Scenes and Thoughts in Europe, by an American [G.H. Calvert]. (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1847. Excerpt: ... to fullness. His complexion was of that rich creamy tint, seen oftener in Italy than elsewhere, with blue-black hair and smooth whiskers; a handsome man, with regular, bold features, that didn't look bold, from the gentleness of his expression; for his graceful mouth and large white teeth were formed for smiling, and his black eyes were not those glowing Italian orbs, in whose depths so much of good or evil lies sleeping, --you know not which, --they were shallow, handsome, happy eyes. He ordered coffee, and pressed me to take a cup. After this, he offered me a cigar from his case, and upon my declining that too, he seemed to conclude that I lived a very poor life. For himself, he let not an hour in the day go by, he said, without regaling his body with some or other fragrant stimulant. He urged us, should we revisit Milan, to stop at the hotel where he lodged, whose cuisine and wines he praised with thankful animation. Yet, he was not one of those who spend their mornings in expectation of their dinner. He was too subtle an epicurean for such a dead diurnal vacuity. Though his dinner was the chief circumstance of his being, still, after his mode, he valued time, and knew how to bridge over the wide gulfe between meals upon pillars constructed of minor enjoyments, including among them easy acts of kindness and courtesy. We got back to Como at four, and started immediately for Lugano, our resting-place that night. The Lake of Lugano pleased us even more than that of Como. There is greater variety in the forms of the mountains. These fairy Lakes, uniting Italy to Switzerland, combine the beauties of both. As you advance from Lugano, the mountains close in upon you, the scenery growing bolder and grander. Through an opening not far from Lugano, we had a clear ...