The pedestal represents Neptune seated 
 in a shell, drawn by two sea horses, while behind 
 him sits a Triton blowing a conch. One group of one 
 hundred and forty- one figures in one solid piece of 
 ivory, represents "The Fall of the Angels." It is 
 the work of a Neapolitan Monk of the seventeenth 
 century, and was presented by a Princess of Sicily 
 to the Saxon Court. The third room is called the 
 Chimney Room, from its having a superb enameled 
 fire-place, which was arranged by the Court Jeweler 
 in the reign of Frederick Augustus the Just (1782.) 
 This fire-place is highly ornamented with relievos of 
 precious stones set in mosaic. Here, also, are tables 
 exquisitely inlaid with jasper, agate, chalcedony, 
 cornelian, lapis lazuli, and other choice stones, made 
 to represent flowers, fruits, leaves, birds, animals, 
 etc. We see, too, an endless variety of paintings 
 in enamel, embracing portraits of distinguished char- 
 acters, "The Judgment of Solomon," "The Repast 
 of the Olympian Gods," "The Crucifixion," as well 
 as others. There is a collection of ambers of remark- 
 able beauty. One large piece is carved to represent 
 "The Three Graces;" and among the smaller objects 
 are some pitchers of elegant form and workmanship. 
 Cups, vases, and sugar-boxes are formed of ostrich 
 eggs, set in silver gilt, and there is no end of other 
 curious objects. The fourth, or Silver Room, is filled 
 with all kinds of articles of silver and gold, including 
 goblets, plates, jewel-boxes, clocks, rare coins, etc. 
 We made special note of a Danish drinking cup in 
 form of a horn, on which are admirably engraved, 
 in nine rings, small mythological figures and crowns 
 
DRESDEN. 125 
 
 in gold enamel, adorned with rubies. It is of date 
 1650. The next room is called the Hall of Precious 
 Things. It contains, among other objects, a large 
 collection of cameos and other gems in rock crystal, 
 and a large number of costly vessels, also cut out 
 of stones of the second class. One is a rock crystal 
 goblet once belonging to Martin Luther. We were 
 particularly pleased with an ebony cabinet in the 
 form of a Turkish palace, adorned with a great 
 number of large and small plates of pure rock crys- 
 tal. But the most striking object, perhaps, in this 
 room is an immense pearl, as large as a hen's egg, 
 arranged with smaller pearls, to represent the Court 
 Dwarf of the King of Spain. In the sixth room, 
 called the Corner Closet, are numerous other curi- 
 osities of almost every description. Here is seen the 
 celebrated golden egg, a most surprising and ingen- 
 ious work, intended for a scent box. " When opened 
 on the bottom, a reservoir for perfumes is disclosed; 
 when opened on top, at first is seen the yolk of 
 an egg in gold and enamel; under this is a chicken 
 of the same material, and inside this is a seal in 
 the form of a Polish crown, richly adorned with 
 small diamonds, pearls, and cornelian, on which is 
 engraved a French device with the inscription, Con- 
 stant malgre V Orage. This crown also opens and 
 discloses a diamond ring, under the largest stone of 
 which is painted a burning heart and the motto, 
 Constance et Fidelite." In the Wood or Armory 
 Room is a large collection of carvings in wood. The 
 eighth is the Jewel Room, containing jewels valued 
 at $15,000,000, including the Crown Jewels. Many 
 of- these are described in the catalogue, to which we 
 are mainly indebted for the few descriptions here 
 given. In one case we saw two rings which be- 
 
126 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 longed to Martin Luther. On one of them is a small 
 compass, on which is painted a skull of a dead body 
 with a Latin inscription; the other is set with a small 
 cornelian stone, on which are engraved a rose and a 
 cross, the emblems adopted by Luther, and intended 
 to signify that "a man's heart is in perfect peace 
 when resting on the cross.' 5 It is said to have been 
 worn by John George I. to the day of his death. In 
 the same compartment is a gold ring with a stone 
 bearing an eye; this ring belonged to Melancthon. 
 Two other rings with small watches belonged re- 
 spectively to Kings Frederick Augustus I. and An- 
 thony. One glass shrine contains several fine canes, 
 adorned with jewels; another, a magnificent collec- 
 tion of swords of state used by the Saxon Electors in 
 the sixteenth century. The hilts of most of the 
 swords are made of gold and enamel, adorned with 
 precious stones. Some of the hilts are of rock crys- 
 tal. There are many precious arms from the East, 
 such as Turkish, Japanese, and Burmese swords 
 and poignards, adorned in the -highest manner; and 
 among them we saw a splendid Polish saber, which 
 belonged to John Sobieski. The mention of one 
 other curiosity may suffice; this is the " Court of the 
 Great Mogul," by Dinglinger. It represents the 
 birthday of the Emperor of India in Delhi. In the 
 center of a large silver slab, on a throne approached 
 by steps, sits the Great Mogul. Around and before 
 him are one hundred and thirty- two small figures 
 done in gold and enamel in every variety of attitude. 
 Here are represented deputations from the different 
 Provinces of his Empire, who approach with their 
 respective trains, doing homage and offering pres- 
 ents of horses, elephants and camels, splendidly dec- 
 orated palankeens, vases, clocks, and services, all 
 
DRESDEN. 127 
 
 richly adorned with precious stones and executed in 
 gold and enamel. Around the Emperor are his 
 ministers and guards and three ambassadors in a 
 kneeling posture on the steps. In the foreground is 
 a balance which has reference to the ceremony of 
 weighing the Great Mogul every year on this day 
 and fixing the amount of tribute which each Prov- 
 ince had to pay accordingly for the current year. 
 Other designs represent thank and victory offerings. 
 To accomplish this work, it is said to have taken 
 Dinglinger, his brothers and sons, (not enumerated,) 
 and fourteen other workmen, eight years, from 1701 
 to 1708, laboring incessantly. It was then brought 
 to Augustus the Strong, who bought it for fifty- 
 eight thousand four hundred and eighty- five thalers, 
 (about $44,000.) 
 
 Something of the social life of the Germans may 
 be seen at their beer gardens, where they resort for 
 rest and recreation, and where one is always sure to 
 hear fine music. Here all care for the time being 
 seems to be dismissed, and in the presence of such 
 tranquillity, even the nervous and hurrying Ameri- 
 can is constrained to pause and learn a useful lesson 
 in animal economy. At some of these gatherings at 
 the "Grosser Garten" we saw many German offi- 
 cers, whose fine physique and soldierly bearing ex- 
 cited our admiration. Indeed, whenever we met 
 the military of Germany we were particularly im- 
 pressed by the splendid appearance of both officers 
 and men, who were generally large, muscular, and 
 looking every inch the trained soldier. Supposing 
 the Belgian, whom we have seen, to be a fair speci- 
 men of the French soldier, one need not wonder at 
 the late triumph of Germany over France. 
 
 There are in Dresden many magnificent streets 
 
128 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 with fine dwellings and shops, but Prager strasse is 
 the principal street for shopping. Here is the place 
 to purchase damask table linen and enameled porce- 
 lain of every description. The traveler who stops to 
 see the beautiful enameled brooches and other kin- 
 dred things here should go prepared to carry some 
 of them away, for there are nowhere in Europe more 
 charming or desirable objects to purchase. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ^MlENNA, August 20.— After a pleasant sojourn 
 \)Ytf of about two weeks in Dresden we left that 
 city at 12:40 on the 16th of August, and arrived 
 at Vienna near 8 o'clock next morning. The scenery 
 along the river Elbe, between Dresden and Tscheth- 
 in, a part of the country called Saxon Switzerland, 
 is exceedingly bold and beautiful. Mounts Konig- 
 stein and Lilienstein rise at some points to the height 
 of twelve hundred feet in perpendicular columns, 
 against which some of the inhabitants of the valley 
 have built their houses, using these mountains for 
 the rear walls thereof. These and many other houses 
 on the way are quite odd in appearance, having in 
 their roofs windows in the shape of eyes. Indeed, it 
 is impossible to describe all the odd things that meet 
 our sight, whether in country or city. All through 
 Germany and Austria the costumes of the peasantry 
 are more or less singular, and, as we have before 
 remarked, it is a sight to behold the women, brown 
 and stalwart, at work in the fields, reaping, mowing, 
 gathering the crops, and doing men's work gener- 
 
DRESDEN TO VIENNA. 129 
 
 ally, even to shoveling dirt and propelling the wheel- 
 barrow in labor on railroads and other highways. 
 We have seen them sawing and splitting fire -wood, 
 and carrying it, and also coal, in huge baskets, from 
 the streets up one or more flights of stairs — loads 
 that one would think too heavy for the strongest 
 man. In one instance we observed a man and wo- 
 man, supposed to be husband and wife, sawing and 
 splitting wood together. The saw was rigged with 
 a handle at each end, and it was a wonder to see 
 how quickly they would put it through a large stick 
 of hard wood. There was no wrangling here about 
 " woman's rights," — the woman being in every sense 
 the equal of her husband. The women also attend 
 the cattle, sheep, and geese in the fields, where there 
 are no division fences. Of geese we have seen as 
 many as two hundred in a single flock. It is laugh- 
 able to see the railroad officials, all of whom are 
 in uniform, as the train passes the smaller stations 
 without stopping. At some of these, women as well 
 as men are on guard, and as soon as the train nears 
 the station, they may be seen standing erect and 
 * ' dressed " as on parade, with hand to cap or hat by 
 way of salute to the train guards, sometimes with 
 one arm extended and pointing the way the train is 
 going, as much as to say, "The road is clear; go 
 ahead." We may be no safer on railroads here than 
 in our own country; but somehow we get to feel that 
 we are, owing perhaps to the much larger number of 
 officers actively connected with the roads, both at 
 the stations and on the trains, all of whom appear to 
 understand their business thoroughly and to have an 
 eye to the safety of passengers. 
 
 We reached Lissa about sundown, at which place 
 we changed conductors; but time was allowed there 
 
 9 
 
130 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 for refreshments, and as our conductor was a gentle- 
 man wearing the uniform of an officer, and had 
 been very polite to us, we invited him to join us in a 
 glass of lager. This familiarity, as we afterward 
 learned from an intelligent Bohemian lady, an Eng- 
 lish officer's wife whom we met there, was regarded 
 as rather too democratic for this country, although 
 she heartily approved of it. We ourselves, however, 
 were innocent as General Grant would have been of 
 anything out of place in this little act of courtesy, 
 and we are free to say that we had no cause to 
 regret it; for, through the good offices of that lady, 
 or of the lager, or, more likely, of both combined, 
 our conductor said a good word for us to his brother 
 officer on the connecting train, and we had a whole 
 compartment to ourselves all the way to Vienna, 
 thus enabling us to secure as comfortable a night's 
 rest as though we had been on a Pullman sleeping 
 car. 
 
 We need not say that Vienna is an exceedingly 
 beautiful and attractive city; and of course we start- 
 ed at once to see the prominent objects of interest 
 in town and vicinity. What was the old city is 
 only some three miles in circumference, and where 
 its walls or fortifications once stood is now a fine 
 boulevard. Its streets are comparatively narrow, 
 and it has altogether an ancient appearance, while 
 the new, exterior portion is airy, with wide streets 
 and more elegant buildings. The new additions 
 have increased the size of the city to twelve miles in 
 circumference. We went first to the Imperial Paint- 
 ing Gallery, in the Upper Belvidere. It is in a fine 
 palace, situated in a commanding position, with a 
 spacious flower garden in front. There is a very 
 large number of paintings in the different rooms, 
 
VIENNA. 131 
 
 nearly all of the celebrated old masters being repre- 
 sented. We took note of several with which we 
 were particularly pleased, among them the celebra- 
 ted "Ecce Homo/' by Titian; "The Annunciation/' 
 by Paul Veronese; "Diana and Callisto with the 
 Nymphs/' by Titian; "The Saviour at the House of 
 Simon the Leper, with Mary Magdalene at his Feet;" 
 and "St. Andrew Refusing the Emperor Theodosius 
 admission into the Church of Milan," by Rubens. 
 Next we proceeded to the Armor Historical Gallery 
 in the Lower Belvidere, where there is an extensive 
 collection of armor of every description and a Mu- 
 seum of countless other things, including a variety 
 of ancient musical instruments, jewelry, Eastern 
 costumes, etc. An hour or two was passed here 
 agreeably. 
 
 Schonbrunn, the summer residence of the Emperor, 
 is situated a short distance from the city. It is a 
 magnificent palace, and the grounds around it are 
 exceedingly beautiful, being laid out into flower gar- 
 dens and groves of shade trees, trimmed along the 
 gravel walks to present perpendicular walls of green 
 foliage, and adorned with sculpture and costly foun- 
 tains. After being shown through the palace, which 
 is furnished with everything to please the eye, we 
 strolled through the grounds or rested in quiet con- 
 templation, admiring their loveliness, and thinking 
 of dear friends far away. In one of the rooms of 
 the palace we saw a portrait of the unfortunate 
 Maximilian, painted when he was a lad twelve or 
 fourteen years of age, and a marble bust of him 
 as an adult. How sad the reflections excited by 
 these likenesses! Induced by Napoleon III. to as- 
 sume the scepter of power in a foreign land; Em- 
 peror in name only, for a brief period; betrayed, 
 
132 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 condemned to death, and shot; his poor, devoted 
 wife distracted, overwhelmed with grief, a hopeless 
 maniac! It was melancholy also to remember that 
 it was in this palace that the young Napoleon II., 
 Duke of Reichstadt, died. In the vaults of the 
 Church of Capuchins we looked upon his coffin, 
 which is of copper, bearing a raised cross. Near by 
 are the coffin of his grandfather, Emperor Francis 
 I., and those of Joseph I., (this is of silver,) Joseph 
 II., Maria Theresa, and some eighty others of the 
 royal family. The latest is that of an uncle of the 
 present Emperor. He died only a few months be- 
 fore our visit. 
 
 The Cathedral of St. Stephen is the largest and 
 most graceful perhaps in the city. Its spire, said to 
 be one of the tallest in the world, is very beautiful. 
 From near its top a view may be had of the Danube 
 on the margin of the city, and of the great battle- 
 fields of Wagram, Lobau, and Esling. Our guide- 
 book states that the crypt of this church has been 
 the burying place of the royal family for centuries, 
 but for the last two hundred years only the bowels 
 of the dead have been interred here, their bodies 
 having been deposited in the Church of the Capu- 
 chins, and their hearts in the Church of the Augus- 
 tines, which is another of the handsomest churches 
 in the city. This last is specially noted for Canova's 
 celebrated monument to the Archduchess Christine. 
 "It consists of a pyramid of marble thirty feet high, 
 in the center of which is an opening representing 
 the entrance to the vault. This is reached by two 
 broad marble steps, which are the base of the pyra- 
 mid. Ascending the steps is a figure representing 
 Virtue bearing an urn, which contains the ashes of 
 the deceased. By her side are two little girls carry- 
 
VIENNA. 133 
 
 ing torches; behind them is a figure of Benevolence 
 supporting an old man bowed down by age and 
 grief. A little child accompanies him, the very pic- 
 ture of innocence and sorrow. On the other side is 
 an admirably drawn figure of a mourning genius, 
 and at his feet crouches a melancholy lion. Over 
 the entrance to the vault is a medallion of the Arch- 
 duchess, held up by Happiness, while a genius is 
 presenting her with a palm, indicative of success." 
 We have a photograph of this monument. We vis- 
 ited both St. Stephen's and the Church of the Augus- 
 tines, as well as that of the Capuchins. 
 
 Prader strasse is a grand boulevard, both for riding 
 and walking; and the Volksgarten is also a place 
 of great resort, especially in the evening, when 
 Strauss' band plays. There are also other public 
 gardens in other parts of the city. In the People's 
 Garden, where we passed one evening, there are 
 two fine equestrian statues of Austrian Emperors. 
 
 Our last day's sight-seeing in Vienna, or rather 
 in its vicinity, was planned by our United States 
 minister, Hon. Godlove S. Orth, and admirably con- 
 ducted by him, who, with his wife, met us at Mod- 
 ling, not far from their country residence, twelve 
 or fifteen miles from the city, and went with us 
 several miles further on to Laxenburg, another sum- 
 mer residence of the Emperor; thence to the fortress 
 of the Empress Maria Theresa, called the Castle 
 of Francenburg. The Palace of Laxenburg is com- 
 paratively modest for a royal residence, and the 
 Emperor residing there at the time of our visit, it 
 was not open to strangers. We were, however, 
 admitted into all parts of the little castle, which 
 was erected by Maria Theresa, in imitation of a 
 feudal castle, and is a complete museum of anti- 
 
134 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 quities. It stands in the center of an artificial lake, 
 which adds greatly to the beauty of the surrounding 
 landscape, all within the grounds of the Palace. 
 In one of the rooms there is a facsimile of a cham- 
 ber of torture, with its instruments, and in a small 
 dungeon below, a full-sized figure of a man, repre- 
 senting a prisoner in a sitting posture; and as we 
 stood gazing at him, we were startled by the sudden 
 rising of his right arm and movement of his body 
 as though alive. . We soon saw that this was pro- 
 duced by a secret spring, touched by our guide unob- 
 served by us; but the trick was well calculated to 
 frighten one for the moment. 
 
 From Laxenburg we returned with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Orth to Modling, where their carriage was waiting 
 to convey us all to their house in the mountains. 
 Here we spent the remainder of the day, taking 
 dinner with the family, consisting of the parents 
 and their son and daughter, both nearly of age. 
 They occupy a rented house, formerly occupied as 
 a monastery, delightfully situated upon the side of 
 a sharp hill, from which a charming view of moun- 
 tain and valley is obtained. We are indebted to 
 their kindness and courtesy for a full measure of 
 enjoyment. On our way back to the railroad station 
 we stopped to see the ruins of the old Castle of 
 Lichtenstein, and reached our lodgings at Hotel Tau- 
 ber early in the evening. 
 
SALZBURG. 135 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 jJNpjT UNICH, August 22. — We were so much de- 
 ^fb^ lighted with Vienna that we were reluctant 
 to leave, and it is not a matter of surprise that so 
 many of our patriots are willing to take up their 
 residence there as Ministers of the United States. 
 We were eight hours in reaching Salzburg, our next 
 stopping place on the 20th of August, the hottest 
 day we have felt in Europe, and one of the few 
 in which summer clothing such as we wear at home 
 would have been acceptable. The scenery along 
 the route a part of the way was very beautiful. 
 Salzburg, it may be remembered, is the place where 
 the Emperors of France and Austria had a friendly 
 meeting in the summer of 1867. It is situated on 
 the swift river Salza, a considerable part of the town 
 being built against the side of a steep mountain. 
 There is a most romantic old castle here, now used 
 principally as a barrack. It was built in the elev- 
 enth century, and long occupied as the residence 
 and stronghold of some of the nobility. It stands 
 on a high bluff, or ridge of rocks, overlooking the 
 city. This ledge was tunneled in 1767 by the Arch- 
 bishop Sigismund. We were driven through this 
 tunnel out a short distance into the country, and 
 also through the principal parts of the town, pass- 
 ing Mozart's house and monument. The streets are 
 very narrow, and the houses quaint looking. The 
 costumes of the people are peculiar. The women 
 wear short gowns and petticoats with red or yellow 
 aprons and black silk bandeaux. 
 
 A carriage ride of twenty miles, much of it on the 
 banks of the Salza, which is filled by the melting of 
 
136 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the snow plainly visible on the mountains, while the 
 valleys through which we passed to Lake Konigs 
 were smiling with the harvests and fruits of the 
 season, was novel and romantic indeed. It took us 
 among a strange people, the Tyrolese, where the 
 Austrian money with which we started was at a 
 discount, and where we were rowed by two strong 
 women, with one man at the helm, for several miles 
 on this lake, winding around between mountains 
 seven thousand feet high on either side, and looking 
 at some points as though about to fall upon us. We 
 stopped at St. Bartholomew, a hunting seat of the 
 King of Bavaria, where there is a public house and 
 a small chapel. Notwithstanding the great height 
 of the mountains bordering this lake, which are 
 covered generally with low evergreen trees, and 
 although in no place is the lake more than about 
 half a mile in width, the water is said to be, as it 
 looked, very deep. So high, steep, and near togeth- 
 er are the mountains that the reverberations from a 
 small gun of the caliber of a horse-pistol were nearly 
 as loud as the report of a cannon. We returned to 
 the place of starting on the lake, the time occupied 
 in each direction being three-quarters of an hour. 
 On the way back to town some of our party had a 
 still more novel experience in visiting the Hallein 
 salt mines. On arriving there some fifteen or twenty 
 travelers, of whom the writer was one, made prepar- 
 ations to enter. The ladies were required to put on 
 caps and trowsers, the latter being large enough to 
 admit their skirts, minus crinoline, while the gentle- 
 men were furnished with frocks, overalls, and felt 
 hats — both sexes being rigged out, also, each with a 
 leather apron tied on behind, and each provided 
 with a dull oil lamp or tallow candle to light them 
 
HALLEIN SALT MINES. 137 
 
 on their way up an inclined plane through a narrow 
 tunnel, a mile, more or less, into the side of a high 
 hill or mountain. As one may well imagine, we 
 presented a laughable appearance, and our most 
 intimate acquaintances would have been unable to 
 recognize us in this queer uniform. One thing, in- 
 deed, which puzzled us not a little was to divine 
 the object of putting our aprons on behind instead 
 of in front; but on this point we were not long kept 
 in the dark, albeit, we soon found ourselves in a very 
 dark place. This cone - shaped tunnel, in which car- 
 rails were laid, was of just sufficient width and 
 height to admit of our walking comfortably in single 
 file; but at distances of fifteen or twenty rods apart 
 were recesses deep enough for standing room when 
 the cars were passing, and, by stooping slightly, 
 persons could pass each other in the narrowest part 
 of the way. On the ground, along one side of the 
 tunnel, runs an iron pipe, through which salt water 
 is drawn from a lake in the interior, toward which, 
 led by our guide, lamps and candles in hand, we 
 were walking to the number of eight or ten (the rest 
 of the company having preceded us) when we heard 
 a rumbling sound, which we supposed to be of fall- 
 ing water, or from the working of machinery in the 
 mines. Instantly, however, we were undeceived by 
 a cry from the German guide, interpreted by one of 
 our party, that a car was coming and that we must 
 get out of the way, the guide at the same time turn- 
 ing and rushing by us as though frightened half out 
 of his wits, thus increasing our alarm, while we all 
 also turned and ran with the utmost speed we could 
 command in this dark hole, and just succeeded in 
 reaching one of those recesses above described when 
 a car, a sort of wooden horse, loaded with passen- 
 
138 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 gers, flew past us! What the result might have 
 been had we failed in this run for life no one knows; 
 but in all probability some or all of us would have 
 been seriously if not fatally wounded. In a few 
 minutes another and then another car shot by, while 
 we were debating whether we should proceed or 
 return. Finally, one stout Dutchman and his wife, 
 quite in a rage, not unjustly, turned back; but being 
 assured that there was now no danger to apprehend, 
 the rest of us again took up our line of march. It 
 can hardly be doubted, however, that it was a fool- 
 hardy undertaking, since, besides the risk of broken 
 bones from the rail cars, we might all have been 
 engulfed by the closing up of the tunnel, which was 
 walled or lined over the top and sides only a short 
 distance from its mouth. The rest of the way it was 
 left precisely as excavated through the salt earth, 
 which appeared to be of about the solidity of hard 
 pin -gravel. No matter, we had enlisted for the 
 campaign, therefore we pushed on, and soon reached 
 a point where our leather aprons were brought into 
 use. First, however, we think we came to the lake, 
 which, surrounded by a row of dull lamps, appeared 
 to be an acre or so in extent, and entering a boat we 
 were rowed across it. It looked black and tasted 
 very salty. Everything here looked black, except 
 the dim lamplight, which served only to make dark- 
 ness visible. We will not say that we thought we 
 were in the infernal regions, but we will admit that 
 a sort of shudder came over us lest, as out of a deep 
 sleep, we might be in some such place! From this 
 landing we now prepared to descend into a vast pit, 
 seventy feet deep from the top over our heads — the 
 distance from where we stood to the bottom being 
 forty or fifty feet. A large, smooth piece of timber, 
 
HALLEIN SALT MINES. 139 
 
 with a rope for a guard, extended at about the incli- 
 nation of an ordinary staircase — if anything, a little 
 steeper — to the bottom, and this was to serve as our 
 carriage -way. Each gentleman now being furnished 
 with a thick leather hand - shoe to protect his right 
 hand in grasping the rope, our guide seated himself 
 astride this beam and slid down a few feet, bracing 
 himself to allow us to follow suit. This, with lamps 
 in our left hands, we did at once — the ladies (our 
 special companion not among them) . being sand- 
 wiched between and holding to the shoulders of the 
 gentleman who clasped the rope. The word was 
 given, and off we shot into the darkness below. 
 Our guide managed in some way to check our fall so 
 that no bones were fractured; but, although this 
 may be a very good way to prove the utility of 
 leather aprons, especially when worn behind, we 
 are not prepared to recommend the performance, 
 either for healthy exercise or amusement. Extend- 
 ng from the bottom of this pit there is a shaft in 
 %ich the miners descend five hundred feet further 
 i^o the bowels of the earth; but having no desire to 
 ex Iore regions so far inland, we did not ask to 
 entic. After collecting some specimens of rock salt, 
 whify lay here in heaps, ascending by a steep flight 
 of staffs, we all mounted astride a wooden horse, 
 sandw-^hed as before, and by our own momentum 
 were carried swiftly down the rail into daylight, 
 perfectly content with our first experience of salt 
 mines ana inclined planes. 
 
 It was half -past nine in the evening when we 
 reached our hotel in Salzburg; and the interest of 
 our ride was heightened by signal fires kindled high 
 up on the sides or tops of several mountains far 
 apart (in commemoration, we understood, of some 
 
140 SKETCHES OF TKAVEL. 
 
 event,) and other demonstrations — in one place, for 
 instance, a beautiful floral arch, under which we 
 had the honor of passing, having been erected over 
 the highway. 
 
 A ride of five hours by rail on the following day 
 took us to Munich, this beautiful capital of Bavaria, 
 of which and its many interesting objects it will be 
 our pleasure in our own good time to write. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 /IJwjT UNICH, August 31.— Some parts of this city 
 may be said to be emphatically on the river. 
 
 "The torrent flow 
 Of Isar, rolling rapidly" 
 
 under many of its houses, shops, and manuf acturi g 
 establishments, furnishes excellent motive pov- r - 
 The principal part of the city, however, lies or the 
 northwest side. It is said to be nearly seve -teen 
 hundred feet above the level of the sea; anioeing 
 not far from the mountains, it should, and doubtless 
 does, command a pure and healthy atmosihere in 
 all seasons of the year. Our stay here las been 
 very pleasant, the more so from being in lome - like 
 quarters at a private boarding-house kepi by a very 
 competent lady, Fraulein Dahlweiner, who received 
 very prominent notice a year or two ago through a 
 Book of Travels by Helen Hunt. Although no doubt 
 kindly intended by the authoress, the manner in 
 which she is made to figure in the book is very dis- 
 
MUNICH. 141 
 
 tasteful to her, as she did not hesitate to signify to 
 us in lending us the book to read. 
 
 The first day after our arrival was Sunday, when 
 
 there was a grand military review by the King, 
 
 Louis II. , of Bavaria. Extending for a mile or more 
 
 from the western boundary of the city is a level 
 
 plain covering many acres, and admirably situated 
 
 for such a display. The troops,— infantry, artillery, 
 
 and cavalry,— with splendid bands, assembled at 
 
 the further side, which was bordered by a hill, lined 
 
 with spectators. The greater crowd of spectators, 
 
 however, was on the south side, near the city, where 
 
 we were content to take our stand, especially as no 
 
 carriage was to be had, and we walked over a mile 
 
 to this point. After maneuvering for some time 
 
 in the distance, the troops came down in grand 
 
 array, with colors flying, now with stirring music 
 
 of drum and fife, next with that of a full brass band, 
 
 of which there were several, and then would come 
 
 the shrill sound of the trooper's horn, conveying 
 
 some order readily comprehended and obeyed. The 
 
 King and his staff, all mounted on splendid steeds, 
 
 and in gorgeous uniforms, took position nearly in 
 
 front of us, thus affording us a satisfactory sight 
 
 as the various regiments passed in review. The 
 
 King is a large, fine-looking man, with a full, round 
 
 face, and light complexion. Near the close, the 
 
 Queen, an elegant - looking lady, in company with 
 
 two or three other ladies in a carriage, made her 
 
 appearance on the field, when they were saluted 
 
 by the King and his staff and loudly cheered by 
 
 the crowd. The King was also vociferously cheered 
 
 by the citizens, who were out in such numbers that 
 
 few could have stayed at home. In the afternoon 
 
 we atoned somewhat for our wickedness of the fore- 
 
143 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 noon by attending service at the English Episcopal 
 church, whose temporary pastor from England was 
 a boarder at our house. 
 
 We have visited here two or three of the finest' 
 cathedrals we have anywhere seen, in one of which 
 is a large crucifix suspended from the center of the 
 roof; and in some or all of them are private altars 
 set around the sides, very richly ornamented, and 
 abounding m choice pictures, statues, statuettes, etc. 
 It was an odd sight here to see priests in their robes 
 marching in a solemn manner through the streets, 
 headed by attendants, also in caps and long gowns' 
 bearing a crucifix and lanterns elevated before them! 
 There is a great deal of interest to be seen here, and 
 we have been quite industrious in going to one or 
 more places every day. The Museum must be one 
 of the most extensive and interesting in Europe 
 Almost every old thing that could be thought of 
 may be seen there, including all kinds of ancient 
 armor, furniture, jewelry, coins, and statuary. The 
 Glyptothek (Sculpture Building) is a fine edifice 
 plain outside, but highly finished and beautiful with- 
 in. It has a number of galleries, and is filled with 
 sculpture -some of the statues and busts being re- 
 markably fine. The old Pinakothek is the gallery 
 of old paintings, which rank no doubt with those of 
 the best galleries in other cities. We have been 
 many times to this gallery, and could spend weeks 
 m it agreeably in looking at the pictures, numbering, 
 it is said, nearly thirteen hundred. A great many 
 of the paintings are by Rubens, while there are some 
 by Munllo, Diirer, Van Dyck, Gruido, Carlo Dolce 
 Correggio, and many other artists of the old school' 
 Munllo's four celebrated pictures of Italian beggar 
 children are here, and we have obtained photographs 
 
MUNICH. 143 
 
 of them. One room contains several thousand orig- 
 inal designs by Michael Angelo, Rubens, Correggio, 
 Diirer, Rembrandt, and others of the old masters. 
 The new Pinakothek, like the old, is a magnificent 
 structure, and contains fifty- two rooms filled with 
 modern paintings and other works of art. The por- 
 trait of Lola Montez, which formerly hung in the 
 Gallery of Beauties in the Royal Palace, is now in a 
 room here devoted mainly to paintings on porcelain, 
 which are remarkable for their beauty. We may 
 remark in passing that we have seen the neat frame 
 house which Lola Montez occupied when she was on 
 such familiar terms with the late King. Happy as 
 we are to gaze upon the celebrated works of the old 
 masters, we are free to say that we enjoy the modern 
 paintings we see here quite as well if not better. 
 Whether on canvas, glass, or porcelain, it would 
 seem impossible to excel these modern pictures. We 
 have seen nowhere anything more perfect or more 
 exquisitely beautiful. Most especially do we admire 
 many of the landscape paintings and descriptions of 
 rural life. Here was one of a little girl, which we 
 imagined might be a picture of a dearly beloved one 
 away across the water. She is represented as sitting 
 down in the grass of a meadow, with straw hat on 
 and red umbrella over her head, plucking butter- 
 cups and daisies. Her face was beautiful, and she 
 appeared happy as a lark. The pictures of the Swiss 
 and Tyrolese scenery, embracing lake, mountain, 
 hill, and valley, are superb. In one room, peculiarly 
 constructed as regards the light, there are twelve or 
 fifteen very large paintings, reaching from the ceil- 
 ing nearly to the floor, and filling the room — all 
 descriptive of Eastern cities and country landscape. 
 Their mellow, yellowish light casts over one a feel- 
 
144 SKETCHES OF TKAVEL. 
 
 ing of listless drowsiness; and thus surrounded, it 
 would not be strange were we for the moment to 
 believe ourselves actual travelers in those distant 
 lands. 
 
 We went one day to the Art Exhibition Gallery, 
 where there is a large collection of paintings for sale 
 — all modern, and mostly, it is presumed, by Ger- 
 man artists. The one we should prefer — the price 
 of it being about $400 — represents Beethoven at a 
 piano, with four of his friends listening enraptured 
 by his music. It is a perfect gem. 
 
 The Koyal Palace, too, is filled with pictures, in 
 one room of which we saw fourteen large historical 
 paintings arranged after the manner of those in the 
 rotunda of our Capitol. There are. two rooms, called 
 Halls of the Beauties, devoted exclusively to por- 
 traits of beautiful women. In company with us on 
 our visit to this Palace were the English pastor 
 already mentioned and another English gentleman 
 who Jiad spent thirty years as a teacher of English 
 in Munich. The pastor facetiously called him our 
 "guide, professor, and friend/' and he was entitled 
 to be so considered, for he was very efficient as a 
 guide; as a professor, he had taught several of the 
 royal ladies, whose portraits were before us; and 
 he was very friendly in his bearing toward us all. 
 He gave us the names of many of these beauties, 
 some of whom are still living, and all, we believe, 
 are of modern times. The floors of some of the 
 rooms are of polished marble. In one is an ancient 
 ivory chandelier, made by one of the Electors of 
 Maximilian I.; in another, costly tapestry, filling 
 five large panels, besides a piece composing a mag- 
 nificent bedspread to the bed here occupied by Napo- 
 leon in 1809. In the gold embroidery, which cost 
 
MUNICH. 145 
 
 eight hundred thousand florins, forty persons were 
 constantly employed fifteen years. In the Throne 
 Room are twelve large gilt bronze statues, costing 
 five hundred ducats each. (A ducat is about two 
 dollars and twenty- eight cents, and a florin forty 
 cents.) In the Antiquarium is a large collection of 
 Egyptian, Roman, Greek, and German antiquities, 
 all more or less interesting. The Treasury Room is 
 loaded with precious jewels, valuable stones, and 
 other costly articles. The Chapel is highly adorned 
 and contains many valuable articles appropriate to 
 the place. We might speak of the many celebrated 
 paintings seen here, but our recollection of them is 
 too imperfect to admit of our doing justice to them. 
 In the Court is a curious grotto of shells, with busts 
 of females, made or covered with small shells, pre- 
 senting the appearance, at a little distance, of per- 
 sons recovered from small pox. Under the arch of 
 the entrance -way is a stone weighing three hundred 
 and sixty- four pounds, and in the wall three spikes — 
 one at the height of twelve feet, one at nine and a 
 half, and the third a little lower. Duke Christopher, 
 son of Albert III. , is said to have hurled this stone to 
 a great distance; and, showing his agility in leaping, 
 the upper spike marks the point where his heel 
 struck in leaping from the ground. The heel of 
 Prince Conrad touched at the place of the second, 
 and Prince Philippe's at the third nail. 
 
 We have been shown through the Royal Foundry, 
 where we saw models of the statues of Washington, 
 Jefferson, Marshall, Clay, Benton, Everett, Lincoln, 
 and other Americans, and also of the bronze doors 
 leading from the rotunda of our Capitol. We like- 
 wise saw portions of the bronze statue of Seward 
 now being cast for the city of New York. 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 RUHMESHALLE. 
 
MUNICH. 147 
 
 One evening we went with our pastor and profes- 
 sor to a lager beer brewery, where one helps himself 
 to a mug holding between one and two quarts, and 
 gets it filled with beer from the tank. There were 
 ladies along, and they were rather averse to partak- 
 ing of the delicious beverage in so rustic a manner 
 out of the common mug; but truth (so precious to 
 some travelers that they are very sparing of it) com- 
 pels us to record that the mug, or jug, as it is called 
 here, was returned empty. 
 
 We spent a few hours delightfully one evening at 
 the theater, where we heard and saw performed 
 Wagner's opera of "Tannhauser." The curtain rose 
 at six and the play was over by ten o'clock. 
 
 One beautiful afternoon we were driven beyond 
 the city a mile or more to see the famous statue of 
 Bavaria and Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame.) This 
 fine hall, situated on high ground, "consists of a 
 large Doric portico of Bavarian marble, forming 
 three sides of a quadrangle and an open side, in the 
 center of which rises Schwanthaler's colossal statue 
 of Bavaria, about one hundred feet high, including 
 the pedestal. There are forty- eight columns, with 
 busts of eminent Bavarians. In the tympana are 
 female statues, representing Bavaria, the Palatinate, 
 Swabia, and Franconia, and in the frieze are upward 
 of ninety metopes adorned with figures of victory 
 and with reliefs symbolical of the arts and occupa- 
 tions of civilized society." The statue, as it is well 
 known, represents a female standing by the side of 
 a lion, also of colossal size, in a sitting posture. It 
 is ascended by a flight of forty- nine steps in the 
 interior. Eight persons at one time may be com- 
 fortably seated within this lady's head; and it is said 
 that as many as twenty- nine men and two boys 
 
148 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 were crowded within it, at one and the same time, 
 on the day the statue was raised. There are many 
 other monuments, not as conspicuous, but equally 
 attractive, here, as ornaments of the various public 
 squares and principal streets, which are spacious 
 and beautiful. There is the Charles Gate and Gate 
 of Victory, the latter, especially, a most imposing 
 structure, " built after the model of Constantine's 
 Triumphal Arch at Rome." It is crowned by a 
 colossal statue' of Bavaria in a triumphal chariot, 
 harnessed with four lions. Finer still is the Propy- 
 laeum, "a triumphal arch in the old Doric style, with 
 bas-reliefs, commemorating the modern Greek War 
 of Independence and King Otho." The equestrian 
 statues of Louis I. and Maximilian II., both of colos- 
 sal size, are specially grand. There are also monu- 
 ments here to Goethe, Schiller, and other distin- 
 guished Germans. Altogether, we are charmed with 
 Munich. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 URICH, September 8. — We left our boarding- 
 house in Munich at half - past six on the morn- 
 ing of the 1st instant. It rained hard when we 
 started, but the clouds soon disappeared, and the 
 afternoon was very pleasant. At Lindau, where we 
 changed from the cars to the steamboat on Lake 
 Constance, there is a fine harbor formed by substan- 
 tial circular walls, quite ornamental, leaving an 
 opening only sufficient for the passage of vessels. 
 Upon the abutment of the wall at one side of this 
 
ZURICH. 149 
 
 opening stands a light -house, and on the other, 
 sitting on a high pedestal, is a colossal lion, looking 
 seaward. The effect is both striking and beautiful. 
 Near the steamboat landing there is a monument 
 to Maximilian II. The lake is thirty- five miles long 
 and eight miles wide. The Rhine passes through it, 
 as the channel of the Rhone goes the whole length 
 of Lake Leman. The shores are lined with small 
 villages and country villas, presenting a charming 
 picture. Our sail on the lake to Romanshorn was 
 delightful. Here we took the cars for Zurich, arriv- 
 ing at half -past four, after a most agreeable pas- 
 sage. Remembering that this was the day of a gold- 
 en wedding of some of our relatives in the old Pine 
 Tree State, we celebrated it in a suitable manner 
 in our snug compartment on the train, after leaving 
 Romanshorn. Our kind landlady in Munich, Frau- 
 lein Dahlweiner, had provided us with a nice lunch, 
 consisting of ham sandwiches, cold chicken, bread, 
 pears, peaches, and grapes, and availing ourselves 
 of a short stop at a small station, we got our lager 
 glass filled with vin ordinaire, so that we were ena,- 
 bled to do full honors to the occasion — drinking the 
 health of the happy couple, "and all their family." 
 
 Between Munich and Lindau the scenery is not 
 remarkable; but from Romanshorn to Zurich it is 
 picturesque and beautiful. The land along the road 
 is all highly cultivated, and men and women were 
 busily engaged gathering the crops and preparing 
 the ground for winter grain. On our arrival at 
 Zurich we were driven to the Hotel Bauer au Lac; 
 but not having telegraphed, the best accommoda- 
 tions that could be offered us were two single bed- 
 rooms on the fifth floor, in the attic, which we 
 accepted for the night, with the promise of a good 
 
150 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 room next day. This settled, we hastened to the 
 consul's office for our letters, which we were most 
 happy to receive from home, and then, seating our- 
 selves on the margin of the lake in front of our 
 hotel, we devoured them with a keen appetite, at 
 the same time enjoying the beauties of the lake. 
 On the following morning we called again at the 
 office of our consul, S. H. M. Byers, Esquire, from 
 Iowa, and were soon acquainted with each other. 
 He had left his office when we called last evening. 
 On his invitation we went, by steamboat, with him 
 to his villa, five miles up the lake, and took dinner 
 with the family, consisting of himself, wife, and two 
 children, both born in Switzerland. They had as 
 guests, also, Mr. Young, United States consul at 
 Manheim, and his wife by a second marriage, an 
 interesting German lady. The place rented by Mr. 
 Byers was formerly occupied as a monastery, and 
 goes under the name of " Wangensback." It forms 
 part of a vineyard eight hundred years old. The 
 sides of the house are covered with grape-vines 
 loaded with grapes, which are protected from the 
 birds by gauze network. In the surrounding fields 
 the vines are not trained over trellisses, but on 
 poles, six or eight feet long, driven into the ground; 
 and from a little distance the vineyards look like 
 New England corn-fields. There are few or no 
 fences to guard them; but the law provides a severe 
 penalty for the theft of even a single bunch of grapes. 
 The residence chosen by Mr. Byers and his accom- 
 plished wife is just such a one as a poet would 
 naturally choose; and he devotes all his leisure time 
 to literary pursuits. He has held his office about 
 six years, during which he has taken much pains 
 to collect information about Switzerland, and has 
 
ZURICH. 151 
 
 embodied it in a small volume just published. He 
 first became known, we believe, as a writer by his 
 song of "Sherman's March to the Sea," which the 
 General has inserted in the second volume of his 
 "Memoirs." It was written while a prisoner in 
 Columbia, South Carolina, where, and in Libby Pris- 
 on, he was confined some sixteen months. It shows 
 how trifling a circumstance, comparatively, some- 
 times changes the current of a man's life. His song 
 having been brought, incidentally, to General Sher- 
 man's notice, he at once sent for and attached him 
 to his staff, he having then just escaped from the 
 Columbia prison, where "there was an excellent 
 glee club among the prisoners, who used to sing 
 it well, with an audience often of rebel ladies." It 
 consists of five stanzas and a chorus, commencing: 
 
 Our camp-fires shone bright on the mountain 
 
 That frowned on the river below, 
 As we stood by our guns in the morning, 
 
 And eagerly watched for the foe; 
 When a rider came out of the darkness 
 
 That hung over mountain and tree, 
 And shouted, " Boys, up and be ready! 
 
 For Sherman will march to the sea!" 
 
 The war over, he was in a favorable position for 
 preferment, with influential friends to present his 
 claims, and very soon he received the important 
 appointment he now holds. Well, after dinner, at 
 a seasonable hour, he returned to town with us and 
 kindly assisted in our being established at the Pen- 
 sion Neptun, a delightful boarding house on the 
 margin of the city and lake. Here we had little 
 to do except to rest. Zurich is eligibly situated at 
 the foot of the lake, extending for some distance 
 along either side both of the lake and of the river 
 
152 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Limmet, its northern outlet. Many of the streets 
 are wide; in the elevated parts there are fine prom- 
 enades, presenting charming views of the lake and 
 snow- clad mountains beyond, and there are nume- 
 rous elegant residences, as well as large manufac- 
 tories, public buildings, and churches. The Univer- 
 sity and Polytechnic Buildings are very prominent, 
 as are also the Town Library and the great Cathe- 
 dral. It was in this Cathedral, built in the eleventh 
 or twelfth century, that Zuinglius began the Ref- 
 ormation. It is very plain and nearly destitute of 
 ornaments in the interior. The Church of St. Peter, 
 where Lavater used to hold forth, is a very com- 
 mon looking structure. This learned philosopher 
 and divine, it may be remembered, died from a 
 shot fired by a French soldier in the battle of Zurich, 
 1779. 
 
 In the old Arsenal many interesting relics are 
 exhibited, among them what purport to be the bat- 
 tle-axe, sword, casque, and coat-of-mail of Zuinglius, 
 and William Tell's bow which he used in shooting 
 the apple from his son's head. The greatest curi- 
 osities we saw here are in the Museum, being relics 
 of the inhabitants who lived away back in the age 
 of barbarism, and, as a means of protection against 
 their enemies, built their dwellings on piles in the 
 lake. These relics have from time to time been 
 found in the lake, and have been carefully pre- 
 served. Among them are rude earthen cooking 
 utensils, hammers, arrows, and hatchets of stone, 
 awkward looking fish-hooks, finger rings, and other 
 articles. 
 
 The street sights are odd. Here are dogs harnessed 
 into carts, pulling like good fellows, with their mas- 
 ters or mistresses, who assist in drawing heavy loads; 
 
RAGATZ. 153 
 
 women carrying upon their heads large tubs filled 
 with wine and beer bottles. The dress of the com- 
 mon people is different from any we have seen else- 
 where — every Canton in Switzerland has its peculiar 
 costume, differing one from the other; and here is a 
 truck so long that it requires a man with a rudder in 
 the rear end to guide it through the streets. An- 
 other noticeable thing is the absence of soldiers, 
 with the sight of whom we had become so familiar, 
 particularly in Germany and Austria. 
 
 We have spent a part of two days in a trip to 
 Ragatz, three hours by rail from Zurich, where we 
 were most happy to meet an esteemed acquaintance 
 and friend, Rudolph Schleiden, LL. D., formerly for 
 many years the minister from Bremen to the United 
 States. Indeed, we went there purposely to see him, 
 as, in response to a dispatch from us, he telegraphed: 
 "I am here, and most happy to learn that I may 
 expect you." He stood ready at the door of the 
 Quellenhoff to receive us, as we alighted from our 
 carriage. Of course, we talked over old affairs, 
 particularly in reference to the Bremen Postal Con- 
 vention of 1853, with which he and the writer had 
 much to do. Both were advocates of low postage, 
 and immediately agreed on a project, which was 
 confirmed by the proper authorities, reducing the 
 letter rate between the United States and Bremen 
 from twenty to ten cents — twenty cents being then 
 the lowest rate from the United States to any part 
 of Europe, and this applied only to the city of Bre- 
 men. The next lowest rates were twenty- four cents 
 to Great Britain and thirty cents to Germany. Now 
 five cents takes a letter to any part of Europe. For 
 several years after his departure from the United 
 States, Dr. Schleiden served as a member of the 
 
154 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Prussian Parliament. His residence is at Freibourg, 
 Baden. 
 
 Dinner over, Dr. Schleiden called a carriage and 
 we rode two miles or more into the gorge of Tamina, 
 an opening in the mountain where the walls, two 
 hundred and fifty feet in height, come so near to- 
 gether at the top that in some places one may step 
 across from one side to the other. For much of the 
 way there is space only for the carriage road at the 
 side and above the rapid stream which is one of the 
 principal tributaries of the Rhine. At the end of the 
 carriage-way is an old monastery, now used for a 
 hospital and bathing house. From here we walked 
 about three hundred yards further up the gorge to a 
 hot spring, which we reached by turning into a dark 
 tunnel, dug through the solid rock, at right angles 
 from the stream, a distance of five or six rods. We 
 drank of the water, which is as hot as one usually 
 likes to take his tea. We did not detect any taste of 
 sulphur or other mineral; therefore, we conclude 
 that if the water is heated from the regions of his 
 Satanic majesty, some means have been devised to 
 avoid the smell of brimstone. This water is carried 
 in wooden pipes, securely encased in masonry, to 
 one or more of the hotels in the village, where it is 
 used for bathing — hundreds of invalids resorting 
 thither every year to try its healing qualities. It 
 reaches the baths, two or three miles distant, with 
 only two degrees less of heat than it possesses when 
 it comes out of the mountain. 
 
 The scenery around Ragatz and for much of the 
 way between there and Zurich is grand beyond des- 
 cription. The road takes us along the full length 
 of the narrow Lake of Wallenstadt twelve miles, 
 and between high rugged mountains. The valley 
 
LUCERNE. 155 
 
 through which we passed is loaded with its grain, 
 corn, and fruits of various kinds; and the people 
 appeared to be in the enjoyment of almost perfect 
 happiness, so far removed are they from the busy, 
 bustling world. 
 
 4 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 g)UCERN"E, September 13. — We were so pleas- 
 antly situated in Zurich that we would gladly 
 have tarried there longer; but we must get over 
 the mountains to Chamouni before cold weather, 
 and there is little time to spare. A ride of one 
 hour and a half by railroad brought us to Lucerne, 
 where we find ourselves at another excellent board- 
 ing house, located, with reference to the lake, sim- 
 ilarly to our house in Zurich. We passed through 
 Zug and one or two other villages, and the scenery 
 all the way is very beautiful. Lucerne is situated 
 at the northeastern end of the lake of that name, 
 and is separated by the river Reuss, which is spanned 
 by three bridges, two of which are curiosities in their 
 way. They are covered, and on the ceiling of one of 
 them "are numerous pictures representing episodes 
 in the lives of St. Leger and St. Maurice, patron 
 saints of the city." The other "is ornamented with 
 thirty- six pictures representing the Dance of Death." 
 By the side of the latter, in the middle of the river, 
 there is an ancient and picturesque tower, in which 
 the archives of the city are kept. The old wall of 
 the city on the land side, surmounted by numerous 
 watch-towers, still stands, extending around from 
 
156 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 shore to shore, and from this wall, which is mostly 
 on high ground, a charming view of the city, lake, 
 and mountains is obtained. On the left is Mount 
 Righi and on the right Mount Pilatus. There is a 
 railroad from Vitznau on the lake to the top of the 
 Righi; but we felt safe in the village and concluded 
 not to go there. While weighing the matter a poor 
 German girl fell from a point near the summit and 
 was killed. No one saw her fall, but it was supposed 
 that she lost her balance in reaching for flowers. 
 This circumstance may have turned the scale against 
 our going, but we knew we must climb high mount- 
 ains before reaching the valley of Chamouni, and 
 from these we hope to get extended views, equal, at 
 least, to any from the Righi. 
 
 The principal object of attraction here is "Thor- 
 waldsen's Lion," of colossal size, cut in high relief 
 out of the side of a sandstone ledge. He was a 
 native of Denmark, and at that time (1821) engaged 
 in his profession at Rome, whence he sent the model, 
 and the work was executed by Ahorn, of Constance. 
 The figure of the Lion is twenty- eight feet long and 
 eighteen feet high. He " holds the fleur-de-lis in 
 his paws, which he endeavors to protect with his 
 last breath, his life-blood oozing from a wound made 
 by a spear which still remains in his side." This 
 monument, as appears by a Latin inscription under 
 the figure, is dedicated to the officers (twenty- six) 
 and soldiers (seven hundred and sixty) of the Swiss 
 Guards who died in Paris in 1792 defending the 
 royal cause. It is in every respect unique. It has 
 for its foundation and support the solid ledge, which 
 rises thirty feet, more or less, perpendicularly, over- 
 hung with evergreen vines, and at the base is a pool 
 of spring water within a railing. Near by is what 
 
LUCERNE. 157 
 
 they call the Glacier Gardens, where immense basins 
 have been worn in the ledge by the action of heavy 
 bowlders moved by the falling waters. 
 
 The most attractive shops here are those of wood 
 and ivory carvings, which, as everybody knows, are 
 very wonderful. They show great ingenuity and 
 industry. 
 
 An excursion by steamboat to Fluelen, the south- 
 ern end of the lake, and back occupied one day full 
 of enjoyment. Lucerne, regarded as the most beau- 
 ful in Switzerland, is also called the Lake of tho 
 Four Cantons; and it extends around between the 
 mountains for many miles, presenting, with its arms 
 — to Kussnacht northerly and southerly to Alp- 
 nacht — somewhat the shape of a cross. The boat 
 stops at many landings, and the traveler may, if he 
 choose, rest at any one of them and take a subse- 
 quent boat on his return ticket. We landed first at 
 Fluelen, the end of the route, whence carriages run 
 to Altorf, two miles, where there is a rough statue 
 of William Tell, said to be on the spot where he 
 stood when he shot the apple from his son's head, 
 and the exact distance his son stood from him is 
 there marked down. On the eastern shore of the 
 lake, near Fluelen, is a small shrine, built in 1388, 
 called TelFs Chapel. It stands at the point where 
 he sprang ashore from a boat, in which he was 
 being conveyed as a prisoner, and made his escape. 
 It is called "The Mecca of Switzerland," as on every 
 'Sunday after Easter "a procession of boats, richly 
 decorated, proceeds slowly to this chapel, where, 
 after mass is celebrated, a patriotic sermon is 
 preached to the worshiping pilgrims." A few miles 
 further north, near the opposite bank, is a high 
 perpendicular rock, bearing in gilded letters an in- 
 
158 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 scription in commemoration of Frederick Schiller as 
 the poet of William Tell. This rock rises abruptly 
 out of the water in shape of a huge trunk of a tree, 
 its sides being perpendicular for many f eet, tapering 
 to the form of a sugar loaf. From a distance it has 
 the look of a giant sentinel. Not far from this is a 
 sloping ledge, covered with verdure and chestnut 
 trees, which our guide-book speaks of as the "Rutli 
 of Schiller/' and as the point where, according to 
 tradition, Walter Furst, Werner Stauffacher, and 
 Arnold de Melchthal, on the night of the 7th of No- 
 vember, 1307, accompanied by thirty men from the 
 three cantons of Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwald, met 
 for the purpose of taking a solemn oath at the break 
 of day to deliver their country from the tyranny of 
 their Austrian oppressors. 
 
