I Told Him That I Was But Little
Acquainted With The Writer Of The Letter, But That He, On Hearing Of My
Intention Of Going To Rome, Asked Me To Deliver It Personally.
The Prince
told me he would write himself to the applicant on the subject.
Here the
negotiation ended; but on my taking leave the Prince said he should be
happy to see me whenever I chose to call. The Prince has the character of
being an excellent father and husband, and seems entirely and almost
exclusively devoted to his family. He has a remarkably fine collection of
pictures and statues in his house at Rome.
I had an opportunity likewise of seeing the ex-King of Holland, Louis
Napoleon, who seems to be a most excellent and amiable man, and in fact
everybody agrees in speaking of him with eulogy.
With regard to the present Pontiff Pius VII, from the excellence of his
private character and virtues, and from his unassuming manners and goodness
of heart, there is but one opinion respecting him. Even those who do not
like the ecclesiastical Government, and behold in it the degradation of
Italy, render justice to the good qualities of Pius VII. He always
displayed the greatest moderation and humanity in prosperity, and in
adversity he was firm and dignified. In his morals and habits he is quite a
primitive Christian, and if he does not possess that great political talent
which has distinguished some of his predecessors, he has been particularly
fortunate and discriminating in the choice of his minister, in whom are
united ability, firmness, suavity of manner and unimpeachable character. I
think I have thus given a faithful delineation of Cardinal Consalvi.
ROME, March 12th.
I have made a very valuable acquaintance in M. K[oelle][113] the envoy of
the King of Wuertemberg, to the Holy See. He is an enthusiastic admirer of
his countryman the poet Schiller, and thro' his means of procuring German
books, I am enabled to prosecute my studies in that noble language. An
Italian lady there having heard much of Schiller and Buerger, and not being
acquainted with the German language, requested me to make an Italian
translation of some of the pieces of those poets; chusing the Leonora of
Buerger as one, and leaving to myself the choice of one from Schiller, I
represented the extreme difficulty of the task, but as she had read a
sonnet of mine on Lord Guildford's project of establishing an University in
the Italian language, she would not hear of any excuse. To work then I set,
and completed the translation of Leonora, together with one of Schiller's
Feast of Eleusis. These and my sonnet were the cause of my being
recommended for admission as a member of the Academy degli Arcadi in Rome
and I received the pastoral name of Galeso Itaoense.
The Carnaval is now over and the ladies are all at their Livres d'Heures,
posting masses and prayers to the credit side, to counterbalance the sins
and frailties committed during the carnaval in the account which they keep
in the Ledger of Heaven.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 220 of 291
Words from 114983 to 115504
of 151859
