Narrative of a journey overland from England, by the Continent of Europe, Egypt, and the Red Sea, to India; including a residence there, and voyage home, in the years 1825, 26, 27, and 28

Front matter

NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY OVERLAND FROM ENGLAND, BY THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE, EGYPT, AND THE RED SEA, TO INDIA; IKCLUDIJsG A RESIDENCE THERE, AND VOYAGE HOME, IN THE YEARS 1825, 26, 27, AND 28. BY MRS. COLONEL ELWOOD. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1830. LONDON : TRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, Dorset Street, Fleet Street. TO EDWARD JEREMIAH CURTEIS, Esq. ot WINDMILL HILL, M. P. FOR THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. MY DEAR EATHER, In dedicating the following letters to you, which contain an account of our adventures, from the time of our leaving Windmill Hill, until the period of our return thither, and which were originally addressed to my sister, Mrs. Elphinstone, I take the opportunity of expressing the warm affection, which, in com mon with every branch of your family, I feel for you, and the respect which is entertained by us all, for the numerous virtues that adorn your character, — virtues that none can so well appreciate as those who have the pleasure of being intimately acquainted with you, and of Avhich none has a deeper sense than, My dear Father, Your ever grateful, dutiful, And Arery affectionate daughter, Anne Katharine Elavood. Juhi

Preface

. In submitting the following letters to the public, the writer is acting upon the sugges tions of those on whose judgment she has a firmer reliance than on her own, and who are of opinion, that they may possibly be deemed not wholly uninteresting at this pe culiar time, when India, and the over-land communication with that country, are topics of such general conversation. She begs also to state, that in so doing, she is likewise complying with the wishes of several friends, who have frequently expressed themselves desirous of being informed of the particulars of her journey to, and residence in India. She fears that some may deem her presump tuous, in thus offering observations to the public, which were made upon the spot, frequently under the disadvantageous circumstances of ex- VI

PREFACE.

. posure to Siroccos and Camseens — whilst travel ling in a Takhtrouan or Palanquin — sailing in Cangias, Dows, and Pattemars, and living in Tents, Caravanseras, and Durrumsallahs, — all which were originally written in a journal kept merely for her own private amusement, and in their present form Avere addressed to a near and very dear relation. But, since she can safely affirm that she has given a true and faithful de scription of Avhat she saw and felt, in the very peculiar circumstances in Avhich she occasion ally found herself, and in the singular countries Avhich it was her fate to visit, and since, if she may judge from her own feelings, women natu rally take a lively interest in what concerns their own sex, she flatters herself, that the following account of the adventures of the first and only female who has hitherto ventured over-land from England to India, may at least prove not Avholly unacceptable to the fair part of the reading community.

She likewise hopes, that it is not impossible some future OAer-land tra- Areller may deriAe benefit from her experience, which has already enabled her to give hints, and to furnish suggestions and information, that have been found useful by parties pro ceeding to and returning from India. CONTENTS 01 THE FIRST VOLUME.

Letter X

Embarkation in Steam-packet, — Isles of Lipari. — Stromboli. — Straits of Messina. — Scylla and Charybdis. — Harbour of Messina. — Beautiful situation. — Sirocco Earthquakes. Shipwrecked Greeks. — La Virgine della Lettera. — Phænomenon of La Fata Morgana. — Duomo. — Marina. — Sicilian language, manners, and climate . 75

Letter XXVIII

Adel Cashia. — Beautiful Nights in the Desert — Song of the Camel-drivers. — Caravan becomes separated. — Alarm. — Adabiah. — Mountains of valuable Marbles. — Pleasant life in the Desert. — Arrival at Cosseir. — Abstract of Journey across the Desert .... 252

Letter XXIX

Cosseir. — Egyptian House. — Sun rises like a pillar of fire ! Red Sea. — Beautiful colour. — Distress from want of water. — Locusts. — Vultures. — Moggrebyn Hadjes. — Arrival of Franks. — Visit from the Cacheff of Cosseir . 263