 We landed at Brunnen, a small village on the 
 east side of the lake, and walking a mile or more 
 along the Axenstein turnpike, we sought a shady 
 nook in the forest, where we ate with a keen relish 
 a nice lunch, with an abundance of sweet grapes 
 for dessert, which our landlady had kindly provided 
 for us. This magnificent turnpike has been built, 
 at immense expense, many miles along the rocky 
 margin of the lake, in some places the mountain 
 being tunneled for it, and at others excavated from 
 the lake side, a rough pillar being left here and 
 there to support the overhanging mass. A sea wall, 
 with handsome granite coping, runs along the outer 
 side. The architecture is that of Nature and Art 
 combined, and the effect, especially from the lake, 
 is grand indeed. Leaning upon the skirting wall 
 of this smooth highway, we feast our eyes, too, 
 on scenery most superbly grand and beautiful, as 
 we survey the lake, dotted with charming villas 
 
LUCERNE. 159 
 
 upon its sloping banks, and "Alps on Alps" in the 
 back ground as far as the eye can reach. In our 
 rear, on the Axenstein Mountain, not easy of access, 
 is a large hotel, which can be seen from the lake. 
 We thought of walking to it, but there was insuf- 
 ficient time before the last steamer for Lucerne, and 
 we, therefore, contented ourselves with resting in 
 the woods and loitering along the turnpike till the 
 boat arrived to take us back. While thus resting, 
 we , heard strange sounds in the mountains, which 
 we imagined might be either from snow avalanches 
 or an earthquake. There was something terrible, 
 first in the deep, smothered report, and then in the 
 distant, louder reverberations from mountain to 
 mountain. The mystery, however, was soon solved 
 by a Swiss gentleman whom we met on our way 
 to the village. He said the sound was caused by 
 blasting in some mountain which was being tun- 
 neled for a railroad. We proceeded to the steamboat 
 landing, and were speedily conveyed to within a 
 short walk of our temporary home at Pension Kauf- 
 mann. The next day was Sunday, and in the fore- 
 noon we went into an old church where there were 
 Roman Catholic services, and heard the music. 
 Many poor people, kneeling before plaster images 
 of the Virgin and of the crucifix, were engaged 
 in their devotions, and we looked on and listened 
 in silence. If we could not believe in their religion, 
 we could but respect their apparent sincerity. 
 
 Attached to our boarding house is a garden, in 
 which we sat one day in the shade and read aloud 
 Byron's "Prisoner of Chillon " in anticipation of soon 
 seeing the famous Castle of Chillon on Lake Leman. 
 Our room overlooks the lake, and there being now a 
 good moon, we enjoy a fine view of both night and 
 
160 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 day. In the evening we have counted nearly a 
 dozen row boats gliding to and fro upon the lake, 
 their happy occupants giving utterance to their buoy- 
 ant spirits in lively conversation, laughter, and song. 
 Comfortable seats are provided along the street by 
 the lake — a favorite resort for all. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 'HUN, September 20. —At ten o'clock on the 
 morning of the 14th instant, in company with 
 Mr. Thomas Evans, a prominent business man, and 
 his daughter, from Washington, we started in a 
 steamboat from Lucerne and proceeded to Alpnach, 
 where we took four inside seats, previously engaged, 
 in the main body of a diligence for Brienz, over the 
 Brunig Pass. The diligence, drawn by four horses, 
 is constructed for carrying at least nine passengers, 
 including one on the driver's seat. The coupe ac- 
 commodates two, and there is a high seat behind 
 which also holds two. On this trip there were two 
 diligences filled with travelers, besides a private 
 carriage carrying two; so we went by twos all round. 
 The road was very dusty, and, as one of our ladies 
 remarked, when we alighted for a three franc dinner 
 ready for us at Sarnen, we looked like millers. This 
 fine dust somewhat marred the pleasure of the trip; 
 but as our stage was generally ahead, our party 
 suffered less in this regard than those behind. On 
 the whole, it was an exciting ride — sometimes on 
 the borders of lakes; sometimes on roads like that 
 of Axenstein, cut through and in the sides of mount- 
 
GIESBACH FALLS. 161 
 
 ains; then again we were on the summit of a mount- 
 ain looking away down into flourishing, inhabited 
 valleys, every available spot of which was under 
 cultivation. So high were we that the rivers run- 
 ning through the valleys and cascades on the oppo- 
 site mountain sides looked like silver threads in the 
 sunlight. Now and then we passed a rustic dwell- 
 ing, its projecting gable end to the south, snuggled 
 in against a side hill or ledge to protect it from the 
 cold blasts of winter. A considerable part of the 
 way is through forests of spruce, pine, and hard 
 wood, cords of which lie piled here and there by the 
 roadside, and looking as though it had experienced 
 rough usage, as it no doubt had, in being pitched 
 down the steep mountains, scraping the bark off and 
 bruising its cut ends like a beetle. It was near sun- 
 down when we reached Brienz, a village of some 
 two thousand inhabitants, at the head of the lake by 
 that name, and here we went immediately upon a 
 small steamboat, which, in fifteen or twenty min- 
 utes, took us across to Giesbach, where we stopped 
 over night to see the Giesbach Falls illuminated. 
 Here is a succession of cataracts formed by a large 
 body of water, tumbling and frolicking over rocky 
 beds down a mountain several thousand feet high 
 into the lake. Leaving our baggage, except what 
 we carried in a shawl - strap, at the steamboat land- 
 ing, we made our zig-zag way on foot up the side of 
 the mountain one thousand feet to a magnificent 
 hotel, situated on a plateau just large enough to 
 afford suitable room for it, with its ''dependence," 
 until recently the main hotel there, and an adjacent 
 garden. From the new hotel to the kt dependence" 
 there is a covered way. From the balcony of the 
 hotel the falls, which have been bridged at several 
 
162 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 points for beauty of effect, are in plain sight; but 
 the stream much of the way is concealed by the 
 woods. Between eight and nine o'clock lantern- 
 lights are seen moving through the forest up the 
 mountain and stopping near the different cataracts. 
 Men have been sent with their chemical preparations 
 for Bengal, or some other kind of lights, and ex- 
 pectation is now on tip-toe for the signal of illumi- 
 nation. We have not long to wait. A rocket is 
 let off, and instantly a bright light appears, first 
 at the upper falls, then at the next, and so on until 
 all are in a blaze of various brilliant colors. The 
 rustic bridges looked like amber, then like iron at 
 white heat, and then like molten gold, as the colors 
 were changed. The illumination lasted four or five 
 minutes only; but it is a charming sight no traveler 
 should miss. The charge to meet the expense is one 
 franc to each guest. 
 
 At half past eleven next morning we returned 
 to the landing and awaited the arrival of the steam- 
 boat for Interlachen, meantime being entertained 
 by four wandering women singers, whose music was 
 quite unique. Whether native or Tyrolese we could 
 not tell; but their singing was both odd and funny. 
 In about an hour and a half later we were in Inter- 
 lachen, comfortably lodged at Pension Reber, recom- 
 mended to us by our landlady at Lucerne. Our 
 room, with a balcony, looks out upon the Jungfrau, 
 covered by snow all seasons of the year, and on 
 either side, in full view, are other mountains of 
 immense height nearer the village. Interlachen is 
 situated between the Lakes of Thun and Brienz, 
 some seventeen hundred feet above the level of the 
 sea. It is surrounded by high mountains, and while 
 there is little of interest here in the way of art, 
 
INTEKLACHEN. 163 
 
 it is blessed with all the charms of nature. The 
 walks in the vicinity are delightful; there is one 
 handsome promenade in the village shaded by wal- 
 nut trees, and the grounds around the Kursaal, 
 where there is music by a band three times a day, 
 are very pleasant. Invalids go to the Kursaal, or 
 to an institution connected therewith, for goat's 
 whey, prepared under medical supervision; there 
 is here also a grape, cure establishment. Goat's 
 whey is dispensed at half past six every morning 
 during the summer at five francs a week for each 
 person. To meet the expenses of the Kursaal, all 
 visitors to Interlachen are charged in their board 
 bill a fee of half a franc for one day, one franc 
 for two or three days, and two francs a week, no 
 matter whether they visit the Kursaal or not. How- 
 ever, nearly everybody goes there to hear the music, 
 and nobody, we imagine, objects to contributing his 
 mite toward the general entertainment. 
 
 Sight-seeing is comparatively easy in Switzerland, 
 provided one does not care to climb too many mount- 
 ains. It does not fatigue like cathedrals, museums, 
 and galleries of paintings. The grand scenery of 
 nature and the pure air we breathe here seem to 
 satisfy. The villages are quiet, the living generally 
 excellent — what delicious bread, butter, and honey 
 are served! — and everything invites to peaceful rest. 
 One, too, must be insensible indeed not to have 
 his devotional feelings excited in a high degree 
 as he beholds here the wonderful works of the 
 Creator: 
 
 " Mark the sable woods 
 That shade sublime yon mountain's nodding brow; 
 With what religious awe the solemn scene 
 Commands your steps! As if the reverend form 
 
164 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Of Minos and of Numa should forsake 
 
 The Elysian seats, and down the embowering glade 
 
 Move to your pausing eye." 
 
 We left Interlachen in the forenoon of the 18th, 
 and arrived at Thun in about two and a half hours, 
 stopping at Pension Itten. We made the passage 
 by railroad a short distance only to ISTeuhaus, thence 
 the rest of the way by steamboat on Lake Thun. 
 On the railroad they have open cars of two stories — 
 the better to take in the surrounding scenery. From 
 the lake the scenery is especially fine. The Jung- 
 frau, Matterhorn, Monch, and other high mountains, 
 whose names we did not learn, loom up in the dis- 
 tance, some covered with snow, while others are 
 dark and frowning; and the banks of the lake smile 
 with their beautiful villas and gardens. The village 
 of Thun, containing about four thousand inhabit- 
 ants, has, for the most part, a very ancient look, 
 and we see here many odd -looking people, not a 
 few of whom are stunted and suffering from that 
 frightful malady, the goiter. Their dress is more or 
 less singular. Here is a peasant woman returning 
 in front of us from church on Sunday. She has on 
 a short black petticoat, tight black velvet jacket, 
 white muslin sleeves, starched stiffly, reaching to 
 the elbow, long black mits, extending also to the 
 elbow, with a silver necklace, attached to which are 
 silver chains falling to and fastened at the waist in 
 front. The river Aar runs through the town, along 
 one side of which still stands a high wall built centu- 
 ries ago; and there is on the hill overlooking the 
 main village, and reached by long flights of stairs, 
 an old cathedral, which looks as though it might 
 have been built in the days of Moses the Prophet. 
 Near by is the old Castle of Keyburg. We saw 
 
BERNE. 165 
 
 scarcely a decent looking store in the place. On 
 the main street, which is narrow and dirty, there 
 are rows of shops, one above the other, with side 
 walks, as in the old town of Chester, England. 
 Here and there are steps to go from one story to 
 the other. In some parts there are two and in 
 others three tiers of these little shops. The finest 
 dwelling houses are outside of the village, as is also 
 the principal hotel, the Bellevue. Moiis. Rougemont, 
 a wealthy gentleman of Paris, has a magnificent 
 palace — a modern castle — on the margin of the 
 lake, with .extensive grounds beautifully laid out 
 and kept in perfect order. Before leaving home 
 Consul General Hitz advised us by all means to 
 stop at least one day in Thun, and knowing now, 
 after two days' sojourn here, what a delightful place 
 it is for rest and recuperation, we are sure we should 
 have been very much out of tune had we neglected 
 to follow his kind advice. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ^ REIBURG, September 21.— We left Thun at 
 S^fL noon yesterday, and reached Berne, the cap- 
 ital of Switzerland, in about one hour by rail. The 
 river Aar almost encircles the city, which is mainly 
 situated on high ground. On the south side there is 
 a platform or terrace, handsomely laid out in walks, 
 provided with seats and planted with shade trees. 
 From here we have a magnificent view of the Ber- 
 nese Oberland — a long range of snow mountains — 
 and the intervening landscape. On the side of this 
 
166 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 platform toward the river there is a wall one hun- 
 dred and eight feet high, between which and the 
 river is what is called the Old Town. It makes one 
 dizzy to look down upon the roofs of the houses 
 flanking the river. "Near this giddy verge a mar- 
 ble slab records the following extraordinary escape: 
 In 1654, Theobald Weinzapfli, a student of the place, 
 unable to manage a restive horse which he rode; or 
 having, according to the proverb, 'a spur in the 
 head as well as in the heel,' was precipitated into 
 the Lower Town. Strange to say, he escaped with 
 only a broken arm and leg, and survived the acci- 
 dent thirty years as a preacher." To the horse, of 
 course, the leap was fatal. 
 
 In the evening we attended an organ concert in 
 the Cathedral, the most prominent structure in the 
 city, and noted specially for some remarkable sculp- 
 ture at the outside of the main entrance, represent- 
 ing "The Last Judgment." The interior of the 
 church, which dates back to the sixteenth century, 
 has few ornaments. There are monuments to Zah- 
 ringen, the founder, and to Steinger, the chief mag- 
 istrate, and the organ is regarded as among the 
 best. We listened to the performance upon the 
 organ in a dim lamplight. We have heard as good, 
 if not better, organ playing in Washington. In 
 front of the Cathedral stands a bronze equestrian 
 statue of Rod d' Erlach. The horse has his left fore- 
 leg raised as if about to start into a gallop, while his 
 rider holds a flag staff, with the flag furled, in his 
 right hand, the foot of the staff resting on the stirrup. 
 The base of the statue is of white marble surrounded 
 by an iron railing, at the corners of which are four 
 bronze bears in. a sitting posture. The bear is a 
 prominent figure in Berne wherever you go, being 
 
BERNE. 167 
 
 conspicuous in the armorial bearings or coats - of - 
 arms of the Canton. At the entrance of the Morat 
 Gate are two huge bears in stone, and in a den — or 
 rather two dens, or pits, with a division wall be- 
 tween them — near the river several live bears are 
 constantly kept at the public expense. In the center 
 of one of these dens is erected the stem of a tree 
 with its branches, on which, from time to time, they 
 dispel dull care in frolicsome exercise. We went to 
 see them. Their dens are encased with granite 
 blocks, and are sunk from ten to fifteen feet below 
 the street, so that spectators may have a good view 
 of them over the wall, raised three or four feet high 
 on the street side. They appeared very friendly, 
 and did not wait for an introduction before begging 
 us for bread and fruit, which is the only food the 
 public is allowed to give them. They would sit up- 
 right, stand on their hind legs, reaching as far to- 
 ward us as possible, and make various other signs 
 indicating their wishes as plainly as though they 
 had spoken the words. . In the year 1861, an English 
 captain, on a spree, undertook to walk around on 
 the broad wall of their inclosure, and fell into it. A 
 waiter at our hotel told us that a rope was lowered 
 to him, which he seized and held until he was raised 
 part of the way up before the noise attracted the 
 attention of the bears in their adjoining lodge; but 
 from some cause he fell again to the bottom, and 
 was instantly torn in pieces by them. A fellow- 
 traveler, from Connecticut, gave us an amusing ac- 
 count of his experience in getting to see these wild 
 beasts. He had but an hour before he must take the 
 train, and he started on foot for the bear dens, trust- 
 ing to his Yankee shrewdness to find the way, al- 
 though he could not speak a word either of German 
 
168 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 or French. Meeting a citizen he accosted him with 
 the inquiry, "Where are the bears?" The citizen 
 shook his head; he was as ignorant of English as 
 the stranger was of the French language. Still, the 
 latter could not comprehend why so simple an in- 
 quiry could not be answered, and he reiterated in a 
 louder and more impressive tone, "Where are the 
 bears — the bears?" The citizen looked alarmed. 
 "Was the stranger crazy?" he thought. By this 
 time our friend took in the situation, and bethought 
 himself to try another language; so he set to growl- 
 ing as near like a bear as he could. The citizen, 
 instantly relieved, . exclaimed in French, "Oh! oui y 
 oui! les ours, les ours!" (Yes, yes! the bears, the 
 bears!) and at once conducted him to the desired 
 locality. 
 
 In reference to the superstitious estimation in 
 which bears are held by the people of Berne, Dr. 
 Beattie remarks: "At what period, or from what 
 circumstance, they were first emblazoned on the 
 patriotic standard, is a question that has been vari- 
 ously interpreted. Some trace its origin to Rene, 
 Duke of Lorraine; others think that it arose from 
 the circumstance of a certain Glado May bringing 
 home with him from the battle of No vara, in 1510, 
 two young bears as a trophy of victory." 
 
 There is a fine Museum here containing specimens 
 in Zoology, Ornithology, Mineralogy, etc. An in- 
 teresting object is the stuffed skin of the noted dog 
 Barry, which had been the means of saving the lives 
 of several travelers on the St. Bernard Pass. He 
 looks as natural as life. * At one of the fountains in 
 the city, called the Ogre's Fountain, is "a grotesque 
 figure, said to resemble Saturn, devouring children, 
 while in his pockets and girdle others are sticking 
 
BERNE. 169 
 
 out for future consumption." The old clock tower 
 is another object of curiosity. When the clock is 
 about to strike the hour, a figure of a rooster, 
 perched high up on the side of the tower, flaps his 
 wings and crows. Then the figure of an old man 
 moves its head and yawns; and next a company of 
 bears, standing on their hind legs in military array, 
 march around in front of the tower. At every hour 
 of striking in the day time we imagine these maneu- 
 vers are observed by a greater or less number of 
 interested spectators. 
 
 The Federal Palace, or Capitol of Switzerland, is a 
 fine stone structure, corresponding in style and ar- 
 chitecture with the republican character of the gov- 
 ernment. Everything about it looks substantial, 
 and what there is of art here in the way of orna- 
 ment is choice and refined, embracing an interesting 
 collection of paintings, engravings and statuary. 
 
 A large proportion of the shops here are entered 
 from low arcades, extending for whole blocks, ren- 
 dering them dark and, we should think, rather disa- 
 greeable, although at the outer edge of the arcades 
 goods are also displayed for sale, and in pleasant 
 weather various kinds of light work, such as shoe- 
 making, sewing, etc., are carried on there. Through 
 the middle of the principal streets there is a narrow 
 canal, filled with a rapid current of water, which 
 serves to carry off the sweepings of the street into 
 the river. 
 
 A singular sight was that of a dozen convicts, 
 more or less, of both sexes, in their prison costumes, 
 harnessed to horse -carts loaded with farming tools, 
 which they were dragging through the streets as if 
 returning from work in the fields to their prison 
 quarters for the night. Another odd thing we have 
 
170 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 seen nowhere else was a huge tread -wheel, fifteen 
 or twenty feet in diameter, which from four to six 
 men, their hands on the shoulders of one another, 
 were revolving" by walking on the inner side of the 
 rim, by which power heavy blocks of stone were 
 being raised in the erection of a building. The won- 
 der is that convicts were not put to this work, for it 
 is evidently "hard labor." 
 
 The women appear to do most of the marketing, 
 and it is a novel sight to see them come in with their 
 merchandise, fruit, vegetables, and what not — some 
 with horse and cart, some with dogs to help them 
 draw their loads, and others carrying their burden 
 upon their heads. It is surprising to see how much 
 these dogs will draw, and how well they seem to 
 understand their business. 
 
 Freiburg, one hour and a half by rail from Berne, 
 was our next stopping place, on the 21st of Septem- 
 ber. On our arrival at noon, in company with Mr. 
 Thomas Evans and daughter, previously mentioned, 
 from Washington, we took an open carriage and 
 were driven around town and out over one suspen- 
 sion bridge a mile or two into the country, and back 
 over another suspension bridge, both of which are 
 among the most noted in the world. The first was 
 finished in 1838, under the supervision of Monsieur 
 Chaley, a French engineer, and up to a recent pe- 
 riod, if not to the present time, it had the longest 
 single span of any bridge extant, being nine hundred 
 and five feet between the porticoes or suspension 
 piers. Its height above the river Sarine, which runs 
 through the city, is one hundred and seventy- four 
 feet. The breadth of the roadway is forty- one feet. 
 Soon after this bridge was opened its strength was 
 tested "by causing a train of fifteen pieces of heavy 
 
FREIBURG. 171 
 
 artillery, drawn by fifty horses, and attended by 
 three hundred persons, to pass along it at the same 
 time." Not the slightest indication of yielding could 
 be detected in any part of the structure. It is men- 
 tioned as a pleasing circumstance that the whole of 
 this work was completed without serious accident to 
 a single person engaged in its construction. We 
 have no data showing the length or height of the 
 bridge last built ; but it cannot differ much from the 
 first. We felt when riding over them as we imagine 
 we might feel in a balloon. We have photographs 
 presenting a good view of them, as well as of the 
 city, which is one of the most picturesque imagina- 
 ble. The bridges span not only the river, which is 
 not very large, but the valley in and upon the sides 
 of which the city, with its ancient walls and watch- 
 towers, is situated. The streets, of course, are gen- 
 erally quite steep, and they abound in ornamental 
 fountains. Many of the buildings have an antique 
 and grotesque appearance, and one might travel the 
 world over to find a place where more novel enjoy- 
 ment could be crowded into an excursion, such as 
 we have made, of two hours. 
 
 " Here beauty and primeval nature dwell; 
 
 Evergreen forests — fountains ever clear — 
 Haunts of the fabled muse — how shall I tell 
 The transport ye inspire in stranger's ear ? " 
 
 We timed our ride so as to get back to the great 
 organ concert (much better than the one we heard in 
 Berne) in the Cathedral, which was founded in 1283. 
 The tower of this Cathedral is three hundred and 
 fifty- six feet high, and it is said to have the finest 
 ring of bells of any church in Switzerland. At the 
 principal porch are bas-reliefs representing "The 
 Last Judgment." The old Duke Zahringen, who 
 
172 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 , * 
 
 founded this city, as well as the city of Berne, 
 seemed to have a fancy for this kind of pictures. It 
 is to be hoped, however, that when he "put off this 
 mortal coil" he did not go the way the most of his 
 fellow- beings are represented by these frightful pic- 
 tures to have departed. If he did, he must have 
 found himself in the condition of the man who, not 
 long since, is reported, while in communication with 
 his wife through a spiritual medium, to have im- 
 plored her to send him his coolest summer suit. 
 The following is a description of this church orna- 
 ment: "In the center we see St. Nicholas; above 
 him the Saviour; to the right an angel weighing 
 humanity in a balance; below, St. Peter introducing 
 the just into Paradise; to the right a demon with a 
 pig's head is dragging in chains a group of criminals; 
 on his back he carries a basket filled with malefac- 
 tors, which he is preparing to precipitate into a 
 grand cauldron; in one corner is hell, represented by 
 a monster filled up to overflowing with the con- 
 demned; above, Satan on his throne." 
 
 It is remarked as a singular fact that in the higher 
 part of this city the inhabitants speak the French, 
 and in the lower part the German language. The 
 French are said to show a much greater partiality 
 or aptitude for trade than their neighbors, the Ger- 
 mans. One of the sights here is a large linden tree, 
 planted in 1476, in commemoration of the battle of 
 Morat. Here, also is the University of "Freiburg, a 
 celebrated seat of learning. 
 
LAKE LEMAN. 173 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 "The Switzer's Land! where grandeur is encamped 
 
 Impregnably in mountain tints of snow; 
 Realms that by human foot-print ne'er were stamped, 
 
 Where the eagle wheels and glacial ramparts glow! 
 Seek, Nature's worshiper, those landscapes! — go 
 
 Where all her fiercest, fairest charms are joined! 
 Go to the land where Tell drew Freedom's bow; 
 
 And in the patriot's country thou shalt find 
 A semblance 'twixt the scene and his immortal mind." 
 
 MjpHUS Campbell sang; and Rousseau, in approach- 
 \^\ ing Switzerland by the Jura, exclaimed in 
 ecstasy: "Ce pay sage unique, le plus beau dont Poeil 
 humain fut jamais frappe! Sejour charmant auquel 
 je n' avais rien trouve d' egal dans le tour du monde! 
 — T aspect d' un peuple heureux et libre!" Dr. Beat- 
 tie expresses nearly the same sentiment: "Who- 
 ever," says he, "has traveled much, and compared 
 the various attractions presented to him in the course 
 of his peregrinations, will generally be found to 
 admit that if there be any country which merits 
 more attention than the rest, that country is Switz- 
 erland." So far as our own experience extends, 
 we accord fully with these sentiments. One here 
 seems raised, as it were, above the bustling, anx- 
 ious world to an elevation nearer to the heavenly 
 spheres — to a height from whence one obtains a 
 clearer view in looking "from Nature up to Nature's 
 God." 
 
 Our stay in Freiburg was short — a few hours only 
 between trains — on the 21st of September, when we 
 proceeded to Lausanne, two and a half hours by 
 train, reaching there about seven, p. m. All along 
 
174 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 we were enchanted by the scenery. Speeding on, 
 suddenly, as we emerged from a tunnel, we caught 
 our first view of Lake Leman, which, almost at our 
 feet, broke in all its beauty on our vision, while its 
 hithermost border was smiling with grape vines and 
 apple, pear, and plum trees loaded with fruit. 
 
 "Clear, placid Leman! thy contrasted lake, 
 With the wide world I dwelt in, is a thing 
 Which warns me with its stillness, to forsake 
 Earth's troubled waters for a purer spring." 
 
 On the 22d, in carriage and on foot, we visited the 
 most interesting parts of the town, first calling to 
 see Mrs. Consul General Hitz, knowing that she, 
 with her sprightly children, had been residing here 
 several months; but we were disappointed in finding 
 that they were in Paris on their way home. The 
 Cathedral is the most prominent building in the city. 
 It dates back to the tenth century, and possesses 
 a good deal of interest. It contains among other 
 monuments one to Victor Amadeus VIII. , Duke of 
 Savoy, and one to Otho of Grandson. There are 
 also on the walls many memorial inscriptions, one 
 of which, in French, recites that Henrietta, wife of 
 Stratford Canning, English Ambassador to Switzer- 
 land, died June 17, 1817; amiable as she was young 
 and beautiful, and as happy as it is permitted to 
 mortals to be. On this account, however, not less 
 prepared to enter heaven, if innocence and a sincere 
 piety may have any merit before God. Lausanne is 
 noted as having been the residence of both Voltaire 
 and Gibbon, and that the latter, whose house we 
 saw, wrote here the concluding chapter of his great 
 work on the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- 
 pire." The city stands some fifteen minutes' walk 
 
OUCHY. 175 
 
 from the lake. It covers three ridges and the inter- 
 mediate valleys, and most of the streets are rather 
 steep; but the situation, affording as it does charm- 
 ing views of the lake and adjacent scenery, is very 
 beautiful. There is an old Castle here with watch- 
 towers on its four corners. It is now used for public 
 offices. Many of the houses have a very ancient 
 look. 
 
 Ouchy is the port of Lausanne, and here is situa- 
 ted the principal hotel, the Beau Eivage, one of the 
 largest and finest public houses probably in Switzer- 
 land. It is near the lake shore, and the grounds 
 around it are laid out in the most tasteful manner. 
 We left our Pension Beau Sejour on the 23d, at ten 
 o'clock, expecting to take the boat for Vevay at half 
 past ten; but when we reached the steamboat land- 
 ing, right in front of the Beau Bivage Hotel, we 
 learned that the boat had been gone half an hour. 
 We had to wait till noon, therefore, for the next 
 boat — a disappointment, as we wished to visit Vevay 
 and the Castle of Chillon that day, and stop over 
 night at Villeneuve, the end of the steamboat route 
 from Geneva. It so happened, however, that it 
 was a very fortunate disappointment, showing that 
 
 " There is some soul of goodness in things evil, 
 Would men observingly distill it out" 
 
 We knew before that ex-President Thiers was so- 
 journing at the Beau Bivage Hotel, but being nat- 
 urally disinclined to disturb him in his retreat, we 
 did not intend to call on him. Finding, however, 
 that we must wait two hours for the boat, it occurred 
 to us that we would inquire at the hotel whether 
 such a call would be proper, and on being assured 
 that it would, we sent up our card to him. His 
 
176 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 French waiter, immediately brought back word that 
 Monsieur Thiers was at present engaged, and wished 
 to know if we were stopping at the hotel, and if we 
 would not be good enough to call in the afternoon, 
 We explained why it was not convenient to wait, 
 and the messenger soon returned with a request for 
 us to walk into Monsieur Thiers' private parlor, a 
 large and handsomely furnished second - story room, 
 looking out upon the lake. We took seats, and in a 
 few moments the venerable ex -President entered 
 from an adjoining front room and received us very 
 cordially, taking a seat near us. We addressed him 
 in English, when, raising one hand to his ear, he 
 intimated that it was difficult for him to understand, 
 and we then spoke to him in our broken French. 
 He said he had been stopping some time at Vevay, 
 but that he enjoyed better health at Ouchy. He 
 complained of bronchitis, but his appearance was 
 that of perfect health. He is a short, thick - set man, 
 with a large head, gray eyes, hair nearly white, 
 wears large -bowed spectacles, stands erect, and his 
 expression, free from anything like hauteur, is alto- 
 gether pleasant. Meeting him under such circum- 
 stances, we made our call, of course, very brief; but 
 in the few moments' conversation we had with him, 
 President Buchanan's name being mentioned, he re- 
 marked that he knew him, of course, but not person- 
 ally. On our taking leave he accompanied us to the 
 door, extending to us a pleasant good-bye, and we 
 left highly gratified with our call — the result of one 
 of those happy accidents which in the end turn out 
 to be "blessings in disguise," and which we shall 
 ever look back upon with profound pleasure. He is 
 beyond question one of the most remarkable men as 
 well as one of the greatest statesmen of the age, and 
 
VEVAY. 177 
 
 there is no person living whom we would have pre- 
 ferred to see and speak with. * 
 
 According to an authority before us, it was, while 
 detained by stress of weather, at the Anchor Hotel 
 of Ouchy that Lord Byron composed his "Prisoner 
 of Chillon," "and where, from his window, he could 
 observe the Castle thus immortalized rising white 
 on the eastern verge of the lake. He visited every 
 locality," in this part of Switzerland, "known in 
 history or tradition; and in one of his published 
 letters says: 'I inclose you a sprig of Gibbon's aca- 
 cia, and some rose leaves from his garden, which, 
 with part of his house, I have just seen.' Moore has 
 well observed that this circumstance in the life of 
 the immortal bard has added 'one more deathless 
 association to the already immortalized localities of 
 the lake ' — 
 
 * Rousseau, Voltaire, our Gibbon, and de Stael — 
 Leman! these names are worthy of thy shore! ' " 
 
 In less than one hour after leaving Ouchy we 
 found ourselves at Vevay, where we spent three 
 hours — long enough to walk all through the little 
 town and get a lunch at the Hotel Monnet before 
 the arrival of the next boat. At Vevay there is 
 a very ancient and noted society called the "Abbaye 
 des Vignerons," whose object it is to encourage and 
 superintend the culture of the grape vine with a 
 view to the raising of the best grapes and the pro- 
 
 * The announcement of the sudden death of this great man, which oc- 
 curred at Paris on the 3d of September, 1877, touched us the more deeply 
 from this personal interview. It was with lively satisfaction that, on the 
 day of his funeral, we observed the United States flags at half-mast over 
 the Government Departments — a fitting recognition of his distinguished 
 character and services, and of the cordial relations between the two coun- 
 tries. 
 
178 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 duction of the finest qualities of wines. At certain 
 periods they have a great fete, at which premiums 
 are distributed to the most meritorious wine-growers; 
 and on these occasions sometimes as many as sixteen 
 thousand spectators, from all parts of Switzerland, 
 are present; and they are entertained with proces- 
 sions, dances, songs, banquets, and dramatic ex- 
 hibitions of a most unique character, embracing u 'a 
 medley of heathen ceremony and scriptural scenes 
 from the Old Testament, mixed up with customs 
 still observed in the Canton." 
 
 "Clarens, sweet Clarens, birthplace of deep love," 
 
 is the next village southeast of Vevay, and then 
 comes Montreux, both, like Lausanne and Vevay, 
 beautifully situated on the east shore, or near the 
 shore of the lake, with a southern exposure. Next 
 is Chillon, which can hardly be called a village, as 
 we remember to have seen little more than scatter- 
 ing dwellings along the road which leads by the 
 Chateau. As we were now soon to cross the mount- 
 ains to Chamouni, and thence to take the diligence 
 to Geneva, on going aboard the boat at Lausanne, 
 we had our baggage checked direct to Geneva. From 
 Vevay we proceeded to Chillon, where we landed, 
 and our party of four (Mr. Evans and daughter be- 
 ing still with us) were in about twenty minutes con- 
 veyed in a rowboat to the Castle of Chillon, too late, 
 however, to be admitted that evening, although the 
 boatmen, who were in for a job, assured us that 
 we should be in time. Arranging for an early ad- 
 mission in the morning, as we desired to take the 
 first boat for Villeneuve, we walked a short distance 
 to the nearest public house — a small hotel or pen- 
 sion built against the perpendicular side of a cliff, 
 
CHILLON. 179 
 
 the top of which, where there was a vineyard, being 
 reached by long ladders from the side of the high- 
 way. Here we had comfortable accommodations in 
 rooms fronting on the lake; and the charge therefor 
 was so ridiculously low that we give it: For supper, 
 lodging, and breakfast, our bill for each person was 
 just three francs and a half — seventy cents! In the 
 morning by seven o'clock we were at the Castle, 
 which resembles some of the smaller castles on the 
 Rhine, and which we entered over a bridge. Until 
 the invention of gunpowder it is said this Castle was 
 considered impregnable, being entirely surrounded 
 by water, which is very deep against the walls on 
 the lake side. 
 
 " Lake Leman lies by Chillon's walls; 
 A thousand feet, in depths below, 
 Its massy waters meet and flow; 
 Thus much the fathomed line was sent 
 From Chillon's snow-white battlement, 
 Which round about the wave enthralls." 
 
 We were conducted over nearly the entire struc- 
 ture, going first into the dungeon where Bonnivard, 
 prior of St. Victor, the "Prisoner of Chillon," made 
 immortal by Byron, was confined six years, about 
 1536, and where we saw the ring in the stone pillar 
 to which Bonnivard was chained. The name of 
 Byron, cut by his own hand, appears on this pillar, 
 or on one near it, and in an adjoining dungeon we 
 saw the stone bed on which prisoners had to sleep, 
 if they slept at all, on the night preceding their 
 execution. The rooms occupied six hundred years 
 ago by the Duke and Duchess of Savoy are now 
 uninhabitable, and the banquet room is filled with 
 old flags and other ancient relics. Other rooms con- 
 tain cannon and a variety of other war implements. 
 
180 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 On our way by Villeneuve, a large village, at which 
 we did not stop, at the end of the lake, to Bouveret, 
 we passed in the steamer near a diminutive island, 
 only about large enough to support one or two trees, 
 and this was the only spot of land within sight of 
 Bonnivard, through the narrow opening in his dun- 
 geon wall. We reached Bouveret, a woe -begone 
 looking little village, at nine o'clock in the morning, 
 where we had to wait until noon for the train to 
 Martigny, arriving at the latter place about half 
 past one. This is the point of starting up over the 
 mountains for. the valley of Chamouni, and we had 
 the afternoon for preparation and rest. Between 
 Bouveret and Martigny we passed near the Gorge 
 du Trient and the Falls of Sallenche in plain sight. 
 This cascade has a fall of one hundred and twenty 
 feet, ending almost in spray, and is very beautiful. 
 The Gorge, so far as the splitting of the mountain 
 is concerned, is quite as wonderful, perhaps, as the 
 Tamina Gorge at Ragatz. In 1867 the writer walked 
 into the Gorge du Trient half a mile or more on 
 a narrow suspension foot bridge over and along 
 the rushing river Trient — a principal tributary of 
 the Rhone — the mountain opening just enough to 
 allow the waters to pass between walls we should 
 judge to be four hundred feet in height. In many 
 places the space was so narrow and the walls so 
 projecting that we could not see the sky above 
 us. It is this Gorge, no doubt, of which Byron 
 wrote : 
 
 "Now where the swift Rhone cleaves his way between 
 Heights which appear as lovers who have parted 
 In haste, whose mining depths so intervene 
 That they can meet no more, tho' broken hearted; 
 Though in their souls, which thus each other thwarted, 
 
MARTIGNY. 181 
 
 Love was the very root of the foul rage 
 
 Which blighted their life's bloom, and then departed — 
 
 Itself expired, but leaving them an age 
 
 Of years all winters — war within themselves to wage." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ^HAMOUMT, September 27.— There is little of 
 interest at Martigny, a village of some thirteen 
 hundred inhabitants, but the surrounding scenery 
 is grand. It is situated at the foot of the mountains 
 where special conveyances are engaged for Cham- 
 ouni, either by Tete Noir, or Col de Balme, as the 
 traveler may choose. By the former route one may 
 go in a low, narrow carriage, but by the latter, 
 which we took, transportation is only by mules or 
 donkeys. Having the whole afternoon at our dis- 
 posal before starting on our route the next morning, 
 we amused ourselves as best we could by walking 
 around town and out over the river Dranse in the 
 suburbs toward the Castle of La Batie, situated on 
 a high bluff a mile or so from the village. The 
 ruins of this old Castle add much to the picturesque- 
 ness of the place. The monks of St. Bernard have 
 a convent here, but we remember to have seen no 
 elegant buildings. We sought out the postmaster 
 for some postage stamps, and seeing that he was 
 engaged in making wine, we expressed a desire to 
 see the wine press. He cheerfully acquiesced, and 
 took us to the mill, a short distance from his office, 
 where we were treated to a ladleful of the unfer- 
 mented juice out of the wine vat. It tasted like 
 sweet cider. The press resembled the old - fashioned 
 
182 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 cider press. On our way back to our hotel we were 
 entertained by the violent antics of a donkey that 
 took it into his head to run off with a load of fodder, 
 regardless of sidewalks and frightened women and 
 children. He was soon overtaken, however, and 
 received a sound lashing for his ill-behavior. Our 
 attention was also attracted by a peasant woman 
 carrying a large basket of clothes on her head, and 
 her bonnet or hat under one arm, while she was 
 leading a goat and knitting all at the same time. 
 Such industry surely ought to reap a suitable re- 
 ward. 
 
 Having made our arrangements for guides and 
 mules the preceding evening, we were ready to pro- 
 ceed on our journey at half past seven on the morn- 
 ing of the 25th instant. Our traveling companions 
 were now increased to six. At least we formed a 
 party of eight, who, With guides and mules, were to 
 jog along together over the mountains. Each couple 
 had two mules and one guide between them, except 
 a Mr. Hoskins and wife, from London, who hired 
 but one mule, Mr. Hoskins walking the whole way. 
 An Irish member of Parliament, Mr. Brooks, and 
 his wife, and Mr. Thomas Evans and daughter, pre- 
 viously mentioned, were the other two couples. The 
 guides generally held the reins of the ladies' mules, 
 but the gentlemen managed their own, or rather left 
 the animals to do as they pleased. It was amusing 
 to watch their perambulations. The writer's mule, 
 like all the rest, we have no doubt, was very clever, 
 in the English sense of that word at least. He had 
 a decided penchant for going as near the edges of 
 precipices as possible without falling over, and espe- 
 cially when we came to the short turns in our zig- 
 zag course. Several times in such places we drew a 
 
COL DE BALME. 183 
 
 taught inner rein on him, and instead of mending 
 his ways he would stop stock still, as much as to 
 say, ' ' If you think you know better than I do, you 
 should dismount and we will change positions with 
 each other! Remember I am an old hand at this 
 business, while you are evidently a novice, else you 
 would leave me to paddle my own canoe, or, what 
 amounts to the same thing, do my work in my own 
 way." There was such a calm determination in his 
 bearing that we felt satisfied it would not only be 
 useless, but dangerous, to contend, and remember- 
 ing, too, that "discretion is the better part of valor," 
 we yielded gracefully to superior wisdom — a course 
 we had no cause to regret, for we were borne along 
 safely on the very edges of some of the most frightful 
 precipices imaginable. For nearly two hours of the 
 first part of the journey it was so foggy that our 
 view was entirely obstructed; but after that, until 
 we reached nearly to the summit, where there is a 
 small inn, the fog having passed off, we were fa- 
 vored with many views that filled us with delight. 
 It began to rain just before we arrived at the inn, 
 and continued for two hours and a half while we 
 remained there for dinner and for the rain to cease. 
 All this time, when we fondly anticipated enjoying 
 a prospect nowhere else to be seen, we were envel- 
 oped in the clouds, and we wished now that we had 
 gone upon the Rhigi. We caught our first sight of 
 Mont Blanc a few minutes before it set in to rain, 
 but the clouds were already resting on its base and 
 upon all the adjacent mountains, so that the view 
 was anything but satisfactory. Our inn was a poor 
 concern — far inferior to the old Tip -top House on 
 Mount Washington — but it was much better than 
 none, notwithstanding soup was about the best food 
 
184 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 to be had there. It served, too, to shelter us from 
 the storm, which raged fiercely until three o'clock, 
 when we started to descend. The path was now so 
 steep, and slippery by the rain, that it required no 
 argument from the guides to convince us that our 
 safer course altogether was to descend the mountain 
 on foot, as they advised; therefore, all except Mrs. 
 Brooks chose this way, and walked and slid for two 
 hours until we reached the level ground of the val- 
 ley. More than once some of our party, both ladies 
 and gentlemen, suddenly found themselves tripped 
 up and sliding at full length down steep places over 
 the wet turf, which we occasionally sought in order 
 to avoid the mud and roughness of the mule path. 
 To support each other, some of our couples walked 
 hand -in -hand; and as we were traveling for pleas- 
 ure, we made light of our mishaps, as it was natural 
 under such circumstances for young people to do. 
 On the way, high up on the side of the mountain, 
 where there was some verdure, we came to a flock 
 of sheep and goats, attended by a shepherd. Hast- 
 ening on, we at length reached the valley, where we 
 were glad to remount our mules, which had been 
 brought along by our guides. A ride of two or three 
 miles, more or less, took us to a small settlement 
 where hackmen were anxious for us to employ them 
 to take us the rest of the way, five miles, to Cha- 
 mouni; but as this was to be an additional expense, 
 and as we had paid for our mules to carry us through, 
 we decided to keep our saddles and go ahead. This 
 decision did not find favor with our guides, who evi- 
 dently wished us to make the change, so that they 
 themselves might rtde the mules into town. It was 
 now sundown, and it commenced to rain again, and 
 soon to pour in torrents, which did not cease until 
 
CHAMOUNI. 185 
 
 after we reached our Pension Couttet in the village 
 of Chamouni, near the foot of Mont Blanc and of 
 the Mer de Glace. Luckily, before sailing froni 
 New York, we purchased for ourselves each a gossa- 
 mer water -proof, the lady's with cape and hood — 
 the weight of both was just two pounds — and these, 
 with an umbrella, shielded us in good degree from 
 the storm. 
 
 The next day was clear and pleasant. Here we 
 were in a valley three thousand feet above the level 
 of the sea, shut in closely on three sides by high 
 mountains, the monarch of all, Mont Blanc, towering 
 over twelve thousand feet above us. "Nothing short 
 of actual observation can convey any adequate idea 
 of the solitary grandeur and gigantic proportions of 
 Mont Blanc." In a straight line from Chamouni to 
 its summit the distance is only about ten miles, and 
 in the sunlight, or in a bright moonlight, it appears 
 to be even nearer; but travelers who ascend to the 
 top are obliged to walk between forty and fifty miles 
 to accomplish the journey. Dr. Paccard, a physician 
 of Chamouni, was the first to make the ascent, on 
 the 7th of August, 1786. In the following year De 
 Saussure, attended by a servant and eighteen guides, 
 also made a successful ascent, carrying meteorologi- 
 cal instruments, and surprised and delighted the 
 civilized world with a report of his experience and 
 observations. Notwithstanding many persons have 
 since lost their lives by this hazardous undertaking, 
 no year now passes without its safe accomplishment 
 by a greater or less number of enterprising travelers. 
 With few exceptions, however, visitors are satisfied 
 with a trip over Montanvert to the Mer de Glace, 
 and to the summit of Mont Brevent, or to Flegere, 
 high above the valley on the west or southwest of 
 
186 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the village. In 1867 the writer visited those three 
 places, one day walking up Montanvert, across the 
 Mer de Glace, and back to Chamouni by the Mauvais 
 Pas, or dangerous foot-path, cut in the side of a 
 nearly perpendicular mountain. On the upper side 
 of this footway, which extends a distance of many 
 rods, there is an iron railing to hold on by. Montan- 
 vert is ascended by a zig-zag mule path in about two 
 hours. Coming to the sea of ice, we expected to 
 see a smooth, transparent surface, but such was 
 not the case. One writer has described its exterior 
 mass as "congealed waves which, from the heights 
 of Montanvert, appeared like furrows in a plowed 
 field," but which, on approaching them, are found 
 "to rise in abrupt ridges from twenty to forty feet," 
 with a rough surface. 
 
 "Wave upon wave! as if a foaming ocean, 
 
 By boisterous winds to fierce rebellion driven, 
 Heard — in its wildest moments of commotion — 
 And stood congealed at the command of Heaven." 
 
 The principal danger in crossing upon the ice is 
 that one is liable to fall into deep chasms and wells 
 near which he is obliged to pass. "The clefts, 
 which have proved fatal to so many adventurers, 
 are extremely variable in width, of enormous depth, 
 and changing, as they descend, from a beautiful 
 light green to an intense blue. They are occasioned 
 by the rocky or unequal surface over which the 
 glacier progressively descends, the sudden changes 
 of atmospheric temperature, and the brittle material 
 of which they are composed." We remember that 
 we had to walk several yards on a foot -way of 
 not more than two feet in width between two of 
 these deep crevices in the ice, having only our um- 
 
MER DE GLACE. 187 
 
 brella for an alpenstock. The narrow ridge had 
 been hacked by the guides to afford a safer foothold; 
 but it would have been a very dangerous passage 
 for any one of unsteady nerves. "The wells, which 
 we observe scattered over these fields of ice, are 
 produced by detached masses of granite, which, 
 heated by exposure to the sun, melt and penetrate 
 into the glacier, leaving the vertical aperture through 
 which they descended filled with water. Within the 
 substance of this glacier, as well as on its surface, 
 numerous fragments of rock are deposited, which 
 the storms and avalanches have detached from the 
 higher mountains and transported to their present 
 situation. On the borders and at the base of the 
 glaciers these stones are accumulated in such masses 
 as to form cairns of a hundred feet high." At the 
 foot of this glacier is the Crystal Grotto, a tunnel 
 caused by the melting of the ice, and from which 
 issues a constant stream of water. It is described 
 as very beautiful. "Its partition walls, as if cased 
 by the finest pier-glass, multiply and reflect each 
 other in such endless succession as to produce the 
 most striking illusions, and conduct the imagination 
 through a long labyrinth of gorgeous apartments, 
 such as might embellish the wildest Arabian tale." 
 On the border and within one foot of this wonderful 
 sea of ice, we plucked fragrant wild flowers; as 
 did also our dear companion, on the present visit, 
 whom we entrusted to make the trip to the Mer 
 de Glace and back direct without crossing, in the 
 care of Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins. 
 
 Mont Brevent is a very high mountain, fronting 
 Mont Blanc. Starting at seven, it took till noon 
 to reach the resting house at the terminus of the 
 mule path, from which point we were obliged to 
 
188 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 go on foot; and it was nearly two o'clock when 
 we arrived at the Tip -top House. On this part of 
 the route we had to cross a field of snow, from 
 which we made snow- balls which we carried to 
 quench our thirst, for the day was very warm; and 
 beyond this field our path was up the side of a ledge 
 so steep that for some distance we had to incline 
 forward and hold on by our hands, steps being cut 
 in the rocks to avoid falling over backward. Then 
 further on for a quarter of a mile our way was over 
 a bed of loose rocks, large and small, till at length 
 we reached the highest point. From this dizzy 
 height we observed plainly, with a good field glass, 
 two parties who had just attained the summit of 
 Mont Blanc, which, with the rugged peaks of many 
 other mountains before us, and the valley between, 
 afforded, we imagine, one of the wildest and grand- 
 est views in the world. After enjoying this grand 
 picture of the Alps for an hour or more, we began 
 our descent, which was more dangerous even than 
 the ascent; but we all got over the fearful pass in 
 safety, and rollicking across and down the steep 
 fields of snow, we soon came to the mule station, 
 from whence we returned, also on foot, by the way 
 of Flegere to our comfortable quarters in the village. 
 
ARGENTIERE. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 "Above me are the Alps, 
 The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls 
 Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, 
 And throned Eternity in icy halls 
 Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls 
 The avalanche — the thunderbolt of snow! 
 All that expands the spirit, yet appalls, 
 Gathers around these summits! " 
 
 - 4 
 
 s^RGENTIERE is a small hamlet through which 
 ^>£> we passed on our way to Chamouni, where we 
 still remain, September 27th. It is situated at the 
 foot of a glacier about five miles from the latter 
 place, and, like Chamouni, is a pleasant summer 
 resort for travelers. The Mer de Glace extends to 
 within a few miles of the village of Chamouni on 
 the north, and on the other side, nearer, at the foot 
 of Mont Blanc, is the Glacier de Bossons, to which 
 we one day started to walk, but were overtaken by 
 the rain and were obliged to relinquish the under- 
 taking. Our effort, however, was not without com- 
 pensation, as our walk took us into the country by 
 several cabins occupied by the peasantry and their 
 cattle, and the rain furnishing us a good excuse to 
 enter, we had the opportunity of observing some- 
 what of the domestic life of these humble people. 
 In a rough shed by one cabin they were breaking 
 and hatcheling flax, as we used to see it done on the 
 farm long years agone. We were more interested 
 at another cabin, into which we were driven by the 
 rain, now increased to a fierce storm, at the point 
 where we were compelled to turn about. It was the 
 home of an old mountain guide, now eighty- five, 
 whose name is Couttet, a near relative of our land- 
 
190 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 lord of the Pension Couttet, who has also been em- 
 ployed many years as a guide and resigned with 
 marked rewards of merit. While the rain was pour- 
 ing, this veteran guide related to us something of 
 his history, giving account of the many times he 
 had pioneered travelers, among whom were Ruskin 
 and Albert Smith, of English fame, to the summit of 
 Mont Blanc and safely down again. There is but 
 one door to his cabin, and we sat on stools in the 
 narrow hallway, out of one end of which, extending 
 nearly along the whole front of the building, there is 
 a door to the rooms occupied by himself and daugh- 
 ter, and from the other end a door to the apartment 
 devoted to their cattle. When the cattle came home 
 for shelter we had to rise to let them pass. The 
 daughter looks as coarse and sunburnt and almost 
 as old as her father. Both were very kind to us, 
 and appeared very thankful for the few sous we 
 were happy to give them for their hospitality. Hav- 
 ing no idea of being caught in such a storm, we 
 were not well prepared for it, and when we reached 
 our boarding house we were pretty well drenched. 
 
 Geneva, October 6. — At half -past seven on the 
 morning of September 28th, Mr. Evans and daughter 
 having preceded us a day or two earlier, we left 
 Chamouni by diligence and arrived in Geneva at 
 half -past two. For two -thirds of the way or more, 
 until we come in sight of the Jura mountains west 
 of Geneva, the scenery is of the wildest character. 
 The road runs between high mountains for many 
 miles along the banks of the Arve — 
 
 " Born where the thunder and the blast, 
 And morning's earliest light are born," 
 
 as Bryant writes of it, thus continuing: 
 
CHAMOUNI TO GENEVA. 191 
 
 "Not from the sands or cloven rocks, 
 
 Thou rapid Arve! thy waters flow; 
 Nor earth, within her bosom, locks 
 
 Thy dark, unfathomed walls below. 
 Thy springs are in the cloud, thy stream 
 
 Begins to move and murmur first 
 Where ice-peaks feel the noonday beam, 
 
 Or rain-storms on the glacier burst." 
 
