Difference between revisions of "Robert I. Murray"

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(Created page with "Robert I. Murray was born He married Elizabeth Colden, [daughter of Cadwallader Colden, jr.] Children: Robert Lindley Murray, b. 9 November, 1825 ==Family== '''Robert Murra...")
 
 
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Mrs. Robert Murray (Mary Lindley Murray) is credited with delaying William Howe and his army during General Washington's retreat from New York in 1776. As the story goes, Mrs. Robert Murray invited the group to tea at her mansion, Inclenberg, and, through feminine wiles, and her husband's prominence among the Tory party, succeeded in delaying the British troops for a period sufficient to allow a successful American retreat.
 
Mrs. Robert Murray (Mary Lindley Murray) is credited with delaying William Howe and his army during General Washington's retreat from New York in 1776. As the story goes, Mrs. Robert Murray invited the group to tea at her mansion, Inclenberg, and, through feminine wiles, and her husband's prominence among the Tory party, succeeded in delaying the British troops for a period sufficient to allow a successful American retreat.
 +
 +
==Under His Wings==
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS; A SKETCH OF THE LIFE; ROBERT LINDLEY MURRAY.
 +
 +
<blockquote>Happy the souls to Jesus joined,
 +
 +
And saved by grace alone;
 +
Walking in all his ways, they find
 +
 +
Their heaven on earth begun.
 +
The church triumphant in thy love,
 +
 +
Their mighty joys we know ;
 +
They sing the Lamb in hymns above,
 +
 +
And we in hymns below." </blockquote>
 +
 +
 +
NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 770 BROADWAY. COPYRIGHT, l876
 +
 +
To<br>THE CHILDREN OF HIS LOVE, FOR WHOM HIS PRAYERS ASCENDED WITH EARNESTNESS AND FAITH, this book is dedicated; WITH THE DESIRE, THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE GOD OF THEIR FATHER, AND REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, MAY SERVE HIM WITH A PERFECT HEART AND A WILLING MIND, AND FIND IN LIFE, AND IN DEATH, A PERFECT SHELTER "UNDER HIS WINGS."
 +
 +
CHAPTER I.
 +
 +
/^vNE life, only one ; — and this of itself nothing,
 +
^^^ because lost in Christ. Its story can only be
 +
of thankfulness because upheld and sanctified in Him ;
 +
and its narrative has no interest to others, except as
 +
it gives expression to the " old, old story " of His
 +
exceeding love ; and yet it has its grandeur, because
 +
it portrays the life of one kept by the power of God.
 +
And this, if true to itself, would be the account of
 +
one early called by the Lord, who in simple-hearted
 +
dedication consecrated himself in loving allegiance
 +
to the Master, and manifested during his life the picture of the Christian gentleman.
 +
 +
In joy and in sorrow, an all-sufficient Saviour was
 +
ever near; and leaning on Him, he realized in a
 +
remarkable degree the fulfilment of the promise,
 +
" Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is
 +
staid on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee/'
 +
 +
" Safe in the arms of Jesus,''
 +
 +
He passed through life's' pilgrimage, and now from
 +
" over the jasper sea," comes with double force to those still on this side of the river, the lines he loved
 +
in his humility to repeat
 +
 +
" O ! if there 's only one song I can sing,
 +
When in His beauty I see the great King,
 +
This shall my song in eternity be,
 +
O ! what a wonder, that Jesus loves me ! "
 +
 +
Robert Lindley Murray, son of Robert I. and Elizabeth Colden Murray, was born in New York,
 +
the 9th of nth month, 1825.
 +
 +
His mother was the great-granddaughter of Cadwallader Colden, the last Colonial Governor of New
 +
York. His father was a prominent citizen of New York, actively interested in the philanthropic efforts
 +
of the day.
 +
 +
The following notice of this gentleman appeared in one of the city, papers after his decease :
 +
 +
"He was a man of strongly marked character, his intellect
 +
clear and vigorous, and his memory astonishing. He belonged
 +
to a class of men rapidly passing away — men of active
 +
benevolence, of conservative and firm patriotism, and intelli-
 +
gent devotion to the real necessities of his fellow-men. His
 +
loss cannot easily be repaired."
 +
 +
The old homestead on Murray Hill, where Robert
 +
I. Murray was born, was the scene of many historic
 +
events, of which one only 7 will be mentioned.
 +
 +
After losing the battle of Brooklyn Heights,
 +
Washington fell back on the country north of Harlem.
 +
 +
 +
On the 15th of 9th month, 1776, Sir Wm. Howe, the
 +
Commander-in-Chief of the British forces, with Clin-
 +
ton and Tryon crossed Kip's Bay and occupied New
 +
York. Washington not being able to ascertain the
 +
intentions of the English with regard to the city, had
 +
dispatched Nathan Hale to find out what they were
 +
doing on Long Island, giving orders to Putnam, who
 +
occupied New York with a division of the patriot
 +
army, to remain where he was until further orders.
 +
But his videttes coming in with news that the British
 +
were crossing over, Putnam gave instant orders to
 +
march north, to rejoin Washington, by the Middle
 +
Road. Sir William Howe struck the King's Bridge
 +
Road and was hastening to intercept the flying rebels,
 +
which he could readily have done as he had some
 +
time the start of them.
 +
 +
Where the King's Bridge Road touched the hedges
 +
of the Murray gardens, stood the mistress of the
 +
mansion and her young daughters, waiting to welcome
 +
the gallant general. The lady was well-known to
 +
Sir William, although her Whig principles were not,
 +
and her courteous invitation to alight and partake of
 +
refreshments was received without a suspicion of
 +
the motive that suggested it. He thanked her
 +
graciously, but replied that he must hasten in
 +
pursuit of the rebel Putnam and his men. She
 +
represented to him the miserable condition of the
 +
patriot army, and the readiness with which he could [12] overtake them, especially if fortified by rest and
 +
refreshment.
 +
 +
Moved by her representations, and secure of overtaking the demoralized army, the Englishman could
 +
no longer resist the offer of the ladies' good cheer,
 +
and with his generals and staff dismounted, while
 +
Putnam stealthily reached McComb's Dam by the
 +
Bloomingdale Road, only wondering what had become of his enemy, and with no confidence in his safety
 +
from a surprise, until he saw the white tents of Washington's encampment. General Howe, when too late,
 +
discovered his mistake, but never questioned the
 +
intentions of the lady whose hospitality had lost for
 +
him a sure victory, and saved to the cause she loved
 +
one of its noblest officers.
 +
 +
Robert Murray imported one of the first carriages
 +
or coaches used in New York. The citizens were
 +
much averse to this innovation, and spoke of it openly
 +
as an evidence of aristocratic pride. To allay this
 +
feeling, he always called it his " leathern conveniency."
 +
 +
This gentleman dying in 1786, left two sons, Lindley
 +
Murray, the grammarian, who married, and afterwards
 +
settled in England, and John Murray, Jr., the grand-
 +
father of the subject of this memoir. The latter
 +
married Catharine Bowne, a descendant of John
 +
Bowne, one of the original settlers of Long Island.
 +
This gentleman's life and experience influenced in a
 +
considerable degree the future policy of the country
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 1 3
 +
 +
in regard to religious freedom. He had joined the
 +
society of Friends or Quakers, and in consequence
 +
fell under the displeasure of the authorities. He was
 +
arrested by the " Scout" with a company of armed
 +
men, and cast into a loathsome dungeon in New
 +
Amsterdam, where "he was kept very long and
 +
well-nigh famished to death," his family being for-
 +
bidden to visit him. The Governor finding the
 +
punishment ineffectual to reduce the prisoner to sub-
 +
mission, determined to enforce the threat of banish-
 +
ment. He was accordingly placed on board a Dutch
 +
vessel and conveyed to Holland. Here he prepared
 +
an appeal to the Home Government which adminis-
 +
tered a stern rebuke to Governor Stuyvesant.
 +
 +
In 1663 John Bowne returned to America, bearing
 +
this memorable letter from the Dutch authorities
 +
re-establishing tolerance in religious opinions : " The
 +
consciences of men ought to be free and unshackled,
 +
so long as they continue moderate, peaceable, inoffen-
 +
sive, and not hostile to government. Such have been
 +
the maxims of prudence and toleration by which the
 +
magistrates of this City, Amsterdam, have been gov-
 +
erned, and the consequences have been that the
 +
oppressed and persecuted from every country have
 +
found among us an asylum from distress. Follow in
 +
the same steps, and you will be blessed."
 +
 +
The effect of this enlightened policy transmitted
 +
by the Home Government, was to establish religious
 +
 +
 +
I 4 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
liberty in the colony, and while New England was
 +
burning witches, and torturing Quakers, New Nether-
 +
lands received every one within its limits, of whatever
 +
creed or name.
 +
 +
Of John Murray, Jr., so many of whose estimable
 +
traits were largely inherited by his grandson, it was
 +
well said by a contemporary, " His delight was to
 +
remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected,
 +
and to visit the forsaken."
 +
 +
A resident of New York at the present day can
 +
scarcely realize that the house in Cliff Street in
 +
which the subject of this memoir was born, was at that
 +
time in the pleasantest part of the city. Filled with
 +
home-like residences, whose inmates lived on terms
 +
of social freedom, the claims of business had not
 +
then turned the lower part of New York into a
 +
great mart for trade. Here the infancy of Robert
 +
Lindley Murray was spent, and until he was three
 +
years old, no cloud darkened his life. Then a sad
 +
change came suddenly upon the family : two of
 +
the children were seized with a malignant fever, and
 +
died from its effects. The mother, overcome with
 +
grief and watching, fell a victim to the same disease,
 +
and the three were buried in one grave. The little
 +
boy so early deprived of a mother's watchfulness,
 +
was tenderly cared for, and when he was five years
 +
of age, her place was supplied to him by the mar-
 +
riage of his father to Hannah Shot well, of New
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. I 5
 +
 +
York. He never knew what it was to miss a
 +
mother's tenderness, and the tie existing between
 +
step-mother and son was equally strong on the part
 +
of both. She watched over his boyhood and youth
 +
with loving fondness, and in return, it was his delight
 +
in manhood to minister to her comfort and smooth
 +
her path in her declining years.
 +
 +
As a child he was very attractive ; his flaxen hair
 +
hung in long curls, while his clear complexion and
 +
soft blue eyes, with the winning smile which seldom
 +
left his faee, formed a pleasing picture. His disposi-
 +
tion was so gentle and amiable that even in childhood
 +
his mother never heard him speak an unkind word
 +
to his brother, or knew of any quarrel between them.
 +
Yet this was not in consequence of a sluggish dispo-
 +
sition ; for no one was more ready for boyish sports,
 +
or more unwearied in their pursuit. Naturally fear-
 +
less and daring, he was among the first to join in any
 +
enterprise which might be suggested, while the un-
 +
wearied energy which distinguished his character in
 +
after life, found vent in athletic sports and games.
 +
 +
One incident in his child life shows his disposi-
 +
tion. He had stopped his hoop to watch the men
 +
excavating a cellar for a large house near his father's,
 +
watching eagerly the horses and carts, as load after
 +
load of gravel was taken away. One of the drivers
 +
disposed to tease the boy, threw some of the sand
 +
upon him every time he passed. At first the little
 +
 +
 +
 +
x 6 under his wings.
 +
 +
fellow brushed it away, but the repeated offence
 +
became troublesome, — what could be done? He was
 +
interested in the scene, and did not like to leave, but
 +
this sand bath w T as very annoying.
 +
 +
At last a bright idea occurred to him, and running
 +
into the house, he begged his mother to give him
 +
some pears. A basket full of choice ones had been
 +
sent to his father, and noticing his eagerness, she
 +
gave him two. Feeling some curiosity to know what
 +
he wanted to do with them, she looked from the
 +
window to watch his actions.
 +
 +
He waited quietly till his tormentor came near,
 +
then running up to him, put the pears in his hand,
 +
and went back to his hoop. The man looked as-
 +
tonished, but it is hardly necessary to add, threw no
 +
more sand on the little peacemaker. In the Spring ot
 +
1838, he entered Haverford College, in Pennsylvania,
 +
and there, as in his other schools, he soon made
 +
warm friends.
 +
 +
Winning and attractiye in his demeanor and
 +
friendly to all, still his character was so pure and
 +
simple, that his intimate associates were always of the
 +
best class. He seemed to have no affinity for evil,
 +
and schemes for deceiving or disturbing the teachers
 +
found no abettor in him. His progress in his studies
 +
was commendable, his order list unsullied, and the
 +
time of his sojourn there was a season of enjoyment
 +
to his teachers and himself.
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. \y
 +
 +
But his constitution was not vigorous, and the
 +
close application to study brought on such an aggra-
 +
vated form of dyspepsia, that he was obliged to
 +
return home in the Fall of 1840, and the phyicians
 +
forbade his resuming Iris studies. Country life was
 +
prescribed, and he spent the next year at Colden-
 +
ham, the old home of the family, where one of his
 +
sisters then resided.
 +
 +
Refreshed and strengthened by the pure air, and
 +
the quiet of a rural life, the distressing symptoms
 +
were removed, though for two or three years he was
 +
unable to engage in any mercantile pursuit.
 +
 +
During this period
 +
 +
" Life went a Maying,
 +
With Nature, Hope, and Poesy.''
 +
 +
And in the enjoyment of his books, and agreeable
 +
associates, his bark drifted easily along life's stream.
 +
 +
His own letters give a picture of his life at this
 +
time.
 +
 +
7 mo.) 30, 1843. Soon after the receipt of thy last I for-
 +
sook the " dim and treeless town," and posted direct to Col-
 +
denham, when father, mother, sister C. and self, started for a
 +
little visit to our Dutch cousins in Ulster and Dutchess
 +
/counties. It was an exceedingly pleasant cruise, there is so
 +
much unsophisticated hospitality among them, and being in
 +
a private conveyance we made a complete circuit of all our
 +
friends. When it happened there was nothing particularly
 +
interesting to me, and the rest were seeing the old folks, I
 +
would scour the country on horseback.
 +
 +
 +
 +
1 8 UNDER HIS WINGS. -
 +
 +
After our excursion, which proved to ail a very pleasant
 +
one, I am once more quietly ensconced atColdenham, a very
 +
pleasant place ; situated as it is between two ranges of hills,
 +
there is almost always a delightful air.
 +
 +
" As if from Heaven's open gate did flow
 +
Health and refreshment on the world below."
 +
 +
The season has been so "exceedingly dry that the garden
 +
is completely scorched up, " son regne d' un jour est passe,"
 +
yet there are other sources of enjoyment, other "visible
 +
things," with which the lover of nature may hold com-
 +
munion.
 +
 +
The giants of the wood are still capable of rearing their
 +
heads, and affording a delightful shade, which in this fiery
 +
July weather is exceedingly acceptable. I often partake of
 +
it, seated on the ground, and listening to the " wood notes
 +
wild." I have also perpetrated considerable horseback-rid-
 +
ing, and yet in all these things I am sadly in need of a com-
 +
panion ; riding alone is but half a pleasure. I know it has
 +
