Impressions of Central and Southern Europe: being notes of successive journeys in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and the Levant

Front matter

WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATURE. SIR J. HERSCHEL's OUTLINES of ASTRONOMY.: 8vo. with Plates and Wood Engravings, 18s. II. ! SIR J. HERSCHEL's PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE5 on the Study of NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. in. PESCHEL's ELEMENTS of PHYSICS. Translated,; with Notes, by E. West. 3 vols. fcp. 8vo. Woodcuts, 21s. I BRANDE's DICTIONARY of SCIENCE, LITERA-j TURE, and ART. 8vo. with Wood Engravings, GOs. v. CRESY's ENCYCLOPÆDIA of CIVIL ENGINEER- ING. With upwards of 3,000 Wood Engravings. 8vo. 73s. (id. VI. GWILT's ENCYCLOPÆDIA of ARCHITECTURE. With upwards of 1,000 Wood Engravings. Svo. 52s. 6d. VII. MR. M'CULLOCH's DICTIONARY, GEOGRAPHI- CAL, STATISTICAL, and HISTORICAL. 2 vols. 8vo. Maps, 80s. < VIII. MR. M'CULLOCH's DICTIONARY of COMMERCE! and COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION. New Edition. 8vo. Maps. and Plans, 50s. ; strongly half-bound, 55s. IX.

I MR. M'CULLOCH's DESCRIPTIVE and STATIS- ' TICAL ACCOUNT of the BRITISH EMPIRE. New Edition.; ! 2 vols. 8vo. 42s. il I x. }, MURRAY'S ENCYCLOPÆDIA of GEOGRAPHY.il With 82 Maps and 1,000 other Woodcuts. 8vo. 00s. >l xi. ' URE's DICTIONARY of ARTS, MANUFACTURES j and MINES. With 1,241 Woodcuts. 8vo. 50s. — Supplement of* Recent Improvements, 14s. xii. { WEBSTER and PARKER's ENCYCLOPÆDIA of! DOMESTIC ECONOMY. With 1,000 Wood Engravings. 8vo. 50s. I . ( London : Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. IMPRESSIONS ot CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN EUROPE: BEING NOTES OF SUCCESSIVE JOURNEYS IN GERMANY, AUSTRIA, ITALY, SWITZERLAND, AND THE LEVANT. ni WILLIAM EDWARD BAXTER. LONDON: PniNTBD FOR LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, F ATERNOSTER-B O W. 1850. London: Spottiswoodes and Shaw, New-st feet-Square.

Preface

. From the date of Napoleon's exile until the month of February, 1848, few events occurred on the con tinent of Europe, of sufficient importance to in terest the British public. So quiescent were the nations, that John Bull relapsed into a state of something like profound indifference with respect to the politics, religion, and social economics of those various races, who, at the commencement of the present century, fought for conquest or for freedom on countless battle-fields. The events of the last two years have, however, awakened a spirit of inquiry which will render more or less accept able the publication of extracts from the note books of those who have lately been abroad, especially such extracts as have reference to questions affect ing the future prospects of powerful common wealths and dynasties venerable from their an tiquity. Being firmly persuaded that the existing generation will witness mighty changes in the poli- A

PREFACE.

. tical arrangements of the Continent, and that the recent measures of certain courts, who imagine that liberal ideas have been uprooted by armies, tend to hasten rather than to delay the crisis, I have endeavoured, in the following pages, to direct at tention to some facts and opinions relating to these deeply-interesting movements; at the same time that I have attempted to describe, in few words, the scenery of the beautiful countries through which I journeyed. The chapters on Switzerland contain, in addition to what now for the first time appears in print, the substance of a few papers formerly furnished by me to a periodical publication ; but the greater part of the volume consists of revised notes of a tour com menced so lately as March, 1849. Dundee, 22d January, 1850. CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Introduction. Travelling on the Continent. Heidelberg. Banks of the Neckar. Agriculture of Wirtemberg. Fruit Trees. Stuttgard. Revolutionists. Political Education of the Germans Page 1 CHAP. II. Geisslingen. Natural Scenery. View of Ulm. Bavarian Plain. Dress of the Women. Augsburg. Railroad to Munich. The late King. Buildings of the Capital. English Gardens. Bavarian Beer. Sunday in Munich. Love of Amusement characteristic of Foreigners. Attempts to assimilate the Tastes of the Working Classes in Great Britain with those of Germany. Pleasure versus Politics. Young Englanders. Influence of the Fine Arts. Their injurious Effects in Italy. Army of Bavaria. Education - 11 CHAP. III. Leave Munich. Peasantry. Tegernsee. Alps of Bavaria. Aachensee. Grandeur of the Mountain Passes. Descend to the Valley of the Inn.

