Art and Nature Under an Italian Sky

ART AND NATURE UNDER AN ITALIAN SKY. r--x 52* o cc if- I u > < cc CD2 UJ u X >- / ^7 /<? zTY L < ART AND NATURE UNDER AN ITALIAN SKY. By M. J. W. D. EDINBURGH: THOMAS CONSTABLE AND CO. HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO., LONDON. MDCCCI.II. EDINBURGH : T. CONSTABLE. PRIKTEE TO EBB MAJESTY TO THE DUCHESS OF HAMILTON THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED AS A TlIIIll'TE OF AFFECTION II Y M. J. M. D. CONTENTS. CONTEXTS. PAGE Vespers, .... 197 The Catacombs, •2()4 museum of the capitol, 207 Bracciano, .... 211 reception is the colonna paeace, •221 The Vatican Pictures and Frescoes, 22-1 Villas, 229 The Miserere. 234 Interview with the Tope, 239 Illumination of St. Peter': 243 Departure from Rome, 248 Florence, 259 Visit to Fiesole, 26(3 Leaving Florence, 269 Bologna, 273 Ferrara, 278 Padua, 282 Venice. 287 ART AND NATURE UNDER AX IT A 1.1 A.M SKY NTRODUCTION. AJtious motives combine to make me wish to keep something like a Journal during our present tour. It is always a peculiar pleasure to me to possess a memorial of the past, (.'specially if that past lias been marked by change of scene, or the calling forth of new feelings to be able to recall vividly ; but thereby those scenes and feelings, so as to share them with those who have either experienced or can sym- pathize with them, makes such a record more valuable still. The painful part of leaving England and our own quiet home just now. is the consequent separation from our dear child, thankful though we are that she will be most kindly and tenderly cared for. Yet the idea, that if it please Grod to spare her, that dear child may, in after years, read the record of these days, will, I feel, add much to the enjoyment of employing my spare moments of rest A — INTRODUCTION. or leisure in a way that may hereafter contribute to her pleasure or instruction. We embarked at Blackwall in the steamer for Antwerp September 1845. The "Soho" seems a noble vessel, and is fitted up so as to secure as much of comfort for her passengers as usually falls to the lot of mortals in such a conveyance, which, however, I must confess, so far as my personal experience extends, is not saying much. Having secured a comfortable seat on deck, I amused myself, as we glided clown the river, with the scene of bustle, so striking and bewildering to any one who passes for the first time through that world of shipping in the Thames. One's fellow-passengers, too, come in for some share of interest on such occasions, and of criti- cism also, which doubtless is generally mutual. Near me sat a good-natured and somewhat portly dame, with a pleasing- looking daughter. The former amused me considerably : her remarks were precisely what one so often meets with in books. She was one of those people who bear that unmistakable mark of having risen in the world, viz., an evident anxiety to im- press you with the opposite. She took care to leave no doubt as to her being quite rich and able to do as she liked, while the allusions to " her house," " her carnage," " her servants," &c, were exactly the kind of thing Miss Edgeworth and other writers have so often depicted. Among other pieces of infor- mation she gave me to understand that she had been " a great traveller," though it very shortly appeared that she had never before left England. This worthy individual was nevertheless both good-natured and kind. The daughter, a happy, joyous- looking girl, entered with all her heart into every novelty of this her first expedition—having, as her mother informed me, just left school. Le Pere, a thorough John Bull, according to my ideas of that generic personage—rather coarse and blunt, INTRODUCTION. but withal very kindly. A young married couple on their wedding tour ; a brother and sister ; a young lady, with her French maid in close attendance upon her : these were our principal compagnons de voyage, if 1 except a most uncom- panionable-looking lady of imposing stature, who, if she did not look down upon, at least took no other notice of any one. The usual accompaniments of a rough sea and head wind. which, as every one will allow, are more personally interesting in experience than in detail, made up the history of our twenty hours' passage from Blackwall to the mouth of the Scheldt, where, next morning, we came on deck to gaze with some curiosity on the first foreign habitations, albeit these constituted only the poor little town of Flushing. After some five or six weary hours of toiling up the river, we beheld, at