“At Rome” (says Gell) “Sir Walter found an apartment provided for him in the Casa Bernini. On his arrival, he seemed to have suffered but little from the journey; though I believe the length of time he was obliged to sit in a carriage had been occasionally the cause of troublesome symptoms. I found him, however, in very good spirits, and as he was always eager to see any spot remarkable as the scene of particular events recorded in history, so he was keenly bent on visiting the house where Benvenuto Cellini writes that he slew the Constable of Bourbon with a bullet fired from the Castle of St Angelo. The Chevalier Luigi Chiaveri took him to the place, of which, though he quickly forgot the position, he yet retained the history firmly fixed in his mind, and to which he very frequently recurred.
“The introduction of Mr Cheney was productive of great pleasure to Sir Walter, as he possessed at that moment the Villa Muti, at Frescati, which had been for many years the favourite residence of the Cardinal of York, who was Bishop of Tusculum.
“Soon after his arrival I took Sir Walter to St Peter’s, which he had
resolved to visit, that he might see the tomb of the last of the Stuarts. I
took him to one of the side doors, in order to shorten the walk, and by great
good fortune met with Colonel Blair and
Mr Phillips, under whose protection he accomplished
his purpose. We contrived to tie a glove round the point of his stick, to
prevent his slipping in some degree, but to conduct him was really a service of
danger and alarm, owing to his infirmity and total want of caution. He has been
censured for not having frequently visited the treasures of the Vatican but by
those only who were
| 364 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“On the 8th of May we all dined at the Palace of the Duchess Torlonia with a very large company. The dinner was very late and very splendid, and from the known hospitality of the family it was probable that Sir Walter, in the heat of conversation, and with servants on all sides pressing him to eat and drink, as is their custom at Rome, might be induced to eat more than was safe for his malady. Colonel Blair, who sat next him, was requested to take care that this should not happen. Whenever I observed him, however, Sir Walter appeared always to be eating; while the Duchess, who had discovered the nature of the office imposed on the Colonel, was by no means satisfied, and after dinner observed that it was an odd sort of friendship which consisted in starving one’s neighbour to death when he had a good appetite, and there was dinner enough.
“It was at this entertainment that Sir Walter met with the Duke and Duchess
of Corchiano, who were both well read in his works, and
delighted to have been in company with him. This acquaintance might have led to
some agreeable consequences had Sir
Walter’s life been spared, for the Duke told him he was
possessed of a vast collection of papers, giving true accounts of all the
murders, poisonings, intrigues, and curious adventures of all the great Roman
families during many centuries, all which were at his service to copy and
publish in his own way as historical romances, only disguising the names, so
| ROME. | 365 |
“The eldest son of the Torlonia family is the possessor of the castle of Bracciano, of which he is duke. Sir Walter was anxious to see it, and cited some story, I think of the Orsini, who once were lords of the place. We had permission to visit the castle, and the steward had orders to furnish us with whatever was requisite. We set off on the 9th of May, Sir Walter as usual coming with me, and two ladies and two gentlemen occupying his carriage. One of these last was the son of the Duke of Sermoneta, Don Michelangelo Gaetani, a person of the most amiable disposition, gentlemanly manners, and most remarkable talents. Sir Walter, to whom he had paid every attention during his stay at Rome, had conceived a high opinion of him, and, added to his agreeable qualities, he had a wonderful and accurate knowledge of the history of his own country during the darker ages. The Gaetani figured also among the most ancient and most turbulent of the Roman families during the middle ages, and these historical qualities, added to the amenity of his manners, rendered him naturally a favourite with Sir Walter.
| 366 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“We arrived at Bracciano, twenty-five miles from
Rome, rather fatigued with the roughness of an old Roman road, the pavement of
which had generally been half destroyed, and the stones left in disorder on the
spot. He was pleased with the general appearance of that stately pile, which is
finely seated upon a rock, commanding on one side the view of the beautiful
lake with its wooded shores, and on the other overlooking the town of
Bracciano. A carriage could not easily ascend to the court, so that Sir Walter fatigued himself still more, as he was
not content to be assisted, by walking up the steep and somewhat long ascent to
the gateway. He was struck with the sombre appearance of the Gothic towers,
built with the black lava which had once formed the pavement of the Roman road,
and which adds much to its frowning magnificence. In the interior he could not
but be pleased with the grand suite of state apartments, all yet habitable, and
even retaining in some rooms the old furniture and the rich silk hangings of
the Orsini and Odescalchi. These
chambers overlook the lake, and Sir Walter sat in a window
for a long time, during a delightful evening, to enjoy the prospect. A very
large dog, of the breed called Danish, coming to fawn upon him, he told it he
was glad to see it, for it was a proper accompaniment to such a castle, but
that he had a larger dog at home, though may be not so good-natured to
strangers. This notice of the dog seemed to gain the heart of the steward, and
he accompanied Sir Walter in a second tour through the
grand suite of rooms, each, as Sir Walter observed, highly
pleased with the other’s conversation, though as one spoke French and the
other Italian, little of it could be understood. Toward the town, a range of
smaller apartments are more convenient, except during the heats of summer, than
the great rooms for a small party, and in these we dined and found chambers for
| ROME—BRACCIANO. | 367 |
“On coming down next morning I found that Sir Walter, who rose early, had already made another tour over part of the Castle with the steward and the dog. After breakfast we set out on our return to Rome; and all the way his conversation was more delightful, and more replete with anecdotes than I had ever known it. He talked a great deal to young Gaetani who sat on the box, and he invited him to Scotland. He asked me when I thought of revisiting England, and I replied, that if my health permitted at a moment when I could afford it, I might perhaps be tempted in the course of the following summer. ‘If the money be the difficulty,’ said the kind-hearted baronet, ‘don’t let that hinder you; I’ve L.300 at your service, and I have a perfect right to give it you, and nobody can complain of me, for I made it myself.’
“He continued to press my acceptance of this sum, till I requested him to drop the subject, thanking him most gratefully for his goodness, and much flattered by so convincing a proof of his desire to see me at Abbotsford.
“I remember particularly a remark, which proved
the kindness of his heart. A lady requested him to do something which was very
disagreeable to him. He was asked whether he had consented. He replied,
‘Yes.’ He was then questioned why he had agreed to do
what was so
| 368 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“I took my leave of my respected friend on the 10th May, 1832. I knew this great genius and estimable man but for a short period; but it was at an interesting moment, and being both invalids, and impressed equally with the same conviction that we had no time to lose, we seemed to become intimate without passing through the usual gradations of friendship. I remembered just enough of Scottish topography and northern antiquities in general to be able to ask questions on subjects on which his knowledge was super-eminent, and to be delighted and edified by his inexhaustible stock of anecdotes, and his curious and recondite erudition; and this was perhaps a reason for the preference he seemed to give me in his morning drives, during which I saw most of him alone. It is a great satisfaction to have been intimate with so celebrated and so benevolent a personage; and I hope, that these recollections of his latter days, may not be without their value, in enabling those who were acquainted with Sir Walter in his most brilliant period, to compare it with his declining moments during his residence in Italy.”
