JOURNALS AND LETTERS OF EMMA CULLUM CORTAZZO 1865-1880 -j^°! II iimiimiimiimmimnilfflnimii;iiiiii:iiNiiiiMiiMiiiiHiiimimiuiiiuiiiiiiiiiimiiiiimMHii>niiiiiiimiiiniiniini Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2009 with funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries littp://www.archive.org/details/emmacullumcortazOOcort EMMA CULLUM CORTAZZO 1842-1918 Meadville, P». Printed by E. H. Shabtli 1919 CLT A 4 Arthur Cullum — Eebecca Meade 'The Loyalist" H. J. Huidekoper — Rebecca Colhoon Arthur Cullum — Harriet Sturges 1776—1854 1779—1839 1780—1829 1781—1862 Alfred Huidekoper — Catherine Cullum 1810—1892 1812—1888 EMMA CULLUM COETAZZO b. 1842 in Meadville, Pa. m. 1866 to Oreste Cortazzo. d. 1918 in Lakewood, N. J. "Here I laid down my pencil, thinking these my few reminiscences worth preserving, were ended. But my dear child says: 'They are only begun': — and that she wishes me to write of myself, letting what I have written form a background to my personal recollections. The 'back- ground' seems to me far more worthy of being the fore- ground, but as her wish has ever been my law, I must yield, and will continue by writing of myself, though it must be a tale largely of commonplace things and an un- eventful life." THE BACKGROUND Of my Grandfather and Grandmother Huidekoper, I write nothing. The latter died before my birth, and my beloved Grandfather is so admirably pictured in his ' ' Life, ' ' by Mrs. Tiffany, and in my Father 's sketch of him, and in his ' ' Pomona Hall, ' ' that nothing I could say would add to what has already been excellently told. Of my Grandfather Cullum I know too little. He died while my Mother was young. He was born in New York on November 20, 1780. When he was three years old his Father, also an Arthur Cullum, was exiled to Nova Scotia, as a Loyalist. He is mentioned in the Appendix to Sabine 's "History of the Loyalists of the American Revolution" as follows: "Arthur Cullum, a Loyalist Associator at New York, 1782, to remove in the following year to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, with his family of seven persons." I infer that the Loyalist died in Nova Scotia, probably in Halifax, where he later removed. A child was born shortly after the landing of the exiles on the barren and inhospitable shores of the colony, as the birth, death and burial of "John, infant son, etc.," is recorded in the register of the Parish Church of Shelburne. The Mother of this infant and wife of the Loyalist, hence the Mother of my Grand- father, was Rebecca Meade. In the Registrar's Office at Shelburne appears the record of a grant of one town lot and one water lot, by the British Crown, to Arthur Cullum, in 1787, but it seems doubtful whether he ever took up this land or remained in Shelburne, then a mere village, and it seems probable that he sought a home in Halifax, where more of the comforts of life and better means of educa- tion existed. My Grandfather, at the time of the migration from New York, must have been three years old and his son. General Cullum, wrote of him as follows, on reading 8 THE BACKGROUND in Sabine the reference to the elder CuUum, his Grand- father : ''This Cullum was doubtless my Grandfather, and my Father, then but three years old, would have been one of the famly of seven persons. It seems that in the Sep- tember previous to the evacuation of New York, November 25, 1783, upwards of 12,000 men, women and children em- barked at the city, at Long Island, and at Staten Island for Nova Scotia and the Bahamas. Those who went north landed at Port Roseway, now Shelburne, and at St. John, where many utterly destitute were supplied with food at the public charge and were obliged to live in huts built of bark and rough boards. 'Among the banished ones,' says Sabine, vol. I, pp. 91-93, 'thus doomed to misery, were per- sons whose hearts and hopes had been as true as Washing- ton's own The mischief all done, thousands ruined and banished, new British colonies founded, ani- mosities to continue for generations made certain, the vio- lent Whigs of Massachusetts, New York and Virginia were satisfied; all this accomplished and the Statute book was divested of its most objectionable enactments, and a few of the Loyalists returned to their old homes, but by far the greater number died in banishment. Of those who re- turned from Nova Scotia, of which I have often heard Father speak, and of his own residence there, were prob- ably all that remained of Grandfather's family. In what year the return occurred I cannot ascertain, but it must have been after some years, as Father, I think, received his early education in Nova Scotia, returning to New York when yet a boy. ' ' I recall a family interest expressed in Judge Halibur- ton's works, no doubt on account of Grandfather's resi- dence in Nova Scotia. Of Rebecca Meade, I know only that her daughter-in- law, my Grandmother Cullum, spoke of her with great admiration and affection. A silhouette of her is in the possession of Mrs. H. H. Howell, of New York, and copies of this I own. She must have returned to New York about 1806, as she is mentioned in a directory of that date. Her eldest son George, and Arthur, my Grandfather, are men- tioned as being there in 1801. THE BACKGROUND 9 Grandfather Cullum married in 1803, December 18th, at Fairfield, Connecticut, Harriet Sturges, of that place. I do not know in what way my Grandfather became acquainted with Miss Sturges, but as there were Sturgeses and Barlows from Fairfield and its neighbourhood among the exiles to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, it is prob- able that the several families may have been acquainted there during the exile, and that in this way the young Arthur Cullum may have been led to visit Faii'field and so have met Harriet Sturges. They were married, as I have said, in 1803 and lived in New York, where several chil- dren, among them my Mother, were born to them. Mr. Cul- lum seems to have been associated in business with Mr. Cor- nelius Berrian, and in the Record Office in New York ap- pear entries regarding the purchase by the partners of a lot of land in Reed Street from one Philip Jacob. This land had formerly been the old negro burying ground. On Mr. Cullum 's removal to the west Mr. Berrian purchased his partner's share. They would also appear to have jointly purchased some land in Plattsburg, N. Y. This land Grand- father Cullum apparently retained as, at his death and in the distribution of his estate, it was left to his daughters Catherine and Malvina. This is mentioned in family let- ters, but the daughters seem to have been careless or indif- ferent about paying taxes upon the property and it was so long neglected that eventually it was sold in default of pay- ment. I recall that my Mother, when once at Saratoga, greatly wished to go to Plattsburg to see where this prop- erty had lain — lost through negligence she regretted; but she did not realize this intention. My Father went, how- ever, and brought to her as a souvenir of her one-time pos- session a little enamel brooch, now in my keeping, showing a view of Ticonderoga. My Mother always retained a cher- ished recollection of her Father, but as she was but 17 years of age when he died, many details were but faintly re- corded in her memory. She and my Aunt Malvina always spoke of his superior mind. Grandfather Cullum is said by 10 THE BACKGROUND those who remember him to have been a tall, spare man, good looking and of refined appearance. His son Arthur, my Uncle, resembled him in feature and Mr. William Rey- nolds says that my Mother was perhaps most like him of all his children. Mr. Reynolds tells me that his father, Mr. John Reynolds, thought Mr. Cullum a superior man intel- lectually and he thinks must have had an excellent educa- tion. My Father also spoke of Grandfather Cullum 's ex- ceptional conversational powers. In those early Meadville days, on Sunday afternoons, several gentlemen were accus- tomed to meet for conversation and discussion, the con- versation being generally brilliant and delightful. Of this coterie my Grandfather Huidekoper and Mr. John Rey- nolds, Judge Barlow, Judge Wallace and Judge Shippen were members. They frequently met at Pomona Hall or at Grandfather Cullum 's. Though by nature rather silent and reticent, Grandfather Cullum in these meetings bore his full part. That he was a lover of the poet Ossian I infer from his naming two of his children, Oscar and Mal- vina, and on these two dying in infancy giving the name to later children. That he was not unfamiliar with Latin classics I infer from a classical allusion in a letter to his son George when at West Point. He wrote a very bad hand, almost illiterate, a characteristic or failing inherited by some of his children, and certainly also by a grand- daughter! Only a few of his letters remain written to his son George, to my Mother when she went as a young girl to New York on a visit to some relatives, and to Mr, Ber- rian, once his partner in New York, and given to me by Mr. Cornelius Berrian Mitchell. Grandfather Cullum built the house at the southwest corner of Chestnut and Liberty Streets in Meadville, Penna. I think he must have planted a row of fine cherry trees which once lined the place on Chestnut Street, and he probably laid out the garden which my childish recollec- tion pictures as full of excellent fruit and berries. A row of gooseberry bushes were especially delectable and there THE BACKGROUND 11 was also an ample kitchen garden, and an arbour covered with honeysuckle perhaps of his time. He died in 1829, I think of a fever contracted through malarial conditions existing where he was building an acqueduct some miles below Meadville. He was buried in the old burying ground somewhere near the present Randolph and Baldwin Streets, but his remains were years afterward removed to the pres- ent cemetery, where they lie in the lot that was secured by his son, my Uncle Arthur Cullum. A short obituary notice in the Crawford Messenger for August 20, 1829, to be seen at the Public Library in Meadville, is as follows : "In the death of this gentleman our village society has sustained a severe loss. As a Father and Husband he was affectionate and indulgent ; as a citizen, upright and enter- prising ; as a friend, steadfast and sincere. ' ' I here interpolate a few facts regarding Arthur Cullum, the Loyalist, and his descendants, and some unsubstan- tiated details regarding the early Cullums given me by connections in the family. The Cullum family were undoubtedly of English de- scent. Traditions in various branches of the American stock substantiate this claim. Mrs. Caroline Carey, her- self a Cullum, the daughter of a nephew of my Grand- father, speaks of the return of some of the Cullums to England after the exile, and of their eventual re-settlement in the United States. A vague tradition exists of a branch having been domiciled in Maryland before the Revolution. Of "the family of seven persons" exiled to Nova Scotia with the Loyalist in 1783 only four can I positively iden- tify. These were, Arthur Cullum, his wife, Rebecca Meade, their son Arthur, their daughter Mary, afterward Mrs. Bailey. There was probably also another son George, and another daughter Savilla or Sybilla. I recall that my Grandmother Cullum when I was a child told me of a sister of her husband named thus and the name as an unusual one remained in my memory. The above named George is 12 THE BACKGROUND supposed to have married in London, Ann Shaw, and to have had many children of Avhom one son, John, was the father of Mrs. Caroline Carey, and a son, Charles, of Mo- bile, Louisiana, who left descendants there of the name of Redwood. Mrs. Bailey, my Grandfather's sister, lived in New York, she was a widow, with at least two children. She was always most affectionately spoken of by my Mother and my Aunt Malvina as a woman of great refinement and cultivation, reduced through widowhood and small re- sources to a partial dependance on my Grandfather. She eked out a livelihood by doing most exquisite needlework of which a few specimens are in my possession, notably a fine muslin handkerchief with the initials of my Grand- father, "A. C." in very delicate stitching. Her daughter married a man of foreign name, Pothier, and was the mother of my friend and "cousin" Mrs. H. H. Howell, of New York. In an old letter from some member of the family on the death of Judge Stephen Barlow, reference is made to Judge Barlow's will, or verbal instructions, in which is included a desire that a certain sum should be expended on a stone or monument to his Brother-in-law, Arthur Cullum. As far as I know this was never carried out, as I recall no headstone in the old burying ground marking the grave. The wife of the Loyalist Arthur Cullum was Rebecca Meade. The name Rebecca appears in the Shelburne, Nova Scotia, parish record of the burial of her infant son. The name Meade was given me as her maiden name by Mrs. Howell, who possesses the original silhouette of her. This shows a delicate, refined face, in which I trace a strong resemblance to my Mother and my elder sister. My Grand- mother Cullum spoke of her as a woman of great strength of character and superior intellectual powers. My dear Grandmother Cullum was born Harriet Stur- ges, of Fairfield, Connecticut. She saw the light there on May 28, 1781. Her Father was Judson Sturges, born Feb- THE BACKGROUND 13 ruary 21, 1748 ; died December 12, 1782. Her Mother was Abigail Squire, born February 22, 1753. The Father of Judson Sturges was Solomon Sturges, born 1698 and died July 9, 1779, killed by the British guns. The Squires seem to have been soldiers in three generations. In 1651, in 1691 and in 1773 they bore military titles. Of my Grandmother's personality I can write from vivid memory. She was small of stature and delicately built, slender, and with rather sharp but regular features. She was quiet and retiring in disposition. I recall her as gentle in temper, patient, practical, full of lore regarding life in Fairfield and family traditions; ever ready to tell me stories when I was a child, very indulgent to her grand- children. She and my Aunt Malvina fill a large part in the recollections of my childhood. My Grandmother's stories of her forbears and early life come back to me vividly. I recall her account of her Father's death. He had gone out with others to reconnoitre the British ships in Fairfield Bay, when a chance shot from one of them crushed his skull. Her Mother, when the British were approaching Fairfield took her children and escaped to the woods, leaving the house in the care of an old slave woman who put all the family silver and damask down the well, and by giving the British plenty of cider, to keep them in a good humour, saved the house from being burned as much of the village was. I have a tiny napkin, given me by my Mother, which was woven by slaves in the Fairfield house, and a little silver spoon marked "A. S.," (either Abigail Sturges or Abigail Squire), which may well have been among the articles consigned to the well and later re- covered when danger was passed. One of the tales told me by my Grandmother was of the Fairfield village idiot, who one bitter cold night climbed the belfry of the church, tied a rope to the bell clapper, and throwing the rope down, carried it with him up a tree, where, safely en- sconced, he rang out a wild alarm which wakened the heaviest sleepers. These, thinking a British attack immi- 14 THE BACKGEOUND nent, sallied out only to find that all was peaceful and silent. No sooner were they once more safely in their beds than the bell clanged forth again. After another vain search for lurking danger, the steeple was examined and the idiot and his trick exposed. My Grandmother also told with great effect of a winter night, when, as she and her Mother sat alone, strange sounds were heard in the house, and in much trepidation a search was made for marauders. The idiot proved to be again the culprit, making a mid- night raid on the pies and good things prepared for the approaching Christmas season. Had I but made notes of all my Grandmother told me as I sat on a stool at her feet, they would now be interesting and to me most valuable, for much has escaped my memory with the passing years, or has become too vague to be relied upon. There is no one left now, alas ! to recall events of the past any more clearly. My Grandparents, during their residence in New York, lived on Chambers Street, just opposite the City Hall and Park. I think my Grandfather 's place of business was near by, and that the house had a deep veranda at the back where in the summer they took their meals. My Grandmother was devoted to her church, and I recall her regular attendance. In the winter she was preceded by a servant carrying a foot stove for her comfort during the service. My Uncle Arthur Cullum always came on Sunday to escort his Mother to church. She was dainty in her dress, and often wore an India scarf, one end thrown over her arm, which displayed its rich cashmere border. She came to live with us some years before my Aunt Malvina's marriage. She was never idle, always knitting, darning stockings, and making patchwork. I was very fond of her. My Grandmother's sister, Abigail Sturges, married Stephen Barlow, (January 3, 1805), afterward Judge and Member of the Legislature. The Barlows were an old family, of Fairfield, Redding and Green Farms, — they all lie together. Some of the Barlows were Loyalists and lived in St. John, New Brunswick. They are THE BACKGROUND 15 probably descended from Francis Barlow, of Coventry, England, and come into our direct line of descent through two sources ; John Sturges having married a Deborah Bar- low in 1650, while a Ruth Barlow, sister of Deborah, mar- ried Francis Bradley and became the Grandmother of Abigail Bradley, the wife of Solomon Sturges. Mrs. Barlow was a distinguished looking woman, of deli- cate, highbred features, and some beauty, as shown by her portrait. Miss Lydia Davis tells me she was beautiful, and had exquisite hands of which she took the greatest care. Her letters, of which we have many, reveal a charming personality, great refinement, good sense and culture. She had finished manners and a delicate taste. She was more a woman of the world than her sister, Harriet Cullum, and shone in the society of the Capital when Judge Barlow went to Washington as a member of Congress. If my memory serves me she was on terms of intimacy with Mrs. Madison. There was in my childhood, a white satin hat with pale blue plumes still in existence, which had been sent from Paris for Mrs. Barlow when she and Mrs. Madison sent there for their toilettes and finery. A packet of visiting cards, among Mrs. Barlow's effects now in my possession, include the names of all the distinguished persons of the time, foreign ministers and national celebrities. Mrs. Barlow was a dainty and expert needlewoman and I have beautiful speci- mens of her work; a muslin scarf, some collars and some tiny clothes made for her babies. Her children all died young. She was a woman universally loved and admired. She was very fond of my Mother and took great interest in all that concerned her. She died in 1841, before I was born, but I have a faint recollection of "Uncle Barlow", and of being taken to see him in his last illness. I could have been then but three and a half years old, for he died August 24, 1845. Judge Stephen Barlow was born in Redding, Conn., in April, 1779. I know nothing of his parents, Joel Barlow was his uncle. Joel Barlow, "citi- zen of France" in 1792; Minister of the United States to 16 THE BACKGEOUND France during the last years of Napoleon's reign. He went to meet Napoleon at Wilna, Poland in order to accomplish the signing of an important commercial treaty between France and the United States. On the return journey he was taken ill, died and was buried at Zarno witch, near Cra- cow, in December, 1812. He was the author of "The Columbiad", and "Hasty Pudding", both rather dull poems. He was more successful as an ambassador and statesman than as a poet and author. He owned a beauti- ful place near Washington called Kalorama, where he dispensed a graceful hospitality. Charles Burr Todd in his "Life and Letters of Joel Barlow", says of Kalorama: "This charming retreat became the Holland House of America. ' ' A brother of Stephen Barlow, hence a nephew of Joel Barlow, acted as his uncle's secretary during his embassy to France. He married a French lady. Miss Preble, (more probably an American living in France), at Versailles. Later he lived at Pittsburgh and at Washing- ton, Pennsylvania, where a daughter, Mrs. Anica Barlow Chambers, and her descendants still reside. Judge Stephen Barlow was a man of distinction, ability and high probity. Besides several terms in the State Legislature, he served as member of Congress. He lived the latter years of his life in the house now occupied by Mr. A. Richmond on Chest- nut Street, Meadville, just east of the Richmond Block. He was very kind to my Grandmother Cullum and all her children. At his death he left one hundred dollars to be used to erect a headstone on the grave of my Grandfather Cullum, but so far as I know this was never done. He travelled a good deal to New York, Philadelphia and Wash- ington, and had many friends among the distinguished peo- ple of the Capital. A noteworthy figure in the Meadville circle of my child- hood was my aunt, Mrs. David Dick, born Miss Lydia Col- hoon. "Aunt Dick" as we called her, was a sister of my Grandmother Huidekoper. She was born at Carlisle, Penn- sylvania, and after the death of both parents lived with an THE BACKGROUND 17 Aunt, whose name I do not recall. After the marriage of her sister to my Grandfather, Herman John Huidekoper, she came to make her home at Pomona Hall. She was con- sidered a beauty in her youth, and preserved into old age her fine figure, elegant deportment, vivacity and animation. She early became deaf, and even when I was a child used a trumpet. I believe that my Grandfather 's brother, Pierre Ketel Huidekoper, was attached to her, but his suit did not meet with success. After the death of her husband, Mr. David Dick, who long pre-deceased her. Aunt Lydia lived with my Aunt, Miss Elizabeth Huidekoper. As previously noted she was a woman of great vivacity and talkativeness, liking company, and she was very entertaining when once started on congenial topics, such as reminiscences of her youth, family lore and relationships. She told me that in her girlhood she visited Niagara Falls, riding thither on horseback by an Indian trail through the forest, and she described how the roar of the cataract reached them long before it burst on their view as they emerged from the forest directly upon the Falls. Absorbed in her reminis- cences, she would often quite forget the age of her listener and a colloquy such as the following would ensue : ' ' My dear, do you remember Mrs. Parson Alden's best Sunday cap with the plumes?" "No, Aunt, I can't for she died before I was born ! " ' ' Oh yes, so she did my dear, ' ' then after a pause: "But you remember it was made, etc., etc." She was very fond of the game of backgammon, and in her latter years Miss Huidekoper or her companion. Miss Barber, would play twenty or thirty games a day with her. At one time when she was not well, she wakened Miss Bar- ber in the night and told her she felt very ill and thought she was going to die. She wished to give some last direc- tions, which Miss Jane dutifully received. Certain mes- sages of forgiveness were to be sent to a relation by mar- riage with whom there had been a feud over the inheritance of some knives and forks. At first the directions were that they were to be forgiven but not invited to the funeral; 18 THE BACKGEOUND later reflection inclined her to give permission that this should also be done, other behests followed and then Miss Barber induced her to rest a little and try to sleep. After long silence and possibly a nap, Mrs. Dick said, ' * Jane, are you awake"? "Yes, Mrs. Dick"; ''Do you feel sleepy, Jane"? ''Not at all Mrs. Dick, what can I do for you"? "Well Jane, I feel a little better, and if you are really not sleepy, we might have a game of backgammon." Where- upon, sitting up in bed she played twenty games before morning. Her hearing was worse at times than others, and occasionally one could not make her understand even through her trumpet. She was touchy about being cor- rected and I recall an occasion when I was trying to tell her that an Aunt, Mrs. Horace Cullum, was going to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. "Has she erysipe- las ? I am so sorry, my dear tell her from me to take camo- mile ( ?) tea, it is the only cure". "But Aunt, she has no erysipelas, she is leaving today for the Centennial in Phila- delphia". "Yes, yes my dear I understand perfectly, but tell her from me that camomile is the best cure". I could not make her understand and feared she would spread the news to all the neighbourhood that Mrs. Horace Cullum was ill with erysipelas. Indeed on Miss Huidekoper coming into the room just then, she at once called out: "Lizzie my dear, Mrs. Horace Cullum has erysipelas and I am just telling Emma what she ought to take". I was very fond of drawing out Aunt Dick about family connections and only wish I had made notes of her interesting narratives. At intervals there came as visitors to Pomona Hall or to Aunt Dick 's, Cousins of hers and of Grandmother Huide- koper, Mrs. Woods and Mrs. McKee, two Sisters. Their visits were always looked forward to with keen delight, and were greatly enjoyed, for both were extremely vivacious and, charming women. Mrs. McKee I scarcely recall, but I am told she was remarkably fine looking with fresh col- ouring and of most agreeable personality. Cousin Mary Woods was very tall, of stately figure and port, with oval THE BACKGEOUND 19 face, bright eyes and abundant hair, over which she wore fine lace lappets. Dressed in rich moire antique, and deli- cate laces, and sitting very straight in her chair, she would charm and entertain young and old with her animated conversation. Her visits to Aunt Dick I recall with great interest and in my childhood she made a vivid impression upon me. She once said something — I dare say vaguely — about sending my Brother and me some Muscovy ducks from Wheeling, Virginia, where she lived. I remember that we talked and dreamed of those ducks for months but the dear lady forgot them and they never came. A son of Mrs. Wood was adopted by her Sister and was known as Harry McKee. He once spent a day in Meadville and I recall him as a fine looking, elegantly dressed man of pleasing man- ner. He lived in New Orleans after the war, and I have heard that he had there a fine southern house. Mrs. Wood's eldest son was a Presbyterian clergyman and head master of a school at Charlottesville, Virginia, where his children still live. Her daughter, Ann Eliza, married Mr. James Polhemus, of Astoria, but soon died and he re-married. Aunt Hazlett was my Father's Aunt and Sister of my Grandmother Huidekoper and Aunt Dick. I recall her as a very quiet, simple lady. She was the mother of our Cousin Margaret Bagley. Her husband was born in Ire- land and was of a good family from Ramelton, County Donegal. I believe the poet Hazlitt was of the same stock. A bundle of letters now in the Land Office show that the Irish family was warmly interested in the family here and was anxious to maintain communication, but the Bagleys, I think, dropped all correspondence with Ireland. A prominent and greatly beloved member of the social circle in Meadville was Mrs. Shippen, variously denomi- nated as Madam Shippen, Grandma Shippen, etc. She was truly "Grandma" to the Theological students whom she took ''en masse" under her motherly wing, and coddled when ill, stuffed with good things when well, and coun- seled and cared for at all times. A woman of remarkable 20 THE BACKGROUND force of character and originality of mind; eminently practical and judicious, of great energy and courage; she faced life with undaunted and steadfast purpose under all trials and troubles. She was a Virginian by birth, and married Judge Henry Shippen who came from Lancaster, Penna., to Meadville to preside over the court. She was early left a widow with a large family of children, and but scanty means. Mr. Reynolds says he remembers that Judge Barlow told him it was the hardest duty of his life to tell Mrs. Shippen, as executor of her husband's will, that her income from $3,000 a year, the Judge's salary, would be cut down to $300, — all that could be depended upon. How bravely she faced the situation no words could adequately tell. Her children know! She succeeded, Heaven only knows how, in educating all her family admirably. Her sons went to college and helped her as they grew up. Mr. Rush Shippen taught school at the age of sixteen. Each child had every possible advantage of education, society and diversion that she could compass. Her wise and her witty sayings are treasured in the memory of her friends. I have never met anyone whose personality was more im- pressive than was her's — she was like pure, wholesome, ex- hilarating air — one could not get too much of her. Her house was open to all, and her hospitality was abounding, if simple. There was no place we more loved to run in to of an evening. Her parlour was always open, warm and cheery, and well filled. The plates of rosy apples stood on the table, and if several people came in, or it was cold, or with no excuse at all, the great platter of doughnuts was brought, or a spicy pumpkin pie was cut in generous slices and urged upon our willing palates. I have never known anywhere such an abounding welcome and cheer as her's. Was a theolog ailing or ill, she took him in and nursed him back to health; was a new man homesick, she made him welcome in her house; was anyone in trouble Mrs. Shippen was to the fore with help and counsel and comforting. Would she not herself patch and mend and THE BACKGROUND 21 remake her sons' or others' old clothes for some poor stu- dent. She was ' ' Grandma ' ' to them all ! She was an ardent Unitarian, and one of the greatest props of the Church in Meadville. Liberal minded, she was liberal in her judg- ment of other and narrower minds, and exercised I am sure a powerful influence on such. An old friend of her 's called Lawyer Howe was a staunch Presbyterian, but they fre- quently held converse on theological matters, and Mrs. Shippen lent her friend a copy of her Hymn Book. On his returning it she asked if he had not liked the collection of hymns. He replied that he had but that he had missed one great favorite of his — "Rock of Ages Cleft for Me, Let Me Hide Myself in Thee". Whereupon Mrs. Shippen, lay- ing her hand on his arm burst forth : ' ' Why, Friend Howe, you're not a coward, surely you don't want to hide your- self from the Lord! Now my favorite hymn is, 'Approach not the altar with gloom in thy soul ' " ! Of another Howe who attended our church they tell this tale : He took a wife when no longer young, and much to the surprise of his friends. There was a mysterious story as to how Hank Howe won his wife. One of Mrs. Shippen 's sons confided this story to her, enjoining therewith the strictest secrecy. A few moments later her Daughter, Mrs. Edgar Huide- koper, came in, and Mrs. Shippen looking up exclaimed, "Oh, Fanny, do come and hear how Hank Howe got his wife". Her son indignantly burst out, "Mother, how can you, when I told you it was a secret". "And, my dear," the old lady would relate, "I was so frightened that the story went out of my head like a shot, and I never could recall it afterwards ' ' ! When her youngest Son, Joseph, left home for Harvard College, it left her desolate, though her dearest desire was that he should have this privilege. He was her Benjamin however, her baby, and she felt as though with his going forth into the world, that her life's work was ended. As she related it, "I had worked and saved and given all my Sons a good education and they were all out in the world 22 THE BACKGROUND and doing finely, and with Joe 's leaving the nest I felt my work was done. He needed me no more, and what was there for me to live for? So, I thought the Lord would see it and take me to Himself, and I was quite ready to go. I put the house in order, took a bath and went to bed, first writing a note to Mr. Mumford to explain matters, Fanny I knew would understand at once that my work was over. I got into bed and composed myself and said, now Lord let thy servant depart for her work is done, when — while I waited for the Lord to take me — I suddenly remembered that I had asked Mrs. Barber to dine with me next day and go to the circus, so I wasn't ready, my dear, and to tell the truth I thought better of it " ! Her wholesome laugh as she told this story against herself was good to hear and never to be forgotten. I recall her diverting my Mother at a tea party one even- ing at Miss Shippen's — ''Auntie Shippen's" — where the fare was always of the most extraordinary and indescrib- able character and generally uneatable. My Mother, who was dyspeptic, was wondering what to do, when she noted the remarkable way in which her neighbour. Grandma Ship- pen 's food disappeared from her plate. Watching she found that from time to time when Auntie 's eyes were shut the plate was calmly emptied into a serviceable towel in the lap. A word of question followed, a solemn wink from Mrs. Shippen and the whispered advice, ' ' do thou likewise ' ' was the reply which convulsed my Mother. After the re- past was over Mrs. Shippen gathered up the towel and hid- ing it under the folds of her dress took my Mother's arm and proposed they should go into the garden and see the flowers. Arrived there the lapful of strange meats was safely delivered to the retiring hens! It is not often that one meets in a small family circle two such forceful souls as Madam Shippen and Miss Margaret Shippen, "Auntie Shippen", to us children. She was a sister of Judge Henry Shippen, and came to Meadville to live. She purchased a brick house behind our church, where the parsonage now tHE BACKGROUND 23 stands, the property having been given by her to the church at or before her death. The handsome sofa in the present parish house parlour was among the many pieces of fine old mahogany that filled her house. Of her character I do not feel competent to write, but I believe that she had a remarkable intelligence, a strong mind and excellent judg- ment. I remember being asked to call upon some young people from Philadelphia who were, I presume, visiting her, and I recall that we played ''hunt the slipper" in an upper chamber. I think I stood a little in awe of the good lady in my childhood, as a less familiar personality than Grandma Shippen. She had many eccentricities which struck a child's mind. She had a habit of closing her eyes when talking and keeping them closed a long time. My Cousins, Henry and Frederic Huidekoper, used to say that at their Grandmother's when Miss Shippen was there, they could ask old Auntie a question, and launch her on the re- ply, then slip into the kitchen for cookies and after dis- cussing them return to find Auntie still talking quite un- conscious of their absence. She had a fashion of wearing one dress skirt over the other till several different garments were visible about her feet, and several capes of diverse colours and materials would adorn her shoulders. She was given to imagining herself attacked by any epidemic that was going about, and I remember going to see her in the front corner chamber at Madam Shippen 's where she was stirring some odorous mixture on the stove which she an- nounced was soda, etc., to be taken for scarlet fever which she thought she would doubtless have as it was "in the neighbourhood". She removed to Philadelphia late in life and there died. I recall going twice to see her in her little house at West Philadelphia, once with my Father when she appeared looking like an animated clothes-horse, and I think threw her arms around and kissed my Father ; and once with my Sister, Mrs. Bond, when we found her little parlour so littered on every sofa and chair with clothes, books and dishes and withal so cold, that we were incon- 24 THE BACKGEOUND tinently invited to come to the kitchen which was warn, and with our feet on the stove sat and chatted delightfully for an hour, being; hospitably pressed to eat some apples which had a preliminary rub with a grimy tea towel. She wanted to give my Sister some preserved peaches which she prom- ised to send her, and a few days later an express man called and asked for a tray on which to bring in a ginger jar which had broken on the way and was dripping with juice on every side! The peaches, or such of them as were rescued were very delicious, of the good old fashioned pre- served type — ' ' a pound to a pound ". If I have dwelt more on Auntie's eccentricities than on her many virtues it is because a child's mind is more retentive of the amusing than the serious. If the food at her table was incongruous and nondescript, and her guests were chary of eating the extraordinary mixtures set before them, the welcome to her board was of the warmest, and the conversation thereat was of the best and highest class. Another type, of quite a different order, was my good Aunt, Mrs. Horace Cullum, who was assuredly the most warm hearted and kindly soul imaginable but who lacked balance and poise. Full of the milk of human kindness, generous, capable and ever busy, she was one of the great- est talkers I ever met, her conversation reminding one of Mrs. Nickleby's, covering an immense number of subjects, run into each other in the most extraordinary way. Here I laid down my pencil, thinking these, my few reminiscences worth preserving Avere ended. But my dear child says: "They are only begun", and that she wishes me to write of myself, letting what I have written form a background to my own personal recollections. The "back- ground" seems to me far more worthy of being the "fore- ground", but as her wish has ever been my law, I must yield, and will continue by writing of myself, though it must be a tale largely of commonplace events and an un- eventful life. THE FOREGROUND I was born on January 31st, 1842, the year of the great comet. Whether this orb, being in supremacy at my birth has affected my destiny, only my horoscope, had it been cast, could have determined. But certainly, like the comet, I have moved hither and thither in an irregular orbit for many years of my life. There has been a certain method in my wanderings, and I have oscillated between my native land and western Europe pretty regularly since 1865-6 to this day, January 6, 1901. Whether in this new century I shall tend to become a fixed star, the gods alone know ! MY FIRST RECOLLECTION My first recollection of anything, is of going slowly down the steps of the back porch, my hand on the rail, and wondering who made God ! From the fact that I went down one step at a time and reached up to touch the rail, I fancy I may have been about four years old, possibly less. My next recollection which must have been when I was really four, is of going with my Mother to Judge Barlow's and clinging to her hand as I was taken into the half darkened room where he lay dying, or very near his death. I think it was the ground floor room to the left of the front door, but this is uncertain. I have a very vague idea of his ap- pearance and I recall my Mother looking very grave or crying. My next and most vivid recollections are of my Grandmother CuUum 's house which, being nearer our home than Pomona Hall was probably more familiar ground to my childish footsteps. I recall the red brick house with parapets like our own house, the tall cherry trees in a row down the front garden which I presume my Grandfather must have planted. The shilling roses near the gate, the tulip beds in spring, the gooseberry bushes in rows heavy with fruit ; the red currants and the asparagus beds at the lower end of the garden. A summer house covered with coral honeysuckle stood somewhat back, and here was my favourite play house. The wood house stood along Liberty Street, its roof sloping toward the highway, and covered with a huge grape vine forming a bower on the roof where I loved to sit and often to hide. My Grandmother's house was roomy and cheerful and always hospitably open to all. The two large drawing rooms on the left of the entrance hall opened together with folding doors. In the back par- lour, between the south windows, stood the sideboard from which a delicate, subtle spicy fragrance came which I as- THE FOEEGROUND 27 sociate with the cookies and cakes ever present therein. On the right of the hall was the sitting room with its cheer- ful fire, its west window and large china closet, taken out of the kitchen into which the sitting room opened directly. From this kitchen, with its oven and fireplace a back stairs went up to a cheerful drum-room, as it was called, where a drum from the kitchen flue made a pleasant warmth. In this room was a large closet with a window in it looking west, which was one of my favorite play-rooms. Here on Thanksgiving Days, we had fine romps. My Aunt, Miss Elizabeth Huidekoper, recalls rushing up those back stairs with my Aunt, Mrs. Hassall, and Ann Eliza Anderson, when they were all girls together, like young Indians and uttering a species of war hoop, to which my Grandmother placidly submitted. A younger generation must often have tried the dear old lady's nerves, but never did she show anything but love and sweetness to us little savages. Note — These reminiscences were never continued. 1860 Age 18 LETTERS 1860-1863 Home, June 11th, 1860. Dear Aunt Lizzie : It is hot in the extreme, and I am almost dissolved, but before disappearing finally, I have managed to collect enough energy to write you a note to prove in the words of the poet (name unknown), that although, ''My pen is poor, my ink is pale My love for you will never fail". Just add to the first line that it is also extremely warm! Rebecca told me that she had a letter from you the other day, and that if I directed a letter to Columbus it would probably reach you. Last night the Bible Class met for the last time. The week before there were only nine per- sons in attendance. Last night there were eleven, counting Uncle Fred, who after the meeting put it to vote whether the meetings should be continued or not for a week or two longer. The nays had the majority, so next week there will be no meeting. I am almost sorry, for although it is getting rather warm, I am really interested now in the les- sons. The house looks rather forlorn without you, I go up now and then to look at the house and the flowers. Tell Auntie Moore the scrubby plants look as scrubby as ever and a little more scrubby if possible than when she went away. Mr. Chaney's friend, Mr. Hooper, has been making him a short visit. He came on Saturday night and went yesterday morning. We had a letter from Sister Rebecca last night, she is quite well. Aunt Lizzie, if it is not too much trouble, will you get me some embroidered bands, or rather two yards of it. It is for the bottom of a baby's skirt. I want it about as wide as the strip of paper I en- LETTERS 29 I860 Age 18 close is long. I want it handsome — of jaconnet. If you will pay for it I will repay you on your return. About the price I do not care particularly, so that it is handsome. I suppose it will be somewhere about a dollar a yard. I went to see Aunt Dick the other day. She seemed well. Ger- trude is waiting for me to go down street with her. I ex- pect to come back in a liquid state, but she is such a tease there is no use in refusing her. Give much love to Auntie Moore, I hope she has the blue ribbon off her neck. Your loving niece, Emma. Meadville, August 12, 1860. Dear Aunt Lizzie : Every one has gone to sleep, leaving me forlorn and alone, so I shall occupy the half hour before going to walk in writing to you ; that is if I do not go to sleep. Mr. Fol- som's sermons always have a very soothing effect on me. We had a long sermon from Mr. Folsom this morning de- livered in his inimitable style, about as interesting as they always are. It was very warm and I could not keep awake. The Sunday School is in rather a forlorn condition. Laur- ens Beach opens and shuts the school, and Mary Smith, Miss Minnis and Gertrude do the singing. There is rather a scarcity of teachers ; Ed Huidekoper had to teach a class this morning. It will be a great relief to get Mr. Brown and Mr. Chaffin back to help in the singing, we consider ourselves fortunate when we do not break down every other verse. A letter from Mother last night told us of Uncle Edgar's leaving for the Isles of Shoals. Uncle Fred and Aunt Hattie leave Tuesday for somewhere. They have not decided whether to go to Bedford, Niagara or east. It must be pleasant at the seashore if it is as warm there as it has been here. Yesterday was cool but today it is hot. I was very glad to hear of the Misses To\vne through your letter to Father. I should like to see them very much. They are extremely agreeable and lively. Shall you go to North- 30 LETTERS 1860 Age 18 ampton on your return? Your house looks deserted and desolate. The flowers only lend brightness to the picture. The scarlet and purple verbenas have been very brilliant and beautiful, especially those in the front yard on the east side. Tell Lilian I have never been down to Pomona to read those old manuscripts. I really intended to do so before this. I will try to go down some time soon. I do not go out at all, stay at home and read, study and keep house. I went to Henry H.'s party on Friday but came home early not feeling very well. It was very pleasant, however, about fifty were there. Our grapes and peaches are nearly ripe — then we shall feast. Hasten home and help us enjoy them. When are you coming? I sincerely hope soon. It is so lovely at home. Give ever so much love to Auntie Moore, Lilian, Aunt Anna and all the family. With ever so much for yourself, Your loving niece, Emma. Meadville, August 31, 1860. Dear Aunt Lizzie : I should have answered your letter before this but I have really been too busy. I am having the house cleaned, that is, the paint washed, closets cleaned and put in order and windows washed. I want so to get it all done before Mother comes. I have also got all my corn dried, and thir- ty-six quarts of blackberries put up. Who is putting up yours? I gave your note to Christina and delivered your message to Harriet Hodgson who says she will go up and put things in order. She says the windows need cleaning also. Your description of your mishap at Pigeon Cove was very amusing, Rebecca and I had a good laugh over it. Uncle Fred came home last night, bringing us better ac- counts of Uncle Edgar than our last letters gave us. I fear the Isles of Shoals will not be beneficial to him. I should think a warmer climate would be better such as Italy or LETTEES 31 1860 Age 18 Florida. I hope he will have no more pleuritic attacks. Last Wednesday, Gertrude, Mrs. Laura Rhees, Ed, Art, Rush, Lizzie and I went down the canal in a boat about two miles, landed and had our dinner there. We made a fire, the boys caught half a dozen frogs, of which I did not partake. We had roast corn, fried frog legs, bread, biscuit, cold chicken, ginger bread, peaches, pears, apples and raspberry shrub. We started about nine in the morn- ing and did not return till five in the afternoon. We had a fine time. Mrs. Rhees is just as full of fun as a girl. Up to all sorts of fun. Yesterday Mrs. Shippen had a quilt- ing bee to make comfortables for Mrs. Edward Shippen who is here now. We made three comfortables (wool ones) in the afternoon. They had made three in the morning. We had quite a nice time. Tomorrow is Mass Meeting and I suppose the town will be full. We are living chiefly on apples, pears and peaches. The grapes are not thoroughly ripe yet. Those that Father sent Uncle Edgar were the ripest. I hope they got there safely. We are having beau- tiful weather, clear, cool days and fine moonlight nights. I shall be thankful indeed when Mother, Nettie and other friends return, it is very lonely at home. I go to bed near- ly every night at eight o'clock, — nine is quite late now to me. My eyes have been troubling me a good deal again. They are very weak and I can use them but little. Mrs. Shippen has quite a house full now. All the Rheeses are there and Mr. and Mrs. Edward Shippen. Mrs. Shippen, Jr., expects her Sisters, Miss Sally Stokes and the one who was lately married — Molly, I think — here this week or next. I do not know where Mrs. Shippen expects to stow them all. All at Uncle Edgar's are well. I go up nearly every day to see little Frank. He is just as sweet and cunning as he can be. He takes possession of me as soon as I arrive, and leads me out to the barn to see the ducks or the horses. Lizzie and Rush are learning to row. Rush was so delight- ed with a brass horn (a cornet) of Joe Shippen 's that he has purchased for himself a dinner horn which he has been 32 LETTEES 1863 Ago 21 blowing with great gusto all day. Father and I are going out rowing so I must close. Love to all at the Isles of Shoals. Tell Henry I came near writing him an account of the race but did not as I found Father had done so in a letter to Uncle Edgar. AVith much love for yourself, I remain Your loving niece, Emma. P. S. — Rush is just passing tooting vigourously on his horn. Meadville, November 22, 1863. Dear Aunt Lizzie : If you were at home this lovely afternoon I should go up and see you, but as you are not I just make a letter do. I have been meaning for ever so long to write to you and Auntie Moore, but it seems as though I should never get through answering the letters that came while I was sick. I am perfectly well now and more fleshy than I have been for years. I think my fever did me good. I must have got along remarkably well. Dr. Ray is not yet able to sit up. Frank Shippen came home very unexpectedly yesterday. He had written that the doctor had advised his leaving St. Paul and spending the winter in AVinona. They were much surprised therefore yesterday to receive a despatch from him asking to have the buggy at the depot at two 'clock. Fred says he seems about the same as when he left Meadville, only a little weaker. It will be a double charge for Mrs. Shippen. Ruth is still unwell and the doctor fears she will never be well again. She has a cough and I think her lungs are already affected. Mrs. Rush Shippen left last Thursday. Joe Shippen has gone with her. He has accepted a situation in the High School at Worcester as teacher, (not principal), with a salary of $1000 per annum. Mrs. Evans Shippen is still here. I wish I could send Auntie Moore some of the lovely white chrysanthemums and heartsease which Father has just LETTERS 33 1863 Age 21 brought in. They are as fresh and beautiful as though never a frost had touched them. I hope you are having as pleasant weather in Philadelphia as we are here. Today is lovely though cold. Father and I went to Cleveland last Wednesday on the excursion to celebrate the opening of the railroad to that place. We had lovely weather both days we were gone and I enjoyed myself very much. Father en- joyed it too I think. The ball was very gay. I met a great many of my old acquaintances of last winter who had come from New York ; Mr. and Mrs. Kennard among them. Gen- eral Roseerans was on the train and made a short speech at the depot here and another in the ball room at Cleve- land. I only heard the last which was terribly blundering and awkward. Coming back we had Governor Yates, of Illinois, and family with us. They were quite pleasant. Mrs. Stearns wrote Mother the other day that Mr. Buck had had a call to Fall River, and that he and Mary were soon to be married. The death of Mr. Irwin was announced in church this morning. You know his wife who comes to church regularly. She sits some distance behind Father's pew. . . . 1865 Age 23 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1865 FIRST SOJOURN IN EUROPE London, November 12th, 1865. We sailed from New York on "Wednesday, the first of November, in the steamer "Scotia", Captain Judkins. I had fully intended keeping up my Journal during the voyage, but soon found that it was impossible, being too ill most of the time to leave my berth. During the whole voyage we had the most perfect weather. The Captain said it was the most remarkable passage he had ever made, and Mr, Woods said he had crossed thirty-nine times and had never had so fine a trip before. I cannot say I much enjoyed it. I began to feel ill the first night and continued so at intervals all through the voyage. Some days I dragged myself on deck for a time — but most of the daj^ was spent in my berth. There I was moderately comfortable, the only annoyance arising from the incessant solicitations of the stewardess, Mrs. Gordon, that I should eat. At six she would rouse me from my sleep by appearing at my bed- side with a bowl of soup, at half past eight again soup ; at ten soup ; at twelve soup ; at four soup, and at seven tea. I confess that the beef or chicken soup was nice and I real- ly became fond of it, but days when I was very sick the mention of food was unbearable. Indeed I threatened to throw my book at Mrs. Gordon one day if she dared to mention soup to me again. Now that it is all over I look back with some pleasure on the voyage. The Captain, who was very kind, I had met in Meadville. Mr. McHenry took me under his special protection and I spent a part of each day in the Captain's deck cabin which Mr. McHenry oc- cupied. At table we sat with the Captain at the head, then Mr. McHenry, myself, Miss Whitmarsh, Mr. Gnowski, Mr. Glynn, Mr. Sillo, Mr. Sattelthwaite, etc. On the other side, Sir Morton Peto, Mr. Kellsall, Mr. Woods, Mr. Betts and Mrs. Glynn. I did not always go to dinner, but tried to be up for at least one meal each day. After the first day I always breakfasted in bed, not rising till after lunch, JOUENAL AND LETTERS 35 1865 Age 23 and often not till after dinner. There were many amusing people on board. Mr. Sillo, the Spanish banker, was not well, and looked gloomy most of the time, but once in a while he would flash up and make us all laugh with his droll grimaces and gestures. Especially on the subject of his birds he became animated; he had quite a collection, but lost a mocking bird on the passage. Mr. Betts spoke very feelingly of the death of the "bale bocking bird", and he went Isy that name with Miss AV. and me ever after- ward. A young man with waxed mustaches, Mr. Curtis, also amused us. I made a sketch of him, also of the "bock- ing bird", but neither succeeded very well. One day I sketched a whole row of people sitting along the paddle box rolled up in rugs and shawls. I call it the "Marine Hospital on board S. S. Scotia" ! There was an old Quaker on board whom I also sketched and who amused us ex- ceedingly. The life on the ship is very monotonous. Break- fast at 8 :30, lunch at 12, dinner at 4 and supper at 10. The rest of the day we spent on deck freezing, reading, quizzing people, etc. Many went into the saloon to read but it always made me ill. We saw Ireland on Friday morning. I was much pleased with the coast, both because as soon as I saw land I felt well again and because it M^as really pretty. The coast is rocky ; we went along within a mile or at points a quarter of a mile of the shore, so near that once a sportsman and dog were plainly visible, and the man playfully pointed his gun at the ship. The "Old Head of Kinsale" was interesting. I made a very rough sketch of it. All along the coast we saw light houses, Mar- tello towers, castles, etc. At eight the next morning we reached Liverpool. As we lay in the Mersey we saw the ' ' Shenandoah ' ' which had come in the day before and was to be delivered up to the American consul that afternoon. We also saw the "City of Manchester" which had arrived the day before and unloaded a cargo of 19,000 tons, had taken in 17,000 tons and was to sail again that day having been in port just thirty-six hours. The landing was very wearisome. We sat in the tug for an hour and a half. At last we were on English soil and dirty enough it was ; gray, drizzling, foggy. We went to the Waterloo and there a Mr. Hull took Miss Whitmarsh and me to see St. George's Hall, a fine structure containing one noble hall, a concert room, library, courts, etc. I was too sleepy and tired to enjoy it much. We lunched at the Waterloo and then went 36 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 to the station. In the train Mr. McHenry, Miss Whit- marsh, Mr. Goddard and I were in one coach. The coaches of course were new to me and I didn't fancy them much. The road through England was pleasant. We passed Staf- ford seeing the castle, then Rugby, not seeing the school as I had hoped; Tamworth, where we saw the tower of Marmion. You will recall, " Lord Marmion Of Tamworth tower and town. ' ' We reached London at six and having got ourselves and our luggage in and on a cab, and with Mr. Sillo for escort we started for Madam Zanchi's where we arrived safely. Our rooms are delightful, being both front ones, facing the War Office, and Clubs. St. James' Palace, Marlborough House, etc., are in sight. Our parlour is delightful, large and com- fortable, and we dine alone as cosily as you please. Today we are resting ; tomorrow we begin our sightseeing. Before dinner we went for a short walk, first to St. James' Palace, which is a dark gray brick building with heavy stone fac- ings ; it has a rather castellated appearance, several scarlet- coated sentinels were pacing the arcades. It had a sombre, sleepy look. Here the Queen holds her Levees and Drawing Rooms, but she lives at Buckingham Palace. Many of the officers of her household have rooms at St. James '. Next it is Marlborough House, the residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales. We crossed the Mall and St. James' Park which was exceedingly pretty. An artificial river runs through it on which were ducks and geese. The trees were most of them foreign, the names of them were printed on a little board, also the country of which they were na- tives, and the dates of their introduction into England. I should think this might be most instructive to the poorer classes who swarmed in the park. We returned by Carl- ton House Terrace which is indeed a fine row of houses. Carlton House, I presume, is in fact many houses where nobles reside; it was behind Carlton House that so many duels were fought when there were no buildings beyond it, and only open ground there. We came round by the Duke of York's steps on which stands the statue of the Duke and beyond is the Crimean statue. AVe passed the Club Houses and got back to dinner which we much enjoyed. After dinner Mr. Sillo called and amused us much by his odd grimaces and his funny accounts of his birds. For one he paid seventy dollars, and now finds it is blind of JOURNAL AND LETTERS 37 1865 Age 23 one eye. At eight we had tea and then I wrote a long letter to Father and Mother. We were utterly amazed to find it was nearly twelve when we thought it only nine or ten. Monday, November 13th. We did not get up early as we meant, we were so Vv'eary and sleepy. We breakfasted at ten, and then taking a cab, drove through Temple Bar which was the first object of interest en route to Baring Brothers where we presented our letters. We were kindly met by Mr. Russell Sturgis, who told us all we wished to know and after a ten minutes' stay we left and drove to the Tower. It seemed strange, as we rode along, to see the streets and places of which we have so often read and heard. Drury Lane, Bow Street, Charing Cross, Morley's Hotel, Fleet Street, Threadneedle Street, Strand, Lombard Street, and oh, so many others. We reached the Tower, sent our cards in, waited a moment in the gate room and then preceded by a warden dressed in the most comical manner, we entered the Tower. We went first into the armoury; there in the first room were effigies of different monarchs dressed in the armour pecu- liar to their times. Some tiny figures represented King Charles when two years old in armour made for him. Also the young King Edward who was so foully murdered in the Tower with his little brother, the young Duke of York, by their wicked Uncle Richard, Duke of Grloucester. We saw the room where they Avere confined and the stone steps beneath which they were supposed to have been buried. We saw the cell in which Sir Walter Raleigh was confined for fourteen years. We saw the block on which were beheaded Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Catherine Howard, Lord Lovat and Monmouth. In one room we saw a scythe with a wooden handle which was one taken from the rebels under Monmouth at the battle of Sedgemoor when he was defeated by King James' army. This was very interesting to me. It was near the behead- ing block which was almost the most interesting thing I saw. I stood long and looked at it. At the seams in it where the knife had cut the wool, and thought of pretty Anne Boleyn spanning her slender neck with her little hands and saying ' ' It will be easily taken off. ' ' But it took three blows to sever the pretty, silly head from her should- ers. The axe stood near which did the deed, and we saw 38 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 the black mask of the executioner. There was a great effigy of Queen Elizabeth in royal robes on a white horse held by a page. In one cell Fox, the Martyr, had been confined. We saw the Regalia or crown jewels but they were not very interesting to me. We climbed the Beau- champ Tower. We were shown the immense store of arms kept in reserve in case of war. From the Tower we drove to the Royal Exchange where the frescoes were very fine. Also the statues of Queen Vic- toria and Queen Elizabeth in front of the Exchange. We went across to the Bank of England, but we could not see over it as we had no pass. We went to the Mansion House and then to St. Paul 's. Here we saw such oceans of statues of heroes, poets, etc., that I can only mention a few. Gen- eral Abercrombie, Samuel Johnson, Henry Hallam, Mount- stuart Elphinstone, the historian of India. Below in the crypt we saw the tomb of the great Duke of Wellington, plain, with few ornaments, but very grand. Near it is the great car on which the body was borne to its last resting place. Next is Nelson 's tomb. From St. Paul 's we went to the American Legation, or rather to Mr. Adams', in Port- land Place. We found, however, our passports would not need to be vised for either Holland or France. We came home through Regent Street which was very fine. I saw the Haymarket Theatre. Got home at four, went to the stationers and got paper, sketch books and lots of other things. Home to dinner which we thoroughly enjoyed. The dressmaker came after dinner. We w=rote till tea, and then till bedtime. The weather is perfect, cool — not cold, dry, — the sun shining through a light mist, not fog. We hope to go tomorrow to Hampton Court and Richmond. Tuesday, November 14th. As it looked like rain we concluded not to go to Hamp- ton Court so taking a cab at ten we drove through Tra- falgar Square, past the Horse Guards, seeing the three mounted sentinels in their scarlet coats and bright steel breastplates standing in the niches, to the Houses of Par- liament. A policeman had told us they were not open ex- cept on Saturdays, but that Mrs. Bennet, the housekeeper, might possibly let us have a private view. So we drove to the housekeeper's door and were told by a girl that Mrs. Bennet was out. We begged to be allowed to go in, but JOURNAL AND LETTERS 39 1865 Age 23 she said there was no hope for the House of Lords but we might perhaps see the House of Commons. After some moments of persuasion she relented and said she would do her best. She tripped on before us and quite amused us by dodging into rooms where we had no business to go, and when recalled by the policeman saying so innocently "Why, I thought that was the way." She coaxed the guard to show us the House of Lords, with which I was a little disappointed. It was not so large as I had expected and the Woolsack looked exceedingly uncomfortable. The Throne was covered so we could only see the carved canopy which was quite beautiful. We went into the Ladies Gal- lery. The carving all over the house and the stained glass were superb. In one hall there were some fine paintings, one was of the trial of Alice Lisle for having harboured fugitives after the battle of Sedgemoor, It deeply inter- ested me. Our little guide, nodding as she went to all the guards and servants and tossing her pretty head at them, as we went along, led us to the House of Commons. It was just being cleaned and everywhere carpets were up, furni- ture strewed about, and the place had a dull, dismal ap- pearance. We were allowed to sit in the Speaker's Chair. We noticed the "Division Bells", which are struck for the counting out. The Central Hall was the most beautiful of all; the floor in fine mosaic with inscriptions in Old Eng- lish. We went into the great Westminster Hall where Charles First was tried. Then a queer little old man came up to us and asked if we would like to see the Courts sit- ting. So we went into the Court of Common Pleas, the Superior Court, and lastly the Court of Queen's Bench where the Lord Chief Justice sat. The Judges looked to us very oddly in their black robes trimmed with ermine, and their great wigs. All the lawyers seemed to wear a sort of white surplice and white wigs most elaborately curled fin- ishing in little queues. I was much interested in them. Our little guide took us most satisfactorily through and after properly thanking her for her obligingness we drove just across the street to Westminster Abbey. It is useless to try to describe it. I can only write of the impression it made upon me. It was not so vast as I had thought, but grander in a way, and in detail so wonderfully old and quaint. We entered by the Poet's Corner. I was interest- ed in the tombs of Ben Jonson, Chaucer, Goldsmith, Dry- den, Milton, Garrick, Shakespeare, Southey, Sir Cloudesley 40 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1865 ' Age 23 Shovel, Dr. Watts, Dr. Johnson, Major Andre, Wilberforce, Keble. I am sorry to say that one of the first tombs my eye lighted on was that of Barton Booth, the ancestor of J. Wilkes Booth, the infamous assassin of Lincoln. One odd epitaph I am going to insert here, "To the pious memory of Dame Grace Gethin, who being adorned with all graces and perfec- tions of mind and body, crowned them all with exemplary patience and humility, and having ye day before her death most devoutly received Holy Communion which she said she would not have omitted for ten thousand worlds she plainly evinced her sure and certain hope of future bliss and thus continuing sensible till ye last she re- signed her pious soul to God in fervent transports of spiritual joy and comfort for her near ap- proach to ye Heavenly Glory." In the chapels the most interesting tombs to me were those of Frances, Duchess of Suffolk, the mother of Lady Jane Grey; Philippa de Bohune, wife of Edward Plantage- net, and Eleanor, wife of Edward First. I think this is the Queen who died abroad and was brought home by her dis- consolate husband who at every stopping place of the body, erected a cross. The last but one being at Waltham, and still standing. The last being at Charing Cross not stand- ing, a statue of Charles First having taken its place. The tomb of Halifax, (George Saville) was of deep interest to me, for I so much admired his character in reading Ma- cauley's History. The nave of Westminster Abbey I can- not begin to describe, its height and majesty, the delicacy of its carving and tracery are beyond my power. Wash- ington Irving well says: "Stone seems by the cunning labour of the chisel to have been robbed of its weight and density, suspended aloft as if by magic, and the fretted roof achieved with the wonderful minuteness and airy se- curity of a cobweb." We had not half time to enjoy it. We left after an hour's stay and went to the Temple Gar- den, and then to Somerset House and on to Regent's Park to see the Zoological Gardens. The Park was very beauti- ful and the houses along Cumberland Terrace were exceed- ingly imposing. We reached the Gardens but alas! it had begun to drizzle. We nevertheless saw most of the animals. The birds were fine, a great grey crested pigeon especially JOURNAL AND LETTERS 41 1865 Age 23 delighted me. Also the crowned crane who came up and spoke to us and asked very plainly for something to eat. The eagles and vultures were having a family quarrel, for every member of the household was scolding and scream- ing at the others most furiously. The vultures are dis- gusting birds with their red eyes and bony bodies. The tigers and hyenas were the most interesting to me. In one cage was a young tiger who behaved just like a cat. The keeper called it and it came and rubbed its head against his hand. The next two were very savage, next them was a hyena; the keeper went for a piece of meat to make him laugh ; as he passed the tigers they set up a most ferocious and fearful roar. The hyena, who had before been making a queer noise, something like the crying of a child, imme- diately set up a frantic yell and then laughed vociferously until he got the meat. The bears Avere stupid except one polar bear; the seals were funny fellows, rolling and tumbling about in the water. The monkeys were immensely amusing, they chattered and screamed and ate what one gave them, but I soon tired of them. We drove home and dined. After dinner Mr. McHenry called but only stayed a few minutes ; he is to take us to the Bank of England on Thursday. Wednesday, November 15th. We went today to the British Museum. Miss W. was deeply interested in it. The animals and birds were no doubt very fine, but having seen so many live hanimals yes- terday I soon tired of this collection. A pretty collection of wood ended the walk through these rooms much to my delight, for I was aching to get to the National Gallery where we went next. I ought to add that the Egyptian rooms were very interesting, and the British antiquities and some old painted china were superb and all interested me. At the National Gallery we went through rooms filled with pictures by the old masters ; there were fine specimens of Rembrandt, Titian, Perugino, Fra Angelico, Murillo and Raphael, but oh ! I could hardly wait to get to the Tur- ners. My first sight of Turner, and I was not disappointed. I cannot describe how delighted I was. I think I might be- come a second Ruskin in point of admiration soon; such distance, perspective, light, shade, colouring. The colour- ing was grand but the perspective excelled anything I have 42 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 ever imagined. I had all too little time to study these pic- tures. The ones I liked best were the "Temeraire," "Caligula's Palace," "Bay of Baiae," "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," "Apollo and Daphne," "Hero and Lean- der." These were all large. Among the smaller beauties was one lovely little thing, a landscape quite dark in which out of a black sky the moon shines and one brilliant star. How Turner got the intense brightness of the moon I can- not see. The star almost scintillates. Another was a view of cattle in the water and a sand bank with gypsies; an- other of a frosty morning was my delight. "Edinburgh from Calton Hill," "The Sun of Venice," "Going to Sea," were all fine. Two unfinished pictures, "Petworth Park" and "Chichester" immensely pleased me. The "Petworth, Park ' ' showed broad wet sands with a group of cows ; the reflection of the cows in the pools of water was perfect. We had to go at last much to my regret ; we walked home, dined and wrote the rest of the day. Friday, November 17. We secured this morning our berths on the "Batavia" for Rotterdam. We then drove to Covent Garden market where I bought a little bunch of English violets and a prickly pear for curiosity. It tastes like a May apple and smells like clover. We went to Baring Brothers and saw Mr. Russell Sturgis and settled all our affairs. We then went to Kensington, going through Hyde Park. I did so enjoy it ; it seemed like a glimpse of the country, the smell of the leaves and trees was so sweet. At Kensington we went through endless rooms and after many digressions to right and left, we reached the picture gallery. Here we saw any number of examples of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough and Stanfield. One of the "Giudecca at Venice" was lovely. Rosa Bonheur's "Horse Fair" of course interested me. Then there were delectable Turners which were what I came to see, only there were very few of them. I cannot express the delight that Turner gives me. There were also some Gilbert Stuart portraits; there were many artists in the room copying. It roused all my old longing again, and I know I shall be wretched if I do not get to painting in Rome. Sunday, November 19, We were both up bright and early and after breakfast the courier came and we made all necessary arrangements. JOUENAL AND LETTERS 45 1865 Age 23 He seems a very nice person indeed, and it is so nice to have nothing to worry or annoy one. We took the steamer ' ' Batavia ' ' at Blackwall going there by rail from the Fen- church Street Station, We had to wait some time for the boat, but when she came we found her more comfortable than we expected. Our stateroom was much larger than on the "Scotia." We sat bundled up in our cloaks and waterproofs on the deck till two o'clock. We got on pretty well till we left the river ; then we went below as we began to feel uncomfortable. After getting to bed we felt better, but the boat pitched and rolled and tossed and tumbled in the most dreadful way, and the chains rattled and the sailors howled and one would have thought we were all going to the bottom at once. Monday, November 20. We did not get up until eleven; we had been going through endless locks but at last emerged into the great open stretch of the canal. Such a funny, funny country as Holland seemed to me; all dykes, windmills and poplars; here and there a village with queer houses and great hay ricks and men in queer square caps, and women with great white muslin bonnets and immense wooden shoes. At last we reached Rotterdam, lunched at the station where the restaurant was filled with shelves of curious Chinese and Japanese china, some of it very fine. There was an odd looking girl with an immense white lace cap under her bonnet, and the queerest pins formed of a great spiral coil of brass wire on each side of her face. After lunch we took the train for Amsterdam. We passed through Utrecht, but saw very little of it. When we reached Amsterdam I was horrified to see a porter running along the platform with my trunk on the top of his head. I expected to see the man fall and be crushed flat, but he didn't. On reach- ing the hotel I sent my card to Cousin P. van E., who called soon after. He was very pleasant, talks English well. We had thought of going to Harlingen tomorrow, but on hear- ing that Ristori was to play here tomorrow, we concluded to stay. Cousin P. is to get us seats and also to show us over the city. We are invited to dine with the van E.'s and we shall go to Harlingen on Wednesday. A very touching scene occurred on the "Batavia"; I had noticed a bright looking man whose wife was evidently in the last stages of consumption. She was as white as could be, a mere skele- 44 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 28 ton and so weak. I never saw a more pitiful sight. A little baby was evidently in consumption; there was also a child of seven and a girl of ten. As we neared the dock the man shouted and waved his hand to two boys on the pier. As the boat touched shore they sprang on board. The smaller boy rushed to his Mother, clung to her and wept loudly. The elder boy, more quiet in his grief, at seeing her so feeble turned away to hide his tears. The Father filled with joy and sadness combined called their attention to the new baby which they had never seen be- fore. The little girls were overjoyed at seeing their broth- ers and the poor Mother sank back overcome with her feel- ings. The stewardess told me the family came from St. Kitts, West Indies, and that the doctor had said the woman would never live to reach home, probably the hope of see- ing her boys had just kept her alive. I never was more touched at any sight. Our room at the Doelen Hotel is quite nice, immensely large, 32 feet long and a queer shape. The doors are made so that they do not show, being papered like the wall ; the beds have great white canopies and the room is so big that the two wax candles only light the centre of it. Tuesday, November 21. ^ Cousin P. called with Miss G. H, and took us to the gallery of pictures. We were both exceedingly interested in all we saw. Rembrandt 's picture of ' ' The Night Watch ' ' was specially wonderful. "The Evening School," by Gerard Dow, was quite beautiful. Two tables, on each a candle, and clustered about some children. The teacher is turning to hold up a warning finger at some mischievous boy ; the children are bending with intense faces over their books and the candle light shines and lights up the faces marvelously. The National Gallery of London offered 3000 pounds for it and did not obtain it. We went later to see Mrs. J. R. I had not an idea what relation she was to me, but she was so kind and sweet that any embarrassment dis- appeared in a moment. We lunched with her and then went to Mrs. A. H. 