France, who, with his Queen, came for the same purpose to Nice. The two sovereigns did not meet, but the Pope went to and fro, between them, from Nice to Villa Franca and from Villa Franca to Nice, till his humane intent was effected. To your imagination I leave the splendour and pageantry of the three courts, the imperial, the kingly, and the papal, thus brought into contact. Suffice it to say, that the Queen of France paid a visit to the Emperor, and that the concourse of princes, dukes, cardinals, counts, dons, barons, and knights, together with haughty dames and maidens fair, was such as perchance shall never again be seen in these parts." 66 Si, si, due botiglia, for aught I care!" exclaimed Charles Harland, who had been holding a brief motley-lingual colloquy with the padrone of the boat, "A botiglia a-piece, if you like. C'est tre botiglia. Only pull awayo! Vite! Dépêchez-vous! Sollecitate più ! Get on! Hang the fellow! He has only this moment told me that they are all as busy as bees at the tunny fishery, just on the other side of the neck of land that you are going to show Caroline, and tell a Saracenic history about. Never mind me! I can hear it afterward, for I must run across directly we land, or I shall not be in time. Allez! Presto! Allegro! or you shan't have the botiglias, mind. Give way! as our sailors say. Da via! Why the fellows are laughing." And no great marvel, but nevertheless they pulled away smartly for the sake of the "botiglias," and presently the amateur tunny fisherman had the gratification of finding himself upon terra firma, scampering away from his sister and friend. Now, William Moreton had not at all anticipated that he should be left that morning, tête-à-tête with Caroline Harland, to tell his tale; but, as matters were so, he resolved not to flinch. So he conducted her carefully over the somewhat rugged ground, and pointed out where the Saracens probably erected their strong hold, and the natural pier and haven, and divers small inlets, wherein, doubtless, their vessels lay hidden till the moment when their prey had arrived within reach. Then he called her attention to the irregularities of the surface, comprising small rocky eminences, and minute but very picturesque dells, all well calculated for observation and concealment. And doubtless, in order to impress upon her mind the advantages of the spot, and gain credence for some tale he had to tell, he pointed out to her a small hollow, in which a piece of rock formed a natural seat, under the shade of a wide-spreading olive. And so it was that, as they sate thereon, they might see the boats busily engaged in the tunny fishery on one side, with the long line of coast beyond, toward Genoa; and on the other, the rock of Montboron, with the castle of Montalbano on its summit, the town and environs of Nice, and the western shore towards Antibes. Yet, while commanding this extensive range, to say nothing of the lofty hills in the clear back-ground, where any signal would have been apparent; they were sensible that no eye could discern them, for they saw all over a gentle elevation, rising a few yards on either side, the outline broken here and there by an irregular drooping olive branch. In sooth, it was a very snug bird's-nest-like retreat, and admirably adapted for the telling of a long tale without interruption, as there was no sound, save that of the playful and not unmelodious plashing of the waves, against the timeworn, but immovable rocks below. long William and Caroline sate there, is immaterial, and nothing can be more uncertain than how long they would have sate there, had they not been roused by a sort of tallyho from the volatile fisher man. How "You've lost such a chance, William !" he exclaimed. "A glorious sight! One fish, twenty feet long, at least! And you've been sitting here talking about the Saracens ! Well, there's no accounting for tastes, but, come along!" William smiled as he rose, and, drawing the arm of his fair companion through his own, pressed it to his heart; and she, mayhap from the fatigue of listening to his long story, leant much more heavily upon him than usual for support, till they reached the water side, and re-embarked. And from thenceforward, it is scarcely necessary to add, their relative position toward each other was entirely changed; for Caroline dutifully related to her mother the substance of what she had been induced to listen to in that pleasant spot, and which in no way was connected with the wiles of the Saracens. And her mother's eye thereupon glistened, for she was a widow, and Caroline was her only daughter; and she had known William RABY CASTLE. So after that day, Caroline and Willian enjoyed many quiet and delightful rambles together, talking sometimes a little of history, and bygone years, but much more of the present and the future. And thus ends our notice of "What happened at Nice," for to the reader's imagination may be left what afterward happened in England. Yet, a few words in explanation of why these pages are written! We know they will meet the eyes of many fair and high-born ladies, who will not feel displeased at the reminiscence of a winter passed at Nice; and, brief as is our historical epitome, it may perchance lead others, who are about to sojourn there, to farther inquiry; and thus awaken in the breast of some invalid a local interest, that shall lure the spirit, at times, from its own sorrows, while in pursuit of health; and breathing the balmy gales, and the grateful fragrance of the orange trees and manycoloured flowers that flourish there in the depth of winter. In conclusion, and by permission, we add a farewell, written on the spot. Full oft for thee the Gaul hath bled, and the crescent waved on high, And for centuries thy rocks and vales have rung with the battle