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"Italy is only a fine well - known academy figure, from which we all sit down to make drawings, according as the light falls, and our own seat affords opportunity."-- Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey through France, Italy, and Germany (1789) by Hester Thrale

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Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey through France, Italy, and Germany (1789) is a book by Hester Thrale.

Full text of volume 1

A SKETCH OF A TOUR ΟΝ ΤΗ Ε CONTINENT, IN THE YEARS 1786 AND 1787, BY JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M. D. F. R. S. MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF TURIN, UPSAL, STOCKHOLM, LISBON, & c. &c. PRESIDENT OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. IN THREE VOLUME S. VOL. 1.

"Italy is only a fine well- known academy figure, from which we all fit down to make drawings, according as the light falls, and our own feat affords opportunity."

Mrs. Piozzi's Travels, vol. i. 288.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY J. DAVIS ; SOLD BY

B. AND J. WHITE, FLEET- STREET.

1793.

Feb.1912

. 7

25716 · =14 # то WM. YOUNGE, M. D. F. L. S. OF SHEFFIEL D. To you my friend, my compa nion in moſt of the fcenes de fcribed in thefe volumes, as well as in feveral other of the more delightful and inftructive fituations of my life, a formal Dedication would be as unpleaſant to receive A 3 as ( vi ) : as it would be for me to write. My defign in this addreſs is not to folicit from you that indulgence which you have ever fhewn, un aſked and unreſtrained, to all that came from me ; neither is it to deck out in the garb of compli ment fentiments with which I truſt you are already well acquainted in the fimplicity of truth .. I merely take an opportunity of comme morating that friendſhip which I have long tried, and hope I ſhall never ceaſe to value, and which fo confiderably augmented the pleaſures and advantages of a long journey, a rock on which more boaſted attachments have fome times ( vii ). may continue times ſplit. That it unimpaired through the great journey of life, is the fincere de fire of Your very faithful friend, LONDON, November 1793 . J. E. SMITH. A4 PRE 1 T.7MyMAk4• NCh5"W PREFACE. So many tours on the Continent, ſo many deſcriptions of Italy, have been laid before the public at different times, that it may ſeem prefumptuous or im pertinent to add to the heap. Yet per haps this very circumftance may be encouraging to a young author. He may juftly flatter himſelf that even the gleanings of a field which has afforded fo many rich harvefts, may be highly worthy of attention, efpecially as fome of thoſe harveſts have been rather careleſsly gathered, and/even their pro fufion evinces the riches that have been left behind. " Italy," ( x ) Italy," fays Mrs. Piozzi, " is a fine well-known academy figure from which we all fit down to make drawings, ac cording as the light falls, and our own feat affords opportunity." In purſuance of this idea, it may be added, that no delineator has yet finiſhed a perfect re preſentation ofthis fine figure, in which its outline, its proportions and its cha racter are alike well expreffed. The aims indeed of its obfervers, as well as their opportunities, have been different. Some have attempted a portrait of its counte nance, others of its limbs, while a dif ferent fet have fpeculated on the marble of which it is compofed. Many have relied on the erroneous ſketches of per fons who have gone before them, while neither have perhaps feen more than a tranfient reflection of the ftatue in fome faithleſs mirror. Some have deſcribed, as an effential part of this noble figure, the dirt with which others had beſpat tered it ; and fome have thought they had obtained a fortunate fituation for feeing it in perfection , while their eye could 66 1

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( xi ) could take in no more than the protu berance of its heel. The author of the prefent attempt is confcious it is eaſier to perceive the faults of others, than to avoid original errors of one's own, and wherever he has fought out a new path, he hopes to be corrected hereafter with the fame honeſty of intention, with which he has endeavoured to correct thoſe who have preceded him in the more frequented tracks . Even in thofe too he is aware that much ſtill remains to encourage new adventurers, and that he himſelf may ſtand in as much need of correction as thoſe who have gone before him. If every writer were an accurate judge of his own merits, there would certainly be much fewer books written ; but many ufeful, though not firft-rate attempts would by that means be fuppreffed. Few perfons would have courage to take up the pen if they had no more ele vated hope than juſt to keep themſelves " Above the limits of a vulgar fate." Scarcely ( xii ) Scarcely any good things are done in this world without a portion of enthu ſiaſm. Human endeavours would ftag nate, even in the beſt undertakings, without fomething in view which the mind cannot exactly meaſure, and the hope of reaching which, perhaps, its coolerjudgment would not by any means authorize. Yet we are led on from one a ttempt to another, and the happieſt man is he that has the greateſt number of commendable purfuits. He may call them toils, and cares, and troubles, but they are the feaſoning of life's banquet, which would be altogether infipid with out them. Although many people there fore every day make books by a fort of manual labour, with other motives be fore them than what can properly be called literary fame, few perſons really undertake to write one without the faf cinating picture of a laurel wreath before their eyes. The following ſheets have been com poſed with fo flight a glimpſe of this laurel ++ ( xiii ) laurel wreath, that they have been very near not making their appearance at all. The journey they deſcribe was perform ed fome time fince, and was undertaken with a view to ſelf-inftruction, rather than the information ofothers . It is not till after re-confidering the fubject, and comparing his own lights with thoſe of other people, that the author has ventur ed to expofe them to public view. " The perfuafion of kind friends," that common apology of really or affectedly diffident writers, ought here, perhaps, in due form to be urged ; but that is a very bad apology for a bad work, as it is only throwing the load ofconſcious unworthi nefs .upon others. If a man feels his performance to be not deftitute of merit, let him hazard it on its own ground, and publifh it becauſe he modeftly hopes it may be acceptable to the world, whether his friends have countenanced that hope or not. Having fo far explained the general reafons ofthe prefent undertaking, much remains ( xiv ) remains to be faid relative to the parti culars of its execution. As to the form of compofition, the moſt ſimple and natural has been thought to be that of a journal. That of letters indeed might have been adopted, with out To great a violation of truth as they are fometimes publiſhed with, for ſome of this work has been compofed from letters, actually written to the author's friends, and fince compared with his own journal. The bulk of it however was not fo written, and therefore con fiderable new arrangement of the mate rials muſt have taken place, in order to give the entire work an epiſtolary form ; at leaſt to have given the letters an air of probability and originality, without which they are the moſt tedious and dif gufting of all kinds of writing. The general motive for a traveller's publiſh ing his obſervations in letters, ſeems to be a fort of culpable diffidence. He thinks he may feem to fay things to a friend, and to ſay them in a ftyle, which NOit ( xv ) it would be indecorous to addreſs point blank to the public. This is a miſtake. Whatever is proper for the public to fee at all, is proper to be addreſſed to it, and it is an affront to ſuppoſe the con trary. Another inſtance of falfe deli cacy is the writing a man's own hiſtory in the third perſon, by which the intereſt of the narrative is weakened, and no ad vantage whatever gained. The excellent Dr. Hawkefworth was fo well aware of this, that he choſe to write his celebrated accounts of voyages in the firſt perſon, though he was the profeffed narrator of the adventures of others. To this ex ample may be added the writer of An fon's Voyage. They are both fufficient authority, as their works are the brighteſt models for all future compofers in the fame line. In order to avoid all affectation, real or apparent, the author has thought it the fafeft method to fit down to tell his own ſtory in his own perſon, giving his adventures and his thoughts upon them juſt 8 ( (xvi ) t juft as they occurred. He prefumes none will take up his book without a defire of being informed on the fubject of which it profeffes to treat ; and as they will fee his name in the title-page, he farther prefumes they will expect to fee howhe treats the fubject. He there fore affectedly keeps neither himſelf nor his fentiments out of fight. The reader muft confider him as a travelling com panion, with whofe converfation he may perhaps be wearied, and with whofe ill humour he may fometimes be torment ed ; but he has always in his own hands the power of feparation, which fo many actual travelling companions have wiſhed for in vain. What therefore may ap pear like egotifm, arifes not from the traveller's fondnefs for talking of him felf, but from his wifhing to keep clear of the much more difagreeable appear ance of having taken pains to avoid it.

For fimilar reafons every thing that occurred to his obfervation, is preſentéd to the reader jull in the light in which 'it 1 ftruck TOSAREA UJED ere41DECISTRAINB B G & ( xvii ) ftruck him. He does not preſume to have been always free from prejudice or error, but at leaſt he has been on his guard againſt adopting the prejudices and errors of others. Many fubjects on which he might have touched, are en tirely omitted, becauſe it was not his aim, nor could he pretend, to compile any thing like a general account of the countries through which he paſſed . He has merely ſpoken of objects that in tereſted himſelf on the ſpot ; and ſeveral particulars that, to common readers, may appeartrifling, are perhaps recorded with a view to the illuftration of particular fubjects, and will therefore be turned to account by thoſe only who are engaged in the ſtudy of ſuch ſubjects. Of this nature are many remarks concerning natural hiſtory, medicine, and even the arts, but more efpecially fuch as relate to the hiſtory of the human mind. So many fubjects preſent themſelves in a journey, that a book of travels muſt VOL. I. a neceffarily ( xviii ) neceffarily be miſcellaneous, and defti tute of any great degree of method. But in order to obviate this imperfection as much as poſſible, the form of a journal is preſerved principally in the travelling part ; the various objects in the great towns are digefted into fome kind of order ; remarks on paintings or build ings are not intermixed with thoſe on natural hiſtory, and both are for the moſt part kept diftinct from what relates to characters and manners of men. By this means there is lefs confufion of ideas than in a mere journal, in which things are noticed altogether in the order of time in which the traveller met with them, and which very confufion is аро logized for by thoſe who publiſh their travels in fictitious letters, as the confe quence of their writing from immedi ate obfervation : where s it commonly arifes from their indolent neglect of arrangement, or is affected for the purpoſe of giving their letters an air of probability. In either cafe it is a fault. f The ་ 12- ( xix ) The fine arts muſt always make a principal feature in an Italian tour ; in deed that country itſelf would hardly be amusing, nor would an account of it be intereſting, to thoſe who are quite devoid of taſte and curiofity on this fub ject. Even the multiplicity of defcrip tions we have already of the treaſures of Italy in this department, ſeem, in adding to their celebrity, to have ren dered the mention of them the more indiſpenſible in every future account. For the fame reaſon indeed we no longer require an ample detail of deſcriptions. Moſt of the objects are already fuf ficiently well known, and we rather enjoy the mention of them as old ac quaintances ; while the leaſt portion of novelty concerning them, whenever it can be obtained, becomes doubly in terefting . Even if we hear nothing new, we are pleaſed to partake of the impreffions they give to a perfon, with whom we have contracted fome fort of acquaintance, and have formed fome ideas of his powers of judging, after a 2 having r I ( xx ) having travelled along with him through a few pages of his narrative. The writer of the following pages has no pretenſions to authority on this part of his fubject. He records what has afforded him pleaſure, and gives his reaſons whenever he expreffes contrary feelings ; but is neither an artiſt, nor a profeffed connoiſſeur. However fond he may be of the arts, having imbibed that taſte early, and cultivated it by ſe veral means of improvement which his country affords, it was always very ſub ordinate to many other purſuits and occupations ; and he is far from pre tending to that irreſiſtible fire of genius which gives, in all cafes, intuitive judg ment and unerring criticiſm. Neither has he been much inftructed in the technical part of the arts. He looks. on a picture, a ftatue, or a building, not with the eye of a painter, ſculptor, or architect, but with the eye of an ob ferver of nature. He confiders an hif torical group rather as the narrative of a par 126'nAinTH+ ( xxi ) a particular ſtory, than as a machine to produce certain impreffions on the eye ; and is ftruck, even to enthufiafm, with an undeſcribable fomething in a fine building, though not poffeffed of ſcience to inveſtigate all its requifite parts or proportions. The reader therefore will know in what points he is chiefly to be relied on, and will hereafter find him more attracted by the expreffion or compofition of a picture, than by qua lities more curious to an artiſt or a con noiffeur. It will probably be expected that the preſent work ſhould contain many par ticulars relating to the ſcience of natural hiſtory ; but the countries here de ſcribed too nearly reſemble our own, to afford much that is new or ftriking in this way. Where any thing of this fort has prefented itſelf, it is always noted, and that with two ends in view. In the firſt place, nothing which could poffibly convey real folid information to the practical and intelligent naturalift, has a 3 been ( xxii ) been ever withheld from an apprehen, fion of its ſeeming dry or unimportant to others this would be too great a facrifice of the intereſts of ſcience. But on the other hand it has been conſtantly endeavoured that the author's favourite purſuit ſhould be rendered as attractive, even to thoſe unacquainted with it, as he could make it ; in order that he might have a chance of being the happy means of inviting others to a participa tion of pleaſures which he has found never to diſappoint, never to fatiate, and the cultivation of which not only fits the mind for the advancement of its own internal powers of happineſs, but alſo renders it doubly capable of adding to that of others . The travelling ob ſerver of nature has, as it were, the en joyment of a new fenfe in addition to thoſe common to the reft of mankind. He can find amufement and inftruction where they bemoan themſelves as in a wilderneſs ; he can relieve his attention, and refreſh his ſpirits, when wearied by common objects of obfervation, or trou bled ( xxiii ) bled with diſagreeable ones ; and is ſtimulated with ardour to undertakings, prolific of pleaſure in various ways, which the incurious half- occupied mind would not think worth the pains of at tempting. A ftill higher advantage is attached to the purſuit of natural hiſ tory in a journey through an enlighten ed country, as well as in the journey of life itſelf. It is an unerring clue to an intercourſe with the beſt minds. It brings thoſe together who are connected by a moſt commendable, difintereſted , and delightful tie, and who may confe quently find themſelves allied by other ties, which they would not elſe have diſcovered. It brings forth the beſt parts of every character. Differences of opi nion, of religion, of age, of rank, all fink before it. The narroweſt and moſt prejudiced difpofitions in fome particu lars, are open, candid, and generous in what regards this amiable ſtudy : the moft gloomy and difappointed are footh ed by it into a capacity of enjoyment, a 4 and \ ( xxiv ) 1 and an exerciſe of their powers, on which the happineſs or value of all their future life may depend. What will be found therefore to be moſt novel and peculiar in this account of Holland, France, and Italy, is per haps not ſo much the information imme diately belonging to natural hiſtory in itſelf, as an account of various cultiva tors and teachers of that ſtudy, with other literary and accompliſhed charac ters, whom the author has ſeen to greater advantage than falls to the lot of moſt travellers. In this line his recommenda tions were more fortunate than ordinary, not from his own pretenſions, but from a peculiarity of circumſtances unneceſ fary to be explained here. The name of Linnæus opened every door and cabinet to him; but he is not fo weak as to affume to himſelf the honour which was paid to that name, though he thank fully endeavoured to profit by it. There 1*" ( xxv ) There is one ſubject which commonly makes a confpicuous figure in all travels to Italy, the abfurdities and abuſes of the Catholic religion. On this head many a Proteftant writer feems to think himſelf privileged to let loofe every fpecies offarcafm, cenfure and calumny, without any qualification or diſtinction. He cenfures a pretended infallible church as if himſelf and his own mode or faſhion of belief alone were really infallible ; he condemns a perfecuting religion, while he himſelf perſecutes it more uncharita bly and unrelentingly with his pen or his tongue, than any churchman ever did a heretic with fire and faggot ; and he execrates thoſe who keep no faith with unbelievers, while he betrays the confi dence of friendſhip and hoſpitality, and perverts the kindneſs of human nature (which gets the better even of religious antipathies) into a tool of ridicule againſt thoſe who have exerciſed it in favour of himſelf. Theſe errors, by far more difgraceful and blameable than errors of faith, ( xxvi ) faith, the writer of the following re marks has earneſtly wifhed to avoid. He directs his weapons, indeed , without referve, againſt hypocrify, tyranny, and impofition of all kinds, wherever they occur, and whatever church or fect they may happen to contaminate ; but he endeavours to diſcriminate between in dividuals and bodies of men ; and while he laments or expoſes the impofitions and iniquities of any religion in dark and corrupt times, he by no means con fiders the preſent profeffors of that re ligion as anſwerable for them . Such a mode of judgment no one church or, fect could be proof againſt. Still farther is he from laying the faults of any mem ber of a church at the door of its other members. Thoſe only who defend a bad fyftem uncharitably, are anſwer able for all its defects ; and thoſe who make their own mode of faith a cloak for a conduct and fpirit unworthy of any religion, deferve the blame which its miſtaken and ill-informed zealots incur. Perfons { xxvii ) Perfons who have never converfed with liberal Catholics at home or abroad, and take their ideas of them from par tial accounts, written in days of animo fity and party ſpirit, may do them great injuftice. Thoſe who have travelled in Catholic countries might eaſily fhew fu perftition and bigotry to be by no means univerfal among the thinking part ofthe community, if they thought themſelves at liberty to difclofe private converfa tions, or remarks made by themfelves upon, cafual momentary actions or ex preffions, which more unequivocally dif playthe true fentiments, than a deliberate difcourfe. But a man who fhould pub lifh fuch anecdotes, would betray his own want of principle too much to de ferve credit for any thing he might re late . Neither is it intended here to in finuate that fuch traits of character, when detected, imply a deficiency in juft principles of religion or morality, On the contrary, thoſe who make due conceffions on doubtful points , are moſt likely ( xxviii ) likely to be honeſt and ſteady in effential ones. The moſt auſtere and faftidious zealots are often the moſt infincere. So wide a field of difcuffion relative to politics has been opened of late, ſo much has the attention of every body, more or leſs, been excited by this ſub ject , and fo much is it connected with the various nations on the continent, that a traveller ' through France in par ticular could not poffibly keep clear of it. Nor ought a general obferver of men and things to fhrink from fuch a difcuffion, which but too generally falls into the hands of intereſted or partial examiners. It will be at leaſt a novelty to find it canvaſſed by one who has no party, intereft, nor paffion to ferve ; who feels himſelf moſt perfectly inde pendant of all but the good, and who writes his real thoughts, defiring rather to make peace than to make converts, without wiſhing for attention or appro bation any farther than he maybe judged, in An200FACC102000am ( xxix ) in the opinion of thoſe anxious for truth like himſelf, to be in the right. Much of this work was compofed, and even printed, fome time ſince. The ftyle and fentiments of the early part may not therefore ſeem applicable to the prefent ftate of affairs abroad, though they might have been fo when written. The changes indeed in the French affairs are fo rapid, the revolutions of laws, decrees, and deciſions fo violent and un expected, that imagination cannot keep pace with them. We have ſcarcely had time to derive fome fort of confolation, in the eſtabliſhment of Juries, for the concomitant ſcenes of difcord, before we are ftartled with the moft atrocious contrivance that ever was invented, for the defeat of that falutary inflitution. No mode of public murder ever fur paffed the deliberate annihilation of all equity, which decreed, that accuſing witneffes fhould alone be fufficient to convict a prifoner, without any thing being ( xxx ) being heard in his juſtification ; nor it any extenuation of the guilt of this decree that it was made to condemn a particular fet of men, the accuſed de puties, or that it has fince been repealed by its authors. Well may fuch law givers be glad to take refuge in the idea of " everlaſting fleep !" It has not been thought adviſable to change any deſcriptions of objects re marked by the author in his journey through Flanders or France, though many of them now exift no longer. The reader will be curious to hear what they were, as the monuments at St. Denis and at Paris, the curiofities of Chantilly, and many others. In what degree thefe and other things have fuffered , is not exactly known in England. The tame carp at Chantilly were deftroyed very early in the revolution . 1 1 The deſcription of the cathedral of Mi lan, vol. iii.p.51 , requires fome correction. 5 The ( xxxi ) The plan of its great front, which was long at a ſtand, has of late been changed. The Grecian doors and windows, de figned by Pelegrini, have alone been permitted to remain in that ftyle, and are to be patched up with Gothic pilaf ters. This is even worſe than allowing the whole front to be finiſhed in the Grecian tafte. The enumeration of authors in the Appendix is extremely incomplete, but may nevertheleſs be of uſe as far as it goes. CON

CONTENTS Leyden VOL. L HARWICH-Helvoet-Rotterdam to CHAP. I. S The Hague CHAP. II. Leyden Botanic Garden-Muſeums-Profeffors -Siege CHAP. III. Excurfion to Haerlem and Amfterdam Page 1 CHAP. IV. P. 9 P. 20 P. 33 CHAP CONTENT S. Antwerp CHAP. V. CHAP. VI. Bruffels, and from thence to Paris CHAP. VII. Verfailles.-St. Germain CHAP. VIII. Churches of Paris and its neighbourhood CHAP. IX. Chantilly and Ermenonville Montpellier CHAP. X. Botany-Academies-Death of Mr. Bertier -Obſervatory-Minerals CHAP. XI. Paris to Montpellier CHAP. XII. CHAP. XIII. Nifmes-Aix-Marseilles CHAP. XIV. - From Marfeilles to Nice - Page 46 . P. 57 p. 69 p. 76 p. 90 P. 117 p. 135 p. 153 P. 168 p. 184 CHAP. CONTENTS. CHAP. XV. From Nice to Monaco, St. Remo, and Genoa Page 205 Genoa Florence CHAP. XVII. From Genoa to Pifa and Florence CHAP. XVI. St. Peter's Church CHAP. XVIII. CHAP. XIX. From Florence to Rome, by Sienna CHAP. XX. - G P. 230 P. 260 P. 275 P. 323 P. 344 SKETCH N )L3 11 , SKETCH OF A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT. CHAP. I. HARWICH, HELVOET, ROTTERDAM TO LEYDEN. I HAD fixed the beginning June 16. of June 1786 for my departure for Hol land ; but a contrary wind made me defer it till the 16th of that month ; when, after many an anxious look at the lofty plane and cedar trees of Chelfea Garden, ftill waving in an unpropitious direction , my patience being at length exhauſted, I fet VOL. I. B out ( 2 ) out for Harwich, and arrived there next day at noon. June 17. I faw little remarkable at Harwich, nor wished for any thing fo much as to leave it as foon as poffible. At the inn were two young men, known to me, as I to them, by name. They being alfo bound for Leyden, their acquaintance proved both then and afterwards an agree able acquifition. Previous to our going on board the packet fome ceremonies were neceffary, of the reaſonableneſs or lawfulneſs of which I am not quite certain. We were obliged to pay about half a guinea each to fome kind of an officer, for a paffport, though that officer could not poffibly have any other reaſon than the ſaid half- guinea for giving us one. We might, for any thing he knew, be the greateſt rogues in London. Our captain however would not take us without, although he acknowledged we were at li berty to go on board any veffel that ſhould chooſe to take us. The custom-houſe officers, being probably gentlemen of only a fourth AiMA"W11 ( 3 ) " a fourth part of the confequence of the ſaid paffport-monger, let us paſs through their hands for half a crown ; fo we got on board the packet about three o'clock. The leading incidents of a firſt ſea voyage, as this was to me, are probably much the fame with every body. Suffice it to ſay, that after ſtruggling for three nights, and as many days, with a ftrong contrary wind, during which time our miſery was much heightened by the wretched accom modation in the veffel, and the fea beating in upon our beds, a fair and lefs boisterous gale brought us within fight of the Dutch coaft, and we landed at Helvoet Sluice about three in the afternoon of June 20th. June 20. Here are no cuftóm-houſe officers, nor did any one afk us a ſingle queftion on our landing, nor in any other part of Holland. Helvoet would be efteemed a wonder fully neat town in any other country than Holland. The houſes all feemed new painted, and the ſtreets and quays juft fwept and washed. B 2 Moft ( 4 ) Moft of our party being impatient to get forward, we were variouſly diſtributed in waggons and other jumbling vehicles, the only ones to be had, and ſet off for the Brill about fix miles diftant. The road lay through a country exactly like the fens of Lincolnſhire, planted with lofty trees, with here and there a handſome church, and good fubftantial kind of farm houfe. Eryngium campestre, Field Eryngo, foſo very rare in England, grows here every where by the road fide ; and indeed I afterwards obferved it through Flanders, France, and Italy, to be one of the moſt common plants. The Brill is a neat fortified town, with canals in the ſtreets, and much planted with trees. A ftout athletic damfel, whoſe cheeks might with more propriety be compared to the full blown peony than to the roſe, con veyed our baggage on a wheel-barrow to the fide ofthe river, the Maefe, which we croffed in a boat, and then took other wag gons, which carried us a mile and half far ther to another ferry. Croffing this we ar 3¿rived ( 5 ) rived at Maeſtrich Sluice, a town wholly occupied by people in the fiſhing trade. After waiting fome time, we at length about nine o'clock obtained a coach, open before, but ſumptuouſly lined with red velvet, and drawn by three horſes abreaſt, in which we reached Rotterdam, the place of our deftination. But the gates were fhut, and we were obliged to ſeek a lodging in the ſuburbs ; nor was that eaſily to be had. After trying ſeveral places in vain, our driver began to lofe his patience ; we re gretted our precipitation, and wiſhed we had flept at Helvoet. Luckily however about one in the morning, after much knocking, we got admittance into a very comfortable inn, the mafter of which proved extremely civil and attentive, though, from his manner at firſt coming to the door, we thought he meant to refufe us an entrance. The manner indeed of the Dutch in general is quite oppofite to what the French call accueillante. The peaſants with whom we met in this afternoon's ride, had an appearance of eaſe and plenty. Their clothes, for the moſt B 3 part ( 6 ) part of a dark brown, were generally good ; and all, both men and women, wore gold filligree fleeve or collar buttons, and other trinkets of the fame metal, for they diſdain all of inferior value. June 21. The morning after our arrival we removed to the Boar's head (Swine's hoeft) in the town, a very capital inn. Juft before it ftands the ſtatue of Eraſmus in bronze. He is in a long gown, reading out of a great folio which he holds in his hands. The Latin and Dutch infcriptions on the pedeſtal have often been publiſhed. The exchange is neat, the beſt row of houſes look to the river, and are occupied by the principal merchants. June 22. Next morning took the treck fkuyt for Leyden. The manner of travel ling in theſe boats drawn by horfes along fmooth and regular canals, is well known ; but the convenience and pleaſure of it can hardly be conceived from defcription. The greater part of our very numerous com pany was going to the fair at Delft, all . 7Bu ( 7 ) all in their beſt attire, and the ladies as fine as poffible. Their drefs might pro bably be graceful and beautiful in the eyes of a Dutchman, for education gives us a variety oftaftes. Delft confifts chiefly of one long ſtreet well built, with the canal running through it. The fides of the canal between Rotterdam and Leyden are occupied by country feats belonging for the most part to rich mer chants, and are as formal and gaudy as can be imagined. The parterres are compoſed of either parallel or fpiral lines ofbox ; their interſtices ſpread with different coloured earths, as gravel, brick-duft, coal-cinders, or pounded tobacco pipes ; and the corners of the beds often ftuck with ornaments of wood, gilt ! But who does not know what a Dutch garden is ? I turned with diſguſt from fuch ſcenes to the far more beautiful objects which the canal itſelf exhibited, The furface of the water was covered with the magnificent white water-lily, Nymphæa alba, expanding its unſullied flowers to the morn ing fun, and intermixed with Menyanthes nymphoides, the yellow fringed water-lily, B 4 which ( 8 ) which is very uncommon in England. The filence that accompanies the Dutch mode of travelling, ſo different from the grating of a turnpike road, increaſes in no ſmall degree the pleaſure of a journey. The extreme re gularity with which every thing is con ducted, added to the ſecurity of the convey ance, diveſts the traveller of all care, and leaves him quite at liberty to amuſe himſelf, eitherbyconverſation or his own meditations, according as he may find himſelf difpofed, without fear of the diſturbance of any chat tering Abbé or rude Monk obtruding their impertinence upon him. CHAP. 000Comsoth30ਪਿੰਡC ( 9 ) CHA P. II. LEYDEN ; BOTANIC GARDEN, MUSEUMS, PROFESSORS, SIEGE. WEarrived at Leyden about four in the afternoon, and were much ftruck with the neatneſs and magnificence of the town. The high ſtreet, which has neither a canal nor trees in it, is fpacious, and the houſes very handfome, though not modern. This, like the high ſtreet of Oxford, being built in a curved line, preſents a new object at every ftep. Its principal ornament is the town-hall, a Gothic building confifting of little more than one ſtately front. The channels ofthis ſtreet are all covered with boards, and any dirt brought by accident is preſently re moved. Acommon pump near my lodging had ſeveral braſs ornaments about it, which were conſtantly ſcoured and kept bright, though I never knew whoſe buſineſs it was to take that pains, One ( 10 ) One of the firſt objects ofmy attention in Leyden was the college, and above all the botanic garden, which Boerhaave has im mortalized ; where, fays Haller, "Sæpe vi dimus . ante auroram optimum fenem ligneis calceis per bortum repentem, ut cominus & cultum herbarum perfpiceret, & flores fruc tufque fpecularetur *." I had an introduction to the celebrated Mr. David Van Royen, whoſe politeneſs and attention could not be exceeded, This gentleman has been profeſfor here about thirty-two years, and has lately refigned, having ftill permiffion to uſe the garden for his amuſement ; his private fortunes have placed him far above the emo luments of the profefforſhip, but his fond nefs for botany continues as ftrong as ever, Thebotanic garden has been much enlarg ed within theſe forty years. In Boerhaave's time it confifted only of a ſmall fquare piece of ground, as repreſented in the frontispiece

• « We have often feen the good old man before

the morning dawn, crawling about the garden in his wooden flippers, that he might immediately ſuperin tend the culture of plants, and fpeculate on their flowers and fruits." of Abu1241w ( II ) of his Index Horti L. Bat. 1710. After wards more than twice as much ground on the ſouth weſt acroſs a canal was added to it, fo that the whole is now about as large as the Chelſea garden. Lately the college, deſigning to build a new library, wanted to take away the original garden for that pur pofe, and propoſed giving in its room fome ground to the north-weft. But Profeffor Van Royen would not conſent to this, the aſpect not being near fo good. The plants which ftruck me most were a very fine palm about fourteen feet high, in flower in the open air, raiſed from feed by the famous Carolus Clufius, who died profeffor at Leyden in 1609 : confequently this tree has been growing here at leaſt one hundred and feventy-feven years. I could not help taking a bit of its bark as a relick. This very tree, and the pot in which it grows, are figured in the frontispicce of Boerhaave's Index above mentioned. It appears then to have been about halfas high as at prefent ; and muft without doubt be the palm mentioned by Linnæus in his Prælectiones in Ordines Naturales Plantarum, p. 27, publiſhed by Pro feffor ( 12 ) feffor Gifeke in 1792 at Hamburgh, which Linnæus fufpected to be a Chamærops, but which his ingenious editor rightly refers to the Rhapis flabelliformis, Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3. p. 473. It comes from China and Japan. There is a tree ofthis kind, and about as large, in the Botanic garden at Paris, and I ſhall mention another in ſpeaking of Pifa. I remarked alfo the Ginkgo ofthe Chineſe, a ſtandard twenty feet high ; Strelitzia re gina, Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 1. p. 285, tab. 2, which has never yet flowered in any gar den out of England ; Olea laurifolia, a new fpecies, according to Mr. Van Royen ; Royena lucida in flower, as large as a mode rate hawthorn tree, and very beautiful ; -and a fingular plant from the Cape, probably an Echites, with a large tuberous root raiſed high above the furface of the ground, two or three weak ftems a foot high, and large dark brown flowers. Mr. Van Royen was kind enough to borrow from the University Library for me part of Rauwolf's Herbarium , which is very magnificent, and the plants well pre -ferved. Alfo Boccone's Herbarium of the plants deſcribed in his Fafciculus Plantarum, publiſhed

• MyhoAu10

( 13 ) publiſhed by Moriſon at Oxford in 1674. Theſe ſpecimens are miſerably bad. We alfo looked over together Herman's collec tion of Ceylon plants, which belong to the College, and are a part of the celebrated Herbarium the reft of which is at Copen hagen. They have alfo here a volume of Weft Indian plants, which belonged to Herman, and, plants from that part of the world being very ſcarce in Holland, are much more valued than they would be in England. I carried Mr. Van Royen a nu merous collection of Weſt Indian ferns from Sir Jofeph Banks. The chair of Natural Philofophy was at this time filled by Mr. Allamand, ſince dead, well known by his edition of the Natural Hiſtory of Buffon ; a fine old man of the moſt agreeable manners, and with that happy mixture of politeneſs and cheerfulneſs, almoſt peculiar to Frenchmen in the decline of life. In his family I found myſelf quite at home. He very obligingly fhewed me the collection of mathematical inftruments uſed in his lectures, which ap peared far fuperior to the celebrated col lection ( 14 ) lection of that kind at Glafgow. Among other things is a moft pure and brilliant prifm of Brazil pebble, and a two inch cube of Iceland refracting fpar, perfectly clear, and without crack or blemiſh. The ma hogany models of different machines are of a very large ſize, and muſt have been very expenſive. At the College is a Mufeum of Natural Hiftory, collected entirely by Profeffor Alla mand, containing many very rare quadru peds and amphibia, with very fine corals, ores and pebbles. There is a young oftrich in the egg, Argonauta Argo, paper Nautilus, with the animal in it, and fome good Pa pilios, though few in compariſon with what the Profeffor fhewed me afterwards at his own houſe, where he had Papilio Priamus, Ulyffes, Helena, Idea, &c. in abundance. The public library is very well furniſhed with books, but the room itſelf not good. In it are many very good portraits of emi nent men who have belonged to this uni verſity, or been benefactors to it. Among the reft appears that elegant and voluptuous poet Johannes Secundus, who died at the age ( 15 ) age of twenty-five. His countenance is very ftriking ; his complexion dark, with very black hair and beard, and dark piercing eyes. This picture is onlya copyof an original in the poffeffion of Profeffor Van Royen, which he picked up by accident in a broker's ſhop. Profeffor Sandifort fhewed me the Ana tomical Theatre, and the preparations of Al binus ; the latter can be feen in his prefence only. Among them are ſome fine things, particularly the preparations relating to the progrefs of offification in the fœtus, a fa vourite fubject of Albinus ; but on the whole this collection will bear no compariſon with either of the Hunterian Muſeums. In it are a few pieces prepared by Ruyſch, ſo cele brated in his time, which are ſo bad, that no London anatomift would deign to keep them. Dr. Sandifort's private library is one ofthe fineſt things in Leyden. Nor muſt I forget to mention the collection of diſeaſed bones belonging to my friend Dr. Vander Wyn perfe. It is one of the beft I have ſeen. The fimple and elegant monument ofthe illuftrious Boerhaaveis inthe principal church, and ( 16 ) and I viſited it with awe and refpect. The plate of it in Van Swieten's Commentaries is averyexact repreſentation, and the medallion is faid to be a good portrait. If I am not much miſtaken, a ſyſtematic phyſiognomiſt would be far from forming a juft idea of the mind and genius of Boerhaave from his por trait. The form of the nofe is peculiarly un promiſing-but nature delights in thwarting the fyſtems of philofophers. Profeffor Alla mand himſelf had deftined a very fine piece of red jaſper to be employed in this medallion ; but, on account of the very great expence of cutting fuch a ſtone, near two hundred pounds, was deterred from the execution of his defign. Befides thofe gentlemen already mention ed, one of the chief ornaments of this uni verſity at preſent is Mr. Peftel, Profeſſor of Jurifprudence. His Fundamenta Jurifpru dentia Naturalis is a book every inhabitant of a free ſtate ought to ftudy, and I cannot help wondering this admirable work has never appeared in English. The French have been beforehand with us in tranflating it into their language, and it had the honour 11TAof5 of ( 17 ) of being prohibited in France ; for that peo ple, although then much enlightened, were not as yet enlightened by authority. Now the fame author might have a chance of being profcribed in France for contrary rea fons. His pure fyftem of elevated piety, his union of chriſtianity with morality, and of manly principles of liberty with virtuous order, are not at all in the ſtyle of philofo phers who infinuate atheiſm, or of fools who avow it, and who ſcarcely take the pains to ſcreen barbarity, under even ſo baſe a principle as vengeance. I cannot take leave of Leyden without mentioning that glorious period of its hiſtory the ever- memorable ſiege it ſuſtained when Holland was about to fhake off the Spaniſh yoke : an event upon which its inhabitants ftill dwell with pleaſure ; and in relating the particulars ofwhich, I have ſeveral times ſeen the glow of a generous enthuſiaſm illuminate the most inanimate countenance . It is ſcarcely neceffary to enter into the detail of an event which ſo many hiftorians have de lighted to relate. The people having been reduced to eat the leaves of trees, as well as VOL. I, C borfes, - ( 18 ) horfes, dogs, leather, and every other animal fubftance within their reach, a peftilence car ried off more than half the inhabitants. In this dreadful exigency the befiegers calling on the townfmen to furrender, the latter ap peared on the walls, and declared they would each of them firſt cut off his left arm for proviſion and fight with his right. The governor wrote to the Prince of Orange, that without help from him or from Heaven they could not reſiſt two days longer. At this crifis, providentially furely, the wind changed, and blew in fuch a direction that the Spaniſh army, fearing a flood, made a precipitate retreat. They were no fooner gone than the wind returned to the fame point as before, the waters retired, and there was an eaſy acceſs to the town for the peo→ ple with provifions who flocked in on every fide. The churches were crowded with fa miſhed wretches who, juft faved from the jaws of death, one moment greedily devour ed the welcome food, and another with fobs and inarticulate exclamations returned Hea ven thanks for their deliverance ; infomuch that no regular fervice could be performed. And My ( 19 ) And here a new diftrefs occurred. Many ofthe poor creatures, too eager in gratifying their craving appetites, fell down dead on the ſpot, ſo that the magiftrates were obliged for fome time to regulate the quantity of food for each perſon. The day after this fignal deliverance, the Prince of Orange went to Leyden to expreſs his admiration of the inhabitants behaviour. What an interview muft that have been ! He gave them their option, whether to be for a time exempt from certain taxes, or to have an univerſity founded in their town. They wifely chofe the latter, and have de rived much profit from it. Such is the origin of the univerſity of Leyden. May it long continue the ſeat of freedom, and the nurſery of every fenti ment moft favourable to the interefts of hu manity! C 2 CHAP. ( 20 ) CHAP. III. EXCURSION TO HAERLEM AND AMSTERDAM. June 29. THEHE trekfchuyt took me to Haerlem. The canal was pleaſant, and a bounded with Menyanthes nymphoides all the way. It was the time of the celebrated Haerlem Fair, which lafts a week ; confe quently the town was very bufy. At the ordinary were people from moſt parts of Europe, ſo that ſeven or eight different lan guages were talked at once at the table. During dinner we were entertained with mufic ; the performers an itinerant party of three men and as many women. Two of the latter played on violins, which they ac companied with their voices, and the other on a tabor. The men had various inftru ments. They performed feveral French fongs in parts, con brio, in an interefting manner. Walked ( 21 ) Walked into the church, which is very large, principally to fee the famous organ, for it was not then playing. This inftrument occupies the whole weft end of the nave, and is very handſome. It is ſupported by eight marble columns, between two of which in the centre is a noble emblematical alto re lievo, with three figures as large as life, and a Latin infcription, fignifying that the organ was erected in 1735 at the town's expence. The church is crowded, like others in this country, with fquare wooden monuments, painted with the arms of the deceaſed on a black ground, with the date of their death in gold letters, but no name. In the fair are fold all kinds of wearing apparel, Dutch, Engliſh, and French toys, perfumes, confectionary, &c. But meeting with nothing very amuſing, I fet out for Amfterdam, and arrived there that night. The canal for three or four miles is perfectly ftraight, and Haerlem church a fine object at one end of it. As we approach Amfter dam the country grows leſs pleaſant, and is furniſhed with a greater number of draining mills. This celebrated capital is fituated in C 3 the ( 22 ) the very fink of the whole country. The canals were at this time highly turbid and offenſive, but the pavement very clean. The ſtreets are many of them airy and planted with trees ; others more frequented are en cumbered with large figns hanging acroſs the way. The ſhops are generally without glafs windows, and on the whole I conceive the moſt buſy parts of Amſterdam to afford a very good repreſentation of what Cheap fide and Ludgate-ſtreet were in the laſt cen tury. The druggifts here and in other parts of Holland uſe a fingular kind of fign, the meaning of which I could not learn. It is a huge carved head with the mouth wide open, ftanding before the fhop window. It has generally a fool's cap ; fometimes it is a Mercury's head. They call it de gaaper, the gaper. June 30. Next day was employed in walking about this rich and populous city, where they who love the " bufy hum of men" may be abundantly gratified. The Change is larger than that of London, though more antique and much leſs handſome. But where " ""1 ( 23 ) where fhall I find any thing in London to compare to the Stadt-houſe ? This fuperb building has the advantage of a fine open fituation, and really deferves all that has been faid of it. 1 Its architecture is not perhaps of the pureft kind, but there is a degree of magnificence about the whole, and its deco rations are fo rich, that it cannot fail power fully to intereſt any beholder who has not feen the more exquifite works of art in Italy. Aminute defcription of this building would be tedious, but I cannot help noticing fome things which ftruck me very much. The great hall in the centre is a very noble room entirely lined with marble, but the different apartments where bufinefs is tranfacted are furniſhed in a manner more fuitable to this climate, being generally hung with velvet. A ſmall room for paffing ſen tence of death, is fitted up entirely with marble decorations, calculated to inſpire the greatest degree of awe. On one fide are coloffal female figures, covering their faces with their hands. Between them are bas reliefs repreſenting Solomon's judgment, and other memorable examples of justice C 4 from ( 24 ) from ancient hiftory. By the Secretary's feat fits a figure of Silence, with her finger on her lips, and a death's head at her feet, and on each fide a ferpent with an apple in its mouth, alluding to the fall. Above are gorgons, children weeping over death's heads, &c. Moſt of the ornaments throughout the houſe are ftrikingly appofite. Over the door of the room where bankrupts' affairs are decided, is a bas relief of Dedalus and Icarus. Over the Secretary's chamber the highest degree of fidelity is repreſented by a dog almoſt ſtarved to death, watching the body of his murdered mafter. Of all the pictures in the houfe one by Rembrandt pleafed me moft. This repreſents a night patrole, and in the grouping of the figures and the management of light and fhade, is fo infinitely fuperior to all the reft, which nevertheleſs are many of them very fine pictures, as nobody can conceive with out feeing them. In the fame room is a party at dinner, faid to be by Vandyck, grievously deficient in grouping, but full of fine detached figures. One old man's. head ( 25 ) head is fo much admired that an immenfe fum of money has been offered for it to be cut out of the picture. It might be ta ken away without any injury to the com pofition, and I think feveral heads in the picture of equal merit. In the next room is a moft capital painting, efteemed the beſt in the houfe ; the painter I forget. It re preſents an entertainment at which a treaty of friendship is made between a Dutch burgo-mafter and a Spaniſh general. • July 1. The Botanic Garden, formerly fo famous, is fcarcely worth the notice of an Engliſh botanist. It is however neatly kept, and furniſhed with fome good plants. Among others Dracana Draco, about forty feet high, Aucubajaponica of Thunberg, and Strelitzia regina of the hortus Kewenfis in abundance. I was fhewn the Cactuspendulus of Hort. Kew. for Aloeperlata, which might have paffed for a grofs blunder of the gar dener, had not the learned Profeffor, whom I faw afterwards, infifted to me that it was an aloe, an opinion I modeftly but vainly controverted ! The ( 26 ) The garden is near a part of the town in habited by the Jews, who live here in great opulence and fplendor, enjoying that tolera tion whichChriftians are generallymore ready to claim themſelves than to grant to thofe who differ from them. The, State finds the advantage of fecuring the attachment of a numerous and induftrious body of men, who certainly do not make the worſe fub jects for having fixed, although peculiar, principles of religion. It being Saturday evening, the Jews were dreffed in their beſt apparel, and either walking in parties of both fexes in their principal ftreet, which had the appearance of a fair, or receiving the vifits of each other. Among them were feveral beautiful women, very July 2. (Sunday. ) I heard the organ of the New Church, efteemed the beſt in this country, and doubtless a very good one, though furely inferior to our Temple organ. One of the moſt remarkable things in this church is the fuperb monument of Admiral de Ruiter, ftanding in the place ufually occupied in Catholic churches by. the +100" TheO unto renTen3 Was ( 27 ) the altar. In the epitaph he is ftyled " Im "menfi tremor oceani," " the terror of the "vaft ocean ;" and on the marble door of his vault is infcribed " Intaminatis fulget honoribus," " he fhines with unblemished " luftre. " Such praiſe does no leſs honour to his grateful country, than to the hero who richly deferved it. EC The Old Church contains fome bad mo numents, and three very fine and well pre ferved painted windows. Its floor is much encumbered with clumfy carvings in marble and brafs on the tomb-ftones. One part of this church excites in a benevolent mind more veneration than the fhrines of faints, or even the tombs of the good and illuf trious. This is the Hamburghers' chapel, a place which at the dawn of the Reforma tion was granted by the magiftrates of Am fterdam, at that time Catholics, to fome Proteftant merchants of Hamburgh for a burying-place. The wife and truly Chriftian magiſtrates received theſe exiles with open arms, in ſpite of the remonftrances of their own priesthood ; and a grant of the above mentioned chapel was one of the earlieſt triumphs ( 28 ) 1 triumphs of liberality and charity over fu perftition in one of its moft tender points. The chapel is ftill deſtined to the interment ofHamburghers dying at Amfterdam. The Dutch never take their hats off in a church except during fervice ; they even put them on in the intervals of prayer, and dur ing the fermon. The minifter who preached this afternoon was a formal old man, and his delivery whining and monotonous to a moft ridiculous degree. up July 3. My ftay at Amfterdam was fo fhort, I can fay little of the ftate of natural hiftory there. The Dutch in general feem fill to retain that extravagant rage for buy ing rarities at an exorbitant price, for which they have long been famous ; and when they do not lock fuch rarities from thofe who are worthy to behold them, no well wifher to ſcience can lament their poffeffing them. Dr. Houyttin, known by his vo luminous Dutch tranflation of the Systema Naturæ of Linnæus, has a large muſeum, rich in Eaſt Indian and Chineſe productions well preſerved, which he has no objection to ( 29 ) to felling *. He was one of thofe who pro cured the celebrated Profeffor Thunberg to be fent to Japan, and has fpecimens of moft of his acquifitions. Among the reft are feveral artificial infects ftuck on pins among real ones, with which the knaviſh Japaneſe attempt to cheat foreign virtuofi. I called on Dr. Burman, Profeffor of Bo tany, whofe Herbarium I was very anxious to confult for the purpoſe of aſcertaining a few plants among the Planta Africana in the fixth volume of Linnæus's Amanitates Academica. The plants of that differtation were defcribed by Linnæus from dried Specimens lent him only bythis Dr. Burman, and are confequently among the few ſpecies mentioned in his works, that are not to be found in his own collection. Many of them indeed are well known ; but about forty remain obfcure from the brevity of their deſcriptions, and thefe I much wished to have ſeen, not doubting but they are for the most part plants to be found in the

