A Visit to Italy

Letter I

Journey from Paris to Lyons. — Misadventure at starting. — Observatory. — Traces of the Inundation. — Museum. — Poussin's Sacraments. — Approach to Savoy. — Beauvoisin. — Pass of the Echelles. — Chambery. — Good Friday. — Enforced Fast. — The River Guieres. — Savoyard Costumes. — Lans-le-bourg. — Mont Cenis. . . . .

Letter II

Position of Turin Atmosphere. — The Po. — Queen Christina. — Palace of the King. — Ornamented Ceilings. — Theatre. — Collections of Pictures. — Egyptian Museum. — Architecture of Turin. — Morning light. — Superga. — Li brary. — Rousseau. — M. Valery. — Hospitals. — The Va lentino. — Gymnasium. — Vegetation. — Runner. — Dress. Beards and Moustaches. — Royal Ordinance.

Letter III

Asti. — Alfieri. — Alexandria. — Plain of Marengo. — Buried Monument of General Desaix. — Genoa. — Duomo. — Sunday Dresses. — Genoa better to look at than live in. vol. i. b VI CONTENTS. PAGE — Opera. — Fanny Cerito. — Row across the Gulf. — Breakfast at Voltri. — Groups of Boys. — Spinola villa.— Tremendous row back. — Villa Negri. — Lord Byron.— Palaces. — Pictures. — Ducal Palace. — Statues of Straw. — — Carignano bridge. 38

Letter IV

Extraordinary beauty of the road from Genoa to Pisa. — Ruta. — Chiavari. — Rappallo. — Sestri di Levante. — Portofino. — Borghetta. — The Bracco. — Spezzia. — Sarzana. — The Magra river. — Carrara. — Monte Sacro. — Quarries. — Pietra Santa. — Malaspina tomb. — Opera. — Arrival at Pisa. ...-•-• 54

Letter V

Deserted aspect of the City. — Its rainy Character. — Santa Maria della Spina. — Torre dell' Fame. — The Sacred Corner. The Cathedral. — The Baptistry The Leaning Tower. — The Campo Santo. — Rosini. — The Frescoes. — The Mar bles. — Farm of San Rossore. — Herd of Camels Modena in " Saul." — Disappointment. — " Alia Giornata." — Coffee house. — State of the lower Orders of the People. — Mademoi selle Calandrine. — Education. . . . . 70

Letter VI

Arrival at Florence. — The fever of anticipation. — First sight of the Duomo. — Mr. Greenough's Statue of Washington. — The Duomo. — Its vastness, and its want ofbeauty. — Por trait of Dante. — Tombs of Brunelleschi and Giotto. — Ban dinelli. — Michael Angelo's Pieta. — Baptistry. — Campa nile. — Sasso di Dante. — His mention of the Baptistry. — His revenge. ...... CONTENTS. VII PAGE 107 121 140

Letter VII

Promenade in the Grand Duke's Cascina. — The Arno The Apennines. — The Villas Fiesole. — The Conver sazione. — The Flower-girls and their flowers. — Evening Party. — The Pitti Palace The Salvator Landscapes. — Raphael. — Andrea del Sarto. — Rubens. — Michael Angelo. — Murillo. — Titian. — Vandyke. — Fra Bartolommeo. — Paul Veronese. — Enforced Retreat Exterior of the Palace. — Boboli gardens. — Eating ice. ....

Letter VIII

Cocomero Theatre. — Disagreeable Performances. — The Ufizj. — Venus de Medicis. — First impression. — The dan cing Faun. — The Knife-grinder. — The Apollino. — The Wrestlers. — The Paintings of the Tribune. — Raphael. — The Fornarina. — Michael Angelo's Holy Family. — Piazza del Gran' Duca. — Palazzo Vecchio. — Loggia dei Lanzi. — Statue of Cosmo First, by John of Bologna. — Orsanmichele. — Statues of the Piazza. — Contradictory judgments.

Letter IX

Visit to Mr. Hiram Powers, the western- American sculptor. — His statue of Eve. — Fiesole. — Villa of Boccaccio. — View of Florence. — The Amo. — Dante. — Donay's. — Flower-girls. ......

Letter X

Alfieri. — " Mirra ;" detestable in plot, interesting in per formance. — Parties composed of all nations except Italians. Absence of Lady H — No parties at the embassy. CONTENTS. VIII PAGE 152 172 186 201 — Many private English families but few of rank The Pitti gallery. — Venus of Canova. — Salvator Rosa's Philosopher's landscape. — La Madonna del Gran' Duca ; — compared with La Fornarina. — Madame Catalani Valabrique. — Political conversation. — Italian politics.

