^ 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY 
 OF F. VON BOSCHAN
 
 'J'
 
 ^/ 
 
 « 
 
 
 ^//:
 
 JOURNAL OF A TOUR 
 
 IN THE YEARS 1828— 182.Q. 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 STYRIA, CARNIOLA, AND ITALY, 
 
 WHILST ACCOMPANYING 
 
 THE LATE SIR HUMPHRY DAVY. 
 
 BY J. J. TOBIN, JVI.D. 
 
 LONDOiN ! 
 W. S. ORR, 14, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 1832.
 
 LONDON I 
 
 BRAnHURV AM) EVANS, FRlNTUKfl, 
 
 HOUVKRIK STREKT.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages were originally intended 
 for tlie perusal only of my own family and im- 
 mediate friends. Some of these now persuade 
 me to lay them before the public, believing that, 
 to it, a detail of circumstances connected, as my 
 Journal necessarily is, with the last recreations 
 and pursuits of the late Sir Humphry Davy, must 
 be interesting. To have been in any degree a 
 partaker of the hours of this great man, whose 
 name must shed a lustre over his native land, so 
 long as genius and science shall be admired, I
 
 IV I'KLFACE. 
 
 cannot be supposed to imagine otherwise than 
 liighly gratifying- ; and aware that my Journal 
 through him bears an interest it could not 
 otherwise pretend to, I do not hesitate to com- 
 ply with their request. 
 
 The state of Sir Humphry's health inducing 
 him to seek its restoration in a tour on the 
 Continent, he wrote to my mother, who was 
 residing on my accoimt and that of my brothers 
 at Heidelberg, stating his plan to her, and 
 naming his wish to have a son of his " warmly- 
 loved and sincerely-lamented friend," as the assist- 
 ant and companion of his journey. My mother 
 did not hesitate to suspend my studies during the 
 ])eriod of the proposed tour, conscious that in 
 the society of such a mind and acquirements 
 as those of Sir Humphry, mine must advance. 
 And to have been the companion of his latter 
 days, clouded as they often were by the suf- 
 ferings which I beheld him endure, will l)e
 
 PREFACE. V 
 
 ray last pride and advantage ; and tliough the 
 hand of death has laid low many a hope which 
 gilded the future, it cannot deprive me of the 
 recollection of those hours, when I marked his 
 spirit still radiant and glowing (to use his own 
 words) 
 
 " With the uudying energy of strength (iiviue." 
 
 Sir Humphry's health was in so shattered a 
 state, that it often rendered his inclinations and 
 feelings sensitive and variable to a painful de- 
 gree. Frequently he preferred being left alone 
 at his meals; and in his rides, or fishing and shoot- 
 ing excursions, to be attended only by his ser- 
 vant. Sometimes he would pass hours together, 
 when travelling, without exchanging a word, 
 and often appeared exhausted by his mental ex- 
 ertions. When he passed through Heidelberg 
 to see my mother, he named all this to her, and 
 with evident feeling thanked her for her request.
 
 VI I'KEi'ACE. 
 
 that he would on all occasions consider me as 
 alone desirous to contribute to his ease and 
 comfort. I mention this to account for my 
 having so seldom spoken of his passing remarks, 
 and for any apparent change wliich occurred 
 in our arrangements, named in the Join-nal. 
 
 To give any adequate idea of the beauty and 
 grandeur of the scenes I beheld, must be well 
 known to be impossible by those who have 
 visited these parts of Europe, or been accus- 
 tomed to view the changing tints and hues of 
 the fine sky that encircles them ; but if I have 
 imparted only a faint reflection of the pleasure 
 such scenes bestow, even in recollection, or have 
 given enjoyment to any of my readers, my 
 object M'ill be fully attained, nor shall I then 
 regret having listened to the voice of my perhaps 
 too partial friends. J. .1. T. 
 
 Hcidclherg, 
 March 14, 1831.
 
 JOURNAL, 
 
 &c. ckc. 
 
 On my arrival in London (26th March, 1827) 
 I found Sir Humphry better than I had ex- 
 pected, but evidently very weak. He appeared 
 to have altered much during the four years 
 which had elapsed since I last saw him, and 
 it was evident that although his mind was 
 still vigorous and full of energy, his bodily 
 infirmities pressed heavily upon him, and I 
 could not but perceive that he was keenly 
 alive to his altered state. I had hoped to 
 have remained some little time in Loiidon, 
 but finding that everything was ready for our 
 departure, I contented myself with calling upon 
 a few old friends, and taking my seat by Sir 
 
 B
 
 2 DEPARTURE FROM LONDON. 
 
 Humpliry's side, liis servant George being on 
 the dicky with his master's ftxvourite pointers, 
 we drove from Park Street on the morning of 
 the 29th of March. We slept that night at 
 Dover, which we left the next morning at half- 
 past nine o'clock, and arrived at Calais abont 
 twelve, after a beautiful and calm passage. Sir 
 Humphry wishing to be left to repose quietly 
 on his bed in the cabin, I took my favourite seat 
 on the prow, and sat musing on times past and 
 to come, looking upon the cm-ling waves which 
 were glittering with a thousand golden colours 
 in the brioht beams of the mornhig: sun. The 
 weather formed a strong contrast with that of 
 the day before, when the only change had been 
 from sleet and snow to hail and rain. The dif- 
 ference between the Engflish and French coasts 
 is very striking ; and^ the contrast between the 
 lofty white chalk cliffs of the one, and tlie gay 
 and verdant hills of the opposite shore, seems 
 almost emblematical of the national peculiarities 
 of the two comitries. 
 
 Sir Humphry was provided with a letter 
 from Prince Polignac, the French Ambassador 
 at London, to the Director of the Douane,
 
 CALAIS. o 
 
 which greatly facilitated our passing the Custom 
 house, where otherwise we should have had 
 much difficulty from the variety of the luggage; 
 among which, to say nothing of scientific in- 
 struments, and upwards of eighty volumes , of 
 books, were numerous implements for fishing 
 and shooting, and the two pointers. We went 
 to the Hotel Rignolle, a large and excellent 
 inn, where Sir Humphry's travelling carriage 
 awaited us, and we found it in every respect 
 easy and commodious. After dinner I prepared 
 and arranged every thing for our departure on 
 the morrow, for the servant could on such occa- 
 sions render me but little assistance, he not 
 speaking a word of any language but English ; 
 and then took a walk through the town and 
 bought a pack of cards, which .Sir Humphry 
 had begged me to bring that he might teach me 
 the game of ecarte. During my walk I was 
 amused by seeing both old and young dressed 
 in their holiday clothes, playing at battledore 
 and shuttlecock in the open streets. I soon re- 
 turned ; and after we had played a game to- 
 gether, I read aloud some of the " Tales of the 
 Genii," and we then retired to rest. 
 
 b2
 
 4 DUNKIRK. 
 
 'filsf. This morning I arose with thonghts of 
 Heidelberg, it being- dear F***'s birthday, which 
 I knew woukl therefore be one of pleasure in the 
 happy home I had left. After breakfast we set 
 off for Dunkirk. The country through which we 
 passed is exceedingly flat and uninteresting. 
 On arriving at Gravelines, a strongly fortified 
 little town, we found that the carriage had 
 sunk, the leathers being new, so that we were 
 obliged to send for a smith and a saddler, who 
 detained us nearly two hours. We then pro- 
 ceeded through the stune iniinteresting flat to 
 Dunkirk. After dinner we walked out to see 
 the town, which is very clean, and has good 
 broad streets. Near the market place is the 
 episcopal church of Cambrai, the diocese of the 
 celebrated Fenelon. The portico is chaste and 
 beautiful, consisting of ten lofty corinthian pil- 
 lars supporting a frieze. The interior of the 
 church is simple and elegant. The harbom- of 
 Dunkirk is large, but nearly choked up with 
 mud ; on one side of it is a large basin newly 
 made, which is kept full at low water by means 
 of flood gates. 
 
 Aj>i-il \st. We started after breakfast for 
 Ghent, and passed first through Bergues, a little
 
 NETHERLANDS. 5 
 
 town with very strong fortifications. At Rous- 
 brug-ge, three postes and a half from Dunkirk, 
 we entered the territory of the King of the 
 Netherlands. We passed the custom house 
 without having any part of our baggage ex- 
 amined, Sir Humphry's passport being signed 
 by the Dutch Ambassador at London, who had 
 added to his signature a request to the officers 
 on the boundary to treat ce celehre scavant with 
 all possible attention and respect. 
 
 The country beyond Rousbrugge becomes 
 rather more diversified ; the hedges, which are 
 formed of small trees, are often very prettily in- 
 terwoven, forming a fence at once useful and 
 elegant ; and we passed the first hill, a very low 
 one, which we had seen since we left Calais. 
 We drove on through Ypres and Menin, and 
 spent the night at Courtrai. All these towns 
 are strongly fortified, chiefly I believe under 
 the direction of the celebrated Vauban, and 
 are called the iron boundary of Holland. They 
 are kept very clean and neat. Ypres has a fine 
 large gothic town-house, with an immense 
 number of windows in it. I read in the evening 
 to Sir Humphry part of the " Bravo of Venice,"
 
 ^ AN'l'WEKP. 
 
 and ho dictated a few pao^es on the existence of 
 a greater qnantity of carbon in the primary 
 worhl, and on some of tlie phenomena of the 
 Lago di Solfatara, near Rome. His clear 
 reasoning, and the proofs and facts which he 
 adduces in support of his theories, still show 
 the quick and powerful mind of liis former 
 daj'S, when his bodily faculties were in the 
 fulness of their vigour, and not, as now, a 
 weight and oppression upon his mental powers. 
 2nd. The first poste after leaving Courtrai 
 M'as Vive St. Eloi, an assemblage of a few 
 shabby houses, hardly worthy the name of a 
 village ; thence to l^eteghen and to Ghent. 
 The country is flat, and anything but pictu- 
 resque, and almost every field has a windmill 
 in it. We only stopped to dine at Ghent, and 
 then immediately started for Antwerp, where 
 we arrived at about seven in the evening, pass- 
 ing through Lakesen and St. Nicholas. We 
 were ferried over the Scheldt, and afterwards 
 transported to the inn in a very novel manner. 
 On arriving at the ferry opposite the town, the 
 post-horses were taken out of the carriage, 
 which was pushed into the ferry-boat by four
 
 THE CATHEDRAL. 7 
 
 men, who with some difficulty dragged it out 
 when on the other side of the river, and then 
 drew it with us in it through the town to the 
 inn, more than half a mile distant from the 
 landing place. After tea I continued the " Bravo 
 of Venice," and read Voltaire's " Bababec et les 
 Faquirs" to Sir Humphry. 
 
 Srd. We did not breakfast till late, and 
 afterwards drove out to see the town in spite 
 of hail and snow. Our first visit was to the 
 cathedral, which much disappointed us both as 
 to its internal and external appearance. It 
 strongly reminded me of that of Strasbourg, 
 which it resembles in its minuteness of archi- 
 tecture, and even in the circumstance of its 
 liavino; its left tower in an imfinished state. 
 The right tower, which is complete, is neither 
 so light, or airy, nor by any means so beautifully 
 sculptured as that of Strasbourg; nor does the 
 building, as a whole, bear any comparison with 
 the latter in beauty and effect. The interior is 
 beautiful from its simplicity ; and its having 
 been newly white-washed gave it a light and 
 cheerful appearance. It contains some fine pic- 
 tures ; the chief of which are the " Crucifixion,"
 
 8 A CALVARY. 
 
 and the " Descent from the Cross," by Reubens. 
 The pulpit, the hiri^est and most beautiful 
 sj)eciinen of carved wood I ever saw, represents 
 Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. We 
 afterwards went into many of the various 
 churches, some of which are adorned with very 
 fine paintings. In that of St. Barbara are some 
 A'ery curious and beautifully carved wooden 
 confessionals, in a style similar to that of the 
 pulpit in 'the cathedral. Near this church is a 
 celebrated Calvary, * which also includes a re- 
 presentiition of Purgatory and of Heaven, being 
 an asseml)lage of demons and saints in the most 
 wretched taste. On one side, througli a 
 grating, the mortal remains of our Saviour in 
 the tomb are presented to view ; on the op- 
 posite side the Virgin Mary appears decked out 
 M'ith flowers and gold lace, surrounded by a 
 choir of angels and saints; and on looking 
 througli a third grating one gets a peep at jiur- 
 gatory, where tlie wicked are seen swimming 
 
 * A Calvary is a representation of the Crucifixion of our Saviour, 
 consisting of one, and often of three large crosses, with accompanying 
 figures and ilecorations.
 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 9 
 
 about among waves of flame in the strangest 
 confusion imaginable. The whole of this re- 
 presentation appeared to us most ridiculous ; yet 
 not so to many good Catholics, whom we saw 
 silently kneeling before the gratings, and ap- 
 parently devoutly praying for those souls who 
 had been dear to them whilst upon earth. 
 The devotion of many, however, was not so ab- 
 stract as to render them indifferent to the pre- 
 sence of Sir Humphry, whose appearance, it 
 is true, was likely to abstract attention, even 
 though unknown, wrapped up as he was in a 
 large mantle lined with white fur. 
 
 In all the churches which we visited, the 
 priests and attendants were busied in preparing 
 them for the next day, (Good Friday.) Though 
 the subject represented, the Tomb of Christ, 
 with its surrounding scenery, attendants, and 
 guards, was the same in every church, it was 
 much more beautifully executed in some than 
 in others. A part of the church was in general 
 nearly encircled and darkened by hangings of 
 black cloth, and a recess was thus formed, in 
 which, in some of the churches, a stage of con- 
 siderable depth was erected, on which was
 
 10 
 
 FISH-MARKET. 
 
 l)aintc(l the scene of the tomb, with its figures, 
 side scenes, and distant views, very skilfully 
 managed. The perspective was well kept; and 
 tlie whole being- very well illuminated by 
 unseen lamps, the eflfect was qiute theatrical. 
 
 Leaving these scenes of ])apal devotion, we 
 ch-ove to the harbour, a \vork of Napoleon's, 
 which, like most of his other works, is remark- 
 able for its strength and diu-ability. Its size is 
 not very striking ; but it was tolerably well filled 
 with shipping of all nations, amongst which I 
 observed many English, and some North- Ame- 
 rican vessels. From thence we drove through 
 the town; and Sir Humphry could not omit 
 paying a visit to the fish-market, which, luckily 
 for his white mantle, was not Billinsgate. The 
 market did not appear to be very well stocked, 
 and he could find nothing remarkal)le or new 
 to satisfy his ever active curiosity. The town 
 appears clean, and has some large open streets, 
 the principal of which is called the Mere, in 
 which our hotel, Le Grand Labour eur, is situated; 
 it possesses no very remarkable buildings ; and 
 the town house and the celebrated exchange, 
 make, at least externally, a very poor show.
 
 BRUSSELS. 11 
 
 Tlie picture gallery, wliielv is said to be very 
 excellent, was unfortunately closed, it being- 
 a fttc day. Our \'isits to the cliurclies and 
 the different parts of the touni had fully oc- 
 cupied our morning-, and in the evening after 
 dinner I read to Sir Humphry Voltaire's "His- 
 toire de la Voyage de la Raison," and finished 
 the " Bravo," which he much admired. 
 
 Atli. Left Antwerp in the morning, and pass- 
 ing through Coutegle, Malines, or Mechlin, we 
 arrived at Brussels about one o'clock. The road 
 runs nearly the whole of the way on the bank of 
 a large canal, and is often bordered by a row of 
 fine beech trees. The appearance of this capi- 
 tal from a distance is rather imposing- ; the hand- 
 somer and more modern part of it being situated 
 upon a hill, at the bottom of which lies the old 
 town, on the banks of the river Senne. The 
 gate through wdiich we entered is remarkably 
 handsome, and the style of architecture light and 
 elegant. We drove to the Hotel de Flandres, 
 on the Place Royale, where we were very well 
 accomodated. Before dinner I took a hasty run 
 through the town, just to see the fine old gothic 
 town-house, with its light and lofty spire, sur-
 
 12 LOUVAINE. 
 
 mounted by a colossal statue of St. jVHcliael and 
 the dragon, wliicli acts as a vane ; and the parks, 
 palaces, and fine ])ul)lic walks, which latter were 
 crowded with Knglish. English equipages and 
 servants are also continually passing in the 
 streets ; and so many of the shops are completely 
 English, that it is difficult to believe that one is 
 in the capital of a foreign nation. The number 
 of English generally in Brussels is said to ex- 
 ceed twenty thousand. At one of the English 
 circulating libraries I procured the " Legend of 
 Montrose," which amused Sir Elumphry for the 
 evening. 
 
 t)th. At nine in the evening we left Brussels 
 by the Porte de Louvaine, and drove on to Ter- 
 vueren, through a fine forest of beech trees ; at 
 the extremity of which is situated the summer 
 chateau of the Prince of Orange, which, in ex- 
 ternal appearance, hardly equals the country re- 
 sidence of an English gentleman. From thence 
 we proceeded to Louvaine, or Lowen ; where 
 we only stopped to change horses. The Hotel 
 de Ville is one of the finest specimens of gothic 
 architecture in the Netherlands ; but we could 
 only catch a hasty view of it as we drove by and
 
 AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 13 
 
 went on to Tliirlemont, where we dined, and 
 after dinner proceeded to St. Troud, which we 
 made our resting-place for the night. 
 
 6th. We quitted St. Troud after breakfast, 
 in the midst of rain and snow, for Liege, or 
 Liittich, where we made no stay, but passed on 
 to Battices. Between this last place and Aix- 
 la-Chapelle, we crossed the boundary of the Ne- 
 therlands, and entered upon the Prussian ter- 
 ritory. The custom-house officers were very 
 civil; and Count Billow's hesonders empfohlen, 
 (particularly recommended), written in his own 
 hand on Sir Humphry's passport, was of great 
 utility. We entered ALx-la-Chapelle in the 
 evening; and passing by the new theatre and 
 the bath rooms, which are pretty, but small 
 buildings, we drove to the grand hotel, which 
 was neither grand nor comfortable. Our book 
 for this evening was Swift's " Tale of a Tub." 
 
 1th. Left Aachen, (the German name for 
 Aix), and passed on to Julich, the first Prussian 
 fortress. From thence we proceeded to Berg- 
 heim : after which we passed over a wide sandy 
 flat, rendered in many parts almost impassable, 
 by the previous heavy rains. A league or 
 two before we reached Cologne, the many and
 
 14 COBLENTZ. 
 
 o-loomy steeples of tlie once holy city rose td 
 view; amongst which, the colossal mass of its 
 splendid hut unfinished cathedral stood promi- 
 nent. The fortifications before the town are 
 thickly planted with shrubs, so that from a dis- 
 tance they have more the appearance of sloping 
 green hills, than walls of defence. Passing over 
 numerous drawbridges, and under one of the 
 ancient gateways, we drove through many dark 
 and narrow streets to the Cour Im])eriale. 
 
 8th. In the morning we left Cologne to the 
 protection of its eleven thousand virgins, and 
 started for Coblentz. At Bonn, we merely 
 changed horses, and drove on to the little post- 
 town of Remagen, leaving the summits of the 
 celebrated seven mountains, the castled era// of 
 Drachenfels, Rolandseck, and the towers of tlie 
 convent of Nonnenwerth, as yet surrounded only 
 by bare and leafless trees, behind us. Here we 
 dined ; and then continued our route along the 
 banks of the Rhine, which was very turbid and 
 swollen, to Andernach, and from thence to Cob- 
 lentz. The scenery, which I had formerly be- 
 lield in all its summer glory, as well as in its 
 rich autumnal tints, was now not only shorn of 
 its beauty, but enveloped in mist and cloud.
 
 THE RHINE. 15 
 
 9th. We quitted Coblentz at about eight 
 o'clock in the morning, in the midst of a tliick 
 fog, which in a short time cleared away, and af- 
 forded us a most magnificent spectacle; for it came 
 rolling down the hills on each bank of the river 
 like immense waves, through which the sun- 
 beams broke in from every side, till it was at 
 last quite dispersed, and imveiled to our view the 
 numberless little towns and villages on the banks, 
 leaving the Khine glittering in the rays of the 
 sun, like a stream of burnished gold, rushing 
 along between its dai'k and rocky mountains. 
 We changed horses at Boppart, and from thence 
 drove on to St. Goar, where Sir Humphry has 
 determined to stop till to-morrow. After dinner 
 he took a ride along the banks of the river, fol- 
 lowed by his servant. In the mean while I 
 strolled up the hills, and amused myself l)y 
 sketching the old ruins of the castle of Rhein- 
 fels, and the river below me in the distance. 
 On our return. Sir Humphry told me that he 
 had decided to include Heidelberg in his route, 
 which he had not at first intended to do, passing 
 through Mayence and Mannheim, so that I shall 
 in a day or two again see my home. After hav- 
 ing read the " Gld English Baron" to Sir Hum-
 
 16 ST. GOAR. 
 
 j)hry, we retired for the night; he to rest, and 
 I to my chamber, where I could not but acbnire 
 the scene around me. It was a beautiful starry 
 night, and the lofty rocks opposite my window 
 rose as it were from the rolling river beneath, 
 awful and gigantic amid the shades of night, till 
 their dark outlines, mingling with the more dis- 
 tant mountains, were lost in the clear sky. 
 Every sound in the village was hushed, and it 
 seemed as if even the air itself was lulled to rest 
 by the stillness of night. 
 
 " All Heaven and Earth are still — though not in sleep, 
 But breathless, as we grow when feeling most ; 
 And silent, as we stand in thoughts too deep : — 
 All Heaven and Earth are still : from the high host 
 Of stars, to the lull'd lake and mountain -coast. 
 All is concentcr'd in a life intense, 
 Where not a beam, nor air, nor leaf is lost. 
 But hath a part of being, and a sense 
 
 Of that which is of all Creator and defence." 
 
 10th. Our drive this morning from St. Goar 
 to Bingen was cold and rainy, and the Lurley 
 rocks, and the wild and rugged banks of the 
 Rhine between St. Goar and Oberwesel, looked 
 more than usually dreary, the few vines and the 
 little vegetation that appear upon them in sum-
 
 MAYENCE. 17 
 
 mer not having yet begun to shoot. We quit- 
 ted the banks of the Rhine at Bingen, and 
 struck across the country through a fine ricli 
 plain stretching almost as far as the eye can 
 reach, and every here and there diversified by 
 low hills, to Mayence. Ingelheim, one of the 
 numerous residences of Charlemagne, and where 
 that monarch once had a magnificent palace, is 
 now a little insignificant borough, and the palace 
 with its hundred columns from Rome or Ra- 
 venna, has vanished, or nearly so, for the slight 
 remains that are still standing, shew but little of 
 former grandeur. 
 
 At Mayence our passports were demanded 
 at the first of the numerous draw-bridges, and 
 quickly vise'd. Sir Humphry determined npon 
 spending the night here, as I knew that the ac- 
 commodations at the Roman Emperor were much 
 better than any he would find at Oppenheim or 
 Worms, which latter town we could not have 
 reached till the night had set in, and Sir Hum- 
 phry does not like to travel after sunset. The 
 streets of this ancient town are for the most 
 part narrow, dark, and dirty, with the exception 
 of the chief street running from the upper part 
 
 c
 
 18 MAYENCE. 
 
 of the town towards the Rhine, called die r/rosse 
 bleiche, the great bleaching place, and which is 
 a broad and handsome street. The whole ap- 
 pearance of the town, the old dom or cathedral, 
 with its heavy towers and light pirniacles of red 
 stone ; its brazen gates, still bearing the marks 
 of the balls of the celebrated siege in 1792; the 
 many magnificent houses, often uninhabited or 
 turned into shops and cafe's ; the vast but ruinous 
 palace of red sand-stone on the Rhine ; the few 
 inhabitants one meets with in the streets, — the 
 officers and soldiers of the different regiments in 
 garrisoji of course excepted, — plainly tell the 
 stranger that Mayence has no longer any pre- 
 tension to the splendour it owned under the rule 
 of the Ecclesiastical Princes, it being then the 
 second ecclesiastical town in Germjiny ; or even 
 during its occupation by the French, who, wher- 
 ever they went, were sure to carry with them 
 life and spirit. As it has changed for the worse, 
 so may it again change for the better, and who 
 can say that it may not in a few lustres more 
 again flourish as a frontier fortress of France. 
 
 Wth. Quitting Mayence, we drove on along 
 the flat and sandy banks of the Rhine, through
 
 MANNHEIM. 19 
 
 Oppenheim to Worms, from the time of Cliarle- 
 magiie and the Frankish kings, till the days of 
 Luther, the scene of hriWmiit fetes, princely tour- 
 neys, and solemn diets of the empire, — now a dis- 
 mal mass of ruin and desolation. The lofty 
 nave and the four steeples of its ponderous 
 gothic cathedral, Avhen seen from a distance, 
 rise with an imposing grandeur in the level 
 plain of the Rhine ; but, on a nearer survey, the 
 church itself offers nothing of interest. We 
 dined at Frankenthal, a neat and clean little 
 town in Rhenish Bavaria, and then drove on 
 through Oggersheim to Mannheim, where we 
 crossed the Rhine over a fine bridge of boats. 
 The streets of this town are remarkably broad 
 and clean ; the houses are lofty, and being built 
 in small compact squares, all the streets meet at 
 right angles, and generally afford at their open- 
 ings a very pretty peep at the distant country, 
 so that one imagines the surrounding scenery to 
 be finer than it really is. The Planken, or chief 
 street, traverses the town in a straight line from 
 gate to gate, and forms a fine wide walk between 
 two roM^s of acacias, which is chained in from the 
 carriage road on each side. 
 
 c 2
 
 20 HEIDELBERG. 
 
 The four leagues from Mannlieim to Heidel- 
 berg are through a country, not one spot of 
 which is uncultivated ; this is backed by the 
 finely wooded mountains of the Odenwald, on 
 which are still visible the remains of some of 
 the many castles which formerly crowned the 
 different heights. We reached Heidelberg 
 towards evening, and as soon as I had seen 
 Sir Humphry comfortably lodged in the hotel 
 of the Prince Carl, immediately under the im- 
 posing ruins of its far-famed castle, he begged 
 me to go and see my mother, he being too 
 fatigued to accompany me ; and on my doing so, 
 I found that my letter, which should have in- 
 formed her of my approach, had not yet reached 
 her. 
 
 V2th. Sir Humphry finding himself too indis- 
 posed either to visit the university, or to receive 
 any of its eminent professors, some of whom 
 are very desirous to visit him, has determined to 
 remain here only till tomorrow ; for it is painful 
 to him to know that he is surrounded by scientific 
 men anxious to see and communicate with him, 
 and to feel that he is no longer able to enjoy their 
 society, or that scientific discussion, which, as it
 
 SCENERY. 21 
 
 was formerly a source of the highest gratification 
 to him, " now" he says, " onhj serves to make me 
 feel that I am hut the shadow of ichat I loas." 
 It is in vain to combat with such feelings, but 
 it is impossible not to regret their existence; 
 for could Sir Hiunphry be persuaded occasion- 
 ally to mix more frequently in such society, it 
 would certainly rather be of service to him than 
 not, for his fine mind is still full of intellectual 
 power and elasticity, and he deceives himself in 
 thinking otherwise. In the afternoon, as he did 
 not feel strong enough to mount the hill to the 
 castle, he took a short walk over the bridge along 
 the northern banks of the Neckar, and appeared 
 much to enjoy the beautiful scenery that en- 
 circles this spot, and is indeed every where to be 
 found around Heidelberg. From this side one 
 sees the ancient ruin with its mouldering towers, 
 backed by a lofty amphitheatre of finely M^ooded 
 mountains, with the town standing immediately 
 under it, and the broad river rushing through its 
 light and airy bridge, often foaming over many 
 a rugged rock. The scene at all times is beau- 
 tiful and imposing, but when lighted up by the 
 rays of the setting sun, which fall with a re-
 
 •22 THE CASTLE. 
 
 sploiuloiit <^lovv upon the red-stone walls and 
 towers of the castle, the effect produced is very 
 strikino-, and at that hour it is impossible for the 
 most indifferent observer to pass tlie spot with- 
 out admiration. The castle itself is now in a 
 very dilapidated state, for with the exception of 
 the chapel, which is merely a bare and lofty hall, 
 there remains scarcely one entire room ; but the 
 exterior walls of the quadrangle are nearly per- 
 fect, and much of the sculpture that every where 
 adorns the ruin is still in high preservation, and 
 some of the ruined towers, as such, are very 
 beautiful. The gardens too, which, from their 
 situation, sweeping as they do around the hill 
 on which the castle stands, and abounding in 
 fine large trees, are at once commanding and 
 beautiful, afford many a delightful M'idk and 
 striking view of the country beneath; and wan- 
 dering amid their risings and descents, one feels 
 that here art has been considered as she really is, 
 the handmaid, not the mistress of nature's works. 
 From some of the terraces one looks directly 
 down upon the town, having a fine view beyond 
 of the fertile plain between it and Mannheim, 
 through which the Neckar is seen winding till it
 
 THE UNIVERSITY. '23 
 
 joins the Rhine, which, with the distant Voge- 
 sian mountains, bounds the view in the west. 
 
 Heidelberg- contains about 12,000 inhabitants, 
 and has of late years become a favourite resort 
 of strangers. The university library is con- 
 sidered to be one of the richest in Europe in 
 ancient manuscripts, and were the sovereign ol 
 the state a more liberal patron than he is of 
 learning and science, doubtless the museums and 
 public institutions would be more liberally en- 
 dowed than they are ; there is, however, an ex- 
 cellent anatomical museum in the school for 
 medicine, and so long as such names as those of 
 Thibaut, Tiedemann, Gmelin, Schlosser, and 
 various others whose works evince their talent, 
 shall be found amonst the list of its professors, 
 so long must Heidelberg hold a deservedly high 
 rank in the learned and scientific world, and 
 open a wide field of advantage and instruction 
 to all young men anxious to avail themselves of 
 such opportunities ; nor will any impartial judge 
 deny, that amongst its students many highly 
 honourable examples of talent and application 
 are found. ' 
 
 l-ifh. We this morning bade adieu to Heidel-
 
 24 HEILBRONN. 
 
 herg, and set off for Xeckaro-emiiiul. Sir Hum- 
 phry very much admired the winding river and 
 its picturesque baidcs, thougli the woods were 
 yet leafless, and the rocks rather bare ; whilst I 
 could see no spot that did not, in one way or 
 another, recall to my mind the many social and 
 ha])py days I had spent in roving through the 
 green woods, and among the movddering castles 
 of the Neckar. From Neckargemlind we struck 
 across the country to Wiesenbach and Sinsheim, 
 and from thence through very pretty but not 
 striking scenery to Fiirfeld, where we entered 
 the kingdom of Wurtemberg, and on to Heil- 
 bronn. This old town offers nothing interesting 
 save the old square tower in the walls on the 
 Neckar, formerly the prison of the celebrated 
 Gotz of the Iron Hand, who, it is said, died 
 within its walls. The doughty champion will 
 probably live in the remembrance of the good 
 people of Heilbronn, only so long as the old 
 tower which bears the name of the Gotzen 
 Tliurm continues to stand ; but the fame of Gotz 
 von Berlichingen will never die but with the 
 extinction of German literature, handed down 
 as it is to posterity by the master-hand of Gothe.
 
 WEINSBERG. 25 
 
 The drive from Heilbromi to Oeliriiigen is very 
 beautiful, over liill aud dale, and from valley 
 to valley through the mountains. The first 
 little village which we passed M^as Weinsberg-, 
 and above it, on a hill covered with vineyards, 
 are the remains of the castle of Weibertreue 
 (Woman's faith.) This spot was the scene of 
 the action celebrated in Biirger's admired ballad, 
 Die Weiher von JVeinsben/ — The Woman of 
 Weinsberg. 
 
 " Wer sagt mir an wo Weinsberg- liegt 
 
 Sollseyn ein wack'res Stadtcheu," &c. &c. 
 
 the story of which is founded on the following- 
 fact : — During the time of the deadly feuds be- 
 tween the houses of Hohenstaufen and Guelph, 
 about the year 1140, Weinsberg was besieged 
 and taken by the Emperor Conrad. The town 
 and castle had excited his high displeasure for 
 having afforded an asylum to his enemy Guelph, 
 and he determined to destroy them with fire and 
 sword, and said he would only allow the women 
 to depart, and take any treasure with them. 
 
 At dawn of day the gates of the town were 
 opened, and every woman appeared carrying her 
 husband upon her back. Many of his officers,
 
 26 OEHRINGEN. 
 
 indignant at thus seeing the enemy's garrison 
 escape, endeavoured to persuade the Emperor 
 to evade Ids promise, but Conrad replied, " an 
 Emperor'' s faith once jiledf/ed was not to he 
 broken;" and he granted them a free pardon, and 
 from tliat time the castle of Weinsberg has 
 borne the name of Weibertreue. 
 
 We did not reach Oehrinofen till eiffht o'clock ; 
 and then found the only decent iim in the town 
 in great confusion, owing to the exhibition of a 
 cabinet of wax-work, which had attracted all the 
 waiters and chambermaids, so that it was with 
 great difficulty I could ol)tain even hot water to 
 make our tea. 
 
 14^/i. We left Oehrinofen at eigfht in the 
 morning, and arrived at Halle, or Schoneshalle, 
 about twelve, passing through some very pretty 
 mountainous country. In this part of WUrtem- 
 berg there are some coal mines, but the coal seems 
 to be of a very inferior quality, a brown coal. 
 
 The female peasantry dress their hair in a very 
 singular manner, drawing it back from the fore- 
 head, and tying it up in a bunch behind, which 
 gives the head a remarkably naked appearance, 
 and increases their altogether awkward and un-
 
 ELLWANGEN. 27 
 
 couth air. The town is small and very old, and 
 has some considerable remains of ancient fortifi- 
 cations. From Halle we had a very long- drive 
 up-hill and down-hill for five hours, through a 
 fertile country well wooded and watered, to Ell- 
 wangen, another small town, prettily situated in 
 a valley: the hills on the one side are sur- 
 mounted by a modern chateau, belonging to the 
 King of Wih-temberg ; and on the top of those 
 opposite stands a fine large church, to which, 
 at certain seasons of the year, pilgrims flock in 
 numbers from great distances. Before tea I 
 strolled round the town, and afterwards read one 
 of the " Arabian Nights Entertainments" to Sir 
 Humphry, after which we phiyed our visual game 
 at ecarte. 
 