been said,
 +
 +
" There is society where none intrudes,"
 +
 +
but I am not prepared to unite therein.
 +
 +
ii mo., 1843. We have just established a new society,
 +
which we dignify by the name of a Literary one, and on ac-
 +
count of the smallness of our number, a considerable amount
 +
of service is required from each member.
 +
 +
We style our body the Fraternal Club ; how does that do
 +
to begin with ? Something brilliant thou expects from that !
 +
But to say the least of us, we are a very affectionate and
 +
loving band, and all is conducted with harmony and order.
 +
Perhaps, however, thy opinion of the Band Illustrious will
 +
be somewhat lessened, when I inform thee that at their elec-
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
 +
 +
19
 +
 +
 +
 +
tion for officers, -they chose for president thy worthy scrib-
 +
bler.
 +
 +
But more of this if I find time and room. I will now
 +
hasten to give thee the news which is at present uppermost
 +
in my own mind, which is the safe arrival of our long looked-
 +
for brother.
 +
 +
We had been expecting him for some time, when we saw
 +
an account in the paper of the total wreck of the vessel in
 +
which we hoped he would arrive, but that the passengers
 +
were safe at Havana, to sail the next day for New York.
 +
 +
He made his appearance yesterday afternoon, and says,
 +
they were wrecked three days after leaving South America.
 +
He, as well as most of them, lost everything they had on
 +
board — clothes, and all his valuable papers ; they had but
 +
one boat, which could only take nine, so after constructing a
 +
raft, the balance, four, shipped upon that, having first divided
 +
their scanty supply of provisions and water ; these four have
 +
not been heard from.
 +
 +
To add to their trouble, the captain was sick, so that-D.
 +
officiated in his stead, being pilot and captain at the same
 +
time. Shaping his course for Honduras, in the middle of
 +
the night, they crossed a reef of rocks, in imminent danger
 +
of being dashed to pieces ; indeed it was considered a mira-
 +
cle that they were not. After being thus tossed about
 +
in their little boat, nine days and nights, and having ex-
 +
hausted all their provisions and water, the allowance of
 +
which had been two biscuits and some gills per diem, they
 +
at length reached Balize. Here he procured some clothing,
 +
and started again in the " Charles Hammond " for New
 +
York. This vessel, too, was wrecked, and they put into
 +
Havana in distress. After remaining here two or three days,
 +
they started once more, but again they were driven in all di-
 +
rections but the right one. About three weeks ago, they were
 +
within a few miles of the city, then were driven off as far as
 +
 +
 +
 +
20 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
Montauk Point, tried to get into the Sound, but could not
 +
succeed; but in a few days found themselves at the Capes of
 +
the Delaware. Here, however, they were so fortunate as to
 +
fall in with a pilot-boat, into which D. entered, and was glad
 +
to be set down at Cape May. This, though not New York,
 +
was at least " terra firma," and steamboats and railroads
 +
were preferable to a sailing craft.
 +
 +
Please excuse this long story; thou knows I generally
 +
write what is uppermost in my own thoughts, not considering
 +
what is interesting to my correspondent. But, indeed, a
 +
letter should be a map of one's own feelings at the time of
 +
writing, whether it be in a mood for wisdom, for sentiment,
 +
for gravity, or gaiety, for news or for secrets.
 +
 +
I cannot unite with the opinion of Dr. Johnson, that " to
 +
write a letter without affection, without wisdom, without
 +
gaiety, without news, and without a secret, is doubtless the
 +
epistolic art."
 +
 +
 +
 +
CHAPTER II.
 +
 +
rpHE year 1845 was always marked with a white
 +
stone in his memory, as in it he realized the
 +
fulfilment of a promise made by his father, that he
 +
would some day take him to Europe. With his
 +
buoyant temperament, and freedom from care, he
 +
entered fully into the enjoyment of the grand and
 +
beautiful, and his journal regularly kept, gives a
 +
graphic picture of the varying scenes which met his
 +
eye.
 +
 +
Some extracts will be given as portraying the zest
 +
of his pleasure, though as he himself said of it in after
 +
years, " some allowance must be made for many things ;
 +
my views and sentiments upon some subjects have
 +
changed since then, and even my present, sober self,
 +
has been constrained to laugh most heartily at what
 +
was then penned amid intense excitement and the
 +
enthusiasm of the moment."
 +
 +
2d mo., 6, 1845. Embarked this day on board Packet
 +
Ship St. Nicholas, for Havre, took leave of the last of our
 +
friends who had accompanied us in the steamboat to the
 +
Lower Bay at eleven o'clock, and in an hour and a half were
 +
 +
(21)
 +
 +
 +
 +
22 UXDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
outside of the Hook, and bidding adieu to our pilot, severing,
 +
as it seemed, the last link that connected us with home.
 +
 +
How checkered are the feelings of one departing thus;
 +
what a strange commingling of hope and joy, of sorrow and
 +
fear, hope in the prospect of pleasure in store, joy in the
 +
anticipation thereof; but on the other hand, sorrow and regret,
 +
yea, agony at parting from our friends, fear too at the abyss
 +
of time which is to separate them from us, months at least,
 +
years perhaps, perhaps from some, forever, and it is at a time
 +
like this that the truth of those lines of E. Barrett may be
 +
exemplified : " Though the Universe^ be broad, two little
 +
tears suffice to cover all."
 +
 +
After a short voyage for a packet ship, they landed
 +
at Havre on the 26th, and soon proceeded to Paris,
 +
afterwards through the south of France, and thence
 +
by steamer to Genoa and Leghorn.
 +
 +
His youthful enthusiasm breaks forth on reaching
 +
Italy.
 +
 +
3d mo., 15th. "O Italy, how beautiful thou art!"
 +
Scarce had we landed at Leghorn this morning, when the
 +
clouds began to break, and when we started for Florence
 +
about two o'clock, a bright sun made glad our hearts, so that
 +
I was in a measure enabled to realize that a land rich in
 +
intellectual pleasure was before me, and as our voiture jogged
 +
steadily onward, towards evening I gazed with delight upon
 +
a beautiful sunset, at the " gorgeous drapery " flung around
 +
the departing monarch, and watched with rapture till all was
 +
lost in darkness. I will not say I have not seen sunsets as
 +
fine at home, in fact it was an American sunset, but it was
 +
the first I had seen since leaving, and it brought home to
 +
mind.
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 23
 +
 +
idth. " Of all the fairest cities of the earth
 +
 +
None are so fair as Florence."
 +
 +
" 'Tis the past
 +
Contending with the present, and in turn
 +
Each has the mastery."
 +
 +
Here Galileo studied, here have labored the Raphaels, the
 +
Buonarottis, the Giottos, the Arnolfas, and from the city and
 +
its enchanting environs did Dante and Milton draw inspira-
 +
tion, while its stately palaces and monuments of art justly
 +
entitle it to the appellation, " la Bella."
 +
 +
1 7th. Spent most of 'he morning in the Imperial Gallery.
 +
It is crowded with the gems of art, and it seemed sacrilegious
 +
to hurry through it as we were obliged to. I was rather
 +
disappointed in the countenance of the statue, the praises of
 +
which are sounded to the ends of the earth — the Venus di
 +
Medici ; it lacked the spiritual expression I had hoped
 +
to find, nor even did it seem to breathe like the production
 +
of our own back-woodsman — the lovely Eve of Powers.
 +
 +
We visited to-day the Church of Santa Croce, principally
 +
interesting to me from containing the tomb of Michael
 +
Angelo. The urn is surrounded by three beautiful statues
 +
— Sculpture, Painting, and Architecture, weeping for their
 +
departed champion, the whole surmounted by a bust of
 +
himself.
 +
 +
Adjoining the Pitti Gallery, is a very extensive museum, in
 +
one apartment of which I could linger for hours ; this is a
 +
splendid temple erected to the honor of the Tuscan philoso-
 +
pher. The room is beautifully adorned, and contains a
 +
statue of Galileo, while the walls are covered with paintings
 +
illustrating passages in his life, and the instruments with
 +
which his discoveries were made, contained in cases ; there
 +
was, however, one relic which certainly was not to my taste
 +
— the actual finger preserved in a glass vase.
 +
 +
 +
 +
24 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
\%th. While the rest of the company were preparing for
 +
breakfast, I went out to take a last lingering look at the beau-
 +
tiful bronze doors of the Baptistry, concerning which M.
 +
Angelo said, " They are worthy to be the gates of paradise,"
 +
and to stand upon the venerated stone upon which the Italian
 +
bard used to love to sit and muse. It was one of the vases
 +
or basins in this Baptistry that Dante tells us he broke :
 +
 +
" One of the stones I broke some years ago
 +
To save a drowning child ; be this my word
 +
A seat, the motive of my deed to show."
 +
 +
I looked for the fragment, but could not find it ; doubtless
 +
it had been removed. The Duomo, the Baptistry, and the
 +
Campanile are all together as in Pisa, and form a most
 +
imposing group. In the Duomo is a beautiful full-length
 +
portrait of Dante and some fine sculpture ; the tower is
 +
higher than the one in Pisa, and commands a magnificent
 +
view of " la bella Firenze " and its lovely environs.
 +
 +
While father was performing his regular after-breakfast
 +
routine, I stole another hour for the Imperial Gallery, spend-
 +
ing it in, to me, the most attractive apartment — the Tribune.
 +
The Venus improves greatly upon acquaintance, yet there is
 +
a statue of Apollo in the same room, and from the style,
 +
apparently executed by the same artist, which in spite of the
 +
world I could not help admiring as much. After this, went
 +
to visit the house of Michael Angelo, but I was very much
 +
disappointed at not being able to gain admission. It con-
 +
tains several of his works with his instruments and other
 +
relics in his studio.
 +
 +
Rome, ^d month, 20th. We have spent thirty-seven hours
 +
on the way from Florence to Rome — rather a long while to
 +
occupy the same seat; but the splendid scenery of the
 +
Appenines, among and on the tops of which we were for the
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
 +
 +
25
 +
 +
 +
 +
most of the time, fully entertained and delighted us through
 +
the day, and at night we slept, as much at least as a very
 +
hard seat and a jolting vehicle would allow.
 +
 +
The tourist of the present day will smile at the
 +
thought of a long ride by diligence between Florence
 +
and Rome, when the distance can now be so comfort-
 +
ably accomplished by railroad.
 +
 +
Nothing daunted, however, by the fatigue, an early
 +
visit was made to St. Peter's, where the ceremonies
 +
of Holy Week added interest to the venerable pile.
 +
He says :
 +
 +
I was utterly bewildered with its immensity and grandeur.
 +
It is a mass-meeting of magnificence of every kind concen-
 +
trated under one roof.
 +
 +
The famous " Miserere " wa's to be performed in the Sistine
 +
Chapel in the afternoon ; we stood in the crowd for half an
 +
hour awaiting the opening of the chapel door, which done,
 +
the mass poured in as fast as the Swiss guard would allow
 +
them. It was an hour before the service commenced, which,
 +
however, to me passed quickly, with M. Angelo's Last Judg-
 +
ment directly before me, and his equally fine frescoes on
 +
the ceiling above.
 +
 +
Fifteen candles were burning in a pyramid near the altar,
 +
representing the prophets and Saviour. Now the choir pout
 +
forth the mournful notes of the "Tenebrae," so called, as it
 +
used to be sung at midnight ; this continued for an hour and
 +
three-quarters, but we were rivetted to the spot ; the candles
 +
one by one were put out, and finally the last one extinguish-
 +
ed — suddenly the " Miserere " commenced ; it was a sweet,
 +
clear, and thrilling harmony, and all were breathless while it
 +
lasted for half an hour. It had kept us standing four hours
 +
 +
 +
 +
2 6 UNDER HIS V/INGS.
 +
 +
and a half, which, for those who had already been so the
 +
rest of the day, and without rest the two preceding nights,
 +
was no inconsiderable thing, yet in my delight I forgot it
 +
all, and went home rejoiced that I had been there.
 +
 +
21st. Longing as I have done ever since we have been
 +
in Rome to gaze upon the monuments of her ancient gran-
 +
deur, I could delay no longer, but have visited the Palace
 +
of the Caesars, and the grand Coliseum.
 +
 +
" The gladiator's blood)' circus stands
 +
A noble wreck in ruinous perfection."
 +
 +
And is now consecrated, has altars erected, and a cross in
 +
the centre, to kiss which " absolves the sins of an hundred
 +
days."
 +
 +
It was a glorious night, the nearly full moon shone down
 +
in unclouded brilliancy, and I proposed a ramble among the
 +
ruins ; its mellow light conceals defects, and reveals only
 +
beauties ; it " softens down the hoar austerity of rugged
 +
desolation," and fills up the " gaps of time ; " it veils the
 +
upturned earth of modern excavations, and fits the mind for
 +
undisturbed reflection.
 +
 +
We went first to the Coliseum, and what was my surprise
 +
to find it enlivened with upwards of an hundred visitors. I
 +
did not know there was so much romance in the world. We
 +
walked along the Appian Way under the Arch of Titus,
 +
passed the Palace of the Caesars, the Temple of Concord, of
 +
Fortune and of Antoninus, through the Forum, and across the
 +
Capitoline hill I stretched my historical knowledge to its
 +
utmost tension to people them with the beings, and throng
 +
them with the attributes of the past.
 +
 +
29M. This day has been delightfully occupied in an excur-
 +
sion to Tivoli. The road, for the first ten or twelves miles, has
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 2 J
 +
 +
little of interest, and I amused myself in watching the peasan-
 +
try in their picturesque dresses ; and the donkeys, upon which
 +
they pile such immense masses of fodder, as almost completely
 +
to conceal the animal from view, and make them resemble
 +
moving hay-stacks. We soon, however, came in sight of
 +
the Lago de Tartare, which we stopped to examine ; the
 +
water of the lake is of a milky-white color, and tartarises
 +
grass, and all vegetable matter with which it comes in con-
 +
tact, so that the ground around it is a curious mass of petre-
 +
faction, the air too smells strongly of sulphur, and the
 +
whole country for miles around talks of volcanoes. We spent
 +
an hour or two roaming over Adrian's Villa, which must have
 +
been a wonderful place, as within its confines are the ruins
 +
of palace, temples, barracks, libraries, circuses, theatres, and
 +
even a heaven and a hell, for the summer accommodation
 +
of the luxurious Romans.
 +
 +
Tivoli is built upon a mass of petrefaction ; the conse-
 +
quence is, grottoes, caves, and caverns abound in the most
 +
romantic perfection. The river Anie runs actually under
 +
the town, and rushes down the precipice in innumerable
 +
cascades, the principal of which pours thundering down into
 +
the Grotto of Neptune, through which it passes, and all unite
 +
beyond ; directly over this, perched finely on the summit of a
 +
rock, is the beautiful little temple of Vesta, round which,
 +
like incense, the spray from the falls arises. Facing this and
 +
in the most romantic part of the town, and most inspiring
 +
of places the guide pointed out, what I fain would have
 +
believed was the abode of Horace. The guide-book, how-
 +
ever, located the poet ten miles off, giving Sallust the
 +
honor of inhabiting the place in question.
 +
 +
4 mo., $th. The greater part of the last three days have
 +
been spent in the diligence between Rome and Naples, a dis-
 +
tance which should have been accomplished in thirty hours.
