dear sir,
having left vienna, we proceeded through the duchies of stiria, carinthia, and carniola, to venice. notwithstanding the mountainous nature of those countries, the roads are remarkably good. they were formed originally at a vast expence of labour to the inhabitants, but in such a durable manner, that it requires[2] no great trouble to keep them in repair, to which all necessary attention seems to be paid. some of the mountains are covered with wood, but more generally they are quite bare. among them are many fields and vallies, fit for pasturage and the cultivation of grain; a few of these vallies are remarkably fertile, particularly in the duchy of carniola. the bowels of the earth abound in lead, copper, and iron. stirian steel is reckoned excellent; and the little town of idra, in carniola, is famous for the quicksilver mines in its neighbourhood.
it has been a matter of controversy among the learned (for the learned dispute about many things which the ignorant think of little importance), by what road the original inhabitants came, who first peopled italy? and it has been decided by some, that they must have entered by this very country of carniola. these gentlemen[3] lay it down as an axiom, that the first inhabitants of every country in the world, that is not an island, must have come by land, and not by sea, on account of the ignorance of the early inhabitants of the earth in the art of navigation; but italy being a peninsula, the only way to enter it by land, is at some part of the isthmus by which it is joined to the rest of europe. the alps form great part of that isthmus, and, in the early ages, would exclude strangers as effectually as the sea. the easiest, shortest, and only possible way of avoiding seas and mountains, in entering italy, is by the duchy of carniola and friuli. ergo, they came that way. q.e.d.
in contradiction to the preceding demonstration, others assert, that the first inhabitants came in ships from greece; and others have had the boldness to affirm, that italy had as good a right as any other[4] country to have inhabitants of its own original production, without being obliged to any vagrants whatever.
i thought it right to give you the opinion of the learned on this country, because it is not in my power to describe it from my own observation; for we passed through those duchies with a rapidity which baffles all description.
the inns are as bad as the roads are good; for which reason we chose to sleep on the latter rather than in the former, and actually travelled five days and nights, without stopping any longer than was necessary to change horses.
this method of travelling, however agreeable and improving it may be in other respects, is by no means calculated to give one the most perfect and lasting idea of the face of a country, or of the manners[5] and characters of the inhabitants; and therefore i hope you will not insist upon an exact account of either.
among other curiosities which our uninterrupted and expeditious movement prevented us from observing with due attention, was the town of gratz, the capital of stiria, through which we unfortunately passed in the middle of the night.
i did not regret this on account of the regularity of the streets, the venerable aspect of the churches, the sublime site of the castle, and other things which we had heard extolled; but solely because we had not an opportunity of visiting the shrine of st. allan, a native of england, who formerly was a dominican monk of a convent in this town, and in high favour with the virgin mary, of which she gave him some proofs as strong as they were extraordinary. amongst other marks of[6] her regard, she used to comfort him with milk from her breasts. this, to be sure, is a mark of affection seldom bestowed upon favourites above a year old, and will, i dare say, surprise you a good deal. there is no great danger, however, that an example of this kind should spread among virgins. of the fact in the present instance there can be no doubt; for it is recorded in an inscription underneath a portrait of the saint, which is carefully preserved in the dominican convent of this city. we continued our journey, in the full resolution of reaching venice before we indulged in any other bed than the post-chaise; but were obliged to stop short on a sudden for want of horses, at a small town called wipach, bordering on the county of goritia, in carniola.
before setting out from vienna, we had been informed, that the archduke and his princess were about to return to milan;[7] for which reason we thought it adviseable to remain at vienna eight days after their departure, to avoid the inconveniencies which might arise from a deficiency of post-horses on such an unfrequented road.
having taken our measures with so much foresight, we little expected, when we actually did set out, to meet with any delay in our progress.
the archduke and his duchess, however, had thought proper to go out of the direct road as far as trieste, to view the late improvements of that town, whose commerce is greatly encouraged and protected by the emperor; and remaining there a few days, all the post-horses which had been assembled to carry them to trieste, were kept in the post-houses for their use; consequently we found none at wipach. it began to grow dark when we arrived; the post-master was smoking his[8] pipe at the door. as soon as the chaise stopped, we called to him to get ready the horses without loss of time; for, i added, with a tone of importance, that we could not possibly stay a moment. to this he replied coolly, that since we were in so very great a hurry, he should not attempt to detain us, but that he had no horses to carry us on. i asked, how soon they could be got. he answered, when they returned from attending the archduke; but whether that would be the next day, the following, or a day or two after, he could not tell.
it appeared a great hardship to be stopped short, so unexpectedly, at a little paultry inn, and we agreed that nothing could have happened more unfortunately. after a few hasty ejaculations, which regarded the posting establishment, and the lords of police of this country, we resolved to make a virtue of necessity, and bear our misfortunes with firmness and equanimity.
[9]
as we stepped out of the chaise, i ordered the post-master, therefore, to get ready beds, a good supper, and some of his best wine. instead of receiving these injunctions with marks of satisfaction, as i expected, he answered without emotion, that he had no wine but for his own drinking; that he never gave suppers to any but his own family; and that he had no bed, except that which he himself, his wife, and his child occupied, which could not easily hold any more than them three at a time.
i had not hitherto perceived that this man’s house was not an inn: as soon as i was undeceived, i begged he would inform us where the inn was. he pointed with his pipe to a small house on the opposite side of the street.
there we were told, that all the victuals in the house were already devoured—three or four guests were in every spare room—the[10] family going to bed—and they could not possibly receive any more company. we had nearly the same account at another little inn, and an absolute refusal at every house where we sued for admittance.