 1 otJi. Leaving EUwangen, we passed through 
 hilly but barren country, and over the most abo- 
 minable roads possible, to Nordlingen, the first 
 Bavarian post-town. AVe were every now and 
 then obliged to get out of the carriage from fear 
 of being overturned; and the postilion fre- 
 quently preferred driving over a newly ploughed 
 field to passing along the road. We however 
 arrived safely at the post-house; thus accom-
 
 28 DONAUWORTII. 
 
 plisliiiio- six short Icag-ues in about as many 
 hours. On driving into the town we were, as 
 usual, asked for our passport, which was an 
 English one : the officer took it for French, and 
 I suppose he had never seen such an one be- 
 fore, for he copied the printed title into a paper 
 whicli he gave me, as a permission to enter Ba- 
 varia, as follows : — " Permit to pass, &c. &c., 
 Lord Dudley^ particulier,'' and I could hardly 
 make the man believe that the printed name was 
 not that of the person travelling, but that of the 
 minister. From Niirdlingen we drove to Do- 
 nauA\-orth, on the Donau, or Danube; passing 
 through Haarburg, a small A'illage, l)ut one of 
 the prettiest spots we had seen since we left 
 the banks of the Neckar. The chm-ch and many 
 of the houses are situated on the top of a lofty 
 rock, high above the rest of the buildings, and 
 the whole scene is strikingly picturesque. The 
 Danube at Donauworth is a small and uninipo- 
 sing stream. Opposite our inn were two boats 
 ready to start for Vienna; they were of consi- 
 derable size, but wholly built of rough deal 
 planks. Such boats are chiefly filled with mer- 
 chandize, and rarely take passengers, as their ac-
 
 THE DANUBE. 29 
 
 comodation is very inferior. When tliey arrive 
 at Vienna, they are broken up and sokl as old 
 wood, the current of the Daiuibe being too rapid 
 to admit of boats ascending. We had good ac- 
 comodation at the only hotel, the Crab, which is 
 out of the town, on the banks of the river ; and 
 Sir Humphry determined to remain till tomor- 
 row, to see the fishermen cast their nets in the 
 
 mornnig. 
 
 16///. Sir Humphry did not feel well enough 
 to-day to accompany the fishermen, but desired 
 them to bring him any fish they might catch; 
 they accordingly brought him a schill, the large 
 perch of the Danube, {Perea lucioperca., Block,) 
 of which Sir Humphry begged me to take a 
 drawino-. We then dissected it, and afterwards 
 had it dressed for dinner, and both of us thought 
 it very good, and much resembling cod in taste. 
 Sir Humphry now generally prefers dining 
 alone, and at a late hour for this part of the 
 world, (four o'clock); and I, therefore, where I 
 find a table </' hofe, usually dine at it; for though 
 the business of eating in this country is not one 
 of hasty dispatch, or of such trivial importance 
 as to leave all tlie powers awake to conversation.
 
 30 BLENHEIM. 
 
 yet foreigners mIio wish to become acquainted 
 with the peo})le and manners, as well as to see 
 them, will, at all events, understand them much 
 better by mixing with them, than by keeping, 
 as is so often the case -with English travellers, 
 to their own rooms. While Sir Humphry dined, 
 I took a walk up the Schellenberg, to look at 
 the spot from M'hich Marlborough drove the 
 French at the celebrated battle of Blenheim; 
 and sitting under an old oak, on the top of the 
 hill, I enjoyed the extensive view beneath me. 
 Hardly visible in tlie distance appeared the 
 towers of Blenheim ; nearer stood many a small 
 village, embosomed as it were in the forests ; and 
 the Danube, winding through the woods and 
 verdant meadows, now hidden by an interposing 
 hill, then again appearing in many a bending 
 curve, with here and there a small green island, 
 flowed tranquilly on till it reaches the town of 
 Donauworth, where it receives the tributary 
 waters of the Wernitz, a small river which runs 
 through the town. I hastily took a sketch of 
 the view, the scene of actions which can never 
 be forgotten by the friend of English glory, and 
 then returned to Sir Humphry, and in the
 
 INGOLSTADT. o\ 
 
 evening read to liim some of the " Arabian 
 Niglits," and Dryden's beantiful poem " The 
 Flower and the Leaf." 
 
 17th. Crossing over to the right bank of the 
 Dannbe by a small wooden bridge, our road 
 passed through many pleasant meadows covered 
 with beautiful anemones, interspersed here and 
 there with the dark blue gentian, and enlivened 
 by numerous herds of cattle. The first postc 
 was Bergheim, and from thence to Neuburg and 
 Ingolstadt. The church steeples of all the vil- 
 lages by which we passed were covered with 
 tiles glazed mth different colours, which in the 
 sunshine have a very brilliant and Chinese ap- 
 pearance. Ingolstadt is a small old town, with 
 dilapidated fortifications and walls. The only 
 inn seemed in a similar condition, and the kitchen 
 and some of the rooms being in a state of repair, 
 we were obliged to continue our route. On leav- 
 ing the town, we crossed over the Danube again 
 and drove on to Vohburg. In the distance we 
 thought we saw the Salzburg Alps, but we were 
 unable to determine with certainty, the clouds 
 having the greatest possible resemblance to dis- 
 tant snowy mountains. The Danube at Voh-
 
 32 POSTSARI. 
 
 burg is hy no means so wide as the Rhine at 
 Mannheim, but is much more rapid. We again 
 recrossed it, and (hove through some marshy 
 huid, and a small forest of firs, beautifully green, 
 to Neustadt, where we remained for the night 
 at a most wretched inn. 
 
 The whole country through which we have 
 passed appears very populous, but the peasantry 
 look wretchedly squalid and poor, and an Eng- 
 lish eye is much struck by seeing the women 
 constantly at hard work in the fields, and appa- 
 rently performing a much greater share of the 
 laborious part of their employment than the 
 men. 
 
 ISth. We left Neustadt in the morning, luul 
 drove on through pretty and hilly country, 
 chiefly covered with fir wood, to Postsari, where 
 we came down close upon the Danube, and be- 
 held some most beautiful rocky scenery, far 
 superior in grandeur to that of the Rhine. Im- 
 mense perpendicular masses of grey rock, with 
 dark fir-trees here and there forcing themselves 
 through the fissures and crevices, form the right 
 bank of the Danube at Abach, a small village at 
 the foot of a hill, on the top of which stands an
 
 RATISBON. 33 
 
 enormous round tower, the only remaining ves- 
 tige of a large castle which formerly crowned 
 the summit. Before entering the village the 
 road is hewn through the solid rock, and high 
 above the head of the traveller is a gigantic 
 Latin inscription, cut in the rock, purporting 
 that this work was undertaken and completed 
 by Charles Theodor, Elector of Bavaria; two 
 colossal lions on pedestals mark the spot which 
 was once solid rock. From this little village 
 we passed over the hill to Regensburg, or Ra- 
 tisbon, which lies in the valley beneath. The 
 appearance of this old city from a distance is 
 not more imposing than when in it, for it has 
 no high towers nor fine prominent buildings. 
 We entered it at about one o'clock, through 
 an alley of young poplars, on the right of 
 which stands a small modern temple, dedicated 
 to the memory of the celebrated astronomer, 
 Keppler. A light pretty gateway leads into 
 dark and narrow streets, at the end of one of 
 which was our inn, the Golden Cross, and the 
 good accommodation we here foimd, was not 
 rendered the less agreeable from its contrast 
 with that of the wretched inn at Neustadt. In 
 
 D
 
 34 RATISBON. 
 
 the afternoon I walked out with Sir Humphry 
 to see the town. The greatest, or rather only 
 curiosity it possesses, is tlie large room in which 
 the celebrated Diet of the Empire used to be 
 held : the exterior has a miserable appearance, 
 and Sir Humphry, instead of going in, went to 
 see some fish in a tank, and wished me to ac- 
 company him as interpreter. I went in the 
 evening again to see the hall of the Diet, but 
 it M^as shut, and the man who shows it was 
 not to be found. From the fish-tank we went 
 to the bridge over the Danube, which is well 
 built of stone, and is entirely paved with large 
 flag stones. The river, already of considerable 
 breadth, rushes through it with astonishing rapi- 
 dity, and turns a number of mills below it. 
 We then returned and took our tea, and our 
 evening's book was " Palamon and Arcite." 
 
 19th. We quitted Ratisbon at nine in the 
 morning, leaving the banks of the Danube to 
 our left, and drove on to Eglofsheim, and from 
 thence generally through or on the borders of a 
 thick and sombre pine forest, through Birkheim 
 to Ergolshausen. The cottages in this part of 
 Bavaria are usually built of trunks of trees, laid
 
 THE ISAR. 35 
 
 horizontally one upon another, like the log- 
 houses of America ; and the roofs are covered 
 with shingles, on which are placed large flat 
 stones, to prevent their being blown off. The 
 better ones have generally some picture, the 
 subject of which is taken from the Holy Writ- 
 ings, painted on the front; and at Ratisbon I 
 saw a " Da\T!d and Goliath," which covered the 
 entire front of a large house three or four stories 
 high. At Ergolsliausen we were detained whilst 
 the carriage was mended; this reparation cost 
 eighteen kreuzers, (about sixpence,) and in 
 France, for a similar one, we paid five francs. 
 
 When all was put to rights we set off for 
 Landshuth, and soon caught a transient glimpse 
 of the snowy Alps, rising out of the distant hori- 
 zon like clouds into the clouds. The Isar, on 
 which Landshuth is situated, exceeds even the 
 Danube in rapidity, and well may Campbell 
 call it 
 
 " Isar rolling: rapidly." 
 
 \\^e had hardly entered the inn when we were 
 visited by a heavy thunderstorm, accompanied 
 by tremendous hail. 
 
 u2
 
 36 THE AUSTRIAN ALPS. 
 
 20th. Wishing- to see something of the town, 
 I took a hasty stroll, early in the morning before 
 we started, through the streets, but found little 
 worth seeing. The cathedral is, externally, a 
 fine old Gothic building, and the principal street 
 is respectable. I was much struck with the 
 head-dress of the women, which seems to vary 
 according to their rank. The peasant girls wear 
 large fur caps, whilst the women of a rather 
 higher class have upon their heads most extra- 
 ordinary gauze or muslin appendages, in all 
 sorts of shapes, some like helmets, some pointed, 
 and others falling in peaks, but all more or less 
 richly embroidered with gold or silver thread. 
 
 On leaving Landshuth we ascended a very 
 long and steep hill, and on arriving at the top we 
 saw the Austrian Alps, at a distance of seventy 
 or eighty miles, bounding the whole horizon 
 with a line of shining white, and here and there 
 broken b}' a dark shade of grey ; whilst some 
 single perfectly white and shining peaks shone 
 high above the floating clouds, whose white 
 colour appeared tarnished when compared with 
 that of the eternal snow. We drove the greater 
 ])art of the day through pine forests, up hill and
 
 ALT-NETTING. 37 
 
 down lull ; now perfectly losing siglit of the Alps, 
 then again from the summit of the next hill catch- 
 ing sight of them, apparently not more than ten 
 miles off, so distinctly could we trace the vallies 
 between the different mountains. We stopped 
 to dine at the post-house at Neumarkt, a small 
 village, where I could get nothing but a pigeon 
 dressed in garlic, and some sausage. Leaving 
 this village, we descended from the mountains, 
 amid which we had been travelling, into the plain 
 which separates them from the Alps, and found 
 ourselves, as it were, in front of this colossal 
 chain, now brightly illuminated by the glowing 
 sun. Towards evening I had hoped to have 
 seen the rosy tinge upon the Alps, caused by the 
 reflection of the sunbeams upon the snow of the 
 summits, but I was disappointed, for they faded 
 away into the grey clouds of evening as we 
 drove up a very steep but short hill into Neu- 
 Netting, a neat little town, in the streets of 
 which we saw many pretty women and girls 
 knitting before their doors; on the whole, the 
 people are much handsomer here than in the 
 country we have hitherto passed through. About 
 two miles further on we reached Alt-Netting,
 
 08 ALT-NETTING. 
 
 wliere we were very well lodged at the post- 
 house. Our hostess, a young lass of only seven- 
 teen or eighteen, spoke very good French, and 
 seemed intelligent and active in the direction of 
 her household. 
 
 "list. In the morning, before Sir Humphry 
 was up, I went to see a little church on the Phitz or 
 square before our inn. The arcades surrounding- 
 it are completely covered with votive pictures, or 
 pictures returning thanks to some favourite saint 
 for having been delivered from great danger; 
 some, for example, for having broken their legs 
 or arms instead of their necks, others that their 
 friends had been killed and not they, and such 
 like. Many of these pictures bear dates of two 
 or three hundred years ago, but they are almost 
 all mere daubs. The interior of the church is 
 also quite covered with paintings, and gold and 
 silver offerings, some of the latter apparently of 
 great value. On my return to the inn, I asked 
 our hostess about this church, and she told me 
 that it had been a celebrated place of pilgrimage 
 for ages past; that the image of the virgin in it 
 bears the date of the twelfth century, and that 
 there also are kept embalmed the hearts of the
 
 AUSTRIA. 39 
 
 sovereigns of Bavaria, Charles Tlieodore, Maxi- 
 milian Joseph, and others. She also informed 
 me that there was a convent of nuns, and a 
 Capuchin monastery in the town ; some of the 
 former I had seen in the church. 
 
 On leaving- Alt-Netting, we for the first time 
 this year saw cherry-trees in blossom, and on 
 the sides of the road there was abuncUuice of 
 the pretty blue gentian. The next station, and 
 the last in Bavaria, was Marktl. From thence 
 we drove on to Braunau, already a wide and 
 very rapid river. The black and yellow striped 
 posts on the wooden bridge announced to us the 
 dominion of Austria ; and on entering the town, 
 we drove to the custom-house, where, however, 
 the officers gave us no trouble, for a letter from 
 Prince Esterhazy, with which Sir Humphry was 
 furnished, seemed to act as a talisman, producing 
 instantaneous civility, with bows and titles 
 innumerable. The next paste was Altheim, 
 where we found that every thing was to be 
 paid for in Austrian money, which at first 
 promised to be no slight trouble, though we 
 soon foimd it was an easy matter to re- 
 duce it, six Bavarian kreutzers, or six florins,
 
 40 TRAUN RIVER. 
 
 beino; equal to five Austrian ones. It was our in- 
 tention to have reached Haa^ this evening, but 
 having a very long and steep hill to cross, the 
 night overtook us at Kied, a little village, where 
 we were obliged to put up with the accommoda- 
 tions of a miserable inn, with bad coffee and 
 wretched beds, much to the discomfiture of Sir 
 Humphry. 
 
 22??r/. We left Ried at about nine, and drove 
 through a fine forest of lofty pines to Haag, 
 and from thence to Lambach. Wood seems so 
 abundant in this country, that not only the in- 
 ferior houses are wholly built of it, but even 
 the fences between the fields are formed of 
 rough deal planks. Lambach is a small insig- 
 nificant town on the Traun, which river we 
 here saw for the first time : its w^ater is beau- 
 tifully clear, and of a bluish-green colour. 
 From Lambach we turned off to Vocklabrlick, 
 along the banks of the Agger, another clear 
 mountain stream, winding very prettily through 
 a flat valley of the same name. On our ap- 
 proach to this little place we beheld the lofty 
 Alps, which form the shores of the Traun Lake, 
 at a short distance off; and Sir Humphry re-
 
 THE VOCKLA. 41 
 
 joiced that he had at length arrived where he 
 might enjoy his favourite amusement of fishing, 
 which, but for a thunderstorm, lie would this 
 very evening have indulged in, at the expence 
 of the poor fish in the little river Vockla. 
 
 2'Srd. Early this morning. Sir Humphry 
 
 begged me in his name to visit Count E , 
 
 who lives at a short distance from Vocklabruck, 
 and is proprietor of the fishing right in the 
 Agger and Vockla, and request his permission 
 for him to fish in these streams ; this the Count 
 very graciously granted, and Sir Humphry ac- 
 cordingly mounted a pony, and rode down to 
 the Vockla, where, however, during the morn- 
 ing, he caught but little fish. The afternoon 
 was spent in the same pursuit, and we closed 
 the evening as usual with reading some of 
 Dryden's poems and the "Arabian Nights." 
 
 '24^/i. In the morning Sir Humphry begged me 
 to procure a one-horse chaise for him, in which, 
 with his servant, he was driven to the Kammer 
 Lake, about ten miles off. I, in the meanwhile, 
 strolled about the environs, not finding anytliing 
 interesting in the town ; but my walk did not 
 prove very agreeable, the weather being so
 
 42 THE TRAUN LAKE. 
 
 misty that I could gain no view of the neigh- 
 bouring Alps, and I was very glad to see Sir 
 Ilumpliry return in the afternoon, bringing M'ith 
 him a few fish, wliich were dressed for his din- 
 ner. In the evening we read Prior's "Alma," 
 but not being pleased with it we soon changed 
 it for Pope's " Essay on Man." 
 
 25th. We quitted Vocklabriick at about ten in 
 the morning, not at all to my sorrow ; and after 
 a beautiful drive through fine fir woods and lanes, 
 where the hedges were already quite green, we 
 arrived at Gmlinden, and beheld a scene which 
 surpasses in magnificence any thing I have ever 
 yet seen. On one side of the hill down which 
 we drove was a wood of tall beeches, the leaves 
 just bursting from the bud; on the lower side, 
 meadows of the most beautiful green sloped 
 down to the town of Gmlinden, M'hich seemed 
 to rise out of the bosom of the lake of the same 
 name, or, as it is more generally called, the Traun 
 Lake. Alps, whose summits were hidden in the 
 clouds, and on whose rocky heights nothing was 
 seen but the dark black pine, form the banks of 
 this large reservoir of water, in some places des- 
 cending with precipitous and almost perpendicu-
 
 THE TRAUN LAKE. 43 
 
 lar steepness into the clear lake, whilst in others 
 they are lost in fine meadows and orchards, with 
 neat wooden cottages peeping- through the trees; 
 and on an island in the lake we saw a large cha- 
 teau and church, which are joined to the main 
 land by a long w'ooden bridge. The best inn at 
 Gmlinden, the Ship, is close upon the edge of 
 the water, and commands a magnificent view over 
 the whole extent of the lake, and every window 
 lieing provided wdth a little cushion, one may 
 enjoy the scene leaning on the window-sill for 
 hours, without any detriment to one's elbows. 
 Gmunden itself is a pretty clean little town at 
 the north end of the lake, exactly on the spot 
 where it empties itself into the river Traun with 
 an impetuous rush, thus dividing the town into 
 two distinct parts, connected by a strong wooden 
 bridge built on piles. On the shores of the lake 
 are many beautiful small villages, now and then 
 seen through the half green trees, and at about 
 six miles from Gmunden, apparently at the end 
 of the lake, is the town of Traunkirchen, almost 
 lost in distance and haziness. The water of 
 the lake is beautifully clear, and of a deep blue- 
 green colour. After reading to Sir Humphry
 
 44 Tiir 'inAUN lake. 
 
 in the evening, I spent an hour gazing out upon 
 the lake and its alpine shores, partially illumi- 
 nated by the moon ; the more distant snowy sum- 
 mits seemed like detached clouds, resting as it 
 were upon the dark and gloomy masses beneath, 
 which threw their long broad shadows over the 
 silvery bosom of the lake; while every here and 
 there on the surrounding shores, a few tM'inkling 
 lights, seen between the trees, marked the situa- 
 tion of a village or country house. 
 
 26^/j. On awaking this morning, I fancied 
 myself on the sea shore, for the first sound I 
 heard was the surge of the waters of the lake, 
 which had been agitated into light waves by a 
 fresh morning breeze. On going to my Mandow 
 the scene formed a striking contrast to that of 
 yesterday evening ; the darkness and deep 
 silence of night had disappeared ; not a cloud 
 was to be seen, and the brilliant beams of the 
 young sun shone upon numberless boats, flitting 
 with their white sails over the glittering waves ; 
 whilst in the street beneath stood motley groups 
 of peasants lounging about, or awaiting the 
 arrival of some boat from the other shore of 
 the lake. Sir Humphry rose early, and imme-
 
 VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. 45 
 
 diately after breakfast we went out to the bridge 
 over the Traun, he to fish, whilst 1 sketched; 
 and staid the whole morning beneath the bridge, 
 on one of the piers close to the rushing stream. 
 The view from this spot is far more extensive 
 than that from the inn windows, as from hence 
 you see quite to the opposite end of the lake, 
 and can discover beyond the promontory, on 
 which stands the town of Traunkirchen, the 
 houses and spires of Ebensee, as white specks 
 against the distant grey mountain; and from 
 hence also are seen to great advantage, far 
 beyond the mountains of the lake, the distant 
 snow-clad summits of the Schneeberg and other 
 of the Styrian Alps. On my return home I 
 found Sir Humi^hry already there, and that he 
 had caught some fine trout, which proved excel- 
 lent. In the evening we had a violent storm, 
 and I read Green's poem on the Spleen, which 
 Sir Humphry does not admire. 
 
 27^A. This morning proved rainy, and Sir 
 Humphry was in despair, as he had ordered a 
 small carriage, intending to go and see the Falls 
 of the Traun, about ten miles down the river ; 
 it cleared up, however, about eleven o'clock,
 
 46 FALLS OF THE TRAUN. 
 
 and turning out very fine, we set off, Sir Hum' 
 phry armed with all his fishing-tackle, and I 
 with my sketch-book. Aftter a fine drive along- 
 the top of the precipitous and highly picturesque 
 banks of the Traun, passing by many smaller 
 falls and rapids, we reached the inn near the 
 great fall, the roar of which is heard at a consi- 
 derable distance. A little below the cataract a 
 lofty wooden bridge is thrown over the Traun, 
 and from beneath it one beholds a truly sublime 
 scene. The greater part of the river here pre- 
 cipitates itself from a height of nearly fifty feet, 
 in one immense mass of foam over the impeding 
 rocks, M'hich are of considerable breadth. Thick 
 clouds of mist are continually rising from the 
 boiling pool, and the spectator standing within 
 a few feet of the descending river is completely 
 wetted in an instant. In the centre of the river 
 stands a large rock, from which three smaller 
 falls throw themselves into the greater {)ool ; 
 and again, higher up on the right is another 
 large cascade, where the water falls in a perpen- 
 dicular sheet between two rocks, which serve as 
 a support to a small wooden house that has been 
 erected over the fall. Below the bridge the
 
 FALLS OF THE TRAUN. 47 
 
 whole river is one white stream of foam, with 
 dark black rocks here and there jutting out of it. 
 The banks are formed of lofty rocks (chiefly 
 pudding-stone,) and are topped with woods of 
 dark black pine. Boats descending the river avoid 
 the danger of this cataract by means of a small 
 canal, which has been cut through the right bank 
 of the river in a sloping direction from the fall, 
 and again joins the river at some distance below 
 it. This canal is immediately filled with water 
 by raising a sluice gate close to the fall, and the 
 boat keeping near the shore is very easily giuded 
 into it, and descends quickly and safely. Sir 
 Humphry finding the fish would not bite, we 
 returned home, after spending a short hour in 
 this sublime and romantic spot. The drive back 
 to Gmiinden is finer than the drive to the Falls, 
 the river presenting more beautiful openings and 
 turnings, and the lake gradually rising into view. 
 In the evening Sir Humphry determined not 
 to remain at the baths of Ischl, about twenty 
 miles distant, as he had intended doing, but to 
 proceed to Laybach, three hundred miles off, as 
 he thought the snipe-shooting, which he much 
 wished to enjoy, would not yet be over tliere.
 
 48 EBENSEE. 
 
 28^//. We left GmUiulen at eight, crossing 
 over the hike in a Uirge boat. The view of 
 Gm linden from the hike is beautiful, and with 
 its gently sloping green hills and woods in the 
 back ground, and its neat white houses, rising 
 as it were out of the water, forms a strong con- 
 trast with the rugged mountains which surround 
 the lake on every other side. \\'hilst crossing 
 over, the scene continually changes, the Alps 
 presenting themselves from different sides ; and 
 on turning the promontory on which Traun- 
 kirchen is situated, we entered as it were ujion 
 another small lake, and discovered the town of 
 Ebensee, about three miles off, quite at the end 
 of it. The Traiin here flows into the lake, and 
 often brings with it a considerable quantity of 
 wood, which is collected by a long cordon, 
 formed of the trunks of fir-trees joined together, 
 and drawn across the end of the lake. Ebensee 
 has very large salt-works, which afford employ- 
 ment to the greater number of its inhabitants. 
 Post-horses were here again put to the carriage, 
 and we drove on along the banks of the Traun 
 through most enchanting scenery to Ischl, and 
 from hence to Aussee, over a very steep moun-
 
 UPPER AUSTRIA. 49 
 
 tain, on the sides of wliicli I found, whilst walk- 
 ing up it, many of our prettiest garden flowers, 
 cyclamens, anemones, &c. &c. After ascending 
 for an hour and a half, we entered Styria, 
 passing the boundary of Upper Austria, and 
 came to the snow, through which we pursued 
 our way for half an hour more, when we found 
 ourselves on the top of the pass, between 4000 
 and 5000 feet above the level of the sea, en- 
 vironed by Alps clad in deep and for the 
 most part eternal snow. Our road dowm was 
 cut through the snow, which was much deeper 
 on this side than on the other. Aussee is a 
 little town, beautifully situated at the bottom of 
 a valley, surrounded on all sides by gigantic 
 rocks ; it also has, like Ebensee, extensive salt- 
 works, the salt for which is furnished from tlie 
 salt-mines in the adjacent mountains. 
 
 '29/A. We quitted Aussee this morning, and 
 drove on through Mitterndorf, Steinach, and 
 Liezen, our road lying through beautiful Alpine 
 country, sometimes hilly, and always at a great 
 elevation. Between Liezen and Rothenmann 
 we passed the first old feudal castle that we 
 have seen in this part of Austria ; it is called 
 
 E
 
 50 GOITRES OF THE ALPS. 
 
 Wolkenstoin, and is finely sitnatcd upon a hill, 
 between rocks and woods. Most of these people 
 have \nrge f/uitres, the cause of which it is perhaps 
 difficult to ascertain with certainty. Sir Hum- 
 phry seemed inclined to attribute their presence 
 to the calcareous earths which the waters of 
 these vallies may hold in solution. This opinion 
 has been also supported by many scientific 
 medical men ; still Sir Humphry seemed to 
 think there was reason in my observation, that 
 it might rather be the effect of climate and 
 damp ; for in a mountainous country that is 
 also full of streams, the inhabitants are always 
 exposed to strong currents of damp and chilly 
 air at one season, and to the extreme of heat in 
 the summer months, when the rays of the sun 
 are reflected from the rocky mountains, and, as 
 it were, concentrated upon the lower vallies; 
 for were it from the water, would it not, in an 
 equal degree, affect the upper classes, which, I 
 have observed in the neighbourhood where I 
 have resided, is not the fact; for though they 
 are subject to this disease, they are by no means 
 so much so as the poorer inhabitants of the vil- 
 lages in the Odenwald, for instance; and the
 
 GAISHORN. 
 
 51 
 
 water of many of these parts has been proved to 
 be more than usually free from earths and salts. 
 Between Rothenmann and Gaishorn, at which 
 latter villag-e we passed the night, we saw a peat 
 moor, a very rare thing in this country. I think 
 I shall never forget the evening we spent here, 
 in one of the most miserable dirty little village 
 inns in Europe. When we drove up to the 
 door we heard within the sound of loud and 
 merry music, and the noise of a number of 
 people dancing and clapping their hands; this 
 all of a sudden ceased, and out rushed a whole 
 troop of peasants of both sexes to see the stran- 
 gers. The master of the inn, a young man, 
 led us up a tural)le-down staircase to the first 
 and only story, where we found three rooms in 
 no very inviting state : the walls were dirty, 
 bare, and ragged ; the beds almost as bad ; 
 the furniture looked as if it had been stand- 
 ing there for a hundred years, and every thing 
 smelt of tobacco-smoke. Sir Humphry could 
 scarcely make up his mind to remain in such a 
 place, yet it was too late to attempt to proceed, 
 as he did not like to travel after dark ; so I was 
 obliged to do my best, and arrange our accom- 
 
 E 2
 
 52 WEDDING FETE. 
 
 modatioii for the night, 1 beiii^ the only one 
 who coukl make myself understood, and this 
 with no small difficulty, the people here speak- 
 ing the most wretched Austrian dialect. When 
 I had at last got dinner served, or rather supper, 
 which we had luckily brought with us, and had 
 ordered chickens to be killed to take with us to- 
 morrow, got out sheets to be aired, &c. &c., none 
 of which orders I could get attended to with 
 any regularity, as every body was running oft 
 to the dance, which in the meanwhile had re- 
 commenced with as much noise as before, I 
 attempted to read the " Arabian Nights" to Sir 
 Humphry, but he f(mnd it impossible to hear, 
 and was obliged soon to retire to his bed. Before 
 I followed his example I went to take a peep at 
 the dance, and asked the host what all this rout 
 was about ? He told me it w'as the conclusion of 
 a wedding fete Avhich had been celebrated the 
 day before, and his house having been engaged 
 for the purpose, he could not put an end to their 
 merriment. The dance which these peasants 
 were enjoying, the national dance of Styria, was 
 a slow waltz, not devoid of grace, with various 
 tours performed by four couple, and which were
 
 KRAPATH. 53 
 
 always preceded by a loud clapping of hands 
 and stamping- with the feet. Had we arrived 
 yesterday we shoidd have seen the fete in its 
 glory, and all the guests in their gay and motley 
 apparel, which Avould have been an entertaining 
 sight, but the bride and bridegroom not being 
 present this day, their friends M^ere footing it 
 merrily in their every-day dress. Having par- 
 taken of some of the remains of the wedding 
 cakes, I retired to bed, but not to sleep, the 
 party continuing their revels and noise till a 
 very late hour. 
 
 SOth. We could not set off this mornino: till 
 after nine, one of the bolts of the carriage want- 
 ing repair, which I M^as obliged to superintend, 
 the workmen understanding nothing of the build 
 of an English carriage. We then set out and 
 drove on to Krapath, where our chickens proved 
 very acceptable, the post-house offering nothing 
 but stale brown, or rather black bread and sour 
 wine. We passed to-day another old castle on 
 the mountains, which latter, though still in some 
 parts covered with snow, already begin to lose 
 their rocky and alpine ap})earance, and have a 
 more rounded form, 'i'he day was warm and
 
 54 KLAGENFURTII. 
 
 very dusty. From Krapatli we drove on to Ju- 
 denburo^, a considerable town on the top of a 
 bill, but which we did not enter till long after 
 sunset. 
 
 May \st. From Judenburg we went on 
 through Unzmarkt, to Neumarkt, in Carinthia ; 
 and from thence through some beautiful vallies 
 to Friesach, a small town, where we jiassed the 
 night at a very good inn. Upon the hill above 
 the town, stand the remains of an extensive old 
 castle, but we arrived too late to admit of my 
 visiting it. 
 
 2nd. We left Friesach early, and went on 
 to St. Veit, and from thence to Klagenfurth, 
 the capital of Carinthia. Before us in the dis- 
 ,tance appeared another range of lofty snowy 
 Alps, which form the boundary between this 
 country and Carniola. Between St. Veit and 
 Klagenfurth we met a post carriage, and the 
 postilions insisted in spite of all remonstrance 
 upon changing horses, alleging as a reason 
 that we should find none at Klagenfurth. On 
 driving to the post, which is a very fine hotel, 
 we found upon enquiry that the postilions 
 were in the right, and that they are permitted
 
 KIRSCHENTHEUTl. 55 
 
 to cliange horses when they know that there 
 are none at the next station. Klagenfnrth ap- 
 pears to be a very respectable town, with broad 
 and jclean streets, and one or two fine open 
 squares. We stopped here to dinner, and then 
 went on to Kirschentheur, a small village lying 
 at the foot of the Lobel, one of the chain of 
 Alps which we had seen in the morning, and 
 over which the hio-h road from Carinthia to Car- 
 niola passess. We had not long left Klagen- 
 furth when we again met with another carriage, 
 and were stopped and deprived of our horses, 
 which not a little irritated Sir Humphry, for 
 we this time got instead of our three only two, 
 and neither of these having a saddle, and our 
 carriage being without a front dicky, the pos- 
 tilion was obliged to walk to the next station. 
 Sir Humphry had hoped to ha^'e crossed the 
 Lobel to-night, but on arriving at Kirsclien- 
 theur, we found it was too late to think of it ; 
 and we 'therefore remained at the post-house, 
 where we found ourselves tolerably comfortable. 
 3?y/. Our preparations for departure this morn- 
 ing seemed to indicate a very laborious route, 
 for the carriage was provided Avith six horses,
 
 56 LOBEL ALPS. 
 
 two postilions, and two drags. We started at 
 seven, and after a drive of half an hour arrived 
 at the foot of the Liibel Alp, or, to speak more 
 correctly, at the foot of a lesser mountain, vhich 
 lies before the Alps, to the summit of which Ave 
 ascended by an excellent road, in many places 
 cut through the limestone rock. From the top, 
 already at a considerable elevation, wo looked 
 down upon the road before iis, which appeared 
 like beautiful terraces built one above the other, 
 and which lay so perpendicularly under our feet, 
 that it seemed almost impossible to reach the 
 lowest without imminent danger. The drags, 
 however, were put on, and we all arrived safely 
 upon the last terrace, which is formed of a noble 
 and lofty stone arch, thrown across a very deep 
 ravine. We then proceeded through a beauti- 
 ful valley formed of magnificent rocks, crowned 
 with woods of different descriptions, above which 
 ai)peared the white fields of snow. We at last 
 reached the base of the Liibel itself, and began 
 the ascent of it, which occupied nearly four 
 hours. The road, which is everywhere excel- 
 lent, and is kept in very good order, winds 
 ujnvards in a continual zig-zag till it reaches the
 
 ALPINE SCENERY. 57 
 
 summit, where an opening is hewn through the 
 solid rock, from whence a most extensive and 
 mao-nificent view presents itself to the eye ot 
 the traveller just arrived from below; one seems 
 to look out upon a vast plain, but this plain is 
 formed of the summits of lesser mountains, all 
 beautifully wooded, whilst nearer on each side is 
 a long chain of rocky Alps, whose crests are 
 covered with snow, and the road in front is seen 
 winding through a deep valley till it is lost in 
 the woods. 
 
 Upon these Alps the varied progress of vege- 
 tation is distinctly marked; first appears the 
 beech now just burst into leaf, reaching to a 
 height of about 4000 feet; then follow the dark 
 pine and fir, whose sombre tints contrast finely 
 with the beautiful green of the lower woods; 
 and again above these the lowly heath appears, 
 bordering upon bare and rugged rocks, or upon 
 fields of eternal snow. 
 
 On the road we met with very little snow, 
 and this only near the summit of the pass; on 
 arrivina- here our three extra horses were taken 
 off, and locking both the hinder wheels, we 
 began the descent ; this is much steeper than
 
 58 l.AVBACH. 
 
 the ascent from the other side, and from the 
 top one sees terrace lyinj)^ below terrace, till 
 they reach the valley. We arrived safely at 
 the bottom, having-, however, with some diffi- 
 culty avoided running over a drunken man, who 
 was lying fast asleep in the middle of the road. 
 We then drove on through the valley, always 
 down hill, to Neumarkt, in Carniola, into which 
 province we had entere<l on the summit of the 
 Liibel; it is a small bourg, beautifully situated 
 in a dell, and completely surrounded by moun- 
 tains ; it is the first station after leaving Kir- 
 schentheur, and we reached it at about two 
 o'clock, so that we had occupied seven hours 
 in the passage of the Lobel. After dining here 
 we went on to Krainfurth, a pretty town, and 
 of considerable size, on the river Save or San. 
 The evening being fine, Sir Humphry went out 
 to fish, but caught nothing. 
 