Letter XI

Royal Villas. — The simplicity of their decoration. — Poggio di Cajano. — Pic-nic. — Dinner at Mr. Greenough's. — Discussion on Sculpture. — The Church of San Lorenzo. — Chapel of the Tombs. — Tomb of Cosmo the First, " Father of his country." — Chapel of the Medici. — Laurentian Li brary. — Virgil. — The Pandects. — Boccaccio. — Petrarch. — Dante. — Galileo's finger. — Michael Angelo.

Letter XII

Galleries of the Ufizj. — Statues. — Pictures. — Want of Seats. — Schools of Painting. — Modern. Sculpture. — John of Bologna's Mercury. — Ghiberti's Prize piece. — Antique Bronzes. — The Chimera. — Objects enclosed in cases. — Hall of Baroccio .... of the Venetian School. — Hall of the Niobe. — Mr. Cockerell. — Copy of the Laocoon. — Michael Angelo's Bacchus. .....

Letter XIII

Routine of a Florence day in hot weather. — Malaria of the Cascina. — Italian mode of avoiding it. — Evident dampness. — Illness in consequence. — Dr. Harding. — Santa Croce. — Com parison with Poet's Corner. — The Cenotaph of Dante. — Tomb of Michael Angelo. — Tomb of Alfieri. — Italian Character. — Galileo. — Lines on the Santa Croce, by Mr. Everett. CONTENTS. IX

Letter XIV. Page

Expedition to Vallombrosa and Camaldoli. — Modes of Con veyance. — Difficulties of the Road. — Position of Vallombrosa. — Descriptive Lines from Milton. — Fitness of the Place for its purpose. — Rough Streets. — Diversity of Opinion as to proceeding. — Division of the Party. — Departure of three for Camal doli. — Magnificent Scenery. — Difficult Roads. — Bad Break fast. — Thunder Storm. — Reception by the Monks. — Pleasant Accommodation. — Easy Return. . . . .219

Letter XV

Popular Fete at the Cascina ; — the Duke and his Family in the midst of it. — Appearance of the People. — Service by Torchlight in the Duomo. — Startling Movement of a Dead Man's Head. — Processions. — Brethren of the Misericordia. — Origin of the Confraternity. — The Bridges of Florence. — Pri vate Communication between the Palaces. — Fountain with the Hercules of John of Bologna. — Bargillo. — Age of Dante. — Drawing of the Lottery. — Dreadful effects of Lotteries upon the People. . . . . . .244

Letter XVI

Opera at La Pergola. — Dinner Party at a Villa. — Beau tiful Residence of Mr. Walter Savage Landor's Family. — Careggi, the Villa Residence of Mr. Everett : Cosimo, and Lorenzo di Medici. — Pic-Nic Monstre to Pratolino. — Madame Sacqui. — Painful Exhibition. — Anticipated Congress of Savans. — Museum. — Boboli Gardens. . . . CONTENTS. X

Letter XVII. Page

M. de Grabert. — Agricultural Improvements of Tuscany. Count Serrestori, Marquis Gino Capponi, Marquis Cosimo Ridolfi, Patrons of Science.— Fiesole. — San Miniato.— Female Penance during Lent.— Bell of the Bargillo.— Departure of Convicts for the Galleys. — Mass at the Duomo on Whit sunday. — Party at the house of Alfieri. — Fetes on the eve of San Giovanni and the day following. — The English at Florence. ....... 276

Letter XVIII

Arrival at the Bagni di Lucca ; its Coolness and Beauty. — Early Rising. — Ponte a Seraglio. — The Serchio. — The Lima. — Destruction of their Bridges. — Ponte del Diavolo. — Bagni della Villa. — Residence of the Grand Duke of Lucca. — Club Establishment of the English. — Rouge-et-Noir Tables at the Casino. — Bagni Caldi. — Beautiful Forest Walks. — Balls in Perspective. . . . . . .294

Letter XIX

Visit to the Grand-Duke. — Ball at the Casino. — Prepon derance of English. — Their Kind Reception by the Duke. — Infirm Health of the Grand Duchess. — Freedom from Cere mony. — Promiscuous Presentations. — Necessity of Early Rising to the Enjoyment of the Place. — Sketch of a German Acquaintance. — Pic-nic to the Convent of San Gallicano. — A Second Party to the same Place. — Change of Residence. . CONTENTS. XI PAGE 327 337 358

Letter XX

Gaiety of the Baths of Lucca. — Popularity of the Duke. — French Plays. — Recitation by Modena. — Pianoforte by Doeh ler. — Proposed Improvement on Improvisation. — The Perusal of La Divina Commedia recommended to the Ladies of England. ......