 +
 +
 +
 +
28 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
But then we had the Mediterranean singing us to sleep
 +
with its roar on the one hand, and on the other the wild
 +
haunts of Fra Diavolo, "fit fabric" for a " vision's base.''
 +
And now in Naples, we have letters from home which
 +
afforded ample occupation for the remainder of the day.
 +
 +
6th. We have had a delightful excursion to-day in the
 +
bay of Naples, and to the island of Capri ; the steamboat
 +
following the land, we had an excellent view of the beautiful
 +
banks and of Vesuvius, continually pouring forth volumes of
 +
smoke, and surrounded by numerous villages and towns, as
 +
if the inhabitants were in love with danger. The steamboat
 +
stopped first off the far side of the island to give us an oppor-
 +
tunity of visiting the Grottono Azuro, or Blue Cave, with
 +
which we were delighted ; the entrance is so small as scarcely
 +
to admit a row-boat, upon the bottom of which it was neces-
 +
sary to sit. From the smallness of the aperture, it would
 +
be reasonable to suppose the cave would be dark ; what then
 +
was our surprise to find ourselves immediately ushered into a
 +
splendid stalactite grotto, very large and lofty, and in which
 +
all is light. The water is of the richest indigo blue, and so per-
 +
fectly transparent, that fish could be seen sporting far below
 +
the surface, and seems to act like a prism, and a mirror in
 +
refracting and reflecting the rays into all parts of the cavern,
 +
and giving to the whole interior the same beautiful blue ap-
 +
pearance, of the effect of all which no description can give
 +
an adequate idea. Thence we landed upon the other
 +
side of the island, and ascended to the lofty summit to enjoy
 +
a splendid view of the bay, to throw stones into the Medi-
 +
terranean, and to explore the ruins of the palace and theatre
 +
of Tiberius Caesar. It was after dark when we reached Ve-
 +
suvius, and the smoke was mingled with flame, every mo-
 +
ment bursting forth in a blaze, and then twinkling as a star
 +
in the distance.
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 2 g
 +
 +
From Naples they left by steamer for the East,
 +
and enjoyed the sail on the Mediterranean among
 +
the " Isles of Greece."
 +
 +
Syra, 4 mo., 22nd. All the islands of the Archipelago
 +
appear to be excessively barren, far better fitted " to
 +
cradle upon a rock" their ancient race of " gods and god-
 +
like men," than to minister to the luxury of effeminate
 +
moderns. The men are for the most part fine-looking
 +
fellows, though among the women it would be difficult for
 +
sculptor to find a model for another Medicean Venus.
 +
There is a good deal of the Turk about the dresses of the
 +
men ; their wide-flowing breeches so much resemble frocks
 +
as to render it almost difficult to distinguish the women
 +
from them. Syra is the point of rendezvous and departure
 +
for all the Mediterranean steamers, and only as such is a
 +
place of note ; the town presents a curious appearance,
 +
being for the most part built upon a steep conical hill, sur-
 +
mounted on the extreme apex by a cathedral.
 +
 +
How long soever we may be doomed to spend here, from
 +
appearances the outer man will be comfortably cared for,
 +
in a place where we had been given to expect that we
 +
should find nowhere to lay our heads. We are located in a
 +
sociable little inn, of which the landlord is cook, caterer, and
 +
conductor at one and the same time, where everything,
 +
though plain and simple, is far neater than in Italy, and
 +
where one can discover what he is eating at dinner without
 +
cross-questioning the waiter.
 +
 +
2^th. Hardly an hour after writing the above, we had
 +
started on our way to Athens, having when out on a stroll
 +
in the evening, accidently fallen in with the master of a
 +
little craft who was upon the point of starting in the
 +
desired direction and whom we immediately engaged. We
 +
 +
 +
 +
30 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
have just reached Athens this afternoon, with rough seas,
 +
head winds and calms, having had a tedious passage ; it was,
 +
moreover, from beginning to end a season of the most ex-
 +
quisite suffering ; the cabin, which was reserved for our
 +
party of five, was about five feet long, four broad, and two
 +
and a half high ; upon the floor was spread a blanket upon
 +
which to repose at night ; all this would have done very well,
 +
but unluckily the place was pre-occupied by swarms of
 +
cockroaches, fleas, and bed-bugs ; the very smell arising
 +
from which was perfectly overpowering, while the gnawing
 +
and stinging of the voracious monsters in miniature, almost
 +
drove me to distraction ; on the other hand to remain on
 +
deck, was, if possible, worse ; not only were the nights exces-
 +
sively cold, but the little deck was literally piled with
 +
pieces of mortality, in the shape of men, women, and chil-
 +
dren, occupying almost every inch of space, and abounding
 +
too with vermin of by no means a more inviting kind.
 +
Three nights on board under such circumstances ; — verily one
 +
needs not to brush up poetical and historical reminiscences
 +
to perpetuate the memory of such a cruise among the
 +
" Isles of Greece," and upon the waters of ^Egeian Sea.
 +
The harbor of the Piraeus is well protected, and remains of
 +
ancient fortifications may yet be traced.
 +
 +
26th. Immediately after breakfast we went to visit the
 +
Acropolis ; the rock itself is situated in the midst of ancient
 +
and directly upon the borders of modern Athens, towering
 +
into the air as high as any of the surrounding hills. After
 +
ascending and passing through the entrance, the first object
 +
that strikes the eye is the Propylaea, a kind of immense ves-
 +
tibule leading to the Parthenon. To the right of this, and
 +
perched upon a lofty crag, is a beautiful little temple, almost
 +
perfect, built and dedicated to " Victory," after the battle of
 +
Marathon. Passing now through the Propylaea, the grand
 +
 +
 +
 +
UXDER HIS WINGS. 3 1
 +
 +
and majestic Parthenon bursts suddenly upon the view ;
 +
this is situated upon the very summit of the Acropolis, and
 +
commands a magnificent view of the ^Egeian Sea, the Gulf
 +
of Salamis, and the whole plain of Athens. Like Marius
 +
among the ruins of Carthage, I sat me down to contem-
 +
plate.
 +
 +
The Areopagus, or Hill of Mars, is immediately adjacent
 +
to the Acropolis; I ascended the steps hewn out of the
 +
solid rock and stood upon the summit ; here it was that the
 +
Athenian judges sat, in the dark, in order to avoid being in-
 +
fluenced by acquaintance with the accused or accuser ; here
 +
Socrates received his sentence, and upon this very spot
 +
stood the great Apostle of the Gentiles when he proclaimed
 +
to the wondering Athenians the truth of that " unknown
 +
God " whom u ignorantly they worshipped."
 +
 +
28M. To-day to Marathon. Leaving father at home with
 +
his friend Hill, I started for the excursion early in the morn-
 +
ing, one of a party of eight ; on leaving Athens the road
 +
passes in the immediate vicinity of Plato's academic grove,
 +
and for some distance along the ruins of the river Elissus.
 +
Two hours ride brought us to the foot of Mount Pentelicon,
 +
the source of the renowned Pentelic marble ; here we dis-
 +
mounted, and ascended for nearly two hours, viewing the
 +
quarries of the ancient and modern Greeks, and exploring a
 +
most beautiful and extensive grotto.
 +
 +
The mountain is 350 feet high, and most of the party having
 +
reached a lofty eminence declined proceeding further. I,
 +
however, pushed on till I reached the uppermost crag, where
 +
a glorious view burst upon the sight. Not far to the south
 +
is Mount Hymettus, celebrated for its honey, which is daily
 +
upon our table ; further to the right the plain of Attica ;
 +
Athens with her towering Acropolis in the distance, with
 +
the sea and island of Aegina, and " thy glorious gulf, uncon-
 +
 +
 +
 +
32
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
 +
 +
quered Salamis." To the north and east the island-studded
 +
sea, stretching as far as the eye can reach, with the pic-
 +
turesque Negropont close at hand, while directly beneath
 +
my feet lay unrolled a beauteous plain, which a fool would
 +
not need to be informed was gray old Marathon.
 +
 +
" The battle-field where Persia's victim horde
 +
First bowed beneath the brunt of Hella's sword."
 +
 +
The country is wretchedly miserable, hardly a trace of
 +
cultivation anywhere to be seen ; in fact, except its ruins, its
 +
views, and its places of political and historical interest, one is
 +
apt to be disappointed in Greece. The people are sadly
 +
degenerated, a race of rascals and of knaves ; their songs are
 +
harsh, monotonous, discordant ; their women have lost their
 +
wonted beauty ; and their country even has sunk into decay.
 +
It is Ancient Greece one has pictured in his fancy, and the
 +
modern cannot realize his dream. " 'Tis Greece, but living
 +
Greece no more."
 +
 +
29//Z. Breakfasted this morning with our friends, Hill.
 +
They mentioned having raised in their garden bunches of
 +
grapes two feet and a half long, and weighing seven pounds,
 +
which amply demonstrated that the soil is not to blame, but
 +
that if the people would but arouse from their lethargy, the
 +
country might now be productive.
 +
 +
5 mo., 1st. On rising this morning, found ourselves
 +
off Scio, the most beautiful of the isles we have yet seen, its
 +
valleys rich with the olive and mastic trees, and the hills
 +
cultivated to the very top, besides Homer gives it celebrity,
 +
" the blind old bard of Scio's rocky isle." By two o'clock
 +
we reached Smyrna.
 +
 +
The town of Smyrna appears very well from the water
 +
sloping gently toward, the shore and stretching a couple of
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 33
 +
 +
miles along the coast, with the tall slender minarets of its innu-
 +
merable mosques towering high above every other thing. On
 +
entering the city, however, the scene is changed, every street
 +
being excessively narrow, crowded, and dirty, still the appear-
 +
ance of everything around him is to a stranger new and
 +
curious. The houses and shops are mostly one story high,
 +
the extending roofs of the dwelling-houses on opposite sides
 +
lapping over one another, while the streets of the bazaars
 +
are protected from the scorching rays of the sun by a semi-
 +
transparent roofing thrown from side to side. The shops are
 +
altogether open in front, the goods disposed upon the floor,
 +
upon which the cross-legged proprietor sits with pipe in
 +
mouth, perfectly still as if communing with his own thoughts
 +
and little desirous of being disturbed by customers.
 +
 +
I stood in the midst of the ancient church of Smyrna —
 +
one of the seven. This place, once occupied by the early
 +
Christians, is now transformed into a cow-stable.
 +
 +
2d. The streets of Smyrna are so narrow that not a vehicle
 +
of any description is seen, all burdens being borne by men,
 +
camels, and donkeys ; these latter are not as generally repre-
 +
sented, but smart and tractable, and if well-cared for would
 +
be tolerably handsome animals. Finding some ready-har-
 +
nessed in the street, we mounted, and drove a little out-of-
 +
town to the Caravan bridge, a kind of promenade, or rather
 +
lounging place. It was, however, the wrong time of day and
 +
almost deserted ; hence to the slave market, where we found
 +
no " beautiful Circassians," but Africans only, apparently con-
 +
tented with their lot, but all of them far blacker negroes
 +
than we see at home.
 +
 +
\th. " Constantinople in sight," cut short my slumber. I
 +
tumbled out of my berth, and hurried up on deck ; there the
 +
eastern city of the seven hills, lay stretched before us with
 +
 +
 +
 +
34 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
her majestic domes and slender minarets towering to the
 +
skies. The city has a beautiful appearance from the water,
 +
with the lovely Seraglio gardens directly in front of the
 +
harbor as you enter. Constantinople, as you see it at a
 +
distance on the water, and Constantinople as you behold
 +
it when wandering through its streets, are altogether different
 +
things ; the streets partake largely of the barbarity of the
 +
people, excessively narrow and filthy, without sidewalks, and
 +
paved with stones rough and sharp enough to wear the
 +
fraction of an inch from one's stature by a half-day's walk
 +
upon them ; still the variety of costume in the throng that
 +
crowds them, and the rich and curious appearance of the
 +
innumerable shops, form a picture altogether new and pleas-
 +
ing. The dress of the Turks, however, I cannot admire,
 +
while that of the Greeks is extremely beautiful.
 +
 +
6th. We joined the American ambassador at an early
 +
hour this morning, pursuant to a previous invitation from
 +
him, for an expedition among the beauties of the Bosphorus,
 +
the Hudson of the eastern world ; several ladies were of the
 +
party, the whole number consisting of about twenty, it being,
 +
of course, an entirely American affair and no others than
 +
Americans present. A painter only could describe such
 +
a landscape as this ; but the principal features were, look-
 +
ing toward the east, the black sheet of the Euxine dotted
 +
with innumerable sails, and stretching as far as the eye could
 +
reach, with the ruins of an old Venetian castle upon its
 +
banks, situated in the very place, than which the genius of
 +
the picturesque itself would not have imagined a better ;
 +
toward the west a full - length portrait of the meander-
 +
ing Bosphorus, its picturesque promontories and beautiful
 +
bays, and bearing upon its bosom twice an hundred sails, with
 +
the Sea of Marmora and snow-capped Olympus in the dis-
 +
tance ; directly beneath our feet, upon the north, lay that
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
 +
 +
35
 +
 +
 +
 +
splendid Bosphorus again, and behind to the south, a vale of
 +
the richest verdure. After feasting upon this intellectual
 +
meal, we were summoned to dinner, — a strange affair it seemed
 +
for a party of Yankees to be holding a picnic five thousand
 +
miles from home ; but even thus it was, and thanks to the
 +
hospitality of our American ambassador, never did Ameri-
 +
cans enjoy themselves better. Soon after dinner it was time
 +
to depart ; so cutting a Daphne cane from the furthest point
 +
from home that I have ever been, and ever expect to be, upon
 +
the Asiatic corner of the Bosphorus and Euxine Sea, again
 +
mounted our Araba, jolted down the mountain, passed
 +
through the lovely valley, stepped from Asia into a caique
 +
and retraced our way along the Bosphorus, enjoying another
 +
succession of enchanting views, among which one might
 +
revel for a life. When about half way down I enjoyed a
 +
magnificent sunset, — the monarch of the day departing,
 +
 +
" Not as in northern climes, obscurely bright,
 +
But one unclouded blaze of living light,"
 +
 +
reflecting its glory upon the water, and gilding the green
 +
wave " which trembled as it glowed." Now turning into
 +
the city's gorgeous bay, the shades of evening or of twilight
 +
added to the witchery of the scene, and again I trod on
 +
shore, after having spent a day, which shall be a white stone
 +
in my calendar, a time ever to be remembered as among the
 +
loveliest periods of enjoyment that have ever cast their halo
 +
around my path.
 +
 +
The extreme eastern point was now reached, and
 +
the travellers again embarked on the Mediterranean,
 +
landing at Trieste on the 19th of 5 mo. They visited
 +
the cave of Adeisburg, and then started by diligence
 +
 +
 +
 +
3 6 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
for Vienna. After a sojourn of ten days in that de-
 +
lightful city, they resumed their journey.
 +
 +
6tk mo., ist. We were off in a carriage at midday for Salz-
 +
burg, at which place we have arrived this evening. The road is
 +
a continued series of most magnificent and beautiful scenery,
