Volume I Part 31 (1/2)

Urots and caves Of cool recess, o'er which the ently creeps Luxuriant

It is always let, and, till he went aas occupied by Stackelberg, the Russian A went to a ball at the duchesse d'Eboli's; very few people, and hardly any English, and those not the best--only four, I think: Sir Henry Lushi+ngton, the Consul; a Mr Grieve, of who but that his father was a physician at St

Petersburg, and that he killed his brother at Eton by putting a cracker into his pocket on the 5th of November, which set fire to other crackers and burnt him to death; Mr Auldjo, the man who made a very perilous ascent of Mont Blanc, of which he published a narrative; Mr Arbuthnot, who levanted froo--but most of the Italian women were there, and I was surprised at their beauty Acton, who introduced me to some of them, assured me that they were models of conduct, which did not precisely tally with my preconceived notions of Neapolitan society They danced, but with no music but a pianoforte This is one of the few houses here which is habitually open, for they have not the aiety; they are poor, and the Government (the worst in the world) interferes The duchesse d'Eboli is poor, but she was a beauty, and has had adventures of various sorts

[Page Head: MATTEIS'S TRIAL]

April 21st, 1830 {p336}

Dined with Keppel Craven yesterday; Acton, Morier, duchesse d'Eboli, and soreeable yesterday I could not go out--not cold, but a hurricane and clouds of dust The principal topic of conversation at dinner was the trial, which goes on every day, has already lasted a month, and is likely to last two or three more The Code Napoleon is in force here, so that therelike a certain and equal administration of justice between man and man; but this is a Government prosecution, and therefore exempted from ordinary rules The history of this trial exemplifies the state of both the law and the Government of this country The accused are five in number; the principal of theovernor, of a province; 2nd, the advocate-general of the province; 3rd, Matteis's secretary; and 4th and 5th, two spies These men united in a conspiracy to destroy various persons ere obnoxious to them in the province, some of theet possession of the property of their victibear of the Court is Carbonarism, and Matteis pretended that there was a Carbonari plot on foot, in which several persons were implicated He employed the spies to seduce the victie or conduct, and then to inforainst them; in this way he apprehended various individuals, soalleys, and soht or nine years ago, and such was the despotism of this man and the terror he inspired, that no resistance was ainst them ever sent to Naples

At last one of his own secretaries made some disclosures to Governht necessary to institute an immediate enquiry The _intendente_ was ordered to Naples, and commissioners were sent to obtain evidence in the province and sift the matter to the botto the first accusations and designating these five men as the criminals As soon as the nation burst forth, and a host of witnesses who had been deterred by fear froainst Matteis and his associates They were arrested in the year 1825 and thrown into prison, but owing to the difficulties and delay which they contrived by their influence to interpose, and to the anomalous character of the prosecution, five years elapsed before the proceedings began At length a royal order constituted a Court of Justice, coes of the Court of Cassation (about twenty), the highest tribunal in the kingdom, and they have just been enjoined not to separate till the final adjudication of the case Although the offences hich the criree, they are all arraigned together; a host of witnesses are examined, each of whom tells a story or ly very confused, now affecting one and now another of the the Court themselves, which the _intendente_ avails hiin the proceedings of each day by reading an order to the prisoners to behave thened by the Court, and it is not one of the least extraordinary parts of this case that the advocate of Matteis is his personal enemy, and a man whom he displaced from an office he once held in the province

They say, however, that he defends him very fairly and zealously

The day I was there the proceedings were uninteresting, but yesterday they were very important An officer was examined who had been imprisoned and ill-treated in prison, and who deposed to various acts of cruelty They on their part hardly deny the facts, but atte that the sufferers really were Carbonari, that other governors had done the sa a service to the Governh their guilt is clear, it is by no means so clear that they will be condereat that they must sacrifice soed Matteis has interest in the Court, but, as a majority of votes will decide his fate, it is most likely he will be condemned

April 22nd, 1830 {p338}

Yesterday to Po else in Italy Who can look at other ruins after this? At Rome there are certain places consecrated by recollections, but the iination must be stirred up to enjoy them; here you are actually in a Roman town Shave off the upper storey of any town, take out s, doors, and furniture, and it will be as Pompeii now is: it is marvellous About one-fifth part of the town has been excavated, and the last house found is the largest It is said 1,000 men would clear it in a year, and there are thirty at work The road is a bed of dust, and infested with blind beggars, each led by a boy There are habitations al the road between Naples and Pompeii, built apparently for no other reason than because they are exposed to eruptions of the reeable, and safe froe Head: TAKING THE VEIL]