• Myfriend Mr. Stephen De Leffert jun. of Paris

has fince bought his Herbarium. English ( 30 ) English gardens and collections . Unfor tunately however the Profeſſor was ſo much engaged in the practice of phyfic, and fo averſe to entering on botanical fubjects, that notwithſtanding the recommendation of my good friend Van Royen, I was obliged, after repeated appointments, and as many diſappointments, to give up my object, though the buſineſs might have been done in ten minutes, as I did not wish to take up the Profeffor's time by any converfation with himſelf. If the reader is fhocked at this difgraceful anecdote, let him remember, for the honour of fcience, it is the only one of the kind he will meet with in the courſe of my tour. For the ufe of Botanifts who may be more fortunate in obtaining the favour of Profeffor Burman, the following is a lift of the plants which were the objects of my curiofity. Chironiajafminoides. Craffulafrigofa. Melanthiumpun&tatum . Buchnera africana. Selago Lychnidea. Selago coccinea Cheiranthus africanus Hermannia triphylla Geranium incanum Spartium capenfe 5 Borbonie Ad"4.413 ( 31 ) Borbonia ericifolia Afpalathus quinquefolia pinnata Crotalaria perforata Pforalea proftrata Indigofera racemofa Ononis capenfis cernua Lupinus integrifolius Dolichos capenfis Hieracium capenfe Athanafia lavigata Gnaphalium ferratum cylindricum ericoides difcolorum Senecio perficifolius Senecio umbellatus Arnica pilofelloides Anthemis leucantha Buphthalmum capenfe Cineraria linifolia Perdiciumfemiflofculare Bidens tenella Orchis flexuofa bicornis cornuta fatyrioides Satyrium capenfe Ophrys catholica caffra Arethufa capenfis Myrica trifoliata. Erica calycina, corifolia and gnaphalodes, though not in the above-mentioned differta tion, are in the ſame predicament otherwiſe ; alſo Glinus dictamnoides and Ciftus capenfis. July 4. In returning to Leyden by Haer lem I was gratified with a fight of the rich collection of natural productions at Dr. Van Marum's, belonging to the Haerlem Acade my. It confifts of ſtuffed Quadrupeds and Birds, Amphibia, Fish, Infects, Shells and Corals, arranged and named according to Linnæus, ( 32 ) Linnæus, in exquifitely neat order. Among them are many very choice things, but ' tis pity the whole are conftantly expoſed to the light, it being the well-known property of that body to impair the colours of all dead animal and vegetable fubftances, as to heigh ten thofe of living ones. Mr. Voorhelm, the famous nurſeryman, produced with great triumph a drawing of the Limodorum Tankervillia (Hort. Kew. ) which flowered in his garden for the firſt time in April 1786, at the time it first flow ered in the neighbourhood of London. My friend Mr. Saliſbury near Leeds was fo for tunate as to have it in perfection the year be fore, and to raiſe abundance of young plants from its feeds, which is perhaps the firſt in ſtance of the kind among the Orchis tribe. I got to Haerlem juft in time to hear the great organ, which is played on two days in the week, an hour each time, and the church is then the refort of the beft com pany. The tone of the inftrument appeared to be very fine, and the organift was a very able one. CHAP tentois celStrescaairaccu2chCrandon ( 33 ) CHA P. IV. THE HAGUE. July 17. THE canal which leads from Leyden to the Hague is pleaſant ; the Hague itſelf is celebrated as the moft magnificent village, it being eſteemed but a village, in Eu rope. Streets ofvery large dimenfions, with fpacious canals planted with fine trees, added to a fituation rather more elevated, and a better air than that of other Dutch towns, make this really a defirable abode. The eye long accuſtomed to watery flatneſs and Dutch regularity, cannot but be peculiarly ſenſible to the charms of a fine natural and extenfive wood, about a mile from the town, adjoining to which ſtands the country-feat ofthe Prince of Orange. The gardens ofthis palace are a curioſity in their way. The projector ofthem having doubtless heard the general diſappro bation of Dutch gardening, and how very edious ftrait walks and rows of trees are D univer. ( 34 ) univerfally reckoned by all who eſteem them felves critics or perfons of tafte, was refolved at leaſt to avoid that fault ; fo that every walk in the Prince's garden is twiſted into a femicircle, every grafs-plat cut into a cref cent, and every hedge thrufts itſelf where it is leaft defired . In vain does the right-on traveller wiſh to faunter leiſurely and infen fibly along, to attain any point of view, or other object, that promifes him pleaſure. He foon finds the moſt ſpecious path is not to be trufted ; for, inſtead of leading him where it promiſed, an unexpected turning may bring him near the ſpot from whence he fet out. Whether the contriver of this garden was an English politician, and thought it wholeſome to accuftom his princely employer to a little twifting and turning, I will not determine. About three miles from the Hague, on the fea-fhore, ftands the little town of Sche veling, the road to which is along a noble avenue of trees. The fandy ground on each fide this avenue is over-run with birch thickets, and abounds with the true Arundo epigejos of Linnæus (that is Calamagrostis of all English writers), dira canefcens, Hippo phae

( 35 ) phae rhamnoides, a fingular dwarf variety of Liguftrum vulgare (Privet) , and a number of heath plants, mixed with others uſuallyfound in marſhes. The fluctuating moisture ofthe foil may perhaps account for this. I certainly never before faw a fmall fpot whofe Flora would in print appear ſo paradoxical. Among the rarer ſpecies were, Convallaria multiflora and Polygonatum, with Gentiana cruciata, the firſt plant I have met with abroad not a native of Britain. In Scheveling church is a monument very fimilar to that of Boerhaave at Leyden ; the inſcription on it only OSSA Cornelii ab Heemſchkerck. The principal church at the Hague is en tirely lined with black efcutcheons, than whichnothingcan be more infernally hideous. It contains a monument of fome Landgrave or other, who fhould feem by his epitaph to have been at leaſt as great a perfonage as any of the Roman emperors at the height of their glory. The palace has nothing very remark able. In one of the apartments are portraits D 2 of ( 36 ) 1 of all the Princes of Orange from William I. Each wears a flaring orange-coloured faſh ; a circumſtance as unfortunate for the painter as the ſcarlet robes in Mr. Copley's picture of the death of Lord Chatham. The Prince's Muſeum, one of the princi pal curiofities at the Hague, is very rich, and moſt admirably kept. Engliſhmen are po litely told, that this is inferior to the Britiſh Muſeum only. I do not fee how the two can be accurately compared, as each excels in a different way. This at the Hague is peculiarly rich in toys and other things from the Eaft Indies. The infects and fhells are very good. The birds uncommonly choice, though not very numerous. Our conductor was a gentleman whofe civility could not be exceeded, but we were obliged to fee the fervant at the door. 1 Mr. Lyonet the celebrated naturaliſt was then living at the Hague, and I fhould be ungrateful not to commemorate his polite neſs in ſhewing me at leiſure his very capi tal collections of fhells and pictures. The former, although not fyftematically arranged, appeared one of the fineſt collections I had ever 7 1 -and was달을월الwww ( 37 ) ever ſeen, containing many unique ſhells, as well as all thoſe that uſually fell at the dear eft rate. Among others the very ſpecimen of Trochus folaris , from which Rumphius's figure was drawn ; and eſpecially that famous unique Conus Cedo nulli, figured in Seba's Muſeum, vol. 3. t. 43. f. 8, the deſpair of all other collectors. This hell is not gra nulated, as would appear from Seba's figure, but quite ſmooth. The fhades of the mark ing make it ſeem granulated. Among the pictures I was ftruck with a Jofeph by Rembrandt, not repreſented as ufual in his encounter with Potiphar's wife, but more peaceably employed in his ſtudy ; ſo that it might do as well for the portrait of any other good ſtudious lad as for Joſeph : but the face is that of no vulgar boy." Mr. Lyonet fhewed me alfo the manufcript ofan intended mifcellaneous work of his own on Infects, entirely phyfiological, and accom panied with exquiſite drawings ; and another on the Phalana Coffis (Goat Moth) in its perfect ftate, intended as a fequel to his D 3 former 06 ( 38 ) former elaborate and unrivalled treatife on the caterpillar of that fly. He even confulted with a bookfeller in my prefence about the publication of thefe works ; but I have not yet heard of their appearance. Poffibly his death fome months afterwards might put a ftop to them. He did not pretend to have diſcovered the uſe of the antennæ of infects, but rather fuppofed them the organ of ſome fenfe unknown to us. This ingenious philofopher was, at the time I faw him, a venerable grey-headed man, feventy-eight years of age, full of ex preffion, and very talkative ; in his conver fation continually expreffing his admiration ofthe works of Nature, and recurring to their Divine author, He fpoke of Buffon as a quack in fcience, whofe factitious reputation would certainly foon fall to the ground. Mr. Lyonet, not being at all a fyftematic na turalift, ſeemed to know little or nothing of Linnæus, nor had he any of his works. He complained of the number ofnew names and terms that author has introduced ; but this he appeared to have taken from report. Of all the foolish objections to Linnæus, of which it ( 39 ) it has been my fortune to hear a great many, this furely is one of the moft abfurd : he has introduced new names only becauſe he has defcribed new objects ; as to old names, every intelligent naturalift well knows Lin næus has been rather too cautious of chang ing them. It would perhaps have been better could he early have foreſeen his extenſive influence, and have reformed many things which, from a deference to the opinion of others, he fuffered to remain. -But, to return to Mr. Lyonet. I found him employed in writing an Art of Poetry (" rifum teneatis") in Dutch, from the commendable defign of improving the poetry of his own country ; for he was a native of Holland, not as generally believed of France, nor has he ever been in that country, July 20. In returning by Delft, the churches of that place detained me a few hours. The old one, a clumſy edifice of red brick, has a neat pyramidal monument near the weft door, ornamented with a medallion, in memory ofthe celebrated microfcopic phi D4 lofopher, ( 40 ) lofopher, Leewenhoek. He died in 1723, aged ninety-one. The maufoleum of the great Admiral Tromp, in another part of this church, is very fuperb. In the new church, the chimes of which are very muſical, is the magnificent and ve nerable monument of the great Prince of Orange, William I. The east end of the church is femicircular, and a femicircular range of pillars fupports the roof. Within theſe pillars is a large ſpace furrounded with iron rails, and paved with black and white marble, under which is the family vault of the Princes of Orange. In the centre of this fpace, the beft poffible fituation , ftands the monument, confifting of a farcophagus, on which lies a marble figure of William I. in his robes, as if dead. At his feet is a dog, the expreffion of whoſe countenance cannot be too much admired. Fidelity and ftern grief could not be better repreſented. Above is a magnificent piece of architecture, con fiſting of a marble canopy, fupported byfour buttreffes of white marble, and twenty co lumns of black and gold, in an admirableſtyle. On the top a tablet, held up by two boys 30%wh "A" 3.9in ( 41 ) in bronze, contains the epitaph, but in fuch fmall and obfcure characters I could not read it. At each corner of the tomb ſtands a bronze figure, the first reprefenting Liberty with a cap, inſcribed, furely with peculiar emphaſis, " Aurea Libertas;" the fecond is Fortitude, the third Religion, and the fourth Juftice, reprefented not blind, but ac curately obferving, with rather too pert an air, the balance in her hand. Under an arch at the head of the tomb is a bronze ſtatue of the fame Prince William I. in armour, in a fitting pofture ; and atthe other end of the tomb a figure of Fame juſt taking flight, like wife of bronze. All the figures are as large as life. This monument coft 1800 l. fterling. Who was the artiſt I know not, but the whole is in a ſtyle of deſign and execution vaftly fuperior to the tafte in England at the fame period ; witneſs the uncouth monu ments of Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots in Weſtminſter Abbey. On the pillars above the mauſoleum hang various efcutcheons and trophies of the fami ly. That of the late Princefs, cldeft daughter of ( 42 ) of King George II. is enriched with much cumbrous finery. On the north fide of the church a hand ſome monument has been lately erected over the grave of the famous Hugo Grotius, con fifting of a large arch of black marble, with a white niche abfurdly containing a pyramid, a medallion, and various other things rather too much in a heap. Thisshould have been his epitaph : " See nations flowly wife, and meanly juſt, "To buried merit raiſe the tardy buſt ." Johnson's Vanity of Human Wishes, v. 159. Near the old church ftands the very houſe in which the illuftrious William I. was mur dered by a bigoted hireling of the King of Spain, July 10th, 1584. Two holes ftill re main in the wall on the ſtairs, made by the piftol-balls after having paffed through his body, with a Dutch infcription near them to commemorate the event, if fuch an event fhould ever need a memorial. Leaving this awful ſpot I could not help ftanding fome minutes in the ſtreet, picturing to myſelf what muſt have paffed in the town juſt after ( 43 ) after the accident ; the fpreading of the too interefting news, the terror, the defpair, the wrath, what muft they have been ! No wonder the murderer was put to death with every torture and indignity that could be deviſed. No wonder that bigots and ty rants celebrated him as a martyr; and that his deſcendants, to complete the execrable hiſtory, were ennobled and penfioned in Spain. It is only aſtoniſhing that Spaniſh nobility has not ever ſince been a by-word for infamy. From fo trankent a vifit as mine, to a country fo well known as Holland, no new obfervations are to be expected. Its politi cal ftate at this time was fuch as made it an unpleaſant abode for a ſtranger, eſpecially an Englishman. Difturbances were every day expected at the Hague, and a party of gen tlemen in the Prince's intereft paraded about the ftreets of Leyden every night. The bulk of the people, " acrimonious and furly republicans" (to ufe the mighty Johnſon's furly phraſe) , fhewed their patriotifm by an inveterate antipathy to the very name and colour of orange. No wonder that fuch patriotifm ( 44 ) patriotiſm was eaſily awedinto ſubmiſſion , and that in a few weeks afterwards every public place glowed with orange cockades. Yet, in the laſt century, thefeDutchmen were warlike and free, at the fame time that they knew how to value princes deferving oftheir love. In this people, not " chill penury," but on the contrary increafing wealth feems to have " repreffed the noble rage" ofthe foul. A thirſt for gain is certainly the prominent fea ture oftheir character. Woe to the ftranger who employs a Hollander without making a previous bargain, or who fhould hope, in caſe of an overcharge, to find any thing like honour, ſhame, or compaffion to work on by remonftrances ; nor muſt the ſlighteſt act of common charity be expected without a reward. The cuſtom of paying other peo ple's fervants feems to exiſt in its full ex tent in Holland. In coming away from an evening party I have feen a footman at the door with both hands fo filled with florins, he was quite at a lofs how to diſpoſe of what were pouring in upon him. It ought, however, to be mentioned, in juftice to Hol land, that I did not obferve there the far more ( 45 ) more fhabby cuſtom of card- money, which ftill difgraces my own country ; a cuſtom ſo totally repugnant to all ideas of hoſpitality, and all the feelings of a gentleman, that no thing but a habit of gaming could debaſe our national manners low enough to tole rate it. Whether or not cleanlineſs be poſitively a virtue I believe moralifts are ſcarcely agreed, for they have not all travelled through Hol land to France. No traveller will find a dirty bed in the worst Dutch inn ; nor, except the ſmell of tobacco which impregnates all the rooms and furniture, and the ſpitting-pots placedon the tea-table, and often much too like the cream-pot in ſhape, will he meet with any thing inconſiſtent with perfect cleanlineſs. Some utenfils are of fuch refplendent bright neſs and purity, that it ſhocks a perſon of any feeling to make uſe ofthem for the pur poſes for which they are defigned. CHAP. ( 46 ) CHAP. ANTWERP. HAVING V. July 22. from Rotterdam the preceding evening, and flept at a ſmall inn on the other fide, I de parted at five in the morning, in what is called the poft waggon, for Antwerp. The carriage was much better than its name promiſed, and might have been called a coach in England; certainly it would in France have been entitled a caroffe. The firft part ofthe road lay through a moft unpleaſant marſhy country, where Senecio paludofus, marſh ragwort, grew fparingly in the ditches, but quite out of my reach, even if I had ven tured to incur the fufpicion of infanity by defiring the coachman to ftop ; fo I was obliged to be content with having at leaſt feen it growing once in my life. Theſe low lands were fucceeded by open ſandy heaths, AVING croffed the Maefe 1 M ( 47 ) heaths, no lefs wretched, in the midſt of which we dined at a miferable hovel. A ftarved tree near our inn afforded me a Lichen unknown in England, now deſcribed in the Tranfactions of the Linnæan Society, vol. i. p. 83, by the name of L. corrugatus. Soon afterwards the face of the country be gan to mend, and the ftately fpire of Ant werp appeared in fight. We ftopped to take fome refreſhment at a little village which wore the appearance of cheerfulneſs. Here I firft faw a monk. His whole de portment was animated with zeal, and his eyes ſparkled with enthuſiaſm. Before the door of the inn ftood an image of the Virgin, enfhrined in glafs, decorated with flowers and a variety of tinfel ornaments, which no one paffed without a devout inclination of the head, or other fign of veneration, according to the zeal of the paſſenger ; but it was not to this virgin the devotions of my monk were directed , nor was his piety ofthat oftentatious kind which fhews itſelfby praying at the corners of ftreets. I unde fignedly diſturbed him by abruptly entering the little parlour where he was with the daughter

( 48 ) daughter of the landlord, a pretty plump lafs about fixteen. She no doubt was pro fiting by the holy father's leffons of piety. We arrived at Antwerp about eight ; were not much troubled with questions at the gates, nor was our baggage opened. At the Hôtel St. Antoine, a very good inn, we found a table magnificently ſpread, and adorned at each corner with a very large and fuperb glaſs- beaker, filled with excellent water, which to me, who had lived fo long on the ditch water of Holland, and who would at any time prefer a draught of the pure element to the beſt Falernian Horace ever' celebrated, was a real treat. July 23. Being Sunday, I heard High Maſs in perfection , for the firſt time, in the noble cathedral of this town, with curiofity not unmixed with awe. The pageantry of the fervice, the ſweet and folemn muſic, the proftrate multitude, all naturally im preffed a folitary and unprotected ſtranger, ofa different perſuaſion, with unuſual ſenſa tions, partly perhaps juſtified by reaſon, partly ( 49 ) partly originating in that bigotry, from which I fear the beſt ofus are not always free. Antwerp is faid to be a place ofgreat devotion and of great gallantry, feelings well known not to be incompatible. Surely the inhabitants have need of every fort of diffipation to make exiſtence tolerable in fo gloomy and lifeleſs a town. One would think the plague had ſwept away half of them, and that the reft were deprecating the vengeance of Heaven by a folemn faft. Every thing here is gloomy and myfterious. Thoſe countenances which nature formed for "wreathed fmiles," the genuine expreffion of an uncorrupted and ingenuous mind, are here the feat of hypocritical and wanton leers ; and the natural irreſiſtible charms of youth and beauty, are effaced by the traces of art and intrigue. The Schelde is a fine river, about as broad as the Thames at Chelſea but the Dutch, having poffeffion of its mouth, have ruined the trade of Antwerp ; and this proud city, once fo flouriſhing, now ftands à filent mo nument of the melancholy influence of tyranny and fuperftition. While its defpi VOL. I. E cable ( ૪૦ ) cable inhabitants are funk in idlenefs and floth, with their concomitant vices, and ſcarcely capable of any higher duty than kneeling to their Madonnas at the corner of every ſtreet ; the triumphant and induftrious Hollanders, happy at home and reſpected abroad, have long ago feen thoſe who wiſhed to bind them in chains humbled at their feet, and thoſe very chains themſelves by this time deſpiſed and trampled on by the greater part of mankind. The churches of Antwerp afford high gratification to a connoiffeur in painting ; no where are the works of Rubens to be feen in greater perfection and abundance. An enumeration of only the moſt choice morfels in this way would lead me too far. Avalet-de-place, with a little book publiſhed on purpoſe, will inform all curious travellers, much better than I can, what they are to enquire for ; other readers will think my Journal long enough without fuch ampli fications. Yet I cannot refrain from faying a few words on the fubject. Family monuments in the churches of Antwerp are moft commonly adorned with paintings Jud.JobNead ( 51 ) paintings by the beſt maſters, either portraits of the principal perfons there buried, or portions of facred hiſtory, by which they are rendered more intereſting than fuch me morials generally are. But the more ela borate and fuperb productions of the pencil, are commonly to be ſeen in the altar-pieces. Of theſe the moſt celebrated of all is the defcent from the cross, over one of the fmaller altars in the cathedral, eſteemed the mafter-piece of Rubens, in which he has drawn the portraits of his three wives. Of the force and harmony of colouring, the management of light and fhade, and all the peculiar excellencies of Rubens exhibited in this picture, too much cannot be faid ; but it is too well known by engravings to need any deſcription here. The principal altar piece of St. Walburgh's church, by the fame great maſter, is equally admirable. Its fub ject is the elevation of the crofs. Nothing can be more animated and maſterly. Every muſcle of the principal figure is alive, and his exquifite fenfibility and refignation under the greateſt bodily fufferings, are repreſented with moſt energetic truth. This picture is E 2 accom ( 52 ) accompanied by others whofe fubjects are connected with it, and the whole forms one ofthe fineſt aſſemblages that can be ſeen. Of the innumerable paintings in the ca thedral, befides the capital picture above mentioned, many by Rubens, and worthy of his pencil, claim the firft attention ; nor are they the only ones. The ftory of St. Thomas, with fome other pieces by Martin de Vos, and eſpecially the monument ofthe Vander Aa family by Cornelius de Vos, fcarcely fuffer by a compariſon with the works of Rubens himſelf. The altar- piece in the chapel ofthe Circumcifion, by Quintin Matfys, is eſteemed his mafter-piece, and has great merit for ftrong and juſt expreffion, though deficient in thoſe graces which charm us in the productions of a more advanced pe riod of the Flemish fchool. I enquired with eager curiofity after the picture of the Fallen Angels by Floris, to which Matfys, being in love with the painter's daughter, and having taught himſelf painting on purpoſe to obtain her, added a fly, or rather a huge humble-bee, upon the thigh of one of the angels ; which furpriſed and pleafed Floris fo much when he ( 53 ) he next looked at his picture, that he gave Matfys his daughter. This piece is in good preſervation over one of the altars of the nave. In this church are feveral fine painted windows, and fome good morfels of fculp ture ; eſpecially a bas-relief of children turn ing the wine-prefs, on the altar of the Wine coopers' Company, by Quillen ; and above all, St. Sebaftian, with two children , carved in wood by the fame artift, in another part of the church. The monument of Quintin Matfys near the weft door is always fhewn to ſtrangers, as well as the ornaments of a pump near it, wrought entirely with a hammer by the hand of that celebrated painter during his firft profeffion of a fmith. His epitaph ſays, Connubialis amor de Mulcibrefecit Apellem. The magnificent Gothic outfide of this cathedral is well known by Hollar's accurate print. I afcended the tower as high as pof fible, for the ftair-cafe does not reach to near the top. The view from it is extenſive, and comprehends feveral confiderable towns. E 3 St. ( 54 ) St. James's church is the moſt remarkable, next to the cathedral, for its ſize and magnifi cence, as well as for pictures. Here Rubens is buried. The altar-piece of his chapel isone of his moſt exquifite performances. The fubject a Holy Family, with St. Jerome and St. George ; the latter his own portrait. Thoſe who knowthe works of Rubens may conceive fome idea of this enchanting pic ture, by imagining all the perfections of that inimitable painter united ; thoſe who are not converfant with his merits, could form no conception of it from the moſt elaborate de fcription. His friend Gevaerts, who wrote his epitaph, in dwelling with ſo much com placency on the ſubject of his embaffy from Philip IV. to Charles I. feems to forget that there have been many ambaffadors in the world, but never another Rubens. All the churches in Antwerp abound with family vaults, now rendered uſeleſs, or rather innoxious, by the Emperor's decree againſt burying in towns. Near the cathedral is a houſe to which every corpfe is carried, after the ſervice at the church has been per formed. There the friends confign it to per fons ( 55 ) fons appointed on purpofe to convey it to a burying-ground out of town, where prieſts and laymen, rich and poor, lie fide by fide without diſtinction. Theold burying-ground, inſtead of being the fource of peftilence and an object of diſguft, is now a verdant and beautiful fquare, equally healthy and orna mental. Befides the pictures in churches, Antwerp has fome good private collections. In that of Mr. Van Lancker, in the Place de Mer, I faw a moft capital picture of an Army plundering a country, by Wouvermans, and a view near Scheveling by the fame hand ; fine landſcape by Both ; ſeveral pieces of Rubens and Rembrandt, &c. -Meffrs Pilaer and Beeckmans, dealers in pictures, fhewed me Rembrandt's mother, by himſelf, not un like that formerly at Houghton, and a young man very well painted by the fame hand. The former they valued at three hundred pounds, the latter at eighty. An artiſt kept in their houſe paints flowers very ad mirably on glafs, in a fingular method. The colours in oil are laid on the back of the glafs, fo that the lights must be done firft ; juſt E 4 ( 56 ) juſt the reverſe of ordinary painting. But I fear my readers will be glad to hear no more of painting for the prefent, fo fhall only beg leave, which perhaps hadbetterhavebeen done long ago, to refer them to Mr. Ireland's tour through the Low Countries, for full infor mation on theſe points. On one of the bridges at Antwerp is a crucifix as large as life, with the following inſcription : Effigiem Chrifti dum tranfis pronus honora : Non tamen effigiem, fed quem defignat adora. That is-Honour the image of Chrift as you pass along, but reſerve your devotions for Chrift himſelf. This is very fenfible ; but who can help remarking that the infcription, being in Latin, is addreffed to thofe only who do not want fuch advice, and not to the vulgar, who are moſt in danger of falling into idolatry ? CHAP, ( 57 ) 2 I a 80 g ر Op in 0 I, 10 CHAP. VI. BRUSSELS , AND FROM THENCE TO PARIS. July 24. A TOLERABLY good diligence took me in about ſeven hours to Bruffels, through a pretty village called Conti, and Mechlin, a good town famous for its lace, and the environs of which are pleaſant. In a town between this place and Bruffels is an immenfe houſe of correction lately built, capable of containing fix hundred perſons. The country improved much as we ap proached the place of our deſtination. We paſſed ſeveral very noble villas, with gardens in the Engliſh tafte (a l'Angloife ), which are quite the faſhion here ; and among others the fuperb country feat ofthe Governor, brother in-law to the late Emperor, which I have ever fince regretted not ſtopping to viſit. Putting up at the Hotel Rouge, by no means the beft, nor indeed the worft hotel in Bruffels, I was immediately peſtered with laquais ( 58 ) laquais-de-place, and, after I went to bed, by a worfe plague, thofe troubleſome and difgufting infects from which Dutch clean lineſs had hitherto preferved me, and whofe very name is obfcene in England to all but' Londoners. At the table-d'hôte I was afhamed to acknowledge as my countryman a talkative young man, who amuſed the ap parently incredulous company with ſuch ac counts of his prowefs, that he feemed to want to paſs for another Hercules, though by his appearance one would rather have taken him, as parfon Adams fays, for Hylas. Dr. Burtin, an eminent phyſician and na turalift, for whom I had letters, was out of town ; I therefore only took a hafty view of the principal churches, &c. the day after my arrival, and departed on the following noon. The great church is a ſtately Gothic pile, withſomefine andwell-préferved painted win dows. The pulpit a curious piece of carving in wood, brought from the Jefuits' church at Louvain. It repreſents Adam and Eve, with the Virgin, Chrift, Angels, and other figures. There are many good pictures over the dif ferent altars. The K+1$" ( 59 ) ( The church of the Capuchins has a dead Chriſt in the arms of the Virgin, with vari ous other figures, by Rubens ; a capital pic ture, but ſomewhat faded, and an angel in red on one fide has a bad effect. The altar of this church is furniſhed with abundance of rotten bones and other relicks in glaſs cafes. The Capuchins will touch no mo ney, fo I gave a ſmall gratuity to a woman who was to give it to the convent, and in return the friars promiſed me their prayers. The altar-piece of the barefooted Carme lites is a very fine affumption of the Virgin, by Rubens ; and near it, by the ſame mafter, but not of equal merit, Chrift and St. Therefa. The palace built by the late Duke Charles ofLorraine is well worth feeing, though not fo magnificent as elegant and really comfort able. The inlaid floors however are remark ably handfome. One room is wainſcotted with coloured inlaid woods, repreſenting the rape of the Sabines, and other hiftorical pieces, in the ſtyle of tapeſtry, with a tolerably good effect. The ornaments are of bronze. The 1 ( 60 ) 1 The next apartment is lined with japan and looking glaffes, and there is an elegant cloſet hung with tambour work on filk. The furniture rich embroidery and very good filk tapeſtry. There is only one manufactory of tapeſtry in this town at preſent. Its pro ductions are held in confiderable eſtimation. In the principal fquare are ſeveral public buildings of great magnificence. Many of their external ornaments are gilt. The Hotel de Ville has a very elegant fpire. The park is a delightful place for walking, and the view from the ramparts rich and extenſive. Bruffels is faid to be an agreeable place for ftrangers. It has all the gaiety and diffipa tion of a court, or rather of a watering place ; for the great concourfe of idle ftrangers makes it more reſemble the latter. I obferved feveral nuns of the diffolved monafteries walking about in their religious habits, and was told they generally perfifted in wearing them. July 26. The Paris diligence conveyed me through a fine cultivated country, with here and there fome rifing ground, to Mons, where ( 61 ) where we flept. This town ftands on an eminencc, commanding extenſive plains. July 27. Setting out at four o'clock, we arrived by ten at Valenciennes, famous for its bleaching-grounds. This being a French town, our baggage was examined with all that troubleſome exactneſs, and that infolence of office, fo unpleaſant to an honeft man, and yet fo infufficient to prevent fraud. We were detained in this place four hours, and found no object ofcurioſity to conſole us. At length we refigned ourſelves again to our rum bling vehicle, and arrived early in the even ing at Cambray, a place intereſting on many accounts ; not fo much for what is to be feen there, as for the events of which it re minds us. The town is handſome and plea fant, like ſome of the ſmaller cities in Eng land, but more ſtrongly fortified. Its old Gothic cathedral is richly adorned ; the clock fingular and curious. The choir is decorated in a modern tafte, and fo placed that the altar, rich in filver, and very handſome, ftands immediately under the fpire. Underneath is the common vault of the Archbishops, and their ( 62 ) their epitaphs are on tablets of black marble on the pillars furrounding the choir. Here lie the venerable remains of Fenelon ; but I could not find his monument, nor could the guide point it out to me, though it certainly exifts there, and is ornamented with his buft. His afhes are mixed with thofe of vulgar Archbishops ; but the temple of fuperftition is not worthy to be the guardian of his name. The abbey church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is modern and very elegant, is chiefly remarkable for ſome pictures by a painter of Antwerp, intended to imitate bas-reliefs, and thought the beft things of their kind. They have too much the air of a trick. . Some of my companions were defirous, in the true ftyle of French travellers, of go ing to the play. We were juft in time to pay our money, and fee half a ſcene, before the curtain dropped. July 28. Leaving Cambray at four in the morning, which was ſtill and miſty, I could nothelp contemplating the thenfilent unoccu piedbattlements, and folitary ramparts, ſo often the B ( 63 ) the theatre of bloody contentions between peoplewho could have no poffible inducement to cut one another's throats, but a flavifh adoption of the pride and caprice of their own tyrants. How vain were the wish that theſe walls might moulder away in undif turbed tranquillity, till the plough-ſhare and pruning-hook take poffeffion of their fite ! About ten we arrived at Peronne, but paſſed through its fuburbs only, where we were again thoroughly examined, and where we dined at that early hour. Here every thing began to wear a very frenchified ap pearance. Our plates, like thoſe in common ufe all through France, were of the ſhape and thickneſs of the red pans ufed in Eng land to fet under garden-pots. The falt feemed to have been mixed with an equal quantity ofpepper, fo abundant was the pro portion of drofs. This of courſe was royal falt, and it was treaſon to hint that it was not the very beſt poſſible. Dirtineſs of falt, however, is but a trifling public imperfection compared with dirtinefs of ideas and manners ; of which, alas ! I too foon diſcovered ſtriking marks in the moſt poliſhed ( 64 ) polifhed and elegant of nations, and which veracity will not allow me to conceal. Our company in the diligence confifted of ſeveral reputable people of the middle ranks of life, chiefly in the mercantile line, with a well-in formed and literary lawyer, an elderly woman ofgenteel appearance, and a beautiful girl of fixteen, as innocent and unaffected as thofe of my own country-women at that age who have never been at a boarding-ſchool. Shall I record, that in this company the moſt undiſ guiſed and ſhocking deſcriptions were given of the debaucheries of the capital, and parti culars, which would ſcarcely be whiſpered in England, difcuffed with the moſt minute exactnefs ! I cannot relate even the outlines ofthe converſation. Suffice it to fay, I then forthefirst time learned what, for the honour ofboth fexes, few would believe were I to relate it, and ſtill fewer I hope will divine from my filence. If any fhould, let them then go and admire the beauties of an elegant Parifian circle, -with what appetite they may." How did I feel for the lovely innocent who <c ( 65 ) that was obliged to hear the whole ! She ſeemed to underſtand enough only to wiſh ſhe had not heard it ; while the old lady joined in the converfation ; expreffing, natu rally enough, her horror at the facts, but not ſeeming at all fhocked at the relation of them. We continued our journey without inter ruption all that night, and next morning by ten arrived at Paris. July 29. The country appeared flat and unpleaſant. This approach to the capital is one ofthe worft. The fuburbs on its north fide are ill built and dirty. They have a ſtrik ing reſemblance to the worst parts of Edin burgh ; and every little fhop where bread, beer, wine, &c. are fold, is painted on the outfide with a moft uncouth repreſentation of loaves, and bottles with liquor ſpouting from them into glaffes, exactly as at Edin burgh. Nor in this trifling circumſtance alone do theſe two capitals reſemble each other. The ſtyle of building, at leaſt ofthe old houſes ; the cufton of dividing one houfe into feveral tenements, with one com VOL. I. F mon ( 66 ) mon open ſtaircaſe, is the famein both ; not to mention other circumftances which it might feem invidious to particularize, and which are indeed too celebrated to need a repetition. AAccident took me into an indifferent hotel, where the gilt tables and filk , furniture but t ill atoned for the dirty brick floors, and other uncomfortable appearances. I attempt- teed to dine at the table-d'hôte, but my ill ftars obliged me to paſs through the kitchen. I beg the reader's pardon for troubling him with theſe petty diftreffes.. Such things form the middle tints in the colouring oflife, and have their importance in the general ef fect. The impreflions I experienced on my firft arrival at Paris were fo unfavourable, that nothing could have reconciled, me to the thoughts ofa long abode there but the de lightful anticipation of renewing old friend fhips and forming new ones ; of converfing with perfons of congenial taftes with my own ; of contemplating a new fcene of men and things, and ofjudging for myſelfin mat ters known hitherto by hearfay only. Such objects would reconcile one to fleeping in a } dungeon.