Letter XXX

Embarkation on the Red Sea. — Arab Dow.— Hadjes on board. — Manners and customs.- Hadje Ships. — Yambo.. — Governor. — Astonishment of the Inhabitants at the sight CONTENTS. XII of Franks. — Yambowys. — Reservoirs of water. — Arab architecture. — Windmills. — Tombs. — Superstitious customs — Mar Abraham, Bishop of Jerusalem . Page 274

Letter XXXI

Coast of the Hedjaz. — Beauty of the waters of the Red Sea. —Coral Reefs. — Bay of Arabok. — Jaharmo. — Initiatory rite of the Hadje. — Assumption of the Ihram. — Barren shore. — Difficulty of return to the Arab Dow 294

Letter XXXII

Djidda. — House of Hoseyn Aga. — Divan. — Oriental manner of concluding a bargain. — Traditions concerning Djidda ..... 303

Letter XXXIII

The George Cruttenden, a Native Vessel. — Embarkation. — Cock -roaches — Crew. — Natives of Hindoostan. — Oppressive Climate. — Arrival at Hodeida 312

Letter XXXIV

Hodeida. — Arab House and Architecture. — Castles. — Garden of Dates. — Wild Arabs. — Coffee. — Camel's flesh. — Hyenas. — Curiosity of Inhabitants concerning, and refusal to accept, Arab Testament. — Dowlah's Divan. — Banyans. — Ill-used race . . ■ • 321

Letter XL

Pareil, the Government House. — Menagerie. — Tiger, and Tiger adventures. — Ourang Outang. — Horticulture not much attended to at Bombay. — Similar to that of the ancient Egyptians. — Flowers and Trees. — Mango of Mazagong. — Cocoa-nut-tree — Bamboo. — Banana, or Plantain.— Banyan,— Peepul . ■ . CONTENTS.

Letter XLI

Vegetable productions of Bombay. — Fruits. — Rice-fields. — Animals. — The Horse. — Buffalo. — Squirrel. — Baya, or Grosbeak. — Fire-flies and other Insects. . 393

Letter XLII

Devastation caused by Termites, or White Ants. — Their extraordinary Nests, and powers of destruction. — Black Ants — Immense size of their Nests. — Fish, Bumbelo, Pomfret, and Prawns. — Bazaar. — Jungle Fowl. — Our Poultry of Indian origin. — Turkey and Ham never-failing dishes at Bombay. — Rage for European Articles. — Native China never used by the English . . 402

Letter XLIII

House-rent at Bombay. — Bungalow. — Bee-hive. — Land and Sea Breezes. — Shipping and Trade at Bombay English articles scarce in India . . . 412

Letter XLIV

Cocoa-nut-day at Bombay. — Native Manners not to be properly appreciated at the Presidency.— Cocoa-nut-day as celebrated at Poorbunder.— Indian Trade mentioned in the Bible. — Commerce perhaps intended as a means of Christianizing the World. — Trade in the Red Sea. Coffee of Mocha.— Coffee said not to be known to the Ancients .... a.9c\ LIST OF ENGRAVINGS VOL. I. takhtrouan . . . To face Page 241 ADAB1AH, IN THE DESERT OF THE THEBAID . 257 YAMEO, AND MOUNTAINS IN THE VICINITY OF MEDINA 282 MOCHA 347 VOL. II. MOSQUE OF GOOLAM ALI, AT KERAH 183 HILL FORT OF BHOOJIA ERRATA. vol.. I. Page 2 for Tacktrouan 128 — Pttienza 260 — Aserniens 329 — JoveiL read Takhtrouan Pazienzia Agrt;mens Jowett 350 — Attargut 388 — tops — Attargul — lopes vol. ir. P.,ge '9 fur read pourtrays Styavrata ImauD poimray Slyaviatar Imam iii 73 73 Maj 1 Raoka Magi Rao ka ] 80 197, 199, 200.) 201, 20«, 228, ( 24(5 247 Jahrejah Jharejah present Buhoot acha Sie presents Note. Buhootacha See 231 877 Hulwud Vivants Smbad H ul w ami Vivans 315 328 Siodbad JOURNEY OVERLAND FROM ENGLAND TO INDIA.