 In some places the river passes through deep gorges 
 and over steep, rocky beds, surging along with fear- 
 ful force and velocity. It was a grand sight to 
 look from the top of the diligence — it was two 
 stories high — away down into these gorges, as we 
 were carried along right upon the edge of the preci- 
 pice. We passed through several villages, and at 
 one point, where we crossed the river on a stone 
 bridge five hundred feet in length, we obtained a 
 magnificent view of Mont Blanc. The view of this 
 "Alpine Monarch" from this bridge is said to be 
 the grandest and most satisfactory anywhere to be 
 had of it. Not far from Cluses we passed near the 
 mouth of the Grotto of Balme, w^hich extends into 
 the mountain nearly two thousand feet, and is re- 
 garded as a great natural curiosity. Here and there 
 along the road are shrines, similar to what we saw 
 by the highways in other parts of Switzerland, as 
 well as in Austria. Generally they consist of a 
 small structure just large enough to hold a figure, 
 either in sculpture or painting, of the Crucifix or 
 the Virgin; but sometimes only the Cross is pre- 
 sented. It is difficult to give a faithful description 
 of this day's journey; suffice it to say, that but 
 for the rather too cold weather in the morning, 
 the ride all the way would have been unsurpassed 
 in everything calculated to enhance our enjoyment. 
 Italy being our next objective point, we are now 
 
192 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 comfortably settled in Geneva, probably for a month, 
 the winter season being the safest if not the best 
 time to visit that land of the vine, olive, and fig- 
 tree. Through the kind attention of our Consul, 
 Hon. Charles H. Upton, and his estimable wife, 
 we are pleasantly situated in a private boarding 
 house, or pension, fronting on Lake Leman. The 
 city is built on both sides of the lower end of the 
 lake, or what might as well be called the Rhone 
 — for the lake is only an expansion of the river — 
 which is narrowed here, and, joining the Arve one 
 mile below, flows on to the sea. Like all the Alpine 
 streams from the snowy regions, the waters of the 
 Arve have a milky appearance, and it is curious 
 to observe how they retain this color in contra- 
 distinction to the dark waters of the Rhone at the 
 junction of the two rivers. The two flow rapidly 
 along, side by side, in the same channel, for a mile, 
 more or less, before they mingle and the Arve loses 
 itself in the Rhone. This is one of the interesting 
 sights of Geneva. At a point just above where 
 the two rivers unite there is a bridge over the Arve, 
 leading to a beautiful estate on its southwestern 
 banks — a pleasant resort in hot days. The Rhone 
 runs with great force through the city, dividing and 
 forming a considerable island in the southern part 
 thereof. This island is covered with buildings, most- 
 ly, .we believe, manufacturing establishments, the 
 machinery in which is moved by water. Two sub- 
 stantial bridges connect the island with the main 
 land on both sides. The river is spanned by two 
 other fine long bridges nearer the lake, and from 
 one of these is a foot-bridge to Rousseau's Island, a 
 small spot of ground in the river, ornamented by 
 shade trees and a handsome bronze statue of that 
 
GENEVA. 193 
 
 distinguished Frenchman. The statue is on an ele- 
 vated base in a sitting posture. It has for sentinels 
 a flock of beautiful swans, whose lodge is near by. 
 They glide gracefully over this part of the lake and 
 river, sometimes also flying from one point to an- 
 other. They are so fascinating to grown as well as 
 little children that they are seldom without crackers 
 and sweet cakes on their board, and they appear to 
 be free from care and in the enjoyment of perfect 
 happiness. The tongue of slander nor the sting of 
 ingratitude ever disturbs their perfect composure: 
 Who would not be a swan? Bath houses and wash 
 sheds are erected over the river far enough from the 
 shore to have the advantage of the swift stream. 
 The latter face the shore, and at all times of day 
 washerwomen, in long rows, may be seen hard at 
 work washing clothes in the river. Their wash- 
 boards reach into the water, and after applying a 
 liberal quantity of soap and rubbing the clothes, 
 throw them over a projecting bar arranged to secure 
 them, and the rapid stream does the rinsing. The 
 borders of the lake and river for miles around are 
 protected by a substantial wall raised to a level with 
 the streets, and the lake steamers and sailing vessels 
 come directly up to this wall as their place of land- 
 ing. Further up there is a breakwater extending 
 out from either side of the lake, notwithstanding 
 which, however, when what is called the bise takes 
 place, which we have felt, the waters are thrown 
 over into the streets. The bise is a violent north 
 wind, which, sweeping down from the whole length 
 of the lake, powerfully agitates the waters, as the 
 waves of the ocean break upon the coast in a storm. 
 The manner of setting the sails on the sailing ves- 
 sels, called "mouches" (flies) here, gives them the 
 13 
 
194 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 appearance at a distance of enormous birds about to 
 alight on the water with their wings extended up- 
 ward. 
 
 We were surprised on the first of October to see 
 wild strawberries on our table for dessert. They 
 were about the size of the field strawberry of New 
 England, but more oblong and pointed in shape, and 
 not as sweet. We did not learn where they came 
 from, but probably from the sunny side of the 
 mountain or valley, as we observed here and there 
 one on the Col de Balme and in the valley of Cha- 
 mouni. They are, no doubt, sold at a moderate 
 price, else grapes, which are plenty at from six to 
 eight cents per pound, would be served instead. De- 
 licious plums, too, are here in abundance and cheap. 
 Peaches are scarce, and the only really fine ones we 
 have seen we found in Vienna and Munich. 
 
 The " English Garden" is a small inclosure in 
 front of the eastern part of the old city, extending 
 for a short distance along the foot of the lake. In 
 this garden, laid out in grand walks bordered by 
 shrubbery and flowers, with scattering trees, there 
 is a neat cottage building, where there is a "Relief 
 of Mont Blanc," presenting a correct description in 
 miniature of this monarch of mountains, the top of 
 which is to be seen to good advantage from the west 
 side of the river or foot of the lake. Early after 
 sunset in Geneva, on clear evenings, many lovers of 
 the grand and beautiful go to this locality to feast 
 their eyes upon the splendid sight of Mont Blanc, 
 looming above all other mountains and smiling still 
 in the varied hues of a bright sunshine. It is indeed 
 a most charming picture. 
 
 We have been happy to meet here our Minister, 
 Hon. Mr. Rublee, and also our ^battle - scarred vet- 
 
GENEVA. 195 
 
 eran, General Heintzelman, with his pleasant wife 
 and daughter. We have passed an hour most agree- 
 ably at Mr. Bremond's manufactory of music boxes 
 and other musical instruments, where we saw and 
 heard various kinds of music boxes, chairs, books, 
 and bottles, and charming artificial singing birds. 
 Take a seat in his chairs, handle his books, or go to 
 turn over his bottles, and they will at once strike up 
 and discourse sweet music. Some of his instruments 
 are in the shape of a cathedral of beautiful carved 
 work; others of a rustic sawmill, arranged with 
 spiral glass tubes moved by the machinery to repre- 
 sent the fall of water, and others in the usual form 
 of music boxes, finished in the highest style. You 
 can have your choice in kind as well as price — pay- 
 ing for each instrument from fifteen francs up to 
 two thousand dollars at your pleasure. Apropos of 
 this establishment, Mr. Upton told us of a good pun 
 which our genial and witty "Grace Greenwood" 
 threw off a few days ago when she with a party of 
 friends was here. They were on the way to visit 
 the establishment; but some of the gentlemen hav- 
 ing to walk while the rest rode, Mr Upton, who was 
 in the carriage, gave those on foot the direction by 
 saying they would know the house by the sign of a 
 lyre on its roof. "Yes," quickly added Grace; "and 
 when you see that lyre, it will tell the truth" 
 
196 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 .ENEVA, October 30. — We have now been here 
 a month, and the weather, a large part of the 
 time, has been wet and disagreeable. Nevertheless, 
 Geneva is an agreeable stopping -place, even in the 
 wet season, to travelers going to or returning from 
 Italy; and there is always a large number of strang- 
 ers here. There are, we know not how many, first- 
 class hotels here, and many excellent private board- 
 ing houses, all within easy distance of one another; 
 and one never need be at a loss for pleasant com- 
 pany, leaving out the resident population, among 
 whom are many cultivated and refined people. We 
 have in our boarding house Rev. Abel Stevens, au- 
 thor of the "History of Methodism in the United 
 States," and his amiable wife, whom, among others 
 here, we have found exceedingly pleasant company; 
 and in the family of Mr. Consul Upton, near by, we 
 are always made to feel as though at home. Then 
 the Rev. Leonard Woolsey Bacon, pastor of the 
 American church and editor of the Swiss Chronicle 
 here, who with his family, consisting of his wife, 
 eight children, and two interesting lady cousins, 
 resides at Petit Saconnex, gives a reception every 
 Thursday evening from four to ten o'clock, to which 
 all Americans especially are invited. We have spent 
 one evening most agreeably with them. Their resi- 
 dence is in the country, about two miles from our 
 boarding house. Refreshments were set out at six 
 o'clock. After this we had several pieces of music 
 by two of Mr. Bacon's sons and their teacher, on the 
 violin, Mr. Bacon himself, who is an accomplished 
 musician and composer, accompanying them on a 
 
FERNEY. 197 
 
 violoncello. Following these, Madame, wife of Gen- 
 eral Fluck, of the Austrian army, also present, per- 
 formed a number of pieces on the piano in a superior 
 manner. Thus, with music and conversation, these 
 evenings are very enjoyable. # 
 
 One day we went to Ferney, which is in France, a 
 distance of some five miles from the city, to see 
 Voltaire's chateau. Only two rooms, the parlor and 
 a bed - room, both on the ground floor, are shown to 
 visitors, and these remain just as he left them at his 
 death. His parlor stove is quite a huge affair, and 
 his lounge and most of the other furniture are rather 
 common, but some of his chairs were handsomely 
 embroidered — the work of his niece, whose portrait 
 on the walls of one of the rooms shows her to have 
 been a beautiful woman. His own portrait and mar- 
 ble bust are also preserved here, as well as the por- 
 traits of Frederick the Great and Queen Catherine 
 II. of Russia. There are likewise engraved like- 
 nesses of Milton, Racine, Corneille, Newton, the 
 Calas family, Washington, and Franklin. That of 
 Washington is unlike any other we have ever seen, 
 and it is probably the only one of the kind extant. 
 Of the Calas family, the likenesses of the mother, 
 one son, two daughters, and man and maid servant 
 are given. The history of this family is doubtless 
 known to most of our readers. Jean Calas, the 
 head of the family and a Protestant, was cruelly 
 executed in 1762, at Toulouse, on the charge of mur- 
 dering one of his own sons to prevent his secession 
 from Protestantism; and subsequently, through the 
 efforts of Voltaire and others, a reversal of the judg- 
 ment of guilty against him was obtained; he and the 
 family were declared innocent, and a pension of 
 thirty thousand francs was granted to the family by 
 
198 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Louis XV. The only remaining descendant of this 
 family now resides in Geneva, and is supported 
 mainly by charity. In Voltaire's bed -room are two 
 other small paintings; one a portrait of his washer- 
 woman, find the other, a handsome face, of his 
 chimney sweep in an Italian hat. The floor of the 
 parlor is of wood, handsomely inlaid. In this room 
 is an urn containing the ashes of Voltaire's heart. 
 The house has beautiful surroundings, and it must 
 have been a very fine one in its day. We walked 
 through the long arbor where he used to go for 
 exercise, and in which, we were told he sometimes 
 did his writing. Near the northern entrance to the 
 chateau is a small building with a clock -tower, and 
 the name of Voltaire appears under the clock-face. 
 This, we understood, was his church, but we think 
 it is not used for religious services now. From 
 this point a magnificent view is obtained of Mont 
 Blanc. In the evening we went to hear a lecture 
 by Monsieur Taine, the celebrated French author, 
 before the College of Geneva. It was upon the 
 life and manners of the French people before their 
 revolution, from the time of Louis XI. to Louis 
 XVII. The public hall was crowded by attentive 
 listeners, among whom we observed Pere Hyacinthe. 
 Monsieur Taine is a man, we should judge, about 
 fifty years of age. His height is about five feet, 
 ten inches, frame spare and muscular, and his move- 
 ment active. He wears his whiskers and beard, 
 which are black, with a slight mixture of gray, cut 
 short. 
 
 We have been several times to hear Pere Hya- 
 cinthe, who conducts his services and preaches in 
 the French language. Although we could not un- 
 derstand him as well as we could wish, we felt 
 
GENEVA. 199 
 
 sensibly the influence of his magnetism and elo- 
 quence. He is undoubtedly an accomplished elo- 
 cutionist and orator, and, without being a very large 
 man, his presence is at once commanding and grace- 
 ful. We sat near his wife and little son Paul, of 
 whom they are said to be very proud, as they have 
 a right to be, for he is a fine - looking boy, and may 
 live to become as eloquent as his namesake. The 
 congregation was comparatively small. 
 
 There is a beautiful Greek Church here, richly 
 frescoed in the interior, and the floor is covered 
 by a handsome carpet, on which the people either 
 stand or kneel, there being few or no seats. On 
 a Sunday we were present for a short time near 
 the close of the services, which were peculiar. The 
 music, entirely vocal, was very fine. The Cathedral 
 Church of St. Peter, where we have also attended 
 Protestant services, is by far the more important. 
 This church dates back to the eleventh century, and 
 is fraught with many stirring events in the history 
 of Geneva. Without going further back, when the 
 Roman Catholics held sway here, years before John 
 Calvin made his appearance, Farel and other Pro- 
 testant reformers had succeeded in abolishing Ro- 
 manism from the city, and St. Peter's, we believe, 
 has ever since been in the possession of the Protest- 
 ants. The same pulpit from which Calvin preached 
 still remains in its place. Expelled from France, of 
 which country he was a native, he was passing 
 through Geneva as a fugitive when, being recog- 
 nized by his Protestant brethren, he was prevailed 
 on to remain, and finally became the dictator of the 
 city. In an old French volume which a friend loaned 
 us to read here, it is stated that when Calvin first 
 came here he was a young man, and that he was 
 
200 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 so pale and sickly in appearance many thought he 
 had but a few years at most to live. 
 
 In the Rath Museum there is a collection of fine 
 pictures, among them one representing "The Death 
 of Calvin," and another, "Bonnivard in Castle Chil- 
 lon." In the Academic Museum are many fine speci- 
 mens of Zoology and Geology. Immense pieces of 
 white and smoked crystal quartz in their native 
 state excited our wonder and admiration. 
 
 One pleasant afternoon we took a walk to the 
 Chateau Diodati, situated about one mile and a half 
 from the city on the southeast side of the lake. In 
 1816 this Chateau was the residence of Lord Byron, 
 and this is where he wrote some or all of his "Man- 
 fred" and portions of "Childe Harold." It is snug- 
 gled in among the trees, with a balcony on the lake 
 side, the room in which he wrote looking out also 
 upon the lake. We saw his bed, table, chairs, and 
 other furniture used by him in this room. There are 
 many charming residences on both sides of the lake, 
 among them the princely chateau of Baron Adolphe 
 Rothschild on the northwest side, in or near Little 
 Saconnex. Just in the suburbs of the city is a large 
 old mansion, now in a dilapidated condition, with 
 a large lawn in front. It was at one period the 
 residence of Voltaire, and for a few days in 1867 
 the writer and his younger son occupied a chamber 
 in it as boarders — the family with whom they were 
 boarding having removed there. We observed noth- 
 ing remarkable about it except that the dining-room, 
 very high posted, as were all the other first story 
 rooms, was unusually spacious, and the large panels 
 of its walls were embellished with landscape paint- 
 ings. Had these paintings the power of speech they 
 could, without doubt, narrate many an interesting 
 
GENEVA. 201 
 
 story in the gay life of Voltaire and his congenial 
 associates. 
 
 We have made here the acquaintance of a very 
 pleasant gentleman and his accomplished wife, by 
 the name of Saltzman. He is a retired watch manu- 
 facturer. In company with Mr. Consul Upton, wife, 
 and sister, we had the honor one day of dining 
 with them. We mention this for the purpose of 
 introducing a touching personal incident of the oc- 
 casion. We will premise by saying that when the 
 writer was at Geneva in 1867, Mr. Upton had two 
 interesting daughters, Lucie and Estella, both young 
 ladies grown. The latter, however, was then a suf- 
 fering invalid, and died not very long afterward. 
 Lucie subsequently married a Greek gentleman of 
 fine character and went with him to reside in Greece, 
 where they were blessed by the birth of a son, and, 
 sorrowful to tell, the mother soon thereafter followed 
 her sister to the spirit -land. At the dinner table 
 Mr. Upton was led to speak of a melancholy pil- 
 grimage he had not long before made to the home 
 and grave of this cherished daughter; and he re- 
 peated, in a tone and with a pathos we shall never 
 forget, some lines he had written in allusion to this 
 sad journey over the sea. At our special request 
 he sent us the next day a copy of those lines, and 
 we give them as they appear before us in his own 
 plain hand: 
 
 A CONCEIT. 
 
 Float me safely, dark blue waves, 
 O'er the Mediterranean sea — 
 A living tie between two graves, 
 I go, their spirit-tie to be. 
 
 From where Estella lies in gloom, 
 A rose, an autumn rose, I bear, 
 
202 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 To softly lay on Lucie's tomb, 
 
 Whose leaves would else have perished there. 
 
 * * # ■■ # •* 
 
 Now tell me, tea-rose, whisper low! 
 Have the dear sister-spirits met ? 
 And are they where bright flowers grow ? 
 And are they where no cheeks are wet ? 
 
 Be still, my heart! I cannot hear 
 What the fluttering leaves would say. 
 Oh, coward heart! you doubt, I fear, 
 And I, in anguish turn away.* 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 >URIN, November 4. — We have now fairly en- 
 tered upon what we undertook not without 
 some apprehension of sickness — a trip to Italy. 
 We have heard a great deal about the deadly ma- 
 laria of the Campagna, and of the debilitating and 
 often fatal Roman fever, and we should leave a 
 
 * We should not have ventured thus to raise the vail which concealed 
 this sacred reminiscence from the public eye, but that we are obliged to 
 record here, as we do in deep sorrow, the death of our dear friend, the 
 author of this little poem — itself a gem. He died suddenly, supposed 
 from heart disease, on the night of June 17, 1877. Mr. Upton had held 
 the office of United States Consul at Geneva since his appointment by 
 President Lincoln in the spring of 1861. In addition to this, he was 
 from time to time called on to perform the duties of United States Minister 
 for Switzerland during the absence of that officer; and on the 23d of 
 January, 1877, after the Swiss mission had been reduced to that of a 
 Charge d' Affaires and Mr. Rublee had resigned, Secretary Pish gave him 
 the appointment, outside of his consulship, of Charge d' Affaires ad 
 interim, and he held this office until his death. Admirably qualified by 
 his ability, education, and courtesy of demeanor for any such position, he 
 was ever most faithful to his trust. 
 
GENEVA TO TURIN. 203 
 
 truth unspoken did we not frankly admit this ap- 
 prehension. It was this concern of mind, no doubt, 
 that superinduced this child's prayer one night as 
 we lay more asleep than awake: 
 
 Great Father, guide us on our way, 
 
 And keep us safe from every harm; 
 We crave Thy care from day to day, 
 
 To cheer and keep from false alarm. 
 
 Oftener than otherwise when one in sleep or in a 
 dreamy state thinks he has said a wise or witty 
 thing, on awakening he is surprised to find it the 
 very opposite; but those lines appeared so fully to 
 express our feelings and desires that, simple as they 
 are, we put them in our note book, without, how- 
 ever, the remotest idea of their ever going further. 
 If any apology is needed for copying them here, it 
 may be found in the patent fact that we started out 
 and have continued on a somewhat familiar plane 
 with our readers in all that we have had to say. 
 
 Much of the time while we have been in Geneva 
 the weather has been rainy, and it rained when we 
 left there at half - past six on the morning of the 2d 
 instant. We at first thought of taking Cook's tour 
 tickets, which were offered at only about half the 
 regular fare; but we were obliged to decline them 
 because they were limited to ninety days — the length 
 of time Mr. Seward said it would take to put down 
 the rebellion. Before starting, on the day before, 
 we procured from a restaurant a plump roast chick- 
 en, some nice bread, and a bottle of vin ordinaire, 
 for our next day's lunch on the train — preferring to 
 take our meal quietly in our compartment to run- 
 ning the chance of "a hasty plate of soup" at a 
 restaurant outside. Knowing that we were to have 
 the company of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Stickney and 
 
204 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Sumner, a young Congregational preacher 
 from Chicago, they, on our advice, in like manner, 
 secured the requisite materials for "internal im- 
 provement." Rev. Mr. Frazier, from Philadelphia, 
 on his way to Egypt, and a German gentleman 
 were the only other occupants in our compartment. 
 Wet as it was when we left Geneva, before we 
 reached Culoz, two and a half hours' ride, we came 
 out into fair weather, such as we had seldom seen 
 for a month. The road runs along the slopes of the 
 Jura mountains on the right bank of the Rhone, 
 which flows through a narrow rocky valley between 
 the Jura and Mont Vouache, where it is commanded 
 by a French fort high up on the right. As the 
 clouds overhead broke away, they settled down for 
 many miles on the top and side of the Jura mount- 
 ains, presenting, as the sun shone upon them, one of 
 the most beautiful pictures of the kind we ever 
 beheld. They were fleecy like cotton, and as from 
 our elevated position we could see the top as well as 
 the side of the clouds — the sky beyond forming the 
 background — we could hardly find words to express 
 our admiration of the tableau. Our special com- 
 panion remarked that "the mountains seemed to 
 be reluctant to lose their soft enveloping curtain 
 so gently obscuring their peaks." The scenery all 
 the way between Geneva and the Mont Cenis Tunnel 
 — there must be at least twenty other tunnels on 
 the whole route — is strikingly interesting, some of 
 it being almost as fine as is to be seen anywhere in 
 Switzerland. There was an examination of baggage 
 at the French frontier, and then again at Modane, 
 just before entering the great tunnel, near the east- 
 ern end of which, but some two hundred feet below 
 in the valley, is a small village, where there is 
 
MONT CENIS TUNNEL. 205 
 
 a railroad junction. Our track led along the side 
 of the mountain and directly above this village, 
 where we had to pass over a bridge, which had 
 evidently just been destroyed by a flood and tem- 
 porarily reconstructed sufficiently to allow the train 
 to pass. As we were on a curve, and moved very 
 slowly, we could see the danger to which we were 
 exposed, since, had this temporary structure given 
 way, we should inevitably have been precipitated 
 to the bottom of the valley. Just before reaching 
 this bridge, we saw the guard and one or two pas- 
 sengers alight and run ahead as though they were 
 apprehensive of danger, and we think it was wrong 
 not to have allowed all the passengers to do the 
 same. The entrance to the tunnel does not differ 
 from those of other railroad tunnels. There is a 
 double track, and at short intervals lamps on high 
 posts mostly between the tracks, but occasionally at 
 the side; and if our eyes did not deceive us, there is 
 a narrow foot way, also at one side. We were on 
 the left track, and passed a lighted hand car with 
 several roadmen on it in one part of the tunnel. 
 We were not in the least disturbed by either smoke 
 or gas, nor did we observe any unusual closeness in 
 the air. While passing through, all in our compart- 
 ment, except the German gentleman, united in sing- 
 ing the "Rock of Ages," "Nearer my God to Thee," 
 "Shall we Gather at the River," and "The Morning- 
 Dawn is Breaking," the last at Mrs. Stickney's sug- 
 gestion, just as the twilight began to pierce the 
 darkness at the further end of the tunnel. We 
 entered the tunnel, which is eight miles long, pre- 
 cisely at five minutes past five and emerged from 
 it at twenty- eight minutes past five, thus occupying 
 twenty- three minutes in the passage. On the as- 
 
206 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 cending grade into the heart of the mountain the 
 train moved much slower than on the descending 
 grade. At the highest point we were four thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea. It was about half- 
 past nine in the evening when we reached Turin; 
 and, as luck would have it, we were obliged to go to 
 our hotel without our baggage, except what we had 
 in a shawl strap. Intending to return by Geneva, 
 we left one of our valises there, taking the other, a 
 good sized one, along with us, and this, we found 
 had been checked through by the express train, 
 which parted from our train at Culoz, arriving at 
 Turin two or three hours in advance of us. The 
 baggage by the express train, not claimed, had been 
 locked up for the night, and the officers of the cus- 
 toms had gone home; so we were obliged to wait for 
 our valise until morning, when, with the least pos- 
 sible examination by those polite gentlemen with 
 cocked hats and military cloaks, it was delivered 
 to us. 
 
 On the third, Messrs. Stickney, Sumner, and Fra- 
 zier, having gone to the valley of the Waldenses, 
 we, in company with Mrs. Stickney, were driven 
 for one hour through the most interesting parts of 
 the town and across the Po, over a bridge we should 
 think' to be four hundred feet in length. This is an 
 arched stone bridge, and a short distance further up 
 the river there is a suspension bridge for foot passen- 
 gers only. We passed many fine monuments, one 
 of the most elaborate being that to Cavour — born 
 1810, died 1861. We cannot fully describe it. It 
 consists in part of a statue of himself with that of a 
 beautiful woman, partly kneeling, with her left arm 
 around his waist, and eyes raised toward his face. 
 Other figures surround the base. We have a good 
 
TURIN. 207 
 
 photograph of it. To show the contrast between 
 Turin and Washington, we may be pardoned for 
 saying that the whole charge for the hour's ride — 
 our carriage was a nice one with four seats hand- 
 somely lined and cushioned — was just one franc 
 and a half, with the addition of three sous pour- 
 boire! We are also agreeably disappointed in the 
 beauty of the city, which is generally laid out in 
 squares, with streets of' good width, and many pub- 
 lic squares well paved and adorned by equestrian 
 and other monumental statues, and flanked by mag- 
 nificent palaces. What we especially like about the 
 streets is that, while they are paved for the most 
 part with cobble stones, there are four rows of 
 smooth stone slabs placed just wide enough apart 
 for carriage wheels, and the sidewalks are paved 
 with similar slabs. The buildings generally are 
 high and handsome, and the city has altogether a 
 modern appearance. We have seen no narrow, 
 dirty streets, such as we find in all the old cities we 
 have visited. On some of the streets and open 
 squares are long rows of shops, entered from high 
 and airy arcades. 
 
 From 1859 to 1865 Turin was the capital of Italy 
 and the residence of the King, whose Palace here is 
 always ready for him whenever he visits the city. 
 We have been conducted through the Palace, which 
 is a plain brick edifice sumptuously furnished, and 
 we avail ourselves of the note -book of our "better 
 half" for a description of what we saw. The pillars 
 of the gateway to the Palace are decorated by two 
 groups in bronze of Castor and Pollux, and in a 
 niche in the Palace hall is an equestrian statue of 
 Duke Victor Amadeus I. — the statue being of bronze 
 and the horse marble, beneath which are the figures 
 
208 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 of two slaves. We were met first by an officer 
 wearing a long cloak> one corner of which was 
 thrown over his shoulder, and a three - cornered hat ? 
 adorned with a large bunch of black rooster's feath- 
 ers, falling gracefully over his side face. He walked 
 up and down without saying a word; but another 
 officer, dressed in red, white, and gold, pointed to 
 the beautiful marble entrance, which is quite beyond 
 description. There are six white marble steps to the 
 first landing, from which other wide marble steps 
 lead to the second story. The ceiling is beautifully 
 frescoed. On the walls of the stairway are fine 
 paintings. One represents Tasso, richly dressed in 
 black velvet, being introduced to the Court; and 
 another, "The Eeceipt of the Declaration of War by 
 Spain." We walked first into the footmen's room, 
 elegantly furnished with rich paintings on ceiling 
 and walls; then into the pages' room, equally ele- 
 gant, and next to the throne room, and so on until 
 we had passed through some twenty rooms in all. 
 Over the throne is a canopy of red velvet shaded to 
 orange. The doors are richly gilded and the ceilings 
 of the rooms, some of which are lined with red vel- 
 vet, are beautifully frescoed, while the window cur- 
 tains are of silk lace. There are many fine paint- 
 ings in the different apartments, the floors of which, 
 of inlaid wood, are so smooth that we were obliged 
 to slip or slide over them. Among the paintings is 
 a magnificent one of "Solomon on his Throne." In 
 the dining room there is a crystal chandelier, and 
 there is another in the large ball room, which is 
 splendidly finished with Doric columns and heavy 
 gilt cornices. The Queen's Chapel is small but ele- 
 gant. The furniture of all the rooms is very rich, 
 none of it more so than a number of mosaic tables, 
 
MILAN. 209 
 
 which are surprisingly beautiful. The Palace also 
 contains an extensive library. 
 
 There is an Armory, Museum of Natural History, 
 Museum of Antiquities, and an extensive Painting 
 Gallery here; but we did not take the time to visit 
 them, since we expect to see everything of this kind 
 in other Italian cities. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIII. 
 
 Wt\ 
 
 ILAN, November 5. — We left Turin yesterday 
 forenoon, and arrived at Milan in time to ride 
 an hour around the city, visiting the Cathedral of 
 St. Ambrose and the celebrated picture of the "Last 
 Supper," by Leonardo da Vinci. The Cathedral was 
 founded by St. Ambrose in the fourth century, and 
 the guide-books tell us that the gates are those 
 which he closed against the Emperor Theodosius 
 after the cruel massacre of Thessalonica; also, that 
 the Lombard Kings and German Emperors formerly 
 caused themselves to be crowned here with the Iron 
 Crown, which is still preserved at Monza. The in- 
 terior is richly adorned. with fresco and other paint- 
 ings, mosaics, statues, etc. "The brazen serpent 
 on a column in the nave is said to be that raised 
 by Moses in the wilderness." We had not time 
 to investigate the truth of this statement, and there- 
 fore accepted it as authentic without controversy. 
 It is no doubt just as true as that a certain silver 
 case in the Cologne Cathedral contains the bones 
 of the three wise men who came from the East 
 to Bethlehem to offer their presents to the infant 
 14 
 
210 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Christ, and which precious remains, it is said, were 
 presented to the Archbishop of Cologne by the Em- 
 peror Barbarossa when he captured them with the 
 city of Milan. We were shown here, also, some 
 very curious old parchment books of the fourteenth 
 century, and sat in a marble arm-chair made at 
 the time the church was founded. 
 
 The painting of the " Last Supper" is in the re- 
 fectory (now a cavalry barrack) of the suppressed 
 Monastery of the Church of Santa Maria delle Gra- 
 zie. There is nothing very remarkable in the church, 
 but we viewed this picture with great interest, not- 
 withstanding it has been much defaced. Roscoe, 
 in his "Life of Leo X.," speaking of Leonardo da 
 Vinci, observes: "By his astonishing skill in music, 
 which he performed on a kind of lyre of his own 
 invention, and by his extraordinary facility as an 
 improvisatore, in the recitation of Italian verse, no 
 less than by his professional talents, he secured the 
 favor of his patron (Lodovico, 1492,) and the ap- 
 plauses of the Milanese Court. Lodovico had, how- 
 ever, the judgment to avail himself of the oppor- 
 tunity afforded him by this great artist, to enrich 
 the city of Milan with some of the finest productions 
 of his pencil; and if the abilities of Leonardo were 
 to be estimated by a single effort, his panegyrist 
 might perhaps select his celebrated picture of the 
 "Last Supper" as the most valuable of his works. 
 In this piece it was doubtless the intention of the 
 painter to surpass whatever had before been exe- 
 cuted, and to represent not merely the external form 
 and features, but the emotions and passions of the 
 mind, from the highest degree of virtue and benefi- 
 cence in the character of the Saviour to the extreme 
 of treachery and guilt in that of Iscariot; while the 
 
MILAN. 211 
 
 various sensations of affection and veneration, of 
 joy and of sorrow, of hope and of fear, displayed in 
 the countenances and gestures of the disciples, might 
 express their various apprehensions of the mysterious 
 rite. In the midst sits the great founder, dispensing 
 with unshaken firmness, from either hand, the em- 
 blems of his own approaching suffering. The agita- 
 tion of the disciples is marked by their contrasted 
 attitudes and various expressions. Treachery and 
 inhumanity seem to be concentrated in the form 
 and features of Judas Iscariot. In representing the 
 countenance of Christ he found, however, the pow- 
 ers of the artist inadequate to the conception of his 
 own mind. To step beyond the limits of earth, and 
 to diffuse over those features a ray of divinity, was 
 his bold but fruitless attempt. The effort was often 
 renewed, and as often terminated in disappointment 
 and humiliation. Despairing of success, he disclosed 
 his anxiety to his friend and associate, Bernardo 
 Zenale, who advised him to desist from all further 
 endeavors, and in consequence of which this great 
 work was suffered to remain imperfect." The size 
 of this picture is fifteen by thirty feet. 
 
 In the evening we went into the great Cathedral, 
 which, by many travelers, is regarded as the most 
 majestic and beautiful in the world. It had been a 
 great day there, but we arrived only in time to see a 
 long line of priests leaving for their cloisters, and 
 the removal from the altar of a number of silver 
 saints — statues, of full size, in solid silver — all of 
 which we sa\v in the sacristy to-day, after which 
 we spent an hour or two on top of the building, the 
 whole of which, including the roof, its ninety- eight 
 pinnacles, and its innumerable statues, is of white 
 marble. Some travelers have stated the number of 
 
212 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 statues in the interior and on the outside as high as 
 seven thousand, with places for three thousand more. 
 Here is a true picture by Tennyson: 
 
 "O Milan, O the chanting quires, 
 The giant windows' blazoned fires, 
 
 The height, the space, the gloom, the glory! 
 A mount of marble, a hundred spires ! 
 I climbed the roofs at break of day; 
 Sun-smitten Alps before me lay. 
 
 I stood among the silent statues, 
 And statued pinnacles mute as they. 
 How faintly-flushed, how phantom-fair, 
 Was Monte Rosa, hanging there. 
 
 A thousand shadowy-penciled valleys 
 And snowy dells in a golden air! " 
 
 The interior is hardly less imposing than the exte- 
 rior. "Its double aisles, its clustered pillars, its 
 lofty arches, the luster of its walls, its numberless 
 niches filled with marble figures— give it an appear- 
 ance novel even in Italy, and singularly majestic." 
 Its works of art, consisting of paintings, statuary of 
 various kinds, bronze as well as marble, monuments 
 I to distinguished persons, etc., with nearly four hun- 
 dred representations of Scriptural subjects on the 
 stained glass of the choir windows, afford boundless 
 satisfaction to the visitor. We should not forget to 
 speak of one other thing we saw on our visit here: 
 Within a circular railing, twenty feet or more in 
 circumference, near the altar, a white covering had 
 been spread on the floor, and a choir boy was en- 
 gaged in gathering into a bag thousands of soldi or 
 sous that had been thrown in there by the faithful 
 worshipers, literally covering the floor with them. 
 
 In the Picture Gallery here are many noted paint- 
 ings of Rubens, Tintoretto, Paul Veronese, Bellini, 
 Giotto, Leonardo, and other distinguished artists' 
 
MILAN TO VERONA. 213 
 
 Among these we were particularly impressed with 
 one by Bellini, representing "St. Mark Preaching at 
 Alexandria/' and another by Paul Veronese, depict- 
 ing "Christ in the House of the Pharisee." 
 
 The extensive arcade recently constructed here is 
 a magnificent improvement. It takes in parts of 
 four streets, forming a cross, entirely spanned by 
 glass roofs. The buildings below the base of the 
 arches are five stories . high. There is a dome in 
 the center, and therefrom wings extend the length 
 of a square in each direction. Within this arcade 
 are a large number of the finest shops, and in the 
 evening when we were there it was thronged with 
 people. The dome, which is much broader than 
 that of our Capitol, in like manner with ours was 
 lighted by a circular row of gas jets. 
 
 Verona, November 6.— We reached Como from 
 Milan last evening. It is a charming place. This 
 morning, after visiting an interesting old cathedral, 
 the market, etc. , we took the steamer for Varenna, 
 a tumble -down village on the east side of the lake, 
 some three hours' sail, via Bellagio, another de- 
 lightful summer resort on a point of land between 
 Lake Como and another part of that lake called 
 Lake Lecco. The scenery was charming, but the 
 season, of course, was too far advanced to show 
 all its beauties. We had for companions Mr. Stick- 
 ney and wife and Rev. Mr. Sumner, all of whom 
 had traveled with us from Geneva. At Varenna we 
 hired a comfortable two horse carriage and rode 
 over a smooth turnpike for two hours and a half, 
 along the lake shore to Lecco, where, after a good 
 dinner at a hotel, and a view of this singular old 
 town, we took the cars for Bergamo, on the main 
 line from Milan to Verona and Venice. This turn- 
 
214 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 pike, much of the way, was cut out of the mountains, 
 and at two points it runs a considerable distance 
 through tunnels. Other portions are bordered by 
 grape vines, olive and mulberry trees, with occa- 
 sional fig trees and box- wood growing spontaneous- 
 ly. The carriage ride was very romantic, and we 
 all enjoyed it better even than the sail on the lake. 
 When we reached Bergamo it had commenced to 
 rain, and the night being dark we were shut out 
 from all view until we arrived, near midnight, at 
 Verona, where we now rest. 
 
 Having, in the early part of October, 1867, made 
 the trip from Milan to Venice by daylight, in com- 
 pany with his son Henry Franklin, the writer is 
 enabled to give a brief description of the route. 
 When at a little past six in the morning we took the 
 cars at Milan the ground was covered with frost. 
 At ten we were at Brescia, the ride thus far being 
 through flat, wet country, possessing little interest, 
 except the city of Bergamo, a walled town on the 
 side of a hill, which we passed at half -past eight, 
 and which presented a novel appearance. At eleven 
 we were at Desenzano, on Lake Garda, a beautiful 
 sheet of water stretching off to the mountains on 
 our left. All the way from Milan are forests of 
 mulberry trees. They have the shape of an apple 
 tree, and here and there the peasants were carefully 
 picking the green leaves from their limbs. There 
 were here also many grape vines running in festoons 
 from one mulberry tree to another. We next came 
 to Peschiera, where there are formidable fortifica- 
 tions on the left, embracing a village, which faces 
 Lake Garda, and the whole is upon a small island. 
 There is also a strong fort on the right. Our time 
 being limited, we stopped at Verona only to dine, 
 
VERONA. 215 
 
 and did not leave our seats at Padua; but near the 
 station at the latter place we saw men engaged in 
 expressing the juice from cart loads of grapes by 
 trampling upon them barefooted and bare -legged. 
 These vehicles served both for carts and vats — the 
 cart -body being made tight so as to hold the wine 
 until drawn off. This is probably the primitive mode 
 of making wine. 
 
 W 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIV. 
 
 Please you, I '11 tell you as we pass along, 
 That you will wonder what hath fortuned. 
 
 — Two Gentlemen of Verona, 
 
 ^^ERONA, November 8. — Yesterday (Sunday) we 
 attended service at two of the Roman Catholic 
 churches, both very ancient, and also the Walden- 
 sian Protestant Mission, where we arrived in time to 
 hear part of a sermon by the Italian pastor, Rev. 
 Stefano Revels. As he preached in the Italian lan- 
 guage we were able to comprehend but very little 
 of what he said; but, nevertheless, we were im- 
 pressed with his apparent solemnity and eloquence 
 of manner, and enjoyed the sweet singing of the 
 choir. The service was in a small room entered 
 through two others, one of which is used for their 
 Sunday School, and over the door of which, in Ital- 
 ian, is this verse: "Know ye not that ye are the 
 temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in 
 you?" The following verses were on the walls of 
 the lecture room: 1 — "Jesus saith unto her, Go call 
 thy husband and come hither." 2 — "For we are 
 
216 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works." 3 — "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye 
 think ye have eternal life." 4 — "Jesus said unto 
 her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that be- 
 lieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
 live." After dinner, on our invitation, Mr. Revels 
 and his young English wife called and passed an 
 hour with us at our hotel. He is evidently well 
 educated, speaking English fluently, and is earnestly 
 engaged in his mission. He says there are fifty- 
 nine thousand Roman Catholics, one thousand Jews, 
 and only five hundred Protestants in this city. He 
 makes it a large part of his duty to visit from house 
 to house, where he is always kindly treated, but 
 generally told by the families that they look to their 
 priests for spiritual guidance and prefer that he 
 should not trouble himself to call. Occasionally he 
 meets a person who acknowledges to him secretly 
 that he believes the Protestant to be the true reli- 
 gion, but says at the same time that were he to 
 come out openly and declare such to be his belief, he 
 would be cast off by both priest and people, and 
 consequently unable to get any employment. The 
 priests warn all against listening to the Protestant 
 instruction, and they take and burn all the Bibles 
 they find presented to them. Mr. Revels said there 
 is about one priest here to every thirty of the inhab- 
 itants, and that while some of them are rich, a great 
 many are miserably poor and shockingly careless of 
 their personal cleanliness, their under clothing being 
 the color of mummy wrappings. He was stationed 
 several months at Lucca, near Pisa, a town of twen- 
 ty-one thousand inhabitants, one -tenth of whom 
 he said were priests. There are three Roman Cath- 
 olic seminaries there, and the preponderance of that 
 
VERONA. 217 
 
 sect is so great in that town that they call it "Sa- 
 cristel de Roma." Among the Waldenses he said 
 there are a few men possessing property to the value 
 of ten thousand dollars, and these are esteemed very 
 rich; but that they are very miserly, and will try to 
 split a soldo (one sou) to make two of it. A man 
 with five cows, a few chestnuts, and a few walnuts 
 is considered well off. Of the general morals of the 
 Waldenses he spoke very favorably, stating that of 
 the number incarcerated for crime they were only as 
 one to sixty or seventy of the Roman Catholics. He 
 appeared greatly encouraged by the spread of the 
 Protestant faith in Italy, where, he said, there were 
 already forty Protestant churches, embracing not 
 less than three thousand Sunday School children. 
 Besides this, there is one other small Protestant 
 Mission in Verona. 
 
 Turn we now to romance and ancient story : 
 
 "Two households, both alike in dignity, 
 In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, 
 From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny, 
 Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." 
 
 It seems like a dream to be here amid the scenes 
 which must have been familiar to Romeo and Juliet, 
 if indeed any such persons ever lived here. At 
 any rate, we are assured that the play of "Romeo 
 and Juliet " is founded on events which actually 
 occurred here; and, without stopping to question 
 the truth of the romance, we have paid a visit to 
 the tomb which, for one franc, is shown as that 
 of Juliet. It is in a rough garden entered from 
 a dirty side street, and the forlorn looking Italian 
 woman who let us in appeared as though she pitied 
 us on account of our gullibility. A ragged boy ran 
 ahead to show us the way to an old monastery, - 
 
218 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 not, we believe, now in use, connected with which 
 is a decayed chapel, containing a rude sarcophagus 
 .in red Verona marble, called Juliet's' tomb. Hang- 
 ing on the wall over the sarcophagus was a wreath 
 of faded flowers, all of which is shown by a photo- 
 graph in our collection. The origin of the story 
 of "Romeo and Juliet" is in doubt. Its material 
 incidents, we are told by writers upon Shakspeare, 
 are to be found in romances written before his time; 
 but it was left to his genius to give them immortal- 
 ity. "'Romeo and Juliet,'" says Schlegel, "is a pic- 
 ture of love and its pitiful fate in a world whose 
 atmosphere is too rough for this tenderest blossom 
 of human life. Two beings, created for each other, 
 feel mutual love at first glance. Every considera- 
 tion disappears before the irresistible influence of 
 living in one another; they join themselves secretly, 
 under circumstances hostile in the highest degree to 
 their union, relying merely on the protection of an 
 invisible power. By unfriendly events following 
 blow upon blow, their heroic constancy is exposed to 
 all manner of trials, till, forcibly separated from 
 each other, by a voluntary death they are united in 
 the grave to meet again in another world." Thus 
 much of these unhappy lovers. To acknowledge 
 that no tears were shed by us at Juliet's tomb might 
 indicate an unpardonable degree of hard - hearted- 
 ness — 
 
 " For never was a story of more woe 
 Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." 
 
 On this point, therefore, we leave our readers in the 
 dark. 
 
 The founding of the city of Verona is assigned to 
 the Gauls, but later the Romans held sway here. 
 There is an amphitheater here in tolerable preserva- 
 
VERONA. 219 
 
 tion, supposed to have been erected about the year 
 284, under Diocletian. It is calculated that it would 
 accommodate twenty- five thousand spectators seated 
 and seventy thousand more standing. Its arcades 
 are now occupied as traders' shops. 
 
 The most imposing monuments here to individuals 
 are the tombs of the Scaligers, or della Scala family, 
 who, from 1262 to 1389, were Presidents of the Re- 
 public of Verona; and a full-length marble statue of 
 Dante on a lofty pedestal. Dante is represented in 
 a long robe coming to his feet and closely buttoned 
 over his chest, with a long cloak fastened closely 
 around the neck — the left side hanging gracefully 
 over his arm, while with his left hand, in which he 
 also holds a half -closed book, the other side is raised 
 in folds to his right elbow. On his head is a kind of 
 skull-cap. Resting his right elbow on his left hand 
 and the forefinger of his right hand against his chin, 
 he appears in the attitude of listening or of medita- 
 tion. His expression is stern and forbidding. This 
 statue stands in the center of the Piazza del Signori, 
 so called from its having been the place of residence 
 of the Scaligers. We wish it were in our power to 
 describe the tombs of the Scaligers. They consist of 
 a number of Gothic structures situated in front of 
 the little Church of Santa Maria V Antica, and are 
 very striking in their appearance. The ladder which 
 forms the crest of the family "recurs frequently on 
 the elaborately executed railings. The largest of 
 these monuments is that of Can Signorio. It con- 
 sists of a sarcophagus resting on a pedestal sup- 
 ported by columns of moderate height, over which 
 rises a canopy crowned with an equestrian statue of 
 the Prince. On the square column in the middle are 
 six Christian Heroes; in niches higher up are the 
 
220 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Christian Virtues." Another sarcophagus also with 
 a canopy and equestrian statue is that of Mastino 
 III. Between these two principal monuments are 
 four large sarcophagi, the first three dating from 
 1311. The last is that of Can Grande II., who was 
 assassinated in the public streets by his brother, Can 
 Signorio, in 1359. Over the church door are the 
 sarcophagus and equestrian statue of Can Grande, 
 Francesco della Scala; and adjoining it, on the wall 
 of the church, those of Giovanni della Scala and 
 Mastino I. 
 
 The two distinguished scholars, Julius Caesar and 
 his son, Joseph Justus Scaliger, claimed to be de- 
 scendants of this famous Scala family. The father 
 was born at Padua in 1484, and died at Agen, France, 
 1558. He was a doctor of medicine and philosopher, 
 and was remarkable for his prodigious memory. 
 Joseph (born at Agen, 1540, died in Leyden, 1609) 
 was acquainted with all the languages, ancient and 
 modern, and with the idioms of the East as well as 
 of the West. His contemporaries called him "an 
 abyss of erudition," "the ocean of sciences," "the 
 last effort of Nature." His letters are spoken of as 
 a veritable treasure. Hallam pronounced him and 
 Isaac Casaubon "the two greatest scholars of the 
 sixteenth century," and Mebuhr says of him that he 
 "stood on the summit of universal solid philological 
 learning in a degree that none have reached since." 
 Whether descendants of the old lords of Verona or 
 not, the names of Julius and Joseph Scaliger are 
 handed down to us inscribed high on the scroll of 
 scholastic history. 
 
 The Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare is the 
 most imposing of the churches. It dates back to the 
 time of Charlemagne. Though bearing the marks 
 
VERONA. 221 
 
 of age, some portions of it are still beautiful. Among 
 the paintings is an "Assumption," by Titian; and of 
 the monuments, one to the poet De Cesuris and one 
 to Pope Lucius III., who was buried here when he 
 died in 1185. There are several other fine churches 
 here, but we did not take time to visit them all. 
 Portions of the old walls and some of the old gate- 
 ways of the city still stand as interesting relics of 
 the old times; and we can go in no street or square 
 here that we do not see more or less to attract our 
 special attention. The river Adige, spanned by sev- 
 eral fine bridges, runs rapidly through the city, the 
 streets of which are liable to be sometimes over- 
 flowed by the rushing floods from the Alps, which 
 now loom up near us covered with snow. 
 
222 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 ' 'There is a glorious city in the sea, 
 The sea is in the broad, the narrow streets, 
 Ebbing and flowing ; and the salt sea- weed 
 Clings to the marble of her palaces. 
 No track of men, no footsteps to and fro, 
 Lead to her gates. The path lies o'er the sea, 
 Invisible ; and from the land we went, 
 As to a floating city — steering in, 
 And gliding up her streets as in a dream, 
 So smoothly, silently — by many a dome, 
 ' Mosque-like, and many a stately portico, 
 The statues ranged along an azure sky; 
 By many a pile in more than Eastern pride, 
 Of all the evidence of merchant kings; 
 The fronts of some, though Time had shattered them, 
 Still glowing with the richest hues of art, 
 As though the wealth within them had run o'er." 
 
 >HIS IS VENICE; but when Rogers wrote this 
 description the city was not approached by a 
 railway. Now, on the western side, one of the main 
 small islands of the city is connected with the main- 
 land by the railroad from Padua and Verona — the 
 distance from the shore about twcvmiles by a bridge 
 built on over two hundred arches across the lagoons 
 which surround the city on all sides. We were 
 safely landed on this little island at half past three 
 on the afternoon of the 8th of November, having 
 come in about four hours from Verona, our last 
 stopping place. Officers of the customs were on 
 hand to make the least possible examination of our 
 luggage, and other officials in uniform handed us 
 tickets for whichever conveyance — gondola or om- 
 nibus boat — we might choose to convey us to our 
 hotel. Being a party of five, we chose an omnibus, 
 
VENICE. 223 
 
 which, although built in the same form, is consid- 
 erably larger than the gondola, and has a more 
 spacious cabin at the stern. For a charge of one 
 and a half lira (thirty cents) each, we were rowed 
 with our light luggage along the Grand Canal and 
 through the narrow winding streets for half an -hour 
 or more to the Victoria Hotel, where we concluded to 
 stop. As in the case of all buildings here rising 
 up from the sea, the steps of the hotel extend into 
 the water, and we disembarked upon them directly 
 from the boat. Along some portions of the Grand 
 Canal, which winds through the city, there is a 
 quay of good width, mostly, we understand, of mod- 
 ern date; and this is a great improvement, inasmuch 
 as it serves not only as a protection to the buildings, 
 which everywhere have a rusty appearance from 
 the action of the salt water upon them, but it also 
 affords an agreeable promenade. 
 
 Mr. Rogers' description of the city as he saw it 
 is true to life. An American traveler calling on 
 him in London, in 1852, three years before his death, 
 took occasion, in the course of their conversation, 
 to say that Mr. Rogers' volume of poems had been 
 his constant companion in his travels, when the 
 latter at once spoke of his residence on the continent 
 with Lord Byron, and quoted part of his own lines 
 on Venice. "Byron," said he, "repeated them to 
 me one morning as we sailed up the Grand Canal, 
 telling me they were very fine, and written, he be- 
 lieved, by Southey, forgetting that the real author 
 was by his side." 
 
 The city is compact, and the land streets, lanes, 
 and alleys are so narrow, generally not over four 
 or five feet in width, while many are much nar- 
 rower; and the one hundred and forty- seven canals, 
 
224 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 only v/ide enough usually to allow gondolas to pass 
 one another, are likewise so confined that one here 
 feels as though he were in a wilderness. Madame 
 de Stael made this observation: "A sentiment of 
 sadness seizes the imagination on entering the city. 
 You take leave of vegetation — not even a fly is to 
 be seen; all animals are banished, and man alone 
 remains to struggle against the sea. Silence is pro- 
 found in this place, whose streets are canals, and 
 the noise of the oars is the only interruption to this 
 silence. It is not the country, since not a tree is to 
 be seen here; it is not a city, since one hears here not 
 the least movement; it is not even a vessel, since one 
 advances not." She adds: "You find persons here 
 who have never been from one quarter of the city 
 to another, who have never seen St. Mark's square, 
 and to whom the sight of a horse would be a verita- 
 ble marvel. These black gondolas, which glide upon 
 the canals, resemble coffins or cradles — the last and 
 first habitation of man. In the evening one sees 
 only the reflection of the lanterns in the gondolas, 
 whose black color prevents their being descried. 
 One might say that these were shadows gliding in 
 the water guided by a small star." We have trans- 
 lated these remarks from a French volume of "Co- 
 rinne " before us, because they give, in the main, a 
 vivid description of this wonderful "city in the sea" 
 as it struck us on the occasion of our present visit, 
 and as it appeared to the writer when here for a day 
 in 1867. We are not able, however, either to con- 
 firm or deny the statement that there were no flies 
 in Venice, although we can conceive of no good 
 reason why they should not exist there, as well as in 
 any other city. As regards horses, it is doubtless 
 true that none were seen there in Madame de Stael's 
 
VENICE. 225 
 
 time, as the number now there does not exceed a 
 dozen, and these are kept on a small island laid out 
 as a riding park, which we visited, at the extreme 
 eastern end of the city. In this park there are clus- 
 ters of trees, and there may be seen here and there 
 one in the city; but generally one beholds only a 
 wilderness of houses closely packed. One may walk 
 over the three hundred and seventy- eight bridges to 
 almost any part of the city; but to a stranger, as 
 we have observed before, it is like being in a maze, 
 so numerous and irregular are the streets and lanes, 
 many of which are arched ways under the second 
 stories of houses, and only just wide enough for two 
 to pass. By "spotting" corner shops and sign- 
 boards we soon learned the way to Piazzo San Mar- 
 co, the great central point of the city. It is in form 
 oblong, about five hundred and seventy- five by one 
 hundred and eighty- five feet, w4th an open space, 
 called the Piazzetta, (little square,) leading to the 
 quay on the east side. The celebrated Church of St. 
 Mark faces the eastern end of the square, and next 
 to it stands the Pala.ce of the Doges, facing the same 
 way and extending along the Piazzetta to the quay, 
 presenting also a beautiful front toward the sea. 
 Here, on either side of the Piazzetta, is a splendid 
 granite column — one bearing the "Winged Lion of 
 St. Mark, the emblem of the tutelary Saint of Venice, 
 the other surmounted by St. Theodore on a crocodile, 
 the patron of the ancient Republic, placed there in 
 1326." The gondoliers have their headquarters here. 
 Nearly opposite to St. Mark's is the campanile of 
 that Church, a square tower three hundred and 
 twenty- two feet in height, and affording a magnifi- 
 cent view of the city, country, and Adriatic sea for 
 many miles around. This tower is probably one of 
 15 
 
226 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the easiest of ascent of any in Europe, the way up 
 being by an inclined plane rising by one step at each 
 corner. The bell man at the summit, provided with 
 a telescope, keeps constant watch, and in case of 
 fire gives instant alarm by telegraph or by ringing 
 the bell. While we were there the band, which 
 performs here several times a week in the daytime 
 as well as on specified evenings, was discoursing 
 sweet music in the square below. Opposite the 
 campanile is the clock tower, on the platform of 
 which are two bronze figures in the shape of men, 
 which strike the hours on a bell, as though animated 
 by life; and by means of revolving machinery and 
 transparencies the time both of day and night is 
 always apparent on the face of the clock. 
 