忌

an· Der ( 67 ) dungeon. Never did I experience a moment of ennui after the day of my arrival. I ſpent three months in the very fame hotel, always indeed avoiding the kitchen and table-d'hôte, and was ſerved with the utmoſt civility and attention. When other amuſements failed, I was diverted by my oppofite neighbour, who, before Sundays and holidays, diſplayed on the roof his habiliments of lilac em broidered with filver, along with ſome new waſhed pieces of linen intended as a fubfti tute for a ſhirt. Whenever I was difpofed to roam abroad, every perambulation af forded amuſement or information. After mornings ſpent among books or plants, my afternoons, when not otherwiſe employed, were devoted to a ramble in that epitome of all Paris, the Palais Royal, and from thence through the delightful gardens of the Tuille ries and along the Boulevards to the gate of St. Denis, or perhaps to the Vauxhall d'été, or ſome of the many theatres which ſeem one of the neceffaries of life to a Frenchman. In the fine evenings of fummer the Royal Botanic Garden was much frequented, eſpeci ally by the literati. I was taken there the F 2 evening ( 68 ) 1 evening of my arrival by my good friend Mr. Brouffonet, with whofe friendſhip a ſtranger could want nothing in Paris, and whofe benevolence I had not now to feek for the firſt time. To him and to the cele brated botanift Mr. L'Heritier I truſted with full confidence for every thing that friend ſhip could expect ; it were too little to ſay I was never diſappointed. And here it may not be amifs to depart a little from the form of a journal. I fhall therefore, in a few following chapters, com prize under two or three general heads, what I have to ſay about Paris and its envi rons ; beginning with fome things moft ge nerally noticed by ſtrangers ; then proceeding to matters ofſcience ; referving miſcellaneous remarks till my return. Not that it is poffi ble to keep theſe ſubjects perfectly diſtinct, eſpecially in fpeaking of little excurſions made in the neighbourhood of Paris, in which I have found it moſt convenient to mention at once every thing that preſented itſelf in the courſe ofeach. edagCHAP. VERSSMOCOWhofefa to ( 69 ) 1 0 11 CHAP. VII. VERSAILLES. ST. GERMAIN. Aug. 6. SUNDAY being the beſt day in the week for feeing Verſailles, Mr. Brouf fonet accompanied me thither. The road was crowded with all kinds of carriages, and thoſe carriages with Chevaliers de St. Louis. We faw the royal family go to chapel, with young maids of honour paint ed of a rofe colour, and old ones crimſon. We faw the crowd adoring their grand mo narque, little thinking how ſoon that adora→ tion would ceaſe. The king's countenance feemed agreeable and benignant, by no means vacant ; his ears, which his hair never co vered, were remarkably large and ugly, and he walked ill. He had fome very fine dia monds in his hat. The queen received company in her chamber, not having been F 3 out ( 70 ) out of it fince her lying-in. The king's brothers had nothing ſtriking about them. Verſailles muft undoubtedly be allowed the praiſe of magnificence, if not of elegance or claffical tafte. The great terrace is fuperb, and the view from it as fine as art could make a dreary barren wafte. The fandy walks of the gardens, between miſerable cut hedges, are crowded with indifferent ſtatues, but deftitute of verdure or any natural charms. The water-works ſurpriſe by their magnificence and abfurdity, and tire with their noiſe and frequency ; yet, when they are not playing, Verſailles is the moſt me lancholy ſpot upon earth. The large lake is fine on account of its fize, though unpleaſantly formal. Near it are fome tolerably natural woods, but they have nothing pictureſque or peculiarly intereſting. The ponds produce abundance of Trapa natans, water caltrops, the fpongy footſtalks of whofe leaves fupport them on the ſurface, and whofe fruit is eatable, tafting like chef This plant might be naturalized in cur marſhland ditches. nuts. The 10RUN27 9 9 9 9 2 AE INnododverHOM4 ( 71 ) TheOrangery is very noble, and contains fome trees coeval with Francis I. In the Menagerie are ſeveral rare animals, as a very large male Rhinoceros, a fine Zebra, a beautiful fpecies of Antelope from the Cape ; alfo a Pelican and Columba crif tata Linn. with many other ſcarce birds. We visited the celebrated Mr. le Monnier, firſt phyſician to Louis XV. after whom Monnieria was named, and found him in his garden with Meffrs. Thouin, Dombey, and other botanifts. He fhewed us many fine American trees, and ſome rare oriental plants, as Lepidium veficarium, a new Onofma, and a very curious new Garidella. His Her barium is faid to be uncommonly valuable ; but my time would not allow me to make · ufe of the permiffion he politely gave me to ſtudy it. From Verſailles we paffed by Marli to St. Germain-en-laye, and flept at the houſe of the venerable Marechal de Nöailles, the old friend and correſpondent of Linnæus, and the first patron of the fexual fyſtem in France. His garden, rich in hardy trees and ſhrubs, is laid out in the Engliſh taſte. F 4 Since • ( 72 ) Since my being there the Marechal has de corated it with a monument to Linnæus, and has celebrated a jubilee in his honour. From the terrace before the royal palace of St. Germain, is an extenfive proſpect to the eaft. The fpires of St. Denis are ſeen at about four miles diſtance, and from hence Louis XIII. contemplated them on his death bed. " There," faid the dying monarch, diſguſted with the world, and diſappointed in his deareſt attachments, " there is my laft home, to which I fhall foon remove." Louis XIV. his fon had no relifh for con templating his own burying- place, and for that reafon, it is faid, preferred the miſerable fituation of Verſailles to that of St. Ger main. " • Aug. 7. We vifited a gentleman who re galed us at breakfaſt with the Abricots du Pape. This fruit, which has not yet been introduced into England, is about the fize and colour of an Orleans plumb, but downy. Its flavour approaches that of an apricot, though more ſpirited. In the ſtreet Papilio Podalirius was flying, fo that I fee no "I ( 73 ) no reaſon why that infect may not alſo be found in England, as fome have reported, but more have doubted. It is more plenti ful in the ſouthern parts of France, eſpeci ally about the coafts of the Mediterranean. After dinner we were entertained with a ſhooting party of the Grand Monarque in the foreft of St. Germain, about a mile from the town. The Marechal attended the King on horſeback. His Majefty arrived about half paſt three in a coach, and having taken off his coat and blue ribband, appeared in a brown linen drefs, with leather ſpatter daſhes. He proceeded on foot, immediately followed by eight pages in blue and white dreffes made like his own. Each of them carried a fowling-piece ready loaded, and as foon as the King had fired offthat in his hand, he took another from the page next him. Behind theſe pages followed ten or twelve Swiſs guards, with ſeveral perſons whoſe of fice it was to attend, among others a phy fician and a furgeon, all on horſeback ; as was the Marechal de Nöailles and a few other perfons of rank, moft of whom con verfed occafionally with the King. Some of ( 74 ) of their train followed on foot, as did Brouf fonet and myſelf. The greater part of the fpectators were kept at a confiderable dif tance, by guards forming a fpacious ring, On the right and left of the King were per fons with dogs, to raiſe the game of all kinds, which had been previouſly driven to this fpot as much as poffible. His Majeſty killed almoſt every thing he aimed at, fo that the deftruction on the whole muſt have been very great. The King having learned by fome acci dent that there were Engliſhmen in his train, defired the Marechal to acquaint them with Margaret Nicholſon's attempt on the life of the King of Great Britain, of which he had juſt had an account by exprefs, adding, that the King had received no harm, and was very well. A very polite and uſeful piece of condefcenfion ; for when we returned to town that evening, all Paris was filled with the report of his Majefty's having been abfo lutely murdered. The road from St. Germain to Paris paſſes cloſe to the great machine which raiſes water from the Seine, to fupply the foun drtains ( 75 ) tains of Verſailles and Marli, and which is a ftupendous piece of mechaniſm. The artift who conftructed it was named Ranne quin. It raiſes 5258 tuns of water, in 24 hours, to the height of feet. 500 CHAP. ( 76 ) • CHA P. VIII. CHURCHES OF PARIS AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. THE old church of St. Genevieve is chiefly remarkable for the number of votive pictures, and for the tomb of Clovis the firft chriſtian king of France ; for courteſy obliges us to call him a chriftian king. The new church now building, dedicated to the fame faint *, may perhaps be more celebrated for containing the afhes of Voltaire and Mira beau ; for, whether their memory be ho noured or abhorred by pofterity, they will certainly not be forgotten. This new church is a magnificent edifice. Its portico is the only very beautiful piece of architec ture that it was my fortune to meet with in Paris, except the celebrated colonnade of the Louvre, not indeed more celebrated than it

• Since called the Pantheon.

deferves ( 77 ) deferves. The portico of St. Genevieve feems to have been imitated on a fmaller ſcale at Carlton-houſe, but its effect is there injured by the ſcreen, rather injudiciouſly copied from a palace at Paris. The Palais de Bourbon, from whence that fcreen is taken, has a very fpacious court next the ſtreet ; the front of the houſe towards that court has no windows, and is low and very plain, fo that the ſcreen is there a neceſſary ornament, or at leaſt a fort of artifice to give the building confequence, for which the beautiful portico of Carlton-houſe had no occafion. The church of St. Sulpice, rebuilt by Louis XV. is almoſt as magnificent as that of St. Genevieve, but not in fo fine a taſte. Nothing however can be more ſtriking than the chapel ofthe Virgin behind the high al tar. In a recefs behind fome pillars which are above the altar of this chapel is a white marble figure of the Virgin, with the infant Jefus, as large as life, defcending from Hea ven on clouds, which fly before her, and curl round the baſes of fome of the columns. The light is thrown on the figures from 2 behind, ( 78 ) behind, in fuch a manner that one knows not from whence it comes, and the whole has a moſt aſtoniſhing effect. Nor is the roof of this chapel lefs happily imagined. Several pillars fupport a circular cornice, above which is a dome painted by Le Moine, repreſenting the heavens opened, with God the father and all the heavenly hoft. This dome being of a much larger diameter than the cornice, and confequently independent of it , the eye has no fixed point by which it can judge of the diſtance of the plane of the picture ; a very great advantage, almoſt producing a deception. In the nave are two fhells of the gigantic cockle, Chama gigantea, which an infcrip tion tells us " were preſented by the Vene " tians to Francis I. as natural curiofities cc 99 to ornament his palace ; but that Louis " XV, more zealous for the glory of God, “ deſtined them to hold holy water here ;' which purpoſe they now ferve, being edged with brafs. Thus the church had an op portunity of paying a compliment to the king, in return for his compliment to the church ; but we muft not be feduced by this ( 79 ) le te 1. 3~5 1353 d S 1 I t this infcription into conclufions reſpecting the comparative piety of Francis I. not confiftent with his holy zeal in burning he retics ; for theſe ſhells were certainly much greater curiofities in his time than they were in that of Louis XV. whofe church might have been lined with fuch at no very great expence. The cathedral of Notre Dame is a light Gothic ſtructure, fomewhat in the ſtyle of York Minster, but inferior in fize and mag nificence. From its towers, which are not very high, is a good view of the town. The monument of the Comte d'Harcourt by Pigale, in one ofthe chapels, is worth fecing; in another is a good picture by Vanlo, of St. Charles Boromeo adminiftering the facra ment to people fick of the plague. The Sainte Chapelle, built by St. Louis, is amuch more elegant model of Gothic archi tecture, and its painted windows harmonize well with the building. It is enriched with relicks, whofe pretenfions are very great in deed ; but in thefe fceptical days they would hardly fetch ſo much money as they did from that pious king, whoſe great and good qualities ( 80 ) qualities however make us reſpect even his weakneſſes, at the ſame time that wethe more deeply lament them. One viſits with dif ferent fenfations the church of the Engliſh Benedictines, where the remains of our unfortunate James II. and of his daughter in-law, lie ftill unburied. Their coffins, covered with tattered palls, and croffes of cloth of filver, are accompanied with a buft of the 'king caft from his dead body in wax. He expreſsly defired that his aſhes might lie here in ftate, till his victorious fon fhould tranſport them to England, to mix with thoſe of his forefathers. But here they ftill remain, and probably will con tinue. So deplorable a ſpectacle ſoftened my contempt into pity. Every lover of the arts muſt contemplate with peculiar pleaſure the monument of Cardinal de Richlieu, in the church of the Sorbonne, one of the fineſt pieces of modern fculpture out of Italy. The form of the whole maſs is very good. The figure at the feet is perhaps the beft. That of Reli gion fupporting the Cardinal is faid to be a portrait of his niece. The countenance is Handſome, मेनू ( 81 ) handſome, but has that haughty, forbidding , intolerant look, which catholic painters and ſculptors too often give their figures of Re ligion ; and by which we may know more certainly than by all the writings and declara tions in the world, what ideas many catholics have of religion, as well as what notions thoſe who order and fuperintend theſe works with them to have. I vifited this monu ment with undiminiſhed pleaſure after my return from Italy. A white marble crucifix over the high altar has likewiſe great merit. The church of St. Euftatius, one of the moſt elegant Gothic buildings in Paris, con tains the tomb of a far more worthy minifter than Richlieu, the great Colbert. His figure, well executed, and accompanied by two angels, is kneeling on a black marble farcophagus. Near the great door of the fame church is an infcription which I could not help copying, eſpecially on account of the fpirited paffage ( here printed in Italics) celebrated by Mercier in his Tableau de Paris. • VOL. 1. G Cy ( 82 ) Cy git François de Chevest Commandeur grand-croix de l'ordre de St. Louis, Chevalier de l'aigle blanc de Pologne, Gouverneur de Givet et Charlemont, Lieutenant-general des armées du Roi. Sans ayeux, fans fortune, fans appuy, orphelin des l'enfance, il entra au fervice a l'age de XI ans, il s'eleva malgré l'envie a force de merite, et chaque grade fut le prix d'une action d'eclat ; lefeule titre de Marechal de France a manqué, non pas àfa gloire, mais à l'exemple de ceux qui le prendront pour modéle. Il etoit né à Verdun fur Meuſe le 2 Fevrier 1695, il mourut à Paris le 24 Janvier 1769. Priez Dieu pour le repos de fon ame. The celebrated antiquary Count Caylus is buried in the church of St. Germain, under a fmall antique ſarcophagus of red porphyry, which could not have been better applied. In the church of the bare-footed Carme→ lites, among feveral other good pictures, is the famous Magdalen, the maſter-piece of Le Brun ; and which is a portrait of the Duchefs de la Valiere, the only difintereſted miſtreſs of Louis XIV. who, like Epheſtion, was attached to the man and not to the my2--king. ( 83 ) king. She no fooner perceived her influ ence to be on the decline, than the retired to this convent, giving herſelf entirely up to an oftentatious, but apparently fincere repent ance ; now perpetuated by the picture above mentioned, which ferves as an altar-piece to a little chapel. Directly before it is a very ſpirited monumental ſtatue of an old lawyer in his gown, kneeling in the utmoſt fervour of devotion to the beautiful Magdalen ; but his devotion feems fo much of the courtly kind, that one cannot poffibly forget it is the king's miſtreſs he is kneeling to, and this idea turns the whole into burleſque. The church of the Celeſtins, near the Arſenal, contains feveral curious monuments in the Chapelle d'Orleans. Here, in a gilt urn, fupported by white marble ftatues of the three Graces in a fine tafte, are the hearts of Henry II. and his queen Catharine of Medicis ; and near them, in another urn on the top of a column, thoſe of Francis II. and Charles IX. It would have been more kind to the memory of the execrable Catharine and Charles to have endeavoured to bury their hearts in oblivion. G 2 i The + ( 84 ) The Hôtel des Invalids, and efpecially its church, which I did not vifit till my return from Italy, is one of the moft noble things in Paris. Behind the high altar is a large ſpace under the great dome, with a chapel at ⚫ each corner ; the whole paved and decorated with fine marbles, and furniſhed with paint ings and ſculpture, quite in the ſtyle of an Italian church, and extremely well kept. Foreign churches have generally the advan tage of our Engliſh ones in cleanlineſs ; the difference between Weſtminſter Abbey and that of St. Denis in this refpect is very ftrik ing. With this celebrated repoſitory of fainted bones and royal duft, I ſhall finiſh my remarks on Parifian churches. The little town of St. Denis and its Abbey are about four miles from the capital, on the English road. A fine avenue of trees leads to them, near which are feveral handſome croffes to mark the places where Philip III. fon and fucceffor of St. Louis, occafionally refted, when he carried his father's bones to be interred at St. Denis. Thefe croffes very much reſemble thoſe at Waltham and North ampton, 161RodMindOM#1 ( 85 ) ampton, erected about the fame time by our Edward I. The Abbey Church is very handfome ; its windows richly painted. The fineft mo numents are thofe of Louis XII. Francis I. and Henry II. ; under which laſt are buried all his celebrated, but worthlefs offspring, in whom the race of Valois fo unpropitiouſly concluded. Catharine of Medicis, likewife buried here, intended to have built, adjoining to the church, a circular chapel, after a de fign of the moft confummate elegance, in the centre of which this tomb was to have been placed. The defign of the whole, as well as ofthe other two monuments, may be ſeen in Felibien's Hiftory of the Abbey. Many precious marbles, collected for this edifice, remaining unemployed, Louis XIII. granted them to his mother Mary of Medi cis, to adorn her palace of the Luxembourg. In vain did the monks remonſtrate againſt this violation of all human and divine right : they were filenced by a lettre de cachet. The figures on theſe three monuments are very finely executed, but the defign of fome of them is very ftrange. They repreſent G 3 the / ( 86 ) the kings and queens in marble, as large as life, lying dead ; their limbs and features in ghaftly diſorder ; their bodies as if having been opened for extracting the bowels, and then fewn up ; there is fcarcely any drapery about them. The bas-reliefs on the tomb of Francis I. are exquifite, repreſenting battles. It were too invidious to have looked for that of Pavia. A The figures on the older tombs are chiefly of alabaſter or white marble, robed in the ufual formal ftyle ; certainly much more decent, if not fo pictureſque as thoſe I have juft deſcribed. Here is a fuperb mauſoleum for the Vif count de Turenne, a tribute of the imper fect gratitude of Louis XIV. That little great man, it is ſaid , after having in the firſt moment of enthuſiaſm given orders for a fumptuous funeral and monument for his illuftrious general, was mean enough, from paltry jealoufy and envy, to withhold the epitaph, becauſe one which had been com poſed ſeemed to interfere with his own glory. From the fame motives, he ordered the pre façe to a fine hiſtory of all his own medals to ( 87 ) to be cancelled, becauſe the writer had com plimented the engravers and other artiſts employed in the work. " That book," faid Louis, " fhall contain the praiſe of nobody but myſelf." Yet Frenchmen for this laſt century have been fo much at a lofs forfome thing to beſtowtheir loyalty upon, that they have been reduced to the abject neceffity of calling this man great ! It is high time their eyes ſhould be opened, and it muſt be con feffed they are now no longer in the dark on this fubject. Happy will it be if they know how to value a well-meaning king, and can make his virtues beneficial to the ftate *. The reader has been all along perhaps expecting to hear of fome tranfcendent effort of genius at the tomb of Henry IV•.; but while fome of the most infernal mifcre ants that ever difgraced a human form , are commemorated with every proftituted ho nour that flaves could invent, and even Charles IX. is called in his epitaph, with

• It will eaſily be perceived at what time this paffage

was written, now alas but too vain ! G 4 moft ; ( 88 ) 1 moft peculiar effrontery, optimus & mitiffimus princeps ; the only monument of the good and great Henry has always been in the heart of every true Frenchman. Little could it have been imagined, that the gra titude with which the memory of this prince has been cheriſhed by his country men, fhould be turned to their reproach, and that too in a work which fhould appear in Engliſh. In the fepulchre of the Bourbons, among other defcendants of Henry IV. repofes Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I. as well as her daughter the Duchefs of Orleans, the caufe of whofe pre mature death ftill continues obfcure, like that of many other royal perfonages. We every where meet with fome wreck or fome melancholy monument of the Stuart family, The Scots college at Paris is the repofitory of feveral affecting relics of the celebrated and unfortunate Mary ; as a manuſcript miffal, finely illuminated, which fhe uſed on the fcaffold ; her will, to which was never paid the ſmalleſt attention ; and many of her public acts and private letters. Among the latter is one written on the death of her uncle, 1 ( 89 ) uncle, the famous Cardinal of Lorraine, in 1574, the writing of which is in many places blotted with her tears. Here are alfo feveral original letters of her fon James I. and his queen, as well as of Charles I. and II. and James II. In thoſe of Charles I. particularly in one addreffed to his fons, recommending them a tutor, the ftyle of an accompliſhed gentleman, and the dignified tenderneſs of a father, are very confpicuous ; nor did this prince difdain to write a very good hand. I was indebted for the fight of thefe curiofities to the favour of the Abbé Gordon, principal of the college. CHAP.

( 90 )

CHAP. IX. CHANTILLY AND ERMENONVILLE. ANexcurfion to Chantilly and Ermenon ville ought not to be neglected by any traveller to Paris, as both places are very intereſting, and ſerve admirably as foils to each other. I fet out on this little tour September 17th, in company with an Eng liſhman, Mr. A. and cannot but remember it with the more pleaſure, as having afforded me an opportunity of cultivating the ac quaintance of an amiable and fenfible man, of whom I might otherwiſe perhaps have known lefs. Chantilly is a little more than 20 miles from Paris on the Engliſh road. We found there a comfortable inn and very civil Eng liſh hoftefs, and arriving about five o'clock could not refrain from viſiting a part of the Prince of Condé's fine feat that evening. د.x71#eltywiVh+"This ( 91 ) Y This place is in the ftyle of Chatſworth, or rather more antique. The parterre dif poſed in formal walks and flower-beds, with feveral jets-d'eau and other water-works con ftantly playing. The houſe moated, and amongst the moft pleafing things about it are, or rather were, the immenſe ſhoals of very large carp, "filvered o'er with age," like filver fifh, and perfectly tame, fo that when any paſſengers approached their watry habi tation, they ufed to come to the ſhore in fuch numbers as to heave each other out of the water, begging for bread, of which a quantity was always kept at hand on purpoſe to feed them. They would even allow themſelves to be handled. The menagerie is large and well stocked with gold and filver pheaſants, but no very rare birds, except indeed two curious varieties of the common fowl ; one the negro breed, whoſe ſkins are quite black, and whoſe hif tory, ifwell examined, might perhaps throw light on the varieties of our own fpecies ; the other a race offowls without any feathers except in their wings and tails, the rest ofthe body being clothed with fine down only, like powder ( 92 ) powder puffs. They were brought from Bruffels, and have been reported to have been procured by the late Prince Charles of Lorraine, by means of a hen and a rabbit. But this is in the highest degree improbable, if not impoffible, and the keepers affured me the breed was conftant. Indeed we faw many young ones. The dairy is a cool marble room , with water carried round its infide, and thrown prettily in little cafcades over china veffels. Here the family fometimes ſupped. Sept. 18. We began our perambulations early, having much to fee, but on the outfet were diſappointed ; for the firſt thing fhewn to ftrangers is the houſe of the Duke d'An guien, fon of the prince, a very long range of fmall uniform ill-furnished apartments, juft like an inn, and not at all worth the pains of walking through. Near it is la Sylvie, a kind of labyrinth, with a temple in the middle, and juft by are a fummer houſe and little garden. We went through fome woods to the Hameau, a little artificial village, if I may be allowed thy4" ( 93 ) allowed the term, fituated in a moft romantic fpot, with water about it. This hameau confifts of an apparent barn, cottage, and other thatched buildings, and near them a water-mill, a well and an orchard. But the ftranger is ſurpriſed to find theſe ruſtic build ings confift of ball-rooms fumptuouſly fitted up, nor is this furpriſe of the agreeable kind. I never was lefs pleaſed with filk and tinfel fringe. It is just like meeting with a pretty milk-maid fome fine evening in fummer ; and on a near approach finding her painted and perfumed. From hence we proceeded to the Chateau, built in a pentagonal form, with a tower at each angle, and a court in the centre ; yet not one of the gloomy kind of old caftles. Be fore the principal entrance is an equeſtrian ftatue of the laft Conftable de Montmo rency, one of the many who are faid to have made an impreffion on the fufceptible heart of Mary queen of Scots. This palace confifts of a great number of rooms, with nothing very remarkable

• Since, I believe, deſtroyed.

+ ·in ( 94 ) in them, except a coloured wax buft of Henry IV. caft from his body a very few hours after his deceaſe. The countenance is extremely melancholy, much more ſo than one would expect, confidering the fudden nefs of his death, and cannot be contempla→ ted without extreme compaſſion. Here are ſeveral pictures relating to the hiſtory of the great Condé, eſpecially one in which is great allegorical parade of his penitence for having been in arms againſt his fovereign, Louis XIV. or rather againſt that fovereign's worthleſs miniftry. He ſpent the latter part of his life in literary tranquillity at Chantilly, and affembled about him the moſt eminent wits and poets of his time. He even made a little muſeum of natural hiſtory, which ſtill exiſts, but it is poor, and in bad condition. The altar-piece of the chapel, an afcen fion by Coypel, has been engraved in mez zotinto. We next vifited the Ifle de l'Amour, for mally cut into alleys, bordered with treillage, and furniſhed with various bowers or cabinets de verdure, in which are tables for playing at different 7 +ין10E (6 95 ) different games, a ſwing, a fee-faw board, &c. but nothing that recalls any idea of love. There is however a ftatue of the god, in fomewhat an unuſual but not ill -judged ftyle. He is reprefented as a little naked boy, without darts or wings, holding a flam ing heart. On the pedeſtal are the following beautiful lines : " N'offrant qu'un coeur à la beautè, Nud comme la Veritè, Sans armes comme l'Innocence, Sans ailles comme la Conſtance, Tel fut l'Amour dans le fiecle d'or. On ne le trouve plus, quoiqu'on le cherche encore." The temple of Venus, at the extremity of this iſland, is a pleaſant ſummer-houſe, furniſhed all round the infide with a num ber of little jets-d'eau under glaſs bells. Not far off is an elegant little theatre, richly ornamented. The back part of the ſtage can be laid open, ſo as to preſent a real cafcade, between which and the building is a ſpace large enough to allow of horſes and dogs beingintroduced ; fometimes done when the Partie de Chaſe d'Henri IV. is acted. The 2 ( 96 ) The Prince of Condé himfelf has often pers formedonthisftage, whichis a much fafer one, if lefs glorious, than that on which fo many ofhis anceſtors have diftinguished themſelves. Yet I think the armory juft at hand, con taining many trophies of his forefathers, muft now and then have raiſed an humiliat ing reflection in his mind. Here is an office where ftrangers pay the fum of three fhillings fterling, for leave to fee every part of the house and gardens. Nevertheless, it is ufual to make ſome little recompence befides to thoſe who ſhew the different places. The ftables are uncommonly magnificent. Our road to Ermenonville, about eight miles diftant, lay through the foreft of Chan tilly. There is fomething very fine in the twelve great alleys, each above two miles long, meeting in a large circular opening in the centre of this foreit. We were obliged to have a guide along this folitary and little frequented road, in which we faw fcarcely any figns of inhabitants, except a lonely convent near the end of our journey. 8 About Whe#k"xCLAV ( 97 ) About dufk we arrived at the town of Ermenonville, and put up at a little inn, which we found by an infcription had been honoured with the preſence of the late Em peror Joſeph II. and the King of Sweden ; both came here on the fame errand as our felves. It is ſcarcely neceffary to inform the reader that this is the place to which Jean Jacques Rouffeau retired to end his days, near his illuftrious friend the Marquis de Girardin. He lived fix weeks only after he was finally fettled here. Our landlord, who knew him well, and ſpoke of him with great regard, told us he met him on the morning of his death, botanizing in a field near the village. He complained of having had a fleepleſs night from the head-ach. This was about feven o'clock, and before ten he was dead. His widow gave this man his ſnuff-box, and the very wooden fhoes, topped with ſtraw, which he wore to protect his feet from the dew, and which he had on at his death. Two admirers of Rouffeau, one of them at leaft, an ecclefiaftic, have written very flat tering infcriptions on theſe relicks. VOL. I. Η Sept. ( 98 ) Sept. 19. We proceeded full of expecta tion to vifit the celebrated gardens of the Marquis de Girardin, who has in the difpo fal of them fhewn great tafte and judgment, in what is called the Engliſh ſtyle of gar dening. Indeed this gentleman ſeems an enthufiaft in English literature, as well as Engliſh gardening; for this romantic fpot abounds with quotations and memorials of feveral of our moſt eminent writers, and we were told he made very frequent vifits to London. - Theſe gardens confift of about 800 acres : they have often been profeffedly and minutely defcribed, fo that I fhall only give a ſketch of what made the greatest impreffion upon us. We were attended by a very intelligent and obliging Scotch gardener, who had lived here about two years, and who has acquired great praiſe by his management of the lawns ; for he affured us, and indeed what we faw confirmed it, that the ſuperior beauty ofour Britiſh grafs-plats to thofe of other countries, is principally owing to management, and not to foil or climate. We entered near the large cafcade, by which ( 99 ) 1 S e 0 1 ! 1 which the great lake empties itſelf oppofite to the fouth front of the houſe. A very wild path by the fide of the lake led us through a wood, where are feveral infcrip tions in Engliſh, French, or Latin, all which have been publiſhed. A boat conveyed us to the ifle of Poplars, the repoſitory of the remains of Rouffeau. His tomb, of white ftone, is of an elegant form, and embofomed in a grove of thoſe trees. On one fide of it is infcribed, " L'Homme de la Nature de la Verité." On the other are fome fculptures reprefent ing Nature and Truth, and a mother reading Emilius, with her children about her. Above is another inſcription, " Vitam impendere vero," the favourite motto of Rouffeau. His body we were told was inclofed within in lead. A tomb of another form was ori ginally erected, but the Marquis changed it for this. It was impoffible to contemplate this monument without various reflections and emotions. Many people may wonder that I fhould bring away a little portion of H 2 mofs ( 100 ) mofs from its top ; but I knew ſome gentle minds in England to whom ſuch a relick would not be unacceptable, and I thought, with fecret fatisfaction, that the manes of Rouffeau, if confcious, would not be of fended. From this ifland we could difcern another in which is a leffer monument, over the grave of a German artiſt named Myers, who taught the Marquis's children drawing, and, being a proteftant, could not be buried in holy ground ; fo that in this inftance, as in many others, humanity puts what is called religion to the bluſh. It was the exprefs defire of Rouffeau to be buried in this garden, in which he was furely more confiftent than Voltaire, who, after his undiſguiſed attacks upon every thing either really or imaginarily facred, was by the indulgence of grudging and infolent prieſts, ſneakingly, and " with maimed rites," interred in a church-yard. On the fhore, at the landing-place, are fome infcriptions in memory of Rouffeau ; and not far off, in the plantation, others in honour of Thomfon and Shenftone. A little ( 101 ) little farther on ftands one of the moſt ro mantic hermitages I have feen, and near it the Temple of Modern Philoſophy. This is an unfinished building, very hap pily imagined. Each of the eight pillars already erected is marked with fome dif tinguiſhed name, attended with a character iftic word, thus; Rouffeau, naturam ; Voltaire, ridiculum ; Franklin, fulmen ; Priestley, aërem ; Newton, lucem ; Des Cartes, nil in rebus inane. Poor Dr. Prieſtley ! he who erected this pillar would ſcarcely, though a catholic, have affifted to deſtroy thy habitation, and ruin thy hive of literary treaſures, intended for the ufe of all mankind ! nor would he per haps have exulted at the miſtaken zeal of thoſe who did. On an unfiniſhed pillar is engraved Quis hanc perficiet?" From theſe monuments of the literary philanthropy of the owner of thefe gardens, we came to nolefs pleaſing, though different, proofs of the amiablenefs of his heart. We were conducted to fome fimple wooden fheds, near feveral very fine umbrageous H 3 trees, "C F ( 102 ) trees, where the neighbouring peaſants amuſe themſelves every Sunday with muſic and dancing, at which little feftivals the Marquis and his family are often prefent. Our pref byterian conductor told us, his lady having always miffed him at theſe ſports, and hav ing learned that he abſented himſelf on ac count of fcruples of confcience, had occa fionally appointed the fame amuſements on other days, on which he could join them without reluctance. We now began to leave the thicker parts of the wood, and foon arrived at an elevated fpot, from whence we enjoyed at leiſure a fine and extenfive profpect, from a feat under a wide-fpreading elm, infcribed by the Marquis as follows : very " Le voici cet Orme heureux ou ma Louiſe a reçu ma foi !? Defcending the hill to another piece of water, we preſently arrived at a hill of a different kind ; rude and heathy, full of rugged rocks, and clothed with juniper, birch, and heath, like the Highlands of Scotland, Wandering along through ſcenes where th"wwبالاMדי ( 103 ) } 8 J 2 where even Salvator Rofa might have taken hints of wildnefs, we found a rock with two Italian infcriptions, which guided us to an other rock in a moſt enchanting fituation, on which is engraved, by the hand of Rouffeau, and with his own knife, Julie. This indeed is claffic ground. We could ſcarcely tear ourſelves from it ; but we were fummoned to another place, no leſs attractive, called the Hut of Rouffeau ; a ruftic edifice. on the brow of a hill, commanding a deli cious landſcape, and furniſhed with a wooden table and chair of the moft fimple figure. Within this hut, where, it is faid, Rouffeau often, " nobly penfive, fat and thought," is written , "" Jean Jacques eft immortel.” That the intelligent obferver of nature may have a just conception of the magnifi cent ſcale of theſe gardens ; and that he may be well fatisfied they are no paltry unnatu ral jumble of grottoes.and rock-work, and plantations raiſed in a garden pot ; " I fhall give a moft decifive proof of their genuine wildnefs, in truly faying, that even a botanist H 4 66 would ( 104 ) would here almoſt think himſelf on the Alps. The rocks and craggs are covered with a profuſion of the rareft moffes and Lichens, which for the moſt part ſhun the haunts of men, and flouriſh only in the pureſt air and moſt alpine ſtations. Among others I ga thered the true Lichen deuftus of Linnæus, figured in Vaillant, not that of Dillenius, tab. 20. fig. 117. which is polyrhizos, and poffibly alfo velleus, of Linnæus. It grew abundantly just below Rouffeau's hut, nor did I ever find it in any other place. From hence we again defcended into the valley, and after traverfing fome delightful groves and meadows, croffed the water in a boat, and came to the tower of the fair Gabrielle d'Eftrées, the favourite miſtreſs of Henry IV. This is a Gothic building, con fifting offeveral pretty little rooms, and fur niſhed with Gothic infcriptions. Here is preferved the very armour which belonged to a faithful follower of Henry IV. who, paffing two days after the murder of that prince through the rüe de la ferronerie where it happened, fell down in an agony of grief and died the next day. This garden is faid J F۱۰2 to ( 195 ) to have been the firſt place ofrendezvous be tween Henry and the fair Gabrielle, which ⚫ occafioned the building ofthis tower. From it the vineyard appears in view, and many charming ſcenes. We next viſited the garden of Jean Jacques; a fweet fequeftered ſpot, " where," ſays an infcription, " he uſed to come to ad " mire nature, to feed his favourite birds, " and play with the Marquis's children.' Adjoining is a houſe which was building for him when he died ; and at a little dif tance another edifice, in which it was at firſt deſigned to have depofited his remains. After vifiting the grotto, and fome other very beautiful places in the fame natural and fimple ftyle of ornament, we arrived at the north front of the houſe, and our enchanting ramble was at an end. 1 From Ermenonville we went to Pleffis de belle vüe, a village at about two miles dif tance in the way to Paris, in order to pay a visit to the widow of Jean Jacques, his celebrated Therefa. We had doubts about vifiting her, fearing left we might fee fomething about her to leffen our venera ( 106 ) veneration for her hufband. The event, however, was far otherwife. We found her in a neat cottage, in a linen drefs like that of her neighbours, and' ſhe wore a ſmall gold croſs on her breaſt. Her perfon appeared rather low, not much refembling her portrait in the French print of her huſband's laft moments. Her coun tenance was fenfible and ſtriking ; her man ners thoſe of a gentlewoman, and which expreffed a mind ſcarcely unworthy to be the companion of Rouffeau. She is accuf tomed to fee vifiters of curiofity, and her reception of us was polite and eafy. She received our expreffions of eſteem for her hufbar in the moft becoming and engaging manner, and anſwered with great readineſs. fuch enquiries as we thought proper to make, From her I learned the following particu lars : The character of Julia, after her marriage, was drawn from Madame Boy-de-la- Tour of Lyons, an intimate friend of Rouffeau and herſelf, to whom they generally made a long vifit every year, and who is ftill living. But the ftory of the Nouvelle Heloiſe has nothing ( 107 ) 1 nothing to do with this lady's hiftory. How far that was founded in truth, and who were the characters, were fecrets in the breaſt of its author. Neither did any of the ſcenes deſcribed in that celebrated novel paſs at Ermenonville, as fome have reported. The Confeffions, Mrs. Rouffeau affured me, were all written by her huſband, and publiſhed by her after his death. She entrusted the manuſcript to the Marquis de Girardin , who expunged ſome private anecdotes, and fome names of people ftill living ; not entirely with her approbation , as fhe would have publiſhed it juſt as it was left by the au thor. Surely the warmeft admirer of Rouf ſeau muſt regret that this work was ever publiſhed at all ; for what can be the effect of an exhibition of every failing, every wayward thought, of a character in many refpects eminently virtuous ; except that the bad may from thence take occafion to decry all virtue as mere outward fhew, and even thoſe who are lefs abandoned may lull their conſciences with the ſoothing reflection that they are perhaps as good as the rest of the world. Nothing probably can have done much ( 108 ) much more harm to the cauſe of religion, for inſtance, than the minute diſplay that has been made of the abject fuperftition and miferable defpondency of Dr. Samuel John fon, one of the beft-meaning, but moſt pre judiced of men; who ſeems to have thought a perſon could have no religion at all, who 66 was not of the church of Rome, or was 66 not of the church of England*." If fuch ſentiments were the genuine fruits of reli gion, they would go farther than all the boafted efforts of wits and fceptics againſt the fuperintendance of a beneficent Provi dence. Yet this good man has been inju diciouſly held up as a model of piety ; and thus the world are made to believe, that all who pretend to any devotion are as con tracted and uncomfortable in their notions as he was in his. Some late writers have introduced the fame kind of fournefs into politics, to the great injury of their cauſe. Mrs. Rouffeau fhewed us a plafter buſt of her huſband, caft from his face a few hours after death, and which ſhe thinks gives .

• Life of Milton, p. 209.

a per ( 109 ) a perfect idea of him. This is by far the moft pleafing portrait of Rouffeau I ever faw. The fenfibility, and yet tranquillity of the countenance is charming ; and the mouth one of the moft expreffive I ever aw. I fhould think it as difficult to draw as that famous ftatue fo admired by Michael Angelo, the mufcles of which, when accu rately ftudied, feem in motion. We were told at Ermenonville, that the widow of Rouffeau has a penfion offifty pounds a-year from the King of Great Britain ; an anecdote I have not heard con firmed, and for the truth of which I cannot vouch. She appears to have been younger than her huſband, and feems likely ftill to live many years. We learned, on our re turn to Paris, that her notions of delicacy not being always fo romantic as his, they were once very near parting, for a cauſe of dif pute not the moſt ufual between man and wife. It is well known this celebrated man had always a violent averfion to receiving prefents, except from very felect friends, even when in the greateſt want ; and this conduct occafioned him to be reckoned a 1 madman 1" ( 110 ) madman by the bulk of mankind, at the fame time that it raifed him up a great number of moſt inveterate enemies, among thoſe who believed him perfectly in his fenfes. His wife, lefs fcrupulous, thought there was no harm in receiving a morfel of bread from any body, when they were both juft ftarving; and, left her huſband's feelings fhould fuffer, fhe did not let him know from whence their fupport came. Un luckily however for both, he diſcovered the deception, and confidered it as a dreadful confpiracy against his honour. With respect to the character of Rouf feau himſelf, about which the opinion of the world is fo much divided, I have found it improve on a near examination. Every one who knew him fpeaks of him with the moſt affectionate eſteem, as the moſt friend ly, unaffected and modeft of men, and the moſt unaffuming in converfation. Enthu fiaftically fond of the ſtudy of nature, and of Linnæus, as the beft interpreter of her works, he was always warmly attached to thoſe who agreed with him in this taſte. The amiable and accompliſhed lady to whom P7Whis ( III ) his Letters on Botany were addreffed, con curs in this account, and holds his memory in the higheſt veneration. I have ventured to aſk her opinion upon fome unaccountable actions in his life, and eſpecially about thoſe mifanthropic horrors and fufpicions which embittered his latter days. She feemed to think the laſt not entirely groundleſs ; but ftill, for the moſt part, to be attributed to a fomething not quite right in his mind, for which he was to be pitied, not cenfured. Her charming daughter fhewed me a collec tion of dried plants made and preſented to her by Rouffeau, neatly pafted on fmall writing paper, and accompanied with their Linnæan names and other particulars. Bo tany feems to have been his moſt favourite amufement in the latter part of life ; and his feelings, with refpect to this purſuit, are expreffed with that energy and grace fo peculiarly his own, in his letter to Linnæus, publiſhed in the Journal de Paris ; the ori ginal of which I preferve as an inestimable relick. I need offer no apology to the candid and well-informed reader for this minuteneſs of anecdote 7 ( 112 ) anecdote concerning fo celebrated a charac ter. Thoſe who have only partial notions of Rouſſeau, may perhaps wonder to hear that his memory is cherished by any well diſpoſed minds. To fuch I beg leave to obferve, that I hold in a very fubordinate light that beauty of ſtyle and language, thoſe golden paffages, which will ever immortalize his writings ; and a faint refemblance of which is the only merit of fome of his ene mies. I refpect him as a writer eminently favourable on the whole to the interefts of humanity, reaſon, and religion. Wherever he goes counter to any of thefe, I as freely diffent from him; but do not on that account throw all his works into the fire. As the beſt and moſt religious people of my ac quaintance are among his warmeft admirers, Ι may perhaps be biaffed in my judgment ; but it is certainly more amiable to be miſled bythe fair parts of a character, than to make its imperfections a pretence for not admiring or profiting by its beauties. Nor can any de fects or inconfiftencies in the private charac ter of Rouffeau, depreciate the refined moral and religious principles with which his works abound. ( 113 ) abound. Truth is truth wherever it comes from. No imperfections of humanity can difcredit a noble caufe ; and it would be madneſs to reject Chriſtianity, for inſtance, either becauſe Peter denied Chrift, or Judas betrayed him. It will be hard to meet with a more edifying or more confolatory lecture on religion than the death-bed of Julia. Her character is evidently intended as a model in this reſpect. Bythat then we should judge of its author, and not by fretful doubts and petulant expreffions, the fad fruits of unjuſt perfecution, and of good intentions mifcon ftrued. Nor would it be difficult to pro duce, from the works of Rouffeau, a vaſt majority of paffages directly in fupport of Chriſtianity itſelf, compared with what are fuppofed to be hoftile to it. It is notorious that he incurred the ridicule ofVoltaire, for exalting the character and death of Jefus above that of Socrates. " But he was infi dious, and he diſbelieved miracles," ſay his opponents. If he believed Chriftianity without the affiftance of miracles to fupport his faith, is it a proof of his infidelity ? If he was infidious, that is his own concern. I VOL. I. I have ( 114 ) have nothing to do with hidden meanings or myſtical explanations of any book, certainly not of the writings of fo ingenuous and perfpicuous an author as Rouffeau. Unfor tunately for him, the whole tenour of thofe writings has been too hoftile to the prevail ing opinions, or at leaſt to the darling inte refts of thoſe in authority among whom he lived ; for Scribes and Pharifees are never wanting to depreſs every attempt at im proving or inftructing the world, and the greateſt herefy and most unpardonable offence is always that of being in the right. For this caufe, having had the honour of feeling the vengeance of all ranks of tyrants and bigots, from a king or biſhop of France, to a paltry magiftrate of Berne, or a Swifs paftor, he was obliged to take refuge in England. Here he was received with open arms, being juftly confidered as the martyr of that ſpirit of inveftigation and liberty which is the bafis of our conftitution, and on which alone our reformed religion de pends. He was careffed and entertained by the beſt and moſt accompliſhed people, and experienced in a particular manner the 2 bounty ( 115 ) bounty of our preſent amiable Sovereign. One cannot but lament, that one of the moſt eminent, and I believe virtuous, public cha racters of that day, fhould of late have vainly enough attempted to compliment the fame Sovereign, by telling him he came to the crown in contempt of his people, fhould have held up a Meffalina for public venera tion, and become the calumniator of Rouf feau ! It is, indeed, true that a certain morbid degree of fenfibility and delicacy, added to the inequalities of a temper broken down by perfecution and ill health, made Rouffeau often receive apparently well-meant atten tions with a very bad grace. Yet, from moſt of the complaints of this kind which I have heard from the parties immediately con cerned, I very much ſuſpect he was not un frequently in the right. But, fuppofing him to have been to blame in all theſe inftances, they occurred pofterior to his moſt celebrated publications. Was it not very unjuſt, there fore, for thoſe who had patroniſed and ex tolled him for thofe publications, to vent I 2 their ( 116 ) their animofity againſt them for any thing in his conduct afterwards ? Far be it from me, however, to attempt a full juftification of his writings. I only con tend for the generally good intention oftheir author.Theworks themſelves muſt be judged byimpartial pofterity. I merely offer myown fentiments ; but I offer them freely, ſcorning to diſguiſe my opinion, either becauſe infi dels have preffed Rouſſeau into their fervice, or becauſe the uncandid and the diſhoneſt have traduced him falfely, not daring to de clare the real caufe of their averfion-his virtuous fincerity. CHAP. "T ( 117 ) BOTANY. GHA P. X, ACADEMIES. MR. BERTIER. DEATH OF OBSERVATORY. MINERALS. THE botanic garden of Paris has lately been much enlarged, and now occupies a very confiderable extent of ground. It confifts of many public walks, and fome places encloſed with iron rails, in which are the ftoves and green-houſe, and in which hardy plants are arranged according to the ſyſtem of Juffieu. This garden uſed in fummer to be the evening walk of literary people, and even of perſons of faſhion ; and was, befides, frequented all day long by ftudents of both fexes. Here ladies might be ſeen at cloſe ſtudy, diffecting flowers, and reading their deſcriptions ; nor is it at all unufual at Paris for the fair fex to attend ſcientific lectures in confiderable numbers. This collection ofplants is generally reckoned I 3 inferior ( 118 ) inferior only to that of Kew. It contains however many plants not in England, moftly from Peru and the Levant. Datura arborea, covered with its magnificent and fragrant flowers, was at this time the fineſt thing in the garden, and had crowds of vifitors every evening. Few people could fupport its per fume for any length of time. The rare Gundelia was living here ; but many of Tournefort's fineſt plants have been löft, as well as in England. Adjoining to the garden is the Cabinet du Roi, or Muſeum of Natural Hiſtory, confifting of a long train of apartments, par ticularly rich in fplendid birds and infects from Guiana. Here is the only Papilio Hecuba perhaps in Europe, well figured in Buffon's Planches Enluminées, from whence Linnæus defcribed it. The collection of precious ſtones is very valuable. The vege table părt of this Muſeum contains Du Ha mel's own fpecimens of his experiments on trees, with a large number of exotic fruits, and above all the original herbariums of Tournefort and Vaillant. Of theſe the latter is the moft numerous and in beft condition. Both w0 ( 119 ) Both are extremely uſeful for fettling the fynonyms of old botanists, and eſpecially of the writers by whom theſe collections rant were made. By the indulgence of Mr. D'Aubenton I had leave to examine both at ains ftly prea, . very per rare of tas inet ory, par ects din ence of ge Ha on its, of tter on. oth my leifure, and looked over that of Tourne fort with particular attention, defcribing from it about eighty plants from the Levant, not noticed by Linnæus. Its arrangement is alphabetical according to the French names ; a worſe could hardly have been contrived, as different ſpecies of the fame genus are by this means often widely feparated. The fpecimens are pinned upon brown paper, with tickets annexed. There are not fo many of each ſpecies, nor are the ſpecimens fo fine, as in the collection of Vaillant. From the manuſcript obſervations of the latter, he appears to have been a much better botanift than is generally fuppofed. He had formed excellent conjectures about the affinities of many new plants, as well as the fynonyms of many old ones. I was ſurpriſed to find his Herbarium rich in North American ſpe cimens, collected by Sarrazin in the begin ning of this century, many of which are I 4 now N ( 120 ) now ſuppoſed to be of very late diſcovery, as Kalmia glauca of Hort. Kew. This does not detract from the merit of thoſe who have gathered theſe plants fince ; but how wonderful is it they fhould have re mained fo long undeſcribed by French bo taniſts ! A vaft collection of drawings and manuſcripts of Plumier remain ftill unpub liſhed in the hands of the Academy of Sciences, which would be a moft acceptable preſent to the botanical world. On the ſtaircaſe of this Muſeum is a marble ftatue of the celebrated Count de Buffon, the fize of life, with accompaniments expref 'five of the ſtudy in which he excelled. The infcription tranfgreffes all bounds of mo deſty, and indeed borders on impiety ; 66 99 Majeftati Naturæ par ingenium. A ge nius equal to the majeſty of nature.' The expreffion of the countenance is equally bombaftic. How even a French "philofophe foi difant" could reconcile himſelf to fuch flattery, exceeds the comprehenfion of a lefs fublime genius. I was not fortunate enough to fee this illuftrious character, as he was at fome diftance from Paris. With his dif tinguiſhed ( 121 ) ut 1 = 1 s P tinguiſhed colleague and friend, Mr. D'Au benton, I had often an opportunity of con verfing, and always with pleaſure and advan tage. The Count de la Cepede, who has fince publiſhed an able work on Reptiles, in tended as a fequel to Buffon, was alſo fre quently at the cabinet during my vifits there. In the garden I have occaſionally met with Mr. Adanfon, whoſe know ledge in botany would procure him great reputation, were he lefs a flave to paradox and pedantry. He generally accoſted me with fome attack on Linnæus, fometimes calling him grofsly ignorant and illiterate, and then, when I have ventured to quote Philofophia Botanica as a proof of the con trary, abuſing him as fcholaftic. I was con tented with ſmiling to think how the one accufation deſtroyed the other. Mr. Adan fon no leſs warmly contends for barbarous names in botany ; recommending that every fpecies of plant ſhould in all books be called fimplyby the name by which it is known in its native country ; as ifthe fame plant were not often found in fifty or an hundred dif ferent countries, and in each called by a dif ferent ( 122 ) ferent name ; and as if the Linnæan no menclature were not abundantly juſtified by reafon and experience ! This leads me to give a ſhort account of fome other principal botaniſts now living at Paris. -Mr. Anthony de Juffieu takes the lead among thoſe who, with refpect to fyf tem, may be called Anti-Linnæans. He in herits his tafte for the ſcience from his uncles Bernard and Joſeph de Juffieu ; the former of whom was Profeffor at Paris, and the latter made a fine collection of plants in Peru. Their books and collections defcended to their nephew, who has not turned his attention to botany till within theſe few years ; but with what very great fucceſs he has in that time ftudied natural orders, is manifefted in his Genera Plantarum, pub liſhed in 1789 ; a work which will immor talize its author, and probably go down to pofterity with the Genera Plantarum of Lin næus, to which it is an excellent companion. Thoſe who can read and judge of his work, need not be told that he is a true philofo pher, profound in fcience, ardent in the fuit of truth, open to conviction himſelf, and pur+ 1:ܬܬܢF"A1620candid ( 123 ) candid in his corrections of others ; nor will they be furpriſed to hear his manners are gentle and pleafing, his converſation eaſy, cheerful, and polite. Although we differed on many points, as the laws of nomenclature. and the merits of the Linnæan fyftem, yet as truth was our common object, repeated and free difcuffions increaſed our eſteem for each other, and to me at leaſt were produc tive of inſtruction as well as pleaſure. At Mr. de Juffieu's I fometimes met Mr. de Lamarck, who is equally devoted to botany, in which indeed he is quite abſorbed, and whoſe knowledge is undoubtedly very ex tenſive, but whoſe character is lefs pleaſing than that of Mr. de Jufficu. This gentleman is engaged in the botanical part of the Ency clopedie, a work which I have been deterred from ſtudying fo much as it perhaps de ferves, partly by its barbarous arrangement, and partly by the fcorn with which it was univerfally ſpoken of by fcientific botaniſts in France. By this inattention, and, as I am told, by neglecting to vifit him, I unfor tunately incurred the public cenfure of Mr. de Lamarck, to which juſtice to myſelf re quired ( 124 ) 1 quired a reply, and the public are already in poffeffion of a conclufive one *. I freely acknowledge that I fhrunk from the fociety of a man who always took occaſion to at tack, with violence, what he knew to be my moſt favourite ſentiments, and whom I have feen tranfgrefs all bounds of decorum, when a plant named in his dictionary happened inadvertently to be ſpoken of in company by a different, though uſual, name. I have more than once had occafion to obſerve, that the violence or indecorum of the French, the politeft of nations, is peculiarly diſguſt ing. So the rudeneſs of certain ſets of peo ple, who affect extraordinary gentleneſs and humility, when it occurs, is rudeness in deed ! Among the Linnæan botanifts Mr. L'He ritier, now one of the Judges for the Paris department under the new conftitution, is eminently diftinguiſhed by his moſt ſuperb and ſcientific publications, the plates ofwhich are executed with a degree of elegance and accuracy rarely to be met with ; nor are the

