The Reminiscences of an Old Traveller throughout different Parts of Europe ... Third edition, greatly enlarged

Front matter

THE REMINISCENCES OF AN OLD TRAVELLER THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT PARTS OF EUROPE. BY THOMAS BROWN, Esq. Tout est change, ct doit changer encore ; mais les revolutions passees, et celles qui doivent euivre, ont elles ete, seront ellcs utiles h. la nature humaine ?— Kaynal, THIRD EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED. EDINBURGH JOHN ANDERSON, Jun. & Co. 0.9, GEORGE STREET, AND SOLD BY SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & Co. LONDON. MDCCCXL. EDINBURGH : PRINTED BY THOMAS CONSTABLE, PRINTER TO HER MAJESTY. TO HER IMPERIAL AND ROYAL HIGHNESS MARIA, REIGNING GREAT-DUCHESS OF SAXE WEIMAR, THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE DEDICATED JIV HER MOST DEVOTED HUMULE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. PAG~g Introduction, ..... vii

Chapter I

Languages — Passports — Foreign Currency — Modes of Travelling — Expense of Travelling — Expense of Living — Places of Residence — Holland — Belgium — The Rhine — Wisbaden — Ems — Manheim — Kehl — Strasburg — Roads — Darmstadt — Heidelberg — Stutgard — Coblentz — Cologne — Gottingen — Weimar — Literature — Improvements, . 1

Chapter III

Trieste — Venice — The Brenta — Bologna — Ancona — Loretto, 46

Chapter IV

Rome — Trajan's Pillar — Thc Capitol — The Coliseum — Baths — The Pantheon — Castle of St. Angelo — Thc Lateran — St. Peter's — The Vatican — Papal Government — Rome — Route to Naples — Pontine Marshes — Gaeta — Capua, 5-1 VI CONTENTS.

Introduction

. In offering this, the Third Edition of my " Reminiscences" to the public, I feel, from the increasing infirmities of age, that in all probability it will be the last, and I do it with the sole view that the additions I have made may be useful to others who may wish to visit the Continent. Experience daily demonstrates, how the hand of time scatters abroad those who have passed their boyish days together in the interchange of kind affections, and in the innocent enjoyment of pleasures which pass away like the dew of the morning. While my late illustrious school-com panion, the Author of Waverley, is gone to those unknown regions from whence no traveller returns, I am still per mitted, with all my imperfections on my head, to vegetate on this tas de boue, as Voltaire calls it — this little speck in the immensity of the works of Providence.

With more ma ture years the scene opens and expands, and we thus see one individual leaving a name imperishable in the annals of his country, while another passes through life unknown to the great mass of his contemporaries. A noble personage, more remarkable for his wit than his

INTRODUCTION.

. morality, and whom a morose philosopher termed a " rotten post gilded over," used to amuse himself " in turning over men," as he himself expressed it. His Lordship's pastime struck me as being the most likely way of attaining that kind of knowledge which, in my progress through life, would prove the most instructive, useful, and agreeable ; instead, therefore, of poring over the lore of antiquity, or ornamenting myself with the cobwebs of the university, I set to work with the utmost assiduity, at an early period of my life, while abroad, to study the modern languages, and as I had naturally a taste for them, their acquirement cost me com paratively very little trouble. Thus prepared against all contingencies, and predetermined to lay aside my John Bull prejudices, I carefully avoided, while travelling on the Conti nent, the society of my own countrymen, whose pleasure, nine times out of ten, is to find fault with every thing they see, and who return home as ignorant of foreign languages and manners as when they set out. My views of other coun tries are sufficiently developed in the following pages. 31, Gayfield Square, Edinburgh, 2d December 1839. REMINISCENCES.

