Life of Lord Byron Volume V Part 4

"Came home at eleven, or rather before. If the road and weather are comfortable, mean to ride to-morrow. High time--almost a week at this work--snow, sirocco, one day--frost and snow the other--sad climate for Italy. But the two seasons, last and present, are extraordinary. Read a Life of Leonardo da Vinci by Rossi--ruminated--wrote this much, and will go to bed.

"January 5. 1821.

"Rose late--dull and drooping--the weather dripping and dense. Snow on the ground, and sirocco above in the sky, like yesterday. Roads up to the horse's belly, so that riding (at least for pleasure) is not very feasible. Added a postscript to my letter to Murray. Read the conclusion, for the fiftieth time (I have read all W. Scott's novels at least fifty times), of the third series of 'Tales of my Landlord,'--grand work--Scotch Fielding, as well as great English poet--wonderful man! I long to get drunk with him.

"Dined versus six o' the clock. Forgot that there was a plum-pudding, (I have added, lately, _eating_ to my 'family of vices,') and had dined before I knew it. Drank half a bottle of some sort of spirits--probably spirits of wine; for what they call brandy, rum, &c. &c. here is nothing but spirits of wine, coloured accordingly. Did _not_ eat two apples, which were placed by way of dessert. Fed the two cats, the hawk, and the tame (but _not tamed_) _crow_. Read Mitford's History of Greece--Xenophon's Retreat of the Ten Thousand. Up to this present _moment writing, 6 minutes before eight o' the clock_--French hours, not Italian.

"Hear the carriage--order pistols and great coat, as usual--necessary articles. Weather cold--carriage open, and inhabitants somewhat savage--rather treacherous and highly inflamed by politics. Fine fellows, though, good materials for a nation. Out of chaos G.o.d made a world, and out of high pa.s.sions comes a people.

"Clock strikes--going out to make love. Somewhat perilous, but not disagreeable. Memorandum--a new screen put up to-day. It is rather antique, but will do with a little repair.

"Thaw continues--hopeful that riding may be practicable to-morrow. Sent the papers to Alli.--grand events coming.

"11 o' the clock and nine minutes. Visited La Contessa G. Nata G.G.

Found her beginning my letter of answer to the thanks of Alessio del Pinto of Rome for a.s.sisting his brother the late Commandant in his last moments, as I had begged her to pen my reply for the purer Italian, I being an ultra-montane, little skilled in the set phrase of Tuscany. Cut short the letter--finish it another day. Talked of Italy, patriotism, Alfieri, Madame Albany, and other branches of learning. Also Sall.u.s.t's Conspiracy of Catiline, and the War of Jugurtha. At 9 came in her brother, Il Conte Pietro--at 10, her father, Conte Ruggiero.

"Talked of various modes of warfare--of the Hungarian and Highland modes of broad-sword exercise, in both whereof I was once a moderate 'master of fence.' Settled that the R. will break out on the 7th or 8th of March, in which appointment I should trust, had it not been settled that it was to have broken out in October, 1820. But those Bolognese s.h.i.+rked the Romagnuoles.

"'It is all one to Ranger.' One must not be particular, but take rebellion when it lies in the way. Come home--read the 'Ten Thousand'

again, and will go to bed.

"Mem.--Ordered Fletcher (at four o'clock this afternoon) to copy out seven or eight apophthegms of Bacon, in which I have detected such blunders as a school-boy might detect rather than commit. Such are the sages! What must they be, when such as I can stumble on their mistakes or misstatements? I will go to bed, for I find that I grow cynical.

"January 6. 1821.

"Mist--thaw--slop--rain. No stirring out on horseback. Read Spence's Anecdotes. Pope a fine fellow--always thought him so. Corrected blunders in _nine_ apophthegms of Bacon--all historical--and read Mitford's Greece. Wrote an epigram. Turned to a pa.s.sage in Guinguene--ditto in Lord Holland's Lope de Vega. Wrote a note on Don Juan.

