August 1, 1845, Bayard again started from Frankfort on his pedestrian wanderings, having made up his mind to visit Switzerland, Florence, Venice, Rome, and perhaps Athens. On this trip his cousin Frank was again his companion. With their knapsacks on their shoulders and staffs in hand they began another pilgrimage, confident and strong. With but a small supply of money, and with but shadowy probabilities of more, they launched out into a world to them untried and unknown. With excited imaginations and the keenest anticipations1 they rose above every difficulty and faced boldly the probabilities of fatigue2 and want. They made a short stay at Freiburg and entered the Black Forest, passing the Titi Lake and the Feldberg peak. Bayard’s disposition3 for ascending4 mountains, which inclined him to see the top of everything, led him to go up the cragged side of the Feldberg, from[96] the summit of which he could just make out the white crests5 of the Alps. On the nearer approach to them, and when from the last ranges of the hills of the Black Forest, they beheld6 the white Alps in all their indescribable grandeur7 looming8 up at the other side of the vast plain, Bayard spoke9 of the patriotic10 feelings which such a sight must excite in the mind and heart of a Swiss returning after a long absence to his native land. He thought of his old nurse and her tales of the Alpine11 scenery, and of the knolls12 and vales of his own home. It is no wonder that the Swiss are free and brave and strong. The waterfalls, cliffs, and cloud-piercing mountains fill the soul with a sense of grandeur and glory which tends toward great deeds and fervent13 patriotism14. Who can recall the eternal snows, the towering shafts15 of rock, the roaring caverns16, and sweetest of blue lakes, without the most thrilling emotions! If there are any travellers upon whom the memory of Switzerland brings no such feelings, they are the exceptions. Bayard’s nature was such as to enjoy to the full, and sometimes with an intensity17 that was almost pain, all those sublime18 exhibitions of the power and majesty19 of the great Creator.
The fall of the Rhine near Schaffhausen hardly met the expectations of these travellers, who had heard their German friends speak in such strong terms of its greatness. It is a most beautiful waterfall, and when viewed from the platform at the base of the cliff beneath the castle, startles the spectator with its[97] thundering plunges20 and foaming21 whirlpools. To a native of the same land with Niagara, the Yosemite, and the Yellowstone, its size is insignificant22. But its beauty as a picturesque23 scene, when the high banks, the long rapids, the surging pools beneath, and the jagged rocks that rise through and above the spray and rainbows, are included in the panorama24, can be described only in the strongest language.
From Schaffhausen they hurried on by the fields of the free and happy Swiss farmers, and along highways that reminded him of his Pennsylvania home, into the city of Zurich. There he carefully noted25 the character and customs of the people. He was cheered by their friendly greetings, he was surprised at their intelligence, he was pleased by the happy faces of the children, and he was proud of the apparent influence of a republic over its people. He visited the celebrated26 poet, Freiligrath, at his villa27 on the shores of the lake, where the young American poet and his elder German brother had a most social talk of Bryant, Longfellow, and Whittier. From Freiligrath’s exile home, they walked by the “Devil’s Bridge” to the Abbey of Einsiedeln, where the crowd of pilgrims and the sweetest of singers in the church choir28 made a pleasant and charming impression upon Bayard’s mind. Thence by valleys, and mountains, so broken and grand, and by streams so delicately blue that descended29 to the placid30 Zug, they journeyed to Lake Lucerne. There, on the shore, in a charming grotto31, upon which[98] the Righi and Pilatus look down, while above and beyond them the white peaks of the loftier Alps shimmer32 in the sunshine above the clouds, William Tell, the father of Swiss liberty, had his home. There, in an embowered cottage, that peeped from the leaves like a maiden33 so coy, resided for a long time the poet Goethe; and there, according to his own account, he studied the plot for a poem, but which was afterwards embodied34 by his friend Schiller in the drama of “William Tell.” There was the rock on which Tell leaped from Gessler’s boat; there grew the linden-tree where Tell shot the apple from the head of his son; there the chapel35 of William Tell, and there the hundreds of interesting localities connected more or less closely with the early tyranny of Austria and the heroic resistance of the Swiss patriots36. Bayard loved the works of Schiller, as, in fact, could hardly be avoided by any one who reads them in the original tongue and amid the scenes so strikingly described.