's who asked us to dine on Monday. She showed me a portrait of my Grandfather. I saw at Mrs. R. 's a portrait of Mrs. Annette van E. after whom Nettie was named ; she was very handsome. Altogether I was much delighted with my cousins. Their houses are delightful. We dined that evening at Mr. C. P. van E.'s JOUENAL AND LETTEES 45 1865 Age 23 and had a very pleasant evening; family most interesting to me. Mr. van E. very handsome and portly, Mrs. van E, cordial and sweet like her sister, Cousin G. The eldest daughter is a cripple, but as sweet as a dove and P. said she was the sunshine of the house. We had a dinner of ten courses and afterward looked at the paintings which are superb; the walls are entirely covered with them. I went to sit with the lame sister and showed her all my photographs at which she seemed much pleased. Every one receives me kindly. At seven we went to the theatre with Cousin P. to see Ristori in Medea ; I was utterly car- ried away by such acting as I had never seen before. At the end of the first act Ristori was called to the foot- lights; the manager led her; his dress coat rather odd among the Greek costumes. He read an address of wel- come which being in Dutch we could only understand when he repeatedly said "Welcome, welcome." A wreath was presented to her, the manager kissed her hand vociferously and the curtain fell on this affecting scene. Ristori is fine looking with a noble face and dark luxuriant hair. I held my breath to catch every word ; the acting was wonderful ; I shall never forget it and I hope I may see her again. It is something to remember for a lifetime. Wednesday, November 22. Left Amsterdam for Harlingen by boat ; we stayed on deck and sketched the helmsman. At five o'clock we reached Harlingen but did not land till six as there was great diffi- culty in getting the boat to the dock. On stepping ashore we were most warmly welcomed by Cousin J. and his son, C. We drove to the house where Cousin G. met us in the hall; it was a case of love at first sight. She was just as lovely, beautiful and sweet as the one at home. Thursday, November 23. We breakfasted at nine and later I went to walk with G. and was much pleased with Harlingen. The town is about the same size as Meadville, but is much more com- pact, canals run in the middle of some of the streets; the town is very clean and there are very few vehicles. The houses all have their gable ends to the street. The men, women and children are all in wooden shoes, and the women wear strange gold or silver blinders, — I don't know what else to call them. They tie their aprons twice, wear 46 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 great bustles and queer lace caps; the hair does not show at all. In the evening Cousin J. H. called and also her husband ; altogether a very pleasant day. Friday, November 24. We breakfasted early and drove to Boldsward to see Cousin W. H. The drive was a delightful one of about an hour and a half; the air quite warm, the road as level and smooth as a floor, the little villages so quaint. The farm- houses with immense roofs and surrounded with hay ricks. We reached B. at eleven and Cousin W. met us at the door with his wife and little daughter, Catotje. We sat down immediately to lunch and had such delicate delicious rolls as I never tasted before. The table was beautifully set with exquisite china; indeed all the Dutch china is beau- tiful. They have in every parlour a cabinet filled with the most exquisite porcelain. The little Catotje was charming beyond expression; once she was about to ask for some- thing and checked herself and said ' ' They become nothing, children who ask. ' ' They gave me a picture of her which I prize. After lunch we went to see the old church built in 1540 and to the old State House where there were pre- served old pewter tankards and goblets; there were also some old pictures on the walls. We soon took leave of these kind cousins and the bewitching Catotje and drove back to Harlingen. That evening a funny Dutch clergyman called ; he could not speak English but when he went away he made us a little bow and said ' ' Good evening ladies and may God you bless. ' ' Monday, November 27. We went in the morning to do a little shopping and dined with Cousin J. H. It was very pleasant and at the close of dinner Mr. H. made a very neat little speech say- ing how glad they had been to make the acquaintance of an American cousin, and how earnestly he hoped we would have a safe and pleasant journey and soon revisit them. Then they all drank to my health and that was the end of the dinner. Tuesday, November 28. At eleven Cousin J. came to take me to sketch tlie house where my Great-Grandfather lived. I made a very rude sketch of it which I shall try to improve. JOURNAL AND LETTERS 47 1865 Age 23 Wednesday, November 29. "We rose at seven and after a hurried breakfast drove to the steamer; it was hard to bid good bye to such dear Cousins as they have become to me. Cousin J. asked me to come and stay with her next summer ; I love her dearly. It was terribly hard to part with Cousin G. I have so learned to love her and dear, dear Cousin H. is like a moth- er, she is so sweet and has been so tender and watchful over me. Cousin J. came to the boat with us ; the day was damp so we stayed below all the time and read and drew. We got to Amsterdam at half past two, I did not find Adolphe, but met him soon and he landed us safely at the hotel where we found two elegant rooms ready with a good fire. Thursday, November 30. We breakfasted about ten and then taking Adolphe went off for some shopping. Our first purchase was seven pairs of white and buff kid gloves for the enormous sum of one dollar and three quarters! Just what we pay at home for one pair, and they seem quite good too. I also purchased a portfolio and some lace and looked for a hat but found none. We had been wishing for a picture of Lincoln and in a print shop Miss W. carelessly picked a card photograph from a large box of them and what was our delight to see the familiar face of our dear dead Presi- dent. Of course we bought it. We hoped to have a regu- lar Thanksgiving dinner to ourselves but as we were asked to Mrs. A. H. 's, we made our breakfast a dinner; we put up a little flag and a few red, white and blue ribbons and donned our Union bows. Later Cousin P. came in with his Uncle, Admiral van Karnebeck, of the Hague. The Admiral was extremely pleasant and he had very kindly brought me from his wife a letter of introduction to Madame du Chastel, in Rome. One of his sons is attached to the Dutch Legation at Washington. Friday, December 1. We were ready just in time for Cousin P. this morn- ing. He brought me a little present, the ' ' Paris en Ameri- que ' ' of which he spoke a few days ago and asked we when I had read it to write him. I promised to send him a critique which I do not doubt will be profound and inter- esting! We went to the Fodor Museum. There we saw the paintings and drawings left by Mr. Fodor to the city. 48 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1865 Age 23 The rooms, six in number, were very finely lighted and ar- ranged. Many of the pictures interested me, the great "Christus Consolator" of Ary Scheffer was there; it was sublime. We spent two hours among these treasures and would have stayed longer but we had promised to lunch with Cousin van E. After lunch we went to the Zoological Gar- den ; of course it rained. It was much the same as the Lon- don one, only better arranged and more compact. The birds were very fine, the parrots screamed till they nearly deafened us and the owls hooted and the ducks quacked till I was nearly distracted. There was a huge rhinoceros in a tank of water and two immense hippopotami in a huge pond and a lot of tigers, foxes and lions as usual. Um- brellas were in requisition and the water dripped on my blue silk, my dress flapped and my overshoes sopped and we were the most ridiculous looking creatures in pursuit of knowledge under difficulties. There were some awful snakes which I would not look at, and an alligator, and a queer looking salamander, the only specimen, but one, in Europe and it came from Japan. We passed some huge bison and one who looked quiet enough lying down sud- denly rose and advanced with awful strides towards me and I for the moment forgetting the iron bars was fright- ened out of my senses and retreated suddenly nearly up- setting the rest of the party. We saw the giraffe and the elephants and then they took me to see the dogs which were certainly interesting but very ferocious. I should think we spent an hour and a half travelling round those gar- dens, poking up the beasts and getting beautifully wet and tired and generally limp. At last we got through though I think had there been more to see P. would have kept us there another hour. However I was interested and he was interesting, for he knew all about all the animals and their habits and I really enjoyed it. After this we drove to a print shop and selected some engravings and photographs. We dined that evening with Cousin J. R. I think she has one of the very sweetest and kindest and most beautiful faces I ever saw. Mr. and Mrs. van L. were also there. We spent a most delightful evening and I received from Cousin P. five little engravings by Bosboom of interiors which we had looked for but not found at the print shop. He is certainly the kindest of Cousins. We came home to pack ; oh, this endless tiresome packing ; I am so sick of it. I don 't want to leave Holland, it seems like a second home. JOURNAL AND LETTERS 49 1865 Age 23 Saturday, December 2. We left Amsterdam this morning and at half past five we reached Antwerp. We have good rooms at the Hotel St. Antoine; we had a long dinner to which we did full justice and the waiter brought us the New York Times of November 18th which I devoured. It was as good as the dinner and more digestible. After dispatching my letter of introduction to Mr. Crawford, our Consul at Antwerp, we sat down to a long evening of posting up our Journals which brings me to the present moment at ten o 'clock when we propose to retire beneath a great balloon of eiderdown which is to keep our feet warm, Antwerp, Sunday, December 3. We took our time this morning and did not breakfast till after ten ; then accompanied by Adolphe we went to the Museum where we saw the great collections of Rubens, and Van Dyck paintings. Antwerp strikes us so far as a very modern city, but we have only seen a few streets. We have enjoyed seeing from our window the handsome dresses of the ladies passing and the novel uniforms of the soldiers. Some of the old women wear such queer bonnets, just like a man's hat set back on their heads. Tomorrow we are off for Paris ; I long to get there, yet I confess to a wish it were Amsterdam. I have a homesick longing for Holland again and all the dear Cousins. Paris, Monday, December 4. We went in the morning to one or two shops and then to the church of St. Jacques; there was a funeral going on and a hearse was at the door with black horses covered with the queerest black trappings. The priests were chant- ing and just after we entered a great red silk banner em- blazoned with gold was raised and the procession moved down the aisle. The priests in white and black and red vestments trimmed with gold and silver preceded the coffin which was covered with a great black and yellow pall; it was rather impressive and the church as a whole impressed me even more than Notre Dame. 50 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 Nice, Friday, December 15. We went out today for a walk and to see Marseilles; I think we were all demented for we went straight down to the docks where the streets were filled with the dirtiest people and such smells, and boats all along the quay from foreign ports. If we did not get the cholera it is through no fault of ours, for I am sure we walked right into the best place to get it. We began to think it was rather reck- less and turned toward home. As we did so we saw a ship which was unloading oranges and the women were carry- ing them in baskets from the ship to the quay and putting them in great bags. I wanted to buy some but they would not sell them, so afterward at the shop I got some very small but exceedingly sweet ones which they call Tan- gerines. At one o'clock we left for Nice; the journey was delightful, most of the way the sea was in sight and with the clear, blue sky and the picturesque houses, the olive groves and warm tinted hills it was a lovely sight. As the sun went down the rosy light on the hills and water was beautiful beyond description. I was sorry it was too dark to see Cannes as we passed. We reached Nice about seven and came to the Hotel des Etrangers; we got very good rooms, but as I was very tired I went to bed right after dinner. Nice, Saturday, December 16. This has been a most beautiful day, just like June at home. The trees are full of oranges, the garden filled with heliotrope, roses, daturas and ever so many plants new to me ; it seemed like a perfect paradise. LETTER. Nice, France, Tuesday, December 19, 1865. My Dearest Sister: I wish I could begin to tell you the delight I exper- ienced this afternoon when on coming in from a sketching excursion I found letters awaiting me. Four from home and yours and Arthur's. I fairly devoured them. Mrs. Knowles came in and said "Why what has happened? You look so radiant " ! I sat myself down on the sofa before the JOURNAL AND LETTERS 51 1865 Age 23 fire, and went over them again and again. Miss Whitmarsh has just said, ''Tell Mrs. Bond if she does not get my love in every letter, it 's because you forget to send it " ! I think though that I have not forgotten it ! Well here we are set- tled in Nice and a perfect little paradise it is. I am utterly bewitched by the place, and am getting every drop of good out of it that can be got. I would like well to stay here a month or two were it possible. . . . We are very comfortably and reasonably lodged at the Hotel des Etran- gers. We live for about ten francs a day which in Nice is very, very reasonable. The weather is just perfect, thermometer at 70, sky cloudless, sea as blue as the sky, air like a June day at home. Orange trees full of fruit, roses in full bloom, ditto heliotrope, violets, etc. We bought a bunch of nineteen rose buds for four cents, and a bunch of the sweetest orange blossoms for the same. Oh! if I could only send you all some on Christmas morning! I shall be delighted to get you any pictures you like in Rome or Florence, and will send you the prices of the ones you speak of. I intend sending a box from either Florence or Rome with several paintings for Father on his birthday; shall send them by a ship. I did give Annie the pineapple handkerchief, she did my hair so nicely and helped me to dress two or three times so kindly when I was going to parties, that I gave her several things and among them that handkerchief which I had had for four years and never used. We met in Paris a Dr. Minor and his daugh- ter, of Brooklyn, and have met them again here. They are most delightful persons. The Dr. a most intelligent, well read man who reasons about what he sees and converses most pleasantly. We are most pleased with them. We hope to meet them in Rome and Florence again. I met the Thorps one day by chance at the Louvre and they after- ward called on me and I on them. We hope to meet Miss Weld and Miss Alcott here. We go tomorrow to the bank- ers to get their address and then to call on them. We met Dr. and Mrs. Weld in Paris and they gave us a note to 52 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 Miss Weld. I will write you if we meet them. We saw Geo. Weld in Paris. I assure you I enjoyed my Holland visit most thoroughly and became quite well acquainted with all the cousins, more especially the Harlingen ones and the van E. I cannot tell you how kind Cousin Pieter van E. was to us and if he comes to America next summer as I hope he will we must do all we can to make it pleasant for him. He is a most intelligent fellow; Miss W. was as pleased with him as I was. I am so sorry about Sophie's hair, but tell her with my love, I can sympathize with her, having gone through the same thing myself, and it isn't half as bad as one thinks. She will soon be able to wear braids and it is such a saving of trouble to have no hair to put up. Mine is growing most marvellously, I do think it has grown two inches since I left home. . . . We are having the best time here. At nine we have a cup of coffee in bed, then we dress and at 10:30 breakfast, ''a la fourchette, " — you know what that is. Then go out for a walk on the Promenade or climb the hills to some old ruin and sketch or just sit and bask in the hot sunshine. Some days we drive, the carriages here are good and cheap. We drove this morning to the old Chateau on the hill and then sent the carriage home with Adolphe and Mrs. Knowles and we stayed behind to sketch, walking home afterwards. We got some lovely views. I cannot remember whether you were in Nice or not but suppose you were from what you say of it. By the way, the weather in London was most perfect. Only one rainy day — all the rest almost clear, they were quite mild and the sun really shone. Wasn't that wonderful? I would write a longer letter but I want this to go by tomorrow's mail arid it is now nearly eleven and Miss W. holds up a warning finger at me. We get on famously. She does take such good care of me. She is just an angel, I love her most dearly, I could not have found in the world a dearer friend and companion. Don't speak of your letters being a bore. If you knew how I enjoy them and how I thank you in my heart most deeply JOUENAL AND LETTEES 53 1865 Age 23 for writing me so regularly and so often. No one has written me so often as you and I thank you most deeply for your thoughtful kindness now and always. . . . Kisses for the dear children, I saw two little boys dressed in blue velvet the other day, they looked so sweet, I mean to get Gorham a blue velvet suit. Best love to George and all friends, especially Aunt Anna's family. With warmest love, Yours ever, Emma. JOURNAL Nice, Saturday, December 23. At eleven this morning we called for Miss Eveleth and then for the Claghorns to drive to Villef ranche ; the road was lovely. If possible the day was more beautiful than any before; nothing was wanting, it was perfect. We reached Villefranehe at twelve and as we were not to go on board the ships till one o'clock we sauntered about the town. Such a funny little town; one street ran along the shore and was level; the other street ran up the hill and as far as I could see disappeared in a crack in the rock. It was so steep that it was built in steps, six broad steps and a rest or landing, all paved, six more steps and another landing, etc. It was so narrow that the houses nearly met at the top. It was filled with families who here seemed to live out of doors and think the street their legitimate sitting room. The market was on one side of the street and consisted of three rickety tables whereon was exhibited the dirtiest, mouldiest and most miserably rotten looking collection of vegetables and fruit that I ever saw. I hailed two or three cats and a dog, but they did not speak English and couldn't understand me. There were a lot of babies crawling about and tumbling down steps and little dark eyed girls picking them up and old women gossiping and knitting. There were the usual smells and a general state of filth everywhere. We had a glass of detestable wine and some cake at an inn. We saw Admiral Goldsborough who had come over from Nice to inspect the ship. Mr. Claghorn introduced himself to the 54 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1865 , Age 23 Admiral who kindly asked us to go over to the ship in his little boat, which he had just signaled. It was a gem of a boat; white, lined with velvet cushions and carpeted. We had eight oarsmen. We were hauled on board the ship up some terribly steep steps; the ship was in splendid rig, it had just been cleaned and the decks were as white as snow. The sailors were drawn up to salute the Admiral, the bands played some national airs. It seemed like getting on American soil again. The Admiral presented all the offi- cers to us and they showed us all over the boat. One officer was a brother of General McClellan; another a son of Senator Harris. The Admiral showed us his room and the mess room and the officers room all of which were ele- gant. He gave us some excellent water which was dis- tilled from sea water — an excellent invention as it obviates the necessity of ships going into port when low in supplies. This ship was the ' ' Colorado ' ' and from it we went in the ship's boat to the "Frolic" where we met Master Miller and another officer. This boat is small but very pretty. It was formerly the "Lord Clyde" of the British marine and was a blockade runner when captured by our fleet. The "Colorado" has over 500 men, officers and crew. The "Frolic" 160. On the "Colorado" the men were getting up some scenery for theatricals on Monday night; they have some negro minstrels and a theatrical troupe. They gave us one of the programs for Monday which was amus- ing. Master Miller, of the "Frolic", said he was a con- nection of the Shaws and I told him I was, so we claimed relationship at once. If a person is only a fiftieth cousin of your brother-in-law's uncle you claim relationship here. He is from Maryland and says he ran away to sea from college; he was very polite and kind and accompanied us to the shore. We waved a farewell from the carriage as we drove up the hill. We rattled back to Nice and left Miss Eveleth at her door; then we came home to a quiet evening spent in letter writing. Sunday, December 24. We were lazy as usual and got through breakfast just in time for church. We took seats near the door in order that we might go out when the service was over and before the sermon. We were placed in a pew which was marked "Mrs, Aubrey Cartwright's servants," so I suppose we JOURNAL AND LETTERS 55 1865 Age 23 passed for her domestics though we were in our best clothes ! We walked upon the Promenade until lunch time. Mondaj^ December 25. Oh, dear, such a dismal Christmas. I could not help being blue and homesick. I got up feeling miserably; after breakfast Miss W. and I went for a walk. Called on Miss Eveleth but only saw her for a moment as she was busy with Mr. Ropes who was quite ill. We walked back a new way through Carabacel. Some of the villas were very beautiful, but I did not like the situation so much as that nearer the sea. The orange trees in the gardens were lovely. Genoa, Thursday, December 28. We left Nice this morning, bound for Genoa by boat. The day was lovely and I think the voyage was quite as pleasant as the land trip would have been. The scenery was incomparable, such charming little towns nestling along the shore at the foot of the hills. Here and there an enchanting glimpse of snow-capped Alpine peaks. We passed Mentone and San Remo. About two o'clock the views became perfect, the sea and sky like one great sapphire, the sun making a long dazzling trail of light over the water. Here and there a pretty Lateen sail skim- ming over the waves. The little white villages with their square church towers and old castles, the near range of olive covered hills, the farther mountains bathed in a soft mellow haze, and far back the exquisite delicate pearl white peaks of the Maritime Alps. We stopped at St. Maurice which is a pretty town. Some of the villages seem built in the most inaccessible places. I am more and more struck with the perfection of the scenery. If one becomes conscious of a want in the setting it seems instantly to be supplied. A range of hills stands out too boldly perhaps, against the sky or seems monoto- nous in outline. Along comes a little fleecy cloud to soften the outline and break up the sameness. A long rocky pier at St. Maurice looked rather ugly and suddenly as if by magic three women appeared on it in bright dresses, waving their hands to friends on board. This lighted up the long pier and made the usual picture. I got tired of the long coast line and waveless sea, and promptly a lovely little Lateen 56 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1865 Age 23 sail appeared dipping leisurely along, hugging the shore and keeping in sight for miles to perfect my enjoyment. One sees a lovely vista of hills and towns and towers, and one wonders what it needs and finds it is only a distant peak to give it distance. One turns a point and there is your peak just where you thought it should be. It is all quite perfect and one is filled with delight. In one of the bays we saw a school of dolphins, their backs shimmering in the sun as they leaped and rolled about in the water. There is one view I shall never forget. I had been insist- ing that a sunset on Lake Erie would be just as fine, but I had to give in and say nothing. Oh, the crimson mellow hazy light on those hills; the little rosy clouds, the soft undefined headlands along the shore, the tiny white vil- lages gleaming through the mist, the trail of golden light on the lovely Mediterranean, the water taking every hue of the sky, the gentle melting away of the sunset light, the purple veils the hills put on, and the soft pearly hue of the snow peaks looking like fleecy robed spirits half seen and the sea fading into a gentle neutral tint, with the moon bathing in it and yet shining like a spirit above. At seven we reached Genoa and the Hotel "Croce di Malta". Once a palace or rather two or three palaces patched to- gether. Genoa, Friday, December 29. This morning we went to visit a jeweler in the hotel who makes and sells the delicate silver and silver gilt jewelry peculiar to Genoa. We then drove seven miles to a villa of the Marehese Palavicini, who by the way also owns the Generaliffe at Granada. There are curiosities in the grounds of it; an artificial grotto in which the huge stalactites have been brought from all sorts of places; the trees on the place were fine, most of them from foreign countries, cork trees, camphor trees and a sort of straw- berry tree. There was a seat on which as you sat jets of water poured on you, and an arbour where the same thing happened and a bridge ditto ; it was really too stupid. At dinner we met the Claghorns and Mr. C. said he had had an invitation for us to a levee on the "Colorado" and had never sent us word. I was vexed for I should have so en- joyed it. Saturday, December 30. We ordered some oysters for breakfast but they were not at all good. We drove first to the Church of the JOURNAL AND LETTEES 57 1865 Age 23 Annunziata on our morning round of sight seeing; then to the Royal Palace where the young Prince, the youngest son of Victor Emanuel, lives. He is nineteen years of age, a dwarf and an invalid, and often never leaves his room for months at a time. The rooms we saw were hung with silk, satin and damask and we saw the bed which the King of Portugal slept in a few nights since. There was a fine marble terrace and in one hall were several fine parrots which belonged, I suppose, to the young Prince. We had a glimpse of his suite of rooms as two liveried servants passed inside. The most interesting place we saw today was the Doria Palace, which we entered by a fine covered terrace looking into a garden and beyond to the sea. On the terrace we saw where the fine old frescoes had been and from a heap of carved wood which had adorned the outside we got some carved roses as mementoes. The Rossi Palace we also visited. It is of the most violent red colour outside and belongs now to the Brignole family. There were some eight or ten rooms filled with paintings by dif- ferent masters, none of which I particularly admired. We sent the carriage back and walked along the street looking into the shops; we priced some Genoa velvet and found the price three times as high as in Paris. Sunday, December 31. Breakfasted at half past seven and boarded the "Barone Ricasoli", a new and pretty steamer. As it was raining we went below, and the moment the boat started we both felt very uncomfortable until we reached Spezzia. The Bay of Spezzia was lovely in the extreme, but a boat with an American flag on it in the Bay was lovelier. We dined at the "Croce di Malta" and soon after took the train for Pisa which we reached in two hours. We drove to the "Vittoria" and when we got there found that two wretched beggars had run all the way after the carriage and demanded two francs each. And they actually seemed to have authority from the police to do so! That evening the landlord sent us for our inspection the register of the hotel in which each one registering had said something of the house. Some of the recommendations were very amus- ing, and some wag had annotated many of them making them very absurd. For example : ' ' Mr. Jesse remained a day and night highly satisfied, clean and civil. Note : ' The public will probably be pleased to learn that Mr. Jesse 58 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1865 Age 23 remained clean and civil as well as highly satisfied during the day and night which he passed at this hotel'!" This is only one of many such amusing ones, and we spent most of the evening looking over it. 1866 Age 24 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866-1867 LETTER Florence, January 2, 1866. Dear Rebecca: Here we are settled in Florence in the very house where you spent two months. We reached here last night and came direct to 32 Lung'Arno Nuovo. Adolphe asked for rooms and we were soon in a nice one. I then asked him to hand your note to Mrs. Kelson, but he returned with the information that Madam Kelson had absconded some time since and that they would give 20,000 francs for any information concerning her whereabouts. This was not agreeable news. I found the house is now Hotel Vittoria and whether we stay here or not remains to be seen. We have just finished breakfast and are waiting for Adolphe to return from the bankers (I hope with letters) when we shall enquire about terms, accommodations, etc., and de- cide whether to stay here or not. We have a nice but small room, evidently newly furnished, looking into the side street with a glimpse of the river and the front street. I wrote last to you nearly two weeks since at Nice. We left Nice on Thursday, and came by boat to Genoa making the passage in about eight hours. The day was perfect, the sea as smooth as glass and we kept close to shore. The beauty of the scenery and the sunset it is useless to describe. If you came that way you know what it is. We had thought of going by vetturino but it was so expensive and took so long, (twenty-four days) that we came by boat and I am sure we had no reason to regret it. It seemed to us it could not be so fine by carriage for one would lose 60 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 the lovely outline of the hills and mountains. It was the most delightful day we have spent since we left home I think. We reached Genoa that evening and stayed at the ''Cross of Malta" Hotel, which we found very comfort- able. We spent two days there visiting the Villa Pallavicini, the Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Rosso, Church of the Annunzia- ta, etc. We left there on Sunday, came by boat to Spezzia, and from there by rail to Pisa. Yesterday we visited the Leaning Tower where we spent most of our New Years morning. We went to the top which pretty much used me up ! But I soon got rested and enjoyed the view im- mensely. We then went to the Cathedral where High Mass was being performed, by the Archbishop, Bishops, Priests, etc., in full rig. We saw the whole thing and it was very impressive. The Archbishop in scarlet velvet robes and white ermine on a golden throne and surrounded by Bishops and Priests in red and purple and white robes, the full notes of the organ, the chanting of the priests, the odour of the incense, the kneeling multitude was enough to carry away one 's senses, and I felt an instinctive impulse to kneel too which I had some difficulty to repress. I caught myself making the sign of the Cross involuntarily when every one around me did it. I suppose you saw the Ca- thedral, and remember how grand it is. Such wonderful frescoes, and marble and lapis lazuli. The paintings were fine. We went to the Baptistery which after a great strug- gle I gave up examining. I wanted all my strength for the Campo Santo which was the ultimatum of all my de- sires. Reading Mrs. Jameson 's Memoirs of the early paint- ers had made me crazy to see the Campo Santo, and I was not disappointed. We spent two hours there and I left with the greatest reluctance. We went back to our hotel, and had lunch, ordering the first bottle of wine I have bought, to celebrate the day. We had St. Peray and most delicious it was. We drank to your health and those at home, to the President, and the country, and lastly to Dr. Parsons who has sung the glories of St. Peray. We left JOURNAL AND LETTERS 61 1866 Age 24 Pisa at three and reached here at six and a half and came at once to this hotel. Adolphe has just come in with seven letters for Miss Whitmarsh and not one for me. It is two weeks since I had a letter. Today we are resting and writing letters, tomorrow we shall begin sight-seeing on a moderate scale. We have had no sight-seeing for so long it seems pleasant to get into a place where there are churches and pictures again. The doctor in Nice strongly advised our hastening on to Rome as Florence, he said, was the Siberia of Italy. If it is very cold we shall only stop a week here and return in the spring to see more of it. Should the weather be moderate we shall remain longer. I long to get to Rome and get settled, yet desire to stay here. We have concluded to remain at this house as we like it. I hope tomorrow will bring letters. It makes me so blue not to hear from home. Give my love to all at Aunt Anna 's and Mr. Bond's. I hope Mrs. Bond is better. My love to George and the children. I have just seen Galignani but there is little American news. I hope gold will go down somewhat before I want some more. We are getting on most smoothly, my expenses are not as great as I had ex- pected. Adolphe takes all care off us, we have only to enjoy ourselves. With very much love. Yours, Emma. JOURNAL Florence, January 3. We went to Goodbans this morning where Miss W. bought a Fra Angelico. We went to the Uffizi and spent some time in the Tribune and other rooms again. "The Visitation ' ' by Albertinelli was to me one of the most beau- tiful pictures I have seen; such exquisite simplicity, deli- cacy and modesty. It certainly well expresses the subject and I do not wonder that every other picture representing the same incident pales before this one. 62 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 January 5. We had a most beautiful drive in the Cascine and saw Victor Emanuel; we passed him three or four times; he is a very ugly man but with deep purpose, honesty and sense in his face. He drove in a very plain open barouche, had on a heavy grey overcoat and looked like any one else. No one took off their hats to him which seemed to me odd. His coachman and tiger were in plain liveries. These little tigers are such queer little specimens; some of them are in top boots. Saturday, January 6. We drove to the Duomo where a service was going on; we could not go about much. It impresses me almost more than any Cathedral yet has. We later drove across the Arno to Powers' studio; words cannot express my delight of the sculptor and his works. He received us in his work- ing dress ; great apron and mason 's cap and chisel in hand. He has such a charming face; grey hair, deep dark brown piercing eyes, with such a kind, gentle genial light in them. A beautiful mouth and a manner so easy, so unaffected and simple. He went about with us showing us all his works. His "Greek Slave", "America" the most glorious "Eve Disconsolate", the grand "California", "Ginevra", ' ' Clytie ' ' statues of Webster and Everett. ' ' America ' ' has one hand pointing up, the other resting on the Union (a bundle of sticks bound together). Her drapery sweeping grandly about her, her foot rests firmly on the broken chains, a star is on her forehead. "California" in one hand grasps a divining rod and looks down, in the other hand she holds a bunch of thorns which she hides behind her, a great rock of quartz is also behind her. Her tropic beauty, the rod pointing down, are emblematic of the riches and attractions of the fair land she represents. The other hand holds the thorns, emblematic of the trials, difficul- ties and dangers to be met with in conquering them, but this she hides from the sight of those whom she allures by her fair promises. The "Eve Disconsolate" presses one hand to her bosom as she accuses herself and acknowledges her sin. The serpent is gliding away because when sin is confessed, temptation departs. Her pure sad face is yet repentant. "Ginevra" is a lovely bust with exquisite drapery. ' ' Clytie ' ' he was at work on ; she was still in the clay, her head is crowned with sunflowers showing the JOUENAL AND LETTERS 63 1866 Age 24 metamorphosis has begun. A bust of his wife and one of his daughter are very fine. We saw two or three models of his daughter's hand taken as a baby; they were the love- liest little things I ever saw. We wandered as through dreamland for an hour and it gave one a thrill to look up from the beautiful works into the gentle face of the sculp- tor. I should have liked to kiss the hand which had created such marvelous beauty. We left very reluctantly and went to the studio of Leopoldo Gallo, passing on the way ''Casa Guidi Windows", Mrs. Browning's house. We gave or- ders to the artist and then drove home to lunch. Rome, Friday, January 19. Doctor Valery came and examined my lungs and I al- most wish he had not. Where ignorance is bliss it 's no use to be wise. The state of doubt in which I have been is cer- tainly pleasanter than my present state of knowledge. Well, I might have been prepared for it, I think I was. Dr. Valery says I will never be well but may be compara- tively strong; my lungs are diseased on both sides though the centre is sound. He thinks I may get rid of this catarrh and get very much better and if I keep on gaining for two or three years I may become comparatively strong, never really healthy and well, but I shall not keep on gain- ing; I know how it will be, when I go home I shall go back again where I was and I suppose I shall die. If only Moth- er and Father or A. were here to take all care from me I would make a desperate effort to get well, but it is so lonely and desolate to be away from them all. Alone and with so much to worry and trouble me. Miss W. is very, very kind but I want Mother. Miss W. says Dr. Bray told her he thought tubercles were forming on my lungs when I was on board ship and said he thought it would be impossi- ble to get me to Rome without a serious hemorrhage or an attack of fever which might be long and dangerous. . . . Six months or a year ago had I come abroad there might have been more hope; I don't feel now as though I had energy enough to make a real struggle and effort to get well. No more of this. We this afternoon took a carriage and went to St. Peter's. I shall never forget my first im- pression of it, so many people are disappointed in their first view and I feared it might be so with me, but no in- deed; my highest anticipations were realized. I almost cried with delight to find them so entirely fulfilled. 64 JOURNAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 And of the Coliseum what can I say? It was only a beautiful glimpse we had of it today, like a dream. It's arches upon arches, it's beautiful broken outline, it's pil- lars and crumbling stairs, the blue sky and bright sunlight seen through the broken openings, — oh it was glorious, — and near by the glorious arch of Constantine. The walls were covered with ferns and moss and ivy and then those splendid, dangerous staircases; I longed to be a cat to scramble all over them, and I mean to have a good prowl over it before I go away. Wednesday, January 24. I stood five times for my picture at Alessandri's today and hope the result may be good. We drove with the Parkers in the afternoon to San Lorenzo and beyond on the road to Tivoli. It was such exquisite delight to me to get into the country. I never saw such exquisitely beautiful mountains in my life ; they were so soft and velvet-like and of a lovely violet grey colour. Fleecy white clouds float- ing about them. A snow peak here and there, Tivoli nestling at the base and Frascati on a nearer shoulder. I was so entranced, my enjoyment was so intense that it was almost painful. I felt wrought up and every nerve stretched and strained to drink in all the influences of the place and of the beauty before me. Fearful to lose the least particle of it that the impression might not be last- ing. The other members of the party laughed and joked and hardly looked at the view ; it seemed to me I could not have looked away for one moment for worlds. I do not know what else we passed; I only saw the glory of those hills. LETTER Rome, January, 1866. As I presume they will send my letters from home, you will have read all my stupid descriptions, they seem to me to read like a guide-book. Words are so utterly inadequate to describe the grand things one sees. We have had a num- ber of calls : Miss Cushman, Mrs. Gould, Dr. and Mrs. Val- ery. Gen. Rufus King, our minister here, the secretary of legation, Mr. Hooker, Count and Countess du Chastel (who JOUENAL AND LETTERS 65 1866 Age 24 by the way have been kindness itself to us). They are like all the Dutch, warm hearted, genial, kindly, informal per- sons. The Countess treats me as though I were a cousin and calls me so. There is an open-hearted kindliness about the Dutch that no other people have. The American Chap- lain here, Dr. Lyman, used to live in Pittsburgh, and has preached often in Meadville. He and his wife are pleas- ing people. We were invited the other night to take tea socially at eight o'clock with Mrs. Gould, and went there but made a mistake in the rooms and got into an English nobleman's party on the second floor, instead of to Mrs. Gould 's quiet company on the third floor. We never found out our mistake till two days afterwards. However when we got to the party, our plain dresses were so out of place among the satins and diamonds, and we were so angry with Mrs. Gould (whom we could not find when we entered the room) for, as we supposed telling us a fib, and saying it was a social company when it was a huge party that we only stayed ten minutes. So we have eaten noble ice cream, as Miss W. says, and stared at noble dresses, and had a good laugh over our blunder. A gentleman made the same mistake, and finding it out went up another flight, to Mrs. Gould's, and had a quiet pleasant evening. I can imagine how George will laugh over our blunder. Indeed we thought it an excellent joke. Oh ! the beggars, you know what they are. I get so sick of them. They are such horrid, nasty creatures. I began by giving them some money, but I've got tired of that and now I frown and say ''No, no, no-o-o-o" most emphatically. Just as sure as you enter a grand church your first impression is spoiled by some creature without an eye or an arm, making a dive at you. Miss W. is slight- ly insane on the subject of pictures, and gets such a num- ber. A man has just brought in two which she got yester- day of C. — two angels, copies of Francesco Francia. I, as yet, have only got three little ones which I bought in Flor- ence. We went the other day to Knebel's studio. Oh! 66 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 there were such lovely landscapes. As much more beauti- ful than Salvator Rosa or Claude Lorraine as can be. Some of the Italian views were perfectly entrancing, espe- cially one of the Alban Hills, the Appenines, and Tivoli in the distance, the Campagna and ruins in the foreground. I want Father to get it so very much. I wrote him about it. It is as large as our picture of the deer at home and only $250. There was a little one of the same subject that was just as perfect for $95. I saw a lovely landscape the other day in a shop window and asked the price. "$20", the man said, whereupon I shook my head. ''Well, Mademoiselle what will you give"? I considered and said $12. "Say $15" the man said, but I stuck to my $12 and he said he thought I might have it. But I concluded not to take it, at least not then. Your description of Christmas and New Year made me quite homesick. It was so woe- fully dismal to spend them alone that I was glad when they were over. One more anniversary, my birthday, is yet to come and I shall be glad when that is passed. These anniversaries are homesick, painful things when one is away. I can't quite think of waking up next Wednesday morning, and not having Mother to come to my bed and give me a birthday kiss, and no dear ones to give me theirs when I come down stairs, without the tears coming to my eyes. And I shall miss the birthday letter which came so unfailingly from my good kind sister. I shall take this last one for a birthday letter. Indeed I did remember our last New Year 's eve in Chauncey Street. Then Arthur was the one far away and we drank his health. I did not think then that I should be the absent one this year. I can as- sure you we drank the healths of all at home most raptur- ously on New Year's day at Pisa. . . . JOURNAL Wednesday, January 31. . . . . Coming in late this afternoon we found a note from Miss Cushman, asking us to call and see her at JOUENAL AND LETTERS 67 1866 Age 24 eight o'clock, so we went and we fomid Miss Cushman alone with a Mrs. Heywood, of Boston. The house is very fine, beautiful paintings, fine carved furniture and a dear little dog who drank part of my tea. Miss Cushman her- self is charming, very genial and entertaining, speaking of Liszt she said "He is always acting; he is one of the greatest living actors off the stage; had he been a singer he would have been a good and great artist. But as a composer merely he has no scope for this great power of acting which has such control over him". Speaking of his face she said, ''It is sinister, the mouth when he smiles curves up like a half moon and he looks like a devil. When he sits down to the piano his face instantly becomes divine ; he is always acting, he gives pennies to every child in the street, till he has a crowd about him; then he stops and acts to them a while before going on his way. He likes to attract attention all the time. The first time I saw him he was going down the Spanish Steps his head turned up to the sky, his chin sticking out and in his hand held straight out rigidly before him he held a rose". Miss Cushman was perfectly natural, had an intense- ness which fascinated me and her eyes when she fixes them upon you as is her wont, thrill you all over. I did not talk much but sat and listened to her with delight. Friday, February 2, Candlemas Day. We were up at half past seven and went to St. Peter's at half past eight ; we had excellent seats. At ten the procession entered ; the Pope in crimson robes embroidered in gold was borne on a chair and the procession moved up the nave between files of guards. The cardinals, priests, bishops, officers and ambassadors followed. The Palatine Guard wore the costume of the time of Henry VIII, red, yellow and black stripes ; the Noble Guard wore white cloth breeches and black velvet coats covered with gold and sil- ver lace. Many Englishmen wore black velvet suits with gold trimmings. The ambassadors were superb, the Count du Chastel was among them, a light blue ribbon across his breast with magnificent orders upon it. It is useless to try to describe the grandeur of the ceremony. The Pope blessed the candles, the people knelt to receive them from his hands, then they were all lighted and Pius IX was raised on his ' ' Sedia Gestatoria ' ' and all the bishops, cardi- nals and ambassadors again formed a procession and moved 68 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 around the church. Celebration of mass followed after which we left. On the way home we passed all the State coaches of the grandees. LETTERS Rome, February 5, 1866. My Dear Rebecca : I was rejoiced today to receive your letter of the 11th, also one from Father and from Mary, I am worried to hear in every letter of your having headache, I am afraid you are not well. Now why not persuade Father and Mother to come over next April and you come with them and bring the children or at least Alfred. You need the change I am sure and then a few months will quite set you up again. Indeed unless some of you come over I don 't see how I can stay till August. The Dr. says decidedly that as far as he can see I must go again next winter to a warmer climate. And if I come home in August, I shall have but two months at home before I must go again — either south or to Cuba or somewhere for the whole win- ter. It kills me nearly to think of it. I am, however, getting on finely. • I get stronger and more fleshy every day. Only my throat is no better and my chest is no stronger judging from certain experiences. The Dr. says I am doing well, but somehow I feel as though he did not tell me all. When I am out and come in I find him and Miss W. talking about me and looking as grave as can be, it is by no means assuring. Perhaps it 's imagination after all. Miss W. has taken a bad cold in her head and yes- terday was quite sick with it. Today she is better. I have taken no cold since I came here. As to Nice where every- one thinks I ought to have stayed longer I do not think the climate as good as Rome. In the first place it is a dull place ; the air, and sunlight are perfect, but there is nothing else, no society, no amusements and only two drives. I got woefully weary there. I have been restless in every place JOUENAL AND LETTEES 69 1866 Age 24 I have yet been in except Amsterdam and Eome. I sup- pose it is a part of my disease, the Dr. says so. I got tired of Nice and would have been utterly wretched had I stayed there. Rome I delight in, and I am content here. As to the churches I have learned that hardest of all lessons, to give up pleasure for health. Indeed I don't believe you would know your once reckless sister. Now I assure you I have not entered a church or gallery for two weeks; save St. Peter's which is always warm. I have given up the Vatican and Sistine Chapel until April. It's awfully hard but I am going to stick to it. For a week I have done nothing but drive about in the sun, on the Cam- pagna, on the Pincio, anywhere where it is warm and sunny. My greatest deprivation is not being allowed to walk. The Dr. says it is not at all good for me, that no exercise is good for me, and I hate this eternal driving about. Once in a while I rush out desperately and have a good walk regardless of consequences. Some days we just do nothing but lounge about the streets looking into the shop windows. This morning we spent in that way and I found some very pretty little paintings. Italian views, Italian figures and all sorts of things. One lovely picture for $15 — I mean to get it. If you want any let me know, I can get pretty ones such as at home we would think gems, for from four to twenty dollars. The climate of Rome is as mild as that of Nice. The streets to be sure are damp and cold, but we only go in the wider streets and squares. We are at the Hotel de Rome in the Corso, near the Piazza di Spagna, and there it is always warm and sunny. Then we drive most of the time. This week is the Carnival. Now only think, it has been going on for two days and I have not seen a thing of it. It only begins about three and I am in before that usually. Tomorrow I mean to see some- thing of it. Miss W. went out on Saturday with the Crockers and took an awful cold and said it was tire- some. I think it must be stupid, it seems so ridiculous. 70 JOUKNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 About silks, I can get you in Paris a lovely moire-antique for $2.50 a yard. I saw one, an ashes of roses as glossy as satin and very stiff for that price. A good silk like Moth- er's is about $25 the pattern. A velvet is about $50 the pattern. A good one can be had for three dollars a yard. I do wish I had a chance to send you a silk now when I could get one for so much less than you would at home. Do send to me for whatever you want. I have nothing to get for myself and would so enjoy shopping for others. In Rome everything is very high except pictures and cameos. In Paris I can get things for a quarter what they are at home, and the same in Florence, Brussels and all northern cities. By the way my black silk is not wearing well, it has given way all over. I have matched my green silk perfect- ly and intend to have a high-necked waist made to it, so it will make a lovely spring dress. My birthday was rather a woeful day. I was awfully blue and homesick. My good kind friend, the Countess, came in to see me and gave me three birthday kisses, a lovely bunch of flowers and a huge book containing exquisite outline engravings of all the paintings in the Vatican. She said so sweetly, "As you cannot go to the Vatican, dear child, I have tried to bring the Vatican to you." She came in to see me on Monday last and heard me speak of my birthday, and in the kind- ness of her heart, she remembered me in this way. Nothing ever touched me more. She came to see me again on Satur- day and said: "You must let me do all I can for you for you know I am your Roman Mother". She takes as kind an interest in me as though I were a relation. She is just like all the Dutch, genial, warm-hearted, unaffected. We went to the Candlemas service at St. Peter's on Friday, but of this I shall write to George, Don't I wish I could have been at your dance, only the Dr. won't let me dance. I do so long sometimes for a little more society. We have oceans of friends in this hotel, about twenty or thirty. They are always coming to see us. Our room is quite a rendez- vous. They come by shoals and sometimes we wish they JOURNAL AND LETTERS 71 1866 Age 24 were not so fond of us, for they keep us from our reading and writing. I must write to Cousin Pieter van E., so must close. Will write George tomorrow. Love to all at Aunt Anna's and the Bonds, Love to Lou if she is with you and to George and Arthur. My regards to Mr. Lan- eey. Kisses for the children and much love for yourself. Yours, Emma. Rome, February 7, 18GG. My Dear Brother: I thought last night I surely would get this letter ready to go by today's mail, but people kept coming in one after the other and then I had to write to Cousin Pieter so it was bed time before I was ready to begin. . . . Well! would you believe that I have been four weeks in Rome and have seen neither the Vatican nor the Sistine Chapel. You cannot form an idea of how wonderfully prudent I have become, and how exceedingly obedient I am. I have not been inside a church for two weeks save St. Peter's which you know is always warm, and the Carnival, which began last Saturday, I have seen as little of as though it were not. I mean tomorrow to have a look at it just to be able to say I have seen it, but I knoAV it is very stupid. It has not been at all gay this year, the Romans having taken very little part in it. They say there is a large party that favours Victor Emanuel, and that they have secretly been in mourning for the young prince, his son who died a fortnight ago. So this party has taken no part in the Carnival. . . . Our friend, the Countess du Chastel, is coming this evening to show us her costume (a Dutch one) which she wears tonight at a fancy ball at Prince Borghese's. You do not know what a good kind friend she is to us, . . . You ask what tribe I prefer here. Well! I do not find any people better than the Dutch. They are the most refined, intelligent and genial people we have found. The English are uppish and stiff; 72 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 the French are noisy; the Americans too often shoddy. I am much disappointed in the Americans we meet here. Most of them are real Petroleum! They overdress, and murder the King 's English and say Eaphael 's Transfigura- tion is "pretty" and St. Peter's ''nice". One or two nice ones we have met, but as a general thing we find them not congenial. By the way I met Caspar Crowninshield this morning at the banker's and Mr. Blanchard is here. . . . Is not this Rome a great place? I do so enjoy the ruins, they are a never-ending source of pleasure to me and we go driving all over the Campagna, to see this one and that one, and then go again to get a view from the other side, etc. The Dr. has prohibited churches, the Vati- can, and galleries and all the palazzi, but the Doria and Borghese. There is plenty left though to interest me till the warmer weather. The weather is now like our May, the roses in bloom and trees budding and peas in blos- som. The Countess has just been in and looks a beauty in her dress of green satin and silver lace and magnificent diamonds and ermine. The Count looked stunning in his Court dress and jeweled orders. . . . Love to all your family. Yours ever affectionately, Emma, The Pomeroys, of Pittsfield, are here and I saw W. B.'s familiar face in the book of a Miss Larned, of Pitts- field. She is just engaged to a Mr. Kernochan, of New York. Rome, February 19, 1866. My Dearest R. : I received your kind letter today and have been par- ticularly favoured through the week. It is so jolly to get letters and they come so regularly now. Two came this morning written on my birthday. I am feeling specially well today. The Dr. thinks I am doing wonderfully, and JOUENAL AND LETTERS 73 1866 Age 24 I think so myself. There is an old gentleman who can't seem to get over it, and keeps continually saying, "Well, I never should think you were the same person that was on the steamer". And many others often speak of my marked improvement. . . . We are having a pleasant time, still driving about, sight-seeing and visiting. Last Monday and Tuesday we devoted to the Carnival which I think unmitigatedly stupid. I was woefully weary of it before I had looked on an hour. Wednesday we went to the Barberini Gallery to see the Cenci. I am sorry to say I was a bit disappointed. She does not look sad enough. I have seen many copies in which the expression pleased me better. I was disappointed at being disappointed. I did so want it to satisfy me. I sat an hour looking at it in every possible light and it was no good. The light, however, was very poor and it was late in the afternoon, and I cling to the hope that when I go again to see it I shall be better satisfied. Thursday we went to Mr. Free- man's studio, an American artist. He has a very few good pictures. Then we went to the studio of Mr. Chap- man and called on Mrs. Chapman. She is quite pleasant but they are awful Seccessionists. She is a great friend of Miss Sarah Clarke and Uncle James. . . . Friday I went to a little party at Dr. Gould 's and met some pleas- ant people. . . . Miss W, and her French teacher are chattering so that they confuse me woefully. We went today to the Baths of Caracalla. Yesterday we went to see our friend, Countess du C. She is as lovely and kind as can be. We took a long, long drive too, it was so sweet and warm. The violets and daisies as thick as could be on the roadside. I wish I could send you the roses, camelias, violets and mignonette which are on my table. It is time for the mail and I have not half written what I want. I have had to write like lightning to get through. . . . Yours ever, Emma. 74 JOtJENAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 JOURNAL Thursday, February 22, 1866. Went at twelve to the breakfast in honour of Wash- ington's birthday. There were toasts to the memory of Washington, then to the President, the Pope, the Army and Navy, and the Union. General Bartlett made a splen- did speech and was followed by Rev. Phillips Brooks, who made a much praised one. Then Rev. Charles Brooks read a poem. After that a toast was proposed, "The Brooks of America, may they run on forever". Rome, Monday, February 26, 1866. We painted all morning and I got on well with my picture. At 2 we went to Mr. Strutt 's studio ; I do not care for his pictures as much as for some others. They are cold and flat ; they want the light and warmth and atmosphere of Knebel. Next we went to Gibson's studio, to Miss Hos- mer's also and I admired her "Puck" the perfection of mischief, life, fun and spirit. Her "Zenobia" is of course grand; also the "Cenci". There was also a design for a fountain which some workmen were about putting up in a courtyard. We proceeded to Roger's where we saw the fine doors for the Capitol at Washington; a huge figure of a soldier for a monument at Cincinnati, and the lovely "Nydia", the blind girl of Pompeii. The lines of her brow, the perfect sightlessness of the eyes, the intense ef- fort to see in the face was dreadful yet perfect. Next we went to Mosier's. Tuesday, February 27. We went this evening to see the Coliseum by moon- light; at first it did not impress me, though I enjoyed it but not as I had hoped. We went to the very top, the moon was too high to make fine shadows. Coming home we stopped at the fountain of Trevi and we both drank long draughts from it in the hope that we might soon re- turn to Rome. We used our hands for cups. Saturday, March 3. We went this evening to a little musical party at Ma- dame Valery's. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks were there, and the Reeds. The music was good of its style. I saw Mr. Odo Russell, and Tadolini j^layed and sang. JOUENAL AND LETTEES 75 1866 Age 24 LETTERS Rome, March 4, 1866. Dear Rebecca: I was under the impression that it was only a week since I wrote you, but find on referring to my journal, to my amazement, that it is a fortnight. The days and weeks fly so fast here that I have no idea of time. I never knew the time go as it does, the weeks seem only three days long! By the end of the month half our time of absence will be over. Now that we are on the last half of our time here, we begin to wish almost that it were longer. We have become so much attached to Rome, that it will be awfully hard to leave it. I almost dread the going away, and yet I shall be so happy when once my steps are turned northward and homeward. Rome seems like a home now; I know the streets by heart and can go from one end of the city to the other alone. And yet we have not begun to see all its wonders. We shall leave, I fear, without see- ing half, and yet we are busy all the time sight-seeing, only we do not go at it so desperately as we did in London and Florence. We think we do well if we see one thing on every day in the week. The Vatican we have just begun and it will take us ten visits to see it thoroughly. We have seen the pictures there and the Sistine Chapel. The Trans- figuration passes description. Nothing ever impressed me so much. The contrast between it and The Communion of St. Jerome, which hangs opposite, is strong. In the Transfiguration it seems truly as though a part of the divine essence had been transferred to the canvas. I have written already three descriptions of these pictures! . . and they seem so stupid that I shall not say any more about them. The Sistine Chapel disappointed me in style of architecture and in size, but the frescoes were perfect. We spent two or three hours there. While we were there the Pope passed through the adjoining passage to go to St. Peter's. As we were going out the custodian said we must 76 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age B4 wait a moment as he was just going back. He kindly said, "If you would like to see him Miss, you can look through the key-hole, or I will open the door on a crack". I said I really could not come down to the key-hole but I would not disdain the crack! So he let me peep through and I saw Pio Nono, who passed about a yard from me. I have seen him before, several times, but never so closely. He looks a kind, amiable person. I cannot say I have much admiration for his character. I had the pleasure today to send a tiny box to you by a friend of Dr. M. of Brooklyn. He does not sail till April so you will not get the box till May I fear. I put in some lace I happened to have for you. There is a Roman necktie for each of the boys, a scarf and a scarf pin for Arthur, a tiny silver cross for Nettie. . . . We had quite an adventure yesterday, in our drive. We took with us our friend, Mrs. Jackson, of Philadelphia, a friend of Mrs. Leslie and the Chaffins. Our courier has got into a bad way lately of taking too much wine with his dinner, not enough to make him tipsy, but just enough to make him stupid and obstinate. We drove out on the Appian Way, and when we got about four miles out, the driver stopped at a side road that led to some ruins, and asked in Italian if we wanted to go there. I did not know what he said and asked Adolphe who made no answer. I asked again and got no reply, and then I spoke pretty sharply. Adolphe turned and was about to speak when a crash came. A vetturino had tried to pass us quickly on the narrow side of the road instead of going to the other side of us, and catching our wheel, crushed it under us, we going down for a moment. The vetturino 's horses backed, plunged, tried to turn, broke the tongue, got tangled in the harness, and finally both fell flat. Our horses ran a moment then stopped. I told Adolphe to get down and let us out, which he coolly declined to do ! Miss W. then ordered him to do it and he said, it was not any use ! Upon which I told him to get down and open the door at once or suffer the consequences ! He was as ugly as he JOUENAL AND LETTEES 77 1866 Age 24 could be. Just then another carriage drove up which con- tained some acquaintances, the Petersons of Philadelphia. Our coach was unfit to use, one wheel, the back one, being quite crushed and the axle bent under. We had a con- sultation and after some demurring the two gentlemen, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Wilde, insisted on our going home in their carriage with Mrs. Peterson, and they would walk. There seemed no other way, as our coach was unfit for use and our coachy and the vetturino were having a regu- lar Italian fight. So the gentlemen started to walk, when what does my tipsy courier do but get on to the box to ride home ! I told him to get down and w^alk ! The idea of my friends walking home on our account and my servant riding! The gentlemen were terribly indignant at his in- toxication and stolid obstinacy, which really were the cause of our accident. We got safely home. This morning the gentlemen called and advised me either to dismiss Adolphe or at least to make him walk straighter in the future. So Miss W. had a talk with him this morning — and whether he will go or reform I do not yet know. There is no diffi- culty in getting a good courier, so I shall not be very sorry if he goes, for he has not been satisfactory for some time. . . . . Here it is Tuesday and my letter not finished, I have waited hoping to receive letters. I have not heard from anyone for over a week and feel quite anxious as my last ones told of Father's accident. A week is not very long except when one is anxious, and it always happens that when one wants letters most they are sure to be de- layed. I hope soon to hear from you, it is two weeks and more since I had a letter from Boston. We are having a jolly time as usual, seeing a good deal, but in a leisurely way, and meeting oceans of people. These calls are often almost a bore. It keeps one busy, just returning calls. If it were not that in many cases one need only leave a card and not go in it would take all one's time. We had a pleasant call the other evening from Miss Hosmer, the sculptress. She came flying in in a very informal way. 78 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 and spent the whole evening with us. She is a bright, in- tellectual person quite original and pleasant. She promised to let us see soon a new statue which is yet in the clay, and not open to public inspection. It is a companion to her "Sleeping Faun" and represents "The Waking Faun", Both she hopes to send to the great Paris exhibition next year. We have been to her studio, to Gibson's and to Rogers' and Hosier's. I was disappointed in Gibson's coloured statues (his specialty) they look like Dresden China. Rogers had some good things. By the way they tell a good story of Rogers and Jacob Thompson, the rebel. Thompson went to see Rogers' studio with the intention of ordering from Rogers a bust of himself. Rogers know- ing the intention and not desiring to accommodate him took occasion to uncover a fine figure of Lincoln saying "I con- sider this one of my best works Mr. Thompson". J. T, left in disgust. A few evenings later at a party a lady said to Rogers : ' ' Why Mr. Rogers how could you so treat Mr. Thompson, you lost a good order I can tell you for Mr. T. intended having his own bust done and also portraits of his family". To which Rogers replied: "Madam, not all the money which Mr. Thompson could beg, borrow or steal would induce me to do his rebel head"! Good, wasn't it? We went to drive yesterday in the Villa Doria and on our way home, met the Pope. First appeared a mounted dra- goon who said, "the Pope approaches". Soon another appeared who ordered our carriage to the side of the road. Then a third with drawn sword galloped past, then a whole troop of dragoons and then the Pope's carriage. The old gentleman looked out of the window, stared at us and blessed us with his hand. We bowed and then he passed on, a troop of horse after him, and old Cardinal Antonelli in another coach. We also saw the Queen of Naples. She is ever so pretty, but was shabbily dressed in an old black silk, faded shawl and round hat. We also met the Austrian Ambassador, who after looking at us through his eye-glass, took it into his head he knew us and JOURNAL AND LETTERS 79 1866 Age 24 SO took off his hat. Our kind friend, the Countess du Chastel, came in the other day and spent the morning with us. I have not heard from Holland for a few weeks, but expect a letter soon from Cousin P. ... I am going to have my picture taken in chalk for Mother. An artist here wishes much to take it, and promises me a good one. I am to sit first on Thursday. The weather today is cloudy but warm. The peach trees are in full bloom, and when we drove yesterday the air was full of their perfume. I enclose a small study of cats' heads by Salvator Eosa for the boys. It isn't very distinct, but is celebrated. Tell Gorham as I could not send him a pussie from Meadville last fall, I send him one from Rome, but fear it is not so good natured as mine for this one seems to be scratching and squealing. After you receive this you had better di- rect your letters to the care of Baring's, London, as by the time answers will reach us we may be on the move. We had intended going to Naples immediately after Holy Week or about the fifth of April, but I hear there are one or two cases of cholera there and if it increases of course we shall not go. This is a mere rumour, but rest easy that much as I want to go there, if there is a shadow of danger, I shall not only not go, but instead turn for the north, to Florence or Milan to get out of the way of it. With dearest love, Emma. JOURNAL Monday, March 5. We painted all morning and drove in the afternoon to the Villa Doria. The day was cloudy and the place did not look so pretty as before, but the Campagna was lovely. There was a strange effect over it ; the mist covered it al- most from sight, and it looked like the sea in a fog. The near walls looked like the waves on the beach the distance like a gray rainy sea, the ruins dimly seen through the mists looked like the black sails or masts of ships. I had never seen such an effect before and it interested me much. 80 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 Saturday, March 10. We went to the Capitol today, and the "Dying Gladia- tor" made a special impression on me. Then the ''Marble Faun" more than equalled my expectations. It is just as Hawthorne describes it. Miss W. thinks he looks as if he were just about to leap up and start away but to me just the opposite. He is resting ; the careless droop of the hand, one foot resting shows a quiet mood. He looks so happy and full of life as though he never had a care. He has perhaps little soul and the face is slightly sensual, but he is a careless, happy creature full of life and health and enjoyment. If Hawthorne's ''Donatello" resembled him he must indeed have been beautiful. Of the pictures only one struck me ; Guercino 's ' ' Sta. Petronella ' ', We stopped at the Marmertine prison where supposedly St. Paul was confined but where more certainly Jugurtha and Vercin- getorix, so often mentioned in Caesar's Commentaries, were imprisoned. Passing through the court of the Capitol we saw the first milestone on the ApjDian Way bearing the names of Vespasian and Nerva. Thursday, March 15. Nothing to do all day but be thankful for life, for a more perfect day never was. Warm, the sun shining through fleecy clouds, and bewitching mists and vapours hanging over the hills; the Meet of the Hounds was two miles beyond Porta Pia. We crossed a stream by a queer bridge, Ponte Nomentana, part bridge, part castle and part tower. Just beyond at the foot of the hill was the Meet; the Pack, forty in number, were all together and the whipper-in and keeper were mounted near them dressed in scarlet. There were about a hundred car- riages and some peculiar equipages. Count and Countess Sartiges in a phaeton with postillion. Said postillion wore a remarkable livery, yellow top boots, yellow breeches, sky blue jacket, embroidered and laced with yellow, and gilt buttons, a grey wig braided behind into a long tail and finished with a black bow, a jockey cap on his head. The gentlemen were nearly all in scarlet with white breeches and vests. Some wore black velvet coats. The ladies were in handsome habits and hats. When all were assembled the dogs were led up the hill, the riders following. We walked up but as we soon lost the dogs we betook our- selves to the carriage again and drove to the top of the JOURNAL AND LETTERS 81 1866 Age 24 next and highest hill where we were surrounded by other carriages and some English mail coaches. We soon saw the dogs strike the scent, the riders trotting gently off and gradually breaking into a quick gallop. Then quickly they tore through the meadow up one hill and down another, the dogs far ahead. They barked, but on the whole were rather quiet, only a few giving tongue. Their ears were short and they were not so large and light as our hounds, mostly white with black and brown spots. The hunt swept out of sight at last and we hoping to get another view drove on further and soon heard them approaching. They rushed through the meadow on our right and we saw the fox dash across the road as if he were about to run among the car- riages, but he skirted the base of the hill instead. The dogs were some way behind, the red coats in full chase and Miss Cushman ahead of them all. She looked as though she meant to go to the end of the world; she fairly lifted her horse from the ground. A fence intervened, the whole hunt went valiantly over, only one gentleman coming to grief. We regained the hill and saw them off a mile or two awa3^ The fox went to earth and the dogs and riders came slowly back, before starting for another hunt while the carriages returned to Rome. The view was utterly beautiful; the Alban and Sabine hills were wreathed with mist and their snowy peaks gleamed out radiantly through the purple vapours. Tuesday, March 20. We spent the morning at the Vatican. . . . Through the "Stanze", Fra Angelico's Chapel, the Library and the Braccio Nuovo on to "Melcager", "Laocoon", ''Antinu- ous", "Ariadne", and "Jove". After this, had the old god Jupiter himself appeared instead of his statue, I should have only asked him where the carriage was and the way to it. Wednesday, March 21. We drove this morning to the Corsini Gallery but found it was the Princess's reception day and so it Avas closed earlier than usual. We did not knov/ where to go, so went into St. Peter's to decide at leisure. It was rain- ing and there were few people in the church, and the quiet and rest of the place were very grateful. We went all over it but unfortunately the pictures were covered. I 82 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Ago 24 heard today some funny stories of bandits. The people were assembled at a theatre one night, and, when the cur- tain rose instead of the actors on the stage there appeared a company of brigands. The leader came forward and in- formed the assembly that they must all go home and get their money and valuables and return with them. At the door they stationed some of their companions who accom- panied people to their homes. The audience meekly brought back and delivered its money and jewels, the leader bow- ing, thanked them and they retired from the city. Tuesday, March 27. We drove today on the Via Latina ; on coming back visited the Villa Wolkonski, such a lovely place ; the house very simple, but the grounds perfect. The old Claudian acqueduct passes through them and is draped with ivy. Every arch makes a lovely picture with the view seen through it of the Campagna on one side and the city on the other. The rocks and cascades, the flowers and fine old trees and fountains, all contribute to make it beautiful. We called on Miss Cushman coming back and met the Pope, and had just time to scramble down from the carriage before he passed. Nearly every one fell on their knees. LETTERS Rome, March 29, 1866. Dear R. : I fully intended that my letter should go in the Mon- day mail, but such a rush as we are in! It gives me no time to think or write. This is our last week in Rome, and we are finishing up with the sights and shopping, and cere- monies. We have seen more in the last fortnight than in any month before. A Roman friend who knows every inch of Rome has kindly been our cicerone for a week almost every day, and we have learned much from him that most persons do not know. I hardly know where to begin to tell you all Ave have seen. Last Tuesday we spent the whole day at the Vatican. It was a day not to be forgotten. We JOUENAL AND LETTERS 83 1866 Age 24 went all through the library. I saw the magnificent fres- coes of Raphael and others, the finest I ever saw. Then we wandered all through the great galleries of statuary and lingered long till the custodian came and ordered us away. Oh ! but the statues ! One does not want to look at modern ones after seeing the antique. They are so wonderful. The beautiful Faun, of which we have seen so many repetitions, was here as beautiful as ever. Not quite so perfect as the one in the Capitol, but looking older and more worn by time. It is my favourite statue, I never get tired looking at it. I do not wonder Hawthorne was inspired by it. We are re-reading "The Marble Faun" and find it perfectly bewitching. His descriptions and criticisms are so fine. The other statues at the Vatican: "Laocoon," " Meleager, " "Apollo" and "Antinuous" you are familiar with I think. The "Laocoon" is grand, there is no greater statue. Wednesday we went to the Church of the Capuchins, to see Guido's picture of "St. Michael and the Dragon." Then Miss W. wanted to go to the horrid cemetery below where all the bones and skele- tons of all the dead capuchin monks for centuries have been placed. I did not want to go but went as far as the door and sent Adolphe in with her. I had one glimpse of a skeleton of a monk in his gown and cowl lying in a niche grinning; and of walls and ceiling covered with fanciful designs in bones such as hearts, diamonds, rosettes, squares, etc. It was quite enough for me. Miss W. went through four rooms and then came back, horror and disgust de- picted on her face and heartily wishing she had not gone in as I knew she would. Then we went to St. Agostino to see the great wonder-working Madonna, which is covered from head to foot with jewels. The Bambino is a horrid little doll covered with jewels too. There were splendid necklaces of emeralds and diamonds, and pearls. It was equal to the Crown jewels of England. The statue itself was as brown as bronze, but is really marble. It has not been washed I suppose for fear of washing off the miracu- 84 JOURNAL AND LETTERS ^ 1866 Age 24 lous power, these superstitious people think it possesses, Thursday we only got out for an hour as it rained, but we looked into San Clemente where there is an ancient temple under the present church, and even below the temple, still lower chambers. We also saw the Baptistery of St. John Lateran, where Constantine was baptized, and cured of leprosy by St. Sylvester. Friday we visited the Corsini Gallery and the Doria Palace. The Corsini has one of the finest collections of pictures in Rome, Saturday we went to the Sciarra where the beautiful picture by Raphael of ' ' The Violinist ' ' is. There was a good ' ' St. Sebastian ' ' there too. Sunday we took a long drive on the Campagna. The day was perfect, and the hills and mountains in the distance bathed in a soft purple light were miraculously beautiful. This Roman Campagna is a dream of beauty. It is never the same, always changing, always lovely. In the evening we took tea with the Countess du Chastel and had a very pleasant time. There were several Amsterdam people who talked English and a few artists and priests. I talked French to a countess somebody, who was kind enough to help me on a little though I blundered sadly at first. They are all so kind and when they can, talk English to you and when they can 't they make French as easy as possible. The Countess is always kindness itself. She sent us the other day tickets for ajl the ceremonies at St, Peter's during Holy Week, Sunday we went to Overbeck's studio, but we did not see him and I was a little disappointed with his pictures. They are beautiful and I enjoyed them exceedingly, but they are stolen. All the finest figures are taken, more or less, from the old masters. He draws only in outline and does not paint. Four little medallions, rep- resenting the story of the Ten Virgins were exceedingly beautiful, Monday we went to a lot of studios and saw a lot of mediocre pictures, and got woefully tired of having to praise so much commonplace stuff. There is nothing so wearisome as visiting studios. You must praise whether you like things or not ! In the afternoon we went to see JOUENAL AND LETTEES 85 < 1866 Age 24 the tomb of the Nasos. It is said to be the tomb of Ovid as he belonged to that family. Yesterday we went and shopped and bought pictures, Roman pearls, bronze lamps, etc. . . . The sketches I have put in to enliven my stupid letter, the one of the Shepherd, was done by our Roman friend, Cav. C. The other is mine for the children's amusement. It is a sketch of the buffaloes of which there are many about here. Some are domesticated and used for draught purposes. They must accept this for their valentine and I will send them some more sketches when I have time to make them. . . . My best love to all at the Bond 's and Aunt Anna 's. With warmest love. Yours ever, Emma. March 30, 1866. My Dearest Little Nephews: I was delighted with the dear little valentines you sent me last week. I send you the picture of the buffaloes which I see about here. There are a great many of them, some- times a hundred in one field. They are wild looking crea- tures but sometimes the peasants tame them and use them instead of oxen. The oxen here are very large and white, with horns as long as those you have in the parlour. The peasants in the country wear trousers made of sheep's skin with the wool outside. They sometimes wear coats made also of sheep skin and then they look just like a great sheep walking on two legs. In my next letter I will send you a sketch of one of these peasants dressed all in sheep skin. I received this morning your nice letters with your Mamma's. I have to write as fast as a railroad train goes to get this letter off in time for the mail so I can't write a very long letter to you. I saw a great many lions and tigers and wolves in London and in Amsterdam. The wolves were horried things and the hyenas barked and laughed like a person does, and then would cry like a baby. The hippopotami were ugly things with tiny eyes and they 86 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 were all swimming about in the water. Two Dutch gen- tlemen came to see me last night and they talked such funny English that I could not help laughing. Their names were Jan Mees and Mr. van St oik. Aren't they queer names? M^ith lots of kisses and love for Papa. Your loving Aunt Emma. JOURNAL Sunday, April 1. We were up early this morning and went to the Easter service at St. Peter's. We had seats in the Tribune. The procession entered at nine, cardinals, bishops and arch- bishops preceding the Pope. The Mass proceeded to the Elevation when softly, sweetly and clearly in the hush of the moment the silver trumpets sounded. At first far away in the dome as from a distant band of angels, then more clearly and distinctly till the sound swelled and grew and pealed forth over the kneeling multitude. . . . We went later into the Piazza to witness the Papal benedic- tion; the crowd was tremendous, the lines of soldiers in their brilliant uniforms, the peasants in their best attire and richly dressed ladies and gentlemen made an effective scene. There were about twenty thousand people I should think. The people fell on their knees as the Pope appeared on the Loggia and I remembered the words of a good old Pope who when a haughty English noble refused to kneel to him said gently "Kneel, my son, an old man's blessing will not injure any one". ... In the evening we drove to see the illumination ; the whole of St. Peter 's was lighted with lanterns outlining the building. The effect was fine when suddenly the whole burst into a blaze of light glowing and glittering like a great jewel. Even the topmost cross was all alight. I am told the lighting of the cross is very dangerous and a convict is usually selected to do it. The Pope confesses him and he goes up; if he comes down he is pardoned. , Wednesday, April 4, Naples. We started today for Naples at nine. The ride to Ceprano was pleasant. We were wear.y when we reached JOURNAL AND LETTERS 87 1866 Age 24 Naples and I never saw such a dreadful place as the sta- tion ; our bags and cloaks were almost torn from us and one unlucky man had his books snatched from him by a ragged boy who demanded four francs to carry them to the omnibus, a distance of four steps. We sat like martyrs for an hour in a coach and at last got off, but such a racket. Men shouting in French, swearing in Italian, yelling in German and vociferating in bad English ! When we reached the hotel we were told there were no rooms which was comforting, and the man added that all the hoterls were full and we could not get in anywhere. It looked for a moment as though we might have to spend the night in the omnibus, but at last a room was found. It looks into a nice little garden full of orange and lemon trees. Pigeons fly about and settle on our balcony or coo and flutter about the dove cote. An amiable cat winks at me when I speak to her but never moves from her cozy perch on a sunny wall. A frisky dog has kept up a general contest with a lazy turtle and which was the greater coward I could not say. Our first day was rainy so that we only took a drive along the Chiaja; the second day it still rained but we could drive through the city. It is a busy and thriving place, more like an American town, so different from Rome, — that dead city of the past where one lives in and studies the past and forgets the progressive present. Saturday, April 7. We started today in a most delightful little phaeton for Pompeii ; we drove through Resina, Portici and Torre An- nunziata and after a two hours' drive along the bay catch- ing here and there most enchanting glimpses through palace gardens and arched avenues we reached Pompeii. . . . It is perfectly preserved and so also were the lizards; such oceans of little horrors, they swarmed on the walls and steps and ran over and under your feet. Harm- less enough no doubt, but not agreeable to walk on ! Pompeii is still being excavated but slowly; I would much like to be at the opening of a new house; they open one every few months. At the Naples museum yes- terday we saw all the curiosities found in Pompeii. Our drive home was by Resina again where we stopped at the door of Herculaneum. The turnstile admitting one to Pom- 88 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 peii was bad enough but ringing at the door of Hercu- laneum as much as to ask if it was at home so overcame my sensibilities that I shook my head and faintly said ' ' Drive on ' '. The name was positively on the doorplate ! It is so under Resina that it cannot be excavated like Pompeii or the town would subside into its cellars. Sunday, April 8. We drove along the Chiaja for some distance, then climbed the hill above the city and back for several miles along its brow. The view was superb ; the bay was as blue as the sky and Capri lay bathed in a soft purple light. The road was very narrow; we passed groups of gailj'' dressed peasants in their Sunday attire; the walls were alive with lizards and gay with scarlet poppies, long trail- ing sprays of verbenas of many colours and the pretty blue lupins. There were white rose vines and white hawthorne perfuming the air. We came at last into the town again and at one place saw a whole company of soldiers who were just starting out on some frolicsome expedition, mounted on donkeys. The selection of donkeys was rather ludicrous ; the tallest grenadiers being mounted on the most diminutive animals. They were in great glee singing, laughing and shouting. We drove home through Portici and got to the hotel just at six. Monday, April 9. We took the train at half past ten to Castellamare, a very uninteresting place, but the road ran close to the shore and we had beautiful glimpses of the bay and a won- derful display of scarlet portulaccas and asters all the way. At Castellamare we took a carriage with three horses abreast and tore along the road. The road is built in many places of solid masonry, in others cut from the cliff ; it fol- lows the indentations of the shore and winds along among orange and lemon groves, yellow with fruit and fragrant with blossoms. Every wall was draped with white rosea and every hedge odorous with hawthorne. We reached Sorrento and the Albergo delle Sirene at one o'clock. The view was most lovely, taking in the whole circle of the bay with Vesuvius smoking slightly and Capri, the purple veiled, asleep on the water. The little fishing boats off Castellamare danced about on the sea and some fishermen were drawing up a sail boat on the beach. We went to a JOURNAL AND LETTERS 89 1866 Age 24 shop for inlaid wood, then to an orange garden where we picked oranges warm from the tree and ate them. I never tasted anything like them before. We picked some to take away with us and returned to the hotel for lunch. During lunch two musicians played just outside the door ; we were regaled with choice airs from "Don Giovanni" and "Lu- crezia Borgia" and then they suddenly struck up "Hail Columbia" and other national airs. After lunch we went to see the house of Tasso and the deep ravine which Mrs, Stowe so well describes in her "Agnes of Sorrento". We drove back at a furious pace, reached Castellamare in an hour and a half and again took the train for Naples. The beauty of that view at sunset passes description. The nearer hills were bathed in purple shadows, the faraway mountains were flushed with rosy light, the setting sun set a long train of molten gold on tiie water, the sky was a sea of orange light melting into the soft grey of the zenith. Capri far away with sad serene face looking heavenward, and Naples nestling at the foot of the protecting hills, her white palaces and villas glittering in the last rays of the sunlight. Such a golden glory over all ! The picture so per- fect, so gorgeous, so warm, so dreamlike. Only the old beau- tiful lines can at all describe it; and they rang through my memory ceaselessly that evening. "My soul today is far away Sailing the Vesuvian bay My winged boat a bird afloat Sails round the purple peaks remote." "Round purple peaks it sails and seeks Blue islands and the bluer deeps. With half-shut eyes my spirit lies Under the Myalls of Paradise." Aldrich wrote that on a bleak, cold, snowy day in New York, and how often among the snows and wintry winds of my dear home far away I shall recall this glorious sun- set on the Vesuvian bay. Tuesday, April 10. We saw today the Royal Palace at Capo di Monte. There were about twenty rooms full of pictures and ar- mour. I did not care much for the modern historical pic- 90 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 tures which predominated. We got some gloves and some coral and a lava brooch on the way back. Rome, Wednesday, April, 11. We reached Rome at six today and found pleasant rooms on the front at the dear Hotel de Rome. Saturday, April 14. We went for our last drive on the Campagna, past St. John Lateran to 1jie Via Latina, past tombs along the be- loved Claudian Acqueduct, every inch of the way dear to us, and we returned past the Coliseum and San Pietro in Vincoli to see again the great "Moses". I like to think that every stroke of the great work was done by the mas- ter's hand, not by hirelings as in these modern days. My eyes filled with tears as I looked my last on the Coliseum, — not my last though I hope. Monday, April 16, Perugia. Left Rome. We were up at five, breakfasted and reached the station. Such a crowd and fuss and noise and con- fusion. We waited and waited for Adolphe and at last took our bags, cloaks and rugs and got our own seats in the train. I then went back to find the courier but was unsuccessful and made a rush for the train again when just as it started Adolphe came rushing up to the window in- quiring breathlessly not, whether we were comfortable and had everything, but "Whether we had his umbrella", which upset us completely and justified Miss W. in her suggestion one day when we could not make him hear by calling him Adolphe that we should try "umbrella, um- brella" which would surely bring him. The way past St. John Lateran and the Claudian Acqueduct was very lovely, but it took us away from Rome, dear, dear Rome! where we have been so happy and which has proved such a refuge and rest to us. Glorious Rome ! too, so full of old-time in- terests and past glories, more glorious in her ruins than others in their prime. God bless Rome ! — but not her gov- ernment. We reached Terni at twelve and at Narni saw the bridge of Augustus of which I have a picture. We reached Foligno at two and immediately took carriage to Perugia. It was a lovely drive between hedges of white JOURNAL AND LETTERS 91 1866 Age 24 hawthorne and roses and walls with long sprays of cle- matis, and luxuriant bushes of the wild azalea, the fra- grance of which filled the air. The last few miles were up a long, long hill ; we saw Assisi in the distance. Up the hill we had extra locomotive power in the shape of the beau- tiful white oxen. We reached Perugia just at dusk and came under the grim old walls and frowning archways and wound up its quaint streets and under gateways till at last we reached the Hotel de la Poste and got to our rooms which were odd enough; the parlour was like a billiard room and the table vast in extent, but a fire and lamps soon made it bright and cheerful and we spent a happy evening. Tuesday, April 17. We breakfasted at ten and then went out to see Perugia. Such a delightful quaint old place it is. ... I was so glad to see the statue of Pope Julius II in the Square be- fore the Cathedral. I stood a long time under it, looking up into the kind face of the old Pope who extends his hand in blessing. We then went up a long, steep street of steps and reached the wall of the city and further out a point where we could look over the magnificent country. W^e could see for miles and miles, Assisi on one side, Foligno on the other and the hills stretching far away one beyond the other; it was such a lovely day. We went back by another long flight of steps and through more narrow streets, passing the Arch of Augustus and most picturesque towers and came at last to the museum where there was a great collection of Perugino 's pictures and Giotto 's. . . . We dined at six, and laughed much over the Peruginesque style that seemed to prevail in everything. The chickens were long and lean, the teaspoons were queer and slim, the forks had little prong and much handle ; the waiter was a dazed youth who stared at us instead of waiting and was so long bringing on the courses that 0. turned waiter and presented us with hot plates and clean knives and forks in real Perugino style! It was a nice dinner, at least we en- joyed it. Wednesday, April 18. We left Perugia this morning and reached Florence at five o'clock and found rooms at the Hotel de la Paix. 92 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 Dear R. LETTERS Florence, April 21, 1866. I have been making most desperate attempts to write you and A. for a week, but have entirely failed in that as in other things. Indeed I can hardly tell whether what I have done equals what I have not done ! Such a fortnight of confusion I never passed through before. When we returned from Naples whence I last wrote you, we spent four days in Rome. First we had to attend to the pack- ing and sending off of our pictures, which was finally ac- complished much to our satisfaction. It was quite a weight off my mind when they were gone. I only hope they may go safely. . . . Then we had last shopping to do, though not much, then there were last sights to be seen, and farewell calls to be made and received, which was the most painful operation of all, for we have become so closely attached to some persons in Rome. My good friend, the Countess du C, was in deep affliction, having just lost her Mother, and the Count was quite ill. One friend came with us as far as Perugia to protect us from brigands! . . , We came by rail to Foligno, thence by coach to Perugia, where we arrived about five o'clock. The next day we spent there as we wished to see the pictures and frescoes of Perugino. Perugia is a lovely old place. It stands on the top of a hill which, is almost a mountain. Such queer old archways and machicolated towers and pic- turesque houses and narrow old streets I have not seen be- fore. From the windows you have a magnificent view of fifty miles of country and mountains. Foligno on one side, Assisi on another, with their towers and walls. We were lodged in a queer old inn that may have been two or three centuries old. During the day we spent there we visited several churches and the places where most of Perugino 's pictures are. Some of them were fine but he repeats himself so much, he gets so tiresome with tAvo angels JOURNAL AND LETTEBS 93 1866 Age 24 and saints one side precisely like the angels and saints on the other side of the everlasting Madonna that we quite lost patience at last. You know he was such a mercenary old wretch that for many years his ambition was to get as much money as he could for as little work as possible. So he repeated himself. In the Square at Perugia we saw the bronze statue of Pope Julius, which comes into Haw- thorne's ''Marble Faun", as the place where Miriam and Donatcllo meet after the separation. Do you remember it ? We were so pleased with Perugia that we quite decided to return there some time for a few weeks to sketch and enjoy again its queer old houses and arches. I have never seen such a quaint place. I truly hope to see it again. On Wednesday we loft in the coach and came to Torricella where we took the train for Florence. Torricella is on the lovely Lake of Trasimene, celebrated for the terrible battle fought centuries ago on its banks. Around it are many places familiar to us from Macaulej^'s "Lays of Ancient Rome". The stream Clitumnus, and Cortona who "still lifts to Heaven her diadem of towers". The lake was a dream of beauty. The mountains about all reflected in it as in a mirror. , . . JOURNAL Bologna, Monday, April 23. We left for Bologna this morning and for two mortal hours we went through what seemed one vast tunnel. There were really forty-three tunnels. We would rush through one, emerge suddenly into the blinding light, catch a glimpse of some lovely scene, and just as we began to dis- tinguish its beauties we would plunge into another dark hole. The coal smoke from the engine generated a sulphur- ous gas or smoke which nearly suffocated us, and there was no keeping it out. At last at three o'clock we reached Bologna and in a rackety old omnibus were jolted over distracting pavements to the Hotel Brun. 94 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 Tuesday, April 24. AVe went by train to the station beyond Ferrara, then were obliged to wade through mud to the other end of the town and reached the diligence office, in which delightful retreat we spent an hour. Then crossed the river Po in an antiquated wash-tub and were landed in an extensive marsh on the other side. Here we waded about while an officer opened our bags, gave them a poke with his hand and shut them again with a melancholy air. We made two unsuccessful attempts before getting into the right diligence; at last we were placed on the front seat of a carriage where we had an uninterrupted view of the coun- try. This would have been pleasant had there been any- thing whatever to see, and had the current of cold air had less uninterrupted passage over our feet and heads. The latter we protected by putting shawls over them but three cloaks and a rug and a leather apron did nothing to im- prove the former condition and we resigned ourselves to the monotony of the Lombard country. It is so flat with canals and ditches and endless rows of poplars, and now and then a bog for variety. We ate our lunch and begged Adolphe to find us inside seats at the first opportunity, for we were nearly frozen. At six we drove into Padua pass- ing a square surrounded with a balustrade on which were statues at intervals, past the University and Cathedral and many churches, through narrow streets with arcades as at Bologna and at last we reached the Albergo della Stella d'Oro where to our grief Ave learned v»^e must wait three hours and a half before the train left. However at half past ten we finally reached Venice. Adolphe put us into a gondola, soon collected our baggage and we Avere off. Through the dim evening light, along quiet canals, with palaces overshadowing us, past rows of lights reflected in the water, no sound but the plashing of the oars and now and then the musical call of the gondoliers as they met each other. It was luxurious after the noise and bustle of the day to recline at ease on our cushions, hear no noise, see nothing but now and then a shadow of a gondola shoot by. And so we glided under the Bridge of Sighs into the Grand Canal and at last were landed at Daniele's Royal Hotel where a pleasant room was ready for us. During this day we have been in eight vehicles, omnibus, train, tub, carriage, diligence, omnibus, train, gondola, — and the last was the best. JOURNAL AND LETTERS 95 1866 Age 24 Venice, Wednesday, April 25. And we are really in Venice, Queen City of the Sea. . . . In our walk wc went into San Marco but High Mass was proceeding it being St. Mark's day and we could see little. Friday, April 27. We went today to Sta. Maria della Salute and to Sta. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and lounged about the Square the rest of the day and had ices at Florian's. Saturday, April 28. We did nothing all morning but read and write but after lunch went out to shop. Shopping with us generally means looking in at the shop windows, but today w^e were tempted within and bought various things. Then we had our usual ice at Florian's; they are so delicious, and after dinner went in a gondola as far as the Public Garden. It was dark but lovely. We followed up the Grand Canal past the beautiful palace of the Foscari also by the palace where Byron lived, under the Rialto, past the Ca'd'Oro where Taglioni lives now, past the house where Shylock lived, now the Monte di Pieta, and under the shadow of the ruined palace of Lucretia Borgia. It was a lovely ex- perience and we luxuriated in it. Milan, Saturday, May 5. We reached Verona last night and w^ere comfortably lodged at the Hotel de la Tour de Londre. This morning we made a hurried sketch of the Tomb of Conte Castel- barga which stands close to the church and convent of Sta. Anastasia which he built. We then took a rickety old gig and a bony horse, — all that could be had, — and went off to see the tomb of Romeo and Juliet. Adolphe has a rooted objection to asking the way and our first halt was in the garden of the Conte Giusti where we were told that the right place was a mile away. We were, however, deter- mined to see the object of our drive so we proceeded much to Adolphe 's disgust. We reached at last a weedy old garden, and entering through a mason 's shop we tore about looking for the tomb, which we at last found in a small court of a convent or church. It was a rough stone sar- cophagus with broken pillars lying about; it is no doubt an imposture, the original tomb was probably destroyed 96 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 ' Age 24 long ago. We drove back to the station and took the train as far as Pesehiera where we took an omnibus and passed a long line of fortifications along the frontier. Just at the gate of Pesehiera we were obliged to show our passports to some fierce looking Austrian officers. Then we went by ramparts and redoubts and entrenchments bristling with cannon to another station, where our trunks were to be examined, — but by jingling my keys carelessly and offer- ing them to the officer he touched his cap and declined them. We drove for two miles along the shore of the lovely Lago di Garda, such a pretty lake surrounded with moun- tains and pretty villages and old castles all along the shore. We reached Descnzano where while waiting for the train we sketched the castle with the lake beyond and the snowy peaks. The way to Milan was quite pretty; at almost every station the train was boarded by Italian recruits; they were a rough, wild set and shouted and sang and howled like savages, but it made me sad to see the parting of friends who came to see them off; it reminded me so much of the last few sad years at home. At nine we reached Milan and the Hotel Cavour where we are quite com- fortable. Sunday, May 6. From our windov/ I can see a great statue of Cavour. On a marble base the figure of Fame is writing the name "Cavour" which she never seems to finish. Cavour looks as though he wanted a hat. Villa d'Este, Lake of Como, Monday, May 14. We reached here today driving from Como to Cernob- bio. The road lay along the lake with pretty villas and gardens on the shore, the hills covered with vineyards re- flected in the water. This hotel is a queer old place, fres- coed all over and with machicolated towers and balconies over the water. It has rather a pasteboard appearance at close range and must look better at a distance. There is a round tower on the hill, a good subject for a sketch. Our rooms are pleasant. Our stone balcony overhangs the lake. We can see beneath numbers of fish and when we throw JOUENAL AND LETTEKS 97 1866 Age 24 them bread they rise in shoals to get it. This house was formerly the Villa d'Este residence of Queen Caroline of Brunswick, wife of George IV, and she lived here after she separated from her husband. The grounds are Avell laid out and I know we shall like the place. Tuesday, May 15. This has been a day of complete rest except for a short walk during which Miss W. picked flowers and I specu- lated on the cause of the numerous dead frogs we saw. I counted seven in the road. Wednesday, May 16. We met today on our walk an old English gentleman with whom we talked at dinner last night and he offered to show us the villa he had then spoken of. It was right up the side of the mountain very, very steep for a half a mile. The villa belongs to Baron Ciani and when he was on one of his campaigns his wife thought she would make some warlike improvements to please him on his return, so she put up a castle and tow^ers and walls on the hill and called it "Saragossa". Of course it looks absurdly and the old Baron is said to have sworn when he came home. A curious story was told us by our escort. There was a house on the other side of the lake newly and strong- ly built and furnished. A new piano had just been sent from Milan and the family were soon to take possession. The servants were at work one day on the place and hear- ing a slight noise turned and saw the house majestically gliding into the lake. It did not break but went down whole and there it is at the bottom now, but the water is too deep for it to be raised and the mermaids play on the piano and dance through its halls and the fish look in at the windows. The cause Vv^as a landslide on a concealed quicksand. After dinner w^e walked through the village, the men and women bowing to us and the little boys touch- ing their caps. I like to see the Italian life of this amus- ing little village. Tuesday, May 22. We drove to Como today and saw the recruits and vol- unteers to the Italian army ; every one expects an outbreak in a few days. 98 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 LETTER Villa d'Este, Lake of Como, Friday, May 25, 1866. My Dearest Mother : I have told M. all the news of which there was very little to tell for we have been leading the most quiet of lives lately. One walk and one row each day and the rest all reading, or sewing or writing. Very little of the first, considerable of the second, and a great deal of the last. It keeps me pretty busy writing twelve pages a week home, the same to R. and A., etc., but I never write very long at a time. I write a page or two and then go for a walk, write another sheet and go for a row, etc., and so I never get tired. Today it is so wet we can do nothing but write and walk about the room. We keep ourselves so contin- ually busy about one thing and another that we are never blue; only just now we feel rather forlorn at having had no letters, but when we reach Martigny I feel sure we shall find a whole batch of them and most welcome they will be. . . . Miss W. and I have been mending preparatory to our Swiss campaign ! Travelling is destructive to clothes, my black silk has had a regular overhauling and it needed it, I wear it all the time, nothing else. I wear a flannel garibaldi to save the waist a little so that I can wear it to dinner. My red poplin does for the morning, but it is al- most too warm now. I am going to get along until I get to Paris for my trunk is now too full. There I must get some summer dresses. ... I shall devote myself to shopping there so you can write me for anything you want. . . . We shall stay here till next Thursday, then go to Lake Maggiore, take the steamer to Feriolo, then the coach over the Simplon Pass to Brieg and Sion, rail to Martigny, and thence to Chamonix, where we shall stay a week and enjoy Mt. Blanc. Thus far my plans are quite decided. . . . By the way I had my photograph taken in Milan. I do not like it very much and I only took half a dozen, but I will send you one to show you how I look now. I am quite well, I think I still gain flesh and strength, the JOURNAL AND LETTERS 99 1866 Age 24 last I know I do. I am getting as brown as a berry and as red as a rose ! Miss W. has a mischievous fit upon her and is writing the most astonishingly absurd letter to the "Springfield Republican", giving an entirely imaginary account of our visit to the tomb of Romeo and Juliet. She took it into her head at Milan, and I can 't get it out of her. I assure you mine is the authentic account, and her's is purely and absurdly a freak of the imagination. So if you see it do not for a moment imagine there is a particle of truth in it. I fear she will only make it too absurd for she keeps asking me for suggestions, and together, both of us being in a frolicsome mood, we have hatched up the most wonderful story. Just wait till you see it. She has got in Mrs. Knowles whom we have not seen for five months. I wish you could see the roses that grow close to our win- dow and poke their red faces in each time it is opened asking us most saucily to pick them. There is the greatest profusion of roses about the house. Red, pink, white and yellow. The yellow ones are like our cabbage roses, and are the hugest things I ever saw. I mean to try to get a shoot and bring it home. We are looking forward to Switzerland with eager expectation, and can hardly wait for the first of June to come. We had one glimpse of the Alps coming here from Milan and it was lovely. We could not see Mt. Blanc, but saw all the rest of the great range with their snowy peaks. . . . JOURNAL Saturday, May 26, 1866. We left Villa d'Este today for Varese where we changed vehicles and reached Laveno where we took the steamer to Baveno. The Lake is wonderfully beautiful. Monday, May 28, 1866. We tumbled out of bed this morning at two o 'clock and dressed still half asleep, got into a "Supplement" and drove through the rain to Domo d'Ossola where we break- fasted. We then went on to Isella and entered the Gorge 100 JOUENAL AND LETTEKS 1866 Age 24 of Gondo; just at the entrance was the stone I had been looking for, a plain grey stone with "Italia" carved on it. I waited till all the others had passed — we were walking — and then looked long at it. I cannot tell just how I felt ; sorry and sad, yet glad to feel I was homeward bound at last. Yet Italy has become very dear. I picked some flow- ers from about the stone, and oddly enough they proved to be red, white, and green, the Italian colours. The Gorge was exceedingly grand, it was like what we call a Notch; the mountains rose on each side, straight up like walls, leaving only a strip of sky to be seen at the top. The river Dorena rushed roaring through the Gorge, and squeezed between it and the wall of rock Avas the road, sometimes carried through tunnels, under cascades and overhanging rocks, which at times seemed to bar all passage. We saw the Cascade of Frosinone, a mere gauzy veil above, but below bounding over the tunnel through which we passed. We walked about four miles gathering the wild flowers which grew in astounding profusion, the meadows were really a mosaic of flowers. From the Gorge we ascended rapidly and at noon reached the Simplon, where we lunched on horrid tea, and thence to the summit, a mass of bare bleak rocks and snow. The top is a hollow basin round the inner crest of which the road winds. The basin full of snow and about it a wall of hardened snow and ice. It was nervous work, but we got safe through to the Hospice where several St. Bernard dogs came rushing to greet us, then we descended to pine forests, smiling valleys, and pretty chalets, reaching Brieg at seven. Here we had intended spending the night but found it better to go on, so after a supper of tea, bread and honey we went on through the moonlit valley, our four white horses galloping bravely and we reached Sion at ten and Mar- tigny at eleven, where we are lodged at the Grande Maison. To our unspeakable joy we found nineteen letters waiting for us, so we sat down in our neat room to enjoy the greatest of all a traveller's pleasures. We read letters for tAvo hours. LETTER May 29, 1866. You know how lovely the Alpine flowers are. Some of the valleys were Arcadian in appearance. But the dread- JOUENAL AND LETTERS 101 1866 Age 24 fill victims of goitre and cretinism dismay you. The descent was most grand, the pines against the white snow, the sunny meadows, the stone cottages, and the distant Alps made a fine prospect. We descended quite fast, reaching Brieg at seven; here I had supposed we stopped for the night, but to my dismay I found the coach went on to Sion, and if we stopped we must wait twenty-four hours for the next one. With our letters awaiting us at Martigny (as we were sure) this could not be thought of, so we w6nt on. Luckily we could sleep comfortably. We had four white horses, and they looked so well, cutting along the nice level road through the valley of Sion. The descent ends at Brieg. We reached Sion at ten and Martigny at eleven, oddly enough not very tired. Our frequent little walks, and our roomy seats had prevented much fatigue. But we were glad of beds, and slept most soundly till nine the next morning. JOURNAL Friday, June 1. We left on mules for Chamonix today. Just as we left the village Adolphe's saddle gave way and precipitated our dignified courier on to his back where he lay grasping frantically his umbrella, his hat at a distance, and half the village rushing to his rescue. I could not help laugh- ing when I found he was not hurt but it made him cross and he grumbled all day. We went up the Forclaz by a series of zig-zags and reached the summit very hot. From here we went down and walked three or four miles to the Pass of the Tete Noire. This was like the Gorge of Gondo only finer. The steep mountain side was covered with a fine forest so thick that hardly a ray of light penetrated it. We lunched and rested two hours at the Inn. We had a very nice guide, who led Miss W. 's horse all the way but I led the file alone. My mule was named Lisa and a good creature she was. The path was in some places along frightful precipices and the mules seemed to have an especial preference for the outside of the path. Some- 102 JOURNAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 times we met a flock of goats; they looked very pretty filing up the narrow path with a peasant boy driving them and singing a Swiss song. Before reaching Argentiere we passed through snow, but all day we suffered with the heat. We at last saw the Glacier d 'Argentiere. In the town we took a carriage for the rest of the way, and reached Chamo- nix and the Hotel d'Angleterre at seven. We had a good supper of beefsteak, bread, tea and honey, omelet and most delicious fried potatoes. We were glad to go to bed early after having a look at Mont Blanc just at sunset. He had kept his head covered as we came down the valley but the Aiguilles were very fine and the Mer de Glace enchanting. Saturday, June 2. We spent the day resting, found a good library in the hotel and at sunset had a lovely view of Mont Blanc and the Glacier des Bossons. Monday, June 4. We had intended going up the Flegere but it rained all day so we shopped instead. Tuesday, June 5. At last we had a bright fair day and accomplished our excursion to the Flegere. LETTER From Chamonix; a fragment. June 6. The Aiguilles are peaks just as sharp as can be and really almost look as though they could prick! Mt. Blanc is a king. Indeed it 's true : Mt. Blanc is the monarch of mountains, And they crowned him long ago. On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, AVith a diadem of snow. Round his waist are forests traced And an avalanche in his hand. . . . It is white from summit to base. The glacier streams down the mountain side and looks like a river which has JOUENAL AND LETTERS ' 103 1866 Age 24= been frozen hard, and then all knocked to pieces, and the great blocks of blue ice stand up and glitter in the sun. Monday it rained so that we could not go out or even see the mountains, so covered were they with clouds. But yesterday was perfect, so we started off for the ' ' Flegere ' ', each on a mule with a guide to lead each of them. My beast is named Lisa and it is funny to hear the guide coax her along, and flatter her and scold her and finish by giv- ing her a rousing thwack with his hand and say "Allez, Lisa Allez"! — and Lisa gives a tremendous jerk and jumps up two or three rocks, and then stands still again. Well, it was quite hot and we soon threw off cloaks and shawls. We went up the side of the hill in a zig-zag. It was per- fectly awful the precipices we went along and yet I never felt the least fear. One mis-step and the mule would have thrown us down the precipice, I cannot tell hov/ deep. Part of the way was through a pine forest. Here it seemed so cool and so easy to walk that I got down and started off bravely, but soon found that though the path was smooth, my breath was getting short and my heart beat- ing very fast, and yet I went on till I sat down to rest a moment and was amazed to find that my senses were leaving me and my perception of things about me was very dim. The guide put my shawl under my head and after a few moments I got over the faintness. It was only my old trouble of congestion, brought on by walking up hill. In ten minutes I was on my mule as well as ever and after a ride of two and a half hours we reached the top. Oh! the view was superb, Mt. Blanc rose up right regally with his array of peaks about him, and the Mer de Glace seemed right under our feet, though really the valley separated us from it. The valley Avas a perfect jewel, so sunny and green, and the distant shadows were so blue and transparent. We sat down near the chalet on the summit under a great wooden cross and took in all the grandeur and beauty of the scene, and we picked the gentians and pretty yellow, white and blue violets and a purple pansy 104 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 that grows here wild. When we started back it looked too awful to ride down that almost perpendicular path full of stones and holes and I said I meant to walk at least part way. It was a different thing going down. I walked all the way and never felt the least fatigue. At the foot I mounted my horse and rode up the valley to the hotel as fresh and bright as when I started. You may guess how strong I am when I can ride five hours two days in succession and then feel as fresh and well as possible. Yesterday we rode five hours going to the Flegere, and today we went up the Montanvers, and on to the Mer de Glace. Tomorrow we go by dilligence to Geneva, the next day Lucerne, where we stay three days and ascend the Ehigi and see all the places that are associated with Tell. I am getting as sun burned as I can be and as brown as an Indian and Miss W. says I never looked better. I wear a veil all the time but even then the sun burns terribly. My hands too are brown, I do not know if you would recognize your sister. I think if you could see me on a mule bobbing along in most ungraceful fashion (for you never hold the reins at all, the guide leads the mule) and see my great blue barege veil you would laugh! I drew Miss W. today so you can see how I looked from that when I get home. I shall write next from Lucerne. JOURNAL Wednesday, June 6. We started at nine for the Montanvert, same guide, same mules, but it was terrible ! Ten times worse than the Flegere. Such a path ! I dared not try to walk again and had to endure the tortures of nervousness. Such frightful precipices, such sloping narrow paths. In some places there were great banks of snow which looked as though they might slide down on us, and the mules were evidently afraid of them also. In one place the path Avas crumbling under the pressure of the snow and gave way under the JOUENAL AND LETTERS 105 1866 Age 24 mule's feet. The guides were as good as gold and took excellent care of us. Toward the top we passed through grand forests of pine, then emerged into the snow regions. It became colder and colder and at the summit was very cold and wet. We rested a little and then descended to the Mer de Glace. The guides helped us down the moraine and then we waded through snow and at last landed on the ice. Oh! the glorious blue of the crevasses; the guide held me as I leaned far over to get an idea of the immense depth and the pure blue. Some were just forming and we stepped across them. We walked half way over the glacier and back. It was intensely hot on the ice. I be- came a little faint with the climb back, and sat down amid dust and gravel and rhododendrons to rest while my good guide picked me flowers. Pretty little i^lpine roses and blue bells from the very edge of the glacier. Then we took a last look at the Mer de Glace and prepared to go down. Miss W. mounted her mule but I preferred trust- ing to my own two feet and my trusty stick and walked all the way, the guide showing me short cuts. The valley of Chamonix was bewitching. There were such cool and transparent blue and purple shadows and the emerald green of the meadows, the pretty chalets and the musical ring of the cow bells and the Ranz des Vaches of the pretty peasant girls made an Arcadian picture. I never before so realized the loveliness of transparent shadows ; the valley and hills were a miracle of beauty. Thursday, June 7. We left Chamonix at seven. The ride was all beautiful, the views of Mont Blanc growing finer and finer as we got farther away. From among the pine forests it loomed so majestically white. ... At five we reached Geneva and the Hotel des Bergues. We revelled in strawberries for dinner. Friday, June 8. We left by train for Lucerne and Saturday, June 9, rested all day in our comfortable hotel, the Sehweitzerhof. Sunday, June 10. We made the trip iip the Lake of Lucerne ; the scenery was lovely the Rhigi rising on one side and Pilatus with its uneasy spirit in the shape of an angry cloud looming 106 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 on the other. The hills rise directly from the clear blue waters of the Lake, their sides dotted with neat cottages and chalets. The forests slope down to the water's edge and lend to its depths their own fresh green colour. The Bernese Alps rise majestic, the Jungfrau, Matterhorn, Sehreckhorn and Finster Aahorn, with their sharp white peaks piercing the blue sky. LETTERS Cologne, June 1, 1866. My Dear Father: I received just before leaving Lucerne, your letter of the 25th of May. . . . We left Lucerne on Monday, without ascending the Rhigi, as we had intended. It was intensely hot and Miss W. had a bad cold and I did not feel very strong, so we gave it up as too fatiguing. We went Monday evening to Basle which we reached at eight 'clock, and there spent the night. The next day at ten we left Basle for Strasburg, sending our trunks on to Baden- Baden, where we intended to spend the night. We reached Strasburg at twelve and went at once to the Cathedral which perfectly delighted us. The simplicity, lightness and elegance of the spire and the profuse ornamentation of the body of the building are incomparable. There is much more variety of design than at Milan where one tires of seeing the same thing repeated so many times. I think the Strasburg spire the most perfect we have seen. The inside was no less perfect. The very simplicity of every- thing on yet so vast a scale charms the eye and delights it. The pulpit in the Nave is a wonderful piece of carving. It has the delicacy of the Swiss wood carving and the sta- bility and colour of stone. In one of the choir stalls is the stone statue of the architect leaning over the railing and musing on his work. It is so life-like that until I was told 1 supposed it was one of the priests. The windows of stained glass are unlike any I have before seen. The great JOURNAL AND LETTERS 107 1866 Age 24 rose window is of rich dark maroon colour, with a fine effect and all the others have an exquisite light blue ground with Persian patterns for the borders. . . . The clock is curious, we saw it strike the half houi', but one cares little for such things when there is that glorious spire and those beautiful windows to look at. We spent an hour and a half there, then after lunching on an ice cream, for it was intensely hot, we again took the train for Baden- Baden. At Kehl station we saw such a very curious thing. A stork's nest built on a chimney of the station. It was a huge nest and covered the whole top of the chimney. The lower part of the nest was full of smaller nests in and out of which hundreds of swallows were flying and above, the white storks were walking about. One of them seemed tipsy and was dancing about the nest in the most utterly ridiculous manner which sent me off into fits of laughter. I never saw anything so absurdly awkward as that long legged creature with flapping wings dancing about the nest. I believe the Germans regard storks superstitiously, and think they bring good luck to a house. It did seem a queer place for them to have selected, the chimney of a railway station! I found in Strasburg a photograph of this very stork's nest and got it to show you. From the Rhine Bridge looking back we got a lovely view of the Cathedral rising amid trees. It was most superb as it stood up against a clear blue sky. They say the architect sold his soul to the Evil One for the design of the Cathedral, so perfect is it, — and that is the reason why it never gets completed. I hope it may some day for it will be the grandest piece of architecture in the world I think. We reached Baden-Baden in the evening and got a comfortable room at the hotel which was not full, the season not having yet begun. Miss W. had some friends here so she sent a note to them. On Thursday Miss McCracken called — and later she and her brother took us for a drive. We saw the "Alice", or grand promenade; the "Trinkhalle" where they drink the mineral waters; and the "Conversations- 108 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 Haus" where the concerts and gambling go on. This is the most fashionable watering place in Europe, and yet quite a cheap place to live, and all sorts of people come here to bathe, to drink the waters and to gamble. One reads so much of these places that I was glad to see it all. The band was playing finely and people were eating ices and walking about while in the rooms the gambling went on. We glanced in but it seemed only small play, the stakes seemed to be small — but it was interesting to watch the different faces. Some were cool, some indifferent, some so desperate. I never dreamed of looking on at gaming, but it was all open to the public and every one went through and about the rooms, which opened into the con- cert rooms and were most beautifully furnished. Baden- Baden is a very pretty place, about like most watering places. I did not taste the waters. We left Baden at ten and came to Heidelberg, where we stopped over a train to see the castle. We took a carriage as we had not much time, and drove there, and as you have seen it all I need not describe it. We were most delighted with it, saw, of course, the Great Tun, and the statue of the King's Jester, etc., just as you had told us about since we were little chil- dren. I do not think the pleasure of really seeing it was half as great as the pleasure I used to feel when you told Arthur and me those stories. But it increased the interest with which I looked at it. It certainly is a most pic- turesque ruin. The ivy is very beautiful, draping the walls and half concealing the statues of the grim old knights, Rupert and Rudolph, who frown at you from the niches in the wall. The view from the terrace over the Neckar and to the Rhine is very beautiful. We lunched on strawberries which are ver}^ abundant everywhere, and then took the train reaching Mayence at five o 'clock, where we spent the night. It is not an interesting place. They seemed to be making all preparations for war, as the streets were full of soldiers and army wagons. The next day, yesterday, we left at ten in the steamer for Cologne. JOUENAL AND LETTERS 109 1866 Age 24 The day was clear and warm and I suppose you must know how beautiful all the Rhine scenery is from Mayence to Bonn. We passed Bingen and the Castle of Johannis- berg where the celebrated wine of that name is made. Passed Bishop Hatto's "Mouse Tower", the story of which you probably know. Here the river narrows, the banks become cliffs and mountains and every peak is crowned with a ruin or a castle. Then came Stolzenfels, which is my favourite. We have a view of it in the stereoscope at home which I always liked exceedingly. Then Coblenz, with its fine bridge, and opposite it the fortress of Ehren- breitstein. Here we learned that war had been declared between Russia and Austria and all the war flags were floating from every tower and castle and bridge. We passed the Rock of the Lorelei, the great black cliff with a whirlpool at its foot, but we saw no water-sprite, but then it was mid-day; had it been sunset or twilight we might have seen her combing her golden hair. ''With a comb of gold she combs it. And combing, low singeth she, A song of a strange wild sadness A wonderful melody. The sailor pauses as o'er him The strain comes floating by He heeds not the cliff before him He only looks on high. Ah ! round him the black waves flinging Their arms draw him slowly down And this with her wild sweet singing The Lorelei has done." And then we passed Drachenfels, rising a thousand feet from the river, with its ruined castle above and By- ron's lines came to my memory: "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. ' ' 110 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 And there was a regular down-east Yankee on board who amused us immensely with his nasal twang. "Yaas that's Lorly that is, that rock there; and I vow that's a nice lookin' castle, just look at them glass winders will ye, the holes is quite ancient and he's jist put the yaller glass in! Wall now that was a real smart man did that, must a cost a sight of money to git up sich an anteek look- ing castle, I guess ' ' ! This is as I took it down verbatim. I did not suppose there was such a "raal down easter" afloat as this man was, but he really knew every rock and castle and told us the names very willingly. We reached Cologne about six. It is not a pretty city, and it would take all Johann Maria Farina's cologne water to remove the odours from the streets. Today it is raining hard, but we have been to see the Cathedral and the Rhine bridge. The Cathedral does not impress me as the one in Stras- burg did. All the points in which it will, when completed, surpass every other cathedral, are as yet unfinished. The spires are not. Only the body of the church is done, and there are so many tawdry plaster statues that it takes away from the grandness of the effect. But the arches, the stained glass and the long vista of the nave are all very fine. When it is finished and there seems to be some pros- pect of it now, it will indeed be a grand cathedral. The war really seems to have broken out, and today Adolphe says they are tearing up railways, etc., and soon will come to open hostilities. The Elector of Saxony has run away, so has another Elector whom I cannot remember. I did not see the papers but Adolphe told me. We have not had the least difficulty in travelling, and I do not think when the war really begins that we would have any trouble in Germany and Switzerland. There will be no trouble ex- cept at the actual seat of war. Switzerland is perfectly safe, all the hostile powers having promised to leave her alone. . . . We shall return the last of July. . . . We are quite ready to come home, and longing for the time of departure to come. I can hardly wait till the last JOUENAL AND LETTERS 111 1866 Age 24 of July. We are both very well, I especially. We shall be in Paris about two weeks, and then all the rest of the time till we sail, in England. With warmest love to all at home and yourself, most lovingly Your daughter, Emma, Paris, July 3, 1866. My Dear Nettie: When I woke this morning, I thought, this is Nettie's birthday and I will write to her, so this evening I sit down to scratch a few lines after a rather tiresome but pleasant day's sight-seeing and visiting. At ten this morning we went in the train, an hour's ride, to see Mrs. Jackson, of Philadelphia. She had invited us to come out and break- fast with her (at her brother's) at twelve o'clock. Mrs. Jackson was waiting for us at the station when we arrived at St. Germain, and first we saw the old palace where James Second, of England, and Mary d'Este, his wife, lived when they were exiled. Then the church where his heart is buried for he desired it saying his heart had al- ways been at St. Germain and he wished it buried there. This was all most interesting to me. Then we went to the house, which was a very pretty one, quite near the palace and on the border of the "plaisance" or royal park. We were most kindly received and after talking a long time we had luncheon consisting of first, cutlets and potatoes ; then fricassed chicken with mushrooms; then strawberries and sweet curds, and cake, eclairs, and sponge drops; and then green figs, which I did not like, and coffee. After another long chat we went for a drive in the forest of St. Germain which is twelve miles long and all laid out in such lovely drives. The roads were almost overgrown with grass, and the trees arched over our heads, and it Avas all so green and soft and lovely and quiet that we were quite delighted. After a long drive we returned to the station and came home, where I found letters from Mother and Father and 112 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1866 Age 24 yourself, of June 18, ... July 4th, here is my letter unfinished but I cannot send it till tomorrow, when I shall write to Mother also. I am quite well. There is a fete to- day at the Bois de Boulogne in honor of the day, but I am not going. I shall see G. H., which is better. Et maintenant il faut que je sorte pour chercher la robe de velours vert de Mademoiselle Helen E, Je vous presente mes bons compliments, soeur bienaimee et je vous dis adieu, tout a vous. Emma. London, July 15, 1866. My Dearest Mother: It is more than a week, I find to my amazement, since I wrote you last, and how the time has slipped away I do not know, I have been so busy I have not had time to breathe. We got all our shopping done last Friday and rested on Saturday. , , . We spent Sunday quietly, only going to the Louvre for half an hour to see the lovely St. Margaret, and in the evening we took G. a little drive and on our way saw the young Prince Imperial riding, . . . Monday we started for London but found we had made a mistake in the hour of the train which changes to suit the tides. So we left all our luggage at the station for the next day, and went back to Madame Dynes', As we had a long day before us we determined to do some sight- seeing. We went again to Notre Dame and the Ste. Chapelle, and afterwards to the Luxembourg, Palace of In- dustry, and to see Delaroehe's "Hemicycle of Art". We left Tuesday morning at seven, getting up at five, and reached Calais by rail at one, and then crossed the channel. It was rough and foggy, but I was not the least sick, which is a good sign. None of our party were sick but most of the other passengers were, and it was perfectly horrid to see people lying about the deck and on the floor, on the seats, everywhere and the stewards rushing about with basins. We were only eighty minutes crossing and were JOUENAL AND LETTERS 113 1866 Age 24 glad to see dear old England again. After all there is no place in Europe, like England. Such thorough comfort and cleanliness, and, oh ! the delight of hearing again your own language (minus h's!) I can't tell you how queer it seemed, strange as it may seem to you, I had in a way for- gotten how to speak English, that is, when I spoke to a porter or servant, I began to talk French and was momen- tarily amazed to hear him speak English. When you have been for eight months in places where all directions and enquiries must be in French, it does seem so odd to be able to speak English and have them understand you. I doubt if Father experienced this as he was so short a time abroad, but Miss W. feels it too and it an^iises us much to catch ourselves starting a French sentence and ending in English. When I hear the people talking English I look up sur- prised for a moment, and it seems so peculiar to hear the children talk and sing in English. But the comfort of an English hotel and English life ! I shall never get over my love of England . . if you were here you would like it I know. Madame Zanchi has given up her house so we are at the Charing Cross Hotel, a very nice one, adjoining the railroad, which makes it convenient and not as expensive as most hotels, though they are all dear enough. We are in the fourth story, but as we always come up in the ele- vator, this is no objection and it lifts us a little above the smoke. The air has been quite clear though ever since we came. . . . Wednesday went to the banker's and to see the agent about our staterooms. He has given us beautiful ones as well as I can judge by the plan of the ship, and I hope we may be comfortable. We went also to the Na- tional Gallery to see my beloved Turners again. Thurs- day the R's came to see me. . . . We also went shop- ping and I at last got H. E.'s green velvet. I looked every- where for it in Paris and could not get what I wanted, and here I found it right away. I find many things cheaper here than in Paris. . . . We went to Swan & Edgar's, the 114 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1866 Age 24 best shop, and got all we wanted. I got twenty yards of the best Irish linen I ever saw. I know you will admire it, I would have got more for you but did not know whether you wanted it. I also got a blue poplin for myself, and some Valenciennes lace, . . . and some fine swiss chintz with heads of dogs and cats on it for the children. They are amazingly pretty. Now all my shopping is done and I have only some stockings to get which I can find anywhere. Thursday we went in the afternoon to the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, going part way with the R's. We were quite pleased with the palace. It is beautifully situated and the grounds are fine. The interior and its contents we much enjoyed but I must describe them after I get home. Yes- terday we spent a long day in the country, going to my be- loved Hampton Court and then driving to Richmond and coming home by rail from there. Hampton was as lovely as ever and I admired it to my heart 's content. Richmond was unspeakably lovely; I never saw a more Arcadian view than that up the Thames from Richmond with the Duke of Northumberland 's villa in sight and the ' ' Star and Garter" also. I was not at all tired when we reached home, and had an appetite for dinner, I can tell you ! In the evening we went to Madame Tussaud's wax work exhi- bition which I did not care for. Today we go to West- minster Abbey immediately after breakfast and at twelve to Beckenham to spend the day with the R's. Tomorrow we go to Windsor Castle. . . .Thursday we go to Ox- ford and spend the day there and thence to Warwick, Kenilworth, Rugby, Peterborough, perhaps Ely, Haworth, York, Lincoln, Bolton, and Fountain's Abbey and then to Chester and Liverpool. It will keep me awfully busy and we must travel fast but I hope to accomplish it all. . . . I am anticipating so much pleasure in this trip. I have so wanted to see England. No place is so intensely interest- ing to me. I wish we had more time here. But even for England I cannot stay longer, I want to get home. . . . 