Innsbruck. Scenery on the River. Laborious Habits of the Tyrolese. The Finstermuzze Pass. Pilgrims. Source of the Adige. Meran. Cultivation of the Soil. Devotion of the People to Romish Ceremonies. Natural and Revealed Religion. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism abroad. Superior Fervour of the Romanists. Cause of this. Unity of the Papal Church apparent, not real. Connection between Church and State. Its evils. Voluntaryism the true Refuge for Christianity - 28 A CONTENTS. VI CHAP. IV. Valley of the Adige. Botzen. Trent. The Brenta. Misery of the People. Plain of Italy. Venetian Villas. Venice. Historical Recollections. First sail in a Gondola. Armenian Monastery. Politics of the Venetians. Their Religion. Sunday Evening in the Piazza St. Marco. Stillness of the Island City. Railway Viaduct.

Padua ----- Page 48 CHAP. V. Padua to Vicenza. Verona. Its Amphitheatre. Houses of Romeo and Juliet. Fortress of Peschiera. Lago di Garda. Austrian Government in Lombardy. Functionarism. The Congress of Vienna. Error committed in extending German Dominion across the Alps. Discontent of the Inhabitants. Agriculture in Lombardy. Tenure of Land. Irrigation. Indian Corn- Winter Meadows. Value of Land. Parmesan Cheese. Silkworms. Mulberry Trees. Poverty of the Peasants. Absence of Domestic Happiness --- - - - -59 CHAP. VI. Brescia to Milan. Cathedral of Milan. View from its Summit. Confessionals. Religion in Northern Italy. Ecclesiastics. Lake of Como. Sublimity of the Scenery. Varenna. Vespers. Malaria. Passage of the Alps. Mount Splugen. Canton of the Grisons. Diversity in Language and Religion.

The Via Mala. Protestants of the Engadine. Coire. Course of the Rhine. Lake of Wallenstadt. Lake of Zurich. Industry of the People. Zurich. Origin of its Manufactures. Zwingle. Canton of Zug. Ascent of the Righi. Storm. Splendid Prospect. Strange Scene in Righi-culm Inn. Descent to Lucerne. Civil War in Switzerland. Its Origin and probable Effects. Lake of Lucerne. The Field of Gruttli 73 CHAP. VII. The Bay of Uri. Fluellen. Pass of tlie St. Gothard. Devil's Bridge. Valley of Urseren. Pass of the Furca. Glacier of the CONTENTS. VII Rhone. Pass of the Grimsel. Lake of the Dead. Hospice. The Finsteraarhorn. Oberhaslethal. Meyringen. Lake of Brienz. Interlaken. Strolling English. Their Occupations. Grindelwald. Pass of the Wengern Alp. Avalanches. Lauterbrunnen. Lake of Thun. The Simmenthal. Gruyere Cheese.

Chateau d'Oex. Sunday Services. Swiss Parochial System. Pass of the Dent de Jaman. First View of the Lake of Geneva. Veytaux. Sunsets. Church of Montreux. Canton de Vaud. Civil Wars. Ecclesias tical Disruption. Foolish dread of liberal Measures. Educational Controversy in the Vallais. Secular Education not necessarily connected with religious Training. The Jesuits in Switzerland. Their Expulsion justifiable - Page 95 CHAP. VIII. Leave Veytaux. The Lake of Geneva. Geneva. Road to Chamouni. Misery of the Savoyards. Evening at Chamouni. Stillness. Height of Mont Blanc. Rays of the Sun on its Summit. The Mer de Glace. Aiguilles. The Mountains of Switzerland. Social Condition of the Swiss. Comfort of the Cottages. Taxation. Agriculture. Manufactures. Commerce. Swiss Mercenaries. Discussion of the Federal Principle in Government.

