Places they have plenty of Fish Abundance of things are naturally wanting in Holland But Foreign Countries plentifully supply them with Corn as well as Wines and all other Necessaries for Life All the World knows how far their Trade extends And it may well be said that as it in part gave the original Strength to the State so it is still its principal or only support Every Man in Holland is a kind of Amphibious Creature equally accustomed both to Sea and Land I remember I have read it in a good Author That this sole Province hath more †The number of Vessels in the common Opinion is esteemed so great that it is thought to equal all the rest of Europe together Card. Bentivoglio Pufendorf saith the same and others bave writ that the Vnited Provinces have as many Ships as Houses I cannot think any Person hath exactly Calculated them every one speaks as he imagines or hath heard so that little heed is to be given to Discourses of this nature Shipping than all the rest of Europe It is true that if on one side the Sea is the cause of all the Riches of Holland it must also be confessed that it hath sometimes caused terrible Damages It is stopped with Banks of Earth which we call Dams and all care imaginable is taken to maintain them They have Mills to empty the Water and use all imaginable Industry to prevent Mischief or to remedy it when it hath happened Yet some places of these Banks are often broken and the rolling of the Waves makes most furious Ravages So that as to the * On the 17th of April 1420. one hundred thousand People were drowned at Dort or thereabouts There were fifteen Parishes drowned Seb. Munster The Sea carried away 121 Houses of the Villages of Scheveling and 1574. S. Parival at this day the Church is near the Sea whereas formerly it was in the midst of the Village Sea they may well use the Device of a Torch Reversed That which feeds me kills me This Sir is the fatal Mischief of Holland a strange inconveniency of which all that can be said is That they labour to help it as much as they can but can never restore the drowned Cities nor the lives of many Millions of Men who have from time to time perished by these Deluges It is not without some regret that I disturb your former and more pleasing Idea's but I fansie that to apprehend things well we must know both what 's for and what 's against them Nor is this the only defect For the Air is no where very good Sometimes in the fairest Weather it suddenly becomes Cold and this inequality admits of no great difference between the Summer and Winter Cloaths †The Gabel of Salt is the least considerable Salt costs but two Pence or three Pence the Pound of sixteen Ounces The greatest Imports are on Wine Beer and Corn. The Impositions are great which partly cause the dearness of Victuals But the People of this Country who are born under the Yoak and whom their great Trade hath made live at ease scarce think of it I confess I should not long admire those continued Meadows of which Holland is composed They seem very fine for a few hours but one grows weary of their perpetual uniformity And I am perswaded the variety of your Province of Kent must be far more grateful We were at the same time surpris'd and charm'd at the first thing which we observ'd at our arrival at Rotterdam This City having this singular Qualification that many of its Canals are broad and deep enough to receive the greatest Vessels nothing can compare with the effect produced by the extraordinary mixture of Chimnies tops of Trees and Streamers of Vessels One is astonished at the Port to behold so rare a confusion as is that of the tops of the Houses and Trees and Penons of the Masts one cannot tell whether it be a Fleet a City or a Forest at least one sees a thing seldom heard of a Convention of those three things the Sea the City and the Campagne ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is not accounted as one of the Principal Cities of the Province because it hath not been always in such a flourishing condition as we see it at this day but without doubt it ought to be the second of the first Rank whereas now it is but the first of the second It s Port is most commodious and fair and is always fill'd and encompass'd with Shipping and its Trade increases daily It is very large well Peopled rich and pleasant and hath the neatness I have represented the situation is flat as you are to suppose of the rest of the Cities The Magazines for the equipping of Ships The Town-house aad that of the Bank are all most stately Structures When you come into the Glass-house you see them at work on little enamell'd Bowls and I know not how many Children's Baubles with which they drive a great Trade amongst the Savages Also near this you have the curious Works in Paper of the Sieur Van Uliet as Ships Palaces and whole Landskips in Basso relievo all as they say done and made out with the point of a Pen-knife There are at present two French Churches at Rotterdam which the Magistrates take care particularly to see furnished with Ministers of exemplary Merit It is certain that this City is become famous for its Learned Men as well as by its Trade and Beauty It is this which bestowed on us the Novels of the Republick of Learning a work so accepted and esteemed I might even say a Work which is ready to be lamented since the Indisposition of the Author gives us reason to fear he will be no more able to apply himself to so painful an undertaking I am informed that Mr. Basnage de Beauval intends the continuation He is indowed with a great deal of Learning an extraordinary Wit and all the sharpness which can be thought necessary for the well-ordering such a Work Erasmus was born in Rotterdam Octob. 27. 1467. he died at Basil June 12. 1536. They erected a Statue of Wood An. 1540. one of Stone Anno 1557. and at last that of Brass which is seen this day Anno 1622. The brazen Statue of Erasmus is in the Place called the great Bridge This Statue is on a Pedestal of Marble encompassed with Rails of Iron Erasmus is in a Doctors Habit with a Book in his Hand Hard by you may see the House in which he was born it is a very little one having this Distich wrote on the door Aedibus his Ortus Mundum decoravit Erasmus Artibus ingenuis Relligione Fide Being for some Reasons induced to visit a Village called Leckerkeck three Leagues distant from hence upon the River Leck I will impart to you three or four curious things which I observed there The Lord of the Place told us That the Salmon Fishing the fifth part whereof only belongs to
yet called the Rhine passeth quietly to Worden It comes to bid its last farewel to Leyden and faintly finisheth its course by losing the small remainders of its Waters in two or three Canals without having the Honour to enter into the Sea The Scamander the Simois and some other renowned Rivers which are worthy to be compared to the Rhine have yet found the same reverse of Fortune The whole surface of the Earth is subject to continual Alterations These Catastrophes put me in mind of what Ovid hath said Vidi ego quod fuerat quondam solidissima tellus Esse fretum vidi factas ex aequore terras c. But we are not ignorant of the cause of the Rhine's fate it was an Earthquake which shook the Downs and * In the Year 860. or as John Gerbrardus at Leyden in the Year 840. This Author represents the then Storm as most terrible and dreadful filled the Mouth of this River and forc'd it to return to seek a new Passage The Leck was then scarce worth notice but the Waters of the Rhine which were driven back and overflowed the Country swelled inlarged and deepned the Leck's Canal and the entrance to Sea hath ever since been shut against the Rhine's ancient course This poor River which had run the greatest hazards in the Lake of Constance and which had thrown it self down the Precipice near to Schaffhausen at last loses both its Reputation and Waters at the Village of Catwick There are still found some Pieces of the Card or Paper-Money which were Coined during the famous Siege carried on by the Spaniards in 1574. on one side was Inscribed Haec libertatis ergo and on the other Pugno pro Patria They likewise told me that they have still preserv'd the Board of the famous Taylor †John Bucold called John of Leyden because born there head of the Anabaptists King of Munster c. You know the Person It is about five Leagues from Leyden to Harlem but the Villages and pleasant Houses which you see on the right and left all along the Canal make the way seem very short Harlem is large and very agreeable It is in one respect better than Leyden Its Waters are quickn'd by the little River Sparen which joyns it self to its Canals and which gives to some their course and to others some Circulation The Linen and Tape which are made at Harlem have for a long time been its chief Trade But I hear that at present they have a great Manufacture of Silk Stuffs * It was dedicated to S. Baron It is the greatest of all the Province The Great Church and the Town-house are the stateliest Buildings And its Wood of tall Trees with its long and strait Walks is one of its principal Ornaments It boasts to have given Birth to Laurence Coster who if you will believe them was the †With Thomas Pieterson John Guttenburg and his two Brothers Inventer of Printing But you know Sir that Guttenburg of Strasburgh disputes that Invention with this Coster And that the pretended Conjurer John Faustus of Mentz will give place to neither and besides this Invention is attributed to Conrade and Arnold There are to be seen in the Town house divers Rareties amongst which they keep with particular care in a Casket of Silver and wrapped in Silk the first Book according to those of Harlem that ever was Printed Its Title is Speculum humanae Salvationis It hath many Figures The keeping of this Book is entrusted to several Magistrates who have every one a different Key of the place where it is which renders it not easie to be seen The Statue of Laurence Coster is likewise to be seen in this place The Inscription which you have here was put in Letters of Gold on the door of his House with the following Verses MEMORIAE SACRUM Typographia Ars Artium omnium Conservatrix hic primum inventa circa annum 1440. Vana quid Archetypos prela Moguntia jactas Harlemi Archetypos prelaque nata scias Extulit hic monstrante Deo Laurentius artem Dissimulare virum dissimulare Deum est Brothers and Burgesses of the same City of Mentz 'T is strange that History is so blinded with Fables that we cannot extricate the Truth in so novel a matter If what Trigaultius and other Travellers have said be true that Printing is of so ancient usage in China it is very probable Tavernier assures us that the Persians have not yet the use of Printing that those who first brought it into Europe were but Imitators of others Meyer reports that in the Year 1403. a Mermaid was brought to Harlem who by a furious Tempest was thrown on the Neighbouring Shore That they accustomed her to Eat several Meats but her principal Food was Bread and Milk That they taught her to Spin and that she lived many Years Others write that this Mermaid was sent from Embden to Harlem J. G. of Leyden adds that she would often pull off her Cloaths to return to the Water and that she had an odd kind of Speech * They did not understand her Speech nor she our Language Locutionem ejus non intelligebant sed nec ipsa nostrum intellexit idioma And that she was buried in a Church-yard because she had Learned to salute the Cross He also said that he knew Persons that had seen her We would willingly have again taken Boat to come from Harlem hither but it being a little too late when we came from thence and we willing to get hither as soon as we could we thought it better to make use of a Coach The Carriage was a little uneasie because the Coach was not hung but to make amends it went a great deal swifter than the Boat I am SIR Yours c. Amsterdam this 15. Octob. 1687. LETTER III. SIR I Had some regret to write my last Letter to you from Amsterdam AMSTERDAM without giving any account of that famous City but that I fansied I should do well to refresh my Memory with its Idea that I might write things more certainly In the mean time I intreat you to remember that I have not promised to give you an intire description of any place It would require a long continuance in this City to learn every thing of it and a great Volume to write it all Amsterdam is without doubt one of the most beautiful admirable and important Cities in the World and 't is certain that it answers in every point the great Reputation it hath in the World But that one may be more Surprised with its Beauty it would be best not to have known before-hand the other Cities of Holland I confess that after I had seen the Haven of Rotterdam and the Beauties of the Hague and Leyden I was but little surprised when I came first to Amsterdam I found nothing there which might much distinguish it from those other Cities Nay I must freely tell you that
