Travels Through France And Italy - Tobias Smollett (diy ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Crimes Against Nature And Morality. A Murderer,

Adulterer, Or S--M--Te, Will Obtain Easy Absolution From The

Church, And Even Find Favour With Society; But A Man Who Eats A

Pidgeon On A Saturday, Without Express Licence, Is Avoided And

Abhorred, As A Monster Of Reprobation. I Have Conversed With

Several Intelligent Persons On The Subject; And Have Reason To

Believe, That A Delinquent Of This Sort Is Considered As A Luke-Warm 

Part 7 Letter 25 ( Nice, January 1, 1765.) Pg 211

Catholic, Little Better Than A Heretic; And Of All Crimes

They Look Upon Heresy As The Most Damnable.

 

 

 

Noli Is A Small Republic Of Fishermen Subject To Genoa; But Very

Tenacious Of Their Privileges. The Town Stands On The Beach,

Tolerably Well Built, Defended By A Castle Situated On A Rock

Above It; And The Harbour Is Of Little Consequence. The Auberge

Was Such As Made Us Regret Even The Inn We Had Left At St. Remo.

After A Very Odd Kind Of Supper, Which I Cannot Pretend To

Describe, We Retired To Our Repose: But I Had Not Been In Bed

Five Minutes, When I Felt Something Crawling On Different Parts

Of My Body, And Taking A Light To Examine, Perceived Above A

Dozen Large Bugs. You Must Know I Have The Same Kind Of Antipathy

To These Vermin, That Some Persons Have To A Cat Or Breast Of

Veal. I Started Up Immediately, And Wrapping Myself In A Great

Coat, Sick As I Was, Laid Down In The Outer Room Upon A Chest,

Where I Continued Till Morning.

 

 

 

One Would Imagine That In A Mountainous Country Like This, There

Should Be Plenty Of Goats; And Indeed, We Saw Many Flocks Of Them

Feeding Among The Rocks, Yet We Could Not Procure Half A Pint Of

Milk For Our Tea, If We Had Given The Weight Of It In Gold. The

People Here Have No Idea Of Using Milk, And When You Ask Them For

It, They Stand Gaping With A Foolish Face Of Surprise, Which Is

Exceedingly Provoking. It Is Amazing That Instinct Does Not Teach

The Peasants To Feed Their Children With Goat's Milk, So Much

More Nourishing And Agreeable Than The Wretched Sustenance On

Which They Live. Next Day We Rowed By Vado And Savona, Which Last

Is A Large Town, With A Strong Citadel, And A Harbour, Which Was

Formerly Capable Of Receiving Large Ships: But It Fell A

Sacrifice To The Jealousy Of The Genoese, Who Have Partly Choaked

It Up, On Pretence That It Should Not Afford Shelter To The Ships

Of War Belonging To Those States Which Might Be At Enmity With

The Republic.

 

 

 

Then We Passed Albifola, Sestri Di Ponente, Novi, Voltri, And A

Great Number Of Villages, Villas, And Magnificent Palaces

Belonging To The Genoese Nobility, Which Form Almost A Continued

Chain Of Buildings Along The Strand For Thirty Miles.

 

 

 

About Five In The Afternoon, We Skirted The Fine Suburbs Of St.

Pietro D' Arena, And Arrived At Genoa, Which Makes A Dazzling

Appearance When Viewed From The Sea, Rising Like An Amphitheatre

In A Circular Form From The Water's Edge, A Considerable Way Up

The Mountains, And Surrounded On The Land Side By A Double Wall,

The Most Exterior Of Which Is Said To Extend Fifteen Miles In 

Part 7 Letter 25 ( Nice, January 1, 1765.) Pg 212

Circuit. The First Object That Strikes Your Eye At A Distance, Is

A Very Elegant Pharos, Or Lighthouse, Built On The Projection Of

A Rock On The West Side Of The Harbour, So Very High, That, In A

Clear Day, You May See It At The Distance Of Thirty Miles.

Turning The Light-House Point, You Find Yourself Close To The

Mole, Which Forms The Harbour Of Genoa. It Is Built At A Great

Expence From Each Side Of The Bay, So As To Form In The Sea Two

Long Magnificent Jettes. At The Extremity Of Each Is Another

Smaller Lanthorn. These Moles Are Both Provided With Brass-Cannon,

And Between Them Is The Entrance Into The Harbour. But

This Is Still So Wide As To Admit A Great Sea, Which, When The

Wind Blows Hard From South And South-West, Is Very Troublesome To

The Shipping. Within The Mole There Is A Smaller Harbour Or Wet

Dock, Called Darsena, For The Gallies Of The Republic. We Passed

Through A Considerable Number Of Ships And Vessels Lying At

Anchor, And Landing At The Water-Gate, Repaired To An Inn Called

La Croix De Malthe In The Neighbourhood Of The Harbour. Here We

Met With Such Good Entertainment As Prepossessed Us In Favour Of

The Interior Parts Of Italy, And Contributed With Other Motives

To Detain Us Some Days In This City. But I Have Detained You So

Long, That I Believe You Wish I May Proceed No Farther; And

Therefore I Take My Leave For The Present, Being Very Sincerely--

Yours.