This irls take the veil The cere, nor such as I expected I believe all this would have been the case had it been the black veil, but it was the white unfortunately I thought they would be dressed splendidly, have their hair cut off in the church, be divested (in the convent) of their finery, and reappear to take leave of their relations in the habit of the order Not at all I ith A

Hill and Legge, who had got tickets from the brother of one of the _sposine_; ere ad by five wide, with a very thick double grating, behind which so box supplied coffee and cakes to the company I went to the door of the parlour (which was open), but they would not admit me There the ladies were received, and the nuns and novices were laughing and talking and doing the honours Their dress was not ugly--black, white, and a yellow veil The chapel was adorned with gold brocade, and blue and silver hangings, flowers, tapers; a good orchestra, and two or three tolerable voices It was as full as it could hold, and soldiers were distributed about to keep order; even by the altar four stood with fixed bayonets, hen the Host was raised presented arms--a military salute to the Real Presence! The brother of one of the girls did the honours of the chapel, placing the ladies and bustling about for chairs, which all the ti on were handed over heads and bonnets, to the great danger of the latter It was i-froid_ on the occasion, but he is used to it, for this was the fourth sister he has buried here

When the chapel ell crammed the _sposine_ appeared, each with two _marraines_ A table and six chairs were placed opposite the altar; on the table were two trays, each containing a Prayer Book, a pocket-handkerchief, and a white veil The girls (ere very young, and one of the black robes like dressing-gowns, their hair curled, hanging down their backs and slightly powdered On the top of their heads were little crowns of blue, studded with silver or dia them (one of as Princess Fondi and another Princess Bressano) were very smart, and all the people in the chapel were dressed as for a ball There was a priest at the table to tell the girls what to do High Mass was perfor sermon was delivered by a priest who spoke very fluently, but with a strange twang and in a very odd style, continually apostrophising the two girls by na the theins into the chamber of their beloved' When the Sacrairls, ere like automata all the time, threw the white veils over them, and led them to the altar, where the Sacrament was administered to them; then they were led back to their seats, the veils taken off and the crowns replaced After a short interval they were again led to the altar, where, on their knees, their profession was read to them; in this they are made to renounce the world and their parents; but at this part, which is at the end, anoise is made by the four ladies who kneel with theht too heart-rending to the parents; then they are led out and taken into the convent, and the cereirls did not seem the least affected, but very serious; the rest of the party appeared to consider it as a _fete_, and sossiped; only the father of one of them, an old man, looked as if he felt it The brother told hteen; that she would be a nun, and that they had done all they could to dissuade her It is a rigid order, but there is a still id rule within the convent Those nuns who embrace it are for ever cut off froain see or correspond with their own family They cannot enter into this last seclusion without the consent of their parents, which another of this

We afterwards drove through the Grotto of Pausilippo, that infernal grotto which one et out of Naples on one side; it is a source of danger, and the ancient account of it is not the least exaggerated:--

Nihil isto carcere longius, nihil illis faucibus obscurius, quo nobis praestant non ut per tenebras videa laht enough to avoid danger except at night; in the middle it is pitch dark

Then round the Strada Nuova, Murat's delightful creation, and walked in the Villa Reale, where I found Acton, who had been all theA woman was examined, who deposed that her husband was thrown into prison and ill-treated by Matteis because he would not give some false evidence that he required of him; that she went to Matteis and entreated him to release hihter to him, which she refused, and he was put to death On this evidence being given, the exae dropped the paper, and a h the audience The accused attacked the witness and charged her with perjury, and said he was ill in bed at the tili e vero,' and there was a debate between the counsel on either side, and witnesses were called who proved that he was in good health at the time They think the evidence of to-day and the apparent disposition of the judges e Head: BAIAE]

Salerno, April 24th, 1830 {p341}

Here Morier and I are going to pass the night on our way to Paestuht) IMorier, St John, Lady Isabella, and I went to Pozzuoli, eiro_ of Baiae

Ante bonaelidae per litora Baiae Illa natare lacu cuentes cecidit scintilla per undas, Hinc vapor ussit aquas, quicumque natavit, ae with his torch into the glassy tide; As the boy swam the sparks of mischief flew And fell in showers upon the liquid blue; Hence all who venture on that shore to lave Ee love-stricken from the treacherous wave