"At eight went out to visit. Heard a little music--like music. Talked with Count Pietro G. of the Italian comedian Vestris, who is now at Rome--have seen him often act in Venice--a good actor--very. Somewhat of a mannerist; but excellent in broad comedy, as well as in the sentimental pathetic. He has made me frequently laugh and cry, neither of which is now a very easy matter--at least, for a player to produce in me.

"Thought of the state of women under the ancient Greeks--convenient enough. Present state a remnant of the barbarism of the chivalry and feudal ages--artificial and unnatural. They ought to mind home--and be well fed and clothed--but not mixed in society. Well educated, too, in religion--but to read neither poetry nor politics--nothing but books of piety and cookery. Music--drawing--dancing--also a little gardening and ploughing now and then. I have seen them mending the roads in Epirus with good success. Why not, as well as hay-making and milking?

"Came home, and read Mitford again, and played with my mastiff--gave him his supper. Made another reading to the epigram, but the turn the same.

To-night at the theatre, there being a prince on his throne in the last scene of the comedy,--the audience laughed, and asked him for a _Const.i.tution_. This shows the state of the public mind here, as well as the a.s.sa.s.sinations. It won't do. There must be an universal republic,--and there ought to be.

"The crow is lame of a leg--wonder how it happened--some fool trod upon his toe, I suppose. The falcon pretty brisk--the cats large and noisy--the monkeys I have not looked to since the cold weather, as they suffer by being brought up. Horses must be gay--get a ride as soon as weather serves. Deuced muggy still--an Italian winter is a sad thing, but all the other seasons are charming.

"What is the reason that I have been, all my lifetime, more or less _ennuye?_ and that, if any thing, I am rather less so now than I was at twenty, as far as my recollection serves? I do not know how to answer this, but presume that it is const.i.tutional,--as well as the waking in low spirits, which I have invariably done for many years. Temperance and exercise, which I have practised at times, and for a long time together vigorously and violently, made little or no difference. Violent pa.s.sions did;--when under their immediate influence--it is odd, but--I was in agitated, but _not_ in depressed, spirits.

"A dose of salts has the effect of a temporary inebriation, like light champagne, upon me. But wine and spirits make me sullen and savage to ferocity--silent, however, and retiring, and not quarrelsome, if not spoken to. Swimming also raises my spirits,--but in general they are low, and get daily lower. That is _hopeless_; for I do not think I am so much _ennuye_ as I was at nineteen. The proof is, that then I must game, or drink, or be in motion of some kind, or I was miserable. At present, I can mope in quietness; and like being alone better than any company--except the lady's whom I serve. But I feel a something, which makes me think that, if I ever reach near to old age, like Swift, 'I shall die at top' first. Only I do not dread idiotism or madness so much as he did. On the contrary, I think some quieter stages of both must be preferable to much of what men think the possession of their senses.

"January 7. 1821, Sunday.

"Still rain--mist--snow--drizzle--and all the incalculable combinations of a climate where heat and cold struggle for mastery. Head Spence, and turned over Roscoe, to find a pa.s.sage I have not found. Read the fourth vol. of W. Scott's second series of 'Tales of my Landlord.' Dined. Read the Lugano Gazette. Read--I forget what. At eight went to conversazione.

Found there the Countess Geltrude, Betti V. and her husband, and others.

Pretty black-eyed woman that--_only_ nineteen--same age as Teresa, who is prettier, though.

"The Count Pietro G. took me aside to say that the Patriots have had notice from Forli (twenty miles off) that to-night the government and its party mean to strike a stroke--that the Cardinal here has had orders to make several arrests immediately, and that, in consequence, the Liberals are arming, and have posted patroles in the streets, to sound the alarm and give notice to fight for it.

