-_J5 -¦&¦>--.-$'- YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOHNS STANDARD LIBBABT. GOETHE'S TRAVELS IN ITALY. GOETHE'S TRAVELS IN ITALY TOGEl'HEB WITH fiI3 SECOND RESIDENCE IN ROME FEAGMENTS ON ITALY. €xtimhk)> {tarn t^ic (gtnnaa. * Auch i^ in Arcadien." LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS, -yORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1885. YALE LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAUFORO STREET AND CHARING CROSS. C : ' .' J NOTE. The first half of this volume -was originally published with the concluding portion of Goethe's Autobiography. But the translation of the second part of the Italianische Beise ha'ving been undertaken by Mr. Charles Msbet, the publishers have thought it expedient to rearrange the volumes so that the whole of the Italian tour might be included in one volume. CONTENTS. PART I. PAGE From Oablsbad to the Bkenneb ..... 1 From the Brenner to Verona ...... 15 From Verona to Venice ....... 30 Venice . 53 From Ferrara to Rome 88 Rome . . . . . . . . . . ,113 Naples 168 Sicily ' . .214 PART II. Naples .......... 321 Philip Neri, the Humourous Saint ..... 348 Second Residence in Rome : June, 1787 363 July 377 August .......... 394 September ... 405 October 422 November 442 December 454 January, 1788 469 Februaiy 477 The Roman Cainiv;,! ....... 485 March 515 April 533 On Italy : Fragments of a Tiaveller'a Journal .... 548 TRAVELS IN ITALY. I TOO IN AKCADJA. FROM CARLSBAD TO THE BRENNER. Ratisbon, September 4, 1786. As early as 3 o'clock in the morning I stole out of Carlsbad, for otherwise I should not have been allowed to depart quietly. I'he band of friends who, on the 28th of August, rejoiced to celebrate my birthday, had in some degree acquired a right to detain me. However, it was impossible to stay here any longer. Having packed a portmanteau merely, and a knap sack, I jumped alone into a post-chaise, and by half past 8, on a beautifully calm but foggy morning, I arrived at Zevoda. The upper clouds were streaky and fleecy, the lower ones heavy. This appeared to me a good sign. I hoped that, after so wretched a summer, we should enjoy a fine autumn. About 12, I got to Egra, imder a warm and shining "sun, and now, it occurred to me, that this place had the same latitude as my own native town, and it was a real pleasm-e lo me once more to take my midday meal beneath a bright sky, at the fiftieth degree. On entering Bavaria one comes at once on the monastery of Waldsassen, with the valuable domain of the ecclesiastical lords, who were wise sooner than other men. It lies in a dish-hke, not to say cauldron- like hollow, in beautiful meadow-land, inclosgd on all sides by slightly ascending and fertile heights. This qloister also possesses property in the neighbouring districts. The soil is decomposed slate-clay. The quartz, which is found in this mineral formation, and which does not dissolve nor crumble away, makes the earth loose and extremely fertile. The land continues to rise until you come B .^ LETTEKS FROM ITALY. to Tirschenreuth, and the waters flow against you, to fall into the Egra and the Elbe. From Tirschenreuth it descends southwards, and the streams run towards the Danube. I can form a pretty rapid idea of a country as soon as I know by examination which way even the least brook runs, and can determine the river to whose basin it belongs. By this means, even in those districts which it is impossible to take a survey of, one can, in thought, form a connection between hues of mountains and valleys. From the last-mentioned place begins an excellent road formed of granite. A better one cannot be conceived, for, as the decomposed granite consists of gravelly and argillaceous earths, they bind excellently together, and form a solid foundation, so as to make a road as smooth as a threshing floor. The country through which it runs looks so much the worse ; it also consists of a granite-sand, lies very flat and marshy, and the excellent road is all the more desirable. And as, moreover, the roads descend graduallv from this plane, one gets on with a rapidity that strikingly contrasts with the general snail's pace of Bohemian travelhng. The inclosed biUet will give you the names of the different stages. Suffice it to say, that on the second morning I was at Ratisbon, and so I did these twenty-four miles'* and a half in thirty-nine hours. As the day began to dawn I fouud myself between Schwondorf and Regenstauf, and I observed here a change for the better in the cultiv.ation of the land. The soil was no longer the mere debris of the rock, but a mixed alluvial deposit. The inundation by which it was deposited must have been caused by the ebb and flood, from the basin of the Danube into all the vaUeys which at present drain their water into it. In this way were formed the natural bolls (polder), on which the tillage is carried on. This remark apphes to all lands in the neighbom-hood of large or small streams, and with this guide any observer may form a conclusion as to the soils suited for tillage. Ratisbon is, indeed, beautifully situated. The country could not but mvite men to settle and build a city in it, and the spiritual lords have shown their judgment. All the land A Geman mile is exactly equal to four English geographical, and to rather more than four and a quarter ordinary miles. The distance in the text may, therefore, be roughly set down as one hundred and four • miles English. [A. J. 