DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.53553#0442
396
and the gloom it impresses on the traveller’s mind is not les-
sened by the numerous ancient tombs he meets along the road,
It was near noon when we entered the gate of St. John
and passed the church of that name, the Lateran, and the
Egyptian obelisk before it. The French inn ofMonsieur Da-
mon near the Piazza di Spagna had been recommended to
us, but we had to enquire for it ourselves ; for Paolo’s jargon
now had become a dead language. With a transient glimpse
of the Colosseum, the column of Trajan, the Capitol, &c. we
at last reached our intended quarters, and were received as
inmates. Monsieur Damon’s house deserves to be recom-
mended to all sober and humble travellers, like ourselves.
It is impossible to pay more attention to guests than he does;
his manners are obliging, he does not, like many of his col-
leagues, keep in the back ground and leave his lodgers to
the mercy of the waiters : he is constantly about, and ever
ready to assist the stranger in any of his wants. His charges
too, you will allow to be extremely reasonable, when I in-
form you, that for a good bed-room and two good daily meals
at the Table d’ hote, including as much common table wine
as I chuse to drink, I pay a Roman scudo a day*.—Break-
fast, as is customary almost all over Italy, you have to find
yourself in, from the coffee-house. Monsieur Damon imme-
diately procured us a Laquais de place, who, after exhibiting
an archive of written testimonials from various Cavalieri and
Milordi Inglesi, entered our temporary service at half a scu-
do per diem. This man is an adept in his calling. He knows
full as much of ancient Roman History as you anti I do, can
tell when a column is out of proportion, when the ehiaroseura
is mismanaged, in short he might fitly deserve the appella-
tion of a walking pocket-companion, given him by the cap-
tain, were it not for h.is corpulency, which renders pedestrian
exercise a toil to him, especially in the heat of the day, when
the Italians are not in the habit of going out of their houses,
and when, as he jocularly observed to us yesterday, none
but dogs and English are seen in the streets. Owing
* About 4s. Gd.
and the gloom it impresses on the traveller’s mind is not les-
sened by the numerous ancient tombs he meets along the road,
It was near noon when we entered the gate of St. John
and passed the church of that name, the Lateran, and the
Egyptian obelisk before it. The French inn ofMonsieur Da-
mon near the Piazza di Spagna had been recommended to
us, but we had to enquire for it ourselves ; for Paolo’s jargon
now had become a dead language. With a transient glimpse
of the Colosseum, the column of Trajan, the Capitol, &c. we
at last reached our intended quarters, and were received as
inmates. Monsieur Damon’s house deserves to be recom-
mended to all sober and humble travellers, like ourselves.
It is impossible to pay more attention to guests than he does;
his manners are obliging, he does not, like many of his col-
leagues, keep in the back ground and leave his lodgers to
the mercy of the waiters : he is constantly about, and ever
ready to assist the stranger in any of his wants. His charges
too, you will allow to be extremely reasonable, when I in-
form you, that for a good bed-room and two good daily meals
at the Table d’ hote, including as much common table wine
as I chuse to drink, I pay a Roman scudo a day*.—Break-
fast, as is customary almost all over Italy, you have to find
yourself in, from the coffee-house. Monsieur Damon imme-
diately procured us a Laquais de place, who, after exhibiting
an archive of written testimonials from various Cavalieri and
Milordi Inglesi, entered our temporary service at half a scu-
do per diem. This man is an adept in his calling. He knows
full as much of ancient Roman History as you anti I do, can
tell when a column is out of proportion, when the ehiaroseura
is mismanaged, in short he might fitly deserve the appella-
tion of a walking pocket-companion, given him by the cap-
tain, were it not for h.is corpulency, which renders pedestrian
exercise a toil to him, especially in the heat of the day, when
the Italians are not in the habit of going out of their houses,
and when, as he jocularly observed to us yesterday, none
but dogs and English are seen in the streets. Owing
* About 4s. Gd.