Its Advantages - - - - - - -116 CHAP. IX. Mouth of the Elbe. Hamburgh. The Bourse. Effects on Trade of the Schleswig-Holstein War. Territorial Union and Isolation. Inconsistency of Mankind in this respect. Railway to Berlin. Wittenberg. Its Discomforts. Buildings of Berlin. State of Prussia. Tenure of the Land. Political Power. Educational System. Its Effects on the National Character. The State Church. Want of Spirit amongst the People in submitting to its Formation. Military System. Its manifold Evils - 129 CHAP X. Departure from Berlin. German Railroads. Valley of the Oder. Wheat Fields. Breslau. Palm Sunday. Service in the Cathedral. CONTENTS. Smoking. Rudeness of Foreigners, especially of Frenchmen. Austrian Frontier. The Custom House. Kaiser-Ferdinand's Railway. Plain of the Thaya. Agriculture.

Field of Wagram. Vienna. Its Situation, Buildings, Police, Soldiers, and Climate. Marks of the late Bombardment. St. Stephens' Cathedral. Page 148 CHAP. XI. Schonbrunn. Laxenburg. Our Route. The War in Hungary. Evils of Warfare. Justifiable Wars. The Magyars. Their Struggle for Freedom. Errors of Ultra-Magyarism. Reasons for not sympathising with Austria in the late Contest. Austrian Finance, Government, and Policy ----- 162 CHAP. XII. Leave Vienna. Pass of the Semmering. Styria. Valleys of the Miirz and Mur. Gratz. Arrival at Cilly. Inhospitality of the People. The Separat-wagen in Austria. Carniola. Character of the Peasantry. Traffic between Vienna and Trieste. Agriculture. English Farming. Infericsftt'jf of the Cultivation in England. Leases. Game Preserves. I^gj^il of the Corn Laws. Small Farms.

Agriculture in Franc^jjj'uscany, Belgium, and Switzerland. Dress of the Carniolan-___tesants. Soldiers. Scenery in the Mountains. Laibach. Caverns in Carniola. The River Poik. Dreary Table Land. View of Trieste and the Adriatic. Easter Sunday in Trieste - - - - - -186 CHAP XIII. Costumes in Trieste. Monopoly and Smuggling. The Sardinian Fleet. Sail for the Levant. Life on board the Steamer. Corfu. Beauty of the Foliage. The Ionian Republic. Defects in its Political Constitution. Trade of the Islands. Santa Maura. Cephalonia. Ithaca. Navarino. Cape Matapan. The Ægean Sea. The Grecian Isles. Their Barrenness. Variableness of the Winds. Syra. Beauty of the Ladies. Drunkenness. View of the Islands. Chaiige Steamers. Scene on board. The Austrian Lloyd's Co. CONTENTS. IX Passionate Temperament of Orientals.

Touch at Scios. Smyrna. Its Situation, Streets, and Trade. Drinking an English Habit. Sunset. Camels. Turkish Cemetery. The Bazaars. Excursion to_ik.t_rnabat. Donkey-ride. Loveliness of the Climate Page 204 CHAP. XIV. Leave Smyrna. Motley Throng on board the Steamer. Mussulman Devotion and Drunkenness. The Dardanelles. Abydos. Collecting Tickets. Greek Knavery. Character of the Modern Greeks. Their Superstition and Immorality. Their Clergy. Effects of Oppression on Nations. Approach to Constantinople. Splendour of the Prospect ------ 224 CHAP. XV. Notes on Constantinople. Its Situation. View from the Seraskier's Tower. Tbe Bazaars. Currency of Turkey. Mosque of Achmet. A Firman. The Seraglio. Mosque of St. Sophia. The Dancing Dervishes. Scutari. Its Burying-ground. Haskioy. The Spanish Jews.

Mission of the Scotch Free Church. The Caraites. Missionaries at Constantinople. ,Æbeir Zeal and Success. Opponents of Foreign Missions. Theisrfyactice and Arguments. Sir Stratford Canning. Sail up the BQaJhorus, Therapia. The Black Sea. Change of Temperature. E^^ffirdinary Beauty of the Scenery. The Gardens, Palaces, Villagdl^Voods, Valleys, and Kiosques in Europe and Asia. Dress of the Turks. Dogs of Stamboul. Coffee Kiosques. History of Constantinople. Degeneracy of the Modern Turks. Thoughts on the Russian Question - 234 CHAP. X\Bt Voyage to Malta. The " Osiris." Mytelerf^^Kie Cliffs of Sunium. Attica. The Pyræus. View of Athens, and Parthenon. Classic Scenes. Magnificent SunsetT^Parewell to Greece. A Ship at Sea. Appearance of Malta from the Water. Quarantine Laws. Their vexatious Nature.

