the Guard of St. Malo's My second Remark relates to a Raven and a Crow that are in the Island whose number never increases When one of these two Dies all that are in the Neighbouring Parts flock thither to take possession of the Vacancy as if it were an Inheritance and in regard they have no Knowledge of Littleton's Tenures or the Canon-Law much less of the Genealogy of their Ancestors so as to leave their Estates to the next Heirs they fall to Bloody Wars one among another many are slain on both sides many are wounded and many betake themselves to Cowardly flight and save themselves upon the Continent and thus at length the strongest carries it and becomes peaceable Possessour of the Island all the rest of his days As to the Surviver I know not whether upon the loss of his Companion he loses his Privileges or whether he measures Beaks and Claws and then Duels it out with the new Comer Brest is the best Seaport-Town which The French have upon the Ocean for which reason it is the Great Maritime Arsenal of the Kingdom and the Rendevouz of the French Fleets The Entrance into the Bay is very dangerous by reason of several Rocks that lye under Water upon high Tides but there are always skilful Pilots ready to carry in great Ships without any hazard The King caus'd this Place to be fortify'd after a wonderful manner and not without Reason it being one of the Principal Keys of the Kingdom and the Rendevouze of all his Men of War CHAP. XVIII Of Anjou and Touraine THE Province of Anjou dignify'd with the Title of a Dukedom has Bretagne to the East Maine to the North Touraine to the West and Poitou to the South It is Thirty Leagues in Length and Twenty Broad Twenty two says de la Croix and being water'd with the Loire the Sarre and several other Rivers no less then Six and Thirty says de la Croix it is extremely fertile and the People are Witty and very Crafty Anger 's the Metropolis call'd by some Authors the Black City by reason that all the Houses are cover'd with black Slate which they dig out of the Quarries adjoyning is the Seat of a Bishop a Presidial Court a Bailliage a Mint and a University for the Law Founded by Charles V. in 1364. others say by Lewis XII in 1398. The Cathedral dedicated to St. Maurice is a lovely Structure and the three Steeples over the Portal are wonderful pieces of Architecture of which that in the middle seems as if it hung in the Air being supported by the Foundations of the other two Among the Antiquities of the Treasury there is to be seen St. Maurice's Sword and one of the Cisterns that contain'd some part of the Water which Christ turn'd into Wine at the Galilean Wedding The Castle is very Ancient and built upon a Rock flank'd with Eighteen large round Towers and defended with a wide deep Moat cut out of the Rock whither many times Prisoners of State are sent for more Security The Huguenots surpriz'd this Castle in the Year 1585. but they were soon after expell'd again by the Anjovins Anger 's is also remarkable for the University there Erected according to the King's Letters Patents bearing Date June 1605. with the same Privileges which the Academy of Paris enjoys except the Comittimus The Number of the Academies is fix'd to Thirty besides the Bishop the King's Lieutenant the first President the King's Proctor in the Presidial Court and some others who have their Places in the Academy by vertue of their Employments The City it self is govern'd by a Mayor and Twenty four Aldermen or Sheriffs La Flesche stands upon the Loire about Ten Leagues from Anger 's to the South There is in it a very fair College of Jesuits Founded in the Year 1605. by Henry IV. containing three Courts and three Piles of Lodging Chambers sufficient to Lodge the King and all his Court The Heart of that great Monarch lyes in the Chappel under the Steps ascending to the Altar as he ordain'd by his Last Will. Saumur is applauded by all Forreigners for the Pleasantness of the Situation where there is also a Strong Castle and well fortify'd Touraine lyes to the North of Anjou about Thirty Leagues in length and as many broad This Country is so fertile that it 's call'd the Garden of France The People are good Natur'd Sincere and Witty If you will gain their Friendship you must have a care of being Melancholy And therefore they are call'd The Laughers of Tours Les Rieurs de Tours They who have seen Tours the Capital City of this Province agree that it is one of the most delightful Mansions in the Kingdom It is the seat of an Archbishop a Presidial Court and a Money-Chamber The Loire over which there is a Bridge of Nineteen Arches causes it to abound with all things There are great Quantities of Silk Stuffs made in this City which are thence transported all over Europe The Church of St. Martins is of a vast length being a Hundred and sixty Foot long with two and fifty Windows twenty Columns nineteen Doors and three very High Towers in the Year 1591. there were found in it two Urns full of the Ashes of several Bodies consum'd by Fire Amboise stands upon the Loire with a Castle Royal built there by Charles VIII to signalize the Place of his Birth Loches is remarkable for the Castle and a beautiful Forrest adjoyning to it Lewis XI enlarg'd this Castle and added a Dungeon to it where he kept the Cardinal de Balve a long time and here it was that Lewis Sforza being confin'd by Lewis XIII dy'd in his Imprisonment and was Buri'd in the Church of Nostre Dame where is to be seen the Tomb of Agnes Surel Charles VIIth's Mistress Chinon is a pleasant City where Charles the Seventh was retir'd when Joane of Arc came to find him out and proffer him her Service And more lately remarkable for being the place where Rablaise was Born CHAP. XIX Of Beausse which Comprehends Orleanois Blesois and Le Pais Chartrain IN regard there have been no just Bounds given to this Province because several Authors out of a humour joyn the Neighbouring Provinces to it I shall not undertake to limit the extent of it but following the Opinion of those who divide it into Upper Middle and Lower which are commonly call'd Le Pais Chartrain Orleanois and Blesois I shall only observe what is most curious in the Principal Cities of the Province By the way you are to observe that this Country is call'd the Granary of France by reason of the great quantity of Corn which it produces As for the People the Chartrains are look'd upon to be Zealous Catholicks The Orleanois somewhat addicted to Slandering and Backbiting The Blesois are said to speak the best French yet both the one and the other are very civil and obliging Chartres is a City so Ancient that some
the Finances of which there are such a Number in France as Rouen Tholouse Orleans Limoges c. Jurats of Bourdeaux are as the Eschevins or Sheriffs in other Cities Mareschalship is the Office and Jurisdiction of a Marshal of France The Lord Marshals of France in the time of Francis I. were but two who having their several Provinces assign'd 'em by the King rode their Circuits into 'em and were present at all General Musters to observe how Military Discipline was observ'd to View the Fortifications and Reparations of Frontier Towns How the Arsenals were stor'd with Ammunition and Provisions and lastly to provide for the Punishment of Idle Vagrant and loose Persons But now their Number is uncertain the Marshal's Battoon of Command being given as the Reward of Prowess and Conduct Presidial Seats are Courts of Justice Establish'd in the Year 1551. in divers good Towns of France wherein Civil Causes not exceeding 250 Livres Tournois are heard and adjudg'd Soveraignly and without Appeals Seneschalship the Jurisdiction of a Seneschal who is a Chief Justice or Magistrate of a Precinct who has the same Authority which is enjoy'd by a Bailli from whom he differs only in Name Historical Voyages Travels OVER EUROPE CHAP. I. Of Europe in general THE World is usually divided into four Parts that is to say Asia Africa America and Europe This last is the smallest of all but without contradiction the most considerable in regard it is most Populous most Fertile and under the most noble and best order'd Forms of Government The Bounds of it to the North are the Northern or the Frozen Sea to the West the Atlantick Ocean the Mediterranean to the South which separates it from Africa and to the East the Aegean Sea the Streight of Gallipoli the Sea of Marmara the Streight of Constantinople the Black Sea the Palus Maeotis the Tanais c. which part it from Asia The Length of it from Cape St. Vincents in the Western part of Spain to the mouth of the River Ob in the Frontiers of Muscovy is about thirteen hundred Leagues Moreover there are always said to be in Europe besides the Territories of the Church in Italy two Empires that of Germany and that of Turky seven Kingdoms under different Soveraigns who acknowledge no Superior France Spain England Portugal Sweden Denmark and Poland The first six Hereditary the latter Elective There are now nine Electorates Mayence Treves Cologne Bohemia Bavaria Saxony Brandenburgh the Palatinate and Hanover which are all Soveraign States under the Titles of Dukedoms Marquisates c. We have also in Europe two Great Dukedomes Muscovy and Tuscany Six other Dukedoms besides those which are enclos'd within the Empire viz. Lorrain Savoy Mantoua Modena Parma and Curland Seven Republicks viz. The United Provinces otherwise call'd Holland Switzerland Venice Genoa Luca St. Marin and Ragusa And besides all this there is the Arch-Dukedom of Austria the Patrimony of the Empire who also possesses Bohemia and Hungary As for the Principalities of Transylvania Moldavia and Walachia they are possess'd by particular Princes who are tributary either to the Emperor or the Grand Signior and sometimes to both together The Principal Islands of Europe are England united to Scotland Ireland Majorca Minorca Sicily Sardignia Corfu Creet and an infinite number of others in the Archipelago And the Highest Mountains are in France the Pyreneans and the Alpes La Sierra Morena in Spain the Apennine in Italy Parnassus in Greece the Crapack in Poland the Rhipheans in Muscovy and Mont Gibel in Sicily This part of the World is water'd with an infinite number of fair Streams and vast Rivers which contribute not a little to the Fertility of it The most considerable are the Seine the Loire the Garonne the Rhone in France the Duero the Tagus the Guadiana the Guadalquivir the Ebro in Spain the Po and Tibur in Italy the Danaw the Rhine the Elbe the Order in Germany the Vistula and Niepor in Poland the Volga and Don in Muscovy the Thames Severn and Trent in England the Tay in Scotland and the Shanon in Ireland CHAP. II. Of France in general FRance is to Europe as Europe is to all the other parts of the World for number of Inhabitants for the Ingenuity of the People the Fertility of the Soil the Temper of the Climate and the Excellency of the Wine The Government is Monarchical but too severely Absolute tho the Nobility are brave and Warlike This Kingdom is seated between the forty second and fifty first degree of Latitude and the fifteenth and nineteenth of Longitude It is bounded to the West by the Great Ocean to the East by the Rhine and the Alpes that separate it from Germany and Italy to the South by the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyreneans that divide it from Spain and to the North by St. Georges-Channel which the French call La Manche that parts it from England But these Bounds have not hinder'd the Kings from frequently extending their Dominions beyond these Limits and without searching past Ages for Examples no body can be ignorant that in our days neither the Rhine the Alpes nor the Pyreneans could stop the Rapidness of the Conquests of Lewis the XIV France is about two hundred and sixty Leagues in length if we take it from the Coasts of Britany to the Frontiers of Switzerland and two hundred and forty in breadth from Dunkirk ro Perpignan The Kingdom is compos'd of Three Estates the Clergy the Nobility and the People In 1614. the States General of the Kingdom being summon'd to meet at Paris appear'd there under Twelve great Governments which are Picardy Normandy Champagne the Island of France Britany Orleanois Burgogne Lionois the Dauphinate Provence Languedoc and Guienne and under these Governments are comprehended Le Maine Anjou Tourain Poictou Xaintoin Perigort Limozin Querci Rovergne Auvergne Gevodan Albigeois Bearne Bigorre Foix Cominges Armagnac Vivarez Le Forest Beaugelois Bugeay Valcomay La Bresse Nivernois Bourbonnois Berri Salogne Gatinois Beauce c. All this shews us that France must needs be a very Potent Kingdom since it includes so great a number of Fair Provinces some of which contain more Cities Burroughs and Villages then many Soveraign Kingdoms and Principalities But if you add to these the Conquests of Lewis the XIII and XIV you will find the Limits of this Kingdom to be of a much larger Extent since those two Monarchs subdu'd Franche Contè Lorraine Alsatia Artois part of Flanders Hainault Luxemburgh c. France which was known to the Ancients under the name of Gaul is a Hereditary Kingdom the Crown of which cannot descend to the Female Sex by vertue of the Salique Law It always belongs to the Eldest Son and for want of Male Issue to the next of Kin. France has beheld upon the Throne Kings of three Races The first was that of Meroveus the second that of Charlemaigne and the third that of Hugh Capet Pharamond was the first King of France
granted her by her Soveraigns from time to time and they who have been once honour'd with the Shrievalty of Lion are ennobl'd both they and their Posterity CHAP. XIV Of Burgundy and Nivernois BVrgundy is a Province with the Title of a Dutchy and Peerdom though it were formerly a Kingdom and the Title is now born by the Dauphin's eldest Son This Province extends it self from North to South above Fifty Leagues not above Forty says De la Croix and Thirty from East to West Thirty two says De la Croix The Source of the River Seine rises in a Village of Burgundy which is call'd St. Seine The Burgundians are an obliging people and love Honour but they are naturally opinionated and obstinate and you must have a great Ascendant over 'em to make 'em alter their Sentiments Dijon is the Capital of this Province and Historians report that the Emperour Aurelian having utterly raz'd and destroy'd a certain place call'd Burg-Dogne or Burgus Deorum was afraid of the Anger of the Gods to whom that place was Consecrated whereupon his Mother Priestess of the Sun advis'd him for the Expiation of his Fault to build a Temple and a Castle in the same place which were the First Foundations of this Capital City It is remarkable for the Walls which are fortify'd with Towers and Bastions the Castle flank'd with Four Great Towers and Two Ravelins a fair Charter-House wherein are the Stately Tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy the Palace of Justice the King's House Sixteen Churches two Abbies five Hospitals the Town-House and for being the Place where the States of the Country meet every Three Years This Country enriches it self by her Corn and Wine being generally call'd the Magazine of Paris St. Bernard was Born in a Village of this Province call'd Fontaine Beaune is a very ancient City with a Chancery and a Bailliage seated advantageously for every thing but most chiefly fruitful in delicious Wines Autun is also very Ancient and some there are who derive the Etymology of the Name from Augustus However it were the Romans thought it worthy of their Friendship and enter'd into an Alliance with it The Druids held their Senate in this City There are also to be seen the Ruins of a Temple of Juno which they call Janitoye And among other Antiquities there are still to be seen a Field of Mars the Mount of Jupiter and the Ruins of Triumphal Arches Pyramids Aqueducts c. The Cathedral Church and the Episcopal Palace are worth the sight of the most curious Travellers Auxerre is a very good City with an Episcopal See a Presidial Court and a Bailliage This City is very Ancient and it 's said that Julian the Apostate stopt here for some time to refresh his Army In the next Age it was taken and almost ruin'd by Attila in the Year 451. After that K. Robert took it in 1005. from Landri Count of Nevers Since which time it was govern'd by particular Counts of her own 'T is a very great Thorough-fare having a Stone Bridge Large Piazza's several Fountains beautiful Churches among which the Cathedral is very Magnificent stor'd with Reliques and adorn'd with a most beautiful Quire a Steeple remarkable for the heighth of it and a Chapter of Fifty nine Canons but the Earldom is now united to the Crown The Bishop resides in the Castle which it would be no difficult thing to fortifie in regard it stands upon a rising Ground which Commands the City There have also been two Councils held in this City the one under the Pontificate of Pelagius in 578. the other in 1147. It is seated upon the River Yonne that falls into the Seine at Montereau Nevers the Capital City of Nivernois is a considerable City not only for the goodness and fertility of the Soil but for the Advantages it receives from the River Loire which washes the Walls of it and runs by the Fortress that Commands it and over which it has a Bridge of Twenty Arches Travellers are always us'd to visit these Parts where the Inhabitants make Glasses and Earthen Pots which bring great Profit to this City The Bishoprick is under the Archbishop of Sens and one of the best in the Kingdom In the last Assembly of the States General of the Kingdom the Deputies of Nivernois appear'd under the Government of Orleanois There are in this Little Province both Iron and Silver Mines but the People make little Advantage of ' em CHAP. XV. Of Berry and Burbonnois THough the Province of Berry be of no great Extent yet is it very Rich. The Cloth which is there made is in great Esteem and the Wool in this Province is the best in the Kingdom The Inhabitants who were in Ancient Time call'd the Bituriges were very formidable And History informs us not only of the Conquests which they made in Germany and Italy but that the same People who a long time held the Empire of the Gauls were they who gave Caesar the Greatest Trouble in his Conquests The Capital City of Berry is Bourges being an Archbishoprick with the Title of a Primacy and Patriarchate having also a Presidial Court a Bailliage a Generality and a University The Situation of it is very Advantageous by reason of the two Rivers that make a kind of Bogg and fill the Moats It has seven Gates and as many Suburbs The Walls are in a good condition fortify'd with Four and twenty Towers The Ramparts are Cannon-proof the Stones being cut Diamond fashion and Nineteen Foot thick The Cathedral Church is dedicated to St. Stephen a most beautiful Structure supported by Fifty Pillars The Treasury of this Cathedral contains many Curiosities which Foreigners will be glad to see and of which I would have inserted here a Catalogue had I not unfortunately mislay'd it in my Travels This City suffer'd much by the Irruptions of the Barbarians in the Fifth Age and still it feels the furious sack of the Huguenots upon the 27th of May 1562. when the Count of Montmorancy who was their General took it Bourbonnois is separated from Burgundy by the River Loire which lyes to the East Berry bounds it to the West Auvergne and Forest to the South and Nivernois to the North. This Province is not so considerable for it self though the Soil be very fertile as for the Honour which it has to see the Illustrious House of Bourbon wear the Crown of France The City of Bourbon bequeath'd her Name to this Province though it be not the Capital which is attributed to Moulins The Castle of Bourbon is environ'd with 24 Towers which renders it extremely strong Near the Castle lies a great Marsh where are the Baths of Bourbon so renown'd all over Europe Moulins is a very large and fair City seated upon the River Allier and remarkable for the Mineral Waters and for the great Number of Cutlers Shops The Presidial Court is one of the greatest Ornaments that belong to it CHAP. XVI Of Poitou and the Country
Merchandizes are brought that are transported from the Indies and besides that it is a Bishops See it is also the seat of a Presidial Jurisdiction and a Soveraign Court for the Western Salt-Pits The people in their Humour partake of the Air of the Sea which they breath and are therefore very boisterous and insolent and no less full of Vanity and Pride Rochefort is a Sea-Port Town at the Mouth of the River Charante formerly no more then a Village now a City with good Bastions upon which are planted Rows of Trees that make very pleasant Walks There is also in this place several Ware-houses and an Hospital for sick and wounded Seamen CHAP. XVII Of Bretagne BRetagne is a very large Province which is also usually call'd by the Name of Little Bretaigne to distinguish it from Great Britain which contains the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland and the small Islands adjoyning There is no Province of France that has so great a Number of Havens as this for it is environ'd by the Ocean to the North South and West Eastward it is bounded by Poitou Anjou Maine and Normandy It extends it self above Forty Leagues from South to North that is to say from the Island of Bouitz to the Mouth of the River Couenon and Sixty from East to West that is to say from Vitrey to the Point of Conquet and contains Nine Bishopricks Formerly it was govern'd by Kings for above Three hundred Years together but was afterwards contented with the Title of a Dukedom till the Year 1491. that Ann of Bretaine the only Daughter of Francis II. the last Duke married Charles the Eighth of France and after that Lewis XII who both United this Dutchy to the Crown The Soil is fertile in Corn Flax Hemp and Fruits affords good Butter and Breeds good Horses but produces little Wine to the great Grief of the Inhabitants who are great Lovers of it Between Chasteau-Briant and Martigues are several Mines of Iron and Lead In the Signory of Salle is a Source of Water that smells of Antimony and drives before it a sort of Sand of the colour of Gold and not far off upon a high Hill they find Antimony Sulphur and Copper And in another place they dig out Talc and Stone Allum which being pounded into Powder may be spun into long Threads or Candlewieks which never go out as long as there is any substance remaining and is thought to be the Asbestos of the Ancients In the Mines of Valgoet are to be found both Jasper Stones and very clear Chrystal with several other Rarities Moreover in this Province there is a great Value put upon the Secrets of the Mount Menehaldec the Beauties of the Forrest of Besban where is still to be seen the square Base of Stone call'd Perron-Merlin the ancient Divertisement of the Knights Errant and the Fountain of Balanton c. They also make great reckoning of the Amber of Bell-Isle the Aqueducts of Dal the Vaults between Rieux and Redon the Subterraneal Torrent in the Forrest of St. Aubin du Cornier the Singularities of the River Ardre and the Lake of Grandlieu near Nantes And having already told yee how the Province is seated upon the Sea I think it needless to tell yee that they are stor'd with all sorts of Fish among the rest there is taken upon the Coast of Bretaigne a certain Fish which at Marseilles is call'd Imperador or the Emperour but in Bretanie Gracieux Seigneur which is very delightful to the tast The Bretons are of a very sociable Humour and there are two sorts of People whose Company pleases 'em better then any other The first are those that can stoutly hold out to drink with 'em The next are they who in their Discourses or otherwise make appear their Hatred of the Normans For the People of those two Provinces have such an Antipathy one against another that they can never speak well of each other Rennes is the Capital City of Bretagne divided by the little River of Vilaine which brings up great Barks to the Town though it stands above Twenty Leagues from the Sea Henry II. erected a Parlament in this City which is also a Bishop's See adorn'd with fair Churches two Abbies St. Magdalens and St. Georges with several other Religious Houses and the Bell belonging to the Palace Clock is accompted one of the biggest in the Kingdom and having been formerly the Residence of the Dukes of Bretagne it is stor'd with several Reliques for Travellers to see either out of Curiosity or Devotion Nantes contends for Superiority with Rennes as being likewise a Bishops See and pretending that her Haven renders her more wealthy more famous and makes an ample amends for the Parlament with which the other is Honour'd But not to trouble my self to decide the Controversie between these two Cities I shall only observe that Nantes is very ancient and some Authors will have it that Nantes one of the Progeny of Noah was the Founder of it and gave it his own Name However it were she had once particular Counts of her own and the Beauty and Fertility of her Soil appropriated to her the Sirname of the Eye of Bretagne There is a Castle belonging to this City which secures the Port and her Presidial Court where there is a Tower and a Clock both considerable for the rarity of their Workmanship and an Election render her no less remarkable then her University for the Law founded by Pope Pius II. in the time of Francis II. the last Duke of Bretagne When you visit the Churches you shall see the Tombs of several Dukes of Bretagne The Town-House is built after the Modern Mode and her large Ware-Houses for all sorts of Merchandizes merit the View of all Travellers who will then admire the vast Wealth of this City The Edict which Hen. IV. set forth at Nantes in favour of the Protestants in April 1598. was revok'd by Lewis XIV in October 1685. St. Malo's is another famous Sea-port Town of this Province seated upon a Rock in the Sea in the Island of St. Aron joyn'd to the Land by a long Causey the entrance into which is defended by a Castle flank'd with large Towers environ'd with good Moats where there is a Garison and a Governour The Bishoprick of St. Quidalet was translated thither in the Year 1172. I have here two things to observe concerning St. Malo's one of which is true the other seems to me to be a Fable The first is That every Night they let out a dozen or fifteen great Mastiffs that presently run their Rounds about the City upon the Ramparts and infallibly tear to pieces all people that they meet with So that before they suffer 'em to walk their Patrolle there is a Bell Toll'd for some time to give people notice that the merciless Watch is a coming These Dogs are kept on purpose to preserve the City from surprize which gave occasion for some to say That Dogs had
Authors affirm it to have been built by the Gomerites who were sent into Gaul a little after Noah's time However certain it is that the Druids built this City long before the Birth of Christ whose Nativity they foretold and that he should be Born of a Virgin which was the reason that Priscus the Roman Governor erected a Temple there which he consecrated Virgini Pariturae to the Virgin that should bear a Son And seeing that St. Paul coming to Athens met with an Altar dedicated to the Vnknown God we may the more readily believe that either by some Prophetick Spirit or by some other Prerogatives only known to Providence that the Pagans in the midst of their Darkness had some glimmerings of that knowledge which God reserv'd for the Christians And hence I may observe that if some Christians were to be met among the Pagans of those Times there are more Pagans to be found among the Christians at this day There is a Well to be seen at Chartres which is call'd the Saints Well because the Romans were wont to throw the Primitive Christians into it There belongs to this City a Presidial Court together with a Bishops See under the Archbishop of Paris ever since 1622. for before it depended upon the Archbishop of Sens. There are to be seen in this City many Pieces of Antiquity and a great number of Reliques The Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Virgin is very considerable for the Quire the Church under-ground and the two Steeples are the Admiration of Forreigners The Streets are fair and straight the Houses neatly built the Market-Places large and the River Eure affords a Water very proper for several sorts of Manufacture In the Year 1591. Hen. IV. took it from the League and caus'd himself to be Crown'd in it by reason that Reims held out in Rebellion Orleans is a very considerable City dignify'd with the Title of Dukedom and a Bishop's See under the Archbishop of Paris with a Presidial Court and a University for the Law founded by St. Lewis and confirm'd by Philip the Fair in 1312. All this advances much the Honour of the City but her greater Glory to be the Appanage or Childs Portion and Title always belonging to the Second Son of France much more Exalts the Idea that Forreigners have of her This City is seated upon the Banks of the River Loire in a Country full of Vineyards that furnish it with excellent Wine Among the most considerable Buildings is to be seen the Church of the Holy Cross which the Religionaries ruin'd in the last Age but though Henry the Great caus'd it to be rebuilt he has not restor'd it the Beauty of her Pristin Antiquity This City was several times Besieg'd and twice miraculously deliver'd Once by the Prayers of her Bishop St. Aignan when Attila King of the Hunns besieg'd it in the Year 450. Long after that the English besieg'd it in the Year 1417. at what time it was succour'd by Joan of Arc call'd the Maid of Orleans The Kingdom was then in a Low condition and upon the very brink of Ruin at what time this Maid who was no more then a poor Shepherdess born at Dompremi upon the Meuse receiv'd a Command from God to go and succour Orleans and to Crown Charles VII K. of France at Reims Coming to Court she made up to the King whom she had never seen in her life before and though he had nothing to be signaliz'd from the rest in the croud of Courtiers that were in a huddle about him She told him of the Command she had receiv'd from Heaven They gave her what Men she desir'd with which she defeated the English and reliev'd Orleans After that she caus'd the King to be Crown'd at Reims re-conquer'd all Champagne and had expell'd the English quite out of France but that she had the Misfortune to be taken before Compiegne which she had laid Siege to When the English had her in their power they carri'd her to Rouen and Burnt her for a Witch She was call'd the Maid or Virgin because that having been search'd by several Matrons in the presence of the Queen of Sicily she was found to be so The Orleanois had so great a Veneration for her Memory that they set up her Statue upon the Bridge of Orleans There are several very fair Country seats in the Parts about Orleans of which Chambort is the most remarkable as being built by the Command of Francis I. and the Stairs belonging to it are look'd upon to be a kind of a Prodigy for that when you would go up into the Chamber over head from the Room where you are instead of ascending you must descend The Loire washes the Walls of Bloise as well as of Orleans This City is seated in a most delightful Air which the Pleasure of the Walks about it renders much more Charming provided the Weather be dry For otherwise the Soil is so fat that the least Rain makes the ways almost impassable There is a very beautiful Castle belongs to it built upon a Rock which has been the seat of several Kings There is also a Pyramid erected upon the Bridge that crosses the River in Honour of Hen. IV. of France There are also to be seen some fair Ruins of Roman Antiquity and Travellers will find a great deal of Pleasure in viewing the Park that belongs to the Royal Castle At some distance from the City is to be seen the Castle of Buri in the Court of which is erected a Pillar on the top of which stands a Figure of King David in Brass which was brought from Rome The Lake also which is in the Dutchy of Vendosme is very remarkable for this that the Water abounds in it for seven Years together but the next seven Years it lyes quite dry During which time you may perceive Caverns in it that are extreamly deep The Country people also know by certain Marks of the Height of the Water whether the seven Years that the Water is absent will be fruitful or barren Amboise is a very ancient City where Charles VIII was Born and this Prince it was who built the Castle which is the greatest Ornament of it In this Castle Lewis XII instituted the Order of the Knights of St. Michael the First day of August in the Year 1469. This City is also famous for the Conspiracy there discover'd against Francis II. Catherine de Medicis his Mother and all the Court in 1560. And History informs us that there was a most Bloody Butchery of the Conspirators among whom there was a great number of Persons of Quality CHAP. XX. Of the Island of France VVHen Forreigners hear talk of the Island of France unless they cast their Eyes upon the Map they take it for a Land divided from the rest of the Kingdom But though it be intercut and intercepted with many Rivers however they do not make any Island only it is a Name which the Province has deriv'd from
little Islands which the Seine surrounds in several places and among the rest from two within the Circuit of Paris which are call'd the Island of Nostre Dame and the Island of the Palace This Island is the most Noble Portion of the most Illustrious most Potent and most Flourishing Kingdom in the World This is what the Author stretches out in Praise of his own Country but whether it agree so well with the present Condition of France is left for the Impartial to judge Paris is not only the Capital of this Province but the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom nor is it without good Reason that a certain Author calls it The Queen of the Cities in the World It is so ancient that the Time is not positively known when it began to be built Some say that the Foundations of it were laid before the Death of Noah However it were Authors agree that it is more ancient then Rome as it is much larger in regard that Rome is not above Twenty three Thousand and fifty Paces in Circuit but that Paris is Twenty six Thousand eight Hundred and fifty Paces in Compass the Suburbs being therein comprehended In the Year 1622. the Bishoprick was Erected into an Archbishoprick The present Archbishop is one of the most Learned the most Illustrious and the most Obliging Prelates in the Kingdom Messire Francois de Harlay Duke and Peer of France Commander of the King's Orders formerly Archbishop of Rouen and one whose Merit is Universally known He has a Seat in the Parlament of Paris which is the first in the Kingdom and which is usually call'd the Parlament of Peers But besides this Tribunal there are several others in Paris as the Chamber of Accompts or of the Exchequer which was made Sedentary at Paris at the same time that the Parlament was fix'd The Grand Chastelet where the Provost of Paris sits as a Judge and may be call'd the Sessions House of Paris There is also the Conseil du Roy or the King's Council which consists of such Persons as he pleases to make Choice of to Consult about Publick and Important Business Conseil de Finances compos'd of a Superintendant Intendants Comptrollers Registers c. and the Conseil Privè de Parties which is Assembled about particular Causes and Controversies between Party and Party Besides several other Courts and Chambers which we omit for Brevities sake The University of Paris is the most famous in all France Italy Spain or Germany where all manner of Learning and Sciences are taught It was founded in the Year 791. by Charlemaign at the perswasion of the learned Alcuin who was the first Professor of it And I am apt to believe that to justifie the Opinion of M. Balzac who calls the University of Paris the Latin Country there needs no more then to tell yee that it consists of Fifty five Colleges which are always full of an Infinite Number of Scholars and every Body knows that the Sorbonne is a Nursery of Learned Men and the most rigid College in France I do not here propose to my self to make an exact Description of all the Beauties of Paris for a Volume in Folio would not contain 'em all I shall only take notice of those things that render it most remarkable without entring into a particular Enumeration of all Particulars The chiefest without doubt is this that it is the place where the Monarchs of France have all along kept their Courts and when the Palace of the Louvre which is joyn'd to that of the Tuilleries shall be finish'd with that Order and Magnificence as it is begun 't will be the most Noble Building in the Universe There will not be only Lodging sufficient for all the Court but also for the Ministers of State for all the Officers of the Crown and all Forreign Ambassadors that come to reside in the City The Cathedral Church which is dedicated to the Holy Virgin is a Hundred seventy four Paces in length and Sixty broad and a Hundred Paces high There is to be seen the Old and New Testament engrav'd upon the Stones of the Quire and over the Door of the Quire is to be seen a Crucifix with an Image of our Lady which are two Master-pieces of Workmanship The Frontispiece of the Church is adorn'd with three large Portals over which are One and twenty Figures of the King 's that Reign'd from Childebert to Philip the August Two high square Towers serve it instead of a Steeple which are esteem'd to be the fairest in France So that 't is commonly said If you would have a perfect Cathedral you must joyn the Quire of Bauvaise the Body of Amiens the Portal of Reimes the Steeple of Chartres and the Towers of Paris From the bottom to the top of these Towers you ascend with Three hundred eighty nine Steps and at the top there is a Gallery that leads from one Tower to the other To the Church it self belong Seven Doors and Forty five Chappels But that which is most of all to be wonder'd at is this that this Vast and Magnificent Structure is built upon Piles driven into the Ground by reason it stands at the farther end of the Island of the Palace The Quire the Body of the Church and the Chappels are adorn'd with lovely Pictures and many precious Reliques are preserv'd within those sacred Walls The Holy Chappel of the Palace is a Church which is very remarkable not only for Antiquities and Reliques but for the Workmanship of the Building which is supported by Pillars so small that a Man would wonder how they are able to bear so great a weight The most famous Reliques that are lockt up within these two Places are the Crown of Thorns with which Christ was Crown'd The Table-Cloath upon which he Supp'd with his Apostles The Spunge and Head of the Spear wherewith his Side was pierc'd Some of the Virgins Milk Moses's Rod a piece of St. John Baptist's Head c. In short not to engage my self to give an account of all the Churches in particular I shall only tell yee that Paris contains One and fifty Parishes of which the most part consist of Twenty five Thirty and Thirty five thousand Communicants Two and fifty Monasteries Seventy eight Nunneries and Thirty Hospitals If we add to this that there are in Paris Eight hundred and thirty Streets Twelve Suburbs of which St. German des Prez alone is larger then many Capital Cities Ten Bridges Seventy three Piazza's and Market-Places though de la Croix says but Twenty five and a great Number of Palaces or Noble-Men's Houses 't will be no wonder to us what Charles V. said That he had seen in France a World a City and a Village The World was Paris the City was Orleans and the Village was Poitiers It would be no difficult thing to Arm in Paris Two hundred Thousand Men for the Service of the State for an Army might be rais'd only of the People that wear Liveries from
Eighteen to Thirty Years of Age. The Bastille is a Castle built near St. Anthony's Gate for the Security of the Arsenal which is one of the best provided in Europe This Fortress is flank'd with Four Towers surrounded with Moats and furnish'd with Good Artillery and is the Place where many times Prisoners of State are secur'd The Royal Hospital for the Infirm is a House which Lewis XIV caus'd to be built for the Entertainment of Officers and Souldiers who are not in a Condition to bear Arms as having been Maim'd in the King's Service And there may be conveniently Lodg'd in this Hospital Four Thousand Men who keep as exact Guard within the Place as if they were in a Garrison Now in regard that Paris lyes in the Heart of the Kingdom there is no need of keeping any Garrison in it But because it is the general Concourse of all sorts of People and for that it frequently happens that Rogues and Night-Robbers wait their Opportunities and generally practise their Villanies in Places of great resort the City therefore keeps a standing Watch of Two hundred and fifty Men part Horse and part Foot which are divided into several Quarters to walk the Rounds and ride the Patroule But in regard the Criminals make it their Business to avoid 'em the Citizens and others are frequently set upon after the Watch is past not being able to help themselves 'T is true that in my Opinion it were an easie thing to secure Paris against the Robberies and Murthers which are too frequently there committed with little Charge to the City but it would be a rashness in me to go about to instruct the most understanding Magistrates in the World I have already mention'd that in Paris there are Seventy and three Publick Piazza's or Market-Places I shall only speak of those three which are the most Modern and which are also the most considerable The first is call'd the Royal Place which is in that part where formerly stood the Palais des Tournelles or of the Parlamental Court for Criminal Causes near St. Antonies-Street 'T is very regular and environ'd with Thirty six Pavillions no less proportionable and rail'd quite round with Iron Spikes on all the four sides All the foreparts of the Houses round the Piazza are supported with Pillars that make a kind of a Gallery or Portico under which People may walk at all times shelter'd from the Sun and the Rain Hen. IV. began it but in regard it was not finish'd till in the Reign of Lewis XIII they set up a Brass Statue of King Lewis omitting his Predecessor Erected the 27th of Septemb. 