Letter I

Departure from England. — Paris. — Fontainbleau, — Dijon. — The Jura. — Beautiful view near Vattay. — Geneva. MY DEAR SISTER. Since you wish me to give you an account of our Journey from England to India, and of our residence in the latter country, I shall have much pleasure in complying with your request ; for even in this erratic age, when every one talks familiarly of " The Alps and Apennines, The Pyrenean, and the river Po," I believe I may safely say, that I am the only Lady who ever travelled thither overland, by this, or perhaps by any other route ; and pro bably mine was the first Journal ever kept by vol. i. B DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND. 2 an Englishwoman in the Desert of the Thebais, and on the shores of the Red Sea. Instead of the Popes and Cardinals who grace the Diaries of other migratory damsels, you will meet with Agas and Cacheffs, and hear of Pashas and Rajahs ; and for the ceremonies of the Holy Week, you will have the initiatory rites of the Mahometan Hadje, the Mohurrum, and the Hindoo Hoolie.

You must ascend the Py ramids, and descend into Joseph's well, pene trate into the tomb of King Sesostris, and ex plore the caves of Elephanta. You will be ex posed to Camseens and Siroccos ; to Monsoons and Tropical heats ; you will sail in Egyptian Cangias, Arab Dows, and Indian Pattemars ; travel in a Tacktrouan and Palanquin ; take up your abode in Tents, Caravanseras, and Durrum sallahs ; hear of places seldom or perhaps never before visited by any of our countrywomen ; and I shall have the pleasure of introducing you to a Turkish Divan at Djidda, an Arab Haram at Hodeida, a Jahrejah's Zenana at Bhooj, and a Bramin's Pinjrapole at Broach. Have you the courage to accompany me ? Allons done. When we first started our idea of travelling to India by the way of Egypt, our project was treated as visionary by several, and numbers considered it as impracticableyor a Lady.

Some kind friends sought to deter us by magnifying DIFFICULTIES OF OUTWARD ROUTE. 3 the dangers of the expedition, and others recommended " a comfortable China ship " in pre ference ; but though we were fully aware this was a route hitherto but little frequented even by gentlemen, and that no lady had ever at tempted the outward overland journey to Bom bay, we were not to be deterred by imaginary difficulties. We resolved, at least, to try whether our plan were feasible, and we found in the variety of the interesting countries through which we passed, sufficient amply to compen sate for the fatigue and inconveniences we en countered on our journey. Our chief embarrassment was, the difficulty and the uncertainty of obtaining a passage down the Red Sea, which obstacle does not exist on the route homewards, as ships not un frequently sail at once from Bombay to Cosseir.

However, as we heard from the family of Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir Charles Colville, that he intended to return from In dia to England through Egypt, and that he would leave Bombay in November, we deter mined to proceed quickly to Cosseir, in order to take advantage of his ship, and as we did not take into consideration the Sirocco, the storms, and the pirates of the Mediterranean, we calculated we might reach that place easily by Christmas. b FIRST DAY'S JOURNEY. On the 6th of October, 1825, we left Wind mill Hill for New Susans, at East Bourne, which latter place we quitted on the 8th, and proceeded along the coast to Dover, our first day's journey on our route to India ! Washington Irving asks, " Who can tell, when he sets forth to wander, whither he may be driven by the uncertain currents of existence, or whether it may ever be his lot to re-visit the scenes of his childhood ?"

This idea, indepen dent of parting with one's family and friends, would necessarily sadden the heart ; but I will not trouble you with an account of my feelings at leaving my native land ; and as you must be well acquainted with Paris and the road thi ther, I will spare you any description of the country, which at this time was rich in all the varied hues of autumn ; " Dusk and dun, of every hue, from wan declining green To sooty dark ;" and merely observe, that we crossed to Calais on the 9th, and sleeping at Montreuil sur Mer and Granvilliers, we reached the gay metropolis of France on the evening of the 12th. There is no occasion to trouble you with an account of the Tuileries, the Louvre, the Hotel des Invalides, and all the other lions, with which you are as much at home as myself; and there fore we will proceed at once to Fontainbleau.