is the Custom of this Country I am SIR Yours c. At Padua Dec. 1687. LETTER XVI SIR IT was an extraordinary satisfaction to me to meet with your Letters in this place besides the pleasure I had to learn good news of you you have done me a singular kindness in proposing Questions to me about those things concerning which you desire to be most particularly inform'd Assure your self Sir my best endeavours shall not be wanting to answer your Demands exactly I entreat you to continue the same Method hereafter that I may be better enabl'd to send you such Accounts as may be acceptable to your self and those of our Friends to whom you communicate them You desire me to tell you sincerely whether our present Travels be really pleasant to us or at least whether the pleasure we take in them be not over-balanced by the trouble which they give us I am not at all surprised that you should entertain such a doubt of it for though we are not among Wild Bears or in the Desarts of Arabia yet are we not without some difficulties The Weather is very rough the way of Travelling ordinarily unpleasant and the days so short that we get late in at Night and rise very early We oftentimes meet with hard Lodging and worse Diet and besides we are exposed to many dangers Nevertheless with a good Stock of Health Money Chearfulness and Patience we have surmounted these difficulties even almost without taking notice of them Custom makes all things easie and is a sovereign and universal Remedy We take some days of rest when we think we want it The variety and perpetual Novelty of Objects recreates the Spirits as well as the Eyes A little weariness supplies the want of a Bed and Exercise sharpens our Appetites Offa torus herbaceus famis laboris dulcissimae medullae sunt With good Furrs we defended our selves against the Cold in spite of all the Frosts and Snows of the Alps In fine without alledging those general Reasons which render Travels profitable and pleasant I will positively tell you that the tenderest and most delicate Persons of our Company have easily overcome all those Obstacles which might hinder the satisfaction which we expected Our stay at Venice will perfectly recruit us and when we shall proceed on our Travels the sweetness of the Spring will insensibly begin to succeed the rigours of the Winter As to the rest I have let a whole Month pass without writing to you since we arrived in this City that I might more certainly inform my self of the things with which I intend to entertain you I will tell you nothing but what I have seen my self or of which I have had particular Information You are in the right to conclude that I will not undertake to give you a description of Venice that would be a work too tedious and foreign to my design Yet I will not affect to tell you only such new and singular things as were never mention'd by any other Being willing to be ignorant what others have written I will speak as an Eye-witness and represent to you as naturally as I can the principal part of such things as I shall judge worthy of observation without giving any heed to what others have said You will perceive that I take care throughout to answer your particular Questions If you have forgotten any thing you may acquaint me with it in your next Letters Venice is so singular a place look on it which way you please that I have proposed to my self to consider it with care I have filled all my Memorials and I hope I shall be able to give a satisfactory answer to most of your Questions But I must advertise you of two things before I put an end to this little Preface The first is that I reserve some of the most notable Observations to be communicated to you on some other occasion The other is that I will not oblige my self to any order in my Observations but relate things as I chanc'd to meet with them as I have already intimated to you in another place We parted from Padua on the twentieth of the last Month and came hither betimes that Evening There are many good Villages on the way and a great many Houses of Pleasure which belong to noble Venetians and were built by Palladio The Ausbourg-Post brought us to Mestré which is a little City on the Bank of the Gulf Five Miles from Venice I have read somewhere in Mezeray's History that the Adriatick-Sea was frozen in the Year * Others say in 859. 860 and that they went in a Coach from the main Land to Venice As for us we were oblig'd to take Gondola's at Mestré and were about an Hour and an half on the Water That I may give you a true Idea of Venice VENICE call'd the Rich. I must in the first place describe those Waters in the midst of which it is seated The general Opinion of Geographers is That Venice is built in the Sea and this in some measure is true nevertheless it requires Explication It is certain it is not the Main Sea but drown'd Lands yet such as were drown'd before the Building of Venice that is at the least Thirteen or Fourteen Hundred Years ago The greatest Vessels float in some places on those Waters and there are Chanels by which those that are of no greater Burden than Two Hundred Tuns can go up to Venice it self The Sea there hath a free Communication with the Main Sea by the Ebbing and Flowing Tides The Oysters and other Shell-Fish stick to the Foundations of the Houses of Venice and Murano as they do in other places to the Rocks so that I think it may be truly said that Venice is in the Sea Yet since 't is plain that this drown'd Country was formerly a Marish these Waters have but very little depth and after all this is not the true and ancient Sea This Extent of Water is at Venice call'd only the Lake or Marish and they gave it the Name of Lacuna I observe that the greatest part of Strangers adopt this Word every one disguising it according to his own Language for want of a fit term to express it Lacune hath another signification in French which perhaps is the reason that they change here the C into G and call it Lagune Tho' this be a barbarous Word and newly invented yet I am resolv'd to make use of it such as it is rather than give my self the trouble to frame a better They have Mills and other Machines to empty the Mud and Ouse which gather continually and discover themselves in several places when the Sea is at the lowest Ebb They have turn'd the Mouth of the Brent and some other Rivers to prevent their throwing of Mud and Sand into the Lagunes and that the Earth may not regain from the Sea which would be very prejudicial to Venice whose Strength and Security consists in its
Convent and if there be any publick place where they bury those who are very poor which I have not yet seen It is only some Corner of Land in a private place without the City And besides it is the Custom where there are any Church-yards to plant Pines Yew-Trees or Cypresses but no Orange-Trees Piperno is a new City built near the old Privernum the Metropolis of the Volsci and Residence of their King Metabus Father to the famous Camilla Virg. lib. 11. Some say that Privernum was called Piperno because when they built it out of the Ruines of the other they found in the place where Piperno now stands a Tree which bore Pepper From whence it comes say they that this City hath a Tree in the Scutcheon of their Arms with the Head of Camilla born by a Lyon Others are not of this Opinion They believe that Piperno is so called by corruption for Priverno or Privernum and that the Tree now discoursed of is no Pepper-Tree but a Laurel from whence they draw great Consequences of the Bravery of the old Privernates The Bishoprick of Piperno was re-united to that of Terracina by Honorius III. because of its Poverty ob indecentem paupertatem saith Favonius Leo. The Bishop's Chair is still kept in the Choir of the old Cathedral They have in the Church of St. Benedict a famous Image of our Lady by St. Luke which would not be burned at the Saccage of Privernum and which is the grand Object of the Devotion of Piperno together with St. Sebastian St. Thomas Aquinas and the Illustrious Camilla Lillies and Daffodils grow naturally as they say on the Hillock of Piperno called Colle Rosso There is a certain fine Earth found there named Buccaro excellent for making Potter's Ware From the top of this Hill you discover the little City of Mayença near which is a Lake the Waters of which by the Report of P. Paolo Benvenuti rise considerably on a sudden two Days before Rain Leaving Piperno we passed over some sandy Hillocks full of those various sorts of Shrubs which are Green in all Seasons In the Wood which we go into afterwards are a great Number of Cork-Trees This Tree extreamly resembles an Ever-green Oak and I believe we may very well call it a kind of Oak since it bears Acorns When you strip other Trees of their Bark you at the same time take away their Sap and Life whereas far otherwise when you take away the Bark from this Tree it grows stronger and presently produces a new Coat as Sheep after shearing bear a new Fleece Departing from the Wood of Piperno we went out of the Way two or three hundred Paces FOSSA NUOVA This Abbey is on the Ruines of the Forum Appii of which Benvenuti assure us some Foot-steps remain to see the Abbey of Fossa Nuova The Monks who led us into the Church told us That Thomas Aquinas going from Fondi to the Council of Lyons and finding himself ill alighted from his Mule stuck his Stick in the Ground and fastened his Mule to it and afterwards fell asleep in a Corner of the Wood near the Church It is said that the Mule getting loose run furiously into the Church those who were there not being able to hinder it They add that the Beast was so insolent as to set his Feet in the Choir but immediately he sunk into the Pavement * Others say that the Mule wandred some days in the Wood and that running to the Tomb of his Master he died there for Grief and was presently punished with sudden death They show the pretended print of his Feet and have put little Iron Grates over them to preserve them Moreover as they searched for the Master of the Mule to punish his negligence in not tying him better they were surprised to see that it was ‖ Villani and others write that he was poisoned by order of Charles I. King of Naples St. Thomas who was ready to expire for want of his Mule to carry him to seek for Relief They brought him to the Convent where he died some Days after and his Body was laid for some time in this Church from whence it was afterwards removed to Fondi and from Fondi to Tholouse About ten Miles on this side Fossa Nuova we found the old Way called Via Appia Appius Claudius Censor Aquam Claudiam induxit viam Appiam stravit Entrop Appia Longarum teritur Regina viarum Statius which was made by Appius Claudius when he was Censor The Alterations which time makes on the Surface of the Earth is the Cause that the Ways are many times changed also as 't is plain from daily Experience but nothing more evidently demonstrates this truth than this part of the Via Appia which we met with You see it come out of a deep Marish and at present wholly inaccessible whereas formerly it was the direct Road from Capua to Rome You are obliged to make a great turning when you leave this Way to go into that of Piperno I observed the same thing between Citta-Castellana and Rome on occasion of the Via Flaminia of which we find great pieces preserved on this side Regnano and in some places and particularly towards Castel Nuovo fifteen Miles from Rome this ancient Pavement may be observed which sometimes mounts on Ascents now inaccessible and in other places loses it self in deep Valleys which cannot be descended into and afterwards appears again some Miles farther 'T is certain that by Winds Rains great Floods Earthquakes and other Accidents Plains are raised up and Hills fall down Valleys are filled up the Earth gains upon the Sea and the Sea on the Earth the Sea makes the Earth Lakes and the Earth turns the Sea to Islands Rivers are dried up and change their Course Mountains swell and become level and the Figure of the Globe is in perpetual variation I could produce Examples of all this It is true these Changes are not universal The length of the Pavement for Example which continues for two Miles or thereabouts to Terracina is exactly level with the circumjacent Lands Of all the Antique Monuments I have seen hitherto there is nothing in my mind deserves so much to be admir'd as these famous Roads The Buildings which are preserved have been exposed to few Accidents and all things being well considered it is rather matter of Astonishment that Edifices so exceedingly solid were so soon ruined than to see them still remaining But that an innumerable Number of Passengers Horses and Chariots should incessantly tread on a Pavement for so many Ages and yet so considerable Fragments of it should still be found entire is a thing which seems incredible The * Procopius saith they were all Square but he was mistaken Stones of this Pavement are of unequal bigness their Colour Greyish and Reddish almost like rusty Iron extreamly hard and ten or twelve Inches thick To speak generally the greatest in their largest Dimensions are
name of Wolf which it still retains John Pic de Mirandole II. hath written that a Woman of his Country named Dorothy brought twenty Children into the World at two Births nine at one and eleven at the other Albert the Great speaks of a German Woman who was brought to Bed of one hundred and fifty Children It would be no hard matter to produce a number of the like Examples the Fourth Earl of Holland You have heard what hath been said of this Lady that having reproached a Beggar-Woman for having too many Children the poor Creature in answer wished her as many as there were days in the Year which that Year accordingly happened for the Countess was brought to Bed of three hundred sixty five Children who were all Christned and the same day buried in the Church of Losdun This History is to be seen a little more at large in a great Picture on the sides whereof the two Basins are fixed We must not forget that the Boys were named John and the Girls Elizabeth Mark Cremer relates of a Polonian Lady the Wife of Count Virboslaus who in sequel of such an Imprecation was brought to Bed of thirty six Children I am loath so soon to part with the Hague which without contradiction is one of the most pleasant Places in the World but I must say something of Leyden and Haerlem before I finish my Letter But think not that when you leave the Hague and come to Leyden you fall into a desart Country Every thing hath its value and that of Leyden is not small it is true all the Cities of Holland are fair to amazement And we cannot praise one enough without saying so much as must leave us no expressions for the other Nevertheless I should be glad to be able to give you some new Idea of the Beauties of Leyden LEYDEN This City hath not so great a number of Coaches as are seen at the Hague nor so much noisie business as Rotterdam But perhaps its quiet is far more charming It is a great City but repose Rules there and in it you enjoy all the sweets of a Country Life It s little disturbance allows it an extraordinary Neatness Nothing comes near that of its Houses and we may compare the Streets to so many Alleys of a well-adorned Garden Yet we must freely confess that the Inhabitants of Leyden would willingly consent that their Pavement should be less clean and that they endured a little more trouble on condition they could be Masters of a good Haven I have heard Projects have been contrived about it But it 's said that their Land lies so low that they dare not give the Sea a Passage So that the Woollen-Manufacture makes the greatest Trade of this City You know Leyden is very * Some believe that the Town is a work of the Romons Others attribute it to the Saxons but Jo. Scaliger pretends it was made by the Earls not above four or five hundred Years ago ancient and there are still found some Marks of her Antiquity But that which renders it most Famous is her †The number of Scholars is fifteen hundred or thereabouts The Vniversity hath divers Privileges University They commonly lead the Strangers to the Physick-School and in the Anatomy-Hall you may see a great number of Skeletons of Men and Beasts Many natural Rareties and other Curiosities as of Plants Fruits Animals Arms strange Habits Pictures Mummies curious Works Urns Images c. I fear you would incline to be incredulous of the Story of a Prussian Peasant which is there Painted He had swallowed a very large Knife So that they were forced to cut open his Stomach to get it out after which as is said he lived eight Years In the midst of the Hall is an unfortunate Thief whom they derided to extremity after they had Hanged him They fixed his Skeleton to a Gibbet upon that of an Oxe because he had been a Cow-stealer they made another Shoes of his own Skin and a Shirt to another of his own Bowels The Physick-Garden is not far from hence A great number of Rareties are still to be seen in the Gallery of this Garden and in the Cabinet called the Indian-Cabinet to which