Art. X r. Jtomef Naples^ et Florence enlSH. Ou Esquisses tfor 
fEtai actuel de la Societij des Mceurs^ des AriSf de la Litleratmr^ 
Sfc. de ces Villas cilibres. 8vo. pp. 365* Paris & Liondon. 
Delauny & Colburn. 1817. 

^T^HB plan of this book is by no means a bad one. The au* 

^ thor proposed to himself to set down, without any other 

imrangement than the order of time, wt^at he saw from day to 



33S Itome, Naples^ andFUreneel NMr<» 

daVf with such remarks as occurred to him ; and to select fdr 
pubiication his noteit respecting the three great cities of Italy 
Deyond the Appennines. It is evident, however, thnt the value 
of a work constructed npon this plan, must depend wholly upon 
the talents and accomplishments of the author ; and that the cur- 
sory observations of a superficial, flippant, ignorant person, mutt 
form one of the most insignificant books in the workl. It wiU 
be as empty as bis conversation, without any of the livdinest, 
by means of which a great deal of silly talk is often made bear- 
able in society ; and it will contain none of the materials by 
which a dull author frequently contrives to make a tolerabie 
book out of other men's sayings or writings* 

The writer of this volume is announced, in the newspaper 
advertisements, though not in the title-page, as a Baron Sten* 
dahL He tells us, at the beginning of his journal, that he is 
thirty years of age ; is attached to the embassy at Berlin ; and 
was thrown into transports approaching to delirium, on receiving 
the leave of absence which enabled him to see Italy. * Mais 
(adds he) * je me cache soigneusement du Ministre ; ' — and the 
reason is a whimsical one — * les eunuoues sont en colere perma^ 

* nente contre les libertins. * From the envy, then, of his un- 
fortunate superior, (for jealousy of course is out of the question), 
he anticipates a cold reception for at least two months after bis 
return ; but he consoles himself with the reflexion, that he 
shall enjoy himself in the mean white ; and * who knows, ' he 
asks, * if the world will last three weeks ? ' The first para- 
graph of the work which we have analyzed, may give the reader 
a guess of the flippant character he has to deal with, in the per- 
son of the Baron de Stendahl. 

The first of his various pa^ions is apparently for musick. 
When he arrives at Munich, he is highly gratified at witnessing 
the attentions paid to Madame Catalani ; but when he gets to 
Milan, and sees the Scala, he is beside himself. * Mon voyage 

* est paye. Mes organes epuis^ n'^taient plus snsceptibles de 

* plaisir. Tout ceque I'imagination la plus orientale pent rever 
' de plus singulier, de plus frappant, de plus riche en beautea 

* d'architecture; tout ce que Ton pent se repr^senter en drape- 
' ries brillantes, en personnages qui, non seulement ont les hsp 

* bits, mais la physionomie, mais les gestes des pays oil se pas^se 
' Taction, je Tai vu ce soir. ' (p. 2.) This is the first impres* 
sion \ but the second is Ptill more violent ; and he concludes a 
page and a half of rapture by saying, that he is * intoxicated 
and transported while he writes. ' Night after night he goes to 
the same place, and his transports sufier no sensib^ abatement | 
for he goes on raving about the actors, actresseii decoratioosi 



1817, Some^ Naples ^ and Florence. 2S9' 

and orchestra, the whole time of his stay at Milan. SoIIiva, the 
composer of the opera which he saw, is compared to Haydn 
and Mozart, and also to Correggio. The singers are lauded in 
proportion ; though some of them are mentioned rather uncere- 
moniously, especially the primd donnas who, though praised ab- 
undantly for her voice and science, is broadly asserted to have 
derived great improvement from having lived with Veluti, one 
of the class formerly noticed as being * en colere permanente 
contre les libertins ; ' and, still more strange to teU, f^he is also 
characterized as * amoureuse de Tamour. ' We really cannot 
see what right the author has to publish all the disgusting slan- 
ders of the green-room, with the names of the parties at full 
length. About this period of his progress, breaks out that ha<f* 
tred of the English which never quits him during his whole 
journey. In the only remark upon Milan not connected with 
the theatre, he says the Milanese is remarkable for two things, 