• Plant. Ic. fafc. 2. præf.

defcrip !!U, ( 125 ) ፣ 5 1 1 deſcriptions lefs complete. To this gentle man is entruſted the publication of Dom bey's plants, gathered in Spaniſh America, and it is to be hoped he will not keep the world longer in expectation than is neceſſary for the perfection of the work. Mr. Bulliard is well known by his Herbier de la France, the plates of which are printed in oil colours. Several copper-plates are re quired for each figure, generally about four or five. On one of them is engraved all the green parts of the figure, on another the red or blue, &c. Theſe are printed fuccef fively on the fame paper, care being taken that each ſhall fit exactly to the impreffion of the other. Laft of all a plate with the fhades, name, and number, in black, com pletes the figure. This mode fucceeds ad mirably in objects of fuch few and fimple colours as Fungi ; but in other plants not fo well. Mr. Bulliard's work principally con tains Fungi, and thofe plates may be had without the others. They are a valuable acceffion to Botany. Mr. Desfontaines, now Profeffor of Bo tany at the Royal Garden, was, in 1786, lately t ( 126 ) lately returned from Barbary with a rich harveſt of plants and infects, all which he allowed me to examine and to partake of. It is probable he may favour the world with an account of his journey. Mr. Thouin, who has the fuperintendance ofthe botanic garden, deferves my warmeft acknowledgments for the very liberal man ner in which he at all times allowed me ac cefs to that rich collection , as well as to his own private herbarium, which I looked over entirely with great advantage. Few Naturalifts equal Mr. Brouffonet, whom I have already mentioned, for zeal and abilities ; nor can it be fufficiently re gretted that his various engagements will not allow him to finish his fyftematic work on Ichthyology, nor to continue the excellent figures and defcriptions of Fishes, of which one number appeared in 1782 ; perhaps however his country ought rather to rejoice that he has devoted his talents to more im portant objects. To his indefatigable per ſeverance and activity is principally to be at tributed the fuccefs of the Royal Society of Agriculture, eſtabliſhed under Louis XV. but A ( 127 ) but afterwards neglected for many years, and of which he is the Secretary. By inſtituting judicious experiments, giving premiums for uſeful undertakings, and by well-timed and ftriking publications, calling the attention of the huſbandman and the citizen to this im portant fubject, this Society has improved the agriculture of France more rapidly per haps than ever happened in any other coun try. Among other improvements, the cul tivation of turnips and potatoes has become very general. In order to reconcile the poor to the uſe of the latter as food, the ex ample was ſet by feveral perfons in genteel life. I have feen an entire courſe compofed of this uſeful vegetable, differently dreffed, at the table of Mr. Parmentier of the Hôtel X4 des Invalids, who has written a book on the cultivation and uſe of potatoes. A veteri nary ſchool was inftituted at Charenton, where Mr. Brouffonet andothers gave lectures on the ſeveral branches of Rural Economy, which were attended by farmers and huf bandmen, as well as by gentlemen, and even ladies. The meetings of the Agricultural Society ufed 鼎 ( 128 ) W uſed to be held weekly, at the houſe of the unfortunate Mr. Bertier, late Intendant of Paris, who was fo cruelly and unhappily murdered at the beginning of the revolution. He was a great patron of this inftitution, and conſtantly attended its meetings ; where too I have often ſeen the late excellent Duke de la Rochefoucauld, and many other dif tinguiſhed perfons, ftill more, eminent for their patriotiſin and accompliſhments than for their rank. Mr. Bertier was a moft ac tive magiftrate : he kept 40 clerks conſtantly employed, and feldom allowed himſelf above four hours fleep. The police of Paris and its diftrict, the roads, pavement, lighting the ſtreets, collection of duties, care of pri fons, all was under his fuperintendance. No lefs amiable in private life, than indefatiga ble in his public character; a good huſband, a good father, remarkably attentive to the education of his children ; his death is one of the fouleft ftains in the hiftory of the revolution. It does not appear that he had, though a magiftrate, made himſelf peculiarly obnoxious to the mob ; nor was he marked out for deftruction till immediately before the WasteleEmotVOOwnrcurCounacere ( 129 ) the fad cataſtrophe. An unguarded expref fion was the cauſe of his fate. Paris being threatened with famine from the ſcarcity of bread, Mr. Bertier, then in the country, was fent for to the capital. Being informed of the riot, and that the people loudly de manded bread, he is faid haftily and petu lantly to have replied, " Give them ſtraw !" Or Theſe words, true or falfe, were carried to the mob, who, enraged at the unfeeling in ſult, vowed revenge, and too foon accom pliſhed it. The melancholy particulars are well known. The people carried his head about the town on a pole, with ftraw in the mouth ; a circumſtance which has not before been accounted for, either by the enemies of the original revolution, who, under the maſk of humanity, fecretly exult in theſe diſgrace ful outrages, or by its temperate friends who fincerely deplore them. Theſe enormities reſemble too much the maffacre of St. Bar tholomew, and the circumftances following the murder of the Marechal d'Ancre ; they feem a proof that the national character of the French wants a reform, as much as their old government. But let us leave fuch VOL. I. K horrid C 1. 1 re Ke 1 CK e e e Y d e e PE 1H ( 130 ) horrid fubjects. On the 4th of September I attended a public meeting of the Society of Agriculture at Charenton. It was held in a large tent, the new veterinary ſchool not being finiſhed. The meeting was fplendidly attended ; many of the firſt nobility, and feven or eight blue ribbands, were preſent. Mr. Fourcroix, the celebrated chemiſt, read an oration for himſelf, and one for Mr. D'Aubenton ; Mr. Vicq d'Azyr the anatomiſt and Mr. Brouffonet delivered others, all re lating to the defign and progrefs of the fo ciety. After which, fome of the pupils gave fpecimens oftheir knowledge in the anatomy of the horſe ; and at the concluſion , Mr. de Vergennes the minifter, who was preſent all the time, expreffed his fatisfaction , and the meeting ended. The affemblies of the Academy of Sciences were held on Wedneſdays and Saturdays at the Louvre, in apartments granted to that illuftrious body by Louis XIV. their founder. One of thefe rooms was the bed-chamber of Henry IV. In place of the bed, railed off, ftands the buft of that prince. Here his bleeding body was left for many hours in abfolute ( 131 ) 1

abfolute neglect ; fo much did the intrigues concerning the regency occupy every one about the court. 66 Ainfi," fays Mezerai, 66' il n'y avoit qu'un moment entre les ado rations et l'oubli." At the meetings of the academy one meets with all the moſt eminent literary cha racters, and hears as much of the papers that are read as the inceffant talking will permit. The prefident (who in all the French focieties is changed about every three months) has indeed a bell to proclaim filence, but he rings it only when the general noiſe prevents his hearing himſelf or his next neighbour. A more important defect in this fociety is the tardy publication of their memoirs, which never appear in print till about five years after they are read ; and the communications of perfons, not members, are even ten years before they are given to the public. This is an imperfection which it is to be hoped will be corrected in the in tended new organization of the academy. The real ufe of ſuch inftitutions is to afford an aſylum for eſſays and differtations, either too fmall, or, from the plates required, too K 2 expenfive ( 132 ) If expenſive to be ſeparately publiſhed. fuch works are kept back five or ten years, they loſe their novelty, and any information they may contain is generally foreſtalled. An Engliſhman wonders the name of the academy ſhould be proſtituted to give a fanction to particular kinds of rouge. No thing is more common than to fee at a per fumer's, "Rouge approuvéeparl'Academie des Sciences." But it muſt be confidered that this article is uſed by moſt women, even of worth and character, in Paris ; and the in nocence of its compofition is therefore an object of public importance. The Royal Library, in the Rue de Rich lieu, merits particular attention. It is con feffedly one of the firft in the world, and is eafily acceffible to perfons of merit. Here is preſerved that fplendid collection of draw ings of plants from the Jardin du Roi, be gun under the aufpices of Gafton Duke of Orleans, brother to Louis XIII. and ſtill con tinued. Thoſe by Robert, who was em ployed in the beginning, are by far the beſt, and very maſterly. Here are alſo the ori~ ginal V**4 ( 133 ) 1 -1 e a $ t 1 S 2 ginal coloured drawings of Feuillè ; rude enough, but curious as originals. The Obfervatory is ſituated on an elevated fpot near the Rue St. Jacques, and from its top is an extenſive view. The building was now repairing, and all in diſorder. What inftruments I faw did not appear to be fine, nor well kept ; probably theſe were not the beft, as the ſcience of aftronomy is no where more cultivated than at Paris. I defcended into the celebrated caves, from 80 to 100 feet deep, winding for the ſpace of three leagues under this quarter of the town. Here the thermometer of Reaumur ftands at 10 degrees, equal to 54 of Fahrenheit, all year. the Whatever other places may want in ele gance, is abundantly made up in the new chemical lecture-room and laboratory of Mr. Le Sage at the mint. It is fo finically neat and fine, that I could hardly believe it ever had been, or could be uſed. The beautiful and ſcientific arrangement of minerals, in glaſs-caſes round the room, is worthy of all praiſe, and calculated to excite the curioſity and admiration of the moſt ignorant fpec K 3 tator, ( 134 ) tator, as well as to gratify the moſt intelli gent. The fpecimens are not large, but very numerous, and judiciouſly varied. It would be endleſs to defcribe all the muſeums of natural hiftory, with which this capital abounds; nor is it neceſſary even to enumerate them, after the accurate ac count given of Parifian collections by the Rev. Mr. Townfend, in his excellent travels to Spain. The principal ones which fell under my inſpection, were that of Mr. Gigot D'Orcy in the Place Vendome, a magnificent affem blage of minerals and infects particularly, and of Mr. Beffon in the Rue du Cocq St. Honoré, confifting of minerals only. I fhould be ungrateful to forget the obliging attentions of theſe gentlemen. Mr. Beſſon is a very ſcientific mineralogift, as the dif pofition of his collection evinces. He pof feffes many fine iron- ores from the iſle of Elba, and many good things from Auvergne. His cryftals of feldt-fpath, his horn ftein, which he traces from wood, and his agates, are very felect, and very inſtructive, CHAP ااا ( 135 ) CHA P. XI. PARIS TO MONTPELLIER. î Oct. 31. HAVINGNG ever had an earneſt defire to vifit Italy, and having always read with tranſport every deſcription of that cele brated country, I prevailed on an old friend and fellow-ftudent, whofe taftes and purſuits exactly agreed with my own, to accompany me thither. As our aim was inſtruction, not diffipation, and due œconomy of time and money a part of our plan, we fought to mix as much as poffible with the people. of each of the countries through which we paffed, eſpecially the literary and ſcientific, and refolved to conform to their manners and cuſtoms, even their mode of travelling and living, as much as poffible. We feldom fought the fociety of our own countrymen, particularly of the travelling herd, whoſe general plan of operation would but ill have K4 accorded ( 136 ) accorded with our own ; and we had fre quent occafion to rejoice in our independ ence. Dr. Younge met me at Paris the firft week in October ; and on the laſt day of that month, at four in the morning, we fet out in the diligence for Lyons. The fnow beginning to fall, made us impatient to mi grate fouthward ; but we had only cold cloudy weather and rain as far as Montpel lier. Our carriage was roomy, the company numerous, and tolerably agreeable. We paid, I think, five louis each at Paris, and were fed and lodged by the way without any farther expence, as is ufual in France. We dined the first day at Melun, a poor place ; and took coffee at Montereau, plea fantly fituated at the foot of a hill. Its Gothic church feemed confiderable, and its curé, a Corfican Abbé, was one of our com panions to Lyons. Slept at Ville neuve le Guiare. Nov. 1. We arofe at four. The early hours of thefe diligences are not ſuited to winter travelling. At half paſt feven, ar rived ( 137 ) 1 lt ů Or ts ts 0 rived at the archbishopric of Sens. The cathedral is a venerable old church, with good painted windows, and a handfome choir, in the middle of which lie interred, according to their own defire, the Dauphin and Dauphinefs, father and mother of Louis XVI. Their monument, by an artiſt of Paris, is of an elegant defign. Time is throwing a veil over their urns, one of which he has already enveloped. Hymen, repre fented with a dejected air, is a very good ftatue. This monument, like that of Car dinal de Richlieu at Paris, ftands infulated , and has a very low baſement ; the figures of courſe are on a level with the fpectator. After dining at Ville neuve le Roi, we fup ped at Auxerre, where it was a general com plaint that our beds feemed ftuffed with tatoes rather than feathers. po Nov. 2. The road lay over high ground to Lucy le Bois. Our refting place at night was Saulieu, where fortune favoured us with a very good inn. Nov. 3. The country improved as we ad vanced. ( 138 ) vanced. We dined at Autun, the oldeft town in Burgundy, where are many Roman ruins. In the neighbourhood are fome large houfes of education. This neighbourhood is faid to be remarkably cheap. We paffed over fome very fine woody hills to Chalons on the Soane. Here was a large gloomy inn in the Spaniſh ftyle, the walls of whofe vaft eating-room, blackened with age and fmoke, were ſcarcely difcernible by the dim glimmering light of the taper, which ſtood on a ponderous oak table in the middle of the apartment. In the folitary court was a well, which, when the mule-drivers came. for water in the morning, reminded me of that where Don Quixote kept watch, previ ous to his being knighted. The chief manufactory of this country is hardware ; and we were befet, on our arri val at moſt of the inns, by women who fell fuch articles made by their huſbands. They feemed, in general, badly finiſhed and dear ; and the " Sheffield whittle" of my compa nion was often drawn forth with patriotic zeal, to the utter confufion of thefe French pretenders. C•Nov. ( 139 ) Nov. 4. At Chalons we exchanged our land carriage for a fpacious barge on that fine tranquil river the Soane, where our party received a confiderable addition. Se veral ladies, fome officers, and a young abbé, joined us, and the converfation be came very entertaining. Among other things the celibacy of priests was difcuffed, and generally reprobated. Some objected to it as a hardship ; others as a fource of immorality. I ventured to obferve, that it could never have been confidered as a hard ſhip by the clergy who inftituted it, as they were then in the height of their power and corruption, and by no means inclined to im poſe any burthen on themſelves. They therefore could have reftrained their order from a lawful and natural indulgence, only becauſe they found promifcuous gallantry leſs burthenfome, and more fuited to their depraved appetites. , Accordingly it was no torious that one of the divines, moft zealous for the law of celibacy, arofe immediately from the bed of a proftitute, to attend the affembly in which the matter was debated. The ladies applauded my argument very much. ( 140 ) much. The young abbé fat reading his breviary in a corner with great devotion ; being as yet a novice in his profeffion, he turned a deaf ear to our profane diſcourſe. One of our companions was a proteftant of Languedoc. He ſpoke of the inhuman re ftrictions on their religion, and expreffed a faint hope that the prefent king, being a merciful prince, would be diſpoſed to alle viate them, if he were to follow his own inclinations. This led on to the confidera tion of the edict of Nantes, and the irre parable injury which had been done to the ftate by its revocation ; while I enlarged, as I always in France took every poffible occafion of doing, on the advantage it had been to the neighbouring nations, and on the many reſpectable families and valuable manufactories which had been tranſplanted to England, and which ftill, to my own perfonal knowledge, flouriſhed there. While theſe points were difcuffing, more generous indignation was expreffed by the looks of the company than I fhould have expected in a French countenance. They ſeemed to indulge fuch rebellious ideas, as that govern ments HMawiinww!I'1.N ( 141 ) ments ought to be wife and impartial ! We went aſhore to dinner at Tornus, and flept in a very good inn at Macon. Nov. 5. Next day we again quitted the boat to dine at as wretched an inn, whoſe fituation however was very fine. Noble ruins crowned the hills above it, and the Soane glided gently along below. About five in the evening arrived at Lyons ; our trunks paffed the cuftom-houſe for a little. gratuity unopened, which is generally the beſt way, and we were foon very comfort ably lodged in the Hôtel du Parc. Being much indifpofed, and the weather very wet, I ſaw lefs of Lyons than I could have wiſhed. We accompanied Dr. Brun round the Hôtel Dieu, an hoſpital which has been more praiſed than it deferves. The beds have large thick woollen curtains, and each contains two or three patients. When we expreffed our wonder that fo abfurd a practice ſhould ftill be continued, we were told that hofpitals muft not be made too comfortable, as the poor would then be too fond of having recourfe to them ! On each bed ( 142 ) bed was a ticket of direction concerning the diet or treatment of the patient. Some were infcribed " Extreme unction ;" and one, "Inftruction in the holy myfteries." I was curious to fee the perſon who occupied this bed, and, on advancing, perceived a young woman in a fever, who ftarted with a look of horror and defpair at our approach. Surely a more apt, as well as a more humane preſcription might have been thought of, unlefs, indeed, fome myfteries are beft in culcated into the mind in a ſtate of delirium . The affixing thefe tickets is chiefly, I be lieve, at the difcretion of the Soeurs de la Charité, an order of nuns who devote them felves entirely to the painful office of nurfing the fick without any reward. Surely, in the generally too juſt cenſure of monaſtic inſtitu tions, this order ought always to be excepted. Proteftant churches fhould be very perfect in other reſpects, to atone for their want of fuch an example of piety and virtue. What is the faſhionable charity of fubfcribing to a London hofpital, for the fake, perhaps, of being able, occafionally, to relieve ourſelves from the trouble of a fick domeftic, com pared I ( 143 ) pared to the almoſt Divine benevolence of thefe nuns ? fome of whom have fcorned the moft flattering allurements of life, to devote themſelves irrevocably, like their bleffed Mafter, folely to doing good ! We juftly admire and venerate one man, who purfued to the laft a conduct like this ; but thefe poor nuns are each a Howard! Lyons has a public library, conſiſting of about fixty thouſand volumes, arranged in a ſpacious gallery paved with marble. The books on hiſtory bear the largeſt proportion. I obferved a fine Pliny, printed on vellum in 1472, in two volumes folio : a manufcript on Natural Hiſtory, with coloured figures, very much like the Hortus Sanitatis : fome Chineſe manufcripts, and fome old French romances with fine illuminations. Viſited Mr. Froffard, the Proteftant clergy man, who has publiſhed a good tranflation of Blair's Sermons, and who has lately ex erciſed his pen, as becomes a Chriſtian mi nifter, againſt the infernal flave trade. This gentleman introduced us to Mr. Gillibert, f rmerly ſettled in Poland, where he wrote a Flora Lithuanica, which had the fingular 7 fortune ( 144 ) fortune, for a botanical book, of being pro hibited, and that not fo much perhaps on account of its imperfections, however great they may be, as from the intrigues of its author's enemies. He has fince publiſhed an uſeful compilation of ſeveral works of Linnæus. We were likewiſe preſented to Mr. de Vil lers, a very able entomologiſt, whoſe cabinet is faid to contain about 5000 European fpecies of infects, on which he was then preparing a ſyſtematic work, which has fince appeared, to the great benefit of the ſcience. His exotic infects are few. We found Mr. de Villers modeft, communicative, and un affuming, like most people of real know ledge and genuine tafte for fcience. He is rather advanced in years. The cabinet of Mr. Imbert, a merchant, is a fectseral collection, containing fhells, in birds, minerals, &c. but not very in any thing. Here we met the late Count de Charnacé of Angers, a young gentleman of a literary turn and pleafing manners, who, as well as ourſelves, was bound for Montpellier, and we joined to engage a voiturin ( 145 ) 1 t S t 1 1 e 7 i S " 1 I voiturin to conduct us thither ; being dif fuaded from going down the Rhone to Avignon in a boat, on account of the damp weather, and the uncertainty of the paffage at this feafon, when the Rhone, like all rivers that originate in the Alps, is more fhallow than in fummer ; and we were told the large boats often ran aground. Nevertheless, I would adviſe all travellers to prefer this voyage to the journey by land. We were eight tedious days in getting to Montpellier, and might have gone in two or three. Theſe voiturins are to be met with throughout Italy, and the fouth of France. They undertake the conveyance of a travel ler , for a certa fum, in fixed time, to the place of his deftination ; and, if defired , will pay all his expences at the inns by the way, which we afterwards found the beft method. This mode is much cheaper, and infinitely lefs embarraffing, than travelling poft. It requires, indeed, very early rifing, and is very flow ; but the latter was no objection to us, as we could alight at pleaſure to bo tanize, and walk full as faft as our horfes or VOL. I. L mules, ( 146 ) mules, till we were tired. Thoſe who chooſe to pay their own expences, defire, on arriving at an inn, to dine at the table d'hôte, that is with other company that may be in the houſe, for which the common fixed price throughout this country is 40 fous ( 20 pence) each for dinner, and 45 for fupper and lodging. Our table was always plentifully, and even luxuriouſly furniſhed, with truffles, red-legged par tridges, and great variety of ſmall birds ; the latter were not indeed very palatable to us at firſt, on account of the high flavour of the juniper berries on which they chiefly feed. The turkies in Languedoc and Pro vence are more like my illuftrious country men, the Norfolk ones, in fize and flavour, than any others I ever met with. We had always clean linen , and filver forks. I have often thought, the immenfe number of theſe forks in France might prove a great refource in any ſtate exigency ; but it ſeems filver buckles were judged more eligible lately on fuch an occafion. Nov. 10. We left Lyons at ten. Our carriage "" ( 147 ) I carriage was none of the beft, and the road moſt execrably ftony and bad. Vienne, a long narrow dirty town, five leagues only from Lyons, was the extent of that day's journey. Nov. 11. We were called again upon duty at five in the morning, and afcended a hill covered with fnow to our dining-place, whoſe name has eſcaped me. Afterwards, walking a long way by the fide of the car riage, I had the pleaſure of gathering the pretty Gnaphalium Stachas, Teucrium Polium, and fome other plants, not natives of Eng land. Slept at St. Vallier. Nov. 12. Sunday. We were extremely obliged to the maſs, which detained our voiturin till paſt eight ; after which we pro ceeded chiefly along the banks of the Rhone to Valence, a ſmall fortified town. Our inn was in the ſuburbs ; poffibly the very place which Rouffeau mentions in his Confeffions. Arriving early, M. de Charnacè propofed, as a probable fource of amuſement in our own way, to go in fearch of the principal L 2 apothecary. ( 148 ) apothecary. We were accordingly directed to a Mr. Boniface, who received us very civilly, and on hearing our errand, told us he alfo was a botanift, and produced his herbal. This was a folio volume of dried plants, collected by himſelf in the Paris garden, about the year 1764, arranged ac cording to Tournefort's fyftem, with ſyno nyms, generally pretty right, and the re puted virtues of each plant, that is, in what degree it is hot or cold. Nov. 13. From Valence we proceeded to l'Auriol, an old decayed town, with the ruins of a caſtle. In the way from thence toMontelimar, plenty of lavender, Lavandula officinalis, grew by the road fide, with Teu crium Polium, and Cercis Siliquafirum. Mont elimar is, like all the towns hereabouts, en clofed with a wall, but wretchedly built ; with narrow ftreets, fo ill paved as to be almoſt impaffable. Our companion being defirous of feeing the celebrated volcanic . philofopher, M. Faujas de St. Fond, who was Senefchal of this miferable place, and 失物展 思 has ( 149 ) has ftill a houſe in the town ; we went to call on him, but he was then at Nice. Nov. 14. A heavy rain rendered us the fame ſervice as the mafs did on Sunday, and we were allowed to repofe till eight o'clock. About five in the afternoon arrived at the Pont St. Efprit, a town on the weſt ſide of the Rhone, taking its name from a curi ous old ſtone bridge of twenty-two arches over that river. This bridge is very nar row, ſo that two carriages cannot paſs it abreaſt, and is built with an obtuſe angle pointing up the river, that the ſtructure may the better refift floods. It was near 45 years in building, and was finiſhed in 1309. The arches are fo fmall as not to be paffed in a boat without danger, when the river is rapid, Nov. 15. We dined at a little village, in which was a fine perpetual fountain of flightly tepid water. In the afternoon, after traverfing a country covered with Box, Ever green Oak, Lavender, Garden Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Meliſſa Nepeta, feveral fpccies L 3 ( 150 ) fpecies of Ciftus, and other fine plants, moſt of them however out of flower, we arrived at the noble Pont du Gard, one of the moſt majeſtic Roman edifices now remaining in the world. It is fituated in a folitary ſpot, between two rocky hills, over the river Gardon, whofe fteep banks are clothed with wild Fig-trees, Olives, and a variety of beautiful fhrubs, in the moſt romantic man ner ; ſo that this magnificent ruin enjoys every advantage of ſcenery and fituation. It indeed can ſcarcely be called a ruin, being compofed of ſtones fo maffy as to have hitherto ſuffered enough only, from the in juries of time, to make it pictureſque, and ſcarcely ſo much as to deſtroy even its ori ginal uſe as an aqueduct, if it were now wanted for that purpoſe. It confifts of three rows of femicircular arches, of which the uppermoft are much the ſmalleſt ; the lower moſt range has been enlarged in breadth, fo as to make a bridge. On the building we gathered Camphorofma monfpeliaca, in which I never could perceive any ſmell of cam phor, and Satureja Thymbra. Took up our 1 ( 151 ) our night's lodging in a little dirty inn, called La Fourche, not far diftant. Nov. 16. The road to Nifmes lay through a flat country, planted with olive trees, which have a dreary appearance, being low and void of luxuriance in their foliage, as well as of a greyish hue, neither poffeffing the chearful green of our common foreft trees, nor even the filvery fplendour of a white willow. The ripe fruit, which was ftill in many places ungathered, is tempting in ap pearance, like a ſmall damſon plumb ; but to the taſte moſt intolerably naufeous. Its oily juice is mixed with the watery fluids, and a peculiar acrid bitter, in the form of a white emulfion, all which, from its fuperior lightneſs, it leaves behind when the fruit is bruiſed in a proper veffel. While dinner was preparing, we viſited the famous amphi theatre of Nifmes, trufting to another op portunity to ſee the other curiofities of the place. This building is fo encumbered with miferable houſes, both within and without, that ſcarcely any idea can be formed of its original effect. Projects have been formed to L 4 clear ( 152 ) clear it, but hitherto without fuccefs, on ac count of the expence. In the way to Lunel, Euphorbia ferrata and Centaureafalmantica were in flower by the road fide. The wine made in this neighbourhood, is a kind of mufcadel, much in requeft. Our inn was excellent. Νου . 17. We travelled through a heavy rain, with a tired horfe, to Montpellier, a welcome refting-place after fo tedious a journey. CHAP. +6vi ( 153 ) CHAP. XII. MONTPELLIER. THE fituation and climate of this town long procured it great reputation, as an afylum for perfons whofe delicate health re quired a more temperate air than that of England. Of late years it has been lefs frequented ; probably from the unfavourable account, more ill-natured than juſt, which Smollet has given of the ſtate of phyſic there. Phyſicians, like fectaries in religion, have each their peculiar theories and dogmas, and the cry of herefy has generally as little to do with truth, good ſenſe, or juſtice, when it comes from one profeffion as from the other. In each, honeft fenfible men find principles enough for their own guidance ; and while the conſciouſneſs of a facility of error, in fpeculative and lefs important points, makes them ( 154 ) them tolerant and compaffionate to thofe who differ from them, they leave to the rabble of their brethren the thorny path of controverfy and cenfure. We were certainly more fortunate than Smollet in our medical acquaintances here. I have feldom met with a more fenfible, or a more amiable and humane man, than Dr. Brouffonet, the profeffor of phyfic, father of the celebrated ichthyologiſt at Paris. We formed indeed a very favourable opinion of the national character in the fouth of France. Urbanity and hofpitality mark it very ſtrong ly ; and even certain prejudices, which make a part of it, are by no means unamiable. Theſe good people think, not without rea fon, their own country one of the moſt fa voured under heaven ; their climate, their productions, their manners, all preferable to thofe of other countries, and they delight in gratifying a ſtranger with every thing that can moſt enſure his approbation. Their manners are certainly lefs artificial, and more truly pleafing, than thofe of the inhabitants of Paris. Their politeneſs is rather the ex preffion of genuine benevolence, than the empty 44 ( 155 ) empty grimace or infidious flattery with which we generally charge the French. They feem averſe to " Parisian paint of every kind, " Which ſtains the body or the mind.” We were fhewn, as a phænomenon, a lady ſuſpected of making uſe of this meretricious ornament. The natives of Languedoc and Provence are, in confequence of their na tional character, cloſely attached to each other wherever they meet. If two of them are in Paris, though previouſly ſtrangers, they will not be long before they find one another out. They form, as it were, a ſe parate clan amid the multifarious fociety of the capital. It is remarkable, that the Pari fians charge them with the fame levity of character with which we charge the Pari-. fians. There are many Proteftants about Mont pellier, who perform their worſhip in private, or more commonly in the country, where they offer their homage, under the broad canopy of heaven, " To Him whoſe temple is all ſpace, " Whofe altar, earth, fea, fkies !" They ( 156 ) They intermarry with the Catholics, and live among them in great harmony. The public walks about Montpellier are fuperior to moft in the beauty of their pro fpects, owing to the elevated fituation of the town, The Place de Perou, undoubtedly one of the fineſt things in Europe, is a fquare bounded on one fide by the town wall, and on the oppofite one by a fountain. of magnificent architecture, terminated by an open temple, built over the principal re fervoir which furniſhes the town with water, and which is itſelf fupplied by a long aque duct conftructed on arches in the ancient ftyle. This aqueduct is more for ornament than uſe, the ſcience of hydraulics having taught us that water will always nearly keep its level, and therefore might have been brought as well in pipes under ground as bythis expenſive channel. Smollet criticiſes this building, becauſe it is not like the Pont du Gard, as if a different form were not proper, and even neceffary, for an aqueduct four miles in length, but of a fmall propor tional elevation, and one intended to carry water from the top of one lofty hill to an other 2 ( 157 ) other cloſe by it ! It may farther be re marked, if, as Smollet feems to hint, a refem blance to the works of the ancients be the touchſtone of merit, that this edifice is con ftructed on the plan of thoſe ancient ones ftill remaining in the Campania of Rome, at leaſt as to its general figure ; with reſpect to minutiæ of architecture or decoration, I did not go near enough to examine it. The other two fides of the Place de Perou ' are encloſed with a balustrade, intended, accord ing to the original deſign, to have ſupported ftatues of feveral great men of the age of Louis XIV. his own equeftrian ftatue, the only one of the whole that has hitherto been finiſhed, being in the centre of the fquare. From hence the view is fo extenſive, that the eye commands not only all the country about Montpellier, the fea, the hills of l'Efperou, &c. but likewife in clear weather the Pyrenees on one hand, and the ſnow clad fummits of the Alps on the other, each perhaps at fixty miles diftance. The Efpla nade is likewiſe a very pleaſant walk. The ftreets of Montpellier are extremely irregu lar, as well as ill-paved, having no foot walks ( 158 ) walks onthe fide. Proviſions here are cheap, the people civil and cleanly, ſo that a ſtranger finds it a defirable abode as to the common conveniences of life, as well as fociety ; thoſe who cannot live without a continued round of diffipation, muſt ſeek it elſewhere. Nor do I much approve of this place for invalids. Very cold and boisterous winds are not unfrequent, and the air of the neigh bourhood is often infected by the marſhes lying between the town and the fea. The botanic garden was founded in the time of Henry IV. and its original form remains. There are ſpacious terraces, fhel tered with very large and lofty trees for fuch plants as require fhade, that being a much greater requifite in this climate than in ours ; on the contrary, the green-houſe here is very trifling, and we ſaw ſcarcely any thing un common in it, except a Tropaolum, which I have named aduncum, Spicil. Bot. t. 30. This was not the ſeaſon to judge of the ſtock of hardy plants ; but I believe it is not very rich. The first profeffor here was Richier de Belleval, who planned the garden. He was a man 14יו'114 ( 159 ) a man of great zeal for the ſcience, and had a number of figures of plants engraved on copper, which were never publiſhed. Tournefort mentioned their lofs with regret, probably having never feen them. Pro feffor Gouan not many years ago found the plates in the archives of Belleval's fa mily, and fent impreffions of them to Lin næus, which are now in my hands. The figures are inelegant, but tolerably faithful ; they are rather curious than uſeful. Mr. Bannal, whoſe family for ſeveral ge nerations has had the care of this garden, fhewed us the ſpot where the celebrated au thor of the Night-Thoughts interred his daughter-in-law with his own hands. It is in a low retired part of the garden ( deſtined for plants that require much fhade) under an arch. Mr. Bannal's father was preſent, and by his friendſhip the afhes of poor Narciffa obtained this afylum, which, I am forry to hear, has been violated fince I was there. The Intendant of the province, in the in tention of erecting a monument here, had the precife place of interment fought for. The bones were found, but the convulfions. of ( 160 ) of the late revolution occurring juſt at the time, the monument was never executed, and ſeveral of the bones were difperfed, being preferved by many people as a kind of relick. A few years ago two Italian abbés viſited this place, and left with the gardener a Latin inſcription, which they re queſted to have placed over the grave ; but this was neglected. Young is of all our poets one of the moſt admired abroad, eſpe cially in Italy. My fellow-traveller was often welcomed with enthuſiaſm, on account of the fimilarity of his name to that ofthis favourite author. Notwithſtanding the feaſon was unfavour able for botanizing, we could not refrain from viſiting fome of the places in this neighbourhood celebrated for rare plants. The rocks near the river at Caſtelnau, a ro mantic ſpot, afforded us ſeveral new Lichens, fome of which are defcribed in the firſt volume of the Tranfactions of the Linnean Society. By the way grew Lithospermum fruticofum, Ofyris alba (Poet's roſemary) , Mercurialis tomentofa, and Xanthiumfpinofum, with plenty of the Maftick tree, Pifacia Lentifcus, 2alO407The│+ ( 161 ) Lentifcus, full of thofe horn-fhaped excref cences, occafioned by the puncture of a mi nute infect, which have been introduced into fome pharmacopæia's as an article of medicine. What their ſuppoſed qualities are I do not recollect. The excrefcences themſelves are about the fize of the finger, hollow, and lined with a faccharine fubftance. The beautiful little tree frog, Rana arborea, was ſkipping from branch to branch among the buſhes ; as well as that fingular infect, Mantis religiofa. Nothing can exceed the bright poliſhed verdegris hue of the head and back of this frog, nor the delicate roſe colour of its under fide. Its feet are fo formed as to ftick very ftrongly to the branches and leaves, and it feldom miffes its hold. It is fo pretty and inoffenfive an ani mal, that even thoſe who have the greateſt averfion to the reptile tribe can ſcarcely fail to admire it. The Mantis is named religiofa, that is, over religious or fuperftitious, from its perpetual erection of its fore-paws cloſe together, with a quick motion, like the action of praying. " So divine a creature is it," ſays the tranſlator of Mouffet, " that if a child VOL. I. M has ( 162 ) has loft its way, and enquires ofthe Mantis, it will point out the right path with its paw. Such is the common opinion of the country people. But Mr. Dorthes, a very ingenious entomologiſt, who was of our party, and whofe collection of the infects about Mont pellier we afterwards looked over with great pleaſure, told us a ſtory of this infect which favours little of divinity. Having caught a male and a female of this fpecies, he put them together into a glafs veffel. An union was the confequence ; after which, the female, which in this, as in moſt other infects, is the larger and ftronger of the two, devoured the head and upper part of the body of her companion. But the moft wonderful cir cumſtance is, that a fubfequent union took place ; the life and vigour of the male being, like that of the horſe-fly, unimpaired by the loſs of his head, as that part is not in inſects the feat of the brain ; this was no fooner concluded than his infatiable mate ate up the reſt of his body ! There is no room to doubt Mr. Dorthes's accuracy or veracity; and I believe he has already publiſhed the account in fome French work. We found Hevery ( 163 ) every where plenty of Helix decollata and planorbis, two uncommon fnails, and collect ed fpecimens of a curious bed of foffil oyſters, of an unknown fpecies. Our next expedition was to the famous wood called the Bois de Gramont, chiefly compofed of evergreen and kermes oaks (Quercus Ilex and Quercus coccifera) , the trunks and branches of which, as well as thofe of the common oak and chefnut, we found here and there producing the very elegant and rare Lichen chryfopthalmus, or golden-eyed Lichen. See Dillenius's Hift Mufc. tab. 13, f. 17, copied from Micheli, tab. 36, f. 4. We faw growing Scabiofa gramuntia, Lavandula Stoechas, foetes la cuftris, and feveral other rarities, regretting we could not examine fo intereſting a ſpot at a better time of the year. We declined fo long and laborious an ex pedition as that to l'Eſperou, or the Hortus Dei, the weather and feafon being too un favourable, as the former place was covered with fnow ; and contented ourſelves with only one more herborization, towards the fea, among the rocks near the bridge of Ville M 2 neuve. ( 164 ) neuve. Here we found two or three new Lichens, plenty of widow-wail (Cneorum tricoccum) in feed, Rofmarinus officinalis, Ciftus albidus, Daphne Gnidium, Scirpus Ho lofchoenus, commonly miſtaken here and in Italy for Juncus conglomeratus, &c. &c. Profeffor Gouan, the old correfpondent of Linnæus, well known by his botanical and ichthyological works, very civilly ſhew ed us his herbarium, the ſpecimens of which are magnificent and well dried. All the botanifts here, as well as Mr. Gerard, who has written a differtation upon the fubject, are miſtaken about Lathyrus amphicarpos ; what they take for it is a new fpecies of Vicia (near peregrina), which has the fame won derful œconomy of producing fubterraneous fruit, apparently without flowers. / Mr. Cuffon, then demonftrator of botany, is fince dead. His death is no lofs to the fcience, as he kept entirely from the world his father's celebrated manuſcripts and col Jection of umbelliferous plants, of which he had neither abilities nor leifure to make uſe. They are now happily fallen into the hands • Du00fuCC ( 165 ) hands of Mr. Dorthes, who is amply quali fied to digeft and publiſh them. The hoſpital of Montpellier, Hotel Dieu St. Eloy, is a very good one. The walls are often white-washed, the bed-furniture of neat white cotton, the houſe very clean, but ſcarcely airy enough. The phyſician, who is attended in his rounds by a great number of ftudents, and a foldier to keep the peace, gives his preſcriptions aloud in French, not, as uſual, in Latin. We were lucky enough to be preſent at a graduation at the College, conducted with great ceremony in the old ftyle. We were feated, with much reſpect, on a bench among the Profeffors, who were dreffed in fcarlet furred gowns. But when the new-made Doctor received the ring, the girdle, the cap, and above all the kifs ofthe Rector, we could hardly demean ourſelves ſuitably tothe gravity of our fituation. We alſo attended a meeting of the Aca demy of Sciences, which is, as it were, a younger fifter of that of Paris, having been founded in 1705. It poffeffes a cabinet of tuffed birds, in which are ſome rare ſpecies. M 3 We ( 166 ) We heard no papers read. The buſineſs of the meeting was to deliberate upon what meaſures fhould be taken with the Penitents bleus, a congregation of monks who had committed a moft unfortunate encroachment in building a church clofe . to the windows of the Obfervatory. Howthe difpute was de termined, I have not heard. There are fome good pictures at Mont pellier, particularly the death of Simon the magician, who threw himſelf from a tower in the preſence of Nero, truſting, as it is faid, to his art. This picture, one of the moſt celebrated works of Sebaftian Bourdon, is in the cathedral. The characters of the heads of Nero and St. Peter are particularly fine. The private collections of Mr. Duché, and of Mr. Gourgas, are worth ſeeing ; efpecially the latter, where are many good pieces of the Italian and Flemiſh ſchools ; among others, a holy family by Raphael, for which its poffeffor has been offered a thouſand pounds fterling. At Mr. Duché's was an animated portrait of Henry IV. which en gaging my attention, the maſter of the houſe remarked, that " Engliſhmen always love . every ( 167 ) every king but their own. I did not feel the reproach in any fenſe applicable to my felf; nor do I conceive it to bear hard on my countrymen in general, as it neceffarily im plies that Engliſhmen have no averfion to kings as kings, and they have lately repeat edly and moft unequivocally fhewn their affectionate fidelity to a good one. M 4 99 1 СНАР. ( 168 ) СНАР. XIII, NISMES. AIX. MARSEILLES. Nov. 27. TAKING leave with regret of Montpellier and its kind-hearted inhabi tants, as well as of Mr. de Charnacè, we fet out for Nifmes, accompanied by a ſuperior of Cordeliers, with whom we found it im poffible to exchange many ideas, and who was better ſkilled in the French exerciſe of his " flag of abomination," than in any thing elfe. Nov. 28. Dr. Granier, to whom we had letters, lives in a houfe late the property of the celebrated botanist and antiquary Mr. Seguier, and left by him, along with his muſeum, to the Academy of Sciences of this town. Mr. Seguier, of whom every body ſpeaks with reſpect, died a very few years ( 169 ) years ago at the age of 81. His excellent book on the plants of Verona is well known. His library confifts, as we were told , of about eleven thouſand volumes, chiefly on antiquities and natural hiftory. The herba rium is not confiderable. The moſt ſplen did and curious part of the collection, are the vast variety of foffil fiſh in ſand-ſtone, collected by this indefatigable man, in the courſe of thirty years, nearVerona. Among them almoſt all the fpecies, now inhabitants of the Mediterranean, are to be diſtinguiſh ed, as well as ſeveral exotic ones ; even fome f the Otaheite fiſh deſcribed in Brouffonet's Decade ; at leaſt we were told fo by a gen tleman, the colleague of Dr. Granier, who was our guide. It required more time and accuracy to inveſtigate the point thoroughly than we had to beftow. All vifitors to this muſeum write their names in a little book, according to the defire of the founder. A moſt violent and perpetual rain, added to a defire to get forward, prevented our vifiting the fountain and ruins of the Tem ple of Diana, with other curiofities in the neighbourhood of Nifmes. This is no loſs to ( 170 ) to the English reader, as Governor Thick neffe has in his travels given a very full ac count of theſe intereſting objects, as well as of Mr. Seguier himſelf, and his fcientific labours. We could not omit viſiting the Maifon carrée, one of the moſt entire and moft exquifitely beautiful Roman temples now remaining. There is a character of elegance about it, of which I had never be fore ſeen an example ; nor is there fcarcely any thing in Italy that excels it, except per haps the three mutilated columns in the forum at Rome. The prefervation of this architectural jewel is almoft perfect, and it is now fecured from outrage by being con fecrated to Chriſtianity. This evening we were doomed again to fleep at the little dirty inn of La Fourche, of which Lady Miller's pen alone could de fcribe the filth and mifery. Even our Cor delier was difgufted, and exerted himſelf fucceſsfully in alleviating fome of our dif treffes, driving from the eating-room a fqua lid group, whowere half-ftripping themſelves by the fire. Ju1:Nov ( 171 )