PALACE OF FONTAINBLEAU. 5 With the palace there we were certainly much gratified ; but we were far more interested in one small room, simply and unostentatiously furnished, than with all the other splendid and magnificent suites of apartments through which we passed. On a table there, as simple in its structure as remarkable for the deed performed on it, Napoleon signed his abdication, and on it may still be seen the marks of the pen-knife, which in the perturbed state of an agitated mind, he hastily dashed on its surface. The scenery of the forest of Fontainbleau was wooded and pretty, and after passing Sens, we followed the windings of the Yonne, upon whose broad and peaceful bosom several barges were sailing, and whose graceful meanderings through a fertile country added much to its beauty.

On the 17th we slept at Auxerre, the ancient Autisiodorum, and on the three successive nights at Rouvray ; at Dijon, the former capital of Burgundy, and the birth-place of Bos suet, Buffon, and Crebillon, which, with its two fine spires, of St. Benigne, 375 feet, and St. Jean, 300 feet high, stands in a fertile plain, enriched with vineyards ; and at Poligny, situated at the immediate base of the Jura, in whose neighbourhood the vines began to dis appear, and were replaced by trees and brush wood. On the 21st we commenced to ascend MORET. these mountains by a steep but excellent road, the sides of which were prettily fringed with shrubs, and we soon passed a magnificent defile, beautifully wooded with beech and fir trees, where the dark and sombre hues of the latter, powdered with a slight shower of snow, presented a pleasing and striking contrast to those of the former, at this time rich in every au tumnal tint.

We passed a fine cascade at Dombief, and we continued among fine Alpine scenery, till a rapid descent brought us upon Moret, a pretty little town, standing close to a brawling stream denominated Le Bief de la Chaille, and upon the river Bienne, which flow ing through a narrow valley, inclosed by per pendicular rocks of prodigious height, scarcely leaves room for two rows of houses and the street that separates them. In this secluded spot, buried apparently in one of the deepest dells of the Alpine regions, we spent the night ; and on the following morning we ascended a very high mountain, occasionally passing through immense forests of fir, which were literally bending under the weight of the snow with which they were covered, whilst our road continued along fearfully steep precipices, where not the slightest parapet intervened between us and destruction.

Above frowned awfully stupendous rocks, and over the per- GENEVA. 7 pendicular cliffs we beheld a beautiful and a fertile valley smiling beneath. At times, emerging from the deepest solitudes, might be seen parties of smugglers stealing cautiously along in search of an illicit and unlawful gain, daring and encountering dangers, the which but to think of quite horrified the imagination. After passing Vattay, a sudden turn of the road brought us upon one of the most magnificent views that can be conceived. We were among the wintry snows and cloud-capped hills of the Jura, and the lovely Lake of Geneva, with the luxuriant and beautiful Pays de Vaud, burst suddenly upon our enraptured sight ; whilst beyond towered the majestic Alps of the Valais, and the stupendous mountains and glaciers of Savoy.

It was one of the loveliest and finest scenes we ever beheld, and the bare recollection, in itself, amply compensates for the fatigues and troubles of travelling. We then began rapidly to descend, and we soon left the stormy regions of the summits of the Jura for the well-wooded scenery and fertile pasturage at the base ; and after passing Vol taire's villa at Ferney, we quickly reached the cheerful and well-cultivated environs of Ge neva, the scenery of which lake is at once sublime and beautiful, and is interesting to the poet and the man of taste from its associations AIX AUX BAINS.— CHAMBER!. with departed genius. " Voltaire, Rousseau, our Gibbon, and De Stael," and that immortal poet, who erst-while sung his illustrious predecessors, and who loved to sail upon its bosom, and seek for " Mont Blanc, the ' Monarch of Mountains,' " as reflected in its glassy wave, have all resided upon its banks, and their dwellings, and the places described and immortalized by them, are now eagerly sought for, and pointed out to the traveller in these magnificent and romantic regions.