this Gallery leads I remember I observed amongst other things an Ape and a Cat which were produced with * There are many flying Cats in the Province of Malabar Tassoni Wings The hand of a Mermaid A Stare with long Ears a Vegetable Priapus which is a most curious Plant A Monster which issued out of a Hens Egg. A Piece of Money of Card or Paper made at Leyden when it was Besieged by the Spaniards in 1574. And a Serpent brought from Surinam on whose Skin are several natural Figures which much resemble some Arabick Characters I make you this last Observation because your Tutor very much admires this little wonder of Nature But indeed to speak freely I find nothing singular in this no more than in the Greek Letters which form as some thought the turnings and windings of a Maze There is so universal a diversity in all things in the World that it is easie to find the like of the first Figure which presents it self if we would give our selves the trouble of a search The greatest part of Animals Insects and other things are hanged up in Vials fill'd with Spirits of Wine whereby they are preserved from Corruption Going out hence we were to see the great Church which is a vast Pile and afterwards we took Boat for Haerlem But before we proceed on our Voyage I must needs give you some account of the unfortunate destiny of the Rhine of which there are some small remains at Leyden Other Rivers increase their course and their glory at the rate they proceed but this so great and famous River becomes nothing and is utterly lost in the Harbour After it hath been constrained to divide it self at Meeting with the Skenk Fort where one half of its Waters take the name of Wahal the Yssel robs it * It is to be observed that the branch of the Rhine which takes to the right a little above Arnheim and carries the name of the Yssel is not properly the Yssel It is a Channel which Drusus digg'd and brought near to a place now called Doesbourg to make a communication at this place between the Waters of the Rhine and the Yssel of the other half a little above Arnheim Yet it goes on to that City though much weakned and at seven or eight Leagues from thence is again oblig'd to separate at the little City of Dorstadt It s principal Branch there takes a new Name and is called the Leck and the poor little stripp'd Rivulet which escaped and turns to the Right retains still its name of Rhine and passeth on to Utrecht where it hath a fourth Division The Vecht breaks off at that place and takes its course to the North And the little thred of Water which is
At Munich Dec. 4. 1687. LETTER XII SIR AFter we had for some time follow'd the Banks of the Iser which is the River of Munich we entred into a Forest at our coming out of which we saw distinctly the beginning of the Alps Their Snowy tops are mingled with the Clouds and resemble very much the swelling and foaming Waves of a tempestuous and raging Sea If the Courage of those has been admir'd who first expos'd themselves to the Fury of that Element here is matter enough of Astonishment that any one should venture himself among the Cavities of such frightful Mountains The same Day we departed from Munich we came to a Village call'd Lagrem which is at the Foot of the Mountains and near to a little Lake of very fresh Water there they gave us Fish whose Names we knew not The first thing our Host treated us with was a Chafing-Dish full of Incence with which he perfum'd our Chambers and truly we found more neatness in this little solitary Habitation than in many great Cities in our Journey After we had coasted the Mountains about Two Hours we entred there and for a long time mounted amongst the Rocks Firr-Trees and Snow Nothing is more wild and dismal than these places Sometimes you find some Fisher-men's Cottages on the Banks of two or three Lakes which are between the Mountains But there is no sign of any till'd Land and probably a little Goat's Cheese with some Fish is the principal Diet of these poor People Their Cabins are made of the Roots of Firr-Trees well joined together and their Boats are fram'd of the same Trees hollow'd They gave us Goats Flesh and great Salmon-Trouts in the Village of Mittenwald which is Three Leagues farther This Village is in the middle of a pleasant Plain and the Rocks which environ it are extraordinary high Our Host shew'd us some Balls or brown Masses about the bigness of a Hen's Egg or less which are a kind of soft and imperfect Bezoar and are commonly found in those Parts in the Stomachs of the Goats The good Man assured us of their great Virtues and that he often sold them to Travellers He valued them at Ten Crowns a-piece and I believe we should have done him a Courtesie if we had taken Five or Six which he had at that price A little farther we met a very pleasant Troop of Beggars when they perceiv'd us at a good distance one of them who carried a Tree loaden with Red Fruits planted it in the middle of the Way and sate down by the side of it a little Demi-Devil in the shape of a Crocodile fastened himself to the Tree and a Girl with long and dishevel'd Hair approach'd to it an old Fellow cloath'd in Black with a Peruke and Beard of Moss stood at a little distance with a young Boy clad in White who held a Sword When they thought we were near enough the little Divel open'd the Comedy with a Balderdash Song and we could without difficulty Divine that all was to represent the History of the Fall One of us as he passed by the Old Man ask'd him since he kept at a distance from them whether he was of the Company the poor Mortal answer'd coldly That he was God the Father and that if we would stay a little we should see him act his part with his little Dagger-carrier which was St. Michael the Arch-Angel Behold the Product of the representations which they make of the Deity A quarter of an Hour after this fine Rencounter we pass'd by the Fort of Chernitz which is built between two inaccessible Rocks and which separates the County of Tirol from the Bishoprick of Freisinghen This Bishoprick is in Bavaria and Tirol is one of the Emperor 's Hereditary Provinces We came very late to the Village of Seefeld after we had made many Turnings and Windings among the Mountains There is a Convent of Augustines in this Village and you may see in their Church two or three pretended Miracles with which they make no small noise They tell of a certain Gentleman named Milser who lived at the Castle of Schlosberg about a quarter of a League from thence and was very much dreaded in this Village that he was so vain as to desire to communicate with the great Host which is only for the use of the Clergy They endeavour'd to perswade him out of this Fancy but all in vain When they had put the Host into his Mouth it cast out as they say a Flood of Blood and at the same time the Legs of the Communicant sunk into the Pavement up to the Knees He would have supported himself on the Altar but the Stone gave way and softned under his Hand and the poor miserable Man had been swallow'd alive if he had not been retriev'd by a speedy Repentance The Augustines shew this pretended Host chewed and bloody in a Repository of Glass They shew also the print of a Hand on one of the Stones of the Altar and a Hole in the Pavement of the Church near the same Altar as of two Legs sunk into soft Ground They say that this Host worketh Miracles and they find it not inconvenient to their Convent Two good Leagues on this side Seefeld we began to descend and three quarters of an Hour afterwards we arriv'd in a deep Valley which was at least a Mile in breadth The River Inn glides pleasantly along and waters many not unhandsome Villages We turn'd to the left in this Valley and follow'd always the Foot of the Mountain And a little League farther they made us observe a straight and cragged Rock which they said was above an Hundred Fathom high and was call'd The Emperor's Rock About three quarters of the height of this Rock there was a Nich dug See Stephen Pegius in his Hercules Prodicius in which there was a Crucifix and a Statue on each side of it They say that Maximilian I. being in chase of a wild Goat alighted just at this place from the top of the Rock which joins to the Mountains behind and that the Emperour not daring to remount his Horse was feign to have recourse to Machines to get down Inspruck is but Two short Hours beyond the middle of the Valley INSPRUCK upon the River Inn You pass this River over a Bridge before you enter the City and it is therefore called Inspruck that Word having the same signification in High-Dutch as Aenipons or Aenipontum in Latin There are very fine Houses at Inspruck but the manner after which they cover them seems at first to be troublesome to those who are not acquainted with them for not only the Roofs are flat but instead of the Rafters rising to a Point they are reversed and the Rain falls into the middle of the Roof After the Duke of Lorrain had the misfortune to lose his Estates the Emperour gave him the Possession of Tirol and the Residence of this Prince was at Inspruck in the Palace
Situation It is true that if this City is oblig'd to labour incessantly to keep the Waters which environ it at a certain depth to prevent its being re-united to the Continent so it would not be for its advantage in every respect that these Waters should have a great and general depth because while things remain in or near the same Posture they are now in it is in a manner impossible to approach to Venice either by Sea or Land When Pepin of whom we spake not long since undertook to expel the Doge Maurice and his Son John who was his Associate He parted from Ravenna with his Fleet imagining with full Sails to pass every-where But whilst the Doge's Ships steer'd their Course through the navigable Chanels without meeting with any Misfortunes Pepin's Vessels stuck and sunk in the Mud on all sides so that after a great loss he was constrain'd to fly with the Remainders of his wreck'd Fleet. It is manifest that could this Fleet have passed every where with full Sails this Expedition had succeeded better It is about Three hundred and odd Years since the Genoeses receiv'd the like treatment I believe you do by this time sufficiently comprehend what is meant by these Lagunes of Venice Represent then also to your self the City of Venice which rises out of the midst of these Waters with Thirty or Forty large Steeples and is at least a League and an a half distant from the Land It is certainly a very surprising Object to see this great City without any Walls or Ramparts to be beaten on every side with the Waves and yet to remain on its Piles as firm as on a Rock I know very well that all Geographers have written that Venice is compos'd of Seventy two Isles I will not controvert so generally receiv'd an Opinion But I must confess that I can by no means conceive what these Isles should be and I dare assure you that this Account gives a false Notion of the Platform and Situation of this City It would seem by this Description that there were Seventy two little Hills one near the other and that these little Eminencies being all inhabited had at last form'd the City of Venice which is not at all probable Venice is all flat and built on Piles in the Water The Water washes the Foundations of almost all the Houses to the height of Four or Five Feet and the Canals are always of equal breadth 'T is true they have made the best use of several spaces of a reasonable bigness which may indeed give occasion to believe that there was formerly some Land there but not Seventy two Isles For the Streets they are very narrow and seem to have been fill'd and rais'd with Mud and Rubbish for it is not at all probable that they have natural Foundations and besides if all the Divisions which the Canals make were reckon'd for Isles we should find near Two hundred instead of Seventy two It might be farther observ'd that the number of these Isles might be infinitely increas'd and new ones made in any place by fixing Poles and building Houses upon them There are Eighteen or Twenty such like Islands scatter'd up and down in the Lagunes without counting Palestrina Mamalocco and Eight or Ten others which consist of solid Earth and are truly Isles We are not to take notice of what is commonly said of the greatness of Venice some give it Eight Miles circuit others allow but Seven As for me I assure you Venice is neither Eight nor Seven Miles in compass They reckon Five Miles from Mestré to Venice which way we came in an Hour and an half with Two Rowers and we sail'd round Venice in the same space of time with Two other Rowers who made neither more nor less haste than those of Mestré Judge then by this of the Circuit of that City Consider too that our Gondola was many times obliged to fetch a Compass to avoid the little Capes which the City makes in several places and by consequence the Line that it made was greater than the true Circuit of the City Besides to mark the Circumference of a City without considering its Figure is not a competent way to determine the largeness of its Content This is what made Polybius say That Sparta which had but Forty eight Stades in compass was twice as big as Megalopolis which had Fifty A Stade contain'd 125 Geometrical Paces A very indifferent Mathematician may demonstrate clearly that a City which is near Eight Miles in compass for Example may contain a less number of Houses than another City which is only Four Miles or less if you please This depends upon the regularity or irregularity of the Figure This Truth which is undeniable is the reason that I never will never pretend to represent the bigness of Cities by the measure of their Circuit for that might betray you into very considerable Errors I shall ordinarily content my self with telling you that a City is Great or very Great Little or very Little And I am persuaded that such Expressions as these may give you a sufficient Idea of its Greatness The number of Inhabitants is another thing which is hastily determined but seldom well examin'd It is commonly reported at Venice that there are Two or three hundred thousand Souls in the City and some have advanc'd the number to Four hundred thousand but we must not rely upon these Computations When the Trade of Venice flourish'd 't is probable that the number of its Inhabitants was much greater than it is at present But if we may give credit to the Report of a Person who hath been settled here for a long time and assur'd me that his Calculation is very exact Venice doth not at present contain more than an Hundred and forty thousand Souls comprehending therein the Isle of Giudeca Those who please themselves to represent Venice as a very populous City take great care to inculcate that it hath neither Gardens nor void Places nor Church-yards and that the Streets are very Narrow But when on the other hand they would describe the Beauty of Venice they magnifie its Gardens its Places and the breadth and number of its Canals I read the other Day in a Venetian Author that he counted in Venice Fifty three Publick Places and Three hundred and thirty five Gardens Thus you may see how variously things are presented But to speak the Truth there is both Truth and Falshood in either of these Reports I will not dispute but that there may be Fifty three Spaces great and small to which this Author hath thought fit to give the name of Places and the same may be said of his Gardens But if we consider these Places and Gardens particularly we must conclude him too prodigal of his honourable Titles To speak properly there is but one Place at Venice the famous and magnificent Place of St. Mark But let us allow him the liberty to bestow that Name on Five or
