Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 12.djvu/481

Rh Revived from time to time with a little wine and bread, to the annoyance of the captain, who said that I ought to eat what was bargained for, I was able at last to sit on deck, and occasionally take part in the conversation. Kniep managed to cheer me, for he could not this time, by boasting of the excellent fare, excite my energy: on the contrary, he was obliged to extol my good luck in having no appetite.

And thus midday passed without our being able, as we wished, to get into the Bay of Naples. On the contrary, we were continually driven more and more to the west; and our vessel, nearing the island of Capri, kept getting farther from Cape Minerva. Every one was annoyed and impatient: we two, however, who could contemplate the world with a painter's eye, had enough to content us, when the setting sun presented for our enjoyment the most beautiful prospect that we had yet witnessed during our whole tour. Cape Minerva, with the mountains which abut on it, lay before our eyes in the brilliant colouring of sunset; while the rocks which stretched southwards from the headland had already assumed a bluish tint. The whole coast, stretching from the cape to Sorrento, was gloriously lit up. Vesuvius was visible: an immense cloud of smoke stood above it like a tower, and sent out a long streak southward, — the result, probably, of a violent eruption. On the left lay Capri, rising perpendicularly in the air; and, by the help of the transparent blue halo, we were able distinctly to trace the forms of its rocky walls. Beneath a perfectly clear and cloudless sky, glittered the calm, scarcely rippling sea, which at last, when the wind died away, lay before us exactly like a clear pool. We were enraptured with the sight. Kniep regretted that all the colours of art were inadequate to