 The Church of St. Mark dates back eight hundred 
 years. Its form .-" is that of a Greek cross, with 
 equal arms, covered by a Byzantine dome in the 
 center and one at the extremity of each arm." Over 
 the vestibule are smaller domes, and ^externally 
 and internally the Church is adorned with five hun- 
 dred columns of marble, the capitals of which pre- 
 sent an exuberant variety of styles." The vaulting 
 is of marble mosaics on a gold ground, and the 
 floors, which have become very uneven, are of tes- 
 selated marble. They were being repaired when we 
 were there. Over the main entrance are the four 
 celebrated horses in gilded bronze, supposed to have 
 been constructed in the time of Nero. "Constan- 
 tine caused them to be conveyed to Constantinople, 
 whence the Doge Dandolo brought them to Venice 
 in 1204. In 1797 they were carried by Napoleon to 
 Paris, where they afterward occupied the summit of 
 the Triumphal Arch in the Place de Carousel." In 
 1815 they were restored to their former position by 
 
VENICE. 227 
 
 the Emperor Francis. The Church contains a large 
 number of statues, both in marble and bronze, of 
 noted persons, and other monuments, as well as 
 relics, including a crystal vase with the " Blood of 
 the Saviour;" a silver column, with a fragment of 
 the "True Cross," and a cup of agate,, with portions 
 of the "Skull of St. John." 
 
 We visited several other churches, in all of which 
 there are many things to interest the traveler. In 
 none were the attractions greater than in the Church 
 of the Franciscans, built in the thirteenth century, 
 and which is one of the largest and most beautiful 
 in the city. It contains many paintings, sculptures, 
 and monuments — among the latter a fine monument 
 to Titian and one to Canova, of which, as well as of 
 the Church, interior and exterior, we have photo- 
 graphs. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 ^MSENICE, November 12. — We have now been 
 ^Yfcf here about four days, and have seen the prin- 
 cipal objects of interest in the city, which is between 
 seven and eight miles in circumference. Of the 
 three hundred and seventy- eight bridges here, nearly 
 all are quite narrow and are reached by steps, ren- 
 dered necessary to allow the gondolas to pass under 
 them. Three of the bridges only span the Grand 
 Canal. Two of these are of iron, and the third, 
 the famous Bialto, is of marble, built in 1588 -'91 
 by Antonio da Ponte. This "is called after the 
 largest island (isola del Rialto, from il vivo alto. 
 
228 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the deep stream.)" Entered by flights of steps from 
 a small open square at either end, it has three pas- 
 sages, along which are rows of shops, and in rainy 
 weather there is a busy provision market in gondolas 
 under it. It looks beautiful at all times, but espe- 
 cially at night, as we saw it one evening when we 
 went out to get a view of "Venice by moonlight" 
 and to hear the lively singing of the gondoliers. 
 These gondoliers are an institution in themselves; 
 but they are governed by strict laws. The charge 
 for a single trip, or for not exceeding one hour in 
 the common gondola, accommodating two or three 
 passengers, with one rower, is one franc, and five 
 sous for each additional hour; in addition to which 
 the gondolier expects a small fee pour boire. For 
 five francs • one can have a gondola and rower for 
 the whole day. The number of gondolas here is not 
 far from four thousand, all painted black, in obe- 
 dience to an ancient law, to guard against extrava- 
 gance. The gondoliers are very expert in their 
 vocation; and it requires a good deal of skill on 
 their part to avoid collisions. When about to turn 
 a corner they cry out — "Gfia e" (boat ahead,) "Pre- 
 me" (pass to the right,) "Stall" (pass to the left;) 
 and these, or similar warnings, are about all you 
 hear from them, unless you ask them questions; 
 nor do they make scarcely any noise with their 
 oars. In gliding along through the narrow canals, 
 the people being shut up in their dwellings, the 
 silence is usually as profound as it would be were 
 you being rowed on a river or lake through a dense 
 forest. To one first making such an excursion it is, 
 indeed, a novel experience. 
 
 Yesterday, when we were in a gondola on the* 
 Grand Canal, we came to a point where there was 
 
VENICE. 229 
 
 a funeral, the gondolier said, of an English gen- 
 tleman who died at the hotel where the ceremonies 
 were being performed. In front of the hotel there 
 was one handsomely ornamented gondola, with an 
 ornamented hearse, and some twenty or more com- 
 mon gondolas, arranged several abreast in four or 
 five platoons. Some of the attendants were in uni- 
 form, and the gondoliers were dressed in their best. 
 We did not wait to see the procession start. The 
 Venetian cemetery is on the small island of Murano, 
 a little north of the city. 
 
 We stopped at a glass factory, and were kindly 
 shown through all the workshops as well as the 
 rooms in which the various articles made here are 
 stored when finished. Here glass mosaics of almost 
 every description are manufactured, embracing neck- 
 laces, pendants, bracelets, brooches, table leaves, etc., 
 and all kinds of fancy articles, wine glasses, beads, 
 and we know not what else. 
 
 We have passed many hours in the Palace of 
 the Doges and the Academy of Fine Arts, where 
 we saw an endless number of pictures, statues, rare 
 books, old manuscripts, old coins, and other won- 
 derful things impossible to enumerate. Among the 
 pictures seen in the Academy are "The Assump- 
 tion," by Titian, famous everywhere; and "The 
 Entombment," also by Titian, and on which he was 
 engaged, but had not entirely finished, at the time 
 of his death (1576,) in the ninety- eighth year of 
 his age. On the frieze of the Palace are the por- 
 traits of seventy- six Doges, and on the walls twenty- 
 one pictures "painted to commemorate the achieve- 
 ments of the Republic, especially against Frederick 
 Barbarosa." At the head of the Giants' Staircase 
 we stood on the spot where the Doges used to be 
 
230 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 COURT OF THE PALACE OF THE DOGES. 
 
 crowned. This staircase, erected in 1482, is a beau- 
 tiful structure. In one of the rooms is Tintoretto's 
 "Paradise," in size eighty- four by thirty- three feet 
 six inches, said to be the largest oil painting in 
 the world. There are several rooms devoted to 
 painting and sculpture. Among the more noted 
 paintings are "The Last Judgment," by Giovane; 
 "Forest Landscape," by Paul Veronese; and "Christ 
 in Glory," also by the last named artist. Of the 
 sculptures in marble, "Apollo Keposing," "Gaul in 
 
VENICE. ^31 
 
 his Last Desperate Struggle," "Gaul Sinking from 
 Exhaustion," "Dead Gaul Lying over Ins Shield, 
 are regarded as among the most meritorious. There 
 is a curious old map of the world here, the work 
 of Fra Mauro, a Camaldulensian monk, in 1459. 
 In an upper room, called the Sala della Bussola, 
 "once the ante -chamber of the three Inquisitors 
 of the Republic," there is an opening in the wall, 
 •'formerly decorated -by a lion's head in marble, 
 into the mouth of which documents containing secret 
 information used to be thrown." The library is 
 remarkable for age and valuable historically. One 
 of the books, kept in a private apartment and shown 
 specially, is well worth seeing. It is called "The 
 Golden Book," in which the names of the nobih were 
 entered, and contains among many other beautiful 
 pictures twelve representing the months of the year. 
 Its form is large octavo or small quarto, and it is six 
 or eight inches thick. The text, beautifully written 
 in Greek or Hebrew, is illuminated with gold on 
 each page, all, like the pictures, done by hand -the 
 work we understood, of monks. We were con- 
 ducted across the Bridge of Sighs, over which so 
 many unfortunates have passed to their death; but 
 there being persons in the prison, which is still used 
 for convicts, the door on the prison side is kept 
 locked, and we were not admitted. With Byron we 
 could each say: 
 
 « I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs; 
 A palace and a prison on each hand." 
 
 This bridge extends to the prison from the second 
 story of the Palace, and is lighted by two or more 
 square grated windows. In the ground or under- 
 ground story of the Palace there are dungeons — one 
 
232 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 for political and the other for brigand prisoners — and 
 these we were allowed to examine, being conducted 
 into them by the custodian, who carried a torch or 
 lamp to light the way. The first had a raised wood- 
 en floor for a bed and the second only a flat stone 
 two or three inches above the cold stone floor of the 
 dungeon. There are holes in the wall through which 
 the food was passed to the prisoners, who were kept 
 always in total darkness— the attendant waiting 
 upon them without a light. Near the dungeons are 
 places for confession, and by a grated window near 
 by, a narrow stall where those condemned to death 
 were beheaded. In the floor at the end of this small 
 space are holes, which we saw, through which the 
 blood of the slain ran into the water below, and 
 their bodies w ere taken into gondolas and buried in 
 the sea. We also saw where the machinery was 
 fastened for the strangulation of prisoners sentenced 
 to that mode of taking leave of this world. 
 
 There is a spacious area formed by one side of St. 
 Mark's and three inner walls of the Doges' Palace; 
 and within this are two wells with bronze curbs 
 breast high. From the number of men and women 
 — many more of the latter than the former— who 
 come here for water, one might suppose the whole 
 city is supplied from this source. These poor crea- 
 tures come with two heavy copper buckets, holding 
 eight or ten quarts each, hooked upon a flat hooped 
 stick resting on one shoulder, and with a rope ten 
 or fifteen feet in length and a hook at one end, 
 with which to lower the bucket and draw it up by 
 hand. Every one has his or her cord, which is kept 
 ever in hand, and each well is large enough in cir- 
 cumference to allow ten or a dozen persons to draw 
 water at one and the same time. Deep grooves are 
 
VENICE. 233 
 
 worn in the bronze curbing by these ropes. These 
 water-carriers are very expert at their business; and 
 we stood for some time admiring the manner of 
 filling their buckets. On being lowered, the bucket, 
 by sudden jerks, was set to tilting so that on touch- 
 ing the water it was instantly filled. We wonder 
 if Rachel drew water in this way? 
 
 After all, one of the most charming sights of 
 Venice is the hundreds of tame doves that are fed 
 every day in the Piazza San Marco — some accounts 
 say at; the expense of the city, and others that "an 
 old lady, widowed and childless, left a large amount 
 to be expended for this purpose, she having been 
 much interested in their welfare during her life." 
 Baedeker says that "according to tradition, Admiral 
 Dandolo, while besieging Candia at the beginning 
 of the thirteenth century, received intelligence from 
 the island by means of carrier pigeons, which greatly 
 facilitated its conquest. He then dispatched the 
 birds to Venice with the news of his success, and 
 siiTce that time their descendants have been care- 
 fully tended and highly revered by the citizens. 
 They nestle in the nooks and crannies of the sur- 
 rounding buildings, and are generally seen in great 
 numbers in the evening perched on the fagade of 
 St. Mark's." But whether fed by the city or not, 
 they are not likely to go hungry, for we have never 
 been in the Piazza that we have not observed several 
 tourists who, like ourselves, bought corn and fed 
 them for the pleasure of it. Any number of Italian 
 boys stand ready with their cornucopias of grain 
 for sale; but, as a matter of economy and not to 
 be restricted, we usually filled our pockets at some 
 grocery store on our way to the square, which is 
 the great place of resort for all Venice. The moment 
 
234 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 the doves saw we were provided they would flock 
 by hundreds around us, and fly up and eat from 
 our hands; sometimes as many as six or eight rest- 
 ing* on our hands, wrists, and arms at the same 
 time, all eager for their repast. They appeared 
 to like our holding them by the toes, as they found 
 it difficult to balance themselves when others were 
 alighting on their backs or necks. We caught one 
 for a moment, but she got away and flew off, evi- 
 dently indignant at our ill manners. We felt guilty. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 JjlE^LORENCE, November 15.— We came here by 
 
 AyS& way of Padua, Ferrara, and Bologna. We did 
 not stop at Padua, but we had a view of the town 
 from the railroad station. It has much the look of 
 Verona, and, like that city and Mantua, on the road 
 to Modena, it has been made famous by Shakspeare. 
 During the reign of Augustus it is said to have been 
 the wealthiest town in Upper Italy. "From the 
 middle ages down to the present day Padua has 
 been celebrated for its University, which was found- 
 ed by Frederick II. in 1238. The town, a quiet place 
 of fifty- one thousand inhabitants, occupies an exten- 
 sive area. Its narrow streets and arcades are inter- 
 spersed with spacious gardens." Ferrara is a very 
 old town, in which Ariosto and Tasso flourished, to 
 the former of whom, in one of the public squares, 
 there is a high monumental column surmounted by 
 his statue. It was the birthplace of Girolamo Sa- 
 vonarola, and Titian also resided here for a time. 
 
FERRARA. 235 
 
 Near one of the churches we saw a number of very 
 beautiful marble monuments and statues, mostly 
 modern, among which is one erected in 1872 by a 
 Mr. Hardcastle, of Boston, to the memory of Alfred 
 Lowell Putnam, a Bostonian, who died there on the 
 2d of October, 1855. We do not remember to have 
 heard of him before, but he was probably an artist 
 or scholar. For several centuries prior to 1600, 
 when the family became extinct, this city was gov- 
 erned by the house of Este. Roscoe, in his "Life of 
 Leo X.," relates of this family a story, the interest 
 and brevity of which will justify its repetition here. 
 He writes that in the early part of the year 1505 died 
 Ercole of Este, Duke of Ferrara, after having gov- 
 erned his States with great credit, both in war and 
 peace, during thirty- four years. His son, Alfonso 
 I., husband of the infamous Lucretia Borgia, suc- 
 ceeded him. The reign of Alfonso I., Roscoe ob- 
 serves, was marked by a most tragical event, which 
 endangered his safety and destroyed or interrupted 
 his domestic tranquillity. Besides his two sons, Al- 
 fonso and Ippolito, the younger of whom, Ippolito, 
 had been raised to the dignity of a Cardinal, the late 
 Duke had left by his wife Leonora a son named 
 Ferdinand, and by a favorite mistress an illegitimate 
 son called Don Giulio. Attracted by the beauty of a 
 lady of Ferrara, to whom they were distantly rela- 
 ted, the Cardinal and Don Giulio became rivals in 
 her affections; but the latter had obtained the pref- 
 erence, and the lady herself, in confessing to Ippo- 
 lito her partiality to his brother, dwelt with apparent 
 pleasure on the extraordinary beauty of his eyes. 
 The exasperated ecclesiastic silently vowed revenge, 
 and availing himself of an opportunity, while he 
 was engaged with Don Giulio in the chase, he sur- 
 
236 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 rounded him with a band of assassins, and, compel- 
 ling him to dismount, with a diabolical pleasure saw 
 them deprive him of the organs of sight. The mod- 
 eration or negligence of Alfonso in suffering this 
 atrocious deed to remain unpunished excited the 
 resentment not only of Don Giulio, but of his brother 
 Ferdinand, who, uniting together, endeavored by 
 secret treachery to deprive Alfonso at once of his 
 honors and his life. Their purposes were discovered, 
 and after having confessed their crime they were 
 both condemned to die. The fraternal kindness of 
 Alfonso was not, however, wholly extinguished, and 
 at the moment when the axe was suspended over 
 them he transmuted their punishment to that of 
 perpetual imprisonment. In this state Ferdinand 
 remained until the time of his death in 1540, while 
 Giulio, at the expiration of fifty- four years of cap- 
 tivity, was once more restored to liberty. 
 
 Bologna is a fine city with irregular streets and 
 long arcades, but the display of shops is not as 
 fine as we have seen in many other cities. As 
 usual, we started out for some of the churches, and 
 went into one building called the "Seven Churches," 
 a series of small places of worship, and one large 
 Cathedral, adorned with pictures and statuary. In 
 the latter is a recess in the wall, with iron railings 
 in front, and in it a reclining figure representing 
 the body of Christ. There were wreaths of flowers 
 on and near this statue and lighted candles or tapers 
 before it. Of course it is intended to represent 
 Christ in the sepulchre. In front is a Prie Dieu, 
 provided with stationary forms of prayer in large 
 print, which some forlorn - looking persons were re- 
 peating with eyes devoutly fixed on the sepulchre. 
 Some of the paintings, one in particular — "A Ma- 
 
A FRIGHT ON THE TRAIN. 237 
 
 donna" — in this Cathedral are very fine. The spa- 
 cious square on which this church stands is used for 
 a market place. It was crowded with sellers and 
 purchasers, the former crying their commodities in 
 all sorts of ways, and making a noise, as it struck 
 our ears a little way off, like the sound of rushing 
 waters. 'A great many of the Italians we see are 
 wretchedly clothed, and look as though their blood 
 had all been drawn from' their veins. 
 
 On our way from Bologna our party had for com- 
 pany in our compartment only a Flemish gentleman 
 and his wife and an elegant Italian lady and her 
 little daughter Ada, a sweet child about five years 
 old. This lady could speak no language but her 
 own, nor could any of us either speak or understand 
 more than a few words of Italian. For several 
 hours Ada afforded us all a good deal of pleasure, as 
 she would sit in our laps, singing songs to us, and, 
 in her own tongue, make her remarks on whatever 
 struck her attention. Her mother gave her to eat, 
 first, a handful of boiled chestnuts, which are a 
 great article of food here, especially among the 
 poorer classes, then some grapes, and finally some 
 chocolate candy. About an hour before reaching 
 Pistoria, her stopping place, all at once Ada com- 
 menced crying and rolling up her eyes, and soon to 
 vomit, when her mother, thinking she was throwing 
 up blood, became so distracted that she had to be 
 restrained to keep her from springing, child in arms, 
 out of the window. She had given Ada a slate 
 pencil, and as it could not be found she thought the 
 child had swallowed a piece of it, and cried in an 
 excruciating manner that she was dying. All the 
 light we had was shed by a small oil lamp overhead, 
 there was no means of giving the alarm to stop the 
 
238 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 FLORENCE. 
 
FLOKENCE. 239 
 
 train, even if it had been of any use to do so, and we 
 were driving along one half the time in tunnels — 
 there are forty- five of them between Bologna and 
 Florence — no dwelling near, nor could we get liquid 
 of any kind to give the child. It is needless to say 
 that we were all not a little concerned, both for Ada 
 and her mother, for it was plain the child was very 
 ill, her pulse being so low that the Flemish gentle- 
 man, who held her in his lap, said he could not feel 
 it beat. She lay as if in a stupor; but having sat- 
 isfied ourselves that what she had thrown up was 
 not blood but chocolate, and having found the pencil 
 her mother had given her to play with, our fears 
 were somewhat allayed. At length we came to a 
 station where the train stopped, and the lady with 
 her child changed her seat to another compartment 
 that she might be in company with some of her own 
 country people. With us she was indeed a stranger 
 in her own land; and had she been traveling in a 
 country where not a word of her own language was 
 spoken qy understood, she could hardly have been 
 more helpless. Before leaving, Ada began to revive 
 a little, and when we reached Pistoria her mother 
 came, much to our relief, and reported her out of 
 danger, expressing many grazias for our sympathy 
 and efforts to assist her in her trouble. 
 
 Florence is most beautifully situated. To-day, 
 pioneered by Rev. Mr. Merriman, President of Ripon 
 College, who had preceded us here, we took a pleas- 
 ant walk to San Miniato, an elevated part of the 
 city on the south side of the Arno, a fine plateau, in 
 the center of which is the new monument of Michael 
 Angelo, which was unveiled with great pomp and 
 ceremony a few weeks before our arrival. The 
 central figure is a colossal statue of his "David" in 
 
240 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 bronze, below which, at the four corners, are copies, 
 also in bronze, of four others of his celebrated statues 
 — "Day" and "Mght," "Morning" and "Evening" 
 — all elevated on an elaborate base of granite or mar- 
 ble. A short distance beyond this monument and 
 higher up is a National Observatory, near which 
 stands the observatory or tower from which Galileo 
 made his astronomical observations. On our way 
 back to our hotel, on the north side of the river, we 
 passed through one of the old gate ways of the city, 
 several of which, as well as portions of the old city 
 wall, remain as grim monuments of ages far back in 
 the past. Just before coming to the river we found 
 ourselves in front of the house in which Elizabeth 
 Barrett Browning lived and died. It is one of a 
 continuous block, and over the main doorway, in 
 Italian, is an inscription showing it to have been her 
 residence. 
 
 Just after twilight last evening we heard from our 
 sitting room singing or chanting in the street, and 
 looking to see the occasion of it, a sight so novel met 
 our eyes that the writer seized his hat and ran into 
 the street to obtain a better view of what was pass- 
 ing. It was a funeral procession, and a few minutes 
 brought him to the head of it. All were on foot. 
 First, three men in masks supporting a high banner 
 surmounted by a cross; next, two lads in white 
 frocks; then, in double file, some sixteen priests in 
 long white robes and broad -brimmed chapeaux, 
 chanting the litany; next, the coffin, covered with a 
 pall and borne by four men in close masks, three 
 pall -bearers on either side and two in the rear, also 
 wearing masks; and these were followed by one 
 hundred men, more or less, in citizens' dress, all, 
 except those who bore the coffin and the standard- 
 
FLORENCE. 241 
 
 bearer, carrying torches. This singular mode of 
 burial, it seems, dates back to the year 1240, the 
 date of the origin of the Society of the Misericordia, 
 to which these masked members belong. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXVIII. 
 
 J^LORENCE, November, 16.— We spent, this fore- 
 Ay§& noon in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, 
 which was completed in 1470, and "from the ele- 
 gance of its form and proportions" Michael Angelo 
 called it La Sposa, the bride. It contains many 
 very striking fresco paintings, representing "Heav- 
 en," "Hell," "The Last Judgment," etc., and there 
 are also some old and some modern paintings on 
 canvas, possessing much merit. In the painting of 
 "The Last Judgment," which is some twenty feet 
 square, various modes of punishment and torment 
 are depicted — some poor creatures being in a lake 
 of fire, only their lower limbs visible, showing that 
 they were plunged head foremost into the seething 
 lake; others in the most terrible outer darkness of 
 despair, we cannot tell in how many forms; but 
 the kind of sins for which each group was suffering- 
 was set down in words. The arch fiend himself, 
 or his executioner, in the form of a raging lion, 
 appeared in the midst of the largest group, and as 
 he had the head and shoulders of Judas in his 
 mouth, the inference was that all were to be thus 
 devoured. So far as Judas was concerned, no one 
 seemed to have any sympathy for him. 
 
 In the afternoon we visited the studios, all near 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 together, of Powers, Ball, and Fuller, the latter of 
 whom died a year or two ago. The two brothers, 
 sons of the late Hiram Powers, have their studio in 
 the same place where the writer saw their father in 
 1867. The elder brother has just completed a beau- 
 tiful bust of a maiden, giving it the name "Star of 
 Bethlehem," and the younger is engaged on a bust 
 of General Grant. Whether either son will ever be- 
 come as famous as their father, time will tell. They 
 evidently possess a good deal of artistic talent. 
 They continue to multiply, as they find sale there- 
 for, the more popular statues and busts modeled by 
 Hiram Powers; for instance, those of "Washington," 
 "Franklin," "Eve," "The Greek Slave," "Faith," 
 "The Fisher Boy," "Genevra," "America," "Di- 
 ana," "Charity," "Proserpine," "Clytie," "Hope," 
 and others. We were highly gratified with a view 
 of all these works of art. We were equally well 
 pleased with the works exhibited in Ball's studio, 
 where we were happy to meet his young and prom- 
 ising pupil, Daniel French, who has already made 
 his mark by his statue of "The Minute Man," lately 
 erected in Concord, Massachusetts — a work regarded 
 by the best judges as possessing great merit. We 
 were delighted with Ball's "L' Allegro" and "II 
 Penseroso," two revolving busts, with children's fa- 
 ces, a joy to behold; and his statue (full size) of "St. 
 John" is one of the grandest we have anywhere 
 seen. It represents the Apostle as standing with 
 eyes raised toward heaven — in his right hand a pen 
 and in his left a book — as if listening to the words: 
 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 
 write, Blessed are the dead which die in the. Lord 
 from henceforth." The statue in which we were 
 more interested, perhaps, was one of Lincoln and 
 
FLORENCE. 243 
 
 the half - kneeling freedman at his feet, his chains 
 broken and eyes fixed in wonder on the land of 
 liberty. Leaning on a pedestal, Lincoln holds his 
 Emancipation Proclamation in his right hand, and 
 is imagined as saying, "And upon this act I invoke 
 the considerate judgment of mankind and the gra- 
 cious favor of Almighty God." The likeness is ex- 
 cellent. A colossal statue after this model has just 
 been cast in bronze, in Munich, where ye saw parts 
 of it at the foundry there, and it is to be erected in 
 Washington City. It cannot fail to be admired. 
 Fuller has left many meritorious works, the most 
 striking of which, perhaps, that we saw is a reclin- 
 ing statue of a mother and infant, illustrative of a 
 passage in Moore's Lalla Rookh — "Paradise and tho. 
 Peri:" 
 
 " My child she is but half divine, 
 Her father sleeps in the Caspian water. 
 
 Sea weeds twine 
 
 His funeral shrine, 
 But he lives again in the Peri's daughter. 
 Fain would I fly from mortal sight 
 To my own sweet bowers of Peristan; 
 But there the flowers are all too bright 
 For the eyes of a baby born of man. 
 On flowers of earth her feet must tread, 
 So hither my light - winged bark hath brought her. 
 
 Stranger, spread 
 
 Thy leafliest bed 
 To rest the wandering Peri's daughter." 
 
 The mother, the child on her breast, reclines in a 
 fairy " light -winged bark," with a graceful swan for 
 its figure-head. Another beautiful statue is that of 
 "Little Nell," and one of "Blind Lydia," the Pom- 
 peian damsel, is also touchingly striking. We have 
 called once at Gould's studio, where we were much 
 
244 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 pleased with what is, perhaps, his masterpiece, a 
 charming figure of a ' maiden, styled the "West 
 Wind," the light drapery of which has the appear- 
 ance of being pressed closely around and back of the 
 form by a strong current of air. 
 
 The Pitti Palace, aside from its Picture Galleries, 
 is a magnificent edifice. It was the residence of the 
 King when the seat of government was in Florence. 
 The rooms, some twenty or more, which we saw, 
 and their furniture are very fine, and in some of 
 these rooms there are a considerable number of ex- 
 cellent paintings, one of which, in size eight by 
 fifteen feet, represents in a vivid manner "The Bat- 
 tle of St. Martins." There are here four or five 
 ebony secretaries richly inlaid with lapis lazuli and 
 other precious stones, and many tables inlaid in the 
 same manner, all surprisingly beautiful. A writing 
 table of modern make commanded our admiration 
 on account of its ingenious construction. Its shape 
 is oval and its size that of a common center -table, 
 say three feet and a half long. The guide unlocked 
 what we supposed to be a drawer, but which proved 
 to be the back of a comfortable chair, the withdrawal 
 of which caused the leaf of the table to separate in 
 the middle, presenting a complete writing table, 
 readily adjusted to the proper inclination, with all 
 the necessary compartments of a writing desk. On 
 either side of the seat were drawers, and altogether 
 we thought it the most complete escritoir we had 
 ever seen. Moreover, it is a card table as well. 
 
 One day we visited the Museum of Natural His- ■ 
 tory, where we saw two telescopes and other astro- 
 nomical instruments used by Galileo, and at the 
 same place one of his fingers, which had been pre- 
 served in alcohol and kept in a glass vessel. It was 
 
FLORENCE. 245 
 
 so shrunken that one would not have taken it for 
 a finger, nor do we understand what the object 
 could be in preserving it, unless to show that "the 
 earth moves" — backward. It is anything but a 
 pleasant sight. Not more disagreeable though than 
 any number of wax forms we saw here, showing 
 the construction of man, beast, bird, and fish in all 
 their minutest details. The horrible sights in the 
 Medical Museum at Washington fall far short of 
 what is to be seen here. The collection of stuffed 
 skins of animals, birds, and various other creatures 
 is very good. 
 
 We have been to the Protestant Cemetery, which 
 is on the eastern edge of the city, to see the graves 
 of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Theodore Parker, 
 and Hiram Powers, whose remains lie buried here. 
 It occupies an elevated spot, one acre or more in 
 extent, and is enclosed by a high iron railing. It is 
 adorned by rows of yew and other trees, shrubbery 
 and flowers, and commands a charming view of the 
 hills of Fiesole and vicinity. Inside, near the gate- 
 way, is a small building, occupied by the attendant, 
 who opened the gate for us. There is a gravel walk 
 from the gate through the center of the grounds to 
 the top of the hill, and Mrs. Browning's tomb fronts 
 the left side of this walk near the center. Her mon- 
 ument is of white marble, the upper and more elabo- 
 rate part, somewhat in the form of a sarcophagus, 
 resting on six small marble pillars. On the front is 
 her profile in has -relief, under which, on the left, 
 are the letters "E*B*B*," and on the right "OB* 
 1861*." This is all we could see as indicating for 
 whom the monument was erected. There are other 
 carvings of an appropriate character, representing 
 the lyre, harp, flowers, etc. Gathering clover leaves 
 
246 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and two or three wild flowers growing near her 
 tomb, we passed on to find the grave of Theodore 
 Parker, which is a few steps beyond on the side hill 
 at the right. It is indicated by a plain head and 
 foot -stone of granite or gray sandstone, and bears 
 the simple inscription: "Theodore Parker. Born at 
 Lexington, Massachusetts, United States of America, 
 August 24, 1810: Died at Florence, May 10, 1860." 
 Over the grave of Hiram Powers — born July, 1805; 
 died June, 1873 — is a raised white marble slab, bear- 
 ing his name and date of birth and death. His 
 grave is on the same side of the main walk with 
 Mrs. Browning's, but higher up and further toward 
 the west. The most prominent monument here is 
 one to the memory of "Frederick Guillaume, Roi de 
 Prusse, MDCCCLVIL" It is a shaft of white mar- 
 ble, twenty feet high, surmounted by a marble cross, 
 the base being of granite. Under his name is the 
 following: " Je suis la ressurrection et la vie. Celui 
 qui croit en moi vivra quand meme il seroit mort. — 
 St. Jean, xi., 25." There is a beautiful monument 
 here, also, to the memory of Samuel Reginald Routh, 
 of Farleigh, England, who died at Florence, June 
 21, 1860, in the forty- seventh year of his age. The 
 inscription states that it was "erected by those who 
 loved him living, who mourn him dead, and who 
 hope through the mercy of God to rejoin him in 
 heaven." "For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope: Thou 
 wilt hear, O Lord my God. — Psalms, 38, 15." This 
 monument is also of marble — a square base, six feet 
 in height, with ornamental corners, and supporting 
 a life-size standing figure of a woman, tastefully 
 draped, with eyes raised toward heaven. Another 
 very striking monument is "Sacred to the memory 
 of Arnold Savage Landor, Esq., born 5th of March, 
 
FLORENCE. 247 
 
 1818; died 2d of April, 1871." It is likewise of mar- 
 ble, raised some five feet, bearing a life-size statue 
 of a woman, supposed to represent the widow, kneel- 
 ing on a Prie Diea, and resting her head on her left 
 hand and holding a wreath in her right, her whole 
 expression full of grief. On the front is carved the 
 family coat of arms. To us there is always a sort of 
 fascination in monumental inscriptions, and we cop- 
 ied those of several other -monuments here; but we 
 reproduce only one more — " Henry Florence, son of 
 John A. C. and Susan Gray, of New York, aged 
 nine months : 
 
 "Fare thee well, our youngest treasure! 
 On the soil that gave thee birth; 
 By the rippling Arno's water, 
 Rest thee in Italia' s earth, 
 While the memory of thy sweetness 
 Cheers a distant home and hearth — 
 Cheers us while our sad hearts tell — 
 The dear Lord doeth all things well." 
 
 We do not present this for any special merit, but 
 to show what only a parent's heart, who has been 
 called to part with dear little ones, can feel, that, no 
 matter how young, the loss of a sweet child is always 
 sorrowful. "To-morrow," once wrote one of our 
 distinguished historians and statesmen, who had 
 just lost a dear infant — ' 'to-morrow we intrust her 
 to her resting-place, and the next day we must take 
 up our solitary journey on the paths of life." 
 
248 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 JPLORENCE, November 17.— Yesterday after- 
 cA§; noon we went first to the Medicean Chapel 
 connected with the Church of San Lorenzo. This is 
 a magnificent octagonal room, very high in the 
 walls, and lighted from an arched roof, which is 
 adorned with fine fresco paintings in style not un- 
 like the frescoes in the rotunda of our Capitol, and 
 the walls are lined with marble and inlaid stones of 
 various kinds, polished so brightly that they reflect 
 the pictures from above almost as perfectly as the 
 best mirror could do. In point of magnificence and 
 beauty it is far ahead of either the Marble Room in 
 the rear of our Senate Chamber or the Bank Room 
 of the Treasury. 
 
 We next went into the Sagrestia Nuova, also con- 
 nected with this Church, a small building planned 
 by Michael Angelo for its monuments, which were 
 executed by him, and which are regarded as master- 
 pieces of art. These are the monuments of Giulia- 
 no and Lorenzo de Medici and the "Madonna and 
 Child." There are also statues here of "San Dami- 
 ano" and "San Cosimo" — one on the right and the 
 other 'on the left of "The Virgin." There are alle- 
 gorical figures on Griuliano's monument, or as com- 
 posing a part of it, representing Day and Mght, and 
 on Lorenzo's representing Aurora and Twilight, or 
 Night and Morning. They are in the human form 
 in reclining positions, and are the originals of those 
 forming a part of the new monument to the great 
 artist on San Miniato. In allusion to these statues 
 Rogers wrote: 
 
FLORENCE. 249 
 
 "There, from age to age, 
 Two ghosts are sitting on their sepulchres; 
 That is the Duke Lorenzo, mark him well! 
 He meditates, his head upon his hand. 
 What from beneath his helm - like bonnet scowls ? 
 Is it a face or but an eyeless skull? 
 'Tis lost in shade; yet, like the basilisk, 
 It fascinates and is intolerable. 
 His mien is noble, most majestical! 
 Then most so, when the distant choir is heard 
 At morn or eve." 
 
 Lorenzo and Giuliano de Medici were brothers, 
 and from the latter part of the fourteenth till the 
 early part of the eighteenth century the Medici fam- 
 ily held the scepter of power almost continuously in 
 Florence. The elder of these brothers was called 
 "Lorenzo the Magnificent," and was regarded as 
 among the ablest and best sovereigns of his time. 
 Leo X., whose pontificate "is celebrated as one of 
 the most prosperous in the annals of the Romish 
 Church/' was his son. During the reign of Lorenzo, 
 in 1478, there was a conspiracy, instigated by Sixtus 
 IV., to assassinate Lorenzo and Giuliano and get 
 possession of the government. The place selected 
 for this atrocious deed was during service at the 
 great Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, otherwise 
 called the Duomo, in Florence, and it was intrusted 
 to the archbishop and several priests. Giuliano not 
 making his appearance at church as soon as expect- 
 ed, two of the conspirators, Francesco de Pazzi and 
 Bandini, went to his house "to insure and hasten 
 his attendance." He accompanied them; "and as 
 he walked between them they threw their arms 
 around him with the familiarity of intimate friends, 
 but, in fact, to discover whether he had any armor 
 under his dress, possibly conjecturing from his long 
 
250 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 delay that he had suspected their purpose." The 
 signal of attack was to be the ringing of the bell, 
 when the priest should raise the consecrated wafer — 
 "the people bowed before it, and at the same instant 
 Bandini plunged a short dagger into the breast of 
 Giuliano. On receiving the wound he took a few 
 hasty steps and fell, when Francesco de Pazzi rushed 
 upon him with incredible fury and stabbed him in 
 different parts of the body, continuing to repeat his 
 strokes even after he was apparently dead. Such 
 was the violence of his rage that he wounded him- 
 self deeply in his thigh. The priests who had under- 
 taken the murder of Lorenzo were not equally suc- 
 cessful. An ill -directed blow from Maffei, which 
 was aimed at the throat, but took place behind 
 the neck, rather roused him to his defence than 
 disabled him. He immediately threw off his cloak, 
 and holding it up as a shield in his left hand, with 
 his right he drew his sword and repelled his assail- 
 ants. * * Bandini, his dagger streaming with the 
 blood of Giuliano, rushed toward Lorenzo; but meet- 
 ing in his way Francesco Novi, a person in the 
 service of the Medici, and in whom they placed 
 great confidence, he stabbed him with a wound in- 
 stantaneously mortal. At the approach of Bandini 
 the friends of Lorenzo encircled him and hurried 
 him into the sacristy, where Politiano and others 
 closed the doors, which were of brass." While this 
 bloody scene was being enacted in the Cathedral, 
 "the archbishop and about thirty of his associates 
 attempted to overpower the magistrates and to pos- 
 sess themselves of the seat of go vernment " at the 
 Palace; but being foiled at every point, the conspir- 
 ators now sought to save themselves by flight. In 
 this they were equally unsuccessful. The archbishop 
 
FLORENCE. 251 
 
 and nearly every other prominent actor with him 
 were seized and hung through the Palace windows. 
 Thus the conspiracy was an entire failure; but the 
 people deeply mourned the death of Giuliano. 
 
 To return to the Church of San Lorenzo, where 
 there are many other things of interest, among them 
 two oblong pulpits, which are entered only by a 
 ladder or moveable steps. On these pulpits are 
 bronze bas-reliefs representing the " Passion and 
 Eesurrection of the Saviour" — "The Descent from 
 the Cross" and "The Entombment" being regarded 
 as the finest. 
 
 On our way home we stopped a few moments at 
 the Baptistery, near the great Cathedral, and exam- 
 ined closely the celebrated bronze doors, of which 
 there are plaster castings in the Corcoran Art Gal- 
 lery. These are on the side facing the Duomo. On 
 two other sides of the Baptistery there are also 
 bronze doors, we believe, of the same size, but less 
 elaborately constructed. In the interior are some 
 pictures, statuary, etc. One extensive piece of stat- 
 uary, in rear of the altar, representing some Bible 
 scene, and the mosaic work in the dome, are surpas- 
 singly fine. Here priests and their attendants are 
 every day engaged in christening and registering 
 the names of newly- born infants; and the proceed- 
 ings appeared to us more like an ordinary business 
 transaction than a solemn religious ceremony. 
 
 On entering the Duomo, which is a most imposing- 
 structure, looming high up above all the surrounding 
 buildings, except the Campanile, which is about the 
 same height, we were surprised at the plainness of 
 its finish internally, and at the absence of remarka- 
 ble works of art. There are, however, many monu- 
 ments, statues, and paintings here, of more or less 
 
252 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 merit. The dome is said to have served as a model 
 to Michael Angelo for that of St. Peter's in Rome, 
 which it exceeds in size. The Campanile, or bell- 
 tower, erected in 1334 -'6, is two hundred and ninety- 
 two feet in height, and is regarded as one of the 
 finest existing works of the kind. It is sometimes 
 called "Giotto's Tower," he being the architect who 
 commenced its construction. It is square in form 
 and four stories high, the lower story being decora- 
 ted by statues and figures in has - relief. It is stated 
 that Giotto intended to surmount it by a spire of one 
 hundred feet, but that Gaddi, who completed it after 
 his death, abandoned this project. Longfellow, in a 
 short poem, thus refers to it: 
 
 " In the old Tuscan town stands Giotto's tower, 
 The lily of Florence blossoming in stone — 
 A vision, a delight, and a desire — 
 The builder's perfect and centennial flower, 
 That in the night of ages bloomed alone, 
 But wanting still the glory of the spire." 
 
 On a beautiful afternoon a party of us rode to 
 the site of the old Roman city of Fiesole, situated 
 on a high hill some three miles northeast of Flor- 
 ence, where the remains of the city walls, built 
 two thousand years ago, are still to be seen, as 
 well as the vestiges of an amphitheater supposed 
 to date back also to that period. The Cathedral 
 which we entered there has been built over eight 
 hundred years, and other buildings near by, occupied 
 as a convent, are equally ancient. What was once 
 a city is now only a scattered village. Hallam 
 describes it as "a villa overhanging the towers of 
 Florence, on the slope of that lofty hill crowned 
 by the mother city, the ancient Fiesole, in gardens 
 which Tully might have envied. With Fieino, Lan- 
 
FLORENCE. 
 
 253 
 
 dino, and Politiano at his side, he delighted his hours 
 of leisure with the beautiful visions of Platonic phi- 
 losophy, for which the summer stillness of an Italian 
 sky appears the most congenial accompaniment." 
 The view from Fiesole is very fine when the weather 
 is clear; but we thought the picture of the place 
 itself, with the charming residences and gardens 
 of the dwellers on the slope of the hill as we ap- 
 proached it, was finer still. In the spring, when 
 the foliage is fresh and green, it must be beautiful 
 indeed. It is reached from Florence only by a zig- 
 zag turnpike. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 ijll^LOREISrCE, November 23.— On the morning of 
 %^ the 18th instant we were prompt at breakfast 
 in order to be early at the Painting Galleries, and by 
 nine o'clock we were at the Uffizi Gallery, fifteen 
 minutes' walk from our boarding house, No. 7 via 
 Palestro; but, very much to our disappointment, we 
 found a notice on the door stating that the hour of 
 opening was eleven a. m., notwithstanding Baedek- 
 er's Hand-book says nine a. m. Since the latest 
 edition of this book, however, we understand a law 
 has been passed in Italy providing for an admission 
 fee to all the public Galleries on every day of the 
 week except Sunday and Thursday, but whether the 
 hours of exhibition are to be different on the free 
 from the paying days we do not know. The admis- 
 sion fee here is one franc, or, what is the same, one 
 lira; and it is evidently the purpose of this poor 
 
254 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Italian Government to reap a handsome income in 
 fees from the thousands of travelers who flock here 
 every year. Seeing we had nearly two hours to 
 wait, we crossed the Ponte Vecchio (bridge) and 
 passed the intervening time in the Royal Palace 
 heretofore briefly described. At the appointed hour 
 we were on hand at the UflSzi Gallery door, and 
 save a short time for lunch we occupied the day 
 until three o'clock in that and the Pitti Gallery. In 
 this time, however, we could give little more than a 
 glance even at a very small part of the pictures, 
 statuary, and other rare objects of art here; and it 
 would be folly to attempt to give an intelligent 
 description of them. The Uffizi Gallery is on the 
 north and the Pitti Gallery, adjoining the Royal 
 Palace, on the south side of the Arno, which divides 
 the city, and both are connected by a covered way, 
 which crosses above the street, and, turning at right 
 angles, runs over the tops of the buildings along the 
 river side a considerable distance to the Ponte Vec- 
 chio; thence again turning a square corner, extends 
 over the long rows of jewelers' shops, by which the 
 bridge is lined on either side from one end to the 
 other, and ascends by steps to the Pitti Gallery, 
 looking out on the southeast side upon the beautiful 
 Boboli Garden. These shops in themselves, like 
 many others along the Lung Arno and in other 
 parts of the city, of similar character, are a sight to 
 behold, brilliant as they are with all kinds of the 
 most attractive jewelry that can be made of gold 
 and precious stones. Nowhere else have we seen 
 such quantities of turquoise, lapis lazuli, agate, jas- 
 per, and onyx, not to mention diamonds. The Flor- 
 entine mosaics, a specialty, are very beautiful/ It is 
 a walk of ten minutes from one Gallery to the other 
 
FLORENCE. 255 
 
 through the covered passage or corridor, which is 
 well lighted. On the walls of this corridor are gobe- 
 lin works, some oil paintings, many engravings, 
 and an endless number of drawings, many of the 
 latter regarded as very valuable, being the works of 
 Michael Angelo, Giotto, Leonardo da Yinci, Tinto- 
 retto, Albert Diirer, and other old artists. The in- 
 laid marble tables, of which there are several in 
 these Galleries, like those in the King's Palace, are 
 superb beyond description. Villages, landscapes, 
 birds, musical instruments, people, and other objects 
 are represented in them in a wonderfully perfect 
 manner. One of them is said to have kept twenty- 
 five men busy twenty- two years in its construction — 
 a work for one man of five hundred and fifty years! 
 In one of the rooms are the marble statues of "Ve- 
 nus di Medici," "The Wrestlers," "Young Apollo," 
 "The Dancing Fawn," and "Slave Whetting his 
 Knife" — all originals, and plaster casts of which are 
 common. Here, also, are Titian's "Venus" and 
 Raphael's pictures of "The Madonna with the Gold- 
 finch," "St. John as a Boy," "St. John Preaching 
 in the Desert," and his "Portrait of Pope Julius 
 II.," as well as many others of his celebrated paint- 
 ings. Correggio's "Madonna Adoring the Child," 
 and Raphael's "Madonna of the Chair," or "Sitting 
 Madonna," both original and both universally cop- 
 ied, are among the most attractive pictures of the 
 thousands of fine paintings in these Galleries. In . 
 a corridor of the Uffizi Gallery is a cabinet of gems, 
 consisting of costly jewels and numerous other val- 
 uable articles of virtu not unlike what we saw in 
 the Green Vaults at Dresden. Since our first visit 
 we have been several times to these Galleries, and 
 were we to go there every day for a year we should 
 
256 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 hardly be able to examine critically all that there 
 is here to be seen. We could but think that were 
 the collection of pictures reduced by casting out no 
 small number of nude figures, inferior " Madonnas," 
 "Holy Families/' and "Saints," it would be a great 
 improvement; and the same thinning out of the 
 statuary could not, we think, be any matter of 
 regret. 
 
 We spent the afternoon of the 22d instant in the 
 National Museum, which building, in the olden 
 times, was the Hall of Justice, and is itself an 
 object of more interest, perhaps, than what it now 
 contains. The sides of the walls in the court are 
 covered with coats of arms of the different podestas, 
 or principal officers of the city, and inscriptions of 
 various kinds are inserted in the walls under the 
 two stages of arcades which extend entirely round 
 the court, in the center of which is a well like 
 those in the court of the Doges' Palace in Venice. 
 In the lower story is a collection of old armor, the 
 most formidable weapon being a large brass cannon 
 of the sixteenth century, bearing the coat of arms 
 of the Medici. It is highly ornamented, and at 
 its breech is a complete bust, intended to represent 
 St. Paul. What he could have had to do with such 
 a monster of destruction does not appear. Near 
 by were several pyramids of cannon balls, cut out 
 of granite, and a weapon resembling the Gatling 
 gun, quite remarkable. This gun has nine barrels, 
 with a groove for the priming, the ignition of which 
 by a flint lock served to discharge all the barrels 
 at once. Unlike the Gatling gun, however, this 
 was a hand weapon, the barrels and stock being 
 about the length of those of a horse pistol. Among 
 the works of sculpture here is Michael Angelo's 
 
FLORENCE. 257 
 
 " Dying Adonis;" "Adam and Eve," formerly of the 
 Garden of Eden, by Bandineli; and "Virtue Tri- 
 umphant/' by Giambologna. This last is a stalwart 
 and rather fierce -looking damsel, very much in the 
 dress of her sister Eve — rather too scant, we could 
 not help thinking, for a virtuous lady triumphing 
 over vice — with her foot on the neck of an un- 
 fortunate young man, also lightly clad, who had 
 evidently in some way gotten into a bad scrape. 
 There is also a celebrated statue of "Mercury," by 
 Giambologna, and one of "David," by Verrochio. 
 If this last had been named "Isaac" we should 
 never have known the difference. We gaze with 
 wonder at many a statue and many a painting, 
 which we might pass with only a glance but that 
 it has some great name and is said to be the work 
 of some famous artist. We were interested in two 
 small pieces of sculpture in bronze, representing 
 "Abraham's Sacrifice." This subject was given to 
 artists on trial as competitors for the doors of the 
 Baptistery; and these two specimens were by Ghi- 
 berti and Brunellesco, the former of whom was suc- 
 cessful, as he was evidently entitled to be. In one 
 of the rooms is a large collection of fancy ivory 
 carvings of a most ingenious character. For in- 
 stance, you see a ball three or four inches in diame- 
 ter with half a dozen or more balls, all separate, one 
 within the other, neatly carved by some instrument 
 or instruments admitted through small openings on 
 four sides, or opposite points of the sphere. Vari- 
 ous other devices are chosen to show the ingenuity 
 of the artist and excite the wonder of the beholder. 
 A most wonderful piece of wood carving is also 
 exhibited in the same room; and then there are 
 anatomical statuettes in wax and bronze, a series of 
 17 
 
258 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 sculptures representing "The Combats of Hercules," 
 a cabinet of fine crystals, etc. It would require a 
 volume to describe the numerous articles in this 
 collection. 
 
 We have been gratified by a visit to the house of 
 Michael Angelo, situated in via Grhibellina, near the 
 Piazza Santa Croce, where there is a collection of 
 his pictures, designs, manuscripts, and other inter- 
 esting relics. It is shown for a fee of half a franc. 
 We saw his canes and his two - edged sword, which 
 bears the arms of his family, the portraits of many 
 of whom hang upon the walls. Some of his table- 
 ware is highly prized as being very beautiful. There 
 is a bust of him in bronze, from a cast taken after 
 death. Models of some of his most celebrated works 
 are likewise preserved here. In an out-of-the-way 
 corner of the house is a little closet, with only one 
 small window, where, we were told, he used to con- 
 ceal nimself whenever he wished to avoid intruders. 
 When closed there was no sign of any door to this 
 snug retreat. He never married. Being asked why 
 he preferred to remain single, he answered, "My 
 art Is my wife, and gives me as much trouble as 
 married life could do; and my works will be my 
 children." 
 