S ་ Nov. 29. The morning was fine, and we departed very early, re- paffing about day break the Pont du Gard, which, by the un certain light of the mifty dawn, appeared with uncommon majefty. The firſt rays of the morning illuminated its fummit, while its maffy baſe, with the rocks and woods on either fide, were ftill half-veiled in darkneſs. The wind was hufhed, and the bubbling ftream of the valley below, alone diſturbed the general repofe. At a little diſtance we quitted our former road, and turned towards Avignon. Near a ſmall inn bythe way, are fome high peak ed rocks, which afforded us a few good Lichens, as my exanthematicus and tumidu lus, Tranf. of Linn. Society, vol. i . as well as the immerfus of Weber, and fome others. This Lichen immerfus is a very wonderful production. It confifts of a hard white cruft, greenish when cut or fcraped, bearing many fmall black fhields, each of which is immerfed in a deep cavity of its own form, apparently hollowed, not only out of the cruft, but even out of the ftone itſelf. That any effect of vegetation fhould produce 24 - fuch ( 172 ) 1 fuch hollows is inconceivable, yet that ap pears to be the cafe. Some parts of the rock may be found ftrongly marked with theſe impreffions, after the plant which oc cafioned them is totally decayed, and the fhields fallen out. This phænomenon is well worthy the attention of thoſe who do not affect to defpife any thing that has en gaged the wiſdom of the eternal mind. The plant is found in moft countries, and very plentifully in Derbyſhire, on calcareous rocks. Some other minute Lichens, as exanthematicus above mentioned, ſeem to poffefs a degree of the fame power of exca vating the ſtone on which they grow. The country hereabouts is uncultivated, and clothed with the evergreen and kermes oaks, box, lavender, garden thyme, Rufcus, &c. Some part of our road afforded moft extenſive views over the valley watered by the Rhone, which forms feveral iſlands in its way. Avignon and Villeneuve were at our feet ; and mountains of the moſt gro teſque ſhapes, many of them covered with fnow, and loft in the clouds, bounded the profpect. The road leads down a hill to Ville ( 173 ) 1 Villeneuve, which is diftinguiſhed by a very large Benedictine convent, fituated on an eminence, and encloſed with lofty walls and towers. Having croffed two branches of the Rhone in ferry-boats, we found our felves at the gates of Avignon. Here is a very fine public walk, planted with trees, by the river fide, which we ex plored by moon-light. There are feveral verboſe inſcriptions on the town-walls, and in other places, all having a reference to inundations of the Rhone, the miſchiefs they have done, ortheir miraculous ceffation. The ancient palace of the Popes, in the middle of the town, is an immenſe old building, founded upon a rock, which feems full as faithful to the truft repofed in it, as the ſpiritual rock on which its maſter's power is built. Nov. 30. Nothing about Avignon could intereft us fo much as the famous fountain of Vauclufe, confecrated to immortality by the ſweet mufe of Petrarch, and now rival ling in celebrity the Caftalian fount, which it excels in beauty and magnificence. We arrived ( 174 ). arrived on its brink about three o'clock in 2 bright afternoon, when the glowing reful gence of the declining fun, on the rocky fcenery around, increaſed, by contraſt, the charms ofthe fequeſtered vale, at whoſe ex tremity the fountain is fituated . It was now in great perfection, rather fuller than ufual. The water, though clearer than cryſtal, appears green as it runs, from the depth of its channel. This fountain is, in fact, a confiderable river, ariſing from an unfathomable rocky bafon of a circular form, at the foot of a ftupendous perpendicular, or rather impending, rock. Afew yards from its fource, the ftream falls in the moſt ma jeftic and pictureſque manner over fragments of rock, and then forms a rapid river, wind ing through the vale, whofe fides, for fome diſtance, rife fuddenly to an immenſe height from its banks, and then gradually expand into an open plain. The village of Vau clufe is built on fome of the most acceffible parts of theſe precipices, and many of its houfes overhang the river. The only ap proach to the fountain is by a ſingle path along the bank oppofite to the town. Although n ( 175 ) Although it may feem approaching to impiety to viſit this place with any other thoughts than of Laura and her fublime lover, whofe eloquence I almoft adore, and to whofe refinement I do all poffible reve rence ; yet I cannot but remark, that its beauties are in themfelves fufficient to ren der it one of the moſt intereſting ſpots inthe world. A naturalift or a painter, as well as a poet, might ſpend many days here moſt delightfully. The neighbouring ſcenery wants only a little more wood. It is Several Lichens prefented themſelves on the left hand of the path, near the fountain's fource, eſpecially a fmall fafciculated ſpecies like a Fucus in miniature. Here too we found fomething much refemblingTargionia, but which proved only Marchantia hemif phærica with its flowers budding. however the Aitonia rupeftris of Forſter, Rupinia lichenoides of Linn. Suppl. as I can prove from original fpecimens. Meffrs. Brouffonet and Sibthorp affured me they found the true Targionia in this place. Among many rare plants which decorate the neighbouring rocks and hillocks, we found nothing ( 176 ) " nothing in flower except Convolvulus canta bricus, and a yellow Bifcutella. Dr. Younge collected the Onifcus variegatus, De Villers Entom. vol. iv. 188. t. 11. fig. 16, on mofs near the fountain. By the road fide, about a quarter of a mile from the fountain-head, is a ftratum of flint, from two inches to a foot in thickneſs, running nearly horizontally through the limeſtone rock, exactly like that marked No. 34. in Voigt's Collection of Stones. A fimilar ftratum may be feen by the rock houſe at Cromford, near Matlock in Derby fhire. At L'ifle, three leagues diftant, we slept in a moft comfortable inn without the town, and were amufed with the poetical effuſions, all referring to Vauclufe, Petrarch and Laura, with which its walls were beftrewed. Whe ther inability or difcretion prevented our adding to the collection , I leave the candid reader to gueſs. Dec. 1. Returned to Avignon, dining miferably at a poor inn by the way. A very high IA ( 177 ) high hill called Mont Mento, covered with fnow, was always in fight. I paid a vifit of ceremony to Mr. Pançin, the Profeffor of Botany, but we found no thing to detain us longer at Avignon. Dec. 2. We were ferried over the Durance, a ſtrong and rapid river, juſt above its con fluence with the Rhone, and repofed at night at St. Amboiſe. Dec. 3. The road lay through a very rocky open country, and after a long aſcent prefented us with the town of Aix, fituated in a fine rich valley, or rather plain. The view on all fides was very extenſive, and extremely beautiful ; the out-line of the country grand and majeftic ; the ſpacious valley below, clothed with olive trees and vines, with here and there a towering cy prefs, and ftudded with villas and cottages. Aix, like moft towns hereabouts, has a broad public walk planted with trees, called Le cours, which runs through the middle of the town, and in which are three fountains perpetually running ; two of them cold, and VOL. I. N one ( 178 ) " one hot, that is, about the temperature of Briſtol waters. Languedoc and Provence abound with fine fprings. This town ap pears an eligible abode for confumptive pa tients, both on account of its fituation , and of the tepid fpring above mentioned ; but it is faid to be much expofed to cold winds. I know it is an unfafhionable doctrine that any good is derived, in fimilar cafes, from Matlock or Briſtol, except what arifes from air and repofe ; becauſe chemiſtry cannot detect any thing in fuch waters, to account for their fuppofed effect ; but my own re peated and perfonal experience has con vinced me, that the Matlock water at leaſt has a very powerful influence on the circu lation, by no means to be experienced from any dofe of common water, for which rea fon it is neither to be defpifed nor trifled .with. From Aix we traverſed another wild tract of country, and from the top of a hill had a very ſtriking and rich profpect of the town and port of Marſeilles, with the country about it in the form of a fpacious amphi theatre, covered with olive trees and villas, î and 0 ( 179 ) and bounded on every fide, except a narrow opening to the fea, with lofty mountains. Yet, on a near approach, the environs of Marſeilles are not pleaſant. The villas are too crowded ; and the country, interſected with innumerable dufty roads, often con fined between walls, is deficient in rura beauty of every kind, and efpecially in the rich verdure and foliage common in more northern climates. The approach to the town is by a fine new road, by the ſide of which Clypeola maritima (Honey-fcented Alyffum) was in flower, and which led us to the cours, where the hôtel Des deux pom mes deferves to be recorded as a very good inn. This ftreet was thronged with people of both fexes, in their Sunday's attire, and exhibited a ſcene of much gaiety. Dec. 4. From three days only ſpent at Marſeilles, our obfervations could not be very extenſive nor accurate. Nothing is more ftriking to a traveller than the populouſneſs and appearance of buſineſs which furrounds him on every fide. In this refpect, Mar feilles reſembles Amfterdam. N 2 The quay ex hibits ( 180 ) hibits groups of all nations and habits, and the harbour it borders is no lefs crowded with veffels. No fire or candle is permitted on board any ſhip in the harbour, as a con flagration would be dreadful. Indeed, in this delightful climate, fire is feldom wanted, except for culinary purpoſes. We fat now in the depth of winter with our windows always open. The market exhibited a pro fuſion of ſpring flowers, and even carnations, intermixed with grapes, dates, pomgranates, and a prodigious quantity of Agaricus deli ciofus, which really deſerves its name, being the most delicious mushroom known; though it muſt be confeffed nothing can be leſs at tractive than its appearance, its colour being a dirty brown, and the juice of a deep orange, foon turning to a livid green, where ever the fungus is touched or bruiſed. This muſhroom is in common ufe throughout Provence ; but though a native of England and Scotland, it is a ſtranger to our tables. Mr. Bulliard had not found it about Paris when I vifited him. The regularity, breadth, and cleanlineſs of the ſtreets and public walks, give this town 1} ( 181 ) town a great degree of beauty. From the top of the obſervatory, to which we were obligingly conducted by Mr. Bernard the director of it, is a very noble view of the town and port. Paffed by an hofpital ; op pofite to which, on the other fide of the ftreet, and much too near it, is a houſe to which the dead are removed from the hof pital previous to their interment. Through the bars of the door two coffins were vifible, with palls and croffes upon them, and from the word foir at their feet, apparently def tined to be buried that evening. Not far diſtant is one of the principal churches, the moft horribly dark and gloomy, as well as ſhabby, one I ever entered. It ſeems as if devotion and commerce did not flouriſh well in the fame foil. The play-houſe however, though large, was little more cleanly or cheerful than the church, but we were in formed a new one was building. Here we ſaw Mercier's intereſting piece, entitled l'Indigent, very well acted. One evening we were preſent at a public affembly of the Academy of Belles Lettres, Sciences, and Arts. Such an affembly oc N 3 curs ( 182 ) curs but once in fix months. Difcourfes were read by the director and ſome new members, on the progrefs of Literature in France, and eſpecially in Provence, inter fperfed with many compliments to ſeveral living patrons of the Academy ; and the audience, which was a mixed one, were no leſs liberal of their plaudits. At length one member read a fable in verfe, entitled the Lion and Tygers ; the moral of which was, that mercy ought to be the characteriſtical attribute of the lion, as king of the foreſt. This piece, however, was received with leſs enthuſiaſm than the reft. Whether the com pany were tired of hearing, or tired of clap ping, they evidently diſappointed the poor author. In vain did he allow an interval [ after every period, ample in proportion to the brilliancy of the preceding thought, and pronounce in a trembling whiſper the laſt word of every fentence, as well as the be ginning of the next, that no grateful mur mur of applaufe might be drowned in his own voice ; no fuch murmur was heard after the firſt or fecond lines ; and he had nothing to confole him at the end, but a flight 183 ) flight mechanical clap of civility. His chief misfortune was his coming laft. We viſited, with avidity, the collection of minerals, fhells, and materia medica, be longing to Mr. Collé, infpector of the drugs that come to this port from the Levant ; but were diſappointed in every department. We faw very few rare drugs, nor is the reft of the collection at all worth feeing. I bought at his ſhop, at a pretty high price, a few curious varieties of rhubarb, a refinous gum which exudes from olive trees, uſed to burn bywayofa perfume, fome good liquid ftorax, and effential oil of orange flowers ; the lat ter is often preſcribed here as a cordial. Of Fungus Melitenfis he could only fhew us a miferable ſpecimen, though we afterwards bought by the pound, at Genoa, enough to ſupply all our curious friends in England. The inhabitants of Marfeilles are reckoned about ninety thouſand. I regretted extremely not being able to ſee the celebrated Abbé Raynal, who has long refided here, but was at this time in the country. N 4 CHAP. ( 184 ) CHAP. XIV. FROM MARSEILLES TO NICE. Dec. 7. WE hired the voiture in which we had come from Avignon, at the rate of twelve livres a day, for as long as it might be wanted, to carry us as far as Nice. Our baggage underwent a ftrict examination a few miles from Marſeilles, at that formidable bureau mentioned by Smollet, but of which we were not forewarned. My drugs fuf fered confiderable derangement ; but by wonderful good luck, a parcel of chocolate which preſented itſelf immediately on open ing the trunk, written on at full length, paffed unnoticed. Had it been ſeen, our carriage and all its contents muſt have paid for it. If the chocolate had been a relick, or I a faint, this eſcape might have paffed for a moſt important miracle. بالاة10A very ( 185 ) Avery romantic country now prefented itſelf, clothed with firs and other evergreens. We flept at a ſmall town five long leagues from Marſeilles. Dec. 8. The country continued very hilly, covered with pines, rofemary, lavender, thyme, kermes oak, two or three ſpecies of juniper, &c. The pines were generally cut on one fide, to allow the turpentine to run out, which it did very copiouſly. At length we came to a paſs among perpendicular rocks, almoſt naked, except having a few ftraggling pines ſtuck about them, and com pofing by far the moſt wild and ſtriking ſcenery I had ever beheld. The roſemary was in flower by the road fide, and alſo that beautiful fhrub the true Erica multiflora of Linnæus, not that of Engliſh authors. This furely is the very fpot defcribed by Mrs. Charlotte Smith in the Orphan of the Caſtle, where her charming Emmeline meets with the old fervant of her father, and fo comes to the knowledge of her own birth. No one, who has been at this place, can fail to recognize ( 186 ) recognize it in the defcription of that ele gant authorefs. We traverfed a fmall town, whofe envi rons were, in the higheſt degree, rich and beautiful ; and came to a little dirty village, within a league of Toulon, where we ſaw, for the first time, abundance of orange trees in the open ground laden with fruit. The caper, Capparis fpinofa, preſented its trailing branches, like thofe of the bramble, on every wall and bank, and Globularia Alypum, herb terrible, grew bythe way fide. We had a good view of Toulon and its harbour from the hill, before we defcended to it. Toulon is well known to be one of the most important fea-ports ofwhich the French are poffeffed. Its harbour is one of the beſt in the world ; the town ftrongly fortified ; the quay very fine. The arfenal is not al lowed to be infpected by any ſtrangers, nor could Mr. Auban, phyſician to the navy, for whom we had letters, procure us admif fion to it. This diſappointment was not very ferious, and we were confoled by a fight of the military hofpital, which is very clean and well ventilated. Here lectures on medicine Th ( 187 ) medicine and its various branches are given gratis. A fmall botanic garden is at hand, in which the plants are arranged according to the Linnean fyftem, and where oranges, Stapelia variegata, Solanum Pfeudo-capficum, with many other tender vegetables, thrive well in the open ground. Mr. Martin, a zealous botaniſt, has the care of this garden. At fupper, at the Croix de Malthe, we had a number of French officers, with four or five Dutch ones belonging to a ſquadron then in the harbour. After fupper, the lat ter called for pipes, and began ſmoking ; this was made a pretence for quarrelling by fome of the French, and a challenge enfued, which was immediately accepted by a ſpirit ed young Dutchman , and the combatants decided the affair with ſmall fwords, by moon-light, in the ftreet. The Frenchman was foon difarmed by his antagoniſt, and no miſchief done ; but much noiſe and vulgar bullying enfued between the reſt of the company, fo that all the tranquillity of the evening was deftroyed. It fhould be ob ſerved, that the Dutchmen had previouſly obtained permiffion to fmoke from fome officers' ( 188 ) officers' ladies who were at table. We, as impartial people, were applied to by both parties in this important difpute, but our conciliatory efforts were in vain. One would always labour to prevent duels, between per fons whoſe profeffion is fuppofed to require their obedience to fuch favage principles of honour other duellifts may as well be left to themſelves ; for the community is not found to fuffer any very important loffes by this means ; and the world are pretty well agreed what to think of bravos who fight without hurting each other. The moft pleaſant duel I ever heard of, was between two Edinburgh ftudents, whofe feconds charged their piſtols with currant jelly ; and as theſe heroes, from trepidation pro bably, really hit one another, the crimſon cataſtrophe muſt have been highly diverting. Dec. 9. We followed our more peaceable avocations, travelling as far as Hyeres to dinner. It will not be eaſy to find a more beauti fully fituated, nor a worſe built town than Hyeres. Its foundation is on a craggy rock; the ( 189 ) S 1 1 ។ S the streets very narrow, and fo rugged as to be almoft impracticable in wet weather. The houſes are mean, dirty, and crowded. Yet the view of the furrounding country makes amends for all theſe imperfections. From the eminence on which the town is built, a gradual flope extends three miles to the fea. All this ſpace is one luxuriant wood of orange trees. Noble hills fhelter the town from the north, and on the fouth the view is terminated bythe ifles of Hyeres (infula Stachadum), a few miles off at ſea. Theſe iſlands are thickly wooded with chef nut and other trees. They are uninhabited, but much frequented by ſportſmen, as they abound in wild boars and other game. Had it been a favourable ſeaſon, we ſhould have been induced to botanize there, as they pro duce a number of rare plants, among others the marum, Teucrium Marum, the moft powerful perhaps of all the European aro matics. The common myrtle abounds every where in this neighbourhood ; but I was much more pleaſed to find Targionia hypo phylla onfome fhady banks, among Polypo dium leptophyllum and other curious ferns. Targionie ( 190 ) Targionia forms a link in Nature's, chain, which I was always curious to examine, but could never before meet with. Here too we firſt faw the date palm, Phenix dactyli fera, in the open ground. The dates are faid not to ripen well, which is probably for want of impregnation. How happy ſhould I have been to have come here in the pro per ſeaſon to inveſtigate this curious point, and to have taught the inhabitants to lend na ture the neceffary affiftance ! I recommend ed this circumftance to the examination of Mr. Battaille, an ingenious young phyſician eſtabliſhed here, who has paid much atten tion to botany. His herbarium is rich , well preferved, and well named. There are commonly two or three Engliſh families who winter in the environs of Hyeres, for the fake of the climate, moſt of them invalids. There cannot,well be a more delightful retirement for thoſe who ſtand in need of repoſe and a mild falubrious air ; and, from what I have ſeen of Mr. Battaille, I ſhould think it a great object to be within reach of fuch medical advice as his. We walked into a very large garden, or rather Byt ( 191 ) 0 rather wood, of orange trees laden with fruit; but thefe woods are moſt beautiful to look down upon. As their foliage is evergreen, and very thick, nothing grows under them, and the ground is ftrewed with the rotten fruit, fo as to make it not very pleaſant walking in an orange grove. 19 . Dec. 10. We continued our journey over a fine botanizing country, covered with myrtle and different fpecies of Ciftus, but in the worst road that can be imagined ; we were in perpetual danger of overturning, and often obliged to alight. To this circum ftance however I was indebted for the difco very of Bryum rigidum of Hudfon's Flora Anglica, growing on a bank in great perfection. Dined at Brigançieres, a little village in a moſt romantic fituation, three long leagues from Hyeres. Two pretty girls in their beft apparel came to the inn, to folicit our contribution to a fête in honour of St. Jofeph. One of them had the artleſs ſmile of innocence and good humour; the other, the four malicious afpec of a devotee. The fame difference of cha racter ( 192 ) racter appeared in the different manners in which they preferred their requeft. After amufing ourſelves for fome time in arguing the point, at which the innocent girl laugh ed, and the bigot grew almoft angry, we contributed our mite, and fent our compli ments to St. Joſeph. In the afternoon we rode by the fide ofan aqueduct of fine water, and of conſiderable length, which in one place is carried on high arches over a valley. The country conti nued to grow more and more intereſting, as we advanced towards the heart of Provence. The road wound among high rocky hills, clothed with pines and evergreen fhrubs, and interſperſed with many fmall caſcades, all in perfection, as it had rained hard the preced ing night. A new feature in the landſcape now prefented itſelf, the great American aloe, Agave Americana, growing in immenſe tufts on the rocks, as houfe-leek does with us. Its fea-green hue was ftrongly con trafted with the dark firs, and the richly glowing orange trees ; and this contraft, ast well as the form of the plant, harmonized admirably with the bold features and broken out-line "uaticadtraativMOUSoneconfTerCOen ( 193 ) 1 T 1 1 S 1 outline of the country. The pafturage, wherever it appeared, ſeemed of the richeſt kind. We paffed through a miferable look ing village, but in one of the moſt delicious fituations poffible, commanding luxuriant meadows in the valley, and furrounded with hills covered with olive trees and pines. Mr. Gerard, of whom I fhall foon have more to fay, is ſtrongly perfuaded that the aloe is a native of Provence, contrary to the unani mous teftimony of all botanifts, who defcribe it as of American origin. He obſerves not only its prefent luxuriance and abundance all over this country ; but alſo that it is men tioned as growing here in an old topographi cal book, publifhed above 200 years ago, confequently about a century after the difco very ofAmerica. The queftion is, whether it could, if brought over even by the firſt perſons who returned from the new conti nent, be ſo perfectly naturalized within the fpace of time above mentioned,? Cæfalpinus, in 1583, fpeaks of it as then lately brought from the Weſt Indies, and as having juft flowered near Florence for the first time. As therefore I have not myſelf confulted the VOL. I. O book ( 194 ). book mentioned by Mr. Gerard, I fufpect his memory may have deceived him a little as to chronology. We flept at la Roque, another fmall village three long leagues from Brigancieres. Dec. 11. Nothing remarkable occurred between la Roque and Brignolle, a pretty confiderable town, famous for its plumbs, called prunes de Brignolle, which are packed up in boxes and fent to very diſtant countries, and whofe name we have corrupted into Prunellas. After dining here, proceeded through a heavy rain to Cottignac, a little town pleaſantly fituated in a valley on the fide of a hill. We came to this place purely to viſit Mr. Gerard, author of the Flora Gallo-provin cialis, one of the beft European botaniſts of the golden age of Linnæus. We found him furrounded by his wife, two or three of his children, and fome friends. He practifes medicine, and appears to live in cafe and affluence. Nothing could exceed his politeness and hofpitality to us. We had much converfation together about the pur chaſe ( 195 ) chafe of the Linnean collection, a never failing topic with all the botaniſts I met with in my journey, the ſtate of our favourite fcience in England, Sweden, and other countries. Almoft all I had to tell was news to him, and I felt as if paying a viſit in the Elyfian fields, fo little did his " tales of other times "feem connected with what is now going on in the world. Dec. 12. The following day was ſpent entirely with Mr. Gerard. He was very communicative, and made many excellent botanical remarks. He appeared particularly expert in remembering the fynonyms of plants, with the phraſes at length of old authors. He ſpoke very highly of Linnæus and Ray, and permitted me to copy two intereſting letters from the former to him felf. Profeffor Gouan is not on fuch good terms with this gentleman as two people de voted to fo pleaſing a ſtudy ought to be ; but their characters are different. We looked over fome of Mr. Gerard's herbarium, particularly Arenaria and the umbelliferous tribe, and he enriched me with 0 2 feveral ( 196 ) • feveral valuable fpecimens of plants found and deſcribed by himſelf only. Bryum rigi dum was new to him, nor has he paid much attention to the clafs Cryptogamia in general. Dec. 13. From Cottignac we directed our courſe again towards the fea, in order to enter Italy by Nice. We paffed the country houſe of a Mr. E who murdered his wife at Aix ſome time ago. The houſe is fingularly fituated on the fummit of a peak ed rock in a valley, apparently without an inch of garden ground. It is entirely com manded by the high rocks which encloſe the valley. Lorgues, a little town where we dined, has fome good houſes ; its air is eſteemed very good for fick people. About five we reached Draguignan, a confiderable place ; but it being fair day, we were rather indifferently accommodated. In the middle. of the town is a fingular rock with a watch tower upon it. Dec. 14. We travelled through a fertile country abounding in olive trees, whofe trunks were richly clothed with Lichen caper atus the ( 197 ) atus in fructification, of which we laid in a large ftock, to fupply our friends at home. The fhields are chefnut coloured, from the diameter of a pea to that of a fixpence, or larger. The day was bright, and we ram bled a long way on foot, but with little bo tanical fuccefs. Sinapis erucoides Linn. (Jacqu. Hort. Vindob. t. 170. ) was now in bloom in the fields every where, this being its proper flowering feafon ; but no other plants, except of the Cryptogamia claſs, were to be met with in perfection. Dined at Lamoignes, and by half paſt three we reach ed Frejus, fituated near the fea fide, formerly an important place, and now remarkable for confiderable ruins of a Roman amphitheatre, and of a large aqueduct. The country around is picturefque, and bounded by lofty hills at fome diftance. Yet the town itſelf has few attractions to boaſt, and the accom pliſhed Cardinal Fleury ſeems to have con ſidered his appointment to this fee as a kind of exile. He jocofely figned a letter to one of his friends, " Fleury, bythe Divine indig nation, biſhop of Frejus. " His preſence however was of important fervice to this 0.3 country, ( 198 ) country, when the army of the allies over ran it in 1707. The Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene fpared the territory of Frejus from devaſtation, for the fake of its biſhop. On the walls of the amphitheatre we found plenty of Lichen Roccella ( Orchall) , ſo valuable for dying red or purple when mixed with the volatile alkali, and which is col lected principally from rocks and iſlands in the Mediterranean. It commonly fells in England for about 300l. a ton, but during the laft war it rofe to 1000l. Attempts have been made to fupply its place with other fpecies ofthe fame tribe, and Lichen tartareus, collected for that purpoſe in Scotland, was ufed by the Norwich manufacturers when the Orchall was fo immoderately dear ; but I have been told the colours it gives, though beautiful, are far leſs permanent than what the Lichen Roccella affords. Lichen fucifor mis, a native of the Eaft Indies, feems likely to prove a better fubftitute, and grows much larger. The pretty hares-tail grafs, Lagurus ovatus, is found about this amphitheatre, and its dry fpikes were waving in the boifter · Ous · C ( 199 ) ous wind, of which we experienced a good deal in this part of France. Dec. 15. An additional horfe was requir ed to draw us up a very lofty mountain in our road, from which we enjoyed a moſt ftriking and extenfive profpect. On one fide wasthe fea, on the other a country finely diverfified with fields, olive trees, and pine foreſts, interſperſed with rocks and hills of every varied form. Nor was the fore-ground of this landſcape capable of affording leſs pleaſure to a botaniſt of taſte. Around us grew myrtle, the white tree heath (Erica arborea), Ciftufes, and many other beautiful plants; none however more lovely than the Arbutus with its ftrawberry-like berries, which Smollet alſo obſerved here, and, mif taking it for the cherry-laurel, wondered that any body fhould eat the fruit. Having climbed to one of the higheſt points of the hill, through the fir woods on the right hand. of the road, I found Ciftus Tuberaria and Euphorbia fpinofa growing among the red crumbling granite of which this hill is com pofed. From hence the view was beyond defcrip 04 " ( 200 ) defcription. Frejus, at my feet, was almoft imperceptible, except for the light white cloud of curling ſmoke which marked its place in the landſcape. To the north-eaſt the Alps of Piedmont appeared, covered with fnow, and produced a fine effect over the intervening pine-clad hills. Near a little inn in the valley, through which our road lay, we met Mr. Faujas de St. Fond, with three other gentlemen, re turning from Nice, who informed us, with that friendly eagerneſs with which the com mon herd of mankind, when lately eſcaped from danger, warn thoſe who are juſt en tering upon it, that the road was infefted with banditti, and we could not fail to be robbed. This prophecy however proved falfe, and we foon forgot it in the delicious. fcenes through which we paffed. I never faw Erica arborea fo truely arboreous as in this place. It was often ten feet high, with a trunk three inches in diameter, much re fembling, in form and fize, the trees on Box hill in Surry. I am informed by Dr. Lind, it grows to a much larger fize, even 18 inches in diameter, on the Serra at Madeira, 5165 j feet ( 201 ) feet above the fea. Approaching Cannes, the road was particularly pleaſant, lying along the beach, cloſe to the water's edge, among thickets of myrtle, within reach of the ſpray of the ſea, a ſtriking example of Virgil's " littora myrtetis lætiſſima.” Cannes is a little fea-port, whoſe houſes are bathed by the waves of the Mediter ranean. Walking a little way by the ſhore, I obferved Echinophora fpinofa, prickly ſea famphire ; but alas ! it was a mere ſkeleton, and crumbled under my touch. Here we bought fome pomegranates, which proved as acid as any lemon ; and their acid was fo pure and unmixed with any other flavour, I fhould fuppofe they might be very ufeful in the more innocent refinements of cookery. ✓ Dec. 16. Acool bright morning-we paffed along a delightful road by the fea-fide, fkirt ed with fhrubberies of the fame beautiful heath, myrtle, and ciftus, with roſemary in flower, interfperfed with the ſtately aloe, and came within fight of Antibes, a fortified town, which we did not enter. Nice foon after prefented itfelf to great advantage, ftretched ( 202 ) ftretched along the extremity of its noble bay. A few grapes and fome bread ferved us for a dinner, at a miſerable little inn ; and after a flight examination at St. Laurent, the laft town in France, we forded the river Var, with the help of fome guides, and en tered the King of Sardinia's dominions. This river, when at the loweſt, forms ſeveral channels, fome of which are very deep, and which are changed by every flood. Theſe guides are therefore obliged to wade naked up to their waifts on each fide of the car riage, feeling their way with poles. If any perfon be loft, the guides are hanged with out mercy ; yet their pay, as fixed by go vernment, is very low, three-pence for each paffage. All travellers, who have the leaft ſpark of generoſity, give them much more. Here grows the myrtle-leaved Sumach, Coriaria myrtifolia. At Nice we found the Hôtel des quatre nations, a decent and reaſonable inn ; but were foon difgufted with the grofs flattery paid here to ftrangers, and the Engliſh in particular. The whole neighbourhood has the air of an Engliſh watering-place. The town ( 203 ) town is much enlivened and enriched by the concourſe of ſtrangers, who refort hither for the fake of the climate in winter, and great numbers of people are fupported by their means. An apothecary, Mr. Faroudi, has found it very well worth his while to acquire our language, and by various affiduities has engroffed moſt ofthe medical buſineſs among the Engliſh. Of his profeffional ſkill I had little opportunity of judging, but his civility nobody can overlook ; and on what folid principles can, or do, people in general judge of a medical man ? In the environs of Nice are feveral very pleaſant villas, moftly deftined to accomodate ftrangers, with gardens of orange trees al ways laden with fruit, as it never arrives at perfection till the fecond year. We ex perienced here, nevertheleſs, a confiderable degree of cold, with high winds, in a very clear atmoſphere. Ice was in the ſtreets about a quarter of an inch in thickneſs ; the towering Alps covered with fnow, which over-top the country, give a chillineſs to the north wind. The public walks, eſpecially about the port, are cheerful and pleaſant; 2 but ( 204 ) but the galley-flaves, chained two together, walking about the ſtreets, are not an agree able fpectacle to an humane mind. One cannot help thinking, that " their hand is againſt every man, and every man's hand againſt them ;" and whatever may be our ideas, on cool reflection , refpecting this kind of puniſhment, the prevailing feelings of human nature, with fuch objects before it, muſt be either compaffion or fear. The infide of the Cathedral is handfome, and adorned with many rich altars. A marble crofs is built on the weft fide of the town, to commemorate the meeting of Pope Paul III. with the Emperor Charles V. and Francis I. of France, in 1538, when, however, the Pope could not perſuade theſe monarchs to an interview in his prefence, though, immediately after his departure, a moft familiar conference paffed betweenthem at Aigueſmorte. CHAP. ( 205 ) CHA P. XV. FROM NICE TO MONACO, ST.REMO, AND GENOA. HAVING been diffuaded from Dec. 19. going by land along that formidable road the corniche to Genoa, on account of the badneſs of the roads and the danger of banditti, we hired a felucca, or open boat, to convey us thither, without any company, by fea, for five louis d'ors. We were pro miſed a halcyon voyage, and, like inexpe rienced mariners, trufted ourſelves with light hearts to the infidious deep. About eight in the morning we were rowed out of the harbour. The fea was then not very ſmooth, and its difagreeable influence foon made me glad to lie down at the bottom of the boat, inſtead of enjoying the view of the majeſtic cliffs on one hand, and ( 206 ) and the fea on the other. In a fhort time the sky was overcaft, and rain, with con trary winds, obliged us to put into the little harbour of the principality of Monaco, four leagues only from Nice. We regretted this delay more at firft than afterwards, as this fingular place afforded us confiderable amuſe ment. In a ſmall inn, between the port and the town, we were very comfortably lodged. Y This principality is a very few miles in extent, and chiefly confifts of a tract of country encircling the bay like an amphi theatre, richly clothed with olive and other fruit trees, and extended on the weſt into a very high perpendicular rock, on which ftands the town of Monaco, ftrongly forti fied by art, as well as nature, and command ing a noble view of the fea. After dinner we walked into the town, up a ſteep road through feveral gates, at one of which a fentinel received our names in due form. In the principal place or fquare, we were accofted by an elderly gentleman, with the crofs of fome order at his button-hole, who enquired if we came from Nice, he having been 16$1 ( 207 ) been for ſeveral days in expectation of ſome ftrangers from thence who had letters for him. Although we were not the perſons he expected, he feemed as happy to enter into converſation with us, as we could be to re ceive his civility, and conducted us to the palace, a large old edifice, much in need of repair. A marble ſtaircaſe of a fingular de fign, expoſed to the air, leads to the principal apartments, in which died the late Duke of York, brother to our prefent king. The walls of the palace furrounding the court are very ill painted with grotefque orna ments. Some fatyrs or tritons are better than the reft, but much injured by the wea ther. We next vifited two churches, with noble altars of marble. The name of our obliging conductor was Beauchamp. He gave us to underſtand that he was in great favour with the prince, and that it was ufual for them to correſpond in French, whereas his highneſs writes to his other fubjects in Italian ; that he had feveral daughters who were great proficients in mufic, and played well on the violin ; that his eldest daughter was married to a noble man ( 208 ) man at Paris, and much noticed bythe queen. He concluded his civilities with a polite in vitation to his houſe, in cafe we ſhould ſtay any time in the place. I could not help re marking a ftriking conformity between the character of this worthy gentleman and the officer whom Addifon met with here, who told him with ſo much gravity, that amid all the convulfions of Europe at the end of laft century, his maſter and the king of France had always been good friends. The prince of Monaco, abfolutely de pendant on the king of France, has been uſed to ſpend the winter at Paris, refiding at his principality for two orthree months only in fummer. His lady is a Genoefe, by whom he has children grown up ; but is feparated from her. The precipices belowthe town are covered, like the whole of this craggy coaft, with the Indian Fig. Its ftem is erect and ſtrong, four feet high ; the leaves, which in proceſs of time become ſtem, are about a foot long, obovate, proliferous, very fucculent, ſcattered with cluſters of fpines, not minute, but ftrong and ſharp. The miſtreſs of the inn, who ( 209 ) ¿ who was as obliging and converfible as Mr: Beauchamp, told us that the pulp of the leaves, applied externally, was very good for the gout, and that the prince uſed them for that purpoſe. The fruit is very delici ous, much better than common figs, as we were told, but armed with thorns ; the juice bright red. When in ſeaſon, the foldiers run great hazards to obtain it, fufpending themſelves from the top of the rocks by a cord. This plant is the true Cactus Opuntia, which Linnæus ſays was brought from Ame rica to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the iſland of Madeira, in all which places it is now, like the great aloe, perfectly naturalized. I cannot help thinking with Miller, that the common Indian fig of our gardens ( Mill Ic. 191. ), from which, however, the Linnæan fpecific character (laxus) feems to have been taken, is erroneouſly confounded with this. Near the inn grew Arum Arifarum in flower, which the inhabitants call il lume (the lamp) , from the ftriking refemblance of its flower, when reverſed, to a lamp with its wick. We found another inftance of the aptneſs of theſe people at nomenclature, VOL. I. P in ( 210 ) in the name of the dog at the inn, who having two remarkable ſpots above his eyes, was called quattr'-occhi, or four-eyes. Here too I gathered Plumbago europea (Lead-wort) in feed, and Euphorbia dendroides in flower. Cotyledon Umbilicus-Veneris ( Navelwort) grows on all the rocks, not only here, but through out the ſouth of France. Arum Arifarum we first met with at Hyeres. Dec. 20. A rainy ftormy morning ftill confined us at Monaco, and we received fmall comfort from our hoftefs, who inform ed us that an Engliſh gentleman, with his fervant, had lately been detained in her houſe by bad weather three weeks. She defcribed this gentleman as having a fingular propenſity to get together a heap of ftones and rubbiſh, but his name ſhe could not remember. We regretted not having met ; with this congenial fpirit ; but not ſeeing any neceffity to repeat his obſervations on the lithology of Monaco, we by no means wiſhed to ſtay here fo long as he had done. In the afternoon we were honoured with a moſt civil invitation from Madame Beau champ ( 211 ) с champ to a concert. The meffage was a verbal one, brought by a maid in a checked. apron without any hat, who preffed her miſtreſs's invitation with all the honeft frank hofpitality, with which the domeſtic of fome venerable country curate in England would execute a fimilar commiffion. It was not without great regret that we were obliged to fend a refufal, which I wrote in proper terms. We expected every hour to depart, being abfolutely at the command of our captain, and having only our travelling habiliments on fhore, we really were under the neceffity of declining this viſit. Dec. 21. Having a fair wind, we failed from Monaco at five in the morning, long before day-break ; and before nine arrived at St. Remo, eight leagues diftant. The agitation of the boat was fo, great, that my former fituation at the bottom availed me but little. Hanging, more dead than alive, over the ftern, I even then thought my fufferings amplyrewarded by the luminous appearance of the fea, which I never had an opportu nity of feeing before, and which by far fur paffed my expectations. The whole body of P 2 the ( 212 ) 1 thewater, wherever it was in the leaſt agitated, feemed like liquid fire, and a variety ofobjects floating in it, could be feen to a confiderable depth. I regretted the morning dawn that deprived me of this curious fpectacle. No thing provoked me fo much as to hear the failors attribute my indifpofition to fear ; it being the only way they have of expreffing that a perſon is fea-ſick, to ſay, “ il craint la mer" (he is afraid of the fea) ; whereas I was perfectly void of all apprehenfions of dan ger, while thoſe who really do dread the fea often feel no fickneſs at all. I was ftill more angry when they made my illneſs a pretence for putting in at St. Remo, as I wanted nothing fo much as to get forward towards Genoa, eagerly anticipating the pleaſure of feeing fo celebrated a place, con verfing with an old friend, and receiving letters from home. At St. Remo however we were doomed to exercife our patience, for in the afternoon the fea was fo rough, the captain would not venture out. We took up our abode at a miferable inn on the fhore, amid groves of lemon and citron trees, which indeed I was but little diſpoſed to enjoy. The wind was 5 high ( 213 ) high and very cold. Our room had no chimney, and was warmed by a chafing-diſh with charcoal. The windows, except in the upper part, had no glafs, only wooden ſhut ters ; nor had the beds any curtains . But to reconcile us to our fate, we were told the Duke and Duchefs of Gloucefter had, the preceding year, ſlept in the bed which fell to my fhare, having been driven in here, with their train, in fixteen feluccas, going to Rome in December 1785. Even this con folation, however, proved ill-founded ; for we afterwards learned, when we had the ho nour of paying our devoirs to their Royal Highneffes at Naples, that, fatigued as they were at St. Remo, they really could not go to bed. They alſo informed us of what the people of the inn carefully concealed, that an Engliſh conful refided in the town, who, had he known of our fituation , would have alleviated it by his attention and affiftance. This I mention for the benefit of all whom it may concern in future. Dec. 22. Being defirous of making the beſt of our misfortunes, we proceeded to inveſtigate the curiofities of St. Remo, which P 3 is } ( 214 ) is by no means an inconfiderable town. Confiſting of white houſes built on the ſteep flope of a conical hill, which it entirely oc cupies, and being contrafted with the rich mountainous and cultivated landſcape which ferves as a back ground, it looks very pretty from the fea. The whole coaft of Genoa, indeed, is of a beautiful afpect, riſing more or leſs abruptly from the beach, richly cul tivated wherever the ground will admit of it, and ftudded with numerous white cottages, villas, towns, and churches, often of a fan taſtic, but not inelegant architecture. The very fummit of the hill of St. Remo is crowned with a chapel, furrounded with tall cypreffes and olive groves *, From hence we had a delicious profpect over gardens of orange, lemon, and palm trees towards the fea, with the town at our feet ; and on the other fide a very mountainous country clothed with olives. In confequence of the fteepness of the hill, many of the ſtreets are nothing else than flights of ſteps, which the Lucus in urbe fuit media, lætiffimus umbra, Firg. En. 1 , 445: mules ( 215 ) J mules afcend and defcend with eafe and fafety. We found many extraneous foffils at the top of the hill, and feveral Lichens with Blafia pufilla. Dec. 23. The fea became calm ; but the wind turning to the eaft, made our voyage to Genoa impracticable. We vifited the principal churches out of curiofity, which good Catholics, in fuch circumſtances, would have viſited out of devotion, and perhaps with better fuccefs, for we found nothing in them but tawdry ill-judged decorations. Nor did the fea-coaft afford us any botanical amuſement. Here the great reed, Arundo Donax, grows abundantly, and looks mag nificent, reminding one of the bamboos on Indian and Chineſe papers. This kind of reed the Engliſh import principally from Spain, to be manufactured into weaver's flaies. No Fuci were to be found on the beach. We lived here on a variety of fine fish, particularly John Dory's, but ill- dreffed, with no other fauce than bad oil, falt, and lemon juice, P4 Near ( 216 ) Near St. Remo is an inland town called St. Romulo, a biſhoprick. What affinity thefe faints have with the founders of Rome, or whether their fame depends on the au thority of fome ancient inſcription, like that of St. Viar, celebrated by Brydone, I have not been able to determine. A reverend perfonage landed here during our ſtay, who ſeemed to enjoy a high degree of confideration. Every body kneeled at his approach to receive his benediction, and crowded around him to kifs his hand. Dec. 24. Being weary of waiting in this poor fpot, and but little inclined to go again upon the fea, even if the wind were fair, I determined, with my friend Younge's con fent, to try my fortune by land, notwith ſtandingthe terrifying accounts of bad roads, precipices, robbers, &c. I hired two mules, for myſelf and a guide, for five Genoefe livres, or about three fhillings and four-pence fterling each, by the day, agreeing to pay the fame for the days they fhould be in re turning. I found afterwards that the guide ought to have walked on foot. Taking, therefore, ( 217 ) therefore, in as fmall a compaſs as poffible, fuch things as were abfolutely neceffary, but which I could, in cafe of extremity, carry about my own perſon, and not forgetting my piſtols, I left my companion to follow with the felucca when he fhould be able, and ſet off at eleven o'clock. The greater part of this day's ride was along a path, or rather ſhelf, traced along the craigs next the fea, being broad enough for one mule only at a time, and having a precipice of fome hundred feet, quite un guarded, above the fea on the right hand, and a perpendicular cliff as lofty on the left, now and then only widening into a receſs to enable two paſſengers to paſs each other. I came to a large face of rock, floping at an angle of about 45 degrees towards the fea, along which I could perceive no path, except a crack, fix inches broad, in which one ſtra tum ofthe ftone rofe above the other. While I was confidering which way to go, the mule tripped lightly along this crack, and con veyed me fafe over before I was fully aware of the danger. Once only my mule ftum bled, but being uſed to this dangerous road, fhe ( 218 ) the immediately crouched down to the ground, otherwiſe we might both have fal len into the fea. The guide feemed more alarmed than I was. In general both our animals went perfectly fafe, where I would not have ridden the beſt horſe in England for all the world. Our road was fometimes very ſteep, and more reſembled a looſe bro ken flight of ſteps than any thing elſe, but in fuch places the precipice was at a diſtance. I had foon more apprehenfions of my guide than of the road ; his gloomy countenance and rough manners were not at all pre poffeffing. I talked with him about the danger of robbers, fignifying that I was not much afraid, as I had little money and very good piſtols. Therocks abounded with Euphorbiafpinofa, fome of it in bloom ; and one poor ftarved faffron butterfly, Papilio Electra, commonly, though falfely, taken for P. Hyale, flew acrofs the road. About three o'clock we arrived at Port Maurice, fifteen miles from St. Remo, and put up at a wretched inn, the Crown, on the fign of which was written, CC Ogn' ( 219 ) " Ogn' ofteria e buona, " Ma quefta e la corona:" that is, " Every inn is good, but this is the Grown, orthe beſt of all." Having ordered what was both my dinner and fupper, I ftrolled about the town and into the country. I looked into a church, but faw nothing worth notice. The town ftands low, near the bed of a river, which feems, like the Var, to be very confiderable in high floods, and whoſe bed contains many alpine ſhrubs and plants brought down by the torrents. It being Chriſtmas eve, I was totally de prived of fleep, by the jangling of bells for the midnight maffes, and a great concourſe of people in the ſtreet. Dec. 25. After much wrangling with my villainous hoft, who cheated me abominably, we departed about day-break, and , after paffing through feveral neat little hamlets on the ſea ſhore, reached Allaffio, a ſmall town fifteen miles from Port Maurice. All along this road I obferved plenty of Carob trees, Ceratonia Siliqua, growing among the olives, and out of the clefts of the. ( 220 ) the rocks. They were about the fize and form of apple-trees ; their foliage rich and evergreen ; the flowers were juſt gone off, and the feed-buds from half an inch to an inch in length. The carob fruit is a long, flat, fmooth pod, whofe feeds are enveloped in a ſweet pulp, not unpleaſant to the taſte. Theſe pods are fometimes eaten by the lower fort of people ; but their chief uſe here, as in Spain, is for the food of mules. This tree is treated as a green-houſe plant at Montpellier, as in England. In the bed of a large river I ſaw many plants of Oleander, Nerium Oleander, and this is the place from whence the Turin entomologiſts procure fpecimens of that very rare and beautiful moth, SphinxNerü, which feeds on the acrid leaves ofthe oleander. Here alfo grows the Laurus-tinus, Viburnum Tinus ; and the honey-ſcented alyffum, Clypeola maritima, was now every where in flower. The Pinco di Genoa, at Allaffio, proved an excellent inn. On converfing with the brother-in-law of the hoft, who ſpoke French well, I was diffuaded from going farther that day, on account of the high wind, which made i 221 ) made it not fafe riding along theſe precipices, efpecially as a fall of ſnow was juſt begin ning. I therefore fent back my guide and his mules, whoſe behaviour at parting did not ſerve to remove the diſlikę I had previ oufly conceived towards him ; and I was not forry to be ſafe out of his hands. I thought it not amifs to conciliate the good opinion of my hoft and his family, by giving fome account of myſelf; to confirm which, I luckily had in my pocket a letter from my good friend the Marquis Hippolito Durazzo of Genoa, the fignature of which feemed to operate very powerfully on my auditors. I partook of their Chriſtmas dinner, which was excellent ; fpent a very agreeable after noon, and was lodged as well as the moſt delicate traveller could defire. For all this comfortable accommodation, with the moſt attentive civility, I was charged about half what I had paid at Port Maurice. Dec. 26. Here being no mules at preſent to be had, I was induced to try my pedef trian abilities, as the day was fine, and every body affured me there was no fear of ( 222 ) of robbers. After breakfaſt, I therefore fet out on foot for Finale, twenty miles diftant. No part of mywhole tour has left a more pleaſing impreſſion than this walk. Tra verfing theſe majeſtic cliffs, among groves of olive and carob trees, and thickets of olean der and myrtle, " I felt as free as Nature firſt made man, " When wild in woods the noble favage ran." Sometimes, from a lofty promontory, I looked down on the wide expanſe of ocean, and faw the winds ſweep its ſurface in vaſt circles. No fail was vifible, nor could I, with certainty, diſcover the high lands of Corfica. At Albenga, a confiderable town five miles from Allaffio, I took coffee, and about noon fat down among fome trees under the walls of a folitary convent, and refreſhed myſelf with the bread and choco late I carried with me. Here grew the Lichen luridus of Swartz and Dickfon. The common bramble, Rubus fruticofus, is truly evergreen in this country, as the garden rofe, Rofa gallica, is in Provence. After paffing through another pretty large town ( 223 ) t e 11 $ e town named Lodano, belonging, I believe, to the king of Sardinia, I came to a large olive wood, in which ſtood a figure of the Virgin, the first that ever gave me pleaſure, and this on account of its infcription , taken from a verſe of Ecclefiaftes, " Ut formofa oliva in campis," Like afair olive tree in the fields. Nothing could poffibly have been better placed. In a low part of the road, on the beach, grew the chafte-tree, Vitex Agnus-caftus, in feed. It is here a ſmall fhrub. The feeds have an unpleaſant aro matic fmell. From the olive wood above mentioned, the road led up the fide of a high craggy mountain, covered with beautiful plants. Here grew abundance of myrtle, even now in flower, Daphne Gnidium, feveral ſmall fpecies of Ciftus, an Iris, which, from its leaves, ſeemed I. pumila, Euphorbia ſpinoſa and dendroides. The latter was in full bloom, and formed very ornamental buſhes about a yard high. The flowers and involucella are yellow. I regret not having collected its feeds, as the plant is unknown in our gar dens. From the fummit of this hill I look ed ( 224 ) ed down on the town of Finale ; but un luckily miſtook the path to it, taking one intended for mules, which led through a rivulet. At the bottom ofthe hill I perceived my error, but too late, there being a bridge at ſome diſtance, which was now inacceffi ble without re-afcending the hill, and this I was too much tired to undertake. There was therefore no alternative but to ſtrip off my fhoes and ſtockings, and wade through the water, which coft me a fevere cold fome days afterwards, as there was a good deal of ice in the rivulet. Another misfortune be fell me at the inn ; for having no chimney in my room, I was glad to have recourſe to the common brazier of the kitchen, the vapour ofwhich threw me into a fainting fit. Luckily I was taken up inftantly, and carried into the air, and my recovery was foon complete. This houfe had no glaſs at all in the windows, fo that the inhabitants muft either fit in the air and rain, or in the dark. Dec. 27. A rainy morning threw meinto very low fpirits, but it cleared up fo much about ten, that I ventured to fet out on a mule, b10 ( 225 ) mule, attended by a good honeft guide, the waiter of the inn, on foot, who, running be fore, looked back every now and then, to afk if the mule went well. " Va bene, Signore ?" The road proved very rough, leading over lofty hills, fometimes out of fight of the ſea. The wind was high and cold, and I met, con traryto expectation in this climate, with much ice. Yet here the myrtle blooms, uninjured, near the ſea. There is a great conformity between the vegetable productions of ſome of theſe hills, eſpecially of thoſe that bear pine trees, and the plants of Montpellier. For inftance, Lavandula Spica, and Stoechas, Ciftus albidus and monfpelienfis, Ericafcopa ria, with its rofaceous galls ; but eſpecially Lithospermum fruticofum, which had never occurred fince we left Montpellier. Erica arborea was plentiful, likewife, all over theſe hills. The Engliſh conful, at Genoa, told me this heath was fent from hence about thirty years ago to the Kew garden. But what pleaſed me exceffively, was a fine ſpe cimen of Lichen perlatus in fructification , the firſt I ever faw in that ſtate, though the VOL. I. е plant ( 226 ) plant itſelf is very common. We reached Savone, a fortified town fifteen miles from Finale, in good time, and put up at a very decent inn, the Crofs of Malta, without the north gate. Here Erica arborea is uſed for fuel ; but the fire it makes is rather brilliant than efficacious. After dinner I walked into fome churches, the common reſource of idle travellers in Italy ; but the term of my diſappointments in this purſuit was not yet exhauſted. The citadel of Savone is very confequential. Near it I gathered the remains of the pretty Poa Eragroftis. I was now within thirty miles of my journey's end, and anxiouſly wiſhed to get to Genoa in good time the next day; but my conductor was pleaſed to attend mafs in the morning, which delayed us a little. Dec. 28. About feven we left Savone, and after paffing over a great deal of bad and mountainous road, fometimes remote from the fea, and among pictureſque cottages and fields, in whoſe borders grew the Carthufian pink, Dianthus carthufianorum, even then in flower, ( 227 ) flower, we ſtopped at a ſmall town on the fea-fhore, half way from Savone to Genoa. Notwithſtanding the reft of the road was level and good, we could not get to Genoa before the gates were fhut ; fo I was obliged to ſubmit to fleep in the ſuburbs of St. Pietro d'Arena, at the hôtel of St. Antonio, a palace indeed to fome I had lately been in ; but impatience, that night, would have planted thorns under the fofteft pillow. Dec. 29. When in the bright funny morn ing I looked from my window, and ſaw the palaces, domes, and towers of this juftly termed fuperb town rifing one above an other, the noble port, the fhips, and the great appearance of wealth and populouſneſs around, I was ftruck with admiration. Genoa was once the extent of myviews to wards Italy. The kind invitation of a friend, in whoſe fociety I had spent much happy time in London, in 1783, determined me, when I firſt fet my foot on the continent, to vifit this celebrated place if poſſible, and I then ſcarcely dared to think of going far ther. On arriving, however, at the threſ Q2 hold ( 228 ) hold of the moft interefting country in the world, it was impoffible to turn back. I walked alone into the town by the gate of St. Thomas, paffing the Doria palace, and ſeveral others, all in a ſtyle of magni ficence quite new to me ; and came at length to the Strada Balbi, one of the fineſt ſtreets in Genoa. Not that it is very ſtriking, either for length or breadth ; but few ſtreets in Europe can vie with it for magnificence of buildings, or for neatnefs. Here I found my friend, the Marquis Hippolito Durazzo, at the palace of his father ; and his hearty reception entirely diffipated the awe which his fuperb marble ſtair-cafe, and formi dable ranks of fervants at firſt inſpired. Here too. I met with that cordial, fo beau tifully defcribed in the moſt beautiful of all books, as " cold water to a thirſty ſoul," in a large packet of letters from England. Mynext care was to procure apartments in an excellent hôtel, called the Gran Cervo, and then to find out my banker, the Eng lifh conful, Mr. Brame, to whoſe civilities I was afterwards much obliged, and for none ( 229 ) none more than his making me that very day acquainted with Dr. Batt, a moſt inge nious Engliſh phyfician, who enjoys, and deferves, the chief practice in Genoa. All this buſineſs was ſcarcely tranſacted before Dr. Younge arrived, having failed from St. Remo early the preceding morning. This eventful and aufpicious day was concluded in a converfazione at the Marquis Durazzo's, where I immediately became acquainted with the feveral individuals of that amiable family, the firſt to which I was obliged in Italy, and the laſt that I ought to forget. The three weeks we now ſpent in Genoa were principally devoted to ſeeing the many ſtriking objects generally vifited by ſtrangers, as the churches, palaces, &c. Of theſe therefore I ſhall chiefly ſpeak in the follow ing chapter ; referving other particulars, re lative to the characters and manners of the people, natural hiftory, &c. till I come to this town again, in my return from Italy, when I faw its inhabitants more at leiſure. 2 Q3 4 CHAP. ( 230 ) CHAP. XVI, GENOA, THE magnificence of Genoa does not, in general, conſiſt in the dimenſions of its streets or fquares. Of the former ſcarcely any, except Strada Balbi and Strada Nuova, are wide enough to admit a coach. The reft are indeed ſtraight and regular, but ſo narrow, and often ſo ſteep, as to be only paffable on foot, or in a chair ; and fo intri cate, that a ftranger cannot eafily find his way. The pavement, however, is good and well kept, and the narrowness of the ftreets is an advantage in hot weather, as they are impervious to the fun's rays, and well ventilated at every corner by fea breezes, For the ftatelinefs of its buildings, this town is, perhaps, unrivalled. The two ſtreets above named, are almoft entirely com pofed ( 231 ) pofed of the moſt fumptuous palaces in Europe, whoſe maffy pillars and cornices of marble, fpacious courts, arcades, and gal leries, impreſs the ſpectator with the greateſt ideas of magnificence ; and whoſe noble apartments are furniſhed with the richeſt treaſures of painting. Yet perhaps Genoa is ftill more remarkable for its fituation. Placed on an eminence commanding a fine bay, and, from fome points of view, an extent of moſt beautiful coaft for 30 or 40 miles each way; fheltered from the north by an amphitheatre of bold and verdant hills ; lefs difperfed than Naples, fo that the eye can, from many different parts, com mand at once every principal object ; Genoa ´appears to me the fineſt proſpect of a town I ever beheld. The ſtyle of architecture here is not of the pureft kind, though often rich in deco ration. Some of the palaces are painted in freſco on the outſide. Theſe paintings, though perhaps 200 years old, are not ill preferved ; but they have no good effect. Some of the older buildings are cafed with black and white marble, in alternate hori Q4 zontal ( 232 ) zontal ſtripes, which is perhaps of all kinds of building the moſt ugly. The Cathedral is fo decorated. It is of a very ancient date, and confequently Gothic. The three doors, by which is the principal entrance, are richly adorned with pillars and pointed arches, like moſt of our Engliſh cathedrals ; the fquare tower has nothing remarkable. The moſt famous thing about this church is the facred cup, fuppoſed to be carved out of one ſolid emerald, about a foot in diameter, ſaid to have held the paſchal lamb eaten by our Saviour with his diſci ples. It is alfo reported to have made a part of the preſents brought by the obliging queen of Sheba to the wife Solomon ; and if Adam had been recorded to have uſed a vafe for any purpoſe whatever, no doubt it would have been this. Theſe lofty preten fions, it feems, are lefs controvertible than the nature of its fubftance. Not that I can fpeak from my own obfervation ; for this venerable treaſure is extremely difficult of accefs ; the prudent fenate having thought beft that it should " Be hid to be revered the more." No ( 233 ) ¿ No one can ſee it without an expreſs de cree of the council, and many heavy fees in confequence. I was therefore content with the report of a very ſkilful chemiſt and mi neralogift, who has purpoſely examined it, that it has evidently ſeveral air-bubbles, as Mr. de la Condamine obferved, which decide it to be glaſs. It is nevertheleſs a fine piece of glaſs, and of very remote antiquity. The afhes of St. John Baptift are faid to be preferved in this church. They repofe in a chapel decorated with a profuſion of large and handfome filver lamps, perpetually burning. Theſe holy relicks were brought hither from Myra in 1098, fo that their reality is certainly much leſs eaſily to be dif proved, than that ofthe emerald vafe ; and miracles innumerable are not wanting in their favour, which I do not find that the faid vafe can boaſt. The Church of St. Ambroſe, formerly belonging to the Jefuits, is very richly orna mented, and in a good ſtyle of architecture. Here is the fepulchre of the Durazzo family. The altar- piece to their burying-place, in one of the cross aifles, is one of the fineſt pictures of 1 ( 234 ) of Guido Rheni, repreſenting the Affump tion ofthe Virgin, and confifting of twenty fix figures, in his ftronger manner. Its compofition and general effect much refem bles his famous confultation on the immacu late conception, formerly at Houghton. The air of the heads is, in general, extremely fine. The fituation of this picture is fa vourable, the church being lighted entirely from the attic ſtory. Oppofite to this is an admired painting, by Rubens, of fome holy Jefuit curing a demoniac, a picture ofgood effect ; much more agreeable than the cir cumcifion at the high-altar by the fame hand, in which is a vulgar virgin in red. This is one of the moſt elegant churches in Ge noa, though not one of the largeſt. The Anunciata is much more ſpacious, decorated with rich marbles difpoſed with little tafte, and not yet finiſhed on the out fide. The columns ofthe nave are of white marble, fluted with red, very tawdry. On one altar are two magnificent twiſted pillars of brown clouded alabafter, fine in their kind. Here is the monument of the Duke de Bouflers, fent by Louis XV, to the de 3

