Places they have plenty of Fish Abundance of things are naturally wanting in Holland But Foreign Countries plentifully supply them with Corn as well as Wines and all other Necessaries for Life All the World knows how far their Trade extends And it may well be said that as it in part gave the original Strength to the State so it is still its principal or only support Every Man in Holland is a kind of Amphibious Creature equally accustomed both to Sea and Land I remember I have read it in a good Author That this sole Province hath more †The number of Vessels in the common Opinion is esteemed so great that it is thought to equal all the rest of Europe together Card. Bentivoglio Pufendorf saith the same and others bave writ that the Vnited Provinces have as many Ships as Houses I cannot think any Person hath exactly Calculated them every one speaks as he imagines or hath heard so that little heed is to be given to Discourses of this nature Shipping than all the rest of Europe It is true that if on one side the Sea is the cause of all the Riches of Holland it must also be confessed that it hath sometimes caused terrible Damages It is stopped with Banks of Earth which we call Dams and all care imaginable is taken to maintain them They have Mills to empty the Water and use all imaginable Industry to prevent Mischief or to remedy it when it hath happened Yet some places of these Banks are often broken and the rolling of the Waves makes most furious Ravages So that as to the * On the 17th of April 1420. one hundred thousand People were drowned at Dort or thereabouts There were fifteen Parishes drowned Seb. Munster The Sea carried away 121 Houses of the Villages of Scheveling and 1574. S. Parival at this day the Church is near the Sea whereas formerly it was in the midst of the Village Sea they may well use the Device of a Torch Reversed That which feeds me kills me This Sir is the fatal Mischief of Holland a strange inconveniency of which all that can be said is That they labour to help it as much as they can but can never restore the drowned Cities nor the lives of many Millions of Men who have from time to time perished by these Deluges It is not without some regret that I disturb your former and more pleasing Idea's but I fansie that to apprehend things well we must know both what 's for and what 's against them Nor is this the only defect For the Air is no where very good Sometimes in the fairest Weather it suddenly becomes Cold and this inequality admits of no great difference between the Summer and Winter Cloaths †The Gabel of Salt is the least considerable Salt costs but two Pence or three Pence the Pound of sixteen Ounces The greatest Imports are on Wine Beer and Corn. The Impositions are great which partly cause the dearness of Victuals But the People of this Country who are born under the Yoak and whom their great Trade hath made live at ease scarce think of it I confess I should not long admire those continued Meadows of which Holland is composed They seem very fine for a few hours but one grows weary of their perpetual uniformity And I am perswaded the variety of your Province of Kent must be far more grateful We were at the same time surpris'd and charm'd at the first thing which we observ'd at our arrival at Rotterdam This City having this singular Qualification that many of its Canals are broad and deep enough to receive the greatest Vessels nothing can compare with the effect produced by the extraordinary mixture of Chimnies tops of Trees and Streamers of Vessels One is astonished at the Port to behold so rare a confusion as is that of the tops of the Houses and Trees and Penons of the Masts one cannot tell whether it be a Fleet a City or a Forest at least one sees a thing seldom heard of a Convention of those three things the Sea the City and the Campagne ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is not accounted as one of the Principal Cities of the Province because it hath not been always in such a flourishing condition as we see it at this day but without doubt it ought to be the second of the first Rank whereas now it is but the first of the second It s Port is most commodious and fair and is always fill'd and encompass'd with Shipping and its Trade increases daily It is very large well Peopled rich and pleasant and hath the neatness I have represented the situation is flat as you are to suppose of the rest of the Cities The Magazines for the equipping of Ships The Town-house aad that of the Bank are all most stately Structures When you come into the Glass-house you see them at work on little enamell'd Bowls and I know not how many Children's Baubles with which they drive a great Trade amongst the Savages Also near this you have the curious Works in Paper of the Sieur Van Uliet as Ships Palaces and whole Landskips in Basso relievo all as they say done and made out with the point of a Pen-knife There are at present two French Churches at Rotterdam which the Magistrates take care particularly to see furnished with Ministers of exemplary Merit It is certain that this City is become famous for its Learned Men as well as by its Trade and Beauty It is this which bestowed on us the Novels of the Republick of Learning a work so accepted and esteemed I might even say a Work which is ready to be lamented since the Indisposition of the Author gives us reason to fear he will be no more able to apply himself to so painful an undertaking I am informed that Mr. Basnage de Beauval intends the continuation He is indowed with a great deal of Learning an extraordinary Wit and all the sharpness which can be thought necessary for the well-ordering such a Work Erasmus was born in Rotterdam Octob. 