The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-26
THE LAND OF ITALY.
What Various People Think of It-ciaude
MelnOtte's and Romeo and Jaliet's Italy.


Correspondence Of fhe IndianaDolis journal.
NAPLES, Italy, July 5, 1884 Sometimes the
average American asks: What is Italy to me
beyond lesson of the past, where the
power Of the world was once centsredl
Or I may find it a land to visit, enjoying its
picturesque and storied scenes, look into the
scenic effects of its old churches where there
is indeed, "a dim religious light, and run through
its picture and sculpture galleries. But 1t has
no practical side" Then there are other views
The American young lady wants to go TO Italy to
realize the dream of her school days, TO look
upon Lake Como, and see the castle in the air,
about which Claude Melnotte lied so eyre
giously to the Lady of Lyons. when the poor Eel
low, like Satan in Scripture, hadn't an acre Of
land to his name Claude did fb magnilo
quently about his palace and grounds when he
moved the listening Pauline in such language
as follows, without any specification of town
ship, range, meridian, section, quarter section,
half, eighths, etc: "a deep vale, shut out by
Alpine hills from the rude world; near clear
lake, margined by fruits of gold, and whisper
ing myrtles CHASING softest skies, as cloudiess
save with rose and roseate shadows
as / would have thy fate A palace
lifting to eternal summer its marble walls
from out glossy bower of coolest foliage, mu-
steal with Birds etc. can hear my fair, young
romantic country woman exclain1ing that both
Claude, language and the scenes around Lake
Como are too sweet for anything perfectly
lovely or words to that effect Young men,
as we'll as young women, are apt TO have
romatic turn of mind when they think of Italy
They want to look upon the imaginary balcony
where Romeo saw his Juliet, and exclaimed:
See how she leansher cheek upon her hand
o, that were glove upon that hand,
That might touch thatcheekf
Or. the poetic young American wants to make
night OF it in quiet street of old Verona and
look upon the moonlight streaming through the
arches of the ancient Roman amphitheater so
that. when daylight comes he may strike an at
titude, glance at the rosy SUBMITS of the distant
Alps, and quote from the same play:
tNights candles are burnt out, and jocund day
Stands tptoe on the misty mountain tops"
But after all | do, not blame young America
for being ''enthused" over the poetical Rspeets
OF Italy, when so many poets and gifted prose
writer's of every European nation have, in
mature age, been enthusiastic over the same
fair land whether they visited it or not. Ia this
last category was Shakespeare, no less than
fifteen OF his plays having to do with Italy
whether in ancient or modern times. fGoethes
journal of his tour in Italy fred the Germans
with desire to visit the land. Chateanbriands
writings had the same effect upon young France,
although his method was different. As billiard
says: Goethe paints Rome, but Ghateaubriand
sets it to music But Of all the writer's in the
English language. or any other, who made Italy
their theme, none is more closely identified with
this beautiful country than Lord Bryon. Bis
friend Rogers wrote prose and poetry about
Italy, SO did Bryon's mere intimate companion,
Shelley, who was drowned on the coast of Italy;
but neither they nor hosts of other literary
Britons brought 1.-THE of the influence
for popularizing and rendering attractive Italy to
bear upon young England and America land for
that matter the old, old England and America
tool than Lord Byron. He resided for about
seven years in Italy, mostly in Venice Rayenna,
Pisa and Genoa. He never spent more time
than three days in Florence, and the whole time
he gave to Rome was not quite two weeks, while
Naples he never saw. and refused to go thither
because he said OF it. in connection with Flor
eoee land he avoided them both( lone
was the Ramsgate and the other was the Mar
gate of Italy and the same kind of English
people were found there as in the land Of the
cockney
Indeed, he avoided his countrynaen as much as
possible in Italy. A good lady-a relative Of
mine who does not live a thousand miles from
the Insane Hospital tbut sheis not insanel III
indianapolis, once told me that Byron had Wis
tied Naples and stoutly maintained that she had
seen it in some authoritative book If she had
examined thoroughly Moores exhaustive Let
tiers and Journal of Lord Byron with Some No
less than three different places Byron Bwore
that he would not go to Naples. Nowhere is it
recorded that he did go to Naples, and in one of
his letters he refused to write a poem having
Wesuvius and the Bay of Naples as the theme
because he wotlld never write about place that
he had not seen But in one of his letters dated
june 6, 1891, written at Bologna to friend in
Venice, he gives clew to what might have
casioned the belief that Byron had been in Ma
pies 1t seems that some impostor had been to
Maj md mi llOf
Byron; and this impostor was doubtless the same
| one whose bedf oom is still shown at an
inn IN the vicinity of Naples, the land
lord with great hotelic pride telling his visitors
that ''heere meeiord Beeron did schleepe." But
| to the letter. Byron says that he stopped at
Ferrara on his way TO Bologna, in order that he
might look at some of the autograph manuscript
poems of Ariosto, and in the great library he met
| an Italian gentleman who, perceiving that Byron
| was an Englishman, and, being entirely ignorant
| that he was addressing the noble poet asked
! him (Byron) if he knew Lord Byron" But let
me tell it in Byron's own language: 'tOne of the
Ferrarese asked me if knew Lord Byron. saying
/ that he had seen him in Naples. 1 told him
| Nor which was true both ways, for know not
the irnpostor and in the other, no one knows
himself He stared when told him that was
the real Simon Pure
| Byrons residence in Italy was a curious one,
In which were intermingled hard literary study
and composition of poems, illicit love, and I'M
| selfish endeavors to promote italian patriotism
-endeayors to lberate he country and make it
free, as it is to-day BE was IN advance Of his
| time, and so were the Italian patriots hundreds
Of whom. at the time, particularly in Naples,
were seized and executed or thrown into the
yilest of dungeons. Byron was not that intern
perate man. SO far as drinking is concerned, that
many imagine; but he was so incorporate in life
! otherwise, in his first residence in Italy, that
Shelley records it with gratitude that even his
| lByrons) Illegal attachment to the Countess
Guiceioia was the means of rescuing him from
| lower mode of life.
His whole being seemed for time imbued
with Italy, He here wrote the fourth eanto Of
"Childe Harold the Lament of Tasso.s the
Prophecy Of Dante "Beppo,p "Don Juan, |"
and all his dramas Many Of the dramas were
founded on Italian subjects OF these dramas,
two 'Marino Faliero" and THE Two Foscaris-
are more remarkable as poems than as plays
An able writer has said Of these two com