GENOA.

I could dedicate only two days to this place; but I had seen it before. These two days were days of labour. GENOA consists of one or two streets, and a thousand wynds or alleys-the houses being from 7 to 9 stories high -and from 7 to 9 feet apart from each other! There must be tens of thousands of the Genoese who live for many years, and die at last in this city, without ever seeing the face of the cheerful sun. The streets, generally speaking, are clean and well paved-and as neither carriage, cart, horse, mule, or ass, can penetrate them, we are only jostled by the currents of biped peripatetics, without danger of being splashed or run over by the quadruped race. Before the invention of gunpowder, no army, however numerous, could have penetrated Genoa against the will of the inhabitants. Every house is a fortress-every street is a deep trench.

I imagine that Genoa offers the closest resemblance to ancient Rome (public edifices and magnitude out of the question) that now exists in any part of the world. There was an edict issued in the former mistress of the world, that the houses should not exceed 90 feet in height, which, I think, is about the altitude of the Genoese houses. The streets of Rome could not have been narrower than those of Genoa. The effect of all this is very curious. We appear to be traversing a subterraneous city, from the gloom and depth of which, we see narrow stripes of blue sky at an immense distance above us! The storm may rage, the lightnings may flash, the thunder may roar -but all is still and dark, and tranquil as the grave in these subterranean crevasses, where the sun never darts his rays, the wind is never felt to blow -and where even the rain can scarcely descend, except from the spouts of the houses. The consequence is, that the shopkeepers, the artizans, and all the sedentary inhabitants of Genoa, live in an atmosphere which is equidistant from the extremes of heat and cold. They are completely secured against the scorching beams of the sun, and the chilling blast of the tramontane. I could not believe the extent of this immunity till I drove out to the Pier, under the shelter of the houses, and exposed to a meridian sun. When I mounted the higher lighthouse, (Fanale) perched on a rocky promontory near the commencement of the Mole, to enjoy the magnificent scenery of Genoa and its neighbourhood, the tramontane blast was so piercing, that, hardened as I was against atmospheric transitions, I was yet unable to withstand it for more than a few minutes at a time-and repeatedly was I obliged to retreat into the lantern to recover my breath, and elude the icy current of air from the mountains! The prospect was so enchanting, that I remained on this elevated situation for an hour, when a shivering fit and a violent paroxysm of coughing warned me that I had endangered my health-perhaps my life, for the gratification of my senses! Let no invalid ascend this tower

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during a tramontane! The CUSTODE at the bottom furnished me with a cup of coffee; and I walked back to the city at a quick pace, which restored the balance of the circulation, and preserved me from the effects of a chill which drove every drop of blood in my body from the surface to the centre of the animal machine! On entering the streets of Genoa, I was astonished at the difference of temperature. The tramontane was undistinguishable; and I breathed the gloomy but equable atmosphere, without any sensation of coldness, but rather of warmth. This fact illustrates the wisdom of constructing cities in Italy, and in all climates where great and sudden vicissitudes of temperature prevail, with high houses and narrow streets. It shews that the criticisms of the ancients on Nero's plan of building Rome with wide streets, ́(see page 73 and 179) were not without foundation in justice. I was informed by Dr. MOJON (a very talented physician of this place) that Genoa, in consequence of its construction and peculiar site, is, in reality, one of the best localities for a pulmonary invalid along the whole line of this coast-and I believe his statement to be true. A person with weak lungs, or indeed, with any organic disease, cannot too sedulously avoid all sources of excitement. Light, noise, heat, and cold, when considerable in degree, are all excitants, or irritants; and, consequently, their opposites, darkness, silence, and equable temperature, are sedatives or soothers, very advantageous in complaints of an inflammatory or feverish nature. Those invalids who determine on a Winter or Spring at Genoa, would do well to select a low and sheltered, rather than a high or airy part of the town for their residence—and only venture forth in fine and still weather, when the wind is from the ocean, and not from the Alps.