From Burglen, where Tell was born and where he so heroically died while attempting to save a child from drowning, they marched upward along the banks of the Reuss to Amsteg, and thence along the precipices37 where the craggy mountains rose thousands of feet above them, and, the wild stream surged and raged far, far below them. No scene more wild and overwhelmingly grand than that at the “Devil’s Bridge,” over which they crossed on their way to the summit of St. Gothard. Black chasms38 yawned at their feet; enormous[99] shelving rocks hung threatening overhead. Clouds of spray, like steam from huge caldrons, arose from numberless pits, wherein the streams boiled and hissed39 in their crevice-like channels. The clear air was like wine. The peaks seemed to reach to heaven, and gleamed with celestial40 purity. The charm of the scenery lifted the mind and awakened41 the holiest emotions, while the balm of health permeated43 the body, and gave it a strength seemingly supernatural. What person is there who loves not the dear old peaks of Switzerland! Who has passed the heights of St. Gothard and not awakened a glow in his body and an impulse in his soul that strengthen him ever after!
But it is not our purpose to portray44 to the reader the scenes, in the description of which Bayard so much excelled, and hence, making note only of such things as had a marked influence on his life and writings, we hastily follow him in his pilgrimage through the vale of Ticino, over Lago Maggiore, to the gates of Milan, under the clear blue sky of lovely Italy. There the most magnificent marble Cathedral in all the world, when considered as a triumph of art in reproducing the Beautiful, lifted its spires46 and figures above the roofs of churches and palaces. A bewildering forest of peaks and towers confuse the student of its outline, and innumerable collections of exquisitely47 wrought48 groups and statues dishearten and confuse the student of art. Yet the unity49 of its proportions, and the symmetry of its arches and cornices, were recognized[100] by all. Bayard trod its artistic50 pavement with feelings of awe51 and admiration52. He gazed long upon its aisles53 and pillars, and crept on tip-toe into the shadows of its great altar. It is one of the most solemn things in life to stand in such a temple of genius. The stained windows, with their sacred figures and symbols, the sweet reverberations of the sacred music, the low chant of the priests, the kneeling forms of penitent54 worshippers, the strength of the workmanship and vastness of its sombre recesses55, awaken42 sensations that sleep in the open air. The naturally vicious and cruel avoid those chancels, and the wise and good gain encouragement from the supreme56 calm that reigns57 therein. Bayard enjoyed his stay in Milan and his visits to the Cathedral most heartily58, and it was an important experience in the development of his natural character. How his skill in observation, and his interest in everything had increased! Bright and acute by nature, he saw and noted many things when he first landed, which others would have passed without observing; but those months of discipline and anxious research had developed this characteristic, until, as he enters Italy, he notices every shrub59, every animal, every building, every man, woman and child; and at a glance passes them under such close scrutiny60 that he is able, months after, to describe them in all the details of form, color, nature, association, habits, and occupation. How boundless61 and fathomless62 is the unobserved about us! How few notice the myriad63 of[101] interesting and enlightening objects and incidents that come within the range of their vision! The disposition and aptitude64 for observation is as indispensable to the traveller, as it is convenient to one who plods65 the dull routine of home life. Bayard was naturally discerning and inclined to investigate. Such will be the deliberate conclusion of one who studies his life as a whole, although his enemies have sometimes taken advantage of his modest suppressions to accuse him of blindness. Bayard sees a child in the garments of priesthood, and pities him for his solitary66 life. He meets a poor woman and notices the texture67 of her dress, and the scar upon her cheek. He looks at a painting of the Cathedral, and observes that a spire45 is wanting. He looks at the towers, and compares those creations of art with the more rugged68 spires of Monte Rosa’s ice-crags. He laments69 the ignorance of the people whose features advertised their needs. He studies and criticises the shape and position of the Arch of Peace, and the bronze groups that adorn70 its summit: shops, toy-stands, cabs, soldiers, flowers, priests, dukes, houses, fields, schools, coin, clothing, atmosphere, and food,—all are noticed and laid away for recollection, as without order they attracted his attention. He discovered more worth relating in Milan, than some travellers saw in the whole of Europe.[1]
[102]
From Milan the party walked to Genoa, going through the battle-fields of Hannibal and the C?sars, along highways once the paved roads of the Roman Empire, and under the shadows of ancient castles whose walls once bristled71 with the shields of knights72 and spears of yeomen. It was a glorious, though tedious journey, and by thus travelling in the manner of pilgrims they met the inhabitants at their usual occupations, and learned much of the customs and feelings of the common people. Such information comes not through the windows of railroad carriages, nor enters by the portals of grand hotels.
