“Every record of the latter days of those who, by
their actions or their talents, have excited the admira-
| 346 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“I had met Sir
Walter at Stanmore Priory many years ago, when on a visit to the
late Marquis of Abercorn, where he read one
of the earliest of his poetical productions; but I had no farther personal
communication with him till his arrival at Naples. I was induced to call on him
at the Palazzo Caramanico, at the desire of a mutual friend, on the 5th of
January, 1832, and it is probable that our mutual infirmities, which made us
suitable companions in excursions, contributed in a great degree to the
intimacy which immediately took place between us. On the following evening I
presented to him Mr Keppel Craven, whose
Tour in the South of Italy
he had just read with pleasure. From this time I was constantly in the habit of
receiving, or calling for Sir Walter in the morning, and
usually accompanied him to see any of the remarkable objects in the
neighbourhood of Naples. The Lago d’Agnano was among the first places
visited, and he was evidently quite delighted with the tranquil beauty of the
spot, and struck particularly by the sight of the leaves yet lingering on the
trees at so advanced a period of the winter, and the appearance of summer yet
maintained by the meadows and copses surrounding the lake. It quickly recalled
to his mind a lake in Scotland, which he immediately began to describe. I
afterwards found that his only pleasure
| NAPLES—JANUARY, 1832. | 347 |
“Mr Craven accompanied us on horseback in this excursion, and Sir Walter learning that he was writing a second volume, giving an account of a journey in the Abbruzzi, kindly observed, that he thought he could be of use to him in the publication of it, adding, ‘I think I may, perhaps, be able to give his pancake a toss.’
“On the 10th of January, I accompanied him to Pozzuoli, and the late Mr Laing Meason was of the party. Here we succeeded in getting Sir Walter placed upon a heap of ruins, whence he might see the remains of the Thermae, commonly called the Temple of Serapis. His observation was, that we might tell him any thing, and he would believe it all, for many of his friends, and particularly Mr Morritt, had frequently tried to drive classical antiquities, as they were called, into his head, but they had had always found his ‘skull too thick.’
“It was with great risk that he could be brought to any point of difficult access, for though he was so lame, and saw how easily I arrived by submitting to be assisted or carried, it was generally impossible to persuade him to commit himself to the care of the attendants.
“When Sir Walter
was presented at Court, the King received
him with marked attention, and insisted on his being seated, on account of his
infirmity. They both spoke, and the by-standers observed, that His Majesty
mentioned the pleasure he had received from reading the works of his visiter.
Sir Walter answered in French, but not in a clear tone
of voice; and he afterwards observed, that he and the King parted mutually
pleased
| 348 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“On the 17th of January I took Sir Walter to dine with the venerable Archbishop of Tarentum, a prelate in his 90th year, but yet retaining his faculties unimpaired, and the warmer feelings of youth, with well-known hospitality. The two elders seemed mutually pleased with the interview, but the difficulties of language were opposed to any very agreeable conversation.