 

 

Part 7 Letter 26 (Nice, January 15, 1765.) Pg 213

 

Dear Sir,--It Is Not Without Reason That Genoa Is Called La

Superba. The City Itself Is Very Stately; And The Nobles Are Very

Proud. Some Few Of Them May Be Proud Of Their Wealth: But, In

General, Their Fortunes Are Very Small. My Friend Mr. R-- Assured

Me That Many Genoese Noblemen Had Fortunes Of Half A Million Of

Livres Per Annum: But The Truth Is, The Whole Revenue Of The

State Does Not Exceed This Sum; And The Livre Of Genoa Is But

About Nine Pence Sterling. There Are About Half A Dozen Of Their

Nobles Who Have Ten Thousand A Year: But The Majority Have Not

Above A Twentieth Part Of That Sum. They Live With Great

Parsimony In Their Families; And Wear Nothing But Black In

Public; So That Their Expences Are But Small. If A Genoese

Nobleman Gives An Entertainment Once A Quarter, He Is Said To

Live Upon The Fragments All The Rest Of The Year. I Was Told That

One Of Them Lately Treated His Friends, And Left The

Entertainment To The Care Of His Son, Who Ordered A Dish Of Fish

That Cost A Zechine, Which Is Equal To About Ten Shillings

Sterling. The Old Gentleman No Sooner Saw It Appear On The Table,

Than Unable To Suppress His Concern, He Burst Into Tears, And

Exclaimed, Ah Figliuolo Indegno! Siamo In Rovina! Siamo In 

Part 7 Letter 26 (Nice, January 15, 1765.) Pg 214

Precipizio! Ah, Prodigal! Ruined! Undone!

 

 

 

I Think The Pride Or Ostentation Of The Italians In General Takes

A More Laudable Turn Than That Of Other Nations. A Frenchman Lays

Out His Whole Revenue Upon Tawdry Suits Of Cloaths, Or In

Furnishing A Magnificent Repas Of Fifty Or A Hundred Dishes, One

Half Of Which Are Not Eatable Nor Intended To Be Eaten. His

Wardrobe Goes To The Fripier; His Dishes To The Dogs, And Himself

To The Devil, And After His Decease No Vestige Of Him Remains. A

Genoese, On The Other Hand, Keeps Himself And His Family At Short

Allowance, That He May Save Money To Build Palaces And Churches,

Which Remain To After-Ages So Many Monuments Of His Taste, Piety,

And Munificence; And In The Mean Time Give Employment And Bread

To The Poor And Industrious. There Are Some Genoese Nobles Who

Have Each Five Or Six Elegant Palaces Magnificently Furnished,

Either In The City, Or In Different Parts Of The Riviera. The Two

Streets Called Strada Balbi And Strada Nuova, Are Continued

Double Ranges Of Palaces Adorned With Gardens And Fountains: But

Their Being Painted On The Outside Has, In My Opinion, A Poor

Effect.

 

 

 

The Commerce Of This City Is, At Present, Not Very Considerable;

Yet It Has The Face Of Business. The Streets Are Crowded With

People; The Shops Are Well Furnished; And The Markets Abound With

All Sorts Of Excellent Provision. The Wine Made In This

Neighbourhood Is, However, Very Indifferent; And All That Is

Consumed Must Be Bought At The Public Cantine, Where It Is Sold

For The Benefit Of The State. Their Bread Is The Whitest And The

Best I Have Tasted Any Where; And The Beef, Which They Have From

Piedmont, Is Juicy And Delicious. The Expence Of Eating In Italy

Is Nearly The Same As In France, About Three Shillings A Head For

Every Meal. The State Of Genoa Is Very Poor, And Their Bank Of

St. George Has Received Such Rude Shocks, First From The Revolt

Of The Corsicans, And Afterwards From The Misfortunes Of The

City, When It Was Taken By The Austrians In The War Of 1745, That

It Still Continues To Languish Without Any Near Prospect Of Its

Credit Being Restored. Nothing Shews The Weakness Of Their State,

More Than Their Having Recourse To The Assistance Of France To

Put A Stop To The Progress Of Paoli In Corsica; For After All

That Has Been Said Of The Gallantry And Courage Of Paoli And His

Islanders, I Am Very Credibly Informed That They Might Be Very

Easily Suppressed, If The Genoese Had Either Vigour In The Council

Or Resolution In The Field.

 

 

 

True It Is, They Made A Noble Effort In Expelling The Austrians

Who Had Taken Possession Of Their City; But This Effort Was The

Effect Of Oppression And Despair, And If I May Believe The

Insinuations Of Some Politicians In This Part Of The World, The