 Ath. We left Krainfurth at eight, and arrived, 
 after a pleasant but, as usual, silent drive, at 
 Laybach about twelve, and have taken up our 
 quarters at Detella's inn, which however is not 
 the first, as the Savage, and the City of Trieste, 
 are each of them better hotels, and are more
 
 THE PEOPLE. 59 
 
 pleasantly situated. Sir Humphry, however, 
 chooses Detella's, in consequence, he says, of 
 its being the house in which he was ten years 
 ago, as well as in the year 18*27, when he was 
 seriously ill there, and received great attention 
 from some of the innkeeper's family. 
 
 bth. — \lth. Sir Humphry generally goes out 
 shooting the whole day, and often brings home 
 quails and landrails; but the snipes are rare. 
 I seldom accompany him on these excursions, 
 as he is not fond of a second gun, and I can be 
 of no use, as he always takes a game-keeper 
 with him besides his servant. After dinner he 
 usually goes out fishing for an hour or two, and 
 in the evening, after I have read to him, we 
 generally play a game at ecnrte. 
 
 We are here in the heart of Carniola, and it 
 seems as if we were already at the end of Ger- 
 many, for the greater part of the people are 
 Servians, and appear to be as different in their 
 manners and habits as in their language from the 
 northern Germans; the peasants are servile to 
 their superiors, boorish and uncivil towards 
 strangers, and ignorant to an extreme. The 
 only language which they understand is the
 
 60 THE LANGUAGE. 
 
 Sloioenian or Krai/ierisch, which is said to Ijear 
 great affinity to the Russian; and I am told that 
 when tlie Russian troops were in this part of 
 Europe, tliey and the peasants were on very 
 good terms, as they mutually understood each 
 other. The sound of this language is not hard 
 or unpleasant, with the exception of one or two 
 letters, which are not met with in most European 
 languages ; those who understand German and 
 Krainerisch, inform me that the latter language 
 ])ossesses equal compass and power with the 
 former. The higher and middling classes mostly 
 speak German, and often Italian, and are polite 
 and friendly in their manners. 
 
 The town of Laybach, though of a consider- 
 able size, and with a population of about 1 5,000 
 inhabitants, oifers nothing interesting. It is 
 divided into two parts by the river Laybach, a 
 slow and usually tiu'bid stream of no gTeat 
 breadth. Eour or five wooden brido^es unite the 
 two parts of the town ; they are broad and a{)pear 
 like the continuation of the streets, being shut in 
 on both sides by rows of shops, so that the 
 passenger is not aware that he is crossing the 
 river. The streets are generally narrow and
 
 DEPARTURE FROM LAYBACH. 61 
 
 dark, and of the clmrclies, wliicli are numerous, 
 the episcopal church is the first. On a hill above 
 tlie town are the remains of the ancient citadel, 
 now only used as a prison. The view from 
 hence is fine and extensive, overlooking a vast 
 plain, bounded on one side by the lofty chain of 
 the Carinthian Alps, and on the other by lesser 
 mountains, covered with one continuous and 
 immense wood, the ancient Hyrcinian forest, 
 which stretches on almost to the frontiers of 
 Turkey ; nearer to the town are a great number 
 of marshes, the theatre of Sir Humphry's daily 
 sport. The garrison is considerable, and both 
 the officers and soldiers are fine men, and look 
 very well in their white and lio-ht blue uniforms. 
 
 18^/^ We quitted Laybach this morning, and 
 Sir Humphry intends returning to Ischl, but 
 by a ditferent route to the one we formerly 
 followed. He would certainly have prolonged 
 his stay in Laybach, and have continued his 
 shooting and fishing for some time longer, in 
 spite of the weather, which begins to be already 
 very warm, had he not received intimation from 
 the police that he could not at present continue 
 to slioot, this being the breeding season. A
 
 (>'^ THE RIVER SAVE. 
 
 pretty little pony, which Sir Huin|)hry bought a 
 few days ago for the trifling- sum of five pounds, 
 is tied behind the carriage, and runs after it. 
 We followed our old road to Krainburg, where 
 we turned off into the Sau-thal or \'alley of the 
 Save ; along the banks of which river we drove 
 on to 8aphnitz, a small village of only a few 
 houses, where they seem very rarely to see 
 strangers, for the post-house was not even pro- 
 vided with either butter or cheese. The valley 
 between this place and Assling becomes more 
 and more beautiful and sublime as we adv^ance. 
 On one side are barren and bleak rocks, rearing 
 their snow-clad summits into the clouds ; and 
 here and there the eye catches a glimpse of one 
 of the ancient passes over the mountains, formed 
 by the Romans, and which have probably been 
 often trodden by Trajan and his legions during 
 the wars of that emperor in this part of Ger- 
 many; on the other, or left side of the valley, 
 the mountains are lower, and seem to glory in 
 the beauty and luxuriance of their beech woods, 
 through whose foliage rooks of grey limestone 
 are often seen jutting out. The clear blue 
 waters of the Save run through the middle of
 
 WOCHAIN. 63 
 
 the valley, receiving in tlieir course many small 
 tributary streams on both sides. Near Asslinpf 
 the contrast becomes less striking ; the valley 
 seems to close, the rocks and woods are more 
 intermixed, and beyond them, in the distance, 
 are discovered the snowy peaks of the Terglon 
 and Skerbina, two lofty mountains in the district 
 of Wochain. Assling is a pretty little village on 
 the Save, almost embosomed in wood. To the 
 left, on entering, is a large iron foundery, and 
 also the remains of an unfortunate chain bridge, 
 which had gi\'en way ujion the first trial. The 
 post-house, where we stopped for the night, is a 
 very good inn, and the host remarkably civil. 
 
 I9th. Sir Humphry wishing to see the lake of 
 Veldes, the lake of Wochain, and the source 
 of the Save, which all lie out of the hioh road 
 in the district of Wochain, he determined to 
 make a tour for a day or two into this wild and 
 remote country, a part of Austria rarely visited 
 by strangers. We were told at Assling, that 
 the roads were in many places too bad and too 
 narrow to admit of our passing in the travelling 
 carriage, and Sir Humphry, therefore, hired a 
 small caleche, in which we set out. We crossed
 
 C)4 LAKE OF VELDES. 
 
 tlie Save by a very jirecarious bridge, built ot 
 ^\'ood, exceedingly narrow, without any railings, 
 and with a floor formed of the trunks of fir-trees, 
 cut into logs and laid parallel to each other. 
 We then went over a steep mountain, and drove 
 on for about two hours in a valley, on the sides of 
 M'hich the trees and rocks were so picturesquely 
 blended, that it would be difficult to say which 
 of the two contributed most to the beauty of the 
 landscape. At the end of the road, on driving 
 down a hill, the lake of Veldes opened upon us. 
 This lake is on a much smaller scale, and totally 
 different from the Traun-See, and to many would 
 perhaps appear more beautiful. At the bottom 
 of the hill, near the lake, lies the village of 
 Veldes, with its church steeple and a few of 
 the houses peeping out from between the trees ; 
 above the church an enormous lofty rock rises 
 perpendicularly out of the waters of the lake, 
 bearing on its top an old imperial castle, to 
 which on the land side a pathway is seen wind- 
 ing up through the wood. In the centre of the 
 lake is a small island, completely covered with 
 trees of the most brilliant green, in the midst of 
 Avhich and liigh above them is seen the steeple
 
 x/ 
 
 '/. 
 
 a
 
 FEISTRITZ. 65 
 
 of a church, with the roofs of a few houses. 
 Tlie length of this lake is between three and 
 four miles, but its breadth is considerably less; 
 the nearer shores are formed by noble mountains 
 covered with fields, meadows, and fine beech 
 woods, behind which to the right a])pear the 
 snowy peaks of the Wochain Alps. Driving 
 through the village and around the lake, we 
 entered into the beautiful valley of the Wochain- 
 Save, a small but beautifully clear stream, of an 
 emerald green colour. After stopping for some 
 time for Sir Humphry to fish, M^e drove on to Wo- 
 chain- Villach, a wretched little village, where we 
 dined upon the produce of Sir Humphry's sport. 
 Not a soul in the place spoke a word of German 
 or any other language except their Slowenian, so 
 I was e'en obliged to make use of our Assling 
 coachman as interpreter. After dinner we went 
 on through the same magnificent valley along 
 the banks of the Wochain- Save to Feistritz, 
 a large village, chiefly belonging to Baron 
 
 Z , of Laybach, who also possesses very 
 
 large iron and steel-hammers near the village. 
 We were received very politely at his Schloss 
 or country house, l^y his stcM^ard, to whom the 
 
 F
 
 66 WOCHAIN LAKE. 
 
 innkeeper of As^slinjj- liad given us a letter, the 
 Baron liimself, with whom Sir Ilumpliry was 
 personally acquainted, and on whom I had 
 called in his name whilst at Laybach, beinj^ 
 absent. The Schloss is old and in bad repair, 
 but we were very comfortably lodged, and con- 
 trived to sleep in spite of the noise of the ham- 
 mers which were at work the whole night, and 
 caused the surrounding ground and houses to 
 tremble as if shaken by an earthquake. 
 
 lOth. We set out early this morning for the 
 Wochain lake, and as we drove along the banks 
 of tlie Save, the country became at every iiiile 
 more and more romantic ; and upon arriving at 
 the spot where the river issues from the lake, it 
 seems to have reached the highest pitch of wild 
 grandeur. Barren rocks, from four to six thousand 
 feet high, rise up to the clouds, in which they 
 hide their lofty snow-clad peaks. The highest 
 of all, visible from this side of the lake, is the 
 Skerbina.* The south side of the lake, round 
 which the road runs, is finely wooded, and here 
 
 * This word means in Krainerisch, a rotten or broken tootli, and 
 is applied in this sense to tlie jagged summits of the mountain.
 
 SOURCE OF THE WOCHAIN-SAVE. 67 
 
 and there noble masses of light grey rock rise 
 abruptly out of the blue water, contrasting finely 
 with the dark pines which crown their summits. 
 The shores of the north side are formed of 
 sloping meadows and hills, beyond which rise 
 those enormous walls of rock seen on approaching 
 the lake. Sir Humphry crossed over the lake in 
 a boat, in order to visit the Savifza, or the source 
 of the Wochain-Save, a lofty cascade, just seen 
 at the western end of the lake like a glittering- 
 silver thread among the grey rocks. I drove 
 round the banks as far as was practicable in the 
 carriage, and then walked on and met Sir Hum- 
 phry at the end of the lake, George following 
 with the pony for him to mount on leaving the 
 boat. M'^e then proceeded for about three miles 
 through fields, over rocks and stones, and the 
 dry beds of mountain torrents, till the road b'i- 
 came too bad for the pony. Sir Humphry then 
 dismounted, and taking my arm, proceeded, with 
 the boatman as a guide, for about a mile further, 
 when we reached a frail wooden bridjje cast 
 over the foaming Save. Here Sir Humphry 
 said he would go no further, but wait with 
 George, who led the pony, till I returned from 
 
 f2
 
 68 SPLENDID CASCADE. 
 
 the source. 1 and the <juide, therefore, went 
 on up the mountain, climbing over rocks and 
 fallen trees, where no vestige of a path was to 
 be traced, till we came to the foot of a high and 
 mouldering scaffold, which the guide told me, in 
 as good German as he could, had been erected 
 some years ago to enable the Archduke John to 
 gain a fine view of the fall. Having mounted 
 it by a tottering ladder, I found myself in full 
 front of the cascade, Avhich gushed some hun- 
 dred feet above, out of the side of one of those 
 enormous mountains of rock which we had seen 
 from the other end of the lake, and rushed Avith 
 a deafening roar into an abyss below, invisible 
 from the spot on which I stood ; I made signs 
 to the guide that I wished to get down to the 
 foot of the fall, but he shook his head, and ap- 
 jfeared never to have been there, nor to like to 
 go. The noise was so tremendous, that it was 
 impossible to hear any thing he said ; but wish- 
 ing, if possible, to reach the bottom, I determined 
 to trust to my own hand and foot, and after a 
 dangerous descent over the wet and slippery 
 rocks, I found myself close to the pool, into 
 which the descending, but often-broken column
 
 SCENERY. 69 
 
 of water precipitates itself. The heiglit of the 
 fall must be nearly four hundred feet, and from 
 the transparency and icy coldness of the water, 
 and its gushing out of the middle of a perpendi- 
 cular wall of rock, which exhibits no trace of 
 vegetation, except here and there a stunted fir- 
 tree thrusting itself through a crevice, it is pro- 
 bably the exit of a subterraneous lake, confined 
 in the interior of the mountain, and supplied 
 from the snows of the still loftier summits. In 
 spite of the clouds of spray and foam, which fell 
 like a continual rain, I took a rapid sketch of 
 the scene before me, and then returned to the 
 guide, whom I had left upon the scaffolding, 
 and who told me that he had descended a part of 
 the way, shouting after me, till he was afraid to 
 go any farther, nor had he ever been at the foot 
 of the fall. In the rock above the scaffold- 
 ing is engraved a short Latin inscription, by 
 
 Baron Z , in honour of Prince John. 
 
 The view from this spot, looking towards the 
 lake, is exceedingly beautiful and picturesque, 
 presenting to the eye a scene very difterent 
 from the one we beheld at the opposite end of 
 the lake. The immense mountains of rock,
 
 70 SCENERY. 
 
 from wliicli the Save takes its rise, extend on 
 caeli side in a wide and lofty amphitheatre, till 
 they o-nidually lose their wildly sublime charac- 
 ter, giviiii^ place to mountains of lesser height, 
 and of a softer and more undulating form, beau- 
 tifully covered with fine green beech woods, now 
 and then relieved by a dark forest of pines, or 
 by the lighter shades of the bare limestone rocks. 
 Far below the spectator lies the tranquil lake, 
 with its varied shores, partly wooded, partly 
 fields and meadows, through which the Save, 
 after having pursued its foaming course through 
 the woods below the Savitza, is seen to wind, 
 till it mixes its clear waters with those of the 
 deeper coloured lake. The only traces of human 
 habitations are two deserted huts, at some little 
 distance from the lake, for the village of Al- 
 thammer, the only one in the vicinity of this 
 lake, is situated quite at the extremity of it, and 
 is not visible from this point. Upon returning 
 to the little bridge, I foimd that Sir Humphry 
 had left it, and on reaching the lake, the boat- 
 man who had conducted him across it told me 
 he had gone round the lake to Althammer in 
 the carriage. I accordingly was rowed over to
 
 SINGULAR RAINBOW. 71 
 
 the village, and met him just arrived, after 
 having fished for half an hour in the lake. 
 He seemed pleased by the account I gave him 
 of the Savitza, and thougli he regretted he had 
 not seen it, he was well satisfied in liavinp- 
 given up the attempt; and he said he was con- 
 vinced he could not have borne the fatigue. 
 Althammer is merely a collection of iron and 
 steelworks, with the requisite habitations of the 
 workmen, and is also the pro])erty of Baron 
 
 Z . We dined with the directors, who treated 
 
 us very civilly, and afterwards drove back to 
 Feistritz, where we did not arrive till almost 
 night. Sir Humphry often stopping on the road 
 to fish. 
 
 2lst We quitted Feistritz early this morn- 
 ing, and returned by the same beautiful valley 
 through which we had before passed. Sir Hum- 
 phry caught fish enough upon our way to fur- 
 nish us Avith another dinner at Wochain-Villach, 
 and between this village and the lake of Veldes 
 we witnessed a most beautiful atmospheric phe- 
 nomenon. It 'commenced with a fine rainbow, 
 which in a few minutes concentrated itself upon 
 one of the finely wooded mountains in the valley.
 
 72 ASSLING. 
 
 and here displayed the most beautiful prismatic 
 colours possible ; at the base blue, then red, 
 then gi'een, never extending beyond the out- 
 line of the mountain, and through these colours 
 we could still plainly descry the dark green of 
 the trees. It was on the whole the most splen- 
 did kind of rainbow I had ever beheld, and Sir 
 Humphry said he had never seen such an one 
 before. It lasted for about five minutes, then 
 gradually disappeared, and proved the foreruimer 
 of a very heavy rain, whicli began to fall just 
 as we entered Assling. 
 
 22nd. The morning was exceedingly cloudy, 
 and upon leaving Assling we did not expect to 
 see much of the country before us, but about ten 
 o'clock it cleared up, and afforded us a view of 
 tlie same kind of beautiful scenery as that below 
 Assling, tliough growing wilder and more ro- 
 mantic as we ascended the valley. Kronan is a 
 small bourg between Assling and Wurzen, and 
 the glen, at the entrance of which it is situated, 
 seems to be the finest in the whole valley, 
 although the tops of the higher mountains were 
 obscured by huge masses of cloud. We here 
 met many hundreds of pilgrims, of both sexes,
 
 ' WURZEN. 73 
 
 travelling in companies; some returning, some 
 going to Mount Lusliari, a lofty mountain about 
 six leagues beyond Wurzen, where there is a 
 famous shrine of the Virgin. Those who were 
 returning were all singing hymns of joy at hav- 
 ing been absolved from their sins ; whilst those 
 who were going walked in silence, many bearing 
 serious and often mournful countenances. 
 
 Wurzen is a wretched little village, a collec- 
 tion of a few dozen of wooden huts, situated about 
 two thousand feet above the level of the sea, at 
 the foot of a pass which leads from Carniola into 
 Carinthia, similar to that of the Lbbel, but by 
 no means so elevated. The post-house is tole- 
 rable, and the view from the windows magnifi- 
 cent, so much so, that Sir Humphry requested 
 me to take a sketch of it for Lady Davy. The 
 master of this inn is so remarkably civil that Sir 
 Humphry has determined to stay for a day or 
 two, and to make an excursion to the source of 
 the Isonzo, M^hicli we are told is about twenty 
 miles from Wurzen. In tlie afternoon Sir 
 Humphry went out to fish, and I to examine 
 the source of the Wurzen-Save, which rises 
 about two miles above the village, and is of a
 
 74 THE M'URZEN-SAVE. 
 
 character very different from the 8a\'itza, or 
 source of the W^ocliain-Save. The river here 
 flows from a larg-e pond, which appears perfectly 
 insidated, lying in the midst of fields, at the end 
 of a dry water-channel coming from one of the 
 lateral vallics. The water in the pond is ex- 
 ceedingly clear, and at the bottom towards the 
 centre, one discovers a number of very large 
 holes, through which the water rises mixed with 
 a great quantity of air, producing a constant 
 ebullition on the surface of the middle of the 
 pond, the water of which is perfectly cold.* 
 After leaving the pond, the Wurzen-Save winds 
 through the valley as a beautiful clear mountain 
 stream, passing by Kronan, Assling, and llad- 
 mansdorf, where it receives the Wochain-Save, 
 flowing from the lake of Wochain. These 
 united branches are then called the Save, and 
 the river flows on through the valley of the same 
 name to Krainburg; it afterwards passes near 
 Laybach, where it receives the river of that 
 
 * I was afterwards led to believe that this pond or small lake is not 
 the real source of the Wurzcn-Savc, as will be seen iu the following' 
 pages.
 
 LAKE OF WEISENFELS. 75 
 
 name with many other smaller streams, and rolls 
 on, already a considerable river, through Car- 
 niola, passes by Agram, traverses Croatia, and 
 then forms the boundary between Austria and 
 Turkey till it reaches Belgrade, where it mixes 
 its mighty and rapid waters, swollen to a great 
 size by a hundred tributary streams, with those 
 of the Danube, and rolls with it into the Black 
 Sea. 
 
 23;t/. Sir Humphry going out to-day to shoot 
 in the marshes near the river, I went to see the 
 lake of Weisenfels, about six miles off, and had 
 a famous mountain ramble. This lake is not 
 large, but beautifully clear and highly pic- 
 turesque ; it lies at the foot of the Mannhardt, 
 a stupendous mountain covered witli eternal 
 snow. I took a slight sketch of the lake, and 
 after spending an hour or two upon its beautiful 
 and sunny banks, I returned to Wurzen. After 
 recounting what I had seen in my ramble to 
 Sir Humphry, we spent our evening as usual 
 with cards and reading. 
 
 24^//. We left Wurzen this morning in a 
 little carriage, and drove over very bad roads 
 up the valley to Tarvis, a small and old town.
 
 76 RAIBL. 
 
 throui^li which the hij^h road from Italy to Ca- 
 rinthia ;iiid Vienna passes. The only manufac- 
 tures of the town appear to be of iron and steel. 
 We here took another road to the left, up the 
 valley of Raibl, along the banks of a foaming 
 mountain torrent, till we reached the little vil- 
 lage of the same name, where we arrived about 
 twelve o'clock, llaibl lies at the foot of the 
 Konigsberg, a lofty mountain containing very 
 productive lead mines, and is only inhabited 
 by miners. There is a small but very decent 
 inn in the village ; immediately in the front 
 of it rises a lofty Alp of very singular form, its 
 rocky and barren summit being split into five 
 rounded peaks or cones. Whilst Sir Humphry 
 took a luncheon, I drew a sketch of the place, 
 and we then set out for the source of the Isonzo, 
 which the postmaster of Wurzen, who accom- 
 panied us as a guide, assured us was at a short 
 distance up the mountain, and that the road to 
 it was very good. Sir Humpliry proceeded in 
 this carriage whilst I walked up the mountain 
 with the postmaster, and a friend of his from 
 Kaibl, neither of whom seemed to know much 
 about the Isonzo or its source, for after a long
 
 THE ISONZO. // 
 
 walk they conducted us to a valley in the 
 middle of which ran a small stream, which the 
 postmaster declared was the Isonzo. This, 
 however, both to Sir Humphry and me, ap- 
 peared impossible on comparing its situation 
 and direction with that of the Isonzo, as traced 
 on our maps, and after a long discussion with 
 the postmaster and his friend, the latter ad- 
 mitted they were wrong, and that it was the 
 Pless, or Fletzbach, a little mountain river, a 
 tributary stream of the Isonzo, whose source, 
 from all the information we could gain, lies in 
 a very different direction, at least ten miles off, 
 and in a very wild and barren countrj^ 
 
 Sir Humphry was sadly disappointed and very 
 angry with the postmaster, who had assured us 
 at Wurzen that he was well acquainted with the 
 source. We had however enjoyed some very 
 fine wild scenery, and had seen many beautiful 
 small cascades leaping from the mountains. On 
 our road we passed a knoll of ground where the 
 grass grew more luxuriantly than any where else, 
 and we learnt that this spot had been the grave 
 of some hundred Austrians, who had bravely de- 
 fended a small fort which stood here, against the
 
 78 THE RAIBL-SEE. 
 
 French ; of the whole garrison three or four 
 only escaped the slaughter. At that time the 
 French had possession of the whole surrounding 
 country, and had thrice sent to the Austrians a 
 flag of truce, assuring them that resistance was 
 vain. The inhabitants of llaibl still speak with 
 horror of this action, in which the Austrians 
 fought with desperate enthusiasm, led on by 
 their commander, Major Hermaiui, who, it is 
 said, wished for death, and if so he could scarcely 
 have found a more wildly romantic spot in which 
 to have parted with life. 
 
 On our return we made a slight detour to see 
 the Raibl-See, a small, wild and highly romantic 
 lake, from out of which flows the Raibl-bach, 
 the stream which runs through the valley of 
 Kaibl. Sir Humphry began to fish in the lake 
 whilst I attempted to sketch, but the clouds of 
 evening, which had already begun to overspread 
 the summits of the Alps, gathered so fast around 
 us, as soon to compel us to return to our iim at 
 Raibl. 
 
 25#A. Quitting Raibl we returned to Wurzen, 
 and on the following morning left it for Villach, 
 a considerable town on the other side of the
 
 PATERNIAN. 79 
 
 mountains. The road winds up lull for some 
 liours, but the ascent is by no means so steep as 
 that of the Lobel. From the top one has a very 
 fine view of the mountains and vallies of Carin- 
 thia. Villaeh is seen at the foot of the mountain, 
 and a league or two beyond it lies the Ossiacher 
 lake, a considerable expanse of water, whose 
 banks on one side are formed by low hills, pret- 
 tily wooded, while on the other side fine corn 
 fields slope down to the water's edge. To the 
 left is seen the mountain of Bleiberg, which 
 contains the most extensive and productive lead 
 mines in Austria. It being Whit-Monday, we 
 found the town very gay and full of peasants 
 from the surrounding villages, who were come to 
 a fair which is held there ; we only stopped to 
 change horses, and then drove on up the valley of 
 the Drave to Paternian, a wretched little village, 
 where scarcely any thing was to be had at the 
 ])Ost-house. We have now left the limestone 
 Alps and come to mountains of a difi'erent cha- 
 racter, formed chiefly of micaceous schist. Tlieir 
 outlines are less wild and rugged than those of 
 the limestone mountains, to which, however, they 
 arc not at all inferior in height, and the beautiful
 
 80 MILLSTADTER-SEE. 
 
 forests of beech and fir which skirt their bases, 
 appear, if j)ossible, of a more brilliant verdure 
 than the woods which clothe the Al})ine chains 
 that we have left behind us. From Paternian we 
 continued our road to iSpital, a small and dirty 
 town, ^\•ith which the post-house fitly corres- 
 ponded, Ijut where we were obliged to sleep, it 
 being the only inn in the place. 
 
 '•lltJi: Sir Humphry to-day determined to try 
 the fishing in the Millstadter-See, a small lake 
 about a league distant from the town ; he 
 accordingly rode there on the pony, and I 
 walked by his side. This lake is of a very 
 different character from those which we have 
 as yet visited. Its banks are quite pastoral ; the 
 mountains, covered with M'oods or green fields, 
 rise with a gradual slope from the lake, and 
 although of considerable elevation, for their 
 summits were still covered with snow, ])resent 
 no where the rocky and wild aj^pearance of 
 those of the Wochain, or of the Valley of the 
 Save. The lake itself is between two or three 
 miles in length, and on its shores, embosomed in 
 wood, lie the town of Millstadt and some pretty 
 villages. After Sir Humphry had caught a few
 
 THE TAUERN ALPS. 81 
 
 trout, we returned to Spital, wliich we soon 
 after left for Gemiind. We had a beautiful 
 drive of some hoiu-s through the valley of the 
 Drave, and arrived about five, but found the 
 hotel occupied by peasants, who were giving a 
 grand ball. We were, however, accommodated 
 with very good rooms, and Sir Humphry passed 
 the night very comfortably, in spite of the music 
 and bustle. 
 
 ^Sfh. We could not leave Gemiind till ten 
 o'clock, there being no horses left at the poste. 
 It is a neat little town with an immense square 
 modern Schloss, the country residence of Count 
 L , of Vienna, and which is almost as ex- 
 tensive as the whole town. As soon as horses 
 arrived, we proceeded to the village of Reinweg, 
 and came to more lofty Alps of mica schist than 
 those we have seen the two last days, and which 
 form the extensive chain of the Tauern. The 
 Katzberg, one of this chain, lies immediately 
 above Reinweg, and we were here obliged to 
 take a Vorspann, consisting of an additional horse 
 and two oxen, who with no small difficidty 
 dragged the carriage up to the top of the Katz- 
 berg, though the road is excellent ; the view from 
 
 G
 
 82 THE TAUERN ALPS. 
 
 the summit is very extensive and grand. The 
 descent into the valley of the Murr is very 
 precipitous, and this valley is by no means so 
 beautiful as that of the Drave, though the Alps 
 are higlier and their summits more thickly 
 clothed in snow ; the fine woods around their 
 bases are wanting, so that the valley seems cold 
 and barren. We passed the night at St. Mi- 
 chael, a large village at the foot of the Katz- 
 berg, and on the banks of the Murr. 
 
 IQth. Leaving St. Michael this morning, we 
 turned out of the valley of the Murr into ano- 
 ther lateral one, which, though narrower, is more 
 beautiful ; and here some of the Alps present a 
 variety of very remarkable forms. The first poste 
 is Tweng, a few houses collected together at the 
 foot of the Radst'adter Tauern, so called from the 
 town of Radstadt, which lies on the other side of 
 this Alp, to distinguish it from one or two other 
 chains, which also bear the name of the Tauern 
 Alps. We were here again furnished with six 
 horses in order to reach the summit of the pass, 
 which is six thousand feet above the level of the 
 sea. We were a long while crawling up this 
 steep ascent, but were fully recompensed by the
 
 PASSAGE. 83 
 
 magnificent views wliicli we every now and then 
 caught a glimpse of. As we ascended higher 
 and higher, these views grew more and more 
 wild, and every ten minutes we passed by beau- 
 tiful cascades formed by the melting of the 
 snows of the cold regions into which we were 
 penetrating. Upon reaching the highest point 
 of the pass, perhaps four thousand feet above 
 the valley below, we entered as it were upon a 
 frozen world, where we could see nothing around 
 us but immense fields of white and dazzling 
 snow, beyond which rose still more elevated 
 mountains, whose summits were crested with a 
 long and jagged wall of semi-transparent crested 
 snow, w^hilst here and there a dark and rocky 
 peak, seemingly indignant of its load of snows, 
 had shaken them off, and elevated its head far 
 above the surrounding whiteness, forming the 
 most magnificent image of wild sublimity that 
 can well be conceived. Having sent back 
 our three extra horses, we began the descent, 
 which, in spite of our two drags, was not with- 
 out danger, the road being very slippery and 
 steep ; Ijut we soon arrived at a little vil- 
 lage, aptly called auf don Taucm (on the 
 
 g2
 
 84 SCENERY. 
 
 Tauern). The few huts which form this ham- 
 let M^ere still surrounded with snow, which, 
 however, was beginning to melt (juickly, and 
 here and there a little brownish green plot of 
 grass appeared, which a few days before was 
 covered with snow. The road both ascending 
 and descendinof is excellent, but it is not built 
 with so much art as that of the Loljcl. I'he 
 views descending on the Radstadt side are, if 
 possible, more beautiful than those which we 
 saw during our ascent from Tweng. 
 
 The mountains are more thickly wooded, and 
 the springs of the various turnings of the road 
 present a view of the distant Styrian Alps, one 
 of which, called the Bisclwff's Miifze, or the 
 Mitre, is of a very singular form, consisting of 
 two peaks exactly resembling gigantic termites, 
 (anthills,) rising out of vast fields of snow. 
 Along the side of the road runs a mountain tor- 
 rent, clear as crystal, forming at every hundred 
 yards fine cascades, some of which, increased 
 considerably by lateral streams, are beautiful 
 and picturesque to a high degree. The road then 
 winds through a narrow valley, closed in on all 
 sides by stupendous masses of dark blue-lime-
 
 SCENERY. 85 
 
 Stone, (for we are again travelling over a cal- 
 careous chain, ) till upon turning- suddenly round 
 a corner, we looked down with surprise upon an 
 open, wide, extended, and fertile valley, with 
 hamlets and villages peeping through the trees, 
 and bounded at a great distance by another 
 chain of snowy Alps. Before arriving at Unter- 
 Tauern, (below the Tauern,) the first village in 
 this valley, situated at the foot of the Alps, we 
 passed on our left a noble cascade, bounding in 
 many a broken column from an amazing height ; 
 the last of these columns falls more than five 
 hundred feet, and is dispersed into a light white 
 foam before it reaches the pool which receives it 
 below. From Unter-Tauern to Radstadt is a 
 short poste. This latter is a small town, still 
 surrounded by its old wall and towers, and 
 appears to possess nothing remarkable. The 
 poste where we passed the night is a very in- 
 different inn. 
 
 30th. We left Radstadt this morning in the 
 rain, the first wet weather we have had for some 
 time, and drove on through the fertile and 
 beautiful valley of the Enns to Schladming. 
 The country in many parts resembles a flower
 
 86 GROB.AIING. 
 
 garden, for the narcissus, the cyclamen, and 
 many other of our garden flowers flourish here 
 as the common weeds of the fiekls and moun- 
 tains. From Schladming wc proceeded to 
 Grobming, the next poste; it is a small village, 
 picturesquely situated at the foot of high rocky 
 mountains. About noon the weather cleared up, 
 and on arriving here Sir Humphry determined 
 to spend the afternoon in this place, and to see 
 if he could find any thing to shoot in the fields. 
 We accordingly went out after dinner, but 
 could not see a bird, and returned in the even- 
 ing to our inn, where I continued to read 
 Shakspeare, which has been our book for the 
 last six or seven evenings. 
 
 3l5^ We quitted Grobming early this morn- 
 ing, where Sir Humphry had to pay dear for 
 very bad accommodations, the only instance of 
 exorbitant charges which we have as yet met 
 witli. To remonstrate with the landlord, how- 
 ever, was in vain; nor did it appear to us extra- 
 ordinary that a being who had been rendered 
 by illness unable to move, but by the help of a 
 broad wooden bowl, in which he sat and shoved 
 himself about, his legs being shrivelled up and
 
 AUSSEE. 87 
 
 quite useless to him, slioukl be cliurlisli aucl 
 discontented. From Grobming- we went to 
 Sternach, where we entered upon our former 
 road, and from thence through Mitterndorf to 
 Aussee, where we arrived in the afternoon, just 
 as it began to rain hard. 
 
 June 1st. — 7th. We have spent the whole of 
 this week at Aussee, at a very good country hotel 
 near the poste, which is not, in this little town, 
 an inn, as is generally the case in this part of 
 the country. Sir Humphry has been fishing 
 every day from eight in the morning till three 
 or four, about which time he usually dines, and 
 our evenings have been spent as usual. I 
 generally accompany him in all his excursions, 
 being needed as an interpreter, and whilst he is 
 fishing I take a sketch, or ramble about the 
 lakes and through the woods, thus fully enjoy- 
 ing the beautiful alpine scenery with which we 
 are surrounded. Our first trip was to the 
 Griindtl-See, an exceedingly beautiful lake, 
 about four miles from Aussee. The drive to it 
 is chiefly along the banks of the Traun, and 
 though over a very bad road, which is only 
 passable for a one-horse cabriolet, is very pic-
 
 88 THE GRUNDTL-SEE LAKE. 
 
 turesquc, and the lake is seen peeping out at 
 intervals through dark green firs. The Traun, 
 which is here only a small mountain stream, but 
 beautifully clear, rushes foaming out of the lake 
 at its southern end ; a small covered bridge is 
 thrown across it at this spot, beneath which are 
 sluice gates, by means of which the exit of the 
 waters can be partially hindered. Close to the 
 bridge is a cottage inhabited by the fisherman, 
 who alone has the right of fishing in the lake, 
 which privilege he rents from the crown. A 
 few zwanzigers (an eightpenny coin) easily 
 procured for Sir Humphry every possible faci- 
 lity in his favourite pursuit from this man. He 
 rowed us over to the other end of the lake, 
 where the Traun enters, which he told us was 
 the best spot for fishing. The view of the lake 
 from the southern end is finer than that from 
 the northern extremity. In the centre of the 
 scene at the latter end, some beautiful white 
 cliffs rise to a great height, topped with bright 
 green beech woods. On the right hand appear 
 rugged mountains, covered with dark forests of 
 pine, whilst those to the left are covered with 
 woods of a lighter and more vivid green. Be-
 
 THE TOPLTTZ LAKE. 89 
 
 yond the lake, mountain rises over mountain, 
 tlie nearer ones finely wooded, whilst those iu 
 the distance are rocky and barren, and sur- 
 mounted by a white crest of snow. 
 
