Scenes and Impressions Abroad
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SCENES IMPRESSIONS ABROAD. E Y THE REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D.D. NEW YORK: ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS No. 580 BROADWAY. 1860. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, EDWARD O. JENKINS, Printer # &tcrfotgper, No. 26 Frankfort Strket. ^s Sng*T>y -^-K. Biis/iia - fast^J ^.^T^tc^U^ TO MY WIFE, WHOSE SOCIETY WAS THE CHAEM WHICH MADE THESE SCENES- DELIGHTFUL AND MEMORABLE; TO MY PARENTS, WHOSE IN8TKUCTIONS AND COUNSELS HAVE EVER BEEN WISE, FAITHFUL AND SAFE; TO THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BROOKLYN, WHOSE SYMPATHY AND EARNEST CO-OPERATION HAVE MADE MY WORK AS A PASTOR PLEASANT; THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED WITH EVERY FEELING OF RESPECT AND AFFECTION BY THE AUTHOR. SCENES AND IMPRESSIONS ABROAD, PREFACE, The substance of these Scenes and Impres- sions Abroad was presented in the form of a Series of Lectures, before the congregation to which it is my pleasure to minister, without a thought of giving to them any farther pub- licity. Unexpectedly they enlisted such atten- tion and apparent interest, as that it became necessary to adjourn from my Lecture Koom, where they were commenced, to the main Auditory of the Church, which place was filled every Wednesday evening for three months. Most of the Lectures were very fully reported in the columns of the Transcript, of this city, with kind and courteous notices of the course. At the request of many who heard them, or who had read the reports of them, and in Vlll PREFACE. whose judgment I have confidence, they have been revised and published in the form in which they now appear. I have attempted nothing in these Lectures but a familiar and faithful description of a few of the more important features of the usual route of European tourists, presuming that a minute detail of some of the principal and most interesting sights, which might be taken as a sample of the whole, would be preferable to a more general and hence less definite description of all. The reader will find here only the familiar utterances of one, who having returned from a pleasant journey, wishes to share, as far as possible, with his friends whom he left behind him, the pleasures which he has enjoyed. This rich field has been so often reaped, that the author can only hope to bring in a few glean- ings. If here and there is found a sheaf or a flower that may be profitable or pleasant, his highest wishes will be met and satisfied. Brooklyn, N. Y., Feb., 1860. — CONTENTS. L — OUTWARD BOUND. A Sabbath at Sea — Icebergs — Sea Life — An Irish Pilot — Dieppe — Rouen — Church of St, Ouen — Notre Dame, page 27 IL — PARIS. ^/' Philosophy — Historical — The Seine — The Tuileries — Obe- lisk of Luxor — Parisian Life — Bois De Boulogne — Bastile — St. Roch — The Madeline, . , . 50 III. — CHURCHES AND PALACES OF PARIS. Notre Dame — Imperial Cortege — St. Germain L'Auxerrois — St Bartholomew^ Eve — Sainte Chapelle — Versailles — Re- collections—Galleries—A Sad Truth— Petite Trianon, 72 IV. — PARIS TO LYONS. The Louvre — Hotel De Cluny — Fontainbleau — The Ameri- can Consul at Lyons — Church of St. Ireneus — St. Jean Silk Manufactories — Protestantism — Religious Liberty, . 87 X CONTENTS. V. — LYONS TO NAPLES. Montalimar — Nismes and Aries — Bay of Naples —Getting Ashore — A Pleasant Eide — Pompeii — Amphitheatre — Tragic Theatre — Diomed — The Overthrow — Contrasts, . 110 VI. — ROME. Civita Veechia — A Panorama — The Pope-Relics — The Cap- itol -- The Bambino — Villa Albano, .... 135 VII. — ROME AND ITS CHURCHES. "The Church at Rome" — Popery — Sights of Rome — St. Peter's — Statistical — Grandeur — Decorations — The Vatican — Illumination of St. Peters — Babylon, .... 157 VIII. — ROME TO FLORENCE. ^/' Leaving Rome — A Night Passage — Leghorn — San Lorenzo — Medicean Chapel — Galileo — Miseracordia. 182 IX. — FLORENCE TO TURIN. Beautiful Italy — The Papal Church — Genoa — Sardinia — Turin — Pignerol — La Tour — The Vaudois — Church of Co- pies — Waldensian Worship — Historical, . 208 X— THE ALPS. Susa — Diligence Riding — An Alpine Pass — Lanslebourg — Geneva — Chillon — Cretins — Alpine Scenery — Sunrise at Cha- mouni — Mer De Glace — Crossing a Glacier — Forclaz — The Col De Balme — Interlaken, 235 — CONTENTS. XI XL — THE RHINE. Jungfrau — Staubbach — Berne — The Rigi — Lake Luzerne Basle — Baden Baden — Conversation haus — Gambling — Basle Mayence — Rhine Boats — The Mouse Tower —Ehrenbreitstein — Cologne — Amsterdam — Rotterdam — Antwerp — Brussels — Waterloo, 267 XII. — ENGLAND. - Dover — An English Inn — London — Westminster Abbey — Houses~bf Parliament — The Temple — Business Haunts — The Tower — Zoological Gardens — Sydenham — British Museum — Hampton Court — Windsor Castle — Oxford — Stratford on Avon Keniiworth, ..'