'W M.] KATISBON. ,", around the town belongs to them ; in ine city itself churches crowd churches, and monastic buildings are no less thick. The Danube reminds me of the dear old Main. At Frank fort, indeed, the river and bridges have a better appearance ; here, however, the view of the northern suburb, Stadt-am-hof, looks very pretty, as it lies before you across the river. Immediately on my arrival I betook myself to the College of the Jesuits, where the annual play was being acted by the pupils. I saw the end of-the opera, and the beginning of the tragedy. They did not act worse than many an unexperienced company of amateurs, and their dresses were beautiful, almost too superb. This public exhibition also served to convince me «tiU more strongly of the worldly prudence of the Jesuits. The} neglect nothing that is likely to produce an effect, and contrive to practise it with interest and care. In this there is not merely prudence, such as we understand the tei-m abstractedly ; it is associated with a real pleasure in the matter in hand, a sympathy and a fellow feeling, a taste, such as arises from the experience of life. As this great society has among its members organ builders, sculptors, and gilders, so assuredly there are some who patronise the stage with learning and taste ; and just as they decorate their churches with appro priate ornaments, these clear-sighted men take advantage of the world's sensual eye by an imposing theatre. To-day I am ¦writing in latitude forty-nine degrees. The weather promises fair, and even here the people complain of the coldness and wet of the past summer. The morning was cool, but it was the beginning of a glorious and temperate day. The mild atmosphere which the mighty river brings with it is something quite peculiar. The fruits are nothing very surprising. I have tasted, indeed, some excellent pears, but I am longing for grapes and figs. My attention is rivetted by the actions and principles of the Jesuits. Their churches, towers, and buildings, have a something great and perfect in their plan, which imposes all beholders with a secret awe. In the decoration, gold, silver, metal, and polished marble, are accumulated in such splen dour and profusion as must dazzle the beggars of all ranks. Here and there one fails not to meet with something in bad taste, in order to appease and to attract humanity. This is the general character of the extemal ritual of the Roman B 2 4 LEITEKS FBOM ITALY. Catholic Church ; never, however, have I seen it apphed with so much shrewdness, tact, and consistency, as among the Jesuits. Here all tends to this one end ; uiilike the members of the other spiritual orders, they do not continue an old worn-out ceremonial, but, humouring the spirit of the age, continually deck it out with fresh pomp and oplendour. A rare stone is quarried here into blocks. In appearance it is a species of conglomerate; however, it must be held to be older, more primary, and of a porphj'ritic nature. It is of a greenish color, mixed with quartz, and is porous ; in it are found large pieces of very solid jasper, in which, again, are to be seen httle round pieces of a kind of Breccia. A speci men would have been veiy instructive, and one could not help longing for one ; the rock, however, was too sohd, and I had taken a vow not to load myself with stones on this journey^ Munich, September 6, 1 786. At half past 12, on the 5th of September, I set ofi' for Ratisbon. At Abbach the country is beautiful, while the Danube dashes against limestone rocks as far as Saal. The hmestone, somewhat similar to that at Osteroda, on the Hartz, close, but, on the whole, porous. By 6 a.m. I was in Munich, and, after having looked about me for some twelve hours, I will notice only a few points. In the Sculpture Gallery I did not find myself at home. I must practise my eye first of all on paintings. There are some excellent things here. The sketches of Reubens from the Luxembourg Gal lery caused me the greatest delight. Here, also, is the rare toy, a model of Trajan's Pillar. The material Lapis Lazuli, and the figures in gilt. It is, at any rate, a rare piece of workmanship, and, in this hght, one takes pleasure in looking at it. In the HaU of the Antiques I soon felt that my eye was not much practised on such objects. On this account I was unwillmg to stay long there, and to waste my time. There was much that did not take my fancy, without my beinu- able to say why. A Drusus attracted my attention ; two Anto- nines pleased me, as also did a few other thino-s. On the whole, the arrangement of the objects was not happy, although there is an evident attempt to make a display with them and -MITTF.TiWALD. the hall, or rather the museum, would have a good appearance if it were kept in better repair and cleaner. In the Cabinet of Natural History I saw beautiful things from the Tyrol, which, in smaller specimens, I was aheady acquainted with. and, indeed, possessed. I was met by a woman with figs, which, as the first, tasted delicious. But the fruit in general is not good considering