 +
where, if Switzerland can be surpassed, we may be tempted
 +
to remain for life. Verily, this country seems made for trav-
 +
ellers, and for lovers of the romantic and beautiful ; the roads
 +
wind around, and pass over mountains of the wildest magnifi-
 +
cence, now following the shores of tranquil lakes embed-
 +
ded in their midst, now chasing the leaping torrents as they
 +
thunder along between them, but when the genius of the
 +
picturesque will allow of the approach of cultivation nothing
 +
can exceed the smiling exuberance of this beautiful land;
 +
indeed in this respect it must even be a rival of lovely Italy,
 +
the garden of the world- The approach to this place, and
 +
the view of the whole plain of Salzburg, hedged in by snow-
 +
capped mountains, is strikingly interesting and beautiful.
 +
 +
13//Z. Once more in the land of the olive and the myrtle,
 +
the fig-tree and the vine, of pretty faces, with mouths unpol-
 +
luted by horrid Dutch, and a happy release from the region
 +
of feather-beds to sleep under. Italia's smiling and exuber-
 +
ant plains now afford a striking contrast, and not unpleasing
 +
variety to the overpowering sublimity of the Tyrolean Alps.
 +
 +
i$th. I am indeed in Venice* the city which, perhaps, of
 +
all others, I had most desired to see, — Venice the seat of
 +
poetry, of the arts and of romance, " throned on her hundred
 +
isles;" the glorious city in the sea, whose waves ebb and flow
 +
in her streets, washing " the marble of her palaces." I have
 +
been surprised to find that it is possible to go all over the
 +
city by land without the assistance of a gondola ; these terra
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 37
 +
 +
firma streets are, however, very intricate, and upon an ex-
 +
ceedingly diminutive scale, as I find I can generally reach
 +
across them, but they are large enough for all necessary pur-
 +
poses, there being no vehicles, and so far as I can discover, only
 +
one horse in the whole place. The finest part of the city is
 +
St. Mark's Place, a large open court, on which face the old
 +
palace of the Doges, and the great Church of St. Mark, with
 +
the towering campanile in front.
 +
 +
16th. Rome and Venice share the glory of containing the
 +
ashes of Canova, as in the former his hands are entombed,
 +
while here in the Church of Santa Maria de Trari, a magnifi-
 +
cent monument is erected over his heart ; it so happened he
 +
designed it himself, and intended it as a monument to Titian,
 +
but dying just at the right time, it was appropriated as above,
 +
though a still more splendid one is now preparing, commem-
 +
orative of the illustrious painter.
 +
 +
Explored the room and prisons of the Inquisition, whose
 +
tales are sad and horrible, and felt almost sick at heart as
 +
I stood and gazed upon the Bridge of Sighs. The palace,
 +
like everything else here, is falling to decay, and indeed it
 +
almost makes one sad to glide quietly and songlessly through
 +
the watery streets of Venice, to see at every turn her crum-
 +
bling splendor and her tottering walls.
 +
 +
30th. The whole of the past two days have been occupied
 +
in a pilgrimage to the hospice of the Great St. Bernard.
 +
Leaving the hotel at six in the morning, the first five hours
 +
are accomplished in a " char-a-banc," or rather in a " char-
 +
a-cote," a species of vehicle drawn by mules, having the seat
 +
arranged lengthwise in order to accommodate itself to the nar-
 +
rowness of the road ; being moreover sans-springs, the poor
 +
inmates labor under the difficulty of having their breakfasts
 +
digested long before the dinner time arrives. However, being
 +
 +
 +
 +
38 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
duly refreshed at a wretched hotel in the wretched little
 +
 +
hamlet of , the road now becoming impracticable for the
 +
 +
chars, each of us mounted a mule and proceeded onwards ;
 +
soon, however, the path emerged into a regular climb up rocky
 +
steeps, and, for an hour before reaching the convent, passed
 +
over snow of unknown depth, some of which, doubtless, had
 +
lain there for centuries, and perhaps the very same that was
 +
trampled under foot of him who led an army hither en route
 +
to conquer at Marengo.
 +
 +
Unluckily for us, though the day at starting had promised
 +
fairly, soon after taking mules the rain began to descend in
 +
no very comfortable quantities, changing as we ascended
 +
into a regular snow-storm, while, being in the midst of
 +
clouds, we could see but a few paces around or before us.
 +
Ever and anon too, our mules would sink to the girths in
 +
the snow, rendering it impossible to proceed upon them, so
 +
that much of the way was accomplished on foot. By six
 +
in the evening we were at the convent, cold and wet to the
 +
skin, but our troubles were soon put an end to by the kind
 +
hospitality of the "brethren," who piled the wood upon the
 +
fire, urged a change of raiment upon us, and when suffi-
 +
ciently revived, invited us to dinner; the fare excellent,
 +
though plain, a long cold ride upon the back of mules, fur-
 +
nishing the best of " ragout." Strange it seemed to be there
 +
in the midst of summer, shivering around a fire, and a furi-
 +
ous snow-storm raging without, and glad we were to turn in
 +
at an early hour under an array of blankets, coverlids, etc.,
 +
that would have daunted us in the midst of winter at home.
 +
 +
In the morning I was up betimes to attend the service of
 +
the monks in their chapel ; whatever may be said against the
 +
religion of the Catholics, their faithfulness and devotedness
 +
to it is certainly praiseworthy, and may, doubtless, be often
 +
accepted as an offering in faith. These monks perform their
 +
service for several hours every morning and evening, and,
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
 +
 +
39
 +
 +
 +
 +
for all I 'know to the contrary, as much more during the day
 +
and night. This over, and after having partaken again of
 +
the good-cheer of the brethren I sallied out to look for the
 +
famous dogs ; they are hardly as large as I expected to find
 +
them, but are certainly a noble race- Hence to the Morgue,
 +
or depository of the bodies of travellers who have perished
 +
in the snow, — a ghastly collection of dry bones, with a dozen
 +
or two upright skeletons ranged around; but as I was turn-
 +
ing in disgust from this horrid " Golgotha, 5 ' my eye rested
 +
upon the really interesting features of one of the figures, the
 +
anxiety and distress of a mother as she cherishes in her
 +
bosom her perishing babe, doubtless the very position in
 +
which they had been found. In the hall of the convent is a
 +
monument in memory of Napoleon, and in the chapel repose
 +
the remains of Desaix, whose body, by order of the former,
 +
was brought from Marengo hither.
 +
 +
Though the storm had ceased, the clouds still hung around
 +
us, so .at eight in the morning we commenced our descent,
 +
without having been able to enjoy the prospect from the
 +
summit, or the fine view of Mount Blanc which it presents,
 +
but at least with the satisfaction of having slept in the high-
 +
est human habitation upon the face of the earth, and about
 +
eight thousand feet above our fellow-men.
 +
 +
Luzerne, 6 mo., nth. After enjoying the sail upon the
 +
lake, we landed at the little town of Weggis, and commenced
 +
on foot the ascent to the Rhegi culm, from which is " the most
 +
magnificent view in the world." The road is steep and the
 +
ascent laborious, but almost every turn reveals some new and
 +
pleasing prospect. By two o'clock luckily the sun burst
 +
forth, and the curtain of the clouds arose, unveiling before us
 +
the magnificent scene ; and such a scene ! verily a whole
 +
vocabulary of the wildest superlatives would be applied to it
 +
in vain. Switzerland, from its Dan to its Beersheba, is seen
 +
 +
 +
 +
40 UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
in one grand coup d 'ceil ; from the glacier snows of Gothard
 +
the eye may wander to the highlands of Germany, resting in
 +
its course on every alp save one, on fourteen lovely lakes,
 +
and on every magnificent and lovely portion of this magnifi-
 +
cent and lovely land.
 +
 +
23*/. He next revelled in the lovely Rhine, " so
 +
often and so justly sung by the poets of all nations,"
 +
and then passed on through the quaint pictures of
 +
home-life displayed in Holland. Bidding farewell to
 +
" this amphibious Dutch land " with its dykes and
 +
ditches, the travelers remained for a time in Antwerp
 +
enjoying the remains of Rubens' genius. Brussels
 +
came next, and interested him greatly from its
 +
intrinsic beauty and historic associations.
 +
 +
2d. But the great lion of Brussels is the memorable field
 +
of battle, and it has been with the most thrilling interest
 +
to-day that I have stood upon and explored that '' Grave of
 +
France, the deadly Waterloo," our guide pointing out the
 +
exact position of the contending armies, and the most
 +
interesting points of combat ; he indeed spoke with enthu-
 +
siasm upon the subject, and, after hearing we were not
 +
English, mourned the catastrophe of Napoleon, ever and
 +
anon venting his indignation against poor old Grouchy for
 +
coming up too late. Yet one can hardly avoid partaking of
 +
such feelings himself; yes, poor [[Napoléon Bonaparte|Bonaparte,]] here it was that
 +
cruel frisking Fortune deserted thee, " her spoiled, but
 +
favorite child," and "the greatest nor the worst of men"
 +
sank to rise no more. But for thirty years the spear hath
 +
been beaten into the pruning hook, and now far other scenes
 +
have place ; the peaceful bosom of the plain now " knows no
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 4 1
 +
 +
ravage save the gentle plough," her undulating surface is clothed with grain ripe unto the harvest, and nature still pursues her quiet course,
 +
"As if she took no care
 +
 +
For what her noblest work had suffered there."
 +
 +
 +
 +
They remained for some time in England, forming"
 +
pleasant acquaintances and visiting many places of
 +
interest. Only one notice will be given of their visit
 +
to the home of Lindley Murray, the grammarian, who,
 +
after leaving America, had lived for many years at
 +
York.
 +
 +
9 mo., 16th. To-day has been a most deeply interesting
 +
one to us. Accompanied by our friend Samuel Tuke, we
 +
visited Holdgate, the residence of our dear uncle and aunt.
 +
Its present tenants were all absent ; we, however, went in and
 +
examined it from top to bottom. The house and grounds
 +
remain very much the same as before the death of their
 +
venerable inmates, and with the exception of being consider-
 +
ably smaller, seemed very like the idea I had formed of it
 +
from the prints. After purloining some small relics in the way
 +
of pears, we left and visited the grave. Uncle and aunt lay
 +
side by side, apparently exactly in the centre of the ground,
 +
with a square mound erected over them.
 +
 +
10th mo., \th. Went on board the steamer at twelve
 +
o'clock, very many kind friends being upon the wharf to bid
 +
us a last farewell. At two we received our mails, and ere
 +
night, were " dancing in triumph o'er the waters wide." And
 +
what if the fierce Eolus does unprison the winds and let
 +
them loose upon us, " scooping the ocean to its briny
 +
 +
 +
 +
42
 +
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
 +
 +
springs." I still love the ocean, for it bears me home, and I
 +
love its roughness '' for the speed it gives."
 +
 +
And now upon a retrospect of the past nine months, what
 +
eventful ones have they been to me ; how many " a mountain
 +
path " have I, during that time, trod ; how many " a varied
 +
shore" sailed along; how many a clime have visited, " fair
 +
withal as ever mortal had imagined ; " and with feelings that
 +
cannot readily be described ; upon how many of the most
 +
remarkable places of the earth have I stood. I have passed
 +
through the length of " bonnie France," and revelled amid
 +
the inexhaustible delights of Italy, that delicious land :
 +
 +
" The garden of the world, the home
 +
Of all art ) T ields and nature can decree."
 +
 +
I have gazed, awe-stricken, into the very crater of Vesuvius,
 +
and wondering threaded the streets of Pompeii, that " city
 +
of the dead." I have stood within the coliseum's walls
 +
" amid the chief relics of mighty Rome," feeling at the time
 +
my heart run over " with silent worship of the great of old."
 +
I have hailed with delight Calypso's realms, albeit the fair
 +
goddess has long ceased to mourn for him " who dared pre-
 +
fer a mortal bride ; " although " her reign is past, her gentle
 +
glories gone."
 +
 +
I have gazed exultingly on Morea's hills, and a pilgrim,
 +
pensive but unwearied, have worshipped " all that remains of
 +
thee," " shrine of the mighty," Greece! Though but the
 +
shadow of thy former self; though but the " sad relic of
 +
departed worth," yet thy wreck and thy ruin are still graced
 +
"with an immaculate charm which cannot be effaced."
 +
 +
I have been where Troy stood once ; I have seen the
 +
" desert of old Priam's pride," and '* looked on Ida with
 +
a Trojan's eye." I have joyed to plough through Helle's
 +
waves, albeit in a most unromantic steamer, and have had a
 +
tear to drop for thee, poor Leander, and thy Sestian bride.
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS. 43
 +
 +
From Marmora's waters I have looked upon old Stam-
 +
boul, " that sheening far, celestial seemed to be," and have
 +
stood within her oriental walls. I have revelled among the
 +
beauties of the enchanting Bosphorus, with a measure of
 +
Pizzaro's feelings on first coming in sight of the waters of
 +
the Pacific. I have climbed to the summit of the Giant's
 +
Mountain, and seen thy sheet, "dark Euxine," unrolled
 +
beneath my feet. I have been tossed to and fro upon
 +
" fair (?) Adria's waters," and have bent mine eyes upon
 +
thee, land of Albania, thou " rugged nurse of savage men."
 +
 +
I have stood in Venice on the " Bridge of Sighs," and
 +
with Rogers have hailed the turrets of Verona, breakfasting
 +
" where Juliet at the mosque saw her loved Montague,"
 +
and strove to drop a tear o'er her tomb.
 +
 +
I have communed with Nature in her loveliest as well as
 +
in her wildest mood ; long delighted, have revelled amid
 +
the immaculate loveliness of Central Germany,- and amid
 +
the tremendous grandeur of the Alps of the Tyrol. On
 +
Bernard's rude summit, have helped the monks " to count
 +
their beads and eat venison," and in one glance sublime,
 +
have looked from the top of tke Rhegi, upon the whole of
 +
splendid Switzerland, spread out, as it were, beneath my
 +
feet. Wondering and delighted, I have gazed upon the hoar
 +
glaciers of bleak Mt. Blanc, and have seen the precipit-
 +
ous Jungfrau " rear her never-trodden snow."
 +
 +
I have sailed upon the bosom of thee, fair Rhine, thou " ex-
 +
ulting and abounding river," whose banks are wedded to the
 +
romantic and the marvellous ; have stood upon thy fields of
 +
blood, " dread Waterloo," where nations combatted to make
 +
one submit, and with a sort of thrilling horror, have gazed
 +
upon the awful Golgotha erected in thy midst, where are
 +
" rider and horse, friend and foe, in one red burial blent ; "
 +
and last of all, have hailed the white cliffs of our fatherland.
 +
 +
But now, " once more upon the glad waters of the dark
 +
 +
 +
UNDER HIS WINGS.
 +
 +
blue sea," and homeward bound, I can look without regret
 +
upon Albion's lessening shores, for my face is turned at last
 +
toward my own dear native land, and after all my wander-
 +
ings, I have learned more fully than ever to appreciate, that
 +
there is no country like our country, and " no place like
 +
home."
 +
 +
CHAPTER III.
 +
 +
rpHUS far his joyous life had glided on with very
 +
little to mar its brightness ; but the time was now
 +
approaching when the responsibility of living pressed
 +
upon him, and he realized the necessity of better
 +
guidance than his own, to enable him to walk as
 +
becomes a follower of God.
  
