Pencillings by the way: written during some years of residence and travel in Europe

Front matter

Class M 9 1 Book— .

1$

PENCJLLIMS BY THE WAY

Preface

sight of us mercantile whelps. Do not, however, be alarmed ; I will not introduce you to any of these cattle at dinner. No, sir ! You must know that there are a few men of refinement and polite information in this city. I have warned two or three of these rarce aves, and depend upon it, you shall have a very snug day^s work.'' So saying he took my arm, and observing that five was just on the chap, hurried me through several streets and lanes

till we arrived in the , where his house is situated. His

wife was, 1 perceived, quite the fine lady, and, withal, a little of the blue stocking. Hearing that I had just come from Edinburgh, she remarked that Glasgow would be seen to much more disadvantage after that elegant city. ' Indeed,' said she, ' a person of taste, must, of course, find many disagreeables connected with

a residence in such a town as this ; but Mr. P 's business

renders the thing necessary for the present, and one can not make a silk purse of a sow's ear — he, he, he !' Another lady of the company, carried this affectation still farther ; she pretended to be quite ignorant of Glasgow and its inhabitants, although she had lived among them the greater part of her life, and, by the by, seemed no chicken. I was afterward told by my friend Mr.

H -, that this damsel had in reality sojourned a winter or two

in Edinburgh, in the capacity of lickspittle or toad-eat&r to a lady of quality, to whom she had rendered herself amusing by a malicious tongue ; and that during this short absence, she had embraced the opportunity of utterly forgetting everything about the West country.

PREFACE. xvij

" ' The dinner was excellent, although calculated apparently for forty people rather than sixteen, which last number sat down. While the ladies remained in the room, there was such a noise and racket of coarse mirth, ill restrained by a few airs of sickly sentiment on the part of the hostess, that I really could neither attend to the wine nor the dessert ; but after a little time a very broad hint from a fat Falstaff, near the foot of the table, apparently quite a privileged character, thank Heaven ! sent the ladies out of the room. The moment after which blessed consummation, th« butler and footman entered, as if by instinct, the one with a huge punch bowl, the other with, <§fc.' "

I do thank Heaven that there is no parallel in my own letters to cither of these three extracts. It is a thing of course that there is not. They are violations of hospitality, social confidence, and delicacy, of which even my abusers will allow me incapable. Yet this man accuses me of all these things, and so runs criticism !

And to this 1 add (to conclude this long Preface) some extracts from a careful review of the work in the North American : —

" ' Pencilling^ by the Way,' is a very spirited book. The letters out of which it is constructed, were written originally for the New-York ' Mirror,' and were not intended for distinct, publication. From this circumstance, the author indulged in a freedom of personal detail, which we must say is wholly unjustifiable, and we have no wish to defend it. This book does not pretend to contain any profound observations- or discussions on national xviii PREFACE.

character, political condition, literature, or even art. It would be obviously impossible to carry any one of these topics thoroughly out, without spending vastly more time and labor upon it than a rambling poet is likely to have the inclination to do. In fact, there are very few men, who are qualified, by the nature of their previous studies, to do this with any degree of edification to their readers. But a man of general intellectual culture, especially if he have the poetical imagination superadded, may give us rapid sketches of other countries, which will both entertain and instruct us. Now this book is precisely such a one as we have here indicated. The author travelled through Europe, mingling largely in society, and visited whatever scenes were interesting to him as an American, a scholar, and a poet. The impressions which these scenes made upon his mind, are described in these volumes ; and we must say, we havu rarely fallen in with a book of a more sprightly character, a more elegant and graceful style, and full of more lively descriptions. The delineations of manners are executed with great tact ; and the shifting pictures of natural scenery pass before us as we read, exciting a never-ceasing interest. As to the personalities which have excited the wrath of British critics, w« Lave, as Ave said before, no wish to defend them : but a few words upon the tone, temper, and motives, of those gentlemen, in their dealing with our author, will not, perhaps, be considered inappropriate.

"It is a notorious fact, that British criticism, for many years past, has been, to a great extent, free from all the restraints of a

PREFACE sxj

We can not possibly see how, Mr. Willis's tarnished fame could be brightened by the superfluous work of putting an additional quantity of lead into the gallant captain. But there is, perhaps, no disputing about tastes ; and, bad as we think the whole affair was, no candid man can read the correspondence without feeling that Mr. Willis's part of it, is infinitely superior to the captain's, in style, sense, dignity of feeling, and manly honor.

" But, to return to the work from which we have been partially drawn aside. Its merits in puiui ©£ oiylo are unquestionable. It is written in a simple, vigorous, and highly descriptive form of English, and rivets the reader's attention throughout. There are passages in it of graphic eloquence, which it would be difficult to surpass from the writings of any other tourist, whatever. The topics our author selects, are, as has been already stated, not those which require long and careful study to appreciate and discuss ; they are such as the poetic eye would naturally dwell upon, and a poetic hand rapidly delineate, in a cursory survey of foreign lands. Occasionally, we think, Mr. Willis enters too minutely into the details of the horrible. Some of his descriptions of the cholera, and the pictures he gives us of the catacombs of the dead, are ghastly. But the manners of society he draws with admirable tact ; and personal peculiarities of distinguished men, he renders with a most life-like vivacity. Many of his descriptions of natural scenery are more like pictures, than sketches in words. The description of the Bay of Naples will occur as a good example.