“On the 26th of January I attended Sir Walter in a boat, with several friends, to the
ruins of a Roman villa, supposed by Mr Hamilton and
others, to have been that of Pollio, and situated upon a
rock in the sea at the extremity of the promontory of Posilipo. It was by no
means the recollection of Pollio that induced Sir Walter
to make this excursion. A story existed that out of an opening in the floor of
one of the rooms in this villa, a spectre robed in white occasionally appeared,
whence the place had acquired the name of La Casa degli
Spiriti, and none had presumed to inhabit it. The fact was, that
a third story had been built upon the Roman ruins, and this being only
inhabited by paupers, had fallen into decay, so as to endanger one angle of the
fabric, and the police, for fear of accident, had ordered that it should remain
untenanted. The house is situated upon a rock projecting into the sea, but
attached on one side to the mainland. An entrance for a boat has been left in
the basement story, and it is probable that a sort of open court, into which
the sea enters at the back of the house, and in which is the staircase, was
constructed for the purpose of cooling the apartments in the heat of summer, by
means of the perpetual heaving and sinking of the ocean which takes place even
in the calmest weather. The staircase was too much ruined
| NAPLES—FEBRUARY, 1832. | 349 |
“On the 9th of February Sir Walter went to Pompeii, where, with several ladies and gentlemen at that time resident in Naples, I accompanied him. I did not go in the same carriage, but arriving at the street of the Tombs, found him already almost tired before he had advanced 100 yards. With great difficulty I forced him to accept the chair in which I was carried, supplying its place with another for myself, tied together with cords and handkerchiefs. He thus was enabled to pass through the city without more fatigue, and I was sometimes enabled to call his attention to such objects as were the most worthy of remark. To these observations, however, he seemed generally nearly insensible, viewing the whole and not the parts, with the eye, not of an antiquary, but a poet, and exclaiming frequently ‘The city of the Dead,’ without any other remark. An excavation had been ordered for him, but it produced nothing more than a few bells, hinges, and other objects of brass, which are found every day. Sir Walter seemed to view, however, the splendid mosaic, representing a combat of the Greeks and Persians, with more interest, and, seated upon a table whence he could look down upon it, he remained some time to examine it. We dined at a large table spread in the Forum, and Sir Walter was cheerful and pleased. In the evening he was a little tired, but felt no bad effects from the excursion to the City of the Dead.
“In our morning drives, Sir Walter always noticed
* There is an interesting Essay on this Roman Villa, by Mr Hamilton, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature for 1837. |
| 350 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“I do not remember on what day, during his residence at Naples, he came one morning rather early to my house, to tell me he was sure I should be pleased at some good luck which had befallen him, and of which he had just received notice. This was, as he said, an account from his friends in England, that his last works, Robert of Paris and Castle Dangerous, had gone on to a second edition. He told me in the carriage that he felt quite relieved by his letters, ‘for,’ said he, ‘I could have never slept straight in my coffin till I had satisfied every claim against me.’ ‘And now,’ added he to the dog, ‘my poor boy, I shall have my house, and my estate round it, free, and I may keep my dogs as big and as many as I choose, without fear of reproach.’
“I do not recollect the date of a certain
morning’s drive, on which he first communicated to me that he had already
written, or at least advanced far in a romance, on the subject of Malta, a part
of which, he said, laughingly, he had put into the fire by mistake for other
papers, but which he thought he had rewritten better than before. He asked me
about the island of Rhodes, and told me,
| NAPLES—GELL. | 351 |
“Rhodes became at this time an object of great importance and curiosity to him, and as he had indulged in the idea of visiting it, he was somewhat displeased to learn how very far distant it lay from Corfu, where he had proposed to pass some time with Sir Frederick Adam, then Lord High Commissioner in the Ionian Islands.
“I must not omit stating that at an early period of his visit to Naples, an old English manuscript of the Romance of Sir Bevis of Hampton, existing in the Royal library, had attracted his attention, and he had resolved on procuring a copy of it, not, I think, for himself, but for a friend in Scotland, who was already possessed of
* The common Scotch pronunciation is not unlike what Sir W. G. gives. |
| 352 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
* The spectacles were valued as the gift of a friend and brother poet. See ante, p. 136. |
| NAPLES—PÆSTUM, &c. | 353 |
“Sir Walter had
heard too much of Pæstum to quit Naples without seeing it, and we
accordingly formed a party in two carriages to go there, intending to sleep at
La Cava, at the villa of my much respected friend Miss Whyte, a lady not less esteemed for every good quality,
than celebrated for the extraordinary exertions of benevolence on the occasion
of the murder of the Hunt family at Pæstum. Hearing
of this fatal affair, and being nearer than any other of her compatriots to the
scene, this lady immediately endeavoured to engage a surgeon at La Cava to
accompany her to the spot. No one, however, could be found to venture into the
den of the murderers, so that she resolved to go alone, well provided with
lint, medicines, and all that could be useful to the wounded persons. She
arrived, however, too late to be of use; but Sir Walter
expressed the greatest desire to make the acquaintance of so admirable a
person, and it was settled that her hospitable villa should receive and lodge
us on our way to Pæstum. La Cava is 25 miles from Naples, and as it was
necessary to feed the horses, I was in hopes of showing Sir
Walter the amphitheatre of Pompeii while they ate their corn.