The situation of Genoa is very similar to that of Naples, being built on the rugged face of a precipice that slants rapidly to the sea. But here every crag, and cliff, and peak, bristles with cannon, while a capacious harbour is crowded with shipping. The whole city is indicative of wealth and prosperity-and it is the only one which presents these indications between the Alps and Calabria. The whiteness of the houses, forts, and villas produces a fine effect when seen from the bay, the lighthonse, or any adjacent eminence; but the paintings on the walls of the houses are very unpleasant to the unaccustomed eye.

The STRADA NUOVA, or street of palaces, is generally the first object of attention and curiosity with strangers-but with me it was the last in order of visitation-for, to say the truth, I was now perfectly sated with palaces, paintings, statues, gildings, frescos, and all the attributes, appendages, and trappings of SPLENDID MISERY. These palaces are mere SHOW-SHOPS, the proprietors of which have no other enjoyment from them than the gratification of vanity—while the servants derive a large revenue from visitors, and no doubt pay well for their appointments to such lucrative offices. The

master and mistress of the PALAZZO-SERRA came home in sedan chairs, and quietly ascended to their garrets, while we were stalking through “the finest saloon in Europe," unconscious of its master's presence, who bowed to us as he passed! "This celebrated object is oval in plan, the elevation a rich Corinthian; the walls are covered with gold and looking-glass; the floor consists of a polished mastic stained with oriental breccia." The ceiling alone is painted; and borrows while it lends beauty to the splendour below. Half a day was dedicated to this, and to three or four other palaces, especially the Ducal, the Durazzo, the Balbi, the d'Oria, and the Spinola mansions. To a stranger, first visiting this part of the Continent, these costly and magnificent structures would afford no inconsiderable astonishment as well as pleasure; but, to those returning from the South, they are not so interesting. There is one thing, however, in their favour-they are not surrounded and contrasted with sordid hovels and the extremes of human wretchedness, as in Rome and other parts of Italy.

GENOA TO NICE.

Having summoned Galliardi to prepare for our journey to Nice, I was surprized and grieved to find that the tramontane blast or something else had disinclined him for the completion of his contract. He did not, indeed, refuse to go on with me; but he introduced to me a young friend of his, who was returning to Nice, with two good horses, and whom he wished me to engage for the remainder of the journey, on the same terms which I had contracted with himself. The proposal was reasonable, and I reluctantly released Galliardi from his engagement. He was the most faithful, obliging, and honest vetturino whom I ever met.

We started at day-light from GENOA; but before we passed the light-house, I discovered that, although two heads may sometimes be better than one, yet, on this occasion, one horse was far better than two. The vetturino tried them side by side, tandem way, and every way, but they could not be made to travel in any kind of unison; and they upset a dozen of asses with their panniers, fruit, and vegetables, before we got half a mile beyond the walls! Deeply did I now regret the loss of Galliardi and his “ BUONA BESTIA "—for I saw that, on such a road as we had to traverse between Genoa and Nice, a pair of such refractory animals, would be almost certain to hurl us over some precipice into the Mediterranean !

I therefore peremptorily commanded the young Nizzard to return to Genoa forthwith, and leave one of the horses behind. This, he said, was quite unnecessary; and jumping down, he loosed the spare horse, gave him a tremendous blow on the nose with the but-end of his whip, and sent him snorting for a dozen of yards in our rear ;-then remounting, he went off at full

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speed with the more quiet of the two animals. I was rather puzzled at this procedure: but, on looking behind, I saw the refractory horse, who had forgotten or forgiven the insult, trotting after us with as much docility as a dog.

The vicinity of Genoa, on this side, though not so romantic as on the other, was covered with villas, churches, and monasteries that conveyed the idea of great opulence and even luxury. The road was so good and so level, that we reached SAVONA, a distance of nine posts, without stopping, by one o'clock; and here we dined. A few miles on the Nicean side of Savona, (near Noli) we encountered a fine specimen of the new route. The road, for more than a mile, was cut in the face of a precipice over-hanging the sea, and two or three thousand feet in height. The surges roared a thousand feet beneath us-the jutting rocks towered a thousand feet in perpendicularity over our heads! The road was about twelve or fourteen feet broad, and rarely with any parapet! The young Nizzard often brought my wheel of the carricello within a foot of the horrid precipice, by way of doing me honour, as the Turks salute strangers by levelling the loaded cannon almost directly at their heads!