Chapter I

Ihr Thaler und ihr Hohen, Die Lust und Sommer Schmiickt Euch ungestort zu sehen, 1st was mein Herz erquickt.—GELLERT. The more wealthy part of the inhabitants of Great Britain have a most extraordinary predilection for locomotion. No sooner is the gay winter season over, and fashionable parties at an end, than the mighty void of time, when summer in tervenes, must be filled up ; and instead of enjoying in a rational manner a residence in the country for six months, and giving the mind some relaxation from the ever-return ing round of thoughtless and unprofitable amusement, the world, as it is called, either fly off to watering-places, or A LANGUAGES. scamper away in shoals to the Continent. Young men, just escaped from the trammels of a college education, think it is quite enough to have a smattering of Latin and Greek to enable them to enjoy the Continent ; and after travelling, as fast as they can, through Germany, France, and Italy, anticipate the pleasure and self-consequence it will give them, when they return to England, to repeat the names of Raphael, Titian, Canova, Torwaldsen, &c. ; and to drag their wondering friends to the Bourbon Museum, unfurl the papiri, and expatiate on the beauties of cameos, intaglios, and Etruscan vases.

There can be no doubt that a change of air and of objects is extremely beneficial to the health ; but, when arrangements are made for passing one or more years on the Continent, we ought to adopt the most effectual means for extending our knowledge, as well as strength ening the physical powers ; and in order to travel with ad vantage, it is indispensable to be somewhat versant in the French and German languages, that we may have free com munication with the natives of the different countries, so as to give us just and proper views of the manners and charac ter of the people. The Italian language can be acquired in a month or two, if we have any knowledge of the French ; and this and other languages we shall infallibly acquire with the greater facility, if we avoid that most ridiculous, but unfortunately too prevalent custom, of associating constantly with our own countrymen during our sojourn on the Continent.

I have deemed these preliminary observations essentially ne cessary, before I proceed to give my readers some other in formation, which I trust may be useful, and which is founded entirely on my own personal experience. A person going from Edinburgh to any part of the Con- PASSPORTS. tinent, France and Russia excepted, requires no other passport than one from the Lord Provost, stating — to travel on the Continent. When he lands with this document at any place where there is an accredited consul or other agent from Great Britain, he must immediately show it to this person, who affixes to it his signature and seal of office ; and this formal recognition of the bearer being a British subject, is followed up in a similar manner by the different authorities as you go along. When you leave the place where you have resided, to enter the neighbouring dominions, your pass must be noted by the official agent at the place you leave, who represents those dominions ; and this form must be observed in every instance, as you cross from one State to another.

There are besides other municipal functionaries who must be waited upon ; all which regulations are explained and pointed out by the different innkeepers. Thus in a short time the passport gets completely scribbled over, and it then becomes advisable to have it affixed to a little book, made on purpose with a succession of blank pages, where the different entries are made when necessary. As to the previous arrangements to be made respecting money matters, any person going abroad whose expenses may amount to or upwards, should deposit the sum, whatever it is, in the hands of some eminent bankers in London who are in the habit of doing this kind of business, (such as Coutts and Company,) who will then give a general letter of credit to their correspondents on the Continent, accompanied with drafts to the extent of the sum deposited ; and the money can be received in the currency of the differ ent countries, as the wants of the holder of those drafts may require it.

On the other hand, should the wants of the tra veller not exceed one or two hundred pounds, he may, if he FOREIGN CURRENCY. thinks proper, take Bank of England notes to that amounts which any money-changer in the north of Germany, and all over France, will immediately return in the currency of the country he may require, according to the then rate of ex change. In every town of any note on the Continent there are pamphlets sold, stating the relative value of the coins of the different countries in Europe reduced into French francs, which are extremely useful, — such as Comptes Faits in French, and Miinz Tariff in German ; but as a little pre vious information on this subject may be desmed useful, I shall subjoin some particulars, which I made out when I was last on the Continent, according to actual valuation, either through the medium of the bankers on whom I had letters of credit, or that of the money changers.

These valuations are of course subject at all times to the fluctuations in foreign exchanges, and include the banker's charges of discounting the bills drawn by the traveller on the strength of his letters of credit. I may in the mean time observe, that French 20 franc pieces in gold are the most convenient to travel with, and are exchangeable in every place ; — a franc is worth about tenpence, or 25 to a pound sterling. There are money-changers in every town, who will give you the coin of one State for that of another, as it may be required. Holland. — 1 guilder has 20 stivers = 2 francs 11 cents. 12 do. =■= £1 sterling. 1 do. = l/8d. do. 1 stiver = 1 penny do. Prussia. — 1 rixdollar has 30 silber groschen, or 24 gute groschen. 5 rixdollars, 13 silber gros. ) „„ „ _ , \ = 20 francs. or 5 do. 8 gute gros. > FOREIGN CURRENCY.