the latitude of forty-eight degrees. Every one is complaining here of the wet and cold. A mist, which might well be called a rain, overtook me this morning early before I reached Munich. Throughout the day the wind has continued to blow cold from off the Tyrolese mountains. As I looked towards them from the tower I found them covered, and the whole heavens shrouded with clouds. Now, at setting, the sun is shining on the top of the ancient tower, which stands right opposite to my window. Pardon me that I dwell so much on wind and weather. The traveller by land is almost as much dependent upon them as the voyager by sea, and it would be a sad thing if my autumn in foreign lands should be as httle favoured as my summer at home. And now straight for Innspruck. What do I not pass over, both on my right and on my left, in order to carrj' out the one thought which has become almost too old in my soul. Mittelwald, September 7, 1786. It seems as if my guardian-spirit had said " Amen" to my " Credo," and I thank him that he has brought me to this place on so fine a day. My last postilion said, with a joyous exclamation, it was the first in the whole summer. I cherish in quiet my superstition that it will long contiirae so ; how ever, my friends must pardon me if again I talk of air and clouds. As I started from Munich about 5 o'clock, the sky cleared up. On the mountains of the Tyrol the clouds stood in huge masses. The streaks, too, in the lower regions did not move. The road lies on the heights ov^r hills of alluvial gravel, while below one sees the Isar flowing slowly. Here the work of the inundations of the primal oceans become con ceivable. In many granite-rubbles 1 found the counterpails r, LETTEES FROM ITALY. of the specimens in my cabinet, for which I have to thanls Knebel. The mists from the river and the meadows hung about for a time, but, at last, they, too, dispersed. Between these gravelly hills, which you must think of as extending, both in length and breadth, for many leagues, is a highly beautiful and fertile region like that in the basin of the Regen. Now one comes again upon the Isar, and observe, in its channel, a precipitous section of the gravel hills, at least a hundred and fifty feet high. I arrived at Wolfraths- hausen and reached the eight-and-fortieth degree. The sun was scorching hot ; no one relies on the fine weather ; every one is complaining of the past year, and bitterly weeping over the arrangements of Providence. And now a new world opened upon me. I was approach ing the mountains which stood out more and more distinctly. Benedictbeuern has a glorious situation and charms one at the first sight. On a fertile plain is a long and broad white building, and, behind it, a broad and lofty ridge of rocks Next, one ascends to the Kochel-see, and, still higher on the mountains, to the Walchen-see. Here I greeted the first snow-capt summit, and, in the midst of my admiration at being so near the snowy mountains, I was informed that yesterday it had thundered in these parts, and that snow had faUen on the heights. From these meteoric tokens people draw hopes of better weather, and from this early snow, anticipate change in the atmosphere. The rocks aroimd me are all of limestone, of the oldest formation, and contain ing no fossils. These limestone mountains extend in vast, unbroken ranges from Dalmatia to Mount St. Gothard. Hacquet has travelled over a considerable portion of the chain. They dip on the primary rocks of the quartz and clay. i reached the "Wallen-see about half past 4. About three miles from this place I met with a pretty adventure. A harper came before me with his daughter, a little girl, of about eleven years, and begged me to take up his child. He went on with his instrument ; I let her sit by my side, and she very carefully placed at her feet a large new box. A prettv and accomplished creature, and aheady a great traveller over the world. She had been on a pilgrimage on foot with her THE ROAD UP THE BREXNEK. 7 mother to Maria Einsiedel, and both had determined to ga upon the still longer jooi-ney to S. Jago of Compostella, when her mother was carried off by death, and was unable to fulfil her vow. It was impossible, she thought, to do too much in honor of the Mother of God. After a great fire, in which a whole house was burnt to the lowest foundation, she herself had seen the image of the Mother of God, which stood over the door beneath a glass fi-ame — image and glass both uninjured — which was surely a palpable miracle. All her journeys she had taken on foot ; she had just played in Munich before the Elector of Bavaria, and altogether her performances had been witnessed by one-and-twenty princely personages. She quite entertained me. Pretty, large, hazel eyes, a proud forehead, which she frequently wrinkled by an elevation of the brows. She was natural and agreeable when she spoke, and especially when she laughed out loud with the free laugh of childhood. When, on the other hand, she was silent, she seemed to have a meaning in it, and, with her upper lip, had a sinister expression. I spoke with her on very many subjects, she was at home with all of them, and made most perthient remarks. Thus she asked me once, what tree one we came to, was. It was