 Some of our party rode one day to La Certosa, 
 three miles out of town, to visit there an old Carthu- 
 sian Monastery, "which is approaching dissolution 
 and contains twelve inmates only." These monks 
 were dressed each in a long white flannel robe with 
 a pointed hood and tied around the waist with a 
 thick cord, suspended from which was a string of 
 beads with a cross. They wore sandals strapped to 
 their feet, without stockings. They have an herb 
 garden and pharmacy, and sell medicine, perfumes 
 
 
FLORENCE. 259 
 
 of various kinds, and delicious chartreuse, a bottle 
 of which we secured for home consumption. The 
 Monastery is quite a curiosity. When Pius VI. was 
 banished from Rome by the French he had his resi- 
 dence here, and the room he occupied is shown to 
 visitors. The Villa of Galileo is passed on the way 
 to Certosa. It was here or at his prison in Florence 
 that Milton visited Galileo near the close of his life, 
 and wrote: "There it was that I found and visited 
 the famous Galileo, grown old, a prisoner to the In- 
 quisition for thinking in astronomy otherwise than 
 the Franciscan and Dominican licensers thought." 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 , LORENCE, December 8.— On the 24th ultimo 
 hSfr we went again to Powers' studio to take an- 
 other view of the many beautiful statues and busts 
 there, and to obtain photographs of some with which 
 we were most pleased, that we might be able the 
 more readily to recall them hereafter. One of the 
 most charming of these, by Hiram Powers, is that 
 of "Genevra," so named, no doubt, from the cir- 
 cumstance that this was the name of a Florentine 
 lady who was the heroine of a romantic story re- 
 lated by Bocaccio. This story, as given in "Walks 
 in Florence," is as follows: "Genevra, a daughter 
 of the noble house of Amieri, or Admari, was be- 
 loved by Antonio Rondinelli, whose family belonged 
 to the popolani, or plebeian order, which had led 
 an attack against the nobles in 1343. The father 
 of Genevra accordingly refused his consent to her 
 
260 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 marriage with Rondinelli, and obliged her to accept 
 as a husband Francesco Agolanti, who was of equal 
 birth with herself. During the plague of 1400 she 
 was seized by the fatal malady and fell into a 
 swoon, which her husband mistook for death, and 
 she was buried in the family vault in the cemetery, 
 between the Cathedral and Campanile. In the mid- 
 dle of the night Genevra recovered her senses, and 
 was terrified when she perceived, by the clear moon- 
 light which penetrated the apertures between the 
 stones, that she was lying in a vault. She succeeded 
 in bursting the bandages which confined her, and 
 contrived to raise the stone above, and to make 
 her escape. She first directed her steps toward her 
 husband's home, and in order to reach it she had to 
 pass along the narrow way called from that time 
 forth the via del Morte. Agolanti, looking out when 
 she knocked at the door, supposed her to be a spirit 
 come to torment him, and refused her admittance. 
 She then proceeded to her father's house, near St. 
 Andrea behind the Mercato Vecchio; but, again re- 
 jected, she returned to the via Calzaioli and sat 
 down on the steps of the Church of San Bartolom- 
 meo, to reflect where to go next. Gaining courage, 
 she sought the house of Rondinelli, near the street 
 which to this day bears the name of his family. 
 Here she was received by his parents, and the tribu- 
 nals having decided that the marriage of a woman 
 who had been dead and buried was annulled, she 
 was permitted to marry her former lover." Of 
 course, a walk through the via del Morte, or street 
 of Death, and to other points mentioned in this 
 romantic story, possessed additional interest on ac- 
 count of these associations. 
 At our quiet boarding house we have a parlor 
 
FLORENCE. 261 
 
 in common with Mr. and Mrs. Stickney and Rev. 
 Mr. Sumner, and every morning join with them 
 in family worship. On the 25th of November, 
 Thanksgiving Day in the United States, we assem- 
 bled as usual after breakfast, and gathering around 
 us all our relations (in photograph) we could com- 
 mand, the Thanksgiving Proclamations of the Pres- 
 ident and Governor of Connecticut were read, and 
 the hymn, "Praise God from whom all blessings 
 flow," was sung as a part of the morning services. 
 At eleven o'clock we all went to the American 
 Union Church, where we had an excellent discourse 
 on "Cheerfulness" by the pastor, Rev. J. E. Kit- 
 tredge, and a good Thanksgiving poem by Hon. 
 Charles Thurber, from Brooklyn, N. Y., some time 
 a sojourner in this city. The address was a strong 
 and eloquent plea against all moroseness and morbid 
 feeling, and for a bright and joyous life — driving 
 away all dull care as far as possible. The poem 
 contains many happy hits in allusion to politics and 
 other current matters in our own country, pointedly 
 condemning all action tending to weaken the credit 
 of the United States in the eyes of Europe. Besides 
 congregational singing, the gentleman who presided 
 at the cabinet organ sang with a fine voice an ap- 
 propriate hymn, and Miss Emma Abbott, a pro- 
 fessional singer, gave us the hymn, " Nearer my 
 God to Thee," with touching effect. One of the 
 walls of the old hall in which these services were 
 held is curved, and on inquiring why it was so 
 constructed, we were informed that it was for the 
 purpose of "keeping the devil out," and that many, 
 if not most, of the old buildings here have at least 
 one such wall — the result of this strange super- 
 stition. A somewhat similar superstition seems to 
 

 262 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 prevail in Germany, where, as we observed in our 
 travels, it is the custom, when the roof of a new 
 house is raised, to erect a tree on the ridge-pole; 
 and this is believed to be a security against any 
 intrusion thereafter of his Satanic majesty. An- 
 other singular superstition, which prevails in Italy 
 among the lower classes, is that an "evil eye," often 
 detected in a crowd, or in passing along the street, 
 may be turned away from you by closing the two 
 middle fingers and thumb of one hand and pointing 
 with the index and little finger at the "evil -eyed" 
 person. The inference is that the "old boy" is shy 
 of forked instruments. We know that travelers 
 resort to this method, with good effect, to disperse 
 Italian beggars when too troublesome. 
 
 It is gratifying to see, everywhere we have been 
 in Italy, that there appears to be perfect religious 
 liberty; and we were particularly struck by this fact 
 on going to the American Episcopal Church here 
 one Sunday, the room in which the Episcopal ser- 
 vices were held being separated from an old Roman 
 Catholic church only by a single wall, and the front 
 doors of both buildings opening on the same street. 
 Here was not only entire freedom of worship by 
 sects in some things wide apart, but in bodily con- 
 junction so close as to make one feel that only one 
 step more is necessary to bring about a complete 
 union on the true Christian basis. 
 
 The Church of Santa Croce, which dates back to 
 the thirteenth century, stands on the Piazza Santa 
 Croce, in which there is an imposing monument to 
 Dante, consisting of his statue, nineteen feet in 
 height, on a pedestal twenty- three feet high, adorned 
 on its four corners with four shield - bearing lions. 
 This Church is called the Westminster Abbey of 
 
FLORENCE. 263 
 
 Florence. Besides many valuable paintings in fresco 
 as well as on canvas, there are a great many monu- 
 ments here of a striking character, among which 
 are those of Dante, Machiavelli, Alfieri, Galileo, 
 (died 1642,) and Michael Angelo, (died 1564,) the 
 remains of the latter two of whom rest here. On 
 Michael Angelo's tomb there is a bust, by Baptista 
 Lorenzi, said to be a correct likeness of the great 
 artist; and guarding the door are three statues, in 
 mournful attitude, representing "Painting," "Sculp- 
 ture," and "Architecture." The position of this 
 tomb is said to have been selected by Michael An- 
 gelo himself, that he might see from his last resting 
 place the dome of the Cathedral, "the delight and 
 study of his mind." The Bonaparte family own a 
 chapel in this church, and there are monuments in it 
 to Carlotta Bonaparte, who died in 1830, and to Clara 
 Bonaparte, whose death took place in 1845. Within 
 One square of our boarding house there is a splen- 
 did mansion fronting the Arno, the residence of a 
 nephew of Napoleon I. It occupies, with its garden 
 and outhouses, an entire square. 
 
 We have been into several other churches here, all 
 of them more or less attractive on account of their 
 age and the many interesting objects they contain. 
 
 Fronting on the Piazza della Signoria, one of the 
 largest squares of the city, and the scene of Savona- 
 rola's martyrdom in 1498, is the Palazzo Vecchio, 
 "originally the seat of the Republic, and subse- 
 quently the residence of Cosmo I., erected in- 1298. " 
 It is an interesting old edifice, containing many fine 
 frescoes. Also, fronting on the same square is the 
 Loggia dei Lanzi, erected in 1376. Under the por- 
 tico, among other statuary, is John of Bologna's 
 group in marble, called the "Rape of the Sabines," 
 
264 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and another group, by Fedi, called the "Rape of 
 Polyxena." Fedi is an Italian artist here, whose 
 studio we have visited. He is an enthusiast, and 
 seemed to take great pleasure in showing us what 
 he had accomplished in works of art. Newman, an 
 American gentleman devoted to painting in water 
 colors, has a studio here, where we saw some ex- 
 cellent pictures; and we have been also to the studio 
 of Ciseri, an Italian painter, whose remarkable oil 
 painting of "The Entombment" hangs in the Crystal 
 Palace, London. 
 
 We have been to McNamee's studio, a sculptor 
 from Brooklyn, N. Y., to see his model, not yet 
 completed, of his "Base Ball Player," on which he 
 said he had been engaged four years. His living 
 model was present and took the attitude being repre- 
 sented, that we might compare the one with the 
 other. The model's right foot on tip toe is at the 
 base, while his left, with the body, is stretched for- 
 ward and arms extended to the utmost point — both 
 hands ready to catch the ball — and head turned 
 toward his left shoulder, looking with intense eager- 
 ness as if to follow the direction of the ball. It is a 
 singular fact that this living model, an Italian of 
 twenty- five or thirty years of age, from having been 
 rather a frail young man when he first stood for Mr. 
 McNamee, has by this exercise become powerfully 
 muscular, and his left thigh, from the greater strain 
 upon it, has increased in size three inches more than 
 his right. Mr. McNamee has just completed a beau- 
 tiful bust in marble of Miss Kinsley, of Brooklyn. 
 
 The Riding Park and open promenade lies west of 
 the city, extending back on the banks of the Arno 
 about two miles. One of the six or seven bridges 
 over the Arno at Florence crosses from this Park, 
 
FLORENCE. 265 
 
 which on fine days is a great place of resort for all 
 the gay people of the city. 
 
 Many odd sights appear in the market places, not 
 the least being the market people themselves. Many 
 of the poor people one is sure to find here have the 
 most woe -begone look, more especially when the 
 weather is cold. Evidently they are reduced to the 
 greatest extremity, and are ready to seize on almost 
 any kind of food to keep from starvation. We see 
 them parting with their last soldo for a piece of 
 warm chestnut bread and a mouthful of fried blood 
 of fowls and animals, which are slaughtered and 
 their blood saved and cooked on the spot. If the 
 weather is cold, those of them who are able carry in 
 their hands a scaldino, a small earthern vessel filled 
 with a few live coals and hot ashes to keep from 
 freezing to death. These vessels have handles, and 
 we see the shivering poor carrying them in chilly 
 weather wherever we go in the streets. 
 
 During the most of the three weeks we have been 
 in this city the weather has been anything but pleas- 
 ant, being either cloudy and raw or rainy. In the 
 middle of last month it rained for a whole week 
 almost incessantly, and the Arno became so swollen 
 that the city authorities became alarmed and took 
 measures to guard against an overflow, such as we 
 are informed occurred here six years ago, when the 
 Lung Arno, the street which runs the entire length 
 of the city on the east bank of the river, was three 
 feet under water. 
 
 We have lingered longer in Florence than we an- 
 ticipated doing. Ho! now for the ''Eternal City." 
 
266 SKETCHES OP TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 I am in Rome! oft as the morning ray 
 
 Visits these eyes, waking at once I cry, 
 
 Whence this excess of joy? what has befallen me? 
 
 And from within a thrilling voice replies, 
 
 Thou art in Rome. — Rogers. 
 
 ES, here we are in the "Eternal City!" but it 
 c^tr seems more like a dream than a reality. Leav- 
 ing Florence at half past eight on the morning of the 
 9th of December, we came in sight of the dome of 
 St. Peter's at half past four in the afternoon. No 
 other sign of the city was visible. The day was 
 fair, and the sun, now but a little above the horizon, 
 revealed a long, low range of clouds, which, lighted 
 up by its rays, looked like a serpentine stream of 
 fire. It was, indeed, a beautiful Italian sunset, and 
 after two months of almost continual cloudy weath- 
 er, it was not strange that we witnessed it with 
 some degree of enthusiasm. On our near approach 
 to the city we might easily have imagined ourselves 
 as entering Washington from the north, the land 
 being low and level, and no part of the city being in 
 sight until we came within a short distance of its 
 walls, which are in a dilapidated condition. In less 
 than five minutes we were within the gates and at 
 the railroad depot. A porter was ready at the car 
 door to carry our light baggage to a carriage, which 
 we entered, and gave directions to the coachman to 
 drive us to the Hotel della Pace, No. 8 via Sistina, 
 where comfortable quarters had been engaged for us 
 by friends whom we had met in Florence, and who 
 had arrived there a few days before us. We shall 
 have occasion to speak of these friends hereafter. 
 
ROME. 267 
 
 Our coachman started off with us, but before we 
 reached the street from the depot his horse began to 
 back and turn, and showed so ugly a disposition 
 that we alighted, determined to try another team 
 which should go forward instead of backward. If 
 we were to have our necks broken, we desired at 
 any rate to see Rome first. However, the driver 
 having called two men to his assistance, we ven- 
 tured to return to our seats, and the horse finding 
 three too many for him, wisely concluded to behave 
 himself, and we were soon landed at our hotel, 
 where, thanks to our friends, we found a nice room 
 with a wood fire awaiting us. The day had been 
 quite cold; and we observed that ice had formed over 
 shoal water and along the edges of the streams by 
 the roadside; nevertheless we enjoyed every moment 
 of the way, since every foot of ground over which we 
 passed is historical territory. At Arrezzo, the an- 
 cient Arretium, where the Roman consul Flaminius 
 lost his life in an encounter with Hannibal's army, 
 we stopped long enough to gather leaves and touch 
 the soil consecrated by the blood of the slain. Many 
 of the towns we passed are built upon hills and 
 strongly protected by thick walls. Orvieto is a most 
 singular looking old place, situated on an isolated 
 tufa rock, or ledge, over seven hundred feet above 
 the river Paglia at its base. We could not see into 
 it, as it is surrounded by a wall and entered from a 
 steep paved road winding around the eastern side. 
 "In the middle ages it was a stronghold of the 
 Guelphs and often afforded an asylum to the Popes." 
 We should have been glad to have stopped a day or 
 two at every one of these old towns; but it was not in 
 our programme and we must be content with a good 
 look at the great cities. 
 
268 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 No, we can hardly realize that we are in Rome, 
 the seat of the long line of Caesars, of whom we 
 have read so much; the famous city to which St. 
 Paul was brought a prisoner for trial, and where 
 he " dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, 
 and received all that came in unto him, preaching 
 the kingdom of God, and teaching those things 
 which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all con- 
 fidence, no man forbidding him;" the city where he 
 gathered about him his faithful friends, Timothy, 
 Tychicus, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Epaphras, 
 Luke, ''the beloved physician," and, no doubt, scores 
 of other humble followers. "The first hour after 
 the sight of Rome greets you is, perhaps, the most 
 memorable in the life of an educated man. It is 
 impossible to describe it; it is impossible to convey 
 an idea of the beauty of the picture Rome presents, 
 seated on her seven hills, and surrounded by the 
 exquisite mountain ranges of Soracte, Albano, and 
 the Apennines on one side, and the broad plain and 
 the distant sea on the other." So wrote the late 
 Professor Felton in 1853, and so we feel to-day. 
 
 We have referred to friends who preceded us. 
 They were the Rev. J. W. Parker, wife and daugh- 
 ter, from Washington, and Miss Kendall, of Boston, 
 traveling with them. The next morning after our 
 arrival Dr. Parker led the way by the Spanish 
 Staircase for a look at the city from Pincian Hill, 
 first, however, going to our banker's to register our 
 names, and to the Piazza del Popolo, where we vis- 
 ited the Twin Churches Santa Maria in Monte Santo 
 and Santa Maria de' Miracoli, and also the Church 
 of Santa Maria del Popolo. There is little that is 
 remarkable about the Twin Churches, except that 
 they "are believed to occupy the site of the magnifi- 
 
ROME. 269 
 
 cent tomb of Sylla, who died at Puteoli b. c. 82, but 
 was honored at Rome with a public funeral, at 
 which the patrician ladies burnt masses of incense 
 and perfumes on his funeral pyre." Santa Maria 
 del Popolo was founded in 1099, and, it is said, occu- 
 pies the site of the tombs of the Domitii, "the 
 burial place of Nero, which was haunted by evil 
 spirits." Tradition relates that these evil spirits 
 came in the shape of a great number of crows, 
 which alighted on a gigantic walnut tree that had 
 sprung up from Nero's grave. "Pope Paschal II. 
 dreamed that they were demons and that the Bles- 
 sed Virgin commanded him to cut down and burn 
 the tree and build a sanctuary to her honor in its 
 place." The church abounds in sculptures, bronze 
 figures, and paintings in the highest style of art. 
 
 In the Piazza del Popolo is an obelisk brought 
 from Egypt by the Emperor Augustus, and erected 
 in honor of Apollo. From this square three of the 
 principal streets of the city radiate — the Corso in 
 the center, the Babuino on the left, and the Ripetta 
 on the right. The Corso is to Rome what Broadway 
 is to New York. We walked to Mont Pincio by an 
 old brick monastery which was the home of Luther 
 when he lived in Rome. From this point we have a 
 good view of nearly the whole city. It is on the 
 northern border, just within the walls of ancient 
 Rome, but it is not one of the "Seven Hills." "In 
 early imperial times the site of the Pincio Garden 
 was occupied by the famous villa of Lucullus, who 
 had gained his enormous wealth as a General of the 
 Roman armies in Asia." On the left side are several 
 terraces with a zig-zag carriage-way and foot walk, 
 "adorned with rostral columns, statues, and marble 
 bas-reliefs, interspersed with cypresses and pines" 
 
270 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and " lined also with mimosas and other flowering 
 shrubs." From the furthest angle of the garden, 
 northeast, "you look down from the parapet upon 
 the Muro Torto, a massive fragment of the oldest 
 Roman wall, which juts over, as if ready to tumble 
 down by its own weight, yet seems still the most 
 indestructible piece of work that men's hands ever 
 piled together." This wall is very high. Beyond it 
 is the villa Borghese with its spacious and beautiful 
 gardens. From this eminence, on the opposite side, 
 "the Eternal City is seen spread at our feet, and 
 beyond it the wide - spreading Campagna, till a sil- 
 ver line marks the sea melting into the horizon 
 beyond Ostia." Away across the Tiber, on the ex- 
 treme eastern border, stands St. Peter's in all its 
 glory; on the right and adjoining which are a series 
 of buildings composing the Vatican; and about an 
 eighth of a mile nearer, directly on the west bank of 
 the Tiber, the round Castle of St. Angelo, built by 
 the Emperor Hadrian for his family tomb, but now 
 the stronghold of the city, rises high above the adja- 
 cent buildings. Nearer still, on the east side of the 
 river, where much the larger part of the city lies, is 
 the Capitol, like the city, ancient in appearance; and 
 yet nearer, the Quirinal Pala,ce, while beyond, in the 
 southern suburbs, are the Coliseum, the Temple of 
 Vesta, the Arch of Constantine, and the ruins of the 
 Palace of the Csesars, of the Temples of Saturn and 
 Vespasian, and of Constantine's Temple of Peace. 
 There in the center of the city is the Pantheon, 
 erected by Marcus Agrippa a quarter of a century 
 before Christ; a little to the left the Trajan Column, 
 and out by the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill the 
 eye traces the main avenue leading to the Appian 
 Way, one of the great high roads into the Campagna. 
 
ROME. 271 
 
 These are only some of the prominent objects that 
 meet the eye as we stand here exultant at the long- 
 coveted sight. 
 
 No, it is not a dream! We have compassed the 
 great. deep; we have made our way through many 
 lands; we have scaled the mountains of Switzerland; 
 and Mont Cenis has given way to admit us into 
 "Sunny Italy," where we now have the supreme 
 satisfaction of beholding her Capital, the "Eternal 
 City/' with our own eyes! "Never mind, father/' 
 said Henry Franklin, near the close of October, 1867, 
 when at Florence we were compelled, owing to the 
 cholera and the hostile movements of Garibaldi, to 
 turn our faces homeward without going to Rome and 
 Naples — "never mind, father, it will be a good rea- 
 son for coming again;" and so it was. Now the city 
 is free from any unusual malady, Garibaldi, having 
 entered Rome in triumph, is an invalid at his villa 
 Casalini three miles outside its walls, and we see no 
 obstacle to a complete enjoyment of our visit, which 
 may extend to weeks. Indeed, our apprehensions of 
 sickness have greatly diminished since our arrival, 
 so comfortably are we situated and so cheerful every- 
 thing appears around us. For the information of 
 travelers who may come after us, we will remark 
 that our hotel is well situated, and that we have a 
 good room facing south, with board, including a 
 bottle of wine at dinner, fire and lights, (two candles 
 a week,) all for ten francs a day each, or four dollars 
 a day for two. We require little fire, however, ex- 
 cept after four in the evening, and this is provided 
 by coke, first ignited and brought in a small cylin- 
 der, which is placed within a drum, a two -inch pipe 
 being attached to the cylinder and leading out of 
 doors. On retiring for the night we set this cylinder. 
 
272 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 which is closed by a lid, on the stone balcony out- 
 side. The drum is about three feet high, and one 
 and a half feet in diameter, having four two -inch 
 pipes, for cold air, equi- distant from each other 
 opening at the bottom and also into the room near 
 the top of the drum, which is closed by a close-fit- 
 ting cover. It is a very economical arrangement for 
 heating, and might be introduced to good advantage 
 wherever fuel is dear. While thus briefly referring 
 to our domestic comforts, we should not forget to 
 mention the important fact that one of the walls of 
 our room is crooked -a certain bar to evil spirits 
 according to Italian superstition. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 B OME, December 12. -Yesterday, the second day 
 ^ V after our arrival, having the day before ob- 
 tained at our banker's permits to the Sistine Chapel 
 and Galleries of the Vatican, we started early for 
 bt. Peter's. Taking carriages - one lira, or nineteen 
 cents, pays for a one-horse carriage carrying three 
 persons to any part of the city-we were driven 
 immediately to the main southern entrance of the 
 Vatican; but learning that the doors of the Chapel 
 would not be opened before eleven o'clock, we as- 
 cended the steps to St. Peter's, and were soon filled 
 with wonder at the grand proportions and magnifi- 
 cent adornments of that mammoth edifice. Unequal 
 to the task of presenting any satisfactory description 
 of this building without the aid of competent author- 
 ities, we shall take the liberty of resorting to them 
 
ROME. 273 
 
 for such assistance as we may find necessary, with- 
 out stopping always to give credit. These, both in 
 English and French, we have now before us, and in 
 their descriptions they often necessarily employ, to 
 a greater or less extent, nearly the same terms, and 
 for the same reason, no doubt, which now controls 
 us, not unfrequently the same words and sentences. 
 Next to its unrivaled dome, what first strikes us 
 on approaching St. Peter's is* the spacious piazza 
 in front with the magnificent colonnades, in the 
 form of a half crescent, on either side, the Egyptian 
 obelisk in the center, and two beautiful fountains, 
 one on each side between the obelisk and the col- 
 onnades, in full play. The colonnades have two 
 hundred and eighty- four Doric columns, are sixty- 
 one feet wide and sixty- four high, and they inclose 
 an area of seven hundred and seventy- seven feet. 
 The length of each colonnade from its lower extrem- 
 ity to the portico of the church is eleven hundred 
 and ten feet, and its greatest breadth seven hundred 
 and eighty feet. On the roofs of the colonnades, 
 which were erected in 1667, are one hundred and 
 twenty- six statues of Saints. The obelisk was 
 brought from Heliopolis by Caligula. Its whole 
 height is one hundred and thirty- two feet, that of 
 the shaft eighty- three feet. It was in this piazza 
 that the great religious ceremonies used to be held; 
 but since the Pope was deprived of his temporal 
 power, we believe nothing of the kind has taken 
 place here. 
 
 The first church built on the site of St. Peter's 
 "was the oratory founded in a. d. 90 by Anacletus, 
 Bishop of Rome, who is said to have been ordained 
 by St. Peter himself, and who thus marked the 
 spot where many Christian martyrs had suffered 
 
274 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 in the circus of Nero, and where St. Peter was 
 buried after his crucifixion. In 306 Constantine 
 the Great yielded to the request of Pope Sylvester, 
 and began the erection of a basilica on this spot, 
 laboring with his own hands at the work, and him- 
 self carrying away twelve loads of earth, in honor 
 of the apostles." It was only half the size of the 
 present Cathedral. It suffered severely in the Sara- 
 cenic invasion of 846, and at the instance of Nicholas 
 V. (1450) was almost entirely destroyed in the time 
 of Julius II., prior to 1506, when the present edifice 
 was begun from designs of Bramante. Of the old 
 basilica, the crypt is now almost the only remnant, 
 and "of the endless works of art with which it 
 was filled" a few relics only have been preserved 
 from destruction. "The fagade of St. Peter's is 
 three hundred and fifty- seven feet long and one 
 hundred and forty- four feet high. It is surmounted 
 by a balustrade six feet in height, bearing statues 
 of the Saviour and the twelve Apostles." A wide 
 flight of steps, at the foot of which are statues of 
 St. Peter and St. Paul, lead by five entrances to 
 the vestibule, which is four hundred and sixty- eight 
 feet long, sixty- six feet high and fifty feet wide. 
 "The magnificent central door of bronze is a rem- 
 nant from the old basilica." On the right is a 
 walled -up doorway, called the Porta Santa, only 
 opened for the Jubilee, which formerly took place 
 every twenty- fifth year. From the vestibule the 
 church is entered through immense doorways, pro- 
 vided with heavy, stuffed leathern curtains sus- 
 pended from the top. It takes a man's strength 
 to lift aside these heavy curtains; and usually some 
 poor beggar stands ready to perform this service, 
 expecting, of course, a soldo for his proffered polite- 
 
ROME. 275 
 
 ness. On entering, "the interior bursts upon our 
 astonished gaze, resplendent in light, magnificence, 
 and beauty, beyond all that imagination can con- 
 ceive." So it struck us; nor can we wonder that 
 Mendelssohn thought that St. Peter's "surpassed 
 all powers of description." He said, — "It appears 
 to me like some great work of Nature, a forest, 
 a mass of rocks, or something similar; for I never 
 can realize the idea that it is the work of man. 
 You strive to distinguish the ceiling as little as 
 the canopy of heaven; you lose your way in St. 
 Peter's; you take a walk in it, and ramble till you 
 are quite tired; when divine service is performed 
 and chanted there, you are not aware of it until 
 you come quite close. The angels in the Baptistery 
 are enormous giants; the doves colossal birds of 
 prey; you lose all sense of measurement with the 
 eye, or proportion; and yet who does not feel his 
 heart expand when standing under the dome and 
 gazing up at it." Madame de Stael described the 
 architecture of St. Peter's as "musique fixee" (froz- 
 en music.) "On each side of the nave are four 
 pillars with Corinthian pilasters, and a rich entab- 
 lature supporting the arches. The roof is vaulted, 
 coffered, and gilded. The pavement is of colored 
 marble inlaid. In the center of the floor, immedi- 
 ately within the chief entrance, is a round slab of 
 porphyry, upon which the Emperors were crowned. " 
 Imagine our sensations as we stood upon this slab. 
 "The enormous size of the statues and ornaments of 
 St. Peter's do away with the impression of its vast 
 size, and it is only by observing the living, moving 
 figures that one can form any idea of its colossal 
 proportions." Its length is six hundred and thirteen 
 feet, and it has an area of two hundred and twelve 
 

 276 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 thousand three hundred and twenty- one square feet. 
 The height of the dome in the interior is four hun- 
 dred and five feet. The letters of the Latin inscrip- 
 tion in the dome, which are in purple mosaic upon a 
 gold ground, are each six feet long, and the pen of 
 St. Luke seven feet; yet from the nave below they 
 appear to be of the natural size. There are in the 
 dome colossal mosaics of "The Evangelists," also of 
 "The Saviour," "The Virgin," "The Apostles," and 
 on a level with the lantern, one of " God the Father." 
 Around the shrine is a circle of eighty -six gold 
 lamps., always kept burning. From this you look 
 down into the confessional, where there is a beauti- 
 ful kneeling statue of Pope Pius VI. The Church 
 contains twenty- nine altars besides the high altar, 
 and one hundred and forty- eight columns. The side 
 chapels are splendid, and some of them are large 
 enough for independent churches, and are provided 
 with galleries for the choir. They are designated 
 by different names. One derives its name from the 
 Pieta of Michael Angela, who had more to do, prob- 
 ably, than any other artist in bringing St. Peter's to 
 its present state of architectural perfection. In the 
 Chapel of the Holy Sacrament are the tombs of the 
 Stuarts. On the right is the monument of Maria 
 Clementina Sobieski, wife of James III., called in 
 the inscription "Queen of Great Britain, France, 
 and Ireland," and on the left is that of Canova to 
 the three Stuart Princes, James III. and his sons 
 Charles Edward and Henry — Cardinal York. "Dis- 
 tributed around the whole basilica are confessionals 
 of every Christian tongue." They are inscribed 
 with the names of the different languages. Be- 
 neath the dome there is an imposing bronze canopy 
 supported by four richly gilded spiral columns, nine- 
 
ROME. 277 
 
 ty- five feet in height, and under this the high altar. 
 Near by, against the last pier on the right of the 
 nave, is a bronze statue of St. Peter. "Its extended 
 foot is eagerly kissed by Roman Catholic devotees, 
 who then rub their foreheads against its toes." Of 
 the many strange things here this proceeding was 
 one of the first that attracted our attention. It is 
 kept up almost continually. The toes of the statue, 
 raised some five feet from the floor, are bright from 
 this act of devotion, of which the great toe appears 
 to receive the larger share and is considerably worn. 
 Usually, before kissing, the devotee wipes the toes 
 with a handkerchief, or oftener with the coat sleeve 
 or wristband. "On high festivals the statue (sit- 
 ting) is dressed up in full pontificals. On the day of 
 the jubilee of Pius IX., (June 16, 1871,) it was attired 
 in a lace alb, stole, and gold - embroidered cope, 
 fastened at the breast by a clasp of diamonds; and 
 its foot was kissed by upward of twenty thousand 
 persons during the day." 
 
 While we were present religious services w^ere be- 
 ing conducted in one or more of the chapels. At 
 eleven in the forenoon we proceeded to the Sistine 
 Chapel. At the foot of the Scala Regia, leading to 
 the chapel and other apartments of the Vatican, we 
 were met by the guard in military uniform, and the 
 officer in command taking our tickets of admission, 
 gave directions to a subordinate to accompany us up 
 stairs to the chapel door, where we were admitted 
 by the doorkeeper. The frescoes in this chapel are 
 considered very remarkable. The painting of "The 
 Last Judgment," by Michael Angelo, nearly fills one 
 end of the room; and the ceiling, which is covered 
 with Scriptural representations, contains what are 
 regarded his most perfect works in fresco painting. 
 
278 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 The chapel being closed again about noon, we re- 
 turned and spent the time in the Cathedral until two 
 o'clock, when we were admitted to and finished the 
 day in the Raphael Gallery of Paintings, also in the 
 Vatican, which is said to contain eleven hundred 
 rooms, and to be the largest, but certainly not the 
 most magnificent, Palace in the world. Among 
 other famous paintings here we had the pleasure of 
 seeing that of "St. Romualdo," by Andrea del Sarto; 
 "The Coronation of the Virgin," by Jules Romano; 
 "Last Communion of St Jerome," by Domenichino; 
 Raphael's "Transfiguration," and his "Madonna di 
 Foligno." 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 MttT\ OME, December 14. — We have made an agree- 
 ^PV able call at the office of the United States Le- 
 gation, where we were pleasantly received by our 
 Minister, Honorable George P. Marsh, whom the 
 writer knew slightly as a Member of Congress from 
 Vermont before the war. He received his appoint- 
 ment at the commencement of President Lincoln's 
 Administration, and has conducted his mission in a 
 manner highly honorable to himself and to his coun- 
 try. There is no doubt that he has had great influ- 
 ence with the Italian Government and people in 
 softening old prejudices against freedom of thought 
 and action in religion as well as in the encourage- 
 ment of civil reform generally. 
 
 Last Sunday forenoon we attended the American 
 Union Church, where we heard an excellent sermon 
 
ROME. 279 
 
 by Rev. Mr. Langmuir, the temporary pastor, who 
 hails from the United States. He read from a chap- 
 ter in Acts, wherein St. Paul is referred to as coming 
 to Rome. It seemed to us more real than ever be- 
 fore. The principal aim of his discourse was to 
 impress upon his hearers the importance of attend- 
 ing religious services regularly, as well while travel- 
 ing abroad as when at home. In the afternoon we 
 went to St. Peter's to hear vespers. There were 
 about twenty cardinals and some sixty priests who, 
 with the choir, took part in the ceremonies, which 
 were interspersed with reading and responses, sing- 
 ing by the choir, accompanied by the organ, and 
 much bowing, turning, and kneeling. The cardin- 
 als occupied the highest seats, which are the back 
 seats on the right and left of the altar, and the choir 
 occupied a side gallery in front of the organ. The 
 priests of lesser degree had seats in front of and 
 below the cardinals, one of whom is a young man 
 we should think not over twenty- five, belonging, no 
 doubt, to some family of high rank and wealthy, as 
 he was richly dressed. These services were in a 
 side chapel, large enough to accommodate three or 
 four hundred people. 
 
 On our way home from St. Peter's we stopped at 
 the Church of the Trinita de' Monti to hear vespers 
 by the French nuns. This church is situated by 
 Pincian Hill, near the head of the Spanish Staircase, 
 a magnificent flight of one hundred and twenty- five 
 steps, leading up from the Piazzi di Spagna to via 
 Sistina. We have seldom passed this point without 
 seeing groups of curiously dressed persons of both 
 sexes and all ages, who make a living by standing 
 as models for artists or by being invited by strangers 
 to photograph establishments to get their photo- 
 
280 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 graphs taken. It may be a genteel way of begging. 
 We understand they profess to be Neapolitans; but 
 one thing about them is certain, they present a 
 perfect picture of unconcerned laziness. On enter- 
 ing the church we saw one or two hundred nuns in 
 front of the main altar — scholars with their attend- 
 ants — who were taking part in the services by sing- 
 ing, being accompanied by the organ. Their singing 
 was very plaintive and sweet. Three or four priests 
 were officiating, being, with the nuns, shut off from 
 the rest of the worshipers and audience by a high 
 iron grating. At the conclusion of the service the 
 nuns passed in regular order down the aisle to the 
 steps of the altar, where each one courtesied or 
 half knelt, and proceeded to a side door leading into 
 the convent. They wore long white veils thrown 
 over their heads, while the sisters, their attendants, 
 wore black bonnets and black veils. "In the even- 
 ing," Frederika Bremer observes, "people go to the 
 Trinita to hear the nuns sing from the organ gallery. 
 It sounds like the singing of angels. One sees in 
 the choir troops of young scholars, moving with 
 slow and measured steps, with their long white veils, 
 like a flock of spirits." 
 
 In the evening, by special invitation, we all at- 
 tended a reception at Mr. Van Meter's, who, with 
 members of his family, is actively engaged here in 
 teaching. He has one or more schools in the city, 
 and one also at Frascata, which are supported mainly 
 by contributions collected by him in England and 
 the United States. A part of the evening was de- 
 voted to religious services, embracing the singing of 
 Moody and Sankey hymns. Mr. Van Meter led in 
 prayer and singing, his daughter performing on the 
 piano, and reverend gentlemen present were called 
 
ROME. 281 
 
 on by him for short addresses between the hymns. 
 These social gatherings are held at his house every 
 Sunday evening, affording a favorable opportunity 
 for travelers to meet and exchange compliments, if 
 not to become acquainted with one another. Mr. 
 Van Meter invited us to visit his schools, and from 
 what we have seen and heard we think he is doing a 
 good work. 
 
 We have spent a forenoon in the'Borghese Picture 
 Gallery, said to be the best private collection in 
 the city. This Palace is about three hundred years 
 old. It is "an immense edifice, standing round 
 the four sides of a quadrangle; and though the 
 suite of rooms, which comprise the Picture Gallery, 
 forms an almost interminable vista, they occupy 
 only a part of the ground floor of one side. The 
 picture rooms open from one into another, and have 
 many points of magnificence, being large and lofty, 
 with vaulted ceilings and beautiful frescoes, gen- 
 erally of mythological subjects, in the flat central 
 parts of the vault. The cornices are gilded and 
 the doorways are of polished and variegated marble, 
 or covered with a composition as hard, and seem- 
 ingly as durable." The Gallery is open free to the 
 public from nine o'clock till two, except on Sat- 
 urdays and Sundays. Among the celebrated paint- 
 ings here are "The Entombment," by Raphael; 
 "The Mourners over the Dead Christ," by Garofalo; 
 "Portrait of Caesar Borgia," attributed to Bronzino 
 and also to Raphael; "St. Stephen," by Francesco 
 Franzia; "Danae," by Correggio; "The Flagella- 
 tion," by Sebastian del Piombo; "David with the 
 Head of Goliath," by Giorgione; "Sacred and Pro- 
 fane Love," by Titian; "Return of the Prodigal 
 Son," by Bonifazio; "Christ and the Mother of Zebe- 
 
282 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 dee's Children/' by the same artist; and "Earthly 
 and Heavenly Love," thought to be one of Titian's 
 greatest works. 
 
 On our way home we stopped at an old monastery 
 and were shown into what we should style a dirty 
 cellar, but which is called the Mausoleum of Augus- 
 tus, which is now only a mass of ruins. The guide 
 pointed out to us a four -gallon iron kettle, rusted 
 full of holes, as the vessel which he said once held 
 the ashes of Augustus, whose body at his death 
 went through the process of cremation. We are 
 bound to admit that the sight afforded us little 
 satisfaction, especially as we ran great risk of taking 
 a severe cold in going from a warm atmosphere 
 into such a damp, chilling cave. We hope Augustus 
 will not lay it up against us for cutting our visit 
 short. 
 
 The Fountain of Trevi is a wonderfully perfect 
 representation of Nature, heightened in interest by 
 art. Its water, drawn "from a source far beyond 
 the walls," of the city, "sparkles forth as pure as 
 the virgin who first led Agrippa to its well springs 
 by her father's door." It is said that all who drink 
 from this fountain are sure to visit Rome again. 
 "It is a great palace front. At the foot of the 
 palatial fagade is strewn, with careful art and or- 
 dered irregularity, a broad and broken heap of mas- 
 sive rock, looking as if it may have lain there since 
 the deluge. Over a central precipice falls the water 
 in a semi-circular cascade, and from a hundred crev- 
 ices, on all sides, snowy jets gush up, and streams 
 spout out of the mouths and nostrils of stone mon- 
 sters, and fall in glistening drops, while other rivu- 
 lets, that have run wild, come leaping from one 
 rude step to another, over stones that are mossy, 
 
ROME. 283 
 
 shining, and green with sedge, because in a century 
 of their wild play, Nature has adopted the Fountain 
 of Trevi with all its elaborate devices for her own." 
 The water falls into a large marble reservoir. 
 
 One of our visits long to be remembered was to 
 the Church of the Capuchins, or rather to the cem- 
 etery under it, but on a level with the ground out- 
 side. There are two or three famous pictures in 
 the church; one, "The Archangel Michael Trampling 
 upon the Devil," by Guido; one, by Gherardo della 
 Notte, representing "Christ in the Purple Robe;" and 
 "The Visit of Ananias to Saul," by Pietro da Cor- 
 tona. The cemetery consists of four small rooms 
 walled each on three sides, the other side being open 
 to the passage way along by the front windows. 
 The walls and ceilings are ornamented with the 
 bones of about four thousand Capuchin monks, 
 whose remains were buried here. Until within a 
 recent period, when Victor Emmanuel's government 
 prohibited any more burials here, in the case of a 
 new interment, the bones of the monk longest buried 
 were thus brought into requisition in order to make 
 room for the latest corpse. There are no floors to 
 these chambers, and the earth beneath, in which 
 one body after another has been buried, was brought 
 from Jerusalem. Besides the thousands of bones 
 arranged in various artistic forms on the walls and 
 ceilings, in the niches of the rooms there are mum- 
 my-like skeletons of several monks, said to have 
 been among the most distinguished of the order. 
 These are either seated or standing, "enveloped in 
 their brown cowls, their cords around their waists, 
 and with a breviary or withered bunch of flowers in 
 their hands." In a word, they appear in the costume 
 and appendages they wore when living. Altogether 
 
284 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 this was a sight that one would not care to see more 
 than once. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 SO OME, December 18. — On the 15th we visited 
 ^rV the Farnesina Palace, which is open to visitors 
 only on the 1st and 15th of each month. We were 
 admitted to only two rooms, and these contain what 
 are regarded as some of "the most beautiful existing 
 frescoes of Raphael and his school." One of these 
 "represents the Goddess of the Sea borne over the 
 waves in her shell; tritons and sea -nymphs sport 
 joyously around her; amorini, discharging their ar- 
 rows, appear in the air like an angel -glory." An- 
 other represents Diana in her car, drawn by oxen; 
 and then there are twelve scenes from the story of 
 Psyche, in which that mythological character, Ve- 
 nus, Cupid, Ceres, Jupiter, Mercury, and Olympus 
 are conspicuous figures — all wonderfully beautiful. 
 The rooms were very cold, and we cut our visit 
 short. 
 
 We next rode to the Church of San Pietro in 
 Montorio, "built by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain 
 on the site of an oratory founded by Constantine 
 upon the supposed spot of St. Peter's crucifixion." 
 It contains several chapels, richly furnished with 
 paintings, some of which, such as "The Scourging 
 of Christ," "The Transfiguration," and "The Virgin 
 and Child with St. Anne," are very fine; and there 
 are also monuments to various distinguished per- 
 sons. " Here, in front of the high altar, the unhappy 
 
ROME. 285 
 
 Beatrice Cenci was buried without any monument." 
 The custodian conducted us to the cloister, a small 
 room under or adjoining the church, as having been 
 built "on the spot where St. Peter's cross is said to 
 have stood;" and with a cup attached to the end of 
 a stick six or eight feet in length he drew from 
 beneath the floor, through which there was an open- 
 ing for the purpose, a small quantity of sand, which 
 he distributed to the company present as a precious 
 relic. Of course we received our share in a solemn 
 manner and as solemnly handed to the obliging 
 monk the accustomed fee without question. True, 
 we knew that many authorities contend that St. 
 Peter never was in Rome; but to have permitted 
 any doubt that we stood over the exact spot of his 
 crucifixion would have destroyed the main novelty 
 of our visit; therefore we dismissed doubt — as far 
 as possible. It is said that when St. Peter was 
 brought to the place of execution he requested that 
 "he might be crucified with his head downward, 
 alleging that he was not worthy to suffer in the 
 same manner his Divine Master had died before 
 him," and that the officers granted this "extraor- 
 dinary request." 
 
 In the afternoon, in company with Dr. Parker 
 and party, we were driven by the Trajan and Ro- 
 man Forums and many other interesting points, 
 out through the Porta Capena, the old arched gate- 
 way by which St. Paul entered when he came to 
 the city, four or five miles along the Appian Way. 
 In some respects we were disappointed in the ap- 
 pearance of this famous turnpike. It is far from 
 smooth and only of sufficient width for two carriages 
 to pass comfortably. Walls, ten feet high on either 
 side, for several miles obstruct the view. On the 
 
286 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 further end of our trip the walls are lower, ad- 
 mitting of a sight of the Campagna, with its crum- 
 bling monuments; and just beyond are the ruins 
 of the old Roman acqueduct, the arches of which 
 extend for miles around nearly to the walls of the 
 city on the left. On our way we went into a little 
 Church, called the SS. ISTereo ed Achilleo. "The 
 tradition runs that St. Peter, going to execution, 
 let drop here one of the bandages of his wounds, 
 and that the spot was marked by the early Chris- 
 tians with an oratory, which bore the name of 
 Fasciola." In another small Church we were shown 
 a copy of the footprints, in marble, "said to have 
 been left by our Saviour, the originals being re- 
 moved to St. Sebastiano." That we might be able 
 to verify the fact, we purchased of a black -eyed 
 maiden on the spot a photograph of these remark- 
 able footprints. We passed, without entering, a 
 small circular structure where St. Peter is said to 
 have been imprisoned; and off a quarter of a mile 
 or more from the main road we went into a dilapi- 
 dated brick building, now used for a stable or store- 
 house, once the Temple of Bacchus — the tomb of 
 Urbano. The Appian Way, as far as we rode upon 
 it, is lined on either side with ancient tombs, raised 
 by stones, brick, and mortar, some of them to a 
 height of thirty or forty feet, all defaced by the 
 storms and winds of two thousand years. One of 
 the most prominent is that of Cecilia Metella. Ev- 
 erywhere the eye could reach are ruins of some 
 kind; and Minister Marsh told us that one could 
 not turn up the soil anywhere in the vicinity of 
 the city without almost invariably bringing to light 
 ancient relics of more or less interest. At a distance 
 of sixteen miles eastward, toward mountains cov- 
 
ROME. 287 
 
 ered with snow, we could see the village of Tivoli, 
 and nearer, a little toward the south, the village 
 of Frascata and the smaller settlement of Albano, to 
 which places the Roman people, who are able, go to 
 escape from the summer heat and sickness of the 
 city. Hearing that there had been recent robberies 
 on the road, before starting on our trip we divested 
 ourselves of our watches and other little valuables; 
 but we are satisfied the precaution was wholly un- 
 necessary. True, we passed two or three squads of 
 banditti -looking fellows, who were at work on the 
 highway; but had they a disposition to commit rob- 
 bery, there was little time for it free from interrup- 
 tion, since sight -seers, as well as country people, 
 are constantly passing and repassing during the day. 
 In the forenoon of the 17th we visited the studios 
 of Rogers and Miss Hosmer, in both of which we 
 saw many fine statues and other works in marble. 
 Miss Hosmer appears to enjoy vigorous health, and 
 said that, with ordinary care, any one may reside in 
 Rome as safely, so far as health is concerned, as in 
 most other cities. Mr. Rogers also seemed quite 
 well. We should take him to be between fifty and 
 sixty years of age. He expressed his intention of 
 shortly taking up his residence in Washington City, 
 where we are sure he would meet with a hearty 
 welcome. We visited the studio, also, of a fine 
 looking Italian gentleman who used to work for 
 Crawford. It was full of beautiful statues, one of 
 which, "You Can't Come In," represents a beautiful 
 maiden just ready to take a bath in her room. She 
 is evidently surprised by some intruder, and hastily 
 gathers around her, as best she may, one of her 
 garments not usually worn on the outside. In her 
 confusion she leaves enough of her form uncovered 
 
288 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 to show that, sweet and beautiful as her face is, it 
 cannot claim superiority, in that regard, over some 
 other parts of her figure. 
 
 In the afternoon we went to the Barberini Palace 
 to see galleries of pictures, among which is the 
 famous ''Portrait of Beatrice Cenci." But for her 
 interesting history, we doubt whether this picture 
 would attract such universal attention, although it 
 cannot be denied that there is something about her 
 expression which, closely observed, is calculated to 
 excite more than passing interest. We had heard it 
 stated that no artist was permitted to sit by and 
 copy this portrait, and that the copies obtained had 
 been executed by experts, who would carefully scan 
 it and then hasten to their studios to convey their 
 impressions to canvas. However this may have 
 been formerly, it is not so now. The custodian 
 showed us several copies for sale bearing a certifi- 
 cate under the seal of the proper authorities that 
 they were directly from the original in the gallery, 
 where we purchased a large photograph, which he 
 assured us was likewise taken, as it evidently was, 
 from the original. Of this portrait Shelly observed 
 that it is "most interesting as a just representation 
 of one of the loveliest specimens of the workman- 
 ship of Nature. There is a fixed and pale composure 
 upon the features; she seems sad and stricken down 
 in spirit, yet the despair thus expressed is lightened 
 by the patience of gentleness." Hawthorne wrote: 
 "The whole face is very quiet; there is no distortion 
 or disturbance of any single feature; nor is it easy 
 to see why the expression is not cheerful, or why a 
 single touch of the artist's pencil should not brighten 
 it into joyousness. But, in fact, it is the very sad- 
 dest picture ever painted or conceived; it involves 
 
ROME. 289 
 
 an unfathomable depth of sorrow, the sense of which 
 comes to the observer by a sort of intuition. It 
 is a sorrow that removes this beautiful girl out 
 of the sphere of humanity, and sets her in a far-off 
 region, the remoteness of which, while yet her face 
 is so close before us, makes us shiver as at a spec- 
 ter." Dickens expresses a similar idea, — "Through 
 the transcendent sweetness and beauty of the face 
 there is a something shining out that haunts me. I 
 see it now, as I see this paper or my pen." The 
 other most noted picture in these Galleries is the 
 portrait of the unfortunate Lucrezia Cenci, the step- 
 mother of Beatrice, who suffered and was executed 
 with her. The charge against them, believed to 
 be true, was that they conspired together to rid 
 themselves and the world of Beatrice's own father, 
 not only on account of his debauchery and wicked- 
 ness generally, but that his diabolism took form in 
 "an implacable hatred toward his children," and 
 especially toward Beatrice, in a manner too cruel 
 and too base for utterance. These scenes occurred 
 during the pontificate of Clement VIII., in 1599. 
 
 The Barberini Palace is extensive and grand, and 
 contains not only a large number of rooms, filled 
 with paintings and other works of art, but also 
 an immense hall devoted mainly to statuary, and 
 a library of valuable books and about seven thou- 
 sand manuscripts, among which are letters of Gali- 
 leo, Bembo, Urban VIII., and others. One wing 
 o£ the building is now occupied by distinguished 
 members of the Barberini family. Upon the grand 
 staircase there is the representation of a lion in 
 high relief, "found on the property at Palestrina. 
 It is before this lion that Canova is said to have 
 lain for hours upon the pavement, studying for his 
 19 
 
290 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 tomb of Clement XIII. in St. Peter's." In the hall 
 of statuary are "four vast frescoes of the fathers 
 of the Church — having been removed from the dome 
 of St. Peter's, where they were replaced with mo- 
 saics by Urban VIII." 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 OME, December 22. — On the forenoon of the 
 ^JpV 18th the writer, in company with a fellow 
 traveler, called on the Roman Catholic prelate of 
 the American College, Father Chatard, formerly 
 of Baltimore, for the purpose of obtaining a permit 
 for one of the ladies of our party to visit his Holi- 
 ness the Pope. Father Chatard received us very 
 courteously, and after a pleasant chat we made 
 known our business, when he inquired if the lady 
 understood what would be required of her in case 
 she should be admitted to the desired audience. At 
 the same time, to remove any embarrassment she 
 might feel, he went on to observe,, we thought rather 
 apologetically, knowing we were not of his religious 
 faith, that she would be expected to appear without 
 gloves, in a black dress, black veil over her head, 
 and to kneel before the Pope on his approach for 
 introduction. This, he said, was the prescribed eti- 
 quette, and he thought it much more simple thun 
 that which is required to be observed in presenta- 
 tions to Queen Victoria and most other sovereigns. 
 We replied . that this was all understood, and he 
 promised to send us the solicited note of admission. 
 It is said gloves are prohibited for fear of poison. 
 
ROME. 291 
 
 Now we hesitated about speaking of this purpose of 
 calling on the Pope, for we have reason to think the 
 lady in question is a little sensitive on the subject; 
 but since we have commenced "telling tales out of 
 school/' we might as well acknowledge that but for 
 two or three reasons the writer himself would also 
 have applied for a pass. In the first place, he had 
 left his dress coat, one essential article, at Geneva, 
 nor was he the possessor of a white cravat, another 
 necessary piece of apparel for such an occasion; but 
 the most serious obstacle was a stiffness of the knee 
 joints, the cause of which he failed to trace to a 
 short but painful attack of rheumatism with which 
 he had been afflicted some two months previous at 
 Interlachen! The result was that he left without 
 asking for a permit for himself, hoping sometime to 
 meet his Holiness, who is no doubt a very good old 
 gentleman and sincere Christian, where less cere- 
 mony may be required. 
 
 The 19th was Sunday, and we again attended 
 services at the American Union Chapel, where we 
 listened to another able sermon by Rev. Mr. Lang- 
 muir. After lunch we walked to Pincian Hill, the 
 Hyde Park of Rome, where, in the course of the 
 afternoon, thousands of persons assembled to prom- 
 enade, on foot and in carriage, to enjoy the music of 
 a fine band, and to see and be seen. We hoped to 
 get a sight of King Victor Emmanuel,* who usually 
 rides out on these occasions, but we were disap- 
 pointed. We, however, saw Prince Humbert and 
 the Princess Margherita, the latter of whom is very 
 popular. Although the weather is said to be unu- 
 
 * He died, after a short sickness, January 9, 1878, and was succeeded 
 by his son, Prince Humbert. 
 
292 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 sually cold, tropical trees and plants are growing in 
 the open air, and orange trees in the gardens are 
 loaded with their golden fruit. 
 
 On the forenoon of the 21st we visited the museum 
 of statues and cabinets of sculpture at the Vatican. 
 The collection of statues and other objects of art 
 here is as extensive as it is wonderful. It would be 
 tedious to enumerate or attempt to describe at length. 
 Many of the works here are famous everywhere; for 
 instance, "The Laocoon," "The Apollo Belvidere," 
 and "The Antinous," or "Mercury" — the latter 
 statue being, "perhaps, the most beautiful in the 
 world. It was found on the Esquiline, near San 
 Martino al Monte." "The Laocoon" group was also 
 "discovered near the Sette Sale on the Esquiline in 
 1506, while Michael Angelo was in Rome." This is 
 believed to be the group described by Pliny as, in his 
 estimation, superior to all other works both in paint- 
 ing and statuary. He remarks that "the whole 
 group — the father, the boys, and the awful folds of 
 the serpents — were formed out of a single block, in 
 accordance with a vote of the Senate, by Agesander, 
 Polydorus, and Athenodorus, Rhodian sculptors of 
 the highest merit." 
 
 " Turning to the Vatican, go see 
 Laocoon's torture dignifying pain — 
 A father's love and mortal's agony 
 With an immortal's patience blending. Vain 
 The struggle; vain against the coiling strain 
 And gripe, and deepening of the dragon's grasp, 
 The old man's clench; the long envenomed chain 
 Rivets the living links — the enormous asp 
 Enforces pang, and stifles gasp on gasp." 
 
 "The Apollo Belvidere" was "found in the six- 
 teenth century at Porta d' Anzio and purchased by 
 Julius II." "The Perseus" and "The Pugilists, 
 
ROME. 293 
 
 Kreugas and Damoxenus," by Canova, are also cele- 
 brated statues. 
 