27. 1467. he died at Basil June 12. 1536. They erected a Statue of Wood An. 1540. one of Stone Anno 1557. and at last that of Brass which is seen this day Anno 1622. The brazen Statue of Erasmus is in the Place called the great Bridge This Statue is on a Pedestal of Marble encompassed with Rails of Iron Erasmus is in a Doctors Habit with a Book in his Hand Hard by you may see the House in which he was born it is a very little one having this Distich wrote on the door Aedibus his Ortus Mundum decoravit Erasmus Artibus ingenuis Relligione Fide Being for some Reasons induced to visit a Village called Leckerkeck three Leagues distant from hence upon the River Leck I will impart to you three or four curious things which I observed there The Lord of the Place told us That the Salmon Fishing the fifth part whereof only belongs to
him yielded him formerly twenty thousand Francs per annum and oft-times more And that the Salmon having left it by degrees that Revenue is so strangely diminish'd that it scarcely defrays the Charge of the Fishery in many Years so that he had given it over only lying under a necessity to maintain the Right Formerly also the Salmon spawned before Dordretcht in such multitudes that the Maid-Servants of that City made their Bargains not to be compelled to eat it above twice in the Week but at present they are rid of that trouble We went to see a Country Woman there who last Year was brought to Bed of Six Sons there were four of them Baptized the Eldest of which lived four Months A Maid of the same Village carried a Musquet Seven Years without being discovered what she was She went always by the name de la Bonto which Name she was Mustered by and at present she is a Maid-Servant in the House of the Lord of that Place Some Years since died in this place Gueret Bastiense a Fisherman who was eight Foot high and weighed 500 Weight though he was very lean We were in his House the Doors whereof are very high where they showed us many of his Cloaths and Things The Post hour obliges me here to finish this Letter be perswaded Sir that I will omit nothing which I believe proper for your satisfaction And if Time shall not permit me to particularize many things assure your self my accounts shall be without Partiality after I have got an exact Information I am SIR Yours c. At Rotterdam Octob. 6. 1687. New-Stile LETTER II. SIR DELFE WE came from Rotterdam to Delfe in less than two hours by the Rotterdam Boat Delfe holds the third Rank in the Assembly of the States of Holland I will give you no other Description than what I have told you of the Cities in general the Idea whereof you must always call to mind One of the principal Things which they show to Strangers is the Tomb of Prince William who was * By Balthasar Gerard or Serach of the Franc County Anno 1584. the Prince 52 Years old Assassinated in this City †You may also see the Palace of the State-holder the Grand Place and the great Hospital with the Garden The Arsenal and the Town-house are the principal things whicy they show to Strangers It is but a good League from Delfe to the Hague following the course of the Canal You pass not far from Riswick and the Voorburg which are very pleasant Villages all there is full of Houses of Pleasure Walks and delightful Gardens HAGUE Although the Hague hath the Privileges of a City yet is it put in the Rank of the Boroughs because it is Walled And it sends no Deputies to the States General Yet we may say that its Grandeur and Beauty deserve as much Honour as the best Cities * At present King of Engl. The Prince of Orange resides there and his Court is very fine The States General are there †You may see the place of this Assembly and the other Hall where the States of Holland meet Assembled The Ambassadors and other Ministers of Foreign Princes have there their Residence The People are more civil and sociable than in other places Travellers sojourn here The Coaches are numerous The Houses and Walks are very fine The Air is perfectly good In a word 't is most certain the Hague is an Inchanting place The Wood is one of its chief Ornaments For as I told you the other day it tires one to see nothing but near Objects To walk in a Wood in Holland affords double refreshment For you have also the Walk by the Sea side to the Village of Scheveling Between the Hague and Scheveling is a House of Pleasure belonging to the Earl of Portland whither you go in a good half hour by a strait Pathway cut cross the Downs There is a good Fishery at Scheveling There you may see a Chariot with Wheels and Sails which the Wind drives on the Sand of the Sea-shore which is both hard and even The Sieur Resner a Gentleman of Zealand who dwells at the Hague hath a Cabinet where amongst other things you may see a great number of very curious Shells The situation of the Hague highly deserves distinction from all the rest of Holland because of the variety of its Landscape For it hath the Wood on the North the Meadow on the South some Arable Lands Eastward and the Sea to the West It s Trade is inconsiderable in respect of the Cities which have Havens or great Manufactures yet good store of business is there transacted Besides there are many rich and