Hessen Cassel. — 1 guilder has 60 kreutzers. 9 guilders 32^ kr. = 20 francs. Austria. — Accounts are kept in paper money ; the silver medium is 150 per cent, higher in value, and is called Conventions geld. 1 florin has 60 kreutzers. 7 do. and 6 kr. silver = 20 francs. Thus 1 florin silver is equal to 2-J paper. Papal States. — 1 scudo or dollar has 10 pauls. 1 paul has 10 bajocchi. 37 pauls 5 baj. = 20 francs. Neapolitan States. — 1 piaster has 12 carlins= 4 shillings. 1 ducat has 10 do. =3/4d. 1 earlin has 10 grains = 4d. Thus, 59 carlins 5-J gr.= £1 sterling. Tuscany. — 1 colonnato has 9i pauls = 4/4^d. 1 paul has 8 gratsi = 5 id. Thus, 36f pauls = 20 francs, or 44^ do. = £1 sterling. Genoa. — 20 lire nuove di Piemonte ) .„ . .. _ \ = 20 francs. or 24 do. di Genova J Geneva. — The same as in France, in gold Napoleons or Louis of 20 and 40 francs, and in silver pieces of from 1 to 5 francs.

Russia. — 350 copeaks, or 34 rubles in bank notes, arc by MODES OF TRAVELLING. a recent financial operation, exchangeable for 100 copeaks or one ruble silver. — The silver ruble is worth about 38 pence sterling. Sweden.— Accounts are kept in the paper currency, which is 50 per cent, lower in value than the copper or silver, and is called Reichsgeld ; but the bank at Stockholm issues notes of their own called Banco, which are always convertible into silver or copper : 1 rixdollar has 48 shillings, or about 5 francs 60 cents. I would recommend all travellers to compress their bag gage into as small a compass as possible, and to take no thing with them but what they absolutely require for wear ing apparel. They ought to be equally careful to avoid speaking to their valet-de-place, or at the public tables, on any subjects connected with politics, or articles of faith, as there are spies at every inn, who never lose sight of the traveller till he leaves the place.

When a person has not his own carriage, he can travel by the Diligences, which are to be found on almost every great frequented road. They are most comfortable and cheap ; and when the traveller pays for his place, a receipt is given him for the money, where it is distinctly stated, among other particulars, that no smoking is allowed, or any sick person or dogs admitted into the carriage. There is always a guard or conductor, whose duty it is to see these regulations enforced ; and I never knew one instance where they were deviated from. In Italy, the drivers (called vetturini) have generally their own carriage and horses, and engage for a fixed sum MODES OF TRAVELLING. 7 to convey the traveller from one place to another within a given time, including bed and board. The following is a copy of my agreement with the vetturino from Genoa to Milan: — Genova, li 21.

Gennaio 18 — Jo Joseph Bonneaud, vetturino, partendo per Milano m'obbligo di portare come passegiere il Signor B. nella mia vettura, dalla Sua Locanda il Pensione Svizzera, e di por tare la Sua Roba sul tetto della carozza. — M'obbligo di partire la mattina di Giovedi li venti quatro della mese cor rente, e di arrivare a Milano fra tre giorni fermando sulla strada tempo bastante per riposarsi e di trovare per Signor B. ogni sera una buona cena e letto pulito, — tutto per la somma di trenta due franchi pagabile a Milano e franco di ogni altra spesa. (Signed) Bonneaud. Thus, the whole fare from Genoa to Milan was 32 francs, including bed and board. Independent of these two modes of travelling, there are vehicles all over Germany called postivagen, where two persons, with their baggage, can travel very conveniently, and which can be procured at the rate of from 12 to 15 shillings a-day for any length of time, and to any distance, drawn by two horses, the driver pay ing all expenses for himself and them.