Letter II

Aixaux Bains. — Chamberi. — Valley of La Maurienne. — Lans le Bourg. — Passage of Mont Cenis. — Susa. — Valley of the Doria Reparia — Turin. A brilliant sun illuminated and animated the landscape as we left Geneva, though a bitterly cold blast blew from the snow-capped mountains and icy glaciers in its vicinity. We passed over a succession of well-cultivated and pastoral-looking hills and dales, till we reached Aix aux Bains, whose warm and sulphurous waters were known to the Romans, and are still in high repute. Chamberi, the capital of Savoy, is a pretty little town, situated in a rich and fertile plain, watered by the rivulets ST. JEAN DE MAURIENNE. 9 Leisse and Albano. The heights in the imme diate neighbourhood are covered with vine yards, pasturage, and forests of fir. Lady Mary Wortley Montague and Rousseau both spent some time here, and we never saw any place which appeared better calculated for an agreeable residence.

At Mont Melian we had a noble view of the Alps : Mont Blanc was, however, so coy, that he seldom vouchsafed to unveil his majestic head. We here saw one of the unfortunate ideots, so common in these mountainous regions. He was sitting basking in the sun, at the door of a cottage, yet, though we were positively shocked at his appearance, he had a happy and contented air, and seemed much pleased at our putting a piece of money into his hand, turning it over and over, and playing with it as with a toy. The military road commences at Aiguebelle, and we then entered the wild and desolate tract of country called La Maurienne ; a narrow valley, which gradually contracts, whilst the awful and stupendous Alps approach so near as barely to leave room for the road, and for the river Arc, a noisy, rapid, and brawling stream, which is a tributary to the Isere.

St. Jean de Maurienne, where we slept, is the capital of these cheerless regions, and it really seems like an outpost to the stronghold LANS LE BOURG. where Winter maintains an everlasting reign, amongst snowy mountains and icy glaciers. Amidst this desolation, however, we occasion ally came upon some exquisite little morceaux of scenery, beautiful and picturesque as can be conceived, and like the oases in the desert, doubly interesting from the contrast they presented with all around. The dark fir, the yel low birch, the red beech, with their autumnal tints and rich foliage, formed a delightful re freshment to the eye that had just rested on the rude and rugged Alps of the background. After passing Modano the road became one sheet of ice ; the mountains were whitened with eternal snows, and where their precipitous sides prevented it from remaining, dark and barren rocks abruptly burst to view.

Innume rable waterfalls and cascades, often arrested and fast bound in mid-air, presented themselves, whilst the river ran brawling by with impetu ous fury. We kept gradually ascending, and the air became piercingly cold, till at the head of a long, gloomy, and dreary valley, we at last reached Lans le Bourg, situated at the base of Mont Cenis, which was frowning several thousand feet aloft in the air. As we gazed on the snow-capped mountain, shining in dazzling splendour beneath the radiant light of the moon, we could but exclaim, MONT CENIS. 11 " And yet e'eu here Does winter in a lovely dress appear." Mont Cenis, over whose summit, 11,977 feet high, Pompey the Great is said to have at tempted a passage, from his days to those of Napoleon, was only to be crossed on mules, or in chaises a porteurs.