will deferr the further consideration of 'em to another opportunity To answer your Questions about the toleration of Religions I can tell you that the Greeks the Armenians and the Jews are allow'd the publick Exercise of their Religions all other Sects are suffer'd or conniv'd at but they order their Meetings after so secret and prudent a manner that the Senate hath no reason to complain of the Abuses or Indiscretion of any Person Moreover though the Worshipping of Images and Reliques and many other Superstitions reign at Venice it is only amongst the common People to whom they are willing to grant these amusements The eminent Wits care neither for this nor any thing else Formerly the Venetians were as simple as the rest of the Popish World The Excommunications of the Pope scared them and sometimes did them a great deal of Mischief That of Clement V. for example made a terrible pother among 'em and spoiled all their Trade But now they trouble not themselves about 'em and the Liberties of the Venetian Church are at present as great as those of the Gallican They take notice of the Pope as a Prince but do not much regard him as Pope When the Jesuites who are the most potent support of that which they call the Holy See would have submitted themselves to the order of Suspension which all the Clergy of Venice had from Pope Paul the Fifth they were drawn out as Enemies and Disturbers of the State And tho' for some Reasons at the instant sollicitations of the Court of Rome they were afterwards recalled it was on condition that they should not raise Seditions as they formerly had done And even tho' they continu'd still to entertain such designs the Republick knows how to order them but considering the Precautions that are used the toleration of the Jesuites at Venice can produce no ill Consequences For as I am told they suffer none there but such as are born subjects to the State and they assure me that the Superiour must be a Native of the City In a word it is certain that Messieurs of Venice suffer themselves to be Governed neither by the Priests nor the Monks Those Fathers are permitted to wear Masks during the Carnival to treat their Concubines sing on the Stages and do what they please but they dare not thrust their Noses into the Affairs of State The Senate is wise enough to be sensible of the disorders which happen when they are permitted to meddle with the Government Nor do they consult them when any thing comes under deliberation I have taken particular care to examine the Creed of the Greeks which are here touching the Articles of which you write But to speak freely though I find them professed Enemies of the Roman Religion and that they declaim furiously against the Usurpations of the Bishop of Rome when they speak with freedom I perceive by their Discourse that whether by Contagion or by some other reason they differ very much in many points from the other Greek Churches which are at present under the Dominion of the Turk at least if we may believe the relations of those Countries So that the Opinions of these ought not to make us conclude any thing concerning the belief of the Greeks in general To deal plainly with you they declare that they believe Transubstantiation which is not enough to determine the Question which has made so much noise and at the bottom makes nothing against those who will not admit that Doctrine They make use of common Bread they mingle Water with the Wine and communicate under both kinds There are two Altars in their Church one which they call the Altar of Preparation and the other of Consecration On the first they cut the Bread with a Knife like the Steel head of a Spear There also they mingle the Water with the Wine and the Priest takes it with a Sponge out of the Vessel in which it was first mixed and afterwards squeezes it out into the Chalice They embrace one another before they receive the Sacrament And the Communicants receive the Bread steeped in the Wine the Priest putting it with a Spoon into their Mouths All this we saw The Arch-Bishop who officiated had a Mitre fashioned like an Imperial Crown and all his other Ornaments were magnificent and they were changed from time to time according to the several parts of the Service There are amongst them an infinite number of Ceremonies and Mysteries When the Bishop blesses the People he holdeth in his Right-hand a Candlestick of three branches with the Tapers lighted which is as an Emblem of the Persons of the Trinity The Candlestick which he holds in his Left-hand hath two Branches to denote the two Natures of Jesus Christ I will not engage further into the confused number of these mysterious Representations Their Churches are divided into four Parts the Altars are in the place which they call Holy at one end of the Church There are none but he who officiates and those who serve him who commonly enter there The second place is appointed for the other parts of the Service The Men are in the third place which is separated only from the second by little Balisters and the Women are behind a Lettice at the other end of the Church or in the Galleries All the Service is perform'd in vulgar Greek which is their natural Language and understood by the People They highly condemn the use of unknown Languages in the Church They worship standing bowing the Head and putting their Hands on their Breast Those who are married may come to Ecclesiastial Preferments without quitting their Wives But those that are received before Marriage are not afterwards suffered to marry They say decency permits not a Person to marry above thrice so that they forbid fourth Marriages They deny Purgatory and you know by what Principles They pray for the Dead There are very few here who believe a Temporary Hell from which the Elect are delivered but they pray for the Souls which they say are in a separate State expecting the last Judgment The use of Confession is much practised amongst them but not after the Roman manner The Article of the proceeding of the Holy Ghost they put in the rank of those which are more curious than edifying insomuch that it is now passed over with as much silence as formerly it made noise They keep certain Relicks as precious and sacred Memorials but render no Worship to them I remember I have read in Thevet That the Greeks of Athens solemnly excommunicate the Pope on Good-Friday And the Monk Surras reports That at Jerusalem they pray to God every day in a certain part of the Publick Service that he would keep them still under the Dominion of the Turk rather than suffer them to fall under that of Rome I have used all my endeavours to obtain some particular Information concerning the Creed and Worship of the Armenians that I might know it from the
first hand but I have not hitherto had an opportunity to get acquaintance with any of them nor have I yet been present at their Publick Worship because they are at present at Work in the repair of their Church and so cannot yet assemble there One of my Friends among other things assur'd me of these four or five Articles That they Communicate under both kinds That they give the Sacrament to little Children That they believe the sequestration of Souls as the Greeks do That they give a Bill of Divorce That they believe there will be no difference of Sexes after the Resurrection And after all there are so many particular Opinions among all these People that it is not easie to tell positively what they believe There are yet many particulars in my Journal with which I might entertain you at present but I had rather joyn them to those other Observations which I shall make hereafter that I may have occasion to add also such new Instructions as I hope to receive I was just now with the Abbot Lith whom I mention'd before and it comes into my Mind to inform you before I finish my Letter of a thing which he assured me of and I should have been sorry to have forgotten though it hath no relation to Venice We were discoursing of the few numerous Families which are taken notice of here in comparison to other places and he told me on this occasion that one of his Kindred had twenty four Sons by one Wife who were all marri'd and that all the twenty four with their several Wives had been seen in a Company together Though there is nothing in this but what is very possible yet is it a thing extreamly rare I hope I shall quickly receive one of your Letters As for me I will not fail to write to you before I depart from hence I am SIR Yours c. At Venice Jan. 20. 1688. LETTER XVII SIR The Bridg of Rialto Vol. 2. P. 182. The best Houses of Venice are upon the great Canal and there are some which appear very * Above all the Palaces of Pisani Morosini Lorodano Rosini Vandramino Grimani magnificent These are great Bulks which would have no Beauty were it not for the Mask which I told you of in my Letter from Vicenza I mean that Frontispiece which commonly consists of Two or Three Orders of Architecture and which covers the Building on that side which is most in view and the rest is ill order'd and no way pleasing to the Eye I mean the rest of their out-sides The Lagunes may cause you to judge that the Air of Venice is unwholsome but they assure us of the contrary However they cannot say the same of the Water which is almost all very bad Of more than One hundred and fifty Wells which are here there are but Two or Three good for any thing and the best Water is the Rain-Water which some private Persons reserve in Cisterns The common Wines are also very unpleasant that which they call dolce sweet is of a pall'd disgustful taste and the Garbo or sowre on the contrary is extreamly sharp After they have drawn off the pure Liquor they mix Water with the Husks that they may squeeze some sharpness from the Grapes which give it some piquant briskness but makes it very harsh otherwise this mixture palls the Wine very much and weakens it which never had much Strength in it self They have also a very ill way of making their Bread Let it be as fresh as you will the Paste is so hard that you must break it as they do Bisket with a Hammer In other things you are well enough treated Strangers have so little Commerce with the Natives of this Country that it is difficult to learn their Customs and Manners of House-keeping Wherefore I can say very little concerning these things I read the other day in a Preface of Henry Stephens that in his time they had an ill Opinion in France of a Woman who went Bare-Neck'd whereas in Italy and particularly at Venice every old Hag expos'd her wither'd and swagging Breasts to view But things are much * There are none but professed Whores who shew their Necks bare chang'd since his time At present the Women of Quality are shut up so close that you can scarcely see their Face not even in the Churches which are the only places where they appear in Publick When they go abroad they are shut up in their Gondola's and accompanied with Two or Three old Women who never leave them The ordinary Women cover themselves with a great Scarf which opens only a little before their Eyes and they go abroad but rarely because the Men make Provision and take care of all Business without Doors They send the Girls to the Convent in their tenderest Infancy and when grown up they conclude their Marriages without their Knowledge nay often without letting them see their future Husbands That you may not be surprized at this you are to know that they make not Marriages here on the same Accounts they do in other places They never trouble themselves with Love Affection or Esteem If any of those things happen it is good luck but they mind nothing but Kindred and Riches not regarding the Person The use of Concubines is so generally receiv'd that the greatest part of the Wives live in good Correspondence with their Rivals and that way the Men remedy the personal Faults of the Women which they marry There is also another sort of keeping Concubines very much used by those of tender Consciences a thing in truth very rare at Venice It is a kind of clandestine Marriage the Ceremony whereof is not perform'd a long time after the Consummation and commonly some Days or some Hours perhaps only before the death of one of the Parties The Men find this Method convenient because it keeps the Women in perpetual awe and constant complaisance being in daily fear of being turn'd off I know a rich Merchant who hath lived thus for above Twenty Years with his Female Companion when he is in a good Humour he will promise to marry her before he dies and make their Children his Heirs But the most usual practice is to live on the Common at so long kept so much paid until the first desire of change without fixing on any certain Person either for Wife or Concubine Those who have not the Means singly to keep a Whore join with Two or Three Friends and this Plurality which would in other places be insupportable does here make the Knot of Friendship firmer between Companions of equal Fortunes Libertinism in respect of Women is turn'd to so common and general a Custom that to speak truly it takes away all sence and remembrance of the Sin As one of their finest Stroaks of Policy here is to bring up all Persons in Effeminacy and especially the young Nobility The Mothers are the first who find out Courtesans for their