a huge and beautiful maple, the first I had seen on my whole journey. She narrowly observed it, and Was quite delighted when several more appeared, and she was able to recognize this tree. She was going, she told me, to Botzen for the fair, where she guessed I too was hastening. When she met me there I must buy her a fairing, which, of course, I promised to do. She intended to put on there her new coif which she had had made out of her earnings at Munich. She would show it to me beforehand. So she opened the bandbox and I could not do less than admire the head-gear, with its rich embroidery and beautiful ribbons. Over another pleasant prospect we felt a mutual plea sure. She asserted that we had fine weather before us. For they always can-ied their barometer with them and that was the harp. When the treble-string twanged it was sm-e to be fine weather, and it had done so yesterday. I accepted the omen, and we parted in the best of humours, and with the hope of a speedy meeting. 8 LETXBBS FROM ITALY. On the Brenner, September 8, 1786, Evening. Hurried, not to say driven, here by necessity, I have reached at last a resting-place, in a calm, quiet spot, just such as I could wish it to be. It has been a day which for many years it win be a pleasure to recall. I left Mittelwald about 6 in the moming, and a sharp vrind soon perfectly cleared the sky. The cold was such as one looks for only in February. But now, in the splendour of the setting sun, the dark fore ground, thickly planted with fig-trees, and peeping between them the grey limestone rocks, and behind all, the highest summit of the mountain covered vnth snow, and standing out in bold outline against the deep blue sky, furnish pre cious and ever-changing images. One enters the Tyrol by Schamitz. The boundary line is marked by a wall which bars the passage through the vaUey, and abuts on both sides on the mountains. It looks well: on one side the rocks are fortified, on the other they ascend per pendicularly. From Seefeld the road continually grew more interesting, and if from Benedictbeuern to this place it went on ascending, from height to height, while all the streams of the neighbouring districts were making for the Isar, now one caught a sight over a ridge of rocks of the valley of the Inn, and Inzingen lay before us. The sun was high and hot, so that I was obliged to throw off some of my coats, for, indeed, with the varying atmosphere of the day, I am obliged fre quently to change my clothing. At Zierl one begins to descend into the valley of the Inn. Its situation is indescribably beautiful, and the bright beams of the sun made it look quite cheerfid. The postdion went faster than I wished, for he had not yet heard mass, and was anxious to be present at it at Innspruck, where, as it was the festival of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, he hoped to be a devout participant. Accordingly, we rattled along the banks of the Inn, hurrying by Martinswand, a vast, precipitous, wall-hke rock of limestone. To the spot where the Emperor Maximihan is said to have lost himself, I ventured to descend and came up again without a guide, although it is, in any case, a rash undertaking. Innspruck is gloriously situated iu a rich, broad valley. INN8PRIIC,K.— METEOROLOGY. 9 between high rocks and mountains. Everybody and every thing was decked out in honour of the Virgin's Nativity. At first I had some wish to stop there, but it promised neither rest nor peace. For a little while I amused myself with the son of my host. At last the people who were to attend to me came in one by one. For the sake of health and prosperity to the fiocks, they had all gone on a pilgrimage to Wilden, a place of worship on the mountains, about three miles and a half from the city. About 2 o'clock, as my rolhng carriage divided the gay, merry throng, every one was in holiday garb and promenade, From Innspruck the road becomes even still more beauti ful ; no powers of description can equal it. The most fre quented road, ascending a gorge which empties its waters into the Inn, offers to the eye innumerable varieties of scenery. While the road often runs close to the most rugged rocks — indeed is frequently cut right through them — one sees the other side above you slightly inclining, and cultivated with the most surprising skill. On the high and broad-ascending surface lie valleys, houses, cottages, and cabins, whitewashed, glitter ing among the fields and hedges. Soon all changed; the land becomes available only for pastm-e, until it, too, terminates on the precipitous ascent. I have gained some ideas for my scheme of a creation; none, however, perfectly new and un expected. I have also dreamed much of the model I have so long talked about, by which I am desirous to give a notion of all that is brooding in my own mind, and which, in nature itself, I cannot; point out to every eye. Now it grew darker and darker; individual objects were lost in the obscurity; the masses became constantly vaster and grander ; at last, as the whole moved before me like some deeply mysterious figure, the moon suddenly illuminated the snow-capt summits ; and now I am waiting till morning shall light up this rocky chasm in which I am shut up on the boundary line of the