In 1811, in the space of five months, the Imperial energy of the latter, aided by the talents of Fabbroni, caused a road to be cut by three thousand workmen, by which the heaviest carriages may now pass at every season of the year ; and the most delicate in valid, the most nervous lady, may be safely transported from the valley of the Arc to that of the Doria Reparia. After crossing a handsome wooden bridge, we began slowly to ascend the mountain with six horses, passing through forests of fir and larch covered with snow, and by several Refuges, twenty-six in number, which have been erected for the safety and accommodation of the un fortunate traveller who might be storm-bound or benighted on these wintry wastes. The road gradually wound up the side; and on reaching the top, as if to congratulate us that we were about to leave the churlish re gions of the north for the more genial climate of Italy, the sun in full splendour suddenly burst from behind dense clouds, disclosing to SCENERY OF MONT CENIS. view a wintry scene of the most brilliant magnificence. 6027 feet above the level of the sea, and surrounded by a parapet of frowning mountains 9260 feet high, upon the bosom of the plain of San Nicolo, where was scattered the little hamlet of Les Tavernelles, sparkled a beautiful little lake, said to be unfathom able.

Bright confusion reigned around, and a dazzling waste of snow fatigued the eye, whilst every shrub glittered with icicles, and every pointed thorn and blade of grass seemed as if it were wrought in glass. The Hospice, founded by Charlemagne, was restored by Napoleon, to whom travellers can not feel too much obliged for having, like Han nibal, melted the Alps, by making good roads, and providing excellent accommodations, in places formerly the retreat of wolves and bears. The scenery on the Piedmontese side of Mont Cenis is, perhaps, even superior to that on the Savoyard. Stupendous rocks, rugged precipices, headlong torrents and noble cascades, are seen in every direction, till the fertile little valley of Cenis, with the villages of Novalezza and Velano, are discovered smiling some thousand feet below.

After passing Molaret, near which an ava lanche often falls, we took leave of these re gions of eternal frost and snow, and soon came SUSA. 13 upon chesnut trees in all their autumnal glories ; vines hanging in tangled festoons from tree to tree, and olives lightly waving in the air, alternately displaying a deep green or a silvery hue, as the chance breeze, carelessly kissing the leaves, turned them to the eye of the beholder. In six hours and a half from Lans le Bourg, we crossed Mont Cenis, and reached Susa on the opposite side, which, from its frontier situa tion, is not unaptly termed " the key of Italy, and the gate of war." Its ancient name was Segusium, which was built by Augustus, when he wished to keep open a route into Dauphine. Tradition relates that it was by this route Hercules passed to subdue Gaul, and by the self-same that Hannibal came to con quer Italy.

The valley of the Doria Reparia, rich and fertile in mulberry trees, and vines " married to their consort elms," is surrounded by lofty mountains, whose sides are clothed with verdure, and where may be seen, nestling on high, churches and convents in the most romantic situations. The softness of the sce nery, the brilliancy of the sun, the serenity of the Italian sky, formed a striking and de lightful contrast to the frost-bound valley of La Maurienne, and to the brawling river Arc, the desolate regions we were traversing on the yesterday. A noble road, perfectly straight, TURIN and planted on both sides with trees, conducted us to Turin, which we entered by the mag nificent Strada della Dora Grossa, three thou sand feet long ; and we soon reached the superb Piazza del Castello, which is esteemed one of the largest and handsomest in Europe, and which was at this time illuminated by the splendid light of the full moon, in these happy regions scarcely inferior to the wintry sun shine of northern climes.

As we refreshed ourselves by a blazing fire, we thought our selves fortunate in having traversed Mont Cenis before the season was farther advanced, and we congratulated ourselves at being at L'Hotel de PUnivers at Turin, rather than at L'Hotel Royal at Lans le Bourg.

Letter III

Turin. — Duomo.— Capella della Santissima Sindone Palaces. — Museum. — Alexandria. — Marengo. Genoa.— Beautiful Scenery. — Massa. — Lucca Pisa. Turin may boast of very high antiquity, if it were founded, as tradition relates, by Phædon, the brother of Osiris, who, 1529 years before Christ, brought an Egyptian colony thither, and constructed a city at the con- THE DUOMO. 15 fluence of the Po and the Doria, upon which he bestowed a name significant of the God Apis. In his selection of a spot he certainly displayed much taste, for the situation is most beautiful. It stands on a fertile plain, bounded by gently swelling hills, with a majestic line of snowy mountains in the background, whose ice-covered summits towering aloft, cleave the air like embattled pinnacles. From one particular spot in the Piazza del Castello, several streets diverge as from a common centre, each terminating in a vista of the most magnificent and beautiful scenery.

The Duomo, which is dedicated to John the Baptist, was founded by Agilas, and was repaired in 1498. Behind the high altar is the Chapel of La San tissima Sindone, which being wholly composed of black marble, has a somewhat lugubrious and funereal appearance ; its cupola, by Guarini, which is formed of arches interlacing each other, has, perhaps, rather a singular than a pleasing effect. In the Museum of the University are several statues, which the French, in their days of spoliation, considered worthy of being carried off, in order to their being installed in the Louvre. There is also the celebrated Isiac tablet, which was discovered in Man tua.* The interior of the King's Palace, in * This valuable relic of ancient art, on the plunder of 1G THE PIAZZA DEL CASTELLO. the Piazza del Castello, is gorgeous beyond conception, and contains some good pictures.

Its exterior presents a striking contrast to the ancient domicile of the Dukes of Savoy, which stands in the centre of the same square. Among the modern buildings with which it is sur rounded, the latter edifice certainly looks out of its place, and, moreover, the majestic and venerable appearance of the frowning old fabric is much injured by the fine Corinthian front, which in the time of Lewis XIV. was patched on in very bad taste by Christina. Leaving Turin, we crossed the Po by a magnificent bridge, and proceeded along a noble road to Asti, once celebrated for its hundred towers, and famous for being the birth-place of Alfieri. Alexandria stands on the Tanaro, in the fertile plain of Lombardy, abounding in corn-fields, Rome by the army of Charlesthe Fifth, about the year 1527, became the property of a common artificer, and was sold by him to Cardinal Bembo, by whose name it has since been frequently distinguished.

At the death of that Cardinal, the Table of Isis came into the possession of the Duke ot Mantua, in whose family it was preserved as an inestimable rarity till the palace of Mantua was plundered of its immense treasure of curiosities by the Imperial General, in 1630, after which it was for some time lost to the world. This curious tablet exhibits at one view, under various human and bestial figures, the deities adored in Egypt, but is supposed by the learned to allude particularly to the mystic rites of Isis and Osiris. APPROACH TO GENOA. 17 mulberry -trees, and vineyards. Not far from thence is Marengo, where the battle took place, June 14, 1800, when Napoleon headed the French in person ; but there is nothing now to mark where contending armies fought and bled : even the column that was erected where Desaix fell is no more to be seen.

After Voltaggio, instead of crossing the summit of the Bocchetta, we penetrated through the romantic defile of the Val di Scrivia, and soon after the Mediterranean burst upon our view, and the well cultivated environs of Genoa. The road runs along the banks of the mountain-stream Polcevera, which, though by nature originally merely bare and rugged rocks, by the hand of art are now studded with magnificent villas, and the whole ravine is richly planted and ornamented with orange and lemon groves, olives, vineyards, and cypresses, whilst that graceful tree the flat-topped pine greets the eye in every direction, and beautifully diversifies the view. A sudden turn of the road brought us upon Genoa, la superba, which, like a city of enchantment, raised by the potent wand of a magician, burst most unexpectedly upon our astonished sight in all its beauty and magnificence.

Springing immediately from the bosom of the vasty deep, were marble palaces and superb edifices gradually rising up the base of the hill, vol. i. c GENOA— CHURCH OF CARIGNANO. 18 whilst immediately behind rose the lofty alti tude of the Alps, frowning in awful grandeur, and forming an apparently inaccessible barrier. It was a striking spectacle, and so like a fairy scene, that we could have almost expected to have seen it vanish into empty air. The whole was lighted up with the rich blaze of an Italian setting sun. The palaces and churches of Genoa are richly and even gorgeously orna mented, but we were most struck with the Church of Carignano, which, situated on the swell of a hill, is connected with the neighbouring one by a bridge thrown boldly over the deep ravine that separates them ; and look ing down, we were surprised to behold a regular street in the hollow dell below.