 Leaving Sir Humphry occupied with fishing, 
 I followed the course of the Traun for about a 
 mile and a half up a fine narrow valley to the 
 Toplitz Lake, from which issues no longer a 
 broad and deep river, such as it flows from the 
 Traun-See, but a little brawling brook eight to 
 ten yards wide. The Toplitz-See is a small 
 lake, of a wild and gloomy character ; its banks 
 are so precipitous that it is impossible to go 
 round it, as I was told by the fishermen of the 
 Griindtl-See, and above these banks nothing is 
 to be seen but vast and sombre pine forests. 
 There was a small canoe, hollowed out of the 
 trunk of a fir-tree, lying at the water's edge, but 
 there being no oar or paddle in it I could make 
 no use of it, and accordingly returned to Sir 
 Humphry. On a second vist to the Grlindtl- 
 See, I again went on to the Toplitz Lake, 
 having been told by the fisherman that beyond 
 it, and ordy a few hundred yards distant from it, 
 lay another lake, the Kammer-See, from which
 
 90 FISH. 
 
 the Trauii took its rise, but that to reach this 
 hike it was necessary to row across the Tiiplitz- 
 See ; I therefore took an oar with me, but upon 
 a^ri^■ing at the hike, I -was sadly disappointed at 
 finding the canoe no longer there, nor could I 
 imagine who could have taken it away, for there 
 was not in the surrounding scene the slightest 
 vestige of a human being, I however climbed 
 up the rocks, and attempted to pass round the 
 lake, but was soon obliged to desist, having 
 twice nearly slipped over the edge of the rock, 
 a precipice of many hundred feet above the 
 lake, into the water, upwards of a thousand feet 
 in depth. When I returned with my unused 
 oar to the fisherman, he told me that the canoe 
 had probably been taken by some peasants, who 
 lived in a summer hut at the other end of the 
 Tilplitz-See. This fisherman appeared to be a 
 man of considerable information; he was well 
 acquainted with the various fish which inhabit 
 the alpine waters, and amongst other things 
 he told us that the Ombre Chevalier, a fish of 
 rare occurrence, was to be met in the Lambach- 
 See and in the Upper Oden-See, two small 
 lakes in the middle of the snowy Alps, at a very
 
 ODEN-SEE LAKE. 91 
 
 great elevation above tlie Grundtl-See. Sir 
 Humphry much wished to visit these lakes, but 
 was immediately deterred by the account which 
 the fisherman gave us of the roads to them. The 
 Grlindtl Lake is famous for its trout and fine 
 char, immense quantities of ^^'hich are yearly 
 sent to Menna, potted. 
 
 Another of our trips was to the Lower Oden- 
 See, about four miles on the other side of Aussee. 
 This is a small lake, very different in character 
 from the Grundtl-See and Toplitz-See : the 
 shores, though not exactly flat, are formed of 
 slig'htly varied hills covered with wood. Sir 
 Humphry had excellent sport, and caught a 
 great many small trout in the little stream which 
 flows from this lake. 
 
 Sfh. Having paid another visit to the 
 Griindtl-See this morning, we left Aussee and 
 crossed over the mountain which we had passed 
 on our former route to Ischl, and found the 
 road now perfectly clear from snow. Sir Hum- 
 phry intends to spend some time here, and to 
 make use of the salt baths, which attract much 
 company to this little place during the season. 
 
 9th. — 2\st. Sir Humphry has now given the
 
 92 ISCHL. 
 
 baths a fair trial, and has found great benefit 
 from them, although upon our arrival here, 
 after taking his first bath, he was for giving 
 them up in despair, and determined immediately 
 to quit Ischl. This determination, however, 
 was caused by the imprudent haste in which lie 
 had taken that bath, for no sooner were we ar- 
 rived than he ordered a bath to go into instantly 
 after his dinner. I could not help urging him 
 not to do so, but in vain ; he went into it, and 
 was in consequence afterwards very unwell, and 
 passed a most restless night. 
 
 In the morning he begged me to order horses 
 to leave Ischl, but consented to my looking 
 at some of the lodgings before we set off. I 
 found one which, from its convenience and 
 pleasant situation, I thought would suit him, and 
 on his going with me to see it he was so pleased 
 with it, that he relinquished his intention of 
 leaving Ischl, and took it for a week, and we 
 entered into it the same afternoon, causing a 
 great bustle to its inmates, who were not accus- 
 tomed to prepare so quickly for their lodgers. 
 It is a very good large house, standing quite 
 alone on the top of a grassy mound, with a

 
 ISCHL. 93 
 
 large garden in front and fields behind, at a sliort 
 distance from the baths, and within a few steps 
 of the little town. The only persons who inha- 
 bit it are the owner, an elderly man, formerly 
 bailiff of the district, with his housekeeper and 
 a servant, so that Sir Humphry is certain of 
 enjoying the quiet and tranquillity which are 
 so necessary to him. 
 
 Ischl is a small clean town, — if it may be so 
 denominated, for I should think it scarcely con- 
 tains two thousand inhabitants, — delightfully 
 situated in a valley watered by the river Traun, 
 which flows through it, and is crossed by a wooden 
 bridge. On every side are beautiful wallcs, some 
 into the woods, some along the river, others 
 again up into the mountains; and even these the 
 invalid may enjoy, as he is sure at every short 
 distance of finding a comfortable seat on which 
 to repose. These benches generally bear the 
 name of some prince or princess, whose favorite 
 spot it marks, and they are always so placed as 
 to command a fine view of the town, the valley 
 and river, or the mountains. On the right bank 
 of the town there is a sort of public garden, 
 which is called the Prater, and is said to be a
 
 94 SCENERY. 
 
 very humble imitation of the celebrated park of 
 the same name at Vienna. Here are various 
 amusements for the people, the principal ones 
 shooting at the target with the rifle and the 
 cross-bow ; behind these gardens rises a little 
 wooded hill, on the top of which is a seat 
 called the Umbrella-seat, from the awning over 
 it, which is spread in the shape of an um- 
 brella. From this spot one enjoys a most beau- 
 tiful panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. 
 To the west lies the deliglitful valley that leads 
 to Salzburg, on each side of which, mountain 
 rises over mountain, all richly covered with 
 wood. On the east one sees Ischl, with its 
 steaming saltworks, and beyond it the valley of 
 the Traun, seemingly closed in by the wild and 
 rocky Alps which form the shores of the Traun- 
 See. On the northern side a mighty wall of 
 rocks, many thousand feet high, rises out of 
 dark pine forests, and beyond these appears, in 
 hoary whiteness and surrovmded by glaciers and 
 eternal snows, the summit of the Dachstein or 
 Schneeberg, the loftiest of the Styrian Alps, 
 which we often beheld in the evening from our 
 windows, glowing with the ruddy beams of the
 
 THE TOWN. 95 
 
 setting sun long after all light had departed from 
 the nearer and less elevated mountains. A fine 
 range of wooded hills, at whose feet runs the 
 Isehl, a small mountain stream that falls into 
 the Traun, forms the southern boundary of this 
 scene. The chief street in Ischl runs parallel 
 with the river, and at its end is situated the 
 Pfannhaus or boiling house, with its adjacent 
 works. This is a large circular building, con- 
 taining an enormous iron boiler or pan, between 
 thirty and forty feet in diameter and a foot and 
 a half in depth, in which the solution of salt, 
 conveyed there in pipes from the mines, is eva- 
 porated. 
 
 Ischl has but one church, which is Catholic. 
 A small theatre is being erected, and is to be 
 finished by the middle of the season, which will 
 be in July. The houses are all arranged for 
 lodgers, and rooms may be had on any scale, 
 from those adapted to the habits of the most 
 simple and retired individual, to those of the 
 prince and his suite. The lodgings are dear, 
 but living, on the contrary, is very cheap. An 
 excellent dinner at the table dlLute, where I 
 usually dine, costs from one to two paper, or
 
 96 LIVING. 
 
 scheiyi florins (ninepence-lmlfpcnny to twenty- 
 pence English ;) but a person may dine at what 
 expenee he pleases, as the diinier is always 
 served a la carte^ and a good plate of soup costs 
 not more that one penny. A few days after our 
 
 arrival, I met at the table d'hote Mr. B , a 
 
 most asjrceable and well-informed man, with 
 
 ■■& 
 
 whom 1 enjoyed many a walk in the neighbour- 
 hood during his stay, which was unfortunately 
 of short duration. 
 
 Sir Humpliry is now engaged in composing 
 a new work, which he intends to call A Vision; 
 this usually occupies our mornings, he dictates 
 to me for an hour or two, then reads over what 
 has been written, which I afterwards copy off 
 fair, and at 12 o'clock he takes a bath. These 
 baths are made with the mother-icater^ or residue 
 which remains after the greater part of the salt 
 has been crystallized out of the salt water by 
 evaporation, and is an intensely strong solution of 
 chloride of sodium and some other salts. This 
 is diluted according to prescription for the various 
 patients, so many gallons to so much common 
 water. The same solution of salt is also em- 
 ployed for douche and shower baths, which are
 
 THE BATHS. 97 
 
 miicli used, and said to be very efficacious. The 
 situtation and arrangement of the vapour baths 
 are rather extraordinary. Above the large boiler 
 in the panhouse, on the scaffolding which sup- 
 ports the roof, and from which the boiler is sus- 
 pended, a number of small closets are erected, in 
 which the person taking the bath is seated, so 
 that he is not only completely surrounded by 
 the vapour of the boiling salt water, but breathes 
 an air impregnated with many volatile particles. 
 These baths are used twice a day, and the 
 patient usually remains in his cabinet, or walks 
 along the gallery suspended over the pan from 
 one to two hours at a time, which proves in a 
 variety of cases of the greatest utility. Sir 
 Himiphry generally dines at three, and after- 
 wards goes out fishing, with his servant, and often 
 does not return till nine o'clock, when I read to 
 him. There are a great number of visitors here, 
 who come during the summer months to use the 
 baths and to enjoy themselves, but Sir Hum- 
 phry sees no one, and appears to wish to avoid 
 all society, and of course I see none but those I 
 chance to meet at the table (Thote, or in a walk. 
 21 if. Having agreed yesterday with the apo- 
 
 H
 
 t 
 98 ASCENT OF THE ZIMITZ. 
 
 thecavy of the place (to whose shop 1 ^o almost 
 daily with some prescription or other from Sir 
 Humjihry, who often varies his medicines) to 
 ascend one of the nearer Alps, we started for 
 the summit of the Zimitz early this morning : 
 we crossed over hills and dales, through woods 
 and fields, till we came to the foot of the moun- 
 tain, on the top of which we proposed eating our 
 dinner, which we carried in our pockets. My 
 companion had told me before that he had already 
 ascended this Alp, and was well acquainted witli 
 the road ; but when we began the ascent he con- 
 fessed that he was at a loss, and our only alter- 
 native was to turn back, or find our way as we 
 could. We chose the latter, and confiding in 
 our own eyes and limbs, we followed the course 
 of a mountain torrent, which came rushing down 
 the rocks. Stepping from rock to rock, we in a 
 short time came to the entrance of a snow-cave, 
 through which this little stream flowed. Close 
 to the snow we found many rare plants, and 
 amongst others the yellow violet of the Alps. 
 Before entering into this cave, which had been 
 formed in a fallen avalanche, I slipped on the 
 rock, and was obliged to jump into the icy cold
 
 ASCENT OF THE ZIMITZ. 99 
 
 water, which was fortunately not deep. The 
 cave, however, repaid me for my cold bath. 
 Entering through an opening in its roof of 
 snow, the rays of the sun illuminated its dark 
 and rocky sides, and were reflected upon the 
 water that flowed through the middle. On look- 
 ing towards the opposite end of the cave, through 
 a lofty arch of snow, we beheld a distant water- 
 fall, whilst the rocks and bushes, finely lighted by 
 the rays of the sun, contrasted strongly with the 
 darkness of the cave, whose fretted roof seemed 
 as if hewn out of the finest white marble into 
 large descending points, from which the melting 
 snow was continually dropping. Having made 
 a slight sketch of this fairy scene, we left the 
 cave, and, following the rivulet, soon reached 
 the waterfall which we had seen in the distance 
 through the arch of snow. An immense barrier 
 of rock here put an end to our progress in this 
 direction, and we were obliged to turn to the 
 right, where the ascent appeared more possible. 
 My companion made a considerable detour 
 whilst I attempted to climb up the rocks ; but 
 I had not ascended more than twenty feet, 
 when, on catching hold of a small fir-tree, it 
 
 h2
 
 100 ASCENT OF THE ZIMITZ. 
 
 snapped off, and I rolled down the rocks into 
 the rivulet below. In spite of my fall I re- 
 ascended, and with some difficulty reached the 
 uppermost rock, and found myself in a situation 
 whence I could no longer ascend nor descend. 
 At last my companion appeared above, and 
 reaching down to me his long alpine pole, I 
 clung to it, and with his assistance thus extri- 
 cated myself from my most unpleasant and peril- 
 ous situation ; I was, however, so exhausted, 
 that we were obliged to wait a full half hour 
 before we could proceed on our ascent. Our 
 road then lay for a long time through a forest of 
 pine and beech, till we came to a brook, whose 
 course we followed to its rise, which was in a 
 large snow. We passed quickly over this, and 
 then saw that we only had about a fourth part 
 of the ascent to accomplish. We joiu-neyed on 
 merrily, although we were obliged, for upwards 
 of an hour, to climb with the help of hands and 
 feet over the rocks, till we came to the last, 
 though not easiest part of the journey. This 
 was a wood of dwarf firs, which an avalanche of 
 the last winter in its descent had laid flat upon 
 the ground, though their roots generally re-
 
 VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 101 
 
 mained fixed. We scrambled over and tlirouo-h 
 these, and, after all difficulties, I found myself, 
 about two o'clock, on the snow-clad rido-e of the 
 mountain. My companion was still battling 
 with the prostrate firs, but arrived about a 
 quarter of an hour afterwards, and we then 
 went on to the highest of the five peaks which 
 form the summit of the Zimitz, between seven 
 and eight thousand feet above the sea. The 
 view from this spot amply repaid us for the toil 
 and danger we had encountered in reaching it. 
 Many thousand feet below us we beheld four 
 large lakes surrounded by green mountains and 
 vallies glowing in the sun ; beyond these lay the 
 wide extended plains of Bavaria, clothed with 
 glittering towns and villages, over which the eye 
 wandered to a far distant horizon, bounded only 
 by the clear blue sky. 
 
 Looking back we saw down into many a 
 dark valley, out of which rose numberless snow 
 peaks, and high above the rest the majestic 
 Schneeberg, with its eternal glaciers, and at a 
 yet greater distance the still more lofty peaks 
 of the Salzburg chain ; but the reflection of the 
 sun from the vast and glaring fields of snow w^as
 
 102 DESCENT. 
 
 SO strong that the eye couhl scarcely bear to 
 look at tliem, and turned with delight to the 
 green woods and lakes below. Having spent 
 an hour in the pure air of these upper regions, 
 We began to descend by a very different road 
 to the one we had chosen in ascending, which, 
 though better and not so rocky, was in many 
 parts so steep, that we were in continual danger 
 of pitching forwards, and were therefore obliged 
 to seat ourselves each upon a stout branch of a 
 fir-tree, and thus ride down. Having traversed 
 two snow fields, we came to some as yet unin- 
 habited huts, about half-way down the moun- 
 tain, from whence a good sheep path conducted 
 us into a valley. Here we got some milk in 
 one of the dairy huts, and then made the best 
 of our way towards Ischl, as a thunderstorm, 
 which we had for some time seen approaching, 
 was now fast gathering round us, and the 
 peasants advised us to hasten as quickly as pos- 
 sible, but long before we could reach home it 
 burst over us with tremendous violence. The 
 rain came down in such torrents, that in five 
 minutes the road was more than ankle deep in 
 water, but it soon changed into hail, like a
 
 SOCIETY AT ISCHL. 103 
 
 shower of nuts, accompanied by the k)udest 
 thunder and most vivid lightning. Thus, soaked 
 but much refreshed, we reached Ischl about 
 eight o'clock in the evening. 
 
 July I3th. Sir Humphry is already tired of 
 Ischl, and has left off the use of the baths, by 
 which, however, he has been much strengthened, 
 and his health in general improved, but I suppose 
 we shall soon quit this place, though he seldom 
 fixes on his departure till a day or two before. 
 New guests arrive daily, and this little place is 
 filled with company. Parties of pleasure and 
 jaunts are arranged every day to some of the 
 neighbouring lakes or vallies, or other points 
 worthy of being visited. I have only joined a 
 few of these, for Sir Humphry not knowing 
 well what to do with his morning if I am out of 
 the way, I can of course only be one in those 
 parties which occupy the afternoon. The first 
 of the two most interesting trips was to the 
 Chorinshy Klause. 
 
 A Klause, in these alpine countries, generally 
 signifies a dam or embankment, built over some 
 mountain stream, in the centre of which are flood- 
 gates, which can be closed so as to shut in the
 
 104 VISIT TO A KLAUSE. 
 
 Stream, which by degrees collects behind the wall 
 or dam, till it forms a small lake. The use of this 
 arrangement is to float down the wood which is cut 
 in the mountains into the larger rivers, the moun- 
 tain streams not having in summer a sufficient 
 body of water to effect this without this contri- 
 vance. The fir-trees, cut into pieces from five to 
 ten feet long, are rolled down from the mountain 
 into these artificial lakes. When a sufficient quan- 
 tity is collected on the surface, or the water rises 
 too high, the Klause loird gesprengt^ that is, the 
 flood-gates are opened, and the pent up lake 
 rushing out with tremendous velocity, carries the 
 wood along with it into the river of the neighbour- 
 ing valley. It was to see the water let out that 
 we went to the Klause. We started from Ischl 
 after diimer, at one o'clock, a large party in six 
 or seven carriages, and drove up the valley of 
 the Traun, for about a league and a half, to Weis- 
 senbach, a village at the foot of the mountain 
 on which the Klause is situated. Here we left 
 our carriages and walked up the mountain, the 
 road being very steep. I joined a party con- 
 sisting of Madame de B and her daughter, 
 
 a Greek gentleman and his wife, and two or
 
 DESCRIPTION. 105 
 
 three others, and we seemed much to have 
 shortened a hot walk of an hour and a half up 
 hill by chatting on various subjects. 
 
 We found the Chorinsky Klause to consist of 
 a very strong and thick wall, from thirty to forty 
 feet high, built across a narrow valley. In the 
 centre of the wall was a large flood-gate, and on 
 each side of it a much smaller one. These were 
 situated at a considerable height above a clear 
 shallow pool which lay at the foot of the wall, 
 and was formed by the superfluous water which 
 had drained from the lake, already over full. 
 The whole party having taken a good position 
 in front of the Klause, the signal was given. 
 The workmen struck the spring of the flood- 
 gates in the centre, which instantly burst open 
 with a noise resembling a sudden but hollow 
 clap of thunder; at the same moment an im- 
 mense spout of water rushed forth, filling the 
 space before occupied by the invisible air. It 
 was the work of a second, and it was a magni- 
 ficent sight to see the tranquil pool in an instant 
 transformed into a basin of curling foam, pour- 
 ing with irresistible violence over the rocks of 
 the foreground, and whirling up the sand from
 
 106 THE VOLKSGARTEN. 
 
 the bottom of the stream, which wns for the first 
 five minutes nothing but foam of a miuhly brown 
 colour, till it changed by degrees to a pure 
 white. The lesser flood-gates were afterwards 
 opened, and then three streams poured forth at 
 once from the lake. This scene lasted for nearly 
 half an hour, the cascades becoming less and 
 less as the quantity of water in the lake dimi- 
 nished, until the latter was perfectly drained ; 
 and where but a short time before we beheld a 
 beautifully clear lake, we now saw only cleanly 
 washed pebbles and sand, through which a little 
 insignificant rill was running. Our walk back 
 was very pleasant and shady. Among the party 
 Madame A and Madame L , two cele- 
 brated actresses, the one in comedy, the other in 
 tragedy, from Vienna, were pointed out to me ; 
 the former of whom was a handsome woman, 
 though of small stature, and lively and animated 
 in her conversation. After this excursion I very 
 often met a great many of the party in a small 
 public garden called the Volksgarten, to distin- 
 guish it from the Prater, and where it is the 
 fashion to spend an hour before dinner. The 
 conversation one day turned upon the following
 
 AMUSEMENTS AT ISCHL. 107 
 
 lines, which were found written upon a table in 
 the garden : 
 
 Esperance d'un meilleur sort 
 Toujours renaissante et trahie, 
 Voila riiistoire de ma vie ; 
 II n'est rien de vrai que la mort ! 
 
 Various were the discussions upon them, and 
 the ladies took great pains to discover the author. 
 Who could he be ? Who was there in Ischl 
 whose character at all answered to this descrip- 
 tion ? No one could be hit upon with any cer- 
 tainty ; but at last the lively Mademoiselle Marie, 
 
 the daughter of Madame de B , with whom 
 
 I had walked to the Chorinsky Klause, declared 
 it must be the solitary young Englishman, who 
 so rarely joined in their parties of pleasure, and 
 who visited nobody. It was in vain that I denied 
 having written them, for they determined with 
 one accord that I should be considered as the 
 author, unless I should by the next morning 
 produce four lines which might convince them of 
 their error. I accepted the challenge, and ac- 
 cordingly after dinner, for the first time in my 
 life, attempted to compose a couplet, and after
 
 108 VEXATIOUS ADVENTURE. 
 
 ransacking- my brains, I could produce nothing 
 better than the following- ; — 
 
 Est elle done vraie cette mort tant souhaitee ( 
 N'est oe pas naitre h une plus mauvaise vie I 
 Ne dirais tu pas dans retcrnite, 
 La mort que j'ai desir* m'a trahie .' — 
 
 which I the next morning \^TOte under those of 
 the anonymous author. In the evening I met 
 the greater part of the company at the little 
 theatre, which had been finished the week before, 
 and in which a small company of players from 
 some neiglibouring town were doing their best 
 to amuse the gay visitants of the baths. The 
 ladies, and especially Mademoiselle Marie, said 
 they had read the verses, and were more than 
 ever persuaded of their being in the right, nor 
 could all my rhetoric, aided by a pocket full of 
 bonbons, convince them of the truth. 
 
 18^/^ This evening at a late hour Sir Hum- 
 phry returned from his fishing, without either 
 fish or rod, and, not a little vexed, begged I 
 would go directly to the Commissary of the 
 Police, and endeavour to regain his rod, which 
 he told me had been taken from him in the fol-
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE COMMISSARY. 109 
 
 lowing manner. He had driven along the banks 
 of the Traun for about five miles, in a little 
 chaise which he sometimes uses in liis longer 
 excursions, had been fishing for some hours, and 
 was just preparing to return, when two men 
 came up, one of whom began to talk to him and 
 George in German, but as neither of them un- 
 derstood him. Sir Humphry proceeded to get 
 into the carriage, whilst George took up the 
 fish which had been caught. Upon this the man 
 became more violent in his words and actions, 
 and at last forcibly seized the rod and basket, 
 and walked off with them. Although it was 
 just ten o'clock, I went to the inn where I knew 
 the Commissary generally supped, and luckily 
 found him. I related to him what had happened, 
 and he was very polite, but said nothing could 
 be done that night, but begged me to come to 
 him the next morning, and to bring the servant 
 with me. 
 
 I9th. I took George this morning to the 
 Commissary, who, from his description, imme- 
 diately recognized the offender, but found that 
 he did not belong to his district, but to that of 
 Ebensee, to the Commissary of which place he
 
 110 SALT WORKS. 
 
 gave me a very civil letter. I returned to Sir 
 HumjilirVj wlio said that I sliould take a carriage 
 and drive over at once to Ebensee with George, 
 and he gave me letters of introduction, which 
 he had with him, to the Governor of the pro- 
 vince, and some other great men, to show the 
 Commissary. Arrived at Ebensee, I found the 
 Commissary all civility, and the fisherman, who 
 lived at some distance, was immediately sum- 
 moned. In the mean time the Commissary told 
 me that the rivers and lakes were let out in dif- 
 ferent portions to various :fishermen, who alone 
 have the right to fish, or allow any other person 
 to do so, in that part which they rent, and he 
 supposed that Sir Humphry had exceeded the 
 limit of the portion belonging to the fisherman 
 at Ischl, from whom he had obtained permission 
 to fish. 
 
 Whilst waiting for the fisherman, I asked 
 the Commissary if I could not see the salt 
 works ; he said certainly, and that he should be 
 happy to show them to me, and I accordingly 
 accompanied him thither, and found them to be 
 on a very large scale. There are several evapo- 
 rating pans, much larger than the one at Ischl,
 
 SALT WORKS. Ill 
 
 and immense reservoirs for the salt w^ater are 
 kept constantly by three pipes, through which it 
 is conducted from Hallstadt, more than twenty- 
 seven miles distant. These pipes, the master of 
 the works told me, are always running, and 
 should any accident happen to either of them, it 
 can be easily repaired, in spite of the great dis- 
 tance they traverse, there being, at very short 
 intervals, places w^here the pipes may be unco- 
 vered and examined. From the reservoirs the 
 water is conducted into the pans, and the salt 
 produced by the evaporation is taken out twice 
 every day, and put into large conical baskets to 
 drain, after which it is pressed into conical 
 sLx-sided forms, of various sizes, from twenty to 
 a hundred pounds each. These pyramids are 
 then placed, some thousands at a time, in the 
 halving rooms, where they are exposed to a very 
 high temperature, which renders them quite firm 
 and hard, after which they are carried into the 
 store-houses, from whence the salt is sent to all 
 parts of Austria. The quantity produced in 
 this part of the country, in these salt-works, in 
 those of Ischl, Aussee, Hallstadt, &c., must be 
 immense, for I understand that from the ware-
 
 112 EXCURSION TO HALLSTADT. 
 
 houses of Ebensee alone, upwards of 25,000 
 tons of salt are sent annually across the lake 
 of the Traun. 
 
 Upon the arrival of the fisherman we found 
 the case to be as the Commissary had supposed, 
 and the man pleaded in his defence that it was 
 allowed to take away both rod and fish from any 
 one so offending. The Commissary, however, 
 told him he ought to have warned Sir Humphry 
 of this. The poor man said he had done so, 
 but they would not understand him, and in spite 
 of his defence, the Commissary compelled him 
 to deliver up the rod and basket, with which I 
 returned to IschL 
 
 21 5^. Sir Humphry set out this morning in 
 his little cabriolet on a fishing excursion up the 
 valley of the Traun, to the lake of Hallstadt, 
 and took me with him. This lake, about eight 
 miles to the north east of Ischl, is of a very 
 grand and imposing character, but still does not 
 equal the Traun-See in the diversity and beauty 
 of its banks. We drove over a wooden bridge 
 at the end of the lake, where the Traun flows 
 out of it, and then round its shores for a short 
 distance to Obertraun, where the road termi-
 
 THE SALT WORKS. 118 
 
 nated. We here took a boat and rowed for 
 some miles up the lake, opposite to the small 
 town of Hallstadt. The ^iew from hence was 
 superb; the nearer houses seemed built in the 
 water, behind these the salt w'orks are seen, ex- 
 tensive and noble buildings, more like the palace 
 or seignoral chateau of the lord of the surround- 
 ing territory, than a manufactory; and beyond 
 them rose the mountain which contains the salt- 
 mine, a stupendous mass of rock capped with 
 eternal snow, and to the left ajipeared the gla- 
 ciers of the Schneeberg. Rather to the right of 
 the saltworks, embosomed in wood, lay the rest of 
 the town of Hallstadt, and one large house was 
 situated some thousand feet above the lake, 
 standing alone in the wood. Along the side 
 of the mountain we saw what appeared to be 
 a pathway, but the boatman told us this was the 
 canal cut for the pipes which convey the salt- 
 water from the mines of Hallstadt to the works 
 of Ischl and Ebensee. This is a stupendous un- 
 dertaking, for the pipes are conveyed a great 
 distance over rivers and rallies and along moun- 
 tains, W'here the passage for tlie pij)es has been 
 cut for many miles through the solid rock. Sir 
 
 I
 
 114 THE SALT PIPES. 
 
 Humphry fished for some time but without suc- 
 cess, when, not wishing to visit the town, we 
 rowed back to the viUage of Obertraun, and on 
 our way thither passed by the Gosauzxcang, the 
 most celebrated part of the saliduct or salt canal 
 between Hallstadt and Ebensee. The three 
 pipes are here carried across a very Maid and 
 romantic glen, the defile of the Gosau, a moun- 
 tain stream which runs down through it. Four 
 lofty columns of brick work, about two hundred 
 feet in height, are built up from the bottom of the 
 valley and from out of the waters of the Gosau, 
 to a level with the pipes, which are thus carried 
 over the valley, being laid from pier to pier ; 
 and they serve at the same time as a bridge to 
 any foot passenger who may wish to pass, being- 
 railed in on each side. These pipes, after tra- 
 versing one or two smaller streams, give part of 
 their water to the salt Avorks at Ischl, and are 
 then carried on to Ebensee, where they fill the 
 reservoirs which I saw when I visited the Com- 
 missary to procure the return of Sir Humphry's 
 fishing rod. 
 
 23?y/. Yesterday I went with a very large 
 party, consisting of almost all the strangers in
 
 VISIT TO THE SALZBERG. 115 
 
 Ischl, to visit the Sahbor/, tlie salt mountain or 
 rather mine, which was to be illuminated for tlie 
 visitors. We set out at about one o'clock, a 
 long string of carriages, and after an hour's drive 
 tlirough a very pleasant vallej^ we arrived at 
 the foot of the mountain Avhich contains the 
 mine. Here a number of miners were waiting 
 with sedan chairs for the ladies, many of whom 
 however preferred walking up the mountain, 
 and in aliout three quarters of an hour we 
 arrived at the Haupt Eingang, or chief entrance 
 of the mine. We were now to be attired, as 
 is usual on entering the mines, in a long white 
 mantle or frock, and a large wide broad brim, 
 the latter to hinder us from knocking our brains 
 out, and the former to keep our clothes clean. 
 Here was confusion dire ; this frock was too 
 small, this too long ; this lady had no brimmer, 
 this gentleman could find no stick. I laid hold 
 of the first frock and hat I met with, but uj) 
 came a lady and begged I would exchange with 
 her, as her frock was so long she could not walk 
 in it, and mine so short that it did not reach to 
 my knees. La grande toilette at length finished, 
 the ladies were placed in their carriages, tluit is 
 
 1 2
 
 116 THE SALT MINE. 
 
 two in each wheelbarrow, face to face, with a 
 miner before to pull, who carried a lamp in his 
 hand, and another to push behind, and between 
 every two barrows went another miner bearing- 
 a paper lanthorn. The gentlemen were of course 
 on foot, with the exception of one or two gouty 
 invalids. 
 
 In this guise, with half-a-dozen miners going 
 before carrying lamps, the whole train entered 
 the passage, and in a few seconds lost sight of 
 daylight. After a long, wet, and (in spite of 
 our many lamps) dark journey through this 
 narrow and low passage, where my head was 
 continually coming in contact with the roof, we 
 came to the Butsch, or slide, which leads down 
 into the salt-chamber. This Rutsch is formed of 
 the trunks of two larp-e fir-trees laid close to- 
 gether, rounded and polished, and placed in an 
 oblique direction, in an angle of about forty de- 
 grees. A miner, with a lamp in one hand, places 
 himself astride these trees, and holds with his 
 other hand a cord which is fixed to the rock on 
 the sides. The person who wishes to descend seats 
 himself behind the miner, and holds him by the 
 shoulders. The miner then lets the cord slip
 
 THE SALT MINE. 117 
 
 tliroug'li liis hands, and down they go like light- 
 ning into what seems an abyss of darkness : safe 
 at the bottom, he gives a shout that the next 
 couple may follow, ^^llen the Butsch is very 
 long;, as in the mines at Hallein, near Salzburg, 
 the miner always sits upon a thick leather apron, 
 and when alone makes no use of the cord, but 
 rushes down with a fearful impetus into the salt- 
 cave below. When we arrived at the Rutsch, 
 and the ladies had all got out of their barrows, 
 after much discussion and many fears and doubts, 
 they consented thus to descend, as the miners 
 assured them it was more dangerous to do so by 
 the steps cut in the rock at the side, which were 
 exceedingly precipitous and very wet. Having 
 reached the bottom of the B7/fsch, which ends in 
 a slight curve to break the impetus of the de- 
 scent, we found ourselves in an immense cavern, 
 or room, excavated in the rock, about twelve feet 
 high, and from ten to twelve thousand in circum- 
 ference, supported in the middle by a massive 
 pillar of rock, and liglited up by some hundred 
 lamps, which, however, only served to give the 
 scene a more awful and gloomy appearance. 
 The visitors, whose number was considerable, in
 
 118 THE SALT MINE. 
 
 their loriu- white mantles and hats, looked like 
 spectres wandering in the shades of a nether 
 world. The roof and walls of this cavern were 
 covered with minute crystals of salt, not, how- 
 ever, sufficiently large to give to it the glittering- 
 appearance which I had expected. The moun- 
 tain contains a great many of these Salzkammern 
 or salt-chambers, which at different periods are 
 filled with fresh water, conducted into them by 
 wooden pipes. When this has dissolved a suffi- 
 cient quantity of salt, which operation occupies 
 some months, it is drained off through a deep 
 perpendicular shaft, near the middle of^the cave, 
 and is then conducted through wooden pipes, 
 often for a very great distance, to the boiling- 
 houses, where it undergoes the progress of eva- 
 poration. 
 
 Having wandered through these gloomy abodes 
 of silence and night for some time, we ascended 
 the stairs, the ladies resumed their seats in the 
 barrows, and the procession returned as it had 
 entered. To save my head from additional 
 thumps to the many it had received on entering, 
 I took the place of one of the pushers, and after 
 a merry drive of about twenty minutes we again
 
 RETURN TO GMLNDEN. 119 
 
 saw dayliglit, like a distant star, increasing in 
 size till we reached the entrance of the mine. 
 We here unspectred ourselves, and returned 
 home in our usual terrestrial appearance, and a 
 merry party we were. 
 
 24M. We left Ischl this morning in a little 
 cabriolet for Aussee, leaving the travelling car- 
 riage packed and ready for starting at Ischl, for 
 Sir Humphry wished, before he quitted this 
 part of the country, to have a day or two's more 
 fishing in the Griindtl-See ; but the weather 
 proving very warm, and a thunderstorm coming 
 on in the evening, he determined not to remain 
 at Aussee beyond to-morrow. 
 
 26th. We returned this morning to Ischl, 
 and after an early dinner bade adieu to it, and 
 set off for Ebensee. We here again crossed the 
 magnificent Traun-See, and after a row of two 
 hours and a half, and seeing Gmiinden, as it 
 were, rise out of the lake, we found ourselves in 
 our old quarters at the Ship. 
 
 27 th^ 2Sth. These were wet days, and Sir 
 Humphry chiefly occupied himself in dictating 
 " The Vision," and reading. In the afternoon 
 of the latter, his coachman arrived from Vienna,
 
 120 THE "vision." 
 
 and brouglit witli him " Salinoiiia," which had 
 just been published, and was forwarded to him 
 through the Embassy at Vienna. Sir Humphry 
 had engaged this man, who is an Englishman, 
 at Ischl, whilst in the service of the Polish 
 
 Princess L , which he left, not wishing to 
 
 go to Poland. Sir Humphry now intends buy- 
 ing three additional horses, and thus rendering 
 himself independent of the poste. 
 