cry; And the Saracen at Fraxinet hath darkly watched his prey A lawless robber on the land, a corsair in the bay! But happier far to thee the days when Roman pontiffs came, "Good will on earth and peace to man," 'mid. princes to proclaim; When waving flags on church and tower announced the joyous tale, While the music of the convent bells rode merrily on the gale. And now a time of peace is thine, and strangers from afar Dwell round thy marble cross, and roam the olive glades of Var: And drooping flowers from northern climes in thy mild air expand, A wanderer's blessing on thee, Nice! Thine is a pleasant land. RABY CASTLE. RABY CASTLE is one of the most interesting features in the county of Durham, less perhaps as regards its past history than from its antiquity and the natural advantages of its situation. It was formerly the principal seat of the Nevilles, the powerful Earls of Westmorland, who occupy a prominent place in that twilight period between what may perhaps be called the feudal and the regal time of England. A portion of the castle appears, from the style of its architecture, to have been built in a very remote age, nor was it until 1379 that it assumed the castellated form and character. In that year John de Neville, Earl of Westmorland, obtained a license to "make a castle of his manor of Raby, and to embattle and crenellate its towers." His successors continued to make additions and improvements up to the time of the unfortunate Charles, the last Earl of Westmorland of that family, who, in 1568, became involved in intrigues against the throne of Elizabeth. Jealousy of Cecil's influence with the Queen seems first to have mixed him up with the ambitious schemes of Dudley, Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, and the bigoted Earl of Norfolk. The pretence for their clamour against the secretary was the supplies sent to the protestants in France, but Elizabeth easily penetrated their designs and defeated them. Not satisfied with their escape from the fears or the prudence of the Queen, those noblemen still continued their machinations, but this time their schemes went far beyond the gratification of private and petty malice against the secretary. Their schemes were aimed against the throne itself, having for a principal object to free Mary, Queen of Scots, from her imprisonment, and in all probability to secure to her the English succession. Without much consideration, as the result showed, they raised the standard of rebellion, bells were rung backwards in the various parishes to encourage the people to revolt, and, marching onwards, they assaulted and took Barnard Castle. But Lord Sussex was now at hand with numbers fully equal to their own, the Earl of Warwick was about to follow with a yet larger army, and the rebels hastily retreated towards Scotland. Neither Norfolk, nor the Earl of Westmorland, at this juncture showed themselves equal to the parts they had undertaken. In the very moment when courage was most requisite to their safety, both vacillated, and the timidity of the leaders naturally enough communicated itself to their adherents, who, as they were less interested in the result, might with reason be expected to shrink from a cause, which was so weakly maintained by those most likely to benefit from its hazards. Finding that his followers began to fall off, the Earl of Westmorland flung down the sword he had so rashly taken up, and was fortunate enough to make his escape into the Netherlands. There he died an exile, in 1584. His estates of course were forfeited for his rebellion; and in the subsequent reign they were consigned for sale to certain citizens of London, when Sir Henry Vane, knight, purchased Raby Castle and the demesnes therewith connected. From him they have regularly and lineally descended to the present possessor. The castle is beautifully situated on a moderate declivity, about one mile north from Staindrop, on the east side of an extensive forest. It stands upon a rocky foundation, surrounded with an embrasured wall and parapet, enclosing about two acres of land; but from its scite the building does not seem to be particularly well adapted for purposes of defence. The outward area of the castle has only one entrance, which is on the north side through a gateway, defended by two square towers, and flanked by a parapet with turrets. The inner area has two entrances; one modern, and opened by the late Earl; the other ancient, towards the west, with a double gate. This last is the principal entrance to the castle. The hall is of immense extent, bearing ample witness to the oligarchical spirit of the age in which it was erected. Over it is a banqueting room, where the ancient baronial festivals were celebrated, and in this immense building seven hundred knights were said to have been feasted at the same time. At the west end is a stone gallery, where the minstrels sate and played during the repast, according to that incomprehensible union which seems ever to have prevailed between poetry and barbarity. To provide a fitting feast for so numerous an assembly and their retainers, there is a kitchen below with three chimneys, and narrow passages in the walls, through which the ready meal was served up into the banqueting room above, while the oven was so capacious that it has since been converted into a wine cellar. Its extent may be yet farther inferred from the fact that the sides of it are divided into ten compartments, each of which is large enough to contain a hogshead of wine in bottles. There is little of historical recollection connected with Raby Castle, beyond what has been briefly noticed, and of romance, nothing; or if the ghosts and fairies, familiar to such places, have at any time haunted these walls, the very legends that recorded them are forgotten. |