SD1683. William Wetmore Story to Diary
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 19, 375.
Bagni di Lucca–
Thursday Sept 15. [1853]
Went to Prato fiorito to picnic– Our party consisted of the Duppas, Brownings, Lytton & ourselves. The day was glorious and after climbing an hour we arrived at a little old church near by which the view was magnificent. The grand lime stone mountains springing sharply up, with deep pits of purple shade. And little grey towns perched here and there on the lower spines. Under the trees we here spent nearly an hour—& then took our donkeys & horses again. After an hour & a half, passing over wild & grand scenery, with mountain streams dipping and tumbling now & then over beds of red veined jasper we rounded a height wild & ragged as the Alps & saw before us the soft green velvety dome of Prato fiorito, covered with its short golden grass. Here we lay for an hour and a half & talked & gazed at the trumbling waves of mountains below. Browning caught here the “scarlet winged cicala” that Tennyson speaks of in the former edition of one of his poems. At one oclock we had our baskets & fancies unladen & our dinner which had been brought on donkey back was spread under a great chestnut tree. Great fun & laughing we had, & the time went too soon—for at four we were obliged to be off—and a difficult journey we had down the tumbling loose rocks of the steep precipitous path. We arrived at Casa Lena at about 7 oclock, thoroughly tired.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: University of Texas.
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