willing separation from all that breathe. The brothers never speak; and if they are even accidentally standing near each other, it is esteemed not only a fault, but a crime: and none of them knows the age, rank, or even country, of a single member, but the Abbé. They are allowed neither meat, fish, butter, nor eggs. They take a slight repast in the morning; and two ounces of bread with two raw carrots serve them in the evening. In their cells are a few books relating to religion, a human skull, and a bed of boards. With this severity we may advantageously compare that of ANQUETIL DU PERRON, who passed many years among the peasants of India. "Bread and cheese," said he, "to the value of the twelfth part of a rupee; and water from the well, are my daily food: I live without fire even in winter; I sleep without bed or bed-clothes. I have neither wife, children, nor servants. Having no estate, I have no tie to this world. Alone and entirely free, I am in friendship with all mankind. In this simple state, at war with my senses, I either triumph over worldly attractions, or despise them. And looking up with veneration to the supreme and perfect Being, I wait with patience for the dissolution of my body." Surely this instance is not unworthy the best times of christian enthusiasm. And yet, there are many men, and even many women, who would see nothing in this example; nor indeed acknowledge any virtue in a monastery or a convent; merely because some monks and some nuns have perverted their orders to less holy purposes a The monastery of GROTTA FERRATA, occupying the scite of * In the several monasteries, which were built within one enclosure for monks and nuns, at Fontevraud, between Angers and Tours, by Robert of Arbriselles*, the entire community of both sexes were placed under the government, not of a monk, but of an abbess: and this, not that the founder esteemed women more qualified for government, than men; but because Christ had recommended St. John to be as obedient to the Virgin, as to his own mother. The establishment filled in a short time; but it soon became fruitful in evil * Bayle, art. Fontevraud; Acta Sanctor. t. iii. VOL. II. H H Cicero's Tusculan villa, commands one of the most admirable scenes in Italy and on the summit of Fesole stands a Franciscan convent; each corridor of which presents a different scene. Villas, towns, farms, and convents, adorn every spot; the vale of Florence, with the Arno winding through it, stretches below; and a view of the towers, churches, and palaces of that celebrated city, animate the perspective. The Benedictine Abbey of VALLOMBROSA:—this religious establishment owes its origin to a Florentine nobleman (Giovanni Gualberto); who quitted the monastery of St. Minias, at Florence, in order to indulge in more secluded contemplations. Captivated by the solemnity of Vallombrosa, situate in the heart of the Apennines, he forsook the world, and gave celebrity to a spot, till then known only for the profound silence and solitude, that pervaded its woods. Vallombrosa Cosi fu nominata una badia A more romantic spot it were impossible to imagine! Uniting the character of savage life, with the deep, impressive, solemnity of religious feeling, this sacred spot was distinguished by the frequent visitations of Lorenzo de Medici and Galileo; while it impressed on the imagination of Milton some of the best materials for poetic painting. The hermitage of the PARADISINO is, by far, the most delightful in Europe.-Eustace,-your elegant, accomplished, and most excellent, friend, Eustace,-paused upon its beauties and conveniencies with delight. "Never have I visited reports, if not in evil deeds; and the founder, who had once been a hermit, and who took up his abode among the ladies and gentlemen of his establishment, was accused of more indiscretions *, than his advocates† have been ever able to clear him from. a Orl. Furios. xxii. st. 36. * Marbod, Bishop of Rennes; and Geoffry, Abbot of Vendome. an abode," says he, "better calculated to furnish the hermit with all the aids of meditation, and all the luxuries of holy retirement. From his window he may behold the Val d'Arno, and the splendours of Florence, at a distance, too great to dazzle. Around him, he sees all the grandeur, and all the gloom of rocks, forests and mountains. By his fountain's side, he may hear the tinkling of rills and the roaring of torrents: and, while absorbed in meditation, the swell of the distant organ, and the voices of the choir below, from the abbey of Vallombrosa, steal upon his ear, and prompt the song of praise."" 6 The town of SALERNO was once full of religious houses. “To whom,” enquired the president Dupaty, "does that beautiful house, situated on the top of yon hill, belong?"— "To monks." "And that on the declivity?"