Gabriele Von Bülow, Daughter of Wilhelm Von Humboldt

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II GABBIELE Childhood in Rome, 1802-1810 Shortly after Gabriele's birth, Humboldt's desire to take office coincided with the king's wish to employ him again in the service of the State. He was appointed Councillor of Legation and Resident at Rome. On September 14, 1802, he and his family set out...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II GABBIELE Childhood in Rome, 1802-1810 Shortly after Gabriele's birth, Humboldt's desire to take office coincided with the king's wish to employ him again in the service of the State. He was appointed Councillor of Legation and Resident at Rome. On September 14, 1802, he and his family set out upon the long-desired journey to Italy. The eldest daughter, Caroline, afterwards described the events of the journey thus: ? We left Tegel on the morning of September 14,1802, and drove straight to Potsdam. As we were such a big party we had two carriages, a large closed one and an open chaise. Besides Gabriele's wet nurse we took Friedrich, our Berlin man-servant, and Emilie the nursemaid, who had travelled with us already in Spain and France. On our way we stayed about a fortnight at Milan, for, as my father had been accredited to the whole of Italy, he had business there. Towards evening on November 25 we arrived at Rome; it had been a lovely mild day, and the last rays of the setting sun were gilding the roofs of churches and palaces. Impressive surroundings herald the presence of this unique city. From La Storta, the last halting place, we were in a state of continual excitement. The loneliness and desolation of the Campagna di Roma make an impression of profoundest melancholy. Many travellers complain that the Campagna is not cultivated, but if it were it would lose its peculiar character. With feelings of awe and admiration we crossed the Ponte Molle, a splendid piece of Roman architecture. Slowly andproudly the Tiber rolls by, even its dirty yellow colour harmonises with Home, with the melancholy yet magnificent impression the Eternal City must make upon every thoughtful, sensitive mind. There rises the perfect form of proud Soracte, there is the...