1639. upon a Pedestal of white Marble with Inscriptions on the four Sides The Second is the Place de Victoires in the Parish of St. Eustachius at the End of the Street des Petits Champs which some People know better by Mazarin's Quarter Messire Francois d'Aubusson Duke de Fueillade built this Piazza as an Eternal Monument of his Fidelity and Zeal for the Honour of Lewis XIV in the Year 1686. and in his Memory Erected in the Middle of it the King's Statue of Gilt Brass The Groupe of this Statue is compos'd of three Figures The one represents the King standing upright in his Royal Robes The other Victory which stands behind having one foot upon a Globe from whence she raises her self and puts a Crown upon the King's Head The Third is a Cerberus which the King tramples under foot alluding to the Triple Alliance which the King made a shift to break by the help of a Kind Neighbour The King's Statue is Thirteen foot high and the Groupe with a Hercules's Club a Lions Skin and a Helmet weighs above Thirty thousand weight The whole is very neatly Gilt and rais'd upon a Pedestal of vein'd Marble two and twenty foot high adorn'd with four Bodies of Brass in Chains with Inscriptions denoting the Subjection to which the King has reduc'd his Enemies At the four Entrances into the Place stands a Brass Lanthorn Gilt into which there are Candles put every Night to enlighten the Place Which Lanthorns are sustain'd by three Columns of Marble adorn'd with Base Reliefs of Brass which represent the King's Victories Monsieur de la Fueillade foreseeing that Time brings all things to ruin and defaces the noblest Structures and being desirous to preserve this Monument entire to perpetuity made a Deed of Conveyance of all his Estate to the present Duke of Fueillade the Male Heirs of his Body and for want of such Issue to the next of Kin that bore the Name and Arms of Aubusson and for want of such to the City of Paris upon Condition that whoever inherit shall every Five and twenty Years reguild the Statue Lanthorns and Ornaments at their own Costs and Charges keep all the several Pieces of Workmanship in repair and find Candles for the Lanthorns to enlighten the Piazza The Third is a very fair and large Piazza very like the Royal Piazza only that it has not Arches round about in form of a Portico It joyns to St. Honor's Street facing the Convents of the Brown Mendicants and the Capuchins and runs as far as the New Street of the Little Fields M. de Louvois began it but since his Death the Buildings have been discontinu'd 'T is call'd the Piazza of the Conquests and was design'd for the setting up the King's Statue on Horseback which is already finish'd and the Ornaments that are to accompany it are to set forth the Glorious Actions of that Monarch And since I am speaking of the Publick Places where the Statues of our Kings are to be seen I must not omit the Statue of Henry the Great erected upon Pont Neuf just against the Dauphin Piazza It is of Brass upon a Horse of the same Metal rais'd upon a Pedestal of Marble and Jasper adorn'd with Base Reliefs and Inscriptions in Letters of Gold denoting the Principal Victories of that Great Monarch Pont Neuf standing over the Point of the Island of the Palace was begun in 1578. under the Reign of Henry III. but was not finish'd till 1604. when Henry IV. was come to the Crown and had in part appeas'd the Troubles of his Kingdom It consists of two Bridges which the Point of the Island joyns together supported by Twelve Arches On both sides of this Bridge upon an Elevation of about three foot stand a great Number of Brokers Shops which do not hinder but that four Coaches may go a-breast in the middle It is also adorn'd with a House that stands upon Piles which is commonly call'd La Samaritaine because of the Figure of the Samaritan Woman which is there to be seen together with that of Christ who instructs her that there is a Water more wholesom then that which she seeks for Within these few Years there was another Bridge built much after the fashion of Pont Neuf over against the Palace of the Tuilleries which is now call'd Pont Royal the Royal
whither the King goes usually twice a Month to spend two or three days during which time he gives Audience to no body unless it be to his Ministers and those that are sent for to Council which his Majesty holds there concerning the most Important Affairs of State Next to Versailles St. German on Laie may dispute for Priority before all the other Royal Houses This place is famous for the Birth of Lewis XIV upon the 5th of Septemb. 1638. He was baptiz'd in the Old Castle the 21st of April 1643. Besides the Regularity and Magnificence of the Castle there are the Gardens and Grotto's to be seen adorn'd with a Thousand Figures of Water Among the rest in one of these Grotto's there is an Orpheus playing upon his Harp and with the motion of his Head and his Body keeping time to his Instrument He is also attended by a great number of Beasts that follow him as being enchanted with the Melody of his Harp which also draws after him Rocks Trees and Plants There is likewise Paradise Hell the Sea and the Four Elements so livelily represented that you would think your self in some Enchanted Place About a League from St. Germans upon one side of Paris you meet with the Traytors Wood divided into two parts by a spacious High-Way The Branches which you break off from one side of this Wood sink but those which you break off from the other side swim in the Water In this Wood it was that the Perfidious Ganelon contriv'd his Treason against the Peers of France and all the great Captains of Charlemagne which was put in Execution at the Battel of Roncevaux so fatal to France in the Passage of the Pyreneans St. Clou is another very beautiful Royal Seat belonging to Monsieur the King 's only Brother It stands upon a Hill near the Banks of the River Seine almost half way between Paris and Versailles The Paintings are very Noble the Furniture very Rich and the Cabinet of China wherein there are an infinite number of Curiosities and vast Riches is worthy the Grandeur and Magnificence of the Prince to whom it belongs As for the Castle of Madrit Francis I. caus'd it to be built in the Wood of Boulogne in memory of his being carry'd a Prisoner into Spain to let the Spaniards understand that he held it for no shame to have been made a Prisoner of War at the Head of his Army which had never befall'n him had he contented himself to Command in his Cabinet as the Kings of Spain do They who believe this Castle to be built after the same form as that where this Monarch was kept in durance are much deceiv'd for it is little or nothing like it It is nothing so magnificent now as formerly and the little care that is tak'n to repair it shews that the King has no great Fancy for the Seat nor minds whether it go to ruin or no. The Castle of Vincennes is considerable as being the Place where Prisoners of War of great Quality are Confin'd and many times Prisoners of State witness the Princes of Conde and Conti and the Duke of Longueville in the Time of Cardinal Mazarin It is very large and flank'd with Eight great Towers Here are kept the Chains of the Streets of Paris which Charles VI. took away after he had chastiz'd that City for her Rebellion Fountainbleau is another Royal Seat so call'd from the great number of Springs in that place It lyes about Twelve Leagues from Paris and in regard it is a Country proper for Hunting the Court spends a great part of the Autumn in this Place This Castle is very large as being said to contain Nine hundred Chambers Halls Cabinets or Galleries where Art has quite exhausted her self to render every thing worthy the Residence of our Monarchs At Fontainbleau it was where Marshal Biron was disarm'd by the King's Order and where Cardinal Perron and the Sieur du Plessis-Mornai met in the Presence of Hen. 4. to Dispute upon Matters of Religion which drew thither the most Learned of both Parties and 't is said that when the two Disputants could not agree the King addressing himself to the Cardinal ask'd him Whether all those that were separated from the Roman Church were damn'd His Eminency and the rest of the Catholick Doctors assur'd him That there was nothing more certain After which the K. demanding from those of the Protestant Party whether it were a Point of their Doctrine that there was no Salvation for those that were not of their Communion They made answer 'T was none of their Opinion for that they thought the Mercy of God might extend to all Men. That being so reply'd the King ' t is my Judgment to choose the Certainty before the Vncertainty and so turn'd Roman Catholick Chantilli is a fair Seat belonging to Monsieur the Prince whither the Court often goes for the Recreation of Hunting It is an Epitome of Art and Nature 'T is observ'd that Hen. IV. being to Answer a Letter which he had receiv'd from the K. of Spain cramm'd full of Titles not only of the Kingdoms which the Kings of Spain and their Ancestors possess'd but of those they never had as also of Territories in the New World not yet discover'd took upon him no other Titles but only Citizen of Paris and Lord of Chantilli And there is much the same Story of Francis I. who writeing to Charles V. fill'd the first Page with only these words repeated King of France King of France adding only at the lower end Lord of Vauvre and Gonesse I shall say nothing of an Infinite Number of other Beautiful Seats and Houses of Pleasure in the Parts adjoyning to Paris as Ruel Meudon Conflans Seaux c. which are all fit for the Entertainment of Kings whether in respect of their Bigness or Magnificence It remains that I now say something of St. Denis the Burying-place of our Monarchs for which I design a particular Chapter Only before I conclude this I must not omit to tell yee that there is at Alincourt near Paris the Tomb of a Mother and her Children that gave Occasion to this Epitaph Here lyes the Son here lyes the Mother Here lyes the Daughter with the Father Here lyes the Sister and the Brother Here lyes the Husband here the Wife All but Three Body 's on my Life To Expound this Riddle you must know That a certain Young Stripling importun'd his Mothers Maid to grant him you may guess what who told her Mistress the Mother of the Young Man and a Widow She order'd the Servant to give him a Meeting in her Chamber where the Mother put her self in place of the Maid and having had the Company of her Son without discovering who she was at Nine Months end was brought to Bed of a Daughter which she put out till she came to such an Age and then sent for her home The Son in the mean time had been Travelling for several Years but
Hardouin formerly Tutor to the King informs us in his History of Henry the Great For the Spaniards then Masters of Artois understanding that Amiens was only guarded by the Citizens laid a Design to surprize it To which purpose by the favour of the Night they laid a Party of Souldiers in Ambuscado near the City and so soon as the Gates were open'd they order'd other Souldiers in the Habit of Peasants to drive several Carts to Market of which one being laden with Nuts they let a Sack fall as if it had been by Accident in the Gate upon which the Nuts tumbling out and the Guards being no less busie upon the Scramble the suppos'd Peasants stopp'd up the Gate with their Carts while the Spaniards that lay in Ambush advanc'd and seiz'd upon the City But they did not keep it long for Hen. IV. retook it by main force within a few Months after and built a Cittadel to secure it for the future from the like Mischances There is now to be seen upon one of the Gates this Distich Amiens was taken by Fox-like Craft and retaken by Lion-like Force The Cathedral is a Noble Structure the Body of the Church being lookt upon to be the most beautiful in the whole Kingdom It is dedicated to the Holy Virgin and the Treasury that belongs to it is very Rich where among other things is preserv'd the Head of John the Baptist in a Shrine set all with Pretious Stones and brought from Constantinople by one Vallon de Sarton a Gentleman of Picardy The Pillars the Quire the Chappels the Tombs the Paintings the Place for the Singing Men the Portal over which are two great Towers adorn'd with above a Thousand Statues are all admir'd by Travellers In ancient time Caesar made it a Magazine for his Army and held an Assembly of the Gauls in this City The Emperor Antoninus and M Aurelius his Son much enlarg'd it and the Emperors Constantine Constans Julian Valentinian Valens Gratian and Theodosius made choice of it for the Place of their Residence among the Gauls Queen Isabel of Bavaria settl'd a Parlament in this City but now the Bishop the Vidame and the Bailli are Chief in Authority next the King The other Principal Cities of Picardy are Soissons Laon and Noyen all three Episcopal Sees For the last of which the Huguenots have a great Veneration as being the place of Calvin's Nativity Corbie is a place of strength surpriz'd by the Spaniards in 1636. but soon after regain'd by the French And the Story goes That being press'd by the K. of France's Army the Spaniards wrote to Prince Thomas then General of the Spanish Army in these words Fiat misericordia tua Domine super nos quemadmodum speravimus in te Let thy Mercy be shewn us Lord as we have put our Trust in thee Senlis is also an Episcopal City with a Presidial Court. In the Parts adjoyning to it stand several stately Houses of Pleasure as Vernueil Chantilli Dreux and Anet which is a Palace becoming the Residence of a King and whither the Dauphin often retires for the Pastime of Hunting Among the Wonders of this Castle great Observation is to be taken of the Clock For when it is ready to strike you shall see about Fifteen or Eighteen Hounds of Brass come out and open with a full Cry after which follows a Stag of the same Metal bigger then the life and strikes the Hour with his Foot Usually Bourbonnois and the County of Oie is joyn'd to Picardy The first owns Boulogne for the Capital City the other Calais Boulogne is seated upon the Streight of Calais being a Bishop's See with a County and a Bailliage The Cathedral Church is consecrated to our Lady and to which the Kings of France at their first coming to the Crown are by Custom oblig'd to offer a Heart of massy Gold weighing 2000 Crowns Lewis XI was so devoted to the Holy Virgin that he would needs have the Count of Artois hold of our Lady of Boulogne and not of him In 1544. the English besieg'd and took it but it was restor'd again to the French by the Peace concluded in 1550. Calais is a Town seated upon the Narrowest part of the Streight between England and France built in a Triangular Form defended by a good Castle having