-" To monks." “And the one at the foot of yon eminence?""To monks." "The monks then possess all Salerno?" "There are ten convents, five parishes, one bishoprick, two seminaries, and a chapter. There are so many convents in the town, that there is not a single ship in the harbour!" On the shores of this gulf, Salvator Rosa studied Nature in all her splendid attitudes and among the bridges, castles, aqueducts, and ruins of the valley of La Cava, near the gulf of Salerno, Claude Lorraine was often observed to linger, many hours after the sun had set:-sometimes sketching by moonlight from the towers of a castle: sometimes from the arches of an aqueduct; and not unfrequently from the window of a cottage, festooned with grape vines and shaded by olive trees. To a love of scenery and retirement, the CARTHUSIANS Owe the origin of their order. Two brothers, natives of Genoa, were, early in life, wedded to the naval profession. After many voyages, which occupied as many years, the one wrote from Genoa to his brother, at Marseilles, to solicit his return to his native town. Receiving no answer to his affectionate letter, he undertook a journey, to enquire into the motives of his brother's silence. "I am weary of commerce, and navigation," said his brother; "I will no longer trust my safety to the mercy of the elements. I have fixed upon the borders of Paradise; where I am resolved to spend the remainder of my days in peace; and where I shall wait with tranquillity the period of my death." Upon his brother's requesting him to explain himself, he led him to Montrieu, situated in a deep valley, embosomed with wood, whence issued a multitude of rivulets. The charms of the surrounding scenery, and the awful silence of the spot, so calculated for retirement, induced the latter to follow the example of his brother: and having sold their estates, they founded the order of Carthusians, and gave themselves up to meditation and devotion. In the year ****, a gentleman of Holland sought permission of the family of the De Coninks, to erect a small hermitage, at Dronningaard, near the city of Copenhagen. He had fought the battles of his country; he had mingled in the bustle of a court; he was rich; and he was honoured. One fatal step marred all his happiness. He married! But, marrying to gratify his ambition, he became weary and disgusted with life. Travelling into Denmark, he was captivated with the romantic beauties of Dronningaard; and obtained permission to erect a cell in a small wood, consisting only of a few pines. It was built of moss and the bark of birch trees. A few paces from this cell, he dug his dormitory with his own hands, and caused an epitaph to be engraven on a stone, he designed for his monument. In this total seclusion, the enthusiast resided several years. The Stadtholder, however, being upon the eve of a war, wrote him a letter, and desired his assistance. He did not hesitate to obey the call. On the evening, previous to his departure, he signalised his gratitude to Dronningaard, by writing a farewell address to the a Life of Petrarch, p. 207. Some have attributed the foundation of this order to St. Bruno, A.D. 1084. spot, in which he had enjoyed so much repose and content. The first account, that reached Denmark, after the departure of the unfortunate recluse, was, that he had fallen, covered with glory, at the head of his regiment! As a testimony to his virtues, his Danish friends erected in a grove, adjoining his hermitage, a small tablet of marble, on which is inscribed his farewell address to the landscapes of Dronningaard. The sacred character assigned to mountains, may, perhaps, have been the original cause of the custom of raising tumuli over the dead. This practice has prevailed in all countries of Europe and Asia. It may be traced from the tomb of Tityus, at the foot of Parnassus, to every district in Greece :-along the shores of the sea of Azof;-in Troas ;-Circassia ;-the Cimmerian Bosphorus ;-in ancient Scythia ;—in Kuban Tartary;-through Russia into Scandinavia ;-and thence to Germany, France, England, Scotland, and Wales. It has, ålso, been observed in New Holland and America. In every instance it bears the character of a sepulchral monument; whether known under the title of mound, barrow, tumulus, cairn, or têpe. Churches, chapels, and convents, are more frequently situated on hills, and on the sides of mountains in Italy, than in vales. In the year 1764, three thousand peasants climbed up Notre Dame de la Neige (said to be the highest elevation in Europe), in order to hear mass in a chapel, erected on that aspiring eminence:-and pilgrims, to the amount of eight or ten thousand, resort annually to pay their vows to St. Michael, at Mount St. Michael, rising in the middle of the Bay of Avranches. Than the situation of the monastery, near ALBANO, nothing can be more admirable. Walking in the garden, belonging to this religious house, the Baroness Stolberg, as we are informed by Zimmermann, was so astonished at the scene, which there a Vid. Tour round the Baltic, p. 248.. |