1867 Aee 25 LETTERS DURING SECOND SOJOURN IN EUROPE. ''China," November 8, 1866. My Own Dearest Mother: Don't suppose from the heading of my letter that I have arrived on the other side of the world, I am only safe and well on the good ship ' ' China. ' ' And I am really well, not a suspicion yet of sea-sickness. I am sipping some soup as comfortably as can be while I write. . . . It seems too bad that you cannot get this letter immediate- ly. We shall reach Halifax at three o'clock this afternoon and then I shall enquire how soon another mail returns to New York or Boston. We have come very quickly thus far, having favourable winds and plenty of sails set. We are told that we go right up to the wharf at Halifax and all can land and we will probably have three or four hours there. We shall land, go to the post office, perhaps dine and see the town. We have been within sight of land all day (Nova Scotia). I do not know if it looks like Scotland as its name implies but it certainly looks dreary enough. After all it is a delight to see any land even a sand bank ! We had a smooth day yesterday, so warm in the sun that my hood was too warm. I staid on the deck all day, ate my meals with some relish, and slept soundly all night. Rome, January 22, 1867. My Dear R. : I was delighted to get your letter a few days ago, which came in just fifteen days, an unusually short time. 116 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 . . . The weather has cleared and become perfectly di- vine. "Warm as spring and with clear blue skies, and bright sunshine. Rome is as lovely a place as exists, I think. It is a perfect luxury to walk and drive. Since we came to Rome we have not had one day of real cold weather. I wear my velvet cloak always with no furs or scarf or under jacket, and am often too warm. I often think of you all at home freezing in snow and suffering those horrid east winds. . . . Dr. and Mrs. Weld called to see me yesterday. They leave for Naples soon but do not return to America till fall. Every one seems to be waiting for the Great Exhibition, and then intending going home. ... I am taking Italian lessons, but it is of a lady who speaks no English, only French and Italian, and I find it very diffi- cult. We thought at first it was the best way, but now we intend finding a teacher who speaks English. I am learn- ing to understand Italian when it is spoken quite easily and I have of course learned to say short phrases necessary with the servants, but I find it hard to learn to converse. The truth is I do not like the Italian language and never have. German I adore; I could learn German in two months, it is perfect music to my ears, but the Italian I do not like and never shall. ... As yet there are fewer English and Americans here than last year, but I presume by Carnival-time there will be plenty more. They have been kept away by fear of some disturbance here, but every- thing is quiet and I think there will be no trouble till March or April, then for a few days there may be confusion and some trouble, but it can 't last more than a week and we shall get away to Naples or somewhere till it is over. I sub- scribe to a circulating library here and get all the books I want. Just now I am re-reading Prescott's "Conquest of Peru ' '. Tell G. that as he is interested in the history of the Cenci family he may like to know that one of our friends is Count Bolognetti Cenci. He is, they say the handsomest man in Italy. He is certainly very handsome and very nice and speaks English a little. . . . LETTERS 117 1867 Age 25 Naples, May, 1867. I wish you could see the view from my window this clear, lovely afternoon. The waves are tumbling in over the rocks directly under my window. Out beyond stretches the old fortress, Castel dell'Uovo. And far away lie Sor- rento and Capri, the latter looking up with her great sphinx face to the blue sky. Oh! how you will enjoy all this if you come next winter! I am so happy in the thought that it is just possible. Your accounts of your club meetings are most interesting to me, I read them eagerly to get some new ideas. I see so little current literature that I feel often the want of some stimulus and your club often suggests points of discussion for us, or points of specula- tion for my own mind. We go back to Rome tomorrow. We shall feel the change from Naples, there is so much more life and bustle here and so much more the air of freedom and liberality. It is quite delightful to hear the newsboys again. In Rome one never sees such a thing. Only one paper is published in Rome and that a poor church one. But I sincerely hope that next winter there will be a different government there. I can say so freely here. With our new passports however we are quite safe now I think. . . . Rome, . We came back to Naples on Saturday, seeing Pompeii by the way and stayed Sunday and Monday in Naples and Tuesday came here. My house was in perfect order and everything beautifully prepared by Nanna, who was glad enough to see us. We had been away three weeks instead of one. The house is delightful now. Even on warm days it is always cool. Being moderately high up we always have a little air, and I keep the blinds closed during the warmer hours and so it is just as cool as can be. Our parlour here has little sun and is always delightful. . . . Tomorrow morning at six we are going to have a ride on horse-back. It will soon be too warm to ride at all, I fear, and there 118 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 are such hosts of brigands about Rome now, I am afraid almost all the brigands have been driven by the soldiers of Victor Emanuel out of his Neapolitan dominions and into the Papal States and it is most dangerous to ride anywhere about this part of the country. So tomorrow we propose just to ride around the walls from Porta del Popolo to Porta San Giovanni. We shall stay here till the end of June in order to be here on the 29th when there is a great ceremony which only takes place once in a century. As to Albano we do not care to go there, it is fashionable and ex- pensive, and stupid, and we can be here much more com- fortable. There is no danger and the heat does not become intense until July. Then we shall go away. We have begun to dine at three and it seems so funny; before we have dined at seven. . . . . . . Saturday: We had a glorious ride this morn- ing. At five and a half we had coffee in bed, then dressed and at six we started off, took a turn on the breezy Pincio first, then galloped outside the walls from St. John Lateran to Porta del Popolo. It was decidedly fresh and cool. The best of it here is that the mornings and evenings are al- ways wonderfully cool and if one knows enough to avoid the particular moments of sunrise and sunset, (no danger of the first for me), it is delightful. We rode about ten miles and I did not meet any brigands. . . . We went to the opera last night, there is just a short season after Easter till June and we have an eighth night box. It is not as good as in the winter season, still I enjoyed it. . . . I wish you would come over and that we could have a month in Capri together. The hotel there is kept by an Englishman and is so delightful, clean and cozy. The rooms are my ideal of nice summer rooms. Floors of ma- jolica tiles, rugs before the beds, clean fine linen, and lots of towels, delicious plain fare but substantial, and ex- quisitely cooked in the English way. ... I must close as it is almost mail time. LETTERS 119 1867 Age 25 Rome, May 27, 1867. My Dear Father: Feeling sure that the afternoon mail would bring me a letter I have waited for it to begin this, that I might have some inspiration, — and have just received it. I am sorry my letters reach you so irregularly. Since I came to Rome I have written every Tuesday. ... I can only ac- count for the delay by supposing they go one week by France, the next by England, or that the difficulty is here, one steamer one week going to Marseilles the other stopping a few hours at Leghorn, thus losing the Atlantic boat. . . . Your letters to me come as regularly as the sun rises, and most thankful am I for it, they seem to come now almost always by a French steamer, so that I should infer there was a Havre boat each week. Mrs. C tells me there are fewer people than were expected coming to the Exposition, owing perhaps to the rise in price of passage. It seems to me that they should not have raised their prices, the Exposition making no difference in the expenses, and that they should rather lower their rates. The "Great Eastern's" passage was, I hear, quite a failure. Here they have lowered all the railway fares very much, and the Marseilles boats decrease their usual price forty per cent. So one can go to Paris for quite a reasonable sum, how- ever, we do not care to go, perferring a quiet little trip in Umbria. We propose to leave Rome directly after St. Peter's Day, when a great ceremonial takes place — that every one should see. . . . The preparations are very great and yet they strike me with disgust and abhorrence of the way in which the poor people are trampled upon and neglected. For instance, there is a certain Church, — San Pietro in Montorio, where many of the ceremonies take place. It is on a very steep hill which one can only ascend on foot or horseback. A road to this church and to the quarter of the city beyond it has been imperatively needed by the people for a long time, yet the Municipality never dreamed of building it. Now, however, that the Pope must 120 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 go to this church, he of course cannot walk, and does not like to ride a mule, so for his benefit, for this one day, the road is being rapidly built. The people might have wanted it forever and not had it. I am so interested in public mat- ters here that I must tell you a little of them. I think there is no danger in doing this and will risk it. You must know that things are getting worse and worse here, the people hate the priests' sway more and more. They become re- bellious under it and will stand it no longer. The Pope'" temporal power must go. He knows it and the priests know it, and they try to. blind the poor people into believing it will injure them when it does go, instead of being a new life for them as it will be. Every day now there are prayers in the churches, sermons by fanatical priests, and processions, to pray for the temporal power being re- tained. But the people are not blind, the blessed day is near and they know it. I cannot tell you of all the doings and preparations of the liberal party. The future will show. I can tell you, however, what will probably be the plan. Already at Civita Vecchia and its vicinity are gath- ering bands of men whom the Roman papers speak of as "Brigands," but we know better. Gradually there are collecting there the " Garibaldini, " and some glad day soon, Italy's saviour. Garibaldi, will suddenly put himself at their head. Thousands will flock to his standard, and he will march on Rome. He has a private understanding with Ricasoli, the prime minister of Victor Emanuel, who will assist him while apparently he disapproves, it seems mean but he dares not offend the Emperor of the French by an open recognition of Garibaldi's movements. Gari- baldi will march to Rome where half the Pope's army will desert at once, as many have already done, and the people will at once rise up, and cry out for Victor Emanuel. Then will end the rule of priests, then will fall the Pope's Tem- poral Power, and a better life open for Rome. Victor Emanuel will come and be acknowledged, things will soon be settled, and Rome become a new place. All this will LETTERS 121 1867 Age 25 come soon, autumn will see things settled, I think, for it will be only a matter of a few days, I hope we may be out of Rome, however, when it happens. I can tell you all this because everyone here knows it. Indeed, I strongly sus- pect that matters are under consideration between the Pope and the Italian Government that will lead to a peace- ful settlement. Anyway, when you come to Rome next winter you will find such a Rome as has not been before. A new Rome. Next winter is looked forward to by all as the best that has ever been. Strangers will flock here then. I have been reading a book lately which has given me more insight into the true causes of contention, into the wrongs of the people and the hopes they indulge in, than I have found anywhere else. It is ''Mademoiselle Mori," and if you can overcome your dislike to novels, you will find this a most instructive book. Under the guise of a novel it is pure history. A perfect history of Roman troubles, of the last war, with simply a story running through it to give it connection. It has aroused all my interest in conditions here. Since I wrote last there is little to chronicle. We are well, and happy beyond measure in the prospect of your coming. It forms the chief topic of conversation and we never tire of making plans for future pleasure when you shall be with us. All our plans tend to next winter. Already in our daily walks we remark all the "apparte- ments meubles" which have southern exposures and good pure air. We like best at present— a house at the top of the Spanish steps. It is just opposite to one where Aunt A lived when in Rome. I think at home you will find a little card photograph of the Spanish steps and the Trinita dei Monti, and it is possible this house also appears in the pic- ture. There are several other houses which we have in view and be assured we shall choose the very best and have a garden, if possible, for your amusement. However, there is always the little studio garden for you, and there is even a grape vine which you can prune and trim for us. At present we revel in flowers and the garden looks like a 122 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 Pompeian mosiac. "We have roses, convolvulus, all varieties, of verbena, some splendid ones, hydrangeia, pansies, zinias, geraniums in abundance of the fairest species, and no end of other flowers. ... It is such a sunny, pretty little place. We have all sorts of fruit here now. Strawberries, wild and cultivated, by the way, the wild ones are the Alpine species, that we have in the garden at home. Cher- ries as big as plums, raspberries, and other fruits native to Italy and that we in America do not know. I saw a pom- granate tree yesterday, one blaze of scarlet glory in its magnificent blossoms. Peaches are about as large as wal- nuts, but swelling every day. They have strawberries here till October, and peaches till November or December. Pears all winter, grapes are plentiful as dust, and of great size and beauty at this season. The weather is delicious. Unusually cool for here, indeed, though clear last week, it was so pleasantly cool that we could walk at any hour of the day, and could bear a wrap in the evenings. Yester- day we walked three or four miles in the country. . . The first of July we propose to start off with one bag which shall contain all we need, and go into Umbria, travelling when we get there on donkey or however we can from one village to another visiting all the old castles and pictur- esque spots, sketching, painting and having a good time. Our furniture, what few pieces we have we leave in the studio, and our silver at the Bank. We have no settled plan, but will go from one place to another as we find them interesting. This for a month or more, then if we still feel inclined to rusticate, go to Capri and spend six weeks more, when we shall come back with the first cool weather and settle our house for your arrival. . . . Love to dear Mother, N , and all the relations at home and oceans for yourself from your daughter E. Dear Father: ^O"^^' J^^^ 21, 1867. . . . We are having cooler weather for a few days. Today is cloudy and the day before yesterday was the LETTERS 123 1867 Age 25 same, the weather clearing yesterday most opportunely for the first of the great Feasts, the Corpus Domini. At eight we were in the great square of St. Peter's, and had ob- tained seats in the Colonnade through which the procession passes. By looking at the photograph of the square of St. Peter's you will see how the ceremony takes place. Be- tween the two ends of the great Colonnade and joining them, a temporary covered way is made, of columns cov- ered with white cloth, the procession leaving the Church passed down the portico to the Colonnade and so under it all the way round to the Church again. The Colonnade having three parallel passages, the procession moves in the central one, the widest, the people are in the others to look on. We got good seats close to the central way, so that we could have touched the Pope's robes as he passed. At eight A. M. the road was strewn with palm and box and bay leaves, which sent up a peculiar, pleasant odour as they were crushed under the feet. Then the procession appeared. First a long line of friars, priests and acolytes, each bear- ing a candle and chanting. Each order was represented, Franciscans, Dominicans, Capuchins, Carmelites, and Ca- maldolites. These lasted half an hour, then appeared the canons, priests, and deacons of each great basilica — each bearing a candle and chanting. Then all the Monsignori, in their robes of purple, silk and lace, then came all the bishops, and these were the great sight for many were for- eign, Greek, Armenian, and even Persian, I think. Each was followed by his two attendants, who bore candles or torches. Their robes were of great magnificence . . . either of white silk, heavily embroidered with flowers and gold, or else of cloth of silver which is very rich, many of them were white but almost solidly embroidered with gold. The Greeks and Armenians were the most magnificent. Such fine patriarchal faces some of them had, with long white beards and white hair. Others had dark faces, al- most black, with long black beards and stern, almost fierce faces. These great bishops wore huge mitres of gold. 124 ■ LETTEES 1867 Age 25 studded with beautiful gems, and their robes of cloth of silver or regal brocade were one blaze of jewels. One or two wore robes of India eashmerei of brilliant dyes and really eastern magnificence and exquisite fineness, all cov- ered with minute gems, on the breast being a huge cross of chased gold and rich jewels. After their long line, which took almost an hour in passing, came the Senators of Rome in their robes. Then the Cardinals in scarlet, and last of all and nearest the Pope — Cardinal Antonelli. Then the great canopy and accompanying fans of ostrich feathers and the Pope in white robes, kneeling before the Host. He is borne on a white draped platform. After him came the Noble Guard, the Swiss and Palatine guard, the soldiers, zouaves, and lastly the cavalry. Then it was all over. Of course, the procession was much longer than the distance traversed, so that the first friars entered the church again long before the Pope left it. It was a most magnifi- cent show and impressed me much, ... it was the most imposing pageant I had ever witnessed, it was a scene of oriental magnificence and a revival of ancient pomp, but it did not strike me as a religious ceremony at all. To us, at least, it seemed a mockery. However, I al- ways enjoy these things as shows. The Easter service and the "Miserere" are quite different. The Easter services with all their pomp go to one's heart, and the singing of the "Miserere" is moving and heart-touching. Well, with all the magnifienee of the present ceremony, there was some amusement in it also. The faces of the participants were no end of fun. Some tried to look unutterably meek and humble; others looked so pompous it was laughable, and some looked overcome with their own importance. These were all the friars and priests. The Bishops and Monsignori and Cardinals, of course, were indifferent, be- ing used to it, and applied themselves to their chanting or walked serenely and indifferently on. It distressed an eco- nomical old English lady near me to see how carelessly the acolytes held the candles and how the tallow was allowed to LETTERS 125 1867 Age 25 drip on the cloth of gold and brocade robes and what a lot of it was dropped and wasted on the ground. I was amused at her anxiety, rather loudly expressed, and now and then a grave Bishop or other prelate, spying us and hearing her would give us a nod or half smile. Magnificent Cardinal Antonelli, when he saw us gave us a very know- ing and pleasant look, a very familiar gleam in the corner of his eye. The Pope looked very thin and sea-sick. It is said he is always sea-sick when carried in this way and this was a very trying procession. But his gentle sweet face can never look anything but good. I never see him but I am more and more forcibly struck with his great re- semblance to Grandfather Huidekoper, and it always gives me a start and a thrill when I first glance at his face. I know you will be struck by it, it is so forcible. It is enough to overcome one entirely, as it did me the first time I saw it. After the ceremony was over everyone walked up and down the Colonnade and chatted with their friends, and we, meeting some Florentine friends, Count M. and his wife, took a walk all about with them and then came home. The next Feast is on the 29th, St. Peter's Day; then the 30th, St. Paul's Day; and then the Canonisations. We shall leave Rome on the 31st or 1st. Tonight is a great illumination, it being the anniversary of the Pope 's Coron- ation. The city is as full as it can hold of priests, bishops, etc. They come by the tons. 8,000 persons arrived the other night. Every day there is a grand procession from some church or other. The cooler weather is a great bless- ing as it is much more comfortable and more healthy. I believe there have been two or three cases of cholera, but the general health is good, and no fears are entertained. We have given up cream, milk, custard, and vegetables as a precaution, and live on delicious beef and mutton and chicken and soup, the only wholesome foods in the summer. I never ate better or as good meat as we have here. In the country we can eat more fruit; in the city now it is hardly wholesome. But we had some delicious apricots the 126 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 other day and the cook is going to preserve some for the winter. We went to such a funny theatre the other after- noon. It is the Mausoleum of Augustus, which has been made into an open air theatre. It is like an ampitheatre, open above. The play begins at five in the afternoon, every one smokes who wishes to, there is no dress, the actors are good. The plays are excellent comedies, and it is very pleasant. By eight o'clock it is over. We quite enjoyed it. Seated places are fifteen cents apiece, or if one chooses to stand one pays five cents. Here in Rome no play can be produced without first being inspected by the Govern- ment, and they allow only good and proper ones so that in all Rome one will not find a bad play. It is quite a pleas- ant thing to go at five, sit in the evening coolness, and yet be home before the chill of sunset. I can understand the play pretty well now, and can speak with more ease, though I do not attempt lengthened conversation in Italian. It seems so strange to hear you speak of peas only a finger high ! Here we have had them three months, nay more, since the first of March, and are quite tired of them now! Strawberries we had the first of April and still have them. Peaches we will have in a month. ... I met my old courier Adolphe yesterday, he is now travelling with Mrs. Gov. S and her sister. He looked in good condition, as usual. It was such a reminder of old times to see his familiar face. Love to all the dear ones at home, much for yourself from your loving daughter, Emma. Extract from letter to R. H. B. from Rome, June 26, 1867. Among novels, let me tell you two or three which you may not have read. ' ' Manistone 's Housekeeper," "Made- moiselle Mori," Thackeray's "Newcomes, " Mrs. Gaskell's "Ruth" and her "Life of Charlotte Bronte." "Made^ moiselle Mori" is delightful and will give you the best idea of life in Rome. I was entranced by it. Thackeray's LETTERS 127 1867 Age 25 ' ' Newcomes ' ' I always read once a year, and Bulwer 's ' ' My Novel." Mrs. Gaskell's "Ruth" I daresay you have read. I have just read it now for the first time and think it a noble book. I like her "North and South" so much. "Charlotte Bronte's Life" I read twice or three times a year, and enjoy it as much the twentieth time as the first, even more, I think. If I believed in the transmigration of souls, I should feel that in a former existence I was some kin to her. I love her, I adore her, I think if I had ever known her I should have gone and been her servant, her cook, anything to live with her, and this is not derived from her works but from her life which I think was so noble. When I went to Haworth last year, I would willingly have taken up my abode there for ever, bleak and desolate as it is. Rome, July 3, 1867. My Dear N. : Contrary to all our expectations we find ourselves still in Rome today ! I will explain why. Monday, the first, we left our house as we had agreed to, and, oh! wasn't I busy all the morning, packing up things and sending them to the studio. By twelve all our possessions were stowed aAvay. Then Signora Teresa and her advocate came to take the con- signment of the rooms, all the things, from cup and plate to bed and table had to be gone over to see that everything was there and right ; one plate and one cup were gone, that was all, and by two o'clock all was over and we bade good- bye to our winter home. However, we only went to the next room, let by another woman which we took till we should leave on Wednesday, Tuesday we were busy all day, settling bills and finishing some last affairs, expecting to leave today (Wednesday) in the diligence for Bracciano. This morning we were all ready to go and take our places in the coach when as we were going down stairs, we met Count Frenfanelli, who, when he heard we were going, said, "I advise you not to go to Bracciano, unless you like to 128 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 run the chance of meeting Brigands ! ' ' Well, we inquired further and we found that there was no great danger, but a chance, and that chance would make us anxious, and spoil all our pleasure, so we came back and go tomorrow by train. It was too late to get the train today, and I am not sorry as it gives me the chance to send you a birthday letter. Many happy returns of the day, my dear little sis- ter ; what a young lady you are getting to be ! Let me see, you are fifteen, are you not? I am not good at remember- ing ages, you know. I hope next year we shall be together to celebrate it. Our plan is now changed and we give up Bracciano, its Lake and fine Castle till safer times, and go to Borghetto by train, thence to Civita Castellana, and to Nepi, and after that, I do not know. We have a big bed- room here next to our old one and Nanna remains to wait on us. I have promised to pay her three dollars a month this summer while we are away if she will come back to us next winter. We take our dinner at a restaurant, and Nanna prepares tea and breakfast. You should see our preparations for our summer ramble. Bags and sketching things, and a pound of tea and no end of books and writing materials. . . . Civita Castellana, July 5. We came to this pretty place yesterday. We said good- bye to Rome and left at eleven in a slow train for Bor- ghetto, an hour's ride by express train, but between deten- tions and stopping at stations to get cool and talk and drink, we were four hours! The scenery was lovely. I have not seen this before in summer, it has been winter or early spring when I went over the road before. At Bor- ghetto there was such a lovely old ruined Castle: there we got a little funny pony and buggy with driver and the way the horse went was amusing. He shook his ears and his bells and tossed his head and galloped up hill and down like mad. The country was lovely, it looked a little like England, so green and well cultivated, dotted with fine LETTERS 129 1867 Age 25 oaks and great pastures filled with cattle. In an hour we reached here. The situation of the town is most peculiar, a great ravine, very narrow and about 600 feet high with precipitous sides, and a little stream below, entirely sur- rounds the town which stands in the middle of a kind of plateau, just big enough for the city. The approach is by a great bridge built on arches over the ravine with a gate- way guarded. This is the only approach to the town, save by a narrow and dangerous path leading down to the bot- tom of the ravine. There is an old citadel built by Alex- ander Borgia and finished by Pope Julius II which is now however only kept as a prison for brigands. We went over it this morning. It is very strong and seems to me an almost impregnable position. There is an old cathedral which we have also seen. The houses are as picturesque as can be. The air is cool and fine. This afternoon we will ride to see ruins of the ancient town of Falerium, four miles from here. No. strangers ever come here, and the inn where we are is an old rambling place, and our room and two or three others are the only furnished ones. . . . Viterbo, July 13, 1867. Dear R. : It is more than two weeks since I wrote you but I have been so busy leaving Rome and moving about that it has been impossible to write before. Now we are settled here for a week and glad I am to have leisure to write, mend my clothes and have washing done. "VVe like this place very much, good air, cool and fresh weather, nice old town with plenty of subjects for sketching, too many almost, we hard- ly know which to choose. I wish you could come here on the wings of the wind, for a little while. There are excel- lent baths close to the town, iron and sulphur, we mean to try them tomorrow. The first days of our trip were not very pleasant. Breaking up in Rome, getting ready to leave, and then fairly starting are never agreeable. Nepi and Ronciglione were not very comfortable. But now we 130 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 are all right and as merry and happy as can be. We have a nice cozy room on the Piazza, good plain food, and nice waiters, and all so wonderfully cheap. The place being not on the railway, and not much frequented, makes it cheaper. However, it is a large place, 16,000 inhabitants and in the summer a good many people come for the baths. Our room is forty cents a day, and meals and everything else included forty cents for each of us, so that our whole expense is $1.20 a day, and twenty cents for tea at the cafe. For breakfast, we have coffee with eggs, as at home, nice bread and toasted rusk; dinner at two, soup or macaroni, boiled meat and a roast, dessert and fruit. At the cafe, coffee, an ice, rusk and cake, ten cents each ! It is a mys- tery to me how they give it. How they can give us dinner, breakfast, service, lights, wine and all for forty cents each I cannot understand. After we leave here we go to Orvieto, Chiusi, Cortona, Arezzo and Urbino, thence to Pesaro, Sinigaglia, Rimini, and just possibly to Ravenna, returning by Bologna and Florence. We did not think to go further than Urbino, but hearing of the interest of Rimini, and Ravenna we are tempted there, and Murray describes the annual fair at Sinigaglia as so curious and interesting that we may go there. If you have a Central Italy Murray, you can read his description of it. Our plans are never very certain, or rather we do not make any, only where the spirit moves us there we go. We have changed our plans twice since we left Rome already. Here we are only twelve hours from Rome by diligence, so I can get my letters easily and this morning I sent to Count G. to send me my Northern Italy Murray. We have several friends here. The Minis- ter of the Census is here just now and he has shown us all the best places. Count Colacichi and other young men are here and we have great fun at table. . . . My Dear Mother: ^^^^' J^^^ ^1' 1^^'^- . . . The Fair at Sinigaglia was a great humbug. Murray is about as much to be trusted in some things as a LETTEES 131 1867 Age 25 newspaper advertisement. He goes into ecstasies over some hotel or inn or fair, and when you see it it is below par. I think of writing a commentary on Murray and between bad hotels, poor fairs, wretched baths, and "picturesque gothic castles", which never existed save in his own fancy, I could make a large addition to his book. Here we are mod- erately comfortable, and it suits our purses to stay a week. The sea bathing is delicious and makes one feel strong and vigorous. Fano, however, is a newish place with nothing interesting to paint, and after the daily bath there is nothing whatever to do but read, read, read, and write and Avalk. I have nearly finished my supply of books and when I get out must send to Florence for two or three more, for without books I am utterly lost ! The air here is delicious, a cool sea breeze all the day, and the sea view is lovely. We have given up Rimini and Ravenna as we find it im- possible, so go right from here to Urbino. . . . Your nice long letter so full of news was a perfect treat. Oh! how I long to see home, no words can tell ! Your descrip- tion of Auntie's visit was so nice, I wanted to be there so much to have long quiet morning talks, and afternoon walks with you and her. How I used to enjoy her visits. My dearest love to her if she is still with you when this letter reaches you. Oh ! how long it takes for letters to come and go. Blessed winter when we shall be together again. I can hardly wait, dear Mother, for the moment that will re-unite us. . . . What walks we will have next winter, not through snow and slush, with half frozen feet, but in the warm sunshine, in green villas and flowery gardens. We have fine grapes now though they are not considered fit to eat here. We shall not go back to Rome to stay till all danger of the cholera is over. The first of September we can go and settle about the house, and then if it is still not healthy go to some quiet country place until it is, or until you arrive. I shall have the house all pre- pared and settled before you arrive. . . . 132 LETTEKS 1867 Age 25 Urbino, August 15, 1867. My Dearest Mother: I went over to the Ducal Palace yesterday morning with my pen and paper to write you there, but I did not succeed, there was so much to look at, and watching O. paint was so fascinating that I gave up, the more quickly that there was no table to write on. Oh ! what a shame it is to see a grand palace like that so badly kept. Sometime in the 12th Century, Urbino and its dukedom was acquired by the House of Montefeltro. Later, in the 15th Century, lived Duke Federigo da Montefeltro, a noble and good man, fond of all intellectual pursuits, and noted for his encour- agement of the fine arts, education and all noble callings. His son Guidobaldo was even more worthy of respect. He built the present palace, than which there is no finer in Italy, the decorations are the most exquisite I ever saw. Just imagine, every window has a frieze all around it and this frieze is carved into the finest designs. Heads and flowers and vines ; arms and armour, and every conceivable device. Every window unlike the others — the whole done with such delicacy that you feel inclined to pick up the delicate flow- ers and leaves. The doors are all inlaid in great figure and flower designs. The mantel-piece — but you will see the picture 0. is making of one. Guidobaldo lived in Raphael's time and he gathered to his Court here all the poets and artists and men of letters of the day, and did all the good he possibly could, his wife, the Duchess Isabella Gonzaga, was just as noble as he. They went to England once and King Henry VII gave Guidobaldo the Order of the Garter. So this palace that he made so grand was a great interest to everyone. But now, alas ! all is well nigh a ruin. It went from the Montefeltro to their relations, the Delia Rovere family. Pope Julius II, who was such a patron of Raphael and Michael Angelo, was a Delia Rovere. Then at last the all grasping Church wanted it and asked the Rovere family for it and they declined, but at last they had to give it up and it passed to the Holy See. Since LETTEES 133 1867 Age 25 then the Pope's Legate or Governor of the Province of Urbino and Pesaro has always lived here. Seven years ago it was Monsignor Badia, a kind friend of ours. He was fol- lowed by another, who was the last, for now it belongs to Victor Emanuel and a part of it is used for a prison ! and part for offices, etc. The grand old salons are papered with hideous modern papers which look shockingly beside the beautiful doors and windows and chimney-pieces, and the fine frescoed and vaulted ceilings. All the splendid old furniture and tapestries were burnt or sold long ago, not a thing remains. Murray says that a few years ago an old tapestry remained, made in 1320, representing one of the Dukes on a hunting trip. It is not there now, but listen ! — we were asking the old custodian if there were any old rubbish left, and he said he had somewhere some old rags of tapestry which he would hunt up. So yesterday we went to see the "old rags" — and there was the identical "Duke on a Hawking Expedition." It has two holes, but small ones, and is otherwise in good condition. The old man had it stuffed away in a cellar, and does not think it is good for anything! For its association it is invalu- able, ... I hope we can get it for a few dollars and then won 't we have a treasure ! It is almost impossible to get old tapestry now at all. . . , We are very content- ed here and very well. The mountain air gives us such good appetites, you would be frightened at what Ave eat. At eight we have coffee and bread; at twelve breakfast of soup, beefsteak and fruit, at six dinner of soup, two kinds of meat, vegetables, dessert fruit and coffee, and we get so utterly ravenous that we can hardly wait for meal times. . . . I am getting fat again ! At Fano and Pesaro I got a little thin. It is astonishing how I change ! — One morn- ing my face will be thin, the next plump and fat ! It is all in the air. Now my cheeks are hard and I am strong and vigorous, and as the weather gets cooler I shall get fatter every day ! The weather has been very warm for the last few days and we long for coolness, not that we suffer in 134 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 the least up here, but the cooler weather will be much more healthy, and put an end to this awful cholera. I presume you will read in the papers of the horrible prevalence of it in Rome and the great shock of it at Albano. ... It is a fashionable resort — Albano in the summer, there were crowds of people there, now hear what happened. Wednes- day night the six thousand regular inhabitants and the four thousand visitors, were all well and thought them- selves secure in their airy, healthy town. At the Ave Maria, eight o'clock one person died with cholera in a ma- lignant form. At nine o'clock seven more were taken. At midnight, thirty-five persons. In the morning, eighty- seven. By evening, two hundred were dead. Among these, the old Queen of Naples and two children, the Princess Colonna, the Marchesa Serlupi, and no end of others. In Rome the Duke of Sermoneta, Don Michele Graetani, a man of great intellect, the best and noblest name in Rome, very philanthropic, he will be sadly missed. One of the Princes Rospigliosi and Cardinal Altieri also died. The latter had gone to Albano to help the sick, he took the disease and died there. The poor Princess Colonna we mourn much, a good mother, a noble woman, a kind friend and she and her daughter, Bianca, are dead. It was an awful sight in Albano, people fell down in the street, suddenly stricken by the fell disease, and there died before they could be lifted into the house. One beautiful friend of ours fell dead on the steps of her house. The wildest fright followed, every one rushed away, some to Ariccia, a town close to Albano, only separated by a great valley spanned by a viaduct. But the people of Ariccia barricaded the viaduct and would let no one enter the town to infect it. Then the poor refugees fled to Velletri, there the people closed the gates and fired on any one who approached ; to Rocca di Papa, and the people stoned them away, so they rushed to Rome, some by rail, some in carriages, wagons, donkeys, anything they could find, the most part on foot (18 miles) and many fell down on the way and died. Rome was again infected and LETTEES 135 1867 Age 25 hundreds died. Poor Princess Colonna, fleeing to Genzano, died on the way. Many among our friends are dead. They could not bury the bodies in Albano. Two brave regiments of Zouaves went there, and in seven hours buried 250 per- sons. Only six hundred of the ten thousand people re- mained in Albano on Friday. The disease does not abate in Rome, The Government conceals it and says, about thirty cases a day, when there are a hundred and fifty a day ! It has appeared in many of the Italian cities, Parma, Modena, Bologna, Milan, all have some cases. When the first news came from Albano I confess I was alarmed, but on consideration was quieted. We are in as safe a place as can be found in Italy, I think. We are up on a mountain, isolated entirely, far from railways, twelve miles from any other town. Being so out of the way, nobody thinks of coming here, we are twenty-three miles from Pesaro, the nearest railway station, and sixty miles from Arezzo or Foligno on the other side. Any one coming into the town is fumigated. We have pure air and healthful food. We live on meat and are very sparing of fruit and hope to con- tinue as safe as now. ... I did wish the other day we were in Switzerland, but I see one case of cholera has ap- peared in Zurich. Still I would not object to being at Chamonix! ... I doubt it spreads much more, as in a week or two the weather must be cooler, and the first of September the rains begin and then all is safe. Of course, we shall not think of returning to Rome till every trace of cholera has disappeared there. So Mother dear do not be a particle anxious, we are as safe as can possibly be. I cannot help believing that cholera arises from improper food. Physicians say it does not, and that the cause is un- known, but I have ahvays noticed it appears in cities where meat may be tainted and fruit over-ripe in the market. In Albano, I thoroughly believe that some too-old meat, some over-ripe fruit, some bad vegetables were generally sold in the market, and those who unconsciously ate of them were made sick. The malignity of course depends 136 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 upon other things. They say the strong are much more apt to die than the weak. I think also it may be infectious to those inclined to take diseases and those who are much afraid, and this accounts for its spread. We keep our stomachs strong, eat fresh meat, and exercise abundantlj'-, and what more can anyone do ? But enough of these hor- rors, I have said too much now. The great drawback to the delights of Urbino is its hells (not belles!). You never heard such an incessant clanging. It is enough to drive one distracted. The people hate it, too, and asked the Governor to stop it, but the old Bishop said it could not be. Some selfish old fellow, many years dead, left some money to have a certain bell rung for a quarter of an hour steadily every day at sunrise. Now this bell is directly opposite our window, and the Castle Bastions and our house keep all the sound in, and the oscil- lation is awful. The first mornings we wakened, of course; and nearly went mad over it. Since, we have sometimes slept through it, but not often. We shut and bar the blinds, the windows, the shutters, but to no purpose; that maddening ding-dong comes through it all. Then at all hours of the day some bell is ringing, then two ring to- gether, then all strike up in chorus, and off they go for fif- teen minutes, and this horrid, spiteful one opposite, always gives a few strokes extra after the others stop ! It is un- bearable and that man's soul instead of getting peace, ought to be doomed to listen to eternal bell ringing in Limbo, I am sure. . , . Our friends in Rome are very kind in writing to us, Galeotti, Angelini, Lanciani, give us all the news. I was afraid the letters would bring cholera, and suggested it, but I was so laughed at I dropped the idea. Nevertheless, we put the letters out of the window and fumigate them ! . . . My Dear Father: Urbino, August 27, 1867. Not having heard again from home since I last wrote, I have omitted thus far my weekly letter, but it seems so LETTERS 137 1867 Age 25 strange not to write that I begin this letter to send to Havre or Rouen. ... I hope to have a letter from you this evening telling me certainly at what time you sail. . . . I received a few days since a letter from Cousin G from Harlingen. She says they read in the papers of engagements at Viterbo, between Garibaldi and the Papal troops. This report is entirely unfounded, no sus- picion of an engagement has there been. Garibaldi went to Siena for health and pleasure and intended going to Or- vieto, but has given that up. All is quiet. The clerical party of Rome, who are cowardly, are, it is true, fright- ened, and seeing that indubitably Rome must come into the hands of the Liberals sometime, they are trying to sell all the church property, and realize on it before it is lost to them forever. My opinion is that the affair will be settled by agreement without any bloodshed, or if there is any at all it will not be in Rome, but on the papal frontier. . . . We hear that our friend, Count G , has left Rome suddenly for Florence. The police dogged his foot- steps so, they gave him no peace, so he escaped while escape was possible, from the clutches of the Papal Police to a more liberal country. Being a Liberal and a Floren- tine, he would be suspected anyway, but I think he has also reported sometimes to the Italian Government, and his hav- ing fought with Garibaldi is another point against him. I am told by someone here who has lived in Chamonix that the Simplon Pass is open all the year round, so you must by all means come that way. It is infinitely preferable to the Mt. Cenis. From Chamonix, go by the Tete Noire to Martigny, or else return to Geneva, take the railroad round the Lake, seeing Chillon, to Sion, and then the diligence over the Simplon to Baveno. . . . Baveno is a most lovely place, we spent a Sunday there. The Lake is en- chanting, the Isola Bella is opposite and all the views are lovely and the hotel good. Then take the steamer or dili- gence to Arona and the rail to Milan, where I should advise you to stay at the Hotel Cavour, a clean, new delightful 138 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 hotel out of the noisy part of the city, just opposite the new Park where there are nice walks. ... I have seen no nicer hotel in all Italy than this one. At Geneva the best hotel is the Hotel des Bergues. At Chamonix I think we staid at the Hotel d'Angleterre, it was clean, had a good table and good attendance. In Milan, at the Brera Gallery, notice particularly a little picture in the Dutch style, which is not mentioned by Murray. It is in one of the far rooms, beyond the ones of old pictures, where there are several fine modern landscapes. The little picture I refer to represents an old man before a kitchen fire and a little girl leaning thoughtfully against his chair. It struck me as quite lovely. We are still well content here. The weather is cooler the last days and we enjoy it much. This is a very quiet, dull place and you will laugh to hear that a hand organ and a monkey, or a mountebank performance is quite an event and by no means to be despised by us ! We are easily con- tented. Tomorrow a fair begins, which lasts two days. It is nothing remarkable, about six or seven thousand people usually attend, chiefly peasants who come to lay in autumn supplies, and there is a good show of cattle. We really shall enjoy a little life ! Florence, or even Rome, will seem violently gay to us after our summer rustication. The air here is really unusually good, and we have enormous appe- tites. I have several pets, a fine dog, to whom I have be- come so much attached I shall not like to leave him. He is of the ' ' lion dog ' ' breed, but shaved save his head, tail and frills on his legs. He looks just like a Lord Chancellor in his wig, and has great brown intelligent eyes. He was at first utterly disdainful of us till assured of our respecta- bility, and now goes everywhere with us, especially me he favours as I play with him to his heart's content. . . . I have also a matronly cat and two kittens for in-door pets, a green parrot over the way to whom I chatter, and a mon- key round the corner whom I go and look at frequently. LETTERS 139 1867 Age 25 Urbino, August 31, 1867. My Dearest Mother: Last night I was made happy by receiving your letter and Father's of the 8th of May. It was two weeks I had not heard and I was in a state of feverish anxiety to know really when you would sail. . . , You will not receive my last letter home in which I poured out all my joy at the thought of your possibly sailing the 31st, and now it is veri- fied, and today you will set sail. You will feel it dear Mother, it is always hard to leave one's beloved country, whoever you may be going to meet, and you leave home and hosts of dear ones to come away here and see one daughter. Her heart is grateful for it and what love can do to make you happy will be done. To think that in ten days you will be in Europe ! I can scarcely realize it ! Fano, September 7, 1867. My Dearest Mother : One more letter I write before we reach Rome. We left Urbino yesterday morning, at the very inconvenient hour of four A. M. The diligence leaves at that hour, there was no other public conveyance and a private carriage costs so much, that we had to take it. The air of Urbino is not con- ducive to sleep ever, and the bells of which I have spoken are truly awful. At one o 'clock the mail courier starts from the stable under our room, a swearing, shouting, and sing- ing of ostlers ensues, a kicking of horses, a rattle of wheels, and he dashes out and down the long paved street. At midnight an inane clock strikes, but not content with strik- ing one "12" it repeats the twelve strokes four times, for what reason no mortal can tell ! At half past three, ostlers, horses, etc. again, with rattling off of diligences. At five the infernal bell of the Duomo rings for half an hour, just over our window, some wretched man having left at his death years ago a sum of money to pay for this bell being rung three times a day for the repose of his soul! Well, after a month's pleasant stay at Urbino, we were ready to 140 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 leave, but the last night sleep deserted us and I, at least, never closed my eyes all night and at four I rose, weary, nervous, with aching eyes and head. No breakfast to keep us up, and five hours ride before us. I became somewhat sea-sick and no wonder. When we landed from the coach in the Piazza of Pesaro two more pale, wretched looking shadows you never saw. A good hot omelette and coffee put more life in us but I felt awfully sick still. We got our collection of antiquities, consisting of a cassone and two old chairs, sent off by slow freight, and were rather pleased to find that for four francs it could go all the way to Rome, and cheap it was for the cassone was very heavy. Then we took the train for this place, which we reached in twenty minutes, and after leaving our bags at the hotel rushed off for a bath. Most reviving and refreshing it was to plunge into the blue water, the day was hot and the water a de- lightful temperature. After dinner I went to sleep and slept five hours to make up for the night's deficiency, and another sound sleep last night made the account square. No bells to waken one made an agreeable addition to one's rest. Today I feel bright and well and we have had another sea bath. Monday we will go to Rome, reaching there at nine in the evening. There is no danger now as we learn to our satisfaction that three days since there were only six- teen cases of cholera. ... I shall watch most eagerly for the arrival of the "Fulton" which will be announced in Galignani. Then await your letter deciding about Switzerland. It takes three days for a letter from Paris to Rome, sometimes four. As soon as we hear, we are all ready to go or to wait as you decide. I hope you will have received the two letters I sent you from Urbino, the one to Brest, the other to Rouen. . . , Fano, September 9, 1867. Dear Mother: You will be surprised to see that we are still here, I assure you it is very much against our wills, but unfortu- LETTERS 141 1867 Age 25 nately on Saturday afternoon, just after I wrote you, I felt very ill and have since been in bed. I think it was the heat, the change of air and the two sea baths! An old granny of a doctor was called in who has dosed me and prescribed camomile and tamarind ! I do hate these Italian doctors with their ideas of a century ago! His methods have weakened me dreadfully and I refused to continue them and in consequence feel much better today, in fact, quite like myself. I really hate Fano, a more nasty hotel, slovenly servants, bad food, I never saw. We hope to be in Rome by tomorrow night, and I will write you again on Thursday. . . . Today I think it possible you may reach Brest and tomorrow land. What joy it is to me to think of it ! How glad you will be to see land. I do not believe these last ten days will have been longer to you than to me. Every day seems an age till I see you. I shall be so glad to see Rome again, too. It will seem so like home after this horrid place. Then, too, I shall have some nice butter to eat, a thing I have not tasted for two long months. In this benighted country they never have butter in the summer! Then bread I have hardly tasted for the same length of time, and shall so enjoy Mrs. Muller's delicious bread and butter, I think I shall eat nothing else ! I hope, too, we shall find letters in Rome, your last from home. How eagerly I shall look in the papers for the ' ' Fulton 's ' ' arrival. . . . Rome, September 12, 1867. My Dear Father: We reached here safely on Tuesday evening at nine, after a long journey of fourteen hours, much less fatigued, however, than I thought to be. We left Fano at 7:30 A. M. and had an hour's trip to Falconara, where we had an hour to wait. Then five hours to Foligno, where they gave us fifteen minutes for dinner, and then dragged along slowly to Rome. It is rather provoking to be so hurried for dinner and then to stop fifteen minutes at every little trifling station afterward. The train was woefully slow and 142 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 we reached Rome only at nine P. M., having been seven hours on the road which a direct train does in five hours. Glad enough we were to see the lights of Rome and to drive through her familiar streets after two months of rambling. Deserted and forlorn they looked to be sure, and the palace all shut up and dark, was not cheerful, but the portiere welcomed us and gave me your letter of the 22nd of August, and the room we occupied before we left Rome for a few days, was ready for us, and glad we were to rest. Tea and bread and butter tasted good, the butter was de- lectable after two months in which I had not tasted it. Yesterday we looked over the studio, which is in fine order, and got some business attended to. Among other things we went and looked again at the house which I have described to you. It pleased me as much as before. We have not seen Signora Teresa about our old house with additional rooms, but will do so. Each has some advantages. Here the palace is finer and larger and cooler, more beautiful and close to the studio. The staircase (a great object in Rome) IS incomparable. The other house has a pretty view over the river and meadows, is not so high, has a better kitchen and more rooms — perhaps more than we require. The rooms are not so large as here. For myself I am indiffer- ent, this house is dear from association and habit, and it is near the studio, which last year when I was alone, was a great object. This winter it will make less difference. The weather is very hot, no one ever knew it so warm at this season before, it is for this reason that the cholera still continues, though much abated. We have no fear, our room is high and cool and we are as careful in our diet as can be. . . . We are packing up what little we need, settling some trifles of business and on Monday I hope we shall leave. Rome looks desolate enough, the streets are so quiet and deserted, all the palaces are closed and little busi- ness doing. . . . You know how depressing it is to go through a great city which you have always seen gay and crowded with strangers and natives, and all alive and LETTERS 143 1867 Age 25 bustling, to find it dead and still and dismal with a cloud of fear and anxiety over it. But our American cities are never so, I think. I hoped to see last night in Galignani that the "Fulton" had reached Brest, but there was no notice. It takes the paper three days to get here, so it was only Saturday's paper. Tonight I hope to see news. I would have asked you to telegraph from Havre only I know your horror of despatches. It is less expensive to telegraph here than at home, being only five francs from Paris to Rome. However, I will try to be patient, and wait for your letter, though my anxiety and impatience are al- most uncontrollable. ... I suppose you will have heard that a railway is made over the Mont Cenis. While they have been laboriously tunnelling under it with a dim and distant prospect of getting through, some one has thought of a means of getting over it. They have laid rails right on the coach road, and the locomotives are so made that they can bend and curve. They can only carry sixty tons weight each, but will be improved in time. Some forty persons crossed the other day. We cannot learn if trav- ellers are regularly transferred across yet but hope so as in case we go to Switzerland, it will save us ten hours night coaching. We wait to hear from you and will act as you advise. If we go we sliall take the rail to Leghorn and La Spezzia, the boat or coach to Genoa, then proceed by rail to Susa, and I hope continue by rail over the Mont Cenis to Chambery and Geneva. This would be our quickest and least expensive way. I am not sure if the route by Milan and the Simplon is much longer. We will enquire. It is much the most beautiful and I hope you will come to Italy that way. . . . Rome, September 17, 1867. My Own Dear Mother: I have been waiting and longing and looking for a let- ter from you or news of you in the paper, before I should write again. No letter is there yet, but last night in Gali- 144 LETTERS 1867 Age 25 gnani, away in one corner among the "Items," I found a precious two lines which made my heart leap with joy. It said the "Fulton" with fifty-five passengers had arrived at Falmouth at 4 A. M. on the 12th. I had looked all over the paper, at the telegraphic despatches, at the "Shipping News," at the "American Advices," but not one word of the "Fulton" had I found, and I was laying down the paper sick and sad at heart, when at last "Fulton" — blessed word, caught my eye among the "Items" and there was what my heart ached to know. You are really in Europe! Really only four days distant from me in- stead of a weary sixteen ! Though as yet there is no letter I am content to know that you are reachable, and we only wait to hear from you to start off at once and never stop till we meet. . . . We have today seen a house which suits us better than any we have seen before. The one in the Ripetta we went to see again and though it still pleases us we fear much it might be damp when the river rises. There were some few other objections also. . . . The house we saw today is lovely. It is a villa, standing alone amid gardens, but only a few minutes walk from here. Geneva, September 27, 1867. My Dear R : We left Rome under funny circumstances on Friday night, just a week ago. After waiting and waiting for news we at last received a despatch from Paris, and next day a letter. We thought to start at once, but what with passports, and circular tickets and our bankers, we were de- layed a day or two. At last all was ready, when a new difficulty arose. The Government had issued a new tariff for the cabs ; Friday morning a strike took place, not a cab appeared on the stands. The police made inquiries. The coachys answered their horses were sick or used up or their cabs needed repairs. The police "smelt a rat" to use a vulgar term, and coolly said, "produce your cabs in an LETTEES 145 1867 Age 25 hour or go off to jail!" "Very well," says coachy, "we'll go to jail. ' ' Accordingly one thousand of them were safely lodged there, not one would appear, no livery stable dared send out carriages, for fear the other coachys would beat the drivers for not joining the strike. How were we to get to the station, a mile or more with our luggage ? There was the question. We sent to one stable after another and failed. At last one man said he would come, and he ap- peared with a great conveyance and two gay young horses, and I thought we were lucky. But to my surprise he told me / must drive ! I shouted at the idea, — ' ' I drive through the streets of Rome ! Not a bit of it ! " " There is no other way, Signora, ' ' says coachy, ' ' I dare not drive or I may be beaten. I can only sit behind as a footman. " " But, Good Heavens," said I, "I shall run over scores of children." ' ' Never mind, ' ' says coachy, ' ' they are used to it. ' ' Which last humane sentiment upset me completely, and I at last "mounted up" whip in hand and drove positively without killing many young ones, to the station. I caught sight of the astonished face of one of our friends at a street corner, and nodded to him to show him it was not my ghost as he evidently supposed, and I left him staring blankly after us ! Well, after all our fusses and troubles, we were off, and glad I was to leave Rome, which seemed forlorn and miser- able, the weather has been so hot and sultry. We went di- rectly through to Milan in twenty-four hours. Two days later we went to Sesto, where we took the steamer on Lake Maggiore for Pallanza and thence by carriage to Domo d'Ossola, where we spent the night. Next morning took the diligence over the Simplon. It was not new to me but I enjoyed it much, we found no snow on the top as there was last year, but it was bitter cold. We reached Sion at eleven at night weary and frozen, and we went to bed and had hot soup served us and slept well. Yesterday we had a pleasant little five hours railway ride here seeing the Chateau de Chillon on the way. We reached here at four, came to the Hotel des Bergues, where we have a pleasant. 146 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 sunny room on the upper floor. Today we have "done" the town, which has fine shops, fine streets, and a fine situation. Mt. Blanc shows his head often and tonight at sunset he was lovely in a rosy tinted aspect. The weather is very cold. Last night was really wintry, today less so but still cold, cold like our mid-winter in Rome. But I like it so much, I feel much better already. The Italian sum- mers are detestable, and I hate Italy in the summer. It is delightful to get into this dear, clean Suisse where they speak French and German and I do not hear Italian which I much dislike. I cannot tell why, only that this summer I have longed so for an English word, or French or Ger- man, that the Italian has become hateful to me. I do so enjoy the sweet butter, delicious bread, and luscious honey of this dear Switzerland. ... I forgot to tell you that we had engaged a lovely house in Rome, exactly what I wanted in every respect. The one I described to you be- fore was, though pleasant in itself, in a bad street and I feared a damp situation and the entrance was poor, so we gave that up, and at last by chance found another, which we took instantly. It is a villa at the foot of the Pincio, but not so near the foot as to be damp, it stands alone in a garden, on a little street which leads in one minute to the Piazza di Spagna. We have the whole upper floor and so have sun on every side. There is quite a grand entrance and marble staircase. The rest of the house is permanently occupied by a Russian Prince. The stairs are easy and we are not at all high up. The house belongs to a gentleman who was most kind and said we should have anything we wanted. He would speak to his steward of it. The rooms are all large and airy, and have no end of windows into which the sun pours all day. They look down into lovely gardens, and beyond, all over Rome. . . . October 2. Here has my letter been waiting days and days to announce the arrival of our travellers. At last they are LETTERS 147 1867 Age 25 here all looking remarkably well. We drank your health to celebrate your birthday, and how we wished you were with us. It is a grand celebration of your birthday to have our meeting occur on that day. We go from here to Chamonix. We all send best love. Aff. Emma. Florence, October 26, 1867. My Dear R. : We were rejoiced on our arrival here by a whole budget of letters. . . . We are busy sight-seeing; Florence just now is divinely beautiful, after the rainy weather we had in Milan and the cloudiness of Venice, we find most enchanting the pure bracing air and cloudless sky of Flor- ence. More really lovely days could not be. I think the view down the river from the Cascine is one of the most perfect imaginable. We always linger on the Bridge of Santa Trinita, to enjoy the ''bella veduta. " We are most comfortably settled at Mme. Barbenzi's, formerly her mother's, Mrs. Molini Clark. You know the place. We have delightful rooms and an excellent table, ... I am glad we are so well off as it seems doubtful when we get to Rome. Things are complicated there, even last night the news was that Garibaldi was under the walls of Rome and had taken four hundred Papal troops prisoners. The French ships, however, are at Civita Vecchia, and no one knows what they will do. The people here made a demon- stration yesterday, a crowd went to the King's palace and demanded that troops be sent to Rome to help Garibaldi, and waited for the answer. It was sent them soon; the King said if the French troops landed he would send forces at once to Rome and ask Garibaldi to join him. Still this is not very clear, and only time will show how affairs will go. We hope, however, that the troubles will not last long, and that we may soon get there. Our house is en- gaged for the first of November, but it makes no great matter when we get into it. 148 LETTEES 1867 Age 25 Rome, December 15, 1867. Dear R. : This whole last week I have been making attempts to write to you but whenever I got settled to it with pen in hand, someone was sure to want me, either Mother to "tell Nanna something, ' ' or Father to go sight-seeing, or Nettie "just to do a little shopping that must be done!" or else Nanna or Augusto came to know what were the Signora's wishes. I can tell you my time is well filled by my large and dear household. . . . We have not done much sight-seeing lately as it has been so cold. So we have been visiting studios, and have seen Story 's, Miss Hosmer 's. Miss Foley's, Mr. Haseltine's, T. Buchanan Reed's and one or two Italian artists, also the Misses Williams'. ... It has been so horribly cold. Such weather has not been known in years. Everyone grumbles and I am woefully sorry on Father's and Mother's account, but the saying here is that Christmas is the shortest and coldest day in the year and after that it grows milder, so we all hope for warmer weather soon. — Father is busy with his "Republi- can" letters, writing up all our journey to Rome. I be- lieve he is now on the point of finishing, as last night he had reached Leghorn ! 186S Age 26 LETTERS OF 18G8 AND 1869 23 rue Pauquet de Villejust, Paris. August 6, 1868. My Dear Father: Your letter was handed me last Sunday just as we were starting for Versailles. I received, a few days later, the "Liberal Christian" which you sent me. It is a great treat to see home newspapers. I seldom go to the banker's and that is the only place where I would have a chance to see them. I intended to subscribe to Galignani 's Circulating Li- brary, which contains all the standard literature and also the newspapers of all countries, but I have become interested in studying Italian with 0. and that occupies all my spare time. I have a long lesson every evening and find it ab- sorbing. I envy you your return to a library at home; I was longing the other day for some of those little Abbott's Histories such as ''Marie Antoinette," "The Empress Jose- phine," etc., which would make seeing the places much more interesting. I mean to look if they are obtainable here. We are soon going to see Malmaison, the last resi- dence of Josephine. Queen Victoria is in Paris, staying at the British Em- bassy. She is on her way to Lucerne, where a house has been taken for her for the summer and autumn. I would like to see her and fancy we came near it yesterday as we passed the Embassy while a crowd was at the gate. There issued in a few moments a very plain closed carriage in which I presume was Her Majesty, but invisible. On the 15th of this month is the Emperor's Fete, when all the city is illuminated. There are splendid fireworks in several places and all the theatres are free. From the prepara- 150 LETTERS 1868 Age 26 ations which I see going on, the Place de la Concorde, the Champs Elysees, and the Arc de I'Etoile I should think it would be magnificent. From our house we shall have a fine view of the Arc de I'Etoile and the Trocadero as we are high up. We find our house very comfortable this hot weather; we are so high up that there is always a breeze through the rooms. The stairs are an inconvenience, but I try to mount only once a day and then very slowly. Our boxes have arrived from Rome and their contents are so nicely arranged in the studio as to call forth much admira- tion. . . . There are not many Americans here now, they have all gone to Switzerland. I had a note from Miss Page yesterday; she is at Coblenz, enjoying the Rhine scenery. Miss Newland is at Berne. We have a good ser- vant in the woman who lets the apartment ; she keeps things neat and is very economical. Every evening she brings me her bill of the day's expenses and I make the account and pay her. We have sent to the country for a barrel of wine from the estate of a friend. It is a barrel of three hundred bottles and costs $12.00. This is better and purer than the wine here and much less expensive as it comes to about seven cents a bottle; the cost of transportation and duty included. If we find it good (if it is transportable) would you like a barrel sent to you ? O. says it will be about such wine as we had in Rome. You will make wine at home this year but it will hardly be good to drink for a twelve month. August 19, 1868. My Dear Mother: I had just wakened this morning when nurse and baby brought me your letter of August 4th which made me most happy. It seems natural to receive letters from Meadville again. So natural that sometimes it seems to me that all this last year has been a dream and you never left home. Does it seem so to you? It isn't a dream, though, and I think that all you have seen in Europe will be pleasant to LETTERS 151 1868 Age 26 talk and think of all your life. I often think over the many sights we saw together, and which particularly impressed or pleased us. Do you remember Milan Cathedral? — and that splendid sunny afternoon when we floated in a gondola through the canals of Venice; and the day we went to the fox hunt in Rome and the lovely afternoon in the Baths of Caracalla and on the Coliseum with the buglers playing be- low. And then the sweet chanting of the Nuns at the Trinita dei Monti and the vespers at St. Peter's. Few things have left such an exquisite impression on me as the chanting of the Nuns ; is it not so with you ? One memory brings back another and they crowd into my mind, — the Pincio, Villa Borghese, where we gathered flowers, how long ago ! Dear me, we had summer in Rome six months ago. Do you remember the day at Tivoli, how hot it was and that was the twelfth of February, and the twelfth of March we spent at Ostia and at Castel Fusano. Oh ! those solemn stone pines at Castel Fusano, how grand they were. Would you not like to have a grove of them near you? There is little news to tell you except about the Em- peror's Fete; on Friday, there was a grand review in the Champs Elysees. The avenue was lined on each side with infantry, and cavalry filled all the avenues near the Arc de I'Etoile. There was something of a crowd but we got a good place and saw everything. The Hundred Guards ("Cent Gardes") in blue and silver came first; then the Emperor in crimson uniform on horseback, near him the little Prince Imperial on a fine roan pony, then all the for- eign officers, among whom were two English Generals and a Turkish General who was magnificent, and many others. There was a band at every two streets and they took up the air as the Emperor advanced so that it seemed one band only. They played ''Air de la Reine Hortense" or "Par- tant pour la Syrie." The Emperor rode slowly, so Ave could see him very well. He looks ill. The little Prince 152 LETTEES 1868 Age 26 was dressed like any boy of thirteen in a dark blue suit and he bowed constantly to the people. The Empress was in a carriage near the Palais de rindustrie but I did not see her. At the Italian Embassy on a balcony was the Queen of Mozambique with her at- tendants; such a figure! You couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman ; she sat cross-legged and had queer leggings to the knees. She wore a garment of maroon stuff of an in- describable shape with a hood of the same and looked like an Egyptian Sphinx. She sat staring at everything like a statue. Her attendants were queer looking and the group was a sight to behold. The troops passed in review before the Emperor afterwards as he took up his place near the Empress, but we only saw him as he rode up and back. The next night the illuminations took place, but I have seen much finer in Rome and did not care for these. You ask about my lungs ; they do not trouble me in the least nor does my throat. I mean to be very careful this winter and hope I may not have any more trouble from tubercles. I think our house will be comfortable for the the winter; we have the sun in the morning in front and in the afternoon at the back. The rooms are very compact and not very large. The coal merchant promises us wood at the same price as the wholesale wood dealer sells it and we shall also use coke. Paris, October 15, 1868. . . . The weather has been perfectly lovely for a week ; I could not stay in the house it was too tempting to go out, with 0. for long walks. He has had to go into the old part of Paris to hunt up costumes, etc. One day I had to wear my chintz dress it was so hot. One day we stopped an hour or more at the stalls of second hand books along the quai. If one were making a library what treasures one could find there. Books in every language, and of tempting prices. For instance all Bouffon 's Natural History in fifty volumes finely illustrated bound in calf for eight cents a volume! LETTEES 153 1868 Age 26 Many of the books have the pages uncut. Dr. Johnson's "History of England, in a Series of Letters from a Noble- man to His Son" bound in calf for three cents a volume. Scott 's works well bound fifteen cents a volume ; then there are all the Reviews, the Edinburgh, Westminster, etc., bound, for almost nothing. Speaking of books, Mr. May lent me a most interesting work, "The Pictorial History of England," collated by several celebrated writers and principally by George Craik and Charles Macfarlane. It is chiefly a history of the antiquities, the ancient habits and customs, costumes, religion and laws of England from the earliest times to the present. I find it intensely interesting and the endless illustrations very fascinating. . . . October 16. I have just come back from the Louvre where we went to look at a portrait, the sleeves of which 0. wants me to im- itate in making him a dress for his model. I so enjoyed the gallery; it seemed Rome-like to look at pictures. It is so delightful to go through a collection of pictures with which you are perfectly familiar ; then instead of feeling it a duty as the first time, to examine every one, you can go only to your favourites and linger long over them. They have made a new entrance to the galleries and they are making a "Museum of Sovereigns" and one can now see Napoleon's camp bed and table, his clothes, his dress worn at St. Helena, his handkerchief. The clothes, books, armour and jewels worn by all the sovereigns for ages. Today is colder and cloudy and I fear our lovely weather is over. Now we must expect winter, but how long it seems since we had winter. Only think, our summer, or at least spring began in February, on that day when we dined out of doors at Tivoli, and you had the table moved out of the sun. My Dear Father : Paris, October 22. Unless something happens to prevent I shall leave here Monday morning on the night train for St. Malo and by boat thence to Jersey to see R. . . . 