As to the expense of living in different towns on the Con tinent for a single person, at the first-rate inns, bed and board, annually, faring sumptuously every day, and includ ing every expense whatever, I take it to be nearly as follows in pounds sterling : Florence, £100. Carlsruhe, £120. EXPENSE OF LIVING. Weimar, Elberfeldt, Cassel, Dusseldorff, Gottingen, Geneva, £125. Leghorn, Darmstadt, Manheim, £130. Utrecht, Heilbronn, £140. Paris, Rome, Turin, Spa, Milan, Heidelberg, £150. Rotterdam, Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle, £160. Naples, Coblentz, £170. Amsterdam, Kehl, £180. Frankfurt, £200. Calais, (Dessin's), £300. I have not the least doubt a person going to these places, and making an agreement beforehand to remain some months, would be boarded for one-half of the sums men tioned, and for still less if he went into private lodgings.

I have made these calculations from what I paid myself. At Rome, Naples, and Paris, I had besides a separate par lour elegantly furnished. The high living at Calais arises from its being at all times full of English travellers, who literally throw away their money. I will now point out, as far as my experience goes, the different places on the continent where a person may derive the most instruction, combined with what young people naturally wish to enjoy — pleasure and amusement. I would recommend the English traveller, in every instance, to get good letters of introduction to the native residents wherever he goes, and to avoid the society of his country men, who, in a general sense, are far from deriving those advantages from travelling which a more discriminate and attentive analysis ofthe character ofthe continental nations would infallibly procure them.

Paris is decidedly the best winter residence in Europe. PLACES OF RESIDENCE. both for instruction and amusement, and from whence a person can return to England in the course of two or three days. The next towns in order, I would say Vienna, Ber lin, and St. Petersburg, where the manners and habits of the people are more strictly national, and afford an endless source of useful knowledge to the inquisitive traveller, At Rome nobody would ever live from choice : it is a paradise for artists alone, and affords a melancholy spectacle of a people reduced, by their own indolence and indifference, to the lowest state of moral and political degradation ; and no person should reside there beyond a couple of months, un less they choose to run the risk of being for ever lost in that gulf of vice and pollution.

At Naples, as well as at Rome, the same period of time will suffice to gratify every rational degree of curiosity ; beyond that, we are exposed to the same contamination. As for a summer residence on the Continent, I know none so delightful as Baden. Carlsbad has great attractions as a watering-place, and is frequented by the first society in Europe during the summer. Spa is rather out of date, al though the surrounding scenery is most beautiful ; and a person cannot fail passing the fine season very pleasantly, by sailing up the Rhine in a steamer, and landing either at Ems or Wisbaden, and from thence taking occasionally little trips to Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Carlsruhe, Stutgard, &c. This latter plan is the more to be recom mended, as the traveller in case of need can easily accelerate his return to England, by proceeding down the Rhine to Rotterdam, from whence a steamer brings him home in little more than twenty-four hours.

The approach to Rotterdam by water is calculated to ex cite the most pleasing emotions in the breast of the English HOLLAND. traveller ; for while, on the left bank of the river, he sees the Brill, where the Dutch people, goaded on by repeated acts of cruelty, first unfurled the standard of independence against the sanguinary Philip of Spain, the whole scene around him, singularly attractive from the novelty and ori ginality of its general features, draws forth his attention till the steam-boat reaches its destination. When we are landed among the Dutch, our effects are immediately carried to the custom-house, where they are detained but a few minutes. In this, and in every other instance, I found by experience that matters in Holland are conducted in a plaiD, business like, methodical scale.

The old hackneyed remark of the cleanliness of the people must strike the most common observer ; and their care to preserve unimpaired every thing that tends either to improve the appearance of their canals, gardens, or towns in general, is singularly conspicuous : the latter are generally intersected with navigable canals, the sides of which are or namented with trees kept in the most perfect order. These canals extend over the whole country in endless ramifications, serving for the double purpose of irrigation and of beautifying it ; — and when we view the enlivening scene of vessels sailing to and fro, and the gardens on the banks of the canals laid out with so much taste and neatness, we na turally conclude that the Dutch have a large share of the comforts and enjoyments of life : their country was neither fertile nor beautiful by nature, but they have made it so by assiduity and art.