the date is Post Interramnam conditam DC C IIII. Terni was called Interamna or Interamnium by reason of its situation inter amnes between the two Arms of the River which Waters it There is also another Inscription which was put on the Bridge in the time of Urban VIII in which it is said that this Bridge was built by Pompey the Great We went to see the famous Water-fall of Mount del Marmore which is three Miles from Terni The Way is rough and pleasant both together You must ascend very difficult Rocks and sometimes light from your Horse for fear of Precipices But in recompence we had the pleasure in these Mountains to meet with some Nooks to the Southward which never felt the Winter We found amongst the Bushes Jasmins Laurels Myrtles Rosemary and Nature smiling in February though it had been a very hard Winter as much as you find it in April in your Island At the third part of the Way ascending the Hill Papinio I observ'd below on the River side a great space of Ground planted with Orange-Trees I counted at least seven hundred and this was the first time we saw them in them in the plain Field without any Shelter But let us proceed to the Water-fall The River called Velerio hath its source in the Mountains twelve or thirteen Miles from the place where it falls down It passes into the Lake of * Or Piede Luco The Trouts of this Lake have no Back-Bones Du Val. Peter Tolentin a Sieneze having rid into the River on Horse-back above the Fall was hurried away by the Current and took leap with his Horse but having time to call on our Lady of Loretto he escaped being only soundly weâ— Balt. Bartoli descript of Loretto Luco at the distance of nine Miles from its Head and goes out bigger by half than it entred into it When it comes to the place of its Fall the Vally which it quits proves to be on a high Mountain considering the depth which attends it there then this River which already marched with a swift Current all in an instant throws it self down from a craggy Rock three hundred Paces high and falls into the hollow of another Rock against which its Waters break themselves with such Violence that it rises like a Cloud of Dust double the height of the Fall which makes a perpetual Rain in all the adjacent parts This pulverized Water forms in the Sun an infinite number of Rain-bows which are always diminishing and encreasing which cross themselves and flutter about according to the various rebounding and spurting up of the Surges and as this Watry Smoke is thicker or thinner I can assure you the sight of this Object fills the Spectator with an Astonishment that I cannot express The River seems to hasten its Course before its Precipitation because of the sloping of its Chanel These Surges press on as if they strove for precedency Du Val hath written that there is a certain Land near the Nera which in dry Weather turns to Dirt and when it Rains moulders into Dust Whilst they are still in the Air they foam dash against encounter and shock each other and seem to be entangled together At last they fall into an Abyss which they themselves have made from which they break forth impetuously some through the Crevices of one Rock others through the Jaws of another after which they run on grumbling and murmuring a little farther and at last mingle themselves with the Waters of the little River Nera which they enlarge by at least three quarters And so ends the poor Velino NARNI From Terni to Narni is a plain Way and a good Country it is but seven Miles This last City promises something at a distance because of the pleasant little Hills which we see about it when we come from the side of Terni But when we entred it we were surprised to find it in a manner desolate Its Streets are dirty and narrow and the situation so rough and uneven that one cannot go scarce three Steps without mounting or descending According to the sordid custom of the Country you can see nothing in the Windows but torn pieces of Paper which is a sign of beggary and makes the Houses appear as if they were uninhabited I observed as we passed two pretty handsome Fountains of Brass The Emperour Nerva was a Native of Narni We turned aside a little before we went into the City to see the Ruines of a Bridge which as they say was built under the Empire of Augustus and which they look upon as a thing worthy of Admiration The great pieces of Marble with which it is built are joined dry without any Cement and without Hold-fasts of Iron It s height is extraordinary it joyns the Mountain of Spoletto to a neighbouring Mountain and ends in the Way that leads to Perusa Of four or five Arches there remains but one entire the top of the Mold of the greatest is broken Many Persons who I believe are well informed have told me that this Arch is one hundred and seventy foot in breadth and one may by the Eye guess it near so much which far exceeds the famous Bridge of the Rialto Departing from Narni we found our selves again between the Mountains which continue for eight Miles to the Town of Otricoli Near that on a Plain OTRICOLI are the Ruines of the ancient Ocriculum We went a little aside to take a nearer view of these dismal Remains but we could find nothing which might afford us any Instruction A while after we passed the Tyber over a fair Stone Bridge which was begun under Sixtus V. and finished under Urban VIII as appears by an Inscription engraven on it It was late before we arrived at Citta-Castellana CITTA-CASTELLANA and our intention being to part thence early the next Morning we willingly gave credit to the Report of those who told us we should find nothing remarkable in it Near to Regnano we found the old Via Flaminia with its Pavement of nine hundred Years continuance which remains entire in this place to Admiration we not having perceived any Footsteps of it since we left Rimini to which this Way extended it self I shall give you a more particular Account of it on some other Occasion We dined at Castel Nuovo which is but a Paltry Town as well as Regnano Almost all the rest of the Country hitherto is untill'd and without Inhabitants The Soil is bad and the Land generally flat but uneven We saw every where an infinite Number of ancient Ruines After we had repassed the Tyber upon the Bridge which by Tacitus and other ancient Authors is call'd Pons Milvius and at present by corruption Ponte-Molle we met with a paved Way for two Miles which lead us between Gardens and Houses of Pleasure to the famous City of Rome I am SIR Yours c. At Rome Mar. 4. 1688. LETTER XXI SIR IT is so pleasant to travel
handsom show but has neither fine Apartments nor Furniture The greatest Rarities that it can boast of are three Chambers painted in Fresco by Raphael with some ancient Statues The Garden is not very large but it is embellish'd with pleasant Terras-walks and Water-works which far exceed those at Frescati and are even thought to excel all the Works of that nature in Italy but the greatest part of the Canals are unfortunately stopp'd the Machins out of order and the whole House appears * April 8. 1688. at present in so forlorn and neglected a condition that 't is impossible to behold the remainders of its Beauty without a Pleasure mix'd with Grief 'T would be certainly very unjust to refuse the Praises that are due to a place which if it be consider'd singly and by its self must be acknowledg'd to have a great many Charms and to contain a great number of Curiosities Neither do I pretend in the least to derogate from its true value My design is only to give a just Idea of it and to remove those Prejudices with which many persons are possess'd concerning it I will not strive to refute the Opinion of those who believe that the Gardens and Water-works of Italy did formerly surpass those of France but since the Face of Affairs is alter'd we ought also to change our Language I must confess I was strangely surpriz'd at the sight of the trifling Curiosities of this Country after I had heard the Water-works of Italy so extravagantly commended as if there had been nothing in the Universe that could with Justice be compar'd to ' em They tell us that the Palace and Gardens of Este cost Three millions and I will not pretend to contradict 'em but I must beg leave to assure them that Versailles has incomparable Beauties that the Water-works of that place exceed a million of such as those that are at Tivoli and that the very Lead of the Canals at Versailles cost ten times more than all Tivoli The Cascade of the †In this River are found little white and smooth Flints which are call'd the Hail-shot of Tivoli Du Val. Treverona is the most remarkable thing in this little Town This River forms a very large and pleasant Pool but the Fall is not very high Not far off are the Ruins of an ancient Building said to have been the Sibyl's * Others pretend that it was a Temple of Hercules House but that is a fabulous Story which might be refuted by good Arguments There are in the Court two ancient Statues of a reddish Granite speckl'd with black which in M. Spon's Opinion do both represent the Goddess Isis The same Author supposes that Adrian caus'd 'em to be brought from Egypt to adorn his Pleasure-house at Tivoli The Hill of Tivoli has furnish'd Time out of Mind the greatest part of the Stones that are us'd at Rome This Stone is usually call'd Travertin by corruption of the word Tyburtin The Collisea was cover'd all over with it and the Front of S. Peter's Church is built with the same 'T is plain that this Stone is excellent for some uses but it is yellowish and porous and your Portland Quarry as well as those at Paris and Caen are better for service These Quarries put me in mind of a memorable Accident related by Alexander Tassoni in his Various Thoughts an account of which will not be unpleasant to you Not many days †He wrote about Fifty years ago ago says that Author the Workmen that were employ'd to dig Stone at Tivoli having cleft a great Mass observ'd in the middle of it an empty space in which they found a living Crayfish that weigh'd four pounds which they boyl'd and eat I have read in another ‖ Alexander Alexandr Bapt. Fulgosus mentions a living Worm that was found in the middle of a Flint Alexander That he found a wrought Diamond in the heart of a great piece of Marble and a considerable quantity of sweet and odoriferous Oyl in another piece of like Marble Tassoni also relates That the same year a Cat suckl'd a Rat in Tivoli If these Stories were well attested I believe you would not be less pleas'd with 'em than with the Cascades in the Gardens of Este Three miles from Tivoli Lacus Albuneus in our way homewards we pass'd by a little Lake call'd Lago de Bagni or Solfatara and by the People nam'd the Sixteen Barges because of a like number of floating Islands that are upon it It resembles a Pond being almost round and Two hundred paces in diameter its Water is extream clear and seems to be of a very blew colour It sends forth a pretty large Brook which after a short and rapid course loses it self in the Anieno Both the Lake and Rivulet exhale a sulphureous odour which is very strong They pretend that the Water of the Anieno is endow'd with a singular Vertue to whiten the Teeth and Ivory Schrad and is smelt at a great distance The late Cardinal d' Este having in vain attempted to sound the depth of this Lake perswaded two Divers to enter into it one of whom was never afterwards seen and the other related that he found the Water so hot tho' at the surface it is cold that he was not able to descend to any considerable depth The Land is dry and hollow underneath about the Banks of the Lake as it appears by the deaf sound made by the treading of Horses upon it 'T is probable that the visible part of the Lake is only a narrow Mouth of a vast Abyss which widens and extends it self under Ground very far on both sides And I think it may be conjectur'd concerning the first Diver that either he ventur'd too deep and was surpriz'd by the heat of the Water or that having wander'd into some subterraneous Gulf he struck his Head against the impending Arch instead of rising at the Mouth of the Lake But not to insist upon the first conjecture we must necessarily conclude that the Body was carried into some subterraneal Vault since it never afterwards appear'd on the surface of the Water On the Bank of this Lake we saw certain old Ruins which Antiquaries call the Baths of Agrippa The largest of the floating Islands makes a perfect Oval and is about fifteen foot long they are still crowded together on that side whither the Wind drives 'em and the least touch puts 'em in motion Two of our Company went into one of the smallest of 'em and push'd it from the Land only by thrusting against the Bank with the points of their Swords I have several other Observations to communicate to you concerning the principal Houses of Pleasure in Rome tho' I do not design to describe 'em particularly as I intimated to you before The Villa Borghese is in my Opinion kept in better order than any that I have hitherto seen 'T is certainly a very pleasant place and fit for a
that of the Parisian Massacre A poor Venus one of the Masterpieces of the famous Caracchio was smutted all over from head to foot and transform'd into I know not how many Figures which fill at present the corner of a Picture of which she was formerly the fairest Ornament But the Prince having at last chang'd his Mind and being resolv'd to prefer the Company of his Princess to that of the Society was desirous to redress all these Disorders and to restore his good People to their ancient Privileges In pursuance of this design he order'd the nasty Clay with which they were cover'd to be taken off but the clumsy-fisted Masons had unfortunately mangl'd several parts of the Marble to make their Plaster stick the better so that the greatest part of these curious Pieces were very much damag'd I must not forget to tell you that I observ'd at the Villa Savelli an unusual Figure of Abraham's Sacrifice by l'Espagnolet for whereas Isaac is commonly painted on his Knees and blind-folded and his Father with a short two-handed Sword like a Switzer's or with a Turkish Scimitar ready to cut off his Son's Head like a Frenchman L'Espagnolet has only given him a plain sacrificing Knife as if he were going to cut Isaac's Throat which certainly agrees better with the Truth of the History Julius Romanus was the Architect of the Duke of Parma's House of Pleasure commonly call'd Vigne Madame This Building is neither great nor magnificent but its beauty is regular and unaffected and its situation extreamly delightful On one side it enjoys a prospect of Rome with several Gardens and many pleasant Seats and on the other the Eye is ravish'd with a beautiful Landskip of little and well cultivated Hills over-against it the Tiber creeps thro' the Fields and Meadows and at a distance the Snowy tops of the Appennin do insensibly mingle with the Clouds behind it is a shady Wood of tall Trees adorn'd with cool and solitary Walks which are incomparably charming The Gardens rise into Terras-walks and want neither Fountains nor Statues I might add several other Observations concerning the Pleasure-houses of Medicis Matthei Lanti Caesarini Justiniani and some others but I ought to pity you for I 'm confident you could not much longer have Patience to hear of nothing but Statues and Pictures And besides 't is time to put an end to this long Scroll I am SIR Your c Rome April 11. 1688. LETTER XXV SIR I shall begin this Letter by answering the Questions you Propose concerning the Tiber. The Tiber was formerly call'd Rumon Terentus and Albula It receives forty Rivers before its arrival at Rome Martian 'T is certain that this River has nothing in its self that could have render'd it so famous as it has been and without doubt it ows the Honour it has to be so generally known to the Reputation of that Noble City which it waters unless perhaps some part of its Fame may be ascrib'd to the noise which its frequent Inundations have made in the World Nevertheless it must be acknowledg'd that it has been often treated with too much contempt the great Rivers are jealous of its Glory and would have it pass for a muddy Brook such as I perceive it has been represented to you But you may reckon that The Bridg of S. Angelo is 330 foot long and that of Sixtus 300. Some Antiquaries affirm that it was not lawful to build Houses on the Banks of the Tiber out of respect to that sacred River But this is an Error which might be easily refuted Clandian and several other Authors have left positive accounts of the great number of noble Structures that were erected on the Banks of this River The greatest Inundation happen'd under Clement VIII in the Month of December 1598. by a general Computation the breadth of the Tiber at Rome amounts to about three hundred Feet and besides it is rapid and of a great depth Suetonius relates that Augustus caus'd it to be cleans'd and somewhat enlarg'd it's Chanel to facilitate it's Course Other Princes have also endeavour'd to prevent the Disorders that attend it's Inundations but with little or no Success The Sirocco Levante which is the South-East of the Mediterranean and is here call'd the Sea Wind does sometimes blow with so terrible an Impetuosity that it drives back or at least stops the Waters of the Tiber at it's Mouth And when it happens at the same time that the melted Snow of the Apennins swells the Torrents which fall into that River or the same effect is produc'd by continual Rains the Conjunction of these various Accidents must necessarily increase its Waters and cause those Inundations which may be term'd the Scourge of Rome as the fiery Eruptions of Vesuvius are call'd the Scourge of Naples There are Inscriptions fasten'd in several Places against the Walls to denote the Year and Height of the Inundations The Water of this River is always thick and yellowish but if it be suffer'd to stand a whole night it grows clear and limpid and they assur'd us also that 't is very good Nevertheless I perceive that some Persons in all Ages have been at prodigious charge to bring other Waters to Rome in order to which they have diverted the course of Rivers pierc'd Mountains and built great Aqueducts And they continue still to make new Attempts to compass the same design The Aqua Felice was twenty Miles distant from Rome and cost Pope Sixtus the V. near four hundred thousand Crowns to bring it thither And 't is probable that * Paulus V. Pont. Max. aquam in agro Braccinensi saluberrimis â— fontibus collectam Veteribus aquae Alseatinae ductibus restitutis novisque additis XXXV ab Urbe Milliario duxit An. Dom. 1612. Pontificatus sui septimo Fountain of Montorio cost a great deal more since its Waters are brought from a much greater distance Since I have mention'd the Montorio I will add some other Remarks concerning it There is to be seen on the high Altar of the Franciscan Church that admirable Picture of the Transfiguration which is the last Work and Master-piece of Raphael And not far from hence they visit with great devotion the Chapel which is built on the very same place where they believe St. Peter was crucify'd In the middle of this Chappel they have made a deep hole where they affirm the Cross was fixt You know what Platina and others have related that St. Peter desir'd to be crucify'd with his Head down-ward not esteeming himself worthy to suffer in the same manner with Christ The Picture of this Crucifixion is to be seen at St. Paul's at the three Fountains by the hand of Guido And in the same Church they show the Pillar on which they pretend St. Paul was beheaded This may serve to exercise the Wits of those Critics who are lovers of such Curiosities to show how a Man could be beheaded on a Pillar This Column puts me in
the Beauty of Venus Juno's Crown Diana's Crescent the Miter of Isis Ceres's Horn of Abundance Minerva's Robe the Wings of Fame or of Victory Cupid's Quiver the Goats-skin of Bacchus Esculapius's Serpent Fortune's Rudder and several other marks of Gods and Goddesses I observ'd also the Deify'd Faustina with her blown-up Veil strew'd with Stars the Magna Mater or Natura rerum parens who suckles different Animals at all her Breasts the Goddess Fortune holding in one Hand the Horn of Abundance and in the other the Nail of Necessity the Bust of a young Roman Nobleman with his Bulla aurea hanging at his Neck the Cistrum an Instrument which the Egyptians us'd before the Romans to assemble the People to the Sacrifices This is a rare Piece resembling a little Racket the Wood pierc'd with four pieces of Brass like Cords or Rods which play and make a noise This Instrument denoted the four Elements and the Hurry of the World The ancient Vessel of brown Earth but fine and sounding like Porcelane is another of the Rarities in this Cabinet The Pictures about the Vessel contain Representations of their Customs in bathing and among others there is a Woman holding in one hand a Strigil or Instrument for rubbing off sweat and in the other a Vessel call'd Guttum which contain'd odoriferous Waters Besides there are Vrns Sepulchral Lamps Lachrymatories rare Pictures and a hundred other things which I have not time to describe Father Kircher's Cabinet in the Roman College was formerly one of the most curious in Europe but it has been very much mangl'd and dismember'd yet there remains still a considerable collection of natural Rarities with several mechanical Engines It may be justly said That the Roman College which is the great College and principal House of the Jesuits at Rome is one of the finest Palaces in the City the Library is good and numerous but there are no ancient Manuscripts nor other considerable Rarities in it In a great Hall which is adorn'd with the Pictures of the Jesuits that have suffer'd Martyrdom we took notice of the famous Garnet that bold Servant of the Society who was drawn hang'd and quarter'd for the Gun-Powder Treason At his side there is the Figure of an Angel who encourages him and shews him the Heavens open'd During the three last days of the Holy Week we met with almost nothing else in the Streets of Rome but Processions of Penitents of all sorts and in all shapes who were seeking after Paradise by another way than that of Garnet They had tapering Hoods which cover'd their Heads leaving only two holes directly opposite to their Eyes some of these Penitents were cloath'd in white others in Violet colour blew yellow and several other colours some * 'T is well known that several of 'em are hir'd to play these Tricks lash'd their own naked Backs with Whips of small twisted Cords which made more noise than they did execution these are only the puny Scholars of the Druids and Brachman's or if you will of the Indian Faquirs but they come very far short of the Scotopitae or Circumcelliones of the Fourth Age who were wont to burn themselves to cut their own Throats or to break their Necks for the love of God There are and always have been Fools of all Professions This puts me in mind of an Accident that I cannot forbear relating to you and of which I was an Eye-witness In June 1683. there was an unhappy Creature hang'd at †The second City in Poictou Niori for murdering her own Child immediately after the Execution was over a certain comical Fellow started out of the Crowd He was about Thirty years old and wore the Habit of a Franciscan Hermit he lodg'd in holes under ground where he liv'd on Roots and Wild-Fruit and was the Son of a ‖ Call'd La Vallee poor man in the Town He went straight up to the top of the Ladder which was not yet taken away and untying the Rope that serv'd him for a Girdle he put it about his Neck with a running Knot and fasten'd it to the Gibbet after which he began very gravely to harangue the Spectators alledging several Reasons to excuse the dead Wench for whose Ransom he said he had offer'd his Life He added That his Crimes exceeded hers and that he was resolv'd to expiate 'em by a sudden and voluntary Death in the mean time the People laugh'd at him not imagining that he was Fool enough to hang himself for he was generally known and the Bigots had a good opinion of him However he ventur'd on the fatal leap and his Tongue hung out of his Mouth a large minute before any person came to his assistance but at last * Bourdin a Turner and Keeper of a Billiard Table on the Castle-ditch one of the Company more charitable than the red cut the Cord and tho' not without some difficulty sav'd the extravagant Wretch I had almost forgot one material circumstance his Mother was present and would not suffer those about her to baulk her son's Humour she entreated 'em to let him alone For said she I 'm sure the Rope was bless'd and no harm can come on 't There was not so numerous a concourse of Pilgrims this year as has been formerly I have read in a Description of Trinity Hospital that in the year 1600 which was the last of the great Jubilee that House receiv'd according to the usual Custom or took care to provide for Four hundred and Forty thousand and Five hundred Men besides Five and twenty thousand and Five hundred Women The Italian Pilgrims are lodg'd and entertain'd here three days but those who come from beyond Sea or from the other side of the Mountains are allow'd one day longer Princes Princesses Cardinals and the Pope himself wash their Feet and serve 'em at Table I must not forget to tell you that we never yet met the Sacrament in Rome nor in any other Town in Italy save only at Venice where we saw it twice under a magnificent Canopy not unlike to the Doge's Ombrella and surrounded with a great number of Torches The People of this Country are not at all possess'd with a spirit of Hatred or Persecution against Strangers of what Religion soever and I must do 'em the Justice to acknowledge that in our Travels through Italy and even at Rome and Loretto we were never in the least molested by those Adorers of Relicks and Images for they are accustom'd to see Strangers enjoy a great deal of Freedom and the roughest treatment we ever receiv'd from 'em was to be greeted now and then with a Non sono Christiani 'T is impossible for a Traveller to leave Rome without reluctancy but he must not stay there for ever we are resolv'd to depart to morrow early in the morning and I have still some little Affairs to dispatch I must beg leave therefore to conclude my Letter and to assure you that I
deriv'd from Katha that is says my Author All and Ruine which signifies a falling down because all the Devil's Edifice fell down in her so that St. Katherine was form'd by a corruption of the word from St. Katharuine I hope this will please you who are a Lover of Etymologies You must know in the second place that this Saint while she liv'd at her House in Siena was frequently visited by Christ in propria persona who after he had for some years entertain'd a holy and intimate correspondence with her at last marry'd her according to the usual form of Matrimony and would have his Wedding solemniz'd with a great deal of Ceremony He made a Present to his Bride of a Gold Ring set with a Diamond between four Pearls He invited his Mother to the Feast with St. Peter St. John and St. Dominic and order'd King David to entertain 'em with some Tunes on his Harp I read this Story at Rome in a Description of the Church of St. Katherine in Strada Giulia and I have seen the Picture of it in several places At Siena they shew'd me the Saint's Chamber and the very Window thro' which Christ was wont to enter when he design'd to visit her incognito A Painter coming by chance into St. Dominio's Church where she lay entranc'd made bold to draw her Picture without leave ask'd or given They shew'd me this Image and assur'd me that it wrought abundance of Miracles and that it has a singular Vertue to drive away Devil's when 't is presented to such as are possess'd with ' em You know without doubt that it was this Saint who gave the fatal Blow to the Scotists in their Controversie against the Thomists concerning the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin For besides several Arguments which they alledg'd to confirm their Opinion they produc'd a Revelation of St. Bridget's which had almost put their Adversaries to silence but as ill luck would have it up starts St. Katherine in the very nick with a contrary Revelation declaring positively That the Virgin was conceiv'd in Sin as well as other Women and therefore she has been ever since as much slighted by the Scotists as she is honour'd by the Thomists There is a good Citadel at Siena and fifteen or twenty square Towers like those at Viterbo The Tower call'd Mangiana is particularly taken notice of by some for its extraordinary heighth but they are only such who never saw any other that make this Observation The City of Siena bears for Arms the famous She Wolf giving suck to the Royal Twins and the same Animal is represented in several places on a Column This proceeds from the fabulous Relations of some Authors who pretend that Siena was built by the Children of Remus The great Place is hollow like a Boat or Scollop-shell and may upon occasion be fill'd with Water when any Fire happens in the City In our Journey from Siena towards the River Arno we observ'd that the farther we proceeded the Country grew still more level and fruitful About Camiano Granayola Ponte d'Era and between Pontgibon and Pisa we found a second Campagna felice where there is abundance of every thing and the Ways are extreamly pleasant * Pongibon Poggi-bonzi is only famous for its Tobacco The Palace of the Signiory and that of the Piccolomini built by Aeneas Sylvius deserve a Traveller's Observation The present season of the Year inspires all the World with Joy and Good-humour and this Month is every where particularly remarkable for Sports and Holy-days but I never saw a more diverting Object than the Troops of young Girls who regal'd us with Dances and Songs on all this Road tho' perhaps the Rarity of the Sex might in some measure contribute to heighten the Pleasure we took in seeing ' em Five or six of the prettiest and best attir'd Girls of the Village meet together and go from House to House singing and wishing every where a Merry May. All their Songs consist of a great number of Wishes which are commonly very pleasant for they wish you may at once enjoy all the Pleasures of Youth and of the blooming season that you may be still possess'd with an equal Love Morning and Evening that you may live a hundred and two years that every thing you eat may be turn'd to Sugar and Oyl that your Clothes and Lace may never wear old that Nature may smile eternally and that the goodness of its Fruits may surpass the beauty of its Flowers c. And then come their spiritual Wishes That the Lady of Loretto may pour down her Favours upon you that St. Anthony of Padua may be your Guardian Angel that St. Katherine of Siena may intercede for you And for the Burthen of the Song after every Stanza A merry merry May. I observ'd near Certaldo according to the Advertisement you gave me several Hills of Sand stuff'd with diverse sorts of Shells Monte-mario a mile from Rome is also full of 'em besides I have found some of 'em on the Alps in France and elsewhere Olearius Steno Camden Speed and many other Authors both ancient and modern have taken notice of this Phaenomenon and I read with a great deal of Pleasure the Dissertation you sent me on this subject yet since you desire me to deal plainly with you I must tell you that I am not of your Opinion as to the main If these Shells were the Remainders and an Effect of the Deluge I would willingly be inform'd why it did not rather leave 'em in deep Bottoms and Valleys than throw up whole Mountains of 'em and also why they are so rarely found for it seems more agreeable to Reason that they should have been scatter'd more universally upon the Face of the Earth and not gather'd into heaps as the few that are left are always found I confess 't is not impossible that these Shells might be preserv'd ever since the Deluge and therefore I will not insist on that Difficulty only give me leave to tell you that you seem to have a false notion of the Waters of the Deluge for to give a reason why those Shells which you imagin to be Sea-shells are found in the middle of the Land you suppose that the Deluge was a Sea But as for me I conceive that the Water of that Inundation which fell from Heaven and was consequently sweeter and lighter than salt-Salt-water was not so thorowly mix'd and confounded with the Waters of the Sea but that the one still preserv'd its freshness and the other its saltness or bitterness and each of 'em their particular Qualities Which being granted this Consideration alone will furnish us with Inferences which I leave you to deduce that are sufficient to destroy all your Conjectures Nor is it less in vain to have recourse to Winds Storms and Inundations for a solution of this Mystery The way of Eruption by which the new Vesuvius or Monte-nuovo was form'd is not I confess to be