* la sagacity et la bont^ ; ' and he adds, * quand il discute, il est 
le contraire des Anglois, il est serr6 comma Tacite. ' It is some 
comfort, however, to find, that we are blamed in good com- 
pany ; for it seems, * dcs qu'il ecrit, il veut faire des belles phrases 
toscanes ; et il est plus bavard que Ciceron. ' 

From Milan he goes to Parma; stops an hour to see the fres- 
coes of Correggio, one of which makes him cry ; and at Bologna 
he halts thirty-six hours, sees ten galcres, and hears two con- 
certs. He despatches the science of the learned city very quick- 
ly — * Je suis present^ aux savans ; quels sots ! * Arrived at 
Florence, he flies to the theatre, and is enchanted with an opera 
of Rossini, (or, as he terms him, • mon aimable liossini*)^ who 
hap, it seems, competed a new * Barbiere di Sevilla. * This 
daring attennpt at rivalling the masterpiece of one of the first of 
all the masters, is considered by our author as the mark of a 

• true genius ' — though we doubt not there are some who will 
deem this rather impudent than bold. At Florence there is li- 
terally nothing but such remarks upon the opera. But the Ba- 
ron holds this to be the most important of nil subjects; nnd 
mokes mention, with great complacency, of a judge's wife play- 
ing as prima donna, and a captain of horse the primo buffo. 
' II n'y a jamais ' (he adds) * de honte en Italic, a faire ce qui 

* est raisonnable; en d'autres termes, le pays est moins gate 

• par la noblesse. ' 

At Rorifie he is greatly dispirited by the want of a good ope- 
ra ; meets everywhere crowds of English, who, to all his musir 
cal observations, only reply by * rrma ks taken from Bumey ; * 
and having little to amuse him in the way of practice, he takes 
fo speculating upon vs^rious points of learning connected with 
2 



fi# Momef Naples^ and Florence* Not. 

bis faFOurite stud j. He asks why there is a pleasure in hearing 

• person sin^^ when you are melancholy ; and he answers, that 

• this art^ in some obscure manner which does not hurt our 

• amour-propre^ makes us believe in the existence of pity, and 
' that it gives the consolation of tears. ' He lays it down, how- 
ever^ that the art is positively hurtful to tender minds under af- 
AicticHi for the loss of some beloved object — * II ne fait que 
nnire, * says he, • et il hate les pvgres de la phlhisie, * We 
submit to him, whether certain branches of it have not a great- 
er tendency to produce this effect than others ; as playing on 
the flute, or other wind instrument. One of the pleasantest 
evenings which he appears to have passed in the Eternal City, 
was at the bouse of a certain lawyer, where he heard very f^ood 
musick, and very sensible conversation, particularly in a tete-a- 
tete which he had in a corner with a very fat man ; — who proved 
to be a rich tailor. ' 

At Naples, the Baron commits immediately an infidelity to 
bis favourite Scala ; the San Carlo, just rebuilt, was opened 
while he was there, and he was present of course. He is so 
overwhelmed with delight, that for several days he cannot criti- 
cise at all ; and then he discovers the vocal part to be indifferent. 
It seems the Italians are as great enthusiasts as himself, and they 
have a peculiar delight in seeing the opening of a new theatre. 
The persons most rigid in their economy at all other times, he 
says, willingly give forty louis for a box on such an occasion ; 
and he saw several people who had come from Venice on pur- 
pose, and returned the day after — * Avares (he remarks) pour 

• les petttes choses, ces gens-ci sont prodigues dans les grandes, * 
As the effects of the first night wear off, he becomes discontent^ 
cd with the whole of the Neapolitan musick, and admits that he 
leaves Naples ^ sans une seule jouissance musicale. ' 