north and south. I must again add a few remarks on the weather, which, perhaps, favours me so highly, in return for the great attention I pay to it. On the lowlands one has good or bad weather when it is aheady settled for either ; on the mountains one is present with the beginning of the change. I have so often experienced this when on my travels, or walks, or hunting 10 XETTERS FROM ITAr,V. excursions, I have passed days and nights be tween the chffsin the mountain forests. On such occasions, a conceit occurred to me, which I give you as nothing better, but which, however, I cannot get rid of, as indeed, generally, such conceits are, of aU things, most difficult to get rid of. I altogether look upon it as a truth, and so I will now give utterance to it, especially as I have already so often had occasion to prove the indul gence of my friends. When we look at the moimtains, either closely or from a distance, and see their summits above us at one time ghttering in the sunshine, at another enveloped in mist, swept round with strong clouds, or blackened with showers, we are disposed to ascribe it all to the atmosphere, as we can easily with the eye see and discern its movements and changes. The moun tains, ou the other hand, with their glorious shapes he before our outward senses immoveable. We take them to be dead because they are rigid, and we believe them to be inactive because they are at rest. For a long while, however, I can not put off the impulse to ascribe, for the most part, to their imperceptible and secret influence the changes which are observable in the atmosphere. For instance, I believe that the mass of the earth generally, and, therefore, also in an especial way its more considerable continents do not exercise a constant and invariable force of attraction, but that this attractive force manifests itself by a certain pulse which, according to intrinsic, neeessarj^ and probably also acci dental, external causes, increases or decreases. Though all attempts by other objects to determine this oscdlation may be too hmited and rude, the atmosphere furnishes a standard both dehcate and large enough to test their silent operations. When this attractive force decreases never so httle, immedi ately the decrease in the gravity and the diminished elasticity of the air indicates this effect. The atmosphere is now unable to sustain the moisture which is diffused throughout it either chemically or mechanically ; the clouds lower, and the rain falls and passes to the lowlands. When, however, the mountains increase their power of attraction, then the elas ticity of the air is again restored, and two important pheno mena result. First of all, the mountains collect around their summits vast masses of clouds ; hold them fast and firm above themselves hke second heads, until, as determined by the METEOROLOGY. VEGETATIOW. 11 contest of electrical forces within them, they pour down as thunder-showers, rain or mist, and then, on all that remains the electricity of the air operates, which is now restored to a capacity of retaining more water, dissolving and elaborating it. I saw quite clearly the dispersion of a cloudy mass of this kind. It was hanging on the very highest peak ; the red tints of the setting sun still illuminated it. Slowly and slowly pieces detached themselves from either end. Some fleecy nebulse were drawn off and can'ied up still higher, and then disappeared, and in this manner, by degrees, the whole mass vanished, and was strangely spun away Oeiore my eyes, like a distaff, by invisible hands. If my friends are disposed to laugh at the itinerant meteor ologist and his strange theories, I shall, perhaps, give them more sohd cause for laughter by some other of my remarks, for I must confess that, as my journey was, in fact, a flight from all the unshapely things which tormented me in latitude 51°, I hoped, in 48'^, to meet with a true Goshen. But I found myself disappointed; for latitude alone does not make a chmate and fine weather, but the mountain-chains — especi ally such as intersect the land from east to west. In these. great changes are constantly going on, and the lands which lie to the north have most to suffer from them. Thus, fur ther north, the weather throughout the summer was deter mined by the great Alpine range on which I am now writing. Here, for the last few months, it has rained incessantly, while a south-east or south-west wind carried the showers north wards. In Italy they are said to have had fine weather, indeed, a little too dry. And now a few words on a kindred subject^the vegetable world, which, in so many ways, depends on cUmate and moisture, and the height ofthe mountain- ranges. Here, too, I have noticed no remarkable change, but still an improve ment. In the valley before Innspruck, apples and pears are Hbundant, while the peaches and grapes are brought from the Welsh districts, or, in other words, the Southern Tyrol. Near Innspruck they grow a great deal of Indian com and buck wheat, which they call blende. On the Brenner I first saw the larch, and near Schemberg the pine. Would the harper's daughter have questioned me about them also? As regards the plants, I feel still more how perfect a tyro 12 LETTERS FROM ITALT. 