 
==Sources==
 
==Sources==
Charles Monaghan, ''The Murrays of Murray Hill'' Brooklyn, Urban History Press, 1998
+
*Charles Monaghan, ''The Murrays of Murray Hill'' Brooklyn, Urban History Press, 1998
 +
*https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=scyEWD7Eb9wC&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA10
  
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
+
[[Category:Quakers]]
ISNI: 0000 0000 4753 4780LCCN: nr90000326SNAC: w6vb5mspTrove: 1507999VIAF: 73700923WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 73700923
+
[[Category:Ebenezer Foote]]
Categories: 1721 births1786 deathsBusinesspeople from PennsylvaniaAmerican businesspeople in shippingConverts to QuakerismMurray Hill, ManhattanPeople from County ArmaghAmerican people of Scotch-Irish descentAmerican QuakersKingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen ColoniesPeople of colonial PennsylvaniaPeople of colonial New York
+
[[category:Murray Hill]]
 +
[[category:Manhattan]]
 +
[[category:Foote Family Papers]]
 +
[[category:Scotch-Irish]]
 +
[[category:Emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies]]
 +
[[category:Colonial New York]]
 +
[[category:Authors]]

Latest revision as of 17:21, 30 December 2019

Robert I. Murray was born

He married Elizabeth Colden, [daughter of Cadwallader Colden, jr.]

Children: Robert Lindley Murray, b. 9 November, 1825

Family

Robert Murray (1721–1786), a prominent merchant, was born in County Armagh, Ireland, arriving with his father in Pennsylvania in 1732. Originally a Presbyterian, he became a Quaker after marrying Mary Lindley, daughter of a Quaker politician, in Pennsylvania in 1744. The couple arrived in New York City in 1753 after a short residence in North Carolina. The Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan derives its name from the Murray family, whose business interests were mainly concerned with shipping and overseas trade.

Robert quickly established himself and about 1762 rented land from the city for a great house and farm, which Robert called Inclenberg, Dutch for beautiful hill. The total area was just over 29 acres (117,000 m2). In today's terms, the farm began a few feet (metres) south of 33rd Street and extended north to the middle of the block between 38th and 39th Street. At the southern end, the plot was rather narrow but at the northern end it went from approximately Lexington Avenue to a spot between Madison and Fifth Avenues. The great house was built on a since-leveled hill at what is today Park Avenue and 36th Street.

His eldest child, Lindley Murray (1745–1826) was perhaps the most illustrious member of the family. An author of school textbooks, he was the largest-selling author in the world in the first half of the 19th century. Raised in New York City, Lindley was forced to move out of the country as a loyalist after the American Revolution, settling in York, England. He sold some 20 million books, including about 16 million in the United States and four million in Britain. His best-known title was his "English Reader," which Abraham Lincoln called the finest book ever put in the hands of an American youth.

  • A DAR plaque on 37th Street at Park Avenue in Manhattan describes the Murray family and the estate.

Mrs. Robert Murray (Mary Lindley Murray) is credited with delaying William Howe and his army during General Washington's retreat from New York in 1776. As the story goes, Mrs. Robert Murray invited the group to tea at her mansion, Inclenberg, and, through feminine wiles, and her husband's prominence among the Tory party, succeeded in delaying the British troops for a period sufficient to allow a successful American retreat.

Under His Wings

UNDER HIS WINGS; A SKETCH OF THE LIFE; ROBERT LINDLEY MURRAY.

Happy the souls to Jesus joined,

And saved by grace alone; Walking in all his ways, they find

Their heaven on earth begun. The church triumphant in thy love,

Their mighty joys we know ; They sing the Lamb in hymns above,

And we in hymns below."


NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 770 BROADWAY. COPYRIGHT, l876

To
THE CHILDREN OF HIS LOVE, FOR WHOM HIS PRAYERS ASCENDED WITH EARNESTNESS AND FAITH, this book is dedicated; WITH THE DESIRE, THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE GOD OF THEIR FATHER, AND REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, MAY SERVE HIM WITH A PERFECT HEART AND A WILLING MIND, AND FIND IN LIFE, AND IN DEATH, A PERFECT SHELTER "UNDER HIS WINGS."

CHAPTER I.

/^vNE life, only one ; — and this of itself nothing, ^^^ because lost in Christ. Its story can only be of thankfulness because upheld and sanctified in Him ; and its narrative has no interest to others, except as it gives expression to the " old, old story " of His exceeding love ; and yet it has its grandeur, because it portrays the life of one kept by the power of God. And this, if true to itself, would be the account of one early called by the Lord, who in simple-hearted dedication consecrated himself in loving allegiance to the Master, and manifested during his life the picture of the Christian gentleman.

In joy and in sorrow, an all-sufficient Saviour was ever near; and leaning on Him, he realized in a remarkable degree the fulfilment of the promise, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee/'

" Safe in the arms of Jesus,

He passed through life's' pilgrimage, and now from " over the jasper sea," comes with double force to those still on this side of the river, the lines he loved in his humility to repeat

" O ! if there 's only one song I can sing, When in His beauty I see the great King, This shall my song in eternity be, O ! what a wonder, that Jesus loves me ! "

Robert Lindley Murray, son of Robert I. and Elizabeth Colden Murray, was born in New York, the 9th of nth month, 1825.

His mother was the great-granddaughter of Cadwallader Colden, the last Colonial Governor of New York. His father was a prominent citizen of New York, actively interested in the philanthropic efforts of the day.

The following notice of this gentleman appeared in one of the city, papers after his decease :

"He was a man of strongly marked character, his intellect clear and vigorous, and his memory astonishing. He belonged to a class of men rapidly passing away — men of active benevolence, of conservative and firm patriotism, and intelli- gent devotion to the real necessities of his fellow-men. His loss cannot easily be repaired."

The old homestead on Murray Hill, where Robert I. Murray was born, was the scene of many historic events, of which one only 7 will be mentioned.

After losing the battle of Brooklyn Heights, Washington fell back on the country north of Harlem.


On the 15th of 9th month, 1776, Sir Wm. Howe, the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces, with Clin- ton and Tryon crossed Kip's Bay and occupied New York. Washington not being able to ascertain the intentions of the English with regard to the city, had dispatched Nathan Hale to find out what they were doing on Long Island, giving orders to Putnam, who occupied New York with a division of the patriot army, to remain where he was until further orders. But his videttes coming in with news that the British were crossing over, Putnam gave instant orders to march north, to rejoin Washington, by the Middle Road. Sir William Howe struck the King's Bridge Road and was hastening to intercept the flying rebels, which he could readily have done as he had some time the start of them.

Where the King's Bridge Road touched the hedges of the Murray gardens, stood the mistress of the mansion and her young daughters, waiting to welcome the gallant general. The lady was well-known to Sir William, although her Whig principles were not, and her courteous invitation to alight and partake of refreshments was received without a suspicion of the motive that suggested it. He thanked her graciously, but replied that he must hasten in pursuit of the rebel Putnam and his men. She represented to him the miserable condition of the patriot army, and the readiness with which he could [12] overtake them, especially if fortified by rest and refreshment.

Moved by her representations, and secure of overtaking the demoralized army, the Englishman could no longer resist the offer of the ladies' good cheer, and with his generals and staff dismounted, while Putnam stealthily reached McComb's Dam by the Bloomingdale Road, only wondering what had become of his enemy, and with no confidence in his safety from a surprise, until he saw the white tents of Washington's encampment. General Howe, when too late, discovered his mistake, but never questioned the intentions of the lady whose hospitality had lost for him a sure victory, and saved to the cause she loved one of its noblest officers.

Robert Murray imported one of the first carriages or coaches used in New York. The citizens were much averse to this innovation, and spoke of it openly as an evidence of aristocratic pride. To allay this feeling, he always called it his " leathern conveniency."

This gentleman dying in 1786, left two sons, Lindley Murray, the grammarian, who married, and afterwards settled in England, and John Murray, Jr., the grand- father of the subject of this memoir. The latter married Catharine Bowne, a descendant of John Bowne, one of the original settlers of Long Island. This gentleman's life and experience influenced in a considerable degree the future policy of the country


UNDER HIS WINGS. 1 3

in regard to religious freedom. He had joined the society of Friends or Quakers, and in consequence fell under the displeasure of the authorities. He was arrested by the " Scout" with a company of armed men, and cast into a loathsome dungeon in New Amsterdam, where "he was kept very long and well-nigh famished to death," his family being for- bidden to visit him. The Governor finding the punishment ineffectual to reduce the prisoner to sub- mission, determined to enforce the threat of banish- ment. He was accordingly placed on board a Dutch vessel and conveyed to Holland. Here he prepared an appeal to the Home Government which adminis- tered a stern rebuke to Governor Stuyvesant.

In 1663 John Bowne returned to America, bearing this memorable letter from the Dutch authorities re-establishing tolerance in religious opinions : " The consciences of men ought to be free and unshackled, so long as they continue moderate, peaceable, inoffen- sive, and not hostile to government. Such have been the maxims of prudence and toleration by which the magistrates of this City, Amsterdam, have been gov- erned, and the consequences have been that the oppressed and persecuted from every country have found among us an asylum from distress. Follow in the same steps, and you will be blessed."

The effect of this enlightened policy transmitted by the Home Government, was to establish religious


I 4 UNDER HIS WINGS.

liberty in the colony, and while New England was burning witches, and torturing Quakers, New Nether- lands received every one within its limits, of whatever creed or name.

Of John Murray, Jr., so many of whose estimable traits were largely inherited by his grandson, it was well said by a contemporary, " His delight was to remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, and to visit the forsaken."