The Baron's first visit to Rome and F*Iorence, on his wav to 
Naples, seems to have exhausted all he had to say upon musick ; 
— for, from the time of his leaving Naples, we hear little or no- 
thing of that topick, which had till then engrossed literally every 
page of bis journal ; and as he is a man of some liveliness and 
scuteness, with all his flippancy, we find his observations fre- 
(|uently worth atteliding to, when tlie subjects become somewhat 
more important. The eulogium of Cardinal Qonsalez is the first 
to which he turns his attention upon his second arrival at Rome, 
From every thing that is known of that able and enlightened 
minister, we believe the praises bestowed upon him in this book, 
are the reverse of being exaggerated. We know not the autho- 
rity upon which the anecdote told in p. 122 is given ; but it me- 
liid some attcntioo, if autheuticL. The fonaticali o( rather Hi^h- 



iai7. Rome, Naples^ and Florence. 241 

Church partyt it seetns« are perpetually beseeching the Pope to 
remove a minister whose measures they represent as calculated 
to * increase the number of the damned among the subjects of 
* the Church. * The measures which fill them wi(h this holy 
dread, are not particularly n)entioned, except one, which un- 
questionably must have the alleged tendency, the admission of 
lav persons into the different departments of the administration* 
We apprehend^ however, that some other improvements which 
this wise ruler has introduced, must raise a similar alarm among 
their Eminences, more especially the abolishing the right of 
sanctuary, so that a murdferer can no Ic/nger take refuge in a 
church, or other consecrated place. The abolition of torture, 
toOf we conceive^ may have caused much disquiet in those holy 
bosoms ; a disquiet not to be altogether allayed by the reserva- 
tion of their undoubted rights of self-infliction, whether by fast- 
ing or flojffffing. Now, when those pious Cardinals, from time 
to time tngbten the Pope with their pictures of the great in* 
crease in the total amount of the damned, in consequence 
of such wicked devices, his Holiness, it is said, sends for the 
author of all the mischief, Cardinal Gonsalez, who speaks as 
follows. 

** Je juffe des crimes secrets par les crimes qui arrivent i la eon- 
naissance des tribunaux, et non par Ite rapports d^s confesseurs : un 
souverain est respossable, aux yeux de Dieu, de tous les crimes quo 
ses lois laissent commettre. Las crimes et Tesprit g^n^ral de fripon- 
nerie ^taient diminu^ des deux tiers sous le gouvemement iTan9ais. 
La perversity a reparu.sous le gouvemement uUrd qui m'a pr6cid6» 
Je reviens aux mesnres fran9aises. J*ai d6jil trois cents assassinata 
de moins par an: ce qui fait probablement six cents damn^ de 
moins. " p. 122. 

The author adds these reflexions. 

* Les trcMS quarts des-cardinaux sont tres pieux ; mais eonune nos 
grands hommes d'etat, ils nont que Pexperience de la solUude. Ce 
qu'ils savent des hommes, ib Tont appris dans Thistoire du seizaeme 
siecle. Us ne se doutent pas du leur ; tout ce qui est jeune i. Rome» 
sent fortbien.qu'il faut donner une autre forme au principe religieux. 
Si la forme continue ^ choquer le fond, la source tarira, et, se taisant 
jour par des conduits secrets, ira former les superstitions les plus ex- 
travagantes. Les jeunes prdlats qui ont voyag6 sont convenus avec 
moi que le seul pays du monde ou il y ait encore de la rdigion, c*est 
r Angletetrre. • p. 122, J 28. 

At Fbrence, our author seems never to be plcaatd* The sin- 
gular beauty of the place, and the rich stores both of ancient 
and modern art, have tittle power to fix this true Parisiaii. The 

you xux 2io. 57. Q 



243 IlomCf yajjliSf anc! Florence. Nov. 

theatre is bad, nncl the society scanty, that is cnouglt for the 
condemation of the fair city. Even after he has emercred fronv 
the territory, and arrived at Bologna, (an escape which he com- 
pares to getting out of (he country, and finding himself at Paris), 
he turns back upon the Florentine*?, and nttacks their parsimony 
as bitterly, if not quite so forcibly, as Dante could have done* 
{Firenzc mia^ &c. &'".). It seems they are all lean ; they break- 
iast on a dish of coffee, and the most minute piece of bread, 
costing in all two pence ; they dine for fifteen pence ; they differ 
from the Milanese, he snys, in this, that at Milan (he business 
of life is to dine well : at Fhronce to make believe that vou have 
dined. The contrast of their magnificent liveries, with thefr 
miserable living, he describes as remarkable. Upon all this the 
Baron has his little speculation. lie holds it to be plain, that, 
while Florence was rich and commercial, it acquired the great 
virtue of traders, economy ; and that, having test its wealth, il 
keeps the habit of saving* Perhaps the loss of the wealth may, 
of itself, account for aH the phenomena.* 

Bolo^a seem^ to plertse oiir auihof 'belter than all Italy be- 
side. He there found a dcligbtfal tfssctnbhge both of foreigners 
and natives; and he renders ample justice to the charms or per- 
son, of mind, and of accomplishment, which he found in the 
. most admired of the Bolognese society. He has given a sketch, 
from a connoisseur under whom hesttrdied, of the oeau ties of the 
great masters of painting. As it Is short, and wrth few excep- 
tions (as in the ease of Corrcggio) seems to describe the cha- 
racteristics of those whom k comprehends tolerably well, we ex- 
tract the passage. 