 In the afternoon we spent the time at the Pantheon 
 and two or three churches. The Pantheon is a Pa- 
 gan Temple, having been erected by Marcus Agrippa 
 twenty- seven years before the Christian era. Closed 
 as a Temple in the year 399, it was consecrated as a 
 Christian Church in 608. In form it is circular, with 
 a portico one hundred and eight feet wide by forty- 
 two feet deep. The portico is supported by sixteen 
 Corinthian granite columns, thirteen feet in circum- 
 ference and thirty- nine feet in height. Eight of 
 these columns are in front and the others form three 
 colonnades in the rear thereof. The walls of the 
 building are of brick and twenty feet in thickness. 
 The rotunda, which embraces the entire space with- 
 in, is one hundred and forty- three feet in diameter 
 and its height is the same. There are seven niches, 
 in which are statues, in the walls, and on the outer 
 circle also are chapels like those in common Roman 
 Catholic cathedrals. In these chapels are a number 
 of tombs, among them those of Raphael, Caracci, 
 Zucchero, Peruzzi, Vaga, and Udine, all painters, 
 and the remains of all of whom were interred here. 
 The rotunda is lighted entirely by an aperture twen- 
 ty-eight feet in diameter in the center of the roof. 
 In allusion to this, Hawthorne evolves this beautiful 
 picture: " 'I like better,' replied Hilda, 'to look at the 
 bright blue sky roofing the edifice where the builders 
 left it open. It is very delightful, in a breezy day, 
 to see the masses of white clouds float over the 
 opening, and then the sunshine fall through it again, 
 fitfully as it does now. Would it be a wonder if we 
 were to see angels hovering there, partly in and 
 partly out, with genial, heavenly faces, not inter- 
 
294 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 cepting the light, but transmuting it into beautiful 
 colors? Look at that broad, golden beam — a sloping 
 cataract of sunlight — which comes down from the 
 aperture and rests upon the shrine at the right hand 
 of the entrance. ' " As there is no provision for clos- 
 ing this opening, the rain from above meets with no 
 obstacle till it reaches the marble floor, in the center 
 of which there are holes for it to pass off. This floor 
 is now on a level with or below the ground outside, 
 which, by the debris of centuries, has been raised to 
 the extent of five steps, by which the Temple was 
 originally entered. To us this is one of the most 
 interesting places we have yet visited, because it 
 takes us way back beyond the period when we com- 
 menced to reckon time. True, we may anywhere 
 see things in Nature going back thousands of years, 
 if not thousands of centuries, before this date; but 
 here is the work of men who lived before Christ 
 appeared on the earth — men who must have been 
 the equals, at least in architecture and mechanics, 
 of any living at the present day — perhaps their 
 superiors. 
 
 Near the Pantheon we entered rooms, formerly 
 above but now below the level of the earth, where 
 St. Paul is said to have lived two years. The well, 
 still supplied with water from which he quenched 
 his thirst, was shown to us, and also the chain by 
 which he was bound to his jailor to prevent his 
 escape. 
 
 We have been again to the gallery of statuary in 
 the Vatican and into a good many rooms filled with 
 all sorts of old Roman relics, which were unearthed 
 in and around the city. We saw, too, a large num- 
 ber of statues which we failed to see on our first 
 visit. One of them is a fine full length statue of 
 
ROME. 295 
 
 Augustus, brought to light only a few years ago. 
 From the Vatican we went through and to the top 
 of the Castle of San Angelo, the circular military 
 citadel, which next to St. Peter's and the Coliseum 
 is perhaps the most prominent object in the city. 
 From the roof we obtained a splendid view of both 
 city and country. Directly by its walls we looked 
 down upon the still open field, in which Cincinnatus 
 left his plow to enter the public service. As previ- 
 ously observed, this structure, or rather the skeleton 
 thereof, was originally the tomb of Hadrian and 
 other Emperors. It has since been changed in form 
 and much enlarged. We had to get a permit to 
 enter it, and we were treated very politely by both 
 officers and soldiers, who guided us through numer- 
 ous apartments, including the room in which Bea- 
 trice Cenci was put to torture, but in vain, to make 
 her confess. We also entered the dungeons in which 
 she and her step -mother respectively were impris- 
 oned. That of Beatrice was six to eight feet square, 
 within walls about ten feet in height. Overhead, at 
 one side, is a small window, through which a dim 
 light might have entered, and on another side, also 
 overhead, is a small aperture through which she 
 received her food. We were obliged to bend our- 
 selves nearly double in order to enter the dungeon 
 through its low, narrow doorway. Our guide said 
 she was confined here eleven months. In times of 
 revolution this castle has been the refuge of the 
 Popes, and we were shown an immense iron chest 
 in which they kept their treasure. This chest is ten 
 feet or more in length, six feet high, and three or 
 four feet wide. One of the old Popes, the guide 
 informed us, had at one time five millions of scudi 
 in it to protect it from the revolutionists. From the 
 
296 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Castle to the Vatican are two passages, one over the 
 other, constructed for the escape of the Popes, as 
 they have several times been used, in times of dan- 
 ger. The upper passage is " open like a loggia, the 
 lower covered, and only lighted by loop - holes. The 
 keys of both are kept by the Pope himself. " 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIL 
 
 OME, December 23. — Since making note of our 
 ^PV call on Father Chatard to obtain a permit 
 for one of the ladies of our party to attend a recep- 
 tion of Pius IX., the atmosphere of Rome, or some- 
 thing else, has had quite an oily effect upon the 
 knee-joints of the writer, as the stiffness (?) felt 
 there some days ago yielded so much on the 22d 
 that the other difficulties mentioned as in the way 
 of his attending also having been easily surmounted, 
 he was surprised to find himself on the way to 
 the Vatican among the faithful of that occasion. 
 The truth is he had a strong desire to see the Pope, 
 and when the time came for his lady friend to 
 go, she having received her promised pass, she was 
 without an escort, and felt a delicacy about going 
 in alone. What was to be done? Another lady 
 of our party wished to go, but neither she nor the 
 writer had a permit, and permits are usually ob- 
 tained only on application several days in advance. 
 Everything seemed to point to the writer as the 
 proper escort. The excuse of no dress coat and 
 no white cravat was immediately answered by an 
 offer of the loan of the first by Mr. William H. 
 
ROME. 297 
 
 Ferry, Jr., nephew of Senator Ferry, and of the 
 latter by our fellow traveler, Dr. Parker. Mr. Ferry 
 was an independent gentleman, on his wedding tour 
 with his charming wife, both at our hotel, and 
 Dr. Parker, having resigned his pastorate of the 
 Calvary Church, no doubt considered himself secure 
 from a " church mauling" for so venial a sin, spring- 
 ing as it did from the goodness of his heart, that 
 of proffering or consenting to loan a white neck -tie 
 for such an occasion. Thus, the way being ap- 
 parently clear, at least for a trial, a carriage was 
 called, and the writer, with his two lady compan- 
 ions, was hastily driven to the office of Father Cha- 
 tard and the case laid before him. He was exceed- 
 ingly kind and courteous. He could not on so short 
 notice give us regular permits, but he wrote and 
 handed us a note to the doorkeeper at the Vatican, 
 who receives the passes, adding that he himself 
 would be present and give us a special introduction 
 to the "Holy Father," as he styles the Pope. This 
 not only made it all right for us, but very agreeable, 
 and we went on our way rejoicing. We found no 
 difficulty in gaining admission to the officiating 
 priest whose duty it is to examine the passes, and, 
 guided by ushers dressed in scarlet velvet, we were 
 soon seated in the reception room, where we had to 
 wait over an hour before the Pope made his appear- 
 ance, owing, as we have since learned, to his having 
 previously to receive a delegation of students from 
 South America, who read to him an address, to 
 which he responded. The reception room is a long- 
 corridor, with space for two rows of chairs, about 
 one hundred, on either side, and for two or three 
 persons abreast to pass between them. On the 
 outside are large arched windows the whole way. 
 
298 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 At the further end is an arm-chair for the Pope, 
 with his bust in marble and coat of arms over 
 it. At the opposite end is an iron rail gate with 
 curtains thrown across, and this is the end at which 
 the Pope — as well as the visitors — enters. The 
 curtains were not entirely drawn aside until just 
 before he made his appearance. He came in, ac- 
 companied by about a dozen cardinals or priests, 
 and among them our friend, Father Chatard, who 
 stopped and spoke to us as he passed down the 
 corridor in the train of the Pope, who, on entering, 
 saluted the company with a few words, which we 
 did not exactly understand, but took to be a salu- 
 tatory welcome. Immediately on his appearance 
 inside the curtained gateway, we all rose from our 
 seats, and the line of visitors opposite to us com- 
 menced kneeling and knelt as he approached them 
 on the whole line. When he reached the end they 
 all rose to their feef, and as he came back on our 
 side the same ceremony of kneeling was observed. 
 All took his right hand, or put one hand under 
 his and kissed or raised it near their lips, while 
 some of the more devoted did not stop at kissing 
 his hand, but prostrated themselves before him 
 and kissed one of his feet. Some of the women, 
 evidently humble Italian or French women, were 
 affected to tears. When he came to us, Father 
 Chatard was at his side, and, kneeling also, intro- 
 duced us. After we had shaken hands, Father 
 Chatard informed him more particularly who we 
 were, when his Holiness again took our hand and 
 expressed his gratification at seeing us. Of course 
 we reciprocated the compliment, which we have 
 every reason to. believe was sincere on his part, 
 as it certainly was on ours, for we regard him as 
 
ROME. 299 
 
 a very kind-hearted, good old gentleman. When 
 he was through with his separate greetings and 
 blessing — he breathed a short blessing on each one 
 as he or she was presented to him, and also blessed 
 beads, crosses, and other small articles which many 
 of the guests brought for the purpose — he faced 
 the audience and made a short speech in French. 
 He commenced by invoking the blessing of God 
 on all present, individually and collectively, and 
 upon our countries respectively, representing as we 
 did several nationalities. We were not able to com- 
 prehend all he said, as he spoke quite rapidly; but 
 referring to his morning interview with the South 
 American students, he said it had fatigued him, 
 and he must therefore be excused from addressing 
 us at length. In conclusion he said he earnestly 
 hoped and prayed that we might all meet in heaven 
 as we had met here. When he said this he raised 
 his eyes toward heaven, and was very animated, 
 as he was in fact throughout his speech, frequently 
 bringing his cane down to the floor more fully to 
 express his earnestness. His cane, the handle of 
 which was ivory, he carried in his left hand. He 
 wore a white silk cap, an inner robe of white cash- 
 mere, with a silk sash, and his cloak, or exterior 
 robe, was scarlet merino or broadcloth. His hair 
 is very white, his countenance benignant and very 
 pleasant, and his whole appearance commanding. 
 He has the shuffling walk of an aged person, but he 
 does not show so much of the feebleness of age 
 in his face as most men do at his time of life; 
 he is now eighty- four. As soon as he had con- 
 cluded his address, he retired with the members 
 of his court, and the gratified visitors dispersed to 
 their respective domiciles. To our collection of pho- 
 
300 s SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 tographs we have added a remarkably correct like- 
 ness of him.* 
 
 In the afternoon we visited the Church of Santa 
 Maria Maggiore, which, next to St. Peter's, is the 
 most beautiful in Rome. It "was founded a. d. 352 
 by Pope Liberius and John, a Roman patrician, to 
 commemorate a miraculous fall of snow, which cov- 
 ered this spot and no other on the 5th of August, 
 when the Virgin, appearing in a vision, showed them 
 that she had thus appropriated the site of a new 
 temple." This is one interpretation of the legend. 
 Another is that the Virgin appeared simultaneously 
 to Liberius and John in their dreams, commanding 
 them to erect a church to her on the spot where they 
 should find a deposit of snow on the following morn- 
 ing. August 5th. There are long rows of magnifi- 
 cent marble columns, many imposing tombs, and 
 the church abounds also in beautiful mosaics, illus- 
 trative of Scripture history and Christian doctrines. 
 Among the tombs are those of Nicholas IV., Clement 
 VIII., Paul V., Sixtus V., Clement IX., and "in 
 front of and beneath the high altar Pius IX. has 
 lately been preparing his own monument, by con- 
 structing a splendid chamber approached by stair- 
 cases and lined with the most precious alabaster and 
 marbles." In or near the high altar is a sarcophagus 
 said to contain the remains of St. Matthew. Over 
 this magnificent chamber is a canopy like that at 
 St. Peter's. Among the illustrations in mosaic are 
 representations of "The Throne of the Lamb," as 
 described in the Apocalypse, Peter and Paul beside 
 
 * He died February 7, 1878. On the 20th of February, Cardinal 
 Gioachimo Pecci was elected as his successor, and has taken the title of 
 Leo XIII. 
 
ROME. 301 
 
 it; "The Annunciation," "The Angel appearing to 
 Zacharias," "The Massacre of the Innocents," "The 
 Presentation in the Temple," "The Adoration of the 
 Magi," and "Herod Receiving the Head of St. John 
 the Baptist." Some of the ceilings are richly fres- 
 coed. "It was in this church that Pope St. Martin 
 I. was celebrating mass in the seventh century, 
 when a guard, sent by the Exarch Olympius, ap- 
 peared on the threshold with orders to seize and put 
 him to death. At the sight of the Pontiff the soldier 
 was stricken with blindness, a miracle which led to 
 the conversion of Olympius and many other per- 
 sons." 
 
 In the evening Father Chatard called and passed 
 an hour with us all in Dr. Parker's private parlor. 
 He is from Baltimore, where he was educated as a 
 physician, but afterward studied for the priesthood, 
 and has resided here since 1857. We should judge 
 him to be from forty- five to fifty years of age. He 
 is a tall, fine -looking man, and his long black robe 
 with small cape gave him quite a dignified appear- 
 ance. His cloak, which he laid off, is of fine broad- 
 cloth, reaching nearly to his feet, and his chapeau is 
 of fur, with a wide brim, turned up with a silk cord 
 to present three corners, like all the hats worn by the 
 priests and students of the Roman Catholic Church 
 here. He is at the head of the American College, 
 and is evidently a gentleman of much influence in 
 the Church. It having been represented in the 
 United States that the Roman Catholics were edu- 
 cating here some two hundred negroes for the pur- 
 pose of proselyting among their colored brethren in 
 the Southern States, Dr. Parker inquired of him as 
 to the fact. He replied that there was no truth in 
 the report — that there were only two or three col- 
 
302 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ored persons at school here, and that they were 
 studying with a view to service in South America. 
 He did not appear to feel any special interest in the 
 colored over the white race, but, on the contrary, 
 thought it no easy matter for both to occupy the 
 same social platform. In this connection he related 
 an amusing anecdote of the confession one day, we 
 do not remember how long ago, at St. Peter's. The 
 sight of a negro here is very unusual, and there are 
 thousands of citizens, probably, who never set eyes 
 on one. It happened that a negro priest, on a visit 
 here, took a seat at St. Peter's in one of the confes- 
 sionals to hear confessions. When thus seated the 
 priests are concealed from view, and one may make 
 confession without knowing to whom or to what 
 kind of a person he is confessing. On this occasion 
 a lady of noble birth knelt and made her confession 
 to this black priest, and rising to retire, she hap- 
 pened to espy his face through a crevice in the door, 
 when she became terribly frightened, declaring that 
 she had been confessing to the devil! Father Cha- 
 tard also narrated interesting incidents of the bom- 
 bardment of the city at the time when Victor Em- 
 manuel assumed possession. He said that he was 
 awakened very early in the morning by an unusual 
 noise, which he instantly became satisfied was the 
 sound of battle, and being in a room into which 
 shells might fall and explode, he immediately arose 
 and went to the roof of the house, where he found 
 several of his pupils on the same mission, to view 
 the grand display of fireworks. He did not, how- 
 ever, deem it prudent to stop long, and they all 
 betook themselves to a lower room, strongly arched, 
 where they were safe from both shell and balls. 
 About ten in the forenoon the cannonading ceased, 
 
ROME. 303 
 
 a white flag having been raised from the dome of 
 St. Peter's as a signal of the Pope's capitulation. 
 He said the Holy Father desired to avoid bloodshed, 
 and made only sufficient resistance to show that he 
 yielded only to force. Less than fifty persons, we 
 think he said, were killed on either side. We were * 
 highly gratified by this visit from Father Chatard, 
 as we were likewise by his courtesy when we called 
 on him. In reference to the surrender of Pius IX. , 
 pur hostess, a very intelligent English lady, whose 
 husband is an Italian, told us that the King entered 
 the city early one morning without a guard, and 
 that he was received by the people with unbounded 
 acclamation. In answer to their greeting, as he 
 rode through the city, he said, "I came just as soon 
 as I could!" and he continued to repeat this response 
 over and over again until he alighted at the Quirinal 
 Palace. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 |CP OME, December 24. — On the 23d, in company 
 ^PV with Dr. Parker and party, we spent several 
 hours roaming over and through the Palace of the 
 Caesars, or, more correctly speaking, among the 
 ruins of many palaces once the abode of the Roman 
 Emperors. Palace upon palace has been built here 
 — one upon the ruins of another; but we know 
 not why the term "Palace of the Caesars" is used, 
 unless it is because the present ruins, for the most 
 part, are believed to be those of the Palace of Vespa- 
 sian, which was built upon the top of the buried 
 
304 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Palace of Augustus, some of the ruins of which 
 have been excavated, and are now entered from 
 one of the halls of the Palace of Vespasian. New 
 excavations constantly bring to light more and more 
 of interest. In some of the rooms lowest down, the 
 walls of which are standing, we saw fine artistic 
 paintings on the plastering that must have been 
 executed more than two thousand years ago. These 
 ruins entirely cover Palatine Hill, many acres in 
 extent; and on some days in the height of the visit- 
 ing season there are no doubt scores of travelers 
 here to examine them. What seemed strange to us 
 was that on the day of our visit, in a place of so 
 much interest, our party should have had it all to 
 ourselves. Not exactly all, however, as we shall 
 see. We were intently engaged in our investiga- 
 tions when, at some distance in a remote part of the 
 ruins, we espied the tall figure of a gentleman in a 
 long dark cloak and military cap. He stood erect 
 with his back half turned toward us, and we could 
 see that he was evidently deeply absorbed in study 
 of the surrounding ruins, assisted by what we took 
 to be a guide-book, which he held in his hands. 
 His whole bearing was that of a military chieftain or 
 other high officer of state; and it was a mystery 
 how he could have reached his point of observation 
 without having been seen by us before. Was it 
 possible we could be deceived, or were we dreaming? 
 It did indeed almost seem as though the spirits of 
 the departed occupants of these buried palaces were 
 present and watching our footsteps! We are not 
 superstitious; but could it be possible that one of the 
 Caesars had been permitted to return and that he 
 actually stood before us! In such case to whom 
 could we resort for protection? True, we were a 
 
ROME. 305 
 
 party of six; but four of these were delicate ladies, 
 His Holiness the Pope was too far off and too feeble 
 to come to our aid; and although we had found our 
 only male associate. Dr. Parker, a most agreeable 
 traveling companion, we could not dispel the appre- 
 hension that, under such circumstances, the fact of 
 his being a Calvinist Baptist preacher, if known to 
 any Roman Emperor present, whether in the flesh 
 or in the spirit, would be almost stire to prove fatal 
 to our whole party. But it was too much to believe 
 that we were in this predicament, and we ventured 
 to approach the distinguished stranger, when, much 
 to our surprise, as well as pleasure, he proved to 
 be none other than our own countryman, General 
 M. C. Meigs, of the United States Army. Well, be 
 it as it may, had he lived in Pome in the time of the 
 Caesars, who knows that he might not have been 
 "the noblest Poman of them all?" 
 
 We were now at liberty to pursue our observa- 
 tions. In the basilica, which means "King's house," 
 the ancient Law Court, we stood on the spot where 
 St. Paul was tried and acquitted. A portion of the 
 marble bar, or railing behind which the judges sat, 
 is still to be seen, although the walls of the room are 
 razed nearly to the ground. It is proper to remark 
 that Hare, in his "Walks in Rome," says: "This 
 basilica, though perhaps not then in existence, will 
 always have peculiar interest as showing the form 
 and character of that earlier basilica in the Palace 
 of the Csesars, in which St. Paul was tried before 
 Nero. But it is quite possible that it may be the 
 same actual basilica itself [as affirmed by other 
 authorities] and that the Palace of Nero, which 
 overran the whole of the hill, may have had its 
 basilica on this site, where it was preserved by 
 
306 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Vespasian in his later and more contracted palace." 
 " A leg of the Emperor's chair actually remains 
 in situ upon the tribunal, and part of the richly 
 wrought bar of the confession still exists." Early 
 historians state that St. Paul was brought in fetters, 
 under the custody of his military guard, and ar- 
 raigned before the blood-stained adulterer, Nero; 
 and that the prosecutors and their witnesses were 
 then called forward to support their accusations, 
 which had been sent by Festus in written depositions 
 from Judea. As we all know, St. Paul was "ac- 
 cused of disturbing the Jews in the exercise of their 
 worship, which was secured to them by law; of 
 desecrating their Temple, and, above all, of vio- 
 lating the public peace of the Empire by perpetual 
 agitation, as the ringleader of a new and factious 
 sect." But, as already observed, "the trial resulted 
 in his acquittal. He was pronounced guiltless of 
 the charges brought against him, his fetters were 
 struck off, and he was liberated from his long cap- 
 tivity." 
 
 In another section, just outside of the grand din- 
 ing hall, or adjoining the spot where the hall used 
 to be, the walls of which have disappeared almost 
 to the ground, we saw the remains of the walls 
 of a small room, which bore the suggestive name 
 of Vomitorium, "with its basin, whither the feasters 
 retired to tickle their throats with feathers, and 
 come back with renewed appetite to the banquet." 
 The half - section of the conduit to the sewer is still 
 visible in the crumbling brick walls of this small 
 apartment. 
 
 Near the basilica was a large hall, called the 
 Tablinum, "a kind of commemorative domestic mu- 
 seum, where family statues and pictures were pre- 
 
ROME. 307 
 
 served." Opening from this gallery "was the Lara- 
 rium, a private chapel for the worship of such 
 members of the family — Livia and many others — 
 as were deified after death. An altar, on the orig- 
 inal site, has been erected here by Signor Rosa 
 from bits which have been found." Next, "passing 
 a space of ground, called, without much authority, 
 Bibliotheca, we .reach a small Theater on the edge 
 of the hill, interesting as described by Pliny, and 
 because the Emperor Vespasian — known to have 
 been especially fond of reciting his own composi- 
 tions — probably did so here. Hence we may look 
 down upon the valley between the Palatine and 
 Aventine, where the rape of the Sabines took place, 
 and upon the site of the Circus Maximus. Beyond 
 this, on the right, is (partialty restored) the grand 
 staircase leading to the platform once occupied by 
 the Temple of Jupiter -Victor, vowed by Fabius 
 Maximus during the Samnite war, in the assurance 
 that he would gain the victory. On the steps is a 
 sacrificial altar, which retains its grooves for the 
 blood of the victims." At one point are the ruins of 
 the Palace of Tiberius. Here there is a row of 
 arches said to be those of the soldiers' quarters. 
 Above these are several rooms richly frescoed. The 
 Palace of Caligula was in the northwestern corner 
 of the area. It was "built against the side of the 
 hill above the Clivus Victorise, which still remains, 
 and consisting of ranges of small rooms, communi- 
 cating with open galleries edged by marble balus- 
 trades, of which a portion exists. In these rooms 
 the half mad Caius Caligula rushed about, some- 
 times dressed as a charioteer, sometimes as a war- 
 rior, and delighted in astonishing his courtiers by 
 his extraordinary pranks, or shocking them by try- 
 
308 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 COLISEUM OF VESPASIAN 
 
ROME. 309 
 
 ing to enforce a belief in his own divinity." Other 
 almost endless ruins, equally interesting, are de- 
 scribed in the guide-books; but our stay was too 
 short to allow of extended descriptions of our own, 
 and what we have presented may afford a general 
 idea of the whole. 
 
 From the site of these ruins we saw the Tarpeian 
 Rock, not far off, by the Tiber. It is now only some 
 eighty feet in height; but in the time of the Caesars 
 its height is said to have been one hundred and 
 eighty feet. Immediately at the foot of Palatine 
 Hill stands the Temple of Vesta, which appears to 
 be in quite a good state of preservation. We did 
 not enter it. On the opposite side of the street from 
 the Palace of the Caesars are the wonderful ruins of 
 the Basilica, or House of Constantine. Some of the 
 walls, still standing, of this edifice are seventy- eight 
 feet high, with an arched span of eighty feet. From 
 these ruins we passed to the Coliseum and the Ro- 
 man Forum near by. One thing which struck us as 
 remarkable is the enormous size of the Coliseum, 
 covering six acres, and the vast extent of the Roman 
 Forum and other ruins. One can get no correct 
 conception of their dimensions from photographs. 
 Under the walls of the Coliseum there are canals, 
 by which the water from the Tiber is brought into 
 the area. Some of our party went to see the Colise- 
 um by moonlight — a good way to get the Roman 
 fever — but they only followed in the footsteps of 
 Lord Byron: 
 
 " I do remember me, that in my youth, 
 When I was wandering — upon- such a night 
 I stood within the Coliseum's wall, 
 'Midst the chief relics of almighty Rome; 
 The trees which grew along the broken arches, 
 
310 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Waved dark in the blue midnight, and the stars 
 Shone through the rents of ruin; from afar 
 The watch - dog bay'd beyond the Tiber; and 
 More near from out the Caesar's Palace came 
 The owl's long cry, and, interruptedly, 
 Of distant sentinels the fitful song 
 Begun and died upon the gentle wind." 
 
 The work of excavation in the Roman Forum is 
 still going on. "The level of the ancient soil is 
 twenty- four feet below that of to-day." The ruins 
 already exposed fill a very large space. The re- 
 mains of walls and broken pillars show, to some 
 extent, the shape and size of different halls and 
 apartments on the ground floor. A few of the 
 pillars and architraves, as seen in the photographs 
 and engravings, rise high above the surrounding 
 ruins, but look as if almost ready to fall. The street 
 pavements, worn smooth by footsteps and carriage 
 wheels before the time of Caligula, are of irregular 
 cobble stones, some of them a foot or more in extent. 
 We spent hours wandering over and through these 
 wonderful and intensely interesting ruins. The Tra- 
 jan Forum, with its famous historical column, where 
 similar excavations have been made, is likewise a 
 place of great interest. 
 
ROME. 311 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 SO OME, December 27. — Christmas forenoon we 
 ^pV drove to St. Peter's, expecting to see and hear 
 something more than usually interesting, but were 
 disappointed. There were services in which we un- 
 derstood one of the Cardinals represented the Pope, 
 who, before he became a "prisoner'/' used to officiate 
 in person on Christmas day. These services in- 
 cluded high mass, in which there was good singing, 
 but no better than we heard here on Sunday. From 
 St. Peter's we went to the American Union Chapel, 
 where we heard another excellent sermon from Rev. 
 Mr. Langmuir, who took for his text the injunction, 
 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trem- 
 bling/' etc. In the afternoon we were present at 
 the dedication of a Protestant Church for Italians, 
 the first of the kind in Rome for the Italians since 
 the days of the Apostles. It is to be under the direc- 
 tion of the Rev. Dr. Vernon, a Methodist clergyman 
 from Richmond, Virginia, who is to be assisted by 
 an Italian preacher. Dr. Vernon made some re- 
 marks touching the cost of the building and the 
 advantage of having a regular house of worship, 
 erected for the purpose, as he said the Roman Catho- 
 lic priests represent to their ignorant followers that 
 holding religious services in any other house is no 
 worship at all. Rev. Mr. Taylor, another American 
 missionary here, made the principal address, and 
 was followed by some observations from Rev. J. W. 
 Parker, of Washington, and Rev. C. E. Sumner, of 
 Chicago. The Roman Catholic priests, we are told, 
 call the northern Italian invaders "Lombards/' and 
 confident of seeing them one day expelled, they tell 
 
312 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 their friends that when the "Lombards" are driven 
 out, they will turn all the Protestant meeting houses 
 into stables. Sunday afternoon we again witnessed 
 the display of the aristocracy on Pincian Hill, but 
 did not have the good luck to see the King, who was 
 out for an airing with the rest. It was a beautiful 
 afternoon, and the terraced streets, walks, and pla- 
 teau swarmed with horses, carriages, and people, all 
 to the music of the band. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th, in company with Dr. 
 Parker . and party, we engaged a carriage by the 
 hour and were conveyed through St. Paul's Gate, 
 about two miles beyond the city walls to the cele- 
 brated Church of St. Paul, erected to commemorate 
 St. Paul's martyrdom, which took place on or near 
 the spot where the church stands, and where it is 
 said he was buried. It was founded in the year 380. 
 Previously the small Church of Constantine occupied 
 the same site. St. Paul's was improved from time 
 to time until 1823, when it was almost entirely de- 
 stroyed by fire. In point of magnificence and rich- 
 ness it is represented to have been one of the most 
 beautiful churches extant. The work of restoration 
 was immediately commenced, and though not yet 
 completed, the interior in some respects equals St. 
 Peter's in grandeur of appearance. The nave is 
 three hundred and six feet in length and two hund- 
 red and twenty- two feet in width, with four ranges 
 of polished granite columns, brought from the Sim- 
 plon, near Lake Maggiore. These pillars, both in 
 respect to size and length, we think are equal to 
 those of the south and west fronts of our Treasury. 
 There are other splendid columns of alabaster, said 
 to have been presented by the Viceroy of Egypt, 
 and large pedestals of malachite, presented by the 
 
ROME. 313 
 
 Emperor of Bussia. Some of the mosaics, which 
 are most remarkable, and other ornaments of the 
 old basilica were rescued from the flames and have 
 been introduced into the new church. Among the 
 mosaics is a series of portraits of the Popes, and 
 being above the long ranges of columns, they are 
 five feet in diameter, but seen from the floor appear 
 to be only about the natural size. The grand tri- 
 umphal arch separating the transept from the nave 
 is also a relic of the old basilica. "On the side 
 toward the nave it is adorned with a mosaic of 
 Christ adored by the twenty- four eiders and the 
 four beasts of the Revelation; on that toward the 
 transept by the figure of the Saviour between St. 
 Peter and St. Paul." In the altars and chapels are 
 fine pictures, statuary, and other rare objects of art. 
 Connected with the church is a monastery, but there 
 are very few dwellings nearer than the city, this 
 part of the Campagna having been almost entirely 
 deserted owing to the deadly malaria which prevails 
 here all seasons of the year. No traveler to Rome 
 should leave without visiting St. Paul's. 
 
 On our way out we passed a small chapel, "which 
 commemorates the farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul 
 on their way to martyrdom. " It bears the following 
 inscription : 
 
 "In this place SS. Peter and Paul separated on their way to martyrdom. 
 
 "And Paul said to Peter, 'Peace be with thee, Foundation of the 
 Church, Shepherd of the flock of Christ.' 
 
 "And Peter said to Paul, 'Go in peace, Preacher of good tidings and 
 Guide of the salvation of the just.' " 
 
 Next we drove to the Temple, or Arch of Janus, 
 only the walls of which remain, and on the opposite 
 side of the road is the humble Chapel of San Giorgio 
 in Velabro, founded in the fourth century. Here, 
 
314 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 too, is the Cloaca Maxima, or arched drain, con- 
 structed twenty- four hundred years ago "to dry the 
 marshy land of the Velabrum." It was navigable 
 its whole length by a boat. A section of it is still in 
 use. 
 
 One of the most attractive objects on the road is 
 the famous Pyramid of Caius Cestius, who died 
 about thirty years before the Christian era. It is of 
 brick encased in marble. Its height is one hundred 
 and twenty- five feet, and its width at its square 
 base one hundred feet. Near by this Pyramid is the 
 Protestant Cemetery, where we stopped to visit the 
 graves of Shelley and Keats. From a plain white 
 marble slab, lying over the remains of the former, 
 or over the ashes of his heart, "his body having 
 been burned upon the shore at Lerici, where it was 
 thrown up by the sea," we copied the inscription 
 entire, as follows: 
 
 "PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, Cor Cordium. 
 "Natus IV. Aug. MDCCXCIL Obiit VIII. Jul. MDCCCXXII. 
 
 "Nothing of him that doth fade, 
 But doth suffer a sea - change 
 Into something rich and strange." 
 
 From an upright, plain marble slab at the head of 
 the grave of Keats we copied the entire inscription 
 as follows: 
 
 "This grave contains all that was mortal of a young English poet, who, 
 on his death -bed, in the bitterness of his heart at the malicious power of 
 his enemies, desired these words to be engraved on his tombstone: 
 "Here lies one whose name was writ in water. 
 ' ' February 24, 1 82 1 . " 
 
 Through the little Church of San Pietro in Carcere 
 we entered the Marmertine prisons, "excavated from 
 the solid rock under the Capitol." They consist of 
 
ROME. 315 
 
 two chambers, one below the other, the lower origin- 
 ally being accessible only through a trap door over- 
 head. Now there is a narrow staircase leading to 
 this dungeon. It was here that St. Peter and St. 
 Paul were imprisoned, so we are assured; and we 
 were shown the chain which bound them to an iron 
 post, still also to be seen in the room. Sometimes, it 
 is said, they were chained to their jailor — their 
 safety being thus secured, notwithstanding the jailor 
 might fall asleep. There is a chair here in which 
 we rested for a moment, on the assurance of the 
 custodian that it was the same used by these illustri- 
 ous Apostles. From a well beneath the prison floor 
 we drank of excellent water. This fountain "is 
 attributed to the prayers of St. Peter that he might 
 have wherewith to baptize his jailors, Processus and 
 Martinianus; but, unfortunately for this ecclesiasti- 
 cal tradition, the fountain is described by Plutarch 
 as having existed at the time of Jurgurtha's impris- 
 onment." It is supposed to have been from this 
 prison that St. Paul wrote to Timothy, — "I suffer 
 trouble as an evil-doer, even unto bonds; but the 
 word of God is not bound." 
 
 We next went into San Pietro in Vincoli, another 
 church full of interest. There are many figures 
 in mosaic, some fine pictures on canvas, by celebra- 
 ted artists, and several remarkable statues, the most 
 famous of which is Michael Angelo's gigantic statue 
 of Moses, which is called "The Glory of the Church." 
 It forms part of the unfinished tomb of Julius II. 
 ' ' The figure is seated in the central niche, with long 
 flowing beard descending to the waist, with horned 
 head and deep -sunk eyes, which blaze, as it were, 
 with the light of the burning bush, with a majesty 
 of anger which makes one tremble, as of a passion- 
 

 316 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ate being, drunk with fire." We have a photograph 
 of this statue, which we could not help thinking 
 would present a better effect, being so much above 
 the natural size, were it placed in an elevated posi- 
 tion instead of resting on a base only three or four 
 feet high. In niches on either side are statues of 
 "Rachel" and "Leah," likewise by Michael Angelo; 
 and there are niches for over thirty more. Relics, 
 purporting to be portions of the crosses of St. Peter 
 and St. Andrew are shown here. 
 
 In the afternoon we spent an hour in the Church 
 of San Giovanni in Laterano, where we heard most 
 excellent music by the choir, with organ and double 
 bass viol accompaniment. We have seen nothing 
 finer in any church than the twelve pillars support- 
 ing the nave, and, in niches, the marble statues of 
 the twelve Apostles; and these are only a small part 
 of the magnificent decorations of this church, which, 
 after the time of Constantine the Great, is said to 
 have been the principal church of Rome. It oc- 
 curred to us that our sculptor, Mr. Ball, from Boston, 
 might have taken his idea of his superb statue of 
 "St. John" from the statue of that Apostle here, as 
 they resemble each other. Both artists represent 
 him as standing with a pen in his right hand and a 
 book in his left, his eyes raised reverently toward 
 heaven. "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying 
 unto me, Write," etc. In the high altar, at which 
 the Pope alone reads mass, there is a wooden table 
 from the catacombs, which is said to have been used 
 as an altar by St. Peter. We must content ourselves 
 with speaking of only a few of the wonderfully 
 interesting objects in this church. Indeed, one can 
 enter hardly any of the old Roman churches without 
 being at once impressed with their almost innumer- 
 
ROME. 317 
 
 able treasures, which are the accumulation of many 
 centuries. 
 
 A short distance from the Church of San Giovanni 
 in Laterano, in an old building which centuries ago 
 formed part of the Lateran Palace, is the Santa 
 Scala, or Holy Staircase, which our Saviour is sup- 
 posed to have ascended and descended when they 
 were in the house of Pilate at Jerusalem, from 
 which place they were brought by Helena, mother 
 of Constantine the Great. The steps, two of which 
 are said to be stained by the blood of the Saviour, 
 are of white marble, but to prevent further wear 
 they are encased in wood. Through apertures in 
 the casing we observed that they were much worn. 
 It is allowed to ascend these steps, twenty- eight in 
 number, only on the knees; and while we were 
 present a dozen or more persons, men, women, and 
 children, were slowly making the ascent, stopping 
 on each step to breathe a prayer, and, on reaching 
 the top, prostrating themselves over a brass cross 
 fastened to the floor, and then continuing on their 
 knees to the "Sancta Sanctorum," formerly a pri- 
 vate Chapel of the Popes, across the hall. At the 
 foot of the stairs, on one side is a marble group, 
 representing " Christ before Pontius Pilate," and on 
 the other, one representing " Judas Kissing the Sav- 
 iour." On either side of the Santa Scala is a flight of 
 stairs by which the devotees descend, and these are 
 in common use for all. Whoever ascends the sacred 
 steps on his or her knees is granted an indulgence 
 from penance for nine years, so we were told on the 
 spot; but the Schonberg-Cotta Chronicles say for a 
 thousand years. According to this last authority, 
 Martin Luther once undertook the ascent, when, as 
 he was toiling up, he said he heard a voice as if 
 
318 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 from heaven, which seemed to whisper to him the 
 words of his old battle-cry, "The just shall live by 
 faith/' and awakened as from a nightmare, he stood 
 upright, and with firm step descended and walked 
 away. Not so with those we saw, some of whom 
 we observed stooped forward and kissed the steps in 
 the most reverent manner. Pilgrims from a long 
 distance come here to perform this act of devotion. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 {|D OME, January 1, 1876.— We begin to think 
 ^pV there is no limit to the churches in Rome, and 
 that if we expect to visit all of them we shall be 
 obliged to extend our visit into months instead of 
 weeks. We have already seen a great many, and 
 we are becoming so familiar with them that we 
 hardly realize how much of interest they possess. 
 On the 27th of December we found ourselves at the 
 Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, situated 
 quite near the city walls and right by the old Roman 
 Aqueduct. It is remarkable principally for the relics 
 which it contains, and which, if verified as genuine, 
 would certainly be very wonderful. Among these 
 is the "Title of the True Cross," "an imperfect 
 plank of wood, two inches thick, one and a half 
 palms long, and one palm broad;" "the finger of St. 
 Thomas, Apostle, with which he touched the most 
 holy side of our Lord Jesus Christ;" "one of the 
 pieces of money with which the Jews paid the 
 treachery of Judas;" "one bottle of the most pre- 
 cious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ;" another of 
 
ROME. 319 
 
 "the milk of the most blessed Virgin," and a number 
 of other equally wonderful things. Passing from 
 the church, we gathered from the aqueduct walls 
 some moss and leaves, as the most facile representa- 
 tives of that ancient structure, for preservation. 
 
 On the 28th we went to see the Bambino at the 
 Church of Santa Maria in Araceli, near the Capitol. 
 It is a representation of the nativity of the manger. 
 We made some notes of this exhibition, to which 
 the whole of one of the side chapels is devoted; 
 but the description of it by Mr. Story, the sculptor, 
 is so perfect that we cannot do better than copy 
 it: "In the foreground is a grotto, in which is 
 seated the Virgin Mary, with Joseph at her side 
 and the miraculous Bambino [infant Jesus] in her 
 lap. Immediately behind are an ass and an ox. 
 On one side kneel the shepherds and kings in ado- 
 ration; and above, God the Father is seen surrounded 
 by crowds of cherubs and angels playing on instru- 
 ments, as in the early pictures of Raphael. In 
 the background is a scenic representation of a pas- 
 toral landscape, on which all the skill of a scenic 
 painter is expended. Shepherds guard their flocks 
 far away, reposing under palm-trees or standing 
 on green slopes which glow in the sunshine. The 
 distances and perspective are admirable. In the 
 middle ground is a crystal fountain of glass, near 
 which sheep, preternaturally white and made of real 
 wool and cotton wool, are feeding, tended by figures 
 of shepherds carved in wood. Still nearer come 
 women bearing great baskets of real oranges and 
 other fruits on their heads. All the nearer figures 
 are full sized, carved in wood, painted, and dressed 
 in appropriate robes. The miraculous Bambino is 
 a painted doll swaddled in" a white dress, which 
 
320 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 - 
 
 is crusted over with magnificent diamonds, erne 
 raids, and rubies. The Virgin also wears in her 
 ears superb diamond pendants." This exhibition 
 takes place only in the first week after Christmas, 
 and on a stage erected for the purpose little maidens 
 come and recite " sermons, dialogues, and little 
 speeches" in explanation of the picture before them. 
 
 On the 29th we made a visit to Story's studio, 
 where, among other meritorious works of 'his, we 
 saw his "Cleopatra," a most beautiful statue chis- 
 eled out of the purest white marble. It is in a 
 sitting posture, and looks every inch a queen. We 
 also went into the studio of an Italian artist near 
 by, where we found many interesting objects of 
 arlj; and afterward made a second visit to the studio 
 of Miss Hosmer. On the same day we were present 
 at a school exhibition at Mr. Van Meter's, where 
 little Italian girls from four to twelve years of age 
 gave recitations in a very pleasing manner. Al- 
 though the room was crowded with spectators, they 
 were not in the least abashed, and their delivery 
 and gestures were perfect. Ten or twelve of Mr. 
 Van Meter's older lady pupils, now his assistants, 
 were present and received each a copy of the Bible 
 as a Christmas gift, while the little ones were over- 
 joyed by presents of various kinds from the Christ- 
 mas tree. 
 
 On the same day, in company with Mr. and Mrs. 
 J. S. Lippincott, of Philadelphia, we passed some 
 hours in looking at the pictures and other interesting 
 objects in the Corsini Palace, which is open free to 
 visitors every day except Sunday. With a large 
 collection of paintings here are some which are quite 
 noted. One of these is "A Madonna and Child," by 
 Murillo, and another, also "A Madonna and Child," 
 
ROME. 321 
 
 by Carlo Dolce. The latter, especially, is one of the 
 most beautiful we have anywhere seen; and the 
 galleries all abound in Madonnas, as w T ell as in Holy 
 Families, Crucifixions, Saints, and Martyrdoms. 
 One of the most striking portraits here is that of 
 "Clement XII.," the coloring and expression of 
 which are so perfect that only a near view could 
 convince that it is a stone mosaic and not an oil 
 painting on canvas. From this palace we walked 
 to the Janiculum, "a steep crest of a hill which 
 rises abruptly on the west bank of the Tiber," and 
 from which we had a fine view of the city and the 
 Campagna in the direction of and beyond St. Paul's. 
 "On this hill Janus is believed to have founded a 
 city, which is mentioned by Pliny under the name of 
 Antinopolis." Our objective point was the Church 
 of St. Onofrio and adjoining convent. There is 
 nothing very remarkable in the church; but the old 
 convent is interesting as having been the residence 
 of Tasso in his last days, and as containing the 
 room in which he died on the 25th of April, 1595, 
 in the fiftieth year of his age. We saw in this room 
 his bust, a mask in wax said to have been taken 
 from a cast of his face, his autograph, inkstand, 
 crucifix, and other relics. We sat in the arm chair 
 labeled as the one he usually occupied, but failed to 
 experience on that account any poetic inspiration. 
 On the invitation of Clement VIII. , Tasso came to 
 Rome in November, 1594, that he might be crowned 
 as poet laureate on the Capitol. He expected the 
 ceremony would take place immediately, but o wing- 
 to the inclemency of the weather it was, much to his 
 disappointment, postponed until late in the follow r - 
 ing spring. His feeble health admonished him that 
 his end was near, and when he arrived at the mon- 
 
322 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 astery he said to the monks who received him, "My 
 fathers, I have come to die among you!" and he 
 wrote to one of his friends, "I am come to begin my 
 conversation in heaven in this elevated place and in 
 the society of these holy fathers." Upon receiving 
 the Papal absolution on the day of his death, he 
 exclaimed, "I believe that the crown which I looked 
 for upon the Capitol is to be changed for a better 
 crown in heaven." He was buried in the church, 
 close by the high altar, and near the church en- 
 trance is a monument to his memory. In the gar- 
 den of the monastery we stood under the old oak 
 planted by Tasso, but which was partially destroyed 
 by lightning or a hurricane in 1842. A young oak is 
 growing beside it. 
 
 Most of the sojourners at our hotel and several of 
 their friends stopping at other hotels here being 
 desirous of calling on General Garibaldi, the writer 
 dropped a note to him, asking him, if agreeable, 
 that he would name a time when we might see him. 
 He immediately answered through the post that he 
 should be happy to receive us from two to four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, but without naming any 
 day. His note is written in Italian: 
 
 Illus. Signore: 
 
 Vi vedro suo piacere dalle 2 alle 4 P. M. 
 
 Vi saluto, 
 Roma, 28 — 12 — 75. G. GARIBALDI. 
 
 Signore Horatio King, 
 Roma. 
 
 Choosing the afternoon of the 30th to make the 
 call, a party of fifteen of us took carriages and were 
 driven to his Villa Cassalini, a pleasant country 
 residence about a mile beyond the city walls. We 
 were detained a few minutes in the corridor before 
 
ROME. 323 
 
 being admitted, and were then invited by a young 
 man, whom we afterward learned was the General's 
 son, to walk up stairs. Here we were ushered into 
 a spacious saloon which had been converted into a 
 bedchamber, there being two single beds placed side 
 by side in a corner of the room. In the center, 
 covered with books and papers, was a long table, at 
 the further end of which General Garibaldi sat in an 
 easy chair. Waiting a moment under the impres- 
 sion that he would come forward to receive us, we 
 soon observed that he was an invalid, and we all 
 moved toward him, and were introduced — the writer 
 first introducing himself and then the rest of the 
 company separately. He was dressed in black pan- 
 taloons, a loose gray jacket, with a white flannel 
 cloak thrown over one shoulder, and wore a black 
 embroidered cap and slippers. He made no allusion 
 to his health, but it was apparent. that he was suf- 
 fering from rheumatism or other malady rendering 
 locomotion difficult if not painful. His slippers were 
 slit as though his feet were swollen, and his hands 
 were much cramped. He was, however, very cheer- 
 ful, and expressed himself as very much gratified 
 to see so many of his American friends, who, he 
 remarked, appeared to represent, as they did, almost 
 all parts of the United States. He said that he 
 too was an American citizen — that he did not know 
 Maine, but that he knew Boston, New York, Phil- 
 adelphia, Washington, and the Po-to-mac, placing 
 the accent on the last syllable. To one of our com- 
 pany who congratulated him on the progress of civil 
 liberty in Italy, and who remarked to him as lie 
 held his hand on taking leave that that hand had 
 had much to do in producing this happy result, 
 he modestly replied that he had done a little, but 
 
324 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 only his duty. We bade him adieu, all feeling that 
 we had been in the presence of a man possessing 
 many characteristics of greatness, by none of which 
 were we more impressed than by his candor and 
 unselfishness. He speaks English quite fluently, 
 and repeatedly expressed his gratification at seeing 
 us. The writer saw and heard him make an address 
 in French on the occasion of his reception at Geneva 
 in the month of September, 1867. There was a great 
 crowd present, all eager to see him. He is of me- 
 dium size. The likenesses we generally see of him 
 are quite correct. 
 
 On the 31st we visited the Colonna Palace, oc- 
 cupied by the Prince of Colonna, who generously 
 throws its galleries open free to visitors every, day 
 except Sundays and holidays. It is usual, however, 
 in all such cases, to give the custodian a small fee. 
 As in all the galleries, there are many fine pictures 
 here, some statuary, and a few articles of rare old 
 furniture among the numerous other objects of curi- 
 osity and art. We saw here a secretary, inlaid 
 with ivory and precious stones, the making of which 
 occupied thirty years. In the largest hall, on one of 
 three or four steps up to a more elevated part of the 
 floor, lies a cannon ball, which came through the 
 window and lodged there when the French attacked 
 the city in 1849. It split off portions of the marble 
 step, making quite an indenture. A similar in- 
 denture from a like cause, and in the same siege, 
 may be seen in the pedestal of one of the marble 
 angels, several of which adorn the bridge of San 
 Angelo over the Tiber near St. Peter's. 
 
 In the evening we went to the Church of II Gesu, 
 which was magnificently lighted, it being the occa- 
 sion of a Te Deum, which takes place there every 
 
NAPLES. 325 
 
 year on the 31st of July and 31st of December. It is 
 •'sung for the mercies of the past year/' and for- 
 merly the Pope as well as cardinals and people of 
 Rome were in attendance. The services were very 
 impressive. 
 
 And now we must take leave of Rome for the 
 present, and finish our sight -seeing here on our 
 return from Naples. 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 APLES, January 7. — On the 3d instant we 
 took the half past nine train from Rome and 
 arrived in Naples about half past four in the after- 
 noon, having for company Rev. Dr. Parker and 
 party, Rev. Dr. Merriman, the genial President of 
 Ripon College, Wisconsin, and Mr. and Mrs. Lippin- 
 cott. The trip was void of special interest beyond 
 the pleasure of passing the time in good company 
 and seeing an old country new to us, with its pecul- 
 iar people, along the road. We were most interested 
 on arriving at the point where we obtained our first 
 view of Mount Vesuvius, with its white smoke rising 
 slowly, fold upon fold, and passing off to the north- 
 west in fleecy clouds. We entered the city from the 
 northeast, the central railroad station being on the 
 eastern side toward Vesuvius. Taking carriages, 
 we were driven immediately to a comfortable board- 
 ing house, previously selected, at No. 64 via Gio- 
 vanni, a few steps from the Strada di Chiaja, one of 
 the principal avenues on the bay. We had rooms 
 looking out upon a spacious garden in which oranges 
 
326 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and mandarins were ripe and ripening on the tall 
 trees, and grape vines were green as in spring time. 
 
 Our first call on the 4th was at our consul's- for 
 letters from home. We found him (Mr. B. O. Dun- 
 can) a most courteous and intelligent gentleman, 
 and, as we think, in all respects admirably qualified 
 for his position. 
 
 In the afternoon we walked to Virgil's tomb, situ- 
 ated in a vineyard in which green peas, on stalks 
 or vines as high as our heads, were nearly large 
 enough, to pluck for the table. This, in mid winter, 
 was to us a rare sight. We entered from the street 
 by an old rickety door, opening upon a long flight 
 of steps, from the end of which we continued to 
 ascend and wind around in a narrow path until we 
 reached a commanding eminence. Here we came 
 to a mean shanty, which appeared to be the domicile 
 of the gardener and his wife; and the latter, a stal- 
 wart washerwoman, leaving her work strung on 
 lines in every direction, presented herself before us 
 and sang a song in a voice that might have been 
 heard a mile. It was in Italian, of course, but we 
 understood it plainly enough as a bid for soldi, 
 which, we are bound to say, neither the beauty of 
 her person nor the sweetness of her voice could 
 draw from our purses. And now, guided by the 
 gardener, who was also the gate-keeper, we de- 
 scended the west side of the hill fifteen or twenty 
 rods to a rough board gate, which he consented to 
 open on the payment of half a franc each by our 
 party. A few steps beyond we came to what is 
 generally believed to be the Tomb of Virgil. It is 
 anything but attractive, either externally or inter- 
 nally. It has a chamber about fifteen feet square, 
 with three windows and vaulted ceilings; and in the 
 
NAPLES. 327 
 
 walls, upon which there are appropriate inscriptions, 
 there are ten recesses for cinerary urns. 
 
 The two following days we passed most of the 
 time in the National Museum, which is open daily 
 from nine until three — free on Sundays and Thurs- 
 days, and with an admission fee of one franc on 
 other days. This in many respects is perhaps the 
 most interesting Museum in the world. The objects 
 here of most interest are relics from. Herculaneum 
 and Pompeii, of which there is a very large collec- 
 tion. Then there is what is called the Borgia and 
 Farnese Collections, and any number of relics from 
 Capua, Cumae, Pozzuoli, Stabiae, Naples, Lucera, 
 Minturnae, and other places. The ground floor is 
 devoted mainly to ancient mural paintings from 
 Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, etc., and to ancient 
 statuary. Here is the original group of the ' ' Farne- 
 se Bull," so celebrated as having been carved out of 
 a single block of marble. It was the work of Appol- 
 lonius and Tauriscus, the Rhodian sculptors. "The 
 two sons of Antiope, Amphion and Zethus avenge 
 the wrongs of their mother by binding Dirce, who 
 had succeeded in withdrawing, the affections of 
 Lycus from Antiope, to the horns of a wild bull. 
 Antiope in the back ground exhorts them to forgive- 
 ness, and not in vain." The "Farnese Hercules," 
 also rescued from the "Baths of Caracalla," is an- 
 other piece of sculpture here regarded as quite re- 
 markable. Other noted statues here are the "Venus 
 of Capua," "Psyche of Capula," and " JEsehines," a 
 beautifully draped figure. In one room is an eques- 
 trian statue of Nero, found in the Forum of Pompeii. 
 The collections of bronzes and terra cottas are almost 
 unlimited, and, in respect to the marble statuary 
 and paintings, it would be tiresome to enumerate. 
 