fence < 1eTT ( 235 ) fence of Genoa in 1747, and who died of the ſmall-pox, juft as his judicious meaſures had begun to diſtreſs . the Auſtrian army. The fenate have commemorated his benefits in a handſome epitaph, After the many gaudy churches which every where preſent themſelves, it is quite a relief to viſit that noble edifice St. Maria di Carignano, whofe infide is only white-wash ed, and owes all its charms to its architectu ral beauty, which is of the firſt rank. Its form is a Greek croſs, with a cupola in the centre. At the angles ofthe area, underthe cupola, are four coloffal ftatues, two of them by the celebrated French artiſt Puget, who flouriſhed in the beginning of this century, That of St. Sebaſtian certainly deſerves the higheſt praiſe, for expreffion of piety and refignation under great pain, as well as for the anatomy. The other, repreſenting St. Alexander Sauli a biſhop, in his robes, is remarkable for the dignity and enthuſiaſm of its gefture, and the great ftyle of the dra pery. The fituation of this church being very elevated, the approach to it is by a lofty bridge over a dry valley, from whence the 鼻 6 view ( 236 ) view of the bay and coaft is very extenfive, and which is a favourite walk in a fummer's evening about funſet. • The Ducal Palace, a vaft and folid build ing, contains nothing to detain a traveller long. The new great council-chamber, built in the place of that burnt in 1777, is an extremely magnificent room, about 120 feet long, and 50 wide, decorated with noble columns of Spanish brocatello, a marble richly variegated with red and yellow, with ftatues between the columns. One of them, in the fluttering French ſtyle, repreſents the Marechal de Richlieu, who fucceeded the Duke de Bouflers in the command of the French army in 1747. The Genoeſe ſeem to have been heartily frightened upon that occafion, and not without reafon ; the French certainly faved them from ruin. Here are copies ofthofe paintings of Solimene which were burnt in 1777, and of which every body ſpeaks with great regret. The ſmall fummer council-chamber is alfo a richly or namented room, where are fome good paint ings relative to the hiftory of Columbus. No fubject can be more intereſting, and the Genoefe C ( 237 ) Genoefe may well be proud of their great countryman. Many private houſes in the town abound with freſco paintings, in which his ſtory is delineated, and the parts of it are in many inftances very pictureſque ; as his departure from Europe amid the lamenta tions of his friends ; his adventures in the new world, and his prefenting its various productions to the Spaniſh monarchs on his return, amid a group of aftoniſhed and ad miring courtiers. He has lately had a freſh tribute to his memory, in a moſt elegant and full hiſtorical eulogium, in Italian, written by the M. Hippolito Durazzo, and beautifully printed at Parma, along with a fimilar one, by the accompliſhed M. Nicola Cattaneo, in praiſe of Andrew Doria, that truly great pa triot, who, after having faved his country by his wiſdom and heroffm, refufed its offered fovereignty, becauſe he thought it not forthe intereft of the ftate that fo much power fhould be veſted in one man. Such cha racters, however rare, repay us for thoſe ſcenes of blood and perfidy, " that ſyſtem of villany called politics," of which hiſtory is generally compofed. I cannot help copy 1 ing ( 238 ) ing the beautiful infcription on the pedeſtal of Andrew Doria's ftatue, in the great court of this palace ; it is in every book, but its brevity and elegance muſt be my excufe : ANDREÆ DORIÆ, Quod Rempublicam diutius oppreſſam Priftinam in libertatem vindicaverit, Patri proinde Patriæ appellato, Senatus Januenfis immortalis memor beneficii viventi pofuit. That this republic can not only celebrate its heroes in a ſtyle worthy of ancient Rome, but alſo fulminate its anathemas with equal force against its unworthy members, the following curious infcriptions, exactly copied from two marble flabs on the outſide of the Ducal Palace, will evince. JOANNI PAULO BALBI, Hominum peffimo, flagitijs omnibus imbuto, impuro, ficario, Monetæ probatæ adulterinæ, tonfori, conflatori, infigni furi, et vectigalium famofo expilatori : ob nefariam in remp. confpirationem perduelli majeftatis publicato, fifco bonis vendicatis, filijs profcriptis, infami pœna laquei damnato, ad æternam ignominiam nefandæ fui memoriæ lapis hic erectus, anno MDCL. RAPHAEL 239 ) נ נר RAPHAEL DE TURRI Q. Vij. Aliene ſubſtantie cunctis artibus expilator, improbus, Homicida, Predonum Confors, & in Patrio Mari Pirata, Proditor, et in Majeftatem Perduellis, Machinato Reipce. Excidio, Supplicijs Enormitate Scelerum fuperatis, Furcarum fufpendio iterato damnatus, Adfcriptis fifco bonis, Profcriptis Filijs, Dirutis Immobilibus, Hoc Perenni Ignominie Monimento, Ex S. C. Deteftabilis Efto. Anno MDCLXXII. On the ſubject of infcriptions, I muft tranſcribe one more, very celebrated for its neat Latinity, from the gate which leads to the mole. Aucta ex S. C. mole Extructaq. Porta Propugnaculo. Munita Urbem. Cingebant. Mœnibus Quacumque. Alluitur. Mari. Anno MDLIII. This was compofed by Bonfadio, a famous grammarian and hiftorian, who prided him ſelfſo much upon this infcription , that having been ( 240 ) been condemned to death for a ſcandalous crime, he exclaimed, as he paffed this gate, that he died willingly, as this inſcription would immortalize his name. This predic tion has been more fully verified, than the compofition in itſelf perhaps may ſeem to juſtify. With reſpect to the character of Bonfadio, Bayle has pretty clearly proved, that whether he were innocent or guilty of the imputed crime, his real offence was, having ſpoken too freely of certain perfons in his Annals of Genoa. The date of the above infcription is in favour of Mr. de Thou, who fixes his death in 1560, whereas Ghilini makes it 1551. Dr. Batt fhewed us the great hoſpital, one of the largeſt and moſt fuperb in Europe. It is open to the fick of all nations and re ligions, and contains from 1200 to 2000 patients. About 700 women and 1200 men are admitted in the courſe of the year for wounds with knives or ftilettos ; a dreadful fact, almoſt fufficient to brand the national character with the general deteſtation of mankind. Yet the very people whoſe quick paffions urge them to fuch horrors, would fhudder A ( 241 ). Thudder at the deliberate brutality of an English boxing match ; and what would they think if their fuperiors delighted in ſet-´ ting them together by the ears for their own amufement ! They would then probably foon make their poignards inftruments of juſtice. This hofpital is ornamented with marble ftatues, generally badly executed, of its be nefactors. Thoſe perſons who have given to the amount of50,000 livres (about 1400l. ) and under 100,000, are reprefented ſtanding; thoſe who have beftowed more than 100,000 are in a fitting pofture. The apothecary's ſhop is convenient, with a ſmall garden ad joining. Not far diftant is a fmaller hofpital for incurables, with a better garden ; the build ing is likewiſe magnificently adorned with ftatues and columns of marble. Weheard an anecdote much to the honour ofthe Emperor Jofeph II. Entering Genoa on horſeback, with few attendants, he acci dentally paffed the great hofpital, and being ftruck with its appearance, would inſtantly alight and viſit it ; notwithſtanding the re VOL. I. R monftrances ( 242 ) monftrances of his followers, and the people of the houſe, who told him the fenate wiſhed him to ſee that and every thing elſe hereafter at leiſure, and in a manner more befitting his dignity. But the judicious prince repli ed, he was more defirous of examining ſuch things in their common ftate, in order to judge of their real merits, which he could ill do when they were diſguiſed by aformal preparation . We were not told whether his Imperial Majefty vifited the celebrated ſpot in a ſtreet juſt by, where the revolution in 1746 began, and which is marked by fome white ftones in the pavement. At that time this town was in the moft abject fubmiffion to the Germans, who plundered it without mercy, behaving to its inhabitants with the ufual infolence of flaves become conquerors. The Genoefe were made to drag their own cannon to the Auſtrian camp ; but one day, in Dec. 1746, as a brave republican was fo employed, in this very fpot, he received a b'ow from a German officer, which roufed his latent indignation. His fpirit was com municated inſtantly to the fpectators, and through the town. The whole body 40 of people, yououtMAwwMO^^^www3.c8 2 ( 243 ) people, unaided by the fearful fenate, fell on their oppreffors, who were foon driven out in confternation. The neighbouring peaſants feconded the efforts of their coun trymen, and formed themfelves with won` derful order into an army. The Prince Doria beat the enemy's general in the ſuburb of St. Pietro d'arena, and the Auſtrians fled in the moſt daftardly manner, leaving all their baggage and ammunition in the hands of the conquerors, and 4000 of their own number prifoners in the Albergo. The Albergo is an hofpital for poor and infirm people, as well as a houſe of correc tion for diſorderly women. It is not infe rior in magnificence to thofe hoſpitals juſt mentioned, and like them indeed feems to have had fhew more than real utility con fidered in its plan. The architects were more accuſtomed to build palaces, than to accommodate poverty and fickneſs. But it muſt be acknowledged in excufe, that the art of planning hofpitals has not been under ftood any where till very lately.

The chapel of the Albergo is remarkable for two pieces of fculpture. Of the praiſes R 2 of ( 244 ) of that on the high altar, the virgin aſcend ing to heaven, by Puget, all French books are full ; I prefume not quite undeſervedly, though its first view diſappointed, and even difpleafed me, on account of the affectation of its air and drapery ; but I must acknow ledge my attention was foon entirely with drawn from this ftatue, by an accidental glance to the left, where another fculpture over a ſmall altar rivetted myeyes, and every faculty of my mind, in a tranſport of admi ration and tender compaffion, as fervent as ever Mrs. Siddons herself excited. This was no other than the bas-relief by Michael Angelo Buonarota, fo flightly mentioned by De la Lande, and not at all by Cochin, or the Abbé Richard ; but which, for the honour of our country, has been fufficiently avenged by the animated pen of Lady Mil ler. I am not a little proud at having felt as ſhe did on the ſubject, without being pre poffeffed, except indeed by the common guide book of Genoa, compiled as it should feem from various authors, and which cele brates this inimitable mafter-piece, in fome degree, as it deferves. The Abbé Dupaty has th ( 245 ) ES 30 wi 20 has noticed it likewife in few, but forcible words. The fubject confifts of two heads about the natural fize ; a dead Chriſt, and his mother bending over him. Words can not do juſtice to the expreffion of grief in the Virgin. It is not merely natural in the highest degree ; ' tis the grief of a character refined and foftened above humanity. The contemplation of it recals every affecting fcene, every pathetic incident of one's whole life. Thoſe who have watched all the ago nizing turns of countenance of the great actrefs above mentioned, in the parts of Ifabella and Belvidere, can alone form a conception of the wonderful effect of this marble ; in contemplating it, every exquiſite variety of that expreffion feems to paſs in turn over its breathing features. The reader. muſt pardon my enthuſiaſm. This was the firft truly fine piece of fculpture I ever faw. I had not before any conception of the powers of the art. I fhall have very few occafions of relapfing into fuch rapture. We were told offome English gentleman who would lately have bought this bas-relief at any price, but could not obtain it. R 3 The ( 246 ) The Count Durazzo, fome time Imperial Ambaffador at Venice, is one of the most accompliſhed and polite noblemen in Genoa. His collection of old prints is very rich and extenfive, having been made in the courfe of many years reſearches, at the fame time that he formed a fimilar collection, with unlimited pains and expence, for Prince Albert of Saxony, brother-in-law to the late Emperor. Theſe collections are celebrated in a differtation, printed in the moft exqui fite manner at Parma, at the Count's ex pence ; for a copy of which I am indebted to his favour. He poffeffes fome good ſmall bronzes ; a fine picture of Sufanna and the elders by Rubens, and fome others. We examined, at leiſure, a very good collection of infects, found chiefly about Venice. and Genoa by a fervant of the Count. This gentleman refides in a part of that fumptucus palace, celebrated as one of the nobleſt in Italy, which belongs to his elder brother, the Senator Marcellino Durazze, the head of this family. Its front in Strada Balbi has twenty-five windows in a row. The entrance is noble, and an arch on the oppofite " • ( 247 ) oppofite fide of the court, ornamented with fuperb oleander trees, has a very fine thea trical effect. Every step of the great ftair cafe is one ftupendous block of blue and white Carara marble. The fecond floor, as ufual in Genoa, is the principal one, and fitted up in the moſt princely ſtyle. It is on a level with a terrace, which connects the two wings towards the fea, and from whence is a view of the bay and coaft. Moſt of the Genoeſe palaces have a terrace of this kind, where in fummer it is ufual to fup, among orange and lemon trees, and other flowering ſhrubs in large pots. The collection of pictures is numerous, and confifts offome very capital ones, among a number of inferior merit. The names of the artiſts do not make fo great a figure as thofe of fome other collections ; becauſe here are ſcarcely any bad pictures kept merely on account of their names. I fhall not attempt to enumerate all the good ones. of this or any other collection, but ſhall make a few remarks on fuch as, for fome reafon or other, engaged my attention, by R 4 na ( 248 ) no means pretending that what I noticed were always the beſt. Every body has heard ofthe mafter-piece of Paul Veroneſe, for it is eſteemed no lefs, of the Magdalen at our Saviour's feet undoubtedly the first painting in the Durazzo collection . It is one of the moſt celebrated pictures in Italy, and in complete preferva tion ; fo that the artist's eminent ſkill in co louring is feen to great perfection. As to the compofition, it ſeemed to me that one figure, which is a portrait of Paul Veroneſe himſelf, is made too confpicuous, having nothing to do with the principal action, and yet unavoidably attracting notice.. Chrift, on the contrary, is too much in the dark, and an awkward unpleafing figure. The Mag dalen is admirable ; her head charming, and her hands are life itſelf in every reſpect, The whole effect of the picture is unuſually ftriking, We did not fee the celebrated copy, faid to be ſcarcely diftinguiſhable from the original, It is kept in fome private apartments, belonging to a branch of the family with which we were not acquainted, De 1 2 ( 249 ) 0 10 De la Lande ftrangely errs in attributing the above picture to Rubens. We admired a Jew Rabbi by Rembrandt, much like that once, alas ! at Houghton : Juno fticking the eyes of Argus to her pea cock, by Rubens ; rich in colouring, but the idea is better in poetry than in the detail of painting ; and an Ecce Homo by Carlo Dolce, in his wonderfully foft high-finiſhed ftyle. Here are alfo feveral capital per formances of Luca Giordano, mentioned by every traveller who has deſcribed Genoa. An antique buft of Vitellius is executed with ſuch preciſion, in all the inequalities of fkin, as to be diſguſting ; but it is very cha racteristic, and gives a perfect idea of im perial beaſtlineſs. The other Durazzo palace belonged, at this time, to Mr. Marcellino Durazzo, who died foon after my firft vifit to Genoa, and it is now the property of his eldeſt fon, Jacomo Filippo. Having been in this houſe almoſt every day, I examined the pictures at leifure. There are feveral very good ones of the Bologna ſchool, particularly an Ecce Homo, with feveral figures by Annibal Ca racçi, ( 250 ) racci, and fome very fine portraits by Van dyke. One of them, a boy in a white drefs, is moft inimitable, for eafe, truth, and fpirit, and, in my opinion, the beſt picture in the collection. Three children and a dog, by the fame mafter, are excellent likewife. The death of Adonis, by Domenichino, is very pleafing. The accomplished lady of the houſe has copied this admirably in water colours, and has defigned and executed a companion to it herſelf of Acis and Gala tea. Democritus and Heraclitus bySpagnoletto, are more natural than pleafing. They are clofe copies of low life. Apollo flaying Marfias, by Paul Veronefe, is as mean in execution, as its fubject is odious and un worthy. Apollo is attending as carefully to the ſtroke of his knife, as a ſtudent of ana tomy in a diffecting-room. There are fomé ineſtimable pictures of a ſmall fize by the Caraccis, particularly the death and burial of St. Stephen. Aftaircafe of Carara marble has not long been finiſhed, at the expence of about 6oool. The architect was unluckily confined for ร . room, ( 251 ) I room, ſo that the way from the ſtaircaſe to the gallery is rather awkward ; but on the whole it is a fuperb ftructure. The apart ments are commodious and elegant. It is inconceivable where many travel writers have picked up that abfurd notion of the Italian nobility, and efpecially the Ge noeſe, never inhabiting their beſt rooms. The Genoefe are, above all others, reproach ed with this, and accufed of leaving the beſt part of their houfes defolate, to live in little dirty out-of-the-way rooms and garrets. Their fineſt apartments are indeed at the top of the houſe, and therefore may be called garrets ; and fo far only the accufation is true. But I muſt paſs over fuch particulars at preſent, and proceed to the palace of Mr. Francis Balbi, in the fame ftreet with the above. Here is a very fine and numerous collection of paintings. 霉 Jofeph explaining the dreams of the butler and baker, by Cappucino, pleaſes every body. An Ecce Homo by Vandyke, one of his fineſt performances. Portraits of the wife and child of the fame great painter, by himself: just what portraits ought to be. His own accompanies ( 252 ) accompanies them, and is equally excellent. St. John Baptift in the defart, by Guido Rheni, a picture of fublime character. His St. Jerome pleafed me lefs. A fingular compofition of Rubens, repre fenting the Virgin and Child, with angels, faints, his own three wives, and various other figures ; the fubject too abfurd for criticiſm ; but the colouring and effect as excellent as in any ofthis maſter's works. A Virgin and Child with St. Catherine, by Corregio, is a moft exquifitely finiſhed picture, full of grace and nature. How differently excellent is the Tempta tion of St. Anthony, by Breugel ! It is hard to ſay, whether the invention or the execu tion of this painter's works are moſt won derful. :: A ܐܵܬ Two old pictures by Lucas Van Leyden, one a Holy Family, the other a Nativity, are very curious.

• • But the moſt ſtriking picture of the whole,

is the Converfion of St. Paul, by Michael Angelo da Caravaggio ; nothing can be finer than the effect of the fupernatural light. The palace of Mr. James Balbi, fituated pdo likewife ( 253 ) S Kikewife in the street ofthe fame name, con tains many valuable pictures. The portraits of an aged Senator and his wife fitting, and another of three children, all by Vandyke, are of the greateſt beauty and effect. The two former are much in the ftyle of Rem brandt, and come very near two pictures of his which I once faw, in private hands, at Yarmouth. 7 睡 Two excellent landfcapes by Rubens, in his own rich and maſterly ſtyle, which is very peculiar, and will not bear imitation. In one of them is a rainbow ; for what would not this great colorift dare to attempt, and what has he not effected ? Atriumph by the fame painter, fuppofed to be of Bacchus ; but as the principal figure is wanting, this feems to be only a piece of a picture. A holy family, likewife by Rubens, in which the little Jefus, feated in his cradle, is embracing St. John, who receives his ca reffes with a ſweet complacency and ſenſibi lity to which no words can do justice. Whe ther prejudiced by this inimitable piece of expreffion or not, I cannot but efteem this the ( 254 ) the beſt picture in the collection. There is a duplicate of it in the Palace Pitti at Flo rence, very badly engraved in a collection of the Grand Duke's principal pictures in two volumes. There are many other paintings highly worthy of notice in this palace, as a Cardinal with Luther and Calvin, faid to be by Se baftian Del Piombo. Two children, by Lucas van Leyden. A Magdalen and two heads, by Julius Cæfar Procaccino. St. Se baftian, by Vandyke. Adam and Eve, by Breugel. Three large works of Luca Gior dano, of which the Rape of the Sabines pleaſed me the beſt. An inimitable laughing beggar, by Spagnoletto. "

医 The Brignole Palace, Palazzo Roffo, is furniſhed with a very capital collection of pictures. Among others, a dead Cleopatra by Guido Rheni. Rubens and his wife, with a fatyr and a cupid, all in a merry mood, by himſelf. Judith and Holophernes by Paul Veronefe, in which that artift has given a fpecimen of good painting, though of bad taſte, in the bleeding trunk. Some portraits byParis Bordone, and feveral others. d A4 For ( 255 ) W 1 -4 S j 1 For richness of decoration, few palaces can vie with that of the Serra family in Strada nuova. The faloon is fingularly magnificent, the columns, cornice, &c. being gilt, and the ſpaces between the columns entirely compofed of looking-glaſs, ſo that the whole is multiplied without end. The ceiling is tolerably painted by a French artiſt; but the decorations did not appear quite finished. Some other rooms are richly fitted up, and in a good taſte, but the pictures trifling. 1 There are, no doubt, many other palaces in Genoa well worth viſiting ; but unleſs à traveller has more than ordinary time and patience, he muſt leave many things unfeen in every town. A 7 ( ۲۰ In a walk on the ramparts next the fea, and then through the fuburbs to the caft, we ftumbled on a fine old palace, belonging to the Sauli family, now uſed for a gauze má nufactory. Its architecture and ornaments are admirable, and its preſent ſtate of dilapi dation is no diſadvantage to the effect of the whole. This is the worst part of the town. We proceeded to the Zerbino, a villa belong 7 ing ( 256 ) ing to one ofthe Balbis, in a moft beautiful fituation near the new walls. The formality of the gardens is atoned for by the proſpect ofthe town and bay, and by the abundance of fine water falling in cafcades, fhaded with luxuriant ferns, eſpecially Maiden-hair (Adi antum Capillus-Veneris). The environs of Genoa poffefs one gar den profeffedly in the Engliſh tafte, that of Mr. Lomellini at Pegy. It is planted with great plenty of Erica arborea of a large fize, Arbutus Unedo, Myrtle, Evergreen Oak, &ci One of the prettiest things in the garden is an artificial ruin of a temple, fituated in a wood, with water. Two very long and high cut hedges of fmall-leaved Myrtle, lead from the road to the houſe, ſtriking on ac count of their materials only, and quite un like the ſtyle ofthe garden. On fome large trees behind the houſe, I firſt obferved Hyp num Smithii, Dicks. Fafc. 2. p. 10. Y

• • Dr. Caneferi, Profeffor of Natural Hiſtory,

took us to the Univerſity, a ſumptuous col lege, formerly belonging to the Jefuits, and remarkable for its magnificent court, ftair cafe, and galleries, and two noble lions of marble 214 ( 257 ) A CO a marble by Parodi. The collection of mi nerals is large and good, as well as the ap paratus for lectures on Natural and Experi mental Philofophy. Dr. Batt is Profeffor of Chemiſtry. This inftitution is but in its infancy, and the endowments far from fplen did. Science is a plant of flow growth ; nor is it yet a faſhionable purfuit among the Genoeſe. The Durazzo family ſtand almoſt fingle as its encouragers. The opera at Genoa is pretty good ; but it was tedious to fee the fame piece night after night, though a good one, Virginia. Confequently few people attended to the performance, except when a favourite air occurred. This honour was conſtantly paid to that charming fong :

" Idol mio, queft' alma amante, " Sempre fida a te fara."

The ballets, after every act, are fometimes varied, but they are not excellent. The audience are chiefly employed in paying and receiving viſits. A raiſed gallery, on a level with the lower boxes, communicates with the pit, and affords the gentlemen a means VOL. I. S of ( 258 ) of communication with the ladies in their boxes very commodioufly. In fummer the operas are comic, and very good. The noble Genoefe lay afide all titles, but that of Patrizio Genoefe. Though many of them , in confequence of the fiefs or eſtates they poffefs in other countries, are by right Marquiffes or Counts, they are generally called plain Signore, and always by their Chriſtian names, as are their ladies likewife. They conftantly drefs in black, with valuable laces, but no jewels, except in rings, with which their fingers are often enormouſly loaded. In the country, and in a morning, they wear an undrefs of colours. . Many of the older houſes here, as in Bologna and other towns, have lofty watch towers, which were fafe places of retreat before the invention of guns. They are worth afcending for the fake ofthe view. On the 17th of January, being St. An thony's day, we witneffed a curious cere mony, the bleffing of all the horſes, affes, and mules in the town, which were led, decked out with ribbands, to one of the doors of the church dedicated to this beaſt loving ( 259 ) b14H ne loving Saint, where a prieſt ſtood ready to ſprinkle them with holy water. Some of thefe animals took it with much greater devotion than others ; feveral ſeemed as much frightened as the devil himſelf could have been at the holy fprinkling. This is performed every year, and the Doge is always prefent-A laudable and pious co operation of church and ſtate, who wiſely keep one another in countenance in this holy and beneficial ceremony ! S 2 CHAP. I ( 260 ) CHA P. XVII. FROM GENOA TO PISA AND FLORENCE. STILL Jan. 18. 1787. L preferring land, however unhofpitable, to the fea, I pro ceeded on horfeback for Seftri di Levante, 30 miles from Genoa, on the coaft to the Eaft. Dr. Younge chofe to go in a felucca, and we met at the place of our deſtination about dufk. I found the road in the beginning bad and ftony, but in fome parts level and fine as ant Engliſh turnpike, lying along the ſhore, and planted with a row of American aloes on each fide. The olive trees afforded a little more Lichen perlatus in fructification. Part of the way was hilly, and the country romantic, out of fight of the fea. Helleborus viridis, if I am not miſtaken, grew by the road fide ; and ( 261 ) IM and at a diſtance an Erica with red flowers, probably the true multiflora. The country ſeemed rich in plants, eſpecially moffes. Jan. 19. I was told it was nearly im poffible to go farther by land ; and the wind being contrary, with much rain, we were obliged to remain at Seftri, and had no other way of venting our difpleafure than by means of a burnt flick on the wall, as fol lows : By adverſe winds and faithlefs billows croft, A liftlefs wanderer on a foreign coaft ; While rugged rocks refuſe the opening flower, Nor even a mofs beguiles the tedious hour ; While, if to Heav'n I turn my anxious eye, No ray of hope illumes the ftormy fky. But I got no farther-dinner came- Phœbus was more friendly to us than to inſpire more fuch verſes, and the weather cleared up. We found plenty of Lichens in fine order for gathering, and that elegant fern Acrofli chum Marantæ. Seftri ftands on a fmall ifthmus, which connects a high rock with the main land, fo that there is a fnug little port on each fide. The town itſelf is miferable. S 3 Jan. ( 262 ) Jan. 20. It being a dead calm, we were rowed in the felucca 30 miles, cloſe under the high craggy fhore, clothed with Indian figs, to Lerici, a wretched town in the Golfa della Spetia. The view of this noble gulf, as we entered it by moon-light, was beyond deſcription beautiful ; nor fhall I for get the failor's evening hymn as we paffed the caftle of Porto Venere, while the moon beams trembled on the glaffy ſurface of the water ; and the whole extent of the harbour, with its rich and fwelling coafts, preſented itſelf at once, Lerici poffeffes an execrable inn, with an infcription fignifying, that the King of Swe den flept there in November 1773. We foon learned, in the courſe of our journey, that fuch infcriptions were very bad omens, and that Monarchs, with reverence be it ſpoken ! are but indifferent travelling guides. Webargained before-hand, as is neceffary in Italy, for our fupper and lodging ; but, having had coffee next morning, were fur priſed to find it charged about as much as all the reft put together. On complaining, we ( 263 ) INPAN 5 • we were told, with the moſt cool effrontery, that coffee was not in the original bargain. Jan. 21. Travelled poft in a miferable cabriolet to Pifa. The road lay through Venza, Maſſa, a reſpectable place, and Pietra Santa, in all feven pofts, or about forty miles, not hilly. There is a ferry in the laſt poſt, which I would advife all travellers to pafs by day-light, and not, as was our fate, in the dark. The gates of Piſa were readily opened. A ſhabby young abbé, whoſe title nevertheleſs appeared on his baggage, Il molto illuftre molto riverende fignore, &c. &c. but a ſtranger to us, took the advantage of coming gratis in our felucca from Genoa, and of riding on the back of the chaiſe, for we had barely room for ourſelves within. His illuftrious reverence ftill farther deigned to beg of us when we feparated at Pifa ; fo condeſcending are the great when they have any advantage in view ! Yet we afterwards faw this abbé appearing with due dignity at the Carnival at Rome. Jan. 22. One day fufficed for the curio $ 4 fities ( 264 ) fities of Pifa. It is a large depopulated old town. The inhabitants are faid fcarcely to amount to 20,000 at prefent, though formerly five or fix times as many, when the republic was in its profperity, and the arts flouriſhed with commerce under the banners of Liberty. Then its thouſand towers were poffeffed by as many patrician families, whofe valour kept at a diſtance all external miſchief, and whofe ambition and intereſts were too equally balanced to make them dangerous at home. At length the treacher ous and ill-fated Hugolino graſped at the fplendid phantom of power, by deſerting his poft in an important armament againſt the Genoeſe, and with his corrupt adherents took poffeffion of this defenceless country. Not content with this, he even plotted with the Florentines against its interefts ; and though he foon juftly paid for his crimes with his life, the victories obtained by the Genoeſe and Florentines, added to inteſtine broils, at laft reduced this famous republic to fubmit itſelf to the latter in the year 1406, after having, in ſome meaſure, alleviated its dif grace, by fuftaining a rigorous fiege. Many families Ctufo01 ( 265 ) on il T families upon this deſerted it in indignation. The country too was depopulated, and, from want of cultivation, became unhealthy. The convulfions of Florence itſelf foon called the attention of that ftate from its new ac quifition ; and Pifa has ever fince been a humble dependant on the fate of its con querors ; often ſuffering from their misfor tunes, but ſeldom deriving any great benefit from their proſperity. The prefent race of fovereigns are accuſtomed to vifit it occafi onally ; and Piſa has had its ſhare of the general happineſs, under their wife adminiſ tration. Here is an Univerſity with anObfervatory, and a Botanic Garden. The latter feemed well stocked with hardy plants, arranged according to the Linnæan fyftem. Scir pus Holofchanus was here named Juncus conglomeratus, as at Montpellier. Rhapis flabelliformis, the Chineſe Palm, already mentioned at Leyden, p. 11. was here in fruit ; and we were told it was eaten at the Grand Duke's table. Unluckily taking it for a Chamarops, I neglected to preſerve any, and the fruit of Rhapis has not yet been defcribed. ( 266 ) defcribed. At the College, or Sapienza, we heard two profeffors lecturing to numerous audiences ; one of them in Italian, on Moral Philoſophy ; the other on Hiftory, in Latin. The number of ſtudents is generally about feven hundred. The Cathedral (Duomo) is a venerable and magnificent pile, though of the barbarous and irregular architecture of the eleventh century, and compofed of marble fragments of other buildings, whofe carvings and in ſcriptions, disjointed and reverſed, very much disfigure its outſide. Many of them bear fuch marks of elegance, that one cannot help deeply lamenting this revolution in their deſtiny. The tomb ofthe Counteſs Beatrice (mother of the famous Counteſs Matilda), who died in 1076, is placed high in the air againſt the church wall, according to the faſhion of that age. The great gates of bronze, after the de figns of John of Bologna, are deſervedly admired for the ſpirited execution of many figures, of which they are compofed. The Manuel, p. 239, ſpeaks of theſe gates as ornamented with bas-reliefs, the work of (6 ( 267 ) J of Bonanno, almoſt all bad, and half go thic. " This is copied from Cochin. The Guide-book of Pifa fays the gates of Bon anno were deſtroyed by fire in 1595, and that the prefent, which are certainly neither bad nor gothic, were modelled in 1601. The infide of the church is gloomy, but rich in marbles and porphyry, of which the Pifans, as well as the Venetians, brought large quantities from the Levant among other fpoils. This cathedral is therefore quite a ſtudy for a lithologiſt, and its various trea fures are very completely illuftrated by Dr. Targioni Tozzetti the elder, in his Travels. through Tuſcany ( Florence 1751 ). Moſt of its granite columns he fuppofes to have been dug in the Ifle of Elba, from whence the Romans procured many of the columns em ployed in their buildings, and which are often too hastily taken for oriental granite. It is faid vaft blocks ftill remain half-formed in the quarries there. Theſe Pifan columns are moſt probably of Roman workmanſhip; for builders in the dark ages found too many materials ready at hand, to take the trouble of digging for more ; and being not over nice ( 268 ) nice about proportions, they made no diffi culty of preffing into their ſervice any ancient materials that came in their way, and which they would have found it not eafy to have wrought afreſh. To thefe were added the fpoils ofthe Eaft, and all together combined to form thofe motley edifices which ſprung up in Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries ; of which the richeſt and moſt remarkable, after St. Mark's at Venice, is this cathedral of Pifa. The Manuel feems to have bor rowed from Dr. Tozzetti, an account of a very curious little column of brecciated por phyry under the pulpit, more compound than any other known fpecimen. I ſhall hereafter mention fome which approach it, at Rome and Venice. The altar of the Chiefa dei Cavalieri is alſo faid to be rich in curious porphyries ; but this we did not fee. The pictures are numerous, chiefly bythe earlier Tufcan artifts. Some of the beſt are by Andrea del Sarto. The faces of fome angels in an old painting about half way down the north fide of the nave, at the altar of the Angeli cuftodi, are of the moft con fummate beauty. Who would not bend 5 the ( 269 ) the knee to fuch guardian angels ? The painter is faid to be Salimbeni of Sienna ; an artiſt of whom one feldom hears. On the north ſide of the cathedral, is the famous old Campo Santo, or burying- ground, whofe earth, to the depth, I think, of twelve feet, was brought from Jerufalem ; and had the property, before it was over-gorged with human fleſh, of corroding a dead body to the bones in 24 hours. It is oblong, fur rounded with a kind of cloiſter full of fa mily-vaults, which are now uſeleſs. A grave is always kept open in this cemetery, co vered with an awning, that if any perfon fhould die of fo malignant a diſorder as that the body could not fafely be conveyed to the new burying-ground out of town, it might, by means of a certificate from the attending phyſician, be immediately interred in this place. This is the only cafe in which the new law of the late Grand Duke againſt burying in towns, fimilar to that of the Emperor Jofeph II. can be diſpenſed with. The walls of this cloifter are curiouſly painted by Giotto, and others of the earlieſt painters after the reſtoration of the art. In theſe ( 270 ) thefe pieces the colouring is void of all merit ; the drawing dry and ftiff, but the expreffion often wonderfully good, though fometimes bordering on the burleſque. No figure among the whole is more famous than the modeſt woman, who is peeping at the drunken Noah through her fingers. She is always quoted when any body affects pecu liar delicacy, by the name of LaVergognofa di Campo Santo. Theſe paintings have fuf fered much by time. Here is a handfome monument, inſcribed, Algarotto Ovidii æmulo, Newtoni difcipulo, Fridericus magnus. Algarottus non omnis. A. D. 1754. The Chevalier Guazzefi, who was en trufted with the execution of this monu ment by the late King of Pruffia, received the epitaph, as follows, from his Majefty's own hand: Hic jacet Ovidii æmulus, et New toni difcipulus. But the King, on being ap plied to, did not forbid the above alteration, nor ( 271 ) nor will pofterity furely refuſe their affent. Wewere told that the Emperor Jofeph, when he read this epitaph, repeated the Fridericus magnus with a ſignificant nod. It is needleſs to deſcribe the celebrated hanging tower; nor fhall I attempt to decide whether it were defignedly built fo or not. The moſt probable opinion feems to be, that the foundations on one fide began to give way before it was finiſhed, as the upper part of the building is much more upright than the lower. If the architect had, from the firft, built it intentionally thus, there ſeems no reaſon why the ſtones ſhould not have been placed horizontally, and eſpecially whythe ſteps ofthe winding ſtaircaſe within ſhould not have been perpendicular, whereas they are now fo much otherwiſe as to be very uneaſy of aſcent ; and to a perſon who goes up or down haftily, the whole building feems rolling like a fhip, and juft falling to the ground. But what on the other hand appears unaccountable is, that the infide (for the toweris a hollow cylinder, with the ſtair cafe in the thickneſs of the wall) is faid to be not half ſo much out of the perpendicular as the 1 ( 272 ) the outfide. This we did not meaſure, nor could we fettle our minds in favour of either opinion. Philofophers every day decide concerning the laws of the univerſe ; but none has yet underſtood the conſtruction of the tower of Pifa. We had, from its top, a complete view of the country around, and of the towers of Leghorn, a place we left unvifited, being in hafte to get to Florence and Rome in Carnival time. The Baptistery is, according to ancient cuſtom, a ſeparate building from the cathe dral, of a circular form, with a dome fup ported on the infide by granite columns. The beautiful marble pulpit, and the pillars on which it ſtands, are worthy of notice. Here are feveral ftone baths, intended for the old method of baptifm by immerſion, which fome ftill contend for, as if it were really a matter of any moment. We examined feveral other large old churches, remarkable for their marbles, and containing fome works of the early painters ; but I rather believe our valet de place, to ſhew his zeal and activity, gave himſelf and us more trouble than moſt travellers would think ( 273 ) " think worth while ; and I am fure nobody would thank me for giving an account of our perambulations here. At our inn, l'Ufero (the Huffar) , was a chamber furnished with moft mi ferable daubings, copied indeed from better things, as Salvator Rofa's death of Regu lus among others, all which choice origi nals, as our landlord called them, he would have fold us very cheap, and with an air of myſtery told us they were an excellent bar gain ; but we were neither rich nor ignorant enough to profit of this his generous inten 4 tion. Jan. 23. We engaged a voiturin to con vey us both to Florence, 49 miles, for 50 pauls (not twenty- five fhillings) , to be fed by the way into the bargain. To our aftoniſh ment we were excellently accommodated, and we made ufe of this fame honeft fellow, whofe name was Diego Baroncello, to carry us over moft parts of Italy. We never had a word of diſpute all the way. He was always regular, fober, and obliging, and his carriage as good as moft Engliſh poſt-chaifes, VOL. I. T except ( 274 ) except its having only two wheels. Our general pace was four miles an hour. We ſlept at l'Oſteria bianca, a ſolitary inn at the meeting of three roads, viz. from Piſa, Sienna, and Florence, and arrived at the latter next day at noon. The celebrated vale of the Arno, through which we paffed, is in the higheſt ſtate of cultivation. The fields are bordered with elm, willow, mulberry, or ſome other trees, each of which fuftains a luxuriant vine. But at this time all was dreary and defolate, and a high fharp wind from the mountains made us glad to walk to warm ourſelves. Theſe tramontane winds feemed much more pier cing than any cold ever felt in England. CHAP. ( 275 ) 191 CHA P. XVIII. FLORENCE. ON entering Florence for the firſt time, every idea of thoſe who have the leaſt tafte for the arts, or for hiſtory, muſt be centered in the famous Gallery. That great object, as has been well obferved, would alone amply repay the trouble of a journey to Italy ; and I believe none ever entered it without ad miration, or left it without regret. We were however obliged to reftrain our curiofity for one night, having barely time, the evening of our arrival, to vifit the principal ſquare, Piazza reale; and admire the marble group, repreſenting the rape of one of the Sabines, by John of Bologna ; the Hercules and Ca cus, by Bandinelli ; but eſpecially the noble and ſpirited Perfeus, in bronze, by Benve T 2 nuto ( 276 ) nuto Cellini. There are feveral more ſtatues in this and in other public places, the beſt of which are noted in every book of travels, and there are few fo bad as not to afford fome pleaſure to the fpectator. Who can contem plate, without refpectful awe, the equeftrian figure of the great, if not good, Cofino I. the ſcarce unworthy, though in one unhappy reſpect too cloſe, imitator of Auguſtus ; the juſt and wife, though abſolute ſovereign, and the unbounded and intelligent patron of learning, arts, and every thing that could enrich, improve, or aggrandize a ftate ! Next morning, with Mr. Zacchiroli's De fcription de la Galerie in our hands, we en tered this noble muſeum of the arts, and, notwithſtanding all we had heard, it ftruck us with amazement and delight. Its contents are too celebrated, and have been too often deſcribed, not to make any defcription ſu perfluous. Yet it is an indulgence which all travellers have taken, and which all future C ones will probably claim, to expreſs their admiration at fome things here to be feen, though they have been defcribed, copied, and admired, over and over again. The ( 277 ) Pi -

The Venus of Medicis undoubtedly de ferves cur homage in the firft place. I fhould wonder at any one who could fix his atten tion on any thing elſe till he had ſeen this I had almoſt faid I fhould wonder if he could admire any thing afterwards. This divine ftatue is fituated in fo beautiful an apartment, of which it occupies the place of honour, and is accompanied with fo felect an affemblage of every thing moft exquifite that ſculpture or painting have produced, that all after it ſeems flat and infipid. The wifeft method would be, if one had fufficient command of their impatience, to begin with inveſtigating the principal part of the gallery, the corridors, and then proceed through the feveral leffer apartments, rifing from one de gree of perfection to another, till every feel ing of the imagination were gratified in this heavenly Tribune. It is neceffary here to mention, once for all, that no caft, how perfect foever, and ftill lefs a painted caft, can give an adequate idea of any very exquifite ftatue. Not only the tranſparency of marble, eſpecially if mellowed in its colour by age, as in this T 3 Venus ( 278 ) 1 Venus, cannot be imitated by plaſter ; but the neceffarily imperfect contact (as the materials are different) between the original ftatue and the mould, and again between the mould and the caft, may make fome difference in thoſe extremely fine outlines, thoſe exquifitely delicate furfaces, which no artiſt can copy, nor any but a Raphael could draw : eſpecially as there muſt be oil inter pofed, and it is fcarcely poffible for that fluid not to be thicker in fome parts, eſpecially the hollows, than in others ; and the mould is formed of a vaft number of pieces, between each two of which there muſt be at leaſt a mathematical ſpace. This is fufficient I think to explain how certain minute variations may take place, which, make all the difference be tween ſuch ſtatues as the Venus of Medicis, or Belvedere Apollo, and many others of lefs perfection. The difference may indeed be very fmall : few perfons may be fenfible of it, and ftill fewer may be able to diſcover in what it confifts ; but thoſe who do not perceive it, canbe no judges of the fupreme perfection of the Venus or Apollo. There is fomething inconceivably delicate in the back ( 279 ) back and loins of the ftatue, which has led me into theſe remarks. This delicacy is the characteriſtic of the firſt- rate Grecian ftatues. No inadequate fpecimen of it may be ſeen in a ſmall trunk of a Venus, in Mr. Town ley's fine collection. There is the fame de licacy in the expreffion of the Grecian coun tenances. Nothing can be farther from ſtriking or violent expreffion than the face of the Venus of Medicis ; but its phyfiognomy is ſo ſweet, ſo intelligent ; its beauty feems ſo perfectly "the mirror of a celeſtial mind ; " that though, at the first glance, it appears meer corporeal beauty, yet, when accurately contemplated, it feems animated with the intellects of a fuperior being. In this re finement of outline, confifts the peculiar merit of Raphael. His countenances for the moſt part ſtrike but little at firſt, but they may be ftudied for ever, almoft with as much advantage as if living. They cannot be copied ; at leaſt the copier muſt, in order to fucceed, have a genius equal to Raphael himſelf. That there fhould be fo exquifite a cha racter in the outline of a ftatue or a picture, T 4 feems ( 280 ) feems lefs wonderful than that architecture itſelf ſhould be fufceptible of equal refine ment. Yet it is no leſs certain, that a column defigned by Raphael, and executed under his infpection , is as unequivocally diſtinguiſh able from one of Michael Angelo, as a Ma donna or a Venus of each would be. There are three ancient columns in the Forum at Rome, the confummate beauty and elegance. ofwhich have never been equalled. In vain do artiſts copy and meaſure with the moſt fcrupulous exactneſs. The original is ſtill unrivalled. How fuperior is the form of a common window or door of Michael Angelo, Palladio, or even Inigo Jones, to thoſe in the fineſt palaces of ordinary builders ! In what do fuch differences confift ? Why can not they be ftudied, and any certain effect commanded at pleaſure ? I confefs myſelf quite at a lofs on this fubject ; and, in treat ing of it, I find language fo inadequate to exprefs fully what I mean, that I ceaſe to wonder at the imperfection of other human arts. On the right hand of the Venus is the celebrated group of the wrestlers ; on the left, ( 281 ) left, the flave whetting his knife. The coarſe features of the latter difplay the moſt lively, but not overcharged, expreffion. He feems ftrongly intereſted, and moved with a fort of indignation at fomething to which he is liftening ; but connoiffeurs are not agreed whether he is the flave who overheard the confpiracy of Cataline, or any other per fonage. The whole figure is truth and na ture itſelf-manly, but not beautiful. The wrestlers are remarkable for the maf terly interlacing of their limbs, and the won derful force and action of the muſcles, with out any violent ſwelling or diftortion. They are copies ofthe moft elegant youthful nature. DelaLande fays the heads have been ſupplied, but that they have ſo much expreffion they might paſs for antique. The truth is, ac cording to Winkelman, they are the real antique heads, which had been broken off, and were not difcovered till fome time after their bodies. The laft-mentioned author maintains, with great appearance of proba bility, that thefe figures really belong to the group of Niobe and her children, mentioned hereafter. If ſo, they are meant for the two ( 282 ) two youngeſt of her fons, defcribed by the poet as wreſtling at the time of their deftruc tion. Their beautiful countenances are in deed as much alike as poffible, and reſemble the ſtyle and execution of the other chil dren ; but, in my humble opinion, theſe figures are very much better than the reſt of that celebrated group. The two remaining ftatues, making a partie carrée with the wrestlers and ſlave, are, the little Apollo, leaning againſt a ſtump of a tree, with his arm over his head ; and the dancing Faun. Both are well known by innumerable caſts and copies, and are models of grace and beauty ; the one in fportive action, the other in penfive repoſe . Of the numerous paintings in this room, choice and excellent as they are, I ſcarcely faw but two, the Venus of Titian, and the St. John of Raphael; for, who could look at any others, in the prefence of theſe ? This Venus, however, with all the advantages of colouring, and that the very colouring of life, by the fide of the Venus of Medicis, is but a woman. Nor is it, though called a Venus, intended for any other than a beauti ful ( 283 ) ful miſtreſs of one of the Medicis family, who is lying on a bed, while two of her women, in the back ground, are ſeeking in a large cheſt for her clothes. A lap-dog, unconscious of his enviable fituation , fleeps at her feet. This picture is engraved bythe excellent Strange ; and I purchaſed at Flo rence a very good little print of it, done by Gaetano Vaſcellini in 1785. From this voluptuous beauty, the tranfi tion to the divine St. John, in the wilderneſs, is very ſtriking. Here we meet with a more ſtrong and animated expreffion than is ufual in Raphael's more finiſhed works. Such an ardent, fincere, and innocent zeal beamsfrom the heavenly countenance of this youth, fuch is " the fiery glance of his intellectual eye,” through the fair orbs of ſenſe, as furely nothing but infpiration could feel, or could paint ! There is a well-known duplicate of this picture in the Orleans collection, and another at Bologna ; but the Florentine one is decided to be the original, to my great fatisfaction, as I felt a little diſappointed at the fight of the other two afterwards, fine as they are. If I were to chooſe one paint ing ( 284 ) • ing out of Italy, and no more, perhaps it would be the head of this St. John. After the Tribune, the cabinet of the Hermaphrodite is perhaps moft worthy of notice. The celebrated ftatue, from which this apartment takes its name, is of fine Grecian workmanſhip, and repreſents a fleep ing figure, lying nearly proftrate, which is in every part, except the fex, a beautiful woman. Some of thoſe over-fqueamish perfonages, who have mutilated many fine works of art, from which none but fuch vicious imaginations as their own would have derived any impure ideas, might have well employed their zcal upon this ſtatue, and received the thanks of every perſon of tafte and modefty. Lady Miller (vol. ii. p. 157) makes a whimſical miſtake concerning the ftatue in queftion. She quotes Mr. Ad difon, who calls it " a beautiful old figure, -made after the celebrated Hermaphrodite in the Villa Borghefe ;" and her Ladyfhip re marks " It is well known by all the con noiffeurs that this ftatue is antique, and, whatever may be faid of it, the accufation of old age is certainly mifapplied." Addi · fon's ( 285 ) fon's meaning is, plainly, that it is an antique copy. There are alfo feveral Grecian copies of the Venus of Medicis, and other admir ed ftatues. Oppofite to the Hermaphrodite, is the Adonis of Michael Angelo, faid to have formerly ornamented a fountain ; but never theleſs in perfect prefervation. It is recum bent, and fomewhat' coloffal. The contour is fine, but the countenance vacant. Here are a beautiful Apollo and Bacchus, brought from the Villa Medicis at Rome, and two well-known Venus's, the Venus Victrix holding the apple, and the Venus Cœleftis.

The fame room is furnifhed with a pre cious collection of pictures, many of them by the earlier artifts, and fome very good ones of more modern date. They are par ticularized by Zacchiroli and others. Among them is a very handſome woman holding a ftring of pearls, faid to be the Duchefs of Buckingham, by Rubens. Here , alſo we faw a good St. Sebaftian, by Razzi, not men tioned in any book. The inlaid octagon table, in the centre of this ( 286 ) this room, is eſteemed the beſt in the gallery, and is a prodigy of ingenuity and labour. There are ſeveral nearly reſembling it in the other apartments. Thefe tables are entirely compofed ofthe harder kind of ſtones, as jaſ pers, onyx, chalcedony, &c. inlaid ſo as to re prefent flowers, fruits, ſhells, and, occafionally, even birds and infects ; by no means in the clumfy incorrect way inwhich fuch works are commonly done, where fo much is left to the fancy and good-nature of the beholder, but with moſt aſtoniſhing accuracy and beauty. Not that the pieces of ſtone are ſmall, but each is fo well choſen, and its colours and fhades fo ingeniouſly turned to account, that it is no wonder each table has coft many years of ftudy and contrivance. Of all things the ſtrings of pearl, beautifully inter mixed with flowers, are the moſt ſtriking. They are made of a kind of ſemi-pellucid oriental chalcedony, and nothing but the touch can convince one they do not project, at leaſt in bas-relief, from the table. The cabinet of Niobe was fitted up by the late Grand Duke (afterwards the Em peror) Leopold, on purpoſe to receive the 6 famous ( 287 ) i famous affemblage of ftatues, repreſenting that unhappy mother and her children, which were long in the Medicis gardens at Romé, Here they appear to great advantage, the room being a very noble one. The walls are ornamented with paintings, among others the battle of Ypres, and the triumphal entry of Henry IV. into Paris, by Rubens ; two very large pictures, intended for another gal lery, at the Luxembourg, in addition to that completed there by this great painter, There is much character in Henry's figure, with an air of goodneſs rather than dignity. Here is a wonderfully fine antique Sarcophagus with alto relievo's, not mentioned in the Deſcription de la Galerie. Among the ſtatues in the other leffer apart ments, we chiefly admired a Cupid and Pfyche embracing, copies of which are com mon ; an Hermaphrodite repulfing a Satyr.; a Cupid looking upwards, as if obſerving the courſe of a dart he had juſt diſcharged ; the Torfo, or trunk of an antique Hercules ; with many others, whofe merits would re quire an age to ſtudy and underſtand them all, Nothing excites more curiofity than the collection ( 288 ) collection of the portraits of painters, done by their own hands. They amount to near 330. Their names are alphabetically ar ranged in the Defcription de la Galerie. Thoſe are not always the moft celebrated artiſts who make the greateſt figure here. The portraits of Raphael and Julio Romano are but indifferent, and Corregio is not tobe found at all. They could paint heroes and angels too well to wafte time on their own phyfiognomy. On the contrary, painters of whom one fcarcely remembers the names, make a confpicuous appearance, on ample canvaſs, in ſtudied apparel, calling up their beft looks to challenge notice, and each feeming to fay for himfelf, " fono pittore anch' io." One has reprefented kimſelf, not un fkilfully, at a looking-glaf , drawing his own portrait, and thus appears in three different afpects. The portrait of Seybolt is a mira cle of high finifhing. I was forry to fee our unrivalled and ever to be regretted Sir Joſhua Reynolds make fo poor a figure here. His picture, though originally excellent, is faded to nothing, and being placed very low, appears to greater difadvantage than it other g wife ( 289 ) ng H wife might. It has lately been ſaid of this great man, that he could at pleaſure com mand permanent colours ; but that he re ſerved them for fuch portraits only as he thought worthy to be tranfmitted to pofte rity, beſtowing his more fading tints on that common herd of cuftomers, whoſe vacant countenances fo generally preſent themſelves to a portrait painter. This furely is juſtify ing his ſkill at the expence of his honefty ; and if I judge aright, he would have been but little pleaſed with fuch an apology. His portrait at Florence contradicts it ; for we cannot but ſuppoſe he meant that to be a lafting performance, yet no colours were ever more tranfient. The Corridors, the largest part of the Gallery, were the laſt we examined. Along them are arranged ftatues, bufts, and pic tures in rich profufion, but in admirable or der. Theſe ftatues are enumerated and criticiſed by Lady Miller, De la Lande, Cochin, and others ; Zacchiroli's account of them is the moſt recent, and the most complete. Among the antique bufts, a branch ofthe VOL. I. U collection ( 290 ) . collection which cannot be too much admir ed, we particularly remarked the fine ex preffion in the countenances of Marcus Agrippa, and Antoninus Pius. I could not diſcover any very great beauty in Julia daughter of Auguftus, and the is a little too plump. Drufus, brother of Tiberius, has a good countenance. Trajan, and his ſiſter Marciana, reſemble each other very much, but are not handfome. Plotina, the illuftri ous confort of Trajan, is a very fine buft ; and there are two no lefs admirable of Adrian. At that period this branch of the art ſeems to have been in its greateft perfection. There are four good reprefentations of Marcus Aurelius, of which one of the more youth ful is inimitably expreffive and interefting. Of Fauftina the elder there are two bufts, one far fuperior to the other. Lucius Verus looks like a hypocritical fmooth-tongued villain. Annius Verus, the youngeſt ſon of Marcus Aurelius, is a pleaſing little boy. Even his infamous brother Commodus, when young had a beautiful and engaging phyfio , gnomy, of which I never met with a more admirable repreſentation than in a cameo be longing ( 291 ) longing to my honoured friend the Marchio nefs of Rockingham. His two bufts in this gallery are not ftriking. Nero, in early youth, looked gentle and benign ; but after wards his countenance bore teftimony to his diabolical character ; witneſs the two bufts in this collection, one a child, the other an adult. Didia Clara, daughter of the con temptible Emperor Didius Julian, appears to have been a very fine woman, if her buft. be well authenticated. Caracalla looks ex actly the ruffian one would expect. The bufts of the latter Emperors, and their con temporaries, decline both in authenticity and workmanſhip. That of Conſtantine, "furnamed the Great, becauſe he was for tunate," (fays Zacchiroli) , is to be feen in this collection, though very rare elſewhere ; and this had a narrow eſcape when a part of the gallery was deftroyed by fire in 1762. The author laft quoted has contrived to make his catalogue of theſe buſts very in tereſting, by pointed epigrammatic ſketches of the hiftory, or character, of the perfon ages mentioned. I cannot help tranflating a fewby way of fpecimen. U 2 " Tiberius, 1 ( 292 ) « Tiberius, who might have atoned for his crimes by the murder of Sejanus, if he himſelf had not furvived him. " (6 Galba, who deduced his lineage from Jupiter and Pafiphae. The glory he thus obtained on the father's fide, muſt be ac knowledged to have been abundantly effaced by that of the mother. " " Titus, the delight of human nature. Happy Tuſcany ! you need not envy Rome the aufpicious days of Titus. 99 " Plotina. Here at laft we come to a wife and virtuous princefs." " Antoninus. How fweet to pronounce this beloved name ! It is that of virtue on a throne." " Fauftina the elder, wife of Antoninus. She fcandalized Rome by her execrable li bertinifin , and it was not a trifle that could fcandalize Rome upon that fubject. " " Fauftina the younger, wife of Marcus Aurelius. Cleopatra, Julia, Meſſalina, illuf trious debauchees, you are all furpaſſed by this odious Fauftina !" Pertinax, fon of a coal-merchant, who obtained the empire by his military talents, and (C ( 293 ) 3 and who periſhed miferably, becauſe he wanted his foldiers to be honeſt men." " Philip the elder, fon of a captain of robbers. He was a much greater robber than his father, for he ufurped the empire. The walls of theſe Corridors are furniſhed with a vaſt and precious collection of pic tures, of which Zacchiroli gives a correct catalogue in the order in which they hang, and Cochin a learned criticiſm . I may therefore be excufed for only mentioning a few. Balfhazzar's feaſt is a very capital pic ture, by an artift little known, John Marti nelli. The Angel Gabriel, with a fine fe minine countenance, by Angelo Bronzino, a Florentine. Chrift before Pilate, and the Depofition of the Crofs, both by Luca Giordano, and very good. Jofeph and Po tiphar's wife by John Baptift Bilivert. The banquet of Solomon, a magnificent and richly coloured picture by Andrew Vicen tino. A fine portrait of Diego Velasquez, the Spaniſh Titian, by himfelf. Tancred wounded (Taffo, Canto 19. ) , by Octavio Venturini, remarkable for the excellent ex preffion of Tancred's countenance. Tranf U 3 figuration 99 ( 294 ) figuration of Chrift by Luca Giordano, very fine.. Adam and Eve, as large as life, by Floris of Antwerp ; an excellent picture, though fomewhat hard like all his works ; but there is great truth and nature, and the countenance of Adam is fo amiable and full offoul, that even Raphael could not have exceeded it. The portraits of illuftrious men are ranged in a line over theſe other pictures. The celebrated hiftorian , Paul Jovius, is faid to have given the firſt idea of this collection , and to have made a fimilar one himſelf, which Cofmo I. Grand Duke, employed a painter to copy. His copies laid the foun dation of what we now fee in the gallery ; the fucceffors of Cofmo having added many portraits from time to time, ſo that the num ber of the whole amounts to above 400. De la Lande extols thefe portraits as one of the chief treaſures of the gallery ; and they would really be fo, if their merits were equal to their pretenfions. No one could vifit them with more curiofity than I did, but I was miferably difappointed, and cannot but think them unworthy of their honourable fituation. ( 295 ) fituation. They are not only for the moſt part very bad pictures, but fuch as we could judge of (from better and more authentic portraits of the fame perfons) very bad like neffes, as moſt of our Engliſh kings. Ed ward VI. looks like a ruddy brawny North Briton, inftead of the delicate confumptive prince he is always repreſented. Oliver Cromwell is far from a good picture. The princes of Lorraine are in general better done than the reft. Zacchiroli gives an ac curate catalogue of thefe paintings, with many characteriſtical remarks, like thofe on the Roman bufts. He obferves of Sir Thomas More, that " he was condemned to death by a worthlefs king, becauſe he had too many virtues ;" and that Archbishop Cranmer " was an amiable and upright man, though broiled by order of Queen Mary." This is very heretical for an Italian ; but rea fon and virtue will finally triumph over even religious prejudices. Every age and coun try has its great and good characters, feldom rightly underſtood by their contemporaries ; and many of which are often for a time eclipfed and diſcountenanced, by fneaking U4 virtues, ( 296 ) virtues, and even vices, wrapped in a cloak of pretended orthodoxy and decorum. There are many other apartments belong ing to the gallery, beſides thoſe I have men tioned ; as the cabinet of gems, whoſe im menfe riches are ftill more valuable for the exquifite workmanſhip they exhibit, than for their intrinfic worth. The cabinet of ancient paintings, that is of the earlieſt works of the Florentine fchool, is a very curious collection, made by the late Grand Duke Leopold. Thofe of antique and mo dern bronzes, and of Etrufcan urns, are alfo well worth notice. I do not pretend to have examined a fiftieth part of this noble muſeum as it de ferves. I confefs with regret that we ſpent but one week in Florence, and though every day was almoſt entirely devoted to the gal lery, it was impoffible in fo fhort a time to ftudy properly more than the very firft-rate curiofities, and take of the reſt ſuch a curſory obſervation as moft travellers do. The view of all theſe antique ftatues, to gether, afforded me an opportunity of mak ing one remark, that the repreſenting in ſculpture ( 297 ) 1 fculpture the iris and pupil of the eye was ſometimes practifed by the ancients. It is in feveral of the Roman bufts and ftatues, but not in all thoſe of any particular time *, nor in any of the Grecian figures that I could find here. Michael Angelo has practifed it in his Adonis, but not in all his works. I cannot help thinking it always unneceffary, and, unleſs executed with the greateſt deli cacy and judgment, a blemiſh rather than an aid to the expreffion. The chief effect of the eyes depends on the form of their lids, by the various undulations, and infinite va riety of lines, depreffions and fwellings in the margin of which all the paffions are ex preffed. This the admirable ſculptors of Greece well knew ; and the only artifice they uſed was, as Winkelman remarks, to execute thefe depreffions and lines more ftrongly than they exift in nature, and efpe cially to fink the eye-balls more deeply into the head, thus acquiring an effect of light and fhade, which the colourleſs and femi V