"He asked me 'what should be done?' I answered, 'Fight for it, rather than be taken in detail;' and offered, if any of them are in immediate apprehension of arrest, to receive them in my house (which is defensible), and to defend them, with my servants and themselves (we have arms and ammunition), as long as we can,--or to try to get them away under cloud of night. On going home, I offered him the pistols which I had about me--but he refused, but said he would come off to me in case of accidents.

"It wants half an hour of midnight, and rains;--as Gibbet says, 'a fine night for their enterprise--dark as h.e.l.l, and blows like the devil.' If the row don't happen _now_, it must soon. I thought that their system of shooting people would soon produce a re-action--and now it seems coming.

I will do what I can in the way of combat, though a little out of exercise. The cause is a good one.

"Turned over and over half a score of books for the pa.s.sage in question, and can't find it. Expect to hear the drum and the musquetry momently (for they swear to resist, and are right,)--but I hear nothing, as yet, save the plash of the rain and the gusts of the wind at intervals. Don't like to go to bed, because I hate to be waked, and would rather sit up for the row, if there is to be one.

"Mended the fire--have got the arms--and a book or two, which I shall turn over. I know little of their numbers, but think the Carbonari strong enough to beat the troops, even here. With twenty men this house might be defended for twenty-four hours against any force to be brought against it, now in this place, for the same time; and, in such a time, the country would have notice, and would rise,--if ever they _will_ rise, of which there is some doubt. In the mean time, I may as well read as do any thing else, being alone.

"January 8. 1821, Monday.

"Rose, and found Count P.G. in my apartments. Sent away the servant.

Told me that, according to the best information, the Government had not issued orders for the arrests apprehended; that the attack in Forli had not taken place (as expected) by the Sanfedisti--the opponents of the Carbonari or Liberals--and that, as yet, they are still in apprehension only. Asked me for some arms of a better sort, which I gave him. Settled that, in case of a row, the Liberals were to a.s.semble _here_ (with me), and that he had given the word to Vincenzo G. and others of the _Chiefs_ for that purpose. He himself and father are going to the chase in the forest; but V.G. is to come to me, and an express to be sent off to him, P.G., if any thing occurs. Concerted operations. They are to seize--but no matter.

"I advised them to attack in detail, and in different parties, in different _places_ (though at the _same_ time), so as to divide the attention of the troops, who, though few, yet being disciplined, would beat any body of people (not trained) in a regular fight--unless dispersed in small parties, and distracted with different a.s.saults.

Offered to let them a.s.semble here, if they choose. It is a strongish post--narrow street, commanded from within--and tenable walls.

"Dined. Tried on a new coat. Letter to Murray, with corrections of Bacon's Apophthegms and an epigram--the _latter not_ for publication. At eight went to Teresa, Countess G. At nine and a half came in Il Conte P.

and Count P.G. Talked of a certain proclamation lately issued. Count R.G. had been with * * (the * *), to sound him about the arrests. He, * *, is a _trimmer_, and deals, at present, his cards with both hands.

If he don't mind, they'll be full. * * pretends (_I_ doubt him--_they_ don't,--we shall see) that there is no such order, and seems staggered by the immense exertions of the Neapolitans, and the fierce spirit of the Liberals here. The truth is, that * * cares for little but his place (which is a good one), and wishes to play pretty with both parties. He has changed his mind thirty times these last three moons, to my knowledge, for he corresponds with me. But he is not a b.l.o.o.d.y fellow--only an avaricious one.

"It seems that, just at this moment (as Lydia Languish says), there will be no elopement after all. I wish that I had known as much last night--or, rather, this morning--I should have gone to bed two hours earlier. And yet I ought not to complain; for, though it is a sirocco, and heavy rain, I have not _yawned_ for these two days.

"Came home--read History of Greece--before dinner had read Walter Scott's Rob Roy. Wrote address to the letter in answer to Alessio del Pinto, who has thanked me for helping his brother (the late Commandant, murdered here last month) in his last moments. Have told him I only did a duty of humanity--as is true. The brother lives at Rome.