noble Families which live on their Revenues or Employs in the Army or Court This great concourse of Persons of Quality is the cause that it is always furnished with Masters requisite for the Instruction of young Gentlemen in all sorts of Exercises The Academy beyond all is of great Reputation There is one of the finest riding Houses I ever beheld and the Rider is a very skilful and honest Man The Prince of Orange is lodged * The Chappel of this Palace now is made use of for the French Church in the Palace of the ancient Earls of Holland To speak truth this Palace hath nothing in it extraordinary That which is called the Old Court where the Princes of Orange formerly dwelt is the most regular building †In the Neighbourhood of the Hague is the Honflerdyke the House of the Wood and the Garden of Mr. De St. Anneland The Houses of Pleasure are exquisitely beautiful We had the Curiosity to go on purpose to the Village of Losdun to see there two Dishes of Brass in which were Baptized the three hundred sixty five Children of the Countess of Heneberg Daughter to Florent This History is to be found in Erasmus Vives Guicciardin Christoval Guy Dominick Peter Author of the Annals of Flanders And in many others who speak of this Lying-in as of a thing credible and well Attested and as they believe true The Annals relate that the 365 Children were Baptized by Don William the Bishop Suffragan of Treves and that both they and their Mother died on the same day which was Good-Friday in the Year 1276. Surius Garon and divers Chronologers relate an History of a Lady of Provence called Irmentrude and Wife of Isembard Earl of Altorfe who being brought to Bed of twelve Sons would have caused eleven to be Drowned in the River They add That Isembard meeting the Woman which carried them asked her what she had in her Pannier the Woman answered they were some little Whelps which she went to drown Isembard was resolved to see them and having discovered the matter he took the Children and put them to Nurses and when they were grown up presented them all alive to his Wife in memory of which saith the History that Family assumed the
with Serenity which is a term of Honour above that of Highness according to their Interpretation There are some Marks of Royalty in his Apparel When he marches in State they carry a Torch before him * This Chair hath two Arms and no Back a Folding Chair the Cushion which belongs to it and Eight Silver Trumpets some Hoboys and Eight Standards on which are the Arms of Venice There are Two White Two Red Two Violet and Two Blue which 't is said signifie Peace War Truce and the League They made us take notice that the Two Red ones marched first because the Republick was at present in War When it was at Peace the White ones have the precedency and so the rest in order They carry also near the Duke a kind of Cloth of State made like an Umbrello The Duke is ordinarily accompanied with the Nuncio and the other Ambassadors which are at Venice except the Ambassador of Spain who never assists at any publick Ceremony since this State gave the Precedency to the Ambassador of France These Ministers have their Hats on their Heads As for the Duke he never pulls off his Coronet but on one of these two Occasions either at the moment when the Host is elevated or when he receives a Visit from a Prince of Royal Blood or from a Cardinal I must tell you that the Cardinal sits in the same great Chair with the Duke this Chair having a Spring and Machine made on purpose to let it out so as Two may sit together The Duke gives the Right-hand to the Cardinal But to return to the Procession The Principal Senators march after and the Sword of State is carried before them to denote that the Authority resides in the Council not in the Duke I am not well enough inform'd of the particulars of the rest of this Procession to give you an exact Description of it but it is not very material I must farther acquaint you that the Money bears the Name of the Duke That the Letters of the Confederate Princes and States are addressed to him That he gives Audience to Ambassadors and that Declarations are publish'd in his Name These last Particulars need some Explanation The Name of the Duke is in truth on the Money but his Arms are not and his Image is there only Historically This Money is properly the Coin of Venice On the Reverse is the Duke on his Knees at the Foot of the Primicerio who sits and represents St. Mark The Duke takes an Oath of Fidelity to him having one Hand on the Mass-Book and with the other receiving the Banner of the State By this you may perceive that this is no Honour to the Duke and that his Image has no more Marks of Authority than that of the Primicerio As for the Letters of Princes the truth is they are directed and presented to the Duke but it belongs not to him to open them without first communicating them to the Council that is to say the Council receives them by his Hands And it is much the same thing with respect to Ambassadors For the Affair is consulted before and the Answer is so well put Word for Word into the Mouth of the Duke that if any of them happen to forget or perhaps to make a willing Mistake they are astonished to find themselves corrected on the Spot As to what concerns Acts of State he is but tht Herald the Senate enacts and the Duke publishes It must then be confessed that if in any case Gold and Purple are but glaring Pageants and if the Grandeurs of the