Letter XXI

Excursion to the City of Lucca. — Richness of the Country. — Vines, but not Vineyards. — Defective in Landscape Scenery. — Cathedral. — Church of San Romano. — Madonna della Misericordia by Bartolommeo. — Royal Palace. — Library. — Autograph of Tasso. — Beautiful Effect of Sunset from the Ramparts. — Marchesa B , the Madame de Stael of Italy. — Visit to the Poet Cesare Boccella. — Ceremony at the Cathedral. — Return to the Baths. — Political Hints. — More Excursions. — Croce di Ferro. — Bargillo Lujana. — Prato Fiorito. .......

Letter XXII

Extract from the Messaggero delle Donne Italiene. — Re solute Pic-Nicers Evening Drives. — Different Halting places The Bridge. — The Fountain. — The Mysterious Beauty. — Roccoco Treasures. — Approaching Departure. — ■ Projected Ball to be given by the Bachelors. — Melancholy Termination. — Fatal Duel. — Amiable Conduct of the Duke of Lucca. .... . . CONTENTS. XII PAGE 369 388

Letter XXIII

Return to Florence. — Preparations for the Congress of Savans. — Zealous Interest taken by the Grand-Duke of Tus cany in the Meeting. — Intended Inauguration of the Statue of Galileo. — Disappointment at the absence of Mrs. Somerville. — Babbage and Brown the pre-eminent English Names. — Arrangements for the daily Banquet. — Assembling of the Members at the Santa Croce. — Opening of the Congress in the Hall of the Cinquecento. — Reception of the Duke and Duchess. — Opening Speech of the President Ridolfi. — Elec tion of the Presidents of Sections — Anecdote of Michael Angelo's David. — Dinner at the Boboli. — Characteristic Phy siognomy. — Evening Reunion at the Ricordi Palace. — Effect produced by the Arrival of Orioli. . .

Letter XXIV

Galileo 's Villa and Tower. — Anecdote recounted by Ma dame Catalani. — Ceremonies at the Inauguration of Galileo's Statue. — Admission to the Mathematical Section. — The Speeches of Professors Orioli and de Bayer. — Violent Thunder Storm. — Discussion on Rivers. — Comparative Beauty of Italy and other Countries. ..... ERRATA. In pages 258, 259, and 260, for Borgello read Bargillo. In page 393, &c, for Professor De Bazer read De Bayer. A VISIT TO ITALY.

Letter I

Journey from Paris to Lyons. — Misadventure at starting. — Observatory. — Traces of the inundation. — Museum. — Poussin's Sacraments Approach to Savoy. — Beauvoisin. — Pass of the Echelles. — Chambery. — Good Friday. — Enforced fast. — The river Guieres. — Savoyard costumes — Lans-le-bourg. — Mont Cenis. Turin, April 13, 1841. How, my dear friend, can I hope to make letters from Italy interesting to you ? how dare I venture to attempt it after the rich multitude of descriptive travellers who have gone before me ? Basil Hall, as acute in criticism as profound in observation .... Basil Hall says, " In this poor exhausted Italy, countless classical scholars, men of wit and fancy, Blues, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Poets, Painters, Philosophers, with ten thousand others of all persuasions, capacities, politics, tastes, and experiences, have worried and scourged the land till it will scarcely bear a blade of decent grass or even a thistle for any stray donkey that VOL. I. B JOURNEY FROM may be passing."

It must be a bold donkey, you will say, who, after this, shall venture to bray about Italy ; and a bolder one still, perhaps, who shall venture to differ from one whose judgment ever carries weight with it. But, despite the host of observers who have preceded me, I still feel a longing to gossip a little about this Italy, partly, perhaps, from my inveterate habit of gossiping about everything, and partly, because I am of opinion that an immense majority of the infer ences which have been deduced by trotting tra vellers from the aspect of the scenes through which they passed, have been exceedingly unsound, how ever unintentionally so. Even as to the outward and visible part of the business, descriptions made with all fidelity of spirit may, nevertheless, vary as widely as the tastes, temperament, and charac ter of those who furnish them ; and as great variety of interest, therefore, may arise from this as from any other source, deriving its value from individual opinion.

