Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and IncidentsBeckford, William
General
Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
Beckford, William
Beckford, William, 1760-1844
Along one of these recesses we were jumbled, over such pavement as I hope
you may never tread upon; and, after parading round it, went out at the
same arch whence we came in. This procession seemed at first very
mystical, but it was too soon accounted for by our postillions, who
confessed they had lost their way. A council was held amongst them in
form, and then we struck into another labyrinth of hideous edifices,
habitations I will not venture to call them, as not a creature stirred;
though the rumbling of our carriages was echoed by all the vaults and
arches.
Towards midnight we rested a few minutes, and a head poking out of a
casement directed us to the hotel of Der Heilige Geist, where an
apartment, thirty feet square, was prepared for our reception.
LETTER II.
INSPRUCK, _June_ 4_th_.
No sooner had we passed Fuezen than we entered the Tyrol, and the country
of wonders. Those lofty peaks, those steeps of wood I delight in, lay
before us. Innumerable clear springs gush out on every side, overhung by
luxuriant shrubs in blossom. The day was mild, though overcast, and a
soft blue vapour rested upon the hills, above which rise mountains that
bear plains of snow into the clouds.
At night we lay at Nasariet, a village buried amongst savage
promontories. The next morning we advanced, in bright sunshine, into
smooth lawns on the slopes of mountains, scattered over with larches,
whose delicate foliage formed a light green veil to the azure sky.
Flights of birds were merrily travelling from spray to spray. I ran
delighted into this world of boughs, whilst C. sat down to draw the huts
which are scattered about for the shelter of herds, and discover
themselves amongst the groves in the most picturesque manner.
These little edifices are uncommonly neat, and excite those ideas of
pastoral life to which I am so fondly attached. The turf from whence
they rise is enamelled, in the strict sense of the word, with flowers. A
sort of bluebell predominated, brighter than ultramarine; here and there
auriculas looked out of the moss, and I often reposed upon tufts of
ranunculus. Bushes of phillerea were very frequent, the sun shining full
on their glossy leaves. An hour passed away swiftly in these pleasant
groves, where I lay supine under a lofty fir, a tower of leaves and
branches.
LETTER III.
PADUA, _June_ 14_th_.
Once more, said I to myself, I shall have the delight of beholding
Venice; so got into an open chaise, the strangest curricle that ever man
was jolted in, and drove furiously along the causeways by the Brenta,
into whose deep waters it is a mercy, methinks, I was not precipitated.
Fiesso, the Dolo, the Mira, with all their gardens, statues, and palaces,
seemed flying after each other, so rapid was our motion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account