328 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Few things struck our attention more keenly than 
 the many common household articles, such as pots, 
 kettles, and other vessels, which have been brought 
 from Herculaneum and Pompeii. Some of them 
 contain charred wheat, beans, almonds, plums, figs, 
 olives, egg shells, and other things. Here, too, are 
 fifteen loaves of bread burned to charcoal, but per- 
 fect in shape as when they were deposited in the 
 oven, where they had been lying nearly two thou- 
 sand years, and where they were found. A large 
 number of papyrus books, or rolls, charred and 
 ready to fall to pieces, likewise possess much inter- 
 est. Great pains have been taken, and with some 
 success, to learn their contents. In the Hall of the 
 Flora there is a historical composition in mosaic, 
 which was found, in 1831, in the House of the Faun 
 at Pompeii. It formed a portion of the floor, and is 
 from six to ten feet square. It is a representation 
 of "The Battle of Alexander" at the moment when, 
 his helmet having fallen from his head, he is charg- 
 ing Darius with his cavalry, "and transfixes the 
 General of the Persians, who has fallen from his 
 wounded horse. The chariot of the Persian Mon- 
 arch is prepared for retreat, while in the foreground 
 a Persian of rank, in order to insure the more speedy 
 escape of the King, who is absorbed in thought at 
 the sight of his expiring General, offers him his 
 horse." We have a colored photograph of this mo- 
 saic. There is a good collection here of Egyptian 
 antiquities, a collection, said to be the most exten- 
 sive extant, of ancient crystal, "showing the nu- 
 merous ways in which it was used by the ancients ;" 
 and an interesting collection of Renaissance works, 
 among which are a bronze Tabernacle, very curious; 
 an altar, with reliefs in marble; Indian and Chinese 
 
NAPLES. 320 
 
 paintings; and various kinds of Asiatic curiosities. 
 There are numerous precious relics, consisting of 
 beautiful cameos, gold and silver jewelry, vases, 
 goblets, and many other objects. A loaf of bread 
 found at Pompeii bears the name of "Q. Cranius," the 
 baker. There is an extensive Picture Gallery, con- 
 taining some paintings, regarded as masterpieces of 
 the Italian as well as the Neapolitan school, and 
 also a large collection of engravings here, which 
 form an important part of the thousands of inter- 
 esting objects in this vast Museum. 
 
 Everybody knows how beautifully Naples is situa- 
 ted; but it has one serious drawback, from being too 
 nearly on a level with the tide along the southern 
 border skirting the sea. This is an obstacle to a 
 complete drainage, and is no doubt a constant cause 
 of sickness; but it is no good excuse for the dirt and 
 filth one encounters in many of the streets, particu- 
 larly in the lower parts of the city. We have taken 
 a long walk through some of these streets for the 
 purpose of observation, and much as we have seen 
 of Italy we have nowhere seen so much of squalor as 
 we found here. Many of the inhabitants appear to 
 prefer dirt to cleanliness, and in their dress and all 
 their surroundings they are consistent. Beggars 
 salute you at every turn; and not unfrequently, if 
 refused, they will fling insulting epithets at you. 
 which you are thankful you do not understand. In 
 our perambulations toward evening we met goat- 
 herds with their flocks of goats brought in from pas- 
 ture for the night. Some of these animals yielding 
 milk are taken from house to house, where they are 
 milked and the milk sold on the spot. Were 'this 
 wholesome regulation applied to some of the milk- 
 men who supply Washington city with milk, there 
 
330 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 would be a fall in the price of water. It is a sight to 
 see the common laborers and market people, who 
 live in the suburbs or outside of the city, returning 
 toward home at the close of their day's work. 
 Sometimes you may see as many as fifteen or twenty 
 on a single two - wheel cart, drawn by one poor mule 
 or donkey. They not only fill the cart, but cling to 
 the sides and thills, looking not unlike a swarm of 
 bees; and very little mercy is shown to dumb beasts 
 in Naples. In this regard, hackmen and cartmen 
 are alike, and they seem to take delight in cracking 
 their whips over and torturing their poor animals. 
 Go into the street either for a walk or a ride, and if 
 you are not careful you will be run over by hack- 
 men, who, jehu-like, drive up to you, urging you to 
 employ them. Make a bargain with one of them 
 and enter his carriage, a hanger-on stands ready 
 and mounts the seat with the driver, and when you 
 come to alight he is on hand to open the carriage 
 door, for which service you must pay him a fee or 
 receive a measure of his abuse. We have learned 
 to watch for these interlopers, and to let them un- 
 derstand in advance that we will have nothing to do 
 with them. They are evidently on good terms with 
 the drivers, who never object to their company. 
 
 The Strada di Roma, running north and south, 
 dividing the city nearly in the center, is the fash- 
 ionable business street of Naples; and on pleasant 
 afternoons it is alive with beauty and gayety in all 
 the glory of kingly aristocracy. The street is filled 
 with carriages and the sidewalks with pedestrians 
 of both sexes, all out for exercise and in pursuit of 
 pleasure. The Strada di Chiaja and the charming 
 Villa Reale, a beautiful Park between that broad 
 avenue and the seashore, are likewise places of 
 
SORRENTO. 331 
 
 great resort for travelers and the elite of the city. 
 This is particularly so on two evenings of the week, 
 when there is excellent music by the band in the 
 Park. The Park is long and narrow, and among its 
 adornings are a number of marble statues, which 
 would be a valuable acquisition to any gallery. It 
 presents a curious contrast to the acres of linen 
 strung on clothes lines in an open space nearer the 
 shore, just to the southwest — a sight which might 
 lead a stranger to suppose that half of the linen of 
 Naples was sent there to dry. 
 
 CHAPTER LIL 
 
 APLES, January 9.— The 7th and 8th of Jan- 
 ~£) C uary are days in our traveling experience long 
 to be remembered. Our American party of nine left 
 the city on the morning of the 7th by railroad for 
 Castellamare, seventeen miles, where we hired two 
 coaches, with drivers and a guide, to take us to 
 Sorrento and back the same day. Both of these 
 towns are situated directly on the bay, and the 
 turnpike between them, a distance also of seventeen 
 miles, runs quite near the shore most of the way. 
 The hills and mountains on the east extend, here 
 and there to the sea, and had to be excavated to 
 admit of passage. On a pleasant day no ride could 
 be more delightful; but unfortunately for us, the air 
 was raw, with now and then a flurry of sleet from 
 the mountains, and this was calculated in some de- 
 gree to chill our enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the trip 
 was novel and highly interesting. At the north, a 
 
332 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 part of the way much nearer to us than when in Na- 
 ples, was dark Vesuvius with its endless moving 
 clouds of smoke, and, also in plain sight, were the 
 famous islands of Ischia and Capri, while the Med- 
 iterranean, stirred by the winds, continually ad- 
 dressed us in plaintive murmurs. Our road took us 
 through Vico, Equense, Meta, and one or two other 
 small villages; and where the mountains do not 
 intervene there were on either side orange and olive 
 groves, mulberry trees, pomegranates, figs, and 
 aloes, the orange trees being loaded with their gold- 
 en fruit. On our arrival at Sorrento, our guide led 
 us up a long, muddy lane to the gate of an extensive 
 orange grove, expecting to be admitted; but, much 
 to our regret, he could make no one hear either 
 his vigorous raps or his hallooing, and we were 
 obliged to content ourselves with a look at- the tops 
 of the trees over the high walls. Disappointed in 
 this, we turned and walked a mile or more to the 
 top of a high hill on a point of the peninsula, afford- 
 ing a splendid view of Naples and the intervening 
 gulf, as well as of Capri, now only a few miles off; 
 of Ischia; the coast west of Naples to Pozzuoli and 
 Baise; and of Mount Vesuvius on the northeast. 
 We next went to see an old mansion in which Tasso 
 was born in 1544, and " where, on his return in 
 1592, disguised as a shepherd, after a glorious but 
 chequered career, he was received by his attached 
 sister Cornelia." The only things we noted as re- 
 markable about the building were two queer old 
 marble griffins supporting the balcony. After tak- 
 ing some refreshments and purchasing a few articles 
 of carved and inlaid wood, for which Sorrento is 
 famous as well as for its cheap silk goods, we started 
 on our return to Castellamare. It was deemed pru- 
 
POMPEII. 333 
 
 dent to make the journey by daylight for two 
 reasons: First, the fear of brigands at night, and 
 secondly, the danger from obstructions by stones 
 falling from the mountains. It was, however, quite 
 dark before we reached Castellamare, where we 
 stopped over night. 
 
 The next morning opened finely, and our coach- 
 men having served us reasonably and very satis- 
 factorily the day before, we made another bargain 
 with them to carry us to Naples by the way of 
 Pompeii, stipulating for a stop of four hours at 
 the latter place, four miles from our starting point. 
 We were soon set down at the Hotel Diomede, a 
 mean public house, which we should advise all trav- 
 elers to shun, although our guide-book speaks of 
 it as the best in the place. It is situated near the 
 office where we obtained tickets and a guide to 
 see the silent city. And now we were guided from 
 street to street and from house to house, walking 
 over three hours; but this w r as time sufficient to 
 explore only comparatively a small portion of the 
 ruins. Pompeii, when destroyed, was a town of 
 from twenty to thirty thousand inhabitants. In 
 the year 63 it was visited by a destructive earth- 
 quake, and in 79 it was overwhelmed by the eruption 
 of Vesuvius. More than half the city yet remains 
 to be excavated. The streets are paved and in good 
 condition, save that in some places there are ruts 
 six or eight inches deep, worn by the wheels of 
 carriages; and the sidewalks are also generally well 
 paved. In some of the streets the carriage-way 
 is considerably below the level of the sidewalks, 
 and at the crossings ure high stepping-stones for 
 foot passengers. Many of the shorter streets are 
 only wide enough for one carriage, and there must 
 
334 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 have been a regulation requiring approach by car- 
 riage always from one and the same direction to 
 avoid meeting. The walls of few of the buildings 
 are standing above the first story, and these are 
 generally either of brick or of small stones and 
 cement. Many of the houses have staircases, show- 
 ing that they were of more than one story; but 
 as the upper portions have disappeared, it is sup- 
 posed they were chiefly of wood and were consumed 
 by the red-hot scoriae of the eruption. The shops are 
 generally distinguishable from the common dwell- 
 ings and palaces; and many of the shops as well 
 as the palaces bear over their doors the names of 
 their former occupants. In some of the shops the 
 marble counters are still standing, and in one of 
 them we saw large earthen vessels, used for the 
 sale of oil or wine. In a bakery the large oven, 
 in which a batch of bread was found baked to char- 
 coal, still remains intact, and near it are mills for 
 grinding corn. The Basilica and Forum was an 
 immense edifice, the surrounding pillars of which, 
 mostly destroyed nearly to their base, witness its 
 former magnificence. Many of the pillars of the 
 House of Ariadne, the House of the Tragic Poet, the 
 House of Sallust, the House of the Faun, the Temple 
 of Pompeii, the Cascerne, and of other large struc- 
 tures remain standing at full length, but are more 
 or less defaced by the heat of the scoriae and the 
 ravages of time. With sensations impossible to 
 describe, we walked over and through these ruined 
 Temples, the House of Lucretius, the Temple of 
 Mercurio, the Temple of Augustus, the Temple of 
 Jupiter, the House of Pansa, and along the street 
 of the Tombs into the Villa of Diomedes. Many 
 of the tombs and monuments are in a perfect state 
 
POMPEII. 335 
 
 of preservation. The Villa of Diomedes is one of 
 the most extensive private residences yet discovered, 
 and according to our recollection one of the best 
 preserved. '"Near the garden gate of this Villa 
 were found the skeletons of the owner and his atten- 
 dant, one holding in his hand the keys of the Villa, 
 the other carrying a purse which contained one 
 hundred gold and silver coins of Nero, Vitellius, 
 Vespasian, and Titus." At the southeast extremity 
 of the town and detached from the other ruins is 
 the Amphitheater, said to have been capable of ac- 
 commodating twenty thousand spectators. The cir- 
 cles of seats, one above another, are of brick and 
 cement, more or less covered with scattering tufts 
 of grass, and as the ashes and soil on the exterior 
 have not yet been removed, we were enabled to 
 walk over adjacent ground on a level with the top 
 of the wall and look down upon the ruins. There 
 are the ruins, also, of the great Theater, holding- 
 five thousand, and the small Theater, made to seat 
 fifteen hundred spectators. Near by are the remains 
 of a building called the Gladiator's Barrack, one 
 chamber of which appears to have been used as 
 a prison, in which were found three skeletons and 
 iron stocks for the feet. It is probable that other 
 apartments of this edifice were likewise so occupied, 
 as there were, in all, the remains of sixty- three 
 bodies discovered on the premises. Here was a 
 spacious bathing house, one section for males and 
 one for females, with their marble basins for both 
 hot and cold baths, their dressing rooms, and every 
 other convenience of such an establishment. These 
 rooms, like those of nearly all the houses and pal- 
 aces, are ornamented with stucco reliefs and fresco 
 paintings on the walls. 
 
336 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 In one part of the town we came to a well, still 
 supplied with pure water. Connected with the pal- 
 aces were beautiful fountains, the marble adorn- 
 ments of which, with their cisterns, are still in a 
 good state of preservation. There is a small Muse- 
 um here filled with curious relics and models of 
 various objects here brought to light. The most 
 striking are plaster casts of corpses of a number of 
 the ill - fated inhabitants, and a cast of the body of a 
 dog, showing from his contortions that he died in 
 extreme agony. A figure of a young girl has a ring 
 on one of the fingers. These casts were taken by 
 filling with plaster the cavities left by their bodies, 
 which, embedded in the hardened ashes, had de- 
 cayed. We have a perfect photograph of one of 
 them, showing that the poor sufferer met death 
 lying on her face, doubtless in the hope of avoiding 
 suffocation. The excavation is still going on, but 
 very slowly, we should judge from the compara- 
 tively few persons at w~ork when we were present. 
 Most of these were women and children, who car- 
 ried the soil and ashes in baskets on their heads a 
 short distance to a truck running on a temporary 
 railroad to be conveyed away. Army or other Gov- 
 ernment officials were superintending the work. 
 Pompeii was a walled city, and we entered through 
 one of the old gateways. We might give many 
 more particulars, but we should leave room for the 
 poet, Rogers: 
 
 "At the fount, 
 Just where the three ways meet, I stood and looked, 
 ('T was near a noble house, the house of Pansa,) 
 And all was still as in the long, long night 
 That followed, when the shower of ashes fell, 
 When they that sought Pompeii sought in vain! 
 It was not to be found. But now a ray, 
 
POMPEII. 
 
 Bright and yet brighter, on the pavement glanced, 
 And on the wheel-track worn for centuries, 
 And on the stepping-stones from side to side, 
 O'er which the maidens, with their water urns, 
 Were wont to trip so lightly. Full and clear 
 The moon was rising, and at once revealed 
 The name of every dweller, and his craft; 
 Shining throughout, with an unusual luster, 
 And lighting up this city of the dead. 
 
 " Mark, where within, as though the embers lived. 
 The ample chimney-vault is dun with smoke. 
 There dwelt a miller; silent and at rest 
 His mill-stones now. In old companionship 
 Still do they stand as on the day he went, 
 Each ready for its office — but he comes not. 
 And there, hard by, (where one in idleness 
 Has stopt to scrawl a ship, an armed man; 
 And in a tablet on the wall we read 
 Of shows ere long to be,) a sculptor wrought, 
 Nor meanly, blocks, half chiseled into life, 
 Waiting his call. Here long, as yet attests 
 The trodden floor, an olive merchant drew . 
 From many an earthen jar, no more supplied; 
 And here from his a vintner served his guests 
 Largely, the stain of his o'erflowing cups 
 Fresh on the marble. On the bench, beneath, 
 They sat and quaffed and looked on them that passed, 
 Gravely discussing the last news from Rome." 
 
 And now, bidding a last good-bye to the silent 
 city, we mounted our carriages and were speedily 
 conveyed to our lodgings in Naples, wondering why 
 it is that while one city is engulfed by a terrible 
 earthquake and another overwhelmed with burning 
 ashes, others still are exempt from any such awful 
 catastrophe. 
 
 22 
 
338 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 APLES, January 18. — On the 12th our party 
 of nine passed the day in a most interesting- 
 trip to Baue, about twelve miles on the bay south- 
 west of Naples, and back. The roads run near the 
 sea all the way. From the strada Chiaja we enter 
 the Grotto of Posilipo, a tunnel half a mile in length 
 through a ledge or spur of a mountain. It is sup- 
 posed to have been constructed in the reign of Agus- 
 tus. "It is mentioned by Seneca and Petronius. 
 under Nero, as a narrow and gloomy pass. Mediae- 
 val superstition attributed it to magic arts practiced 
 by the poet Virgil," whose tomb is on the side hill 
 near its eastern opening. Originally the bed of the 
 road was much higher than at present, and we could 
 see in the sides of the walls, about twenty feet above 
 our heads, where deep grooves had been worn by the 
 hubs of carriage wheels. The height of the grotto 
 varies from twenty to ninety feet, and its width is 
 from twenty- five to thirty feet. At the entrance 
 and in the middle are small chapels, the ledge hav- 
 ing been excavated to make room for them; and 
 meek looking monks in their gowns and cowls stood 
 ready to solicit any soldi we might have to spare. 
 At the egress of the grotto we came to the small 
 village of Fuorigrotta, whence we took the road to 
 Pozzuoli, or Puteoli, as it is called in the 28th of 
 Acts. After landing and tarrying three days at 
 Syracuse — this was after his shipwreck — St. Paul 
 says: "And from thence we fetched a compass, and 
 came to Rhegium; and after one day the south wind 
 blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli, where 
 we found brethren and were desired to tarry with 
 
POZZUOLI. 330 
 
 them seven days; and so we went toward Rome." 
 We naturally took a lively interest in the place on 
 St. Paul's account; but the only "brethren" who 
 greeted us on our arrival were an army of guides 
 and beggars, from whose importunities we were glad 
 to escape by proceeding as speedily as possible on 
 our journey. On an eminence behind the town there 
 are the ruins of an amphitheater, which some of our 
 party entered while the rest were satisfied with a 
 look at the outside. By excavations made in 1838 a 
 number of subterranean passages and receptacles 
 for the wild beasts and other purposes were discov- 
 ered. There was also a conduit by means of which 
 the arena "could be laid under water when naval 
 combats were to be represented. The celebrated 
 gladiator combats under Nero, when he received 
 Tiridates, King of Armenia, as a guest at his court, 
 took place here, and even the Emperor himself enli- 
 vened the arena." Before going to the amphitheater 
 we went to the crater of Solfatara. It is bowl- 
 shaped, with a level bottom, and about a quarter of 
 a mile in diameter. At one side is a boiling mass of 
 mud, which bubbles and sputters, as one of our party 
 remarked, like hasty- pudding. Near this was a 
 considerable opening in the pumice-stone crust, 
 through which sulphurous vapor and smoke were 
 being emitted in a manner to indicate pretty lively 
 operations directly beneath our feet. The guide led 
 us close to this breathing - hole of the crater, and 
 with a long -handled rake drew out red-hot pieces of 
 porous stones yellow with sulphur, which we brought 
 away with us. The soil is composed mostly of lime 
 and sand, and six inches beneath the surface the 
 sand under our feet was so hot that we could not 
 hold it in our hands. Here the guide raised a heavy 
 
340 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 stone to his head and let it fall' to the ground, produ- 
 cing a reverberating sound from below, indicating 
 plainly that the earth directly beneath was hollow. 
 We declared ourselves satisfied with a single demon- 
 stration, nor had we any desire to remain longer in 
 such near juxtaposition to what is undoubtedly a 
 region of fire and brimstone. The latest eruption, 
 attended with an emission of lava, known to have 
 taken place from this crater, occurred in 1198. 
 m Returning to our carriages, we pursued our jour- 
 ney toward Baiae, stopping to view the ruins of 
 several temples on the way. It was past midday 
 when we reached the end of our route; and here we 
 were again beset by a gang of beggars, men, wo- 
 men, and children, from whom we endeavored, but 
 in vain, to escape. Our landlady had kindly provi- 
 ded for us a bountiful lunch, and that we might 
 enjoy it unmolested, we walked a quarter of a mile 
 away from any dwelling — there were not a half a 
 dozen in the place, one of them being a dirty inn — 
 but the ragged crowd followed us like a herd of 
 hungry wolves. In ancient times, before the fall of 
 the Roman Empire, Raise was a great watering- 
 place, and the desolate ruins of splendid baths, pal- 
 aces, and temples are seen here at various points. 
 On a height overlooking the bay there is a fort, 
 which is the only structure we saw here in good 
 repair. We gathered curious shells and pumice- 
 stones from the seashore, and on our way home we 
 were conveyed along by Lake Avernus, "regarded 
 by the ancients as the entrance to the infernal re- 
 gions on account of its somber situation and envi- 
 rons. Tradition affirmed that no bird could fly 
 across it and live, owing to the poisonous exhala- 
 tions, and that the neighboring ravines were the 
 
bai^:. 341 
 
 abode of the dismal, sunless Cimmerii, mentioned 
 by Homer, (Odyss. XI.) Virgil, too, represents this 
 as the scene of the descent of iEneas, conducted by 
 the Sibyl, to the infernal regions (iEn. VI., 237.)" 
 We drank of the water of this lake, which is of 
 circular form and about one mile and a half in 
 circumference. All this region round about is vol- 
 canic, but there was no taste in the water we drank 
 to indicate that it came from other than a pure 
 fountain. Our whole trip was novel and interesting, 
 and we reached our lodgings in time and with keen 
 appetites for our six o'clock dinner. 
 
 Like Turin, Venice, Florence, Rome, and we know 
 not how many other Italian cities, Naples also has 
 her Royal Palace, and this we visited on the 14th. 
 It is not very remarkable for elegance, but the main 
 staircase is grand and beautiful, adorned as it is 
 with statues of the Erbo and Tagus, and the state 
 rooms, which are furnished with many paintings 
 and other objects of art, compare favorably with 
 those of other palaces we have seen in our travels. 
 There is here one unique piece of furniture, a Royal 
 Cradle, which attracted our special attention. It is 
 set up in the style of a swing, and stands in the 
 center of the reception room. It is lined with white 
 satin and has a pillow also covered with white satin. 
 The outside is studded with coral, pearls, and lapis 
 lazuli, and over it hovers a gilded angel. The view 
 from this Palace is very fine. From the windows of 
 the main salon you look out upon the Castle of St. 
 Elmo and the Church and Monastery of St. Martin, 
 high up on the hill in the southwestern part of the 
 city. We have been to this famous Church and 
 Monastery, and they are well worth a visit if only to 
 enjoy the view from the garden and belvidere. This 
 
342 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 view takes in the city, bay, and the country in one 
 direction as far as the Appenines. Listening from 
 this high eminence, it was curious to hear the min- 
 gled sound of carriage wheels, of the tread of man 
 and beast upon the pavement and street, of the 
 voices of the moving multitude, of all the noises of a 
 busy city rising in one ceaseless hum, not unlike the 
 distant moaning of the ocean. The Church contains 
 many paintings, all possessing more or less interest. 
 We had a jolly time on the 17th in an excursion to 
 Mount Vesuvius. Taking a double carriage, in com- 
 pany with Dr. Merriman, Mr. and Mrs. Lippincott, 
 and Miss Lillian Parker, and being provided by our 
 landlady with a generous lunch, including oranges, 
 mandarins, and vin ordinaire in abundance, we 
 were driven along the coast for a few miles through 
 a succession of villages, inhabited principally, we 
 should think, by the lower class of laborers and beg- 
 gars. Fishing and the manufacture of macaroni 
 appeared to be the leading industries, judging from 
 the number of persons mending their nets and the 
 strings of macaroni hung out in every quarter to dry. 
 The lovers of macaroni would be wise not to give 
 special attention to the secrets of its manufacture. 
 By this caution we are reminded of an incident in 
 the life of Hawthorne, whose humorous side, . Mr. 
 James T. Fields says, was not easily or often discov- 
 erable, yet that he had seen him marvelously moved 
 to fun, and that he remembers how he writhed with 
 
 hilarious delight over Professor L 's account of a 
 
 butcher who remarked that "Idees had got afloat in 
 the public mind with respect to sassingers." It was 
 a sight to behold the crowd going to and from the 
 city, especially the market people, some carrying 
 their products on their heads, some with carts, and 
 
VESUVIUS. 343 
 
 others with donkeys completely covered all but their 
 head and ears by huge panniers, one on either side, 
 reaching nearly to the ground and filled with what- 
 ever they had to sell. One of these interesting 
 animals was almost entirely enveloped in golden 
 carrots, impelling the punster of our party, Mr. 
 Lippincott, to remark that "that donkey was more 
 than eighteen carrots fine." That this pun may not 
 be credited either to vin ordinaire, or to the genuine 
 •'Lachrimse Chfisti," a bottle of which was pur- 
 chased by one of our party at the Hermitage, it is 
 due to our friend to say that he got it off before 
 lunch. Our road took us through the villages of 
 Portici and Resina, situated very near the sea. The 
 latter village has been built over the buried town of 
 Herculaneum, the excavated portions of which are 
 reached by about one hundred steps. Only a small 
 part of the town has been excavated; and having 
 seen Pompeii, and not having sufficient time on this 
 trip to take a look at Herculaneum, we concluded to 
 forego any satisfaction we might have enjoyed in 
 visiting the latter ruins, which, we are informed, 
 present nearly the same general appearance of those 
 at Pompeii. Both towns were destroyed by the 
 same eruption. It is not probable that any part of 
 Herculaneum will ever be uncovered to the sun. 
 Turning now to the left, we were driven on a smooth 
 zig-zag turnpike up the hill, through and over im- 
 mense lava beds, to a point called the Hermitage, 
 which is at the end of the carriage road. The only 
 buildings here are a tavern, a small chapel, and the 
 observatory. They are situated on a ridge so high 
 that when there is an eruption from Mount Vesuvius 
 the streams of lava flow down on either side. The 
 distance from this point to the base of the cone is 
 
344 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 about one mile, and persons wishing to ascend the 
 cone ride on mules or walk to the foot thereof at 
 their pleasure. Dr. Merriman was the only one of 
 our party who ascended to the mouth of the crater, 
 the rest of us contenting ourselves with a ramble 
 over the lava beds at the base of the cone, with an 
 examination of the instruments in the observatory 
 used for determining the conditon of the cauldron, 
 and with the splendid view of land and sea afforded 
 by our elevated position. We had a near view, also, 
 of the great clouds of smoke, which come rolling up 
 continually from the mouth of the seething crater. 
 We walked over the identical beds of lava by which 
 a party of tourists were suddenly overwhelmed and 
 lost their lives in 1871. Hard now and immovable, 
 these broad fields of lava, nevertheless, have an 
 angry look, seeming to warn us to beware of a simi- 
 lar catastrophe to ourselves. The lava is of a dark 
 color, like the scoriae from an iron furnace, and has 
 taken crude shapes, sometimes like coils of ropes, 
 again like roots of dead trees, and then again swell- 
 ing up into huge heaps, and, in the process of cool- 
 ing, splitting open on the surface, presenting deep 
 seams, or separating into smaller pieces. Dr. Merri- 
 man, in his ascent to the crater, outstripped all 
 others with him, making the ascent unaided in just 
 fifty minutes and the descent in ten minutes. Be- 
 tween Resina and the Hermitage, wherever there is 
 a spot of ground not covered with lava, if no larger 
 than a flower bed, grape vines have been planted, 
 and gardeners were engaged in trimming and nurs- 
 ing them. One pleasant incident of this trip was 
 our first meeting with Professor S. F. Smith, author 
 of the National Hymn, "My Country, 'tis of Thee/' 
 at the Hermitage. He is one of the Faculty of the 
 
ROME. 345 
 
 Baptist Theological Seminary at Newton, Massachu- 
 setts. We all returned to our lodgings well satisfied 
 with the day's enjoyment. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 SO OME, February 1. — Our former traveling com- 
 ;4j V panion, Mr. Stickney, having joined us again 
 at Naples, he and Dr. Merriman took final leave 
 of us, and embarked for Egypt on the 18th of 
 January. Dr. Parker and family returned on the 
 same day to Rome, while we remained another 
 week to keep company with Mr. and Mrs. Lip- 
 pincott and finish up a little shopping, as well as 
 to have executed a likeness in shell cameo, which 
 we had just learned we could have done here on 
 very reasonable terms. Naples is the place to buy 
 all kinds of shell work, coral jewelry, and fancy 
 articles in wood; and one can usually make such 
 purchases there for one half or one quarter of the 
 asking price. Having nearly completed our sight- 
 seeing there, we devoted the week to rest. We 
 should not, however, forget to speak of a very 
 interesting visit we made to the Aquarium in the 
 Villa Reale. It is said to be the best in Europe. 
 We also spent an hour agreeably in the Church of 
 San Francesco di Paola, and went a second time to 
 the Royal Palace. The Church is built after the 
 style of the Pantheon in Rome. Its high altar is 
 entirely inlaid with jasper and lapis lazuli. 
 
 We began now to think about securing our passage 
 home by the Cunard Line, and wo sent the company 
 
346 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 : 
 
 the required £ 10 pledge for a good state room on the 
 "Bothnia" for the 6th of May. We left Naples at 
 half past two on the afternoon of the 25th of Janu- 
 ary, and arrived in Rome at half past nine. Finding 
 all the rooms taken at the Hotel clella Pace, where 
 we had previously stopped, we found equally good 
 quarters at the Hotel du Sud near by, both being 
 under the direction of the same proprietors. We 
 were now again in daily communication with Dr 
 Parker and family, but Mr. and Mrs. Lippincot 
 remained in Naples, and we have not had th 
 pleasure of seeing them since. 
 
 In the Capitoline Museum there is an extensive 
 collection of relics of almost every description, em- 
 bracing statues innumerable, sarcophagi, bronzes, 
 vases, and an endless variety of other curiosities, 
 besides a large collection of paintings. We saw 
 here the celebrated siatues of the "Dying Gladiator," 
 and the "Capitoline Venus." Half a day was barely 
 sufficient for us to take a casual look at what is to 
 be seen here, and it would require a volume to fur- 
 nish a full description of even the more striking 
 objects of interest in this vast collection. While we 
 were at the Museum, General Garibaldi arrived in 
 a coach at the Capitol, and was carried into the 
 Chamber of Deputies, whence after a few minutes 
 he was brought back in the arms of men, and 
 departed amid the loud acclamations of the peo- 
 ple assembled in front of the doorway. We were 
 attracted by the noise, and reached a window just 
 in time to see him reenter his carriage. He is 
 evidently very popular, especially with the common 
 people. From the Museum some of our party went 
 to the Palace Rospiglioso to see the famous fresco 
 painting of "The Aurora," by Guido. 
 
ROME. 347 
 
 On the 27th ultimo, with Mr. Van Meter as our 
 " guide, philosopher and friend/' our whole party 
 took carriages and were shown through many inter- 
 esting parts of the city, embracing the Palace of the 
 Caesars, a view from the bell -tower of the Capitol, 
 the Church of St. Augustine, the Ghetto, or Jews* 
 Quarter, and the exterior of the House of Rienzi and 
 of the Cenci Palace. The House of Rienzi "derives 
 its present name from a long inscription over a door- 
 way, which tallies with the bombastic epithets as- 
 sumed by the ' Last of the Tribunes ' in his pompous 
 letter of August 1, 1347, when, in his semi -madness, 
 he summoned Kings and Emperors to appear before 
 his judgment seat." The Cenci Palace — the home of 
 Beatrice Cenci and the "scene of many of the terri- 
 ble crimes and tragedies which stain the annals of 
 the Cenci family — is of great extent," having a court 
 "supported by columns, and adorned with antique 
 friezes of fine workmanship, and built with balcony 
 over balcony of open work/' Both of these buildings 
 are situated in an obscure corner of the city, and 
 near the Ghetto, which was formerly inclosed by 
 w^alls, outside of which the Jews at one period were 
 prohibited from showing themselves, "unless the 
 men were in yellow hats or the women in yellow 
 veils." It is a pretty rough looking place, and our 
 curiosity was quite satisfied with riding through it. 
 In an open space in front of a little church we 
 observed letter -writers, sitting at their tables, en- 
 gaged in writing letters for the illiterate. It is a 
 regular trade. 
 
 We were particularly pleased with our visit to and 
 view from the Capitol. From the bell -tower Mr. 
 Van Meter pointed out and remarked upon all the 
 points of historical interest within the scope of our 
 
348 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 vision. Here were the "Seven Hills," all, or nearly 
 all, in sight, with the Capitol, the Roman and Tra- 
 jan Forums, the Palace of the Caesars, the Coliseum, 
 and the Pantheon, all on the east side of the Tiber. 
 The names of the "Seven Hills" were given and the 
 separate locations pointed out in their order — the 
 Aventine, Coelian, Palatine, Esquiline, Yiminal, 
 Quirinal, and Capitoline. 
 
 The Church of St. Augustine is noted for the 
 "Madonna and Child," a fine piece of sculpture by 
 Andrea Sansovino, before which the credulous Ro- 
 man Catholic devotees are wont to prostrate them- 
 selves in sign of adoration. The figures are "smoth- 
 ered with jewels, votive offerings of those whose 
 prayers the image had heard and answered. All 
 round the image the walls are covered with votive 
 offerings, likewise; some of a similar kind — jewels, 
 watches, valuables of different descriptions." Fred- 
 erika Bremer relates that long prior to her visit 
 here, the report was spread that one day when a 
 poor woman called upon this image for help it began 
 to speak, and replied, "If I had only something, 
 then I could help thee, but I myself am so poor." 
 This story being circulated, very soon throngs of 
 credulous people, she says, hastened hither to "kiss 
 the foot of the Madonna, and to present her with all 
 kinds of gifts. "Candles and lamps burn around, 
 and people pour in, rich and poor, great and small, 
 to kiss, some of them two or three times, the Ma- 
 donna's foot — a gilt foot, to which the forehead also 
 is devotionally pressed. The marble foot is already 
 worn away with kissing; the Madonna is now rich." 
 We had seen so much of this kind of devotion that 
 we looked on without any new emotion, either of 
 wonder or surprise. 
 
ROME. 340 
 
 The 28th ultimo was devoted by our party to sight- 
 seeing outside of the city, in the Baths of Caracalla 
 and the Catacombs of St. Calixtus. Our trip took 
 us again on the Appian Way for a short distance, 
 affording us another opportunity to see this exceed- 
 ingly interesting part of Rome. These Baths take 
 their name from their projector, Caracalla, who 
 began them in the year 212. They were continued 
 by Heliogabalus and finished under Alexander Sev- 
 erus _ so our guide - book states. One mile in circum- 
 ference, they could accommodate sixteen hundred 
 bathers at once. Only a portion of the walls, which 
 are of brick, remain standing, and these are broken 
 and crumbling. Some of the pavements, or ground 
 floors, which are of marble mosaic, are still left, but 
 they are very uneven and more or less covered with 
 sand and dirt. Gibbon states that the walls of the 
 lofty apartments were covered with curious mosaics 
 that imitated the art of the pencil in elegance and 
 design and in the variety of their colors. The no- 
 bility and common people alike had access to these 
 baths. ' ' The perpetual stream of hot water, " Gibbon 
 continues, "was poured into the capacious basins 
 through so many wide mouths of bright and massy 
 silver; and the meanest Roman could purchase, with 
 a small copper coin,. the daily enjoyment of a scene 
 of pomp and luxury which might excite the envy of 
 the Kings of Asia. From these stately palaces issued 
 forth a swarm of dirty and ragged plebians, without 
 shoes and without mantle; who loitered away whole 
 days in the street or Forum to hear news and to hold 
 disputes; who dissipated, in extravagant gaming, 
 the miserable pittance of their wives and children; 
 and spent the hours of the night in the indulgence 
 of gross vulgar sensuality." In these habits of lux- 
 
350 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 ury, inertia, and consequent vice, the historian traces 
 the main cause of the decline of the Roman Empire. 
 The ruins of this immense structure, which covered 
 a space of two million six hundred and twenty- five 
 thousand square yards, do not present the appear- 
 ance of having been unearthed; yet the books speak 
 of numerous works of art, among them the statues 
 of the "Farnese Bull," "Hercules," and "Flora," 
 which have been "discovered" here; and it is pre- 
 sumed, therefore, that the debris in the interior was 
 composed of the fallen roof and crumbling walls, 
 together with light soil and sand conveyed thither 
 by the winds of centuries. 
 
 Our descent into the Catacombs was by a long- 
 staircase, or a series of staircases, attended by a 
 guide. We carried lighted tapers in our hands, and 
 were careful not to lose sight of our conductor lest 
 we might never find our way out. We were from 
 twenty to forty feet below the surface — a cultivated 
 field. "The galleries are from two to four feet in 
 width, and vary in height according to the nature of 
 the rock in which they are dug. The walls on both 
 sides are pierced with horizontal niches, like shelves 
 in a bookcase or berths in a steamer, and every 
 niche once contained one or more dead bodies." In 
 some of them w^e saw human bones. These galleries 
 "cross and recross one another, sometimes at short 
 intervals," on different levels, and it is estimated 
 that in all the Roman Catacombs there are not less 
 than three hundred and fifty miles of them. Here 
 and there they open into small chambers, the walls 
 of which are likewise generally pierced with graves, 
 and in some of which are rude scriptural paintings. 
 One of these chambers is called the Chapel of the 
 Popes, many of the earlier Popes having been buried 
 
ROME. 351 
 
 in it. We roamed among these ancient sepulchres 
 for half an hour or more, and came out, glad to see 
 daylight once more, at an opening some distance 
 from the one where we entered. 
 
 Learning from Miss Foley, whose sculpture studio 
 we visited yesterday, that William and Mary Howitt 
 were stopping at her house, we called on them last 
 evening and were exceedingly gratified with our 
 short interview with them. Mr. Howitt is a gentle- 
 man of medium size, with hair entirely white, and 
 an expression of countenance and manner at once 
 attractive and agreeable. He is over eighty years 
 of age, but still active as a man of sixty -five. Mrs. 
 Howitt, we should judge, is from ten to fifteen years 
 younger. Both in dress and deportment she ap- 
 peared like an accomplished Quaker lady. Her hair 
 is brown, and with a handsome nose and brilliant 
 eyes, her expression is sweet and winning. For a 
 number of years they have passed their winters in 
 Rome and their summers in the Tyrol. They were 
 gratified to hear us speak of the many friends they 
 have made in the United States by their writings, 
 and mentioning the names of a few of our best 
 authors, they said they had met some of them in 
 Europe. Mrs. Howitt desired to be kindly remem- 
 bered to "Grace Greenwood," whose acquaintance 
 she said she had the pleasure of making twenty 
 years ago. 
 
 Now, having turned our faces homeward, we take 
 )ur final leave of Rome. 
 
352 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 JENEVA, February 19. — In company still with 
 our friends, Dr. Parker and family, we took our 
 departure from the w ' Eternal City" at eleven in the 
 forenoon of the first instant, and arrived in Florence 
 at seven in the afternoon, stopping ■ at our old rooms 
 on via Palestro. We left in good time, as we have 
 since learned that a great many travelers were soon 
 prostrated by the Roman fever; nor did some of our 
 party entirely escape from the bad effects of the 
 malaria brought away in our systems. It showed 
 itself in tooth -ache and painful swelling of the 
 gums and in the glands of the face. Another fort- 
 night, now, in Florence enabled us to finish up our 
 sight -seeing there pretty thoroughly, although the 
 weather during most of the time was wet, raw, and 
 disagreeable, inclining us to stay indoors more than 
 we should have done had it been pleasanter. We 
 revisited some of the churches, the Protestant Ceme- 
 tery, St. Miniato, the Picture Galleries, and other 
 places, in respect to all which we have already writ- 
 ten, and notwithstanding the variableness of the 
 weather, we shall always have pleasant recollections 
 of Florence. 
 
 A ride of two hours by rail brought us on the 14th 
 to Pisa in time to visit the great Cathedral, Bap- 
 tistery, and Campo Santo, and to ascend the famous 
 Leaning Tower. Pisa, where we remained over 
 night, is situated on both sides of the Arno, five 
 miles from its mouth, in the Mediterranean. In the 
 thirteenth century it was a city of one hundred and 
 fifty thousand inhabitants; but its present number 
 is stated at not exceeding fifty thousand. The Ca- 
 
pisa. 353 
 
 thedral was in course of construction from 1063 to 
 1118. It "is entirely of white marble, with black 
 and colored ornamentation. The most magnificent 
 part is the facade, which in the lower story is 
 adorned with columns and arches attached to the 
 wall, and in the upper parts with four open galleries, 
 gradually diminishing in length. The choir is also 
 imposing." At the end of the nave, suspended 
 by a very long iron rod from the arched ceiling, 
 is the elaborate and beautifully wrought bronze 
 lamp, which suggested to Galileo the idea of a pen- 
 dulum. We have a fine photograph of it, and also 
 excellent photographs of the Duomo, Baptistery, 
 Leaning Tower, and of parts of the Campo Santo. 
 
 The Baptistery, a circular white marble structure 
 with a dome, is remarkable particularly for its 
 beautiful Gothic architecture, its exquisitely carved 
 pulpit, and its wonderful echo. Situated a few rods 
 from the Duomo, its height is about one hundred 
 and ninety feet and its diameter one hundred feet. 
 The pulpit is on pillars near the center, and is en- 
 tered by a flight of marble steps richly carved. 
 One of the pillars rests on the back of a lion, while 
 others present reliefs, representing, we imagine, 
 Saints or Apostles. The panels are in like manner 
 covered with bas-reliefs of various descriptions. 
 Near the pulpit is a large baptismal font, adorned 
 with beautifully carved figures in alabaster or mar- 
 ble. The custodian sounded a series of musical 
 notes, and "heavenly echoes burst forth in response. 
 They were of such a tender and exalted rapture that 
 we might well have thought them the voices of 
 young-eyed cherubim singing as they passed through 
 Paradise over that spot of earth where we stood." 
 We called to one after another of our dear friends at 
 23 
 
354 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 home, and their names were ,echoed back to us, 
 many times repeated, as though they were answer- 
 ing in person. 
 
 The Leaning Tower stands across the street from 
 and on the other side of the Duomo. When taken 
 together in a photograph all three structures appear 
 to be connected. We climbed by easy circular stairs 
 to the seventh story of the Tower, from which 
 had a grand view of the city and surrounding coun- 
 try. In October, 1867, the writer, with his son 
 Henry, ascended one story higher to the top, above 
 the bell deck; but the rain was pouring in torrents, 
 which, of course, obstructed the view. The question 
 whether the oblique position of this Tower was in- 
 tentional or accidental has been frequently discussed. 
 Some writers hold that the most probable solution is 
 that the foundation settled during the progress of 
 its construction, and that to remedy the defect as 
 much as possible an attempt was made to give a 
 vertical position to the upper part. Our impression 
 is that its leaning position was intentional; and this 
 impression is strengthened by the fact that there is 
 an ancient Leaning Tower at Milan, which we were 
 informed was left unfinished because it could not 
 be carried to its contemplated height on the same 
 oblique line with its base without the danger of its 
 toppling. The work of the Pisa Tower, too, looks 
 very solid; nor could we discover any cracks either 
 in the stone steps or walls. Its height is one hund- 
 red and seventy- nine feet, consisting of eight differ- 
 ent stages. It is thirteen feet out of the perpen- 
 dicular. Galileo is said to have availed himself of 
 this position of the Tower in his experiments regard- 
 ing the laws of gravitation. This structure was 
 completed in 1350. It is supplied with seven bells. 
 
PISA. '355 
 
 the heaviest of which, weighing six tons, hangs on 
 the side opposite the overhanging wall. To ring 
 these bells the bell - ringer is obliged to stand on the 
 bell deck. 
 
 The Campo Santo, or Burial Ground, also near the 
 Cathedral, is well worth a visit. Surrounding the 
 church -yard is a low structure four hundred and 
 fourteen feet in length and one hundred and seventy 
 feet in width, with corridors looking inward. The 
 walls of the corridors are covered with frescoes, 
 representing "The Creation," "The Fall," "Expul- 
 sion from Paradise," "Building of the Ark," "The 
 Deluge," and many other scriptural subjects. The 
 pavement is formed of the tombstones of the persons 
 buried here, and there are memorial tablets also in 
 the walls. There is a collection of Roman, Etruscan, 
 and Mediaeval sculptures, and some of modern date, 
 among which we observed a fine marble bust of 
 Cavour. On the walls there are two heavy chains, 
 which were used to protect the harbor of Pisa when 
 at war with neighboring principalities. One of 
 them, captured by Florence, was restored in 1848, 
 and the other, captured by the Genoese in 1G32, was 
 restored in 1860. That the dead here "might repose 
 in holy ground," the Archbishop, after the loss of 
 the Holy Land in the thirteenth century, caused 
 fifty- three ship loads of earth to be brought hither 
 from Jerusalem. 
 
 On the 15th, Dr. Parker and family reached Pisa 
 at half past eleven in the morning, from Florence, 
 and, joining them, we all arrived in Genoa at half 
 past six in the evening, stopping at the London 
 Hotel. We passed near Carrara, where we saw 
 great quantities of white marble, and still nearer 
 Spezzia, which town, situated on the Gulf of Spezzia 
 
356 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 between two elevated points of land and crowned 
 with forts, was in plain sight. It is a favorite naval 
 station and summer bathing place. Our first expe- 
 rience in Genoa was not very pleasant. On the 
 pretext that his best rooms were all occupied, our 
 landlord put us all in the fourth story, to which, 
 however, we did not particularly object, since our 
 stay was to be short. His office was on the second 
 floor, the lower story being set apart for shops. 
 The dining-room and adjoining reading-room were 
 a few steps above and at some distance from the 
 office. With a few other guests we were all sitting 
 quietly at supper in the dining - room, when suddenly 
 a thick volutoe of smoke, white with heat, came 
 pouring into the room through the reading-room 
 door, which was open, and it was evident the house 
 was on fire. Now came a race for our lives. Total 
 strangers, it might have been difficult for us readily 
 to find our way to the street even had the halls 
 been lighted; but as soon as the alarm was given, 
 the gas, to avoid explosion, was wisely turned off, 
 and we had hardly more than left the dining - room 
 before we found ourselves in total darkness, groping 
 our way, as we supposed, toward the office as our 
 nearest way out doors. Fortunately we came to 
 a room where two frightened ladies had just lighted 
 a candle, and they gladly joined us in our retreat 
 to the office, which we finally reached in safety, 
 but badly scared. A staircase led immediately from 
 the office to the street, and we no longer feared 
 for our lives. In the moment of doubt whether 
 our lives might not be sacrificed, the thought of 
 the loss of our luggage, all of which was in our 
 room, had not the weight of a feather with us. 
 But as soon as the first danger was over, and we 
 
GENOA. 357 
 
 found by a cautious reconnoissance that we might 
 venture to go to our room, we ascended hastily, 
 seized the bulk of our things and as speedily made 
 our way back with them, entirely out of breath. 
 At the same time, Dr. Parker started on a similar 
 errand; as he had not returned when we reached 
 the office, Miss Parker urgently asked us to go 
 to his assistance, but it was half a minute before 
 we could recover our breath to answer. We then 
 proceeded to comply with her request, when, meet- 
 ing the Doctor coming down, we kept on again 
 to our own room, which was filled with smoke, 
 and secured the rest of our effects. Meantime the 
 servants and others of the hotel had succeeded in 
 subduing the flames by drenching the reading-room, 
 to which the fire was confined, with water, carried 
 in buckets and whatever other vessel was nearest 
 at hand. Had this fire occurred after the inmates 
 had retired to bed, it is more than probable that 
 these "Sketches" never would have been written. 
 As soon as things became a little settled, we all 
 made up our minds to go to another hotel; for, 
 seeing that the fire took from a furnace pipe be- 
 tween the floor and ceiling, we feared it might 
 break out again. This determination did not suit 
 the landlord, who now remembered that he could 
 give us rooms, which he offered us, on a level with 
 the dining room, and we concluded to remain. The 
 next day we all took a good view of the city,' going 
 into the principal Cathedral and some other places 
 of interest. There is a handsome monument to 
 Columbus here, and many of the buildings are very 
 elegant. The city is beautifully situated "on a slope 
 rising above the sea in a wide semi -circle," and its 
 harbor is also in the form of a semi -circle, about 
 
358 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 two miles wide, almost entirely inclosed by the land 
 and a long pier on either side. 
 
 We left Genoa about eight o'clock on the morning 
 of the 17th, and arrived at Turin at half past twelve. 
 We spent the afternoon in another survey of por- 
 tions of the city, embracing occasion to exchange 
 what Italian money we had for gold. While in 
 Italy we sold our gold at from six to eight per cent, 
 for paper. Preferring to travel by the day line, we 
 stopped over night in Turin. The ground here was 
 covered with two or three inches of snow, and the 
 weather was so cold that, although we had a good 
 supply of wood, we found it almost impossible to 
 keep from freezing in our rooms, and were only 
 made comfortable by jugs of hot water in our beds. 
 The rooms of the hotel appear to have been con- 
 structed to admit the cold in instead of excluding it; 
 and the fireplaces are sunk as far into the wall as 
 possible, allowing nearly all the heat to go up the 
 chimney. Leaving at nine the next morning, we 
 arrived at Geneva, by the way of the Mont Cenis 
 Tunnel, at half past eight in the evening, happy to 
 be so far toward home. 
 
COPPET. 359 
 
 r CL 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 JE)ARIS, March 15. — Now behold us in the grand 
 3$ capital of "La Belle France." We did not 
 hasten hither, because we were comfortably situated 
 at Geneva for recuperation, and we were advised 
 that the season here, owing to almost constant rains, 
 was very unpleasant. Nor, we are bound to say, 
 had Geneva much to brag of in this respect, for 
 during all the time we tarried there, from the 18th 
 of February to the 14th of March, we saw very few 
 fair days. One of these was availed of to visit Cop- 
 pet, the residence of Madame de Stael, situated on 
 Lake Leman, nine miles northeast of the city. Her 
 house is quite palatial and all its surroundings are 
 charming. Only some half dozen rooms are shown 
 to visitors. In one of these is her portrait and 
 others of her family; and the old furniture is also 
 preserved, just as she left it at her death. Every- 
 body, of course, knows that she was the daughter of 
 Monsieur Necker, the distinguished French states- 
 man, and that she was exiled and otherwise perse- 
 cuted on account of her opposition to Napoleon Bo- 
 naparte. She, however, returned to Paris, where 
 she died on the 14th of July, 1817; and, in accord- 
 ance with her expressed desire, her remains were 
 brought to Coppet and buried by the side of those 
 of her father, to whom she was devotedly attached. 
 Among her last words, she said to her daughter: 
 "My father is waiting for me in the other world, 
 and I shall soon go to him." Two days before her 
 death, she read and commented on Byron's "Man- 
 fred," then just published, and on the morning of 
 her death she pointed to these passages : 
 
360 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 "Lo! the spell now works around thee, 
 And the thankless chain hath bound thee; 
 O'er this heart and brain together, 
 Hath the word been passed — now whither? 
 * * * * # #• 
 
 Oh, that I were 
 The viewless spirit of a lovely sound, 
 A living voice, a breathing harmony, 
 A bodiless enjoyment — born and dying 
 With the blest tone which made me! " 
 
 Before dismissing Geneva, we should not forget 
 to say that this is a good place to get crystals, 
 carved wood, and almost every kind of fancy arti- 
 cles; and Bruel, on rue des Allemands, who deals 
 in these goods, is recommended to us by Mrs. Consul 
 Upton as obliging and honest, and as having always 
 dealt fairly with Americans. For watches, she re- 
 ferred us to Messrs. Patek and Philippe and Mr. 
 Magnin. The Patek firm, she said, have been ever 
 kind and attentive to Americans, rendering the most 
 valuable services at all times. 
 
 As in traveling from Turin to Geneva, a long 
 day's ride, we found it desirable to take the first- 
 class cars, so, in starting from Geneva at half past 
 three in the afternoon, to travel all night to Paris, 
 we chose the express train, in which only first - class 
 cars are run. It rained when we started, and the 
 night was raw and cold ; but our compartment, 
 warmed by hot water in long flat or partially oval 
 vessels under our feet, was very comfortable. The 
 water in these cylindrical brass or copper vessels, two 
 of which reached across the car, was changed once 
 or twice on the passage. We had it in contempla- 
 tion to stop at Fontainebleau; but when we reached 
 there about daylight, the weather was so wretchedly 
 uninviting that we decided to go on, and it was half 
 
GENOA TO PARIS. 361 
 
 past seven when we arrived at the Grand Hotel du 
 Louvre, where we staid while in Paris. For miles 
 between Fontainebleau and Paris, we saw a sight 
 such as we have sometimes seen in dreams, but 
 never expected to behold in reality. From the over- 
 flow of the Seine, owing to long continued and 
 heavy rains, the country for miles around was un- 
 der water. What was naturally dry land under 
 cultivation and dotted with dwelling houses was 
 now a broad lake, or series of lakes, the waves of 
 which came rolling up to the railroad track; and 
 but for the scattering trees and buildings in the 
 midst of the waters, a stranger would have had no 
 thought other than that he was journeying along by 
 a permanent lake. The inhabitants were passing 
 from house to house in boats and entering or leav- 
 ing their dwellings by the windows of the second 
 stories. It was an extraordinary sight indeed. 
 