" Vous savez que Tecole de Florence se recommit .J un desseia 
hardl qui, sur Ics pas de Michel- Ange, outre un peu la partie saUlante 
des muscles. 

" Raphael eut Texpression, le dessein, l*imitation de fantique. Sa 
perfection est dans les figures d' Ap6tres et de Vierges. II fut un peu 
Iroid et un peu sec dans le comniencemens, comme le Perrugin, son 
xnaitfe. Le Frate lui apprit le dair-obscur, oQ il fut toujours &ible. 
Ce fut une grande ame. 

" Le Corr^ge a la grace s^duisante, le clair-obscur, les raccourcis ; 
son Itme 6tait faite pour rcinventer Tantique ; mais il Ta peu imit^. 
Ses tableaux, chefs-d*ceuvrcs de volupte, sont a Dresde et a Parme. 

" Le Titien, et tous les Venitiens, ont la v^rit6 de la couleur* 
Giorgione, grand hopime, moissonn6 a Tentr^e de sa carridre, en eut^ 
Hd^al. 

^* L'6coIe de Bologne est presque, dans tous les genres, la p^ec- 
tien de la peiature. 

** Le Dominiquin eat Texpression, surtout des affectiona timides, 
le colons, le clair-obscur, le dessein. Pour rexpressioo, aprca Ra* 
pbael et lui, vient le Poussin^ 



28X7, Romef NopUi^ and Florence. SiS 

*^ Le Guide^ ame Fran^aisoy eut la beauts celeste dans les figures 
de femmes. Ses onabres peu fortes, sa maniere suave, ses draperies 
Ug^res, ses contours ducats forment un contraste parfait avec le 
atyle de Michel- Ange de Carravage. 

*' Le Guerchin fut un ouvrier dou6 d'un singulier coup-d'ceil pour 
rendre le clair-obscur. II copiait tout simplement les paysans du 
bourg de Cento^ o\X il travaillait a la toise. Ses figures semblent se 
d6tacher de la toile, et conviennent aux gens qui louent, dans la 
peinture, ViUudon. 

*^ La Gflderte Famese; de Rome, met Annibal Carrache au rang 
des plus grands peintres. Beaucoup de gens disent Raphael, le 
Corr^ge, Titlen et Annibal. A Bologne, on lui pr^fere Louis Car- 
rache. 

'' L*Albane» homme froid, a blen peint les en&ns et les corps de 
femme, roais non leur lime. II n*en avait pas ; Tenvie I'occupa beau- 
coup. " p. 179-181. 

At Lorelto he falls in with an English Colonel of seventy* 
who having been much in France before the Kevolution, gives 
him a discourse, under three heads, beside an introluction and 
A conclusion, upon French and English society. It lasts thrSugh 
about twenty pages ; and, as it was spoken when nobody was 

Present, one is at a loss to account for the fullness of the report, 
o suppose that there is no such Colonel, would only remove 
the difficulty a step ; for the remarks are, in style and acuteness, 
considerably above the Baron's usual performances. 

