w of the precipitous mountains, made
a disagreeable impression on me. I thought if I were to be drowned I
should prefer the blue sea to that cold, black pool. The flora was
lovely, and on returning from our expeditions in the evening, the damp,
mossy banks were luminous with glowworms: I never saw so many, either
before or since. We never fail to make acquaintances wherever we go, and
our friends at Munich had given us letters to various people who were
passing the summer there, many of whom had evening receptions once a
week. At the Countess Irene Arco's beautiful Gothic chateau of Anif,
which rises out of a small pellucid lake, and is reached by a bridge, we
spent many pleasant evenings, as well as at Countess Bellegarde's, and
at Aigen, which belonged to the Cardinal Schwartzenberg. We never saw
him, but went to visit his niece, with whom we were intimate.

The war being over, we went by Innsbruck and the Brenner to Cola, on the
Lago di Garda, within five miles of Peschiera, where we spent a month
with Count and Countess Erizzo Miniscalchi, who had been our intimate
friends for many years. The devastation of the country was frightful.
Peschiera and its fortifications were in ruins; the villages around had
been burnt down, and the wretched inhabitants were beginning to repair
their roofless houses. Our friends themselves had but recently returned
to Cola, which, from its commanding situation, was always the
headquarters of whatever army was in possession of the country around.
On this account, the family had to fly more than once at the approach of
the enemy. In 1848 the Countess had fled to Milan, and was confined at
the very time the Austrians under Radetsky were besieging the town,
which was defended by Charles Albert. Fearing what might occur when the
city was surrendered, the lady, together with her new-born infant and
the rest of her family, escaped the next day with considerable
difficulty, and travelled to Genoa.

Although not acquainted with quite so many languages as Mezzofanti,
Count Miniscalchi is a remarkable linguist, especially with regard to
Arabic and other oriental tongues. He has availed himself of his talent,
and published several works, the most interesting of which is a
translation of the Gospel of St. John from Syro-Chaldaic (the language
probably spoken by our Saviour) into Latin. The manuscript, from which
this translation is made, is preserved in the Vatican.

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