There is near this hotel a sort of Place
or Quadrangle with arcades under which are shops and stalls. At one of
these shops I met with the most beautiful girl I ever beheld, a Tyrolese by
birth and the daughter of a print-seller. She was from the Italian Tyrol;
Roveredo, I think she said, was her birthplace. She united much grace and
manner with her beauty, on account of which I could not avoid complimenting
her in her native tongue, which she seemed pleased to hear. Her eyes and
eyebrows brought to my recollection the description of those of Alcina:
Sotto due negri e sottilissimi archi,
Son due neri occhi, anzi, due chiari soli,
Pietosi a riguardare, a mover parchi,
Intorno a cui par che Amor scherzi e voli.[19]
Two black and slender arches rise above
Two clear black eyes, say suns of radiant light;
Which ever softly beam and slowly move;
Round these appears to sport in frolic flight,
Hence scattering all his shafts, the little Love.
- Trans. W.S. ROSE.
We then proceeded to look at the suburb of this city called Bortscheid, by
far the finest part of the city and at some elevation above it. It commands
an extensive view. We also visited the various bath establishments; the
taste of the water had some resemblance to that of Harrogate, and is good
in bilious, scrofulous and cutaneous complaints. On our return to the hotel
we learned the news of the capitulation of Paris to the Allied powers. It
is said to be purely a military convention by which the French army is to
evacuate Paris and retire behind the Loire. There is no talk and no other
intelligence about Napoleon, except that he had been compelled by the two
Houses of Legislature to abdicate the throne. We are still in the dark as
to the intentions of the Allies. I regret much that my friend and fellow
traveller L. is obliged to return to Bruxelles and cannot accompany me to
Cologne, to which place I am impatient to go and to pay my respects to old
father Rhine, so renowned in history.
COLOGNE.
I left Aix-la-Chapelle on the morning of the 2nd of July and arrived at
Cologne about six o'clock in the evening, putting up at the Inn Zum
heiligen Geist (Holy Ghost), which is situated on the banks of the river.
The price of the journey in the diligence is 18 franks. On the road hither
lies Juliers, a large and strongly fortified town surrounded by a marsh. It
must be very important as a military post. The road after quitting Juliers
runs for the most part thro' a forest, and has been much improved and
enlarged by the French; before they improved it, it was almost impassable
in wet weather.