For ages past they have been a kind of amphibious beings, living considerably under the level of the sea, upon whose proud domain they gradually encroached, till they changed its unproductive sands into fields teeming with fertility, and now repose quietly under the shade of HOLLAND. trees, where, in former times, their barks were shattered to pieces by the raging tempest. The changes and revolutions in other countries have passed on without affecting them in the smallest degree ; their dress continues as it was, peculiar and original ; the construction of their ships is totally diffe rent from those of other nations ; their modes of thinking, uninfluenced and unaffected by the theoretical fancies of modern times ; the plainness, simplicity, and gravity of their manners remain unaltered, and their morals, in a considerable degree, uncontaminated by the prevailing vices in other countries.

They have formed a just and a proper estimate of what constitutes human enjoyment in a rational way ; and this is evident in their general demeanour, and in the expression of their countenances. See the plain citizen, seated on a bench in his garden, with his pipe and his book ; he is a living monument of self-contentedness, looking with complacency and composure on the comforts with which he is surrounded ; and he enjoys them because they are of his own creation, the fruits and the reward of temperance, in dustry, and good management, which at all times will flourish of themselves", without the intervention of legislative enactments. Let the people of England, and above all those of the Sister Isle, look to this. They will perhaps tell me they are ruined by an over-population : I can say in answer to this, that there are more inhabitants to a square mile in Holland than in Great Britain.

Then they may come over the old ground of oppressive taxation as an effectual check to national prosperity. This argument is of as little value as the first, as the taxes in Holland are very nearly double to what they are in Great Britain, if we take into consideration the means and the resources of the respective countries. What, then, is the cause of all the misery among so BELGIUM. great a proportion of the people in the British Empire ? I will tell them in few words. It arises from intemperance, idleness, and bad management ; and leaving their work, and their families to starve, in order to attend to the inflamma tory speeches and delusive hopes held out to them by itine rant legislators, who, to promote their own private ends, mislead or betray the people whenever it suits their pur poses.

Let the people of England reform themselves, and return to the frugal mode of living followed by their ances tors, or they will soon witness the fall of their country, and be seen wandering and famishing amidst its mouldering columns, like fleeting phantoms among the ruins of Balbec and Persepolis. How the Allied Powers could ever think of incorporating Belgium with Holland, with the least prospect of the per manency of such a union, it is not easy to comprehend. Differing as the Dutch and Belgians do in every thing — in the nature of the soil and climate, religion, language, and on almost every political question, arising from a feeling of mutual jealousy and distrust — it can excite no surprise in the mind of any reflecting person that Belgium has, in its endeavours to throw off its connexion with Holland and be come an independent power, been so long under the domi nion of hot-headed enthusiasts, and a prey to anarchy and confusion.

This state of disorganization, it is to be feared, they will long be exposed to, arising in great measure from a want of nationality among the people. The Belgians (commonly so called) being a compound of various different neighbouring countries, and not actuated by the same com mon feelings, cannot be supposed to act with sentiment or energy in promoting any objects of public utility. — With all this, the country has infinite attractions for a traveller, THE RHINE. 13 and great natural advantages : it abounds in wood and coal, and all the articles of consumption for man and beast in the utmost plenty. At Antwerp they have one of the finest harbours in the world, and every possible convenience for the extension and encouragement of trade ; and there, as well as at Brussels, the amateur of paintings will find the choicest specimens of the Dutch and Flemish school.

The country, towards Spa and the Duchy of Luxemburg, is in expressibly picturesque and beautiful ; and in those districts the geologist and mineralogist will find a wide field for their enterprise and research. From these points it is de sirable to find our way to the Rhine by the way of Aix-la- Chapelle and Cologne, two towns of the most interesting description in that part of the Continent. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of Cologne, (I forget the exact spot,) there is an admirable echo, the sound being returned from the banks of the river. An important per sonage, wishing to puff himself off, as he ascended in the steam-boat, called out Ich bin der Burgemeister von Wesel. Echo " Esel." Not wishing to receive so flattering a compliment, I thought it was better to pass on in silent admiration.