the town of wipach is so near goritia, that no travellers, except those of the meanest kind, ever think of stopping at the former; and therefore the inhabitants have no idea of making preparations for other guests.
in this dilemma i returned to our post-master, who was still smoking his pipe before the door. i informed him of our bad success, and, in a more soothing tone of voice than that in which i had formerly addressed him, begged to know how we were to dispose of ourselves that night. he replied, with admirable composure, that was more than he could tell; but as the horses were expected in a few days, if i[11] should send him word where we were to be found, he would take care to let us know the moment they should be ready: in the mean time, as it began to rain, and the evening was exceedingly cold, he wished us a very good night. so saying, he went into the house, shutting and bolting the door very carefully after him.
no philosopher, ancient or modern, ever supported the distresses of others with more equanimity than this man.
we were now fully convinced, that to be under the necessity of remaining all night at an inn, when they incline to proceed on their journey, is not the most unfortunate thing that can befal travellers, and would have now been happy in that situation which we had considered with horror an hour or two before.
in this forlorn condition i turned to an italian servant of the duke of h——’s,[12] a shrewd fellow, who seldom wanted a resource in times of difficulty. he seemed, however, a little nonplussed on the present emergency; he stood shrugging his shoulders, with his eyes fixed on the ground. at length, starting as if he had that instant awaked, he muttered, “cent ore di maniconia non pangano un quattrino di debito,” and then walked away with an air not totally devoid of hope.
i attended him, without knowing upon what his expectations were founded. we came to a convent of monks, and got admittance; the italian called for the superior, and told him, in a few words, our condition. the venerable old man heard him with an air of benevolence; he expressed sorrow at the treatment we had received, and, desiring me to accompany him, said he would endeavour to find us lodgings. he conducted us to a poor looking house, occupied by a widow and her children. as soon as the good monk had mentioned[13] our case, she said we should be most welcome to such entertainment as she could afford. we had an excellent supper of sour krout, and sallad. i shall never forget it. i found her wine excellent, and her beds delightful; the good monk seemed to enjoy the satisfaction we expressed, and positively refused to accept of any other recompence for his trouble.
had we found the most elegant inn, and the most luxurious supper at our arrival, we might possibly have spent the evening in repining at being disappointed in post-horses; but the dread of so small a misfortune as passing the night supperless in the streets, reconciled us at once to the widow’s hovel, and made us happy with her homely fare; so necessary is a certain portion of hardships or difficulties for giving a zest to enjoyment. without them, the comforts of life are apt to become insipid; and we see that the people who,[14] independent of any effort of their own, have every enjoyment at their command, are, perhaps, of all mankind, those who have the least enjoyment.
the widow, as we understood in the morning, had sat up all night with her family, that we might be accommodated with beds. she had no reason to repent her hospitality. the poor woman’s gratitude made her talk loudly of the d—— of h——’s generosity; which coming to the ears of the post-master, induced him to make an effort to get the chaises dragged on to goritia, without waiting the return of the post-horses.
this was performed by three cart-horses and two oxen, which were relieved in the most mountainous part of the road by buffalos. there is a breed of these animals in this country; they are strong, hardy, and docile, and found preferable to either[15] horses or oxen, for ploughing in a rough and hilly country.
when we arrived at goritia, we found the inhabitants in their holiday dresses, at the windows, and in the streets, waiting with impatience for a sight of the grand duke and duchess. having applied at the post-house for horses, we were informed that none could be granted, all being retained for the accommodation of his highness. i could not help remarking to the d—— of h——, that dukes seemed to be in a very different predicament from prophets in their own countries.
things turned out better than we had reason to expect. their highnesses arrived in the evening; and as they did not propose to leave goritia till next morning, the archduke had the politeness to give orders that the d—— of h—— should have[16] what horses he wanted from the post-houses.
we set out immediately, and arrived at the next stage between one and two in the morning. in that part of the world, raising the people at midnight, and harnessing the horses for two carriages, takes up, at least, as much time as driving two stages in some parts of england. just as we were going out of the post-house court, the archduke’s butler and cook arrived; they were going forward, as usual, to prepare supper, &c. at the inn where their highnesses intended to lie. they knew that the horses were all retained for their master, but had not heard of the particular order in favour of the d—— of h——. seeing ten horses going to set out, they exclaimed against the post-master, and threatened him with the vengeance of the whole house of austria through all its[17] branches, if he should permit a single horse to leave the post-house till the archduke and his suite had passed.
the man, terrified with these threats, ordered the postilions to dismount, and put up the horses. this mandate was by no means agreeable to the d—— of h——; and the post-master’s fear of the indignation of the imperial family, was that instant lost in a danger which was presented to his face, and more immediately threatened his person—he ordered the postilions to drive on.
the next post was at a small town in the venetian state, where we found that orders had come from venice to the same effect with those received at the different stages we had already past. the d—— of h——’s italian servant thought it would save time to make us pass for part of the company to which these orders related—he[18] ordered horses in the name of the grand duke, and was instantly obeyed—but the butler and cook arriving soon after, told a different tale. couriers were dispatched, one of whom overtook us, and, in the name of the magistrates, ordered the postilions to drive back, for we were a gang of impostures, who had no connection with the grand duke. the same arguments, however, which had so good an effect on the german post-master, prevailed also on the courier to be silent, and the postilions to proceed.
it was midnight before we arrived at mestre, a small town on the banks of the lagune, five miles from venice, where we remained all night. next morning we hired a boat, and in two hours were landed in the middle of this city.
we have taken very delightful apartments at an inn, on the side of the great[19] canal. they had been just quitted by his royal highness the duke of gloucester, who is at present at padua. thus at length we are arrived in italy—
per varios casus, & tot discrimina rerum.
