AMOUR AT VENICE
Venice, November 17, 1816.
"I wrote to you from Verona the other day in my progress hither, which letter I hope you will receive. Some three years ago, or it may be more, I recollect you telling me that you had received a letter from our friend, Sam, dated "On board his gondola." My gondola is, at this present, waiting for me on the canal; but I prefer writing to you in the house, it being autumnand rather an English autumn than otherwise. It is my intention to remain at Venice during the winter, probably, as it has always been (next to the east) the greenest island of my imagination. It has not disappointed me; though its evident decay would, perhaps, have that effect upon others. But I have been familiar with ruins too long to dislike desolation. Besides, I have fallen in love, which, next to falling into the canal (which would be of no use, as I can swim,) is the best or the worst thing I could do. I have got some extremely good apartments in the house of a "Merchant of Venice," who is a good deal occupied with business, and has a wife in her twenty-second year. Marianna (that is her name) is in her, appearance altogether like an antelope. She has the large, black, oriental eyes, with that peculiar expression in them, which is seen rarely among Europeanseven the Italiansand which many of the Turkish women give themselves by tinging the eyelidan art not known out of that country, I believe. This expression she has naturallyand something more than this. In short, I cannot describe the effect of this kind of eyeat least upon me. Her features are regular, and rather aquilinemouth smallskin clear and soft, with a kind of hectic colourforehead remarkably good; her hair is of the dark gloss, curl, and colour of Lady J's; her figure is light and pretty, and she is a famous songstressscientifically so; her natural voice (in conversation, I mean,) is very sweet; and the naiveté of the Venetian dialect is always pleasing in the mouth of a woman.
November 23.
You will perceive that my description, which was proceeding with the minuteness of a passport, has been interrupted for several days. In the meantime.
December 5.
Since my former dates, I do not know that I have much to add on the subject, and, luckily, nothing to take away; for I am more pleased than ever with my Venetian, and begin to feel very serious on that pointso much so, that I shall be silent.
By way of divertisement, I am studying daily, at an Armenian monastery, the Armenian language. I found that my mind wanted something craggy to break upon; and thisas the most difficult thing I could discover here for an amusementI have chosen, to torture me into attention. It is a rich language, however, and would amply repay any one the trouble of learning it. I try, and shall go on;but I answer for nothing, least of all for my intentions or my success. There are some very curious MSS. in the monastery, as well as books; translations also from Greek originals, now lost, and from Persian and Syriac, &c.; besides works of their own people. Four years ago the French instituted an Armenian professorship. Twenty pupils presented themselves on Monday morning, full of noble ardour, ingenuous youth, and impregnable industry. They persevered with a courage worthy of the nation and of universal conquest, till Thursday; when fifteen of the twenty succumbed to the six and twentieth letter of the alphabet. It is, to be sure, a Waterloo of an Alphabetthat must be said for them. But it is so like these fellows, to do by it as they did by their sovereignsabandon both; to parody the old rhymes, "Take a thing and give a thing""Take a king and give a king. They are the worst of animals, except their conquerors.
I hear that that Hn is your neighbour, having a living in Derbyshire. You will find him an excellent hearted fellow, as well as one of the cleverest; a little, perhaps, too much japanned by preferment in the church and the tuition of youth, as well as inoculated with the disease of domestic felicity, besides being overrun with fine feelings about women and constancy (that small change of love, which people exact so rigidly, receive in such counterfeit coin, and repay in baser metal;) but, otherwise, a very worthy man, who has lately got a pretty wife, and (I suppose) a child by this time. Pray remember me to him, and say that I know not which to envy mosthis neighbourhood, him, or you.
Of Venice I shall say little. You must have seen many descriptions; and they and they are most of them like. It is a poetical place; and classical, to us, from Shakspeare and Otway. I have not yet sinned against it in verse, nor do I know that I shall do so, having been tuneless since I crossed the Alps, and feeling, as yet, no renewal of the "estro." By the way, I suppose you have seen "Glenarvon." Madame de Staël lent it me to read from Copet last autumn. It seems to me that, if the authoress had written the truth, and nothing but the truththe whole truththe romance would not only have been more romantic, but more entertaining. As for the likeness, the picture can't be goodI did not sit long enough. When you have leisure, let me hear from and of you, believing me ever and truly yours most affectionately.
B.
P.S. Oh! your Poemis it out? I hope Longman has paid his thousands; but don't you do as H T's father did, who, having, made money by a quarto tour, became a vinegar merchant; when, lo! his vinegar turned sweet (and be dd to it) and ruined him. My last letter to you (from Verona) was inclosed to Murrayhave you got it? Direct to me here, poste restante. There are no English here at present. There were several in Switzerlandsome women; but, except Lady Dalrymple Hamilton, most of them as ugly as virtueat least those that I saw."
AT VENICE
To Mr. Moore"Venice, December 24th, 1816.
"I have taken a fit of writing to you, which portends postageonce from Veronaonce from Venice, and again from Venicethrice that is. For this you may thank yourself, for I heard that you complained of my silenceso here goes for garrulity.
"I trust that you received my other twain of letters. My 'way of life' (or 'May of life,' which is it, according to the commentators?)my 'way of life' is fallen into great regularity. In the mornings I go over in my gondola to hobble Armenian with the friars of the convent of St. Lazarus, and to help one of them in correcting the English of an English and Armenian grammar which he is publishing. In the evenings I do one of many nothingseither at the theatres, or some of the conversaziones, which are like our routs, or rather worse, for the women sit in a semicircle by the lady of the mansion, and the men stand about the room. To be sure, there is one improvement upon oursinstead of lemonade with their ices, they hand about stiff rum-punchpunch, by my palate; and this they think English. I would not disabuse them of so agreeable an error'no, not for Venice.'
"Last night I was at the Count Governor's, which, of course, comprises the best society, and is very much like other gregarious meetings in every countryas in oursexcept that, instead of the Bishop of Winchester, you have the Patriarch of Venice; and a motley crew of Austrians, Germans, noble Venetians, foreigners, and, if you see a quiz, you may be sure he is a consul. Oh, by the way, I forgot, when I wrote from Verona, to tell you that at Milan I met with a countryman of yoursa Colonel , a very excellent, good-natured fellow, who knows and shows all about Milan, and is, as it were, a native there. He is particularly civil to strangers, and this is his historyat least an episode of it.