So much by way of prefatory apo logy, dear friend, for writing to you from Italy at all ; but as to all the heterodoxy which may follow, I shall make no apology, unless you will accept as such the statement of the fact, that I have been too long in the habit of speaking of all things as they appear to me, to be able to change it now, even if I wished to do so. I have certainly no overweening partiality to PARIS TO LYONS. France or Frenchmen, yet somehow or other I never enter Paris without a vivid sensation of pleasure, or leave it without a corresponding por tion of regret. Even on the present occasion, with " un voyage a faire et Naples au bout," I longed to linger a little in that curious and most incongruous museum of everything that is fair and foul, dark and dazzling, polished and brutal, tragic and gay.

The being told that the impressionable natives had not yet recovered from their fit of political hatred against us ought, in all reason, to have cured this longing .... but no ; with most contemptible perversity I still wished to stay, if only to witness how this hatred, so loudly talked of, would show itself, not having, to say truth, any great fear that it would prove troublesome. To stay there beyond two days was, however, out of the question ; and, turning our backs on the dear, dirty bewitchment, we started upon an enterprise requiring a good deal of moral courage to un dertake, and an equal portion of physical strength to perform .... in a word, after considerable doubt and various consultations, we set off by the dili gence to travel day and night over the three hundred and thirty miles which divide Paris from Lyons.

When this feat was finally decided on, my son left me to secure places in the coupe, the only part of the awful vehicle in which there is any chance of being able to sleep, — and on his return, brought the very disagreeable intelligence B MISADVENTURE AT STARTING. that he had secured the only remaining place in it for me. Tedious and tiresome enough must ever be the journey from Paris to Lyons under every possible contingency .... not even the first quarter of the honey-moon could render it otherwise, for it is long, toilsome, and exceedingly devoid of in terest. But in my case these evils were considerably increased ; for not only was I separated from my travelling companion, par excellence, but doomed to endure the company of two very sin gularly un-agreeable Frenchmen. My case was the harder, because, during the longsome interval between leaving Paris and arriving at Lyons, (sixty mortal hours !) they neither of them said or did anything that could be either reasonably com plained of .... or laughed at.

But, unhappily, I destroyed at the moment of setting off every wish on their part of being amiable, by being myself guilty of an act which I felt, as Cromwell said, to be one of " stern necessity," but which to them appeared, I dare say, as one equally uncourteous and tyrannical. In short, I refused to let a huge chien de chasse complete the partie carree during three days and two nights of such very close juxtapo sition. Thereupon the countenances of my two middle-aged chasseurs spoke a maturity of dis pleasure that I was exceedingly sorry to have ex cited, and the " cher amour," as one of them called the dog, was consigned to the care of the con- TRACES OF RECENT INUNDATION. 5 ductor. But the displeasure remained in the coupe with us, seeming to my fancy to take a palpable form, and making up altogether as disagreeable a party as I ever travelled with.

" Time and the hour," however, did their accustomed duty punctually, so we got to Lyons at last, and right glad was I to find myself free from both dogs and men, in a comfortable apartment at the Hotel du Pare. The position of Lyons reminded me of New York, the Rhone and the Saone enclosing the principal part of the old city, as the north and east rivers do the point of Manhattan island on which stands the queen of transatlantic cities. The glorious point at New York, called the Battery, has, however, nothing to rival it at Lyons ; but the noble quays of the Saone, and the Rhone, as well as the picturesque heights, up which the town is climbing, make it altogether a far more beautiful city. We mounted to the top of the hill, ay, and to the top of the observatory tower also, to look out upon the magnificent extent of country spread out beneath, with its sublime outline of glaciers, and old Jura in the midst of them.

We looked out too, alas ! upon the traces, still painfully visible of the frightful inundation by which it had been recently visited. To have stood upon the top of this tower when the calamity was at its height, must have been very like looking down upon the Deluge. The scenes that ensued were, they say, MUSEUM. most awfully terrific, and followed by a degree of destitution and misery, far greater than anything on record from a similar cause. We saw as much of the city as a long day would allow, but doubtless left much unseen ; it has, how ever, too many indications of being, like our own manufacturing towns, the sordid root from whence springs the rank luxuriance of commercial wealth, to make any close examination of it agreeable. There are a few good pictures in the museum. . . . The boar hunt by Sneyders is a masterpiece.

