Leuctra, near the birth-place of Philopomen and Polybius; a spot immortalizing the name of Epaminondas. Da Rosa had left the beautiful Constance in a cottage in Val d'Arno. During his absence, Constance, residing under the woods of Fesole, journeyed with him into Palestine, into Syria, and into Greece: and all those countries were rendered more sacred, by being associated with her: while Constance herself became more interesting to his heart, from being associated with such brilliant skies, so many admirable landscapes, and so many magnificent ruins. Upon arriving, after a tempestuous voyage, at Venice, our elegant traveller hastened from that city; and, after winding for some distance along the delicious shores of the Brenta, he mounted his horse, crossed the mountains, which separated him from Constance; and, after an absence of eleven months, stood upon one of the mountains of evergreens, which overlooked the paradise of Val darno. The winds were still; evening was stealing into obscurity; the birds were hushed; and all nature wore an air of repose. When he arrived at the summit of the mountain, which commands an entire view of the vale, gemmed, as it were, with the palaces of Florence; and beheld the sequestered convent of St. Michael, and the tranquil cottage beneath it, he dismounted; sat upon the side of the road; and, breathless with rapture, gazed upon the sacred scene, with a wild and almost frantic delight. Every wood, nay every object he saw, seemed to speak to him in language, that welcomed him to Val darno. The cottage, the aviary,-the old horse he was accustomed to ride feeding in the fields,—an old gentleman habited in black, emerging from the bower,-a lady, dressed in white, advancing to meet him,-two children running upon the lawn!-Da Rosa springs forward; he gains the little wicket-gate; he calls; Constance turns; they behold each other; they rush into each other's arms! BOOK II. CHAPTER I. Ir towering and impending rocks, abrupt and gigantic mountains, and, above all, the ocean, elevate the mind, and exalt it above mortality, the woody dingle, the deep and romantic glen, the rocky valley, and the wide, the rich, the fascinating vale, associating ideas of rural comfort and of peaceful enjoyment, cheerful industry, robust health, and tranquil happiness, draw us from subjects, too high for human thought, chain us to the earth, and enchant us with such magic spells, That earth seems heaven; and all around displays Such pleasing evidence of all that's good, That we would rather fascinate our eyes With such sweet beauty, than exalt our souls, No country abounds more in those characters, in which Nature delights to speak to the imagination, than Greece. Her mountains were not more the theme of her poets, than her vales and her valleys. In that fine country, no vale was more celebrated than that of Tempe: a vale, in which the peasants frequently assembled, in order to give entertainments to each other, and to offer sacrifices. A Greek writer calls it "a festival for the eyes:" and the gods were believed frequently to wander in it. Of this enchanting spot, Pliny has given a description in the fourth book of his Natural History; but Ælian has left the most copious and accurate account of it. "Tempe," says he, "is situated between the mountains of Ossa and Pelion, which are the highest mountains in Thessaly; and are divided in this place with a singular kind of attention. They enclose a valley five miles in length, but which, in breadth, often does not exceed a hundred feet. In the middle flows the river Peneus, which, at first, is little more than a cataract; but, by the addition of many smaller streams, it at length assumes considerable magnitude. Among the rich shrubs upon its banks, are various beautiful windings and recesses; not the works of human hands, but of spontaneous nature, which seems to have formed every thing in this spot with the solicitude of a mother. A profusion of ivy is seen in all parts of the woods, which, with the vine, ascend the tops of the highest trees, cling round their branches, and fall luxuriantly between them. The different species of convolvulus, which grow upon the sides of the hills, throw their white flowers and creeping foliage over the rocks; while, in the vale, or wherever they can find a level surface, groves of all kinds, in venerable arches, or capricious forms, afford a cool and refreshing retreat. Nor are there wanting frequent falls of water, with the most pure and crystal springs, sweet to drink, and wholesome to the bather. The thrush, the woodlark, and the nightingale, breed in the thickets, and with their songs shorten the way, and soothe the ears of the traveller; who finds, in every path, arbours and grottos, and seats of repose. The Peneus1 still continues through the vale, idly as it were, and with a glassy smoothness; while the depending boughs, which crowd over its surface, yield an almost constant shade to those who navigate the river." II. In this valley were united the extremes of the beautiful and sublime: how beautiful, Elian has informed us; how sublime we may imagine, from what is related by Livy; who assures us, that when the Roman army was marching over one of the passes, the soldiers were thrilled with horror at the awful appearance of the rocks, and the thundering noise of the cataracts. Euripides gives an agreeable description of this valley; and there is scarcely an ancient poet, that does not allude to it, in one way or another. Not the least agreeable of its associations is that, arising from its having been the spot, in which was discovered the art of curdling milk. Hence the fame of Aristæus and Cyrene. A modern traveller thus describes it :-" Vidi Penei ripas, quas amœnas efficiunt illa nobilia Tempe Thessalica, in nemorosa convalle inter Ossam et Olympum sita, per quæ media Peneus viridis labitur, amœna, ut dicuntur, sed angusta et brevia, undique montibus in altitudinem immensam elatis coarctata, ut terror adsit prætereuntibus." Gyllius. This valley was supposed to have been formed by the parting of Ossa and Olympus by an earthquake. On the banks of the Peneus were born the Myrmidons of Achilles; and there, also, Daphne was fabled to have been turned into a laurel. 2 Liv. xliv. c. 6. For a dissertation on the etymology of the word Tempè, vid. Vossius Observ. ad Pompon. Melam. lib. ii. c. iii. 1. 28. Spartian relates, that Hadrian caused this valley to be represented in miniature, in his gardens at Tiburtina, now Pantanello. In the middle ages Tempe was called the pass of Lycostomo; at present "the Bogaz,”—the Pass. |