After dinner, at Savona, I rambled down to the harbour; and while I shivered under the chilling tramontane, I was struck with the peculiar aspect of the sky towards the Alps, and the horizon over the sea. The latter was hazy; but the heavens presented a lurid appearance which betokened something unusual. At this moment, I cast my eye on a column bearing the statue of the Virgin, and on the pedestal read the following couplet.

In mare irato, in subita procella,

Invoco te, MARIA, nostra benigna stella!

While returning to the inn, and repeating these lines, my attention was attracted by a huge female CHEMISE hung out at the door of a shop, and which appeared to me of very peculiar construction. It was nearly an inch in thickness, and lined with cotton-wool which seemed to defy the coldest tramontane that ever descended from the Alps. By some strange association of ideas, I jumbled together in my mind, a "subita procella," and this comfortable chemise, as a "benigna stella," that might be as useful in a snowstorm on the Alps, as the Virgin herself in a tempest on the ocean. I instantly purchased the chemise—and I am very certain that to this article of female dress, I owe the preservation of my life. At the inn I amused myself for half an hour, in getting into this same chemise, though I had immense difficulty in compelling my clothes to button over it. When I summoned the waiter to pay my bill, the man stared at my sudden increase of size, and cast an enquiring glance at a bed that was in the room, evidently suspecting that I had made free with the blankets! I soon convinced him that I was possessed of nothing but my own property-and away we trotted for Finale,

where we arrived rather late. I could only see that this town lay at the foot of a very steep mountain, over whose bluff promontory, over-hanging the waves, we were to pass in the morning before day-light. At the HOTEL DE CHINA I fell in with my old fellow-traveller, the Polytechnic student, (travelling en voiturier) and we supped together very comfortably by a blazing fire. I was awoke several times in the night by strange noises, as if all the doors and window-shutters in FINALE were in motion; and at four o'clock in the morning, when roused for a long journey to St. REMO, I perceived that sleet was falling, and that a high wind prevailed.*

The cold was severe, and the night, or rather morning was dark as pitch. I took care to wrap myself in all the warm clothing I possessed, not forgetting the " BENIGNA STELLA" of the SAVONA VIRGIN, with something like a presentiment of impending danger—a depression of spirits not unfrequently felt at the approach of a storm. As we slowly ascended the zig-zag path of the mountain, the wind increased in violence, and the sleet penetrated every crevice of our clothes. By the time we had got nearly to the summit, it blew a hurricane; and, the ground becoming covered with snow, all distinct trace of the road was soon lost! We heard the Mediterranean roaring beneath us, on our left, and saw the sheets of white foam sweeping along the shore— while stupendous rocks towered over our heads on the right—and we could perceive that we were winding along the brink of a horrible precipice, on a path not more than eleven or twelve feet in breadth, and apparently without any parapet! The NIZZARD, who, all along carefully led the horse, now made a full stop, and crossing himself, muttered some exclamation, or perhaps a prayer, which I could not distinctly hear or understand. After a few

*The master of the HOTEL DE CHINA is an extortionate knave. He had the conscience to demand 20 francs for my supper, bed, fire, and coffee! I asked him if he thought I was a Mandarin, or a Hong merchant, loaded with pagodas, and a proper object for being fleeced, at his CHINESE HOTEL? He shrugged up his shoulders. I demanded the items. With all his ingenuity he could only make out a bill of 15 francs. I pulled out from my pocket a plan of POMPEII, and made some pencil marks on the walls of that city. The fellow stared. I told him I was travelling this road, on purpose to report to my countrymen on the inns of the new route, and that the HOTEL DE CHINA should be marked in black letter. The knave's face lengthened four inches. I threw him down a Napoleon and refused the change. He will pay dearly for his five francs of extortion. Hic niger est-hunc tu Romane caveto!

I may here remark that it is of no use to have bed and supper included in the vetturino contract. If we do so, we shall have something much worse than "a salt eel for our supper." The first notice which I always gave, on arriving at an inn, was this :-" I pay for my own fare." This made a wonderful difference!