The narrative of a journey undertaken in the years 1819, 1820 and 1821 through France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, parts of Germany bordering on the Rhine, Holland and the Netherlands : $b comprising incidents that occurred to the author, who has long suffered under a total deprivation of sight; with various points of information collected on his tourHolman, James
History
The narrative of a journey undertaken in the years 1819, 1820 and 1821 through France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, parts of Germany bordering on the Rhine, Holland and the Netherlands : $b comprising incidents that occurred to the author, who has long suffered under a total deprivation of sight; with various points of information collected on his tour
Holman, James
Europe -- Description and travel
The mansion of this lady was an attachment to the adjoining church of
St. Rosalie, now fallen into disuse, except as a family storeroom; the
bells, and other ecclesiastical articles, had been presented by Madame,
to the neighbouring church of Cimea, formerly a Roman settlement, with
still some interesting remains of an amphitheatre, baths, aqueduct, and a
temple of Apollo; and amongst which, ancient coins are still occasionally
discovered.
The domain of St. Rosalie is delightfully situated, and furnished with
shady walks, which offer a cool retreat amidst the severest heats of
summer: there was one formed of trellis-work, over-shadowed with the
vine, which was peculiarly grateful; here we frequently walked during
the heats of the day, or amused ourselves with the pleasures of reading;
to gratify my inclination for which my amiable companion Miss T⸺ would
kindly devote many hours of the day to the perusal of such authors as
most interested me; indeed I can never express sufficient gratitude for
the many sacrifices she made for my accommodation and amusement.
We here proposed to continue, until the nearer approach of winter, would
make a town-residence more agreeable. Our time passed away in the most
happy manner; Madame was busily occupied by the vintage, and in laying up
a stock of fruits, preserves, &c. in which the young ladies occasionally
assisted; nor could I remain an idle personage, and I proved myself far
more dexterous in cutting down the bunches of grapes, than my companions
were willing to have given me credit for. It was necessary that as little
time as possible, should be lost in this operation, as exposure to wet,
during the gathering of the grapes, injures the flavour of the wine: we
succeeded in completing our task in two days.
The process of making the wine is as follows:—The grapes being selected
and picked, are put into a large vat, where they are well trodden down
by the naked feet; after which, the liquor is drawn off from below;
the bruised grapes are then put into a press, and the remaining liquor
extracted. The whole of the juice is now transferred into casks with
their bungs open, and allowed to ferment, and discharge its impurities
for twelve, fifteen, or twenty days, according to the strength of the
grape; the waste occasioned by the discharge being constantly supplied
with fresh liquor. The casks are then carefully closed, and in about a
month the wine is considered fit for drinking.
When the grapes are of a bad, meagre kind, the wine-dealers mix the juice
with quicklime, in order to give it a spirit which nature has denied, or,
possibly, to take off acidity.
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