3X5 PREFACE.

" It would be impossible to point out, witb any degree of par ticularity, the many passages in this book whose beauty deserves attention. But it may be remarked in general, that the greater part of the first volume is not so fresh and various, and animated, as the second. This we suppose arises partly from the fact that France and Italy have long been beaten ground.

" The last part of the book is a statement of the author's observations upon English life and society ; and it is this portion, which the English critics affect to he so deeply offended with. The most objectionable passage in this is the account of a dinner at Lady Blessington's. Unquestionably Mr. Moore's remarks about Mr. O'Connell ought not to have been reported, considering the time when, and the place where, they were uttered ; though they contain nothing new about the great Agitator, the secrets disclosed being well known to some millions of people who interest themselves in British politics, and read the British newspapers. "We close our remarks on this work by referring our readers to a capital scene on board a Scotch steamboat, and a breakfast at Professor Wilson's, the famous editor of Blackwood, both in the second volume, which we regret our inability to quote."

" Every impartial reader must confess, that for so young a man, Mr. Willis has done much to promote the reputation of American literature. His position at present is surrounded with every incentive to a noble ambition. With youth and health to sustain him under labor j with much knowledge of the world

PREFACE, acquired by travel and observation, to draw upon ; with a mature style, and a hand practised in various forms of composition, Mr. Willis's genius ought to take a wider and higher range than it has ever done before. We trust we shall meet him again, ere long, in the paths of literature ; and we trust that he will take it kindly, if we express the hope, that he will lay aside those tendencies to exaggeration, and to an unhealthy tone of sentiment, which mar the beauty of some of his otherwise most agreeable books."

Taglioni— French Acting— French Applause— Leontine Fay, . . • 43

Letter VII

Lelewell— Pero La Chaise- Pauvre Marie — Versailles— The Trianons — Josephine's Boudoir — Time and Money at Paris— "Wives and Fuel — One Price Shops, . . 53

LETTER Till.

Mr. Cooper— Mr. Greenough— Fighting Animals— The Dog Pit— Fighting Donkey- Sporting Englishmen, . 63

Letter IX

Malibran — Pails at a Late Hour — Glass Gallery— Cloud and Sunshine — General Komarino — Parisian Students— Tumult Ended, ........ TO

Letter X

French Children— Royal Equipages— French Driving— City Riding— Parisian Picturesque—Beggar's Deception— Genteel Beggars, 78

LETTER XL

Madame Mars— Franklin's House— Ball for the Poor— Theatrical Splendor— Louis Philippe— Duke of Orleans— Young Queen of Portugal— Don Pedro— Close of the

Cholera Gaieties — Cholera Patient — Morning in Paris — Cholera Hospital— New Patient—Physician's Indifference— Punch Remedy— Dead Room— Non-Contagion, 121

Letter XVII

Unexpected Challenge — Court Presentation — Louis Philippe — Royal Family at Tea- Countess Guiccioli — Madri Gras — Bal Costume — Public Masks — Lady Cavalier — Ball at the Palace— Duke of Orleans— Dr. Bowring— Celebrated Men— Glass Verandah .131

LETTER XVLTL

Cholera— Social Tea Party— Recipe for Caution— Baths and Happiness, . . . 148

Travelling Party— Breakfast on the Koad— Localities of Antiquity — Picturesque Chateau—French Patois 179

Letter XXV

Aries — The Cathedral — Marseilles — Parting with Companions — Pass of Ollioules — Toulon — Antibes — Coast of Mediterranean— Forced to Return — Lazaretto— Absurd Hindrances — Fear of Contagion— Sleep out of Doors — Lazaretto Occupations- Delicious Sunday— New Arrivals— Companions-«-End of Quarantine, . . 185

Letter XXVI

Nice — Funeral of an Arch-Duchess — Nice to Genoa — Views— Entrance to Genoa- Genoa, 203

Letter XXVII

The Venus— The Fornarina— A Coquette and the Arts— A Festa— Ascension Day— The Cascine— Madame Catalani, . , . . ... . . . 211

LETTER XXVILT.

Titian's Bella— The Grand-Duchess— An Improvisatrice— Living in Florence— Lodgings at Florence— Expense of Living, .....,.,. 219

LETTER XXIX. Companions— Scenery of Bomagna— Wives— Bologna, . . . . . 226

CONTENTS. XXIX

PAGE

Letter XXX

Gallery at Bologna— A Guido — Churches— Confession-Chapel— Festa— Agreeable Manners, . 231