A Great Deal Of Wit And Repartee Takes Place Among The
Masks And They Are In General Extremely Well Supported,
And indeed they
ought to be, for there is a great sameness of character assumed at every
masquerade, and very
Little novelty is struck out, except perhaps by some
foreigner, who chuses to introduce a national character of his own, which
is probably but little, or not at all, understood by the natives, and very
often not at all well supported by the foreigner himself. An American
gentleman once made his appearance as an Indian warrior with his
war-hatchet and calumet; he danced the war dance, which excited great
astonishment. He then presented his calumet to a mask, who not knowing what
the ceremony meant, declined it, when the Mohawk flourished his hatchet and
gave such a dreadful shriek as to set the whole company in alarm.[112] On
the whole this character was so little understood that it was looked upon
as a mauvaise plaisanterie.
The usual characters are Pulcinelli, Arlecchini, Spanish Grandees, Turks,
fortune tellers, flower girls and Devils; sometimes too they go in the
costume of the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient mythology. I observe that
the English ladies here prefer to appear without masks in the costume of
the Swiss and Italian peasantry.
There is a very large English society at Rome, and at some of the parties
here, you could suppose yourself in Grosvenor Square.
The late political changes have brought together in Rome many persons of
the most opposite parties and sentiments, who have fallen from the height
of political power and influence into a private station, but who enjoy
themselves here unmolested, and even protected by the Government, and are
much courted by foreigners. I have seen at the same masquerade, in the
Teatro Aliberti, in boxes close to each other, the Queen of Spam (mother
of Ferdinand VII), and the Princess Borghese, Napoleon's sister. In a box
at a short distance from them were Lucian Buonaparte, his wife and
daughters. Besides these, the following ex-Sovereigns and persons of
distinction, fallen from their high estate, reside in Rome, viz., King
Charles IV of Spain; the ex-King of Holland, Louis Buonaparte; the
abdicated King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel; Don Manuel Godoy, the Prince of
Peace; Cardinal Fesch, and Madame Letitia, the mother of Napoleon.
I had an opportunity of being presented to Lucian, who bears the title of
Prince of Canino, before I left Rome for Naples, as on leaving the Pays de
Vaud I was charged by a Swiss gentleman to deliver a letter to him, the
purport of which was to state that he had rendered services to Joseph
Napoleon, when he was resident in that Canton, in consequence of which he
had been persecuted and deprived of his employment at Lausanne, which was
that of Captain of the Gendarmerie; and in the letter he sollicited
pecuniary assistance from the Prince of Canino. I rode out one morning to
the Villa of Ruffinella where the Prince resides and was very politely
received; it appeared however that the Prince was totally unacquainted with
the person who wrote the letter, nor was he at all aware of the
circumstances therein mentioned.
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