We walked in the garden of this pretty _vigne_, after having partaken of the refreshment of fruit and wine and water within, and were surprised at the bruised and battered appearance of the grapes; they had been all nearly destroyed a short time before, by a violent storm of hail; the congealed drops of this destructive element being larger than a small bird's egg, or a gooseberry! What a scourge to the poorer classes, whose only wealth frequently consists in their vineyards! (_note_ D).
We now took leave of our friendly, though new, acquaintance; who, not satisfied with having pressed us to pass a few days with her here, also offered us the use of her winter residence in Turin, if we had staid longer, assuring us we should find it more comfortable than a hotel. Before I quit her, however, I should mention the curious difference which she pointed out to us, in the necessary expenses of an Italian and an English domestic establishment: the comforts, and even luxuries, of the former clime being obtained at so much more reasonable a price than those of the latter, as to seem almost incredible. She told me, that for five or six hundred a year a person might keep two houses (one in Turin, and one in the country), a carriage, a box at the Opera, an appropriate table, and be able to receive friends under his roof with perfect ease. Further up, among the more retired mountains, and relinquishing the accommodation of a carriage, you might live most comfortably (although, of course, upon a very small scale of establishment) for fifty pounds per annum. She added, that in her own case, an income which gave her the reputation of a "rich widow" in Turin, would not purchase her a decent roof, and bread and cheese, in London. I have no means of ascertaining that this statement is correct, or exaggerated; I merely relate the circumstance. We found our friend, Mr. W., in expectation of our return, at the hotel:
"We entered, And dinner was served as we came;"[6]
for which we had a better appetite than could have been imagined, after all our fatigues. The heat of the weather would not admit of our going out till the evening had considerably advanced, when we again drove about the town. The waiter (who, by the way, was one of the best looking of his kind we had seen, being particularly remarkable for the elegant expression of his countenance (if I may apply that word to one in his rank of life), as well as the regularity of his truly Grecian features), told us, that the late summer had been the most sultry that the people of Turin were able to remember; and that he himself had found the heat so unusually oppressive, that he had hardly been able to taste food during the time of its continuance. Having occasion to write letters this evening, we sent for materials, and by the appearance of the golden sand which was brought to us, thought the river Pactolus ran through the town instead of the Po. Ice is used in profusion here, in the preparation of almost every beverage; and there are large meadows overflowing with the clearest streams of water, kept solely for this purpose. We went into a bookseller's shop during our stay, where we were agreeably surprised by seeing a translation of Rob Roy upon the table, which we were assured was much relished in Italy, and was extremely popular. A proof (if any were wanting) of the intrinsic excellence of the work, even considered without reference to its merits as a mere national picture. We observed also a sermon, which had been preached upon the death of our lamented Princess Charlotte; the style, as I slightly turned over the leaves, appeared highly pathetic, and the expressions of pity and regret very forcible and natural. It was altogether a tender and soothing gratification to our feelings as natives of England.