154 LETTEES 1868 Age 26 0. has begun a picture which he hopes to exhibit at the "Salon" in the spring. It represents an incident in the life of Cardinal Kichelieu; he made a sketch of the design which was wonderfully pretty. His master, Monsieur Bonnat, the famous artist whose academy he attended, you remember, for three months, saw the sketch and praised it highly, encouraged him to go on, gave him advice and promised to see him when the picture was somewhat ad- vanced. He also gave 0. a letter of introduction to Count N., the President of the Fine Arts Association here and one to the Director of the Hotel Cluny so that he may have free access to make studies there and also at the Louvre. I wish I could have helped you in your lecture on Europe and should have enjoyed it. About a year ago we were floating through the canals of Venice admiring the skill of the gondoliers, shuddering under the Bridge of Sighs, buying fruit on the Rialto, and wandering through the vast Palace of the Doges. Just a year ago we were in Florence lingering on the Ponte Santa Trinita to admire the view up the river, winding up the hill to Fiesole in the warm sunshine among vineyards and villas and orange gar- dens, chatting with Powers in his studio, fascinated by his genial manner and the soft expression of his brown eyes so full of enthusiasm, of fun and of gentle kindness. Or walking through the long galleries of the Uffizi and Pitti and finding new beauties at every fresh visit. Does Mother remember the day she and N. and I tried to go to San Miniato and couldn't because the horse and carriage couldn't very well go down a flight of steep steps? And our beautiful walk one afternoon up to the old Convent and Bellosguardo and the villa there and the grand view of the valley of the Arno. But my recollections run away with me and I daresay you remember all this as well as I do. I am very well indeed and my throat and lungs have not troubled me the least as vet. LETTERS 155 1868 Age 26 Paris, November 24. My Dear Father: Your most welcome letter of November 8th has just been received and has made me feel as though now I could thoroughly enjoy the day which is clear, bright and mild as spring. Indeed, yesterday morning the balmy soft air as I went out of the door and saw a piece of ivy waving in the breeze over the wall of the next door garden produced an intense homesick longing for Rome. No one who has not lived there for several years can understand the intense fascination it has. No one who has lived there and called it home but will forever long to go back. I do not forget the dirty, narrow, sidewalk-less streets nor the many other discomforts of Roman life, but I think with them all it is the dearest place in all Europe and one of its greatest ad- vantages is its inexhaustibility. One can never finish seeing Rome and its environs, I have lived there three years nearly and I have yet never seen Frascati, Albano, the Lake of Nemi, the ruins of Tusculum, Palestrina, etc., all within eighteen or twenty miles of Rome. There is such an end- less field for research in every department of knowledge. For an archaeologist, where is there a better field than Rome ; for a lover of history, where may he better study it from the earliest to the latest times ; for a botanist, the flora of the Campagna and hills is inexhaustible, and a geologist may study Rome's environs forever. A painter, a poet, a writer all find inspiration there. . . . But dear me, I think sometimes I am Rome crazy for I am always getting on the subject in my letters to you and never know how to get off it again. . . . With regard to your remarks on "The Transfiguration" I must wait till I can see an en- graving as I do not remember well enough the disposition of the figures to tell you what I think of your idea. 0. thinks he has a drawing of it in his studio, so we will study it tomorrow. I have been reading "Ivanhoe" and so has O. ; he has enjoyed it exceedingly. He read it in French, in which language he can understand it better than in 156 LETTEES 1868 Age 26 English. He also read ''The Black Dwarf" and "Old Mortality." Do you know a family of Pattersons in Bal- timore who are descendants of "Old Mortality"? I have just read "Waverley" and have much enjoyed it. I never tire of re-reading Scott ; he always makes me feel in a better humour with myself and all the world ; he is so genial and hearty and full of fun. Tell me if you do not enjoy some of the descriptions in the "Marble Faun" and if it does not bring back Rome very vividly? The description of the day in the Villa Borghese I remember well and I have somewhere a little sketch of the Statue of the Pope at Perugia, where Donatello and Miriam meet. Among my photographs you will probably find one of "Hilda's Tower" in the Via Portoghese. ... I wish I could have heard your lecture on Europe; I should have en- joyed it exceedingly. Europe is old to me now and I like to hear of the first impressions which it makes on others. We had such a treat the other night ; we went to hear ' ' The Huguenots. ' ' Mr. Cromelin invited us all to go and both of us enjoyed it very much. O. loves music so and so seldom hears it now that he nearly went crazy over it. Just before we started a man brought two splendid bou- quets for S. and me. Oh ! such beauties as they were ! Mine was all pink and white camellias with little spraj^s of white spirea and some rosebuds. S.'s all white camellias and little bunches of violets. It looked so like dear old Rome and reminded me so of last winter with all its dear and tender recollections. I saw again the sunny parlour in Rome, the lovely garden full of camellias under the win- dow, the florist's in the Babuino before whose window we always paused in admiration, the little studio garden, the Pincio, the Villa Doria and further back my first birthday in Rome when O.'s friends overwhelmed me with nowers and still further back our old courting days when O. sent me flowers fresh and sweet every evening. Well, I must go back to the flowers of the other evening ; they were lovely but very embarrassing. They were evidently intended for LETTEES 157 1869 Age 27 US to carry to the Opera but nobody does take flowers there now and they were enormous. We debated and discussed but they had to go with us, and we marched into the House with our huge bouquets held stiffly before us as though we were making a charge of bayonets ! Paris, January 10, 1869. My Dearest Mother: I have just been enjoying reading your Christmas letter which came this morning. It has been sixteen days on the way and it was twelve days since I had heard, so it was a greater luxury than usual. Baby brought it to me in her tiny hands and as soon as it was opened she begged for the envelope. She considers that her prerogative and so after marking the date I generally give it her for I have a liking that she should play with and touch something that comes from you and Father. . . . I am surprised to find how this climate of Paris seems to agree with my chest and throat ; whether this is an exceptional winter I hardly know, but it is certain I never got on so far before with so little trouble. I am better than I have been for years. I can't tell you what a relief it is to have no scraping of the throat nor pain in the chest. . . . We use coke a good deal for heating our small rooms. ... 0. and I are both very happy because he has painted a dress wonder- fully. It is a Cardinal's dress and every one says it is remarkable. The colour and silkiness are so well done, it seems as though you could hear the silk rustle. Madrazo, the Spanish artist, has twice brought amateurs to the studio. . . . I would much like to see Holland and the Dutch cousins again but I want to see home more, so as soon as ever we can we shall fly across the sea. . . . We have lately seen the Emperor and Empress often. The Empress looks very well and very pretty, she is always dressed in black with a plain black bonnet. Today when we met her a woman had just run out to the carriage and tried to make a petition, but the Empress only threw her some money and 158 LETTEES 1869 Age 27 drove on. The woman did not look at the money but burst into tears, and went crying back to the sidewalk. She was a nicely dressed person, evidently not poor, and the petition was probably for the pardon of some relative or friend. They often do these things in the street but the Emperor cannot listen to all of them or he would be overwhelmed. . . . It has been such a fine day, if the weather was never colder than today it would be easy to winter here. We have seen no snow yet. Paris, January 19. We all went to see ''Theodorus" at the Theatre du Chatelet ; the papers had spoken of it as the finest spectac- ular play ever produced, but we were rather disappointed. The ballet was not nearly as pretty as the Roman ones, and there was no plot. It is a play made out of the Abysinian war and is a queer mixture of the English and savages ; the only peculiarities are a serpent charmer who dances and plays with a real snake, a tame one, I suppose, — and a lot of Amazons and English who come on the stage on real horses. As the stage is small and the horses necessarily old creatures who couldn't run or scare if they wanted to, this is rather ridiculous. A friend of O.'s, the Comtesse de Mouzilly, has offered to introduce us at the last ball of the Tuileries to which we shall get invitations. I would like much to go, not so much to be presented to the Emperor and Empress as to see all the celebrated statesmen, ambassa- dors and notabilities generally who will be there and whom the Comtesse knows personally and would point out to me. She will take us also to the balls of Baron Haussman at the Hotel de Ville; they are very magnificent and the Emperor goes sometimes. She will also introduce 0. to Count N., the Minister of Fine Arts, a useful person to know. He gives weekly parties to gentlemen only as he is unmarried, and these principally artists. ... I have got a bargain, a huge fourteen pound turkey for eight LETTERS 159 1869 Age 27 francs! of a woman from the country who wants money. It will be a treat to us. Paris, February 9. It is such a lovely day I feel as though I should go out, yet also I feel as strong an inclination to write to you, so I will compromise by writing a short letter. It will not reach you at home as I presume you are even now on your way South. I cannot wish you pleasanter weather for it than we are having here. We have had no fire for three days, it feels like a Roman day, only the sky is never such a deep blue as on the Campagna. Do you remember the day we went to the fox hunt 1 I see at Ostia they have just dug up a very fine bronze Venus and another fine antique. Do you also remember the day at Ostia and the lunch under the pines at Castel Fusano? Paris is as gay as can be in these last days and the Boeuf Gras has been making his tour of the city. I am fortunate enough now to have a daily paper, and from it gather all the news going. ' ' Galignani ' ' is a daily delight ; it is just large enough to be easily read through; it has extracts from all the newspapers and the political articles are exceedingly interesting. I am sorry to see that the United States is inclined to meddle in the Cretan business; Crete is a mischievous little country and hard enough to manage without being encouraged in her rebellion by America. I am sorry to see powder and food are being sent her. ... I think it is a great step in civilization and progress that differences like the Turko- Greek one are now settled, or at least the effort is made to settle them by a Congress of Powers and that war is not dashed into so recklessly as in the past. War seems such a wicked thing, though often necessary, that anything Avhich may take the place of it as a settlement of difficulties must be an immense good. These Congresses certainly are use- ful ; I am sorry to see in the New York Tribune words from General Grant against the Convention between England and the United States and also to note that many of the leading papers are against it. They talk of the claims not 160 LETTEES 1869 Age 27 being such as can be settled by money, and that only war can adjust them. Surely the Senate will not refuse the arrangement. The idea of a war now seems so terrible, the United States is in sufficient debt now without incurring more and she is not able to cope with foreign Powers yet. . . . I am sorry to hear you have admitted ladies into the Theological School ; I fear it is a great mistake and that you will have trouble yet with them. The more I see of women's conventions the more disgusted I get. Women are degenerating sadly, I think; they have all the rights God meant them to have and they are only trying to unsex themselves and make themselves hateful to men and to God. Sometimes I think the old times were the best when bloomers and Mormons and ^¥omen's rights did not exist. I am a thorough conservative, I don't like modern radical- ism. We took a great walk yesterday, beyond the ' ' Temple " ; we took the omnibus there and then walked all the way home. On the way back we stopped in the Place de la Concorde to see the procession of the Boeuf Gras pass ; It is a custom the last days of Carnival to have this pro- cession which consists first of an escort of Chasseurs, then a great fat ox dressed up with ribbons and drawn in a cart, round it are a group of savages who brandish their axes, then come ''Mousquet aires" on horseback in Middle-Age costumes; then others in different dresses of all periods, then a chariot of musicians in costume and another full of girls and boys dressed to represent the gods and goddesses. The colours, music and banners make it a highly picturesque scene ; they go all over Paris stopping before each Embassy, Ministry, etc. The oxen all weigh about 2700 pounds. These are Carnival days in Rome as well. I wish I were there. ... I am very well; I seem to get stronger all the time. I have almost forgotten that my lungs were ever weak; I believe two more mild winters would make me a strong woman. We have had no fire for three days, yet I am as warm as can be. I hope I shall see no snow this winter. LETTERS 161 1869 Age 27 Paris, March 21, 1869. My Dear Father: We have just finished eating a birthday dinner, and have drunk your health in a glass of Burgundy and wished you many, many returns of this day. I wish we could step in and see you this evening. Do you remember this day last year in Rome? How warm and lovely it was. . . . I was prepared for your account of the South and was not surprised at your disappointment; I feel sorry that it seems so impossible for me to have a home near you (com- paratively), but perhaps next winter I can stand the winter at the North. I may say I have never passed so comfortable a winter as this; our little apartment, though so high up, has proved eminently comfortable on account of being so easily warmed. We went this afternoon to see that ' ' Panorama of the Battle of Solf erino ' ' ; did you ever see it 1 It is quite a wonderful illusion. Paris, March 30, 1869. My Dear Mother: It was such a treat to have your long, delightful letter received on Sunday. I will try and execute all your com- missions to your satisfaction. You did not say whether you meant me to pay twenty-five dollars for your silk paletot in gold or in paper but I Avill presume you mean gold and go as high as that. I see the spring styles are so various that I do not doubt I can find something suitable among them. They do not wear now the old fashioned Mantilla or visite ; almost all the styles are for paletots or basques in different shapes. I have not seen anything very desirable in which you could invest your present from Uncle George. I have not thought of what I shall put mine into; I want more than anything a Point de Venise lace collar like yours only deeper. It is durable, it will descend to my daughter, and I love old lace. As to our coming home I shall try and land in Boston. What a blessed luxury home will be. Life in a foreign land will never wean me from home ; I love warm 162 LETTEES 1869 Age 27 climates and blue skies and flowers and all the treasures of art and antiquity; they fill a want of my nature which continually craved them before I came to Europe. I think from my childhood I longed for them, but nevertheless my heart will forever turn to home as the brightest and dearest spot on earth. Just think, eight weeks from now I may be on my way to America. Let me know of anything you w^ant me to bring, I love to shop and it is no sort of trouble to me. I'm naturally fond of buying things and when I can't afford to do it for myself I like just as well to do it for others. Paris, April 12, 1869. The weather at present is exactly like June, so hot and close sometimes that it oppresses me; the trees are in full leaf, the birds are singing gaily, every one is out in chintzes and spring dresses, straw hats have made their appearance ; strawberries, peas and asparagus are in the market; it seems as though summer were already here, but the whole winter has been like spring. I have been recommended, as a spring remedy, refreshing and beneficial, to take a little pulp of cassia; it should be taken fresh from the canes and mixed with tamarind. It is a favorite remedy in Italy. I must say these spring days make me homesick for Italy and I read ' ' Dr. Antonio ' ' which harmonizes with my feelings; its descriptions of blue sea and skies, palms and orange groves bring back to me recollections of that drive along the Cornice Road which grows more beautiful to my memory as time goes on; nothing ever delighted me so as that drive. I would like to own a little villa and orange garden somewhere about San Remo and live there. What an Eden it would be. Do you remember the queer narrow streets all in steps at San Remo, how picturesque they were? . . . Paris is looking its best now and all the world is out driving. One sees the Emperor and the Queen of Spain every day. LETTERS 163 1869 Age 27 London, May 28, 1869. My Very Dear Mother: This is the very last letter that I shall write you before we sail; though I am a day nearer you than last week I feel ever so much further off. Breaking up our regular habits and journeying always upsets me and makes me feel strange and desolate. We left Paris Tuesday morning after all sorts of contretemps. N. 's silk dress did not come home. My nurse came to me three days before we left and said she would not go to America for the same wages and, of course, I was in her power and had to give in to her demand. The packing was mountainous and moving the furniture to the studio was considerable. The steamer tickets were mislaid and my money was left in one of the trunks. However, at last we got off. We crossed the Channel comfortably ; it was smooth and clear. We stopped at Canterbury for the night. Oh, such a lovely place as it is. After our dinner we walked all around the Cathe- dral, and into the ghostly cloisters of the old Abbey, and peered into dark vaults and shadowy archways. I never enjoyed anything more. We saw every old gate and ruin of the town that night, and could hardly make up our minds to go to bed about midnight. Next day we repeated our ramble and 0. wanted to make studies and sketches. We are in a queer part of London here ; Guildford Street, Rus- sell Square, but we are quite comfortable. We wanted to go to Windsor today but it has rained. We shall go to Liverpool on Monday and sail on Tuesday, I hope some one will be in Boston when we land. 1870 Age 28 LETTERS OF 1870 DURING THIRD SOJOURN IN EUROPE 23 rue Pauquet de Villejust ,, „ „ ,, Paris, February 25, 1870. My Dear Father: ' ■^ Your letter came earlier than usual this week and found us all about as usual. . . . Mr. Washburne gave a re- ception on the 22nd in honor of Washington's Birthday; there was a great crowd, every American in Paris was there. I am reading with intense interest the Diary and Rem- iniscences of Henry Crabbe Robinson which was given me before I left home. If you can get it I beg you to do so; it is one of the books really worth reading. He had an en- viable life; he never attained great literary celebrity him- self, nor was he noted as a barrister, yet he had opportuni- ties of knowing the great minds of the last and present century such as few are blest with. He knew Goethe, Schiller, Wieland, Sehelling, Schlegel, Madame de Stael, the Duchess Amelia of Saxe Weimar, noble women; all these and many others in Germany and in England he was in daily and friendly intercourse with. Charles Lamb and his sister, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Mrs, Siddons, Erskine, Rogers, Byron, Lady Byron, Flaxman, Sir Thomas Law- rence, Hazlitt, and a host of others. I have not yet finished the first volume but have glanced into the second which seems even more interesting than the first. 1 hope you may have an early spring. It looks here as though winter were already over. Paris, March 21. The B.'s are planning to go south; they will leave Fri- day travelling slowly to suit Mrs. B. One day to Orleans, LETTEES 165 1870 Age 28 next Tours where they will spend a day to try to see some- thing of the trial of Prince Pierre Bonaparte, the High Court sits there this week. They will go on from Tours to Biarritz and Madrid and then if Mrs. B. is able will make quite a tour through Spain, visiting Seville, Cadiz, Malaga, Granada, and perhaps going by steamer from Cadiz to Gibraltar and touching at Tangier, in Africa. It is a trip of only eight hours and must be very interesting. Some gentlemen just returned from Spain report travelling there as quite comfortable. One of them says he was so charmed with Granada that he spent a fortnight there. I went with 0. yesterday to see a painting by Fortuny of Rome, a Spaniard. It was ordered by Goupil who paid 40,000 francs for it. Goupil is now offered 75,000 francs for it by a Mr. Stewart, a Spaniard, also. Fortuny is, I presume, or soon will be, the rival of Meissonier. This pic- ture is of a Spanish wedding and is of supreme excellence, exquisite in finish and in brilliancy of colour ; the Empress has been to see it. We also went yesterday to see some of the effects of Prince Demidoff which are to be sold today at the Hotel Drouot. Being very fond of antiquities, we thoroughly enjoyed the collection of curious and interest- ing things ; it seems a pity to have it scattered. I have just read over my letter and find to my amazement that I have left out the object of it. To wish you many, many happy returns of this day and that each may find you in good health and spirits. I wish I could join you at dinner and spend the evening with you all round the cheerful parlour table, but my thoughts will be there if I am not. Mr. B. gets the American papers which we benefit by ; he has ' ' The Nation," and the "Boston Weekly Spectator." Paris, July 1, 1870. Dear Mother: I have had no letter from home this week, but I must write you all the same though my letter is sure to be dull when I lack the inspiration of one from home. I have not 166 LETTEES 1870 Age 28 one item of news to give you except that I think we have found a summer home in the country that will suit us. Madame de Mouzilly has been very kind in looking about for us and writes this morning that she has found a house quite close to her, furnished and to let for four months. It is small but quite large enough for our little family. It is called the Castel de Rassay. Castel doesn't mean castle, but something very much smaller. There is a kitchen gar- den filled with vegetables and fruit, pear, peach, cherry and apricot trees. There is a little stable if we want to keep a donkey; the butcher comes three times a week, the baker is close by and supplies groceries. The farm will supply us with milk and butter, the latter for 24c a pound. Meat is 14c a pound and chickens are plentiful. The man and woman who have charge of the farm will serve us; the woman has been a cook in Paris. The Countess says the house is exquisitely clean, though simple. I am to supply the linen and we shall probably stay there through October. I shall be so glad to get into the country. I don't like the city in the summer. Chinon is the town near which we will be, and Indre-et-Loire is the County or ' ' De- partment. ' ' We shall go down to Touraine the last of next week. I hope 0. may find subjects for his brush there. Paris, July 6. My Dear Father: What a difference it makes whether one has to write a letter under the depressing influence of not having received one for two weeks or whether under the inspiring influence of a letter just received. Half an hour ago I sat down pen in hand and found I had not a word to tell you, and con- cluded to put off writing till tomorrow. Five minutes later a letter from you and Mother came, and I feel now as though I had plenty to say and wanted to write. Next week I shall write you in all probability from the country. We expect to leave Monday morning at nine and reach our destination at three in the afternoon. I long to get to the LETTEES 167 1870 Age 28 country; the weather here is so hot and heavy one can hardly breathe. Everything is parched and burnt; they say in the country the grass is like hay and the trees are all yellow as in autumn. We are well satisfied with the arrangement our friend has made for our summer home. A recent letter tells us that she has obtained a house for $60.00 for the whole season, the season being four, five or six months. The linen also they are to furnish which we thought at first they would not. There is a little carriage which belongs to us while we are there and we can hire a pony for very little. The kitchen and fruit gardens are well stocked and are entirely at our disposal. Chateau de Rassay, pres Chinon Indre-et-Loire, July 13, 1870. My Dear Father: I received your letter of June 25th last Sunday . . . I do not know how the prospect of a European war will affect America and the price of gold; there really seems a good deal of danger of a war between France and Prussia. The papers speak of it as imminent. It will not affect us at all I presume, in case of trouble in Paris we would leave and you would see us home earlier than next spring. But you will want to know something of our present residence. We left Paris on Monday morning and came on the Orleans and Nantes Railway to Port Boulet where our friends met us with a carriage and brought us to our house. The line of railway runs through the most lovely part of France; there are hills and forests and valleys and broad rivers and a fine old chateau every mile or two. We found our house ready for us and we like it very well. It is neat and clean, not very luxuriously furnished, but the beds are good, we have all the necessaries and the situation is charming. I sent you a sketch of the house ; here is a plan. The kitchen is in one of the towers, the other is a large brick floored room with an enormous open fireplace, a settle and table, an old fashioned kitchen. The dining room has a window 168 LETTEES 1870 Age 28 in front and at the back, and the great hall has a big glass door which opens on the garden on the front and another on the garden behind. The staircase is in the third tower behind. The up-stairs is about the same ; the towers having little dressing rooms in them. There are such pretty ave- nues of lindens all around, the whole place is surrounded with a wall and a moat outside that. It was built in 1684, as a carved stone over the door tells us, by the Sieur de Rassay and was a large grand chateau, the present building is only a part of it. The woman who cooks for us is a Gheer- ful willing person and a good plain cook. There is plenty of nice fruit on the place and so far we have fared well. The only objection that I find is the loneliness and awful stillness to which we are so unaccustomed. I have never been so entirely in the country. There are other houses all about but the village is fifteen minutes walk and we are about the same distance from "La Ville au Maire. " It is quite like being on a farm. The silence is very oppressive. This house as well as that of our friends is on high ground and the view is wonderful over twenty miles of country. Today we went to Chinon about five miles away; it is a most beautiful old place. . . . I hope you will like Henry Crabbe Robinson; you will not find it hard reading, nor does it require any mental effort. I enjoyed very much the glimpses of Charles Lamb. His description of Coleridge's desultory wandering style of reading is quite amusing, and Charles Lamb's descrip- tion of a French cemetery, evidently Pere la Chaise, is capital. When I saw there the tomb of Abelard, all cov- ered over with blue china pots of flowers, plaster images of little Samuel and of angels, wreaths of yellow immortelles with "a mon pere" and "a ma mere," etc., in black on them it was too ludicrous. To see the gray stony face of the ascetic Abelard with a damaged yellow wreath of flowers round it fallen very much over one eye was laugh- able indeed ! I must close now, as it is midnight, the post- man takes this early in the morning before I am up. LETTEES 169 1870 Age 28 Chateau de Rassay, July 25, 1870. My Dear S. : . . . I shall certainly see you again if you pass through Paris on your way to England. We are utterly and entirely disgusted with the country. Let me tell you some of the inconveniences; — the Countess had told us so much of the beauty of the place and the fine views; the view is pretty, but as there has been no rain for six months the grass is as burnt as though there had been a fire and the trees are brown. There is not a carpet in the house and the floors are not waxed and not very clean. I wanted to have them scrubbed ; they would not let me as it would spoil the ceilings below! I wanted to have them waxed; there was not a "frotteur" far or near. The dining room is on the ground floor, and there are swarms of flies and ants, the latter are in everything. I never was so disgusted in my life. We do all we can to get rid of both these pests, but they seem to grow worse every day. The Countess had told me the butcher came three times a week, and the baker every day with fresh bread. Not so! The butcher from Chinon, six miles away, comes when you send for him, and when the postman does not come, which is whenever there are no letters for us, there is no means of sending for the butcher. The baker, far from bringing what he calls bread, only makes it, and we have to send or often go our- selves a mile or more for it. The Countess said the fruit and vegetables were all ours ; not a bit ! They belong to the farmer and he will not sell the vegetables and we have to send to Chinon for them. The bread is detestable, the meat often spoiled, there are no vegetables but carrots and potatoes, which latter cost six francs a peck, every human being expects to make money out of us and cheat and over- charge us in the most abominable way. We are about a mile from anywhere and at night the owls hoot and the dogs bark, and bats fly in at the windows. So you will not be surprised to hear that we leave on Thursday, go to Tours 170 LETTEES 1870 Age 28 for a week, then to Amboise, Blois, Chenonceaux to see the Chateaux and then to Paris for G 's wedding. Paris, August 24, 1870. Just now things are so uncertain here that we do not know what day we may have to break up and go elsewhere. O. is still at Chambord. I am staying here and waiting, waiting to see how things turn. At present it looks as though any day we may have to leave Paris and go to Chambord and perhaps, if the war continues, to America. . . . I am afraid you may feel anxious about us at home, indeed, I feel anxious myself, our future movements seem so uncertain. I feel a weight on my mind. The peo- ple of Paris are so depressed whereas usually they are so gay and light hearted. There is not a more dull, sad city in the world than Paris. It does not seem to me possible it is the same city I left early in July. I have not seen a smile on the face of anybody ; every man, woman and child has a sombre, depressed, anxious look. They are working night and day on the fortifications; they are provisioning the town and yesterday in the "Corps Legislatif" one member suggested sending away the women and children; the proposition was indignantly rejected, but it may come to that yet. We have no news; not a single despatch for days; not a word of official news from the Government. Some people grumble at this, others say it is best, but it is hard to be patient when one is kept in such ignorance. I keep my trunks packed and am making my arrangements so that I may be ready to leave at a moment 's notice. You cannot imagine what a trying situation it is. . . . Just think, no one gives gold now at all in change, consequently when you have to change a twenty dollar note they give you change in silver. Yesterday I bought something that was ten francs and asked them to change me a hundred franc note; they gave me eighteen pieces of five francs each! These are, as you know, heavy, and I thought I should never get them home. Just here comes bad news; LETTEES 171 1870 Age 28 the Prussians are at Chalons, not a hundred miles from here. Marshal MaeMahon has burnt all his stores and is in retreat. If this is really the case, we must leave tomor- row, but I am indeed puzzled to know what to do, — whether to go to England in ease of extremity, whether to remain in some town in France retired from the seat of war, or whether to go to Italy. In England, of course, I am in direct communication with home and perfectly safe, but it is very expensive to live there. However, we can scarcely think of ourselves in these times so momentous to France, — but it is terrible to be so unsettled. Hotel du Grand St. Michel, Chateau de Chambord par St.- Dye-sur-Loire, Loire-et-Cher, Tuesday, September 13, 1870. My Dear S.: We are as you see at Chambord. I came back here about two weeks ago, and we shall probably stay indefinite- ly; in fact, I don't know what is going to become of us. People are leaving Orleans for fear of the Prussians and I have no doubt we shall see the Uhlans here, only we are so in the midst of a desolate park that I fancy they won't find much to take here. One has not much confidence in the present government; Rochefort, Gambetta, Favre. Per- sonally I feel that the Republic will not last long, and dearly as I hope to see Henry V of France on his throne, I should be content if we could get the second best thing, the House of Orleans and the Comte de Paris. But what- ever party one belongs to, one cannot help pitying the poor French. Every day I see poor hungry men and refugee families escaping from about Paris, leaving all their world- ly goods behind them and seeking work where none is to be had. Every day I meet people who have been walking for ten or fifteen days; I give them something but that cannot last them long. Today a man and woman with two children, one a baby, with all their possessions in a little 172 LETTERS 1870 Age 28 child's wagon, where the children ride when their parents can no longer carry them, have left here. They slept last night in the barn and were glad for it; they are moving on hoping to find some empty hut or cabin where they can shelter themselves, or some work by which to earn their living. ... I wish I were going home with you; I must say, I long to get out of France. Chambord, Sept. 15, 1870. My Dearest Mother: I was so glad to receive on Sunday your letter of August 24th, forwarded from Paris. I was almost afraid I should get no more letters from Paris and feel that now I shall really get no more as I see the last mail by Calais to Paris was to leave last Sunday. Up to today, however, news- papers have come though the northern lines are cut ; in all probability this, the Orleans line, is the only one still open. I presume by tomorrow this also will be cut. I see by the "Times" that all letters from England will come to Tours, so I have some hope that communications will still be open. " I am so out of the way here that but for letters and papers \ I might as well be on a desert island. I have my London "Times" for the French papers are such a pack of lies, bombast and vanity that I never care to see them; they have deceived the people since the beginning of the war and doubtless will go on doing so to the end. God only knows what is going to happen to this unhappy country. . . . The Republic at this time seems to me another name for civil war; already the parties are at swords' points in Paris; the ultras are against the present Grovern- ment because it isn't ultra enough. The first thing those mad men, Favre and Gambetta, did was to release all pris- oners and put arms in their hands, and now this riff-raff, thieves and murderers, are prowling through Paris making it dangerous for the population. I am afraid the majority who uphold and support the present Government have an idea that a Republic is unlimited liberty to kill, steal, plun- LETTERS 173 1870 Age 28 der and pillage. The people talk now as though the war was gotten up by the Emperor ; but in the beginning they were all crazy for it and ''A Berlin" was on every tongue. Now that it seems they are going to Berlin, but not in the way they meant to, they want to throw all the blame on the Emperor, Alas ! one half of France is "going to Berlin" as prisoners and the other half is having Berlin brought to it. Whatever may be the faults or mistakes of the Emperor in the last two months, no one can deny the benefit he has been to France in the last twenty years, nor that the coun- try has prospered in that time. But in one moment the people have forgotten all this; they have turned against their sovereign and no words are too strong to express their animosity against the whole family. I do not pretend to uphold the Emperor and yet I believe he was the best man for France. Here I am in a congenial atmosphere as all the people are of course strong Legitimists and I like to hear the old peasants talk, they are so loyal to the old line. I met one yesterday who after saluting me, asked ' ' Is there any news, Madame?" When I had told him he shook his head and said, "Ah, Madame, we have fallen on evil times, but perhaps they are leading us to the Great Restoration, and when that comes, how gladly we shall all shout ^Vive Henry Cinq bon Prince de Chambord ! ' " The tears filled his eyes as he raised his hat. They all so love the Comte de Chambord; he does unlimited good here through his agent. Every poor person who asks for help is given it, no matter where they may come from. The Comte supports the church, the school and three Sisters of Charity and supplies all the medicines which they dispense. He pays for a physician when he is needed by any one on the estate. Every Tuesday every one on the estate can cut wood in the forest. The people have never seen him but once for he is in exile but they worship him as a saint. Oh, it is so sad the misery this war is causing; thousands of people are hurrying away from Paris and all its neighbourhood ; even from Orleans which is about thirty miles from here, they 174 LETTEES 1870 Age 28 are escaping saying the Prussians are expected. Every day men, women and children, footsore, hungry and penni- less pass by. They pass through here although it is quite out of the way because they know they will be fed and given a little money through the generosity of the Comte de Chambord. Today it is said the Prussians are advanc- ing on the valley of the Loire, that is towards us, and that in a week at most they will be at Orleans. That town, not being fortified, can make no defense ; perhaps it is best they cannot for us. I presume we shall have the Uhlans scouring the country. If you merely give them what they ask, they do no harm, and all they ask usually is food. We can give them a good breakfast here for we live liberally. . . . I wish, nevertheless, I was safe in quiet home-like England; there is some talk of peace being brought about and I hope it may ; otherwise it will be months before Paris can be safe again. . . . We have beautiful fruit here ; I never saw more splendid pears; they are very large, yellow as gold and juicy and sweet. The grapes and peaches are good but none ever taste to me like those at home. Chambord, September 22, 1870. My Dear Mother: We thought so much of you and of home on Saturday last, the 17th. I was very homesick all day. It was one of those perfect days such as only come in the autumn, when one can only be thankful for life. It was clear and warm, yet fresh ; we determined to make a perfect fete and we spent eight hours out of doors. We walked all about the park, then we went on the great terrace of the Chateau and enjoyed the wonderful view; then we wandered all over the building. There were not twenty of its four hun- dred rooms that we did not visit; such queer, concealed stairways, built into the thickness of the wall and only about two feet wide! Such tiny rooms hidden away, and only reached by the above named staircases. Such suites LETTERS 175 1870 Age 28 of royal apartments but all bare and desolate. Then there was a drill of the Forest Guards and the young men of Chambord who are forming a company of National Guards, so we went to see that. Then we had a walk along the river and through a lovely pine wood; then home to dinner at seven when we drank your health, you may be sure. After dinner, we sat and chatted a long time and recalled all the anniversaries of our wedding day. The first one we spent at Milan when we were coming to meet you in Switzerland ; the second was in Paris, the last one was at home last sum- mer, and now this one at Chambord. Later, as we were walking in the moonlight we saw the most beautiful meteor ; it left a long trail of light and seemed to grow larger and larger as it reached the horizon, and at last I thought it burst, for it threw out a blue light just as a rocket might, and then disappeared. The evening was as beautiful as the day. I hope it was the same with you, and that you may have many, many more of them and all happy. You must not feel the least anxious, Mother dear, if you do not get my letters regularly now; be sure that I have written but the mails are upset. The Prussians are at Orleans and it may easily happen that our postal communications may be interrupted. I do not doubt the Uhlans will be here within the next five or six days, but I hope we shall be quite safe ; there is nothing here to tempt them. . . . We in- tend to wait a month here to see if any change takes place in the aspect of things; then if no peace is in sight and Paris is still besieged we must make a move somewhere. I feel sure there is civil war in store; every one feels it. Party feeling is too strong ; only the extremity in which the whole nation is prevents an outbreak now. I sometimes feel as though it would be better for us to go to England or to some place on the north coast where we would be in more immediate connection with home. In the south, at Lyons, Marseilles, etc., there are such tumults and riots; and strangers in a place are always looked on with sus- picion and are almost sure to be seized as spies; so we 176 LETTERS 1870 Age 28 would dread to go to a new place. Here we are known and respected. You have no idea how dangerous the times are ; even French people are seized as spies and maltreated on the slightest suspicion, whenever they are not well known. Even the Marechal de Vaillant was arrested in Paris one day, and he one of the Committee of Defence! We have had quite a busy day here ; this morning two hundred dirty ''Gardes Mobiles" arrived asking for bread; it seems that yesterday about five thousand of them passed through St. Dye, three miles from here ; the first comers bought or stole all there was to eat, so the last comers found nothing. They went supperless to sleep, could not obtain for love or money a mouthful of food this morning, so came here where no one asks for bread or help who does not get it. These two were just eating when eight more arrived, dusty and half- starved. They were all fed ; then still more came. I never saw such a forlorn, ragged, dirty, footsore, famished lot; they said there were two hundred of them at St. Dye, too footsore to seek food or to go on with their regiment, and all nearly starved. So a wagon was sent off to a neighbour- ing village for meat and extra bread and the twelve went back rejoicing to their companions with 45 pounds of bread and heaps of meat and cabbage. There is the most fearful want of system in the French army, no provision whatever is made for the men and they get what they can beg or buy, but not one in twenty has any money and often when they offer money many of the peasants refuse to sell food. Later in the day we had all the assistants, officers, surgeons, doc- tors, etc., of an ambulance. They call an ambulance here the whole concern ; it may consist of a dozen or twenty-five wagons with all the litters, etc., necessary for the wounded, medicines, instruments, provisions and twenty-five or thirty men. They came to see the Chateau. I hope we may have some wounded sent here; there are twenty beds ready in the Castle and it can contain easily three to four hundred. We shall not have so many as that I suppose but it will be interesting to have a few wounded to take care of. I make LETTERS 177 1870 Age 28 lint in ray leisure moraents and have quite a heap of it ready for when it may be required. There are several Sis- ters of Charity here; the Comte de Chambord built a nice house for them and one for the parish Priest; they teach the children to sew, take care of the sick, and make them- selves generally useful; the Superior is an excellent doc- tress. We all went to call on the old Priest the other day ; he is such a dear old man ; he had a great red cheeked apple in his pocket for the baby and said he had had it three days hoping to see her. He is very fond of her. We are having the most lovely weather imaginable ; for three weeks the sky has been a deep blue, the air soft and the nights fresh and clear. It is like our lovely autumn days at home. It makes me recall all the things I used to do on such days as these. I can imagine you in the carriage going to the pine Avoods carrying the jars for butter, giving the blackberry children a lift, stopping at a nice chestnut tree to gather chestnuts, strolling round your garden after dinner and enjoying your delicious grapes; having a game of croquet and pick- ing the Broadside apples. Is it possible it is a year since I was doing all that? It does not seem six months. Oh! there is no place like home in the summer, — and the winter used to be pleasant, too, when we gathered round the par- lour table in the evenings. But I am grown such a coAvard I don't believe I could stand the cold now half so well as I could in the times before I ever knew a milder climate. As yet we have had no fires here except in the great kitchen where we sit at night. My little daughter has become quite a companion; she chatters so intelligently and she is so amusing. She enjoys life here and is out of doors nearly all day, so I do not see what we can do better than to stay here another month. 0. has made himself very popular by joining the night watch. All the young and old men and the Forest Guards of the estate, about fifty, have enrolled themselves as National Guards. They drill twice a week; they have only ten muskets among them ! They patrol from nine o'clock at night till five in the morning, through the 178 LETTERS 1870 Age 28 village aijd about the Chateau. It is necessary now as there are a good many bad characters loose about the coun- try. 0. had his first billet last night from nine till one. It is quite a novelty in our evening stroll to be stopped by the "Qui vive?" and answer "Amis!" It gives one a feeling of security in the dead of night to hear the step of the patrol and the ' ' All 's well ! " as the hours strike and to hear every wagon and foot passenger halted and ques- tioned as he passes. It seems likely that we shall have a taste of the war on this side of Paris. A battle is expected between Orleans and Pithiviers, that is, about forty miles from here, I should not care to be at Blois or Tours now, which are full of raw recruits, gardes mobiles and Red Re- publicans who wrangle and quarrel and fight among them- selves. We are very thankful to be in such a quiet retired corner. Chambord, October 14, 1870. My Dear S. : . . . I hope now to get my letters regularly, always supposing the Prussians have not cut our railway, in which case we will be in rather a strait. At present the worthy gentlemen are making themselves comfortable at Orleans and a hundred Uhlans are taking a general view of the surrounding country. Yesterday they breakfasted at Meung, fifteen miles from here, and today they are pic- nicking at Beaugency, ten miles from us. I presume in a few days we shall have them to dine with us here. The people seem to suppose they will dine 07i us! It is quite exciting to have one farmer after another come in with the ' ' latest news. ' ' We know through one what the Uhlans have been having for breakfast, from another, escaping with his cattle — that they had finished eating and were mounting their horses, and so on through the day. Just now a farmer who left here at four o'clock has returned saying he could not get home as the Prussians were only twelve miles from here and no one was allowed to go furth- LETTERS 179 1870 Age 28 er on the road than Mer, eight miles away. I am writing now at ten o'clock P. M. Just as we finished dinner, twelve French officers came in with their horses; they wanted dinner, they wanted beds, and the house was full and the larder empty! They are all Legitimists, young nobles of the countryside who often come here for the hunting. I could not but admire the coolness and capacity of our cooks, the host and hostess ; they set to work and in three- quarters of an hour had a very nice dinner of five courses ready. The gentlemen will sleep almost anywhere, they don't seem to mind. Their grooms sat down to eat with their masters. I do not doubt that tomorrow we will have an as- sortment of Prussian officers to dinner; I can assure you we are in a very unsettled condition. Chambord, November 19, 1870. My Dear M. : I am feeling very discouraged; affairs drag on in such an unsatisfactory way. Every day we look for a great, and I hope, decisive battle between the Army of the Loire and the Prussians near Etampes. It must take place next week, every one says, and I hope that may settle things one way or the other. We meant to have left here last week but were prevented. Monday, rain or shine, sick or well, we really mean to go to Tours and there await the result of the expected battle. It is impossible to say what we may have to do beyond that; perhaps go to Antwerp and Holland. Today we see that Russia is getting unruly and that England, Italy, Austria and Turkey are all putting their fingers into the pie. It looks like a general European war. Just now we have a company of a hundred and twenty-four men encamped here ; the Captain says their battalion was ordered from Rouen but on the way the car in which his company and some others were, got switched off, or as he expresses it ''the locomotive took the wrong road," and they found themselves at Blois! The Captain went to the Commandant at Blois and related his plight; 180 LETTERS 1870 Ago 28 the Commandant said, — well, he was sorry, they were not needed at Blois at all but he supposed it was not worth while their going back and they could stay at Blois. After a while he transferred them here and the Captain says they are completely forgotten and may stay at Chambord through all eternity, for the Government is not likely to take the trouble to move them on. The Government, by the way, will not let them buy their provisions in the village because it buys them wholesale at Blois ; at the same time the officials there neglect to send the food here and the day before yesterday the poor one hundred and twenty- four men had not a mouthful of food. The Captain had gone the day before to Blois to beg for food and was promised some but none arrived, so the Captain bought all the vegetables he could here with his own money, as he has done fifty times before, and that was all they had to eat. I saw the poor men and decided to go to the baker and buy all the bread he had, about seventy pounds. We dis- tributed it to the soldiers ; you should have seen the grati- tude of the poor fellows. The carelessness of the Govern- ment is unbelievable. Today, at last, some meat and bread has arrived and the men have had a good dinner. The men are pretty furious against the Government that neglects them and lets them starve and endure all sorts of needless hardships. We have thirty men in hospital, sick with fever or dysentery, or sore throat. The Lieutenant is ill, the offi- cers cannot dine here at the Hotel any more because they have spent all their money in feeding their men and must wait till they can receive money from home, — and they are not rich. Everything seems at loose ends in the French army and present Government. Hotel de V Univers, Tours, December 8, 1870. My Dearest Mother: Since I wrote last there have been some changes in the state of affairs; besides our own change to this comfort- able place, where we are having quite cold weather. Yes- LETTERS 181 1870 Age 23 terday we had the news of a sortie of the Army at Paris commanded by General Duerot, which had been successful as far as it went. Today there was news of a ''great vic- tory ' ' gained by the Army of the Loire ; but on reading the details it seems a small affair of no great importance. The people are naturally much excited and I think the Govern- ment exaggerates the news in order to stir the enthusiasm of the soldiers. From all I have yet read I see nothing to support the expectations of many that in a few days Paris will be open ; and the report that provisions left here this morning for Paris. I think we are on the eve of great events but I am very doubtful of the result and think we should be wiser to leave as we had planned for Antwerp and Holland. . . . We have just heard that the train for the north for two days will be taken entirely by troops, so our plans are delayed, in fact there is no use in making any in this distracted country. I hear it whispered today that the news is not good and that the Government is anx- ious about the military position. The Army of the Loire has evidently not yet been as successful as was hoped. Duerot and his 120,000 men, who made the sortie from Paris, have not had the assistance they expected from the Loire army, and there is danger of their being cut off by the Prussians. Everything hangs on the expected battle. If the French win Paris is saved and the Prussians will have to look to themselves; if the Prussians win they will come rushing all over this country and we will be better anywhere than here. Today regiment after regiment has been marching past the Hotel to the railway station. They are being sent as reinforcements. I have seen such numbers of troops, that if numbers could win the French must have the victory. Our dining room is brilliant with every imag- inable uniform. Generals, with their breasts covered with Orders, Hussars, with their braided and furred uniforms, Garibaldian officers, in brilliant scarlet blouses, Chasseurs, " f ranc-tireurs " in every imaginable costume make a very glowing and picturesque scene. How much more charmiiig- 182 LETTERS 1870 Age 28 colours are in dress than the abominable black and white of our modern male costume ! . . . It was really pleasant when we left Chambord to find how much we were loved there. Old and young came to bid us good-bye; the few sick soldiers left there said they would miss me ; the good Sisters of Charity assured us we had been a blessing to the village! The Captain and all his men were more grateful than the little we had done for them deserved. The "Maire" and Municipal Council had a meeting and gave 0. a vote of thanks for his services! They also gave us a recommendation to officials and municipalities generally to let us "pass freely" and to give us all necessary aid wherever we went. This was signed and sealed with a huge municipal stamp and was quite imposing. You would have supposed we were public bene- factors! I thought the village in general would never let K. go, and a mile out of the village they came running after us to bid us God-speed. I made K. 's fete day an excuse for sending a turkey and some bottles of wine to the Sisters, whom I found were very poor and were giving their little resources to pay for the washing of the soldiers. I had paid a little toward this, the washing of a hundred shirts, and it was not expensive, as each shirt cost two cents to be washed, boiled and dried ! Our life at Chambord was sim- ple and regular, monotonous perhaps, but it had its very bright side; we all love the place dearly. We have just been to inquire if there will be a train tomorrow but the railway officials say the Government has taken all the trains for transporting troops and no one knows when passenger trains will begin to run again; so here we still stay. A company of Prussian prisoners has just passed the Hotel ; they look clean and well dressed and in better condition than the generality of French soldiers. The news this morning is not cheering; the Army of the Loire has been repulsed slightly ; they were fighting all day yesterday but the result is not yet known. If the news were good we would surely know it. Nothing is known of General Du- LETTEES 183 1870 Age 28 crot ; every one looks blue. Bad news only comes filtering through from Balgian and English papers; a great many Americans and English are here, chiefly newspaper cor- respondents. Tours, December 7, 1870. My Dear S. : . . . Yesterday the trains ran again; we were all ready to go when ' ' The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold," as Byron says, or as the papers had it, "The Prussians came down on Rouen ' ' — and ruined all our plans. At present we have the Army of the Loire in retreat on one side of us, a mythical army without a name on the other side at Le Mans ; the Prussians at Orleans, the Prus- sians at Rouen, the Prussians at Vendome, all waiting and ready to pounce on us the moment we make a move, I am sure. We think now of going straight into the midst of the Prussian army as being the simplest way out of the trouble. "We have run away from them so often that we now propose trying the method of taking the bull by the horns and going through them. Goodness knows what we will do. I am heartily tired of making plans. This Hotel is so crammed that we are not very well served, but " a la guerre comme a la guerre," is the motto appropriate now and we thank God we are not worse off. Truly we have reason to be thankful that we are not more nearly interested in the war than we are. When we see the wounded carried past our windows, when we see the poor, half frozen prisoners march by, when we heard the agonizing cries of the poor young wife in the next room to us when they came to tell her her husband was killed, the young Due de Luynes, we could only feel how little we have to complain of when so many hearts are suffering agonies of anxiety, doubt and fear around us ; when so many hearths and homes are being made desolate every moment. It is heart-rending I can assure you. 184 LETTERS 1870 Age 28 Thursday: — AVell! the Government is going. At this present moment there is a general "Sauve qui pent"; am- bassadors, attaches, secretaries, ministers and office seekers are rushing to the station and vehicles are rolling through the streets towards the same goal ; the Hotel is in confusion, because it is known that the Prussians are marching towards us. Friday Morning: — There were nineteen persons at breakfast this morning, instead of the two hundred of yes- terday! Almost every creature left last night; they say a train left every hour. Tours, December 9, 1870. My Dear Father: Things have gone badly since I last wrote you, as you will have seen long before this. The sorties from Paris have done no good; the Army of the Loire is driven back and kept at bay, Gambetta has dismissed General d'Aurelles de Paladine and now the armies are going on pretty much on their own hook. What you may not have heard is that in the retreat from Orleans the other day a number of the mobiles threw away their arms and refused to fight. The number was too great; they dared not fusilade them, nor could they spare so many men. There is terrible demoral- ization ; I think the end is near, but things may take a new turn. We are still quite comfortable here but it is probable that Monday we will leave for St. Malo. Thence we can go, if necessary, to Jersey or elsewhere. I presume the enemy will not stay long about Rouen and Dieppe but will push south and then we can slip through to Antwerp and Holland. In any case at St. Malo we shall be out of all danger and you may feel quite easy about us. The weather has moderated a little but is far from being pleasant. Tours is dreadfully dull ; in spite of the general tension ; we have seen so many Spahis, so many Arabs, so many Turcos, Gari- baldians, Franc-tireurs, Mobiles, Regulars, Hussars and Gen- erals that we are quite tired of them all. Once in a while LETTERS 185 1870 Age 28 a few prisoners pass; the hotel is emptying fast. The Italian Ambassador, who was here, left this morning as did all the others to follow the Government to Bordeaux. There was grumbling enough about it as they had been obliged to take houses and were just settled. We hear such funny stories about this minister and that one; about M. Gambetta and M. Crenieux through the valets and "fem- mes de chambre ' ' who tell A., K. 's nurse, all the gossip of the servant's hall. Many of them have their meals at the Hotel. It is amusing and so true that no man is a hero to his valet. I must close as it is late ; the omnibuses and car- riages are rolling through the streets taking the crowds to the station who could not get off last night. Troops are marching by and wagons of military stores thundering on their way, though it is midnight. The noise and confusion never cease. They say the station today was a sight to be- hold ; such mountains of baggage, such a rush of screaming people, such crowds of soldiers, dragoons, horses, stores, arms, provisions, all waiting to be shipped. And alas! such a number of wounded ; it is heart-rending to see them. Tours, December 11, 1870. Since I wrote you we have had news of Chambord ; the Prussians were there yesterday; there was a strong force of French troops in the Park; the Prussians, in inferior numbers, surprised them, and they were kept back for a time but finally took Chambord! Last night they were across the river from Blois. The bridge across the Loire has been blown up. They summoned the town of Blois to surrender and the people were going to comply when sud- denly M. Gambetta arrived from Beaugency; he ordered the town to resist and defend itself, but backed out himself and came on a special train to Tours leaving Blois to make the best defence she could. I do not yet know if the Prus- sians have entered there or not. Another body of Prussians is coming from another direction toward us and it is very likely they will make their appearance in a few days. The 186 LETTERS 1870 Age 28 town will make no resistance and every one says they will merely pass through as this is not an important point. I think we shall stay ; several English gentlemen and Ameri- cans who are at this hotel say there is not the least danger for foreigners. . . . It is heart-rending to witness the sights here ; there is no system or discipline about the con- duct of the soldiers. They wander about the streets and seem to be ordered hither and thither without reason. The most pitiable sight is that of the wounded and sick ; a train- full arrives, no one meets them, no one knows what to do for them ; they are turned out of the train and left, often to shiver and suffer all night in the station till the Government is ready to send them on again. Today two hundred were turned out of the ambulance at one o'clock and sent to the station to go to Bordeaux in a train at four o'clock. Those who could drag their stiff and wounded legs along were made to walk; the few who were too ill were rattled along in hand carts and all had to carry their heavy sacks them- selves. When they reached the station they had to wait outside till four o 'clock on a chilly damp day. I cried with pity to see them. Poor fever stricken creatures shivering with cold. I went from one to another and they looked grateful even for a kind word. One poor fellow with a wounded leg, hands cut, and as thin as a shadow from fever, was crying from very weakness. He had been there an hour, had two hours more to wait and could only lie on the cold, wet paving stones. I got him some hot soup in the restaurant and slipped a little money into his hand ; he sobbed out that nobody had been so kind to him since he was wounded. A woman seeing him came to her door and asked him to come in to the fire, so we helped him in and I left him in comfort. He was from Calais but was being sent to Bordeaux ! if they only would let him go home. An- other one was so weak and coughed so that he was really not able to carry his sack, so 0. took it from him and car- ried it to the station. He was so feeble he could hardly speak, but the grateful look in his eyes was eloquent. It is LETTERS 187 1870 Age 28 hard to see so much suffering and be able to do so little. . . . Today an officer tells me that the Prefect has or- dered all the arms of the Gardes Nationales sent in and they as well as all the troops are to be sent away by rail to Angers, so when the Prussians come they will find no arms ; no defence will be made and if this policy is thoroughly carried out there will be no danger to the town. Today the boulevard in front of the Hotel presents a strange spec- tacle ; it looks as if there were a retreat or general flight ; one minute a few artillery-men with a gun-carriage, with- out the cannon, pass, then heterogeneous troops, then a regi- ment of dirty, half-starved, lame men going to the station ; groups of twenty or thirty men with arms stacked under the leafless trees are waiting for the order to march off. Half of the men have no arms and half have no baggage, and few have good shoes. Many have one foot bound up in rags or with a strap of leather that represents a boot; trousers in rags, no caps, often an old handkerchief tied around their heads; it is a pitiful sight and I am very weary of all this misery and desolation. December 19. — There seems today a prospect of there being a grand battle near Le Mans, where the French are massing all their available forces. The Army of General Chanzy is terrible demoralized and Bourbaki has been or- dered to support him. Chanzy has retreated from Ven- dome and of course every retreat discourages the troops more. If once they could defeat the Prussians and make a bold dash at Paris to aid Trochu and Ducrot no one knows how the face of things might change. Affairs might take an entirely new aspect. You probably get the news more promptly than we do. ... A "Queen's Messenger" arrived here today from England on his way to Bordeaux and I talked with him. He says that in England the gen- eral opinion is that the war may last a long time yet, and that even the fall of Paris will not put an end to it. I be- gin to think so myself. Our weather here is anything but agreeable; chilly and damp without being positively cold. 188 LETTEES 1870 Age 28 I see there has been a fall of snow at Naples and the weath- er is very cold at Pan. Yesterday there was a review of five thousand troops by General Pisani Jourdain; it was in- teresting. Almost all the cavalry were mounted on small Arab horses; one of the officers had one of the prettiest little creatures I have ever seen ; snow white with a charm- ing head and fine eyes, delicate limbs and a beautiful gait. . . . Your last letter was only nineteen days coming which in these times is not long. I hope when I get to St. Malo I shall have them in even a shorter time. I don't say we shall positively go there because in this country at present man proposes and the Prussians dispose, but in all probability we shall leave sometime this week. At the pres- ent moment Tours is as dull as dull can be; no French troops, no Prussian troops, and not much prospect of any- thing doing for some time. This evening two men arrived from Paris who left there Saturday night in a private bal- loon; they have nothing to do with the Government; they express themselves as astounded at the want of order in the provinces. In Paris they think that the whole of France is rising like one man with no other thought than to succour Paris; they are surprised to find such indifference to its fate here. They tell us that one pound of meat is now al- lowed to eleven persons, but that the Parisians are deter- mined to hold out till the last gasp. December 26. — We had a dismal Christmas day yester- day; so dismal that the only thing to do was to try and forget what day it was and pass it over like any other. Not one incident marked it as a holiday; our weather is very cold and we have to stay in doors most of the time. I wish that all this woeful time that I have passed in France since the war began I had been at home ; if it does not soon finish you will see me at home before you expected. I am very homesick and have only one desire, which is to get out of France and get to America. This winter is so unusually severe beside, I see they have had snow at Nice and Naples. , . . It is incredible how quickly you receive news at LETTERS 189 1870 Age 28 home. Here at Tours, with the trains running and the tele- graph working, we do not know in the least what General Chanzy is doing at Le Mans, nor have we had an idea of what is going on at Lyons or at Bordeaux. Bourbaki is trying to conceal his movements and we only know that he is near Bourges. I think he is trying to steal round to Paris, but the Prussians are more stupid than we think them if they let him approach it. I get your letters now in about nineteen days. 1871 Age 29 LETTERS AND JOURNAL OF 1871 LETTERS Tours, January 1, 1871. My Very Dear Mother: A Happy New Year to you and all the dear ones at home. I hope you have had a happy day and I am sure if I could have spent it with you I should have been the hap- piest of the happy. You can fancy that here the day has not been gay; every one is in too great desolation to care for any festivities, and we feel too much the influence of the misery about us to care to have any diversion. We have spent a quiet and rather sad day; the only cheering thing was K. 's rejoicing over the simple presents we gave her. It was a pleasure to see her delighted little face. As neith- er 0. nor I cared to give each other presents we concluded to spend our spare money on the sick, the poor and the wounded. This last week has been a dull one; we have had no news of any consequence. There have been some skirmishes within twelve or fifteen miles of us, but they were slight. At present the Prussians have left this section. Whether they will come back remains to be seen. We get no reliable news except through the London Times and, of course, that is four days old when we get it. We might better be anywhere than at the seat of war as far as getting news goes. From Paris we hear divergent accounts; one person writes that everything looks black and the city can- not hold out another month ; another person tells you they can well keep up for two or even three months and that all is going on famously. The former news, I notice, is always LETTEES AND JOURNAL 191 1871 Age 29 from private letters, the latter from Grovernment reports. The winter is dragging on and there seems no more chance now of the war ending than there did in September. When the weather is very cold I declare that I will go to the south, but even at Biarritz and Pau there is deep snow and bitter cold weather. We are perplexed as ever as to what to do; even if the war is over in two months we shall have the civil war which is sure to follow. Just think how the poor soldiers must suffer this fearfully cold weather ; it keeps me awake at night thinking of them. They say that many are frozen to death. A good many wounded have come in to- day; there was a skirmish near Vendome; the Prussians lost two hundred men I believe who were taken prisoners. The news from Paris today is not good ; the Prussians have taken Avron; I believe they will soon begin to bombard Paris. Wliat do you think at home of the French chances of success in the end? I have not the slightest idea they can do anything except accept such terms as Prussia will offer them, I am now reading some charming French tales by Erckmann-Chatrian ; they are all about Alsace and the Vosges. I have never read anything that pleased me more. At present I am reading those called "The Con- script," "Waterloo," "Madame Therese," "The Blocus" "1 'Homme du Peuple." They are all about the wars of Napoleon and the Revolution. I have just finished the "Blocus," which is the history of the siege of Phalsbourg in 1814; it is specially interesting at this time when the little town has just surrendered after another siege. I am reading these stories in the French popular edition which is finely illustrated. I wish I knew if they had ever been translated for I should like to do it myself. M. Erckmann is still living and is going to write some more tales about the present war. There was an interesting letter in the London Times from some one who had been to Phalsbourg and seen M. Erckmann there. M. Chatrian is the friend who has written parts of these stories ; I do not know if he is living yet or not. 192 LETTEES AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 ^ Tours, January 6, 1871. Today we were walking on the ''Mail" when we heard cannonading, so we went quickly to the ramparts along the river and thence we could hear the sound so plainly that it seemed not more than five miles away. I counted fifteen cannon shots and "Mitrailleuses" in one minute. We did not count the musketry rounds, which were frequent but fainter. I have not heard the cannon so distinctly before except when the Prussians bombarded Tours, then as you may fancy it shook the windows, but today each discharge seemed to shake the air. The river was full of floating ice which moved with the lazy current. I leaned on the wall and looked at the river and listened to the cannon, till all at once I found myself quite dizzy and almost sick. The motion of the ice and constant booming affected us both most unpleasantly. Coming back through the Rue Royale we met the Doctor of the regiment that was at Chambord ; poor man! When he stopped suddenly before us I stared at him in utter unrecognition ; he was so pale, so thin and ragged, so generally miserable looking that I never could have believed it was the jolly, well dressed, healthy look- ing fellow I had known at Chambord. He was wounded in the leg a week ago at Chateau Renault and he was on his way to Bordeaux to recruit. He had been wandering about the country for a month and he had suffered from cold and wet and hunger and fatigue and at last they met the enemy and he was wounded and brought here. He was just dragging himself to the station from the ambulance; there was no carriage to take him as all the hospital ones have gone out to the battle today. Of course we did what we could to help him and as he went along holding 0. 