painted by Corregio and there are several good Pictures in the * At St. John's and St. Anthony's Principal Churches We saw a great deal of good Company at the Race especially fair and handsom Women but they observe the ridiculous Customs of Rome for Persons of different Sexes never go into the same Coach you may see a heap of Men in one Coach and a troop of Women in another and they would be as much asham'd to be seen together as to walk stark naked about the Streets Is there not a strange Medley of Humours and Prejudices in the World Parma is 35 miles distant from Placenza In our Journey thither we pass'd by a little dismantled Town call'd St. Donino we saw neither Villages nor Rivers on all this Road that deserve to be mention'd PLACENZA Placenza is seated in a Plain five or six hundred pâ—ces from the Po. It is a pleasant Town bigger than Parma the Houses are low but very prettily built The Race-street which they call the Stradone is streight as a Line and of an equal breadth throughout Next the Houses on each side of it there is a Foot-path fenc'd in by a row of Three hundred Posts as at London these Posts are just ten foot distant from each other whence 't is plain that the whole Street is 3000 foot long The Statues of Alexander Farnese Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and of his Son Rainuccio the First are in the great Place We went up to the top of the highest Steeple according to our usual custom from whence we discover'd an admirable Landskip extreamly embellish'd by the course of the Po and even saw Cremona distinctly which is twenty miles distant from this place There are some Pictures by Carache in the Cathedral and an Image of our Lady by Raphael at St. Sixtus's Hug. I have not thought fit to mention the Churches of this City and am resolv'd hereafter to trouble you very rarely with Descriptions of that nature for as I intimated to you before when one's Head is full of the Idea's of such magnificent Churches as we have seen 't is almost a pain to him to look upon any others I shall only add concerning Placenza that it is thinly inhabited that the Houses are generally built of Brick and that its Weights Measures and Coyns are different from those of Parma Its Fortifications are not very considerable tho' they are commonly much extoll'd The Pomaerium is surrounded with Posts without any Buildings I know not whether I made the same Observation concerning Leghorn in one of my former Letters We follow'd the course of the Po at some distance till we came over against Cremona where we cross'd over the River in a Ferry-boat There are no Bridges on the Po below Turin Cremona is seated on the left Bank of that River in the Dutchy of Milan CREMONA 'T is a pretty large City but even poorer and less populous than Placenza There is nothing at all to be seen in it tho' its Tower and Castle are very much extoll'd One of their Authors has the confidence to tell the World That the Tower is reckon'd to exceed all others in heighth and for that reason esteem'd one of the Wonders of Europe and That the Castle is the strongest and most formidable Citadel in Italy If I had not been accustom'd to the lofty and hyperbolical Expressions of the Italians I should have been strangely surpriz'd after all these Rhodomontades to find nothing at Cremona worth observation The Castle is an old shapeless and half-ruin'd Mass which in its best state deserv'd not to be compar'd to a well contriv'd Fort but perhaps might have been reputed tolerable in the days of Cross-bows And the Tower is neither handsom nor very high but inferior to a thousand that are not so much as mention'd It was built by Frederic Barbarossa An. 1184. There is a Tradition that the Emperor Sigismond and Pope John XXIII went up to this Tower with a certain * Gabrino Fondulio Tyrant of Cremona C. Tor. Lord of Cremona who repented afterwards as he several times declar'd That he did not throw 'em down from top to bottom meerly for the rarity of the thing And perhaps it was this Story that gave the first occasion to the Reflexions that have been made on the heighth of this Tower The Inhabitants of Cremona boast much of the Antiquity of their City but they produce not any Monuments to confirm it The Antiquity of Cremona has a very near resemblance to that of the Po. In the distance of Forty miles from Cremona to Mantua we saw nothing but Hamlets that deserve not to be nam'd BOZZOLO Only Bozzolo is a sort of a little City enclos'd with certain Works which pass for Fortifications It gives Title to a Duke who besides this place is Soveraign of a Territory that exâ—ends four or five miles We pass'd the Oglio in a Ferry boat a great and rapid River that falls from the Lake of Isseo into the Po. I soon perceiv'd that neither the Geographical Charts nor the other Descriptions I had seen of Mantua had given me a just Idea of its situation MANTUA for it is usually but falsly represented in the midst of a Lake with which it is almost equally surrounded To rectifie this Mistake it must be observ'd that the * Which comes from the Lake of Guarda River Mincio meeting with a flat Country makes a kind of Marish about twelve or fifteen times longer than broad and that the City is built on a spot of firm Land within the Marish but towards one side of it Before we enter'd the City we pass'd over a Causey The Marquisat of Mantua was advanc'd to the Title of a Dutchy by Charles V An. 1530. which is not above two or three hundred paces long but on the other side which looks towards Verona the Marish or Lake if it must be so call'd is much wider In some parts of it the Water is always in motion but in others it stagnates and infects the Air to such a degree that during the great Heats the City is only inhabited by such who cannot conveniently leave it The situation of Mantua is not unlike to that of Peronne but with this difference that the last besides its Marish is well fortified whereas Mantua is enclos'd only with a Wall tho' 't is also defended by a strong Citadel This City is of an indifferent largeness about the bigness of Cremona but much superior to it both in Riches and in the number of Inhabitants Some of the Streets are broad and streight but the Houses are generally unequal and almost all very indifferent I have seen a printed description of the Ducal Palace in which that Building is extoll'd as the most magnificent Structure in Italy 'T is plain that the Author wracks his Fancy to invent new Terms as if those that are now in use were not strong enough to express the
singly worth a little Town Ambrose Calepin lies interr'd at the Austin's He was born at Calepio a Village near Bergamo When Travellers visit the Cathedral they shew 'em the Tomb of the brave Barth Coglione Commander of the Venetian Forces against Milan and the first General who brought * Angli in oppugnatione Cenomanorum primum Aeneis Tormentis utuntur Urbe potiuntur An. 1425. Pol. Virg. Canons into the Field They make 'em also take notice of the inlaid Work of the Benches in the Quire of the same Church It is of the same nature and done by the same Hand as that we observ'd in the Church of the Dominicans at Bologna The Bergamese Jargon is reckon'd so ridiculous that all the Italian Buffoons affect to imitate it But there is another thing that makes the People of this City far more unpleasant and disagreeable one half of 'em have Wens or lumps on their Throats which disfigure their Countenances and in my Opinion are very unseemly Blemishes These Swellings are in a manner natural to 'em and if we may give credit to the common Report they doubt whether it be a greater Imperfection to have or to want these Tumors Henry VIII King of England us'd to bless Gold Rings which he pretended cur'd the Cramp But his Son Edward slighted this kind of Talisman William III now reigning has also rejected and abolish'd the superstitious Custom observ'd by the Kings his Predecessors since Edward the Confessor to touch those who were troubl'd with Scrophulous Tumors or the King 's Evil. You know without doubt that the Princes of the House of Austria pretend to cure this Distemper by giving a Glass of Water to drink and to untye the Tongues of Stammerers by kissing ' em The Territories of Bergamo and Milan are water'd throughout with Rivulets which fall from the Alps and are upon occasion divided by the Inhabitants into an infinite number of Canals which by moistening the Fields prevent the ill consequences of Droughts and make the Lands extreamly fertile The Inundation of the River Adda which comes from the Lake of Como oblig'd us to leave our Calashes at a Village call'd Canonica twelve miles from Bergamo where we pass'd over the River in a Boat tho' not without a great deal of difficulty by reason of its extraordinary rapidity We embark'd on the other side on the Canal call'd * Navilio della Marresana Navilio which begins at Trezzo two miles above Canonica and reaches in a streight line within half a mile of Milan its whole length amounting to twenty miles It derives Water from the Adda the course of which River is in many places very steep and meets with several Falls before it reaches the level of the flat Country so that it is lower than the Canal by five and twenty or thirty feet over against Canonica 'T is said that many Engineers had in vain attempted to bring the Waters of the Adda to Milan by way of a Canal till at last Leonard de Vinci the most accomplish'd man of his Age undertook and finish'd the work I read t'other day with equal Admiration and Pleasure the Account Mr. Felibien gives of that great Man who I 'm apt to think had a larger stock of Merit than ever any Man before him could boast of I cannot forbear making a short digression on this occasion which I hope will not offend you That illustrious Florentine was a man of great stature of a good aspect and sweet temper he was prudent courteous full of Wit Courage and Generosity He was so prodigiously strong that he was able with one Hand to twist the Clapper of a Bell. He was an excellent Horseman danc'd admirably well was brave and dextrous in managing all sorts of Weapons and a perfect Master in all genteel Exercises All the World knows that he was one of the best Painters of the Age and that he and Michael Angelo made Raphael leave his first way of Drawing Besides all these excellent Endowments our Leonard was a skilful Architect a good Sculptor a great Master in Mechanics a learned Mathematician Musician Anatomist Philosopher Poet and Historian Providence could not in Justice put an end to so rare a Life without a distinguishing Event At the age of Seventy and Five years he fell sick at Paris and Francis the First honour'd him with a Visit he endeavour'd to express his acknowledgment of so great a Favour by raising himself up and expir'd in the King's Arms who advanc'd to hinder him from rising The Merit of this great Person was the Subject of our Discourse in our passage along his lovely Canal which gave us the prospect of a delicious Country on both sides and is in many places border'd with pleasant Houses Orchards and Gardens like that which leads from Delft to Leyden or from Amsterdam to Vtrecht I did not intend to have written to you before our departure from Milan but I could not forbear adding this to the other Letters I am oblig'd to write on this occasion I am SIR Your c. Milan June 7th 1688. LETTER XXXI SIR THO' the City of Milan has been often wasted MILAN the Great and even * An. 1162. Frederic I call'd Barbarossa rac'd it and sow'd it with Salt sparing only some Churches utterly destroy'd by the terrible Scourges of War and Pestilence it is so well recover'd at present that it may be justly reckon'd among the best and finest Cities in Europe It s Figure is pretty round its Walls are ten miles in compass and I 'm positively assur'd that it contains no less than Three hundred thousand Inhabitants There are not many Instances of so great a City built in the middle of the Land without the conveniency of the Sea or of a †The Country abounds with good Springs and Rivulets Besides the Canal brought from the Adda fills the Ditch of she inward Enclosure of the City wiih running Water The Fortifications or outward Enclosure were erected since the destruction of the City by Barbarossa Galeazzo Visconti Father of Azzo attempted to make a navigable Canal between Milan and Pavia but the execution of that Design was prevented by the death of the Undertaker The beginning of that Canal is still to be seen near the Gate of Pavia River I remember a certain Latin Author informs us That Mediolanum or Mediolana took its name * Circa annum Mundi 4809. Mediolana Civitas conditur sic dicta quod ibi apparuit Sus quae pro media parte portabat Lanam pro pilis Wern Roolwinck Et quae lanigera de Sue nomen habet Sidon Apoll. à Sue dimidiâ lanatâ from a Sow half cover'd with Wool that was found in the place where the City was founded The first thing that our Guide carried us to see was the famous †There are two descriptions of this Cabinet one in Latin by Paulus Maria Tarzago and the other in Italian by Pi. Fran.