On his journey through the States of the Church, he seems 
to have been fortunate in the company he met with ; for, not to 
mention the ancient officer and the delightful society at Bolos* 
na, he found at Pesaro a lady * who knew Latin better than he 
did himself. * We believe her accomplishments to be here rated 
far below the truth ; at least the Baron so pertinaciously writes 
Herculanum wherever the word occurs, that he compels us to 
question the accuracy of the standard bv which he estimates the 
fair linguist's proficiency. He makes from this place a some- 
what precipitate fli|i[ht, being on the point, if we comprehend 
the passage, of fiilliilg in love with an actress at the opera. He 
therefore retreats upoig Padua, where, to avoid a similar danger^ 
he forms an acquaintance with a celebrated Soprano of seventy, 
who lives there in retirement. * J'ai plus appris de musique, * 
says the Baron, * en six conversations avec ce grand artiste, que 
* par tous les livres ; c'est l'4^e qui parte a Vdme. * 

We must warn the reader, once lor all, against too implicitly 
trusting theaccnracy of this traveller, as to the anecdotes whicn 
he has told of individuals whom he either knew or. heard of in 
faia tour. It seems pretty clear that he has frequently mistaken 
0ne person for another j and has been very crednlotts in -reoeiv'* 

Q 2 



2 Of Borne f Napla^ and Piorenre. Not. 

in? the stories which were told him. The best that can be said 
OF this part of his notes is, that there is very little of it. He 
has laudably ab.stained from publishing most of what he had 
written upon private individuals in his Journal; he often talks 
of the many anecdotes which he could tell if he chose ; and most 
justly adds, that a traveller who prints an account of what passes 
in any society where he ent(*rs without paying, is a spy. This 
rule is excellent ; and, if our Baron ever breaks it, we must allow 
that he does so without any ill-fiatured design* That be has 
been deceived^ sometimes, by persons who were disposed to laugb 
at his expense, we think pretty evident, from the story which 
he seriously tells of an English heiress whom he met at the house 
of a countryman at Venice. The young Udy, it seems, was 
entitled to a fortune of between thirty and forty thousand pounds 
a year, and so much attached to her father, thdt she indstcd 
upon going after him to Venice ; and upon going alone. One 
of her guardians opposed this project ; the other {* par re» 
spect pour la liberty *) gave her a tliousund guineas for her jour* 
ney. Wbereunon ^he set out, all aloue; and found that her 
father bad left Venice three days before she arrived. This rick 
heiress travelled in one diligence after another, and did not un- 
derstand a word of French. The Baron describes her as vefy 
agreeable, and recommentis her to the young beatu cf Paris* 
If all the suppressed anecdotes in \\\h Journal are as authentic 
and entertaining as this, the bock has gained at least as much 
as the parties, by their omission. 

It is not often that the Baron indulges in general reflectiona; 
but the following are perhaps among the best in his volume. 

* Milan Temporte sur Bologne. Conmie individus, les Dolonaia 
Femporteraient pcut*^tre ; mais, 

* 1°. Milan est plus grande ville (cent trente mille ames), et par* 
tant, beaucoup plus de sottises y sont m^pris6es, ct rexemple des 
temps passes y a moins de force. 11 y est d6ja ridicule de parler de 
8£s affiures d'lnt^ret. 

' 2°. Milan a 6t^ quatorze ans la capitale d*un vaste royaume ; on 
y a vu les grandes affaires de pres et le jeu des passions. Pendant 
' ce temps-1^ Bologne Gtsikjalotise ; 11 est vrai que, dans cette mati* 
^aise carriere, clle mon trait de T^nergie, elle se r^roltait (1809), 

* 3^. Milan est prds de la Suisse qui foormt des livres d la haote 
Saci6t6 ; il y a un exemplaire du Morning Chronide qiti eoClte trois 
niille francs au moins au noble qui le fait venir. II y a dix ans, on 
n*euit pas trouy6 deux personnes qui lussent les joumaux ; actuelE^ 
ment, on voit les domestiques qui vont les chercher au bureau, ka 
lire dans les rues. 

' L*6ducation de quatorze ans (1800 ^ 1814), donn^e par hasard 
aous un despote qui ne craignait au monde que Tdducation, y avait 



1817. HovCf NapteSf and Florence. 2^3 

• 

produit des fa^ros. Qu'aurait-ce 6t^ de F^ducation donn6e par un 
prince philosophe ? Tout ce qui est grand a des droits particuliers 
our le coeur de ce peuple. Beaucoup plus m^Bant que le Frant^ais, 
it est laeiUeur juge de la grandeur dans ses princes, Un demi-siecle 
de Vordre de choses qui Ta si rapidement elev^ en quatorze ansy 
n*aurait pas remu^ une autre nation. La Lombardie se regarde pour 
le degr6 de liberty publique comme une appendice de la France ; on 
y suit ayec le plus vif int6r^t les discussions de nos Chambrcs, ' 
p. 312—314. 