The banks of the Rhine supply the German poets with ideas, and inspire the ladies with romance and sentiment, and all the charming visions of valiant knight-errantry. The heights here and there present the mouldering ruins of a castle, where, in the days of Charlemagne, the timid maiden found an asylum, and was protected from the roving banditti of those barbarous times by some dauntless cheva lier. In the fine season, thousands of what are called the WISBADEN EMS. best society collect, from all parts of Europe, at two celebrated watering places on the right bank, — the one called Wisbaden, opposite to Mentz, and the other Ems, near Coblentz ; and where princes of the empire, and others in the highest stations, lay aside their cares for a while, and cast amorous glances at the fascinating females moving in a more humble sphere.

This amalgamation of ranks and degrees is at all times singularly amusing to a looker-on ; but particularly when he first mixes with this heterogene ous mass of people. A person possessing a knowledge of the French or German language, is received as one of the party without the least reserve or ceremony ; and every body goes there to please and to be pleased. The time passes away de lightfully, information of every kind is acquired, new ideas are reciprocally communicated ; and if the traveller returns home poorer in money, it is more than probable he will be much richer in useful knowledge. If any thing in this motley scene tends to offend the taste or the feelings of an English traveller it is the dirty slovenly dress ot the gentle men when they congregate in the morning at the well, and where it is found necessary to post up in large characters that smoking is not allowed.

They appear, some in great coats, others in night-caps and night-gowns, with their neck and breast exposed, and all in slippers (like Joseph's coat) of many colours. The ladies, on the contrary, pay more attention to the toilet, and prepare their nets early in the morning — not to cast them into the Rhine. At particular seasons of the year, when these watering places are most frequented, it is sometimes extremely difficult to find lodg ings. I experienced this at Wisbaden, where I was tossed about from one hotel to another, and at last was obliged to take refuge in an obscure private dwelling, where I could WISBADEN. 15 get nothing but a bed. — Families travelling should make arrangements beforehand. My natural partiality for the German people has led me to visit their country at three different periods, during which I traversed it in all directions.

I might fill many volumes with a vast variety of details, which the nature of this work will not admit of. For the present, I shall confine my ob servations to the banks of the Upper Rhine, and advert to such particulars as I conceive will give the general reader a more correct view of the German character. The habits of the people at large, their quiet inoffensive mode of living, their steady application to the pursuits and business of the world, their moral and religious character, which sheds a lustre over the domestic circle, all tended to rivet my affec tions more and more. One evening at Wisbaden, taking my coffee in the gardens of the Post Haus, I met with an old acquaintance, Herr Geheime Rath F . In dis cussing with him the blessings the Germans enjoyed, I asked him if he could assign any reason why so large a body of people, governed by so many different princes, should be comparatively happier than the other European nations, particularly those who boasted most of the advantages of a free government and impartial laws ?

He observed, " that although human laws can contribute much to ameliorate and improve the condition of a people, they cannot diffuse the blessings of contentment and happiness : man must be in debted to himself alone for the enjoyment of those blessings, which are founded upon industry, moderation, sobriety, and good morals ; and as these are more generally spread over Germany than in any other country in Europe, it requires no stretch of ingenuity or depth of argument, to account for the happiness of the people. Let us cross the Rhine to WISBADEN. Mentz, and take a walk in the Neue Anlage, where we shall meet with subjects enough to comment upon." This delightful spot, contiguous to the town ramparts and close to the Rhine, is laid out in all the variety of garden ground, with houses for refreshment, amusements of different sorts, such as nine-pins, billiards, &c. where, every afternoon, after the labours of the day, the good people of Mentz con gregate with their families to pass a few hours in rational and innocent pastime.

We sat down on a bank together, to enjoy our pipe and bottle of Johannisberger, while the various figures passed in review before us like the fleeting forms in a magic lanthorn. Within our view the Maine poured its treasures into the mighty Rhine, while vessels of every description moved to and fro, adding to the splendour and richness of the scenery. While we were contemplating the happy crowds, and looking abroad upon the vast extent of champaign scenery before us, rendered still more interest ing by the brilliant rays of the setting sun, we could not help carrying our views a little farther, and thinking on the beautiful country within a short drive of us, where the great Charlemagne principally resided, and where he retired from the cares of government and the fatigues of warfare. The different resorts of Ems, Baden, Langenschwalbach, Schlangenbad, and Wisbaden, alternately occupied our thoughts, and formed endless subjects of discussion.