Having visited the ducal palaces, cathedrals, and parks of Genoa, he went by boat to Leghorn, and thence to Pisa. There he saw, in the Cathedral, the swinging chandelier which led Galileo to investigate the laws of gravitation, and satisfied his curiosity by ascending the Leaning Tower, and left the city with those melodies of unearthly sweetness, which the echoes of the Baptistry give forth73, still ringing in his ears. After riding all night in a rickety cart, and suffering horribly from the terrible storm and jolting74 conveyance75, he entered the sacred precincts of that hallowed city, so beautiful, so dear to the heart of the poet and painter,—Florence.
“Ah, lovely Florence! never city wore
[103]
Around thy beauty, filling, flooding o’er
The banks of Arno and the circling hills,
With light no wind of sunset ever spills
From out its saffron seas! Once, and no more,
Life’s voyage touches the enchanted shore.”
During his stay in Florence, Bayard wrote a poem which so clearly expressed his affection for the maiden in Kennett, whom he afterwards married, that many have supposed the fictitious79 title, by which he addressed her, to be her real name. In that poem he thus referred to Florence:—
“Dear Lillian, all I wished is won!
I sit beneath Italia’s sun,
Along the banks of Arno’s river.
Rich is the soil with fancy’s gold;
The stirring memories of old
And wake my spirit’s young ambition.”
That Italian paradise, situated82 in the beautiful vale of that most charming river, is perhaps the loveliest spot in all that land. Being the home of such artists as Michael Angelo and Raphael, the abode83 of such poets as Dante, and of such scientific men as Galileo, it possessed84 an intense interest because of its association with them. Being also the seat of the De Medici, of Machiavelli, of Pitti, and the resort of the greatest American poets and sculptors85, its themes for verse and prose are almost numberless. There Bayard made a[104] stay of several months. He devoted86 himself to the study of the Italian language, in which he soon became proficient87, and visited every castle, monastery88, amphitheatre, and mountain in the suburbs, and carefully scrutinized89 the tombs of Sante Croce, the inlaid work of the Duomo, and those marvels90 of art in the Pitti and Uffizi galleries. He ever after mentioned his first stay in Florence as a season of the most intense delight, and knowing how vast is the field for study and recreation, and his peculiar91 susceptibility to all the lights and shades of art, we see how full was his heart of the purest and most satisfactory intellectual joy. There he saw Raphael’s “St. John in the Desert,” and it is probable that the painting prompted him to write the poem entitled “The Picture of St. John,” the scene of which is laid partly in Florence, and is one of his most valued literary productions. There he saw the Madonna della Sedia of Raphael, the companion piece of the Madonna he saw and so much admired in Dresden. There he saw Titian’s Goddess, so radiant with feminine beauty, and there Michael Angelo’s first attempt at sculpture;—so many treasures of art are there, and so many sacred places renowned92 in history, that the great city gains its living from the visitors and students that fill its hotels, and crowd its churches and museums. Bayard actually loved Florence, and returned to it afterwards with that irresistible93 yearning94 which a young man feels for the home of his lover.