length, the venerable towers of Antwerp, which, from the flatness of the country, and the high banks which intersect it. have the appearance, at a distance, of being half-buried, or of growing up from the level plain on which they stand. As we swept round into the Quay of Antwerp, fatigued as I was, I could not but be amused at the scene of energetic confusion that speedily prevailed. The water being low, we could not approach any proper pier for landing, and some huge masses of floating timber had to be lashed together before we could leave the vessel. This, for aught I know, may be an incon- venience purposely left unremoved, to prevent passengers making their escape before the douaniers can come upon them. Speedily these worthies appeared on deck, and then confusion became worse confounded, and the bustle almost frantic. For myself, I waited quietly, knowing that my hus- band was getting our passports visaed, and that rushing to and fro, as some seemed doing, in a fever of excitement, would not expedite matters. Meanwhile, my long-cherished dread — -1 INTRODUCTION. of foreign custom-houses was not relieved by seeing the manner in which some of our companions fared yet 1 soon perceived ; that some of the officers were rougher than others, and fixing on an old man, I made friendly advances to him, civilly telling him we had nothing contraband, that I was much fatigued with the voyage, and unable to exert myself in re- packing my boxes if they should be pulled about. In short, I quite propitiated the aged official, who, lifting up my dresses most carefully, just peeped in : "Tres bien, tres bien. Made- moiselle, e'est fini ;"' ordering all belonging to me to be locked and prepared for his mark. This grand crisis in a traveller's fate being over so much more pleasantly than anticipated, we stepped right gladly upon foreign ground. On the way to the hotel we were at once struck with the great cleanliness of the town, as well as with its wide and well-paved streets; nor did Antwerp sink in our estimation by our reception at the hotel. The "St. Antoine" is a most comfortable house, with an ex- cellent table-d'hote, where one meets with those desirable but seldom combined elements of the wayfarer's entertainment good dinner, good waiting, and a moderate charge. Towards evening we sallied forth, to make the best of our short stay, and bent our steps to the Eglise St. Jacques. It is a fine old church. The rich carving and ornaments of the interior are exrpiisitely finished, and the lofty ceiling of pure white, spangled with gold stars, though peculiar, has a pleasing- effect there. The great object is the tomb of Rubens, imme- diately behind the high altar. There is an inscription on the tomb, and above, portraits of himself and a number of his relatives. The colouring is rich, and some of the faces are interesting. Placed above the picture is a figure in marble of the Virgin Mary, chosen and brought here by Rubens himself There is a small oval picture by Vandyke, which I liked, [NTRODUCTION. 5 but no other struck me. Od Leaving St. Jacques, we weni to the Cathedral, «>i' which the good city is so .justly proud. I never before saw anything like the exquisite stone carving of the spire : its tracery, on Looking from below, seems to have the delicacy of the finest Brussels Lace. The interior is imposing, and from its simple purity, united with its grandeur, the coup d'ceil is very satisfying. The massive pillars stand alone and unencumbered, with uothing to mar the symmetry and beauty of their proportions. But the great attraction of the interior we had yet to see. and this was readily confessed when the " Suisse de l'Eglise" drew aside the curtain which hangs before the great master- " piece of Rubens, The Descent from the Cross." I was much affected as I gazed upon it. There is a more than human expression in the countenance of Jesus, and in that touching resignation which appears in every feature, and which the recent anguish of death has had no power to overcome ! Vet with all this truthfulness of moral expression, death is indel- ibly engraven on every feature and on every limb ! When I could look at the other parts of this glorious picture, the next object which rivetted my attention was the lovely face of the mother of Jesus. A mother's grief is imprinted upon that countenance, which is itself almost as pale as the lifeless form she lieh olds. But there is a subdued and holy calm also in the expression, such as one expects to find.

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