A resident of New York at the present day can scarcely realize that the house in Cliff Street in which the subject of this memoir was born, was at that time in the pleasantest part of the city. Filled with home-like residences, whose inmates lived on terms of social freedom, the claims of business had not then turned the lower part of New York into a great mart for trade. Here the infancy of Robert Lindley Murray was spent, and until he was three years old, no cloud darkened his life. Then a sad change came suddenly upon the family : two of the children were seized with a malignant fever, and died from its effects. The mother, overcome with grief and watching, fell a victim to the same disease, and the three were buried in one grave. The little boy so early deprived of a mother's watchfulness, was tenderly cared for, and when he was five years of age, her place was supplied to him by the mar- riage of his father to Hannah Shot well, of New


UNDER HIS WINGS. I 5

York. He never knew what it was to miss a mother's tenderness, and the tie existing between step-mother and son was equally strong on the part of both. She watched over his boyhood and youth with loving fondness, and in return, it was his delight in manhood to minister to her comfort and smooth her path in her declining years.

As a child he was very attractive ; his flaxen hair hung in long curls, while his clear complexion and soft blue eyes, with the winning smile which seldom left his faee, formed a pleasing picture. His disposi- tion was so gentle and amiable that even in childhood his mother never heard him speak an unkind word to his brother, or knew of any quarrel between them. Yet this was not in consequence of a sluggish dispo- sition ; for no one was more ready for boyish sports, or more unwearied in their pursuit. Naturally fear- less and daring, he was among the first to join in any enterprise which might be suggested, while the un- wearied energy which distinguished his character in after life, found vent in athletic sports and games.

One incident in his child life shows his disposi- tion. He had stopped his hoop to watch the men excavating a cellar for a large house near his father's, watching eagerly the horses and carts, as load after load of gravel was taken away. One of the drivers disposed to tease the boy, threw some of the sand upon him every time he passed. At first the little


x 6 under his wings.

fellow brushed it away, but the repeated offence became troublesome, — what could be done? He was interested in the scene, and did not like to leave, but this sand bath w T as very annoying.

At last a bright idea occurred to him, and running into the house, he begged his mother to give him some pears. A basket full of choice ones had been sent to his father, and noticing his eagerness, she gave him two. Feeling some curiosity to know what he wanted to do with them, she looked from the window to watch his actions.

He waited quietly till his tormentor came near, then running up to him, put the pears in his hand, and went back to his hoop. The man looked as- tonished, but it is hardly necessary to add, threw no more sand on the little peacemaker. In the Spring ot 1838, he entered Haverford College, in Pennsylvania, and there, as in his other schools, he soon made warm friends.

Winning and attractiye in his demeanor and friendly to all, still his character was so pure and simple, that his intimate associates were always of the best class. He seemed to have no affinity for evil, and schemes for deceiving or disturbing the teachers found no abettor in him. His progress in his studies was commendable, his order list unsullied, and the time of his sojourn there was a season of enjoyment to his teachers and himself.


UNDER HIS WINGS. \y

But his constitution was not vigorous, and the close application to study brought on such an aggra- vated form of dyspepsia, that he was obliged to return home in the Fall of 1840, and the phyicians forbade his resuming Iris studies. Country life was prescribed, and he spent the next year at Colden- ham, the old home of the family, where one of his sisters then resided.

Refreshed and strengthened by the pure air, and the quiet of a rural life, the distressing symptoms were removed, though for two or three years he was unable to engage in any mercantile pursuit.

During this period

" Life went a Maying, With Nature, Hope, and Poesy.

And in the enjoyment of his books, and agreeable associates, his bark drifted easily along life's stream.

His own letters give a picture of his life at this time.

7 mo.) 30, 1843. Soon after the receipt of thy last I for- sook the " dim and treeless town," and posted direct to Col- denham, when father, mother, sister C. and self, started for a little visit to our Dutch cousins in Ulster and Dutchess /counties. It was an exceedingly pleasant cruise, there is so much unsophisticated hospitality among them, and being in a private conveyance we made a complete circuit of all our friends. When it happened there was nothing particularly interesting to me, and the rest were seeing the old folks, I would scour the country on horseback.


1 8 UNDER HIS WINGS. -

After our excursion, which proved to ail a very pleasant one, I am once more quietly ensconced atColdenham, a very pleasant place ; situated as it is between two ranges of hills, there is almost always a delightful air.

" As if from Heaven's open gate did flow Health and refreshment on the world below."

The season has been so "exceedingly dry that the garden is completely scorched up, " son regne d' un jour est passe," yet there are other sources of enjoyment, other "visible things," with which the lover of nature may hold com- munion.

The giants of the wood are still capable of rearing their heads, and affording a delightful shade, which in this fiery July weather is exceedingly acceptable. I often partake of it, seated on the ground, and listening to the " wood notes wild." I have also perpetrated considerable horseback-rid- ing, and yet in all these things I am sadly in need of a com- panion ; riding alone is but half a pleasure. I know it has been said,

" There is society where none intrudes,"

but I am not prepared to unite therein.

ii mo., 1843. We have just established a new society, which we dignify by the name of a Literary one, and on ac- count of the smallness of our number, a considerable amount of service is required from each member.

We style our body the Fraternal Club ; how does that do to begin with ? Something brilliant thou expects from that ! But to say the least of us, we are a very affectionate and loving band, and all is conducted with harmony and order. Perhaps, however, thy opinion of the Band Illustrious will be somewhat lessened, when I inform thee that at their elec-


UNDER HIS WINGS.


19


tion for officers, -they chose for president thy worthy scrib- bler.

But more of this if I find time and room. I will now hasten to give thee the news which is at present uppermost in my own mind, which is the safe arrival of our long looked- for brother.

We had been expecting him for some time, when we saw an account in the paper of the total wreck of the vessel in which we hoped he would arrive, but that the passengers were safe at Havana, to sail the next day for New York.

He made his appearance yesterday afternoon, and says, they were wrecked three days after leaving South America. He, as well as most of them, lost everything they had on board — clothes, and all his valuable papers ; they had but one boat, which could only take nine, so after constructing a raft, the balance, four, shipped upon that, having first divided their scanty supply of provisions and water ; these four have not been heard from.

To add to their trouble, the captain was sick, so that-D. officiated in his stead, being pilot and captain at the same time. Shaping his course for Honduras, in the middle of the night, they crossed a reef of rocks, in imminent danger of being dashed to pieces ; indeed it was considered a mira- cle that they were not. After being thus tossed about in their little boat, nine days and nights, and having ex- hausted all their provisions and water, the allowance of which had been two biscuits and some gills per diem, they at length reached Balize. Here he procured some clothing, and started again in the " Charles Hammond " for New York. This vessel, too, was wrecked, and they put into Havana in distress. After remaining here two or three days, they started once more, but again they were driven in all di- rections but the right one. About three weeks ago, they were within a few miles of the city, then were driven off as far as


20 UNDER HIS WINGS.

Montauk Point, tried to get into the Sound, but could not succeed; but in a few days found themselves at the Capes of the Delaware. Here, however, they were so fortunate as to fall in with a pilot-boat, into which D. entered, and was glad to be set down at Cape May. This, though not New York, was at least " terra firma," and steamboats and railroads were preferable to a sailing craft.

Please excuse this long story; thou knows I generally write what is uppermost in my own thoughts, not considering what is interesting to my correspondent. But, indeed, a letter should be a map of one's own feelings at the time of writing, whether it be in a mood for wisdom, for sentiment, for gravity, or gaiety, for news or for secrets.

I cannot unite with the opinion of Dr. Johnson, that " to write a letter without affection, without wisdom, without gaiety, without news, and without a secret, is doubtless the epistolic art."


CHAPTER II.

rpHE year 1845 was always marked with a white stone in his memory, as in it he realized the fulfilment of a promise made by his father, that he would some day take him to Europe. With his buoyant temperament, and freedom from care, he entered fully into the enjoyment of the grand and beautiful, and his journal regularly kept, gives a graphic picture of the varying scenes which met his eye.

Some extracts will be given as portraying the zest of his pleasure, though as he himself said of it in after years, " some allowance must be made for many things ; my views and sentiments upon some subjects have changed since then, and even my present, sober self, has been constrained to laugh most heartily at what was then penned amid intense excitement and the enthusiasm of the moment."

2d mo., 6, 1845. Embarked this day on board Packet Ship St. Nicholas, for Havre, took leave of the last of our friends who had accompanied us in the steamboat to the Lower Bay at eleven o'clock, and in an hour and a half were

(21)


22 UXDER HIS WINGS.

outside of the Hook, and bidding adieu to our pilot, severing, as it seemed, the last link that connected us with home.

How checkered are the feelings of one departing thus; what a strange commingling of hope and joy, of sorrow and fear, hope in the prospect of pleasure in store, joy in the anticipation thereof; but on the other hand, sorrow and regret, yea, agony at parting from our friends, fear too at the abyss of time which is to separate them from us, months at least, years perhaps, perhaps from some, forever, and it is at a time like this that the truth of those lines of E. Barrett may be exemplified : " Though the Universe^ be broad, two little tears suffice to cover all."

After a short voyage for a packet ship, they landed at Havre on the 26th, and soon proceeded to Paris, afterwards through the south of France, and thence by steamer to Genoa and Leghorn.

His youthful enthusiasm breaks forth on reaching Italy.

3d mo., 15th. "O Italy, how beautiful thou art!" Scarce had we landed at Leghorn this morning, when the clouds began to break, and when we started for Florence about two o'clock, a bright sun made glad our hearts, so that I was in a measure enabled to realize that a land rich in intellectual pleasure was before me, and as our voiture jogged steadily onward, towards evening I gazed with delight upon a beautiful sunset, at the " gorgeous drapery " flung around the departing monarch, and watched with rapture till all was lost in darkness. I will not say I have not seen sunsets as fine at home, in fact it was an American sunset, but it was the first I had seen since leaving, and it brought home to mind.


UNDER HIS WINGS. 23

idth. " Of all the fairest cities of the earth

None are so fair as Florence."

" 'Tis the past Contending with the present, and in turn Each has the mastery."

Here Galileo studied, here have labored the Raphaels, the Buonarottis, the Giottos, the Arnolfas, and from the city and its enchanting environs did Dante and Milton draw inspira- tion, while its stately palaces and monuments of art justly entitle it to the appellation, " la Bella."

1 7th. Spent most of 'he morning in the Imperial Gallery. It is crowded with the gems of art, and it seemed sacrilegious to hurry through it as we were obliged to. I was rather disappointed in the countenance of the statue, the praises of which are sounded to the ends of the earth — the Venus di Medici ; it lacked the spiritual expression I had hoped to find, nor even did it seem to breathe like the production of our own back-woodsman — the lovely Eve of Powers.

We visited to-day the Church of Santa Croce, principally interesting to me from containing the tomb of Michael Angelo. The urn is surrounded by three beautiful statues — Sculpture, Painting, and Architecture, weeping for their departed champion, the whole surmounted by a bust of himself.

Adjoining the Pitti Gallery, is a very extensive museum, in one apartment of which I could linger for hours ; this is a splendid temple erected to the honor of the Tuscan philoso- pher. The room is beautifully adorned, and contains a statue of Galileo, while the walls are covered with paintings illustrating passages in his life, and the instruments with which his discoveries were made, contained in cases ; there was, however, one relic which certainly was not to my taste — the actual finger preserved in a glass vase.


24 UNDER HIS WINGS.

\%th. While the rest of the company were preparing for breakfast, I went out to take a last lingering look at the beau- tiful bronze doors of the Baptistry, concerning which M. Angelo said, " They are worthy to be the gates of paradise," and to stand upon the venerated stone upon which the Italian bard used to love to sit and muse. It was one of the vases or basins in this Baptistry that Dante tells us he broke :

" One of the stones I broke some years ago To save a drowning child ; be this my word A seat, the motive of my deed to show."

I looked for the fragment, but could not find it ; doubtless it had been removed. The Duomo, the Baptistry, and the Campanile are all together as in Pisa, and form a most imposing group. In the Duomo is a beautiful full-length portrait of Dante and some fine sculpture ; the tower is higher than the one in Pisa, and commands a magnificent view of " la bella Firenze " and its lovely environs.

While father was performing his regular after-breakfast routine, I stole another hour for the Imperial Gallery, spend- ing it in, to me, the most attractive apartment — the Tribune. The Venus improves greatly upon acquaintance, yet there is a statue of Apollo in the same room, and from the style, apparently executed by the same artist, which in spite of the world I could not help admiring as much. After this, went to visit the house of Michael Angelo, but I was very much disappointed at not being able to gain admission. It con- tains several of his works with his instruments and other relics in his studio.

Rome, ^d month, 20th. We have spent thirty-seven hours on the way from Florence to Rome — rather a long while to occupy the same seat; but the splendid scenery of the Appenines, among and on the tops of which we were for the


UNDER HIS WINGS.


25


most of the time, fully entertained and delighted us through the day, and at night we slept, as much at least as a very hard seat and a jolting vehicle would allow.

The tourist of the present day will smile at the thought of a long ride by diligence between Florence and Rome, when the distance can now be so comfort- ably accomplished by railroad.

Nothing daunted, however, by the fatigue, an early visit was made to St. Peter's, where the ceremonies of Holy Week added interest to the venerable pile. He says :

I was utterly bewildered with its immensity and grandeur. It is a mass-meeting of magnificence of every kind concen- trated under one roof.

The famous " Miserere " wa's to be performed in the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon ; we stood in the crowd for half an hour awaiting the opening of the chapel door, which done, the mass poured in as fast as the Swiss guard would allow them. It was an hour before the service commenced, which, however, to me passed quickly, with M. Angelo's Last Judg- ment directly before me, and his equally fine frescoes on the ceiling above.

Fifteen candles were burning in a pyramid near the altar, representing the prophets and Saviour. Now the choir pout forth the mournful notes of the "Tenebrae," so called, as it used to be sung at midnight ; this continued for an hour and three-quarters, but we were rivetted to the spot ; the candles one by one were put out, and finally the last one extinguish- ed — suddenly the " Miserere " commenced ; it was a sweet, clear, and thrilling harmony, and all were breathless while it lasted for half an hour. It had kept us standing four hours


2 6 UNDER HIS V/INGS.

and a half, which, for those who had already been so the rest of the day, and without rest the two preceding nights, was no inconsiderable thing, yet in my delight I forgot it all, and went home rejoiced that I had been there.

