My years at the Austrian court (1915) (14780062861)

Identifier: myyearsataustria00ryan (find matches)
Title: My years at the Austrian court
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Ryan, Nellie
Subjects: Austria -- Court and courtiers
Publisher: London : John Lane New York, John Lane company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



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n a grander scale. Another short stay was made at Corfu,which we were all enchanted to revisit ; afterwhich we began the tour of the much-talked-ofDalmatian coast. In my estimation the town of Ragusa, whichI heard dated back many hundreds of years,and was built by the Greeks, was the mostbeautiful place on the whole of this coast. The yacht was anchored at Gravosa, its port,which was possibly two miles away. Then wedrove up and up, far above the blue Adriatic,which was dashing against the wild and ruggedrocks, along a wonderful roadway, with hereand there a flaming garden, and wonderful oldwalls and doorways, overhung with masses offlowering plants, orange branches and everykind of Southern growth. The entrance to this ancient town was grandlybeautiful, and through the old gateway, PortaPille, one reached the little narrow high streetcalled the Corso, every building in which datedcenturies back and contained marvellous relicsof the past. One fell under the spell of Ragusa immediately,
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LAST GLIMPSES OF THE ADRIATIC 253 and it was not difficult to imagine the manyvicissitudes through which the old town hadpassed ; indeed, one ran up against the signsof its struggles and its triumphs at every corner. We spoke with the brown-robed Franciscanmonks, in their fine old cloister, and learnt ofthe tales of siege, of the plague which carriedoff thousands of citizens ; we were pointed outthe gigantic fortifications which were thenbuilt, and told of the years of prosperity andpeace which followed, till those terrible earth-quakes shook the very foundations and wroughtsuch untold havoc. For the Austrian Empire Ragusa has foughtmany fierce battles, in which thousands of menfrom the gallant little town have perished ; andone was struck at the wonders that still remain,in spite of the storms and stress of centuries. Archduke Karl Stefan was kindness itself inpointing out its many beautiful features ; heseemed to know every corner. We lingered long in Piazza dell Erbe, theprincipal