This is another short travel book. It occupies pages 307 to 517 of the Volume it shares with American Notes, thus stands at a mere 211 pages...which means that it should be a 7 day journey. And then? Well, of course I should get back to the novels...and the next one up is Dombey and Son, which I have had a hankering to read for some time.... But it's also alMOST Christmas, and there are those two volumes of Christmas Stories (and another volume of Christmas Books) sitting there. So I'm thinking about going full frontal Christmas for a month or so. We'll see how it goes.
Day 1 (DDRD 1,827) November 1, 2022
Read to page 340. And if that does indeed leave 6 more reading days, then here's an interesting little coincidence:
As of this moment, there are 55 days until Christmas. I've just done a page count on the previously mentioned three volumes of Dickens' Christmas Tales, and there are 1,453 pages’ worth of reading there. At my going Daily Devotional Reading rate of 30 pages per day, that means it would take me 49 days to read all three of these Volumes.
49 + 6 = 55.
I guess it was meant to be, wasn't it? So it shall be written. So it shall be done.
I think.
Meanwhile, back in Italy...well, Charles Dickens had barely arrived in Genoa by the time I got to page 340 this morning. Most of his time was spent traveling across France. Cue the map:
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| from https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/charles-dickens-italy-map.html Speaking of Italy...CD talks about the run-down condition of the place where he's staying in Genoa, and mentions that "The view, as I have said, is charming; but in the day you must keep the lattice-blinds close shut, or the sun would drive you mad; and when the sun goes down you must shut up all the windows, or the mosquitoes would tempt you to commit suicide. So at this time of the year, you don’t see much of the prospect within doors. As for the flies, you don’t mind them. Nor the fleas, whose size is prodigious, and whose name is Legion, and who populate the coach-house to that extent that I daily expect to see the carriage going off bodily, drawn by myriads of industrious fleas in harness. The rats are kept away, quite comfortably, by scores of lean cats, who roam about the garden for that purpose." More adventures tomorrow as we hurtle towards 🎄Christmas🎄2022! |
Day 2 (DDRD 1,828) November 2, 2022
Read to page 370.
Day 3 (DDRD 1,829) November 3, 2022
Read to page 401 (to the end if the "An Italian Dream" chapter).
Sorry to say that I was a bit bored for the first half of today's reading. Though things did become more interesting with the "Dream" chapter. In it, Dickens takes a night boat tour if Venice. Not sure why it's identified as a drean, though, as it seems not to be one. Maybe I missed something. Not going back to find out, though.
I think I'm ready for some Christmas.
Day 4 (DDRD 1,830) November 4, 2022
Read to page 430.
I really thought Dickens was kidding when he wrote about visiting Day Vinci's "The Last Supper" and seeing that someone had cut a door through the middle of it. So I Googled. And?
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| https://www.philcooke.com/the-guy-who-cut-the-door-into-the-last-supper/ |
Yep. Some stupid son of a bitch cut a doorway through "The Last Supper."
And here's a fine Dickens moment:
"The business of these recollections being with Italy, and my business, consequently, being to scamper back thither as fast as possible, I will not recall (though I am sorely tempted) how the Swiss villages, clustered at the feet of Giant mountains, looked like playthings; or how confusedly the houses were heaped and piled together; or how there were very narrow streets to shut the howling winds out in the winter-time; and broken bridges, which the impetuous torrents, suddenly released in spring, had swept away. Or how there were peasant women here, with great round fur caps: looking, when they peeped out of casements and only their heads were seen, like a population of Sword-bearers to the Lord Mayor of London; or how the town of Vevey, lying on the smooth lake of Geneva, was beautiful to see; or how the statue of Saint Peter in the street at Fribourg, grasps the largest key that ever was beheld; or how Fribourg is illustrious for its two suspension bridges, and its grand cathedral organ."
I love how he tells you what he's not going to talk about as he talks about it.
There was also a moment when he was talking about Switzerland and I immediately wanted to re-read The Magic Mountain. I was thinking that I would put that down as a DDR reading someday, but maybe I'll just go ahead and do it on the side. If I can find another side that isn't occupied.
Day 5 (DDRD 1,831) November 5, 2022
Read to page 460.
Day 6 (DDRD 1,832) November 6, 2022
Read to page 490.
Extra hour today (Fall backwards), so I should be able to get some extra reading done, right? Also the first day in a couple of weeks where I've awakened to No Dad Duties, but instead of getting extra reading post coffee, I got an extra hour of sleep pre-coffee.
Meanwhile, in Today's Thirty...
