Clarke, Edward Daniel
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- Clarke, Edward Daniel
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(1769 - 1822), 2nd s. of the Rev. Edward Clarke; Jesus Camb. 1786; LLD 1803; prof. of mineralogy, Camb. 1808; U. lib. 1817; m. 1816 Angelica Rush.
1792 - 4 [dep. Dover Jul. 1792] Turin (by 15 Oct. 1792), Genoa, Parma, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Viterbo, Rome (Nov.), Naples (Dec. 1792 - Nov. 1793), with visit to Rome, Apr. 1793; Rome, Florence, Bologna, Mantua [England Nov. 1793 - Jan. 1794] Venice, Ravenna, Ancona, Loreto, Terni, Rome, Naples ( - 29 Mar. 1794), Rome (Apr.), St Bernard [ret. Harwich 8 Jun.]
Clarke accompanied Thomas, Lord Berwick, and Henry Tufton to Italy and his journal and letters preserve the fullest account of their travels.1
In Rome Clarke assisted in the commissioning of works for Attingham, and told his mother that he prided himself on having kept Lord Berwick from 'meddling with antiquities, and that I have almost cured myself of all my own folly in that way, by observing the wonderful system of imposition and villany that is practised here upon poor John Bull every hour in the day. The greatest of these Romans carry cheating to such a degree of ingenuity that it becomes a science; but in baking legs, arms, and noses, they really surpass belief'; Rome, he continued, 'has been so long exhausted of every valuable relic, that it is become necessary to institute a manufactory for the fabrication of such rubbish as half the English nation come in search of every year' (132).
In Naples Clarke commented on the '40,000 lawyers', 'great part of which being half-starved', so that 'justice is a virtue unknown to the Neapolitans' (142). He described the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St Januarius, considering the superstition of the Neapolitans 'astonishing in an age so enlightened as the present' (158). But for Clarke, the professor of mineralogy, by far the most important activity in Naples was the study of Mount Vesuvius. He made numerous journeys up the mountain, including a most hazardous one in February 1793 to inspect the molten lava as it flowed from the cone of the volcano. He became historian and guide to the mountain for English tourists and constructed a model of Vesuvius 'upon a great scale, of the materials of the mountain, with such accuracy of outline and justness of proportion that Sir William Hamilton pronounced it to be the best ever produced of the kind, either by foreigner or native'; he also collected Greek vases, minerals and Italian marbles, both for himself and his friends (126). He gave his 'black fluted vase' to the antiquarian 'C' [presumably James Clark] to be restored and described how vitriolic acid could be used to test the authenticity of Greek vases (164 - 6).
In November 1793 Clarke returned briefly to England on business for Lord Berwick. While there he heard from Lord Berwick that their impending trip to Egypt and the Holy Land had been abandoned. Clarke believed 'that the change had been brought about unhandsomely or maliciously by some persons at Naples, who ... had taken advantage of his absence to poison the mind of his friend against himself', but his friendship with Lord Berwick survived. Leaving London at the end of January 1794, Clarke had returned to Naples by the beginning of March, recording from this rapid journey his impressions of Venice through which he passed during the Carnival. After only three weeks in Naples he set out for England with Lord Berwick. On this journey he remarked of the restoration of the villa of Maecenas, that the ruins were 'suffering extremely from the barbarous hands of the Pope's masons' (230).
Clarke wrote some Letters on Travel during his tour, addressed to the Nobility of England, which were never published; 'roaming about the Continent, in almost proverbial apathy, becomes your characteristic', he wrote; 'Italy, exhausted by a long and successful scrutiny, is unable to supply new gratification, either in art or antiquity', but Greece and Asia Minor 'are the countries to which I would invite your attention' (246).
1. See Clarke, Life, 1: (page refs. in brackets).