."-*..,. 295 XIII. — SCOTLAND, IRELAND, HOME. Scottish Scenery — Melrose Abbey — Edinburgh — Holyrood — John Knox — St. Giles' Church — The Castle — Arthur's Seat — The Sabl&ath — Sterling Castle — The Trossachs — Loch Lomond — Glasgow — Dumfries — A Scotch Welcome — Liverpool -- Dublin — Cork — Queenstown — An Irish Jaunting Car — Home- ward Bound — A Storm at Sea — A Night in a Gale — Sea Amusements — Home Again, 340 SCENES AND IMPRESSIONS ABROAD. OUTWARD BOUND. IT is my purpose, as far as possible, to re- produce the scenes through which it has been rny pleasure to pass during my absence from home in search of health—for the entire restoration of which I desire here to render my thanks to that God who has watched over us while we have been absent one from another. It is my sincere wish that you may enjoy with me, the journey which I have accomplished; and to this end I propose, in a series of familiar lectures, to bring before you, as distinctly as I may be able, the lands which I have visited and 2 10 IMPRESSIONS ABROAD. the impressions I have received. When I found my health rapidly giving way, after eighteen years of ministerial labor, one half of which has been devoted to this church, you kindly and cheerfully assented to my request for leave of absence; and on the 7th of May, in com- pany with my wife and a mutual friend, we left in the steamer City of Washington, Captain Petrie, for Liverpool. A crowd of friends were present to bid us farewell, and, as the noble vessel sv/ung away from her moorings,"waved us their kind adieus. The ship's cannon thundered forth their rough salute, which was answered by echoes from the shore. We felt that we were afloat, and every moment separating more and more widely from all we loved and held dear. At Sandy Hook we parted with our pilot, by whom we sent messages home, and were soon rocking upon the restless waves of the open sea. Sabbath, May 8. —Eose early to breathe the fresh and invigorating air of the morning. One must be hopelessly an invalid who could not drink in health with this fresh and bracing A SABBATH AT SEA. 11 breeze that is bearing us onward thus rapidly along the great highway of the ocean. At half past ten the bell tolled for the regular Sabbath service. The passengers were gathered upon the quarter-deck, occupying seats which had been prepared for them, while the crew, in their neat blue jackets, filled the boats that were swung upon either side. A capstan, neatly draped with flags, served for a pulpit, which, at the request of Captain Petrie, I occupied. In accordance with the regulations of the New York, Philadelphia and Liverpool Steamship Company, I read the Service of the Church of England, adding, in the prayer for the Queen, the name of the President of the United States. The subject of my discourse was, " The Chris- tian Hope, the Anchor to the Soul." Drawing my illustrations as much as possible from the sea, I endeavored, I think with some success, to enlist the attention and interest of the sailors. It was a novel and pleasant scene, that hour of worship in the open air, upon the deck of a vessel that was plowing its way through the ocean. And it was a delightful thought, that : ; 12 IMPRESSIONS ABROAD. the same God who was listening to the worship of loved ones at home, and of tens of thousands who were gathered in solemn temples to praise His name, was also upon the sea, ready and will- ing to hear the prayers of His people, and to accept the tribute of their thanks. At 12 o'clock our position was found to be lat. 40° 21', long. 68° 31'; distance run 255 miles. Monday, 9th, lat. 41° 46', long. 62° 50'; distance run, 271 miles. The weather is hazy, but clear enough to give us our first view of a whale, whose presence is indicated by the water which he occasionally throws up in a jet, and which descends in a shower of spray. Tuesday, 10th.—Lat. 43° 21', long. 58° 21' distance run, 230 miles. Passed a vessel home- ward bound, and as we thought of the fair land that would soon open upon her crew, we could not but repeat the words we had so often heard amid the songs of youth ' ' While the waves are round me breaking As I pace the deck alone, And my eye in vain is seeking Some green leaf to rest upon ; ; ICEBERGS. 13 What would I not give to wander Where my loved companions dwell 1 Absence makes the heart grow fonder: Isle of beauty, fare thee well." Wednesday, 11th.—Lat. 46° 17', long. 53° 55' distance run, 237 miles. To-day we obtained our first view of those wonderful gifts of the Polar regions, "icebergs." The sea was as calm as a lake, and the sky clear and cloudless.