21st. Longing as I have done ever since we have been in Rome to gaze upon the monuments of her ancient gran- deur, I could delay no longer, but have visited the Palace of the Caesars, and the grand Coliseum.

" The gladiator's blood)' circus stands A noble wreck in ruinous perfection."

And is now consecrated, has altars erected, and a cross in the centre, to kiss which " absolves the sins of an hundred days."

It was a glorious night, the nearly full moon shone down in unclouded brilliancy, and I proposed a ramble among the ruins ; its mellow light conceals defects, and reveals only beauties ; it " softens down the hoar austerity of rugged desolation," and fills up the " gaps of time ; " it veils the upturned earth of modern excavations, and fits the mind for undisturbed reflection.

We went first to the Coliseum, and what was my surprise to find it enlivened with upwards of an hundred visitors. I did not know there was so much romance in the world. We walked along the Appian Way under the Arch of Titus, passed the Palace of the Caesars, the Temple of Concord, of Fortune and of Antoninus, through the Forum, and across the Capitoline hill I stretched my historical knowledge to its utmost tension to people them with the beings, and throng them with the attributes of the past.

29M. This day has been delightfully occupied in an excur- sion to Tivoli. The road, for the first ten or twelves miles, has


UNDER HIS WINGS. 2 J

little of interest, and I amused myself in watching the peasan- try in their picturesque dresses ; and the donkeys, upon which they pile such immense masses of fodder, as almost completely to conceal the animal from view, and make them resemble moving hay-stacks. We soon, however, came in sight of the Lago de Tartare, which we stopped to examine ; the water of the lake is of a milky-white color, and tartarises grass, and all vegetable matter with which it comes in con- tact, so that the ground around it is a curious mass of petre- faction, the air too smells strongly of sulphur, and the whole country for miles around talks of volcanoes. We spent an hour or two roaming over Adrian's Villa, which must have been a wonderful place, as within its confines are the ruins of palace, temples, barracks, libraries, circuses, theatres, and even a heaven and a hell, for the summer accommodation of the luxurious Romans.

Tivoli is built upon a mass of petrefaction ; the conse- quence is, grottoes, caves, and caverns abound in the most romantic perfection. The river Anie runs actually under the town, and rushes down the precipice in innumerable cascades, the principal of which pours thundering down into the Grotto of Neptune, through which it passes, and all unite beyond ; directly over this, perched finely on the summit of a rock, is the beautiful little temple of Vesta, round which, like incense, the spray from the falls arises. Facing this and in the most romantic part of the town, and most inspiring of places the guide pointed out, what I fain would have believed was the abode of Horace. The guide-book, how- ever, located the poet ten miles off, giving Sallust the honor of inhabiting the place in question.

4 mo., $th. The greater part of the last three days have been spent in the diligence between Rome and Naples, a dis- tance which should have been accomplished in thirty hours.


28 UNDER HIS WINGS.

But then we had the Mediterranean singing us to sleep with its roar on the one hand, and on the other the wild haunts of Fra Diavolo, "fit fabric" for a " vision's base. And now in Naples, we have letters from home which afforded ample occupation for the remainder of the day.

6th. We have had a delightful excursion to-day in the bay of Naples, and to the island of Capri ; the steamboat following the land, we had an excellent view of the beautiful banks and of Vesuvius, continually pouring forth volumes of smoke, and surrounded by numerous villages and towns, as if the inhabitants were in love with danger. The steamboat stopped first off the far side of the island to give us an oppor- tunity of visiting the Grottono Azuro, or Blue Cave, with which we were delighted ; the entrance is so small as scarcely to admit a row-boat, upon the bottom of which it was neces- sary to sit. From the smallness of the aperture, it would be reasonable to suppose the cave would be dark ; what then was our surprise to find ourselves immediately ushered into a splendid stalactite grotto, very large and lofty, and in which all is light. The water is of the richest indigo blue, and so per- fectly transparent, that fish could be seen sporting far below the surface, and seems to act like a prism, and a mirror in refracting and reflecting the rays into all parts of the cavern, and giving to the whole interior the same beautiful blue ap- pearance, of the effect of all which no description can give an adequate idea. Thence we landed upon the other side of the island, and ascended to the lofty summit to enjoy a splendid view of the bay, to throw stones into the Medi- terranean, and to explore the ruins of the palace and theatre of Tiberius Caesar. It was after dark when we reached Ve- suvius, and the smoke was mingled with flame, every mo- ment bursting forth in a blaze, and then twinkling as a star in the distance.


UNDER HIS WINGS. 2 g

From Naples they left by steamer for the East, and enjoyed the sail on the Mediterranean among the " Isles of Greece."

Syra, 4 mo., 22nd. All the islands of the Archipelago appear to be excessively barren, far better fitted " to cradle upon a rock" their ancient race of " gods and god- like men," than to minister to the luxury of effeminate moderns. The men are for the most part fine-looking fellows, though among the women it would be difficult for sculptor to find a model for another Medicean Venus. There is a good deal of the Turk about the dresses of the men ; their wide-flowing breeches so much resemble frocks as to render it almost difficult to distinguish the women from them. Syra is the point of rendezvous and departure for all the Mediterranean steamers, and only as such is a place of note ; the town presents a curious appearance, being for the most part built upon a steep conical hill, sur- mounted on the extreme apex by a cathedral.

How long soever we may be doomed to spend here, from appearances the outer man will be comfortably cared for, in a place where we had been given to expect that we should find nowhere to lay our heads. We are located in a sociable little inn, of which the landlord is cook, caterer, and conductor at one and the same time, where everything, though plain and simple, is far neater than in Italy, and where one can discover what he is eating at dinner without cross-questioning the waiter.

2^th. Hardly an hour after writing the above, we had started on our way to Athens, having when out on a stroll in the evening, accidently fallen in with the master of a little craft who was upon the point of starting in the desired direction and whom we immediately engaged. We


30 UNDER HIS WINGS.

have just reached Athens this afternoon, with rough seas, head winds and calms, having had a tedious passage ; it was, moreover, from beginning to end a season of the most ex- quisite suffering ; the cabin, which was reserved for our party of five, was about five feet long, four broad, and two and a half high ; upon the floor was spread a blanket upon which to repose at night ; all this would have done very well, but unluckily the place was pre-occupied by swarms of cockroaches, fleas, and bed-bugs ; the very smell arising from which was perfectly overpowering, while the gnawing and stinging of the voracious monsters in miniature, almost drove me to distraction ; on the other hand to remain on deck, was, if possible, worse ; not only were the nights exces- sively cold, but the little deck was literally piled with pieces of mortality, in the shape of men, women, and chil- dren, occupying almost every inch of space, and abounding too with vermin of by no means a more inviting kind. Three nights on board under such circumstances ; — verily one needs not to brush up poetical and historical reminiscences to perpetuate the memory of such a cruise among the " Isles of Greece," and upon the waters of ^Egeian Sea. The harbor of the Piraeus is well protected, and remains of ancient fortifications may yet be traced.

26th. Immediately after breakfast we went to visit the Acropolis ; the rock itself is situated in the midst of ancient and directly upon the borders of modern Athens, towering into the air as high as any of the surrounding hills. After ascending and passing through the entrance, the first object that strikes the eye is the Propylaea, a kind of immense ves- tibule leading to the Parthenon. To the right of this, and perched upon a lofty crag, is a beautiful little temple, almost perfect, built and dedicated to " Victory," after the battle of Marathon. Passing now through the Propylaea, the grand


UXDER HIS WINGS. 3 1

and majestic Parthenon bursts suddenly upon the view ; this is situated upon the very summit of the Acropolis, and commands a magnificent view of the ^Egeian Sea, the Gulf of Salamis, and the whole plain of Athens. Like Marius among the ruins of Carthage, I sat me down to contem- plate.

The Areopagus, or Hill of Mars, is immediately adjacent to the Acropolis; I ascended the steps hewn out of the solid rock and stood upon the summit ; here it was that the Athenian judges sat, in the dark, in order to avoid being in- fluenced by acquaintance with the accused or accuser ; here Socrates received his sentence, and upon this very spot stood the great Apostle of the Gentiles when he proclaimed to the wondering Athenians the truth of that " unknown God " whom u ignorantly they worshipped."

28M. To-day to Marathon. Leaving father at home with his friend Hill, I started for the excursion early in the morn- ing, one of a party of eight ; on leaving Athens the road passes in the immediate vicinity of Plato's academic grove, and for some distance along the ruins of the river Elissus. Two hours ride brought us to the foot of Mount Pentelicon, the source of the renowned Pentelic marble ; here we dis- mounted, and ascended for nearly two hours, viewing the quarries of the ancient and modern Greeks, and exploring a most beautiful and extensive grotto.

The mountain is 350 feet high, and most of the party having reached a lofty eminence declined proceeding further. I, however, pushed on till I reached the uppermost crag, where a glorious view burst upon the sight. Not far to the south is Mount Hymettus, celebrated for its honey, which is daily upon our table ; further to the right the plain of Attica ; Athens with her towering Acropolis in the distance, with the sea and island of Aegina, and " thy glorious gulf, uncon-


32


UNDER HIS WINGS.


quered Salamis." To the north and east the island-studded sea, stretching as far as the eye can reach, with the pic- turesque Negropont close at hand, while directly beneath my feet lay unrolled a beauteous plain, which a fool would not need to be informed was gray old Marathon.

" The battle-field where Persia's victim horde First bowed beneath the brunt of Hella's sword."

The country is wretchedly miserable, hardly a trace of cultivation anywhere to be seen ; in fact, except its ruins, its views, and its places of political and historical interest, one is apt to be disappointed in Greece. The people are sadly degenerated, a race of rascals and of knaves ; their songs are harsh, monotonous, discordant ; their women have lost their wonted beauty ; and their country even has sunk into decay. It is Ancient Greece one has pictured in his fancy, and the modern cannot realize his dream. " 'Tis Greece, but living Greece no more."

29//Z. Breakfasted this morning with our friends, Hill. They mentioned having raised in their garden bunches of grapes two feet and a half long, and weighing seven pounds, which amply demonstrated that the soil is not to blame, but that if the people would but arouse from their lethargy, the country might now be productive.

5 mo., 1st. On rising this morning, found ourselves off Scio, the most beautiful of the isles we have yet seen, its valleys rich with the olive and mastic trees, and the hills cultivated to the very top, besides Homer gives it celebrity, " the blind old bard of Scio's rocky isle." By two o'clock we reached Smyrna.

The town of Smyrna appears very well from the water sloping gently toward, the shore and stretching a couple of


UNDER HIS WINGS. 33

miles along the coast, with the tall slender minarets of its innu- merable mosques towering high above every other thing. On entering the city, however, the scene is changed, every street being excessively narrow, crowded, and dirty, still the appear- ance of everything around him is to a stranger new and curious. The houses and shops are mostly one story high, the extending roofs of the dwelling-houses on opposite sides lapping over one another, while the streets of the bazaars are protected from the scorching rays of the sun by a semi- transparent roofing thrown from side to side. The shops are altogether open in front, the goods disposed upon the floor, upon which the cross-legged proprietor sits with pipe in mouth, perfectly still as if communing with his own thoughts and little desirous of being disturbed by customers.

I stood in the midst of the ancient church of Smyrna — one of the seven. This place, once occupied by the early Christians, is now transformed into a cow-stable.

2d. The streets of Smyrna are so narrow that not a vehicle of any description is seen, all burdens being borne by men, camels, and donkeys ; these latter are not as generally repre- sented, but smart and tractable, and if well-cared for would be tolerably handsome animals. Finding some ready-har- nessed in the street, we mounted, and drove a little out-of- town to the Caravan bridge, a kind of promenade, or rather lounging place. It was, however, the wrong time of day and almost deserted ; hence to the slave market, where we found no " beautiful Circassians," but Africans only, apparently con- tented with their lot, but all of them far blacker negroes than we see at home.

\th. " Constantinople in sight," cut short my slumber. I tumbled out of my berth, and hurried up on deck ; there the eastern city of the seven hills, lay stretched before us with


34 UNDER HIS WINGS.

her majestic domes and slender minarets towering to the skies. The city has a beautiful appearance from the water, with the lovely Seraglio gardens directly in front of the harbor as you enter. Constantinople, as you see it at a distance on the water, and Constantinople as you behold it when wandering through its streets, are altogether different things ; the streets partake largely of the barbarity of the people, excessively narrow and filthy, without sidewalks, and paved with stones rough and sharp enough to wear the fraction of an inch from one's stature by a half-day's walk upon them ; still the variety of costume in the throng that crowds them, and the rich and curious appearance of the innumerable shops, form a picture altogether new and pleas- ing. The dress of the Turks, however, I cannot admire, while that of the Greeks is extremely beautiful.

6th. We joined the American ambassador at an early hour this morning, pursuant to a previous invitation from him, for an expedition among the beauties of the Bosphorus, the Hudson of the eastern world ; several ladies were of the party, the whole number consisting of about twenty, it being, of course, an entirely American affair and no others than Americans present. A painter only could describe such a landscape as this ; but the principal features were, look- ing toward the east, the black sheet of the Euxine dotted with innumerable sails, and stretching as far as the eye could reach, with the ruins of an old Venetian castle upon its banks, situated in the very place, than which the genius of the picturesque itself would not have imagined a better ; toward the west a full - length portrait of the meander- ing Bosphorus, its picturesque promontories and beautiful bays, and bearing upon its bosom twice an hundred sails, with the Sea of Marmora and snow-capped Olympus in the dis- tance ; directly beneath our feet, upon the north, lay that


UNDER HIS WINGS.