It was a little cruel in Mrs. Starke, however, to tell us that it contains " celebrated drawings by Poussin of the seven sacraments." There are unquestion ably seven drawings, and very fine drawings too, of Poussin's seven sacraments, but they are by the hand of his engraver instead of his own, and the defeated hope of looking upon the great master's first ebauche of these splendid pictures, was but ill atoned for by the careful copying of this artist. Nothing that I can remember in all my various travellings, produced a more exciting effect upon my spirits than the gradually increasing interest of the country in approaching Savoy. " Je ne sais pas pour moi," as Philomiole says, "si chacun me ressemble ;" but I never draw near to any mountain ous region without feeling as if every nerve were new-strung, and braced for energy, fatigue, and en joyment.

I have felt this on coming within sight of Snowdon, Helvellyn, the Alleghanies, the Sir- SAVOY. — BEAUVOISIN. bengeberg, the Hartz, the Tyrol, but never so strongly as when drawing near to the Alps of Savoy. . . . For was not Italy beyond them ? . . . . Italy to be now seen for the first time, after a life passed in longings to look at her, and in listening with perhaps partial fondness to the mighty voices she has sent forth, which no Alps could shut in, and to which few tramontane ears can listen unmoved ? On the morning of the 11th April we reached the frontier at a place called Pont de Beauvoisin, an appellation which must doubtless have been bestowed upon it when the parties on both sides were in particularly good-humour with each other. Here we breakfasted, and had our baggage ex amined by the Sardinian authorities .... civilly, but carefully ; not a morsel of printed paper escaped notice.

Happily we had nothing to offend, and passed on unscathed. Few portions of the earth's surface can exceed the pass of Les Echelles in picturesque beauty . . . upon this we now entered, and I could not but fancy that nature was now performing an overture to the grand opera about to be displayed to us when the barrier curtain of the Alps should no longer intervene. Chamb6ry, where we dined, though a very rustic-looking little town for a capital, al most startles one by its tame air of habitable worldliness. It puzzles one to find a motive for building a town in such a spot ; . . . . but now it is THE RIVER GUIERES. 8 built, I should exceedingly like to while away a fortnight there, if it could be done without expend ing time intended for more important purposes else where. It is sometimes useful, I think, in making notes upon countries rich in landscape, to stand still now and then, and point steadily, like a good serviceable handpost, at the points most calculated to produce pleasure to those who may follow in the same path ; and upon this principle I must pause for a moment, though exactly at the point where the ardent curiosity of tramontane invaders urges them onward with the strongest impulse, in order to scale the Alps to which, at length, they have so nearly arrived. ...

I must pause for one moment, and ask them to halt, and look about them for a few hours, ere they leave behind such scenery as that which borders the stream dividing Savoy from France. The Guieres, which is almost a torrent, bustles along with the hurried pace of an alarmed sentinel, anxious to leave no unguarded spot for the ingress of a troublesome neighbour ; and if bridges were not, this bustling stream might per form the duty of a guardian very effectually to both its banks. But in this case, as in many others, man will not permit nature to take care of him, and a bridge has been thrown across the Guieres, over which, fire and sword, blunderbuss and bay onet, may be conveyed with the most perfect convenience. It is a few miles from this bridge, on the Savoy side, that the aspect of the country ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 9 becomes remarkable for its bold and capricious variety of form ; rocks, waterfalls, and forest, all assisting to render it magnificent.

Art, too, comes in for a fair share of the traveller's admiration, for the formation of the road is wonderfully skilful, and again very effectually defeats the seeming pur pose of nature to divide one race of human beings from another. The passage de la Chaille, the che min de la Grotte, the tremendous mountain to be mastered before reaching St. Thibault-de-coux, are now all as fearlessly passed over, as the carpet in my lady's drawing-room, but it is so easy in looking about to perceive what once must have been the difficulty of overpowering these obstacles, that we almost divide our admiration between the grandiose sublimity of the barrier, and the daring skill that has overcome it. After passing Chambery, which seems to have taken care, notwithstanding its propensity to remote solitude, to nestle itself into the snuggest little valley to be found in the neighbourhood, the traces of care ful and laborious industryare visible in the vineyards and pastures which cover the hills; but .notwithstanding this, it is impossible to help feeling that much which in these latter days is considered as necessary to the ordinary comfort of existence, must be obtained there with difficulty.