no access to it from the Land but over a Causey that crosses a great Marsh or Fenn and you must have the Permission of the Garrison of Risban to enter the Port. The most remarkable things in this Town are the two Towers the Altar of the great Church the rich Tabernacle and the stately Domo It was tak'n by Edward III. of England and remain'd in Possession of the English 210 Years till the Reign of Queen Mary History observes that when the French had expell'd the English one of the Duke of Guise's Officers cry'd to an English Man in a jeering manner When will you come agen To whom the other reply'd When the Measure of your Sins is full and that we are less Wicked then you Intimating thereby that the English would never set foot there agen so long as the French Nation continu'd well united to their Head Abbeville seated upon the River Somme is one of the strongest and most Important Places of France She has all along preserv'd her Privileges and is call'd the Faithful and the Maiden because she was never taken The Somme brings up Barks to the very Middle of the Town CHAP. XXV CHampaigne dignify'd with the Title of an Earldom is bounded by Lorrain and part of Franche Conté to the West it has Picardy and the Island of France Burgundy to the South and Hainault and Luxemburgh to the North. The Extent of it from North to South is 70 Leagues 67 says de la Croix that is to say from Ravieres to Rocroy and from West to South-East 47 Leagues It abounds in Corn and Cattel and the Wine which it produces is extreamly desir'd at the Tables of Princes and great Lords The Champenois are somewhat Opinionated nevertheless they are irreconcileable Enemies of Libertinism and Impiety Rheimes the Capital City of this fair Province may vaunt it self to be one of the fairest and most famous in the Kingdom For her Archbishop has the Advantage of being the First Duke and Peer of France The Cathedral of this City is dedicated to our Lady adorn'd with the most noble Front of any Cathedral in France and the most admir'd for the Architecture the Figures and Base Reliefs that render it so Gorgeous In this Church it is that the Archbishop of Rheims Crowns the Kings of France with the Holy Oil sent from Heaven to Crown Clovis I. the First King of France The Antiquity of it appears by the Inscriptions of the Names of the Pagan Deities upon the Gates and Caesar's Fort close by the City which is also the seat of a Presidial Court a Bailliage and a University founded by Charles of Lorrain Archbishop of the City by
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THE Third Volume OF Historical Travels OVER EUROPE Containing the most Select Curiosities of ITALY THE Various Constitutions of Government under several Sovereign Princes and States their Strength their Riches and Revenues the sundry Customs Manners Coyns and Trade of the People Together with A Particular Description of the City of ROME the Conclave the Election of the Pope and Promotion of the Cardinals Accompany'd with a Great Number of Remarks never yet before imparted to the World Done out of French LONDON Printed for Hen. Rhodes at the Star the Corner of Bride-Lane in Fleetstreet 1694. TO THE READER 'T IS very true that several have set forth Descriptions of Italy but 't is no wonder that all Geographers should be Ambitious of making their Court to a Country that was once the Mistress of the World The Author is also very brief I must confess but many timas succinct Manuals are better Companions for a Gentleman then large Volumes They will go by Water with him and ride in his Coach where weighty Folio's would be too cumbersomo and unweildy Besides the Author himself assures ye that though he has not been so tedious as others yet that you shall meet in the succeeding few Chapters not only with Novelties which are pleasing to all Men but with an infinite number of most curious Remarks which never yet before were committed to the Press and which were the Observations of a Great and Learned Cardinal in some particulars and as to others of an Eminent Person who by means of his Publick Employments and his long Residence in the Courts of several Princes of Italy had gain'd a peculiar and perfect knowledge of the Country a great Argument of the Truth of what is offer'd to your View that there is much in a little and all clean from Fabulous Report Now then after these Encouragements to heighten your Curiosity I think it not convenient to add any more for fear of putting a long Epistle before a little Book HISTORICAL TRAVELS OVER EUROPE ITALY CHAP. I. Of Italy in General ALthô above fourscore Authors have wrote the Description of Italy nevertheless it is not known from whence it derives its Name Some deduce it from Oxen or Bulls which in the ancient obsolete Greek were called Itali and for the feeding of which Italy was then in high repute Others will have it so called from one Italus one of the first Kings of the Country It formerly bore the Names of Saturnia Ausonia Oenopia and Hesperia which it receiv'd from several Princes and renowned Captains that regin'd therein at several times This part of Europe is seated in the middle of the Temperate Zone between the 28th Degree and a half and the 42d and a half of Longitude and between the 37th Degree and a half and 48th and a half of Latitude It is bounded to the North by a ridge of Mountains called the Alpes which separate it from Germany and Switzerland to the West by the Alpes also and the River Var which divides it from France and Savoy to the East by the Mediterranean Sea otherwise call'd the Adriatic Sea or the Golph of Venice and to the South by the Tyrrhene or Tuscan Sea Where it is longest to take it from the Frontiers of Savoy to the farthest extremity of the Kingdom of Naples it extends it self about 280 French Leagues or 450 Italian Miles But the breadth of it is not all alike sometimes 30 in other places 40 60 80 and 100 French Leagues resembling a Boot that seems to kick at Sicily to force it into Africa Most Geographers divide Italy into four parts the first comprehends the ancient Lombardy wherein are contain'd the States or Dominions of the Dukes of Savoy Mantua Parma Modena Milanois the Republic of Venice Genoa and some other Petty Principalities The second includes the Ecclesiastical State and Tuscany The third the Kingdom of Naples And the fourth the Islands of Sardigna Sicily Corsica c. The Air is very wholsome and very temperate over all Italy except in the Ecclesiastical State where certain malignant Fevers are very rife and were much more frequent before the use of Ice in Summer to cool their Drink Italy produces in great plenty whatever is necessary for the support of Human Life as Corn Oyl Oranges Citrons Pomegranates with all sorts of Fruits and Flowers There is to be found both Sugar and Cotton in the Kingdom of Naples besides great store of Silkworms very good Horses and Bufalo's The
Mountains afford Mines of Sulphur and several Quarries of Alablaster and all sorts of Marble The principal Rivers that water it are the Po the Adige Adda Arno and Tiber which contribute not a little to the Fertility of it from whence it is call'd The Garden of Europe The highest Mountains are the Alpes the Apennine which runs quite through the whole length of Italy Mount Masso Mount Barboro Vesuvius and Mount Gibello 'T is said the Italians are very wicked or very honest and virtuous The People are generally polite obliging quick of apprehension ingenious crafty eloquent politic and want not worth when they have once rid themselves of a certain Reservedness which frequently begets 'em the Epithete of Knaves These good Qualities are accompanied with some bad ones to which they are a little too much enclined For they are jealous quick of their promises slow to perform but above all revengeful insomuch that many times Revenge descends from Family to Family The Italian Language is a kind of adulterated Latin which the Goths Huns Vandals Lombards and other People inhabiting Italy have much corrupted Nor do they speak it equally polite in all parts of the Kingdom It is more refined in Tuscany then any where else but the Tuscans do not pronounce it so well as the Romans which is the reason of the Italian Proverb Lingua Tuscana in Bucca Romana And it is observed that the Italians speak in the throat the Venetians in the roof of the mouth the Neapolitans between the teeth and the Genoeses between the Lips The Roman Apostolic Religion is the only Religion allowed over all the States of Italy wherein for the preservation of it there are several Tribunals of the Inquisition erected not but that there are great numbers of Lutherans and Calvenists settl'd upon the Sea-Coasts drawn thither by the conveniency of Trade And thô the Magistrates know that they are departed from the Church yet 't is their interest to take no cognizance of it The Jews enjoy much more freedom and have their Synagogues even in Rome it self upon the Payment of an Annual Tribute There are also Greeks and Armenians in some Cities who perform their Church Worship according to the customs of their Country History informs us that after the Foundation of Rome Italy was govern'd by Kings for the space of 245 Years and that Tarquin the Proud was the last of her Kings That afterwards the Romans erected themselves into a Commonwealth which under the conduct of Consuls and Senarors acquir'd Immortal Honour as well for their Policy as for an infinite number of Victories which they obtain'd over their Enemies That Commonwealth lasted till the 706th Year of Rome at what time Julius Caesar was proclaim'd Emperor and extended the Roman Empire in all the three parts of the World which were then known for America was not discover'd in those days After this Empire had mounted to the highest period of its Grandeur it declin'd in such a manner that it has left us a memorable Example of the instability and fleeting condition of all Earthly Grandeur This formidable Empire being fallen to decay was dismember'd in the Reign of Honorius who dy'd in the year of Christ 423 and 4176th after the Foundation of Rome Italy after this fell under the Dominion of the Emperors of Constantinople who sent thither their Viceroys or Governors under the Title of Exarchs who kept their Court at Ravenna But that Government which began in the year of Christ 568 lasted not above 184 years at what time those Emperors were expell'd by the Kings of Lombardy Afterwards the Emperors of the West conquer'd Italy and the Kingdom of Lombardy was quite extinguish'd in 774 by Charlemain who made great Presents to the Holy See that Monarch and the Kings of France his Successors being the only Princes who rais'd the Temporal Power of the Pope to that degree wherein we now behold it This part of Europe is at this day divided among several Potentates That is to say the Pope in the Ecclesiastical State The King of Spain who is of the House of Austria of the Branch of Burgundy possesses the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily the State of Milan and the Island of Sardigna These two Potentates are the most considerable in Italy the next to them are The Republic of Venice The Republic of Genoa The Republic of Luca. The Grand Duke of Tuscany of the House of Medici The Duke of Savoy of the House of Saxony The Duke of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga The Duke of Parma of the House of Farneze The Duke of Modena of the House of d'Este There are many other Sovereign Princes who have power of Life and Death over their Subjects with absolute authority to make War and Peace and to coyn Money but by reason of the small Extent of their Territories are call'd the Petty Princes of Italy Such are The Republic of St. Marin The Bishop of Trent The Duke of Guastalla The Duke of Sabionetta The Count of Novelare The Prince of Bozzolo The Duke of Mirandola The Prince of Monaco The Prince of Massera The Prince of Piombino The Duke of Bracciano And several others All the States of these Princes hold of the Church or of the Emperor of Germany Only the Territories of the Pope and the Republic of Venice are independent 'T is to be observ'd that the States that hold of the Church devolve to it again if the Proprietors happen to die without Issue Male the Daughters not being admitted to succeed their Fathers There are reckon'd to be in Italy 68 Principalities 95 Dukedoms an infinite number of Archbishoprics and Bishoprics and great store of Universities of which the most famous are those of Padua Venice Turin Pavia Siena Pisa Bologna Rome Ferrara Fermo Macerata Salerno Naples The Principal Cities of Italy are Rome which is the Metropolis of the whole Country term'd the Holy next to that Naples the Noble Florence the Fair Genoa the Proud Milan the Great Ravenna the Ancient Venice the Rich Padua the Learned and Bologna the Fat. It remains that I should speak of some Customs that are general in Italy In regard the Coasts of Italy upon the Mediterranean Sea are much infested by the Pyrates of Barbary who often Land there and carry away the Inhabitants in the Country with the best of their Goods there are little Forts built all along the Coasts about a mile distance one from another more especially upon the Riviera di Genoa and upon the Coasts of Naples and Sicily where six men keep Garrison with two Pieces of Cannon to prevent Descents These Guards every night kindle one or two Fires upon the neighbouring Mountains When there is but one it is call'd a Fire of Assurance as being a sign that no Turkish Brigantine has appear'd all that day But if they kindle two some Paces off one from another 't is to give notice to the Inhabitants to stand upon their Guards and that they