[105]
There remains95 in all the world but one other place for the artist after he has seen and appreciated Florence. His love for the exquisitely sweet and beautiful is satisfied,—all the tender and delicate links between art and nature can there be seen and felt. An exhibition of the mighty96, grand, colossal97 side of art remains; and to the lover of such exhibitions, and to the romance-seeker who, like Bayard, desires to walk the dusty halls, peopled with the ghosts of half-forgotten ages, Rome still waits.
点击收听单词发音
1 anticipations | |
预期( anticipation的名词复数 ); 预测; (信托财产收益的)预支; 预期的事物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 fatigue | |
n.疲劳,劳累 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 crests | |
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 alpine | |
adj.高山的;n.高山植物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 knolls | |
n.小圆丘,小土墩( knoll的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 fervent | |
adj.热的,热烈的,热情的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 patriotism | |
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 shafts | |
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 caverns | |
大山洞,大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 intensity | |
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 sublime | |
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 plunges | |
n.跳进,投入vt.使投入,使插入,使陷入vi.投入,跳进,陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 foaming | |
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 insignificant | |
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 panorama | |
n.全景,全景画,全景摄影,全景照片[装置] | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 villa | |
n.别墅,城郊小屋 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 choir | |
n.唱诗班,唱诗班的席位,合唱团,舞蹈团;v.合唱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 placid | |
adj.安静的,平和的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 grotto | |
n.洞穴 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 shimmer | |
v./n.发微光,发闪光;微光 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 maiden | |
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 embodied | |
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 patriots | |
爱国者,爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 precipices | |
n.悬崖,峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 chasms | |
裂缝( chasm的名词复数 ); 裂口; 分歧; 差别 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 hissed | |
发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 ); 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 celestial | |
adj.天体的;天上的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 awaken | |
vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 permeated | |
弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 ); 遍布; 渗入; 渗透 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 portray | |
v.描写,描述;画(人物、景象等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 spire | |
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 spires | |
n.(教堂的) 塔尖,尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 exquisitely | |
adv.精致地;强烈地;剧烈地;异常地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 unity | |
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 artistic | |
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 aisles | |
n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 penitent | |
adj.后悔的;n.后悔者;忏悔者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 reigns | |
n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 );君主统治时期;任期;当政期 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 shrub | |
n.灌木,灌木丛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 scrutiny | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 fathomless | |
a.深不可测的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 aptitude | |
n.(学习方面的)才能,资质,天资 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 plods | |
v.沉重缓慢地走(路)( plod的第三人称单数 );努力从事;沉闷地苦干;缓慢进行(尤指艰难枯燥的工作) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 texture | |
n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 laments | |
n.悲恸,哀歌,挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.(为…)哀悼,痛哭,悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 adorn | |
vt.使美化,装饰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 bristled | |
adj. 直立的,多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 jolting | |
adj.令人震惊的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 conveyance | |
n.(不动产等的)转让,让与;转让证书;传送;运送;表达;(正)运输工具 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 enchanted | |
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 fictitious | |
adj.虚构的,假设的;空头的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 thronging | |
v.成群,挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 sculptors | |
雕刻家,雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 ); [天]玉夫座 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
87 proficient | |
adj.熟练的,精通的;n.能手,专家 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
88 monastery | |
n.修道院,僧院,寺院 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
89 scrutinized | |
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
90 marvels | |
n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 );令人惊奇的事物(或事例);不平凡的成果;成就v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
91 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
92 renowned | |
adj.著名的,有名望的,声誉鹊起的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
93 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
94 yearning | |
a.渴望的;向往的;怀念的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
95 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
96 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
97 colossal | |
adj.异常的,庞大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |