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
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
of Aunis POitou is a large Province containing near Sixty Leagues from East to West De la Croix says about 30 Leagues in Length and 20 in Breadth It is bounded by Berry Limosin and Touraine To the South by Angoumois and Xantoigne by Anjou and Bretaigne to the North and to the West by the Ocean The Poictovins are civil and obliging but they are so addicted to Raillery and nettling girding Sarcasms that you must either forbear keeping 'em Company or else be forc'd to bear their Flouts which being so frequent change their Gay and Sportive Humour into the Vice of Scurrilous Detraction The Capital City of this Province is Poiters seated upon a rising Ground between two Rivers It is famous for being a Bishops See and has a Presidial Court and a University for the Law which Pope Eugenius IV. and Charles VII founded there in 1431. At what time the Parlament of Paris was translated thither because the English were Masters of the Metropolis of the Kingdom Near to Poitiers it was that the Battel so dismall to France was fought in the Year 1356. where the English took K. John Prisoner The City of Poitiers is govern'd by a Mayor Twelve Sheriffs or Aldermen and Twelve Sworn Counsellors The Walls and Castle rose from the Ruins of the Amphitheater and the other Structures are sufficient Proofs of the Antiquity of it Among the Reliques which are there preserv'd there is to be seen in the Cathedral a part of St. Peter's Beard which St. Hilary brought thither from Rome as they say The Statue of Constantine the Great stands in the Church of Nostre Dame In the Church of St. Hilarius is to be seen the Trunk of a Tree which they tell you serv'd that Saint instead of a Cradle and has a peculiar Efficacy to restore Madmen to their Wits There is also a Sepulchre which consumes Dead Bodies in Four twenty Hours but which becomes noisom to the Smell if you rub it with Iron Above half a League from the City is to be seen that which is call'd La Pierre Elevée or the High-rais'd Stone Five and twenty Foot long and Seventeen broad supported by Four other Stones They tell yee that Pantagruel drew this Stone out of a Rock which is call'd Passe-Lourain or the Lobcoch having this Distich engrav'd upon it Hic Lapis ingentem superat gravitate Colossum Ponderis grandi sidera mole premit This Stone the vast Colossus far surpasses And with its ponderous Bulk the Stars oppresses This Stone as I have said already is supported by Four Pillars and there is also a fifth upon which the Stone does not rest though it stand within a fingers breadth of it of which the people of the Country tell this Story That Sir Aldegonde carrying the great Stone upon his Head and the Five Pillars in his Apron let fall one of 'em which the Devil presently taking up follow'd the Saint who stopp'd half a League from Poitiers and set the great Stone upon the Four Pillars that remain'd in his Apron But the Devil being desirous to add a fifth could never raise it so high as to bear with the rest and to be assistant in supporting the Burthen Nor must I pass over in silence a certain Cavern about four Leagues from the City the Entrance into which is very difficult and the Passage more difficult 'T is said that formerly they were wont to go and take a walk in this Cavern after the usual mirth and rejoycing that attends upon Weddings But that a Young Bride having fallen into it and broken her Head they who came after thinking it more convenient to keep their Skulls whole the Custom was abolish'd They who have a desire to Visit the Town-House of Poitiers may see the Franchises and Privileges granted by the Kings of France from time to time to the City Engraven upon Plates of Brass There are also other very fair Cities in Poitou as Lodun the Castle of which is one of the best situated in the Kingdom It was formerly call'd Juliodunum and has a Bailliage and a Presidial Court Next to this Chasteleraut famous for Cutlers and where they make the best false Diamonds in any Part of the World 'T is said that about a small League from this City in former days a young Hind shew'd the Souldiers of Clovis the Great where to pass the River going before 'em as their Guide when they went to fight Alaric K. of the Goths The Bridge which Katherine de Medicis there built is a very fair one as being Sixty six foot broad and Two hundred and thirty long supported by Nine Arches Mailluizay and Luson are two Episcopal Cities which have very fair Churches nor are they without some particular Beauties Nevertheless the First Bishoprick was translated to Rochelle in 1648. The Country of Aunis so call'd as they say because a certain King undertook to Conquer it by an Ell aday though it be but of a small extent yet is very fertile and well peopl'd The City of Rochelle is the Capital City Which though it be not very Ancient became famous in the last Age by reason of the Civil Wars for Religion The first Houses that were erected in this place were built to withstand the Incursions of the Normans that many times Landed in the Harbour By the Treaty of Bretigny it was surrender'd to the English against the Will of the Inhabitants but return'd not long after under the Dominion of France The Hugonets became Masters of it in the last Age. And La Noue who was Governor of it valiantly defended it against the Siege which Charles IX in vain laid to it with his Forces under the Conduct of his Brother Henry afterwards Henry III. who left the Siege to take Possession of the Crown of Poland In the Year 1620. there was a meeting of the Huguenots at Rochel to consult about laying the Foundation of a small Protestant Republick But Lewis XIII reduc'd 'em to their Duty in 1622. But in regard the English and Hollanders encourag'd 'em to revolt and for that the Sea afforded an easie entrance for their succour they soon drew upon 'em the Indignation of their Soveraign at what time in the Year 1627. Cardinal Richelieu having caus'd a Mound or Dam to be raised Seven hundred forty seven Fathom long on purpose to hinder their Communication with the Sea they Surrender'd the 28th of Octob. 1628. The King who was personally at the Siege enter'd into the Town upon All-Saints Day depriv'd the Inhabitants of their Privileges and demolish'd their Fortifications leaving only the two Towers which Charles V. built and which were thought requisite for the defence of the Port which he secur'd with a Chain that reach'd from one Tower to another Since that time the present King has surrounded it with New and Strong Fortifications a good Cittadel and other Works to hinder the Landing of a Forreign Enemy It is now a Town of great Trade whither all the
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
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
Austria An Image of our Lady in Ivory enrich'd with Pretious Stones A Missal in Manuscript the Cover of which is enrich'd with Plates of Gold A Manuscript of the Four Evangelists written above Eleven hundred Years ago in Letters of Gold and Silver upon Purple Vellum In the Third Ambrie The Head of St. Denis enrich'd with Pretious Stones His Cross of Wood all cover'd with Gold and Precious Stones as also his Travelling Stick The right Hand Flesh and Bone of the Apostle St. Thomas in a Shrine of Gold enrich'd with Pearls Rubies and great Pearls An enamell'd Shrine where through a Christal you see the Lower Chap of St. Lewis The Crown of the same St. Lewis of massy Gold beset with Pretious Stones A Seal of Gold with a Saphir Stone wherein his Image is engrav'd with these Letters S. L. A Sword which he brought in his first Expedition from the Holy Land A wooden Cup of Tamarisk wherein he drank A Shrine which he carried along with him in his Expeditions with a Bone of St. Denis His Hand of Justice of Silver gilt The Clasp of his Cloak of the same beset with Pretious Stones A Chalice of Oriental Agate with a great number of Pretious Stones The Effigies of the Queen of Sheba upon a Brouch of Agate A Gondola of Agate and Onyx The two Crowns of Lewis XIV the one of Gold the other enamell'd In the Fourth Ambrie A great Image Silver gilt of St. Benedict extreamly Rich. A great Cross of massy Gold cover'd with Pearl and enrich'd with large Saphirs The Oratory of Charlemain all of Gold where the multitudes of Saphirs Emraulds Agates and Oriental Pearls that glitter in it vastly enhaunce the Price of it This Oratory preserves an Arm of St. George The Crown of Charlemain all of Gold and embellish'd like the Oratory This Crown is carry'd to Reims at the Coronation of our Kings with the Scepter the Hand of Justice the Spurs the Clasp for the Mantle the Book of Ceremonies and Prayers for the Coronation All the Ornaments are of that Richness as befits the Use which is made of ' em The Crown of Gold that Joane of Eureux were enrich'd with Rubies Saphirs and Pearl serves for the Coronation of the Queens that is Perform'd at St. Denis Several Vessels of Gold Chrystal and other Materials very Rich. The Portraiture of Nero upon an Agate which is look'd upon as one of the Noblest Pieces of Curiosity in the Treasury In other Cupboards in General There are moreover Four other Ambries which do not contain such vast Wealth but only Reliques or Antiquities of which these are the most considerable An enamell'd Shrine embellish'd with Pretious Stones wherein lyes the Body of St. Lewis Judas's Lanthorn the Sword of the Maid of Orlean's a Unicorn's Horn seven foot long and a Stool of Copper which as they say was Dagobert's Throne Beside all these things of which I have given you a Catalogue there are several other things very remarkable which I insert not here for fear of being Tedious and therefore to conclude this Chapter I shall only inform the Reader that the Monks who shew the Treasury very distinctly give an accompt of every thing and tell you the time and the occasion that all these Curiosities were brought to this Place CHAP. XXIII Of Normandy and the Country of Maine NOrmandy is a very fair large Province of France with the Title of a Dukedom bounded Eastward by the Island of France and Picardy by the Ocean to the North by Bretagne to the West and Beausse and le Maine to the South The length of it is Seventy two Leagues de la Croix says 73. from Aumale to the Coast of Courantin and Thirty in breadth 37. says de la Croix from Alenson to the City of Eu The Name of it is absolutely German for Noort-Man signifies a Man of the North so that the Name it bears was given it by the People of the North that Pipirated upon the Seas and afterwards settl'd themselves in Normandy and ravag'd the Country to the very Walls of Paris William the Norman laid Claim to England and Invading it under Pretence of Title his Successors Kings of England became Masters of Normandy But Philip the August united it to the Crown of France Charles the Seventh expell'd the English This Province being the most Northern part of the Kingdom is also the Goldest It is divided into Upper and Lower It abounds in all sorts of Fruit especially Pears and Apples of which they make Cider and which serves 'em instead of Wine for Wine they have none but what they fetch from the Neighbouring Provinces As for Corn it produces more then suffices the Inhabitants The Dyers also have their Madder and Woad from thence The Humour of the Common People does 'em no great Credit They are look'd upon to have more defects then Perfections The Normans are accus'd to be very cholerick litigious upon every Trifle and not to be too great Slaves to their words when their Interest is concern'd So then when you deal with a Norman the first Question is whether he will insist upon the Privileges of the Country that is to say whether he will go from his word when the Bargain is concluded And therefore when a Man has fail'd of his word 't is a common thing to say He is a Norman But the Gentry and Persons well educated who have a share of Honour are to be excepted out of this Number Moreover they have as great an Antipathy against the Bretons as the Bretons have against them Rouen is the Principal City of Normandy dignify'd with an Archbishop's See and the Seat of a Parliament a Chamber of Accompts an Audit of the Treasurers of France a Chamber of Money and a Presidial Court The Parliament had that Name given it first of all by Francis I. in 1515. whereas before it was call'd the Court of Exchequer founded by Philip the Fair in 1286. This City is seated upon the Banks of the River Seine on the one side on the other in a Valley environ'd with Hills thick spread with Wood. From the East come little Rivers which run through the Town keep the Streets clean and after they have turn'd several Mills fall into the Seine But the nearness of it to the Sea is that which makes it a Town of great Trade when Commerce is open Among those things which it has most remarkable we are to admire the Bridge of Boats over the Seine Two hundred and seventy Paces in length For though it be all Pav'd and appear as firm as a Bridge of Stone yet it rises and sinks according to the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea This Bridge was made to supply the want of another Stone Bridge of 15 Arches that was ruin'd and was accompted one of the Fairest Bridges in France The Castle is fortified with Eleven great Towers which all Vessels outward or inward bound are engag'd to salute with Three Guns at
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
have seen some Pirates sounding where to get ashore Those Fires they call Fires of Mistrust The Italians never tell the Clock as other People of Europe do They begin to tell One at the close of the Day so that the Hours of Noon and Midnight alter higher or lower according to the Seasons For Example the 12th of August which we reckon to be Noon in France the Italians count it 17 a clock and 24 when the Sun disappears They keep a man at their principal Clocks who when the Clock has strook with a Hammer strikes as many times upon the same Bell as the Clock strook that if any one were mistaken in telling the first time he may not fail to tell right the second 'T is also a usual thing to be robb'd upon the High way more especially near any Garrison Towns but most of all in the Territories of the King of Spain Nor is there any trusting to the Guards which are granted to those that desire 'em because those Guards many times share the Booty with the Thieves who for the most part disguise themselves in the Habit of Pilgrims or Hermits Neither Wives nor Maids stir out of Doors unless it be to Church or at least very seldom and when they do they are attended by some Spy which their jealous Parents or Husbands send along with 'em to watch ' em That Sex never appears either in Shops or Markets for the Men drive all the Trade Marriages are usually celebrated by Proxies and many times the Man and the Woman never see one another till they come before the Priest to be married When Mass is said in Italy only the Men rise up at the Gospel I could relate many more things of Italy in General but I reserve 'em for the several Chapters of each particular State to which they more properly belong CHAP. II. Of the States of the Duke of Savoy THE Dukes of Savoy descend from the House of Saxony one of the most ancient and most illustrious Families of Germany 'T is above a thousand years since that they have been in Sovereign Possession of Piemont and Savoy and no less then five Emperors and four Kings have descended from it The Duke of Savoy bears a Crown fasten'd over his Arms ever since Charlote de Lusignan Queen of Jerusalem Cyprus and Armenia being driven out of her Kingdom by her Bastard Brother and flying for Refuge to Rome under the Pontificate of Sixtus IV. where she died in 1489 bequeath'd all her Pretensions to Cyprus in the presence of the Pope and several Cardinals to Charles Duke of Savoy her Nephew Nevertheless he is not address'd to by the Title of Majesty but only of His Royal Highness and Perpetual Vicar of the Holy Empire in Italy The Duke of Savoy upon a stress of necessity may be able to bring into the Field about 30000 Foot and 5000 Horse His fixed Revenue in time of Peace amounts to Six millions fourscore and eighteen thousand Livres of Piemont But that Livre not being worth above five French Sols that Sum amounts to no more then to Four millions five hundred forty three thousand six hundred Livres of our money Althô the Duke of Savoy coins Pistols Ducatoons Pieces of Six Sols and other small Money however the Pieces of France and Spain go currant in his Country The French Crowns go there for-seventy two Sols and the other Pieces proportionably But nothing is so much talk'd if in Piemont as Florins which is a chimerical sort of money like our Livres of France the Florin not being worth above twelve Sols and the Ducatoon goes in Piemont for 84 Sols As for the manners of the Savoyards and Piemontois the Nobility are endow'd with all the Qualities requir'd in Persons of their Rank The People are laborious and naturally very affable good Husbands sober and fit to undergo any sort of Hardship but they have no great inclination to War The Dukes of Savoy have always appear'd very zealous for the Catholic Religion which has often induc'd 'em to make use of their Power to constrain their Subjects in the Vallies of Vaudois to return to the Bosom of the Church from whence they departed in the last Age. The Duke now reigning is the only person that brought his design to pass by forcing the most obstinate in their Religion to leave their Habitations and to retire into Switzerland and Germany But two years after in 1689. he recall'd 'em to serve in his War against France and permits 'em the free Exercise of their Religion The Government of Savoy is purely Monarchical and the Salic Law takes place there as well as in France for the Daughters never inherit the Sovereignty For want of Male Issue the Succession appertains to the next of kin to the Duke of the Masculine Line Savoy was erected into a Dukedom by the Emperor Sigismund in favour of Amadeus the 8th Count of Savoy Thô the Country be altogether Mountainous yet it abounds in very fertile Valleys The principal Cities in it are Chamberi Nice and Villa Franca which are now reduc'd under the Dominion of France together with all the rest of the Province which is bounded to the North by the River Rhine and the Lake of Geneva to the East by Switzerland and Piemont to the South by the Dauphinate and to the West by the Rhine which separates it from La Bress and Burgundy Piemont is another Province of the States of Savoy so called from the situation of it at the foot of the Alpes The eldest Sons of the Princes of Piemont bear the Title of Dukes of Piemont This Province is much more fertile then Savoy being bounded to the East by Milanois and Montferrat to the South by the Republic of Genoa and the County of Nice by Savoy and the Dauphinate to the West and Le Velais to the North. Turin is not only the Capital City of Piemont but of all the Duke's Territories where he also keops his Court It is seated in a fertile Plain between the Rivers Po and Doire It is secur'd by a Citadel with five good Bastions furnish'd with all things necessary for the defence of it Nevertheless the French took it with an Army far inferior to that of the Spaniards who defended it During the Siege the Spaniards threw in Powder Letters c. by the assistance of a Mortar invented by a Fleming which for that reason was call'd The Courier Cannon The City of Turin is adorn'd with an Archbishopric and a University wherein all Sciences are profess'd and it boasts it self to be the first City of Italy where Printing was made use of The chiefest Curiosity in Turin most worthy the Observation of a Traveller is the Citadel wherein there is a Well to be admir'd for the largeness of it and the conveniency of watering a great number of Horses without any trouble for they ascend one way and descend another The Ducal Palace is magnificent for the Furniture of it as well
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
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