at Vienna or follows the Imperial Court This ‖ This Council is alâ—o compos'd of Members of both Religions Council is not perpetual nor in all respects of equal Dignity with the Imperial Chamber yet Cases of the same nature are also debated and soveraignly determin'd here No Suits can be remov'd from one of these Chambers to the other only in some cases a review of the Judgment may be obtain'd before the Emperor himself The express Orders which the Mareschal de Turenne receiv'd during the last Wars not to disturb or interrupt the ordinary course of Justice in the Chamber of Spire makes the Members of that Court believe that they shall be still treated with the same Respect And they are so firmly perswaded of the * A little after the first Edition of this Book Spire and Worms were plunder'd by the French Troops without the least regard to the Imperial Chamber French Civility that tho' they lye open to an Invasion in case of a Rupture they never think of removing either the Court or Original Records I shall pass from Spire to Colen having nothing to add to the account I have already given you of the Cities that lye between ' em JULIERS At our departure from Colen we took the Road to Juliers the Motropolis of the Dutchy of the same Name As far as we could judge by the slight view we had of it 't is pretty well fortified Here the Protestants enjoy the free exercise of their Religion by vertue of the Treaty which I mention'd before AIX LA CHAPELLE an Imperial City 't is also call'd Royal being perhaps honour'd with that Title because according to the Tenor of the Golden Bull the King of the Romans ought to receive his first Crown here Heiss Leaving Juliers we pass'd thro' a good and pleasant Country and in four or five hours came to Aix la Chapelle That famous City is still large and beautiful tho' it has lost much of its ancient lustre It has also preserv'd its Liberty entire only the Duke of Newburg as Duke of Juliers within whose Lands it lies has a Right to name the Burgo-master 'T is under the Protection of the King of Spain as Duke of Brabant This * This City is double the inward City call'd Carolina is enclos'd with its ancient Walls Blond City was almost wholly rebuilt by Charles the Great having lain desolate for almost four Ages after it was sack'd by Attila The same Emperor endow'd it with several Privileges made it the capital City of Gaul beyond the Alps and honour'd it with his usual Residence He built also the great Church from which the Town took the Name of Aix la Chapelle whereas before it was call'd Aquisgranum from a †The old Tower join'd to the Town-house on the East side does still retain the name of Granus or Granius Idem Roman Prince nam'd Granus a Brother or Kinsman of Nero who having discover'd Mineral Waters in this place built a Castle and laid the first Foundations of the City Charles the Great ‖ At the age of 72 years in the Fourteenth year of his Empire the Forty eighth of his Reign and of Christ 814. dy'd here and his Tomb remains to this day For the space of above Five hundred years several Emperors that succeeded Charles the Great were desirous to be Crown'd at Aix and I think I told you that Charles IV. made a positive regulation of this Ceremony by one of the Constitutions of the Golden Bull which ordain'd that the Emperors should afterwards receive their first Crown here but that Custom has been laid aside for some time and there remain only two Marks of the ancient Privileges of this City first there are Deputies sent both to Aix and Nuremburg to acquaint 'em with the Election of a new Emperor that they may send the Imperial * Ornaments and other things necessary for the Solemnity of the Inauguration Aix sends some Relicks a book of the Gospels written in Letters of Gold and one of Charles the Great 's Swords with the Brit I have already given an account of the Ornament that are kept at Nuremburg that are deposited in their hands And secondly wheresoever the Ceremony is perform'd the Emperor declares solemnly That tho' for some particular Reasons he could not receive his first Crown at Aix that Omission shall not be interpreted to the prejudice or diminution of the Privileges of that City The Emperor is always a Canon of Aix and takes an Oath for that purpose on the day of his Coronation Some Persons here assure me that both Religions enjoy equal Privileges at Aix but I must confess I forgot to enquire when I pass'd by that City and therefore I will affirm nothing positively I read t'other day in a short description of the Country of Juliers 〈◊〉 Monulsus and St. Godulrus Bishops of Liege that two Canoniz'd Prelates gave themselves the trouble of rising from the Dead on purpose to be present at the Dedication of the Chapel of Aix after which they march'd back to their Tombs Does not this Story put you in mind of L. Q. Cincinnatus who after he had been Dictator and gain'd a Battel return'd peaceably to his Plough MASTREICHT We stay'd but two or three hours at Mastreicht a City of an indifferent largeness pretty well built and strongly fortified the Garrison consists of between Nine and Ten thousand Men and we saw the †The present King of England Prince of Orange take a review of ' em Some Battalions perform'd several Martial Exercises and they are all extreamly well disciplin'd The little part of the City on the right Bank of the Meuse is call'd Wyek I know not whether you have observ'd that the Names of Mastreicht and Vtrecht are both deriv'd from the word Trajectum which is their common Name in Latin Vtrecht was call'd inferius or ulterius Trajectum and was the passage of the Rhine And Mastreicht was nam'd Mosae Trajectum the passage of the Meuse and Trajectum superius or the upper Passage About Three a-clock in the Afternoon we left Mastreicht LIEGE and arriv'd the same Evening at Liege which we found so full of People The Bishop's Seat was formerly at Tongres from whence it was transferr'd to Mastreicht and from thence to Liege Heiss by reason of the Ceremony of the Bishop's Election that we could not be accommodated with Beds Liege is a pretty large City populous and adorn'd with some fine Structures of which the Cathedral Church and the Bishop's Palace are the two principal Formerly there was not a Chapter in the whole Empire so honourable as that of Liege The Annals of this City relate that in the year 1131 when the Emperor Lotharius II. was crown'd in this place by Pope Innocent II the Chapter that assisted at the Ceremony was compos'd of nine Sons of Kings fourteen Sons of Dukes who were Soveraign Princes nine and twenty
leads to Bruges which without controversie BRUGES formerly a Hans Town is a very large and fair City It does not comprehend so large an extent of Ground as Ghent In this City a Traveller ought to visit the Town-house the Water-house Episcopal Palace Cathedral great Market-place the Colleges of the four Nations of Flanders the Church of the Jesuits and several magnificent Tombs in the Collegiate Church of Our Lady In the Cathedral at the side of the Quire they shew the place where Charles the Good Count of Flanders was assassinated by some Persons whom he had compell'd to open their Magazines in a time of Famine Voyage to Flanders but 't is much better inhabited and its Buildings are more uniform Ships of Five hundred Tun may come up to it by the great Canal but Holland has drawn the Trade from hence as well as from Antwerp The Order of the Golden Fleece was instituted at Bruges by * At first he created only 25 Knights three years after he added 6 more Charles V. augmented the number to 51 but Philip II III. created as many as they pleas'd without observing any certain number Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy in the year †Some say 1429. 430. I shall give you a brief account of three or four different Opinions I have observ'd concerning the institution of that Order Some think it was occasion'd by that Prince's ‡ He was thrice marry'd first with Michelle of France Fifth Daughter of Charles VI secondly with Bonne of Artois Sister of the Count d'Eu and thirdly with Isabel of Portugal falling in love with a Maid of mean Parentage * Others write That the Girl was red-haird and that one day when the Duke went to visit her he found a Lock of her Hair on her Toilette which he gather'd up very carefully and preserv'd as a precious Treasure They add That his Courtiers having taken the liberty to break some Jests on this occasion the fond Prince took a Resolution to institute an Order of Knighthood by the Title of the Golden Fleece in honour to the Lock of red Hair Davity says That several Authors are of Opinion that this Order took its original from the Religious Society call'd the Thebean Order whose Gown was furr'd with Lamb-skin Others relate that esteeming the extraordinary Plenty and Abundance of the year of his Marriage with Elizabeth or Isabel of Portugal to be a presage of Future Happiness and observing that the initial Letters of the five Months of Harvest July August September October and November make the word JASON he instituted this Order with allusion to the celebrated Fleece of Colchis There are others who pretend that it was instituted upon occasion of a certain extraordinary Adventure that happen'd to that Prince which had some relation to the Story of Gideon's Fleece Judges 6. 37 c. And in the last place some are of Opinion that the great Encrease of his Revenue by the importation of the English Wooll gave occasion to the institution of this Order I observ'd at Brussels either in St. Gudula's Church or the Town-house an ancient piece of Tapestry adorn'd with the Arms of Burgundy St. Andrew's Cross and with a representation of the Story of Gideon's Fleece which probably may have some relation to the Badge of this Order I remember also that †Oliver de la Marche had the honour to serve Philip the Good and during the space of Fifty years had several considerable Employments in the House of Burgundy la Marche relates in his Memoirs That at the magnificent Entertainment call'd The Feast of Vows which Philip the Good ‖ Febr. 17. 1453. made in the City of Lisle among several other Divertisements Sports and Comedies with which the Solemnity was accompanied the whole History of Jason and the Conquest of the Golden Fleece was represented And the same Author makes frequent mention of the Mystery of the Fleece of Burgundy both which Observations laid together seem to confirm the second Opinion and after all who knows whether Duke Philip had not all the four above-mention'd Considerations in his view when he instituted this Order You know that the King of Spain as Duke of Burgundy is Soveraign of the Order of the Golden Fleece Departing from Bruges we embark'd again on the Canal and in three hours arriv'd at the little City of Ostend OSTEND The Fortifications are prettily contriv'd but the great Sluces by which it receives Water from the Sea and communicates the same to Bruges is the most remarkable thing about it 'T is almost impossible to speak of Ostend without calling to mind the most famous * The Siege was begun by Archduke Albert July 5. 1601 and Ambrose Spinola enter'd the place Sept. 20. 1604. Siege that the World perhaps ever saw This little Fisher-town meanly fortified sustain'd the shock of a potent Enemy for almost three years and three months during which time it receiv'd above Three hundred thousand Cannon-shot oftentimes under the covert of heaps of dead Bodies with which the besieg'd repair'd the Breaches lost above †Seventy thousand One hundred and twenty four Seventy thousand Men and kill'd a ‖ Seventy two thousand and Nine hundred greater number of its Enemies and after all this little mass of Ruins overpower'd by the numbers of the Besiegers and unable to hold out longer against so unequal a Force extorted Articles of Capitulation from its Enemies There is a Canal between Ostend and Newport but for the conveniency of a quicker passage we chose rather to hire a Coach NEWPORT I have nothing to add concerning the little City of Newport but that it puts an end to our Peregrination on this side of your British Seas By the good Providence of God our little Voyage has been in all respects happy and the Pleasure that attended it was never interrupted by Sickness or any Accident And in particular I must own my self extreamly oblig'd to our common Friend M. S. Waring whose good Company we enjoy'd all the way He is Master of many excellent Qualifications which charm all those that converse with him To conclude whatever Satisfaction may be found in Travelling I can assure you that 't is always a very sensible Pleasure to return home I am SIR Your c. Newport Ostob. 3. 1688. The End of the Second Volume INSTRUCTIONS TO A Traveller IT must be acknowledg'd See Letter XXXIII that Travelling is attended with Pleasure and Profit but 't is no less certain that these Advantages cannot be obtain'd without Pain The design of these Memoirs is to instruct those who shall afterwards undertake the Voyage describ'd in the preceding Letters to improve the two first and lessen the other I do not intend to discourse of Travels in general but only to run over the several Steps that we made in our Voyage and to give those who shall follow the same Road or any