World are but Chimera's and stately Yokes the Duke of Venice is an Eminent Instance of these Truths I have in obedience to your Desire insisted the longer on this Particular Do not think that I have reveal'd to you any Mystery in the things which I have said of the Duke Though they are not conformable to the Idea's you had conceiv'd nor perhaps to those of the greatest part of the World they are all generally known here See what Mr. Amelot hath written of it I will not meddle with the Article of Government that would be too tedious and difficult a Subject for me to undertake who neither have Time nor Intelligence sufficient to be fully instructed in so many things I will briefly answer your Questions concerning the Patriarch He is elected by the Senate and confirmed by the Pope and his Quality gives him as you may believe a very eminent Rank but his Authority is extreamly bounded The Curates are chosen by the People The Curates are elected by the People of each Parish The Day of Election the Competitors present themselves exalting their own Merits and defaming their Antagonists G. Burnet If the Election be not made in Three Days the State nominates the Patriarch can nominate only to Two or Three Benefices And the Clergy in general to speak properly acknowledges no Superiority but that of the State This Prelate is cloathed in Violet Colour he is always chosen out of the Nobility I am assured that he only stiles himself at the beginning of his Orders N divina miseratione Venetiarum Patriarcha N by the Mercy of God Patriarch of Venice And adds not as others do sanctae sedis Apostolicae gratia And by the Grace of the holy Apostolick See The Venetians desire nothing more than wholly to free themselves from the Authority of that which they call the Holy See As to the rest there needs no more Knowledge nor Personal Merit to be Patriarch than to be Pope these are things not required in this Case it is Interest and Intrigue by which this Dignity is obtain'd as it is the Habit which makes the Monk It is also incredible how much Ignorance and Disorder reigns in this Country among all those who call themselves Clergy-men The Cardinal Barberigo Bishop of Padua who is a venerable Old Man and a wise Person sometimes take the Pains as they say at Padua to preach himself against these Abuses He introduces as much as he can the Custom to make the Priests understand a little Latin And his Zeal hath extended so far as to double the Grates of some Nunneries in his Diocess in hopes they will follow his Example at Venice where the Parlours or Speaking-places are of too easie Communication But all this produces but little they do not willingly give Ear to such Spoilers of good Company I must in the mean time tell you that I remember a very pleasant Secret which was found out here in behalf of some Priests that are Musicians You know it is a Law without Exception that a Priest must be a Compleat Man nevertheless it hath been observed that this Perfection of the Body is sometimes a cause of the Unpleasantness of the Voice and on the other side the Sweetness of the Voice is of great use to insinuate things the better into the Minds of People both in the Church and at the Opera They have found
after we had gone through Woods that were drowned by the overflowing of that River which made the ways both dangerous and difficult we found them very good between the End of this Wood and the City of Worms which is but two little Leagues WORMS an Imperial City This City is about three or four hundred Paces on the left side of the Rhine in an excellent Country and most pleasant Situation It is girt about with a double Wall without any Garrison or even Fortification that is worth Observation * Worms was formerly an Arch Bishoprick But Pope Zachary removed the See to Mentz to punish the Arch-bishop Gervillian who contrary to his Faith killed a Man whom he invited out of the Camp of the Saxons his Enemies to have a familiar conference with him Heiss This is a poor Bishoprick The Bishop hath a great Power there though it be a free and Imperial City It is near as large as Francfort but poor melancholy and ill peopled They shewed me a House that was lately sold for a thousand Crowns which had been Lett formerly for a thousand Crowns per Annum There are many void places in this City in which they have planted so many Vines that they yield every Year fifteen hundred Foudres of Wine the Fouder is a Cask which holds about two hundred and fifty English Gallons They highly prize this Wine and they have a Proverb That it is sweeter than the Virgins Milk The City presents it to Persons of Quality as they pass by as also Fish and Oats The Fish is to shew the Right of Fishing which they have on the Rhine but what the Oats signifie I know not it cannot be to represent their Territory because they have none The Lutherans have here a Church and besides that they preach by turns with the Roman Catholicks in that of the Dominicans the rest belong to the Roman Catholicks who carry not the Host publickly nor make any Procession except the Day after Easter The Protestants whom I will still call Calvinists to distinguish them from the Lutherans have their Church at Newhawsel in the Palatinate about half a League from the City the Lutherans are not shy sometimes to Christen their Children there which is directly opposite to the Practice of the Lutherans at Francfort They say that a Lord of the House of Alberg having