The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-12-23

Dut M tHc Sed WdH Quibc Cdiiu VIC
night wondrously beautiful, we were happily
able 10 remain on deck till very late ! was at
length driven by the heavy dews into that den
of gregarious discomfort the ladies' cabin"
where my most fervent adjurations 10 the god
of slumber were for n long time bafiled by the
closeness of the air and tho garrulousness Of
two worthy English danes, who were entertain
ing each other with marvellous tales Of success
full and unsuccessful smuggling One had had
an Irish poplin torn from the sanctuary Of the
hustle" itself, by order of "a nasty French
officer of the customs;n while tho other had
once borne off in triumph to England, twelve
yards of I" the loveliest Brusselles lace in the
hem of her petticoat. From this they passed
10 subjects moro purely domostic--governesse
| ootInen, cooks-and the last words which fell
ON my drowsy ear, were gooseberry tart I"
| and raspberry jam"
The joyfully- welcomed morning came at last
and we had a charming day, often passing very
near tho bold and beautiful shore OF the Medi-
terranean, and saw the sun set at sea, in a
glory unapproachable by art, inexpresible by
I language. IL was night ere we reached Gcnoa
! So VIC lost this sea wow of its noble bay. Yet
the "superb" city WAS a glorious sight, seen
even in the obscurity of the deepening twilight
as it rose, pile on pile of marble palaces, tier
| on tier of cleaning lights We were soon able
| to go On shore, where We were little delayed at
| the custom-house ON account Of our passports
or luggage. BY the way We sent the larger
part of tho latter by sea, from Marseilles to
| Civita Vecchia, and thus avoided much trouble
and expense. We stopped at the " Locdnda
d Italia" a fine hotel, which once WAS palace,
they say, where we have suite of pleasant
rooms in somewhere about the twelfth story,
and are very VOL attended and served bounti-
fully with excellent food
ROME, November 49, 1852.
was interrupted in my letter at Genoa, and
i'll the hurry and fatigue Of sightseeing and
travel which followed found no opportunity of
finishing. Genoa is to me, in recollection, like
| gorgeous dream of grand palaces old churches,
| splendid and strango-narrow streets, leading
| up steep activities, and down into dark hol-
| lows, lined with towering houses, whose outside
walls are painted moro brilliantly and various
| ly than interiors elsewhere-with animated
and striking groups of picturesque people
pale womon, with shining black hair, and long
white scarts gracefully disposed about their
heads, and falling in light folds over neck,
arms, and bosom, walking everywhere about
the crowded, dirty streets, RS though through
carpetcd drawing rooms, with a most regal yet
unconscious olegance-men, with rich olive
compilations and glossy black boards, wearing
caps of brilliant red, or brown, or purple, and
talking and gesticulating on the most trillng
topic, with marvellous waste Of passionate ener-
| gy and dramatic effect children limbed like
sculptured Loves, with luxuriapt hair, brown
or raven and cheeks round and red and gold
ened, like ripe peaches-and all these speaking
in language wonderfully melodious and i'm
pressive, and looking out OF large, deep, lustrous
| yet melancholy eyes. There is to me peculiar
y sad and touching expression in these grand
italian orbs--it is halfexpectant, halfdespair-
ing tho look Of souls who have lost some great
good, some priceless glory, for which they are
wishing and waiting and searching eternally.
You are struck by the native intelligence of
these people. You know that many Of them
must be frightfully ignorant, but very few of
them look so; and, with the exception Of the
guides and priests" blind leaders of the
blindu---nopo positively stupid Their great
eyes sometimes reveal the dullness of intellect
ual torpor, but never incapacity The cloud is
not dark and heavy enough wholly to hide the
thr,bbing OF the soul-stars behind
( We spent two days in wandering through
the Henoese palaces, churches, gardens and
streets-two days Of rich novel; unmingled
pleasure. The palaces themselves are vast and
noble, rather than beautiful; but they are rich
Van ByResssn pg ns especially in many glorious
nIhcent aud varied in their decoration | have
yet seen-that of the Annunciata almost blinds
ono with it's unveiled splendor and elaborate
gorgcousness In the gloomy old Duomo are
| kept the famous relics of John the Baptist--the
ashes OF his head, and one finger entire In
the chapel dedicated to these, no woman is al
| lowed to enter-a regulation doubtless made in
holy condemnation of one of our sex who ex-
celed in frivolous accomplishment and turned
it to an unhOly account. In all these churches,
you see ut all hours II few humble worshppcrs
telling their beads and crossing themselves be-
fore the various shrines. But they are seldom
SO soundly wrapt in devotion as to be unmind-
ful of the presence of strangers whom they Gu
riously follow with their eyes, while their lips
move mechanically in souiless prayer
Decidedly the finest description of Genoa
have ever read, is that given by Dickens, in his
PIcTUREs FROM ITALY 1t is marvollously
true to the lile-indccd the whole book is more
vivid and delightful TO me now, than can tell
Read it again, and you will not wonder that
say 10 little of Genoa, or of any place which he
describes at length.
From Genoa to Pisa VIC took carriages
and Uetturini, travelling on tho great coast
road. The weather was delicious, and this
journey Of three days proved mort wondrous
and enchanting succession of glorious pictures
I had not only never seem had never con-
ec'Ued anything so lovely and grand. Our road
now lay along the shore of the blue Medterra-
mean; now of in quiet delicious valleys, smiling
with picturesque cottages, lemon and orange
groves; now up and down mountains, clothed
with olives and pines; now over turrcts and
along dark precipices now under long avenues
of poplar and aspen and sycamores, festooned
with vines and past gardens and hodges of
roses in full bloom, sweetcning the air with the
the very sweetness of Paradise. And then the
sunsets-when tho splendid lights on cloud and
| sea seemed Gods own transcendent glory made
visible to man-when the very sky seemed to
have descended and wrapt itself around the
purple and golden hills--when heaven and
earth seemed embracing in light and blending
in bridal of beauty. 1t were the EXTREMIST
folly in me to attempt to reproduce here the
vast and glowing pictures of that journey--to
pour its rich sunlight Or fling its grand shadows
along my page-to blend its solemn sea-voices
and sad pine-murmurs and gay peasantsing-
ing, with the sound OF my words and to distil
into my thought the raro sweetness of its roses.
Yet believe that the vision of those mountains
and valleys will never fade from my soul-that
that sunligtt will stream through all my future
llic--that that music of wave and tree will
never wholly die on my ear-that those roses
will he fragrant memory in my death-cham-
Der.
The disdgremens of the journcy--the impo-
sltIons OF the uetturini the discomfort Of inns,