1 am. Up to Munich I saw, I believed, none but those I was well accustomed to. In truth, my hurried travelhng, by day and night, was not favorable to nicer observation on such objects. Now, it is true, I have my Linnaeus at hand, and his Terminology is well stamped on my brain ; but whence is the time and quiet to come for analysing, which, if I at all know myself, will never become my forte? I, therefore, sharpen my eye for the more general features, and when I met with the first Gentiana near the Walchensee. it struck me that it was always nefj: the water, that I had hitherto noticed any new plants. What made me still more attentive was the infiuence which the altitude of the mountain region evidently had on plants. Not only did I meet there with new specimens, but I filso observed that the growth of the old ones was materially altered. While in the lower regions branches and stalks were stronger and more sappy, the buds stood closer together, and the leaves broader; the higher you got on the mountains the stalks and branches became more fragile, the buds were at greater intervals, and the leaves thinner and more lanceolate. I noticed this in the case of a Willow and of a Gentiana, and convinced myself that it was not a case of different species. So also, near the Walchensee, I noticed longer and thinner rushes than anywhere else. The limestone of the Alps, which I have as yet travelled over, has a greyish tint, and beautiful, singular, irregular forms, although the rock is divisible into blocks and strata. But as irregular strata occur, and the rock in general does not crumble equally under the influence of the weather, the sides and the peaks have a singular appearance. This kind of rock comes up the Brenner to a great height. In the region of the Upper Lake I noticed a slight modification. On a micaceous slate of dark green and grey colours, and thickly veined with quartz, lay a white, sohd limestone, which, in its detritus, sparkled and stood in great masses, with numberless clefts. Above it I again found micaceous slate, which, however, seemed to me to be of a softer textme than the first. Higher up still there was to be seen a peculiar kind of gneiss, or rather a granitic species which approxi mated to gneiss, as is in the district of EUbogen. Here at the top, and opposite the Inn, the rock is micaceous slate. OEOLOGT. ^MY TEtroW TBAVELLEB8. 13 The streams which come from the mountains leave deposits '.>f nothing but this stone, and of the grey limestone. Not far from here must be the granitic base on which all rests. The maps show that one is on the side of the true great Brenner, from which the streams of a wide surroundinp- , district take their rise. The following is my external judgment of the people. They are active and straightforward. In form they are pretty generally alike: hazel, well-opened eyes; with the women brown and well-defined eyebrows, but with the men light and thick. Among the grey rocks the green hats of the men have a cheerfiil appearance. The hats are generally orna mented with ribbons or broad silk-sashes, and with fringes which are prettily sewn on. On the other hand, the women disfigure themselves with white, undressed cotton caps of a large size, very much like men's nightcaps. These give them a very strange appearance ; but abroad, they wear the green hats of the men, which become them very much. I have opportunity of seeing the value the common class of people put upon peacock's feathers, and, in general, how every variegated feather is prized. He who wishes to travel through these mountains will do weU to take with him a lot of them. A feather of this kind produced at the proper moment will serve instead of the ever-welcome " something to drink." Whilst I am putting together, sorting, and arranging these sheets, in such a way that my fi-iends may easily take a review of my fortunes up to this point, and that I may, at the same time, dismiss from my soul all that I have lately thought and experienced, I have, on the other hand, cast many a trembling look on some packets of which I must give a good but brief account. They are to be my fellow travellers; may they not exercise too great an influence on my next few days. I brought with me to Carlsbad the M'hole of my MSS. in order to complete the edition of my works, which Goschen has undertaken. The imprinted ones I had long possessed in beautiful transcripts, by the practised hand of Secretary Vogel. This active person accompanied me on this occasion, in order that I might, if necessary, command his dexterous services. By this means, and with the never-failing co-ope- 14 LETTERS FROM ITALY. ration of Herder, I was soon in a condition to send to the printer the first four volumes, and was on the point of doing the same with the last four The latter consisted, for the most part, of mere unfinished sketches, indeed of fragments ; for, in tmth, my perverse habit of beginning many plans, and then, as the interest waned, laying them aside, had gi-adually gained strength with increasing years, occupations, and duties. As I had brought these scraps with me, I readily listened to the requests of the literary circles of Carlsbad, and read out to them all that before had remained unknown to the world, which aheady was bitter enough in