The day, however, being rainy, we gave up the amphitheatre, and halted at the
little tavern immediately below Pompeii. Here being obliged to remain, it was
thought advisable to eat, and I had an opportunity of witnessing the
hospitality which I had always heard distinguished Sir
Walter, for, after we had finished, not only the servants were
fed with the provisions he had brought, but the whole remainder was distributed
to the poor people who had been driven into the tavern by the rain. This
liberality unfortunately oc-
| 354 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“Near Nocera I pointed out a tower situated upon a high mountain, and guarding a pass by which a very steep and zig-zag road leads toward Amain. I observed that it was possible that if the Saracens were ever really seated at Nocera dai Pagani, this tower might have been at the confines of the Amalfitan Republic, and have been their frontier against the Mahometans. It was surprising how quickly he caught at any romantic circumstance, and I found, in a very short time, he had converted the Torre di Ciunse, or Chiunse, into a feudal residence, and already peopled it with a Christian host. He called it the Knight’s Castle, as long as it remained in sight, and soon after transferred its interest to the curious little towers, used for pigeon-shooting, which abound in the neighbourhood, though they were on the other side of the road.
“From La Cava, the party proceeded the next day to
Pæstum, setting out early in the morning; but I did not accompany
Sir Walter on that journey, and
consequently only know that, by good luck, he found eggs and other rustic fare
near the Temples, and returned, after a drive of fifty-four miles, very much
fatigued, to a late dinner. He was, however, completely restored by the
night’s rest, and we visited on the following day the splendid
Benedictine Monastery of La Trinità della Cava, situated about three miles
from the great road, and approached through a beautiful forest of chestnuts,
spreading over most picturesque mountains. The day was fine, and Sir
Walter really enjoyed the drive; and the scenery recalled to his
mind something of the kind which he had seen in Scotland, on which he repeated
the whole of the ballad of Jock of
Hazledean with great emphasis, and in a clear voice. At the
Convent we
| LA CAVA, &c. | 355 |
“On the following day we returned to Naples, but Sir Walter went in his own carriage, and complained to me afterwards that he had never been able to discover the ‘Knight’s Tower,’ it being, in fact, only visible by turning back to a person travelling in that direction. He expressed himself at all times much delighted with our amiable hostess, Miss Whyte, remarking very justly that she had nothing cold about her but her house, which being in the mountains, is, in fact, by no means eligible at that season of the year.
“In one of our drives, the subject of Sir Walter’s, perhaps, most popular romance, in which Lady Margaret Bellenden defends the Castle of
Tillietudlem, was men-
| 356 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“On the third of April, I accompanied Sir Walter to Pozzuoli and to Cumae. We had a party of nine or ten ladies and gentlemen, and agreed to dine at the inn at Pozzuoli, on our way back. I explained to Sir Walter the common history of all the objects which occurred on the road; and the account of Monte Nuovo, which rose in one night to its present elevation, destroying the village of Tre Pergole, and part of the Lucrine Lake, seemed particularly to strike his poetical imagination. There is a point in going toward the Arco Felice, whence, at a turn of the road, a very extensive and comprehensive view is obtained of the Lake of Avernus. The Temple of Apollo, the Lucrine Lake, the Monte Nuovo, Baiæ, Misenum, and the sea, are all seen at once; and here I considered it my duty, in quality of Cicerone, to
* See the account of Scott’s early visit to Craignethan Castle, ante Vol. I. p. 306. By the way, the name Tillietudlem is evidently taken from that of the ravine under the old castle of Lanark—which town is near Craignethan. This ravine is called Gillytudlem. |
| GELL’S MEMORANDA. | 357 |
‘Up the craggy mountain, and down the mossy glen, We canna gang a milking, for Charlie and his men.’ |
“I could not help smiling at this strange commentary on my dissertation upon the Lake of Avernus.”