"Mended the fire with some 'sgobole' (a Romagnuole word), and gave the falcon some water. Drank some Seltzer-water. Mem.--received to-day a print, or etching, of the story of Ugolino, by an Italian painter--different, of course, from Sir Joshua Reynolds's, and I think (as far as recollection goes) _no worse_, for Reynolds's is not good in history. Tore a b.u.t.ton in my new coat.

"I wonder what figure these Italians will make in a regular row. I sometimes think that, like the Irishman's gun (somebody had sold him a crooked one), they will only do for 'shooting round a corner;' at least, this sort of shooting has been the late tenor of their exploits. And yet, there are materials in this people, and a n.o.ble energy, if well directed. But who is to direct them? No matter. Out of such times heroes spring. Difficulties are the hotbeds of high spirits, and Freedom the mother of the few virtues incident to human nature.

"Tuesday, January 9. 1821.

"Rose--the day fine. Ordered the horses; but Lega (my _secretary_, an Italianism for steward or chief servant) coming to tell me that the painter had finished the work in fresco, for the room he has been employed on lately, I went to see it before I set out. The painter has not copied badly the prints from t.i.tian, &c. considering all things.

"Dined. Read Johnson's 'Vanity of Human Wishes,'--all the examples and mode of giving them sublime, as well as the latter part, with the exception of an occasional couplet. I do not so much admire the opening.

I remember an observation of Sharpe's, (the _Conversationist_, as he was called in London, and a very clever man,) that the first line of this poem was superfluous, and that Pope (the best of poets, _I_ think) would have begun at once, only changing the punctuation--

"'Survey mankind from China to Peru.'

The former line, 'Let observation,' &c. is certainly heavy and useless.

But 'tis a grand poem--and _so true!_--true as the 10th of Juvenal himself. The lapse of ages _changes_ all things--time--language--the earth--the bounds of the sea--the stars of the sky, and every thing 'about, around, and underneath' man, _except man himself_, who has always been, and always will be, an unlucky rascal. The infinite variety of lives conduct but to death, and the infinity of wishes lead but to disappointment. All the discoveries which have yet been made have multiplied little but existence. An extirpated disease is succeeded by some new pestilence; and a discovered world has brought little to the old one, except the p---- first and freedom afterwards--the _latter_ a fine thing, particularly as they gave it to Europe in exchange for slavery. But it is doubtful whether 'the Sovereigns' would not think the _first_ the best present of the two to their subjects.

"At eight went out--heard some news. They say the King of Naples has declared, by couriers from Florence, to the _Powers_ (as they call now those wretches with crowns) that his Const.i.tution was compulsive, &c.

&c. and that the Austrian barbarians are placed again on _war_ pay, and will march. Let them--'they come like sacrifices in their trim,' the hounds of h.e.l.l! Let it still be a hope to see their bones piled like those of the human dogs at Morat, in Switzerland, which I have seen.

"Heard some music. At nine the usual visiters--news, _war_, or rumours of war. Consulted with P.G. &c. &c. They mean to _insurrect_ here, and are to honour me with a call thereupon. I shall not fall back; though I don't think them in force or heart sufficient to make much of it. But, _onward!_--it is now the time to act, and what signifies _self_, if a single spark of that which would be worthy of the past can be bequeathed unquenchedly to the future? It is not one man, nor a million, but the _spirit_ of liberty which must be spread. The waves which dash upon the sh.o.r.e are, one by one, broken, but yet the _ocean_ conquers, nevertheless. It overwhelms the Armada, it wears the rock, and, if the _Neptunians_ are to be believed, it has not only destroyed, but made a world. In like manner, whatever the sacrifice of individuals, the great cause will gather strength, sweep down what is rugged, and fertilise (for _sea-weed_ is _manure_) what is cultivable. And so, the mere selfish calculation ought never to be made on such occasions; and, at present, it shall not be computed by me. I was never a good arithmetician of chances, and shall not commence now.