 Before entering upon a hasty view of the great 
 capital, we have a mind to give a brief description 
 of a trip the writer made, with his son Henry, in 
 October, 1867, from Genoa via Mce, Toulon, Mar- 
 seilles, Aries, ISTismes, Lyons, Dijon, and Fontaine- 
 bleau to Paris. This was before the railroad was 
 built between Spezzia and Nice, and we traveled by 
 diligence over what is called the Conechee Road. 
 It took us along over high hills and mountains 
 and into deep valleys, through endless forests of 
 chestnut trees, literally bowing under their abun- 
 dance of fruit, and figs also were quite plenty on 
 some portions of the route, selling, dried, at two 
 cents a pound. The chestnuts are twice the size 
 but not nearly so sweet as those of our country. 
 Olives, too, were in abundance. The olive is about 
 the size and shape of an apple tree, and in the 
 
362 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 
 shape and size of its branches and leaves much 
 resembles our swamp willow. It was a hard ride 
 from Genoa to Nice, occupying from nine o'clock 
 one evening till the same hour the next evening, 
 twenty- four hours, with only short stops to change 
 horses. On some portions of the way we were 
 near the shore, the waves of the Mediterranean 
 breaking at our feet; but, for the most part, we 
 were high up on the mountains, which, with those 
 also between Genoa and Spezzia, were then being 
 tunneled for a railroad. Not far from the line 
 between Italy and France we were much interested 
 in looking from our high position on the mountains 
 off upon the city of Monaco, the smallest principality 
 in the world. It lies on the Mediterranean, and 
 when we passed early in the evening it was bril- 
 liantly illuminated. 
 
 We rested over night at Mce, the well known 
 place of winter resort, provided with many elegant 
 hotels and handsome boarding houses. At Toulon 
 we remained over one train for dinner, feasting 
 on fresh sardines, which are nearly as luscious as 
 brook trout. After dinner we took a walk around 
 town, visiting one or two churches, saw the convict 
 hulks in the harbor, and glimpses of many other 
 sights. Fore street was filled with sailors, and 
 everything had the appearance of an active business 
 town. 
 
 A ride of about two hours brought us to Mar- 
 seilles, of which city we obtained a fine view from 
 a high ledge overlooking it, and on which stands 
 the Church of Notre Dame de la Garde. In this 
 Church there are many curious paintings, but none 
 possessing very much merit. At the entrance of 
 the harbor are three or four small islands, which 
 
GENOA TO PARIS. 368 
 
 appear to be of solid rock, and upon these, as well 
 as upon two hills on the shore, there are strong 
 fortifications, the Chateau d' If, of Monte Cristo 
 celebrity, being one of them. The rue Prado, a 
 broad street three miles in length, is one of the most 
 magnificent drives imaginable; and the city has 
 good reason to be proud of its many beautiful build- 
 ings and its substantial dock. 
 
 Aries is a queer old Roman town. We saw here 
 the ruins of an Amphitheater, also the ruins of an 
 old church, in which were open lead coffins contain- 
 ing the bones and ashes of the dead, and near by 
 any number of old Roman sarcophagi, monuments, 
 and other objects of interest. From the cellar of a 
 hotel we were conducted into the catacombs, a 
 loathsome dungeon, extending a long way under 
 the city, and exhibiting here and there heaps of 
 human bones. 
 
 We were more interested in Nismes, another old 
 Roman city, in which there is a well preserved 
 Amphitheater, still in use for bull -fights and other 
 exhibitions, and a Museum of most interesting anti- 
 quities. Nismes is some twenty miles off the direct 
 route to Paris, and not very far from the boundary 
 of Spain. 
 
 At Avignon, where we struck off from the direct 
 line, we also stopped long enough to see the Pope's 
 Palaces, now used as barracks, the tombs of Popes 
 Jean XXII. and Benedictus, and to visit the Mu- 
 seum, where there is an almost endless variety of 
 Roman relics, a large collection of paintings, and 
 other objects of art. We were particularly struck 
 by an ivory crucifix, or figure of Christ, here, made 
 in 1G59, which is curious as expressive of extreme 
 suffering when viewed from one side, and of calm 
 

 
 364 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 GARDEN AND PALACE AT FONTAINEBLEATJ. 
 
FONT AINEBLE AU. 3 G 5 
 
 resignation when seen from the other side of the 
 face. 
 
 At Lyons we spent one night and the better part 
 of a day, going into the Museum, the principal 
 churches, and some of the silk manufactories. 
 
 Next we stopped at Dijon, a most interesting city. 
 The most attractive point here is the stately old 
 Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, now occupied as 
 a Museum, where there is a very large and fine 
 collection of paintings, one or two of which we noted 
 as unusually impressive. One representing "Saul 
 of Tarsus" fallen from his horse, when hearing "a 
 voice from heaven/' is remarkably striking. A 
 "Goddess of Beauty" in the act of watering flowers, 
 and several' other goddesses in painting as well as in 
 marble, are exquisitely beautiful. 
 
 Fontainebleau is about forty miles southeast of 
 Paris. It has very little the appearance of a city, 
 and about the only objects of interest here are the 
 Royal Palace, Garden and Forest Park. After walk- 
 ing through the Palace Garden, which is extensive 
 and beautiful, containing several artificial lakes — 
 one, a mile in length, for boating — we were con- 
 ducted through forty- one rooms of the Palace. The 
 exterior of the Palace, which is of brick, is not at all 
 imposing; but the interior, both in respect to finish 
 and furniture, is very rich. One large room is set 
 apart for a library. There are two chapels, the 
 smaller being the Queen's Chapel. One room is 
 adorned w^ith porcelain plates from Sevres. They 
 are set into the walls and are of different dates, 
 going back many years. Several of the apartments 
 were pointed out to us as those occupied in 1812 by 
 Pope Pius VIII. , when a prisoner of Napoleon I., 
 and in one of them the Pope's portrait was sus- 
 
366 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 pencled. This was the Pope by whom Napoleon was 
 crowned. A strange feeling came over us as we 
 stood in the very room in which and by the side of 
 the very table on which Napoleon signed his abdica- 
 tion, prior to his departure for Elba; and sad as we 
 always feel when we think of the cruel decree which 
 separated Josephine from him, it is not strange that 
 this feeling of sorrow was more impressive when we 
 found ourselves in the identical room, with its furni- 
 ture unchanged, where this fatal decree was pro- 
 nounced. 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 '"llpARIS, March 30. — In speaking of Paris and of 
 -^p what we have done and seen here, we hardly 
 know where to begin or what to say. We have 
 kept no regular account of our movements here. 
 Dr. Parker and party preceded us here two weeks, 
 taking lodgings at a private boarding house; and 
 shopping being the leading business with the ladies 
 along with us, sight seeing has been secondary with 
 us all, and we have not sought to go much together. 
 Of course, we have paid our respects to Minister 
 Washburne, who received us in the kindest manner, 
 and obtained tickets for us to visit the Legislative 
 Assembly at Versailles. Unfortunately, however, 
 we were one day too late, as on going to Versailles 
 we were disappointed in learning that an adjourn- 
 ment for some weeks had taken place the day be- 
 fore. We made the trip in a two story street rail- 
 road carriage, occupying some two hours each way. 
 
VERSAILLES. 367 
 
 We could have gone by steam cars, but chose the 
 former mode because we wished to see the country 
 along the line of the stage road, which runs very 
 near St. Cloud and through the village of Sevres. 
 We entered the tramway carriage, capable of ac- 
 commodating thirty or forty persons, near the Lou- 
 vre and passed along the Seine in the rear of the 
 Palace and Garden of the Tuileries, at the left of the 
 Champs Elysees and at the right of the Champ de 
 Mars, where the great Exposition of 18G7 was held, 
 on the opposite side of the river. The trip would 
 have been pleasanter had the day been fair, as we 
 thought when we set out it would be; but we were 
 served with all kinds of weather — sunshine, rain, 
 hail, and a flurry of snow in the course of the day. 
 The Field of Mars is a large open space, bare as the 
 Desert of Sahara of vegetation, and used as a mili- 
 tary parade ground. Some of the private residences 
 along the country road are quite elegant. Arriving 
 at Versailles, we at once made our way to the 
 Palace, an immense edifice, with a fagade over one 
 quarter of a mile in extent. Two of the larger halls 
 of the Palace are now used, one for the Senate and 
 the other for the Chamber of Deputies. The larger 
 of these two halls was constructed for a Theater. 
 These we were permitted to enter, but the principal 
 interest centered in the more private apartments 
 abounding in works of art. These are magnificent 
 in every respect, and are designated by various 
 names, such as the Salle de Constantine, the Salle 
 des Croisades, the Salle des Etats Generaux, the 
 Salle de F Abondance, the Salon de Venus, the Salon 
 de Diane, the Salon d' Apollon, or Throne Room, the 
 Grand Galerie de Louis XIV., etc. In the Gallery 
 of Statuary are many excellent works, including a 
 
368 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
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 PALACE OF VERSAILLES, REAR VIEW FROM THE GARDEN. 
 
 
VERSAILLES. 369 
 
 beautiful statue of "Joan of Arc," which is much 
 admired. In several of the rooms there are many 
 historical paintings, mostly modern. One of these, 
 very striking, represents "The Storming of Mala- 
 koff at Sevastopol/' In the Hall of the Crusades 
 are pictures descriptive of battles fought by the 
 Crusaders in their efforts to regain possession of the 
 Holy Land. In the Salle du Sacre is David's famous 
 picture of "The Coronation of Napoleon," which 
 cost, it is said, twenty thousand dollars. In the 
 same or another room is an equally grand picture, a 
 most striking representation of "The Crowning of 
 Josephine by the Emperor" at the Church of Notre 
 Dame in Paris on the 2d of December, 1804. Jose- 
 phine is kneeling, attended by two Maids of Honor 
 bearing her long train, and Napoleon, standing by 
 her and holding the crown up with both hands, 
 is about to place it upon her head. Officers of 
 the Church in their robes and other insignia of 
 office, many of the nobility of both sexes, the for- 
 eign ministers, and others are in attendance, as 
 interested spectators, the portraits of many of them 
 being painted from life. One of these was pointed 
 out to us as that of General Armstrong, the Amer- 
 ican Minister. The Napoleon family is largely 
 represented here by busts, statues, and paintings, 
 nor are they alone in this respect, great numbers 
 of other distinguished men and women of France 
 being in like manner remembered. We paused to 
 look with more than common interest upon the 
 Chambre a Coucher of Marie Antoinette, as on a 
 former occasion the writer entered her little prison 
 in Paris. It was in this room that she lay asleep on 
 the night of the 5th of October, 1789, when the mob 
 broke into the Palace. "She made her escape 
 
 24 
 
370 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 through a small corridor leading to the grand ante- 
 chamber of the King." In one of the rooms we saw 
 portraits of Washington, Daniel Webster, Henry 
 Clay, Andrew Jackson, and James K. Polk. 
 
 Nothing can be more charming than the Palace 
 grounds, adorned as they are with innumerable 
 statues, a magnificent staircase, splendid fountains, 
 flower beds, and shady groves. In the Grand Tria- 
 non, at the further end of the Park, a building 
 "erected for Madame Maintenon, a favorite mistress 
 of Louis XIV.," there are some fine apartments, in 
 one of which, the Cabinet de la Reine, is the bed 
 formerly occupied by Josephine. On the whole, we 
 were amply compensated by our visit to Versailles. 
 
 Another day was devoted to St. Cloud and Sevres. 
 The glory of St. Cloud had departed, leaving only a 
 mass of ruins. Its beautiful Palace was entirely 
 destroyed during the late war — set on fire, it is said, 
 by French shells in an endeavor to dislodge the 
 Germans on the 13th of October, 1870. The sur- 
 rounding grounds are still beautiful, but their mag- 
 nificent Cascade was silent on the day of our visit. 
 A short walk took us to the Imperial Manufactory 
 of Porcelain at Sevres, just out of the village. The 
 building is of the commonest character of a work- 
 shop. We were kindly received and shown through 
 the entire establishment, from the molding and 
 painting rooms to the ovens. None but accom- 
 plished workmen and artists could turn out such 
 works as go from this famous manufactory. We 
 were charmed with some of the portraits and other 
 pictures on porcelain we saw here. We do not 
 wonder that they bring a high price. 
 
 Beautiful as are the surroundings of Paris, much 
 the greater interest, of course, centers in the city. 
 
PARIS. 371 
 
 which, of itself, is one of the wonders of the world. 
 At first view, and especially if we enter it before 
 seeing other European cities, we feel a sense of 
 oppression from the overwhelming number of novel 
 things to be seen everywhere around us; and we 
 are sometimes startled at the thought whether, after 
 all, we are not dreaming! The Garden of the Tuile- 
 ries, the Champs Elysees, and the many broad 
 boulevards and streets, with their blocks of high, 
 substantial brick and stone edifices, not omitting 
 the Tuileries, the Louvre, the Palais Royal, the 
 Hotel des Invalides, the Columns of Vendome, St. 
 Jacques, and July, the Arc de Triomphe, and many 
 other monuments, the Seine, with its twenty- seven 
 beautiful bridges, and the one hundred or more 
 churches of the city, not further to specify, all go to 
 form a grand spectacle nowhere else to be seen. 
 
 There are omnibus lines in all directions, and their 
 management is very systematic. At all the promi- 
 nent stations there are ticket offices, and the passen- 
 ger purchases his ticket, which is numbered, and he 
 is received only in the order of his number. He 
 may alight where he pleases; but the omnibus stops 
 for passengers only at fixed stations. The fare is 
 six sous inside and three sous outside, on top, the 
 seats being arranged lengthwise. When the seats 
 are all taken, a card, bearing the word "Complet" 
 is displayed on the rear end of the omnibus as a 
 notice that no more passengers will be admitted. 
 
 We have attended services at several of the 
 churches, among them the Church of St. Etienne du 
 Mont, built in 1121, the Notre Dame, and the Made- 
 leine, three perhaps the most beautiful. The Church 
 of Notre Dame is considered one of the finest mon- 
 uments of its particular style of architecture in 
 
372 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 France. It is provided with an enormous bell, re- 
 quiring the strength of eight men to ring it. The 
 Church of the Madeleine is probably the more ad- 
 mired. Commenced in 1764, it was only finished in 
 the reign of Louis Philippe. The work upon it was 
 suspended during the Revolution of 1789. By an 
 Imperial decree rendered at Posen, the 2d of Decem- 
 ber, 1806, Napoleon ordered it transformed into a 
 Greek Temple, and that this inscription, "The Em- 
 peror Napoleon to the Soldiers of the Grand Army," 
 should be borne on its front. Another article of 
 that decree provided that, every year, on the anni- 
 versaries of the battles of Austerlitz and Jena, this 
 monument should be illuminated, that' a concert 
 should then be given, preceded by a discourse on 
 the duties of the soldier and a eulogy on those who 
 fell in those sanguinary battles. It was expressly 
 forbidden to mention the Emperor in these dis- 
 courses. If this decree was carried out, it was 
 probably abrogated after the final abdication of Na- 
 poleon; as we see that in 1815 Louis XVIII. ordered 
 that the church be converted into a chapel in honor 
 of Louis XVI. and his consort, Marie Antoinette, 
 and this failing, it was at length completed in its 
 present form by Louis Philippe. "It is surrounded 
 by fifty- two Corinthian pillars, ornamented by a 
 splendid fagade. The interior is most magnificently 
 ornamented with rich gilding, paintings, and stat- 
 uary, and is lighted by three domes, which are most 
 beautifully painted." 
 
 We have passed many hours in the Art Galleries 
 of the Louvre, connected with the Palace of the 
 Tuileries, the northwest wing of which is in ruins. 
 These buildings are just across the rue de Eivoli 
 from the Grand Hotel du Louvre, where we have 
 
PARIS. 373 
 
 our lodgings. To describe what we have seen in 
 the Galleries of the Louvre would be little more 
 than a repetition of what we have spoken of seeing 
 in other galleries; but we should not forget to men- 
 tion the ''Venus of Milo," the original of which 
 we saw here. We were disappointed in not being 
 allowed to see the large collection of most inter- 
 esting Napoleon relics/ which the writer saw here 
 in 1867, when France was in her glory under Na- 
 poleon III. The- cases containing these are all 
 locked up, and republican France deems it prudent 
 not to allow the old cocked hat, the boots and spurs, 
 the army saddle and pistols of the great Emperor 
 to be exhibited at the present crisis. These are only 
 a few of the many speaking objects here, telling 
 of the reign and power of Napoleon. Even the 
 marble cast of his face, taken after his death, pos- 
 sesses an almost irresistible attraction. It is a 
 wonder that the authorities do not consider it neces- 
 sary, also, to debar all entrance to his superbly 
 grand tomb in the Hotel des Invalides; but this 
 is still accessible. Over the entrance to this tomb, 
 so often described, are his words, — "I desire that 
 my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, 
 in the midst of the French people, whom I have 
 ever loved." In a recess adjoining the crypt stands 
 a statue of him as Emperor, dressed in his imperial 
 robes, and here also are other insignia of his which 
 he wore on state occasions, together with the sword 
 he carried at the battle of Austerlitz. We were 
 present one Sunday when all the old invalids, offi- 
 cers and soldiers, filed in line on either side of the 
 main aisle of the Chapel, in another part of this 
 vast building, to hear the twelve o'clock Mass. It 
 was a novel sight — one or two hundred old veterans, 
 
374 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 HOTEL DES INVALIDES. 
 
 crippled, scarred, and otherwise debilitated, some 
 of whom had, no doubt, served under the great 
 Napoleon, all in their uniforms, and parading in 
 military order. They stood during the whole ser- 
 vice, but some of them appeared to give little at- 
 tention to the religious ceremonies, at the conclusion 
 of which they all retired, keeping step to the martial 
 music, and were dismissed in the court. 
 
PARIS. 375 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 ;E)ARIS, April 10. — We have been almost daily 
 ;i> in the Place de la Concorde, which lies between 
 the Garden of the Tuileries and the Champs Elysees. 
 It is a handsome square, adorned by colossal statues 
 and fountains, and in its center stands the obelisk 
 of the Luxor, a column seventy- two feet in height, 
 covered on its four tapering sides with Egyptian 
 hieroglyphics. It was presented to the French Gov- 
 ernment by the Pasha of Egypt, and transported 
 from Thebes, where it formerly stood in front of 
 the Temple. It dates back fifteen hundred years 
 before the Christian Era. It was in this square 
 that the guillotine was erected, and where, during 
 the reign of terror in 1793 -'4, nearly three thousand 
 victims were beheaded, among them Louis XVI., 
 his unfortunate wife, Marie Antoinette, Beauhar- 
 nais, the husband of Josephine, the Duke of Orleans, 
 Robespierre, and many other noted persons. 
 
 The Place du Carousal and Place Napoleon are 
 formed out of large portions of the space bordered 
 by the Palace of the Tuileries and the Louvre. The 
 former is said to have derived its name from a 
 tournament held there by Louis XIV. in 1662, and 
 the latter is understood to have been so named in 
 honor of Napoleon III. Originally, the whole space 
 was probably intended for the Palace Court. 
 
 The Place Vendome is an octagon, four hundred 
 and fifty by four hundred and twenty feet in extent, 
 surrounded by handsome dwelling houses, includ- 
 ing one or two hotels. The rue de la Paix passes 
 through it, and is the direct street leading from the 
 Boulevard des Capuchins into the rue Castiglione, 
 
376 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 'J#C£Z 
 
 PLACE VENDOME. 
 
 which ends at rue de Rivoli, in front of the Garden 
 of the Tuileries. There is a constant stream of 
 people passing and repassing through this great 
 channel of communication; and every stranger, of 
 course, stops to view, if not to ascend, the grand 
 column of Vendome which stands, surrounded by 
 an iron railing, in the center of the square. This 
 column was raised by order of Napoleon I., in honor 
 of the French armies. It is one hundred and thirty- 
 five feet in height, surmounted by his statue. The 
 exterior is of bronze, covered with bas-reliefs, rep- 
 resenting the victories of the French armies in the 
 German campaign of 1805. As is well known, i^ 
 was leveled to the earth by the Communists in 1871; 
 
paris. 377 
 
 but we could not discover any marks of this destruc- 
 tion. It is a splendid column, much resembling the 
 Trajan column in Rome. 
 
 The Column of July, in the Place de la Bastile, 
 is constructed entirely of bronze, except its base, 
 which is of white marble. It stands on the site of 
 the old Bastile, the key of which is at Mount Yernon, 
 and bronze bas-reliefs inserted in the sides of the 
 marble base indicate that it was erected in com- 
 memoration of those who fell in the French Revolu- 
 tion of July, 1830, and whose bodies, as well as the 
 bodies of the combatants of February, 1848, were 
 here buried. Over a colonnade near the top of this 
 monument there is a large gilt globe, surmounted 
 by the figure of a winged angel, representing "The 
 Genius of Liberty." While standing on this colon- 
 nade in a smart breeze one day, we were made so 
 dizzy from the swaying of the column to and fro 
 that, splendid as was the view from that point of 
 observation, we took counsel from our fears speedily 
 to descend to a more stable foundation. There is a 
 railing around this monument, but the rest of the 
 ground forming this irregular open space, where 
 several streets and boulevards concentrate, is in- 
 closed only by the adjacent buildings. 
 
 The Place du Trone, also the intersection of many 
 streets and avenues, in the extreme eastern part of 
 the city, is in circular form, and its principal orna- 
 ments are columns surmounted by statues of "St. 
 Louis" and "Philippe Auguste." There are numer- 
 ous other squares under various names, all of which 
 are more or less beautified by fountains, statues, etc. 
 
 The Champs Elysees, through which runs the 
 grand avenue of that name, from the Place de la 
 Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, is the promenade 
 
378 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 most frequented by the aristocracy of Paris; and in 
 fine weather it is the rendezvous of all the world. 
 It is of great extent, affording ample space not only 
 for gardens of flowers, shady groves, splendid fount- 
 ains, and magnificent statues, but on one side of 
 it is the Palace of Industry, an immense building 
 filled with statuary and paintings, mostly by living 
 artists, and which is used for agricultural and other 
 fairs; near this is a circular building for panoramic 
 exhibitions; and then there are cafes and pavilions 
 for outdoor concerts, and room always for Punch 
 and Judy shows, not to mention other entertain- 
 ments known only to the gay Parisians and the 
 more penetrating visitors at the grand capital. In 
 the circular building, which covers perhaps half an 
 acre, we have seen a wonderful panorama repre- 
 senting "The Siege of Paris/' It is a picture of 
 nature and art combined. The spectator stands on 
 a raised platform in the center, around which there 
 is a railing, and outside of this stands a French 
 soldier on the natural soil, which forms the fore- 
 ground of the picture. Bedecked with medals, con- 
 ferred, no doubt, for meritorious services, he points 
 out the positions of the contending forces and gives 
 any other required explanation. In the foreground 
 lie real broken guns, gun-carriages, knapsacks, and 
 other debris, and beyond is the painting of field, 
 forest, houses, fortifications, officers, soldiers, and 
 all the attendants, save the noise, of a fierce bom- 
 bardment. So ingeniously is the painting united to 
 the real landscape that we found it impossible to 
 determine the division line with any certainty. 
 
 Fronting the Palace of Industry, on the opposite 
 side of the Champs Elysees, is the Palais de I' Elysee 
 Napoleon. It was built in 1718, and at one time 
 
PARIS. 370 
 
 owned and occupied by Madame Pompadour, but 
 finally purchased by the Government. It is said to 
 have been a favorite residence of Napoleon L, and 
 Napoleon III. occupied it while President of the Re- 
 public. It was here that the former signed his final 
 abdication, and here, doubtless, the latter planned 
 his coup d' etat, by which he, too, became Emperor, 
 only ere long to suffer a similar mortification. In 
 the invasion of 18 14 -'15, the English soldiers pitched 
 their tents in the Champs Elysees, and in March, 
 1871, the Prussians encamped there for two days. 
 No less than eight avenues diverge from the circular 
 Place, in the center of which stands the magnificent 
 Arc de Triomphe. One of these is the Avenue de 
 V Imperatrice, leading to the Bois de Boulogne, and 
 it is a grand sight indeed to behold the gorgeous 
 equipages that almost any pleasant day may be 
 seen in this great channel, flowing in an endless 
 stream from every quarter, but especially from and 
 into the Champs Elysees, crowded with countless 
 thousands on foot as well as in carriages. 
 
 The Arc cle Triomphe de P Etoile, erected to com- 
 memorate the victories of the French armies, cannot 
 fail to arrest the attention and command admiration. 
 As its name indicates, this is an arched monument, 
 having one high, broad arch through the center 
 from east to west, with lower transverse arches 
 from north to south. Its height is one hundred and 
 fifty- two feet, with a breadth of one hundred and 
 thirty- seven feet, and a depth of sixty- eight feet. 
 It was commenced under the auspices of Napoleon 
 in 1806, but not completed until 183G. The eastern 
 and western sides are embellished by four magnifi- 
 cent groups of statuary, the first representing "The 
 Departure of 1792," the second "Resistance, or War," 
 
380 SKETCHES OP TRAVEL. 
 
 the third "Peace," and the fourth "The Triumph of 
 1810." In the "Departure" for the defense of the 
 country, the Genius of War is encouraging to action, 
 and all the actors appear to be intensely animated 
 as if stirred by the Marseillaise — "Marchons! mar- 
 chons!" In "Resistance," "a young man, guided 
 by a Genius flitting over his head and attended by 
 his father and his wife holding a dead child in her 
 arms, rushes to the defense of his country; a warrior 
 is falling from his horse, and Genius is encouraging 
 them to action." In "Peace," "a warrior sheathing 
 his sword stands between his wife and children, 
 while another is taming a bull for purposes of agri- 
 culture; and the Genius of Peace, crowned with 
 laurels, sheds over them her protecting influence." 
 In "The Triumph," iNTapoleon is represented as about 
 to receive the crown from Victory, while History 
 records the event, and Fame, on angelic wings over 
 their heads, is blowing her trumpet. On other parts 
 of the monument are bas-relief and alto-relievo 
 representations of the different battles in which Na- 
 poleon and other distinguished French Generals had 
 been engaged. 
 
 Porte St. Denis and Porte St. Martin, on the boule- 
 vards of the same names, are also triumphal arches. 
 The first was erected in 1672, in recognition of the 
 rapid conquests of Louis XIV. in Germany, and the 
 latter, raised in 1674, is likewise commemorative of 
 the achievements of the French — one of its bas- 
 reliefs representing the "Taking of Besangon and 
 the Triple Alliance," and- another the "Taking of 
 Limbourg and the Defeat of the Germans." Both 
 bear the Latin inscription, "Ludovico Magno," to 
 Louis the Great. 
 
 The Tour de Saint Jacques de la Boucherie, is 
 
PARIS. 
 
 381 
 
 TOUR DE ST. JACQUES DE LA BOUCHERIE. 
 
 a handsome structure situated on rue de Rivoii, 
 a short distance east of the Louvre, and the most 
 prominent object in that vicinity, being one hund- 
 red and eighty- seven feet high. It is the bell -tower 
 of the church of that name, erected in 15.08 -'2.2, 
 and which was demolished, leaving only this tower 
 standing, in 1789. More than two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars have been expended by the Government 
 in its repair. It is regarded as one of the finest 
 
382 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 
 relics of Gothic architecture extant. "It is square, 
 with an engaged turret at the northwestern angle, 
 graceful pointed windows, elaborate tracery, niches 
 with statues of saints, and a perforated balustrade 
 at the summit, adorned with the statues of 'St. 
 John the Baptist' and the animals attributed to 
 the Evangelists. Under the arch of the ground 
 floor stands the statue of Pascal, who here per- 
 formed his first experiments to ascertain the weight 
 of the atmosphere. " 
 
 The Palais Royal, originally called V Hotel de 
 Richelieu, has a long and interesting history — too 
 long to be given here. It was first constructed 
 by Richelieu out of the Hotels of Mercoeur and 
 Rambouillet, the latter of which is celebrated in 
 the literary annals of the sixteenth century. Riche- 
 lieu died here on the 4th of December, 1642. The 
 Palace has since been greatly remodeled and en- 
 larged, but we are not advised whether the private 
 apartments are at present occupied or not. We 
 are inclined to think its latest occupants were Prince 
 Napoleon and the Princess Clotilde. The southern 
 section was set on fire in May, 1871, by the Com- 
 mune and greatly damaged, but has been repaired. 
 The garden, entirely surrounded by the Palace and 
 an arcade, is seven hundred feet long by three 
 hundred feet wide, and is handsomely adorned by 
 a fountain, statuary, shade trees, and flowers. The 
 arcade and glass covered galleries in other sections 
 are lined with the finest shops, particularly for 
 jewelry, watches, opera -glasses, and the thousand 
 and one other smaller articles that the French know 
 so well how to display. Here, also, are some of 
 the best restaurants, or cafes, in the city. It was 
 in this Palace garden that, on the 13th of July, 
 
PARIS. 383 
 
 1789, Camille Desmoulins, mounting upon a table, 
 called to arms the crowd that pressed around him 
 and invited them to seize upon a green cockade 
 as a sign of hope. They at once formed cockades 
 of the green leaves of trees, but these were soon 
 replaced by the tri- colored cockade, and the Revolu- 
 tion was begun. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 IJEDaRIS, April 20. — It is sad to see the ruins of 
 ~^y the Hotel de Ville, the Tuileries, and of several 
 other large Government buildings in the heart of 
 the city, some on one side of the Seine and some on 
 the other. The Tuileries is the only one of four or 
 five immense buildings, all within a short distance 
 of one another, that was not entirely destroyed by 
 fire during the Communist insurrection in May, 1871, 
 following the bombardment of the city by the Ger- 
 man forces. Nearly the entire west front of the 
 Palace of the Tuileries, looking upon its beautiful 
 garden, is either razed to the ground or in such a 
 wrecked condition that it cannot be repaired; but 
 the other sections of the building were less damaged, 
 although no part of it, we think, is now habitable. 
 What a contrast between the present period, or 
 1870-*71, and the year 1867. when the writer saw the 
 Emperor of Russia and King William of Prussia in 
 the same coach with Napoleon III., as a few months 
 later he also saw the Emperor of Austria by the side 
 of Napoleon enter the city in proud array! The 
 smooth concrete carriage -way of the Boulevard 
 
384 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 Italien was not nice enough for the grand cavalcade 
 without being covered with clean, moist sand, which 
 was spread upon it by hundreds of laborers, working 
 with their might to keep ahead of the procession. 
 The display was still more grand, if possible, on the 
 occasion of the military review in the Bois de Bou- 
 logne, in honor of the Emperor of Russia and King 
 of Prussia. This was one of the wonderful sights 
 with which we were favored in the time of the 
 Exposition, enhanced as it was not only by a near 
 view of those sovereigns, but also of the Emperor 
 Napoleon, the Empress Eugenie, the young Prince 
 Napoleon, and many other distinguished personages, 
 with their brilliant equipages. All the world, with 
 all its horses and carriages, appeared to be present, 
 with no limit to the number of spectators on foot. 
 Never before had we seen anything of the kind half 
 as extensive. It was while returning from this re- 
 view that a demented Pole fired a pistol shot at the 
 Emperor Alexander, but fortunately failed to hit 
 him, and was immediately arrested. We heard the 
 report of the pistol and witnessed the confusion, and 
 the next day we were present in the Legislative 
 Assembly when a resolution was passed, followed 
 by loud applause, congratulatory of the Emperor's 
 escape. In the evening there was a grand ball at 
 the Tuileries and a general illumination of the city 
 in honor of the distinguished guests. The whole city 
 appeared to be in a blaze of glory. Besides the 
 lights in the windows there were continuous rows of 
 gas jets from the tubes running along the second 
 story at the foot of the balconies of dwelling houses 
 and shops; the walks of the Garden of the Tuileries 
 were festooned on either side by gas lights protected 
 by glass globes, the jets d' eaux were illuminated by 
 
PARIS. 385 
 
 rays of calcium light, more brilliant if possible than 
 the sun, and of variegated colors, while the trees 
 were hung with thousands of Chinese lanterns — 
 the whole presenting a scene which could not have 
 failed to command the admiration even of dwellers 
 in fairyland. 
 
 Now that we have gone back again to our first 
 European trip, we may as well remain a little 
 longer. Although not enjoying the honor of at- 
 tending the great ball, not having solicited tickets 
 of invitation, we nevertheless saw the rooms in 
 which it was held, as well as most of the other 
 rooms of the Tuileries, and one Sunday were ad- 
 mitted to the Emperor's Chapel by tickets kindly 
 sent us by General Dix, then our Minister; and 
 here we had a good view of the Emperor and Em- 
 press of France, who occupied seats in the gallery 
 fronting the altar. There were a few ladies and 
 gentlemen, supposed to be members of the family, 
 in the side galleries, but the Emperor and Empress 
 were the only occupants of the front gallery. Upon 
 their entrance from an adjoining chamber, but be- 
 fore they came in sight of the audience below, an 
 officer at the altar cried out, — "L'Empereur!" and 
 they immediately came forward and kneeled, when 
 the priest proceeded with the services. Napoleon 
 was in plain citizens' dress and the Empress was 
 habited like any other lady. We confess we paid 
 little attention to the religious ceremonies, for we 
 went there, as most strangers did, to see the Em- 
 peror and his beautiful spouse, and our eyes were 
 almost constantly on them until they retired. We 
 thought the Emperor looked weary and somewhat 
 broken. Soon after the services were concluded, 
 he entered a carriage at the door, smoking a cigar, 
 25 
 
386 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 and, in company with the Empress, took his de- 
 parture to spend the afternoon probably in a drive 
 either to St. Cloud or Versailles. 
 
 Now, alas, how changed! The Emperor defeated, 
 made prisoner, the witness of a humiliating treaty 
 of peace, dead, and the Empress and Prince in exile! 
 
 "What is glory? what is fame? 
 The echo of a long lost name; 
 A breath, an idle hour's brief talk; 
 The shadow of an arrant naught; 
 A flower that blossoms for a day, 
 
 Dying next morrow; 
 A stream that hurries on its way, 
 Singing of sorrow." 
 
 Pere La Chaise, the Cemetery made famous by the 
 writings of Lamartine ere special attention had been 
 directed to the embellishment of burial places in the 
 United States, is situated on an eminence in the 
 eastern suburbs of the city, corresponding somewhat 
 with our Congressional Cemetery, while the Arc de 
 Triomphe, on the western side, may, in point of 
 location, be regarded as somewhat corresponding 
 with our White House, or more nearly with the 
 Heights of Georgetown. The great bulk of the city 
 lies principally on lower ground, between Pere La 
 Chaise and the Arc de Triomphe, extending to the 
 north and south of the Seine, which, in its course 
 through the city, separates and forms two consider- 
 able islands just east of the Louvre. We entered 
 Pere La Chaise from a narrow street lined for one 
 or two squares with small shops filled with flowers 
 wrought into crosses, wreaths, etc., as immortelles 
 to be laid upon the graves or hung upon the railings 
 around the tombs, as in 1867 the iron railing around 
 the Column Vendome was hung with these wreaths, 
 
paris. 387 
 
 supposed to be in remembrance of Napoleon I. , since 
 none are seen there at present. Pere La Chaise is 
 not remarkably beautiful, but its walks are well 
 laid out, and it is sheltered by shade trees and 
 adorned by growing vines and flowers. Among the 
 twenty thousand or more tombs here, the one most 
 visited, probably, is that of Abelard and Helo'ise, 
 which is quite imposing. When we were there, it 
 was surrounded by a staging and undergoing re- 
 pairs. There are monuments, also, to La Fontaine, 
 Moliere, La Place, Arago, Beranger, and to many 
 others whose names are familiar to us; but Abelard 
 and Helo'ise, whose memory has been kept fresh for 
 more than seven hundred years, may survive them 
 all on the tablet of the ages. Naughty as they both 
 were, they nevertheless command the admiration of 
 mankind on account of their undying love for each 
 other. He was born in the village of Palais near 
 Nantes, in the year 1079, and in one of the churches 
 there a lamp, lighted at his demise, has been kept 
 burning ever since in commemoration of his virtues. 
 He early devoted himself to the study of philosophy 
 and the sciences, and for some years was at the 
 head of a school of rhetoric, first at Melun and 
 Corbiel, and later at Paris, where he lectured on 
 rhetoric, philosophy, and theology. He was twice 
 the age of Helo'ise, niece of Fulbert, a canon of 
 Paris, when he became acquainted and finally infat- 
 uated with her. A girl of seventeen, she is said to 
 have been radiant with beauty, intelligence, and 
 genius, and on her part was equally entranced with 
 the famous scholar. Obtaining permission to give 
 her instruction at her uncle's, he subsequently be- 
 came a resident at Fulbert's house, where "for sev- 
 eral months the lovers indulged in a wild dream of 
 
388 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 passion." This resulted most unfortunately for both, 
 but it did not weaken their love for each other, and 
 by the consent of all concerned they were married. 
 Helo'ise desired to keep the marriage a secret; but 
 this did not please the canon, who, thinking that 
 her husband intended to force her to take the veil, 
 caused him to be seized and ignominiously punished. 
 Abelard now became a monk, and, tired of the 
 world, Helo'ise voluntarily took the veil. They 
 were now separated for eleven years, when they 
 again came together at St. Gildas do Ruys, of which 
 monastery he had been appointed Abbot. He died 
 in 1142, at the age of sixty- four. Helo'ise, request- 
 ing to be buried at his side, survived him only a 
 few years. 
 
 The Jardin des Plantes, originally intended only 
 for a Botanical Garden, is a Zoological and Orni- 
 thological Garden as well, and connected with it are 
 a Museum and Library of Natural History, a Mu- 
 seum of Comparative Anatomy, and a Conservatory 
 of Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry. We have 
 found much to interest us here, especially the birds 
 and animals, of which there is an extensive collec- 
 tion, and one or more of almost every kind. 
 
 Returning from the Jardin des Plantes, we visited 
 the Pantheon, a fine church, the portico of which is 
 modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. It is in the 
 form of a Greek cross, and "the interior consists of 
 three naves, surmounted by the dome and separated 
 by a range of one hundred and thirty fluted Corinth- 
 ian columns." Among the distinguished persons 
 buried here were Voltaire, Rosseau, Marshal Lannes, 
 and the Duke de Montebello. 
 
 The Church of Saint Roche, founded in 1G53, is 
 rather plain on the exterior, but finished in the inte- 
 
PARIS. 389 
 
 rior in a costly style, and it is adorned by a profu- 
 sion of sculptures, fine statues, and many paintings 
 of marked excellence. It stands on rue St. Honore, 
 in the heart and one of the richest quarters of the 
 city. It was from the steps of this church that 
 Napoleon I. leveled his cannon on the insurgents at 
 the time of the National Convention;, and from its 
 sacred altar Marie Antoinette was led to the guillo- 
 tine in the Place de la Concorde. 
 
 The Palace and Garden of the Luxembourg well 
 repay many a visit. The Garden is large and beau- 
 tifully laid out, and the Palace is a complete Muse- 
 um of Art. The painting here which most strongly 
 fixed our attention represents a large number of the 
 victims of the Reign of Terror in prison, waiting, 
 one after another, to be led to execution, neither 
 knowing whose turn might come first. We have a 
 graphic photograph of this famous picture. The 
 Palace has on several occasions been used as a 
 prison for distinguished persons charged w^ith politi- 
 cal offences. 
 
 The Hotel de Cluny is a curious old building 
 of the fifteenth century, and it is filled with an 
 endless collection of Roman and other antiquities. 
 We have taken much more pleasure there, in the 
 Louvre, and in other museums of art, than in going 
 to the theater, which we have visited once only, 
 or to the Bourse, where we have been once, to 
 see how crazy men may become in the pursuit of 
 gain, or, in fact, to witness any single sight in 
 Paris. We have not been to the opera, contenting 
 ourselves with an exterior view of the new opera 
 building, which is very grand and beautiful. After 
 all, it is impossible to tell of half the things that 
 strike our attention as we go from place to place 
 
390 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 LUXEMBOURG PALACE. 
 
PARIS TO LONDON. 391 
 
 in the city. The vast whole — le tout ensemble — 
 of Paris is, we repeat, one of the wonders of the 
 world. 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 Home, home again, from a foreign shore. 
 
 — Ballad. 
 
 , E had tarried in Paris about five, weeks, and 
 it was now time to prepare for a decisive 
 movement homeward. With the smaller purchases 
 of photographs and various trinkets, which we had 
 collected on our journey after leaving London, to- 
 gether with some larger acquisitions in Paris, we 
 filled a good -sized chest, or box, provided with 
 hinges and locks, which we had purchased for the 
 sum of twelve francs; and for fifteen francs the 
 agent of the Cunard Line took charge of and sent it 
 direct by water to the steamship " Bothnia," on 
 which vessel we had engaged passage from Liver- 
 pool. This was quite a relief, as it not only saved 
 the trouble of looking after it on the way through 
 London and Liverpool, but it also avoided all exami- 
 nation by the English Custom House. Our arrange- 
 ments completed, we left Paris at seven o'clock on 
 the morning of the 22d of April for London, still in 
 company with Dr. Parker and party, who had taken 
 passage in the "Scythia," to sail on the 27th of May. 
 Our route was by the way of Boulogne and Folk- 
 stone. The day was pleasant, and all Nature was 
 beaming with the brightness of spring. The fields, 
 laid off into patches, some for one kind of grain or 
 
392 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 plant and some for another, presented a picturesque 
 appearance; and long rows of the Lombard poplar, 
 trimmed nearly to their tops, skirted the lanes and 
 highways, ready to throw out another set of twigs 
 for fagots, which, tied up in bundles and dried, form 
 in some parts of Europe no inconsiderable amount of 
 fuel. So, likewise, on rough land along the railroads 
 and in swampy places not fit for tillage, we observed 
 that willows, alder, and other bushes of rapid growth 
 are cultivated and cut annually, or less frequently, 
 for the same purpose. Most remarkable to relate, 
 we had a perfectly smooth passage across the Chan- 
 nel. Our boat was crowded with passengers, but we 
 do not remember to have seen a single one who 
 suffered from seasickness. Among the passengers 
 we were happy to meet the Hon. Russell Gurney, 
 who was the Commissioner on the part of Great 
 Britain in the settlement of war claims against the 
 United States, under the Treaty of Washington. 
 
 We reached London at five in the afternoon, and 
 at once proceeded to our former lodgings in Queen's 
 Road, Bayswater, West. As the "Bothnia" was 
 not to sail until the 6th of May, we now had ten 
 days more in London, affording us another oppor- 
 tunity to revisit places of interest there, to see some 
 things we had not seen before, and meet again 
 our esteemed English friends. We have heretofore 
 spoken of what most interested us in London. It 
 was a rest to find ourselves here again after a long 
 and tedious journey, occupying nine months, and 
 especially coming as we did directly from noisy 
 Paris, where Sunday is perhaps the noisiest day 
 of the week. We enjoy a quiet Sabbath; and in 
 this respect, as well as on other accounts, London 
 seems like home. We like its solid character, its 
 
LIVERPOOL. 393 
 
 Hyde Park, its grand old Abbey, its St. Paul's, 
 its wonderful Museums, and its Westminster Hall. 
 The Thames, too, with its grand bridges, superb 
 embankment and majestic current, holds its proud 
 place in the picture. The apostrophe to it by Sir 
 John Denham (born 1615) is good: 
 
 "Thames! the most lov'd of all the Ocean's sons 
 By his old sire, to his embraces runs, 
 Hasting to pay his tribute to the sea, 
 Like mortal life to meet eternity. 
 O could I flow like thee! and make thy stream 
 My great example, as it is my theme; 
 Tho' deep yet clear, tho' gentle yet not dull; 
 Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full." 
 
 We took leave of London at noon on the 4th of 
 May, 1876, and arrived in Liverpool at five o'clock in 
 the afternoon, putting up at the Northwestern Hotel. 
 On the following day we visited various parts of the 
 city, and also called on our Consul, General Fair- 
 child, who had kindly selected for us a good state- 
 room on the "Bothnia." There is nothing remark- 
 able about the city, except its beautiful Park and its 
 river docks, which are noted for their magnificence, 
 being "constructed on a stupendous scale, covering, 
 with the dry docks, two hundred acres, with fifteen 
 miles of quays." The city is situated on the north- 
 eastern banks of the Mersey, which are uneven and 
 in some parts quite steep. The public buildings are 
 imposing, and there are several monuments, among 
 them a column to Lord Nelson and an equestrian 
 statue of George III. Passing along one of the 
 business streets, we observed two shop windows 
 which were completely lined with Confederate bank 
 notes. It would, no doubt, be interesting to know 
 their history. The seceding States found hosts of 
 
394 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 sympathizers in Liverpool during the war, and, en- 
 couraged by leading British statesmen to believe 
 that the South would ultimately succeed in estab- 
 lishing and maintaining its independence, many of 
 them, no doubt, cast their fortunes on that side, and 
 lost. Far better would it have been both for Eng- 
 land and the Confedeaacy had no such encourage- 
 ment been given; and the act of Queen Victoria in 
 declining to sanction any measures unfriendly to the 
 United States is a bright jewel in her crown. 
 
 Our heart-throbs quickened as we drew near the 
 hour — two o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, 
 the 6th — when we were to go on board the tender 
 which was to take us to the "Bothnia," Captain 
 McMickan, Commander. We were promptly on 
 hand, and our little steamer soon cast off and was 
 on her accustomed way toward the ocean. While 
 in Italy we responded affirmatively to a letter from 
 Mrs. Tipton, wife of Mr. Thomas C. Tipton, of 
 Washington, asking if she might place herself and 
 her son Frankie, two years old, under our charge in 
 crossing the ocean; and we were happy, on reaching 
 the tender, to find them ready to accompany us. 
 She is an accomplished English lady, and had been 
 on a visit of a year at her old home in Bradford. 
 Her father and two sisters came along to see her 
 safely off. The younger sister had become very 
 strongly attached to Frankie, who was a splendid 
 little fellow, and hard, as it undoubtedly was, to 
 part with her married sister, it seemed almost to 
 break her heart to give him up, and she wept bit- 
 terly. Poor girl! we felt for her most keenly. Gen- 
 eral Fairchild was on board ready to render any 
 advice or assistance; and by half past three o'clock 
 the passengers were all transferred to the great ship, 
 
LIVERPOOL TO NEW YORK. 395 
 
 when the final greetings of friends, now to be sepa- 
 rated, took place, and the tender with those who had 
 come to see us on board, returned to her dock. 
 It was five o'clock when we set sail. And now — 
 
 " How swift we mount these watery hills! 
 
 As light as horse or hound; 
 Our good ship knows as on she goes 
 
 That she is homeward bound — 
 That she is homeward bound, my hearts, 
 
 That she is homeward bound; 
 For every gale that swells her sail 
 
 Sings — We are homeward bound! " 
 
 It was one o'clock in the afternoon of the next 
 day when our vessel made the harbor of Queens- 
 town, where we waited till half past three for the 
 mail. Thus far the passage had been comparatively 
 smooth, and it continued so until Monday morning, 
 when we found quite a different state of things. 
 The waves did not run very high, but they were 
 very active and irregular, and it was impossible 
 to adjust one's self to the motion of the ship, which, 
 huge as she is, jumped about like the small steamers 
 crossing the British Channel in a gale. The result 
 was that many of the passengers were compelled 
 to remain in their berths, or at least in their state- 
 rooms; but we, with a few others, chose the deck for 
 our performance — a sort of contre-danse, in which 
 there was a good deal of chassez-ing between our 
 seats and the side railing of the vessel. Knowing 
 that in our rather bilious condition the exercise was 
 pretty sure to prove beneficial, we were not in the 
 least averse to taking part in it, although we cannot 
 say we were proud of the figure we cut before quiet 
 spectators. Indeed, it would have been a relief if 
 
396 
 
 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 those only who engaged in the danse had been pres- 
 ent. The two following days were pleasant, the 
 sea had quieted down, and everything on deck wore 
 a cheerful aspect. We were now several hundred 
 miles from " where the broad ocean leans against 
 the land," and yet a flock of sea-gulls, as if to cheer 
 us on our solitary course, followed gaily in our wake. 
 What a wonderful bird! and well may we ask — 
 
 " Wanderer, whence? From earth, or air, or ocean? 
 Hast thou thy home 'mid clouds or on the billow ? 
 Or from some northern crag by sea-bird haunted, 
 Hangs thy wild eyrie ? ' ' 
 
 Among our two hundred saloon passengers there 
 were less than a dozen whom we had ever met be- 
 fore. Some of these were Mr. W. D. Washburne, of 
 Minnesota, and family, Mrs. Tipton, and Mr. and 
 Mrs. William H. Ferry, Jr. We formed a slight 
 acquaintance with a few other pleasant people; for 
 instance, Mr. and Mrs. Fred. James, Rodney House, 
 Clifton, England; Dr. James B. Gould, of Rome; 
 Mr. T. R. Gould and son, sculptors, Florence; Hon. 
 Mr. Stanley, cousin of Dean Stanley, and wife; and 
 Hon. J. Lowthian Bell, M. P. Mr. Bell, with Sir 
 Charles Reed, F. S. A., Colonel Rich, R. E., Henry 
 Laird, son of the great shipbuilder, and other Eng- 
 lish gentlemen, were on their way to our Centennial 
 Exposition, some of them to act as judges. 
 
 We cannot say we are fond of being on the ocean, 
 yet there is a fascination about it when once at sea, 
 and particularly in fair weather, when the waves 
 run not too high, that it is difficult either to fully 
 comprehend or describe. It is at such times that we 
 seek to find expression to our feelings in language 
 more eloquent and stirring than commonplace prose. 
 
LIVERPOOL TO NEW YORK. 397 
 
 "What is the theme entrancing and eternal 
 The wild waves sing? 
 What is the message fraught with life supernal 
 Their voices bring ? 
 
 " Men change and cease to be, 
 
 And empires rise, and grow, and fall; 
 But the weird music of the sea 
 Lives, and outlives them all." 
 
 It is because of our apparently helpless condition 
 on the ocean, doubtless — only a single plank, as it 
 were, between us and the world beyond — that, 
 while thus situated, we feel a livelier and more 
 child -like dependence on the Great Source of all 
 power than we usually experience in the busy walks 
 of life on land. Stopping to contemplate, we lose 
 ourselves in a vain effort to comprehend the vast- 
 ness of creation and the mysteries of our being. 
 Here before us rolls "the round ocean girdled with 
 the sky," and we stretch our mental vision, alas 
 how feebly! in trying to obtain the least glimpse of 
 what there is beyond. The expanse of the great 
 ocean alone is amazing: 
 
 "Dark-heaving — boundless, endless, and sublime — 
 The image of eternity — the throne 
 Of the Invisible. 
 
 * * * ^ *■ * * I 
 
 Time writes no wrinkles on thy azure brow; 
 Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now." 
 
 We can only gaze in wonder, striving with our 
 might to reach after infinity, and then, seeing that 
 all is in vain, sink back hopeless into utter nothing- 
 ness. "Be still, my soul, and trust." 
 
 We move rapidly on, sometimes at the rate of 
 three hundred miles, a little more or a little less, 
 every twenty- four hours. The 11th was rough and 
 
398 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 
 
 disagreeable — the night foggy and dark, and the 
 fearful screech of the warning steam whistle was 
 heard above the roaring billows every three minutes 
 until after midnight. Except a few hours toward 
 evening on 'the 12th, there was a high sea, with 
 more or less fog, until Sunday afternoon, the 14th, 
 when the weather cleared off and continued pleasant 
 the rest of the way. On our first Sunday, owing to 
 interruptions consequent upon stopping at Queens- 
 town, formal religious ceremonies were omitted; but 
 on the second and last Sunday the customary Epis- 
 copal services were held in the dining saloon, most 
 of the passengers being present. All day on the 
 15th there was scarcely a ripple on the face of the 
 great deep. It was like oil. The sun shone brightly, 
 and we were favored with the sight of three or four 
 whales, spouting and disporting on either side of the 
 ship as if for our amusement. We had spoken one 
 steamship on her way to Liverpool; and we began 
 now to meet or overtake an occasional sailing vessel. 
 These are always cheerful sights at sea. About nine 
 on the morning of the 16th, much to our delight, a 
 pilot boat appeared in the distance and the pilot soon 
 came aboard. Two hours and a half later we espied 
 land — a joyous sight indeed. By two o'clock a tug- 
 boat, bringing custom officials, came alongside, and 
 with them a cherished relative to welcome us home. 
 We cannot express the joy and thankfulness that 
 took possession of our being at this hour. 
 
 And, now, kind readers — you who have followed 
 us in our long ramblings, among whom we recognize 
 many dear friends, who have cheered us by flattering 
 words of encouragement — good-bye and farewell, — 
 
 " Farewell! a word that must be, and has been — 
 A sound which makes us linger; yet, farewell! " 
 

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