's arm he told us all that he and our poor friend. Captain Latapie, and the company had suffered. He almost cried. With his leg tied up, his thin, bent figure, his pale, and if the truth must be told, grimy face, he was a piteous object. He did not know anything of his company since he was wounded, but he thought they were fighting both yesterday LETTEES AND JOUENAL 193 1871 Age 29 and today. But, oh dear ! the poor Doctor, miserable as he looked, was nothing in comparison with the awful looking objects that pass in crowds every day. You, with your pitying, sensitive heart, would cry your eyes out to see them. Last night, just before dinner, there passed about fifty poor wretches, tlieir clothes in rags, some of them with the soles of their shoes hanging by two stitches, and show- ing their poor, dirty sore feet, with a little straw tied around them. No stockings, and so dirty that they were black. Some had their heads tied up with rags, some had their arms and hands wounded, some coughed, some limped, some crawled along. They trailed past to the ambulance where they were to pass the night, and this morning went wearily back to the station to be sent to Bordeaux or some hospital in the south. It is heart-rending to see such misery and to be able to do little or nothing to alleviate it ; I can assure you it is anything but gay here; I never saw such desolation in my life, nor realized the horrors of war before. Not even during our war, for we were far from the seat of it, and here we are in the midst of all the misery. You must excuse me if I don't send you an animated letter; I feel forlorn and gloomy, seeing every one about me so, and there is nothing to tell you but of the horrors that we see. The cannonading yesterday which seemed so near was at least fifteen miles away ; there seems no doubt but that we must have a great battle between here, Le Mans and Char- tres, the great triangle. Chanzy cannot stay forever at Le Mans. . . . The news from Paris is not reassuring ; there seems a want of good administration, as they say the troops in the forts outside Paris have very little, if any- thing to eat and that the cavalry cannot do much as the horses are so badly fed that they die of weakness. The com- missary department is evidently broken down. Saturday: — 0. has gone today to Chateau Renault and tomorrow he will visit the battle fields of the last two days. I envy him the chance, not because it is by any means an agreeable excursion, but because he will see a real field of 194 LETTEES AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 battle. I know how horrible it must be and I daresay I should not get over the effects of it for a month, but one must see that sort of thing once in a lifetime. If any battle is fought nearer to us I shall go. . . . The weather has changed entirely and is mild and warm ; it rains all the time. It is hard to tell which is best or worst for the soldiers; the very cold or the very damp weather. They get fever so badly under present conditions. I wish I could give you some news of Rome, but except that I saw in the Times the other day that Rome was half under water from the Tiber as well as all the surrounding Cam- ■pagna, I am ignorant of the state of affairs there. At Chambord we heard from Guerra and Lanciani. I fancy there are not many strangers in Rome this winter. I see that King Victor Emanuel has been to Rome and took up his quarters at the Quirinal Palace. Sunday: — It has been a dismal day; K. went out to walk on the "Mail" and I with her. Later I wandered about till I reached the Cathedral. I went in and found Vespers were going on, and heard some sweet music. The Cathedral was quite dark, only the choir and altar were lighted, and they were singing the Anthem for the Epipha- ny to a tune we sing at home. It was sweet to hear some- thing familiar, sung to a magnificent organ. After the ser- vice the organist went on playing for some time; I did en- joy it. It reminded me of the Trinita dei Monti where you and Mother and Father and I used to go so often to hear the nuns sing. Monday: — 0. came back at noon today; he assisted at the battle yesterday, but he couldn't see anything but a little smoke. It was, however, quite an affair in which the French were beaten back. The Government never reports any defeat and all retreats are called "strategical move- ments. ' ' Tours, January 14, 1871. Although I have written to various people at home in the last few days I must write a note to you as our postal LETTEES AND JOURNAL 195 1871 Age 29 communications may be interrupted for a few days. I have been much relieved to hear through the Superintend- ent of the Railways that even when the Prussians are here we shall still be able to get and send our letters. The post office will send a courier to the nearest railway that the trains will reach each day. I am not very sure that even this official is certain of the fact, but this is what he tells me and I can only hope it will be so. You will hear long before this reaches you that General Chanzy has been beat- en at Le Mans and is in full retreat. I presume we shall see the Germans here by tomorrow. I do not believe that they will stay long or that they will be numerous. It is • sickening to see the misery of the poor Mobiles who go past in retreat, half dead with hunger, fatigue and cold, they must still march, march, march, and dear knows where they will stop. A Captain told me last night that for fourteen nights he had not slept in a bed or even on straw. An- other told me he had been on the march for four days and nights with only one hour's rest in twenty-four; he had dysentery and had had nothing but dry bread for four days and his orderly, poor fellow, had given out by the way. He had tried to encourage him to go on, to struggle along, but he had to leave him lying by the roadside and supposes he is a prisoner. The poor creatures say they would rather lie down and be made prisoners than drag on this miserable existence of starvation, cold and fatigue. The Government seems not to take the slightest care of them ; they have not even flannel shirts and their clothes are in rags. The weather is cold again but clear with some snow on the ground. We are all fairly well. When I next write you I suppose I shall be able to tell you about the Prussian occu- pation. We have escaped it twice, the third time we will not get off, I think. Yesterday some Uhlans came within two miles of the city, but they met a lot of French cavalry retreating from Le Mans or Beaumont and as the French were in larger numbers the Germans retreated; but there is a force of them at Monnaie, eight miles from here. The 196 LETTEES AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 French troops are all leaving; however, we have still some few people in the hotel. Soon we shall have German offi- cers among us. Tonrs, January 19, 1871. My Dearest Mother: This morning, when we least expected them, the Prus- sians arrived. Last night we had not an idea of their near approach ; we heard on the contrary there were only three h-undred anywhere near us, and that 10,000 French were coming to hold Tours ; this morning, at eight, we heard they were on the other side of the river making arrangements with the Mayor and at twelve they entered. The General commanding and a General of Division, with their respec- tive staffs, are at this Hotel. I know no names as yet. I have seen the staff officers, who are fine looking men. The troops, mostly cavalry, at least those I have seen, have passed our window ; the band was playing some fine music. I am sorry to say the good people of Tours do not look in the least annoyed at the occupation of their town. At this moment about one hundred and fifty men, women and children are standing in front of the hotel staring at the sentinels and orderlies who are holding the horses; the shops are open, the trades-people evidently look for custom. I must tell you now, why we have not gone away as we expected. Poor little K, was not quite well the evening I last wrote you and since then has been through what seems to me the worst of the necessary diseases, scarlet fever. You can imagine how anxious I have been. This morning the Doctor said the disease had begun to decline ; all dan- ger was past, but she needed the greatest care during con- valescence. The Doctor says she must not go out for three weeks. I do not know when I can send this letter to you. I must wait for some one who is going out of Tours to take it for me. I hope to hear of some one soon. We could, of course, leave here except for the child and must stay now whether we will or not. As the Prussians hold Le LETTEES AND JOURNAL 197 1871 Age 29 Mans, AlenQon and all the road to Rouen we may be able to send letters to England by that route. At present Chanzy is driven back and beaten, Bourbaki, in the east, is helpless and Faidherbe, in the north, cannot advance. It seems as if this state of things could not go on much longer ; it seems impossible that Paris can hold out another month. They used to say they had bread for two years and wine for one ; now it seems from their own account that common wine is scarce and that they have to grind rice to mix with their flour to eke out the scant supply. The Prussians I have seen are well fed, fresh, hearty, good natured crea- tures, a great contrast to the poor, forlorn Mobiles we are accustomed to see ; their uniforms are not at all pretty, they are usually black, or black and white, a few are all white. The Generals seem as plainly dressed as the men. The troops so far have paid for all they buy and have con- ducted themselves very well. The terms on which they occupy the town, the terms which the Mayor obtained for them, seem easy. The troops are kept in the barracks, not billeted in private houses as they have been in Blois and Orleans; the inhabitants of the city can go out and in as they please. The Germans promised to make no requisi- tions so long as the people behaved quietly ; the municipal- ity will give them 10,000 rations a day, that is all. Our banker, M. Gouin, is the Mayor and he really has obtained excellent conditions for the city. I know of no other ex- cept Rouen that has been so lucky. JOURNAL January 19, 1871. At last they have come! Last night we had French officers to dinner and today we have Prussian officers to breakfast. Our French acquaintances left at five this morning and when I wakened, 0. told me the Germans were at La Tranehee ; at noon they entered. . . . The squad- rons of Lancers and Uhlans galloping here and there, the 198 LETTERS AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 Generals on superb horses, the infantry with their pointed casques and the music make a lively atmosphere. January 20. I had the good fortune today to be able to send a letter home. Two Englishmen of the Anglo- American ambulance were going to the ' ' Avant postes ' ' and then beyond, and one of them offered to take my letter. I shall try to see the Gen- eral in command about sending my letters through Prussia. I learned today to distinguish the Uhlans from the other troops; they carry no lances and they have a white band across the breast. The Lancers have no band; the officers with a red band on the cap are Prussians, the others I have yet to determine. January 21. I went with O. today to La Tranehee; it was a busy place. Wagons filled with grain or forage or provisions came in great numbers. At the top of the hill were several mitrailleuses pointed with the utmost precision to sweep the bridge and the Rue Royale. I think on the whole Tours has had ''de la chance" to have no heavy conditions im- posed on her by what looks to be a polite enemy. The only thing we suffer from is lack of news. Since the occupation of the town we have not had one word. I wish the Prus- sians would "publish a newspaper! January 22, Sunday. They say the Uhlans have gone as far as Chinon ; per- haps they will visit Rassay. In July when we were there we little thought in January the Germans would have taken our places. January 25. I sent a letter home today. I took it to the Prefecture where the office of the Prussian Commander is. An officer took it, went through the form of looking it over, then said he would read it and send it. He said I could also have my letters sent me through Prussia; they will be opened here before being given to me. This gives me great com- fort; that I can still be in communication with home. I saw the son of Prince Frederick Charles today; he wore a light blue uniform. I also saw the young Count Eulen- berg. We hear that the French reached Versailles in the LETTEES AND JOURNAL 199 1871 Age 29 sortie of the 19th and General Trochu has remained there leaving General Le Flo in command of Paris ; what would we not give for a newspaper ! January 27. There are all sorts of rumours in the air today; they say that Versailles is definitely taken and that Prince Albert is wounded; again that he is dead and again that he is a prisoner. Also that General Ducrot, having caused the Germans to evacuate Versailles has advanced on Melun. Also that many Prussian guns have been taken and that they have put 30,000 to 40,000 Prussians "hors combat." The Prussians say Paris is burning and that Trochu is a prisoner. What is one to believe ? January 31, 1871. This, my twenty-ninth birthday, has been a happy day for me; my little darling was dressed today and she has walked several times round the room holding my hand. . . . There was a military service in the Avenue de Grammont today; the troops were drawn up in a hollow square. In the centre was a dais on which stood the clergy- man before a crimson covered table and the standard bear- ers supporting the royal standard on each side of him. The General and his staff were opposite; it was an impressive sight. I do not quite know what the service, was for, but I fear it was in celebration of thanksgiving for the surren- der of Paris. Today the "Union Liberale" has reappeared and no one but those who, like us, have been utterly de- prived of all news for two weeks, can realize how eagerly we read that half sheet. The news of the surrender of Paris and of the armistice agreed upon, though coming from Prussian sources, seems not to be doubted. February 4, 1871. These last four days have been full of interest ; the news from Paris has been confirmed. The National Assembly is to be elected immediately. Paris was at the end of its pro- visions. M. Gambetta has sent out a "decret" concerning the elections which is variously described by the different newspapers as "Epileptique, " " Monstrueux, " "Inique," etc. He has published a decree by which in fact no one could be a candidate for election who was not a Republi- can ! Here some changes have taken place ; the troops are 200 LETTEES AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 now billeted upon the inhabitants and long are the faces of those who are thus inconvenienced, and who I must con- fess gave neither shelter nor food to their poor, half starved shivering Mobiles when they were here. Two gen- tlemen arrived from Paris, tell us that the bread at the end was something abominable ; a mixture of bran, oats, rye and rice. They say Prince Frederick Charles will be here on the 8tli. I saw some white cuirassiers today; they looked splendid, one was on a white horse and flew past us at a gallop. His white dress and steel cuirasse and helmet shimmering in the sun. He looked like Attila. LETTERS Tours, February 9, 1871. My Dear Father: We hear tonight that the armistice has been lengthened ; we are deeply interested in the coming proceedings of the National Assembly. I believe myself that the Orleans House will be recalled and a constitutional sovereignty es- tablished under the Comte de Paris, but it would not aston- ish me either to hear of a restoration of the Bonapartes. I think the Nation needs a strong hand to rule it and will for some time. . . . How much I shall have to tell you when I come home of all I have seen and experienced since the war. I shall never regret having remained in the midst of it ; it is an experience that will be interesting to remem- ber all my life. My stay has given me opportunities of judging and testing national character and of learning more of military and political matters than I could have done in a lifetime of reading. A good many of my old opinions have been strengthened and confirmed by all I have seen. Now I should like a long rest to digest all this, but the rest is not in store yet ; I must see all these battle fields and ravaged countries and desolated villages before I have done. At least about Paris I mean to see things thoroughly. LETTERS AND JOURNAL 201 1871 Age 29 Tours, February 15, 1871. My Dear Father: There was great animation in the streets today ; the news of Peace brightened every one's face. The German troops are preparing to leave and look as though they longed to get back to the Fatherland. We got as far as the station this morning on the way to Blois and Chambord but we got no farther. We found the train advertised for one 'clock could not well accommodate us and our baggage so we concluded to wait till tomorrow and take a French regular train at eleven in the morning. The weather is so charming that life is a pleasure anywhere ; it is as warm now as May. We had letters from Paris this week from the concierge saying the studio was in perfect order and giving us news of artist friends. Another letter was from our old cook telling us all the trials and tribulations since the siege, which, however, she bravely makes light of now they are past. She has the idea of politics shared by a ma- jority of the lower classes; that idea being that the army and the forts were all sold to Bismarck by Jules Favres and Trochu and that although they had to eat cat and dog and bread made of sand and flax-seed, it was not because there were no provisions but because the Government had hidden them, and that there were three months provisions concealed when Paris capitulated ! JOURNAL February 16. Tours is getting gayer. Prince Frederick Charles has arrived and is at the hotel du Marechal Baraguay d'Hil- liers. General Voigts Rhetz is also here and I think the Grand Duke of Mechlenbourg ; I have seen the last two. We now have music every afternoon on the "Mail" and sometimes in the morning. Yesterday there were races; tomorrow they say the Crown Prince will arrive. M. Gouin, our banker and the Mayor of Tours, has been elected 202 LETTEES AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 as a delegate to the National Assembly. The Prefect Buret has been superseded by a German Prefect, Count Koenigs- mark. The armistice has been on for five days. February, 23. The Crown Prince arrived Saturday; I saw him. He has a fine, intelligent, amiable face and athletic figure. He has left again. General von Moltke has been here but I did not see him closely. The Duke of Mecklenbourg is also here. Yesterday O. spoke to one of the newly arrived young officers, a dark, handsome fellow, thinking he was Italian, both by appearance and by the uniform he wore. He proved to be Bavarian but said he had an Italian mother. We met a young Mr. P. son of the Mayor of Chateau Renault, and I found he had been all over the United States and had even been through Meadville! He seems to be a wonderful young man who has taken all the honours of the University here and has already won the Cross of the Legion of Honour and he is not more than twenty-five. The great question of Peace or War is not yet decided. We wait so anxiously to know the result of the negotiations at Versailles. I am sorry to say the National Assembly has been the scene of some disgraceful encoun- ters; thanks to Messrs. Rochefort, Gambetta, Louis Blanc, etc. Such men seem to destroy all the dignity of a confer- ence. February 23. Dean Stanley has preached a sermon at Westminster Abbey in London in aid of the fund now being raised for the relief of the destitute people of Paris. The Dean took his text from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the subjoined, though not consecutive, verses; they struck me as wonder- fully applicable. "How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people ! How has she become as a widow ! She that was great among the nations and princess among the provinces. How is she become tribu- tary! Arise! cry out in the night! In the be- ginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up thy hands towards Him for the lives of thy young children that faint for hunger in the corner of LETTERS AND JOURNAL 203 V 1871 Age 29 every street. Remember, Oh Lord, what has come upon us; consider and behold our reproach; our inheritance is turned to strangers; our houses to aliens. We are orphans and fatherless; our mothers are as widows. Our necks are under persecution ; we labour and have no rest. ' ' LETTERS Tours, March 2. My Dear Father: I received on Monday your letter of February 7th, I am glad to find that we have done pretty much what you advised our doing in your letter. I am sure we have done wisely in not hurrying to Paris, though the temptation was great. Even now we have decided to spend two weeks at Chambord before going back there. Until the Prussians have left Paris and some sort of order is restored I do not think the city is safe. At last Peace is definitely decided on. I can hardly believe it ; the state of France at this mo- ment is pitiable. I feel the greatest sympathy for such men as Thiers, Favres, etc. ; they have a fearful task to perform and I fear will get little thanks for it. You will no doubt have read the accounts of the sitting of the Na- tional Assembly; in spite of some disgraceful scenes it seems to be on the whole a respectable body, and the ma- jority of men composing it are thoughtful, honest and sensible. I have confidence in M. Thiers, though I think he is at heart an "Orleaniste" and always will be. I am sure he heartily desires a restoration and perhaps he may attempt it after a time. JOURNAL Friday, March 3. This morning we left Tours. Two days ago two thou- sand troops arrived from Le Mans; they passed before the Generals and Prince Frederick Charles on the Place du 204 LETTERS AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 Palais de Justice. They were all black Brunswickers with some cavalry and no end of artillery. They defiled for sev- eral hours. Blois, when we reached it, looked forlorn and dull after Tours ; many of the shops were shut, few people were in the street and all looked gloomy. There were plenty of Prussians; we met them all along the road. We reached Chambord at seven o'clock; they were not expect- ing us there and cries and exclamations broke out when they saw the omnibus. M. Pernelle was so glad to see us that he hugged 0., kissed Amelia and kissed my hand re- peatedly. Every one looked rejoiced, and Black, the dear old dog, was wild with joy; he jumped and barked and licked my hands and face and put his paw's on O.'s shoulders and caracoled around K. for an hour. Madame 1 'Hopital is still here and the Pernelles ; it was like a home coming; it is pleasant to feel you are so welcome. My old room, neat and cheery with its blazing wood fire, was all ready. K. walked from one room to another, saying she was glad to get to "her house." We had a cosy dinner, then 0. had his pipe before the fire and we all gathered round the hearth in the great kitchen and listened to all the wonderful stories they had to tell of what had hap- pened during our absence. Above all, of that ninth of December, when the enemy arrived. March 7. I went on Sunday to see the good Sisters and had such a welcome as warms my heart. Sister St. Bernard hugged and kissed me. Sister St. Denis would not let go my hand for ten minutes, and Sister Marie, with her lovely, gentle face, smiled a welcome. I do love these good Sisters ; they are such as one could come to in trouble, for they would be a comfort and refuge. I should like K. when she is older to spend a month or two with them every year. M. Arnoult was also glad to see us ; he tells us there are heaps of chasse- pots in the Castle which have been broken and so rendered useless by the Prussians ; also an enormous heap of swords which, however, has dwindled he tells us because the peas- ants from all the villages about have helped themselves. We have secured six, two for 0., two for A., and two for any one else who may want them. We are offered more chasse- pots than we want; I am promised one or two Prussian casques, the black ones. We have begun again our old quiet life, so tranquil and cheerful, I enjoy it. K. is as LETTERS AND JOURNAL 205 1871 Age 29 happy as can be, digging in the sand making garden, roll- ing her hoop, or playing with Black and the cat. O. has begun painting. We hear that the Crown Prince of Saxony or Baden, I don't know which, breakfasted here one day; no one knew who he was, Madame Bazin had very little to offer him and told him so. He inspected the casserole on the fire where her dinner was cooking; he liked the odour of some stewed veal and said he would like the half of that. He ate it with some bread and potatoes with appar- ently a hearty relish, and at a table without a tablecloth. He paid generously for it. The next day other officers ar- rived and Madame Bazin said again she had nothing to offer them; one of them replied "Give us the same 'noth- ing' that you gave the gentleman yesterday. He found it so good that he spoke of it at Blois and recommended us to come here." Then they went on to say that the Prince had told them "If the hostess tells you she has nothing, don 't believe her ; inspect the casseroles. You '11 be sure to find something delectable." Here, and especially at Blois, every one seems impressed with the amiability of the CroAvn Prince of Prussia. He came here one morning at six o'clock with an escort of Lancers, etc., and went over the Chateau; he only remained an hour or two and went on to Blois and Tours. Almost all the officers Avho were at Tours have visited the Chateau since we returned ; General Voigts Rhetz, General Hartmann and their staffs, including Count Eulenberg. They all expressed great admiration of the Chateau and no wonder; it did look so beautiful that day. The orderlies recognizing us, having seen us daily at Tours, saluted us respectfully^ and one came up to speak to K, The weather is so charming we spend half the day in the court yard or garden. LETTERS Chambord, March 9. My Dear Mother: I can 't let a letter go without a line in it to you, though I have no news to tell you. We are back again at Cham- bord and I am as happy as can be; the weather is lovely, the air sweet, every one is glad to see us. We have such 206 LETTEES AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 delicious fresh butter, and eggs and milk that K. is gaining flesh. 0. is busy and consequently happy and I am quite contented to stay a few weeks. . . . We shall go back to Paris when everything seems quiet and very soon now I shall be going home ! As soon as I can get to Paris I will see about steamers and do all my shopping. Let me know what things you want me to get there for you. I was glad to hear of Aunt V. and immensely amused at the account of Tom Paine! Have the people of Keokuk gone stark staring mad that they are making a saint and martyr of that old atheist, Tom Paine ? I do believe some astounding radicals on the authority of Milton or of one verse in the Bible will set up the Devil as a much abused person (or angel) and the first of all radicals and begin to worship him as the being who first got up a revolution against estab- lished order and headed the rebellion ! The ' ' Gentleman of the Liberals ' ' must have a bee in his bonnet, I think. The number of gentlemen who wear that insect in their hats in the present National Assembly of France is alarming. It is true some of them have been weeded out or rather have removed themselves, but there remain some queer speci- mens. One of these the other day on his own responsibility dissolved the Assembly ; he told the respected body that it no longer existed, and that consequently there was no need of his giving in his resignation. He then departed for Paris, where he is busily engaged in abusing every one and in arousing the people to revolt. I must add that he still draws his salary as a delegate, but of course this must be through sheer f orgetf ulness ! The consistency of his con- duct is difficult to see; this is Felix Pyat. I do hope that when once the Assembly is settled at Versailles things may run peaceably and it may be safe to enter Paris again. Chambord, March 21. My Dear Father: I wish I could send you a message by pigeon or tele- graph to wish you many happy returns of your birthday, LETTEES AND JOURNAL 207 1871 Age 29 and also to relieve your mind of any anxiety you may be feeling lest we be in Paris under the present disquieting circumstances. We all send you our warmest love and con- gratulations. K. has been out in the sunny meadows along the river side to gather violets with which we shall deck our dinner table. I wish I could drop into your hands a bunch of these purple posies with their delicious perfume and send you your grand-daughter who looks as fresh as a May rose to give you a birthday kiss. We are still safe at Chambord and very glad not to be in Paris under the disturbed state of affairs there. For several days before the troubles actually broke out the papers had reported that the cannon held by the Gardes Nationales had been given up and that all was quiet and no danger appre- hended. Upon that we had decided to return to Paris, but found, as has usually been the case, that the papers did not tell the truth and just when the danger was greatest they reported all danger past. We heard last evening of the revolution in Paris and today's papers give an account of the fearful state of things and the details of horrors al- ready committed. It is indeed distressing that the people could not wait till the enemy was fairly beyond the fron- tier before they flew at each other's throats and caused chaos and anarchy. The Government shows itself too vacil- lating and weak to handle the "canaille" who pretend to impose their vile theories upon the nation. It is difficult to sympathize with the people at this juncture ; if the popu- lation of Paris gained a little glory by its courage in endur- ing the siege it has diminished it now by its conduct. You cannot imagine the indignation which is felt in the prov- inces; people yesterday were fairly trembling with fury. The provincial papers are uttering one universal howl of rage. A. received a letter today from Paris which gives much the same report as do the papers. You will have seen the cold blooded way in which General Clement Thomas and General Lecompte were shot by the people; it was a horrible affair; one cannot imagine what will be 208 LETTEES AND JOUKNAL 1871 Age 29 the result of all this. The Government cannot rely on the army for the soldiers of the line refuse to fight and put themselves on the side of the insurgents. I daresay the Government will have to decamp and then the heads of the revolution will proclaim the Commune, socialism, and Heaven only knows what. No one seems to feel any confi- dence in the future. Of course this affair of Paris will de- lay my home coming; I must have a month or six weeks there and the longer I have to stay here the later I shall be in sailing. I am very sorry but I must do nothing impru- dent and it is wise to wait till the danger in Paris is past. The weather here continues charming ; we hope to make an excursion to Beaugency some time this week. Today there has taken place the annual sale of wood ; it is the chief reve- nue of Chambord, and brings in something like 150,000 francs a year. The sale took place in one of the great halls of the Chateau, all the tenants, forest guards and wood cutters attended, most of them in their picturesque uni- forms of ''Gardes" of Chambords. The sale went well and the scene was interesting ; the Great Hall with stag 's heads and horns and old armour hung all about the huge chimney piece with its carved heraldic escutcheons, the old oaken chairs, the forest and game keepers in uniform, the tenants in blue blouses, the wood cutters with their bronzed faces, the respectable merchants, the builders and architects, the old Regisseur, and lastly the Notary. This man looked so amazingly, so strikingly like the Comte de Chambord him- self, that I was comepletely taken aback, "saisie" as the French say, and thought by some chance the real Master had arrived and was holding a levee! The Notary pro- ceeded to conduct the sale and did it in so quiet and digni- fied a manner that K. seemingly thought it was a sermon and proceeded to go to sleep ! . . . The peach and almond trees are in full bloom now. I went to Blois the other day and visited the great "Hotel Dieu, " or general hospital. There were still a good many sick and wounded, but they looked so clean and comfortable and so v/ell tended LETTERS AND JOURNAL 209 1871 Age 29 by the Sisters of Mercy, that it was more pleasant than oth- erwise. I wonder if it is the grey dress and white coiffe, which makes a beauty of every woman who dons the habit ! or do only pretty women become Sisters? I never yet saw an ugly Sister, and a greater number of lovely faces can nowhere be found than in the ranks of the " Religieuses. " These grey Sisters have a great fascination for me. There is little of religious cant about them and so much that is practical, self-sacrificing and noble. I suppose one can do just as well without being in an Order, but there certainly is great charm in their quiet, useful life together, in the ex- quisite neatness of their houses, and in the simplicity and sincerity of their intercourse. I am just now reading a history of the Revolution of 1848, and of the reign of Louis Philippe which I find most interesting. Taken in connec- tion with history now in the making and in comparison with it, and current events each day developing makes it profitable reading, indeed. I thought I should have a great deal of leisure here but reading newspapers and books, writing, walking and sewing fill the days and I find them far too short for all I want to accomplish. Chambord, March 30. My Dear N. : It is nearly two weeks since mj'^ last letter arrived from home and I am beginning to be anxious for another. The way things drag on at Paris is a misery ; every day that I am obliged to stay here makes one more day necessary for me to stay in Paris, and one day farther from home. I thought surely to have sailed the first of May but it will be much later; instead of affairs looking more hopeful at Paris they get worse every day. The Government is weak ; the "Comite central" who rules in Paris gets stronger. The last news is that they propose to do away with every one who opposes them, and an old instrument of summary punishment is openly spoken of, the Guillotine. A reign of terror seems about to commence. The ' ' Comite ' ' advises 210 LETTERS AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 the killing of all the Orleans family and the Bonapartes; every Pretender to the throne ; also the arrest and punish- ment of any member of the National Assembly who can be caught. Is it not a charming state of things? They already "make requisitions" in Paris which is a polite term for stealing. Thank heaven, Ave are not there. People are leaving the dangerous city and Blois and Tour are full of refugees. If the Commune had succeeded in establishing itself where it was tried in Lyons, Marseilles, Toulouse, etc., we should not have dared to remain in France, for the dangerous ideas might then have been propagated through- out the provinces, but fortunately the people in the country are more reasonable than in Paris and the Commune when proclaimed found no supporters and fell to the ground, so Paris alone holds out. I see the banker, Hottinguer, was one of the wounded in the affair of the Rue de la Paix and Place Vendome. He was reported killed and afterward as only wounded ; I don 't know which is true. The great event of our day here is the arrival of the postman; there is a scramble for letters and newspapers ; the ' ' latest news ' ' from Paris is read out. There is a general discussion as to whether ''It looks better or worse." We go ofP to see the Regisseur, M. Arnould, to compare notes and opinions as to the state of things. He sends me all his daily newspapers and we send him ours. We have four daily now. Today there were neither papers nor letters and we are very anx- ious, for such a thing has never happened before. Today it is four weeks that we have been here and we only ex- pected to remain a week or ten days. Saturday, April 1. Two travelers just arrived from Paris report communi- cations almost cut. They left in the last train last night ; almost all the railways are stopped, the gates of the city are closed. No one knows what is going to happen. We prob- ably shall stay on here until Paris is once more herself. By the way, please keep my letters since last September during LETTERS AND JOURNAL 211 1871 Age 29 all the war, I hope you have not burned them. I would like to have them as reminiscences of all I have seen. Also if you happen to have kept any of the last winter's "New York Tribunes"; keep them still for me. I am curious to see what the opinion of the United States press was as re- gards the war; I have never seen a United States news- paper since the beginning of the war. JOURNAL April 3—5. Three years ago today we arrived in Paris; oh, what a miserable day it was. Some of us ill, I miserable, and no end of discomforts to encounter. Today it is charming and we would be very happy were it not for the weary waiting for Paris to tranquilize. Affairs do not improve there ; the Government is helpless ; the rebels grow stronger and more impudent. The last report, however, is that General Vinoy has beaten them. They attempted a sortie but he drove them back, killing great numbers and giving no quarter. The posts are suppressed to and from Paris ; we receive no letters, and the papers come irregularly. It seems as though we would never get to Paris ; if this state of things goes on much longer I shall give up going there entirely, and go to Brussels instead. LETTER Chambord, April 10. My Dear S. : . . . Isn't the state of Paris shocking? It seems as though madness had seized the people. The Government should not have let the storm gather without interference until it was too late ; we are so anxious for every detail and news comes so slowly. Yesterday a cannonading was dis- tinctly heard from eight in the morning till three o'clock. It seems impossible that we could hear the cannon at Paris, yet it seems it could only come from there. A gentleman 212 LETTEES AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 who arrived from Orleans yesterday says it was very dis- tinct there. The air was heavy all day and at three it be- gan to rain and we heard the cannon no more. If the sound was really from Paris the cannonading must have been fearful there. I see the Archbishop of Paris and his sister, Mile. Darboy, the Cure of the Madeleine and several other Prelates have been arrested by the insurgents and their houses pillaged. M. Thiers' house, which is a perfect mus- eum, is "sequestrated"; it will no doubt be pillaged also. We long to get to Paris because we want to settle our affairs there and leave it forever; we have learned to hate the place. Hundreds of Parisians are seeking to buy property in Touraine, saying they will never return to live in that accursed city. I, of course, long to get home ; I wonder how it will seem to be again in a land where they speak English. Since I left Paris in September I have seen only two Eng- lish people to speak to. As to reading, except the "Times" at Tours, I have not read one word of English since last June. I read only French as English books are hard to get and I find I learn better to speak the language by confining myself exclusively to it. I think I speak it fairly well now. JOURNAL April 11. Today we went to Beaugency; though it is only fifteen miles away we had much trouble to reach there. We drove to the river with M. Arnould 's donkey and cart ; we crossed the river in a row boat and walked from the other bank to the station at Mer where we took the train and in ten minutes reached Beaugency, which is one of the stupidest little towns I ever visited. However, we wandered about and incidentally saw a very magnificent Cafe which would have graced Paris but which seemed singularly out of place in this small town. There was one "bee de gaz" lighted and one man taking coffee. It was gloomy and we hurried away. Next morning we took a charming little open car- riage and with a gay young mobile, just returned from the LETTERS AND JOURNAL 213 1871 Age 29 war, to drive us, we set off on a long day 's excursion. We passed first Vernon and Croavant, villages where half the houses have holes in their roofs made by obus and bullets ; Beaumont, where some of the bitterest fighting was and where there were two hundred casques in a barn. Thence we drove to a large lime kiln and brick yard. It was the most desolate object imaginable; the walls were a heap of stones; the roof had disappeared save in one place where it lay flat on the ground. We found a woman in charge of the place; she issued apparently from the great lime kiln where they burned the lime with a baby in her arms. She told us that when the battle began her husband was away, and that she and her child crept into the great oven or fur- nace with a loaf of bread. She stopped the hole and there the poor creatures lay while the house was knocked to pieces over their heads. They remained there two days and two nights. The woman told us the building was taken by the French, retaken by the Prussians and twice again changed hands. At last the Prussians remained in control and all being still the poor woman crept out and begged some food of the German soldiers who fortunately gave it to her and let her go on to the next village. We picked up a number of bullets and pieces of bombs with which the ground was covered. The fields were marked here and there with small mounds where they told us lay four French mobiles in one place, then ten Prussians in another ; but the bodies were so badly covered that fearful odours emanated from the graves and the woman advised us not to approach. We drove on toward Josne, passing often the skeletons of horses bleaching in the sun. It gave a ghastly appearance to the smiling meadows and was a most striking sign of the terrible conflict that took place there a few months ago. All the farm houses showed signs of having been used as military positions ; holes in the roofs, crumbled and blackened walls, etc. Every wall had been creneleated to protect riflemen. In driving over this country I under- stood what I never could before why the fighting in this region had all been from one village to another or from one farm house to the next. La Beauce is as flat as a floor with scarcely perceptible waves in the landscape. Occasionally there is a sort of ground swell and at every mile there is a hamlet, a farm or a village. As neither army had time to throw up works or dig trenches and there were no natural advantages of ground, the men were necessarily reduced 214 LETTEES AND JOUBNAL 1871 Age 29 to seizing every house and wall as a defence. . . . Near Josnes there was a slight wave in the ground and there we were told terrible fighting took place. It is a lovely village with a great Protestant church. I never saw a more smil- ing, cheerful little town, very clean, very picturesque with a general air of well being. We stopped at a cafe to lunch and had a talk with the proprietor, the blacksmith, the grocer, the sexton of the church, the miller and the car- penter, all assembled there. We inquired for relies of the war, but we found, as before, scarcely anything. The peasants were afraid to pick things up for fear of the Prussians returning or if they had preserved and concealed a few helmets and guns they had since sold them for old iron and brass. We passed along the forest of Marchenoire and the Route de Vendome, which Chanzy followed when he disappeared one night from before the army of Prince Frederick Charles. It was a great blunder, as it proved, for the German army was small and weary, the French had a good position and had held it well for four days and could have made a good stand. But alas, they had no heart I fancy, and they slipped away in the darkness through the forest of Marchenoire. One of the few vic- tories gained by the French was just here several weeks before, but Coulmiers and Marchenoire saw the sad retreat, the eighth and ninth of December. Well, that war is over now and a perhaps sadder and more terrible war is begun, and still rages under the walls of Paris. This civil war, which is horrifying all those who care for France which seems to be in danger of becoming another Poland. As we drove back over the fruitful fields of La Beauce to Beau- gency the green grain was springing up and peach blossoms floating softly to the ground where shot and shell had rained, and no one could have told that under that soil lay many a form once full of fire and courage. I saw in one meadow a white daisy nodding its head over a frag- ment of shell, ( eclat d 'obus) . The little ' ' Paquerette ' ' did not seem the least afraid of that cold iron that had perhaps struck death to the heart of a warrior. We were rather thoughtful as we drove home. Our driver, however, the gay young soldier, kept singing to himself ' ' C 'est le sort le plus beau — le plus digne d'envie que de mourir pour la patrie. " He looked, however, as though he infinitely pre- ferred all the same to "vivre pour la patrie" and I found life so enjoyable with the warm air, the sunshine, the flow- LETTERS AND JOURNAL 215 1871 Age 29 ers and the green meadows before me that I agreed with his mood rather than with the sentiments he expressed. ... We left Beaugency next day and at the broken bridge of Mer we saw on the other side A. and K. waiting for us. We crossed in the boat and were welcomed by our small daughter. Chariot, the donkey, brought us safely home. LETTERS Chambord, April 14. My Dear Mother: I nearly cried this morning when I read in your letter "Only four more letters to receive from Emma." Alas, there will be many more than that, I fear. I can't even see the day when we may leave. I have heard from the steamer company about sailings and I hope I may be ready for the "Ville de Paris" which will leave Brest the 27th of May, but if I am not ready then I must wait till the "Pereire" which sails the eighth of June from Havre. It seems an interminable time. . . . You never saw more lovely weather than we are having; if you looked from my window you would see a scene of perfect beauty. The grass is like velvet, the almond and peach and apple trees stand out on the background of pine groves and chestnut avenues, the Chateau lies shining in all its graceful beauty in the sunlight, the white church front with its marble saints and angels peeping from among the green trees. The pretty gabled Nuns' house nestling modestly in the grove almost hidden from sight like the good Sisters who inhabit it. The little river ripples over its stones and the stone arches of the bridge are reflected in the water as well as the men in blue blouses, the slow moving wagons of the farm- ers, the donkey carts, and peasant boys and girls who cross it. These now instead of the Kings and Knights and gay ladies and cavaliers who came and went in royal cavalcades in days gone by. Are the new times better than the old? 216 LETTEES AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 To judge from the present state of France, emphatically no! . . . We went Tuesday to Beaugency to visit the battle fields and surrounding country. We found 200 Prus- sian helmets stored in a barn which had been gathered on the battle field, but all the brass ornaments had been pulled off and sold to a Jew merchant. Nothing was left but the leather cap. I asked the man by whom they were collected why he had not kept them intact as relics to sell ; he stared and said ''Why, what would any one want of those things?" We got a bomb, an unexploded one, but from which all the powder had been withdrawn, which we mean to use for an ink bottle. It now holds water and a sprig of flowers, but it is rather an awful thing when one thinks what it was meant for. I got a few silver and brass eagles, lions, etc., from the fronts of helmets, the Prussian and Ba- varian arms, etc, I have a fine Bavarian helmet which I mean to bring to A., and a steel one of a white cuirassier. We were well satisfied with our little excursion and came back on Thursday. It is three days now since all communi- cation with Paris was cut off; we have not an idea what is going on there. The only comfort is that the worse things get the nearer the end must be. They say provisions are nearly as high as during the siege; hardly anything enters. Chambord, April 21, My Dear Father: You can hardly imagine in what a painful state of un- certainty we still are ; we came here for two weeks and we have stayed two months. I expected to have sailed for home the first of May, and now I shall think myself lucky if I get off by the first of July. Pity us ; we worried and lan- guished through the long weary winter with the fearful war raging about us, and now we are hampered and dis- tressed by a civil war which drags its slow length along. The newspapers are most unsatisfactory, the Government likewise. M. Thiers gives us a sugar plum every day to LETTERS AND JOURNAL 217 1871 Age 29 keep ts quiet. He tells us there has been a skirmish here or a /ight there, that the troops have lost two men, but that the insurgents lost three; that "things are going on as wdl as can be expected ' ' and that " in a certain number of days no doubt order will be restored." The truth is that the Prorinces are getting tired of this and they begin openly to say "It will end at last by the Prussians putting order in Paris, and we heartily wish they would hurry and do it. ' ' Isn't it a terrible state of things, when the enemy is looked to, to keep order in the Capital and that Capital the city of cities that was a Queen and the light of the world. It seems to us as though the world was getting topsy-turvy, this side of it at least. Thank Heaven there is another side where peace reigns at present. And all the trouble here comes from the "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" nonsense! I wish I might never hear those words again. All this fracas and confusion is very wearing on the nerves, so for- give me if I seem violent and impatient sometimes. You cannot conceive what a pleasure your home letters are; calm seems to come over us when I read the details of your quiet home life in your peaceful country. We often ex- claim: — Isn't it pleasant to read something besides fights and bombardments and troops and prisoners; how it does rest one to hear from home. I appreciate your pleasure in being again in the garden; I revel in the spring freshness here; we are overwhelmed with flowers. One moment a little village girl comes to bring me a huge bunch of lilacs, at another the Sisters send K. a bouquet of garden flowers, at another, a little peasant boy comes with a present from the forest guard to me of a basket of wild flowers. Our little dining room looks like a garden, the horse chestnuts are coming into bloom ; Chambord is charming. This morn- ing a woman came with an armful of branches of pine, covered with their red blossoms for me, ' ' because, ' ' she said, "it was so healthy to smell them she thought they would do me good. ' ' Poor soul ; I gave her once a little old flan- nel blanket for her baby and this gift of hers was to show 218 LETTEES AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 her gratitude I suppose. . . . We went for a lamble in the castle today, through many deserted rooms, gloomy halls, reception rooms and ghostly bed-rooms wher? the paper and damask, once gorgeous, hung in tatters fron the walls, and where the cobwebs were the only tapestry. The doors were all hacked to pieces in the old revolutioiary days, to destroy the Fleurs-de-Lis carved in relief on them ; the beautiful panels are torn down and lie about in heaps. It is a melancholy sight. We lost our way at last in the wilderness of rooms, each one barer and more desolate tlian the last and finally we found ourselves creeping up a once secret staircase built in the thickness of the wall, and we came suddenly on a pool of dried blood on the floor aid bloody finger marks on the wall. It gave one an uncanny feeling. We both knew it was, no doubt, where some poor wounded soldier had hid himself in the Chateau and had lain for days, fed by the concierge till he found a chance to escape. But we decamped all the same. The wind was whistling and wailing through the turrets as we scrambled through the dust and the shadows and I assure you I felt more cheerful when I got out into the fresh air and heard the cheery voice of the concierge hailing us. Chambord, May 5. My Dear Mother: What can I tell you about this week; very little I fear unless about K. 's fete last Monday, which I wish you could have seen. I had ordered of the baker here a great ' ' Galette ' ' a sort of Sally Lunn, at least, it looked like that only it is less rich; then there were two very plain cakes sugared over, with a rose in the middle of the sugar. Then there was some jam and plain candies, such as lemon drops, and sticks of barley sugar, wrapped up in brilliant papers, — and lastly, a lot of sugar birds, rabbits, parrots, lambs, dogs, camels, elephants. These animals were not to be eaten as they were coloured but were for the children to keep as a souvenir of the fete. We had it in the garden of LETTEES AND JOURNAL 219 1871 Age 29 the Sisters' house; there are trees and shrubs there, and plenty of swings, hoops and other amusements, as they use it as a play ground for their little school girls. They set out a table and ornamented it with flowers. It was a lovely day, as warm as June. There were twenty-five little girls and I think they had never had a fete nor tasted cake and candy in their lives. The Sister Superior had composed a little verse and chorus which the children sang. At three o 'clock they all sat round the table and ate with a zest that was refreshing to see. The animals and birds in sugar gave the most perfect satisfaction; before and after this repast the children played and at five went home. Each child had candy to take home, which was given to her as she came up to make her little curtsey and to thank me for the party. I think the three Sisters enjoyed it nearly as much as the children ; they love their little school girls and were so pleased to see them happy. They are so nice, these three Sisters, as different in character as can be. The Su- perior is an old lady of noble family who is jolly and ener- getic and as full of talk as possible; very practical and always busy with her garden and her flowers, her sick and her poor. The younger one, Soeur Marie, is as beautiful as the day; she is about twenty and she takes care of the school ; a lovelier, more patient, gentle teacher it would be impossible to find. The Soeur St. Denis is the ''Martha" of the establishment; she is always busy with her kitchen, her ironing, her dusting and cleaning. She is constantly knitting huge blue stockings. She confesses that her prayers do not take her long and that if she smells some- thing burning she cuts them short! In fact, there is so little cant and so much that is normal and cheerful, not to say jolly about them, that I find them very charming ac- quaintances. . . . There was a despatch this morning saying the Fort of Vanvres was occupied by the Versaillais ; they now hold Vanvres and Issy and I hope in a few days they will enter Paris. After they are once in I fear there may yet be fighting in the streets, but that will not last 220 LETTERS AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 long. Since I wrote last week I have seen and done nothing except that on Saturday I went to Blois for a little shopping. I visited several of the old churches and sat a while in the courtyard of the Chateau which is very beau- tiful. . . . Last night we went into the forest to hear the nightingales; they sing almost all night. It is a per- fect concert ; one could hear nothing sweeter. Each one seems to try which can sing loudest and clearest. I have waked often at three or four in the morning and heard the concert still going on in the chestnut avenue outside my window. Chambord is celebrated for its nightingales. Chambord, May 15. The weather is clear and beautiful, with a breeze each day which keeps us cool; last year we were having very hot weather at this time. I see the definitive Treaty of Peace between France and Prussia is at last signed, but I believe the Articles are not altered or improved as the French hoped. They might have obtained concessions but for the troubles at Paris; with the insurrection the last hope vanished of an improvement in the terms of peace. I fear that the occupation of Paris will not finish the civil war ; subdued there, it will break out elsewhere and so con- tinue until a definite form of government is decided upon and fully established. Heaven alone knows when that will be or through what seas of blood the French nation must pass before it arrives at that goal. I see today in the paper a letter from the Comte de Chambord which makes me wish more than ever that he might ascend the throne of his an- cestors ; the letter is so manly and honourable and the senti- ments expressed so liberal. He has always preferred the peace of France to his own aggrandizement and has never made any attempt to recover the throne of France. He has always declared he would die in exile unless the French nation, by its freely expressed vote, demanded his presence. I fear he has little chance and doubt he ever returns. The Commune has decreed that the house of M. Thiers shall be LETTERS AND JOURNAL 221 1871 Age 29 razed to the ground and I believe it is already executed. I hope order may be restored before they have destroyed all the historic monuments; they have begun to destroy the Colonne Vendome. No doubt you will know all this through newspapers. I see in Rome the Pope has been ill but is better; the Italian Government has given up the removal of the Capital to Rome or rather delayed it to November next. I hope they will let the poor old Pope die in peace before they go there. If Pius IX lives till next August he will have been Pope twenty-five years ; no one has occupied the Papal Chair for so long a term of years. There will be a great ceremony in case he lives. I should like to see it, but suppose it will be shorn of magnificence under the cir- cumstances. Charabord, May 29. My Dearest Mother: Your letter of the 8th of May reached me last week, the day after I sent mine to you. It was a white letter day to me because of the home letter with its cheerful news and also because we heard that the army had entered Paris. I daresay you had the news sooner than we did. But since that happy day we have had sad ones; oh, so sad, in hear- ing that our beautiful Paris was a prey to the flames. I never dreamed I cared so much for Paris till this news came; I feel dismayed, and dread, as much as I desire, to §0 back. I long to go, and yet I know it will be a heart- rending sight. Just think of the Tuileries, the Ministry of Finance, the Hotel de Ville, the whole Rue Royale, the palace of the Legion of Honour, the Louvre (the shop) all burned, the Bon Marche is burnt, the ''Petit St. Thomas" burnt, and, oh, so many other buildings that I cannot name them. The Hotel du Louvre is also partly burned ; besides these, there is the Prefecture of Police, Conseil d'Etat Palais Royal, the Luxembourg, the Louvre Library and oth- er public buildings, without mentioning innumerable priv- ate residences; in that Rue Caumartin, where you stayed 222 LETTERS AND JOUENAL 1871 Age 29 when you first arrived in Paris during the great Exposi- tion the bombs have fallen till hardly a house remains which is not full of great gaps and holes. All the shops and houses between the Rue Castiglione and the Eue d 'Alger; several buildings in the Faubourg St. Honore near the Rue Royale, are destroyed. They have caught women and children throwing petroleum and lighted rags in the areas and through the cellar- ways ; hundreds of these abominable women have been taken and shot. They are the wives, sis- ters or mistresses of the dastardly villains who have set fire to half of Paris, killed the Archbishop of Paris and sixty parish priests and respectable men in cold blood, and who have not their equal it is to be hoped anywhere else in the world for wickedness and brutality. There was wailing and mourning today at Blois and here when the news came that the Archbishop and the Cure of the Made- leine were dead, shot by the insurgents. They were men who were loved and esteemed by every one, no matter of what belief. No better man breathed than the poor Cure Daguery; he was an angel of goodness and mercy to the poor of Paris. And just think, there are men still in France who are base enough to approve of all that ! I saw a red republican paper of Bordeaux today which actually glorifies the insurgents of Paris for what they have done. It says if the Assembly does not proclaim a Republic and the Communal system at once, they will soon have more work on their hands. God be thanked I am going away from France; I do not feel safe. I fear the same trouble may break out in some towns of the Provinces, and then indeed God help France. I feel so stunned and horrified with the events of the last week that I cannot write very well; my ideas are not clear. We can think of nothing but Paris and are possessed with a feverish longing for news, which when it arrives so horrifies us that we stand silent and look in each other's faces with blank amazement. Today when the despatch came about the Archbishop and the sixty-four others f usiladed, everybody — M. Arnould, the LETTERS AND JOURNAL 223 1871 Age 29 Sisters, 0., the family here and myself broke down in despair. It was too much after the horrible shocks we have had daily and almost hourly for a week, and when the papers had even announced the prisoners as rescued, to hear that sixty-four innocent men had been shot at the moment when the soldiers of Verasailles had come to res- cue them. It is true that one hundred and sixty-nine pris- oners were saved, but at such a moment one thinks more of the lost than of the saved. The women of Paris seem to be as bad if not worse than the men ; they have already fusiladed twenty of these abominable creatures who were taken with revolvers in their hands after they had killed several of the regular soldiers. They have used watering cans of petroleum to set fire to houses, public and private, and do you know — when the whole of one side of the Rue Royale was burning some one noticed that the water ( ?) thrown from a fire engine seemed to increase instead of extinguish the flame. Examination disclosed that the en- gine was filled with petroleum instead of water; the men working these engines were found to be insurgents. 25,000 prisoners have been taken and most of the heads of the Rebellion have been shot. The Prussians have allowed no man to escape through their lines and all the Ambassa- dors have refused passports to any member of the Com- mune, even should he claim one on account of his foreign nationality. England, Belgium, Spain and Italy have re- fused entrance to any insurgents, and if one be taken with- in their borders he will be sent back to the French Govern- ment. What is not burnt of Paris is in an awful condition ; the trees along the boulevards and the Champs Elysees are cut up with balls and shells and most of them will die. Hardly a house but is battered with shells and bullets. Belleville is burning ; every day we hear of new fires which have broken out. The manufacture of the Gobelins tap- estry is burnt; Auteuil, that beautiful suburb, hardly ex- ists. Passy is much injured. Our quarter about the Rue Chaillot has not suffered as much, but the Rue de Pres- 224 LETTERS AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 bourg is fearfully damaged. The Avenue de 1 'Imperatrice leading to the Bois de Boulogne is a wreck ; all about Mme, Borione's at Les Ternes is hardly recognizable they say; houses in ruins, roofless, without fronts showing all the rooms inside, heaps of stones, mortar and walls, such is the quarter of Paris which you used to know. I could go on writing all night if I tried to tell you all ; I daresay you will see all the details in your newspapers; as yet no one can enter Paris but we hope to do so in a week. I have definite- ly engaged my passage in the "Lafayette" for the 24th of June, Unless something unforeseen occurs you may expect me to land about the third or fourth of July, God willing. But one feels uncertain of everything these times ; you can- not conceive how all these shocks and horrors upset me. The thought of your peaceful quiet home seems like a dream; it seems scarcely possible that anywhere people should be living in peace, security and serenity. Oh, blessed home, it seems so far away, except when your let- ters come to take me there in imagination. The United States is a celestial paradise compared with the hell which exists in France. I have often been asked ' ' Are your Red Republicans in the United States like ours here?" And I am glad to reply ' ' God be thanked, no ! " Let me turn to something else if I can find it. We have been eating the most splendid strawberries for three days ; great pineapple strawberries. Green peas and beans we have eaten for a week ; they are perfectly delicious. Tuesday Morning: — A coachman who came here this morning says that one is allowed to enter Paris ; I doubt it, but we shall try at the end of this week. I only hope it will not be unhealthy. The Government is taking all the necessary measures for safeguarding the public health; they talk of burning the dead, because buried they might infect the air. Paris was and is in a terribly dirty condi- tion; the streets have not been cleaned for two months, we are told. LETTERS AND JOURNAL 225 1871 Ago 29 Chambord, June 2, My Dear Father: . . . You will have read in your newspaper the de- tails of the doings in Paris. You will think the accounts much exaggerated; alas, no; the truth is so fearful that it cannot be made worse than it is. There were days when blood ran in the gutters, when fifty corpses were ranged along the sidewalk in one street, and there they waited twenty-four hours to be buried. I have seen a few people who have been in Paris during the fighting ; they grew pale and sick in simply telling what they had seen. Thanl^ God it is over now. The leaders of the insurrection have been shot; the rest will be tried. We had a letter today from the concierge of the studio; she says she would rather go through another Prussian siege and live on black bread than pass again through the last two months. All is safe at the studio ; nothing has been injured. The artists in the build- ing who remained through the first siege, left during this one and have not yet returned. ... I was glad to see in the papers yesterday that there has been a unanimous cry of indignation in the United States against the insur- gents of Paris. I was sure it would be so. I see that Victor Hugo has settled his reputation with the public by taking the defence of the Communists and offering them a refuge in his house. His letter, published in Brussels where he is residing, was about the most outrageous thing I have seen yet. I hear the Belgian Government has invited him to quit Brussels and Belgium ! Paris, June 12. My Dear Mother: At last we are in Paris; I began to think we should never get here but at last we are safely arrived. We got off last Wednesday morning and such a leave-taking as it was ! M. Arnould, the regisseur, came three times in the morning to say that all the Chateau afforded was at our disposition; horses, carriages, wagons, etc. We had the 226 LETTEES AND JOURNAL 1871 Age 29 whole village to bid us good-bye. We had expected to find the railway crowded with people going to Paris and we were agreeably surprised to secure a whole compart- ment to ourselves and to keep it so till we reached Paris at nine o 'clock in the evening. It was dark and pouring with rain. They never asked for the passport which it had given us so much trouble to obtain ; there were plenty of carriages and omnibuses, but all were engaged, and we really thought we should have to walk through the rain to an hotel; but at last, for a large sum, we got a little open carriage and drove to the Champs Elysees past all the ruins of Paris. It was so sad, so dismal; the streets but half lighted and very few people in them. The rain, the wind and ruins everywhere. I fairly cried as we passed the Hotel de Ville ; the Tuileries, the Rue Royale, the Place de La Concorde. Our hotel (Hotel d'Albe) was shut and we rang for ten minutes before a sleepy garcon came to open ; there was not a guest in the house. They gave us rooms and we were glad to rest. We had to leave our baggage at the station as there was no means of bringing it ; the next day I went to hunt for lodgings and we are now at 28 Rue Bassano with Miss Ellis, where we are eminently comfortable. I have started my shopping, and have got the dressmaker started ; she is working only for me. She has just come back from St. Germain, where she was during the troubles. Of course nobody is busy now, there is so little doing and every one is ready to serve me. . . . And now I have not yet told you a word about Paris. Well, it ^\^ll be better to wait till I see you, for all the details. Only this will I say, that all you have read can give you but a slight idea of the awful ruin here. It is worse than I expected; yes, much worse. The Hotel de Ville is only a shell ; the Tuileries ditto, but they are superb in their ruin. A curious thing is that many of the buildings which I never remarked for their beauty now they are in ruins are wonderfully grand. The Palais du Quai d'Orsay recalls the Coliseum to me. We were wonderfully struck by it. We walked out yesterday LETTERS AND JOURNAL 227 1871 Age 29 on the Avenue de la Grande Armee; there are not six houses left that are habitable. Half at least are just heaps of stones. They are so knocked up and pierced with holes that they look fantastic and one wonders by what magic they keep standing. The fine residences round the Arc de Triomphe are woefully damaged; the facade of one is so broken that one sees the inside of all the rooms. I noticed the lace curtains at the salon windows were so cut up and ragged they looked like cobwebs. The frescoes and gilded walls were all blackened, cracked and knocked into holes. If I told you all I have seen already I should fill countless pages. I want to go to St. Cloud and see all the surround- ings ; the weather is bad and as cold as November. . . . And yet, after all I have said, I cannot help feeling that had the nation been told the truth in all its hard reality, had they known the worst details, their defeats, and the difficulties of the situation, had they been more relied on by the Government, they would have been found trustworthy and courageous. 