Though the country is evidently not thickly populated, the roads are enlivened by a sufficient number of picturesque passengers, both male and female, to satisfy over- PICTURESQUE SCENERY. longing for Savoyard costume, and to furnish ano ther proof, if any were wanting, that a montagnard population is always better worth looking at, than any other. The town of Montmelian stands well on the river Isere, and the vines around it are said to produce excellent wine. At no great distance from this little town the scenery again becomes magnificently picturesque, and continues so nearly the whole way to Lans-le-bourg. The Maurienne valley through which the road winds is locked in by barren Alps so sublime in their wild vastness, that did not their bare crags seem to promise star vation to all who ventured to nestle beneath them, one might be tempted to linger amongst them, if only for the gratification of that strong desire, which is probably common to most of us, of insinuating ourselves into rocky holes and corners wdiere none have penetrated before.

The claret wine known by the name of St. Julien is produced, however, at a village at no great distance from this barren region, and may, perhaps, serve to console the wanderers of the valley for the want of other comforts. One of the petrifying rivulets which turns everything, over which it flows, to stone, or something like it, may form a plaything for those who may choose to re pose themselves at St. Michael, for such a one flows near it into the river Arc A bright succession of cascades decorate the road between St. Michael and Modane, which from this cause, as well as from the river and the rocks by which it is bordered, is SAVOYARD COSTUME. very beautiful ; but a large, staring, new-looking fortress presents itself very disagreeably to the eye as you approach Jermignon I doubt not that in time of need this might become a very precious edifice, for it is so placed as easily to rake the road in all directions ; . . . . but it is hideously ugly- Easter Sunday is a grand day for rustic costume throughout the whole Christian world, and we had the advantage of this to draw forth for us some of the hoarded toilet treasures of the Savoyard belles and beaux as we passed St. Michael.

The dress of the peasants here is certainly highly picturesque ; but so blasee was I by the " fancy" copies of it, — that I felt it was too much so to be effective, for every youth and maiden that I looked at, appeared to me to have copied their attire, not indeed from Le couvrier des domes, but from the coloured lithographs of costume that we see in the windows of every print-shop in Paris. But though picturesque, the population did not strike me as being handsome. The men are for the most part under the middle size, and the frightful goitre is very frequent. On the preceding Good Friday we were amused at the table d'hote at Chambery by the vehement de spair of many heretical guests who were of the party, on account of the rigorous rule to Avhich the table was subjected. It was in vain that the pious landlady crossed herself, and assured us with all the zeal of holiness that she might not, could not, would ENFORCED FAST. not, submit herself to the abomination of having meat cooked in her house on that most fasting of fast days It was in vain that she plainly hinted at the imminent risk of eternal condemnation in curred by those who even thought that a morsel of roti would be desirable after a long journey ; several rebellious spirits still persevered in imploring for eggs or a stray cold cutlet ; and one of them, un dertaking to answer for the whole company, ex claimed with an intensity of indignation worthy of Calvin, or old Maud Headrigg herself ....

" Mon dieu ! ... et nous ! nous sommes tous Huguenots !" But villanously bad river fish being a less costly commodity than the sinful viands clamoured for, the good lady remained unmoved, and an eloquent shake of the head, or a frown that spoke unutter able horror, was all the answer she returned. I sat down to table exceedingly hungry, and rose up pretty nearly in the same condition, yet I could not help enjoying the scene, which at some mo ments was exquisitely comic, and the more so, as the bright black eyes of our scrupulous landlady every now and then emitted a funny twinkle, which showed that she enjoyed the jest greatly. On arriving at Lans-le-bourg we learnt that as yet no carriage had crossed Mont Cenis, except en traineaux, since the heavy snow that had fallen during the latter part of the winter, but that the road had been just reported practicable for wheels, and they were immediately about to be resumed.

MONT CENIS. At first I was sorry to hear this, as all my remi niscences of traineau travelling are exceedingly agreeable, but being assured that wheels would con vey us much more pleasantly, as the ascent was most awfully tedious if performed without, I con tented myself with setting off, enclosed in a very comfortable coupe, to be drawn up the six thousand feet which must be mounted before Italy becomes visible, by the vulgar and uninteresting medium of wheels. But not so my son ; after asking a question or two of the people of the hotel from whence we started, he set off on foot, and I saw no more of him till I discovered him standing alone amidst the snowy heights, awaiting my arrival at the top of Mont Cenis. A lady returning to Turin, which was her native city, was my only companion, and for the first mile or two she entertained me with a series of terrific adventures which had befallen sundry of her acquaintance who had ventured to cross the moun tain at the same season.