The Lazaretto. Defences of Valetta. The Maltese. Military - - - - X CONTENTS. CHAP. XVII. Interior of Malta. St. Paul's Bay. Reflections. State of the Jews an Evidence that Christianity is of Divine Origin. Free Church in Malta. Buildings. Beggars. Bells. Priestly Processions. Citta Vecchia. St. Antonio. Government of Malta. Sail for Italy. The Sirocco. Straits of Messina. Sublimity of the Mountains. Messina. Just in Time. Scylla and Charybdis. The Lipari Islands. Stromboli. Beauty of the Entrance to the Bay of Naples. Vesuvius. The Custom-house - Page 278 CHAP. XVIII. Impressions of Naples. First Drive. Equipages. Sunset. View of the Bay at Eventide. Castellamare Railroad. Pompeii. Its silent Streets. Thoughts on Pompeii. Civilisation of the Ancient Romans. Herculaneum. A Trattoria. The Strada Toledo.

The Citadel. Magnificence of the Prospect from it 294 CHAP. XIX. Railroad to Caserta. Beauty of the Country. Cultivation. Crops. The Royal Palace at Caserta. Character of the Italians. Disunion. Infidelity in Italy. The Creed of Infidels. Bad Government. The Dominion of Priests. Its sad Effects in the Papal States. Statistics of these States. The French Invasion. Its Injustice and Failure. Government of Naples. The Bourbons. Italian Revolutionists. British Absolutists. Their Writings. The Climate of Southern Italy. Its Influence on the People. The Tenure of Land another Cause of National Declension 308 CHAP. XX. Museum at Naples. Puteoli. Baia. Views of Vesuvius. Plan of the Town. Beggars. Priests. Monks. Lotteries. Soldiers. Churches. Sundays in Naples. Auricular Confession. Its History and Effects.

Departure from Naples. Passengers on board the Steamer. Last View of the Bay. Arrival at Civita Vecchia CONTENTS. XI CHAP. XXI. Rome unapproachable. French Generals. Leghorn. Austrian Troops. Invasion of Italy by Germans contrary to the Laws of Nations. Italian Independence. Pisa. — its Cathedral, and Leaning Tower. Englishmen abroad, and the different Currencies. Arrival at Genoa. Situation of the City. Palaces. Picture-Galleries. Streets. Marble. Lilliputian Soldiers. Lord Hardwicke. The Italian Republics. Their History, Influence, and Fall. Not democratic States, but Aristocracies. Mr. DTsraeli. The Protectionists and the Fate of England. Comparison between Great Britain, Genoa, and Venice. Alarmists. Evils in our Social System at Home. Small Capitalists. Financial Reform Page 341 CHAP. XXII.

Departure from Genoa. Cross the Apennines. Begging Mountaineers. Field of Marengo. Alessandria. View of the Alps. Turin. Its Situation, Streets, Buildings, and Soldiers. Standing Armies. Politics of Piedmont. Roman Catholic Establishment. Religious Liberty. Peasantry of Sardinia. Landholding. Exports. Susa. Pass of Mount Cenis. The Alps by Moonlight. Savoy. Chambery. Arrival at Geneva. Familiar Scenes. Junction of the Arve with the Rhone. Geneva at Night - 359 CHAP. XXIII. A Diligence Journey. Banks of Lake Leman. Ascent of the Juras. Grandeur of Mont Blanc. View of the Alps and the Canton de Vaud. The Summit. The French Frontier. Armaments. Custom-house Examinations. Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite. Lons-le- Saulnier. Diligence Horses. Dijon. Tonnerre. Chaussees. Paris. Concluding Thoughts. England and the Continent.

War and Peace. "Let Well alone." Gradual Reform. Effects of Government " abroad. Love of Amusement. Independence of Mind characteristic of Britons. Governing overmuch. Functionaries. The Greatness of England. Is there a Reason for it ? - - IMPRESSIONS or CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN EUROPE.

CHAPTER I.