brought a great many Jews from Palestine sold Thirty of them for a Piece of Silver at the City of Worms where they were for a long time treated as Slaves before they could obtain the Liberty which they at present enjoy in common with the other Inhabitants The Church of St. Paul seems to be an ancient Building but I believe that of St. John is the older This last is built with very great square Stones and its Figure is quite irregular The Walls are above twelve Foot thick the Windows are narrow and there are Galleries all round the outside of the Building just under the Roof There is but little Appearance that this was built for a Church the Cathedral is a long Structure of a considerable Height with a Tower at each of the four Corners the whole Building is very massive and embellished with Gothick Ornaments They shewed us a certain Animal over one of the Doors of this Church of which the People tell a hundred Stories This Animal is as big as an Ass and hath four Heads one Head of a Man one of an Oxe one of an Eagle and one of a Lion it lifts up the two first and hangs down the other two The right Foot before is a Man's the left an Oxe's the two hinder Feet are of an Eagle and a Lion and a Woman sits upon the Beast If I durst penetrate into this Mystery I think it might be conjectured that this Hieroglyphick is a Chimera composed of the four Animals in the Vision of Ezekiel and that the Woman represents the Gospel I took notice of a Picture over the Altar of one of the Chapels of this Church in which the Virgin is represented receiving Christ as he descends from the Cross while several Angels carry the Instruments of the Crucifixion to Heaven But either the Painter has forgot or else the Angels have since brought back all these Reliques There is another very curious Picture at the Entrance of the Church of St. Martin over a moveable Altar This Picture is about five Foot Square God the Father is on the Top of one Corner from whence he seems to speak to the Virgin Mary who is on her knees in the midst of the Picture she holds the little Infant Jesus by the Feet and puts his Head into the Hopper of a Mill the twelve Apostles turn the Mill by a Wheel with their Hands and they are assisted by these four Beasts of Ezekiel which we just spoke of who work on the other side Not far off the Pope kneels to receive the Hosts which fall from the Mill ready made into a Cup of Gold He presents one to a Cardinal the Cardinal gives it to a Bishop the Bishop to a Priest and the Priest to the People There are in the City two publick Houses one of which is called the Burgher's House in which the Senate assembles twice every Week about the Affairs of the State the other is for the Magistracy and is the Place where common Causes are pleaded It was in the first that Luther made his Appearance on an occasion known to all the World They tell us that this Doctor having spoke with much eagerness and being besides heated by the fire which was before him some body brought him a Glass of Wine which he receiv'd but such was his vehemence that he forgot to drink and without thinking of it set it on a Bench which was by his side they add that the Glass immediately after broke without any Person 's touching it and it passed for current that the Wine was poisoned I will make no Gloss upon this Story But afterwards the Bench on which he set the Glass was broken and some Pieces were taken out of it which some zealous Lutherans keep in memory of their Master We went also to see another House which they call the Mint in which among other things I observed a * These two Verses are written on the Top of the Leaf Mira fides pedibus Juvenis facit omnia recta Cui pariens mater brachia nulla dedit Leaf of Parchment in a square Frame upon which there are twelve sorts of Hands written very fairly with many Miniatures and Draughts boldly traced with a Pen. It was written by one Thomas Schuveiker who was born without Arms and perform'd this with his Feet They also shew another little round piece of Vellum about the bigness of a Guiney upon which the Lord's-Prayer without abbreviation is written But this is no extraordinary thing I know a * Maximin Mossileni Man who wrote the same Prayer six times in the same compass more
Figures as these in the Front of this Church I observ'd in rhe Frontispiece of the great Portal two kind of Birds which by their Combs somewhat resembled Cocks They hold an Animal with a long Tail between them which we suspected was design'd to represent a Fox this poor Beast had his Feet tied together and hung over a Pole the ends of which were supported by the Cocks I cannot forbear searching into the meaning of this little Mystery and if you please I will adventure to tell you my Thoughts of it The allusion of Gallus a Cock to Gallus a French-man is a thing so familiar that I fansie the two Cocks may signifie two French-men and the Animal thus bound must be some crafty Fellow cheated nevertheless and supplanted by the Cocks The Crane hath formerly been too hard for Renard But to apply this Emblem to some particular Event Supposing it to be true that this Chuch was built under Pepin as it seems very probable it may be conjectur'd that his Father Charlemain and he were the two Cocks and that the unfortunate Didier the last King of the Lombards was the Fox You know Charlemain caus'd himself to be crown'd King of the Lombards after he had dispossessed Didier and Pepin was crown'd King of