 29^/i. Sir Humphry this morning finished 
 his " Vision," which, he tells me, is really 
 founded on a dream that he had some years ago, 
 in which he found himself borne through the 
 firmament from planet to planet. Of this dream, 
 which he introduces as the consequence of a highly 
 interesting and animated conversation that he 
 holds with two friends in the Colosseum at 
 Rome, on the grandeur and decay of nations, 
 and the mutability of religions, the general out- 
 line, he says, has alone remained in his mind; 
 but it has been his pleasure and delight during 
 his mornings at Ischl, and when he was not 
 engaged in his favourite pursuit of fishing, to 
 work upon this foundation, and to build up a 
 tale, alike redundant with highly beautiful
 
 ITS ORIGIN. i*21 
 
 imagery, line tliouglits, and philosopliical ideas ; 
 and the hours thus passed with Sir Humphry 
 have afforded me high mental gratification and 
 advantage, for I have then marked his mind 
 wandering, as it were, with the associates of his 
 early days; those days, in which he was evidently, 
 by the exercise of his extraordinary powers and 
 quick perception, exciting not only his own 
 mind to dive into, and to unfold to clearer view 
 the mysteries of creation, but that too of othe 
 congenial spirits ; thus most naturally collecting 
 around him a constellation of shinino- lio-hts 
 the remembrance of whom often awakens vivid 
 thoughts of the past, and rouses his whole soul 
 to action. 
 
 In the afternoon I read to him " Salmonia," 
 in which he immediately began to make cor- 
 rections and additions in preparation for a second 
 edition. 
 
 3lst. Sir Humphry this morning went to look 
 at a pair of horses which he thought of Iniying. 
 The price demanded was 800 florins, (paper 
 money,) about 32/.; but Sir Humphry thought 
 them too dear, and did not buy them. In the 
 afternoon we paid another and a last visit to the
 
 122 SCHOKI-LING. 
 
 Falls of the Traun. This grand and strikinj^ 
 scene appeared now even more beautiful than 
 when I saw it for the first time. The body of 
 water in the river was considerably less, thus 
 rendering the different cascades more diversified 
 and picturesque. Sir Humphry amused himself 
 for an hour or two with fishinj^, and we after- 
 wards returned to Gmiinden, which we quitted 
 on the 8rd of August, and drove over to Vockla- 
 brlick, where we remained the rest of the day, for 
 Sir Humphry to fish in the Vockla, and went 
 on the next morning across the country for 
 some leagues to Schorfling, a little village on the 
 Atter, or Kammer-See. This lake, the largest 
 of those in Upper Austria, is about fifteen miles 
 in length ; the shores on this side are low, but 
 at the opposite end they are formed by the Zimitz 
 Alp, the Schaafberg, and the chain of mountains 
 ■which separate this lake on the one side from the 
 Wolfgang-See, and on the other from Ischl 
 and the valley of the Traun. Its depth is not 
 very considerable, but the colour of the water 
 is a beautiful green. On a promontory which 
 stretches far out into the lake, stands the castle 
 of Kammer, a fine large building, belonging to
 
 SALZBURG. 12o 
 
 a noble family of the same name. The most 
 striking view of the lake is from the little village 
 of See-M^alehen, about a mile from Schorflinp-. 
 We remained at Sehorfling in a miserable inn, 
 without having one single fine clay till the 9th. 
 Sir Humphry did so, finding there were some 
 quails in the neighbouring fields, and he went 
 out shooting and fishing every day, in spite of 
 the weather, with considerable success. 
 
 9th. We quitted Sehorfling at nine o'clock 
 and went to Frankenmarkt, a long drive chiefly 
 over bad and cross roads. Before arrivinp- at 
 this little town, we beheld on our left a fine 
 and magnificent view of the Schneeberg, and 
 the Alps of Hallstadt and Aussee, and on quit- 
 ting it we caught the first glimpse of the Salz- 
 burg chain, which we continued to behold in- 
 creasing in grandeur and beauty the nearer we 
 approached it. The next poste from Franken- 
 markt is Neumarkt, and from hence we drove 
 through many villages and hamlets, the road 
 being now and then rather hilly, till, at about 
 half-past one, Ave saw Salzburg lying before us in 
 the broad valley of the Salza, backed by a gigantic 
 rampart of Alps. On the right side of the road
 
 124 SALZIJURG. 
 
 we passed by a small lake of no g-reat beauty or 
 extent. The situation of Salzburg is strikingly 
 grand and beautiful, and probably no town in 
 Europe can boast of a finer. Lying as it were 
 close at the foot of the lofty pyramid of the 
 Watzmann, a mountain more than ten thousand 
 feet in height, the town extends along the right 
 and left bank of the Salza or Salzache, which 
 separates it into two parts, the old and new town, 
 which are vniited by a strong wooden bridge. On 
 a hill on the right bank of the river, considerably 
 elevated above the town, stands the fortress or 
 mountain castle, a very strong and imposing for- 
 tification. Both parts of the town are strongly 
 fortified, and that on the right bank of the river 
 is provided by nature with a lofty wall of rock, 
 superior to any means of defence that could be 
 formed by art. 
 
 lOth. The first thing I did this morning was 
 
 to call upon Count W for Sir Humphry, 
 
 in order to obtain permission for him to shoot in 
 the neighbourhood. The Count was not in Salz- 
 burg, but I easily obtained leave from the person 
 who acted for him during his absence. Sir 
 Humphry accordingly immediately started for
 
 TO."\IB OF PARACELSUS. 1'25 
 
 the neighbouring marshes, and I occupied the 
 morning in seeing the town. The most remark- 
 able object is the Neu Thor, the New Gate, a 
 stupendous undertaking, which may stand com- 
 parison with any of the works of the ancient 
 Romans. It is formed of one long arch, or 
 rather tunnel, some hundred feet in leno-th, 
 between twenty to thirty in breadth, and thirty 
 to forty feet in height, cut through the wall of 
 rock, which surrounds the town on the Bavarian 
 side. On the outside the rock is handsomely 
 sculptured, and forms a very elegant entrance 
 into this long passage. This work was com- 
 menced at the beginning of the last century, 
 and forty years elapsed ere it was completed. 
 Another work of a similar kind is the summer 
 riding school, a large amphitheatre, tlie galleries 
 of which are cut out of the solid rock. From 
 hence I crossed over tlie Salzache into the new 
 town, to visit the church of 8t. Sebastian, which 
 contains the monument of the celebrated Theo- 
 phrastus Paracelsus. It is very simple, and 
 formed of the red brown marble of the country. 
 It bears his head in relief, and the following 
 inscription, which is a proof of the great esteem
 
 126 BUILDINGS. 
 
 ill which the memory of this famous quack 
 was held even till the middle of the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 " Philippi Tlieophrasti Paracelsi qui tantam orbis famam ex auro 
 chymico adeptus est effigia et ossa donee rursus circumdabuntur pelle 
 sua sub reparatione ecclesiae mucclh. ex scpulchrali tabc cruta heic 
 locata sunt. 
 
 "Conditnr hie Philippus Theophrastus insignis mcdicinrc doctor, 
 qui dira ilia vulnera, leprara, podagram, liydropsiu, aliaque iDsaiiabilia 
 corporis contagia mirifica arte sustulit, ac bona sua in pauperes distri- 
 buenda collocandaquo honoravit. 
 
 " Anno jiDxxi. die xxiii Septcmbris vitara cum morte mutavit." 
 
 On my return I passed by the house in which 
 he died, and on the outside of it there is still a 
 painting of him, and a nearly obliterated in- 
 scription. From hence I went to the church of 
 St. Peter, in the old town, to see the tomb of 
 Haydn ; but unfortunately found the church 
 closed, and could not see the monument. 
 
 The cathedral church of St. Rupert is a fine 
 building in the Italian style of architecture. 
 It is built partly of free-stone and partly of 
 marble. The streets of Salzburg, with the ex- 
 ception of the chief street, are narrow and gene- 
 rally ill paved, but the houses are clean and 
 neat, and of a great height. The palace of the 
 former archbishop is a spacious and magnificent
 
 AIGEN. 1-27 
 
 building, and before it is a beautiful fountain. 
 Besides its public buildings, Salzburg has many 
 large and elegant private houses. 
 
 On my return to the inn I found Sir Hum- 
 phry already there, and that he had dined ; and 
 he asked me to accompany him to Aigen, a 
 beautiful villa, about two miles from Salzburg, 
 the seat of Prince Schwarzenberg. From the 
 gardens of this villa the view of Salzburg and 
 the whole chain of Alps is most magnificent, 
 but we could not enjoy it completely, as the 
 summits of the mountains were mostly veiled 
 in cloud, thus mingling as it were w'ith the 
 heavens, and only here and there a dark brown 
 peak was seen piercing through the white 
 shroud, which every now and then passed over 
 it like the foaming wave over a rock, leaving it 
 for some moments invisible. We strolled for 
 some time through the gardens. Sir Humphry 
 on his pony, and then returned to the city. 
 
 llth, l'2th. Were cloudy and rainy days, 
 l)ut in spite of the weather Sir Humphry has 
 been out shooting the greater part of them, w^ith, 
 however, very little good fortiuie; and on the 
 13th, we left Salzburg in the morning, and
 
 128 FALLS OF THE SCIIWARTZBACH. 
 
 drove tlivou^-li a long avenue of fine beech-trees 
 to Halleiii, passiiii^ by the Untersberg, where 
 there are large quarries of white marble, belong- 
 ing to Bavaria. To the right, the view of the 
 snowy Watzmann, and the nearer and finely 
 wooded mountains was exceedingly striking. 
 Above Hallein two enormous brown rocks rise 
 out of the woods, bearing a very striking resem- 
 blance to artificial walls. Hallein is a dirty 
 town, celebrated only for its extensive salt 
 mines. The scenery between it and GoUing 
 is fine, but cannot be compared with that be- 
 yond GoUing. At this latter place we stopped 
 for two or three hours, and whilst Sir Humphry 
 took his dinner, I went to see the Falls of the 
 Schwartzbaeh, about two miles distant. After 
 crossing the Salza, I came in about half an hour 
 to the first or lower fall, where, in the very midst 
 of dark pines, some of which seemed even to 
 grow out of the falling water, the Sc/uvartz- 
 hach, or dark stream, dashes over the rocks, and 
 divides itself into two branches, one of which 
 makes but one single leap to the pool below, 
 whilst the other descends in innumerable small 
 cascatelles, and the black rocks, peeping here
 
 'iii.\hT,M „i ,||„. ,-"1 ir^\',\Tvi'^T\A^i-'y
 
 FALLS OF THE SCHVVARTZBACH. 129 
 
 and there tlirouo^li the white and ciirlinp* foam, 
 give a very beautiful effect to this part of the 
 scene. I then ascended with my young guide, 
 a little boy ^\'hom I had taken with me from 
 Golling, to the upper fall, of which nothing is 
 visible from below but the rising spray, and the 
 beautiful iris playing upon it. The pathway 
 leads immediately to the front of this fall, which, 
 in point of singularity of situation, is perhaps 
 unrivalled. 
 
 At this spot the rocks form a wide and mas- 
 sive arch, on which the tall pines and other trees 
 stand firmly rooted. Beneath this arch, rude 
 blocks are tumbled one upon another in wild 
 confusion, through which the water of the upper 
 fall forces its way to the lower one. Above the 
 arch which nature has thus formed, a slight 
 M^ooden bridge is built, so that two openings 
 are thus formed, the one above the other, througli 
 which the water is seen descendinof in a broad 
 sheet of foam. Standing at the foot of this 
 cascade, it is first seen gushing fortli from the rock 
 amongst the trees immediately above the wooden 
 bridge ; between this and the natural arch it 
 again appears, and is for the third time seen 
 
 K
 
 130 THE SALZA. 
 
 below the arch, closing tlie opening' between it 
 and tlie rocks beneath like a white cnrtain. 
 The rainbow was seen beantifuUy shadowing 
 the spray wafted from the fall, which was itself 
 in a dark recess of the mountain, and the sun 
 tipped the tops of the surrounding trees witli a 
 brilliant light, whilst now and then a single ray 
 shot through the leaves and fell upon the white 
 fall. It was a scene before which a painter 
 might have sat for hours. 
 
 We afterwards went upon the bridge, from 
 whence we had a view of the whole fall, looking 
 down into the basin which receives it. A little 
 footpath leads from the bridge to the spot where 
 the water issues as clear as crystal from the rock, 
 in the same manner as that of the Savitza in 
 Wochain. After taking one or two rapid 
 sketches, I returned with my little guide to 
 (tolling, which Sir Humphry soon after left 
 for Werfen, and we turned into the mount<iins, 
 passing through a magnificent defile where the 
 Salza is quite hemmed in by rocks, through 
 which this foaming river forces its way with 
 irresistible violence. 
 
 The Salza in its whole course Is a muddy
 
 SUNRISE. 131 
 
 river, wliich considerably detracts from the beauty 
 of the scene. Towards evening we arrived at 
 Werfen, a small insignificant town with an 
 ancient fort on the hill above it, and passed the 
 night at a tolerable inn. 
 
 14///. Rising early this morning and looking 
 from my window before sunrise, I beheld one 
 of the finest scenes imaginable. The distant 
 snowy Watzmann appeared quite near, and was 
 encircled by beautiful rose-coloured clouds, 
 though not so dense as to hide the mountain 
 which glimmered through them, tinged with 
 the same beautiful hue. These clouds, which 
 kept ascending and descending, and now and 
 then breaking and leaving the mountain quite 
 clear, became gradually fainter and fainter, till 
 the sun rose, bringing with him the mists of 
 morning, when the whole scene vanished from 
 my eyes, and this so quickly, that I was almost 
 tempted to fancy it a dream. 
 
 At nine o'clock we left Werfen, and crossing 
 the Salza drove on through some very pretty 
 villages to Itan, a little hamlet, where we had 
 to wait a considerable time for horses, the Arch- 
 duke John having passed through but a few 
 
 K 2
 
 18'2 AUF-DEM-TAUERN. 
 
 hours before, on liis road from the baths of 
 Gasteiii to Gr'atz. From Itan we proceeded 
 to Radstadt, and from thence along our former 
 road to Unter-Tauern. 
 
 1 ofh. Tliis morninty was rainy, but in spite of 
 this I preferred walkin<r up the mountain, to tlie 
 slow pace at which the carriage ascended with 
 four horses and two oxen. The rain ceased in 
 about an hour, but the distant views, on our 
 former descent so beautiful, were now all veiled 
 in mist and cloud. We passed two very fine 
 falls, one of them a little out of the road, which 
 Sir Humj)hry got out to see. It is called Prince 
 John's Fall, and is a cascade of from three to 
 four hundred feet high, and is well worth seeing. 
 
 On arriving at Auf-dem-Tauern, the little 
 ■sillage near the summit of the j)ass, we found 
 the fields and the greater part of the surrounding 
 Alps, which when we passed the first time were 
 hidden as far as the eye could reach in snow, 
 now richly clad with fine grass and alpine flowers. 
 The road descending to Tweng is formed of 
 white primary marble, mixed with mica-schist. 
 At Tweng we struck into a cross road to Tam- 
 sweg, a large village lying in a fine broad valley,
 
 MURRAU. 133 
 
 in the middle of wliicli runs a branch of the 
 Murr, which we have followed from the A^ery 
 peak of the Tauern. The inn here was very bad. 
 In the evening I went to the villasfe doctor 
 for some medicine for Sir Humphry, who told 
 me that this valley was one of the highest in 
 Austria, the village itself lying three thousand 
 and twenty-two Paris feet above the level of 
 the sea, and that the pass of the Tauern was 
 rather more than two thousand feet higher. 
 
 \Qtli. We left Tamsweg this morning, and 
 drove on, over abominable roads, to Murrau, a 
 dirty little town on the Murr. Sir Humphry 
 said he should stay a day here to see if he could 
 shoot some quails, or catch any huchos * in the 
 river, and he went out immediately after we 
 arrived, about two o'clock, but found no quails. 
 The Murr forms a very pretty cascade about a 
 mile below the town. 
 
 17^/?. Sir Humphry went this morning to 
 the river and fished for some hours, but in vain. 
 
 * A variety of the genus Salmo that inhabits the Danube and its 
 •tnbutary streams. It sometimes reaches the enormous size of eighty 
 pounds. See a complete description in " Salmonia," second edition.
 
 134 FRIESACH. 
 
 This, added to an exorbitant bill brought in by 
 the host, determined him to proceed, and we 
 left Murrau at four in the afternoon. The 
 scenery of the valley of the Murr is always of 
 the same kind; mountains clad with fine woods 
 diversified with fields and villages, and the river 
 winding through the valley. We passed on 
 our road two old feudal castles, rearing their 
 grey walls out of the wood. At the next station, 
 Neumarkt, we found ourselves on the same road 
 which we had traversed on our way to Carniola. 
 There being no tolerable inn here, we proceeded 
 a post further, to Friesach, and had a very 
 pleasant moonlight drive along the banks of a 
 foaming brook, and through some dark and shady 
 glens. 
 
 ISth. Sir Humphry spent the whole of this 
 day in the fields round Friesach, in the hope of 
 finding a good many quails, but returned late in 
 the afternoon with only one or two, and com- 
 plaining terribly of the heat. 
 
 19^/;. We left Friesach early this morning, 
 and drove on, over our old road, to St. Veit and 
 Klagenfurth, where we turned off to the right, 
 and proceeded along the banks of the Lake of
 
 VILLACH. 135 
 
 Klagenfiirth to Velden. The length of this lake 
 is about fifteen miles, its greatest breadth three 
 or four. The scenery of its banks near Klagen- 
 furth is rather flat and uninteresting, but towards 
 ^^elden it becomes more diversified and beautiful. 
 Sir Humphry intended passing the night at 
 Velden, but the old ruined chateau, which noM- 
 serves as the post-house, was better adapted for 
 the habitation of bats and owls than the accom- 
 modation of a sickly and susceptible traveller ; 
 and accordingly he ordered horses for Villach, in 
 spite of the approaching night. Whilst they 
 were being put to, we enjoyed a fine view of 
 the lake through the arched windows of the 
 earth-floored hall of the chateau. Some time 
 before we arrived at ^'illach it M^as quite dark, 
 but the road being very good and perfectly safe, 
 Sir Humphry, notwithstanding his reluctance to 
 travel after nightfall, said that he was glad that 
 he had gone on to ^'illach, where he would stay 
 to try the shooting. 
 
 '■2i)th. This morning he changed his mind, 
 and we went on to Wurzen, crossing over the 
 same mountain which we had passed on our 
 road to Ischl. The ascent on this side is much
 
 136 THE ALPS. 
 
 longer than that from Wurzen. At the foot of 
 the mountain are some hot baths, much used by 
 the inhabitants of ViUach. We tried tlieir tem- 
 perature and found it to be 85" Fahrenheit. 
 The proprietor said tliat the water containeil 
 principally sulphur and magnesia. 
 
 '21st — 25^/«. These days were chiefly wet 
 and rainy, but when it did not pour Sir Hum- 
 phry was out shooting in the marshes. Two 
 mornings, when the rain kept him at home, lie 
 occupied himself with the additions to " Salmo- 
 nia," and in dictating an ancient Irish Tale; a 
 fairy fiction, or a tale of enchantment, founded 
 on the supposed adventures of a Norwegian hero 
 in Ireland. 
 
 26^A. A fine day at last, and we see the 
 Alps unveiled for the first time since we have 
 been here. I thought I should have seen them 
 quite free from snow, and was not a little sur- 
 prised, on the clearing away of the clouds, to 
 find them covered with a newly fallen crest, 
 which was brilliantly white, for I believed that 
 the temperature of the air would be too high 
 to allow the snow, which falls on the heights 
 when it rains in the valleys, to remain un- 
 
 i
 
 SOURCE OF THE SAVE. 137 
 
 melted even for the shortest time. In the after- 
 noon I took a ramble with the postmaster, as a 
 guide, to see a waterfall in the neighbourhood, 
 which I suspected from what he told me was the 
 feeder of the pond from which the Wurzen-Save 
 rises. After a long walk through the woods in 
 one of the smaller side valleys, at the opening of 
 which the pond or source of the Save is situated, 
 we arrived at the end of the valley, where all pro- 
 gress was put an end to by the lofty and rocky 
 mountains which shut it in on all sides; moun- 
 tains, through which there is hardly a path for 
 tlie most adventurous chamois hunter. In the 
 centre of this vale is a hut, or, as it is called by 
 the peasants, an Alpe, (a hut on the mountains,) 
 built with the trunks of trees, in Avhich a few 
 cowherds were employed in making cheese. 
 Opposite this hut, high up in the rocks, is a 
 considerable cascade, which without doubt is the 
 source of the Save. The water issues in a con- 
 siderable stream from an opening in the side of 
 the mountain, and rushes down into the valley 
 foaming and dashing over the rocks; it then 
 flows on for a short time in a Ijed of limestone 
 pebbles, where it suddenly disappears, sinking
 
 138 SOURCE OF THE SAVE. 
 
 into the o-round, and in all probability con- 
 tinues its subterraneous course throuo;li tlie whole 
 lengtli of the valley, till it rises in the pond near 
 Wurzen. We ascended with considerable dif- 
 ficulty to the top of the fall, and in order to 
 examine the hole, I was obliged to take off my 
 shoes to prevent my slipping over the rocks. 
 The water flowed perfectly clear and intensely 
 cold from a reservoir in the interior of the moun- 
 tain, but the opening in the rocks was not suffi- 
 ciently large to enable me to look in. Having 
 descended safely, and drank some curds and 
 whey in the Alpe, we returned home ; and I de- 
 termined, if the weather shoidd be fine to-morrow, 
 to cross over the Alps to Trenta, and see the 
 source of the Isonzo, to seek which we made such 
 a long trip in vain the last time we were here. 
 
 27^/i. 1 started from Wurzen at eight o'clock 
 with a guide, who said that he was well ac- 
 quainted with the pass across the Alps, and as 
 he told me we should find nothing to eat at 
 Trenta, we took some cold meat and eggs with 
 us. At Kronan we turned into the beautiful 
 defile which lies behind this village, and which 
 is called the Valley of Pisching, from a little
 
 TRENTA. 139 
 
 Stream whicli flows througli it, along whose 
 banks we walked briskly for about an hour and 
 a half, surrounded on all sides by rocky and 
 magnificent mountains. At the end of the 
 valley we turned off to the right, and began to 
 ascend one of the mountains by a very rugged 
 and steep path, passing sometimes through fir 
 woods, and at other times over white limestone 
 rocks. After a very fatiguing ascent of more 
 than two hours, we found ourselves on the top 
 of a pass between two mountains. To our left 
 was a still more lofty mountain, through which, 
 near the siunmit, there was a large hole like a 
 window, so that the blue sky was distinctly 
 seen through it. My guide told me that 
 it was possible to ascend to this hole from the 
 other side, but that he had never been there. 
 The descent to Trenta on the other side was 
 much worse than our ascent had been, the path 
 or rather track that we followed being every 
 now and then impeded by great blocks of lime- 
 stone and shattered fir-trees. The points of 
 view were very fine and wild, though the whole 
 seemed desolate and dreary. In less than an 
 hour we reached the valley and the few huts
 
 140 THE ISONZO. 
 
 wliicli form the liainlot of Treiita. In the 
 middle of the valley runs the Isonzo, which is 
 seen gushing- forth from the rocks, and forming 
 a magnificent cascade in a gulley or crevice of 
 the mountiiin, a few hundred yards distant from 
 Trenta. I immediately went to it, and found 
 that the fall consisted of three distinct cascades, 
 one above the other, all three highly picturesque, 
 but chiefly so the upper one, which is by far 
 the loftiest. My guide said the quantity of 
 water was not now so considerable as in gene- 
 ral, and that if I liked to go to the top of 
 the uppermost fall I coidd see the place from 
 whence it issued out of the mountain. We 
 accordingly climbed up the rocks till we came to 
 a heap of loose and detached fragments of 
 limestone, from mider which the water appeared 
 to issue, but on climbing up still further, I 
 came to a large opening in the rock, through 
 which a sunbeam fell, and upon looking into it, 
 I saw that within there was a large cavern filled 
 with water perfectly clear, and apparently of 
 great depth, for when I threw in a large white 
 stone on the spot where the sunbeam played 
 upon the water, I saw it descend through it for
 
 ITS SOURCE. 141 
 
 a Ions' time. Of tlie extent of this subterra- 
 neous lake and cavern it was impossible to form 
 any idea, for all beyond a few feet from the 
 opening was darkness. The peasants at Trenta 
 call this source the Sorga, and they told me 
 that after great melting of the snows the water 
 rushes also out from the opening, and then forms 
 a very noble cascade. The water is intensely 
 cold, yet an old peasant assured me, that on 
 looking through the hole he had sometimes seen 
 fish in the lake. This, however, seemed very 
 doubtful, for many others said they had re- 
 peatedly been there and had never seen a trace 
 of any living animal in the water within the 
 mountain. Having taken a sketch or two and 
 eaten our frugal dinner, we began to think of 
 returning home, and reascended the rugged path 
 which had brought us to Trenta, but before we 
 reached the summit of the pass I experienced 
 great pain in the thighs and legs, so that I was 
 obliged to rest every now and then. At last, 
 liowever, we gained the top, and having staid 
 there for a good quarter of an hour to recruit 
 my strength, we descended briskly, passed again 
 through the romantic glen of Kronau, and I found
 
 1 4*2 VELDES. 
 
 myself at home by seven o'clock. Fifty kreut- 
 zers {Is. Sd. Eng-lisli) made my guide a happy 
 man, and the evening was passed in recounting 
 to Sir Humphry the adventures of the day. 
 
 1?9M. We left Wurzen this morning, and 
 passed over our old road to Assling. The 
 scenery of the valley is now more beautiful 
 than when we last saw it, for trees of every 
 kind appear in full verdure on the sides of the 
 mountains ; beech, oak, ash, walnut, birch, and, 
 last and highest, the pine, above which are the 
 bare brown rocks, just tipped with snow. Three 
 leagues beyond Assling we turned out of the 
 post road, and drove to Radniannsdorf, passing 
 through what much resembled an English park ; 
 fine large trees rising from a verdant turf, ren- 
 dering the drive at once shady and agreeable. 
 Radmannsdorf is a small insignificant town ; the 
 only inn it has to boast of was being repaired 
 and not habitable, so that we were obliged to go 
 somewhere else, and Sir Humphry determined 
 to proceed to Veldes and to spend a day or two 
 in that beautiful neighbourhood. After an hour's 
 drive we arrived there, and with considerable 
 diificulty, and some danger to the carriage, we
 
 FISH. 143 
 
 got up a narrow and Lilly lane, at the top of 
 which the best inn in the villag-e is situated, 
 which we however found bad enough. .Sir 
 Humphry begged me immediately to go to tlie 
 fisherman's at the other side of the lake, and see 
 what he had. I found in his tank only very 
 large carp and some small specimens of Silu/U}! 
 glanis. This latter fish is found in this and one 
 or two more of the Austrian lakes. The fislier- 
 man told me that it here sometimes grows to a 
 great size, and that the last year he and his 
 fellow-fisherman had caught one that weighed 
 upwards of two hundred pounds. I chose the 
 smallest carp, one of five pounds, and a little 
 Silurus, and was then rowed back to Veldes by 
 the fisherman. The lake was beautifully tran- 
 quil and clear, and in the shade of the moiuitains, 
 for the evening was already set in, resembled an 
 extensive surface of black polished marble, only 
 ruffled by the paddle of the canoe which bore us 
 across it. We had part of the fish dressed for 
 supper, and we found the carp far preferable to 
 the Silurus, for the flesh of the latter is flabby 
 and insipid. 
 
 SOlh. At one o'clock in the mornins: Georire
 
 144 LAIBACII. 
 
 called me to Sir Ilumphry, who told me that he 
 felt very ill. At four he begf^ed 1 would order 
 horses to cpiit ^ cldes as soon as possible, but 
 none could be procured till seven, and then only 
 a pair of cart horses. Sir Humphry in the mean- 
 while applied leeches, and found himself consi- 
 derably relieved. At seven o'clock we left 
 Veldes, but, as if fated to be unfortunate in 
 this village, our peasant -postilion drove us 
 against the projecting roof of a small house, 
 which however did no further damage than that 
 of dashing the lamps to pieces. We at last 
 got clear of Veldes, and without further acci- 
 dent soon reached Safnitz, where we found post 
 horses which took us to Krainburg by one o'clock, 
 and from thence to Laibacli by four, where 
 we took up our old quarters at Detella's inn. 
 
 8lst August — 1th October. Sir Humphry con- 
 tinued very luiwell for two days, but on the 
 third went out shooting as he used to do for- 
 merly. The ennui of Laibach is terrible, for 
 Sir Humphry sees nobody, and is daily occupied 
 in shooting or fishing, and it is only when the 
 rain keeps him at home that he dictates to me 
 the additions and corrections for " Salmonia," or
 
 THE RIVER LAIBACH. 145 
 
 continues liis Irish Tale, " The last of the G'Do- 
 nohoes," which he finished on the 13th of Sep- 
 tember. The second edition of " Salmonia" was 
 not finished till the 25th, and I added six little 
 views to it, which Sir Humphry begged I would 
 draw for him ; the first three are from his des- 
 cription, and the remainder from sketches I 
 have taken on our journey. After " Salmonia" 
 had been safely despatched to the English Em- 
 bassy at Vienna, Sir Humphry determined upon 
 making a little tour to Trieste, and there to exa- 
 mine the electrical phoenomena presented by the 
 Torpedo, or Electrical Ray, and we accordingly 
 left Laibach on the 6th of October, in the after- 
 noon, in a little carriage drawn by Sir Hum- 
 phry's two ponies, for he bought another shortly 
 after our arrival at Laibach. We only went on 
 to Oberlaibach, were we spent the night. Not 
 far from this small village the river Laibach 
 issues, for the last time, from its subterraneous 
 passage. 
 
 7th. Early this morning I went with two stu- 
 dents from Munich, whom I met on their road 
 to Adelsberg, to see the source of the river. At 
 the end of a romantic glen, surrounded by fine 
 
 L
 
 146 SOURCE OF THE LAIBACII. 
 
 rocks and wood, the river oozes out of the hill, 
 forming a large pond, which falls over a natural 
 dam in front, and is then joined, a few hundred 
 yards below, by another subterraneous stream, 
 and they together form a tolerably large river. 
 Parting here from my Munich companions, I 
 returned to Oberlaibach, when I found Sir 
 Humphry was already gone out shooting, but 
 he shortly returned, and having shot nothing, 
 we set out for Planina. Immediately upon 
 leaving Oberlaibach we ascended a very long 
 and steep hill, the surface of which was every- 
 where perforated with large conical pits, much 
 resembling funnels, affording a striking ex- 
 ample of that species of country called by geo- 
 logists funnel land. Arrived at the top of the hill 
 we found ourselves in a wide fertile valley, through 
 which we saw the Laibach winding slowly, till 
 on reaching the end of the valley it disappears 
 in the fields, and after pursuing its subterraneous 
 course through the mountain, again rises to the 
 surface near Ober-Laibach. We stopped to 
 bait the horses at Loitsch, and then drove on 
 through the valley to Planina, a dirty village, 
 where we passed the night in a miserable inn.
 
 SESANA. 147 
 
 8th. Leaving Planina early this morning, we 
 jiscended a very steep hill, at the foot of which 
 the Laibaeh again rises out of the mountains as 
 it does at Ober-Laibach. The country between 
 Planina and Adelsberg is bleak and barren, and 
 presents nothing interesting. The mountain 
 near the latter small town contains the famous 
 grottos of Adelsberg, formerly thought to be 
 the only spot where that singular animal the 
 Proteus Anf/uinus was found. Sir Humphry 
 said there was no time for me to visit these 
 grottos now, but he thought that he should pass 
 through Adelsberg again upon his return, and 
 we accordingly drove into Trewalchen, where 
 we passed over another long and steep hill. At 
 Sesana we saw the first olive trees ; they much 
 resemble the common willow, but are darker ; 
 these and the flat-roofed houses, and a lighter 
 and more airy style of architecture, told us that 
 we were approaching Italy. The country be- 
 tween Sesana and Trieste is wild and bleak, 
 completely covered with broken and waterworn 
 rocks, over which, ages ago, some great current 
 of the ocean must have passed, and thus occa- 
 sioned their present singular and often fantastic
 
 148 TRIESTE. 
 
 sliapes. At the foot of the last hill, which is not 
 steep, we entered the territory of Trieste, and 
 from its summit one of the inost magnificent 
 sea views I ever beheld burst upon our sight. 
 Nearly two thousand feet below us lay the 
 Mide expanse of the blue Adriatic, its light 
 waves glittering in the sun-beams, occasionally 
 shaded by the intercepting clouds. At the 
 foot of the mountain, and partly concealed by 
 it, appeared Trieste, with its harbour full of 
 vessels, lying on a small promontory. Look- 
 ing over the town and across the bay the 
 eye embraces the whole hilly coast of Istria, 
 with the towns of Capo d' Istria, Pirano, and 
 others; and promontory is seen beyond pro- 
 montory till the more distant ones can no longer 
 be distinguished from the waves. The right or 
 opposite coast, stretching down to Venice, is flat, 
 and the last visible point on it is the ancient 
 town of Aquilea; but behind this low and 
 marshy tract the distant Alps of the Friul are 
 seen, covered with eternal snow. After stopping 
 the carriage for some time to admire this magni- 
 ficent view, we descended the hill by a very 
 winding and steep road. Every thing bespoke
 
 >H', 
 
 •i#
 
 TRIESTE. 149 
 
 the approach to a large and commercial city, 
 and the road was filled with carts and wasrarons 
 coming and going, loaded with merchandize. 
 In some of them we counted twenty horses, in 
 another twenty-four oxen, with twelve drivers, 
 who made a terrible noise with their mouths as 
 well as their whips to animate their strong and 
 fine beasts during their ascent. A new road is 
 now building which, when finished, will render 
 the great number of cattle noM^ obliged to be used 
 unnecessary. We reached the gate of Trieste 
 about four o'clock, and after driving througli 
 some fine wide streets wholly paved with flag- 
 stones, and across the Ponterosso, a miserable 
 little bridge, we took up our quarters at the 
 Locanda Grande, in the market-place ; but our 
 rooms looked towards the harbour and sea, and 
 immediately beneath them we heard the joyous 
 noise and bustle of the sailors. What a dif- 
 ference between this town and the inland cities of 
 Germany ! There all seems dead or asleep, and 
 hardly a living soul is to be seen in the streets ; 
 here, on the contrary, all is activity and anima- 
 tion. The representatives of all nations seem 
 assembled here, — Italians, Germans, English,
 
 150 TRIESTE. 
 
 and Americans, with Greeks and Turks in their 
 national dresses, are seen walkinj^ through the 
 streets or sitting before the doors of the cafes : 
 this latter applies especially to the Txirks, who, 
 in their graceful costume with their long pipes, 
 attract the notice of every stranger unaccus- 
 tomed to see individuals of this nation. 
 