His remarks upon the English are far from being so just. 
Indeed he labours under some strange caprice, rather than pre« 
judice, upon this subject ; for he seems to praise ail the tnaivi« 
duals of our country whom he saw, and yet to hate us oollec* 
f ivelv ; and not in the mnnn«r of Swift, who said he loved par« 
ticuiar men, while he hated mankind, — but after a fashion of his 
4)wn. Thus he says, that * nothing can equal his liking for 

* our lep^islatioii, but his dklike of our persons i ' and adds— 
^ Si vous faites une provenance a un Anglais, il en profite pour 

* placer un signe de hauteur. Timides, en sociOtO, avec tout 

* ce qui passe pour supOrieur, ils sont presque insolens avec tout 
^ ce qui a J'air de oedef. II faut etre juste : il y a chcz ces gens* 
^ la un prjncipe de malheur; ils tircnt du renin des choses les 
' pkis indiflerentes. Ce aont les plus insociahies des bommes, 
^ et peut-^tre les plus malheureux. ' (p. 329, S30) Yet his whole 
volume is sprinkled with commendations of the English whom 
he saw in various societies ; the beauty of the women $ the tar 
lents and virtues of the men ; nay^ almost as often as he men- 
tions an individual with approbati<^n, he associates his praise 
with some national peculiarity. As to the Genevese, be seems 
to have for them an unmixed dislike. We trust there is little 
resemblance in the following picture of them, and that what 
there is of likeness, may have been the real cause of the Ba- 
ron's general distaste for those good people. 

* La pruderie des feniaaes est un article incro3rable i force de ridi- 
cule ct d*ennui. J*ai remarqu^ qu'elles disent exactement la m^me 
chose d chacun des Strangers qu*on leur pr6sente. Etre aimables 
pour elles, c*est r6p6ter la formule d*amabilit6 que leur a montree 
leur bonne ; rien ne pent l^s faire sortur de ce cercle ; elles croiraient 
manquer d la vertu. Ainsi, vivacity, naturel, aper^us nouveaux, 
laisser-aller, qui font le charroe de la soci^t6, tout cela est p^trifi^ ^ 
Gendve. Je wens de ra'apercevoir que c*est la caricature des An- 
glaises. Pour comble dlnsipidit^, la conversation est toujours guin- 
d^e sur les grands sujets de iibert6» d*amour, de bonheur domes- 
tique, de peinture des passions, etc.; et 14-des8us ces dames ont leur 
legon faite et apprise par cceur, qu^elles vous d bitent, toujours la 
m^me. Jl faut voir la mine qu*on vou$ fait si tous vous avisez d'etre 



246 Somfp Naples f and Florence. Kot. 

naturel dans cee discussions interminables. L*auire jour, pour aroir 
admis la poRsibilit^ de raraour, hors du mariagc, k la soir^ de la 
maison P., madame €***» qui ni'avait pr^nt6, iii*a €ut de gros 
yeux ; toutes les demoiselles ont rougi : j*ai vu que j'avais dit une 
sottise que j*ai raccommodte de mon raieux, et assez mal. Or» 
comme on voit, la possibilite de Tamour hors du mariage est en e&t 
une chose inouie. 

' U faut toujours discuter les grands int^r^ts de la rie, et dtre 
toujours hypocrite dans la discussion. L^-dessus je dis i A la bonne 
heure se gener i, la cour oO Ton gagne des titres ou du pourotr ; mm 
se g^ner h Gendve ! 

^ Les femmes v sent belles ; mais cette incroyable pruderie, don( 
personne, je crois^ n'a parl^, se retrouve jusque dans Fair des risa- 
ges : cela doone aux figures un fond de froideur et un dtfaut d mt4« 
i^t qui repousse la sympathie. Je prends pour bonnes toutes ces 
vertus de Geneve ; c'est la ville oi^ il y a le moins de maris tromp^ 
et je ne voudrais pas pour tout Tor du monde ^tre raari£ 4 Geneve, 
Malgr6 mon horreur pour la vie morale de Naples, je la pr6f(§reraii 
a ceUe de Geneve ; il y a au moins du naturel. p. 325— •325*