other Foundation then Piles The Tower which serves for a Steeple is one of the highest in Italy The Church is built of nothing else but Marble of all Colours the finest in all Italy and the Floor is pav'd with Jasper and Porphyrie wrought in Mosaick work The chief Altar is sustain'd by four large Pillars upon which in Releif you see engrav'd the History of the Old and New Testament and over it stands a Globe of Gold and Silver enrich'd with Pearles and Diamonds The Chappel of the Holy Sacrament is supported by four Columns of Alablaster which as they say had been Pillars in the Temple of Solomon The Church divided into five Domes is cover'd with Lead and has four Brass Gates over the Principal of which stand four Horses of the same Mettal guilt made formerly on purpose for the Triumphal Arch erected at Rome in Honour of Nero after he had vanquish'd the Parthians and afterwards carry'd to Constantinople to adorn Constantine's Triumphal Arch and afterwards brought away by the Venetians when they sack'd that great City This wonderful Structure is supported by thirty six Columns of Marble two foot in Diameter and the ascent to the Steeple which is 246 Foot high and 40 broad is so made as to be very easie and without Stairs The Treasury of this Church encloses a vast heap of immense Riches Among other things Twelve Regal Crowns and Twelve Corslets of Massie Gold enrich'd with Pearls and Diamonds Ten Rubies of eight Ounces each One Saphir of ten Ounces A Vessel all of one single Emrauld A Dish of one single Turquoise A Pail to take up water the whole but one Granate The Duke's horned Bonnet set with large Diamonds and Oriental Pearls with an infinite number of other costly Rarities not to speak of the Ornaments of the Church as a great number of Pixe Candlesticks Silver and Chrystal together with an infinite number of Relicks among which the chiefest are the Body of St. Mark and his Gospel written by his own hand They who have a mind to visit St. Luke's Church may there see Peter Aretimes Tomb who liv'd in the Fifteenth Age famous for his Satyrical Writings which acquir'd him Presents and Pensions from several great Men and among others from Charles V. and Francis I. King of France whither they fear'd his Satyrs or lik'd his manner of Writing which occasion'd the following Epitaph to be made upon him Qui giace L'Aretin Poeta Tosco Chi d'ognun disse mal che di dio Scusandosi col dir Jo no'l conosco Here Aretin lies reduc'd to Earthy Clod Who wrote in Tuscan Language many a Poem And rail'd at all Mankind yet spar'd his God But his Excuse was this He did not know Him The Palace of St. Mark 's is admir'd by all Forreigners It has two Fronts lin'd with red and white Marble and cover'd with Plates of Brass since the Conflagration in 1514. which melted down the Lead with which it was overlaid before There is nothing but Gold and Azure to be seen in all the Apartments with an infinite number of very fair Statues all curious pieces of Workmanship The Grand Council-Chamber is 150 Foot long and 73 broad surrounded with other Chambers full of Fire Arms of which the greatest part are always charg'd Among others are to be seen the Arms which Henry IV. made use of to reduce his Kingdom to Obedience and which he presented to the Republick One Piece of Canon and the Carriage all of Massie Silver A Coffer at the opening of which four Pistols discharge and would kill the Person that opens it if they were charg'd A large Canon that discharges thrice at one time and a small Piece that discharges seven times at once In this Armory there are Muskets Pikes and Swords to arm a Thousand Men in an Instant for the security of the Senate And all things are dispos'd in such a manner that by pulling a Cord at one end the Arms fall into the Hands of those that have occasion for ' em The Muskets are always charg'd and they who are possessed of 'em as they go out of the Armory will find a large Globe boar'd thorough with as many holes as there are Muskets in every one of which there sticks a Match ready to be drawn out lighted in regard that by means of an Engin and the Powder which is scatter'd in those Concavities they can set fire to all those Matches in a Moment The Piazza of St. Mark is environ'd with beautiful Houses of which the Symmetry is very gracefully order'd The Mint is one of the fairest and so built that there is no danger of Fire because that all the Gates and Windows are of Iron and for that there is no Wood made use of in the whole Structure In the midst of the Piazza three large Masts of a Ship are fix'd upright in the Ground upon which the Republick's Standards of Gold and Silk are hung out upon solemn days and at the end toward the Sea side stand two Marble Pillars all of one piece about sixty fathom high and eight in compass upon one of which is erected St. Mark 's winged Lyon and upon the other the Statue of St. Theodore The Arsenal of Venice is one of the most beautiful and one of the best supply'd with all sorts of Arms of any in Europe There they shew to the Curious the Arms of Bajamonte Theopoli who at the Head of Eight Ragamuffins had resolv'd to murder the Senate in the Council Chamber and to have seiz'd upon the Soveraignty They carry'd all their Weapons conceal'd under their Cloaths But as they were hastning to the Palace a Flower-pot fell out of a Window upon the Head of their Captain and beat out his Brains which so dismay'd the rest of his Accomplices that believing their design discover'd they all dispers'd and the Senate by that means escap'd They also shew ye the Sword of Scanderbeg Prince of Albania who won no less then seven Battels from the Turks with which he cleft a Man quite through at one blow There is also a great number of other Arms and Weapons very curious and among the rest a Coffer which they call the Devils Organs because that if you open it it discharges several Pistols that scattering their Shot about the Room make a great havock of all that are in it After you have seen the City of Venice Travellers always visit the Glass-house at Mirano where they make admirable pieces of Workmanship of that brittle Mettal which are transported over all Europe But in regard I do not undertake to write the History of Venice I forbear to speak of all the Places which that Republick possesses in Italy I shall therefore only say something of Padua which is one of the Ancientest Cities in the Venetian Territories being about 2300 Paces in Circuit 'T is said that Antenor was the Founder of it and that it is much more ancient then either Rome or Venice The Church of St.
Anthony of Lisbonne is famous because that St. Anthony now call'd St. Anthony of Padua lies there interr'd And they say that the Stone that covers his Tomb smells of Musk However certain it is that 't is the most beautiful Church in the City The Palace where Justice is administer'd is cover'd with Lead and there is an Ascent of four large Marble Steps up to it The Great Hall is 256 Foot long and 86 broad where are to be seen the Twelve Celestial Signs and great number of other very Beautiful Paintings Every Night at a certain hour they make the Great Clock strike 32 times in memory of so many Traytors who would have deliver'd up the City into the Enemies hands Padua still retains several Footsteps of Antiquity as the Remains of an Amphitheater call'd the Arenae near the Austin Fryars Church And the Ruines of such another are also to be seen at Veronas another City under the Dominion of the Venetians but there is much more of the Structure standing which is said to have been erected by order of the Consul Flaminius 380 Foot in length and 200 broad There is also a Circus where above Fourscore Thousand People may sit upon Seats of Marble CHAP. VIII Of the Republicks of Luca and St. Marino LVCA is a small Republican State almost enclos'd within the Territories of Tuscany having preserv'd its Freedom ever since the Year 1430 under the Protection of the Emperour This Republick is govern'd by a Gonfaloniere who is Elected every two Months out of the Nobility and has for his Assistants nine Ancients who bear the Title of Excellentissimo's However they can determine nothing that is not approv'd in the Grand Conncil compos'd of 120 Burgesses Though the Extent of the Territories belonging to this Republick be very small yet they are very well Peopl'd so that they can easily bring 20000 Men into the Field to defend themselves besides that their Revenue amounts to above 500000 Livres a Year Their Arsenals are always provided with all things necessary to hold out a long Siege The Gonfaloniere who during his Regency lodges in the Palace of the Signiory and has a hundred Soldiers for his Guard is clad in a Robe of Crimson Velvet or Damask with a Bonnet of the same Stuff Nor are there but few States wherein the Civil Government is better Regulated then in this Republick The City of Luca the Metropolis of the Territory is seated upon the River Serchio defended by eleven Bastions lin'd with Brick and as regular as can be imagin'd Nor is it less considerable for the Antiquity of it then the Fortifications that secure it Several Silk Stuffs are made in this City wherein the Inhabitants drive a very great Trade which has acquir'd to the City the Epithite of Luca the Industrious The Churches are very beautiful especially the Cathedral Consecrated to St. Martin where they shew a Picture upon which they would make ye believe that the Angels painted our Saviour's Face It is Crown'd with a Crown of Gold having over it the two Letters Alpha and Omega that is to say the Beginning and the End or he that is was and shall be In the Austin-Fryars Church they shew ye a kind of an Abyss which as they say open'd to swallow up a Gamester that Blasphem'd the Name of his Creator The Territories of the Republick of St. Marino are of a smaller extent then those belonging to Luca because they include only the City of Sancto Marino and some few Castles that serve to defend it the whole containing not above six Thousand Inhabitants It settl'd it self in the Year of Christ 600 and has all along supported it self under the Protection of the Pope being almost enclos'd within the Territories of the Church It is govern'd by two Captains that are new chosen every year She still preserves her Gravity especially in respect of other Republicks so that when she writes to the Republick of Venice she calls her Dear Sister The City of Sancto Marino is very strong not only by reason of the situation of it which is upon the top of a Mountain in the Dutchy of Vrbin but also because of the Fortifications which are very regular and certain Castles that defend it The Name of it was deriv'd from one Sancto Marino a Stone-Cutter born in Dalmatia who coming into Italy in the Third Age and being addicted to Piety preach'd the Gospel to the Pagans and Converted several to the Faith He Dy'd in a kind of Hermitage where he had his Oratory upon the top of the Mountain where now the City of Sancto Marino stands CHAP. IX Of TUSCANY THE State of Tuscany Is purely Monarchical and Despotick It is compos'd of three Estates which were formerly as many Republicks the Florentin Pisan and Sienese which derive their Names from their Capital City where the Grand Duke has built good Citadels This is one of the most considerable States of Italy and wants nothing but the Title of a Kingdom which a Pope of that Family had a design once to have conferr'd upon it In the mean time according to the Italian Proverb the Grand Duke wants nothing but Luca and Sarzana to be King of Tuscany This Prince is one of the Richest in Italy his ordinary Revenue amounts to two Millions and a half of Crowns and 't is said that he has above Five and Twenty Millions of Gold in his Treasury besides his Moveables and Jewels which are of an Inestimable value He is able to bring into the Field 30000 Foot and 3000 Horse and as to his strength by Sea in a case of necessity he can set out Twenty Men of War a Dozen Galleys and some Galeasses As to the Money Spanish Pistoles Piasters and Reals of Peru go currant all over the Dukedom provided they be weight The Money which the Grand Duke Coyns are Pistoles Ducatoons Julio's and Gratie The Pistole of Spain goes for Forty two Livres of the Country but the Tuscan Pistole goes but for Forty A Ducatoon is worth seven Livres A Julio is worth eight Gratie which is a small piece of Money part Copper part Silver A Livre is worth a Julio and a half and every Gratia is worth Eleven Deneers of France so that the Tuscan Livre is not worth above Eleven French Sols Florence is the Metropolis of the Dukedom with an Archbishobprick Erected in the Year 1421. by Pope Martin V. Surnam'd the Fair because that without all contradiction it surpasses in Beauty and Magnificence all the Cities round about it to which the situation of it contributes not a little being built upon the River Arno which divides it into two unequal parts joyn'd together by Four Stone Bridges and it is about Six Miles in circuit with very neat Streets and well kept Some Authors will have Sylla's Soldiers to be the Founders of Florence to whom he gave the Land as a Reward of their Services That it was at first call'd Fluentia by reason of the
Some say this Statue was erected in Honour of one of Alexander's Soldiers who had done him many signal Services Others reject this Opinion and tell us that the Word Pasquin is deriv'd from a Taylor who made Cloaths for Persons of Quality in Rome and in regard he was a very great Droll he observ'd their blind sides to make Lampoons upon 'em in his Shop which always gain'd him good Company They add that sometime after his Decease the Paviers digging before his Door found a Statue to which they presently gave the Name of Pasquin and set it up in the next Quarter to his House However it were it was propos'd to one of the Popes that it might be thrown into Tiber to take away all Opportunities of Libelling and Lampoons that were fix'd upon it But the Holy Father made answer that he was afraid it would turn to a Frog that would be croaking Day and Night intimating thereby that instead of stopping the Course of Satyrs the Lampooners would fix 'em upon all the Statues in the City Not far from the Capitol stands another Statue call'd Manforio where generally are hung up the Answers made to the Lampoons which are fix'd upon Pasquin Some say this Statue was erected in honour or Jupiter Panarius others that it is a Statue of the Rhine because that formerly the Emperot Domitian's Brazen Horse set his Foot upon the Head of it There is no City in the World wherein there are more Magnificent Palaces The Learned Mr. Spon in his Travels into the East has given us a Catalogue of 'em which has sav'd me the trouble I shall only say that the Palace of the Farnezi is one of the most sumptuous It has four Fronts with a large Gate belonging to every one that leads into the Court and is surrounded with Pillars forming Portico's that support an open Gallery that leads to every Apartment In this Court stand two Statues of Hercules leaning upon his Club one of which was found in Caracalla's Baths the other is an Imitation of That In the Palace Hall stands the Statue of Alexander Farneze Duke of Parma who tramples under foot two Statues representing Heresie and Rebellion while Fame sets a Crown upon his Head This Piece is so much the more esteem'd because all the four Peices are all of one single Stone of White Marble There are an infinite number of other Lovely Statues and Pictures in the Apartments belonging to this Palace More particularly there is to be seen a Marble Statue in a small Back-Court representing the Figure of a Bull all of one Stone having one of the Horns ty'd with a Woman's Hair while two Men endeavour to throw 'em into the Sea 'T is the History of Amphion and Zethes who in revenge of the injury done their Mother whom Lycus King of Thebes had repudiated upon the Importunity of Dirce ty'd Dirce to the Horns of a Bull and cast 'em both Headlong into the Sea One of the Curiosities of Rome which Strangers always visit is to be found in Prince Ludovisio's Palace that is to say the Body of a Man petrefy'd and laid in a Velvet Box with one Leg broken to convince the Incredulity of the Curious who will not believe that the Skeleton was cover'd with Stone because they say it was a Garment made on purpose This justifies what Ortelius affirms That upon certain Mountains of Tartary there are to be found Men Camels Sheep e. chang'd into Stones for above Three Hundred Years past And Aristotle reports that there is a Cave near Bergamo where are to be seen the Petrify'd Bodys of several Men. When I enumerated the Churches of Rome I forgot to tell ye that in the Church call'd La Bocca di Verita there is a piece of Marble representing a Head with the Mouth open And the Good Women do say that if a Woman Unfaithful to her Husband's Bed lays her Hand upon it the Mouth will shut The Roman Women who have Jealous and Credulous Husbands frequently justifie their Chastity by this means wherein they run far less hazard then they who formerly were constrain'd to walk bare-foot over red hot Coals and Plough-shares This is what I purpos'd to say of the Famous City of Rome wherein though I have omitted many things yet there is sufficient to give an Advantageous Idea of it to those who have never seen it and to breed in others a desire of seeing it CHAP. XII Of the Kingdom of Naples THERE is not any State in Italy of that vast Extent as the Kingdom of Naples Some Italian Authors have call'd it Sicily on this side the Pharos which is the reason that the Kings of Spain have assum'd the Title of Kings of both Sicilies Generally this Kingdom is divided into Twelve Provinces viz. La Terra di Lavore Principato Giteriore Principato Vlteriore Calabria Vlteriore La Terra d' Otranto La Terra di Bari La Capitanata the County of Molisso the hithermost Abruzzo and the furthermost Abruzzo It is reckon'd to contain 24 Archbishopricks 60 Principalities 100 Dukedoms as many Marquisates 66 Earldoms and above 1000 Baronies Which shews us that the Nobility multiplies in that Kingdom more then any where else which is the reason that Naples is call'd Naples the Noble The Air is very wholsome and the Country very fruitful in Corn Wine and all sorts of Fruits This Kingdom has not been free from Revolutions that have turmoyl'd the Repose of Italy upon several Occasions It has been in the Possession of the Romans Goths Lombards Normans Suabians French and Spaniards Which latter Usurp'd it from the French who have an undoubted claim to it as well by the Investiture given by Clement IV. both of that Kingdom as also of Sicily to Charles of France Duke of Anjou and Provence Brother of St. Lewis in 1265. as for that Queen Joan I. by her last Will and Testament dated June 29 1480. adopted Lewis of France I. of that Name Jane II. who possessed the Throne from the Year 1414. till the Year 1434. adopted Rene of France Sirnam'd The Good which acquir'd him a double Right But Ferdinand King of Spain contrary to the Treaty made with Lewis XII King of France sent a Puissant Army into Italy under the leading of the Famous Gonsalvo who drove the French out of Naples and Sicily since which time the Spaniards have been in possession of 'em and keep a Viceroy there who is chang'd every three Years The Kingdom of Naples holds of the Holy See and the King of Spain pays every year to the Pope upon St. Peter's Day a Tribute of a White Nag and a Purse of 7000 Ducats But the Neapolitans do not willingly brook the Spanish Yoak And therefore they have endeavour'd to cast it off several Times But their last Insurrection was in the years 1646. and 1647. tho they fail'd in the success because the Design was ill laid and ' for that the Male-Contents had no body to head em
but a sorry Fisherman vulgarly known by the Name of Masaniello who for above 15 Days Commanded above 200000 Men who paid him a blind Obedience This Kidgdom that stretches it self forth in Form of a Peninsula is bounded to the East by the Ionian Sea to the North by the Gulph of Venice by the Tuscan Sea to the South and by the Ecclesiastical Territories to the West It is about 500 Miles Broad and 1500 in Circuit The City of Naples the Metropolitan of this flourishing Kingdom is seated upon the Sea-Shore formerly call'd Parthenopea and is defended by three Citadels provided with all things necessary to keep the Neapolitans under the Spanish Yoke of which one is call'd the Norman Castle as being founded by William III. Duke of Normandy and King of Naples The Second call'd the New Castle was built by Charles I. Brothrr to St. Lewis but Ferdinand King of Arragon who understood the importance of it caus'd it to be fortify'd after an extraordinary manner and it has always a Garrison in it of 500 Natural Spaniards The Castle of St. Elmo which cemmands one part of the City was built by Robert I. the Son of Charles II. and the Emperor Charles V. after he had caus'd it to be well fortify'd call'd it the Bridle of Naples Besides these Castles there are also some Towres and other Buildings which are call'd by the Name of Fortresses as the Capuan Castle which however are of no other use then for the Councils of Justice and the Civil Government to Assemble in The Viceroy's Palace is very spacious richly Furnish'd and incloses several Curiosities among others a Plant about Two Fingers in breadth and about a Foot and a halfe long upon which the Ancients wrote before the use of Paper was invented A Stone which being scrap'd yields a kind of Cotton of which the Pagans made a certain sort of Cloth to wrap the Dead Bodies which they burnt by reason that this Cloth being incombustible preserv'd the Ashes of the Corps entire This sort of Cloth is in use among some People in India the nature of it being such thar when 't is Foul 't is but throwing it into the Fire and it becomes as white as Snow The Port of Naples would be one of the best Ports in Italy were it but shelter'd from the South-East Wind. The City is very neatly Built The Streets are Broad Long and as Streight as a Line and so order'd that there runs a Canal through every Street as in the Cities of Holland which receive the Filth and Nastiness through Iron Grates so that the Streets are always clean It may be about Six Miles in compass comprehending the Seven Suburbs and it has been all along the Residence of Illustrious Men by reason of the mild and temperate Air which it enjoys in the number of which we may reckon Virgil Livie Horace Seneca c. The Cathedral Church is Dedicated to St. Januarius formerly Bishop of Beneventum who is the Fourteenth Patron that the Neapolitans have made choice of and they keep the Blood of this Saint as a Sacred Relique which is congeal'd in Vessels but if they lay it to the Saints Head such is the Story which they tell it presently turns Liquid and rowls up into little Bubbles As for the Neapolitan Money they reckon all by Carolino's every Carolino being worth about Ten Sols of France the Spanish Pistol goes for Three and thirty Carolino's a Sequin for Twenty Carolino's a Piaster weighs Nine Carolino's besides which they have some small Copper-Money that goes in the Markets After that Strangers have seen the Curiosities of Naples rhey visit the Wonders in the parts adjoyning for an infinite number of surprizing Things that are to be met with in the Kingdom of Naples may well be call'd by that Name The Mountain Vesuvius may well deserve to be plac'd in the First rank of these Wonders as being so frequently all in a Flame Not to mention that Inundation of Fire which hap'ned in Titus's Reign wherein Plinie was a little too far engag'd out of Curiosity nor of several others I shall only say that this Mountain which is above Seven Leagues from Naples continually vomits forth Fire sometimes more sometimes less violently which has many times laid wast the Country and very much annoy'd the City of Naples There was formerly upon this Hill the Loveliest Vineyards in the Country and a very beautiful Village containing above 2500 Inhabitants but in the year 1631. this Infernal Chimney as Tertullian calls it vomited forth such a Deluge of Flames accompanied with a Torrent of Sulphur and a Shower of Stones that all the poor People were either burnt of stifl'd and their Town was buried in the Cinders that lay more then Ten Foot thick above the Steeple of the Church Stones are also there to be seen of a prodigious igness and there are People still living that beheld a Torrent of Sulphur Alome and Salt-Peter fall from the Top of the Mountain Some time before this dismal Ravage the Smoak that issu'd continually forth increas'd and was intermix'd with Flames and Ashes soon after it was accompany'd with a noise so dreadful that you would have thought that nature was about to have been swallow'd up this noise was attended with an Earthquake that swell'd up the Sea and at length the Mountain bursting pieces of Rock all of a light Fire flew out and the Sulphur that ran down floated upon the Sea no less then Three Miles from the Shore and 't is thought that if the Wind had not prov'd favourable to the City of Naples it had been buried in the Cinders that flew from the Mountain This terrible accident is engrav'd upon a Marble Stone that stands in the High way which leads from Naples to Vesuvius Several People out of Curiosity have gone up to the top of the Mountain by a way cut out of the Ashes for above Two Miles together and found at the top of the Mountain a wide Abyss about Two Miles in circumference and as many deep wherein there appear'd another no less wide then the First from whence issu'd out a thick Smoak that smelt of Sulphur The Mountain Pausilipus is remarkable for the Subterraneal way cut through the Mountain for above a Mile together thô it be all of Free Stone This Cavern is call'd The Grotto of Naples and was made to shorten the Passage from Naples to Puzzuolo For in regard that Mountain stretches out into the Sea like a Promontory there is no passage left upon the Shore So that before that Way was made the Ascent and Descent of the Mountain was very painful and laborious There are some who averr it to be the Work of Lucullus others ascribe it to Cocceius Nerva But however it were the way is about a Mile in length and between Twelve and Thirteen Foot high and so broad that Two Coaches may goe a Breast There is no Light comes into it but by the two Entrances and by
fetch 'em from that Chappel leaving the value in other Commodities with which their Vessel is best provided All Nations even the Turks themselves goe thither for what they want and 't is said that if they fail to leave a Compensation their Ships can stir no farther let the Wind be never so favourable We are assur'd that several have known this to be true by many Tryals However it be that Chappel is hewen out of a Rock and some Paces from thence there is a Spring of excellent fresh Water which will keep sweet a long time at Sea As for Sardigna there are not so many Remarks to be made upon that Island All that I can say of it is that 't is an Island in the Mediterranean Sea with the Title of a Kingdom belonging to the King of Spain who Governs it by a Viceroy The Air is so thick that formerly such persons were banish'd thither as the State had a mind to be rid of that there is a Breed of Great Dogs there bigger then the Dogs in England and such an infinite number of Rats that the King of Spain has enjoyn'd all the Owners of Houses to keep as many Cats as they have Rooms The Ancient Sardignians had a Law which ordain'd that the Sons should knock out their Parents Brains when once they came to be Superannuated for fear the Infirmity of their Minds should incline 'em to commit Faults prejudicial to their Families or the Government CHAP. XIV Of the Island of Corse THis Island is seated to the North of Sardigna from whence it is separated by a Channel that may be Sail'd over in an hour and lies between the 40 and 42 Degree of Latitude and between the 31 and 32 of Longitude The largest extent of it from South to North is about 40 Leagues 20 Broad and in Circuit about Fourscore and Ten. It is said to have been so call'd from a Woman of Liguria whose Name was Corsa Bubulca who carried thither a Colonie out of her own Country The Island of Corse has belong'd to the Genoeses ever since the year 1559. at what time Henry II. Granted it to 'em at the request of the Spaniards after the Battel of St. Quintin Nevertheless the People are not pleas'd with their Government and the Genoeses on the other side who are afraid of their Revolting or lest some Foreign Power should make themselves Masters of it do as much as in them lies to lay it waste and give out that the Air is too unwholsome for People that are not bred there Besides that the Soil is so ungrateful that it will hardly return the Seed that is sown in it However 't is certain that this is spoken either out of Malice or Sloth for that it brings forth Corn Wine and all sorts of Fruits more then sufficient the Inhabitants that it produces good Horses and Timber for Shipping and that there are in it several Mines of Copper Lead c. Baths and Mineral Fountains among which that of Povera in the Province of Ampugnano cures the Dropsie Besides that they fish for Coral upon the Coasts Moreover this Island might be made a place of great Trade for that there is no want of good and convenient Havens of which the chiefest are San Fiorenzo Ajacho and Porto Vecchio big enough to contain whole Fleets The First was formerly Fortifi'd by the French but the Genoeses have demolish'd the best Works having left nothing but the Foundations which are of Free-stone The Corses are good Soldiers very strong but very slothful and no less revengeful so that upon their Death-beds they recommend the revenge of Injuries done 'em to their Kindred Thô there be Five Bishopricks in the Island yet there is but one considerable City which is Bastia the Metropolis of the Country and Residence of the Governor There are but Five hundred Men in the Pay of the Republick for security of the whole Island so that it might be an easie thing to surprize it especially for those that are stronger at Sea then the Genoeses are The END