 Leaving Sir Humphry to repose in his room, 
 1 took a walk about the town and harbour. I'he 
 streets are generally broad, well paved, and 
 
 clean, and the houses are lofty and well built. 
 The harbour is full of small craft, but I saw but 
 one large merchantman, lately arrived from the 
 Brazils. Near the Molo san Carlo, a small ])ier, 
 lay a steam-boat which was to start the next 
 morning for Venice. To the left of the town, 
 looking towards the sea, and at a considerable 
 distance from the houses, is the Lazaretto, a large 
 and spacious building, close to a basin or dock, 
 in which the vessels lie whilst performing qua- 
 rantine. After dinner I went with Sir Hum- 
 phry to the theatre, which is an elegant and 
 lofty building, with five tiers of boxes very 
 tastefully ornamented. The piece performed 
 was an opera, The Arabs in Gaul, but spite
 
 TRIESTE. 151 
 
 of the magnificent decorations and really fine 
 music, Sir Humphry soon became tired, and we 
 returned to our Shakspeare and ecarte. I 
 sleep to-nig-ht, for the first time in my life, in 
 the bed-room of an Emperor ; a little chamber 
 with only one window in it, and with which, I 
 think, few Emperors of the present day would 
 be content. Above the bed is painted a gorge- 
 ous crown and encircling canopy, beneath which, 
 on a small marl^le tablet, are the following 
 words: — 
 
 Locus iste Imperatoris 
 
 Josephi Secundi 
 Ilabitatio fmt xv Maji. 
 
 The year was either never mentioned, or has 
 been rubbed out. 
 
 Qth. The noise of the sailors and the hum of 
 business — sounds long foreign to my ear — 
 greeted me upon waking this morning, and on 
 looking out of my window I saw a number of 
 people upon the quay below, buying fish from the 
 sailors of some fishing-boats that had just come 
 into the harbour. After breakfast I accompanied 
 Sir Humpliry on a visit to the British Consul, 
 Colonel D , who politely promised to send
 
 15*2 GROTTO AT CORNEALE. 
 
 Sir Humphry a fisherman who could supply him 
 with some living torpedos for his experiments. 
 Sir Humphry afterwards rode out on his pony, 
 George attending him, whilst I took a walk on 
 the hill above the town. I had intended to visit 
 the stalactite grotto at Corneale to-day, as Sir 
 Humphry, who had seen it ten years ago, said 
 it was well worth notice ; but on coming away 
 
 from Colonel D 's I found that it was 
 
 too late. 
 
 loth. I left Trieste early this morning, with 
 a guide, to visit the grotto. After a three hour's 
 walk over two very long and steep hills, from 
 which however the view over the Adriatic, 
 with numberless white sails flitting across its 
 waves, the two coasts, the harbour with its ship- 
 ping, the town and the gardens surrounding it 
 planted with cypresses and olives, was magni- 
 ficent, we reached Corneale, a small and dirty 
 village, and having here provided ourselves 
 with a man carrying a large lamp, and some 
 boys with candles, proceeded over some very 
 rough and stony fields to the grotto. The en- 
 trance was not, as I had expected, in the side of 
 a hill, but in the open fields, and surrounded by
 
 GROTTO AT CORNEALE. 153 
 
 a wall. Having- lig-lited our lamp and candles, 
 I took oif my coat, and we began the descent 
 down some very slight wooden stairs, the steps 
 and railing of which were, as I afterwards found 
 to my cost, not only slippery, but quite rotten 
 from the continual dripping. The entrance, or 
 hall, is a fine lofty dark vault, supported in the 
 middle by one enormous stalactite column. Be- 
 yond this the cave becomes narrower, and the 
 numberless stalactites of all sizes present a 
 greater variety of forms than it is possible to 
 describe : immense cauliflowers, trunks of trees, 
 fruits ; rounds and ovals of all sizes, from that of 
 a marble to globes of many feet in diameter ; 
 pyramids rising up from below, and whose bases 
 are lost in profound darkness ; myriads of peaks 
 hanging from the roof, often invisible to the 
 eye, are seen at every step. 
 
 These different forms, the deathlike stillness of 
 the cave, the total darkness, except in those 
 points where the guides placed themselves so 
 as to illuminate the most striking objects; deep 
 precipices before and around me, from out of 
 which here and there a single snow white column 
 rose, formed, and still forming, by the water
 
 154 GROTTO AT CORNEALE. 
 
 which falls in measured time from the unseen 
 roof; the flickering lights of our candles, — all 
 this, and the thought of where I should roll to 
 were I to slip from the frail steps into one of those 
 dark abysses, produced an indescribable feeling 
 of awe and fear. Descending further into the 
 cavern, we passed by the Lio?i\s head, the Melon, 
 the DeatKs head, and two magnificent single 
 pillars, the one plain, the other beautifully fluted, 
 both of which upon being struck by the hand 
 emit a loud sonorous sound, that thrills mourn- 
 fully through the surrounding silence. Beyond 
 these we came to the Waterfall, one of the finest 
 specimens of stalactites in the cavern ; other 
 pillars and pyramids, and last of all to the Bal- 
 dachin, or canopy formed of beautifully fluted 
 hanging stalactites. Beyond this point the cave 
 had not been explored, as the precipices are very 
 dangerous. Even the descent to this spot is not 
 very safe, being often along very narrow slip- 
 pery paths and rotten stairs, or rather ladders. 
 On my return I sketched diff"erent subjects in 
 the cave, and whilst drawing the entrance-hall, 
 incautiously sat upon the wooden hand-rail, 
 when I heard a sudden crack, and felt that I
 
 GROTTO AT CORNEALE. 155 
 
 was falling backwards. Not being able to re- 
 cover myself, I slipped from rock to rock, turn- 
 ing twice head over heels, but without injury, 
 and with perfect presence of mind, although I 
 expected every instant to be dashed over the 
 edge of a precipice. As soon as I felt my fall 
 become slower, I stopped myself with my hands, 
 with my head downwards, and my heels in tlie 
 air. In this position I remained some minutes, 
 not daring to move a finger, till the guide came 
 down through the rocks with his lamp to my as- 
 sistance ; with his help I regained my feet, 
 and found that I had been lying on the very 
 verge of a smooth rock, beneath which was a 
 dark and impenetrable abyss. My next fall 
 would probably have been into eternity. 
 
 After the whirl of my brain had passed 
 away, I found, with the exception of some light 
 bruises, that I had not injured myself, as the 
 rocks were very smooth and round. Having 
 reascended, we left the cave, and I sat for a 
 long time in the fresh air as I felt very sick. 
 The guide and the boy had been exceedingly 
 terrified, and still looked as pale as I think I 
 must have done myself; nor shall I soon forget
 
 156 DEPARTURE FROM TRIESTE. 
 
 the shriek they littered whcM they saw me fall- 
 mg. After a draua^lit of water that was very 
 refreshinsf, tlioiigh from a dirty pool in tlie field, 
 and paying the man and boys who had been in 
 the grotto Mnth me for upwards of two hours, I 
 returned to Trieste, where the tailor and a good 
 dinner set every thing to rights again. 
 
 ISir Humphry had just received two living 
 torpedos, and made some experiments with 
 them upon the power and eflfeet of their elec- 
 tricity, which he seemed inclined to think of 
 a peculiar kind. These finished, he determined 
 to quit Trieste to-morrow, and to return to 
 Laibach. 
 
 II th. We started from Trieste this morning 
 early, and liaving ascended the hill above the 
 touni, from whence we had such a beautiful view 
 upon our arrival, we turned out of the road and 
 drove across the country over very bad roads to 
 Wippach, where we did not arrive till evening. 
 We had stopped to bait at mid-day in a miser- 
 able little village, and after leaving it we lost our 
 way, Robert (the coachman) being a perfect 
 stranger in this part of the country, and spent 
 some hours in vain before we again got into the
 
 WIPPACH. 157 
 
 right road. Wippacli lies in a fine fertile valley 
 at the foot of a lofty range of mountains. The 
 river of the same name rises close behind the 
 town, out of the rock, in the same manner as the 
 river Laibach. The trout in this river were the 
 object of Sir Humphry's trip hither, and as soon 
 as he arrived, though the evening was too far 
 advanced to allow of his fishing, he went to look 
 at the river, and found it very foul from rain. 
 When he returned to the inn, he dictated to me 
 his observations on the experiments with the 
 torpedos which he had made at Trieste. 
 
 \2th. In the morning Sir Humphry went out 
 to try the fishing in the river, and returned about 
 twelve o'clock not having caught anything. We 
 then quitted Wippach, which has nothing at all 
 attractive or interesting in it. At the end of the 
 town is a large and handsome chateau, belonging 
 to the Counts of Wippach, and on the other side 
 an extensive cotton manufactory. The drive 
 from hence to Trewalchen is steep and hilly, 
 the road passing over a lofty ridge of the moun- 
 tain. From Trewalchen we went on to Adels- 
 berg, where we did not arrive till night, and as 
 Sir Humphry said that he should the next morn-
 
 158 ADELSBERG. 
 
 ing go on to Zirknitz, I determined to visit the 
 principal grotto in the night. There are two 
 liere, the grotto of the Magdalen, long known 
 and celebrated as being the only spot in which 
 the Proteus Anguinus* had been found; and the 
 great grotto, only lately discovered, and more 
 remarkable for the variety and grandeur of the 
 stalactite formations which it contains. 
 
 * Proteus Anguinus, Siren Anguina, sometimes called the Austrian 
 Siren. This rare little animal has as yet only been discovered in the 
 subterraneous caverns of Caruiola, at Adolsl)erg, and Sittich, and very 
 lately in those of Heiligenstein, near Zirknitz ; and is also mentioned 
 in a German journal as having been found in Sicily. In shape it 
 much resembles an eel, whence its specific name ; but it has never 
 yet been found of more than fifteen or sixteen inches in length, and 
 about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. It is either of a pale rose- 
 colour or perfectly white, but after having been for some time exposed 
 to the light it becomes brown. Its skin is very smooth and even, the 
 head somewhat depressed, and with a lengthened obtuse snout ; the 
 eyes are situated beneath the skin, and are exceedingly small ; on 
 each side of the neck are three ramified bronchial giUs, of a bright 
 blood-colour during the life of the animal. It is furnished with four 
 legs or rather appendages, for they appear to be of no use to it, which 
 are about three-fourths of an inch long, and the feet of the fore legs 
 have three toes, whilst the hind feet have only two. Its motion when 
 touched in the water is brisk and rapid, and is entirely produced by 
 the action of the tail, unaided by the legs, as I observed was the case 
 with one which I procured from a Professor at Laibaeh. It has very 
 fine and sharp teeth, which it seems scarcely to need, having- been 
 kept for years together in fresh water apparently without any nou- 
 rishment, but it has never been known to bring fortli young, nor is 
 its origin or real abode at all known. From the period of its discovery 
 its nature has been a suliject of discussion amongst naturalists, some 
 imagining it to be the larva of a larger anmial, whilst others maintain 
 that it forms a new genus; nor is the question yet determined.
 
 THE GROTTO. 159 
 
 After having read to Sir Humpliry till nearly 
 ten, I set out, accompanied by three guides fur- 
 nished with lamps and some pounds of candles. 
 We walked across the fields for about a mile in 
 darkness, the moon not having yet risen, till we 
 came to a slight ascent which brought us to a 
 door in the mountain. The guides here lighted 
 their lamps, and cut the candles into bits, and 
 ludocking the door, we entered and found our- 
 selves in a low and dark passage. Two of the 
 guides went on before with the candles, and I 
 followed a few minutes after with the other, the 
 only one of the three who spoke German. The 
 passage brought us to the top of a rock, where 
 we foinid ourselves in an immense vault, the 
 roof and sides of which could not be distin- 
 guished by the eye. Below us, at the foot of 
 the rock, we heard the rushing of a river, whose 
 waters were invisible to us owing to the extreme 
 darkness. We saw the other two guides upon 
 a frail wooden bridge, which is thrown across 
 this subterraneous stream, they having already 
 lighted some of the candles, which they were 
 engaged in fixing upon the side rail, and in a
 
 160 ADELSBERG. 
 
 few minutes, more than thirty candles in some 
 degree dispelled the darkness which surrounded 
 us. The river became visible for about one 
 hundred yards on each side of the bridge, flow- 
 ing as it were out of total darkness above, and 
 passing again into gloom and shade below it. 
 The light however was by no means sufficient 
 to enable me to discover the roof of this vast 
 dome. It is a striking scene, but very different 
 from any presented by the grotto of Corneale, 
 and a poet might have thought the vault a 
 banquetting room for the giants of old, or the 
 council-chamber of Lucifer and his host; the 
 dark and rushing water the gloomy river Styx, 
 dividing him from the kingdom of Pluto, and 
 have expected to see the grim ferryman appear 
 with his boat. There was however no Charon 
 to ferry us over, and we accordingly descended 
 the steps in the rock, and crossed the river by 
 the tottering and slippery bridge. A steep 
 path cut in the rocks on the other side con- 
 ducted us to the Little Temjjle, a smallVault, whose 
 roof and sides were covered with stalactites of 
 the most varied and grotesque forms, hanging
 
 THE GROTTO. 161 
 
 down from the roof, shooting' out from the sides, or 
 rising as stalagmites* from the floor, some pointed, 
 some round, and others flat, thin, and transparent. 
 In one part of this temple are inscribed the names 
 of the strangers who have visited the grotto. 
 From hence we went to the Hall, or Place of 
 the Tournament, passing in anotlier vault by the 
 Butcher's stall, perhaps one of the most apt 
 denominations of the many which the guides 
 have given to the numerous larger masses of 
 stalactite met with in these caverns. It stands 
 alone, projecting from the walls of the vault, 
 and some\vhat resembles a pulpit in form. One 
 of the guides enters this stall with a lamp, and 
 illuminates the different joints of limestone 
 meat, sausages, liams, &c., which hang around. 
 The Tournier-platz or Place of the Tournament, 
 is a lofty and extensive cavern, the floor of which 
 is formed of very fine sand, and is exceedingly 
 level and firm. The shape of the vault is oval, and 
 the sides have some slight resemblance to an am- 
 phitheatre. On Whit-Monday the whole of the 
 
 • stalagmites are inverted stalactites, whose base is fixed to the 
 g^round, whilst the point is continually rising' to a greater height by 
 the gradual dripping of the water from the roof. 
 
 M
 
 162 ADELSBERG. 
 
 grotto is illuminated, and liundreds flock to be- 
 hold tliis curious scene, the Tournier-platz being- 
 arranged as a ball-room, and in which th6 visitors 
 dance till a very late hour. From thence we went 
 through long passages and caverns, each of which 
 presents something remarkable. In one, a large 
 pillar rises from the ground, which, on being 
 struck with a stone or stick, gives out a sound 
 resembling the deep and sonorous tone of a tolling 
 bell; and in another, stands a large fluted pillar, 
 to which the guides gi^'e the strange name of 
 the Kanonen-Saiile zu Moskau, or the Pillar of 
 Canons at Moscau. In another part of the 
 cavern we see a vase, on the top of a small pillar, 
 constantly full of water, which falls into it, drop 
 by drop, from the roof ; it is perfectly clear, and 
 icy cold. Beyond this font, we came to the p'eat 
 curtain, the most striking single stalactite in the 
 whole cavern. The limestone here descends in 
 many a waving and beautiful fold from the roof, 
 from a height of upwards of twenty feet, and pro- 
 jecting about six feet out from the rock. The 
 whole mass is exceedingly thin, and is bordered 
 by a stripe of red. Seen from a distance, when 
 the guides hold their lamps behind it, the efi'ect
 
 THE GROTTO. 168 
 
 is liiglily Striking, and the spectator can hardly 
 believe that the transparent curtain before him 
 is formed of hard stone. The red colour in 
 the edge of this mass of limestone, is the only 
 instance of the kind I met with in the grotto, 
 the general colour of the stalactites being either 
 pure white or whitish brown : and they are 
 often covered with a crust of very fine crystals. 
 At some distance beyond the curtain, the cave 
 divides into two branches, one of which ends 
 with a large block of limestone, that bears the 
 name of the hir/h altar; the other has been 
 rarely trodden by the foot of a stranger, for my 
 guide said that this was only the second time 
 that he had been there, since the discovery of 
 that part of the cave, by him and another of the 
 men who were with me, six or seven years ago. 
 It extends for a considerable way, till all further 
 progress is stopped by a large pool of water, 
 over which the guides said no one had ever 
 crossed. This pool did not appear to me to 
 be of any very great extent, and I felt per- 
 suaded, that with the help of a few long poles, 
 it would have been possible to have passed over 
 the slippery rocks on its sides; we had, how- 
 
 -M '2
 
 164 THE GROTTO. 
 
 ever, nothing of the kind witli us, and I was 
 obliged to abandon the idea, nor did the guides 
 appear at all inclined to continue our peregrina- 
 tions, having already penetrated to a greater 
 distance than usual. I carefully examined the 
 water, but in vain, to see if I could discover 
 anything like a proteus, and I asked the guide 
 if on his former visit he had seen any animal in 
 the pool, but he said he had not. The paths 
 through the cavern are generally very good, 
 and broad enough for two or three persons 
 to M'alk abreast, and have in many places been 
 widened and levelled by art, but the road from 
 the curtain to the end of the grotto, passes over 
 a chaos of rocks and large broken stalactites ; 
 these, though now united by the all-binding 
 lime-water into shapeless masses of rock, for- 
 merly composed the roof, but have now given 
 place to newer formations, so that even in these 
 subterraneous caverns, as in all other of nature's 
 works, man beholds destruction only as making 
 way for regeneration. The process is one of 
 the slowest, but sure in its effects ; an accident, 
 the shock of an earthquake for example, may 
 sti'ew the floor of the cavern with the stalactites
 
 DEPARTURE FROM ADELSBERG. 165 
 
 which hang from the roof, yet the impregnated 
 water flows from above, deposits the limestone, 
 and in a few centuries, the roof is again orna- 
 mented with its curious and beautiful fretwork. 
 Retracing our steps through the diiferent halls, 
 temples, and passages, we again found ourselves 
 on the banks of the subterraneous river. Tliis 
 is the Laibach, which rising in the plain above 
 Adelsberg, enters the mountain, and after flow- 
 ing through the cavern and underground for a 
 considerable distance, again appears at the foot 
 of the hill near Planina. We crossed the little 
 bridge, ascended the rocks, and taking a last 
 look around the vast and dark cupola by which 
 we had first entered, I bade adieu to the caverns 
 of Adelsberg. On coming out of the mountain, 
 the air felt very cold, for the temperature within 
 liad been very agreeable, almost warm. It was 
 past one o'clock, so that we had been three 
 hours under ground. The moon was up, and 
 guided by her clear light, we soon reached the 
 inn, where I dreamt till morning of grottos, 
 and caverns and their spirit inhabitants. 
 
 l^fh. We left Adelsberg this morning, and 
 after a drive of about three hours throujj^h a wild
 
 106 THE ZIRKNITZER-SEE. 
 
 and hilly country, we arrived at the village of 
 Zirknitz, on the borders of the celebrated Zirk- 
 nitzer-See. The inn, though small, had two 
 decent rooms, and Sir Humphry determined 
 to remain here for a day or two, in order to 
 shoot quails, which abound in the neighbour- 
 hood; he accordingly went out in the afternoon 
 with his gun, accompanied by the innkeeper, 
 who had recommended himself to him by speak- 
 ing Italian ; and I went in the meantime to look 
 at the lake. Its banks are formed by mountains 
 of no great height, completely covered with forests 
 of pine, and in the lake are three islands, eacli of 
 which has a different name. On the largest, called 
 Fomek, is a little village ; the other two, Goritza 
 and Malagoritza, are smaller and barren. The 
 lake itself is of an oblong form, and, as I ascer- 
 tained from " The Chronicle of Carniola," (a 
 voluminous and old work on the history and 
 geography of this part of Austria, by Baron 
 \'alvasor, and tlie only book to be found in 
 the irni,) about one German mile (four and three 
 quarters English) in length, and rather more 
 than half a one in breadth. Its depth varies, but 
 it is no where considerable. In different parts
 
 THE ZIRKNITZER-SEE. 167 
 
 of it are large and deep conical holes, Valvasor 
 says eighteen, each of which has also a name : 
 the chief of them are Koten, Zeschenza, MaJa- 
 bonarza, Velkioherk, §t., and through these holes 
 the lake is filled with water. This generally 
 talvcs place annually, in October or November, 
 and the water again disappears through these 
 holes in the beginning of summer. 
 
 In twenty days after the disappearance of the 
 water, grass springs up, and produces very good 
 hay ; numbers of birds flock to the fields, and 
 the bed of the lake then becomes a sporting- 
 ground. The disappearance of the waters, how- 
 ever, is by no means certain, for sometimes a 
 whole year will elapse without the lake becom- 
 ing dry, while at times it will sink and re-appear 
 twice, or even thrice, in one vear. At the end 
 of the lake, near Zirknitz, are two large open- 
 ings in a rock called Malakarlouza and Valka- 
 karlouza, througli which the water runs ofi" when 
 the lake rises higher than usual. During the 
 winter the lake is generally frozen over. The 
 temperature and colour of its water are similar 
 to that of the other lakes in this part of the 
 country, though the fish which inliabit it, chiefly
 
 168 CAVES OF ST. KANZIAN. 
 
 pike, are said to be unwholesome. By what 
 means and from whence this lake is filled, it 
 is very difficult to say ; the most probable con- 
 jecture is that it is suj)plied by some vast reser- 
 voir of water in the interior of the earth, which 
 may also be the feeder of the many subterrane- 
 ous rivers with which the surrounding country 
 abounds. Not a single stream flows out of the 
 lake, but six or seven small rivulets fall into it, 
 the largest of which is the Zirknitzhach . In the 
 evening Sir Humphry returned from his sport, 
 bringing with him some quails and a few 
 snipes. 
 
 \4J:h. Sir Humphry again went out shooting 
 in the morning, and I went to see the caves 
 of St. Kanzian, with a lad, who spoke a little 
 German, as a guide. These caves are situated 
 about four miles from Zirknitz, and are merely 
 large and deep natural caverns, through which 
 a small river runs, which again appears about 
 half a mile further, in a beautiful fertile val- 
 ley, through which it flows for a short dis- 
 tance, when it passes under a natural bridge 
 of rock, on the other side of which it disap- 
 pears, and does not again rise till near Adels-
 
 GROTTO OF HEILIGEN-KREUTZ 169 
 
 berg-. Although it has here no particuhir name, 
 it is probably the same as the Laibach river, 
 and may take its rise from the lake of Zirk- 
 nitz. The natural bridge under which it flows 
 before its disappearance, is a fine arch of rock, 
 from thirty to forty feet in height, covered 
 with trees on the top, between which are seen 
 the remains of an old church, dedicated to St. 
 Kanzian. 
 
 loth. Sir Humphry's sport yesterday not hav- 
 ing proved so good as he expected, he went 
 to-day, on his pony, up to the mountains with the 
 innkeeper, to see if he could not shoot a Stcin- 
 huhji, or alpine partridge, and I went with my 
 guide of yesterday to see the grotto of Heili- 
 gen-kreutz, where, he told me, a little white 
 fish with four feet and two red fins on its neck, 
 had been lately found. From this description I 
 knew it to be the proteus, the inhabitant of the 
 Magdelena grotto at Adelsberg; and the hope 
 of finding this animal in the caves at the other 
 end of the lake of Zirknitz, induced me to go 
 thither. We coasted round the lake, passing 
 through many little hamlets on its banks, till we 
 arrived at the end of it, when we turned up a
 
 170 (IROTTO OF IIEILIGEN-KUF.UTZ. 
 
 side valley, which brought us to the foot of the 
 mountain of IIc'ili<>en-kreutz. We here found 
 two small huts, in one of M^hich was an old man, 
 who agreed to be onr guide to the grotto, and 
 who furnished us with large pieces of fir-wood 
 for torches. After an ascent of half an hour up 
 the mountain, we came to a great hole, which 
 was the entrance of the cavern. Here the 
 guide put a bit of ignited fungus or tinder into 
 a handful of dry moss, and whirling it round 
 with rapidity, soon produced a flame, at which we 
 lighted our torches. We then scrambled down 
 into the hole, and entered a long and lofty 
 passage, the floor of which was covered with 
 great stones and masses of rock, over which it 
 was with great difficulty that we could proceed, 
 and the roof and sides presented nothing but 
 dark and rugged rock, unadorned by stalactites. 
 After advancing for some hvmdred yards through 
 this passage, we came to a running stream of 
 water of considerable breadth, but only six or 
 eight inches deep. We walked through this 
 for some time, till it fell with a deafening noise 
 into a large hole on one side of the cave, pro- 
 bably into some deep cavern below. The pas-
 
 GROTTO OF HEILIGEN-KREUTZ. 171 
 
 sage then turned to the left, and conducted us 
 into a small round vault, from the roof and sides 
 of which hung a considerable number of stalac- 
 tites. This the old man said was the end of the 
 cavern, and finding it so, I felt there was nothing 
 to recompense one for the fatigue of a walk of 
 ten miles, and the scramble over the rocks in the 
 passage. During our course through the stream, 
 as well as in the many large holes filled with 
 water, I had in vain looked for the proteus, 
 which however the old man assured me had 
 been found by the peasants in the stream dur- 
 ing its course through the cavern, and that it 
 had also been cast up by it, when swelled by 
 rain, near Laas, a small town about five miles 
 distant, where this subterraneous stream again 
 appears upon the surface. Quitting the cavern, 
 I returned to Zirknitz, which I reached late in 
 the afternoon, with a very good appetite, for all 
 that we had partaken of since an early breakfast, 
 was a few smoked pears and a pint of wine, 
 sourer than the sourest vinegar, which, with a 
 bit of black bread, were the only eatables af- 
 forded by one of the village inns of the banks 
 of the lake of Zirknitz. Sir Humphry had
 
 172 LAIBACH. 
 
 returned from his pursuit of the mountain par- 
 tridge, nearly as fatij^uod and dissatisfied with 
 his ill-success as I was wdth mine, and he deter- 
 mined upon returning to Laibach to-morrow. 
 
 \6fh — 30///. Quitting Zirknitz, and driving 
 through Planina and Ober-Laibach, we returned 
 to Laibach, where we remained in our old quar- 
 ters till the 30th. Sir Humphry, as usual, occu- 
 pying the day in shooting or fishing, and now 
 and then in completing his experiments on the 
 torpedo, by comparing the results of the elec- 
 tricity of this fish with the effects produced by a 
 very small voltaic ])ile. He found them to be 
 essentially different in their action, and summed 
 up the whole series of his experiments and ob- 
 servations in a long letter to the Royal Society.* 
 He has at last met with a pair of carriage horses 
 that please him, and has bought them for four hun- 
 dred florins (40/.), so that he now intends travel- 
 ling with his own four horses. The weather has 
 been getting colder and colder, but I think that 
 nothing less than the sight of the snow that fell 
 to-day (30th) would have determined his de- 
 
 * Transactions of the Royal Society for 1829.
 
 DEPARTURE FROM LAIBACH. 173 
 
 parture, which is now fixed for to-morrow, when 
 we start for Italy and Rome. ' 
 
 Slst. We have at last quitted Laibaeh, and I 
 never recollect having left any place, not even 
 the most wretched village, with the joy and de- 
 light I experienced on quitting Detella's inn, 
 which has so long been for me an abode of 
 listlessness and ennui. We slept this night at 
 Planina, in the same bad inn which we stopped 
 at on our trip to Trieste. 
 
 November 1st. We set out this morning from 
 Planina, and drove over the road we had for- 
 merly passed to Wippach. The roads as far as 
 this town were very hard and slippery, the snow 
 which had fallen havino- frozen durino; tlie niaht, 
 but as soon as we passed the mountains between 
 Adelsberg and Wippach the scene was changed ; 
 we had left the winter and wintry country be- 
 hind us, and found ourselves in a valley, where 
 the trees were still adorned with the fine tints of 
 autumn, and where the temperature was delight- 
 ful. Leaving Wippach, we entered the province 
 of Friuli, and drove on along a fine high road to 
 Gorizia or Giirz, where we did not arrive till 
 late in the evening. The country is fine ; it
 
 174 GOllIZIA. 
 
 appears to be well cultivated, and the vines hang 
 in festoons from tree to tree. At Gorizia, Italian 
 is the only language spoken, and with the hui- 
 guage the people seemed also to have changed, 
 for instead of the slow, awkward, and often in- 
 solent German servants, we had here quick and 
 intelliy-ent attendants. 
 
 "IikL I^eaA'ing Gorizia, in which town there is 
 very little interesting, at one o'clock, we crossed 
 the Isonzo, a beautifully clear and broad river. 
 The roads were excellent, and before us and on 
 our right we had the magnificent chain of the 
 Julian Alps, still free from snow. Palmanova, 
 where we spent the night, is a strong fortress, 
 but a miserable little town with a corresponding 
 inn. 
 
 Si'd. The road from Palmanova to Codroipo 
 lies through a flat country, chiefly vineyards, 
 and is lined on each side with mulberry trees. 
 Between Codroipo and Pordenone, we passed 
 over a magnificent wooden bridge across the 
 Tagllamento, the bed of which is here nearly a 
 mile in breadth, and shows what a broad and 
 Avild river it must be when swollen by the 
 melting of the snows. Upon asking a man on
 
 TREVISO. 175 
 
 tlie road the distance to the next town, he only 
 answered us by holding up his five fingers, as 
 much as to say five miles ; a quick mode of 
 expression which a German peasant would never 
 have arrived at. The dress of the peasants was 
 as much changed as the climate ; instead of the 
 black leather breeches, huge boots, and sheepskin 
 jacket of the Krainish boor, we here saw striped 
 cotton trowsers, a white cloth or flannel jacket, 
 and shoes and stockings. We to-day, for the first 
 time, saw many donkeys on the road, and little 
 one-horse carriages, with one person sitting in 
 them and the driver standing behind. Por- 
 denone is a small town, with a fine view of the 
 Friuli Alps in the distance. 
 
 Ath. We quitted Pordenone and the Frioul, 
 and dined at Cornegliano, a small old town in 
 the province of Venice, and on quitting it we 
 caught a glimpse of the Alps in the distance, and 
 after a long drive through flat and low lands, 
 arrived in the evening at Treviso. An ancient 
 Roman gateway of beautiful architecture forms 
 the entrance this town, the streets of which 
 however are narrow and dirty. The Albergo 
 lieale is a very good inn. 
 
 bth. We quitted Treviso early this morning
 
 176 PADUA. 
 
 for Padua, with the Ugonian or Paduan hills 
 in front of us. About two miles out of the town, 
 looking- across the marshes, we saw Venice with 
 all her towers rising, as it were, out of them. 
 We were only about five miles from this, the 
 second most interesting city of Italy, nor could 
 I help expressing a wish to see it. Sir Hum- 
 })hry, however, said that he M^as determined never 
 again to enter it, for he had, upon a former 
 journey, been detained there upwards of an 
 hour about his passport. A little beyond 
 Mestre, a dirty and ruinous town, where pas- 
 sengers generally embark for Venice, we came 
 to the Brenta, and drove along its banks to 
 Dolo, a small village, where we dined. The 
 road is lined with fine, but mostly ruinous villas, 
 in the light Italian style of architecture, and 
 between Dolo and Padua we passed by a mag- 
 nificent palace belonging to the Viceroy of 
 Milan. We did not arrive at Padua till it was 
 nearly dark, and entered the town by an old 
 Roman gateway, similar to that at Treviso. 
 The streets through which we passed were 
 narrow and dirty, but furnished on both sides 
 with arcades for foot passengers. 
 
 Qth. W^e left Padua at eight o'clock this morn-
 
 FERRARA. 177 
 
 ing, passing tlirougli the Piazza San Antonio, 
 a fine open square ornamented with statues, and 
 at one end of which is the cathedral church of St. 
 Antonio, said to be one of the churches contain- 
 ing the greatest number of votive altars in Italy. 
 
 The country between Padua and Monselice, 
 an insignificant little town where we stopped 
 to bait, is pretty. Crossing the Adige by a 
 flying bridge, we drove on to Rovigo ; a town 
 wath about eight thousand inhabitants, but with* 
 apparently nothing remarkable in it. 
 
 Itli. After leaving Rovigo, we came in a few 
 hours to the Po at Polsella, a fine deep river? 
 but very turbid and rapid. A poste further we 
 crossed it by a flying bridge, and qviitting the 
 Austrian territories, we entered the Papal states. 
 The Douane is situated upon the bank of the 
 river, and although the lascia-passare, for which 
 Sir Humphry had written to Rome from Laibach, 
 was not arrived, he had no difficulty in passing 
 unexamined, a little money being, it seems, here 
 as good as the best pass. We then drove on 
 to Ferrara, where we lodged at the Tre Mori, a 
 very good inn, though badly situated in a very 
 narrow back street. 
 
 N
 
 178 BOLOGNA. 
 
 Ill the afternoon I walked through the old, 
 deserted, and often grass-grown streets of the 
 town. In the Piazza Ariostea stands a fine 
 old column, and the church in the great square 
 is a fine building externally, the front consisting 
 of numerous rows of arches one above the other. 
 This and the ancient castle or palace of the 
 house of Este, a large moated brick building, 
 with numerous square towers, in one of which 
 the dungeon of Tasso is still shown, are all that 
 is worth seeing here. 
 
 nth. We quitted Ferrara in very bad weather, 
 it having snowed all night, and snow and sleet 
 still continued to fall during the day. We 
 stopped to bait at a lone house, which proved 
 to be a very large and good inn, and then 
 proceeded after dinner to Bologna, which we 
 entered in company with three other English 
 carriages. This is a very fine city, with good 
 streets, on each side of which are lofty arcades, 
 so that even in the worst weather one can walk 
 through the greater part of the town without 
 getting wet. In the evening I finished reading 
 the "Castle of Otranto" to Sir Humphry, for 
 the second time.
 
 BOLOGNA. 179 
 
 ^th. Sir Humphry dictated a letter this morn- 
 ing to Professor Morichhii at Rome, and I after- 
 wards walked about the town whilst he paid a 
 
 visit to jNIadame jNI , the wife of a sculptor 
 
 to whom he had been introduced when he was 
 formerly in Italy. The streets appear well 
 built and modern, though very dirty, and the 
 houses are for the most part fine and lofty ; but 
 there are very few grand single buildings or 
 churches ; many of the latter are only to be 
 distinguished from private houses under the 
 arcades, by a coloured drapery hung over the 
 door. The Neptune which surmounts the 
 fountain in the square of the cathedral, a work 
 by Jean de Bologna, certainly has its merits 
 as a statue, but the poor water-god enjoys so 
 little of his element, that he can scarcely pro- 
 vide for the wants of his immediate neighliours. 
 After wandering quite alone through the town, 
 the whole morning and a part of the afternoon, 
 I returned to the hotel St. Marco. Madame 
 
 M having invited Sir Humphry to take 
 
 a seat in her box at the theatre in the even- 
 ing, I went to see the play and ballet, and 
 was very much pleased with each. The house 
 
 N 2
 
 180 RIMINI. 
 
 is spacious and ^rand, but dark; the spec- 
 tacle showy, and tlie singing and ballet very 
 good. 
 