Italy some Years after Didier then vanquish'd stripp'd shaven and put into a Convent too nearly resembles the Fox Except you had rather it should be his Son whose Name I think was Adalgise who in the end was taken and kill'd after he had vainly employ'd all his Wit and Force to regain the Possession of his Father's Dominions I will not say that Pepin amus'd himself with such a Trifle but it was perhaps the Fancy of the Carver On the side of the same Portal they have put this fine Hieroglyphick There is a Man on Horse-back in basso relievo over whom these Three Verses are written in Characters half Roman half Gothick O Regem stultum petit infernale tributum Móxque paratur equus quem misit Daemon iniquus Exit aquâ nudus petit infera not rediturus Tho' I have given you some Conjectures concerning the Fox I confess I can make nothing of this Divel's Horse you may think of both as you please Returning from thence we pass'd by the little Church of St. Mary the Old near which are to be seen many magnificent Tombs of the Scaligers who as you know were Princes of Verona before that City belong'd to the Republick of Venice The Rarities which we saw in the Cabinet of the Count Mascardo deserve that some learned Man should undertake their Description And it may be cause of Admiration that those who have had the Curiosity and the Means to amass so many fine things together should not have had the care to procure Stamps of them and to add Explanatory Remarks on such as are most considerable scarce any thing more remarkable can fall within the Observation of a Traveller nor any thing that deserves better to be studied and describ'd There you find a Gallery and Six Chambers all fill'd with the most admirable Productions of Art or Nature But as it is not possible for me to give you a particular Account of so many things so will I not engage my self in such a Task neither at present nor for the future You need but call to mind all that you have already seen in my Letters and particularly that which I writ from Inspruck Of Pictures Books Roman Rods or Fasces Rings Animals Plants Metals monstrous or Extravagant Productions and Works of all Fashions and in a Word all that can be imagin'd curious or worth inquiry whether for Antiquity or Rarity or for the Delicacy and Excellency of the Workmanship the Catalogue of them would alone amount to a Volume only to satisfie you in some measure I assure you that when-ever I shall meet with any thing that I have not taken Notice of before and which shall seem worthy of particular Observation I shall take care to communicate it to you There are here many * The Vessels which they name are enclabria paterae prefericula ollae sympullae Many sorts of Knives dolabra cultri seva secespita Axes Mallets Candlesticks Instruments and Utensils which were used in the Pagan Sacrifices They also show'd us Figures of Brass that represent all sorts of things which they hung up in the Temples of their Gods when they had receiv'd any Assistance from them We saw also many pieces of Workmanship fram'd out of the Stone Amianthos which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so famous among the Naturalists this Stone as hard and weighty as it is is easily divided into Fibres or Threads which are so strong and flexible that they may be spun like Cotton Before I leave this Head I must acquaint you with this Remark concerning the Instances of Petrefaction which I have observ'd either here or elsewhere that there is many times a great deal of Errour and Uncertainty in them and that there are several Persons who scruple not to use a little Artifice to multiply and diversitie the Rarities with which they design to fill a Cabinet It cannot be deny'd that Nature seems to divert herself sometimes with such fantastical Changes but it must also be confess'd that they are often counterfeited by Art I know not whether you ever saw any of those pretended Animals call'd Basilisks which have a little resemblance of a Dragon The Invention is prettily contriv'd and has cheated many for they take a small Ray and having turn'd it after a certain manner and rais'd up the Fins in form of Wings they fit a little Tongue to it shaped like a Dart and add Claws and Eyes of Enammel with other little Knacks curiously order'd and this is the whole Secrecy of making Basilisks I am not ignorant that some Authors mention another sort of Basilisk without either Feet or Wings which they represent like a crown'd Serpent and many Naturalists affirm that it kills with its Breath and Looks Galen takes notice of it as the most Venemous of all Serpents and tells us that the Wezel only fears not its Poison but on the contrary poisons it with its Breath But I believe this Serpent is found only in the Land of Phoenixes and Unicorns The Curious may learn in Matthiolus how they make the Mandrakes I might alledge to you many other little Cheats like that of the first Basilisk but to return to our Account of Petrefaction I shall fix only on one of all those Observations that might be brought to Illustrate this Subject There is a certain natural Production according to some a kind of imperfect Plant or a Coralline Matter which extreamly resembles a Mushroom I know not whether they do not sometimes cheat themselves or are willing to cheat others Be it as it will this is that which they call Petrify'd Mushrooms which indeed were never Mushrooms The Question depends on the matter of Fact but one