1872 Age 30 LETTERS OF 1872, 1873, 1874. Paris, February 22, 1872. My Dear Father: We arrived here last night after a long, but fairly com- fortable journey from Brest, and after our long and rather uncomfortable voyage from New York. I will begin at the beginning and tell you all about our voyage. We had scarcely got to the Narrows after leaving New York and I had sent off my letters by the pilot when a storm began. The sea was very rough, the ship rolled and in the twink- ling of an eye every passenger was in bed and very sick. After that for three days I was almost unconscious of time. We hardly knew when one day ended and another began; it was all such blank misery. The second day out we shipped a heavy sea which came in at the upper lights, ran down into our beds and soaked half the room. I Avas too sick to move ; Amelia, to escape drowning, went to the sofa with K. The ' ' Pereire ' ' sadly needed repairs, and the win- dows constantly leaked, so things went on badly to the end of the voyage, and we were drenched whenever we shipped a sea. Then the steam pipes, or pump or something broke and could not be mended at once; so we never could get dried out and when it was mended and the steam turned on and the pipes were hot the incoming sea water pouring on them evaporated in clouds of hot steam which filled our rooms and took the little starch left, out of us. After Wednesday we all did better, though we were never quite dry. We also had contrary winds and roughish weather, but having got our sea legs fairly on we minded it less. On landing at Brest at three in the afternoon we were disap- pointed in the special train for Paris which we were told LETTERS 229 1872 Age 30 was always put on when the steamer arrived. So we passed the night at Brest after getting safely through the Custom House, where the examination is much more rigorous than before the war. We got a comfortable room at an hotel and ordered a good fire for we hadn't got over feeling damp. The temperature was mild, however, and we were told there had -been no snow this winter. The grass looked fresh and green. We had a good dinner and turned in, but owing to the noise in the streets and the clicking of the Breton wood- en shoes and the watchman calling all the hours of the night, I could not close my eyes. It was nice hearing the watchman, however, the ' ' garde de nuit ' ' crying the hours as they passed; "line heure et tout va bien;" "Deux heure et le temps est couvert;" "Quatre heure tout va bien, braves gens dormez tranquilles. " Brest keeps up the good old customs and it gives one a feeling of security to feel that someone is watching while you sleep. At seven the next morning we were off to Paris. Paris, July 3. My Dear N.: I must write you a little this morning to wish you Many Happy Returns of the Day and health to enjoy them. Friday, July 5. I must tell you now about the charming excursion we made the other day to "Robinson." We were nine in the party, consisting of Miss Ellis and her neice, Miss Isabel Tobin, and her brother, Mr. Harris, of Bos- ton, two Miss Raymonds, of New York, Miss Homer, of Boston, Mrs. Amos and myself. We went by rail to Seeaux, where there is a beautiful chateau and park be- longing to the Due de Penthievre. There were no carriages ready so we walked to Robinson, a matter of half a mile. It. is a village of but only five houses, two restaurants with gardens and one stable. The specialty of "Robinson" is that you eat in a tree; the trees are enormous with wide 230 LETTEES 1872 Age 30 spreading branches and in the branches they have built rustic arbours with thatched roofs. You cannot imagine how pretty they are ; a winding stair of rustic work winds round the trunk and leads to the little houses, two in each tree. Each little house can hold from twelve to twenty persons. Robinson being on a hill, when one is near the top of the tree, one gets the most far reaching beautiful view you can possibly imagine and the freshest air. We had a delicious dinner. We were all very hungry and all enjoyed the view and the air. There is a great valley stretching away to the horizon and directly below was the park I spoke of. After dinner we got on donkeys and rode eight miles round the country. We saw the emplacements of all the Prussian batteries and the walls full of loop-holes, the houses and villas battered to pieces. Also the chateau which formed the Prussian headquarters. We passed fields of strawberries from which Paris is supplied. The peasants were picking them and gave us some as we passed. The fragrance of the fruit was exqusite as the men and women carried them by in baskets. We went through park and forests and open glades, past pretty villas and stately cha- teaux until after two hours and more we reached the sta- tion at Sceaux and took the train for Paris. We were a cheerful party and everything was so pleasant that I en- joyed the day exceedingly. Paris, October 11. . . . I went to see the Doctor yesterday; it was a fortnight I had not been to him. He found a great change for the better in me. I am stronger, have a better colour, breathe better, and he says if I will be very careful and have a good winter in Italy he thinks I will be quite re- stored by spring and my lungs probably healed, though of course I may require to pass my winters in mild climates for several years. I felt cheered by what he told me. I can walk a mile or two every day and though I may be tired I go to bed at nine o'clock and sleep well. I am in LETTERS 231 1872 Age 30 better spirits and have hardly any ache in my bones. I am less thin and the increasing doses of cod-liver oil are benefiting me. . . . I had a letter from Amelia yesterday, she re- ports K. as exuberantly happy and well. I think I told you they were at Chambord ; they will probably come back next week. I shall be so glad to get my little daughter back, and yet it seems a shame to take her from the place where she is most well and happy. I am hoping that Miss Greenough will go to Italy with me, but she has just heard that her brother is coming over this month and she will probably want to wait and see him longer than I shall dare to wait if the weather continues cold, I should be sorry to lose her company and to have to travel alone. ... I went yesterday to the Louvre gallerj^, it was two years since I had been there owing to the war and to my visit home. I wandered in, having a spare hour, and at once the old delight took possession of me. I devoured eagerly my favourite pictures, Rembrandts, Velasquez, Pontormos, Van Dykes, Leonardo da Vincis and a host of others. I could not tear myself away and came home at last radiant with the pleasure I had had. It was a fore-taste of the delight I shall experience in Rome again; I do so love pictures and statues, as well as all natural beauty, that I should feel starved if deprived of them a long time. I re- member at Chambord, I never could sufficiently feast my eyes on the beauty there. . . . I sat half an hour yes- terday before my favourite statue of the Venus Victrix; she is so noble, so pure, so beautiful. Paris, October 24. I am expecting K. tomorrow. I thought to have had her yesterday, but the horses at Chambord were engaged for several days and she could not have them to bring her to the station till Friday. They could have got other con- veyances I know, but they are glad of any excuse that 232 LETTEES 1872 Age 30 gives them a day or two more at Chambord. K. is so happy there that I cannot grudge her an extra day in her paradise ; still I long to have her with me again and shall never let her leave me any more. I shall have to improve her English which has probably got rusty from disuse dur- ing this last month; she often talks of you all and loves her grand-parents. We expect to leave the end of next week ; I should have felt more hurried to go had the weath- er been cold, but it is still so mild that the trees are green and as fresh as if it were August. Tuesday was so perfect a day, so warm and bright with a soft languid air that I accepted the invitation of a friend to drive with her and so keenly enjoyed it that it used up all my nervous strength. I find that keen enjoyment, and intense appre- ciation of anything tires me very much. You advise me not to go to Rome, but I think I cannot give it up. I shall not go sight-seeing knowing it so well, and shall chiefly drive on the Campagna I love so much. Rome lies nearest my heart after home, and I must see it this winter for I may not see it again for long years, perhaps never. I shall enjoy taking K. and we shall not reach there till January when, as you know, the spring begins. I was sorry to hear you had sold the lot opposite to Hill Home. ... I have thought lately that I should like to build myself a little cottage when I come home under those old trees, but, of course, there are plenty of other places. I might like the hill better after all. I have a foolish but unconquerable dislike to near neighbours, and if ever I have a home I shall like a good bit of space around me. I am interested in what you tell me of your grapes. If there are any Italian varie- ties you would like, let me know as I can obtain them for you in Italy. I have always thought the Pizzicatella grape would keep excellently through the winter; it is so firm and solid ; it is that long, pointed white grape that looks like a horn. I think you ate it in Florence. LETTEES 233 1872 Age 30 Paris, October 25. My Dear Mother: I feel so disappointed this morning that I can hardly write for I expected K. today and a letter from Amelia just received tells me that they cannot come, for the Loire is so high that the roads are overflowed and they cannot cross the river to reach the station. If the water subsides they may come tomorrow, but I fear as it rained all night that the river will be higher instead of lower. I am very much disappointed but I suppose there is nothing to do but to possess my soul in patience. These are the things that cannot be foreseen, but I regret the delay, for I long to get away. I am pretty well today and I think I gain daily. My old cook hardly "knew me yesterday, I had changed so in six weeks. When she last saw me I was noth- ing but a shadow; the Doctor is well satisfied with my progress, and says that with care I shall be all right by spring. Bordighera, November 19. My Dear Mother: Yesterday was a bright day for me, on account of the receipt of two letters from home. I must tell you now of our doings here. I have decided to stay some weeks instead of going to San Remo. I drove there yesterday and spent the afternoon looking about, but found the hotels full and rooms only to be had two or three weeks hence. The place has not improved since we saw it, then it was a quiet, sunny, pretty place, now hotels and villas have sprung up everywhere, roads are being cut, houses built and mud and confusion are everywhere in consequence. The only attrac- tive part I saw was the old town, through whose quiet, pic- turesque streets we wandered. The natives go about their business as they used to do, and seem to look down upon the foreigners swarming in their town; scorning even to make money out of them. This is the fact, strange as it may appear. The San Remo-ite actually will not profit 234 LETTEES 1872 Age 30 by the stranger within his gates and leaves all intercourse with them to new trades-people who have come there to open shops. I came to the conclusion that I liked our little simple Bordighera better than the larger San Remo. Here the roads and walks are dry as can be and we are a little company in this hotel instead of among a crowd of card-playing Americans and smoking Germans which would have been our lot at San Remo. I have found friends here, old and dear Italian friends; they are settled in a pretty old house among groves of palms, orange and lemon trees and I get a hearty welcome when I run in to see them. They stayed a day or two at the hotel until their little villa was ready. They are M. and Madame Pagella. She is a daughter of my old friend, the Contessa Mariscotti in Rome; she was first married to a Brazilian named Suarez, and after- wards to M. Pagella. They were living in Paris when I first went there and used to come to see me and take me to drive. Mr. P. is ill and they have come here for the winter, where he has some property. They are the bright- est, cheeriest people and it does me good to see them. There is also in the hotel a pleasant Irish family and soon an English family will be here whom I knew in Paris. There is also a Miss Crawford, English, a gentle, intelligent lady who is very companionable. Last evening Miss E. who came with me from Paris to Nice stopped here with her friends. Miss Greenough in her letter recently received gives me particulars of the Boston fire. The weather is still mild, though cloudy. Sunday was lovely and we walked to the Pagella 's, the air and the views were ex- quisite. The foot-hills were so green, so fresh and over their tops far away rose one snow covered peak glittering like crystal in the sun; the contrast was striking and far off snow like that does not make one shiver when one is bathed in warm sunshine with daisies and violets under foot and palms, orange and lemon trees waving about your head. We picked up lemons and figs from the ground along the LETTEES 235 1872 Age 30 public road quite ripe and delicious; the oranges will not be ripe till January. The walks among the olive groves are lovely and from every point one has such fine views; one gets a better view of the coast from here than at San Remo. Mentone, Monaco, Roccabruna, Ventimiglia one can see and then far away to the coast of France, and the hills of gay Provence. The Provengal mountains are so faint against the sky that one mistakes them for clouds. The village of Bordighera is a quarter of an hour's walk from the hotel, and is as picturesque as Italian towns usu- ally are. The walls and towers and old gateways prepare one for the quaint steep streets and picturesque houses with- in. Behind our hotel rises an olive covered slope crowned with an old stone tower ; behind it is another hill and then still another till they reach the snow covered peaks far away. Here and there a little village clings to the hillside so much the color of the mountain that one only discovers its existence when the sun shines on its church tower and glitters on its vanes. Another hotel is being built here but I think Bordighera will always be a place more for quiet vil- las than for hotels. Land is being bought for villas and I daresay in five years or less the price of land will be much increased. Now one can have a pretty little piece of prop- erty for a few hundred dollars. I should love to buy the spot near the old stone tower to which I have taken a great fancy. It has a spring of pure water upon it that alone is worth a good price. I hear that land is worth about four francs the square metre ! The sun is so hot on me as I write that I have moved all around my room to escape it and now I am in the shade and my feet are roasting in the sun as they would before a hot fire. I wish you were here with me to share the warmth, to take a whiff of perfume from my roses and glance out of the window at the orange, lemon and palm trees and further to the blue sea, shimmering in the sunlight with white feluccas and sloops gliding over it. Sometimes the Genoa steamer is to be seen leaving a long trail of smoke against the blue sky on her swift way 236 LETTEES 1872 Age 30 towards Nice and Marseilles. A train passes occasionally but it seems to be aware of its incongruity in the landscape and makes no noise, but goes slowly as if it liked to linger in sunny Italy rather than hurry on to France. I often used to wonder why people lived in Labrador and New- foundland when they could find work and homes in Penn- sylvania. Now I wonder why any one lives there and en- dures its winter snows and cold blasts when land is cheap and smiling hills and blue skies await them in Italy all the year round ! Why not live here and forget that snows and dreary blasts exist? But a tug at my heart recalls me and I remember that every one loves home best, be it among Arctic snows or under sunny Italian skies. It is home and that means and explains everything, only I would like to transport Meadville and its lovely valley to the shores of the Mediterranean every winter, Sunday, November 27. My Dear Mother: I have just come in from a walk and saw peas in full blossom and gardens being made. An old gentleman told me the other day — he is a geologist and was showing me the formation of the soil here — that there is a rich fine loam like powder for about three yards; down under that lies a great depth of gravel and sand. It is ideal garden soil. I should think one could have fresh vegetables and strawberries all the year round, for it never freezes. We have grapes and pears in abundance, and fresh figs every day; also dried ones which are the best I ever ate. Every one was sitting out of doors today it was so warm. K. likes ''her country" as she calls it, very much; no won- der, for she can be out all day in a nice garden which she thinks is infinitely preferable to one room on the fifth floor of Miss Ellis's pension. She is beginning to speak English very well. I am about the same in health I think, perhaps a little stronger; my chest is better and I go on bravely with cod-liver oil. Sometimes I am allowed to LETTERS 237 1872 Age 30 substitute a big cup of cream, which is infinitely more palatable. There was a lovely effect of light today; the clouds still darkened us here, but away in France the sun lighted up the mountains, Monaco and Mentone shone white in the sunshine, soon Ventimigilia caught the rays and as the clouds broke away all the sea and we here were bathed in glory. At present the sun streams into my room and as usual I have to get into the shade and leave only my feet in its warmth. K. came up two mornings ago with her hands full of rosebuds; the proprietor is fond of her, and knowing her name was Katherine gave her a bouquet for her fete day, this being St. Katherine 's day. Of course in Catholic countries the Saint's day is celebrated instead of the birthday. I remember once being amazed to receive baskets upon baskets of flowers in Rome from friends and discovered it was St. Emilia's day and they considered it my fete day. It wasn't any the less pleasant for being un- expected, and I remember that one lady sent me a branch of japonicas with ten blooms and ever so many buds on it ; that was the Mother of Mrs. P., the friend I found here. How I wish you and Mother and A. could take a walk with me this morning; I should love to show you that loveliest of views, the cape of Bordighera on one side with its fringe of palms against the blue sky, then the long stretch of the bay curving round to Ventimiglia with its many towers and frowning cliff, Mentone, white and gay, below, and Monaco jutting out into the sea. Again the long line of the French coast curving away in waving lines to Nice ; farthest of all Antibes, a mere line above the sea. The whole crowned far off by the sunny hills and snow covered glittering peaks. Were you here I would take you through orange and lemon groves, under olive trees with their gnarled old trunks and you should pick up lemons as yellow as gold, figs luscious and sweet and the few ripe oranges we could find along the lanes which we might freely take for ourselves as whatever falls over the hedge into the road is free to the passer-by. As to flowers you might 238 LETTERS 1872 Age 30 gather crimson tipped daisies, wild roses and violets. No need of a gi-eat-coat and Mother and A. might wear straw hats and light shawls and bring their sunshades for the sunny spots. But, alas, alas, there is many a weary mile of sea and land between you and me, and you cannot come warmly as I may urge you. Some leisure afternoon though, take "Doctor Antonio" and read it for an hour; then go to sleep on the sofa in the parlour and perhaps in your dreams you will walk with me and see the beauty of sea and sky and land in this sunny place. Now I must stop and go to walk for I cannot resist the sunshine any more. K. is all equipped with her basket on her arm for flowers and pebbles. Sunday, December 8. My Dear N. : I was glad to receive your letter of November seven- teenth a few days ago; just three weeks ago this Sunday afternoon it was written. I wish I could hope today you were having as lovely an afternoon in Meadville as I enjoy here ; the sun blazes into my room, there is no other word for it, and my room feels like a pleasantly heated oven. K. 's parrot sits basking in the sunshine and often pipes up and imitates a nightingale, a canary, or a thrush, a clucking hen or anything else that may come into her pretty green head. Just now a hand-organ is playing in the garden and "Coquette" as she is called is trying to imitate that with indifferent success. She has a wonder- ful ear for melody, however, and sings with great sweet- ness, which is very unusual in a parrot. She is at present perched in front of my mirror and is conversing with her own image in the glass; she amuses us very much and is very gentle and affectionate. December 15. My Dear Mother: . , . I heard this morning from Miss Clarke who tells me she saw L. and told him I was coming to Rome. LETTERS 239 1872 Age 30 Miss Greenough writes me she is in the apartment A. occu- pied in Rome, Number 75, via Capo le Case. ... I hear prices have much risen in Rome, but I think I shall be able to lodge myself modestly, with Amelia to do the general work and dinner sent in. I hope to reach Rome about the middle of January and my address will be c|o Schmitt, Nast & Co., 34 Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome. ... I saw in the newspaper the other day a notice of the railway scandals in Meadville; the discovery that Mr. S. had been stealing from the receipts of the road and how he had been confronted with the proofs and had resigned. I was amazed enough to see "Meadville, Pa." in a foreign paper. I also saw yesterday that the Fifth Avenue Hotel had been burned. I have begun to take Italian lessons as I want to rub up my Italian I should like to speak Italian as well as French, and later take up again my German, neglected since long years. K. is progressing wonderfully in English and would be able to converse nicely with you now. December 22. My Dear Father: We went on donkeys the other day to Ventimiglia, the afternoon was charming, such lovely views as we had. I wanted specially to see an old church there, but half way up the narrow street leading to it, my donkey refused to go a step farther. I coaxed and urged and the man in charge applied the whip, but nothing moved the animal ; then two men dragged at the head and a third man pushed from behind, while several small boys volunteered sharp smacks with their hands, but the donkey would not budge, so there was nothing to do but to turn its obstinate head and go homiC crestfallen without seeing the object of my ride. We had a good laugh over the whole affair. I might have left the donkey and walked to the church but the incline was too steep for me to risk it. I am so glad to hear you have continued your autobiography; I have thought 240 LETTEES 1872 Age 30 about it and was going to urge you to finish it. You kindly say you would like my help in eliminating what ought to be left out. I think you may safely leave nothing out, that would be my verdict were I with you ; of that I am as sure as though I had seen it. There cannot be a phrase too much for me at least, in what you have written of yourself. I wish you would have it printed at once for us and for your friends. I so much wish too that you would have Grandfather's Autobiography printed, that we might have it in more durable form than it has at present. It might so easily happen that all three of the copies now existing came to harm. How would it be to print his and yours together in a volume to match your poems; it would be most interesting for us and for your grand-children to have the two together. We should then have an epitome of family history extending over nearly or quite a century, and if any of your children attain to old age they may like to continue the history with the events of their lives for their children. I used to think I would do this for K. as I then thought she would be brought up far from her Mother 's early home, and I wanted she should know the associations I treasured with that home and my recollec- tions of it and of the older homestead at Pomona. Also what I saw of the Franco-Prussian war, etc. These things may have an interest for her one day that similar remi- niscences of past times and events have for me now. I suppose we are to have a very elaborate Christmas dinner; for I saw a haunch of venison brought in yes- terday and hear of salmon trout to come from the Lake of Geneva and of a roast of beef weighing thirty pounds. At Christmas time I always used to read Washington Irv- ing 's description of Christmas in England in the '' Sketch Book." Such a genial, jovial atmosphere of good cheer emanates from that sketch that it puts one into holiday humour. Also, the "Christmas at Bracebridge Hall." . . . We have a pleasant Swiss family here now; also an old gentleman travelling with an invalid son who has LETTERS 241 1872 Age 30 a strong Scotch accent and a deal of Scotch wit and hu- mour. He has courtly, gallant manners and proves to be the Earl of Kintore, a well known Scotch Peer. He reminds me of you, which first attracted me to him. It will be pleas- ant to have so genial a person to enliven our Christmas dinner. December 29. My Dear Father: .... We have had several days of rain lately, but they incommode us very little, as the moment it clears the ground dries. This morning a lady gave me a branch of white almond blossoms which looks as though it were al- ready Spring. I must tell you of our Christmas. K. was as happy as a queen, with her presents. She had a number from people in the hotel, among them a box of "marrons glaces " ; she tasted one the first thing in the morning and declared it was "delicieux." . . . Our dinner was ex- cellent and it seemed home-like to see roast turkey, plum pudding and mince pies. We all tried to look very cheer- ful out of gratitude to our host, the hotel proprietor, M. Lozeron, who had done his best to give us a treat. I fear though it would have been a dull affair but for my jolly old Scotch neighbour, Lord Kintore. He was so full of fun and good humour that they spread along the table and by force of his genial, kindly spirit, he gradually enlivened every soul at table. When every one had put off his or her homesickness and had begun to smile and chatter he got up and asked us to fill our glasses as he was going to propose a toast; he said he wished to drink the health of M. Lozeron, and to thank him for his thoughtful kindness in preparing such a nice dinner for us, and also to thank the waiters for their attention. He went on to speak of the kindness and attention he had received from all the house- hold and did it so nicely that the waiters and maids looked immensely pleased. He said he hoped it had been a happy Christmas for all of us and he was sure it had been a 242 LETTEES 1872 Age 30 merry one to the children, judging from their faces, as he had seen them in the garden. He knew of one young lady who must have enjoyed the day for, as she occupied the room adjoining his, he had heard her in the morning ex- claim most feelingly that a "marron glace" was ^'deli- cieux, ' ' and that he had been wishing all day he could have one himself ! Other gentlemen followed with speeches and one of them proposed the toast of Germany in compliment to a lonely German girl, who looked up so surprised and gratified. The son of Lord Kintore, a poor cripple, pro- posed then the health of the ladies and Mile. Cortazzo, as the youngest lady present, was called upon to respond. She begged off on account of her want of fluency in English, but she very composedly bowed to Lord Kintore and said " Je vais vous donner des marrons glaces Monsieur. J'ai tres bien compris ce que vous avec dis de moi." She then lifted her glass and said ''A votre sante Monsieur," and after dinner I saw her giving her Christmas nosegay to the young cripple and marrons glaces to Lord Kintore. She and he were very merry over them. We had some charm- ing music in the evening and some one proposed a reel, but there were not enough men so we contented ourselves with listening to the Scotch reels, Irish jigs and hornpipes played on the piano. I got some roses and Parma violets for two sick ladies in the house; one a Polish lady who is too weak to leave her room. I had not ventured to call on her before, but armed with my flowers I knocked at her door and sat an hour with her. She was so gentle and lovely; she speaks no English and little French and asked so wistfully if I could not speak German that I did my best to form a few phrases, but I couldn't get on very well, so her companion — the German girl — who speaks French, interpreted for us. This is all I have to tell you except that today we saw Corsica very plainly, and that I am quite well. . . . How I roused you up by my admiration of the Eiviera ; your description of the winter morning at home brought LETTERS 243 1872 Age 30 it vividly before my mind 's eye. I agree with you that all the beauty on earth is not monopolized by this Riviera ; no place can ever be dearer to me than home and I defy any one to show a lovelier view than the Meadville valley pre- sents in Summer, but I cannot agree with your ''two ladies" that winter is preferable to summer. Our physi- cal sensations affect our ideas of beauty sometimes, and I am sure they influence our tastes. I remember as a child that I enjoyed the winter as much as the summer, and found a thousand beauties in it, but since I have had such bad health and have suffered from the consequences of cold I can scarcely bear to think of the snow; it makes me shudder to look at it. However, my pleasantest recollec- tions of home in years past are connected with winter, but always with our cosy interior our warm, well lighted parlour, with the family circle, the books, the pictures, the cheery conversation and the animated discussions. Never with the cold dreary outside that I never could enjoy. A thousand pictures stand before my eyes of those winter evenings, of a basket of kittens that I used to bring up to the parlour, the journeys I used to make to the dining room and office for atlases and encyclopedias till I had a pile of them about me ; of Mother knitting stockings for A. and G., and of our games last winter with K. But I think one must be healthy and strong to enjoy the frosty biting air of a winter's day, and if I ever could be so again I should enjoy the winter, too; but as it is, I like better to bask in this Ligurian sunshine and wander among the olive groves and pick violets in December. . . . An- other reason that I could never admire much a snowy land- scape, even when viewed from a warm interior, is that I am so fond of colour. I believe this has something to do with it. I never could admire statuary as I enjoy paintings, because of the absence of colour in the former. My eye dwells so willingly on gorgeous colours and brilliant hues, and a snowy peak is only beautiful to me when contrasted with gi^een hills and blue skies, Now I must stop my tire- 244 LETTERS 1873 Age 31 some chatter and wish you all a Happy New Year and send you much love. Bordighera, January 19, 1873. My Dear Father: I suppose this is the last letter I shall write you from here. I expect to leave now in a few days and go with Aunt F. and family as far as Genoa, perhaps as far as Leghorn, then they go to Florence and I to Rome. We shall probably stay a few days in Genoa; the railway is open now from there to Sestri, which is more than half way to Spezzia and thence one goes on by diligence. As I write ' ' The billows are rolling in, Hungry and brown", there having been a high wind during the night. The sun streams through rifts in the clouds occasionally, leav- ing a long train of gleaming light over the tossing waves. It produces a singular and startling effect. Pisa, January 31. My Dear Father: I send you just a line from here to let you know that we have got so far on our journey. We left Bordighera on Saturday in the early morning, hardly expecting to reach farther than Savona by night, but by dint of push- ing on we got through to Genoa. We had a lovely drive of four hours between Savona and Voltri as the railway was broken in several places. We could see the breaks from the carriage road and they seemed to be in process of mending by a few boj^s from seven to fifteen years, with small hand baskets that might hold a peck of sand. I doubt if the repairing is finished before the end of the year! We went to the Hotel de Genes at Genoa which Aunt F. had stayed at before, and we remained four days as we all wanted to see something of the city and its palaces. I enjoyed the paintings and the palaces as far as I was LETTEES 245 1873 Age 31 able to. The journey from Genoa here yesterday was very hard on me so that I have stayed in the house to rest and have not attempted to see anything. Tomorrow we go to Rome, via Leghorn and Florence. Rome, February 11. My Dear Father : Via della Vite. It is not a week since I wrote you but as I wrote out of time last week I send this note on the proper day to get right again. I have not much to tell you, as I have done nothing but rest since I reached here. The journey from Bordighera was terrible ; I certainly am utterly unfit for travelling; however, I suppose I shall get over it in time. L. has been kindness itself and comes almost every day with a book or some photographs to cheer and amuse me, G. also came to see me yesterday; Miss Clarke is very kind and so is Miss Greenough. I am very grateful that my friends are so kind and attentive. We have taken up our usual Roman life and drive out every afternoon. We lately went to the Coliseum, but it looked as forlorn as such a magnificent thing can look, for it still shows the effects of the cleaning the Italian Government has given it. A little moss and grass has grown, but it lacks sadly that wealth of vegetation that used to drape its walls with vines and flowers ; and one misses the shrubs and trees that grew from the interstices of the stones. We have settled comfortably into our little apartment, though I miss the sun sadly. We shall have it as the season goes on, but for the present we only get a gleam of it at noon. The houses opposite are so high that though we face the south we get very little. Many friends inquire for you all, the Misses S., Miss Foley, Lanciani, and Guerra. Give my love to Miss E. when you write; she judges me too par- tially in thinking I could write a book of travels. I shouldn't like to try; any way Italy has been too much written about. When I go to Cuba, Yucatan, and Mexico I Avill write about them, for that will be something new 246 LETTERS ' 1873 Age 31 and one of my dreams has always been to visit Yucatan. The other day Lanciani took me to see all the excavations made since I left Rome; all the improvements of the new Government, all the new part of the city which looks like a little Paris. We went to the Baths of Caracalla which have been fully excavated ; the fine mosiac pavements have been laid bare and many statues discovered. It is very interesting but less picturesque than it was. One misses so much the vines, flowers, shrubs, etc., which have been removed. I espied, however, one bunch of wall flower nodding over an arch and it was just in the place that you ventured upon one day to my intense fright. It was so lovely among the ruins and the sun was so warm that I sat down on a broken pedestal and fell into a long reverie. The years seemed to fall away and I seemed again to be with you all and A. was looking about for bits of marble and you were adventuring over broken and treacherous arches, while Mother and I nervously watched you. I was finally roused by Lanciani 's return very penitent at hav- ing kept me so long and I found I had been dreaming a half hour and had entirely forgotten my kind friend who had been about his own devices. I went yesterday to see an old friend, the Baroness de Sartory, who lives in the palace we used to be in ; she had the apartment under ours. She fell and broke her hip bone a year ago and has only been able to walk with crutches since; she cannot stir out of two rooms and she said had she known I was looking for an apartment she would gladly have given me the un- used part of hers in order to have me near her. She is such a lively cheerful old lady, notwithstanding her mis- fortune. When I lived above her she used frequently to spend the evening with me; she always wore a crimson velvet sacque or gown over a black skirt and was invariably followed by a black cat, and four kittens. This procession used to be ushered in by my servant Nanna holding a tall Roman lamp. I remember the effect was weird. ... I heard today of the death of an old friend; the Baroness LETTERS 247 1873 Age 31 Zezza at Naples, with whom I used often to dine. She was a little, stately old lady of the old, old school, with such courteous formal manners and the warmest heart. She was full of anecdote and bubbling over with wit and humour; I remember her standing and curtseying to us three times as we bade her good-bye the last time we saw her. She dressed in the old fashioned way and looked as though she had stepped from the frame of a last cen- tury portrait. We went to the Pincio today for a little while; the Princess Margherita passed us; she has an ami- able, pleasant face and is much beloved. When the ex-King of Spain Amadeus returns he will be very warmly welcomed, for he is liked here even better than his brother Humbert, the heir to the throne. My parrot has struck up a friendship with a parrot across the way and it is funny to hear them talk to each other and scold the dogs in the street. My bird never screams but remonstrates gently with the dog and if he barks she clucks at him like a hen, not having many words at her command; but the bird across the way does not hesitate to call the dog a dog and a bad one. I heard my bird practicing some of the street cries this morning and I do not doubt she will soon add to her repertory the names of everything that is saleable in the streets of Rome. Rome, February 24. My Dear Mother: Your letter of January 31st reached me at the same time as letters from Mrs. Richards, of Boston, and from my Savoyard friend Mme. Charmoz de Bressan; all were most welcome, for I love each one of the senders. Mme. Charmoz is brilliant, intelligent and gifted in every way, and has seen much of the world. As to Mrs. Richards, her heart must be open to all the world; I only knew her two or three weeks yet she has taken the trouble to write me such lovely letters and seems to care for me as though I had known her for years. Now let me give you the week's 248 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 chronicle of events. I went last Tuesday evening to a small party at Miss Clarke's which I much enjoyed; I met several old friends, Miss Hosmer, Miss Crawford, Miss Greenough and her farmily and a Mr. Barnard and his family. I prudently came home early and found A. had a nice fire, a warm wrapper and slippers and a glass of wine ready for me before I went to bed, so that I woke up next morning none the worse for my outing. On Wed- nesday we went to the Piazza del Popolo to see the Car- nival ; it is much gayer than it was in the old papal days, almost every one is in costume and the variety of them is endless. One of the funniest groups was of people dressed as geese, they went about opening and shutting their enor- mous mouths, so comically; then there were cavaliers, knights in armour and the usual cavalcades. The Princess Margherita and Prince Arthur of England took part heart- ily in all the fun. Today and tomorrow are the last days and I suppose the fun will be fast and furious. We are beginning to have more sun in our rooms and I find the benefit of it as well as that I get from being out in the fresh air so much. We drive every afternoon and I begin to feel myself again and almost as strong as I was at Bordighera before taking that dreadful journey that almost killed me. Rome, March 2. My Dear Father: . . . Tuesday evening was the last day of the Car- nival and we went to the end of our street, which touches the Corso to see the ''Moccoletti. " The whole Corso was lighted with Bengal lights and was filled with floats and carriages and all sorts of fantastic conveyances ; one repre- sented a ship with sailors in costume ; another a tiny Swiss chalet filled with girls and boys in Swiss peasant costume ; another was filled with Scotch people in their national dress. Every one had his little taper; the people in the carriages as well as those on the balconies and walking. And the game among them all was to keep their own tapers LETTERS 249 1873 Age 31 burning while they tried to extinguish their neighbour's. As every one was doing this, the person who kept his taper burning was lucky; it may be a childish game but it is picturesque, for it gives occasion for a thousand graceful attitudes as the tapers are waved high over the heads of the crowd to escape the bouquets and branches with which attempts are being made to extinguish them. The girls, especially, as they shielded their tapers with their hands, throwing the light for a moment more strongly on their features and fantastic dresses, or held them high above their heads, or stretched them defiantly towards a passing carriage were very graceful. At last the great car of "Pasquino" passed; the figure is a facsimile of the muti- lated statue which the Romans for centuries have called "Pasquino," on the pedestal of which the squibs, com- plaints and witticisms of the people were posted. This figure preceded by a troop of cavaliers and followed by the same passed down the Corso to the Piazza del Popolo where ''Pasquino" is burnt or buried, or disappears some- how until it is time for him to reappear next year. There were fireworks but I did not stay for the end. On Thurs- day I went with Miss Clarke to call at our Embassy; Mrs. Marsh is very pleasant and Mr. Marsh most cordial; we went later to Healy's studio; it was filled with portraits, the originals of many of which we knew. I think Healy succeeds better in men's portraits than in women's. . . . There seems to be great trouble in Spain; the Republic does not succeed there, whereas in France it seems to be taking root. March 17. My Dear Mother: . . . The first page of this letter is all about myself and now enough! This week has flown so fast and yet I seem to have accomplished very little; the principal event of the week was the earthquake. About nine o'clock one evening, Miss Greenough, who had come in to see me, and I, 250 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 were talking, when I saw my parrot suddenly begin to fly about her cage and scream in a frightened and unusual way. I turned to see what could have wakened and fright- ened her and in the same moment we felt the house oscilate ; it seemed to sway to and fro and made me quite dizzy. The door bell began to ring, the clock stopped and the long bell rope swung to and fro. I cried out that it must be an earthquake. A. went to the door, thinking some one was ringing, and was incredulous about its being an earth- quake as she had noticed no motion. A minute later how- ever, she began to feel a sort of sea-sickness. The earth- quake lasted about fifteen seconds but it seemed much longer. I cannot imagine why my watch should have stopped, and no shaking or winding would make it go for more than five minutes. I was going to take it to the jeweler's the next morning thinking the spring must have broken, when suddenly it began to go again and has been perfectly right ever since. E. H. tells me in her letter that they felt the shock very forcibly in Florence. Several people have been made quite ill by it. . . . The weath- er is lovely and we are out the greater part of each day. We go in the morning to the Acqua Acetosa to drink a glass of the mineral water ; we usually do some errands on our way back and then after our noon breakfast we start out again and stay in the sunshine all the afternoon. I believe my little carriage has done more for me in enabling me to be out all the day without fatigue than all the medi- cines I have taken. Today we went to the Villa Doria and brought back a great bunch of sweet scented violets picked in the woods there where we spent an hour and a half. . . . I do not find things very much higher here than they used to be, except rents which are dearer than Paris, and that not only for foreigners but for the natives as well. I suppose this arises from the increase of popula- tion and the insuf^ciency of accommodations. The Grov- ernment however is building a whole new quarter between the railway station and Sta. Maria Maggiore and when the , LETTEES 251 1873 Ago 31 new houses are ready the rents will decline. Hotels are very expensive, but housekeeping is no more so than when I lived here before. Tuesday, March 18. I went the other day to the Doria Gallery just to see one favourite picture there; a portrait by Velasquez. I believe I am more fond of portraits than of any other style of painting and Velasquez is so incomparable. I used to sit for hours before his portraits in the Louvre. I have just read an historical novel by I don't know who, which seems to bring before you vividly the person- ages of the age it describes. It is called "Rome in 1500 or Caesar Borgia." It interests me to see portraits of the characters described. Caesar Borgia, Cardinal Bembo, Macchiavelli, Pope Alexander Sixth, etc. . . . One day last week I went to the Capitol where Lanciani showed me the collection of antiquities recently discovered and not yet open to the public. There are four fine statues, some jars, vases and coins, many inscriptions and all sorts of household utensils. There was even some black charred stuff still perfectly showing the texture, a sort of wool material which was found in a bowl, probably it had been put to soak in water and was thus preserved when the house burned as was discovered to have been its fate. There was one beautiful crystal vase set in bronze, and perfectly preserved. Lanciani is so enthusiastic over his treasures and has such deep knowledge of them that it is a privilege and pleasure to listen to him. On Saturday I am going to a lecture by Padre Secchi the celebrated astronomer, on the ''Sun"; I am so glad to be able to hear him, he is so wonderfully learned. March 31. My Dear Mother: I was relieved of some anxiety by receiving your letter of March seventh two days ago. It was a fortnight since 252 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 I had heard from home. I am so sorry to hear you have all been suffering with the epizotic, and your report of the family in general was not cheering. What fearful cold you have had, while here it was as warm as summer on the seventh of March. Such bitter cold frightens me; when shall I ever get strong enough to stand such a climate ? Yesterday we had a little Tramontana breeze, delightful to some people but causing me to shiver in spite of the sun- shine, and driving me early in doors. I believe I should not be too hot in the desert of Sahara ! Heat seems to be my very life now. I do wish you were both here ; this last month has been so delightful. Every day the Campagna grows more beautiful and Rome more attractive. The peach trees are all in bloom. On Tuesday last we went to G-rotta Ferrata and Frascati and it was a day of unmixed delight. We started about ten o'clock and reached Grotta Ferrata at noon; the Fair there was nothing much to see and after looking at some frescoes in the church we drove on to Frascati which I had never visited before. We had brought our lunch with us and we ate it in the grounds of a lovely villa under rugged old ilex trees shadowing a terrace from which there is the most incomparable view over the vast Campagna to Rome and beyond to the Sabine hills and Soracte, Such wonderful shadows crept over the plains, the clouds took fantastic and castellated shapes, and merged so into the distant hills that the mountains became unreal and cloud-like. The air was so pure and bracing that it acted like champagne. It was intoxicating. It was truly a day for which to be thankful. The grounds of the villa were all beautiful ; there were avenues of ancient oaks draped in ivy, and fountains playing at the end of long vistas, one beyond the other up the hillside. The sun could only peep here and there through the dense foliage, flecking the green sward with golden shafts and streaks of light. Great blue periwinkles and tangled twin- ing and creeping vines were everywhere; over the mossy fountains, around the tree trunks, and trailing through the LETTEES 253 1873 Age 31 grass. We sat for several hours hardly speaking, just drinking in the beauty of the scene. Today we have been ecclesiastical; we have been presented to the Pope. A. wanted much to see him so I asked for an audience and this morning it was granted us. We were with about fifty other people. Pius IX has aged very much, but he has not lost his benevolent, loving countenance. He spoke so lovingly to K. saying "My sweet little one, art thou well? God bless thee." He patted her cheek, looked at her a moment and then said, "Good bye, my little daughter." He looked back at her often as he passed along the line of people. We had been placed at the end of the room, a little apart. It was quite a picture for a moment as the Pope with his attendant Cardinals and several Monsignori stopped in front of the child, and she dropped on one knee as she saw others do and looked up into the faces of the group with such wonder in her eyes. . . . All the people you knew here remember you with as much pleasure as you remember them; every one asks for you so warmly and kindly. People you knew slightly and probably do not remember now. Mr, Angelini for instance, Cav. Simonetti and Mr. Diomedi. I read recently the account of the Inauguration at Washington; there seems to have been considerable display, and it forms a striking contrast to the present simplicity of European courts. There is marked simplicity here in everything pertaining to the rulers; the King drives out in a plain little one horse carriage, with his coachman in black livery, and no footman. The Prince rides or drives without at- tendants and might be remarked only by his great sim- plicity and his familiar way of talking to everybody. I have seen no sign of display since I have been here. April 14. My Dear Father: Your letter of March twenty-fourth just received was so nice and long that after I had read it, it seemed to me 254 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 almost as though I had been talking to you. AVhat blessed things letters are; I wish you were sitting with me this morning; it is an exquisite day. The sun is streaming into my open windows and my parrot hanging in a flood of sunshine is singing gaily. She pours a flood of music from her little throat, and her song is so gay that I never tire of hearing her. When I call her she comes down from her perch to the floor of the cage, flutters her wings and wants me to caress her; if I stroke her, she spreads her wings and utters a comfortable little sound and rubs her beak against my hand. . . . I note you are likely to go to Washington on business; why do you not go on to the White Sulphur Springs'? A visit to such Springs is so beneficial at this season. I think so often of our trip to the White Sulphur which I so en- joyed; do you remember what walks we used to take? I could as well fly as take such walks now. ... I have been re-reading lately Uncle Tom's Cabin, a French edi- tion of it, and I should like to travel through the South some day to study its present condition as compared with its former state. What was the recent insurrection in Louisiana? I saw no account of it and do not know its cause. Yesterday was Easter. We went to St. Peter's in the morning and the music was good, but the ceremony very simple as compared with the old times. ... I stay at home so much in the evening that it gives me leisure for reading; I am now upon Baron de Hubner's "Sixtus the Fifth, ' ' which is very interesting. Also, ' ' Le Tour du Monde," which is an annual collection of extracts from the books of travel published during the year. It is ex- ceedingly interesting. I have finished the first article which is an account of Russia collated from Hepworth Dixon's book; it details the present state of the country politically and morally and describes also places and cus- toms. The second article is a trip through southern Peru in search of quinine trees, Mr. h. has a well selected library and keeps me supplied with books. LETTERS 255 1873 Age 31 In driving through the via Babuino the other day I was startled to see what looked like my own portrait in a window, only it was in peasant's dress. It was so like me that the next day I went to see it ; I had said nothing to A. and K. about it, but as we stopped before the window they both cried out, ''Why it is exactly like you." And it really is, except that the forehead is a trifle lower, the rest of the face might pass perfectly for me. The eyes, nose, mouth, cheek and shape of the head are as like me as two peas; it is not very well painted but it is pleasing on account of the colouring and costume. I suppose I could have it for ten or twelve dollars but do not care enough about it, though I feel curious to see the model from whom it was done; it might be a case of "my double." If the weather continues not too hot, I shall put off going to Albano; it would be really too cool there and heat seems to revive me and give me new strength. I feel lately that I am gaining a good deal. May 1. . . . We went to drive outside Porta Pia yesterday and over the wall of a villa garden we saw the greatest profusion of Banksia and other roses. The gardener was clipping all the overhanging branches to clear the wall, and as great sprays of roses fell into the street A. asked for them and was made welcome to all there were, which would have made several wagon loads. We contented our- selves with what we could carry and this morning my little parlour looks like a garden; great bunches of pink and white roses everywhere and long branches of Banksia roses trailing over the mirror and dropping from tall vases. Yesterday we had a fine dish of green peas and today we have strawberries. We went lately to Villa Wol- konsky; I believe I never saw so many roses in my life; rose vines are trained from one support to another and hang in great festoons. Such perfume and gorgeous colour. There is every sort of rose there from the tiny Banksia 256 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 and shilling rose to the black Tuscany and the yellow and cabbage rose. It is just such a garden as pleases me, quite in a state of nature with no formal prim beds and all the flowers old fashioned ones, roses, tall iris, white garden lilies, tulips, pansies and lilacs. The views through the arches of the old acqueduct are so beautiful, each crumbling arch draped in heavy wreaths of ivy and through this lovely frame views of the Alban mountains and the Campagna, Have you ever remarked hoAv much lovelier any landscape, any view, looks when you can frame it in with green branches or any natural limits? I remember on the side of the mountain at the White Sul- phur Springs finding a small natural frame of pine boughs for the view off toward the Blue Sulphur and how beauti- ful it was. I am going tomorrow v/ith Miss Clarke to the Vatican; she wants to make a sketch of the bronze "pigna"; I doubt if they allow her to enter the gardens but she may be able to sketch it from one of the gallery windows. I am going this afternoon to the Palace of the Caesars. I have not been there yet and they tell me much has been excavated since I left Rome. I also want to see that garden near the Corsini palace where you used to like to go; a sort of botanical garden where there were hot houses and an old flight of stone steps bordered with tall cypress trees. I used to like the spot very much and have not been there since I came back. I am also going today to call on Mme. von Hoffman who was Miss Ward, her husband. Baron von Hoffman, was formerly a banker in New York. Also on Mrs. Carson, a very charming woman and daughter of Judge Pettigrew, of South Caro- lina. I had letters this week from two Bordighera friends, one of whom is now in Mentone and the other my good friend Mme. Charmoz, who is soon going to her home at Thonon, on the Lake of Geneva, where she invites me to visit her. LETTERS 257 1873 Age 31 May 19, 1873. . . . I think I shall leave here a week from tomorrow for Florence. There is a great fete here the second day of June, the "Statuto" or Constitution answering to our Fourth of July, and my friends urge me to wait for it, but I doubt if I do. There will be fireworks and a review of troops by the King, and Prince Amadeus, Ex-King of Spain; the Empress of Russia will be here, also. I paid a visit lately to the Palace of the Caesars and saw the many excavations made since I left Rome; in some rooms that have been discovered there are frescoes that have retained their brilliant colour as perfectly as though painted yester- day. One has no chance now-a-days of picking up bits of marble as we used to do, the Italian Government ex- ercises great care over all finds. Friday we went to the Villa Madama, a half ruined villa on the slope of Monte Mario, where there are still exquisite frescoes of Giulio Romano, though in a terrible state of ruin. The chickens were roosting about in the great vaulted hall and it seemed hard that anything so beautiful and valuable should be allowed to get so dilapidated. I am thinking of going to Albano by carriage to see the whole of the Appian Way as it leads straight to Albano. Miss Clarke and I visited some studios yesterday; today she has gone to Monte Cassino, half way between here and Naples; she wants to make a sketch there and invited me to go with her, but I felt I was not strong enough for rough living and moun- tain climbing. ... I think I shall enjoy Florence, I used to like it so very much, but I cannot bear to leave Rome; one never knows what may happen and I cannot be sure of ever coming back to it and next to home I love Rome best in the world. Tuesday, May 20th. We drove yesterday to the baths of Caracalla and afterward to the Villa Doria; the latter was as delightful as ever and we walked about for an hour in the fields where the grass was cut and raked into 258 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 cocks. K. enjoyed tumbling about in the hay and other people seemed to enjoy it as well, for I saw young Prince Doria with a party of ladies and gentlemen sitting in the shade of a hay cock, pelting each other with grass and otherwise disporting themselves like children. Rome, May 24. I returned yesterday from a charming two days' ex- cursion to the country; instead of going by rail which leaves you three miles from Albano I decided to go all the way in my own little carriage which I could then keep there and use for excursions during my stay. So Thurs- day morning we started, taking bread and meat, wine and fruit with us to lunch on the way; we followed the old Appian AVay and the scenery was enchanting, especially as we began the ascent to Albano. You could see the sea glittering on the horizon. We lunched under a group of stone pine trees which shaded the ruins of an ancient tomb; we sat on fallen columns and made a table of a finely sculptured capital. We all enjoyed our al fresco repast amazingly. We reached Albano at half past one and had our choice of rooms at the hotel, as we were the only guests. The hotel stands on the edge of the hill on a terrace, and commands a magnificent view over the Campagna and the sea. Our windows had the same view and the combination of sea and mountain air was most invigorating. We spent the afternoon in the beautiful Villa Doria there and in the terraced garden of the hotel with its tinkling fountain and wealth of flowers. We drove toward evening to see the great viaduct of Ariccia. It rests on three tiers of arches and is as ornamental as it is useful. The next morning after our coffee and rolls, we had a lunch prepared to take with us and left in our carriage for Frascati ; I think I never passed over such a beautiful road in my life. It wound round the mountain side, shadowed and arched over by century old trees. LETTEES 259 1873 Age 31 through whose branches we always had the glorious view that we had at Albano. The mountain sides were clothed with olives and chestnuts and here and there a village perched high up. From time to time we passed the gates of stately villas but for the most part the road was lined with trees and sweet briar roses and tangled underbrush. We presently ascended a little, and all at once the Lake of Albano burst upon us; it is a tiny mountain lake which fills what once was the crater of a volcano. Its steep sides are green as emerald and far above one sees Monte Cavo crowned with its white convent walls, mirrored in the little lake. Half way up its side Pallazuola clings to a jutting cliff and Roeca di Papa frowns down from the middle height. We next reached Castel Gandolfo the summer residence of the Pope ; the palace is square and plain with a little village gathered about it, but the position is unique, for it commands the whole Campagna to the sea on the one side and on the other looks into the blue depths of the lake and across it to the mountains beyond. Anything more beautiful my eyes have never seen. After this we passed through Marino and so wound round the mountains till we got a wider view of the Campagna with Rome in the distance, Mt. Soracte and presently the Sabine Hills and Tivoli, and by this time we were at Frascati. The whole drive took us but an hour and a half, but it was filled to overflowing with beauty and pleasure. I have mentioned the briar roses and the ivy clasping every tree trunk but I must not forget blue and yellow flowers that enamel every inch of the ground, scarlet poppies that flaunt from every stone wall and enrich with their vivid colour every tuft of grass and maize field. Arrived at Frascati we took our lunch basket to the same villa where we were before, (Aldobrandini) ; we chose a place by a fountain to give us water for our wine and that provided a stone seat for our table; our dessert was great white heart cherries and fresh mountain strawberries which we had bought along 260 - LETTEES 1873 Age 31 the road. We were so hungry that we congratulated our- selves on having made ample provision and K. was de- lighted to find that some brown peasant's bread of which she is very fond had been included in our lunch basket. Indeed I found it very sweet and good myself, and pre- ferred it to the white and finer rolls brought with us from Rome the day before. After our luncheon we lounged a bit and then with donkeys started on our climb to the ruins of Tusculum. We wound up the hill behind Frascati through green lanes and along smooth pathways; in one place under a perfect tunnel of verdure that hardly ad- mitted a gleam of sunshine; catching fleeting glimpses of the Campagna and the distant mountains while in places what seemed like a flood of sunshine on the pathway proved to be a blaze of golden gorse bushes. As we came out on the more open part of the road the wild thyme crushed by our donkeys' feet gave out its sweet perfume. At last we reached the ruins of the amphitheatre, but it seemed to have small interest for me beside the glorious view. It was after all the same as from Albano or from Frascati only that from this height one got it all at once in one great panorama, not in portions, as from below. From Porto d' Anzio to Ardea stretched the sea; then the Campagna and Rome and beyond that Monte Cimino, the "Ciminian Hill" of Macaulay's ''Lays of Ancient Rome." Following round the circle came the plain again and then Soracte and the Sabine Hills with Monticelli and Tivoli gleaming white from their sides. Frascati and other villages were just below us, Rome and the dome of St. Peter's seemed not far off and to our left rose Monte Cavo, Rocca di Papa, Castel Gandolfo, and be- hind mountain rising behind mountain the long range that stretches away into the kingdom of Naples. We spent a little while examining the ruins, there are well preserved remains of an amphitheatre, of cisterns and the founda- tions of temples; and they are picturesque, shadowed by LETTEES 261 1873 Age 31 great trees and our donkeys resting among them added to the picture. We went slowly back passing the entrances to the villas Mondragone, Aldobrandini, Ruffinelli, etc. Arrived at Frascati we took a little turn around the village and into the quiet church and then when our carriage was ready we left for Rome. We did not forget to buy some cherries which are especially good at Frascati to regale ourselves on the way home; for the little boy of our pro- prietress and for our parrot who chuckles and whistles and sings over them. . . . You ask if I have seen Mrs. Gould since I came to Rome; no, I have not but I know that she now lives over Piale's book-store at the corner of the Piazza di Spagna. I have seen Miss Lewis, the coloured sculptress, once in the street. ... I think the cholera is as yet confined to Turkey and Poland ; I hope it may not spread. Doctor Taussig who made me a friendly call today brought me the news of the resignation of M. Thiers and that Marshal Mac- Mahon is now President of the French Republic. I note what you say of the lowering of the bridges on Pine and Arch streets; it will be a great improvement and I trust they will lower the Chestnut street one also. Your view toward Water street will then be uninterrupted. . . . I do not know where I shall spend the summer, nor if I can get so far as Holland; of course I should like to go home, I am unbearably homesick sometimes, but I am so anxious to get well that I try to be content to do only what seems most prudent for my health. I am getting on I think, all warmth does me good. Florence, June 3. My last week in Rome was very pleasant. I went to see Mme. Simonetti and from her windows saw a procession, some civic affair with a good deal of military display. All this was in the Corso upon which Mme. S's windows look. I enjoyed my last drives in the Villa Borghese and the 262 LETTERS 1873 Age 31 Villa Doria; I dined one day with Miss Clarke and had a pleasant evening; then on Monday evening all my good friends came to bid me good-bj^e. They have all been so kind to me that I was sorry to part with them. Rome seems more like home than any other place in Europe. I think we shall only remain here ten days and then go on to the Baths of Lucca and settle there for some time. I may take a small apartment as I hear that at Lucca they are very cheap. One of five or six rooms can be had for a hundred francs a month; also that as many English people go there, one finds English comfort and conveni- ences. The Baths will be a luxury. June 9. Florence seems very quiet and dull after Rome; there is so little life in the streets; it is just the reverse of what it used to be. In the old times Rome seemed dead and Florence lively and bustling, but the change of Capital has changed everything. Sunday there was a Regatta just before our windows. As a background there was the Duomo and Campanile gleaming white and radiant, the old tower of the Palazzo Vecchio rosy in the sunlight, the Ponte Santa Trinita with a rainbow over it, and in the foreground the lovely elliptical arches of the bridge which formed frames for the gay groups of boats on the river; flags on all the little barques, boatmen in scarlet, in blue and in white and gaily dressed people crowding the quai. In the evening the boatmen who won the race had a supper on a barge profusely illuminated. They floated slowly down the river with song and music. There is so much that is bright, picturesque and poetical in even the every day life of this land. I can sit at my window at any time and be entertained by the people crossing the bridge below me, looking off to the river and the hills and watch- ing the old man who sells beans on the quai to the pass- ing workmen, and the scarlet capped boatmen as they pole their boats up and down the river. . . . LETTERS 263 1873 Age 31 I was almost sorry to hear that the old library in the dining room had been removed ; I was fond of it though I know the upper shelves were inconvenient. Many a time I have clung by one hand to the shelf while I balanced my- self on the lower part, and in that precarious position be- come absorbed in Irving 's " Abbottsf ord " or "Newstead Abbey" or the ''Tales of a Traveler". How enchanting a few pages of "Wolfert's Roost" or "A Romance of the Alhambra" seemed to me read on the top of a ladder while I ought to have been dusting and putting in order the shelves of that same old library. Please do not change the old home too much ; every change brings a pang to my heart; yet all the changes you have made hitherto have been great improvements when we got used to them, for instance what a comfort the bath room up stairs has been. That was Mother's idea and her chef d'oeuvre. Bagni di Lucca, Hotel du Pare, July 14. My Dear Father: Your letter of June 23rd reached me some days ago ; I am glad you have benefitted by your week at Minnequa Springs; from what you say of the water I think it must be a good deal like the water here, that is, just pure fresh water. I think the springs here are scarcely medicinal at all; the water is very hot, about 100 degrees Fah. and but so slightly impregnated with iron or other substance that they can scarcely be either strengthening or remedial. They are, however, very agreeable and when taken cold are of some use to me. I found a tepid bath beneficial the other day in removing the aches and pains caused by a donkey ride. I have often envied people who had min- eral springs at their doors, but of course one sort of water generally cures but one kind of trouble and it is rare to be blest as the people of Viterbo are who have a sulphurous spring and an iron spring close together. The only wa- ters that are directly beneficial in cases of weak or dis- eased chest and throat are the Eaux Bonnes in the French 264 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 Pyrenees. An English lady here has been cured of long standing bronchitis by the use of these waters. Dr. Bac- eelli urged my going to this place, but it is too far away. I do not seem to have much to tell you this week ; life here is very tranquil and uneventful. Mrs. Crowninshield asked me to tea the other evening and I met there young Mr. Crawford, son of the sculptor Crawford and also of my friend Mrs. Terry. You know Mrs. Terry was first married to Mr. Crawford. I had a pleasant call from Mrs. Terry the other day; Mr. Donald McLean is a charming old Scotch gentleman overflowing with anecdote and humour, He is a guest in this hotel and he enlivens our dinners with his racy stories and his reminiscences of old times. He is about eighty I should think, and has lived for many years in Naples. Hannah More was his mother's governess and he has known all sorts of interesting people. One day this week a party of us went on donkeys up the hill to a place called Benabbia whence there is a magnificent view. The expression ''up the hill" can give you no idea of the steepness of the way; had I said up a wall it would have been nearer the mark. I had not an idea what I was under- taking but I had a capital little donkey who never stum- bled and the view was worth the trip. The next day I was not of the same mind, as every bone in my body ached and grumbled, but when the bath had taken the ache out I went back to my first opinion. I met yesterday Mrs. Tilton, the wife of the artist in Rome, and Mrs. General Graham, who knows some of the family. I see in the paper today the wreck of the ' ' City of Washington ' ' off the coast of Newfoundland; no lives seem to have been lost but the two recent wrecks off that coast are a damper to those who like myself had pleasant anticipations that when the railway was built from Newfoundland we should have a shorter means of crossing the Atlantic. To sail from or land on such a coast will, I fear, be always dangerous. Is the railway really going on? I see the ''London Daily LETTERS 265 1873 Age 31 Telegraph" quite regularly through the kindness of some English friends and glean considerable American news from it. The reports of the Tichborne trial interest me greatly and read like a romance. K. is out every morning at eight o'clock with her nurse and returns about ten full of adventures they have had on their walk and laden with a profusion of wild flowers wherewith to decorate our rooms. Preponderant among them long branches of clematis and a sort of wild sweet william of a vivid rose colour. The weather is pretty hot between twelve and four, but I do not suffer in the least. There is a charming cafe a few steps from here where one can sit in a shady garden and eat delicious ices at six cents a saucerful! It has become a great resort and one meets one's friends there about five o'clock every day. . . . I am glad to see the cholera is disappearing from Cin- cinnati and other places; there are but few cases in this part of Europe, a few at Venice and elsewhere but none near to us. Bagni di Lucca, August 4. My Dear Father: We have just come home from a delightful drive ; how- ever hot the days may be, it always becomes refreshingly cool after five o'clock and that without dampness. We drive usually till eight and come home hungry for supper. Last Saturday Mrs. Terry gave a little party on her son's birthday; she borrowed Mrs. Crowninshield 's garden for the occasion and the company was a very pleasant mix- ture of old and young. There was dancing for the young- er people on the lawn and the rest of us talked, ate ices and drank tea and afterwards had some music. There have been several of these simple garden parties and they are most pleasant. We go about half past five and come home at nine. My garden is not so well suited for a party as Mrs. C's. but I am going to invite a few friends to tea 266 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 with me and we will have the tables set under the long vine arbour. Mrs. Terry has been so very kind to me; she is so beautiful bodily and mentally, and I love to watch her face. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, of Rome, have arrived. . . . We had a strange storm the other after- noon; it only lasted half an hour but hail fell and cut the vine leaves all along the valley and the wind broke the branches of the trees. When we drove yesterday we saw vines completely stripped, the leaves literally chopped up, and lying an inch thick along the road, while broken boughs strewed the hillside. The Indian corn also was completely cut up and beaten down; the long leaves hung in ribbons. It was singular that along one bank of the river there was this desolation, while the other bank showed no trace of the storm ; yet the Lima river is not so wide as our creek at home. I have given before an ac- count of my simple occupations; to these you may add an Italian lesson three times a week now and at odd times posing as a model to Mrs. Carson, who paints very charm- ingly. ... I happened in reading Galignani the other day to see in a list of guests at a dinner given by Mr. Jay, our Ambassador at Vienna, the name of General Cul- lum, so I knew by that that Uncle George was there on the twenty-fifth of July. I have now written him sending my letter to the Embassy and asking that it may be for- warded in case he has left. August 11. My Dear Mother: I have just finished reading the paper and particularly the Tichborne trial, and now I begin my letter in the half hour before my Italian lesson. . . . Saturday we had a pleasant picnic to a place called Lugliano, at the top of the mountain. We numbered fifteen and went on donkeys. The supper packed in hampers also went on donkeys. We started about six in the afternoon and reached our destina- LETTERS 2fi7 1873 Age 31 tion in less than an hour by a road winding through fine chestnut forests with little streams rushing down the rocks amid a wealth of ivy and maiden-hair. At the top we found a level plateau covered with dry grass and wild thyme and there we ate our supper of cold meats, sand- wiches, fruit, bread and wine, cake and coffee. It grew dark before we had finished and the moon not being yet risen, our guides lighted torches and stood in a circle hold- ing them behind us. Later in the light of the full moon we sat about and told stories. A fire had been lighted to heat the coffee and the men from time to time threw into it handsful of thyme and other herbs which gave out a sweet perfume. It was a very pretty scene ; some one pointed to a solitary white house in the valley and remarked that it was haunted, whereupon there was a call for ghost stories and I told the one of old Newport. We came down the mountain about eleven and the forest was indescribably beautiful in the moonlight. We went single file and often far apart, and on the winding path one could see white figures appearing and disappearing among the trees, now in bright light, then lost in deep blue far above and far below one. One of our party, a man dressed in gray on a black horse, made me think of the knight riding through the forest in "Undine." The dashing and gleesome little streams conjured another suggestion of Undine and I wanted so badly to read the book when I got home, but of course I did not have it at hand and I felt then as I often do impatient at the restrictions of my wandering life which deprive me of the privileges of a library. August 19. My Dear Father: I have your letter of July 28th in seventeen days, a shorter time than usual. ... I have been to Siena since I last wrote you. Mrs. Carson and I started at short notice to see the curious races or tournament held each 268 LETTEES > 1873 Age 31 year in Siena on the fifteenth of August. Each quarter of the city, there are seventeen, is represented by two knights with banners of the "Rione" or ward of the city they champion, in costumes of the Middle Ages, who ap- pear in the lists and indulge in tilting and the games of long ago. We had a beautiful drive in the early morning to Lucca and went from there by rail to Empoli and thence after a long wait to Siena. I am sorry to say when we reached there we found that the races were not to take place, but that this change had only been decided upon a day or two before so that the town was full and we had great difficulty in getting a room. However, we at last succeeded and after dinner drove out to see the town. The Duomo was our first objective and the very first glimpse of it repaid us for our journey. It is a marvellous example of Italian Gothic and its many coloured marbles and the gold of its mosaics produce a marvellous effect. The interior seemed rather like a mosque than a church. The altar was ablaze with many candles, and my first impression was so vivid as I stepped inside of the door that I was loath to go further lest it should wane. I wanted that first view into the interior to remain painted on my memory apart from any detail. From the Duomo we went to the old Piazza Grande and saw the Lizza the public drive where there were handsome equipages and fine horses. We came back by way of Pisa the next day and reached home again at six o'clock. The drive of two and a half hours from the Lucca station to the Baths was especially lovely in the evening light and the coolness of the mountain air was welcome after the heat of the plains. . . . This even- ing I have asked some friends to take tea with me and M. Zanetta, our host, is looking after the details of it for me ; we shall have tea under my vine arbour. August 24. . . . My little party on Tuesday evening was quite pleasant and we had a very nice supper consisting of LETTERS 2(39 1873 Age 31 chicken patties, mayonaise of trout, cold ham and tongue, peaches, grapes, ices and cakes. My arbour was illumin- ated with some Chinese lanterns and with lamps on the tables. My guests were Mrs. Terry, and her family, Mrs. Freeman, Miss Brewster, Mrs. Crowninshield and her Mother, Baron von Rabe, Mr. McLane, Mr. von Lyro and Mrs. Carson. . . . Paris, September 9. My Dearest Mother: We reached here safely last Saturday morning and your letter of August 18th reached me the next day. We left the Bagni on Wednesday and had a five-hour drive to Pracchia ; the road wound along the valley yet high on the mountain side, so high that we were in a cloud part of the way, and it was a singular sensation to be galloping as it seemed through space, for the road even was scarcely visi- ble and the trees as we rushed by just emerged vaguely from the mist and looked like ghostly figures saluting us as they bent in the breeze. From Pracchia we travelled the whole night to Turin and on to Chambery which we reached by the Mt. Cenis tunnel, and found it not in the least disagreeable; we had one window open all the way and no smoke came in and the air was fresh and good. There seemed to be a strong current of air the whole way through and the passage of it lasted exactly twenty-eight minutes. The tunnel is six miles long I believe. At Cham- bery we went to the manufactory of the famous ''gaze". I had promised to get some dress lengths of it for friends at Lucca and I got myself one in plain white; it is not an expensive material and twenty-six metres only cost about seventeen dollars. We drove also to Challes where there are mineral springs; the waters are highly spoken of for affections of the throat and the hotel is an old chateau with beautiful grounds and a fine view. I found the rooms large, airy 270 LETTERS 1873 Age 31 and well furnished. We had a good journey to Paris the following day and are lodged at Miss Ellis's. Paris seems rather cold after Italy; I started the journey in a linen dress and feared we should suffer from the heat, but in Paris I find it so cold tliat I am dressed now in winter clothing. Oh, for the blue skies and warm bland air of Italy ; I feel already like rushing back. I was rejoiced by a call from Uncle G. yesterday and I hope I may see a good deal of him as he is to be in Paris some weeks. Groningen, November 6. My Dear Mother: I left Paris on Saturday for Amsterdam. Mr. Oyens was with me. I stopped at the Amstel Hotel and took Sunday to rest. All the cousins came to see me on Mon- day, and Tuesday morning I left for Groningen. I felt rather afraid of losing myself, as there were two changes to be made, and I do not speak a word of Dutch, but I had no difficulty and was met here by Cousin John and brought to his comfortable house and warmly welcomed by his wife. I like her very much and the children are charm- ing. John and I enjoy talking over old times and Mead- ville days. The house is modern and up to date and looks quite American in many respects; for instance, they have gas fixtures such as you have at home which slide up and down and which I have never seen in Europe before, at least not on the Continent, The walls are covered with photographs of Meadville and the family. Tomorrow we are planning to go to Harlingen to see John's Father and Mother and Saturday I shall try to go to the Hoogeveen, Grandfather's birthplace. I passed through it in coming here. It was so curious that all along the road I saw names familiar to me from having read them in Grandfather's "Life". But I had looked vainly for Hoogeveen, and was about giving it up when all at once something said to me "this is it." I felt it so keenly that I put down the book I LETTERS 271 1873 Age 31 was reading and peered eagerly out of the window. Just then we drew into a station and there was the name — Hoogeveen ! The village lies a little way from the railroad and is almost hidden in trees, but I intend to go and spend several hours there. Groningen is a town of about forty thousand inhabitants, a very busy place with many fine looking buildings and a pretty park. The Hague, November 14. My Dear Father: As you see by the above date I do not get on as fast as I thought to do, for I expected to be back in Paris by this time. I have been detained by a very bad cold which has prevented me from seeing the Hoogeveen. This was a bitter disappointment, and it was aggravating to pass through the little place twice by rail and not to be able to stop, but I really was not able to face exposure and great delay by stopping over a train there. I have enjoyed this Dutch trip very much and all the cousins have made me so welcome and been so affectionate and kind. I am stopping here contrary to my intentions because the journey to Paris without doing so would have been too long for me, and I also found J\Irs. Hingst expected me to visit her, so I am with her for a few days. The Dutch cousins are certainly most hospitable and warm hearted; they make you feel at home at once and render every moment of your visit agreeable. I am, however, eager to get back to Paris and to be off for Italy again. A. and K. are at Chambord which they thoroughly enjoy and they will be loath to leave it. Paris, November 20. . . . I had rather a tiresome journey from The Hague to Paris but was accompanied as far as Rotterdam by Mr. and Mrs. Hingst ; they wished to spare me all diffi- culty in crossing the city of Rotterdam and the river by boat; so they saw me safely into a railway carriage which 272 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 came through to Paris. Dear Cousin Jacoba said she would not be easy otherwise. She begged me to come back and spend some months with her in the summer. Paris, December 2. My Dear Mother: I write you a few hasty lines to post before I leave to- morrow evening for Rome, going straight through except for a day's rest at Turin. The news of the terrible loss of the ' ' Ville de Havre ' ' has saddened us all ; it is so terrible an accident and many are mourning friends lost by it. Rome, December 15. . . . I have taken an apartment which suits me wonderfully. It is in the Palazzo Lovatti, via San Basilio. I nearly killed myself going up long flights of stairs look- ing for quarters and I thought I had found just the thing on the Corso, but it was so cheap and yet so nice that I suspected something was amiss and found on inquiry the house had undesirable tenants. However, I am at last in- stalled in an apartment of four rooms and a kitchen which faces south, and in which as the season advances we shall have much sunshine. Everything in this house is new and clean ; the beds are good and though there is not much ele- gance in the furnishing, it is comfortable. I am close to Mrs. Crowninshield and her mother, to Mrs. Carson and several other friends. I have determined to have our dinners cooked at home this winter; it will be much more wholesome than dinners from the cooks. It will also be less expensive for prices have risen since the days when you were with me. They now ask sixteen cents a pound for meat — the Italian pound is of only twelve ounces ! The weather is lovely, clear, bright and not cold ; in the middle of the day one does not need a coat, but of course toward evening one must protect one's self. I have seen few of my Italian friends as yet, as I did not let any one know LETTEES 273 1873 Age :J1 I was here until I was settled. I called on Mrs. Terry the other day and she was as cordial and sweet as ever; her daughter is to be married on the twenty-seventh. Tuesday afternoon: Mrs. Crowninshield came to take me for a walk this morning and I gladly went, for she is so cheerful and gay that I always enjoy her company. I found Mrs. Carson here when I came in and she stayed with me an hour. ... A. cooks our dinners so nicely, and things taste so much better cooked at home. The "trattoria" cooking has so fallen off since the days when, as you will remember, we had such delicious food sent in; now it is perfectly uneatable. I want to have Aunt F. and family to dine with me on Christmas and hope our limited kitchen arrangements will not prevent. I wish you all a Happy New Year for I am afraid this will reach you too late to carry my Christmas wishes. Just think, in less than six months I shall be at home; I need not tell you how eagerly I look forward to it. December 23. . . . K. is to have a tiny Christmas tree; it is no more than a small bush about three feet high, but she is perfectly satisfied with it. I like my apartment more and more ; it is the warmest house I have ever had in Rome. I do feel so well, such a different being from last year. I now walk twice a day a considerable distance. I am quite gay for me, though the season is not yet well under way. Last week I went to Miss W. who had a few friends to tea and Friday to Mrs. Terry, — a party of fifty. Yesterday I was at Miss Brewster's afternoon reception where there were a number of celebrated people and where I met a number of old friends. Anthony Trollope was there, the ugliest man and the shabbiest imaginable and so deaf that 1 had to roar my remarks into his ear ; however, we had a pleasant talk, and quite a long one. Mr. Coleman, the artist, was there; I think you know the family in Buffalo. 274 LETTEES 1873 Age 31 Mr. and Mrs. Story were there ; Americans, Germans, Eng- lish galore and one or two Russians. With one little Rus- sian lady I had a long talk. Princess Vera Ternicheff; to- morrow evening I go to Mr. Hooker 's Christmas Eve ball ; next Monday to Annie Crawford's wedding. Last night I dined with Mrs. Crowninshield. I was out all this morn- ing shopping, and preparing for my little Christmas feast. December 26. My Dear Mother: Though it is only three days since I wrote I begin my letter early because Tuesday is post day and Monday will be occupied with the wedding. Miss Crawford is to be married in the morning and the reception will be from one to three in the afternoon. Our Christmas passed very quietly, but I was busy all day and enjoyed my little family dinner in the evening. Aunt F., E., E., and R., gave K. some lovely things, and I had a trifle for each of them. I gave them as good a dinner as I could manage, but giving a dinner in an apartment always seems to me more like giving a picnic under adverse circumstances. We had soup, croquettes of chicken, filet of beef, turkey, cooked celery and salad, and then ices and coffee. I went Wednes- day night to Mr. Hooker's party. There was very good music which nobody listened to. Six rooms full of people and such a stifling atmosphere as I never felt in my life; every American in Rome was there and many other na- tionalities, too. I wore my crimson velvet. . . . My afternoon has been interrupted by a succession of calls and I have just come back from paying my respects to Mrs. Marsh, the wife of our Ambassador, who lives above me. The apartment occupies the whole floor of the house, on one side of the entrance way. The other side is occu- pied by the Princess V. Mrs. Marsh is a very lovely per- son, but is in delicate health. Last night I had a call from Mr. S., a former theological student, and remembering the LETTERS 275 1874 Age 32 old student propensity for eating; and having no cider and doughnuts, a la Mrs. Shippen and no pumpkin pies and grapes a la you, I offered him a slice of cake and a glass of wine, and found he had in nowise altered since old days. He was very glad to hear the news of Mead- ville, and I am sure was thinking regretfully, as we talked, of the great pillars of ice cream that used to grace the generous Meadville tables! I am almost afraid to boast of how very well I am, but it is such a comfort that I cannot help being jubilant over it. Sunday, January 4, 1874. . . . I think I am enjoying this second winter more than the last; then my enjoyment was drawn almost en- tirely from nature and art. To this is added this winter the pleasure of congenial society. Almost every evening there is a reception or musicale, a party or a dinner, and my health is so good that I can take part in all. Beside which, the Roman parties are so very simple that they can harm no one. We go at half past eight and come home at eleven and we drink weak tea and eat crackers or small cakes. On Saturday evenings, Miss Brewster receives, and last week there was a delightful combination of all nation- alities, American, English, French, Italian, German and Russian, at her house. Monday of last week there was the wedding of Miss Crawford; Tuesday I went to Mrs. Dahl- gren's, the wife of the new Consul-General of the United States ; Mr. D. is a graduate of West Point, and was there during the time that General Cullum was Commandant. Thursday I dined with Aunt F. and Friday there was a musicale at one of my Italian friends. The other day I went with Lanciani to see the excavations recently made during the cutting for new streets. Many statues and interesting fragments have been discovered, chief among them a superb Hercules, the head intact. A dismantled and empty church served as a temporary museum, the whole floor was heaped 276 LETTERS 1874 Age 32 with fragments of inscriptions and statues. L. touched them and fitted pieces together and talked about them as if he fairly loved them; his interest and enthusiasm are touching. He explained to me how the ancient streets lay and then pointed out the lines for the new streets and I saw prospectively how it will look ten years hence; what rows of houses and public buildings will cover what is now a dreary waste of barren earth which is being turned over by twelve thousand workmen. Well, progress is a great thing no doubt, but I am glad to have known Rome before it became the Capital of the new Italy and I am glad to have revisited it before it is changed past all recognition; it will never be the same Rome again. I shall stay in Rome till the end of April, then go to Naples and probably take the steamer for Marseilles and so to Paris. I hope i may get home toward the middle of June; I am going to write soon for my accommodations; I mean to go home by the Cunard line. January 10. There are still so few strangers in Rome that the pro- prietors of hotels, boarding houses and furnished apart- ments are in despair. Miss Ellis writes me from Paris that she has only seven persons in her house and that at the Grand Hotel there were only eleven people. This, for a house which holds a thousand persons and rarely has less than six hundred guests. The absence of travellers is caused by the financial crisis in the United States. February 21. I had thought that Lent would put an end to parties but this is not the case. Our simple soeial events continue and I have just had an invitation to the de F's. tomorrow evening. Yesterday afternoon was Mrs. Crowninshield 's reception; Thursday was the Marsh's, Friday Mrs. Free- man's, tomorrow Miss Brewster's. In March I shall re- ceive one afternoon a week myself. Life in Rome is in- LETTERS 277 1874 Age 32 deed a pleasant thing. I yesterday sent a little basket of Parma violets and white hyacinths to Mrs. Dahlgren to welcome the advent of her first baby, and I had a charm- ing note from Mr. Dahlgren in return. I have engaged my passage home definitely in the "Abyssinia" for the ninth of June, They gave me choice of good rooms on her or in the ' ' Parthia ". . . I am very uncertain what I had best do when I get home ; I do want to settle myself somewhere as soon as I can. I have led so unsettled a life that one of the chief attractions to me at home will be settling among my few possessions and staying among them. However, I am not worrying about that now. Troublesome things seem to slide off my mind here in the air of Rome; nothing troubles me much and I do not worry about the future but enjoy the present to the full. If I keep to this date of sailing I should renew my acquaintance with the "Cus- toms ' ' of my country about the twenty-first ; I had hoped to make a trip below Naples before leaving Italy, but I hear that the country I wish to visit is infested with brig- ands; the chief of the brigands, Manzi, was killed last year and there has been some security for travellers since ; but lately Mrs, Manzi has reopened the business "tem- porarily closed on account of family bereavement" and conducts the affairs of her deceased husband so success- fully that no one ventures to Paestum at present. I have no desire to become more intimately acquainted with Mrs. M., so I shall probably go direct from here to Paris. I think on the whole the winter has been rather cold here; there positively were icicles two inches long one day on the fountain in Piazza Barberini, a phenomenon so rare that all the gamins of Rome came to stare at it and carried off bits of ice in their pockets as treasure trove. April 3. My Dear Father: I believe I have no news to give you this week ; it being Holy Week there are no receptions and I have profited by 278 LETTEES 1874 Age 32 the leisure evenings to do a deal of reading and studying. Last evening I read through Henri Baillieres sketch of Henri Regnault's Life which interested me greatly. Reg- nault was the most promising of all the modern French artists ; he had transcendent genius and he was killed dur- ing the siege of Paris at the age of twenty-eight. I saw the collection of all his pictures exhibited two years ago and have rarely witnessed such genius. I have never lost an opportunity since to see any work of his hand and have made all the artists here who knew him give me details of his life. Strangers are flocking to Rome the last few days ; I scarcely know what they come for, as the ceremonies of Holy Week are no more elaborate here than elsewhere since the new regime. . . . Recently there have been opened in Rome soup kitchens to help the poor ; all food is so dear that I do not see how the poor can live. My wash-woman says her family live entirely on bread with a little oil on it to make it palatable ; and this is their food without vari- ation from one month's end to the next. Sometimes they have not even the oil. Just fancy, veal costs thirty cents a pound, beef is twenty cents a pound ; the price of bread has risen again; I have to pay three cents for a head of salad that last year cost one cent. Even corn meal costs four cents a pound. ... A few weeks ago I heard the famous preacher, Monsignor Capel; he has a superb voice and delivery, but I found great difficulty in concentrating my thoughts. This has come about from my dislike to sermons ! ; you know I would always rather read one when I felt inclined than listen to one. Sermons never rouse in me the slightest religious emotion. I listen to them as I would to a lecture, and if they are logical and clear they please me as a lecture would, stimulating me mentally but never spiritually. To have my capacity for religious feel- ing aroused I must have the ceremonial, the music, the tragic impressiveness of ritual. Nothing so overcame me and softened my heart as the "Miserere" on Good Friday LETTERS 279 1874 Age 32 at St, Peter's eight years ago, or as the Midnight Mass at Christinas, or the Vespers at Siena last year, or even the sight of Milan Cathedral when I first entered it. But I am safe, for my head is stronger than my heart and would never allow my emotions to guide me. My belief seems to be of the Universalist order, for I glean the good from every religion and make of the assortment a religion for myself. Paris, May 22. I note what you say of hotels in New York; I will go to the St. Nicholas I think as it appears to be less expensive than the Clarendon. I shall only be a day or two in New York any way. The weather here has been clear and mild, and yesterday we went for an hour to the Exposition, but it was too crowded to be pleasant. Your letter contained a rather gloomy account of the health of the family; the various water cures have not seemed beneficial. By the way one of the best French physicians told me recently that no change of air did any real good if it was for less than twenty-one days, and I am ready to believe it for I remember how well I began to be at the White Sulphur, but by leaving too soon failed to get full benefit. The reason that the Baths of Lucca did me so much good was because of my prolonged sojourn. 1876 Age 34 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1876 JOURNAL Bayonne, Sunday, February 20, 1876. We left Paris last night and reached Bordeaux this morning. The country about Bordeaux is uninteresting except for its vineyards. Between Bordeaux and Bayonne it is one continuous pine plantation, the approach to Bayonne is wonderfully pretty, and one has always in view the Pyrenees and the mountains of Spain. We are at the Hotel St. Etienne which is exquisitely clean. We have been to the Cathedral which is florid Gothic but very pictur- esque. The town has narrow winding streets and some very old houses. The ramparts are green and shady and there is a great shaded esplanade outside the walls where the population were taking the air and chatting in the sunshine. It was as warm as May, a real southern air, but not quite the Italian sky. We saw the boat which was to leave tonight for Santander, but were told that owing to the roughness of the sea she probably would not get away, so we may go on her if she does not leave till to- morrow. Spanish is largely spoken here, names over the shops are Spanish, there are a few pretty costumes and some women who wear the mantilla. All the lower class women wear a coloured handkerchief on the back of the head closely enclosing the chignon. The men wear the Bearnais cap falling on one side and red sashes round their waists. February 21. We drove this morning to Biarritz in a little open car- riage ; the air was soft and balmy like a June day at home and the road was pretty, lined on either side with villas and country houses. I wish we could have seen the autumn JOUENAL AND LETTERS 281 1876 Age 34 Fete when the Basqae peasants in their costumes come down from the mountains for a frolic. It is said to be very picturesque and is the only occasion upon which one can see the population, descendants of an ancient race, of those Pyrenees which look so far off and inaccessible. As we entered Biarritz w saw the Villa Eugenie, the old imperial summer residence. It is red brick, square and not at all attractive. The town is an odd mixture of over- grown hotels, tiny villas, cottages, and a few shops. It seems to be built on half a dozen levels, so that you go up and down, and round and about strangely. I rather like the place and the view of the coast is beautiful. It stretches away to Spain, hazy in the distance, ending in the mountain called "Les Trois Couronnes" at the foot of which we could see a great cloud of smoke, and we were told it was a village set afire by the Carlists. Nearer, just across the frontier, were smaller columns of smoke that rise from Carlist camps, for this extreme north of Spain is the principle seat of war. Another mountain called "La Haya" rises beyond St. Jean de Luz, it has a curious conical summit. These places with Hendaye formed my first far off sight of Spain, and even this excited me! I received a call from Miss L. to whom Miss Wylde gave me a letter of introduction. She was most kind and anx- ious to be of service. When I spoke of going from St. Jean de Luz to Santander by boat, she offered to get informa- tion for me from a friend as to the best means of trans- portation and she brought to see me the Russian Consul M, Leon. He strongly advised me not to go from St. Jean de Luz, as the boats from there are horrible, but to wait for a boat from here, the "Maria Bilbao" which probably sails on Friday ; so I suppose I shall wait till then. February 22. We drove today to La Barre which is where the river enters the sea; the road was through pine plantations that gave out a delicious fragrance. When we reached the sea we found the waves breaking high against the tiles of a causeway running out from the shore and it was not a pleasant sight to me with the near prospect before us of having to cross that very place when we start for Spain. We returned by a different road and stopped at "The Refuge" a community of Sisters of St. Bernard. There was nothing especially interesting to see except beautiful 282 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1876 Age 34 needlework which was for sale, and I bought a hand em- broidered handkerchief. We took a stroll on foot after we came home through a quaint old street with low arcades and odd dark shops. I am told that many Carlists are tak- ing refuge in Bayonne and it seems as though the war must soon be over for the Revolutionists are being closely hemmed in. Don Carlos is said to be here. The rumours and reports floating about remind me of the old days at Chambord during the Franco-Prussian War when the Comte de Chambord was said to be in the neighbourhood over and over again, and all the time was a thousand miles away. February 23. We spent the day exploring the town and have done it thoroughly; it seems time wasted waiting for that steamer. February 24. I went last evening with Miss L. to a party at Mme. Allie 's. She is an English lady, married to a comical little Frenchman who speaks atrocious English but is none the less proud of his accomplishment. General Allie came in in full uniform and many officers were present. This morning I got my passport properly signed and saw some Carlist soldiers coming in under guard. At three we went to the steamer. We were about the only passengers, with one Spanish lady to whom we spoke. The passage down the river was quiet enough but the moment we touched the Barre we fell flat like stones and never moved again! Where we fell, we lay till morning all through a most wretched night. We landed about seven and I felt as though not even to see Tangiers, not even to see Italy would I spend one more hour on a boat. I almost determined to return to France on foot rather than go by sea again. We were landed among a crowd of dark and dirty Spanish beggars, each more picturesque and more filthy than the other. The morning was chilly, the mountains that shut in the bay of Santander were grey and misty; we were chilled and weak and ill and my first sensations in Spain were far from enthusiastic. My desire to walk back to France was coupled with that of taking the first steamer home to America; it is not often that I have been over- taken by such utter discouragement. We took the train JOURNAL AND LETTERS 283 1876 Age 34 at nine in company with our Spanish friend and had a long day and night of travel to Madrid. We lunched on cold chicken and bread and butter put up for us at Bayonne and at the station of Venta y Barros we had ex- cellent tea and soup. The bread everywhere is excellent and so far we have had butter. We passed through a strange looking country, from Santander to Valladolid ; bare sterile mountains and a few villages so nearly the colour of the mountains as to be hardly visible at a distance. In the twenty-four hours of travel we passed through only three towns of any size, Valencia, Valladolid and Avila; the other stopping places were mere villages, sometimes only stations. Except here and there in the valleys there seemed to be no cultivation; I do not see how the people live, but the country is evidently thinly populated. We saw a few flocks of fine sheep, guarded by a picturesque shepherd and his dog. At Santander the women did porter's work car- rying the trunks on their heads; from the time I wakened Saturday morning, February 26th, the country we passed through was the strangest I ever saw. Bare grey moun- tains, covered with huge rocks and stones, soil so sterile that not even gorse could grow, nothing anywhere to be seen but rocks and stones. It made one shiver to look at so savage a prospect. Madrid looked dusty and arid as we drove to the hotel. I said good-bye regretfully to our lovely Spanish friend and came to the Hotel de la Paix which seems very comfortable; I have a nice room and the table is excellent. Sunday, February 27. I breakfasted in the dining room ; no English are here ; all French and Spanish and myself the only lady at table. We drove in the afternoon to the Zoological Garden and came back to the Prado where we joined the file of carriages and saw all the Carnival gaiety. There were thousands of masques; several times a handsome costumed figure would leap on the step of the carriage and beg money for the wounded soldiers. We saw yesterday many wounded be- ing taken from our train at Valladolid on stretchers. Most of the women in the carriages on the Prado wore the pretty lace veil on their heads ; groups of young men with guitars and mandolins and castanets went about dancing, playing and asking alms for the poor. There were no flowers nor confetti, and altogether it was far brighter and finer than 284 JOUENAL AND LETTERS 1876 Age 34 Rome. The Piierta del Sol presented a most animated appearance as we came home; round the fountain in the centre were peasants, gypsies and every class of person in gala dress; groups of masques with music, pretty children dressed in Turkish and Moorish costumes, in pompadour dress, etc. One company of young men were all in black and yellow; these with a crowd of sightseers filled the square. In a side street today I saw a queer sight, a camel kneeling down; he seemed to be a show camel however as a man stood near and asked money for making the poor beast get up and down, I do not find Madrid at all pretty, but of course the sights today were original and pictur- esque. Monday, February 28. We drove past the Eoyal Palace today and through a great square surrounded by arcades which had an oriental appearance. We finished the afternoon at the Prado amid the carnival gaiety which K. enjoys exceedingly. So many of the children are in costume that she is begging me to get her one. Thursday. I went today to the Galleria where I passed two de- lightful hours; I never enjoyed any collection so much; the Velasquez exceed all my expectations. His portraits delighted me. "The Lances of Breda" is a glorious com- position and the figure of Spinola the most perfect I ever saw. The portrait of the young Prince Balthazar on horse- back is just as wonderful. Saturday, March 4. Today we saw the Armeria Real which is the finest col- lection of arms I have ever seen. There were most beau- tiful casques and shields and swords and guns; the trav- elling chair of Charles V, moorish arms, also, and trophies of flags taken at Lepanto and armour worn there by many a noble Captain. We also went to the Rag Fair a most curious and picturesque sight; all down the long street were rows of booths and on the grounds were spread out as in the Italian fairs a quantity of goods of all sorts. Old iron work, swords and daggers, old brocades, stuffs and cotton, laces and linens, pictures, old books and antiquities. Such a jumble as it was. The Englishmen whose acquaint- JOURNAL AND LETTERS 285 1876 Age 34 ance I have made at the hotel had recommended me to visit Booth No. 12 and I found there plenty of things that I should like to have bought ; I confined my purchases how- ever to a pair of fine old Italian jars and an altar cloth of linen and fine old lace. ... I was sorry not to find any old books but the only ones I saw were parchment family records, with illumined pages of coats of arms; very pretty but of no special interest. I had hoped to find an old Latin missal but there were none. I saw some tapestries but they were all in bad condition. Wednesday, March 7. I went today to the Escorial. LETTERS Granada, March 14. My Dear Mother: I was well repaid for the necessary delay of one more day in Madrid by receiving your letter there. "We left Madrid on Saturday and I was touched to see with what regret the proprietor and our new-made friends saw us go. The two English gentlemen whose acquaintance I had made and who had been kindness itself to me, did all they possibly could to make our journey comfortable. I cannot be thankful enough to find such kind friends wherever I go. One of the gentlemen is Mr. Nigeod and he lives at Chiselhurst where he asked me to let him know when I came to England. We had a most comfortable night jour- ney to Cordova where we found the Hotel Suisse very- clean and comfortable and a French interpreter at the station who saved us all trouble. We spent the afternoon at the Cathedral, or as it is called La Mesquita. It was of course originally a Moorish mosque and retains much of its Moorish character even in its changed condition. One enters under a noble Moorish gateway surmounted by a minaret; this gives access to the great courtyard filled 286 JOUENAL AND LETTEKS 1876 Age 34 with orange and lemon trees laden with fruit. The sun- shine and the sweet odour of blossoming peach, almond and orange trees, the singing of innumerable birds in the branches, the soft mild air, sent a thrill of well-being to my very soul. There were three fountains in the court- yard, built in the year 700; and a group of women were filling their copper water- jars at them while they gossiped together. Then we entered the Mesquita. I do not think any thing I may ever see will make such an impression on me as that first moorish building. Imagine an enormous space filled with one thousand and ninety-six columns of jasper, verd antique, porphyry, etc., supporting horse-shoe arches in red and white marble ; long vistas of columns and arches in every direction, and arabesques, stucco work, mosaics, and coloured tiles (azulejos) as far as you can see — truly a sight that beggars description. . . . Cor- dova is a quaint town with streets so narrow that you can touch each side with outstretched arms. The omnibus that took us to the hotel barely could get through. Carriages and carts pass along them so infrequently that they are as clean as a floor. The houses have latticed windows and bal- conies on the street and each house has a central court with a marble basin and fountain surrounded with flowers, and trellised vines and orange trees. Everything is built to ensure coolness. . . . The dogs here interest me, they are a mixture of dog and wolf and have long lank bodies, sharp noses, pointed erect ears and a general wolfish aspect. The shops in Cordova are all open in front with straw or linen curtains, and marble or tiled floors. In short, the whole town has such a moorish aspect that I feel I need not go to Morocco to get an idea of moorish architecture or customs. Yesterday at two we left. The country from there here is very different from the north of Spain. Here all is fertility and verdure, beautiful olive groves, meadows of fresh springing wheat, vineyards, palm-trees, cacti, aloes everywhere; and on each side such beautiful JOUENAL AND LETTERS 287 1876 Age 34 ranges of mountains, and sometimes a lake with a white farm-house or villa surrounded by blossoming fruit trees. The hedges are all of cactus or aloes ; I want to get Father some cuttings of the best Spanish vines, but have not yet come to the best vine country. Night came long before we reached Granada, and I regretted not seeing the approach to the long wished for city. Yet the night added a mys- terious witchery to the silent streets, narrow and winding ways, lighted only at intervals by swinging lamps; to the tall white houses leaning toward each other, their latticed balconies almost meeting high above where only a faint line of sky was visible; to some ' ' eaballeros " muffled in their cloaks ; to a few beggars asleep in doorways wrapped in their ponchos ; and here and there to a Moorish shop still open and lighted. In one dark street two men were strum- ming on guitars under a balcony and looking eagerly for an answering signal from their sweethearts' window. We passed at last under a great archway and tower and drove along an avenue with trees so close together, so tall and ghostly, almost meeting above our heads that we doubted they were trees at all, but rather the arches of some ruined cathedral. The long avenue with trickling water courses on either side and old walls, brought us to a sharp turn, we caught the music of several fountains, and then lights and bustle broke our reveries and we had arrived at the Hotel Washington Irving, which is in the very grounds of the Alhambra. Could anything be more pleasant than just such an arrival at Granada? It was only very hard to go to bed without one glimpse of the fairy palace so near at hand, and notwithstanding it was near to mid- night, had I had any escort at hand I would have seen the Alhambra then and there in the moonlight. As it was I could not sleep for thinking of it. ... I found about a dozen people here all English or American. Now I must try to give you my impression of the Alhambra. I have been all through it this afternoon and it is as different from 288 JOURNAL AND LETTEES 1876 Age 34 what I imagined as it well can be. I began by being bitter- ly disappointed and ended by finding it so wonderful and so exquisite that I cannot now conceive from what my dis- appointment arose. Wednesday. I have spent all this warm sunny morning wandering through the Alhambra. Every moment adds to my ap- preciation of it; I believe if I stayed here a fortnight I should never be able to leave. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The exterior has no beauty, not even any distinctive form, Moorish buildings never have; all the architectural effect and beauty of design is reserved for the interior. There is a high wall very old and mossy round the whole mass of buildings which includes the Palace of Charles V, the real Alhambra, the prison, the square and large gardens. Outside of this wall are the hotel and the fine avenues and groves of elms. When I had passed through a low door in this rough stone wall I found myself in a small court surrounded with Moorish arches decorated with delicate fret work, paved with white marble and excessively clean. This was where I was dis- appointed ; it looked so clean and small and orderly ; there was nothing impressive and it looked too well cared for to have the charm of antiquity. But after penetrating from one court into another, from one beautiful garden into another the charm began to work. The key to the Moorish scheme in building dawned upon me, and in due time I was lost in admiration. The central idea of Moorish archi- tecture was to secure seclusion and coolness ; there were no long suites of rooms or enclosed apartments, but instead, series of small courts or gardens so small that the sun scarcely penetrated them except at high noon. These had marble pavements, fountains in the centre, and cypress trees about the basin and in the corners. Around these open spaces were arcades, of which the arches were sup- ported on the slenderest of columns and from such porches JOURNAL AND LETTERS 289 1876 Ago 34 opened the small inner apartments. The Court of Lions is perhaps the most charming of the many courts the Al- hambra contains ; we went from it to the Sala de los Aben- cerrages, to the rooms of Lindaraxa, looked into her gar- den, leaned from her balcony and gazed upon the Albaycin, the Darro, the Barrancos de los Gitanos far below. We looked across the ravine to the shining Generaliffe white and sunny with its dark cypresses against white walls. From this height we looked straight down two hundred feet over so steep a cliff that nothing could grow on its sides. Beyond the Generaliffe and the Carthusian Convent one's view swept over the Vega or great plain of Granada to the snowy Sierra on the horizon. The Vega is even more extensive than the Campagna of Rome and is at once like it and different. It is more fertile, watered by means of millions of artificial streams drawn from the Darro and Xenil ; literally every inch of ground is moist with running water, consequently everything is green as emerald and fresh as possible. I become more and more fascinated every enchanting moment. This afternoon I drove round the city to the Vivarrambla, the Zacatin and the Alameda, of all of which Irving speaks. If you will read him on the "Alhanibra" again you will realize much of what I am seeing and trying to describe to you. Tomorrow morn- ing I shall see the Generaliffe and have another stroll through the city, beginning the day and ending it as I always do with a quiet ramble through the charmed Alham- bra, passing under the great Gate of Justice where are the Hand and Key. It is so nice to be within two minutes of it, to pass into the stillness of the courts broken only by splashing fountains and the soft rustle of the breeze in the cypress trees, to sit and bask in beauty in such silence and stillness that little lizards come out of their holes under the jMoorish azulejos and look at you and enjoy the sun- shine with you in quite a friendly spirit, until the custode 's dog who also suns himself, changes his position and causes 290 JOURNAL AND LETTERS 1876 Age 34 the lizards to scamper away. During my many visits I have learned to distinguish Arabic azulejos from the tiles of later times and to appreciate the arrangements of colour in the stucco work, and the infinity of designs. Blue, red and white or gold are the principal colours; where any green has been introduced in the restorations, the effect is glaring. Nothing can be more harmonious than the pale gold and blue and red blended in a thousand different combinations. There are niches here and there near doorways for the slippers which the Moors always took off on entering from without, and others to hold alcarazzas of fresh cool water. Anything more beautiful than the long vistas of ]Moorish arches and windows and gardens, one beyond the other, I have never seen. The ceilings of many rooms are of cedar painted to imitate mother-of-pearl in- laid work; others are in stucco and are like lace work or spider's webs. They hang down like stalactites seeming as though they would dissolve and yet they have outlasted a thousand years. The colours of tiles and roof work are wonderfully preserved. I went to the house of Senor Contreras and saw some beautiful models of some of this work, and I mean to have one. We went yesterday to the top of the Torre de la Vela where is the bell which is struck every five minutes from nine P. M. till dawn giving notice to the irrigators in the plain of the hours as they pass. From this tower there is a wonderful view of the Vega stretching twenty miles or more to the mountains, the Alpuxarras, the Pass of Loxa, the Gorge of Moclin with its moorish watch-tower whence many an alarm of Chris- tian invasion must have been sounded. With the cloudless skies above this view was exquisite, and as I write the bell is ringing from the Torre de la Vela and I hear now and again a shrill mysterious whistle, which may be some des- perate ''contrabandista's" signal! At the Generaliffe there is not so much beauty as at the Alhambra, for much of the Moorish fret-work has been destroyed or barbarously white- JOURNAL AND LETTERS 291 1876 Age 34 washed ; the gardens are charming, shady and musical with falling and running water. How the Moors did love water ! It runs and splashes and sparkles everywhere. . . . Will you please keep my letters, for I have little time to write up my journal and shall depend on letters to recall much that I have seen. Thursday, 16. We walked down the long avenue today and visited several shops of antiquities. I bought a large plate with the arms of Granada on it for fifteen francs. It bears an early date, too. The Alhambra grows upon me more and more. Each day I find it more enchanting. The views today were surpassingly beautiful. I now realize the ex- treme beauty of which Regnault raves. His description of the exquisite colours taken by the mountains I have never quite believed in till this morning. He does not ex- aggerate I find, far from it. No pen could do justice to the wonder of the Alpuxarras, and the Sierra de Alhama clothed in soft radiant tints of pearl. What a picture they made ; what ineffable beauty God has here spread for the benefit of us poor mortals. I must see the Maritime Alps again on the Riviera and the Swiss Alps also perhaps before I can definitely judge ; but I think the palm must always rest with the Sierra of Granada. I doubt if my eyes ever rest on any view more perfect than this and every hour it changes. At noon all outline is lost in a golden haze, later the shadows deepen to blue, purple and then black, the mountains grow rosy, the Alhambra towers are deep flame colour, the Vega dark- ens and fades and all is gloom and night. Half an hour after the sun has set dark night has come; there is no twi- light so to speak in this southern land. ... I had se- cretly decided that even at Granada the sky had not the deep blue of my beloved Italy, but today I looked into a dome of such wonderful dark, deep blue as almost startled me. Here was indeed my Italian sky, flecked with white 292 JOUENAL AND LETTEES 1876 Age 34 clouds and broken by red-brown towers, yellow green leaves, pink peach blossoms, and white pear trees. In the grass below nodding buttercups, periwinkles, violets and ivy created a luxuriant parterre. I spent my last afternoon in my favorite nooks and bade the Alhambra adieu; will my eyes ever be blest with its exquisite beauty again? I am thankful to have been permitted to see it once. Saturday, March 18. We left Granada at 2 A. M. ; dreary work getting out at that hour. Yet I enjoyed the drive through the narrow streets, gloomily lighted by an occasional swinging lamp or the passing lantern of a guard. The sunrise over the moun- tains was glorious. At Bobadilla we had a delicious cup of chocolate, good bread and sweet butter. We have found the bread and butter excellent in Spain except at the "Wash- ington Irving Hotel" where everything was wretched; rooms, beds, food and wine. We reached Cordova at one and lunched there, then went on to Seville by a beautiful road through fertile country, pretty towns and glorious moun- tains. At Palma del Rio we bought oranges for which the place is celebrated, and at Loro del Rio we saw a score of storks walking gravely on the housetops and sailing slowly through the air. We skirted the river Guadalquivir close to the bank; I have rarely seen a more beautiful country, everywhere cultivated and at this season fresh with blos- soming orange and peach trees. We reached Seville at six o'clock, and found comfortable lodgings at the Hotel de Madrid. The hotel is composed of three buildings, the centre one an old Moorish house with a beautiful patio and marble paved corridors, salons and stairways; all round the patio is an arcade enclosed in glass for the winter, open in the summer. Inside of this are the bed-rooms and dining room. March 19. I visited the Alcazar which has been too much restored ; it is gaudy and lacks the harmony and delicacy that prevail JOUENAL AND LETTEES 293 1876 Age 34 in the Alhambra. The gardens are ptetty but retain no Moorish characteristics. I saw at the Cathedral the paint- ing from which the leading figure of St. Anthony was cut and stolen a year ago, which was found at New York, re- turned to Spain, and has been replaced. The injury scarcely shows. We drove for an hour in the Paseo de las Delicias, saw the Casa del Duenas, the Casa del Pilotas, the Juderia and the house of Murillo. Wednesday, 22. We visited a porcelain factory today and K. was much interested in the process of china moulding and painting. I like the Arabic mode of calling a servant, which is pre- served in Spain; it is clapping the hands, not the sibilant sound made by the Italians and French. Women old and young and little girls wear a red or white flower in their dark hair hereabout and are of a fine classic type. Thursday, 23. I spent several hours at the Museo and thoroughly enjoyed all the paintings but now I am ready to go and eager to get to Madrid to Marseilles and perhaps to my beloved Italy. LETTERS Biarritz, March 31. My Dear Mother: You see we are out of Spain ; I think the last few days were almost the pleasantest I have spent there. My few days in Madrid were very pleasant; it was nice to meet old friends. I call them old friends for they seemed so, though I only knew them two weeks! Then a pleasant American party arirved, composed of Mr. and Mrs. James Barnard, Mrs. Parsons and Miss Joanna Rotch. It was delightful to meet such pleasant company. Then I was 294 JOTTENAL AND LETTERS 1876 Age 34 glad again to see my friend Mr. Traynor ; he was kindness itself and came to see us off at the station when we left. Mr. Gushing, our Ambassador, also called upon me. On the way from Madrid I saw Burgos with its fine Cathedral. The railways are intact again and though the trains run slowly they run surely. Everywhere I find kind people. On this last journey we had as travelling companions some young Englishmen whom I had met in Seville and again at Madrid. I was able to give them a meal out of my lunch basket. They had been relying upon what they could buy along the way and were dismayed to find that all the stations had been burnt and battered during the war, so that from nine in the morning until eight at night nothing was obtainable. . . . Biarritz, though a very fashion- able place in the summer is very quiet now ; we have a good room overlooking the sea and are very comfortable. The road from Madrid was beautiful, at least the last half of it, for one passes through the mountains of old Castile, through beautiful valleys and picturesque towns, but the battered houses and ruined walls reminded me of the ruins about Paris after the war. Paris, April 28. . . . I have done all my shopping and paid all my bills and my trunks are packed to go. I have not bought much and am so tired of shops that I hate the sight of them. What tempts me more than fine dresses are the beautiful artistic things, pictures, photographs, books and china, but I have pretty well curbed my desire for them. Malvern, England, May 5. We left Paris Monday and had the most comfortable passage from Havre to Southampton that I ever had across the Channel. It was as smooth as a canal. We stopped at Salisbury and saw the lovely cathedral which to me is the most lovely in England as to exterior, with its beautiful green close, and we had time to drive to Stone- JOUENAL AND LETTERS 295 1876 Age 34 henge. I find Malvern very charming, so green and fresh, the fruit trees in full bloom. We have a pretty parlour, sunny and cheerful; and a bedroom above. The system of English lodgings is new to me ; you buy your meat and vegetables and send them home to be cooked, but I found this marketing rather a bore so have asked the lodging house keeper to provide for me. Malvern lies upon the side of a mountain with a high peak rising behind it, and in front there is a view over miles and miles of beautiful valley. The houses are all of stone, grey with age, pic- turesque with gables and towers and covered with ivy. There are iron springs and many people drink the water. Last evening we took tea with Mrs. Gracie, and today have driven to Eastnor. The drive through the park was won- derful; the ground was covered with primroses, hyacinths and cowslips with anemones and violets all growing wild. We saw a pheasant fly up from her nest where there were ten pretty eggs. One week from today we shall be at Queenstown, but I do not at all realize that I am going so soon. I have enjoyed my little trip very much, and it seems as though I had been longer than a few months away. 1879 Age 37 LETTERS OF 1879-1880 Chester, October 26, 1879. My Dear Father: We landed safely at Liverpool today and came here where we are a very jolly party. Our two Doctress friends have accompanied us, so that we are eight, and we have a sitting room together where our meals are served before the cheeriest of coal fires, and where we sit and chat in the evening and talk over all we have done and seen. We went yesterday to the Cathedral and to the queer old rows of houses and shops, and in the afternoon to Eton Hall one of England's show places. The Duke of Westminster was in residence so we could not see the house, but the magnificent hot houses and gardens were shown us. I noted especially the espaliered fruit; saw bananas growing and fruiting and met the Duke driving himself in a two- wheeled cart on the way home. This morning we went to service at the Cathedral, and the Judge of the Assizes being in town attended in gown and ermine and wig. The Colonel of the Garrison was also there in scarlet uniform with some of his men and the Bishop officiated, assisted by Dean Howson, so often mentioned in Kingsley 's Life. These two days of rest in this quaint old place have been delight- ful to us all. Never did green turf and trees look so wel- come as to our eyes weary of gray skies and rolling sea. And the bright coal fires of England are always a delight to me. Tomorrow we separate, the M. Ds. go to London and the rest of us to Warwick and thence to Southampton and we expect to cross Friday night to Havre, and stop LETTERS 297 1879 Age 37 at Rouen. We shall be in Paris by the end of the week unless fine weather beguiles us to a longer stay along the Seine. Chambord, November 22. My Dear Mother: We are detained here a day longer than I anticipated by a heavy rain, so I will start this to you here and finish when we get back to Paris. The rest and quiet have been very pleasant after our rapid travelling and sightseeing followed by tiresome shopping and all this in four weeks, for it is just that time since we landed. I hope we may get off for the south a few days hence, for I am anxious to get to milder weather. The two weeks we spent in Paris passed very quickly and though I had not much to do for myself I could help Mrs. D. and Mrs. McF. a good deal. Chambord is unchanged and every one seems glad to see us. I went yesterday to see the Sisters of Charity ; tJiey are not the same who were here before but I knew one of these slightly, and had a very pleasant call and sat for an hour chatting. M. Arnould was glad to see us. The ladies have enjoyed seeing the Chateau very much. K. is delighted to see Chambord again and is all over the house, in and out of the kitchen, and playing with the cats, of which there are five. Bordighera, November 30. My Dear Father: We have reached Italy at last, but have not come at all to a "sunny south". It was bitterly cold when we left Paris, gray and cool when we reached Marseilles at mid- night, and was pouring when we reached Nice the next day. It cleared however sufficiently so that we got a drive to the old castle where the soldiers were practicing on their bugles, just as when we were there together so many years ago. We came here from Nice yesterday. ... I find that my fears of having forgotten my Italian were quite 298 LETTERS 1880 Age 38 groundless; it all comes back to me, and in a few days I shall have recalled all I ever knew. I had been told that Queen Margherita of Italy was here and occupied the whole hotel, but we find she is at a villa. She tas had a fever and been sent here to recruit. DecemDcr 7. . . . We leave this evening for Rome. In spite of unfavourable weather we have much enjoyed our s:ay. It cleared sufficiently one day for a drive to Mentone. The wind here was high but at Mentone we found it calm and genial and fine ; it is so much more sheltered than this place and the west wind which blew a hurricane here wai? not even perceptible there. I think we are going to have good weather now, but it has not been as warm any day as it was all the time when I was here before. The sun today is blazing into my room, warming with that sun heat that nothing can equal. We have roses on our table and a bunch of daisies and wild flowers from the olive groves where we walked. I wish you were here today to have a long walk in the sunshine with me; the sea, as ever, is of the most beautiful blue and the mountains toward France are as wonderful in colour as ever. Their shadows are so blue and transparent and the far-off peaks of the Maritime Alps glitter against the blue sky, while nearer are the olive- clad hills. I have always thought the view from here one of the finest in Europe and I think so still, though of course the view over the Vega at Granada to the snowy Alpuxarras and Sierra Morenas is still finer. 29 via Quattro Fontane, Rome, January 13, 1880. My Dear Father: Your letter of Christmas day reached me last Friday followed by the packet of newspapers. If you see any articles of Francis Parkman's on the "Woman" question or any review of them or replies to them from the Woman 's LETTERS 299 1880 Age 38 Journal please clip them for me. I saw in a new English paper published in Paris called "The Parisian" an amus- ing letter from Boston reporting the defeat of the female candidates for the School Board at the recent elections, and referring to an article by Mr. Parkman in the North American Review. . . . Yesterday we were all presented to the Pope; with our friends the Sturtevants who were at the Hotel Brunswick with us last winter. There were four large rooms full of people. Leo XIII has neither the severe expression seen in some of his portraits nor the smirk of others ; his features are strongly marked but his expression is pleasing and his manners affable. He spoke kindly to each of us, and not only gave you his hand to kiss but held yours in his while he spoke and lightly touched the head as he blessed you. He seemed pleased with K. took her head in both his hands, raised her face that he might look at her, patted her cheek in his fatherly way, calling her "My little daughter" as he blessed her. There was more formality about the reception than under the last Pope; there was more of the Court present than I remember be- fore. Leo XIII was certainly as affable and fatherly as Piux IX and I think spoke more particularly to each per- son than his predecessor, but his face could never have the charming benignity of the late Pope, for he has not his regular features. He is a greater student and I presume a much abler man. . . . Last week we went to the opera and had very nearly the same box we used to have when you were here. The opera was "The Huguenots" followed by a ballet which far surpassed anything I ever saw before or that we had the winter that you were with me. During the Carnival a matinee is to be given for children, and I shall take K. The Carnival begins this year, the 31st of January, my birthday, and as the scene of the gaiety is to be the via Nazionale which is quite near us, to some extent we shall see it from our windows. I have not yet been able to 300 LETTEES 1880 Age 38 visit any of the new excavations which Lanciani promises to show me. It has been so cool that I prefer to leave such excursions for warmer weather. We have a constant suc- cession of clear, bright days, but not so warm as usual. Still we can take a turn each morning on the Pincio and sit there in the sunshine and inhale the fragrance of blos- soming shrubs and flowers. Coming home the other daj^ we got some blood oranges and it recalled to me your en- joyment of them. There was a reception at Miss P. 's the other evening where we had some good music, especially some remarkably sweet airs on the flute from a Signor Giorgi, said to be the first flute player in Italy, and I also had a very pleasant conversation with Mme. Galliani, an English lady, whose husband is the correspondent of the London Times. Rome, January 21. . . . We went this morning to Sta. Agnese, outside Porta Pia to see the blessing of the lambs, and after long waiting through a tedious ceremony with poor music, all I saw was the top of the head of one little lamb decked with red ribbons as it was carried to the altar. A whole flock of sheep may have been blessed afterwards, but I was too tired to wait to see more. A glimpse of the Alban mountains transfigured in the brilliant sunshine was nev- ertheless worth the tedium of the morning. . . . You ask me to tell you about some of our old haunts and I begin with the Coliseum. It is by no means as beautiful as you remember it; every vine, tree, flower and blade of grass has been carefully removed. Not a wall flower nods its scented head from the walls; not a green thing gleams amid the old stones. All the little chapels and the cross are removed from the arena and the ground is leveled and scraped. The Baths of Caracalla (do you remember those grand arches with their drapery of ivy, vines and flowers swaying in the breeze against a deep blue sky?) are also completely denuded of all graceful greenery and the floors LETTEES 301 1880 Age 38 are cemented like your cellar. No chance now of picking out from a heap of earth those pretty bits of "giallo antico" or "porta santa"; it is all cemented and cleaned and as level as your dining table. When I see these places which I remember so charming in their over-run natural condition of years past I feel a pang at my heart and rush outside the walls and take a long look at my beloved Campagna and Alban Hills which act as balm, and restore my equanimity. They may clean up the Coliseum and the Baths but they cannot change the everlasting hills; they at least will always remain to solace and rejoice my soul. . . . The roman streets are cleaner and Rome is alto- gether modernized and spruced up, but she is losing much of her old charm. Be thankful you saw the Eternal City in the olden days and can think of her as she then was. January 30. . . . Yesterday afternoon Mr. Ropes sent his car- riage with its span of fine horses for our use, and I took Mrs. McF. for a drive outside Porta San Giovanni. It was a sweet warm day, the mountains bathed in sunshine took the pearl grey tints of the clouds sailing over them; they were transcendently beautiful. We drove as far as the fourth milestone and my companion was delighted. She had not before been out at this gate and the long line of the acqueduct stretching across the Campagna, the mountains and sky and the blue transparent shadows filled her with the same delight as myself. She was amused too by the long line of wine carts along the road, the carters asleep and the lively little lupetto dog keeping watch and barking furiously when the horse did not turn out enough for passing vehicles; the peasants drinking in the gardens of the Osterie, the tiny donkeys dragging big carts, etc. All the thousand and one picturesque things one sees on a roman drive. Mrs. McF. declared she had scarcely enjoyed anything so much since she came to Rome. 302 LETTERS 1880 Age 38 Tuesday I called on Mrs. Eugene Schuyler; Mr, S. is our Consul now and she was a Miss King, daughter of the Hon. Eufus King, our Minister when you were here. Mr. Schuyler has written several very interesting books and is now writing a life of Peter the Great which is appear- ing in Scribner's Magazine. My kind friend Mrs. Carson, who seems to wish me to share every pleasure she enjoys asked me lately to go to the English Embassy with her. We were to see some frescoes and not only saw them but the whole house, which was a monument to Lady Paget 's artistic skill. She has painted and frescoed much herself. Her exquisite taste in all the furnishings and decorations as well as in the planning of the new part of the house is evident. We met Sir Augustus and Miss Paget in the gardens later. I think I never saw a house combining such solid comfort with greater elegance. An octagonal sitting room with great old-fashioned fire-place with a bay window filled with plants and a shelf all round the room for books ; the furniture covered with plain chintz, realized my ideal of comfort and convenience. ... I went yesterday to the Capitol and thoroughly enjoyed seeing my old friends there, the Faun, The Dying Gladiator, and the Venus. I noted among the busts of the Emperors that of Tiberius, and I confess his features and phrenological development do not bear out Uncle F. 's theory of the nobility of his character and the liberality of his ideas. However, features do not always denote the character behind them, and also the bust in question may not be a good likeness. . . . We are going this afternoon to St. Andrea delle Fratte to hear Fra Giovanni sing; he is said to have the finest tenor voice in the world. I wish you could feel the delicious sun- shine that is pouring into our rooms; we are sitting with open windows and no fire, and when I go to the window to look for the Carnival cortege which is promised us today, I have to put up a sunshade for the sun is so hot on one's head. The street is a moving mass of heads, a flowing river of people, all looking gay and happy, bound for the LETTEES 303 1880 Age 38 via Nazionale. I wish you could sometimes drive with me outside the walls and see the beauty of these mountains. In all my wanderings I have never seen any marvel to equal theirs ; not in Spain or Switzerland or the Pyrenees. Perhaps it is a little because I love them so that I give the Roman Campagna the palm over the Vega of Granada, and the view from Biarritz of the Pyrenees. But af- fection apart, I really think they have peculiar tints that one sees nowhere else. I must tell you of a compliment paid me the other day by Mr. Marsh, our Minister, which of course I only partly deserve. The credit is yours. Mr. Marsh in his brusque way informed me that I spoke Eng- lish with a correctness and purity seldom heard in these days and asked me where I was educated. I could only reply that I owed everything to the careful training given me by my Father, who never permitted me to use ungram- matical or slovenly expressions. If one could inherit such things, or if honest effort always produced the desired re- sult, I might deserve his praise, for Grandfather certainly wrote the most beautiful English, and your own exquisite facility and style cannot be excelled. I have indeed tried to imitate you both with I fear but poor result, for I sel- dom send a letter of which half at least has not been sev- eral times re-written. . . . This morning we have seen the King go in state to open Parliament, the Queen went also; she has been very ill and has looked badly, but looked more like herself today. The little Prince looked a delicate boy ; it was altogether a pretty pageant. February 23. I called today on Mrs. Herriman, a very lovely Ameri- can who has lived eighteen years in Eome. Tuesday we went to the P. 's evening reception. Wednesday we have our box at the opera. Thursday I am invited to a large reception at the Schuyler's, and Friday is our own day at home. Last week we had a number of people, — among them the S.'s, Mrs. Robert Gracie, sister of my dear old 304 LETTEES 1880 Ago 38 friend, Mrs. William Gracie, a beautiful young Mrs. Scher- merhorn, of New York, Mr. Hale and the Rev. Charles Wood of Buffalo among others. I went lately to Mr. Harnish's studio to see a model for a monument to John C. Calhoun for Charlestown, South Carolina. The pose is good, but the likeness did not strike me as successful, and I told him of the engraving in your possession which is said to be good. The expression in that is much sterner and more impressive than Mr. H. has given his statue, but he told me he had had only a very poor photograph to work from. If you can let me have the name of the pub- lisher and the date on your engraving Mr. H. would much like to get one like it. At Mrs. Schuyler's reception last Thursday I met the whole American-Roman colony and many of the transient visitors ; Rome is full of foreign- ers and the hotels are crowded. We went to the water colour exhibition which has just opened. It is in the rooms which formerly were Miss Hosmer's studio. Did I write you that Miss Hosmer has given up art and is devoting her mind and fortune to the perfecting of what she sup- poses to be the discovery of perpetual motion ? She thinks she has discovered a means to this end in a system of powerful magnets and expects to have it applied where at present steam is used. Every one regrets her enthusiasm, for no one feels confident of the practicability and ap- plicability of her system. Her whole fortune is in- volved in the project now. She has given up her apart- ment and is living with the Storys this winter. Last even- ing we had a pleasant little dinner party consisting of Mrs. Carson and Mr. Ropes. Mrs. C. was in her most brilliant mood and Mr. Ropes is a capital raconteur, so we passed a charming evening. Mrs. Carson is full of wit and humour and a delightful woman. She has the ease and grace of the southern woman without the prejudices as her family were intensely loyal during the war and suffered much in consequence. She is of Huguenot descent (French) which explains her wit and brilliancy. LETTEES 305 1880 Age 38 March 1. We have spent this day almost entirely out of doors for we started at nine thirty this morning for the Meet of the Fox Hounds a mile beyond the tomb of Cecilia Metella. The weather was glorious; the sky such a blue as one sees only in Italy and Spain, sun so warm that we threw off cloaks and wraps, and an air so pure and invigorating that it made one feel gay and young and strong. The Cam- pagna in all its fresh bright green of springing wheat here and there flecked by white or pink almond or peach trees, Rome shining white in the distance with the mountains first veiled in mist and then as the sun rose higher radiant in wonderful tints of rose and purple made a scene of un- exampled wonder. It somehow reminds me of Warburton's description of Damascus, with its white walls and minarets, green groves and palms, shining from afar over the desert which surrounds it. The Meet was the usual gay scene, scarlet coated huntsmen, grooms, dogs and carriages which you will remember. The winter, alas, is gone ; it has seemed so short I could wish it were longer for it has been so pleasant. March 8. I went to the studio of Ezekiel the other day, and was delighted with his works. He is an American of Spanish- Dutch extraction, born in Richmond, Virginia. Some of his works are for the Capitol at Washington, and it is pleasant to think that when his "Twelve Apostles of Art" are put up there, something really good in the way of sculpture will appear in that place. Ezekiel's "Eve" is the only one I ever liked ; not just a Venus with an apple in her hand, but a real Eve bowed and overcome with shame and fear when she hears the Lord's voice calling to her. It is really moving. The modelling of this artist is remarkably fine, and some bits in a torso of Judith were quite in the antique manner. I have also seen the studio of Mr, 306 LETTERS 1880 Age 38 Greenough and found very much to admire there. There is a bust which he calls "Beatrice della Vita Nuova" which bears a strong resemblance to L, F. C. I asked him if he had ever seen her, but he thought not. Mr. Greenough had a full length figure of Circe which I admired. Mr. Frank- lin Simmons is another sculptor whose studio we visited to see especially his conception of the Israelites wandering in the desert typified by a large female figure. But above all things he has done, I like his excellent copy of the Naples Museum "Psyche" which I should like to buy for the Public Library collection in Meadville. It is the most perfect reproduction of an antique that I have ever seen. April 18. My Dear Father: I have only time to send you a line as I am off tomorrow for Florence. I had a last beautiful drive on the Cam- pagna a few days ago, the mountains were more beautiful than ever — but then they always seem to be most beautiful the last time I see them. I believe nothing in Eome costs me so much to leave as those mountains and I find it so with many people. I have seen tears fall from the eyes of Mrs. McF. as she looked at them; Mr. Eopes said noth- ing was so hard to leave as those mountains and Mrs. Car- son when once she had almost decided to exchange Rome for Florence declares the scale was turned in favour of Rome by the recollection that otherwise she would no more see that lovely range of hills. It is hard to leave Rome. One cannot disguise the fact and in my heart it holds a place which no other spot except my home has ever filled. I am sore at heart to leave it. However, I may return to it again in the years to come, and it is pleasant to feel there is that possibility. THE END CHRONOLOGY 307 CHRONOLOGY 1842-1881 1842 Birth of Emma Cullum Huidekoper, 1865-1866 First sojourn in Europe. 1866-1869 Marriage and second sojourn in Europe. 1868 Birth of Katherine Renee Cortazzo. 1869-1871 Third sojourn in Europe. 1872-1874 Fourth sojourn in Europe. 1876 Journey to Spain. 1879-1881 Sixth sojourn in Europe. 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