 10th. A wet and rainy day. We left Bologna 
 at eight in the morning, and had a dreary and 
 unpleasant day's journey through-a flat country, 
 to Faenza, having only stopped to bait at a 
 litle village on the road. 
 
 llth. Left Faenza this morning, and arrived 
 in the evening at Rimini, passing through Forti 
 and Cecena. Every step we now advance is 
 on heroic ground; and before entering Rimini 
 near Savignano, we passed over the Ru])icon, a 
 little insignificant stream, though once the 
 boundary of the most powerful state in the 
 world. The bridge over the little river which 
 flows by the gates of Rimini, is said to have 
 stood for twenty centuries ; and in the middle 
 of the town is an ancient triumphal arch nearly 
 as old. It was built by Augustus on his return 
 from his victory over Marc Antony, and is a 
 fine simple arch of stone, though now patched 
 up with bricks. The town is small and dirty, 
 and the Leon Bianco is a wretched iini. 
 
 I2th. Leaving Rimini we drove along the
 
 FANO. 181 
 
 coast of the Adriatic, close to the sea shore. 
 We saw the distant Appenines on our right, 
 as yet only low hills covered with vineyards 
 and towns, one of which, San Marino, situated 
 on the top of a hill, is a small independent 
 republic of about five thousand souls. Having 
 dined at a little village on the road, we drove on 
 through Pesaro to Fano. The surrounding 
 country is rather mountainous, and seems to 
 abound in defiles and narrow passes, which 
 may easily account for the defeat of the Cartha- 
 ginians by the Romans, in this neighbourhood. 
 Fano is a small town, lying close upon the 
 sea. The inn where we passed the night was 
 remarkably good. 
 
 ISth. We left Fano early in the morning, 
 and with it the Adriatic; and turning oif to 
 the right, M'e entered into the Appenines and 
 dined at Fossombrone, (probably modernized 
 from Forum Sempronii,) a small and very old 
 town, situated on the side of a hill not far from 
 the spot where Hasdrubal was defeated and 
 slain by the Roman Consuls, Nero and Sem- 
 pronius. The country here begins to be very 
 fine, but is not at all alpine. Through a wide
 
 182 CAGLI. 
 
 and fertile valley runs the Metauro, a beauti- 
 fully clear green stream. Quitting Fossombrone, 
 we soon came to the Forli, a celebrated pass 
 in the mountains, and a work of the old Romans. 
 The rock in a narrow glen on the side of a small 
 stream has been cut away in order to make the 
 road, which then runs for some hundred yards 
 through an arched gallery hollowed out of the 
 solid stone ; this work appears as if very lately 
 finished, and the sublime and rocky scene around, 
 beautifully relieved by the fine and varied au- 
 tumnal tints of the shrubs, and by the white 
 and foaming stream, is a most fitting spot 
 for such a grand undertaking. Descending 
 from the pass into the valley on the other side, 
 we drove on through Aqualagna to Cagli, where 
 we remained for the night, in a most wretched 
 inn. 
 
 \Ath. We had a long drive from Cagli to 
 Sigillo through a fine mountainous country, 
 passing over some small Roman bridges, easily 
 distinguished from those of modern times, by 
 the gigantic size of the blocks of stone of which 
 they are formed. Another remarkable object on 
 this road is a bridge of great height, built over a
 
 CAGLI TO SPOLETO. 183 
 
 deep ravine, in order to preserve tlie level of 
 tlie road. It consists of a small arch thrown 
 across the mountain stream, above which a com- 
 plete circle or tunnel of nearly one hundred feet in 
 diameter, has been built, and thus forms the sup- 
 port of the road. In one part of the mountain 
 we observed some very curiously carved strata 
 in the limestone rock which composes this chain. 
 From Sigillo we proceeded in the afternoon 
 to Nocera, passing on the road many a hill of 
 stones surmounted by a wooden cross, the only 
 monument of the unfortunate travellers who 
 had perished in these wild and solitary spots, by 
 the hands of the ferocious banditti, which still 
 too often infest these parts of the Appenines. 
 It was dark when Ave reached Nocera, and we 
 here found the hotel as bad if not worse than 
 at Cagli. 
 
 loth. We left Nocera at about half-past seven 
 in the morning and reached Foligno by eleven. 
 This latter place is a large and very dirty town, 
 nor does there seem to be anything interesting 
 in it or its vicinity. We quitted it at two 
 o'clock, and drove on to Spoleto, passing along
 
 184 SPOLETO. 
 
 the banks of tlie Clytumnus, which Byron 
 with truth calls 
 
 " A mirror and a bath for Beauty's youngest daughters," 
 
 for every plant and leaf at the bottom, seems as 
 if viewed through a clear and spotless crystal. 
 A little above the source of this river, stands 
 the temple of its god, of small and delicate pro- 
 portions. The front is still in good preservation, 
 but the roof is covered with tiles, and the sides 
 are patched with bricks ; and it is now appa- 
 rently used as a stable or pig'-sty, and the waters 
 of the stream are polluted by ass-drivers and 
 water-women. 
 
 We are now driving over roads once covered 
 with the Carthaginian legions led on by Han- 
 nibal, rushing in all the fire of conquest from 
 the field of Tlirasymene ; and in the evening we 
 arrived at Spoleto, the town which oflfered him 
 such stout resistance, when on his march to 
 Rome, and before which he lay a fortnight. It 
 lies on a hill, which renders the streets exceed- 
 ingly steep ; and besides this, they are narrow, 
 dark and dirty. The only remarkable object 
 in it is the gate called Hannibal's Gate, which
 
 Hannibal's gate. 185 
 
 is very ancient, and bears the following inscrip- 
 tion on a marble tablet, celebrating his defeat 
 and retreat from this town. 
 
 HANNIBAL 
 
 CAESIS AD THRASVMEXUM ROMA.VIS 
 
 IXFESTO AGMI.VK URBEM ROMAM PETEN'S 
 
 AD SPOLETUM MAGNA STRAGE SUOSUM UEPUI.SUS 
 
 INSIGNE PORTAE NOIIEX FECIT. 
 
 So mnch for the days of old ! A battalion of 
 French troops would however now hardly allow 
 themselves to be repulsed by the descendants 
 of these victors of Hannibal. 
 
 1 Qth. Leaving Spoleto, we passed by a very 
 lofty aqueduct, which conveys the water from 
 the mountains across the valley to the town. 
 A mile or two further on we came to a xexy 
 long hill, where we had two oxen added to our 
 four horses, to ascend it. The descent on the 
 other side to Terni is still longer : the pass 
 through the mountains is in many places exceed- 
 ingly narrow, and on each side of the road are 
 lofty rocks ; the mountains are wild and mostly 
 uncultivated, and are chiefly covered with dark 
 laurel bushes ; on the whole road there is not a 
 village for the poste, and half a dozen houses at 
 IStretura hardly deserve the name of one. A
 
 186 TERNI. 
 
 mile or two before Terni the valley widens, 
 and the dark laurel trees give place to groves of 
 olives and green fields, whilst here and there a 
 tall cypress is seen rising from out of the gar- 
 dens near the town. I was much disappointed 
 here, in not being able to see the celebrated 
 Falls of the Velino, which are only five miles 
 distant from Terni ; but as Sir Humphry only 
 stopped to bait, it was impossible for me to do 
 so. There were many carriages at the inn, 
 English, French, and Russian, but the company 
 to whom they belonged were all gone to see the 
 Falls. 
 
 Between Terni and Narni, we entered upon 
 a wide and open though still hilly country, 
 through which the Velino winds slowly along. 
 Narni is certainly the most beautifully situated 
 tOAvn that I have seen in the Appenines, lying 
 at the side of a hill, at the foot of which the 
 green waters of the Nera roll through a deep 
 romantic glen, out of whose wooded sides 
 gigantic masses of rock are seen to rise, in and 
 upon which many old dwellings, now iniinha- 
 bited, are discovered. The road from hence 
 to Lavenga is fine and hilly, and between this
 
 MOUNT SORACTE. 187 
 
 latter and Otricoli, the mountains open, and 
 show us in the distance Mount Soraete, 
 
 " which from out the plain 
 
 Heaves, like a long swept wave about to break, 
 And on the curl hangs pausing," 
 
 the Tiber winding slowly along, and, still further, 
 another chain of distant mountains. The inn 
 at Otricoli was the worst of the many bad ones 
 we have met with among the Appenines, for 
 there was literally nothing to be had in the 
 house ; and the only waiter who was to be seen 
 was drunk. 
 
 \lth. We left these wi-etched quarters 
 at seven in the morning; and quitting the 
 Appenines, soon afterwards crossed the Tiber, 
 already a tolerably broad, but very muddy river. 
 The whole country is volcanic, and the river 
 seems to flow here through the crater of some 
 tremendous volcano of a former world. At 
 Borghetto, on the other side of the river, are 
 the remains of an old castle, probably gothic. 
 The sides of the roads, from hence to Citta 
 Castellaua, contain large masses of white garnet, 
 and we passed by many craters, small and large,
 
 188 CITTA. 
 
 some only broad and deep pits, with trees grow- 
 ing out of the clefts of the lava rock ; others 
 filled up with earth, and now turned into culti- 
 vated fields. Citta, or Civitta Castellana, is 
 probably the ancient Veii, and must have been 
 a very strong place in former days. The citadel, 
 from which it takes its present name, is a large 
 fort of half Roman, half Gothic architecture. 
 Before entering the town we crossed a small 
 river, which runs deep below through a wild and 
 romantic fissure in the lava rocks, which sur- 
 round the town, and of which the greater part 
 of the houses are built. We passed through the 
 town and over a bridge erected by Pius VL 
 A pompous latin inscription consigns the name 
 of this pope to posterity, for having ordered 
 this bridge to be built. It is a good strong 
 bridge, but nothing more. The Romans of old 
 built and worked, and let others talk ; those of 
 the present day talk much and do nothing. 
 We then drove on to Nepi, a small village, 
 where we dined, and from hence through Mon- 
 terosa to Baccano, which only consists of two 
 inns, the poste and another, where the vetturini 
 generally stop. Sir Humphry chose the latter,
 
 APPROACH TO ROME. 189 
 
 wliicli we found very good. To-morrow we 
 shall enter Rome, which is only two postes 
 distant from us. 
 
 18th. Left Baecano at eioht in the morn- 
 ing, and in about half an hour, from the top 
 of the first hill, saw the Eternal City, with her 
 seven hills, her towers, cupolas, monvnnents, and 
 palaces, immediately before us, becoming more 
 and more distinct as the sun dispersed the mists 
 of the morning, and bringing with them the re- 
 collections of the times and deeds of old, and of 
 the heroes, statesmen, orators, and poets, whose 
 former dwellings were there, and whose fame 
 still fills the world with admiration. On our left 
 lay the long chain of the Appenines, above 
 which rose Monte Velino, and some other of 
 the more distant and snow-clad mountains, 
 whilst nearer to Home was seen the Alban 
 Mount, and the hills of Tivoli. On the right 
 lay the wide outstretching campagna, beyond 
 which, although Sir Hum})hry doubted it, I am 
 sure I saw the straiofht blue line of the Medi- 
 terranean. The carriage rolled on from hill to 
 hill, each of which M'as covered with villas 
 surrounded by trees, amongst which the tall
 
 190 ROME. 
 
 cypress and the magnificent fan, or Mediterra- 
 nean })ine, were pre-eminent. At La Storta we 
 reached the last hill ; 
 
 " Now the brow 
 
 We gain enraptiucd : bcauteously distinct 
 The numerous porticoes and domes upswell, 
 Witli obelisks and columns interposed, 
 And pine, and fir, and oali ; so fair a scene 
 Sees not the dervisc from the spiral tomb 
 Of ancient Chammos, while his eye beholds 
 Proud Memphis' reliqucs o'er the Egyptian plain : 
 Nor hoary hermit from Hymettus' brow. 
 Though graceful Athens in tlie vale beneath." 
 
 From hence a short drive brought us to the 
 Tiber and to the Ponte MoUe, a bridge of brick, 
 built on the ancient foundations of the Pona 
 Molvii, in front of which stands a handsome 
 gateway and tower. Crossing this bridge, we 
 drove along a straight broad street upwards of 
 a mile in length, which ends at the Porta del Po- 
 polo, the entrance into Home, and a magnificent 
 entrance it is. The gate itself is fine, though 
 not very elegant, but the view through it into 
 the Piazza del Popolo is grand in the extreme, 
 and strongly impresses the stranger with the 
 feeling that he is entering into a magnificent
 
 RO-ME. 191 
 
 city, tlie metropolis of religion and of tlie arts. 
 In tlie middle of the Piazza, which is formed of 
 two large semicircles, rises a superb obelisk of 
 red granite, covered with hierogliphicks ; four 
 lions of white marble spouting water into the 
 basins before them, form part of the pedestal. 
 In the centre of the back of each semicircle is 
 a very elegant fountain in the shape of a co- 
 lossal shell, and surmounted by groups of gi- 
 gantic statues. Looking across the Piazza, three 
 long streets present themselves to view; the 
 middle the Corso ; the one on the left, the 
 Strada del Babuino; and to the right, the 
 Strada di Ripetta. The ends of these streets, 
 facing the Piazza, are formed by two elegant 
 churches, perfectly similar in architecture, and 
 above the left semicircle are seen the gardens 
 of the jNIonte Pincio, the ascent to which, 
 adorned by columns and statues, is not yet 
 finished. 
 
 Having found our lascia passarc at the gate, 
 we were permitted to drive to the hotel directly, 
 and were iu)t first conducted to the custom- 
 house, as is the case with those who enter Rome 
 without having procured, through some friend.
 
 19'2 ROME. 
 
 the permission to pass, which is only given by 
 the secretary of state. 
 
 At Serny's Hotel de Londres, on the Piazza 
 di Spag'na, a large and open square, we were 
 extremely well accommodated. It is a very 
 large and grand establishment, occupying three 
 different houses, and of course every thing is in 
 the first style. What most strikes a stranger in 
 the streets of Rome, are the numerous shops 
 of mosaics, gems, and trinkets in marble and 
 l)ronze, and a month and a fortune might be 
 spent by those who have nothing better to do 
 with their time and money, in admiring and 
 selecting such objects. The Corso, or high 
 street, the theatre of all the festivities during 
 the carnival, is every afternoon thronged with 
 carriages, which drive up and down in two 
 lines, the one going, the other coming. This 
 seems to be one of the principal amuse- 
 ments of the higher classes of Rome, and a 
 senseless enjoyment it appears to me, for the 
 greater part of the street is narrow, badly 
 paved, and dark. The number of spectators 
 from four till six o'clock, however, is very great. 
 French is spoken in almost every shop, and the
 
 THE COLOSSEUM. 193 
 
 number of English is so great, that one hears 
 nearly as much of that language spoken in the 
 streets as of Italian- 
 Sis^. This afternoon I went to the colosteum, 
 where I sat for some hours under the last of 
 the upper arches of the outside circle, looking 
 towards the magnificent church of St. John La- 
 teran, over part of the ancient walls of Rome, 
 and the remaining arches of two old aqueducts, 
 and down upon gardens and vineyards, in many 
 of which are the ruins of ancient buildings and 
 temples ; whilst the view over the surrounding 
 campagna is bounded by the blue Appenines, 
 and on the right by the Alban Mount. From 
 the inner wall I looked down from row to row 
 over the dark and ruined arches of the seats, now 
 picturesquely overgrown with shrubs, ivy, and 
 grass, and which were then beautifully tinged 
 vv'itii the rays of the setting sun, into the vast 
 arena beneath, formerly the scene of many a 
 savage sport for the amusement of a cruel 
 })eople, but now only ornamented by the broken 
 shafts and capitals of pillars which once adorned 
 it; and disfigured by the many altars erected by 
 pious devotees, breaking the harmony of the 
 
 o
 
 194 ROME. 
 
 whole, and only serving to shew the magnitude 
 and beauty of the ancient pillars, contrasted with 
 the smallness and insignificance of the modern 
 ones. In the centre of the arena, a large wooden 
 cross has been erected, which is devoutly kissed 
 by the lips of every pious Catholic who passes 
 by. Immediately opposite to me the circle of 
 arches was broken, and let in the view of the 
 near and distant country, where many a tall 
 cypress and pine rose amid the foundations of 
 the old palace of the Caesars, to the left of 
 which, amid the trees, appeared the pyramidal 
 momiment of Cains Sestius. From another side 
 I looked down upon the triumphal arches of 
 Constantine and Titus, upon the colossal remains 
 of tlie baths of Caracalla, and upon the ruins of 
 temples and palaces, and over modern Rome, 
 to the distant cupola of St. Peter's. 
 
 Quitting this mighty ruin, which, together 
 with the arch of Titus, the Popes have been, 
 and still are, engaged in patching up with bricks 
 and mortar, thus destroying the harmony and 
 beauty of the ancient architecture, I returned 
 to Serny's through the ancient Roman Forum, 
 (now the Campo Vaccine, ) where lie the chief
 
 THE CAMPO VACCINO. 195 
 
 relics of the former grandeur of the queen of 
 cities. Here are the arches of Constantine, of 
 Titus, and of Septimus Severus; the ruins of 
 temjiles, baths, and imperial palaces ; ruins which 
 have aftbrded to antiquarians so much matter for 
 research and for dispute, and which are regu- 
 larly described in the works of every modern 
 traveller in Italy. 
 
 Srd December. We remained at Serny's till 
 the first of December, as Sir Humphry found it 
 no easy thing- to find a lodging suited to him 
 so late in the year ; on the 28th, however, he 
 found apartments at the corner of the Via di 
 Pietra, which he liked, and we entered them on 
 the 1st of December. They are situated in a 
 good ])art of the city, and look out on the 
 Corso. 
 
 S\st. Our daily life has been hitherto as 
 monotonous as possible. Sir Humphry sees no 
 society, and wishes to see none, and his only 
 pleasure and amusement seems to consist in 
 shooting. He drives out every day in the sur- 
 rounding camparjna, often to a distance of twelve 
 and fourteen miles from Rome, when he gets 
 out ;ind rides on his pony over the fields in 
 
 o -2
 
 196 
 
 ROME. 
 
 search of quails or snipes. On liis return, when 
 he is not too much fatigued, he dictates to me 
 a continuation of his " \'ision," which he thinks 
 of forming- into a series of dialogues on religion 
 and other subjects ; and our evenings are spent, 
 as they have been ever since we left Calais, with 
 a game or two at cards, and with my reading 
 to him different works, principally English 
 and French, which he procures from a circu- 
 lating library in the Corso. I have formed no 
 ac([uaintances, as Sir Humphry wishes me not 
 to do so ; but when I have copied off the morn- 
 ing's dictation, I often take a solitary walk in 
 the gardens of the Pincio, to St. Peter's, or to 
 the Colosseum. 
 
 On Christmas-day I went to hear the Pope 
 celebrate grand mass at St. Maria Maggiore. 
 Tlie whole of the interior of this beautiful church 
 was superbly illuminated, more especially near 
 and round the high altar, in front of which the 
 Swiss guards were drawn up in a semi-circle, 
 and prevented all who were not dressed in black 
 from approaching it. Unaccustomed to the 
 fjrajideur of the Catholic service, I could not 
 but admire the magnificent dresses of the Pope
 
 CHRISTMAS DAY. 197 
 
 and the cardinals, and the grand and impressive 
 music and chaunting. At twelve o'clock, when 
 the service was concluded, a line was formed 
 down the grand aisle, through which the Pope 
 and the cardinals retired to the sacristy, to lay 
 aside their splendid, but weighty dresses. His 
 Holiness was carried in a superb throne, sup- 
 ported on the shoulders of his attendants, whilst 
 above him was held a splendid canopy, and on 
 each side large and beautiful fans of feathers 
 and gold. The Pope's Swiss guards, who always 
 attend his Holiness when he quits his palace, 
 are, if possible, a caricature of our beef-eaters. 
 They are forty in numljer, all Swiss, and many 
 of them do not even speak Italian. On grand 
 fete days they wear steel helmets and breast- 
 plates instead of the ancient cap and slashed 
 doublet, M'hich, with black, red, and yellow- 
 striped breeches and stockings, form their usual 
 dress, and in their hands they always carry a 
 long halbert or pike. 
 
 1st January^ 1829. The only festivities either 
 to be seen or heard which announce the new 
 year in Ptome, consist in the discharge of a few 
 cannon early in the morning from the Fort St.
 
 198 ROME. 
 
 Angelo, (formerly the mausoleum of Hadrian, 
 but now the citadel of Rome and state-prison,) 
 and the celebration of grand mass at St. John 
 Lateran. 
 
 lO^A. Sir Humphry this afternoon received a 
 ])arcel from England, which he has for some days 
 been expecting with the greatest impatience. 
 It was the " Quarterly Review," containing Sir 
 Walter Scott's critique on " Salmonia," which 
 Sir Humpln-y begged me to read to him directly, 
 and he seemed higldy pleased with the manner 
 in which Sir Walter speaks of his work. 
 
 1^^ February. A short time ago a considerable 
 part of the city was illuminated in honour of 
 eight newly-elected cardinals, whose palaces, as 
 well as those of the Roman nobili, were adorned 
 with large wax torches, placed two or more in 
 each window, whilst the houses of the citizens 
 were lighted with small transparent paper lan- 
 terns, on which the papal arms were painted. 
 
 The daily drive on the Corso is now often en- 
 livened by many gay equipages and servants in 
 splendid liveries, the gayest of which are those 
 of the Russian Archduchess Helena, and the 
 King of Bavaria. I have been twice to the
 
 ACCIDENTAL FIRE. 199. 
 
 theatre ; there are several, and they all opened 
 on the 7th of January. The two principal ones, 
 Argentina and Valle, are small, and by no means 
 striking. 
 
 8^//. To-day we were near being burnt out of 
 our lodoing^. On awakino- in the mornino-, I 
 found my room and the drawing-room filled with 
 smoke, and perceived a strong smell of burning 
 wood. The servant said that all the windows 
 had been opened for upwards of an hour, and 
 yet he could not get rid of the smoke. We 
 could, however, discover nothing, till the lodgers 
 from below sent up to say that fire was falling 
 through their ceiling, and upon going into their 
 room I foiuid the ceiling on fire, and that a large 
 hole was already burnt through the beams which 
 lay immediately under Sir Humphry's fire-place. 
 1 instantly sent for the fire-men, who did their 
 business very expertly, taking up the floor of 
 Sir Humphry's drawing-room, which they found 
 burning for a considerable space round the 
 hearth, upon which so large a fire had been 
 kept up the day before, that the heat had pene- 
 trated through the stone, and thus set fire to the 
 beams. In an hour it was quite extinguished,
 
 200 ROME. 
 
 and all danger over. To avoid the bustle occa- 
 sioned by the reparation required, Sir Humphry 
 determined to visit the Lago di Solf'atara, some- 
 times called the lake of the swimming islets, 
 and he begged me to accompany him : we there- 
 fore set out immediately, and left Rome by the 
 Porta St. Lorenzo, and follow^ing the ancient 
 Via Tibertina, we crossed, about four miles from 
 Rome, the Aniene, or, as it is more generally 
 called, the Teverone, a small river, which forms 
 the celebrated cascades at Tivoli. On many parts 
 of the road the remains of the ancient Roman 
 pavement are very distinct, formed of large round 
 or octangular flat stones. About thirteen miles 
 from Rome we reached the little bridge across 
 the stream which runs from the lake of Solfatara. 
 Leaving the carriage here, Sir Humphry mounted 
 his pony, and, turning off to the left across the 
 fields, we soon reached the Lago. It is a small 
 bason of water, of an oval form, and measures 
 in its greatest diameter not more than two hun- 
 dred yards, but its depth is said to be about two 
 hundred feet. The colour of the water is bluish 
 white, and from the quantity of lime which it 
 holds in solution is by no means clear. The
 
 THE LAGO DI SOLFATARA. 201 
 
 surface appears to be in a state of considerable 
 ebullition, wliich is caused by the quantity of air 
 that escapes through it, and on flinging in a 
 stone the water bubbles up violently at the spot 
 where it falls. The temperature, however, is 
 far below that of Ijoiling water, for on trying it 
 to the depth of six feet in different places, we 
 found it vary between 85" and 87° Fahrenheit. 
 It continually emits a strong smell of sulphu- 
 rated hj'drogen, which is perceptible upon the 
 high road sometime before one arrives at the 
 Lago. The floating islands, which have contri- 
 buted to render this lake celebrated, are no 
 fable, and are easily explained. Around it and 
 upon it are numerous species of confervcB and 
 many small M'ater plants, which, becoming en- 
 crusted with the carbonate of lime deposited by 
 the water, form with leaves and grasses compact 
 little masses, which, supported by air bubbles 
 that have lodged beneath, or from their own 
 lightness, do not sink, and becoming detached 
 by accident from the shore, swim about and 
 become larger by the junction of these little 
 masses with each other. These little islands 
 are said to have been seen of a diameter of some
 
 202 ROME. 
 
 feet, but the largest which we saw did not ex- 
 ceed two or three inches. A canal has been cut 
 from the lake to the Teverone, which carries off 
 the superfluous water that formerly inundated 
 the surrounding plain. Near the large lake are 
 two others of smaller size, the waters of Mdiich 
 are, however, exactly the same. Sticks, leaves, 
 or insects, or any thing which falls into these 
 waters, become thickly encrusted with a strong 
 and hard covering of marble or travertine. It 
 is probable that these three lakes were formerly 
 only one, and may have covered a considerable 
 part of the plain aromid, Avhich is chiefly formed 
 of travertine that has been deposited by water. 
 Of this stone also the greater part of the edifices 
 in Rome, ancient as well as modern, are built. 
 Close to the lake are still to be seen the ruins 
 of some ancient Roman baths, and it is said that 
 Augustus frequently made use of the waters of 
 the Solfatara. 
 
 Upon our return to Rome I heard at the 
 trattoria or restaui'ateur's, where 1 generally 
 dine, an indistinct rumour of the death of the 
 Po])e, Avhich the Italians express by saying, II 
 Santo Padre e andato.
 
 DEATH OF THE POPE. 203 
 
 10^/^ This morning the death of the Holy 
 Father was publicly announced by the tolling 
 of the bells, the closing of the theatres and all 
 public offices. His decease appears to cause 
 little sensation among the Romans, by whom 
 he seems to have been exceedingly disliked ; 
 and happening at this moment just before the 
 commencement of the carnival, all the festivities 
 and gaieties of which are thus put an end to, it 
 does not serve to render his memory more 
 popular. 
 
 llth — 14M. Four cardinals have been sitting 
 in counsel for the last two or three days, deli- 
 berating whether or not any public festivities 
 shall be allowed, and have now determined that 
 no public amusement shall take place during 
 the time that the papal throne shall remain 
 vacant. The Romans at this news are quite in 
 despair ; and no wonder, for I am told that the 
 sum daily spent in this city during the last week 
 of the carnival exceeds 80,000 Roman crowns. 
 Numberless little pasquinades and jeux d'esprit 
 on the late Pope circulate among the people, 
 the freedom of many of which not a little sur- 
 prises me. The two following are among many
 
 204 ROME. 
 
 others wliich I saw handed about in writing, 
 though I question if any appeared in print. 
 
 Todini was the Pope's barber-surgeon, to 
 whose ignorance and bad treatment his Holi- 
 ness' death is attributed. 
 
 V'^ chi a Todini oppone 
 
 La morte di Leone ; 
 Roma pari) sostiene 
 
 Ch 'egli & operate bene. 
 
 And 
 
 again- 
 
 Alle dieci di Febraro, 
 
 E successo un caso raro, 
 A un Leon creduto forte 
 
 Diede un asioo la morte. 
 
 \Qth. To-day I made an excursion to Tivoli, 
 
 with Hofrath F of Darmstadt, whom I had 
 
 met a day or two before by mere chance, in 
 the street, and who kindly greeted me as an old 
 friend. We followed the same road which I had 
 passed over -with Sir Humphry when we visited 
 the Solfatara ; and about two miles beyond the 
 little bridge over the canal, we again crossed the 
 Teverone, by the Ponte Lucano, near which is 
 the sepulchre of the Plautian family, built of 
 travertine, in the shape of a round tower, and on
 
 TIVOLI. 205 
 
 tlie front of it are still the remains of some 
 columns and latin inscriptions. Three or four 
 miles beyond this monument lies Tivoli, where we 
 arrived about ten o'clock in the morning, having 
 quitted Rome at an early hour, and we occu]ned 
 the whole morning in viewing the ruins and 
 cascades. Our first visit was to the Temple of 
 \ esta, generally called the Temple of the Sybil, 
 a beautiful and elegant ruin, situated immedi- 
 ately above the Falls of the Aniene. It is of a 
 circular form, and appears to have been sur- 
 rounded by eighteen columns, ten of which are 
 still remaining. These columns are of traver- 
 tine, and of the Corinthian order. Close to this 
 temple stands another small one, which is said to 
 have been dedicated to the Tiburtine Sybil, of a 
 square form, with four Ionic columns in front. 
 Descending near this temjile, a very good path 
 led us down to the Grotto of Neptune, into 
 which the waters of the Aniene precipitate 
 themselves with impetuosity, forming on two 
 sides beautiful cascades, which fall into the same 
 pool, and run from it through a very narrow and 
 highly jncturesque valley, round the hill upon 
 which Tivoli is situated. Leaving the grotto
 
 •206 TIVOLI. 
 
 and town, wo M-alla>d alon^^ the side of the 
 mountains wliich look towards the caniparpia and 
 Rome ; and during- our walk, our guide showed 
 us the remains and situations of some of the 
 most celebrated villas ; the country-house of the 
 poet Catullus, and that of Horace and Quintillius 
 Varo. Before we ascended to the villa of Mae- 
 cenas, we passed by the Cascatelle, beautiful and 
 highly picturesque falls, which seem to rise out 
 of the town of Tivoli, and leap down the liill 
 into the A^alley in many a varied bound. The 
 villa of Maecenas is now used as an iron ma- 
 nufactory ; many of the rooms and corridors are 
 still distinct, and the roof is still perfect. The 
 view from hence towards Rome is magnificent, 
 embracing the whole campagna, with the differ- 
 ent towns and villages in it, and is bounded by 
 the cupola of St. Peter's. The Villa d' Este is 
 of modern architecture, and must formerly have 
 been very s])lendid ; but it is now fulling fast 
 into decay, and its fine gardens are no longer 
 attended to; the fountahis in them are dry, and 
 the numberless statues that adorn them have 
 become brown and dirty. 
 
 After dining at Tivoli we returned to Rome,
 
 VILLA ADRIANA. "207 
 
 but stopped for two hours at the Villa Adrlana, 
 to view the astonishiug ruins of this wonderful 
 spot, where the Emperor Hadrian attempted to 
 luiite all the grand and beautiful objects which 
 he had beheld in Greece and Egypt. He here 
 built a Lycaeum, an Academy, a Pritaneum, 
 like those he had seen at Athens; he formed 
 the Vale of Tempo, in imitation of the cele- 
 brated Thessalian \ alley ; and not content with 
 earthly subjects, he imagined Tartariis and the 
 Elysian Eields, as described in the ancient my- 
 thology. The ruins of this stupendous villa 
 cover a surface of seven miles in circumference, 
 in which are found the remains of circuses, 
 temples, theatres, libraries, baths, palaces, &c. 
 &c., which still present an astonishing proof of 
 the almost inconceivable grandeur and magnifi- 
 cence of the ancient lords of the Roman Empire. 
 The mind that planned and executed this mighty 
 work, and conceived the idea of briuffina: too-e- 
 ther into one spot of ground the noblest edi- 
 fices scattered over the surface of the gigantic 
 empire which he governed, could have been of 
 no common mouhl, nor can any one dwell upon 
 it as sucli, whilst wandering amid these now
 
 208 ROME. 
 
 moukleriiig ruins. Leaving the villa, we pro- 
 ceeded to the Solfatara, Hofrath F not 
 
 having yet seen it, and from thence returned to 
 Rome, where I arrived just in time to read to 
 Sir Humphry, after having spent a day of no 
 common pleasure, which had not been a little 
 heightened by the kind and friendly interest 
 shown me by the Hofrath. 
 
 20th — 28fh. These days have been to me 
 days of extreme anxiety, and often of fearful 
 anticipation. On the 20th Sir Humphry was 
 attacked with a renewed stroke of palsy, which 
 had nearly ])roved fatal to him. In the morning 
 he had, after breakfast, been dictating to me his 
 dialogues, which he had nearly finished, and he 
 ap]ieared even to be better, and more gay than- 
 I had seen him for some time. I left him at 
 eleven o'clock, and went to my adjoining room 
 to continue the fair copy, but had scarcely 
 seated myself, when I heard him hastily call 
 me, and upon entering the room I found him 
 fallen upon the sofa, and deprived apparently of 
 the use of his limbs. He evidently thought 
 himself dying, but his voice was quite audible, 
 and he told me, that on attempting to rise from
 
 ILLNESS OF SIR H. DAVY. 209 
 
 the sofa, lie felt that he had no power over 
 his limbs, more especially those of his right 
 side, and that he felt sick at his stomach. 
 With the assistance of the servants I got him 
 into bed as quickly as possible, and I sent 
 immediately for Dr. Jenks, who came di- 
 rectly, bringing with him Dr. Morichhii. They 
 each did all that was possible to relieve Sir 
 Humphry's apprehensions, and assured me 
 the danger was not so immediate as he ima- 
 gined. After they left, I wrote both to Doctor 
 and Lady Davy, and then read to Sir Hum- 
 phry during the remainder of the day, Mdiich 
 seemed to cpiiet and calm him. He slept very 
 little in the night, and continued much in the 
 same state through the next day, though he 
 was able during it to dictate some codicils to 
 his will, and to finish the little that remained 
 of the Dialogues. On the 22nd he was rather 
 better, although he had much fever, and was 
 able, with the help of my guiding his hand, to 
 sign two or three papers of importance. On the 
 2.3rd, however, he became worse, and he dic- 
 tated a letter to his brother. Dr. Davy, to say 
 that he was dying; but the physicians who 
 
 p
 
 210 ROME. 
 
 visited him daily three times, said he was not 
 materially worse. He has often taken large 
 doses of laudanum and acetate of morphine, (of 
 the latter in one day upwards of twenty grains,) 
 even more than his physicians approved, and 
 on the 24th he was much worse, having passed 
 a sleepless and very restless night. He was 
 extremely weak, and his voice had sunk to 
 a whisper scarcely audible; he said he felt his 
 forces going, and that he should not outlive the 
 day ; yet his mental faculties maintained their 
 power and activity, and seemed to be always 
 occupied with the same subject, his Dialogues, 
 the title of which, " Philosophical Dialogues," 
 he said he wished to have changed for " The 
 Last Days of a Philosopher ; or. Consolations in 
 Travel." I coidd not persuade him to take 
 anything during the morning, and even the 
 little which he had spoken to me seemed to 
 have exhausted him. The idea that his dissolu- 
 tion was close at hand, was fixed in his mind, 
 and saying that he had but a few hours longer 
 to live, he begged to be left quiet and alone, 
 and pressing my hand said, " God bless you, 
 I shall never see you again." After this he lay
 
 ILLNESS OF SIR H. DAVY. 211 
 
 in a torpor for many hours, but in the afternoon 
 he revived a little, and Dr. Morichini at length 
 succeeded in persuading him to take a little 
 broth and a glass of champagne. The reading 
 to him seems to afford him much pleasure, and 
 I have often read to him till midnight ; George 
 always sits up with him, and, when anything 
 occurs, immediately calls me. Since the 24th 
 he has gradually got better, and on the 2oth 
 he recovered his voice, and was not quite so de- 
 sponding as before, and the three following days 
 found him still better, but now and then deli- 
 rious, from the quantity of acetate of morphine 
 which he has taken and still takes. 
 