This was one of the most interesting sections of the whole book (thus far...and there's only one day left to it, so...). First, there were Dickens' reflections on Christianity. Throughout this book there has been ample evidence of his attachment to Christian beliefs...though definitely not of the Catholic variety. Yet he still had this to say:
"...when I thought how Christian men have dealt with one another; how, perverting our most merciful religion, they have hunted down and tortured, burnt and beheaded, strangled, slaughtered, and oppressed each other; I pictured to myself an agony surpassing any that this Dust had suffered with the breath of life yet lingering in it, and how these great and constant hearts would have been shaken—how they would have quailed and drooped—if a foreknowledge of the deeds that professing Christians would commit in the Great Name for which they died, could have rent them with its own unutterable anguish, on the cruel wheel, and bitter cross, and in the fearful fire." (462)
Second, there was the description of the execution (by guillotine) of a murderer. Dickens once again (as I have had this thought several times previously) into territory which seemed very much like Mark Twain's to me as he described the absurd and / or revolting behavior of the people who crowded into the street to witness the execution. And then after the description of the event and the crowd, Dickens had this to say:
"It was an ugly, filthy, careless, sickening spectacle; meaning nothing but butchery beyond the momentary interest, to the one wretched actor." (468)
Third, Dickens spends a fair amount of space commenting on artwork he sees in Rome. One passage that particularly caught my interest was when he was extolling the virtues of a portrait of Beatrice di Cenci--of which and whom I'd never heard, so I Googled. I found the portrait--
--on Wikipedia, and started reading the rest of the entry about Beatrice. And that eventually led me to this lovely statue
of Beatrice, and I was so taken with it (despite the distracting background) that I looked to see who the sculptor was. That turned out to be Harriet Hosmer (1830 - 1908), and I started reading about her and looking at some other examples of her work. Turns out that Ms. Hosmer was a very important sculptor. Here's a bit from the Wikipedia page: "considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other technical innovations, she pioneered a process for turning limestone into marble." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Hosmer) And here's the heartbreak: according to what I was able to find elsewhere, many of Ms. Hosmer's works seem to have disappeared. How is that possible? I don't know. But the statue of Beatrice can be seen at the Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. And hey, that's only 279 miles from my front door, so that could happen, right? (NOTE TO MY FUTURE SELF: If you end up being brave enough to make this journey, be sure to remember this: "Library Tours: Get more out of your visit to the Mercantile Library with a free, docent-led tour! Tours are available by reservation-only at this time, and offered during open library hours. To schedule a docent-led tour, please call 314-516-7248 or email mercantilelibrary@umsl.edu.")
Meanwhile, I've requested a book about Harriet Hosmer from the LFPL (yes, they actually had one...though it was a Remote Shelving item, which is never a good sign), and am still on the hunt for more information about her and her work.
See, that's how reading should work, I think. And why any text worthy of serious attention can easily become a curriculum in itself, because works of significance have roots that can be traced and nourishment can be sucked from those roots.
Dickens also talks about witnessing several "religious" things whilst in Rome, one of which involves going up a short flight of stairs upon one's knees. He talks about how ridiculous this is, and comments on how the people who do it seem very self-satisfied upon its completion: "...the penitents came down, very spritely and fresh, as having done a real good substantial deed which it would take a good deal of sin to counter balance." (483)
You so funny, Charles Dickens.
Okay. So just the one more day in Italy then.
Oh, one more thing. Another sign of the quality of Heron Books, and of the care they have taken with respect to this monumental Dickens publishing event:
Yep. An 8 page section was bound in upside down.
Fucking Heron Books, man.
Day 7 (DDRD 1,833) November 7, 2022
Read to page 517, and since I'd already read the Notes to American Notes, that means...The End. I really enjoyed this little book. In fact, I am now hoping that there is more of Dickens' non-fiction to be had. In fact, I'm wondering if maybe I should get Sketches By Boz up in the docket soon, since my impression is that it's a non-fiction thing. But first...it's Christmas time!
Here are some parting words that I think are worth remembering:
"...the wheel of Time is rolling for an end, and...the world is, in all great essentials, better, gentler, and more hopeful, as it rolls!" (517)
(1) Leviathan 63 days, 729 pages
(2) Stalingrad 27 days, 982 pages
(3) Life and Fate 26 days, 880 pages
(4) The Second World War 34 + 32 + 40 + 43 + 31 + 32 days = 212 days, 4,379 pages
(5) Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming 10 days, 572 pages
(6) The Great Bridge 25 days, 636 pages
(8) Blake: Prophet Against Empire, 23 days, 523 pages
(9) Jerusalem 61 days, 1,266 pages
(10) Voice of the Fire 9 days, 320 pages
(11) The Fountainhead 15 days, 720 pages
(12) The Pacific Trilogy: Pacific Crucible 23 days, 640 pages
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