its complaints that much with which it had entertained itself still remained unfinished. The celebration of my birthday consisted mainly in sending me several poems in the name of my commenced but un finished works. Among these, one was distinguished above the rest. It was called the 'Birds. A deputation of these happy creatures being sent to a true friend earnestly entreat him to found at once and establish the kingdom so long promised to them. Not less obvious and playful were the allusions to my other unfinished pieces, so that, all at once, they again possessed a living interest for me, and I related to my friends the designs I had formed, and the entire plans. This gave rise to the expression of wishes and urgent requests, and g.a^•e the game entirely into Herder's hands, whUe he attempted to induce me to take back these papers, and, above all, to bestow upon the Iphigenia the pains it well deserved. The fragment which lies before me is rather a sketch than a finished piece; it is written in poetical prose, which occa sionally falls into a sort of lambical rhythm, and even imitates other syllabic metres. This, indeed, does great injury to the effect unless it is read well, and unless, by skil ful turns, this defect is carefully concealed. He pressed this matter on me very eamestly, and as I concealed from him as well as the rest the great extent of my intended tour, and as he believed I had nothing more in view than a mountain trip, aud as he was always ridiculing my geographical and mine ralogical studies, he insisted 1 should act much wiser if, instead of breaking stones, I woijld put my hand to this work. I could not but give way to so many and well-meant remon strances ; but, as yet, I have had uo opportunity to tum my TRENT. 15 attention to these matters. I now detach Iphigenia from the Dundle and take her with me as my fellow-traveller into the oeautiful and warm country of the South. The days are so long, and there will be nothing to disturb refiection, while the glorious objects of the surrounding scenery by no means depress the poetic nerve ; indeed, assisted by movement and the free air, they rather stimulate and call it forth more quickly and more vividly. FROM THE BRENNER TO VERONA. Trent, morning of the Ilth Sept. After full fifty hours, passed in active and constant occupa tion, I reached here about 8 o'clock yesterday evening, and soon after retired to rest, so that I now find myself in condi tion to go on vpith my narrative. On the evening of the 9th, when I had closed the first portion of my diary, I thought I would tiy and draw the inn and post-house on the Brenner, just as it stood. My attempt was unsuccessful, for I missed the character of the place ; I went home therefore in somewhat of an ill-humor. Mine host asked me if I would not depart, telling me it was moon-light and the best travelling. Although I knew perfectly well that, as he wanted his horses early in the morning to carry in the after-crop ( Grummet), and wished to have them home again in time for that purpose, his advice was given with a view to his own interest, I nevertheless took it, because it accorded with my owu inchnation. The sun reappeared, the air was tolerable, I packed up, and started about 7 o'clock. The blue atmosphere triumphed over the clouds, and the evening was most beautiful. The postilion fell asleep, and the horses set off at a quick trot down-hill, always taking the well-known route. When they came to a village they went somewhat slower. Then the di'iver would wake up, and give them a fresh stimulus, and thus we descended at a good pace with high rocks on both sides of us, or by the banks of the rapid river Etsch. The moon arose and shed her hght upon the massive objects around. Some mills, which stood between primaeval pine- trees, over the foaming stream, seemed really everlasting. When, at 9 o'clock, I had reached Sterzingen. they gave me clearly to understand, that they wished me off again. Arriving in Mittelwald, exactly at 12 o'clock, I found everybody asleep 16 LETTKRS EROM ITALY, except the postilion, and we were obKged to go on to Brixen, where I was again taken off in hke manner, so that at the da\v'n of day I was in Colman. The postiUons drove so fast that there was neither seeing nor hearing, and although I could not help Deing sorry at travelling through this noble country with such frightful rapidity ; and at night, too, as though I was fiying the place, I nevertheless felt an inward joy, that a favorable wind blew behind me, and seemed to hurry me towards the object of my wishes.' At ^day-break I perceived the first vineyard. A woman with pears and peaches met me, and thus we went on to Teutschen, where I arrived at 7 o'clock, and then was again hurried on. After I had again travelled northwards for a while, I at last saw in the bright sunshine the valley where Botzen is situated. Sur rounded by steep and somewhat high mountains, it is open towards the south, and sheltered -towards the north by the Tyrolese range. A mild, soft air pervaded the spot. Here the Etsch again winds towards the south. The hills at the foot of the mountain are cultivated with vines. The vinestocks are trained over long but low arbourwork ; the purple grajjes are gracefully suspended