of the Magnificence of it as for that Hannibal in one Winter Quarter of a year was so soften'd and effeminated with the Pleasures and Delights of that City that he was no longer able to withstand the Romans whom he had so often defeated before Gaeta is another City in the same Province built by Aeneas's Nurse in honor of his Nurse Caieta The Castle belonging to it is considerable for the strength of it and is well provided of all things necessary for the defence of it The Statue of Charles of Bourbon Constable of France is also there to be seen who being in the Service of Charles V. was slain at the Siege of Rome and lies buried at Caieta Upon his Tomb are written the four following Verses in Spanish Francia me clio la leche Espagna suerte y ventura Roma me clio la muerte Y Caieta la Sepultura My Infant Milk I Suckt in France Spain did my Lot and Fame advance Death snatcht me from the Walls of Rome And now Caieta has my Tomb. The Dolphins that appear upon this Coast are very large which gives an occasion to conclude this Chapter with a report of an accident that befell a Seaman of Caieta That a Sea-man having caught one of these Fish preserv'd it alive in a small Pond and tam'd him to that degree that he would often get upon his Back and managing him with his Voice only accustom'd the willing fish proud of his burden to carry him for his Pleasure to and fro upon the wide Sea Some time after it happen'd that the Sea-man embarking for Spain the Fish made his escape to follow the Vessel in which he heard his Masters Voice and it so fell out that the Ship being cast away the faithful Fish distinguish'd his Master from among all the rest that cry'd out for Help and having taken him upon his Back return'd with him to the Port from whence he set out CHAP. XIII Os the Islands and Kingdoms of Sicily and Sardigna SOme Authors have written that Sicily which is the biggest Island in the Mediterranean with the Title of a Kingdom was formerly joyn'd to Italy and that a storm of Wind occasion'd the separation others assert that it was divided from it by an Earthquake It was first inhabited by Giants by Listrigons and Cyclops it was likewise call'd The Island of the Sun and Trinacrea by reason of the Three Promontories of Faro Passaro and Boco which are so plac'd that the whole Island resembles a Greek Delta It is seated between 36 and 40 Degree of Longitude and the Latiude extends from the 35 to 88 Degree The circuit of the Sea-coast takes up a Hundred Fourscore and Ten Leagues where it is longest Sixty Leagues in length and Fifty where it is broadest 'T is but Seven Miles from Cape Faro to Seiglio in the Kingdom of Naples Some will have this Island to hang in the Seas being supported only by Three Pillars that are under the Three Promontories and to justifie their Opinion assert That the River Salso that rises out of a Hole in the middle of the Island comes from the Sea by reason the Water is Salt The Air is very wholesome thô somewhat of the hottest for Strangers The Soil is so fertile in Corn Wine and all sorts of Fruits that Sicily was call'd the Granary of Italy The Honey Oil Wax Sugar Saffron c. which are all the Products of that Island draw a great Trade to it Besides there are found in this Island great store of Agates Emraulds Jasper Porphyrie Salt and several Mineral Mines and all the Sea-coasts abound in Fish When the Roman Empire fell to decay Sicily was plunder'd and Usurp'd by the Vandals After that the Saracins settl'd in it till they were expell'd by the Normans in 1070. Charles of France Duke of Anjou Count of Provence and Brother of St. Lewis was invested in the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and the French remain'd Masters of it till the year 1282 or as others say 1283. at what time upon an Easter day at the Hour of Vespers the Sicilians sollicited by the Arragonians Massacred all the French in the Churches little dreaming of such a fatal surprize and this was the Massacre which still carries the Name of the Sicilian Vespers Since that the Spaniards setl'd themselves there and are still in possession of it sending a Viceroy thither to Govern it Spanish Pistoles Piasters and Reals as also Sequins of Venice goe currant in Sicilie provided the Pieces be weight for they Coin no other Money but Tarins A Spanish Pistole is worth Forty Tarins and the Venetian Sequin Twenty four Every Tarin is worth about Five Sols of France When they make any Payment they reckon all by Ounces and by an Ounce they mean 30 Tarins which make Seven Livres Ten Sols of France One of the Customs observ'd in Sicily and which appears very ridiculous in France is that neither Women nor Men if they have no Beards upon their Chins can Lodge in the Inns unless they be particularly acquainted with some Person of Worth in the place or without very sufficient and Authentick Certificates There are also Guards appointed to visit the Inns in the Night time and to look into the Beds and see whether there be any Chins without Beards They likewise seize upon all that are abroad in the Streets Two Hours after Night is shut in and they who are so apprehended are Fin'd if the cause of their being late out be not sufficient to excuse ' em This Island is infested with so many Robbers that 't is a difficult thing for a Man to stir halfe a League out of the City without losing his Cloak-bag if he scape with his Throat So that the People never Travel by Land but in Caravans or without good Convoys and you must take a great care too lest the Convoys allow'd ye be not Thieves themselves There is nothing expos'd to Sale in Sicily either in the Shops or in the Markets till the Commissaries of the Civil Government have set the price and it would be an unpardonable Crime for any Merchant or Countryman to sell his Wares or Provision dearer then the sett Rate The Sicilians for the most part and they that inhabit the Coasts of Calabria wear a Bonnet of Goats-Skin undrest their Hair being matted or plaited flat behind A Doublet with great Skirts neither Band nor Cravatt their Breeches very strait a Cloak of the same Stuff which the Chimney-Sweepers in Savoy wear which they fling under their Left Arm with a Sword and Pistol by their sides Their Shooes are made of the Rind of Bacon well Curry'd which lasts a long time But the Poor have no more then a bare Sole made of the Bark of a Tree ty'd about their Feet with Packthread And as for People of Quality they wear Pumps after the Spanish fashion Palermo is the Metropolis of the Kingdom an Archiepiscopal See and the Residence of the Viceroy whose Train is more
splendid then the King of Spain's The Air is temperate the Haven the Fountains and the Magnificence of the Buildings contribute not a little to render Palermo a pleasant Habitation and therefore the Chiefest of the Nobility reside there In the Great Piazza that faces the Palace stands the Statue of Philip IV. upon a Pedestal upon which are represented the Victories of that Monarch supported by Four Figures representing the Four Virtues the whole of White Marble In another Piazza stands a Brass Statue of Charles V. upon a Pedestal of Marble In the meeting of the new Street and Cassaron street which are two of the fairest Streets in Palermo is to be seen the Palace a noble Fountain and Four Statues of the King 's of Spain Charles V. Philip II. III. IV. which are the most beautiful Ornaments of the City In the Piazza right against the Palace of Justice stands a Fountain which deservedly is lookt upon to be the most beautiful in Europe It consists of several hollow Receptacles one above another separated by Galeries whither you ascend to admire the variety of large Animals that spout forth Water after different manners The whole is of Marble with a great number of Figures of the same Stone After that you have seen all that is curious in Palermo Travellers go to visit Mount Peregrin at the top of which after an ascent of Three Miles you meet with a Cave almost like that of St. Beaume in Provence which was the retirement of Sta Rasalia and 't is reported that the Fountain within that Grotto has a peculiar Quality to Heal several Distempers Thô the City of Mont Real be not above Four Miles distant from Palermo however it is an Archiepiscopal See From thence there is a Prospect of Nine Islands call'd by the Name of Lipari which is the name of the most considerable among ' em Of which two Vulcano and Stromboli are not inhabited because of their continual vomiting forth Flames and Smoak for which reason they are call'd the Burning Islands of Sicily However these Islands are not to be taken confusedly for Mount Aetna commonly call'd Mount Gibello the highest Mountain in Sicily which thô almost cover'd with Snow yet continually vomits forth flames of Fire like a Glass-house Furnace and spreads the Ashes of the consum'd Materials with that impetuosity that the Country is frequently much endamaged thereby thô if the same Ashes are but moderately scatter'd over the Ground they enfertilize the Earth The City of Catanea lying under this Mountain has suffer'd many Conflagrations occasion'd by the sparkles of this Infernal Gulph Several Persons that have been so curious as to climb to the Top of Mount Gibello have been either lost in the Snow or buried in the Ashes and many times the Flames enforce their way through Chawns and Rifts ne'r known before with such an amazing noise as alarms all the Island Not far from Mount Gibello is the place where some will have it that Ceres first began to sow Wheat and they will undertake to shew ye the Meadows where Hercules fed his Oxen. The Lake Naphtica is noted for this that the stench of the Water is so noisom that it poisons the adjacent Air and very much impairs the Health of the neighbouring Inhabitants There is another Lake near Castro Giovanni which is said to have no bottom 'T is call'd the Lake of Proserpina upon a suspition that it was the place where Proserpina was Ravish'd and carried to the Infernal Regions by her Ravisher Messina is an Archiepiscopal City famous for the Haven that belongs to it near Cape Faro which makes it a Town of Great Trade and much frequented by Foreigners In the Grand Piazza stands a Brass Statue of Philip IV. upon a Horse of the same Metal the whole Adorn'd with Base-Reliefs representing his most famous Actions Over the Door of a Tower near the Metropolitan Church stands a French Inscription Grand-merci a Messina in remembrance as they say that the French began with Messina when they made themselves Masters of the Island There are several other Whirlpools or Abysses of Water in the Sea adjoyning to Messina among the rest Charybdis Famous among the Latin Poets This Whirlpool is about Thirty Paces in Diameter which compass of the Surface is usually cover'd with Froth Bulrushes and other foul excrescencies of the Sea which throw themselves into it and are swallow'd up by it Nevertheless the Mariners of Messina Sail over in flat bottom'd Barks where after several times being whirl'd and turn'd about they row themselves back The Tides of Ebb and Flood are so rapid in the Channel that separates Sicily from Italy that they many times force the Vessels riding there from their Anchors let 'em be never so strong which is the loss of many a Ship Saragossa or Syracuse was formerly lookt upon as the largest and most Magnificent City in the Universe Athens beheld her self abandon'd by the Greatest part of her Inhabitants who betook themselves to settle at Syracuse And the most sumptuous Edifices in Rome derive their chiefest Ornaments from the Spoils of her Structures The most beautiful Ruin of her Antiquity remaining is the Aqueduct cut out of a Rock that carries the Water over the Haven about Ten Miles in length Without the City is to be seen Arethusa's Fountain that rises in great abundance out of a Rock by the Sea-side and they report that this Water comes from the Holy Land by a conveyance that runs under the Abysses of the Sea But the greatest Evidence that they alleadge for it is this That a Pilgrim one day taking up Water out of the River Alpheus by chance let his Dish fall into the River and lost it to his incredible Grief for that he had hid within it Seven Pistoles for unforeseen occasions That embarking to return for Europe he landed in Sicily and going to the Fountain Arethusa to Drink he found his Dish floating upon the Water which he knew again not only by the Seven Pistoles but by several other marks Dionysius the Tyrants Grotto lies not far distant from Saragossa much more considerable than any of those about Puzzuolo For there you may see a whole City cut out of a Rock with subterraneal Streets Palaces Piazza's and other admirable Structures But you must have some notable Antiquarie for your guide that knows all the Turnings and Windings and be well provided with Matches and Torches There are several other Islands between Sicily and Barbary as Maltha Gozes Limosa Lampadousa c. but in regard they rather belong to Africa then Europe I shall say nothing of 'em here Nevertheless I cannot forbear observing that in the last there is a Chappel where you shall meet with all sorts of Refreshments for Sea faring People and all that is necessary for Navigation as Biscuit Cordage Anchors Sails Oil Wood Fish Stuffs c. And all that Sail near that Island and have occasion for any of those things goe and