 29^A — 1^^ April. Sir Humphry has been gra- 
 dually recovering, and has now considerably 
 regained the power over his limbs, and is often 
 able to be upon the sofa the greater part of the 
 day. It seems impossible for him to exist 
 without being read to, and on one day I read 
 Shakspeare to him for nine hours. On the 15th 
 of March Dr. Davy arrived from Malta, and 
 Lady Davy from London on the 30th, she 
 having travelled day and night. Their arrival 
 relieved me from much anxiety. When Sir 
 
 p 2
 
 212 ROME. 
 
 Humphry is able to bear travelling we shall 
 leave Rome, and proceed to Geneva by way of 
 Florence and Genoa, and at the latter city Dr. 
 Davy will probably quit us to return to Malta. 
 Sir Humphry has latterly found himself so much 
 better, that he often takes a drive for an hour 
 or two. 
 
 20#A. This being Easter Monday, Sir Hum- 
 phry determined to drive out and see the grand 
 illumination of St. Peter's, which takes place 
 annually on this evening. It was indeed one 
 of the grandest sights imaginable, and we were 
 remarkably fortunate in seeing it this year, when 
 it was said to be more magnificent than usual, in 
 honour of the newly elected pope. Between 
 six and seven o'clock in the evening, thousands 
 and thousands crowd over the Ponte St. Angelo 
 to gain a place in the grand Piazza of St. Peter's. 
 Only the carriages belonging to the cardinals 
 and foreign ambassadors are allowed to pass 
 over that bridge on this evening, all others 
 being obliged to make a considerable detour. 
 At seven o'clock the Piazza is crowded with all 
 sorts of carriages, and upM'ards of an hundred 
 thousand people. This front of the church, the
 
 ILLUMINATION OF ST. PETEU's. 213 
 
 cupola, and two smaller domes, are seen illumi- 
 nated with innumerable small paper lanterns, 
 fixed at regular distances. This lasts till nearly 
 eight, and in the meanwhile the mass of the 
 people in the Piazza are loud in their expression 
 of joy and expectation, but as the hour of eight 
 approaches all becomes still and hushed, and 
 only a half-breathed solitary adess', adesso, is 
 now and then heard. With the first stroke of 
 the clock, the great bell of St. Peter's sounds 
 one. All eyes turn instantly to the cross on the 
 top of the cupola, from out of which a magni- 
 ficent column of flame is seen suddenly to burst. 
 A second stroke upon the great bell, and the fire 
 is seen descending with the rapidity of lightning 
 over the cupola and the other parts of the 
 church. The bell strikes for a third and last 
 time, and the two magnificent semicircular colo- 
 nades which surround the Piazza, are beheld in 
 a blaze of Illumination. The whole is the work 
 of three or four seconds, and so great is the 
 light produced, that of the former illumination 
 not a trace is visible. This lasted for about 
 half an hour, when the liglits faded away, and 
 the crowd began to disperse.
 
 214 DEPARTURE FROM ROME. 
 
 2\st This day was celebrated by a magni- 
 ficent display of fireworks, which the Italians 
 call la Ginmdola, on the Mausoleum of Ha- 
 drian. They are announced by the explosion 
 of a tremendous maroon, which seems to shake 
 Rome to her centre; this is followed by the 
 eruption of Vesuvius, formed by thousands of 
 rockets, which rise at the same moment, and 
 give to a person who has not witnessed an 
 eruption, a terrific idea of that phenomenon. 
 After this follow all kinds of fireworks of the 
 most brilliant description, the whole fort is seen 
 illuminated, and on the top appears the name of 
 the Pope in gigantic flaming letters ; suns and 
 stars are seen bursting from the dense clouds of 
 smoke which hang heavy in the air, and the 
 scene closes by another eruption of Vesuvius, 
 which throws a red and fiery glare upon the 
 neighbouring cupola of St. Peter's. 
 
 SOth. We this morning quitted Rome by the 
 same gate through which we entered, and dined 
 at Baccano, where we found the inn thronged 
 with strangers, chiefly English, all flocking to 
 the north. A few miles beyond Monte Rosa we 
 turned out of our former road, and drove on to
 
 MONTEFIASCOVE. 215 
 
 Ronciglione, a small village of dark black houses, 
 in the midst of which rises a newly white-washed 
 church and cupola, like a shining light in the 
 village of darkness. 
 
 1st May. Leaving Ronciglione, we passed by 
 the Lago di Vigo, a small lake, M'hich lay be- 
 neath us as we wound up a very steep hill, from 
 the top of which we enjoyed a magnificent view. 
 In the plain beneath us lay Horace's Soracte; and 
 beyond this mountain, and stretching towards 
 the north as far as the eye could reach, the chain 
 of the Appenines, whose lower regions were 
 clad in the fresh green of spring, while the 
 higher ridges were mostly covered with snow, 
 above wliich rose the more distant summits of 
 the Velino and many other snowy peaks, now 
 hidden by light fleeting clouds, and then again 
 glittering in a morning sun. At the bottom of 
 the hill we passed through Viterbo, and after a 
 drive of some hours over a hilly country, we 
 came to Montefiascove, a small place, celebrated 
 for its wine, which, if the following anecdote be 
 true, once cost a reverend prelate his life. He 
 was a great friend of good wanes, and when on 
 a journey used always to send a courier on be-
 
 216 ST. LORENZO. 
 
 fore to taste tlie wines of tlie different places 
 throuoh which he was to pass, and wlien it was 
 good lie was ordered to write to his master est 
 honum, and when remarkably good, est, est. On 
 tasting the wine at Montefiascove, the courier 
 wrote est, est, est honum, and his judgment 
 seemed to have been right ; for when his right 
 reverend master arrived, he draidc such a quan- 
 tity of it that it occasioned his death. From the 
 hill on which the town stands is a fine view of 
 the lake of Bolsena, which appears to be the 
 crater of an immense volcano of a former world. 
 In the middle of the water rise two islands of 
 solid rock, seemingly basalt, which is found in 
 considerable quantity on the banks, and ap- 
 pears in some very remarkable formations near 
 Bolsena, and the whole country around is volca- 
 nic tufa. Bolsena is the ancient capital of the 
 Etruscans; it lies rather above the road, and 
 we did not pass through, it, but drove on to St. 
 Lorenzo, a miserable collection of a few houses, 
 where we stopped for the night at a very bad 
 inn. 
 
 '2nd. The first town after leaving St. Lorenzo 
 was Aquapendente, a small and very ancient
 
 TUSCANY. 217 
 
 place, romantically situated in a rocky ravine. 
 Between this town and Radicofani we left the 
 Papal territories, and entered Tuscany. Radi- 
 cofani is a small and very old town, on the brow 
 of a steep hill, which is surmounted by an an- 
 cient ruined castle. The change in the Italian 
 pronunciation almost instantly strikes the ear ; 
 for here a guttural sound is always predominant. 
 The dress of the peasants also seems to have 
 changed with the change of country ; instead of 
 the white and stiffly-starched handkerchiefs of 
 the Roman females, laid in a square upon the 
 head, and falling down the back, we now meet 
 women with pretty black turbans, which give 
 them a much more picturesque appearance ; 
 many of them also wear men's hats, only adding 
 one or more black feathers as ornament. In 
 this neighbourhood grows the famous wine of 
 Monte-pelluciano, called by Redi, // re clei vini. 
 It was not, however, at all to my taste, for it 
 seemed to me a strong, rough, red wine. The 
 green-jacketed postilions of the Pope have dis- 
 appeared, and in their place we met with red 
 jackets, turned up with black. Having dined at 
 Radicofani, we drove on through a hilly and
 
 218 SIENNA. 
 
 barren country to La Scala, a lone house, where 
 the vetturini stop for the night. 
 
 3rd. We quitted La Scala early, and passing 
 through the same hilly and uninteresting coun- 
 try, arrived and dined at Buonconvento, a small 
 and rather more modern town than any we 
 have yet seen. After diimer we went on to 
 Sienna, and the country became rather more in- 
 teresting, being now and then diversified with 
 country houses and villas. The roads are excel- 
 lent, and very well kept. Sienna lies very high, 
 and is seen from a considerable distance, espe- 
 cially two of its towers ; one of them very lofty 
 and slender, and the other streaked alternately 
 with black and white lines, just like a Prussian 
 bomidary-post. We entered the town by a 
 spacious old brick gateway, and driving through 
 a long and wide street, paved with broad flag- 
 stones, arrived at the Aquila Neva, a very good 
 inn. With the exception of the chief street, the 
 others seem narrow and dark. Sienna is re- 
 markable for the pure Tuscan which the inha- 
 bitants speak, as a proof of which they relate the 
 following anecdote : — A preacher of some cele- 
 brity being on the road to Sienna, to edify its
 
 THE CATHEDRAL. 219 
 
 inhabitants witli an oration, met a peasant girl 
 on the road, and asked her how far distant he 
 "was from the town ? She replied to him — 
 
 " Sbarcate il flume, salite il monte, 
 Avrete Sienna in fronte." 
 
 The orator is said to have been so astonished at 
 liearing- these words from a peasant, that he in- 
 stant!}^ gave up his intention of preaching to 
 such connoisseurs of Italian, and returned from 
 whence he came. Not only for its pure language 
 is Sienna famous, but also for its beautiful 
 women ; and this very justly, for no where have 
 I seen so many well-made and handsome figures 
 as in the streets of this town. The cathedral is 
 one of the strangest buildings I ever saw ; it is 
 entirely built of alternate layers of black and 
 white marble, and the Prussian boundary-post 
 which we saw from a distance is its chief tower. 
 The portico is a fine, but very incongruous piece 
 of Gothic architecture ; pillars of all sorts and 
 sizes are intermingled with statues of saints, 
 basriefs, horses' heads, and the gaping mouths of 
 dragons, some gilt, some bronze, and others in 
 white marble. The black marble in the interior
 
 220 SIENNA. 
 
 seemed to overpower the white, and tlirew a 
 strange and unearthly gloom over the broad 
 aisles as I saw them in tlie dusk of evening, hung 
 witli flags, and lighted with a few flickering tapers, 
 which hardly served to discover here and there 
 some solitary devotee, praying at the altar of 
 his patron saint. 
 
 In the evening, after reading to Sir Hum- 
 phry, I went for an hour to the theatre, where 
 I found a juggler amusing a numerous and de- 
 lighted assembly with his tricks. 
 
 Afh. This was a very rainy day, and Sir Hum- 
 plny determined to remain at Sienna, to rest 
 himself from the fatigue of the journey, which he 
 has, however, borne much better than could have 
 been expected. In the morning I went again 
 to the cathedral, to see the paintings of Raphael. 
 They are painted on the walls of the sacristy, 
 and represent scenes from the life of Clement 11. 
 It is said they were only designed by Raphael 
 when he was very young, and afterwards coloured 
 by another master ; good j udges, however, can 
 alone decide upon this point. In the same room 
 are some beautifully illuminated old missals, and 
 a fine marble monument by Ricchi, to the me-
 
 THE CATHEDRAL. 221 
 
 mory of the celebrated anatomist Maseagiii, wlio 
 was a native of Sienna. It represents a weep- 
 ing- female in a sitting posture, holding a 
 scroll in her hand, on which is an inscription in 
 letters of gold, and around her lie different ana- 
 tomical instruments and books. In the middle 
 of the room, on a lofty pedestal, is an antique 
 group in marble, representing the three Graces. 
 They were found in repairing the foundations of 
 the church, and, though much mutilated, are 
 beautifully executed, and may probably have 
 given Canova the idea of his Graces, as the sa- 
 cristan told me he had repeatedly visited them, 
 and spent much time in the study of them. The 
 cathedral also contains many fine pictures of 
 very ancient date, one as early as the year 1280. 
 The pulpit of African marble is very remarkable 
 for the beauty of its sculpture, and the inlaid 
 and carved pavement before the altar is also 
 very curious, but its chief boast is the possession 
 of one of the arms of John the Baptist ; it how- 
 ever has lost its little finger, which a bishop 
 of Florence is said to have bitten oif through 
 envy, while devoutly kissing the relic. St. 
 John's head is said to be at Genoa, and I sup-
 
 •222 FLORENCE. 
 
 pose his other limbs are to be found in some part 
 of Italy. 
 
 btli. It rained heavily this morning-, but 
 cleared up before we left Sieinia. The country 
 at first is rather barren and hilly, but improves 
 the nearer we approach to Florence. Taver- 
 nelle, where we stopped to dine and bait the 
 horses, is a small and insignificant village ; the 
 country beyond it becomes very pretty; the 
 road is bordered with neat villages and villas, 
 from the gardens of which immense clusters of 
 roses hang over the walls, and the distant hills 
 are covered with fine wood, and with the beau- 
 tiful fan pine. We saw Florence in the valley 
 of the Arno long before we reached it ; in itself 
 smaller than I expected it, but surrounded on all 
 sides by innumerable villas and hamlets, peeping 
 through the fine woods, or standing in the midst 
 of beautifully cultivated fields. We entered the 
 city by the Porta Romana, a plain old brick 
 gateway, and drove to the Hotel de 1' Europe, 
 where we were splendidly and comfortably 
 lodged. 
 
 Qth — 9th. We remained these days at Flo- 
 rence, that Sir Humphry might a little recruit
 
 ANATOMICAL CABINET. 2*23 
 
 his strength ; and during- this time, at intervals 
 when he did not want me to read to him, 1 
 saw as much as I could of the curiosities of this 
 magnificent capital. The celebrated gallery, 
 which is perhaps its greatest attraction, [ was 
 only able just to look at, having but two hours 
 to devote to it. The anatomical cabinet of pre- 
 parations in wax is undoubtedly the finest thing 
 of its kind existing, and shows what eft'ects pa- 
 tience and perseverance can produce, being 
 chiefly the work of one person. Many rooms 
 are filled with glass cases, containing the most 
 beautiful and exact representations of the struc- 
 trn-e of the human body in all its parts, moidded 
 in wax. The finest and most intricate parts of 
 the human frame are delineated and traced with 
 a distinctness and exactitude hardly to be con- 
 ceived, and the slightest ramifications of the 
 nerves and vessels have been followed with a 
 clearness and accuracy rarely seen in the most 
 exact preparations of the best cabinets of ana- 
 tomy. The collection is not confined only to 
 the anatomy of the human body, but contains 
 also numerous specimens of comparative anatomy, 
 amongst which is a most beautiful one of a fish,
 
 2*24 FLORENCE. 
 
 with all its internal organs. In the museum 
 annexed to the anatomical cabinet are also three 
 representations of the plague at Florence, de- 
 scribing this terrific scourge with a horrible and 
 disgusting accuracy. This, and all other col- 
 lections, are open on certain days, and .'it fixed 
 hours, to the public, and any one is allowed to 
 enter, and without paying. 
 
 The cathedral is a fine building, in the same 
 style of architecture as that at Sienna, and, like 
 it, is built of black and white marble. The cele- 
 brated Campanella, or belfry, is a lofty square 
 tower, detached from the church, and built in a 
 fine and light style; when I was there it was 
 closed, and I had not time to repeat my visit, so 
 that 1 did not see the interior. One evening I 
 went to the Pergola, a very fine and large 
 theatre : it is extremely simple and elegant, the 
 ground-colour being shining white, relieved by 
 light gilt ornaments, and the opera and ballet 
 were in a style of corresponding elegance. I 
 went once to see the house of Dante, now called 
 the Palazzo Dante, and the residence of the 
 French Ambassador. Near it is also the dwell- 
 ing place of the two Guicciardini=
 
 LUCCA. 225 
 
 9th. We quitted Florence this morning for 
 Genoa, and drove on to Pistoja in two hours 
 and a half. The road runs through a long con- 
 tinued row of villages and villas, linked toge- 
 ther by the graceful festoons of the green vine. 
 The plain is covered with Italian vineyards, in 
 which the vines are trained from tree to tree, 
 very different from those of Germany. The 
 villages are full of roses ; and the nearer hills 
 are spotted with white houses, rising among the 
 green trees, and beyond them appears a chain of 
 loftier snow-tipped mountains. The inhabitants 
 of the villages were all sitting in the sun before 
 their doors, chiefly employed in plaiting straw 
 for the Leghorn hats. The drive from Pistoja 
 to Lucca is most beautiful ; the land is in high 
 cultivation, and appears to be very rich. The 
 mountains became grander, more rugged and 
 bolder, as we approached the Lucchese territory, 
 which we entered about eight miles from Lucca. 
 The ramparts surrounding the town are all 
 planted with lofty trees, which perfectly conceal 
 the houses beyond them, so that, with the ex- 
 ception of one or two towers, no part of the 
 town is visible from without the walls. The 
 
 2
 
 226 MASS A. 
 
 streets are old, narrow, and dirty, and the ca- 
 thedral is an awkward building, the front of 
 which is formed of rows of small arches, one 
 above another, surmounted by a gigantic un- 
 couth white angel, in whose head was stuck a 
 great dry bush. 
 
 lOth. We quitted Lucca at seven in the 
 morning, and from the top of the hill beyond 
 it, I discovered the straight blue line of the Me- 
 diterranean. Descending the hill, and driving 
 about ten miles through groves of olives and 
 rows of poplars, from which the vines hung 
 down in long single festoons, we past the 
 boundary of the Lucchese territory, and entered 
 the small dukedom of Massa- Carrara, and shortly 
 after into the town of Massa, a neat and airy 
 though old town. White marble is generally 
 used here for the stairs, and for the facings of 
 the doors and windows. Whilst dinner was 
 preparing, I took a walk up to the old castle 
 above the town, now emphatically called the 
 fortress. Its only garrison, however, seemed to 
 consist of four or five soldiers, who were pro- 
 vided with one old rusty cannon. The view 
 from the ruined battlements was highly beau-
 
 CARRARA. 227 
 
 tiful : in front lay tlie wide sea, glancing in 
 the beams of tlie sun, so bright that the eye 
 could not bear to look upon it; to the left, 
 in the distance, appeared the island of Gor- 
 gona, rising like a dark blue rock out of the 
 glittering waves ; to the right, two smaller 
 islands were seen, beyond which appeared 
 promontory upon promontory, conveying their 
 woods of olives far out into the sea. Below 
 the castle a vast plain covered with vineyards 
 and groves of olives was seen, stretching down 
 to the edge of the water, intersected by a sil- 
 very river winding among the trees, whilst im- 
 mediately under the hill, and half hidden by it, 
 lay Massa, like the plan of a town spread open 
 before me. Beyond it were seen the wooded 
 hills leading to Carrara, and behind the castle 
 rose rocky and rugged mountains, here and 
 there spotted with a field or two of remaining 
 snow, and, like the Alps, hiding their lofty heads 
 in dark grey clouds. 
 
 Quitting Massa, we drove over a noble bridge 
 of one lofty arch built entirely of white marble, 
 and after winding across a long hill, we passed 
 through Carrara, near which, in one of the lateral
 
 228 SPEZIA. 
 
 vallies, are the celebrated marble quarries. A 
 little beyond this village we entered the Pied- 
 montese territory and the dominions of the 
 Kini^ of Sardinia, and soon arrived at Sarzana, 
 a small ill-looking town. It being Sunday, the 
 road and town were covered with peasants in 
 their holiday suits : the dress of the women is 
 one of the oddest I have yet seen ; they wear 
 no stockings, and their clothes seem huddled on 
 all in a bundle ; their hair is drawn away from 
 their foreheads, and tied up behind in a bag of 
 silk, of different colours, some red, some blue, 
 some black, and always with three or four 
 tassels hanging down from the end, whilst on 
 the top of this bag is stuck the funniest little 
 straw hat possible, looking much like a soup 
 plate turned topsy-turvy, and made of frizzled 
 straw, ornamented with coloured ribbons. The 
 women of a higher rank wear white veils over 
 their heads, and no bags. 
 
 llth. Leaving Sarzana, we crossed the river 
 Magara in a ferry-boat, and after a pleasant 
 drive arrived at Spezia, a small narrow-streeted 
 town, beautifully situated at the head of the 
 gulf of Spezia, and surrounded on the side
 
 BOR GHETTO. 229 
 
 near the sea by spacious walks and groves of 
 acacias, wliicli were covered with their long white 
 blossoms, and exhaled a most delightful per- 
 fume. In the middle of the gulf, not far from 
 the town, we were informed that a spring of 
 fresh water rises through the sea, forming a 
 pool of fresh water of thirty to forty yards in 
 circumference in the middle of the salt-water. 
 I had however no time to visit this phenomenon, 
 for Sir Humphry wished to be read to for an 
 hour or two, and we shortly after quitted Spezia 
 and with it the sea, and drove on to Borghetto, 
 a little miserable village, the road to which was 
 not yet finished, and very bad, though running 
 through a beautiful valley, much resembling 
 some of those of Austria, with its clear stream 
 and finely wooded mountains. 
 
 \1th. We quitted Borghetto early, and wind- 
 ing over a very long and high mountain for 
 four hours, we again saw the sea, two or three 
 thousand feet below us, spotted by many a white 
 flitting sail. In the distance was Gorgone, and 
 still further, scarcely visil)le to the eye, the hazy 
 blue line of Corsica, which was however soon 
 lost to us. A great part of the mountain was
 
 230 RAPAL. 
 
 composed of serpentine^ with which also the roads 
 were mended. From the top we looked down 
 upon other mountains, covered with villages, but 
 very barren, a few olive groves here and there 
 being the only mark of vegetation. At the 
 bottom of the hill we passed through Sestri, a 
 pretty little town close upon the sea, and from 
 thence over a beautiful road on the sea shore to 
 Chiavari, a larger town, rather more distant from 
 the sea, and }>artly hidden by trees, above which 
 rose its white steeples and some of its houses. 
 The gulf of Sestri is far more beautiful and 
 diversified even than that of Spezia. 
 
 VMh. We quitted Chiaviri this morning for 
 Genoa. The road is beautiful and romantic, 
 running for miles along the side of a mountain, 
 and hanging perpendicularly over the sea, which 
 lies many hundred feet below it. In many parts 
 it appears very dangerous, and were the car- 
 riage to upset, the traveller would be instantly 
 precipitated into the waves below. Between 
 Chiavari and Rapal there are two tunnels cut 
 through the solid rock. This latter place is 
 a very pretty village or small town, close upon 
 the sea, and the whole country round it seems
 
 GENOA. 231 
 
 very populous ; country-houses, villas, and farms, 
 appearing on all sides among the vineyards and 
 olive woods. At the top of the last hill, after 
 leaving Rapal, we came to another tunnel, which 
 was carried througrh the summit for one hundred 
 yards or more, and presented us with one of 
 the most striking views possible. Looking 
 through the mountain we first saw the blue and 
 tranquil sea, with a few passing sails, then pre- 
 sently rose to view, as it were out of the ocean, 
 the white and glittering towers of Genova la 
 superba, and its field of masts, scarcely visible to 
 the eye. Emerging from the tunnel the view 
 became more extensive, for we could trace the 
 road to Genoa, about ten miles off", running 
 along the mountains somewhat above the sea, 
 and lined with villages and villas lying upon the 
 sides of the hills, which, however, were not so 
 finely wooded as those we had just passed. This 
 city of palaces much disappointed me, and does 
 not at all answer to its splendid appearance from 
 a distance ; it seems like two different towns 
 brought together from the opposite parts of the 
 world, and built for very different inhabitants. 
 The upper part of the city consists of mag-
 
 •232 GENOA. 
 
 nificent streets, or rather rows of marble pa- 
 laces, while the streets of the lower town form 
 only an assemblage of dirty and narrow lanes. 
 Our hotel, La Villa, looks out upon the harbour, 
 which is chiefly filled with small craft. In the 
 middle of the gulf, however, were three frigates 
 in full sail, which were bearing the King of 
 Sardinia and his suite to Naples. 
 
 14th — I7th. Sir Humphry has determined to 
 remain here two or three days to recover from 
 the fatigues of the journey hither. Dr. Davy, 
 who was to have left us here and return to 
 Malta, has determined upon accompanying his 
 brother to Geneva. I generally read to Sir 
 Humphry the greater part of the day, but I 
 went on the 15th for a couple of hours upon 
 one of the hills behind the town, and took a 
 sketch of it as it lay stretched out beneath me. 
 The hills are indeed rather barren, and this, 
 combined with the scarcity of fish, speak for the 
 truth of at least a part of the following proverb. 
 
 Mare senza pesce, 
 Montagne senza legno. 
 Donna senza pudore, 
 
 which is often applied to Genoa. I went one
 
 GENOA. 233 
 
 evening to the theatre, after Sir Humphry had 
 retired to bed, and was much amused by a mag- 
 nificent ballet. Carlo di Borgogna, which, how- 
 ever, ended in a very tragical manner, the 
 heroine being struck dead by lightning amongst 
 rocks and snow, and precipitated into a roaring 
 torrent. The theatre is quite new, and is splen- 
 didly decorated. 
 
 ISth. We quitted Genoa this morning, and 
 drove through the whole town round by the 
 harbour and lighthouse, from which spot the 
 city is seen to the greatest advantage, the 
 white and magnificent buildings and churches 
 rising one above another above the thick crowd 
 of masts, whilst behind the city the hills appear 
 almost covered with country villas and gardens, 
 which in some measure make up for the want 
 of wood. On one or two of these hills are 
 fortresses, which were nearly concealed by the 
 dark and lowering clouds. We drove for some 
 way through a long and very populous suburb 
 on the sea-shore, and then turned oft' into the 
 valley; and upon reaching the top of a very 
 steep hill, took a last view of the Mediterranean. 
 We reached Ronco, a small and dirty village,
 
 234 TURIN. 
 
 but with a decent inn, in a very heavy sliower 
 of rain, and liaving dined there, we after- 
 wards continued our journey to Novi, a small 
 common-place town, where we remained for the 
 night. 
 
 19///. We quitted Novi early, and dined at 
 Alexandria, passing over the plains of Marengo, 
 now fine and flourishing corn-fields. In spite 
 of the thick clouds, we now and then caught a 
 glimpse of the white snow on the distant Alps. 
 Alexandria is a small, and apparently not a very 
 strong fortress. After dinner we drove on to 
 Asti, the birth-place of Alfieri, but as much or 
 more celebrated for its fine wines. 
 
 20//i. We left Asti, and reached Piorino by 
 dinner-time; the roads were very bad, and be- 
 came still worse between the latter place and 
 Turin. Some time before we reached Turin we 
 came to the Po, which is here not quite so large 
 as the Neckar, but is deep and muddy. Turin 
 lies flat, and has not the appearance of a great 
 city from a distance. A fine bridge over the 
 Po leads into the Piazza del Po, a noble square, 
 forming the entrance into the town. The streets 
 are all built at right angles, which gives to the
 
 MONT CENIS. 235 
 
 whole city a neat and regular appearance. We 
 remained here during the 21st, which was a 
 completely wet day, the rain beginning in the 
 morning and continuing without intermission. 
 
 22wfZ. Quitting Turin, the road for the first 
 eight or ten miles was excellent, but afterwards 
 was not so good. St. Ambrosio, where we 
 dined, is a small and dirty village. Every body 
 already speaks French, and the Piedmontese- 
 Italian, which we met with at Sarzana, and 
 heard spoken till w^e reached Turin, is now 
 quite lost in patois of French and Italian. From 
 St. Ambrosio we had a wet drive to Susa, a 
 small town, prettily situated at the foot of Monte 
 Cenisio or Mont Cenis. Our road lay through 
 a valley bounded on each side by snowy Alps, 
 mostly hidden in the dark grey clouds, which 
 towards evening fell in a heavy shower, and 
 then sailed away up the mountain, leaving the 
 evening finer than could have been expected, 
 and promising a fair day for the ascent of Mont 
 Cenis to-morrow. 
 
 23/-</. I have now crossed Mont Cenis, one 
 of the highest and most celebrated alpine 
 passes, and I have been much disappointed;
 
 236 MONT CENIS. 
 
 tliougli I have seen it not only in the dark and 
 veiling gloom of an a])proaching storm, but 
 have also gazed upon its bleak and rugged 
 rocks, its frozen lake, and its fields of snow, 
 glittering in the redoubled splendour of the 
 returning sunbeams after the storm had passed 
 away; for I must confess that it cannot bear 
 comparison either with the pass of the Lobel, 
 or the Tauern. It has not the brilliant vegeta- 
 tion of either of these to relieve the eye during 
 the long ascent, nor is the wanderer struck with 
 the fine views that meet him on the Austrian 
 passes, either during the ascent, on the summit, 
 or on the descent. After leaving Susa and the 
 lower vallies, all is bleak and dreary, rock or 
 snow ; the road is very good, and often defended 
 by very stout bars. Ascending higher, we reached 
 tlie Case di ricovero or houses of refuge, smidl 
 square cottages built on the road side at short 
 distances from one another, and which afford 
 shelter to travellers during the storms that are 
 very frequent here, and are generally accompa- 
 nied by tremendous winds. During our ascent 
 we were visited by a storm of hail and rain, 
 which lasted for about an hour. Nearly on the
 
 MONT CENIS. 337 
 
 summit of the mountain is a hospital, with a few 
 other houses, aud two or three inns, and the 
 whole bears the name of Les Tavernes. We 
 here passed the boundary of Italy, and entered 
 into the duchy of Savoy. In front of the little 
 village is a small lake, which was still frozen, 
 and the people at one of the inns told me that 
 in summer its banks are haunted by large, but 
 harmless serpents, which are very good to eat. 
 About half a league beyond Les Tavernes we 
 found ourselves on the summit of the pass, and 
 looked down upon Lans-le-bourg, at the bottom 
 of a wide but barren valley. A few snowy 
 mountains appeared in the distance, but they 
 were neither remarkable in form or height. 
 The road on the French side is by no means 
 so long or so steep as that on the Italian side^ 
 though it often winds round very unnecessarily. 
 We descended to Lans-le-bourg in less than 
 two hours, and remained there for the night. 
 
 '24^A. Quitting Lans-le-bourg we followed the 
 valley, which becomes more beautiful as we 
 advanced further to St. Michael. The sides 
 are frequently covered with fine woods, from 
 amongst which many grand and lofty cascades
 
 238 CHAMBERY. 
 
 come rusliiug down into the Ose, which foams 
 and hurries on in its rocky bed by the road side. 
 Near St. Michael is a large and strong fortress, 
 which (juite commands the road in the valley. 
 From hence we drove on through St. Jean, a 
 small town, prettily situated and surrounded by 
 some fine rocky scenery, to La Chambre, a 
 paltry little village, with a miserable inn, where 
 however we were obliged to spend the night. 
 
 25)^//. We quitted La Chambre early, and 
 drove on through Aiguebelle, where we quitted 
 the valley, and passed on through a more open 
 and hilly country to Maltaverne, a very good 
 inn, wdth one or two small houses near it. The 
 surrounding country seems very well cultivated, 
 and appears to be very productive. 
 
 26//^. We left Maltaverne this morning early, 
 for Aix-aux-Bains, passing through Mount Me- 
 lian, a small town on the Ose, the same river 
 which we followed from the foot of Mount 
 Cenis, and which we here left a broad and 
 navigable stream. Three leagues further we 
 passed through Chambery, the capital of Savoy, 
 an old town, with dirty and narrow streets, at 
 least those through which we drove, but beauti'
 
 Aix. 239 
 
 fully situated in a valley, and surrounded with 
 magnificent liills and woods. A very fine road 
 up a long and steep hill, brought us in a couple 
 of hours to Aix, which is a very neat little 
 bathing place, and which appears, from the list 
 of last year, to have been much frequented 
 during the season. The springs, which are 
 warm and cold, contain chiefly sulphur and 
 alum. Near the village is the lake of Bourget, 
 which is pretty, though not on a grand or 
 imposing scale. I took a sketch of it from a 
 stone pier which is built out to a short distance 
 in the lake, and then returned to read to Sir 
 Humphry, who seemed pleased with the sketch, 
 and said he should like to have it introduced 
 in a future edition of " Salmonia," it being one 
 of the lakes which he speaks of in his last 
 dialogue. 
 
 ''21th. Quitting Aix, we passed through a 
 finely cultivated, though not very pretty coun- 
 try, the nearer hills being rather barren, and the 
 distant view obscured by clouds, as it has been 
 for the last day or two, to Frangy, a small 
 country village, where we passed the evening, 
 as Sir Humphry did not wish to go on any 
 further.
 
 240 GENEVA. 
 
 28th. We quitted Fran^y tliis morning, and 
 readied Geneva by twelve o'clock, and drove to 
 the Couronne. Sir Humphry is in very toler- 
 able spirits, and the journey seems to have 
 fatigued him so little, that he intends to-mor- 
 row morning going out to fish in the lake. 
 
 29if/i May. I quitted Sir Humphry yes- 
 terday evening, after having read to him as 
 usual, since we left Rome, till about ten o'clock. 
 Our book was SmoUet's " Humphry Clinker," 
 and little did I think it was the last book he 
 would ever listen to. He seemed in tolerable 
 spirits, but upon going to bed was seized with 
 spasms, which, however, were not violent, and 
 soon ceased. I left him when in bed, and 
 bidding me " Good night," he said I should see 
 him better in the morning. 
 
 Lady Davy and the Doctor also quitted hims 
 and George went to bed in his master's room, 
 as he always had done since Sir Humphry's 
 illness at Rome. At six o'clock this morning. 
 Lady Davy's man-servant came to my room, 
 and told me that Sir Humphry Davy was no 
 more. I replied that it was impossible, and 
 that he probably only lay in a torpor; but I
 
 SIR H. Davy's last illness. -241 
 
 went down to his room instantly, when I found 
 that the servant's words were, alas ! but too 
 true. I asked George why he had not called 
 me, when he said that he had sent up, but now 
 found that it had been to a wrong room. He 
 told me that Sir Humphry went to sleep after 
 we had left him, but that he had twice waked, 
 and that at half-past one, hearing him get out 
 of bed, he went to him, when Sir Humphry 
 said he did not want his assistance, and poured 
 some solution of acetate of morphine into a 
 wine glass of water ; but this still remained 
 untouched upon his table. George then helped 
 him into bed, where he says he lay quite still 
 till a little after two o'clock, when hearing him 
 groan, he went to him, and found that he was 
 senseless and expiring. He instantly called up 
 Lady Davy and the Doctor, and sent up, as he 
 believed, to me; but Sir Humphry, he says, 
 never spoke again, and expired without a sigh. 
 
 1 hud so often, whilst at Rome, seen Sir 
 Himiphry lie for hours together in a state of 
 torpor, and to all appearance dead, that it was 
 difficult for me to persuade myself of the truth; 
 but the delusion at length vanished, and it became 
 
 R
 
 242 CONCLUSION. 
 
 too evident that all that remained before me of 
 this great philosopher, was merely the cold and 
 senseless frame with which he had worked. The 
 animating spirit had fled to its oft self-imagined 
 planetary world, there to join the rejoicing souls 
 of the great and good of past ages, soaring from 
 system to system, and with them still to do good 
 in a higher and less bounded sphere, and I 
 knew that it was freed from many a wearisome 
 and painful toil : yet I could not look upon Sir 
 Plumphry as he was, without remembering that 
 which he had been, and my tears w^ould fall, spite 
 of my effort to restrain them. 
 
 THE END.
 
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