from the top, and ripen in the wai-mth of the soil, which is close beneath them. In the bottom of the vaUey, which for the most part consists of nothing but meadows, the vine is cultivated in narrow rows of similar festoons, at a little distance from each other, while between grows the Indian corn, the stalks of which at this time are high. I have often seen it ten feet high. The fibrous' male blossom is not yet cut off, as is the case when fructification has ceased for some time. I came to Botzen in a bright sunshine. A good assem blage of mercantile faces pleased me much. Eveiywhere one sees the liveliest tokens. An existence full of purpose, and highly comfortable. In the square some fruit-women were sitting with round flat baskets, above four feet in diameter, in which peaches were arranged side by side, sb as to avoid pressure. Here I thought of a verse, which I had seen written on the window of the inn at Ratisbon : Comme les peches et les melons Sont pour la bouche d'un Baron, Ainsi les verges et les batons Sont pour les fous, dit Salomon. BOTZEN TRENT. 17 It is obvious that this was written by a northern baron, and no less clear is it that if he were in this country, he would alter his notions. At the Botzen fair a brisk silk-trade is carried on. Cloths are also brought here, and as much leather as can be procm-ed from the mountain districts. Several merchants, however, came chiefly for the sake of depositing their money, taking orders, and opening new credits. I felt I could have taken great dehght in examiuing the various products that were collected here; but the impulse, the state of disquiet, which keeps urging me from behind, would not let me rest, and I must at once hasten from the spot. For my consolation, however, the whole matter is printed in the statistical papers, and we can, if we require it, get such instructions from books. I have now to deal only with the sensible impres sions, which no book or picture can give. In fact, I am again taking interest in the world, I am testing my faculty of obser vation, and am trying how far I can go with my science and my acquirements, how far my eye is clear and sharp, how much I can take in at a hasty glance, and whether those wrinkles, that are imprinted upon my heart, are ever again to be obliterated. Even in these few days, the circumstance that I have had to wait upon myself, and have always been obhged to keep my attention and presence of mind on the alert, has given me quite a new elasticity of inteUect. I must now busy myself with the currency, must change, pay, note down, -write, whUe I formerly did nothing but think, wiU, reflect, command, and dictate. From Botzen to Trent the stage is nine leagues and runs through a valley, which constantly increases in fertihty. All that merely struggles hito vegetation on the higher moun tains, has here more strength and -vitality; the sun shines with warmth, and there is once more belief in a Deity. A poor woman cried out to me to take her chUd into my vehicle, as the hot soil was burning its feet. I did her this little service out of honour to the strong light of heaven. The ohUd was strangely decked out, but I could get nothing from it in any way. The Etsch flows more gently in these parts, and it makes broad deposits of gravel in many places. On the land, near the river and up the hiUs, the planting is so thick and close, that one fancies one thing will suffocate the other. It 18 LETTERS FROM ITALT. is a regular thicket of vineyards, maize, mulberry trees, apples, pears, quinces, and nuts. The danewort (Attig) thrives luxu riantly on the waUs. Ivy with solid stems runs up the rocks, on which it spreads itself; the lizards ghde through the interstices, and whatever has hfe or motion here, reminds one of the most charming works of art. The braided top-knots of the women, the bared breasts and light jackets of the men, the fine oxen which you see driven home from market, the laden asses, — all combine to produce one of Heinrich Roos's animated pictures. And when evening draws on, and through the calmness of the air, a few clouds rest upon the mountains, rather standing than running against the sky, and, as imme diately after sunset, the chirp of the grasshoppers begins to grow loud, one feels quite at home in the world, and not a mere exile. I am as reconcUed to the place as if I were bom and bred in it, and had now just returned from a whaling expedition to Greenland. Even the dust, which here as in our fatherland often plays about my wheels, and which has so long remained strange to me, I welcome as an old friend. The beU-hke voice of the cricket is most piercing, and far from unpleasant. A cheerful effect is produced, when playful boys whistle against a field of such singers, and you almost fancy that the sound on each side is raised by emulation. The evening here is perfectly mild no less than the day. If any one who hved in the South, or came from the South, heard my enthusiasm about these matters, he would consider me very chUdish. }i}a., what I express here, I long ago was conscious of, whUe ruffling under an unkindly sky ; and now I love to experience as an exception the happiness which I hope soon to enjoy as a regular natural necessity. Trent, the evening of the 10