35


splendid Bosphorus again, and behind to the south, a vale of the richest verdure. After feasting upon this intellectual meal, we were summoned to dinner, — a strange affair it seemed for a party of Yankees to be holding a picnic five thousand miles from home ; but even thus it was, and thanks to the hospitality of our American ambassador, never did Ameri- cans enjoy themselves better. Soon after dinner it was time to depart ; so cutting a Daphne cane from the furthest point from home that I have ever been, and ever expect to be, upon the Asiatic corner of the Bosphorus and Euxine Sea, again mounted our Araba, jolted down the mountain, passed through the lovely valley, stepped from Asia into a caique and retraced our way along the Bosphorus, enjoying another succession of enchanting views, among which one might revel for a life. When about half way down I enjoyed a magnificent sunset, — the monarch of the day departing,

" Not as in northern climes, obscurely bright, But one unclouded blaze of living light,"

reflecting its glory upon the water, and gilding the green wave " which trembled as it glowed." Now turning into the city's gorgeous bay, the shades of evening or of twilight added to the witchery of the scene, and again I trod on shore, after having spent a day, which shall be a white stone in my calendar, a time ever to be remembered as among the loveliest periods of enjoyment that have ever cast their halo around my path.

The extreme eastern point was now reached, and the travellers again embarked on the Mediterranean, landing at Trieste on the 19th of 5 mo. They visited the cave of Adeisburg, and then started by diligence


3 6 UNDER HIS WINGS.

for Vienna. After a sojourn of ten days in that de- lightful city, they resumed their journey.

6tk mo., ist. We were off in a carriage at midday for Salz- burg, at which place we have arrived this evening. The road is a continued series of most magnificent and beautiful scenery, where, if Switzerland can be surpassed, we may be tempted to remain for life. Verily, this country seems made for trav- ellers, and for lovers of the romantic and beautiful ; the roads wind around, and pass over mountains of the wildest magnifi- cence, now following the shores of tranquil lakes embed- ded in their midst, now chasing the leaping torrents as they thunder along between them, but when the genius of the picturesque will allow of the approach of cultivation nothing can exceed the smiling exuberance of this beautiful land; indeed in this respect it must even be a rival of lovely Italy, the garden of the world- The approach to this place, and the view of the whole plain of Salzburg, hedged in by snow- capped mountains, is strikingly interesting and beautiful.

13//Z. Once more in the land of the olive and the myrtle, the fig-tree and the vine, of pretty faces, with mouths unpol- luted by horrid Dutch, and a happy release from the region of feather-beds to sleep under. Italia's smiling and exuber- ant plains now afford a striking contrast, and not unpleasing variety to the overpowering sublimity of the Tyrolean Alps.

i$th. I am indeed in Venice* the city which, perhaps, of all others, I had most desired to see, — Venice the seat of poetry, of the arts and of romance, " throned on her hundred isles;" the glorious city in the sea, whose waves ebb and flow in her streets, washing " the marble of her palaces." I have been surprised to find that it is possible to go all over the city by land without the assistance of a gondola ; these terra


UNDER HIS WINGS. 37

firma streets are, however, very intricate, and upon an ex- ceedingly diminutive scale, as I find I can generally reach across them, but they are large enough for all necessary pur- poses, there being no vehicles, and so far as I can discover, only one horse in the whole place. The finest part of the city is St. Mark's Place, a large open court, on which face the old palace of the Doges, and the great Church of St. Mark, with the towering campanile in front.

16th. Rome and Venice share the glory of containing the ashes of Canova, as in the former his hands are entombed, while here in the Church of Santa Maria de Trari, a magnifi- cent monument is erected over his heart ; it so happened he designed it himself, and intended it as a monument to Titian, but dying just at the right time, it was appropriated as above, though a still more splendid one is now preparing, commem- orative of the illustrious painter.

Explored the room and prisons of the Inquisition, whose tales are sad and horrible, and felt almost sick at heart as I stood and gazed upon the Bridge of Sighs. The palace, like everything else here, is falling to decay, and indeed it almost makes one sad to glide quietly and songlessly through the watery streets of Venice, to see at every turn her crum- bling splendor and her tottering walls.

30th. The whole of the past two days have been occupied in a pilgrimage to the hospice of the Great St. Bernard. Leaving the hotel at six in the morning, the first five hours are accomplished in a " char-a-banc," or rather in a " char- a-cote," a species of vehicle drawn by mules, having the seat arranged lengthwise in order to accommodate itself to the nar- rowness of the road ; being moreover sans-springs, the poor inmates labor under the difficulty of having their breakfasts digested long before the dinner time arrives. However, being


38 UNDER HIS WINGS.

duly refreshed at a wretched hotel in the wretched little

hamlet of , the road now becoming impracticable for the

chars, each of us mounted a mule and proceeded onwards ; soon, however, the path emerged into a regular climb up rocky steeps, and, for an hour before reaching the convent, passed over snow of unknown depth, some of which, doubtless, had lain there for centuries, and perhaps the very same that was trampled under foot of him who led an army hither en route to conquer at Marengo.

Unluckily for us, though the day at starting had promised fairly, soon after taking mules the rain began to descend in no very comfortable quantities, changing as we ascended into a regular snow-storm, while, being in the midst of clouds, we could see but a few paces around or before us. Ever and anon too, our mules would sink to the girths in the snow, rendering it impossible to proceed upon them, so that much of the way was accomplished on foot. By six in the evening we were at the convent, cold and wet to the skin, but our troubles were soon put an end to by the kind hospitality of the "brethren," who piled the wood upon the fire, urged a change of raiment upon us, and when suffi- ciently revived, invited us to dinner; the fare excellent, though plain, a long cold ride upon the back of mules, fur- nishing the best of " ragout." Strange it seemed to be there in the midst of summer, shivering around a fire, and a furi- ous snow-storm raging without, and glad we were to turn in at an early hour under an array of blankets, coverlids, etc., that would have daunted us in the midst of winter at home.

In the morning I was up betimes to attend the service of the monks in their chapel ; whatever may be said against the religion of the Catholics, their faithfulness and devotedness to it is certainly praiseworthy, and may, doubtless, be often accepted as an offering in faith. These monks perform their service for several hours every morning and evening, and,


UNDER HIS WINGS.


39


for all I 'know to the contrary, as much more during the day and night. This over, and after having partaken again of the good-cheer of the brethren I sallied out to look for the famous dogs ; they are hardly as large as I expected to find them, but are certainly a noble race- Hence to the Morgue, or depository of the bodies of travellers who have perished in the snow, — a ghastly collection of dry bones, with a dozen or two upright skeletons ranged around; but as I was turn- ing in disgust from this horrid " Golgotha, 5 ' my eye rested upon the really interesting features of one of the figures, the anxiety and distress of a mother as she cherishes in her bosom her perishing babe, doubtless the very position in which they had been found. In the hall of the convent is a monument in memory of Napoleon, and in the chapel repose the remains of Desaix, whose body, by order of the former, was brought from Marengo hither.

Though the storm had ceased, the clouds still hung around us, so .at eight in the morning we commenced our descent, without having been able to enjoy the prospect from the summit, or the fine view of Mount Blanc which it presents, but at least with the satisfaction of having slept in the high- est human habitation upon the face of the earth, and about eight thousand feet above our fellow-men.

Luzerne, 6 mo., nth. After enjoying the sail upon the lake, we landed at the little town of Weggis, and commenced on foot the ascent to the Rhegi culm, from which is " the most magnificent view in the world." The road is steep and the ascent laborious, but almost every turn reveals some new and pleasing prospect. By two o'clock luckily the sun burst forth, and the curtain of the clouds arose, unveiling before us the magnificent scene ; and such a scene ! verily a whole vocabulary of the wildest superlatives would be applied to it in vain. Switzerland, from its Dan to its Beersheba, is seen


40 UNDER HIS WINGS.

in one grand coup d 'ceil ; from the glacier snows of Gothard the eye may wander to the highlands of Germany, resting in its course on every alp save one, on fourteen lovely lakes, and on every magnificent and lovely portion of this magnifi- cent and lovely land.

23*/. He next revelled in the lovely Rhine, " so often and so justly sung by the poets of all nations," and then passed on through the quaint pictures of home-life displayed in Holland. Bidding farewell to " this amphibious Dutch land " with its dykes and ditches, the travelers remained for a time in Antwerp enjoying the remains of Rubens' genius. Brussels came next, and interested him greatly from its intrinsic beauty and historic associations.

2d. But the great lion of Brussels is the memorable field of battle, and it has been with the most thrilling interest to-day that I have stood upon and explored that Grave of France, the deadly Waterloo," our guide pointing out the exact position of the contending armies, and the most interesting points of combat ; he indeed spoke with enthu- siasm upon the subject, and, after hearing we were not English, mourned the catastrophe of Napoleon, ever and anon venting his indignation against poor old Grouchy for coming up too late. Yet one can hardly avoid partaking of such feelings himself; yes, poor Bonaparte, here it was that cruel frisking Fortune deserted thee, " her spoiled, but favorite child," and "the greatest nor the worst of men" sank to rise no more. But for thirty years the spear hath been beaten into the pruning hook, and now far other scenes have place ; the peaceful bosom of the plain now " knows no UNDER HIS WINGS. 4 1

ravage save the gentle plough," her undulating surface is clothed with grain ripe unto the harvest, and nature still pursues her quiet course, "As if she took no care

For what her noblest work had suffered there."


They remained for some time in England, forming" pleasant acquaintances and visiting many places of interest. Only one notice will be given of their visit to the home of Lindley Murray, the grammarian, who, after leaving America, had lived for many years at York.

9 mo., 16th. To-day has been a most deeply interesting one to us. Accompanied by our friend Samuel Tuke, we visited Holdgate, the residence of our dear uncle and aunt. Its present tenants were all absent ; we, however, went in and examined it from top to bottom. The house and grounds remain very much the same as before the death of their venerable inmates, and with the exception of being consider- ably smaller, seemed very like the idea I had formed of it from the prints. After purloining some small relics in the way of pears, we left and visited the grave. Uncle and aunt lay side by side, apparently exactly in the centre of the ground, with a square mound erected over them.

10th mo., \th. Went on board the steamer at twelve o'clock, very many kind friends being upon the wharf to bid us a last farewell. At two we received our mails, and ere night, were " dancing in triumph o'er the waters wide." And what if the fierce Eolus does unprison the winds and let them loose upon us, " scooping the ocean to its briny


42


UNDER HIS WINGS.


springs." I still love the ocean, for it bears me home, and I love its roughness for the speed it gives."

And now upon a retrospect of the past nine months, what eventful ones have they been to me ; how many " a mountain path " have I, during that time, trod ; how many " a varied shore" sailed along; how many a clime have visited, " fair withal as ever mortal had imagined ; " and with feelings that cannot readily be described ; upon how many of the most remarkable places of the earth have I stood. I have passed through the length of " bonnie France," and revelled amid the inexhaustible delights of Italy, that delicious land :

" The garden of the world, the home Of all art ) T ields and nature can decree."

I have gazed, awe-stricken, into the very crater of Vesuvius, and wondering threaded the streets of Pompeii, that " city of the dead." I have stood within the coliseum's walls " amid the chief relics of mighty Rome," feeling at the time my heart run over " with silent worship of the great of old." I have hailed with delight Calypso's realms, albeit the fair goddess has long ceased to mourn for him " who dared pre- fer a mortal bride ; " although " her reign is past, her gentle glories gone."

I have gazed exultingly on Morea's hills, and a pilgrim, pensive but unwearied, have worshipped " all that remains of thee," " shrine of the mighty," Greece! Though but the shadow of thy former self; though but the " sad relic of departed worth," yet thy wreck and thy ruin are still graced "with an immaculate charm which cannot be effaced."

I have been where Troy stood once ; I have seen the " desert of old Priam's pride," and '* looked on Ida with a Trojan's eye." I have joyed to plough through Helle's waves, albeit in a most unromantic steamer, and have had a tear to drop for thee, poor Leander, and thy Sestian bride.


UNDER HIS WINGS. 43

From Marmora's waters I have looked upon old Stam- boul, " that sheening far, celestial seemed to be," and have stood within her oriental walls. I have revelled among the beauties of the enchanting Bosphorus, with a measure of Pizzaro's feelings on first coming in sight of the waters of the Pacific. I have climbed to the summit of the Giant's Mountain, and seen thy sheet, "dark Euxine," unrolled beneath my feet. I have been tossed to and fro upon " fair (?) Adria's waters," and have bent mine eyes upon thee, land of Albania, thou " rugged nurse of savage men."

I have stood in Venice on the " Bridge of Sighs," and with Rogers have hailed the turrets of Verona, breakfasting " where Juliet at the mosque saw her loved Montague," and strove to drop a tear o'er her tomb.

I have communed with Nature in her loveliest as well as in her wildest mood ; long delighted, have revelled amid the immaculate loveliness of Central Germany,- and amid the tremendous grandeur of the Alps of the Tyrol. On Bernard's rude summit, have helped the monks " to count their beads and eat venison," and in one glance sublime, have looked from the top of tke Rhegi, upon the whole of splendid Switzerland, spread out, as it were, beneath my feet. Wondering and delighted, I have gazed upon the hoar glaciers of bleak Mt. Blanc, and have seen the precipit- ous Jungfrau " rear her never-trodden snow."

I have sailed upon the bosom of thee, fair Rhine, thou " ex- ulting and abounding river," whose banks are wedded to the romantic and the marvellous ; have stood upon thy fields of blood, " dread Waterloo," where nations combatted to make one submit, and with a sort of thrilling horror, have gazed upon the awful Golgotha erected in thy midst, where are " rider and horse, friend and foe, in one red burial blent ; " and last of all, have hailed the white cliffs of our fatherland.

But now, " once more upon the glad waters of the dark


UNDER HIS WINGS.

blue sea," and homeward bound, I can look without regret upon Albion's lessening shores, for my face is turned at last toward my own dear native land, and after all my wander- ings, I have learned more fully than ever to appreciate, that there is no country like our country, and " no place like home."

CHAPTER III.

rpHUS far his joyous life had glided on with very little to mar its brightness ; but the time was now approaching when the responsibility of living pressed upon him, and he realized the necessity of better guidance than his own, to enable him to walk as becomes a follower of God.

Sources