• The Abbé Barthélemy thinks theſe parts were

firft reprefented towards the time of Adrian. See De la Lande, v. 5. 213. tranfparent ( 298 ) tranſparent marble could fcarcely exhibit without fuch a liberty. The gallery not being open on Sundays, we employed that day in viſiting churches ; and firſt that of the Carmelites, which is new, the old one having been burnt in 1771. It is a well-lighted elegant building, in the form of a long crofs, without pillars ; the altar a very beautiful kind of brocatello. Here the Corfini family have a noble chapel, rich in verd antique, and other precious marbles, and ornamented with three moft capital alto-relievo's in white marble. Santo Spirito is a ſpacious church, of fine Corinthian architecture, with above forty altars : the high altar decorated with ſome very fine inlaid work of filiceous gems, worthy of the gallery. The pictures are numerous, but not capital. Santa Croce, a large and handfome build ing, has fome very beautiful family chapels, In this church are buried feveral very illuf trious men. On the right hand, near the principal entrance, repofes Michael Angelo Buonarota, the greateft fculptor and archi tect, almoſt the greateſt painter, among the moderns. ( 299 ) 1. US S 1 moderns. He died at Rome, and his coun trymen, the Florentines, were obliged to re move his body clandeftinely by night, as the Romans would not willingly have refigned fuch a treaſure. His ftately maufoleum is ornamented with his marble buft, and a painting of a dead Chriſt, both the work of his own hand, and accompanied with three ftatues repreſenting the three fifter arts in which he excelled. Thefe ftatues are by fome of his pupils. A little farther on is the neat and fimple monument of Micheli the botanift, with the following unaffected and pleaſing infcrip tion : PETRUS ANTONIUS MICHELIUS vixit annos LVII dies XXII in tenui re beatus omnis hiftoriæ naturalis peritiffimus magnorum etruriæ ducum herbarius inventis et fcriptis ubique notus ac propter fapientiam fuavitatem pudorem optimis quibufque aetatis fuæ egregie carus Obiit IV nonas Januarias MDCCXXXVII Amici aere conlato titulum pofuere. • The words are arranged exactly as above, and there is no punctuation throughout the whole. ( 300 ) whole. This infcription forms a contraſt with the following, not far diftant, on a new monument of white marble : % Tanto. nomini. nullum. par. elogium, Nicolaus . Machiavelli Objt. An. A. P. V. MDXXVII. The fate of Machiavel has been fimilar to that of Grotius. Perfecuted and mifrepre fented in his life-time, at length he obtains the tardy homage of pofterity. After being accuſed of recommending, what he only meant bitterly to fatirize, the too ufual mo rality of courts ; and after having been deem ed an atheiſt, becauſe he was no ideot, and could not be a hypocrite ; an age of reaſon, under a virtuous prince, has at length done his memory juſtice. An old highly-finiſhed monument on the fame fide of the church commemorates Leonard Aretin the hiftorian, tutor of the great Lorenzo de Medicis, with a fooliſh epitaph in Latin verfe, fignifying that both the Greek and Latin mufes are reported to have fhed tears at his death . Oppofite to the tomb of Michael Angelo, ftands ( 301 ) ſtands that of the great, the injured Galileo, the martyr of philoſophy, and the everlaſt ing opprobrium of his church and country. Nothing ſeems more wonderful at firſt ſight than that Galileo fhould have been ſo inhu manly perfecuted for afferting an innocent philofophical truth, which the moſt contemp tible ignorance and folly only could make a queſtion of religion ; while, in the veryfame court which cenfured him, Cæfalpinus, a pro feſſed Ariftotelian, and an open unbeliever of all revealed religion, was then living in the greateſt ſecurity and honour, as phyſician to his ingenious and infallible holiness. But what is fo formidable as truth ? From Santa Croce we went to the Cathe dral, or Duomo, a large old gothic edifice, cafed with black and white marble on the outfide, and of whimſical architecture. The infide is dark and ugly. The tower, or campanile, detached, like that of Pifa, from the church, is very elegant and light, ſaid to be after the defigns of Giotto the painter. The baptiftery is likewiſe a ſeparate build ing, of a circular form, very ancient and cu rious, eſpecially withinfide. Its dome and galleries 1 ( 302 ) galleries are covered with old moſaic ; the floor inlaid with marbles and other ftones in very ſmall pieces, and very old. Some have fuppofed this to have been originally a temple of Mars ; but that is giving his votaries little credit for tafte ; and I believe his worſhip, though not, alas ! his trade, was rather out of faſhion when this building was erected. It has exactly the appearance of the churches built in the darker ages of Chriſtianity, and is much more rich than elegant. Its famous bronze gates, fo ad mired by Michael Angelo, are of later date. In the cathedral many diftinguiſhed men of the early times of the republic are buried, and there are fome curious monuments. Of theſe I fhall notice one only, that of Sir John Hawkwood, an Engliſhman, whoſe equeftrian figure is painted on the wall of the church. He is called Johannes Acutus, and in Italian Giovanni Acuto. Zacchiroli, ſpeaking of his picture in the gallery, calls him " Jean Acut, an Engliſhman who fig nalized himſelf much in arms in the fervice of the Florentines, and died in 1393." I could never have divined who this Giovanni Acuto ( 303 ) Acuto was, had not honeft Stowe, in his Chronicle, given a long hiſtory of a Sir John Hawkwood, who died in the reign of Richard II . and was one of the illuftrious cut-throats of that day, letting himſelf out to thoſe who would pay him moft, to fight any body, right or wrong, as his maſters ordered him. His Italian denomination is evidently a corruption of his real name. Stowe fays a cenotaph was erected to his memory in the church of Sibble Hedingham in Effex, with a device of hawks flying through a wood. TheDominican church, called SantaMaria Novella, is a noble oldbuilding, much admired for its architecture. It contains many good pictures, and much ſculpture ; but unluckily we had juft been in the gallery when we vifited it, and were fatiated with painting and ftatues. Proceeding however to St. Lorenzo, the famous chapel of the Medicis awakened all our attention and admiration, nor do I recollect ever having felt fuch aſtoniſhment before. The inimitable majefty and elegance of the architecture, the beauty and richneſs 2 of ( 304 ) of the materials, and their high poliſh and finiſhing, are beyond imagination. The in fide is entirely encrufted with filiceous ſtones of the richeſt kinds, prophyry inlaid with letters of lapis lazuli ; jaſpers, granites, chal cedony, and onyx, ftones generally ſeen only in fnuff-boxes or rings, here cover the walls. On a high baſement which runs round the chapel, with immenſe panels of red Tuſcan jafper, are reprefented the arms of the different cities fubject to the Grand Duke, inlaid with ftones of the proper co lours. In one of thefe is a black horſe, moft excellently done. This building is octagon, and was to have been decorated with fix farcophagi of oriental granite, of a vaft fize, with coloffal figures ſtanding above them, of the different princes, in bronze gilt ; only one or two of thefe are quite finiſhed. They have each a coronet of maſſy gold on the farcophagus, lying on jafper cuſhions, inlaid with precious ftones. No thing can be richer, nor more noble. Ferdi nand I. is faid to have defigned this chapel, and if fo, he may rank with the firſt mo dern architects. What a pity that it ſhould aTfill ( 305 ) I 2 e fill remain unfiniſhed ! Notwithſtanding a confiderable fund was left for this exprefs purpoſe, by the laft Princeſs of the Medicis. family, nothing has been done towards it fince her death. Addifon, who foretold that this family might probably be extinct before their burying-place was completed, has proved a much truer prophet than De la Lande, who expected it would be finiſhed in the reign of the Grand Duke Leopold. The dome is quite naked, and the marble pavement ſcarcely begun ; nor is the altar yet placed, nor the intended opening madebehind the high altar of the church, which ſhould have been the entrance to this chapel. We defcended into the vault bencath, the floor of which is on a level with the ftreet. In this vault all that illuftrious duft, which once made fo much noife in the world, was to have been depofited ; but whether it ever will, is much to be doubted, for the bodies of the Medicis have remained ever fince their death, and fill remain, unburied, al moft entirely occupying the floor of a ſmaller and more ancient adjoining chapel, the former burying-place of their family. Each VOL. I. X coffin 1 ( 306 ) coffin is encloſed in a wooden cafe, or tem porary tomb, marked with the names and dates of the deaths ofthe perfonages within, and furrounded with iron rails. "Here the vile foot of every flave " Inſults a Charles, or a Guſtave.” Yet it must be a vile foot indeed that could rudely tread this chapel, and a moſt infenfible eye that could behold, without aweful veneration, the monuments of Michael Angelo which adorn its walls. What a fublime genius was Michael Angelo ! Not a moulding nor a fcroll of his but is marked with a character of greatneſs, which no other architect ever approached. The four recumbent coloffal figures of day and night, morning and evening, on theſe tombs are, except, perhaps, his famous Mofes at Rome, the moft fublime productions of mo dern ſculpture. One does not indeed clear ly perceive what theſe characters have to do here, at leaft not till one has feen them, for then who could wish them otherwiſe than they are ? We were fhewn, in another chapel, the coffins ( 307 ) د. V じゅ IV 33 toffins of two infant children of the Grand Duke Leopold, waiting for interment, under wooden cafes, like thoſe of the Medicis. It was the intention of this wife and virtuous prince, that no exception ſhould have been allowed to his laws concerning burial, not even in the cafe of his own family. He was told, however, that this would be too indecent and irreverent, and his plan was, with fome difficulty, over-ruled. He does not therefore merit the cenſure which Mr. Arthur Young has beſtowed on him in his late excellent Travels ; where, in correcting the prepofterouſly falfe account ofthe Floren tine burials, given two or three years ago in the Annual Regiſter, he mentions what the new law really is, juftly inveighing againſt the admiffion of exceptions to fuch laws. In fact, we find the Grand Duke is not to be blamed for thofe exceptions. Princes might act like reaſonable beings, much more frequently than they do, if they were not bewildered by the advice or flattery of fools and knaves. The man appointed to fhewtheſe chapels, As well as thofe who fhewthe gallery and X 2 the ( 308 ) the palazzo publico, are in the moſt abſo lute manner forbidden to take any money. This has a very handfome appearance, and the civility of theſe fervants deſerves the higheſt commendation. The porter of the gallery only accepted of a trifling gratuity. The Anunciata is a moft magnificent church. Behind the high altar is a chapel which the admirable ſculptorJohn of Bologna, who lies here, decorated for his own burying place, with a profufion of ftatues and bas reliefs. The dome of the church is vaſt, and very finely painted by Luca Giordano. There ſeemed to be many good pictures be fides, but we wanted light. One of theſe we did not much regret, a miraculous picture of the Virgin, very fenfibly kept covered, except on particular occafions. Adjoining to the chapel which contains this treaſure, is an oratory fitted up by the laſt of the Medicis line, the daughter of Cofmo III. who married the Elector of Bavaria. Its walls are encrufted with the fame rich ftones as the inlaid tables of the gallery, repreſent ing flowers and fruits ; but the objects in this chapel are in bas-relief. This makes 7 the ( 309 ) 1 the execution more wonderful ; but the ef fect is not fo happy as in the ſame things repreſented on a flat furface, by the natural colours and fhades of the ftones. rope. St. Mark's convent bears great reputation for the ſkill of its monks in pharmacy. Their productions are known all over Eu Their oils and effences, packed up in little boxes tawdrily decked with filk and filver, may be feen at every perfumer's in Bond-ftreet. Thefe monks make ottar of rofes very good, for about eight pounds fterling an ounce. In their church, the ac compliſhed and learned Picus Mirandola is buried ; whofe fine talents, proſtituted to metaphyfics and fcholaftic divinity, may be compared to bank-notes uſed for the moſt menial purpoſes, for which ordinary paper would have done juſt as well. There are doubtlefs many palaces in Flo rence well worth vifiting ; but our impatience to be at Rome, in Carnival time, hurried us from hence, without feeing any but the Palace Pitti, where the Grand Duke refides, and from which is a long covered paffage leading acroſs the river to the gallery, that X 3 his ( 310 ) his Highneſs may go there at all times with out trouble : nor did the preſence of the late Duke ever interrupt any perſon who might happen to be there at the time ; on the con trary, he often entered into converſation with ftrangers, with the moft amiable con defcenfion. The Palace Pitti is a very large and magnificent houſe, fit for the refidence of a Sovereign ; and one is ſtruck with won der, at reflecting that it was built by a private mercantile family, and that family eclipſed by the Medicis. The ftyle of the whole is majeſtic, approaching to heavinefs, and the rooms rather dark. Every body knows its collection of pictures to be one ofthe fineſt in Italy. Its chef d'œuvre is Raphael's Madonna della Sedia ; and there are fome portraits by the fame maſter in his beſt man ner. Two aftonishingly fine landfcapes, and a battle-piece, by Salvator Rofa. Two landſcapes, and fome other things, by Ru bens ; among them a duplicate of that de lightful Holy Family with St. John, which I have already noticed in one of the Balbi palaces at Genoa. Here are alſo ſeveral works of Andrea del Sarto, and Pietro da Cortona; ( 311 ) Cortona ; the latter chiefly in the cielings, and too good for their fituations. Cochin has given a pretty full enumeration of the pictures in this houfe; and Lady Miller has tranſlated ſome of his account, without add ing fo many original remarks as is ufual with her. De la Lande is more full than either, and now and then hazards an opinion of his own. I hurried through this palace too faft to make any new obfervations. In the apartments are fome precious cabinets of inlaid work ; many very large flabs of Tuf can jaſper, and fome pictures of architecture and fea-ports, with figures, made offiliceous ftones, with incredible art and fuccefs. We were told that each piece, though only about two feet wide, was the labour of near five years. In one of theſe pictures, is a man in ſtriped breeches, particularly well executed. One cannot but regret that ſo much time and labour ſhould be thrown away, to make what, after all, muſt be inferior to a painting, ex cept in duration, for theſe works are next to eternal. 1 Behind this palace is the old garden of Boboli, fo often mentioned by Micheli for X 4 the ( 312 ) the production of moffes. It is ſpacious, but quite in the ancient formal ſtyle, with abundance of evergreens, cut into ſtraight walks, furniſhed with ſtatues. On the moffy trunks of the trees, I found plenty of the Hypnum Smithii of Dickſon, and another very curious new fpecies. Here we began to meet with great luxuriancy in theſe lower tribes of vegetables. Almoft every kind produces its fructification regularly, which is not the caſe farther north. Hence Mi cheli's figures appear exaggerated to us northern botanifts ; and Dillenius never faw the fructification ofLichen articulatus, figured by Micheli. We were fortunate enough to verify his reprefentation, having found this Lichen with fine red tubercles between Flo rence and Rome, as will be mentioned among others hereafter. We could not help going to fee the Grand Duke's muſeum of Natural Hiftory, which, like every thing at Florence, is fuperb. The firft part, on account of its fingularity, is the moft remarkable. It confifts of models of every part of the human body, in coloured wax, the fize of nature, and moſt admirably done, ( 313 ) 1 done. The muſcles are imitated better than the reſt, and are very uſeful ; as thoſe parts cannot be well preſerved by injections, or any other means. The celebrated Abbé Fontana has the fuperintendance of theſe works, and was fo obliging as to fhew us the whole in detail, as well as the artiſts who were at work, adding to the collection, and copying the whole for the then Emperor Jofeph. The tools ufed are chiefly ſticks and fpatule of box-wood, with fmall rods. of heated iron. Infinite labour and patience are requiſite in the finiſhing, and the work, when done, muſt be kept in a very even temperature, that it may neither melt nor crack. The ftuffed birds of this muſeum are neither fine nor numerous. The fishes and reptiles are dried, and pretty good. Here are feveral good Vermes. The infects and fhells are tolerable : fome of the latter appeared to me wrong named, eſpecially amongthe Coni ; but this is a common cafe. The Lepidoptera are not fplendid. The corals few, except a great variety of the red coral, Ifis nobilis. The materia medica, and feeds, make a good figure ; and a very pleafing ( 314 ) pleafing part of the collection are models in coloured wax of fucculent plants, fungi, &c. many of them extremely well executed, eſpecially Stapelia hirfuta, the Carrion flower. Of all the parts of this cabinet, the minerals are the moſt numerous, and the fineſt ſpe cimens. Gold ores and gems are very fine, and the iron ores from the Ifle of Elba, as might be expected, excel every thing of the kind elſewhere. Here are a few quadru peds ; among them a Hippopotamus, and an elephant with its ſkeleton. Adjoining to this muſeum is a botanic garden, with a green-houſe, but no ſtove ; the plants are fine, though not numerous ; but we thought our pains of going thither amply repaid, by feeing an immenfe tree of DracanaDraco, with the gum called Dragon's Blood exuding moft copiouſly. We were fortunate enough to enjoy much of the fo ciety of the Abbé Fontana, who did us the very flattering honour of ſpending at our lodgings moſt of the evenings we were at Florence ; how much to our profit and en tertainment, thoſe who know his phyſiologi cal enthuſiaſm and penetration, need not be told. ( 315 ) $ S told. We alſo received great civilities from Mr. Fabroni, Secretary to the Agriculture Society, to whom we had letters from his fellow-labourer Mr. Brouffonet. One great object, in our own way, was the muſeum ofthe celebrated Micheli. This collection, confifting of books, drawings, manuſcripts, minerals, corals, and dried plants, was bought, after the death of its original poffeffor, by his friend Dr. Targioni, who afterwards took the nameof Tozzetti for an eſtate. He wrote fome excellent Travels through Tuſcany, to which I have referred in ſpeaking of Pifa, and from him the plant Targionia was named. His ſon, who now poffeffes theſe relicks, likewiſe a phyſician, is a man of the most engaging fimplicity, modeſty, and benevolence of manners, wor thy to be the heir of the amiable Micheli. This herbarium is faid to contain about 14,000 fpecies and varieties, of which the latter muſt be very numerous. The moffes are folded up in fmall pieces of paper, writ ten on by Micheli, with the names by which he has publiſhed them ; but it is fo trouble fome to get at them, not to mention the want ( 316 ) want of abfolute certainty, as the names are not fixed to the fpecimens, that we found it impracticable to do much towards correct ing fynonyms during our ſhort ſtay. His Ceratofpermum, tab. 56. feemed to be one of the very common Spherias or Lycoper dons, and we could not perceive the horn like feeds ; but that I doubt not was our fault, and not the faithful Micheli's. We examined fome rude drawings of the Orchis tribe ; and fome very good microſcopic ones, done by the preſent Mr. T. Tozzetti, of marine plants and corallines ; they were intended for an unpubliſhed work of Micheli, continued by his father. A great number of thefe drawings are already engraved, and their poffeffor has very liberally preſented me with impreffions of them ; a library curiofity, which I fhould rejoice to have him render of leſs value (as a rarity) by publiſhing theſe excellent plates. The mi nerals and corals of this collection are very numerous, and, being ticketed by Micheli and, Targioni, have that peculiar value which renders the original mufeum of a working naturalift fo far preferable to thofe of 2 ( 317 ) 1 of Emperors and Princes deftitute of fuch authority. This reminds me of the Medi cean Library at St. Lorenzo. The room which contains it is built by Michael An gelo, as the majeſtic ſcrolls, baluftrades and cornices abundantly evince. The books are all manufcripts, many of them very rare. The moft ancient is a Virgil of the fifth century. We ſearched many bookfellers fhops at Florence, and found immenfe piles of old books in garrets and lumber-rooms, unknown for the most part to thoſe who poffeffed them. Our pains of tumbling them over were ſcarcely repaid, as we met with no thing of peculiar value, except Columna's Ecphrafis, and the fine editio princeps of Paul Jovius de Pifcibus Romanorum, both very cheap. We had the fingular fortune of occafioning Steno's rare and curious treatiſe Defolido intrafolidum naturaliter contento, to be out of print, by purchafing four copies, all that remained at the Ducal printing-office, and which had, of courſe, been there ever fince 1669, the date of its publication. Wewent one evening to the Comic Opera, and ( 318 ) and ſaw a kind of comedy without mufie Several of the fpectators were in maſks and dominos, it being Carnival time ; and there were many women in men's clothes, an odious cuftom, which all the female fex ought to diſcountenance. Nothing can be more contrary to their trueſt intereſts, either as a diſadvantage to their perfons, for they generally look deteftably awkward and ugly, or as tending to occafion the moſt horrid per verfion of taſte and fentiment in our fex. For one depraved appetite that they may chance to pleaſe under this metamorphofis, they muft furely diſguſt a hundred natural ones. This faſhion is by no means confined to licentious women, for the bulk of thoſe we faw were evidently otherwiſe ; and I believe no woman can go into the pit during the Carnival in any other drefs. We had fome facetious rencounters with feveral droll mafk's in the ſtreets. The muſical opera at Florence is very good, though the admiffion price fo low as three pauls, not quite eighteen-pence. We faw the Grand Duke there one evening maſked. One of the interludes was a re preſentation ( 319 ) prefentation of the Battle on the Marble Bridge of Pifa, which for many ages has been fought there every three years, between two parties ofthe town's-people. The pre fent government has wifely difcouraged this barbarous practice, if it be not totally abo lifhed. The confequences were much too ferious to allow of its being tolerated in any community above a den of banditti, for many lives were always facrificed before either party would reſign its ſtation on the bridge. The government of Tuſcany is well known to have undergone many very im portant reformations under the Grand Duke Leopold ; and his Criminal Code of Laws is too celebrated throughout Europe to need an explanation here. We were curious to learn the effects of this code ; and with re ſpect to the police of the capital, formerly moſt execrable, we were told that the ſafety of the streets was now perfect ; that rob beries and outrages were quite unknown, infomuch that any fum of money might be carried about the town at mid-night, as fafely as at noon-day. The puniſhments of confinement 3 ( 330 )

confinement and labour were much more dreaded than death, and more eſpecially as theywere inevitable in cafes of real guilt. The Sovereign was faid to be extremely vigilant as to the execution ofjuftice ; he had much reftrained the licentioufnefs and tyranny of the nobility, for which he was, of courſe, hated and traduced by them. He was even reported to have carried his authority to a fevere length in his own family. It was whispered to us, that the Duchefs herſelf was then under a fpecies of confinement, for having taken too earneſt a part with one of her fons, who had been a little refractory. The particulars of the cafe were not known, and the affair foon after blew over. The laws against burying in towns and churches. appear not to have been made before they were wanted, for we heard the moſt authen tic accounts of the extreme offenfiveneſs of the churches, and the dreadful confequences of their contagion, occafioned by the former mode of burial. Upon the whole, there is no doubt that the late Grand Duke was a moſt vigilant and well-meaning prince, whoſe prevailing object throughout his reign was what t [ ( 321 ) what he really believed to be the good of his fubjects. He might be miſtaken or mif guided fometimes, for he was a man ; but the world cannot honour too highly fo up right and wife a prince, even though he were not infallible. Its praife, indeed, is but "a puff of noiſy breath," of very little value, confidering how often it has been bestowed on ruffians, under the name of heroes, rather than on really beneficent kings ; but when hiſtory becomes leſs venal, and more philo ſophical, the reign of Leopold, in his ſmall ſtate of Tuſcany, will make a bright ſpot in her page. She will delineate him planting the feeds of beneficent inftitutions, which, humanity bids us hope, will take deep root, and ſpread very far for the good of poſterity. She will lament that his active life was cut ſhort, even in its bloom, before he had time to exerciſe his wifdom in a larger field of action ; and ſhe will have, alas ! to record, with bluſhing indignation, by what kind of death ſo valuable a life was difgraced. We were extremely well fatisfied with our inn at Florence, Vanini's. Our fuit of apart ments confifted of two lodging- rooms, a VOL. I. Y dining ( 322 ) dining-room, and a fervant's room, with cloſets, &c. for fix pauls, not quite three fhillings, a day. For dinner we paid eight pauls each, including an ample ſupply of the delicious Florence wine. I cannot help do ing juſtice to our valet de place, Clemente, by recording his name, as he may probably live to be uſeful to many future travellers, Never was a more intelligent, nor a more obliging guide. CHAP. ( 323 ) CHA P. XIX. FROM FLORENCE TO ROME, BY SIENNA, Feb. THEfame voiturin who brought 1. us from Piſa, undertook to convey us to Rome for ten fequins, all accommodation included, except that we ftipulated to re main a day at Sienna at our own expence. I make no apology for recording the particu lars of theſe little arrangements, well know ing how uſeful they are to other travellers, and how glad we ſhould have been to have been pre-informed on fuch points our felves. Leaving Florence at nine in the morning, we travelled over a hilly and pictureſque country, eſpecially towards evening, when feveral very rich and extenfive landſcapes prefented themſelves, with quite a Claude's fky. The more we faw of Italian land Y 2 ſcape, ( 324 ) fcape, the more reaſon we found to admire this excellent painter. The glowing reful gence of his evenings, and the clear bright nefs of his mid-day ſkies, which one is fometimes apt to think exaggerations and improvements of nature, are the very tints of nature herſelf in this delightful climate, and all his variations of effect are strictly and exactly her own. Slept at Poggiboufi, twenty-four miles from Florence. Feb. 2. We fet out at feven, and arrived at Sienna by dinner time. All the way, by the road fide, obferved Mefpilus Pyracanthus growing in great abundance, in the manner of our common black-thorn , whoſe place it feems to occupy on wafte ground, and is of the fame humble fize and depreffed figure. Here and there grew Helleborus hyemalis (Winter Aconite) , H. niger ? and fætidus. The hue of the foil towards Sienna is ex actly that variety of yellows and browns feen in the Sienna marble. This town is handſomely built, and very finely fituated on a hill, commanding a noble profpect every way, which, however, was ( 325 ) was concealed from our view till next morn ing, by a thick miſt enveloping the fummit of the hill. Such elevated fituations must often be " cloud-capt," when the humble valleys are bright and ſerene. 1 The cathedral of Sienna, its principal boaſt, is a very highly ornamented and ele gant gothic pile, entirely of marble. The marble pavement, fingular in its kind, re prefents various pieces of fcripture hiſtory, the figures, larger than life, being white, and the ground dark. The fhades are produced by a large kind of engraving. I cannot ad mire the effect, nor is a floor the place where one would wish to ftudy hiftory ; but the outlines are in a great ftyle. Cochin com pares them to the fineft works of Raphael. If fuch a comparifon may be admitted, it must be underſtood of his cartoons, rather than of his more delioate performances. There are many good ftatues in the church. The baptiftery is under the choir, and we had the curiofity to attend a chriflening, which is of all filthy and ridiculous fights one of the worft. The prieſt fpits repeatedly on his thumb, and dabs it on different parts Y 3 of ( 326 ) of the child's face and perſon ; then he gives the infant a candle to hold, and all this while mumbles Latin as faſt as his tongue can wag. To complete the farce, the ignorant nurſe makes refponfes in the fame language ! We faw the fame ceremony afterwards at Rome, and in other places ; ſo we have every reafon to think it was perfectly orthodox baptiſm, and not a piece of mummery acted by buffoons, who had got poffeffion of the church and holy veſtments, on purpoſe to make fools of us heretics. Did a Ganganelli or a Fene lon approve of fimilar ceremonies ? Surely not ; but they winked at fuch ignorance, that they might more certainly direct their glorious aim to more important objects, in ftrokes often invifible to groffer intellects ; but for whofe fure fuccefs they repoſed in humble confidence on that Being, a ray of whoſe own benevolence animated their en deavours. Sienna poffeffes two very able anatomifts, Profeffor Mafcagni, and his diffector Dr. Se menzi, We waited on them with letters from Dr. Batt, of Genoa, and were very well received. Thefe gentlemen excel par ticularly ( 327 ) ticularly in their preparations of the lym phatic veffels. The plates of Dr. Mafcag ni's work, which were already engraved, and have fince been publifhed, fhew the maſterly manner in which their injections have been made. Unfortunately they do not preſerve their preparations any longer than to have them drawn ; fo that thoſe who wiſh to verify their accuracy, by confulting original fpecimens, can have no fatisfaction, and might reaſonably doubt the fidelity of thoſe exquiſite plates. From what we ſaw, however, I have no doubt of the truth of every ftroke. We obferved injections thrown about as rubbish, which in other ſchools would have been " fhrined in cryſtal," as the choiceft rarities. Expreffing our re gret at this neglect, they affured ' us fuch pre parations coft them little or no trouble, and could be made whenever they were wanted for demonftrations, efpecially as bodies were always abundant at Sienna, the profeffor of anatomy having a right to diffet& every perfon who dies in the hofpital, and to do what he pleaſes with the body after the re ligious rites are performed. The principal Y 4 inftru ( 328 ) inftruments uſed for theſe injections are very fine and almoſt capillary glaſs tubes ; but we did not perceive that Dr. Mafcagni's were finer than what we had ſeen before. Theſe gentlemen conducted us through the hofpital, which is fpacious, clean, and airy, remarkably free from bad fmells. The profpect from it , perhaps, one of the fineſt inland views in Europe. How much better a chance muſt patients have in ſuch a fitua tion, than in the old Hôtel Dieu of Paris, or any ſimilar places ! Here is a peculiar kind of iron flove for the chemical operations, and a ſimilar one in the kitchen, by which a number ofthings are heated at once, with a third part of the fuel that a common chim ney would require. The flame is confined in an iron chamber, and carried round the pots laterally. There are various dampers to moderate it, by regulating the quantity of air admitted. The hoſpital at Florence, which we heard was a clean and good one, for we had not time to fee it, has the fame kind of ftoves as thefe. They were invent ed by a Florentine, In the church of the hofpital, behind the altar, ( 329 ) י , altar, is a fine freſco of the pool of Betheſda, by the Chevalier Conca. In the great piazza, or market place, ftands the Palazzo Publico, the ancient fenate-houſe of the republic, which the people feem ftill to venerate, as reminding them they once were a republic. This palace has a very lofty brick tower, from which there muſt be a moſt noble view. I longed to aſcend it, but indolence and hurry deterred me. On the oppofite fide of the fquare is an ancient marble fountain of admirable workmanship, byJacomo della Quercia, furnamed del Fonte from this performance. The botanical profeffor here, named Bar talini, has publiſhed an Italian work on the plants of this neighbourhood. We called on him, but he was out of town. Wefearched feveral bookſeller's fhops, but found few curi ofities, except a Lucca edition of Linnæus's Fundamenta Botanica, with two or three others of his leffer works, all in one volume. The cabinet of natural hiftory is poor and fmall. In the public library are fome Greek manufcripts of the New Teftament, with fine illuminations. 7 Feb. ( 330 ) Feb. 3. After an early dinner had aplea fant ride, of fixteen miles, over an elevated country, to the little fhabby town of Buon Convento. We overtook on the road a female pilgrim, in a habit of black ferge, with a ſtaff in her hand, and a madonna at her breaſt. She was going to Rome, and being known to our driver, he befought our permiffion to let her ride on the broad flat back ofthe carriage, ufually occupied by trunks ; but we had de clined truſting ours there out of fight. We readily granted leave, only regretting there was no better place to offer her. We after wards found fhe was going to her huſband, a man-fervant, at Rome, and that her pil grim's habit was put on merely to protect her from inſult or fufpicion on the road. She feemed a much greater object of charity than the begging abbé, and we endeavoured to make her journey as eafy as we could— Nay, ſmile not gentle reader-whatever ad venture the feverish lechery of a Sterne might have achieved, or talked of achieving, with this poor pilgrim, we had not his fancy to fee · ( 331 ) fee either youth, beauty, or fentiment under her weeds. Feb. 4. At four o'clock in the morning we fallied forth from the old gothic gates of Buon Convento, and winding down a fteep hill by moon-light, after fome hours paffed through Torrinieri, a decent town, from which is an extenfive view ; but the day was dull and mifty. At length Ricorſi prefented itſelf, a poor little inn, in an open country (much like that between Carliſle and Edinburgh), twenty-one miles from Buon Convento ; and here, ſpeaking meta phorically, we dined. From hence we began to afcend the very high hill of Radi cofani, which had been in fight as far off as Torrinieri, or before. On its miferable top is the miferable town. The whole coun try is miſery itſelf. Accordingly we found abundance of rock Lichens, as geographicus, parellus, niger (Hudf. ) , and feveral others which grow inthe King's-park at Edinburgh, with one or two nondefcript ſpecies. Here is that ſpacious old inn fo well deſcribed by Lady Miller (vol. 2. p. 183 ) . We had not the felicity of entering it, or of fupping on grif fin ( 332 ) fin and rotten eggs ; but were amply in demnified where we did fup, at la Novella, than which furely Radicofani itſelf cannot be more exquifitely wretched. This Novella is a folitary hovel in a lonely fpot, as com fortleſs as itſelf, thirteen miles from Ricorfi. To ſpeak ſeriouſly, and a very ſerious fact it is to thoſe who are likely to come this way, this is undoubtedly the worſt inn we met with on the continent. Feb. 5. We left it at five. The dull day was in harmony with our fpirits and the ſcene around. The only bright point in view was the road, for that led towards Rome. At Ponte Centino, a narrow paſs, we entered the Pope's territories. Here the bulk of our baggage was fealed up, unexamined, that it might go undisturbed to Rome. A few miles farther on ftands Aquapendente, an old town on a hill. Juft on entering it are ſome moiſt moffy rocks, which promiſed much botanical fport had we had time. Snowdrops were in flower upon them. From this town the anatomift Fabricius ab Aquapendente took his name. He is equally celebrated ( 333 ) celebrated for his accuracy in diſcovering the valves of the veins, and for his want of pe netration in not finding out their real uſe, which is to prevent a reflux of blood towards the heart. Not knowing the circulation of the vital fluid, he fuppofed it to go the con trary way to what it does, and that theſe valves fanned it along ; whereas they will not allow a drop to paſs them in that direc tion. Such different talents are obfervation and judgment ! At St. Lorenzo Nuova, a new-built village on a hill, fixteen miles from Novella, we dined, and then defcended the hill to the old town of St. Lorenzo alle grotte, which ftands near the fine lake of Bolfene. Here we rejoiced to find ourſelves again in a plea fant country, amid the beauties and rarities of nature, for here the trees produced Hyp num fciuroides and gracile, both in fruit, and Lightfoot's Lichen glomuliferus. Great part of the town of St. Lorenzo is in ruins, its inhabitants having been tranfplanted to the new town on the hill. The neighbourhood is full of caves hewn out of the rock, ro mantic enough, but rather too promiſing of banditti. ( 334 ) banditti. Many of them are, in fact , inhà bited by very poor people. We met with nothing to moleft us, nor faw any living creatures, except two fmiling boys, one of whom called the other Rafaelle, and both ran and hid themſelves, like rabbits, in the caves. The road leads beautifully along the mar gin of the lake, which is a noble object, be ing about ten miles long, and having two or three rocky iſlands. Bolfene we did not enter, but paffed on to Monte Fiascone, a little town on a very high hill , fixteen miles from our dining-place, and put up for the night at an inn without the walls. Near Bolfene are fome very well formed bafaltic rocks cloſe to the road. The pillars are very diftinct, about a foot in diameter, and have each fix, feven, or eight fides. Monte Fiascone, literally tranflated, means mountgreat-bottle, and I can find no better reafon for the name than the huge clumſy dome of the church, which is ſeen at a con fiderable diſtance every way, and looks like a great bottle ; but whether the church was built for the name, or the name given on ac count ( 335 ) count of the church, I am not informed. The town is paltry. We walked into a field after dark to examine fome fingular lights, which appeared to be either Will-of-the-wifps or fome luminous infects ; but could not come up with them, and after ſome time, finding ourſelves on the brink of a precipice, the ardour of our purfuit was fomewhat damped.

Feb. 6. The more faithful light of the moon ſmiled on us at five in the morning, and we purſued our journey, eleven miles, to Viterbo ; the country flat and marſhy. Viterbo is a pretty little town, paved with large irregular flat ftones, like Florence ; but the ſtreets are not kept ſo clean as they might be. We looked into a church or two, but found nothing remarkable. From this place the road for five miles gradually aſcend ed a hill, and when we arrived at its fummit, the extenfive proſpect amply repaid our toils. The fea glittering in the ſunſhine, was eaſily ſeen on our right ; and a beauti ful filvery lake, the fource of the Tercia, was under our feet. But to botanifts this hill ( 336 ) hill afforded ſtill higher gratification. Its ridge is clothed with a wood of old trees, and their trunks covered with a luxuriant garb of the fineſt Lichens and moffes in the world, as Hypnumfciuroides and many others in fructification ; Lichen glaucus in the fame ftate, which I never faw before nor fince, though I have ſearched for it repeatedly in other places ; Lichen glomuliferus with its fingular green balls ; L. fcrobiculatus, and many others of lefs note. From the branches of theſe trees hang the most luxuriant wav ing feftoons of the filamentous Lichens, as jubatus and articulatus, both together not naptly reſembling dark brown hair, inter woven with ftrings of pearls. The latter bore numerous fleſh- coloured tubercles, ex actly as Micheli figures and defcribes them, but which I do not know that any botaniſt befides has feen. In fhort we were enrap tured with this wood, and only regretted the impoffibility of fearching it as it deferved. The voice of our voiturin foon diffipated our botanical reveries, and recalled us to our duty. We deſcended into a plain, and paſſed through Ronciglione, a pretty confi derable ( 337 ) 叫 derable village, with ſome houſes built in an unuſually good ftyle, with finely propor tioned windows. Monte Rofi, where we flept, is anothervillage twenty-two miles from Viterbo-fo fhort were fometimes our day's journeys ! In juſtice to the poor traduced inns of Italy, I think it right to mention that here, for the first time, we met with damp ſheets, and were obliged to have them dried. I do not think I ever diſcovered dirty fheets in Italy, though always very ſcrupu lous in my examinations on that head. England is certainly the moſt indelicate of all civilized nations with refpect to bed and table linen. Our great inns are lefs to be truſted about ſheets than any abroad. Feb. 7. This was a morning of expecta tion, for we were now within twenty-five miles of Rome. We cheerfully obeyed our 'faithful conductor's early fummons, and were in the chaife by five o'clock. After travelling about nine miles, the world's me tropolis prefented itſelf to our longing eyes, being diftinctly feen from the brow of a hill, at fixteen miles diftance. That vaft plain, VOL. I. Ꮓ the ( 338 ) the Campania of Rome, was ftretched out7 before us as far as the eye could reach . It was illuminated by the fun, but no diftinct objects were diſcoverable ; at leaſt we did not know exactly where to look for Tivoli, Frefcati, &c. nor had we any one who could explain the landſcape. Not even the view of the world's metropolis, however, could make me neglect to floop for the very fin gular Pifum Ochrus, or winged pea. It grew on the brow of the hill juſt mentioned. A little farther on we obferved abundance of cork trees, low and ftumpy. Our mules were more than ufually alert, for we entered Rome, full of curioſity, about *** noon. When ſtill at a few miles diſtance, we were anxious to diſcover, among all the magnifi cent domes of the city, which was St. Peter's. In fome points of view one ap peared the largeſt, then again another feemed to bear away the palm. St. Carlo's in the Corfo for a long time eclipfed the others, and we had almoſt determined that to be St. Peter's, when lo ! from behind a hill, which had till now concealed it, the real St. Peter's

( 339 ) Peter's came forth in all its majefty, feeming to ſay to the vulgar herd of temples, ' " Hide your diminiſhed heads ! " The entrance of Rome, by the Porta del Popolo, is noble, and the area fpacious ; the three ſtreets branching off from that area afford a good perſpective, though they abound in mean houſes. This entrance is well delineated by Piranefi. On entering the gates, a man preſented himſelf to ac company us to the Cuſtom-houſe, where we had very little trouble, nor any more ex pence than five pauls. We found this cele brated city more airy and cleanly, as well as more magnificent, than we expected, for Lady Miller's affertion , of the ſtreets being for the moſt part not paved, is erroneous. After leaving the Cuſtom-houſe, we put up at Pio's excellent hôtel in the Piazza di Spagna, by the recommendation of our hoft at Flo rence. This hôtel is always entirely occu→ pied by the Duke of Glouceſter when at Rome ; but his Royal Highnefs being then at Naples, we leffer perfonages eaſily found admittance. After dinner we engaged a Z 2 valet ( 340 ) valet de place, who had faftened himſelf on us at the Cuſtom-houſe ; but he proved drunk and of little uſe, ſo we ventured to fally forth alone, to explore this rich mine of knowledge. We ftumbled on the Anto nine column and the Pantheon. The por tico of the latter aftoniſhed us by its gran deur and the immenfityof its granite columns. The infide appeared to advantage in the dufk of the evening. A calm and folemn tranquillity is diffuſed over the mind on en tering the Pantheon, which I never felt be fore in any fituation, except ſometimes in a very majeſtic grove clear of underwood. The yellow marble pilafters, decorating the infide, are of noble dimenſions and propor tions; but their fluting is remarkably fhallow -I had almoſt ventured to fay too fhallow, and that all their parts project too little. At the English coffee-houſe, where many of our newſpapers may be feen, and which is frequented by Engliſhmen, eſpecially ar tifts , I was ſo fortunate as to meet with the Abbé Correa de Serra, now fecretary to the Academy of Sciences at Liſbon. With this gentleman I firſt became acquainted at Mr. de ( 341 ) de Juffieu's at Paris. He had refided twelve years at Rome formerly, and was attached to the place by all the enthuſiaſm which a man offo much fine taſte and extenfive literature muſt feel in fuch a refidence, though he had fince lived many years in Portugal, his na tive country. No acquaintance could be more fortunate for us. His information and his introductions were all-fufficient for every thing we might want here. We had pur poſely declined all letters for Rome, except one or two neceffary ones, meaning to de vote our time folely and uniformly to the ſtudy of paintings, ftatues, and buildings ; avoiding all ſociety and all diffipation , well knowing how infufficient the longeſt time we could fpare muſt be, amid ſo many objects ; and foreſeeing great interruptions to our purſuits, if we were to affociate with travellers, or get drawn into fociety of any kind . As far as we kept to this plan, we were the better for it. We had determined to put ourſelves under the guidance of the beſt cicerone to be found, for the better ac compliſhment of our main ends. There Z 3 are ( 342 ) are feveral very able men of this profeffion at Rome, who undertake to conduct parties of ſtrangers to every thing worth notice, and to give them all poffible information on the fubject. By a diligent attendance every day, the whole is accompliſhed in about three months, and the expence is very moderate. Meeting the Abbé Correa, how ever, quite changed our plan in this reſpect. We could not have a better companion than himſelf, whenever his engagements would allow him to be with us ; and we were both, from books, pretty well informed before hand of what we were to look for ; fo that we did not want a guide fo much as a critic to confult. Magnani's guide-book eaſily directed us to any particular object which we might be difpofed to examine ; and with that book in our hands we foon found our felves as much at home here as at London. By this plan we avoided many inconve niences ; as all contrariety of opinions about what ſhould be done each day ; all the fretfulneſs and dullnefs of ignorant or indolent companions ; all falfe lights and party ( 343 ) A 3 th 144 19 party prejudices, from which the cicerones, in confequence of their connexions with different artiſts, and other biaſes, are not al ways free. 24 CHAP. ( 344 ) CHA P. XX. ST. PETER'S CHURCH. ItT was impoffible to defer viſiting St. Peter's any longer than the firſt day after our arri val at Rome. The effect of the colonade before it was different from what we ex pected. All prints make it appear too long, and the fountains too ſmall. The beſt view I have ever feen ofthis church, is in a picture at the Villa Borgheſe. The whole building is of a kind of ſta lactitical ftone, called Pietra di Tivoli, be cauſe the principal quarries of it are at that place. It is very hard, but of an extremely porous unequal texture, fo as not to look well when ſeen too near ; not unlike the ftone uſed for building at Matlock, but lefs porous, and at a ſmall diſtance looks like new ( 345 ) 1 new Portland ftone. Such is the appear ance of St. Peter's. One would think it had fcarcely been finiſhed a twelvemonth. The pediment, as has been often obferved, is too ſmall, and the whole weſt front far inferior in majeſty to that of our St. Paul's, except the colonade ; and I am not ſure whe ther that, however magnificent as a part, does not leffen the effect of the church itſelf. Nothing can be finer than the two fountains. perpetually playing ; their vaft volume ofwa ters, thrown into various forms by the wind, is one ofthe nobleft objects imaginable. Rome is the only place to fee really fine fountains : how different from the impertinent ſquirts of Verſailles ! We found by our valet, that the old ftory of Queen Chriſtina's ſuppoſing thefe Roman fountains to be made to play on purpoſe to amuſe her, is now transferred to the preſent Queen of Naples. This is the common fate of fuch anecdotes. But although St. Paul's may very well bear a compariſon with St. Peter's as to its outfide, the fuperiority of the latter within is decided indeed ! Lefs, perhaps, with re fpect to architecture than cleanlineſs, light ſomeneſs, ( 346 ) fomeneſs, and, above all, richneſs of decora tion. The veſtibule too is totally wanting in St. Paul's. On entering the church, we were fenfible of the effect fo generally mentioned, its not appearing fo large as we expected ; but this idea wore away every time afterwards. At the firft vifit we were too much diſtracted by the variety of objects, to attend to any thing properly. We therefore took a cur fory view of the whole, and often returned afterwards with new pleaſure to the fame magnificent fcene. As it is of no confe quence to the reader in what order we faw things, I fhall collect together, under one view, a few of our remarks made at different times, avoiding as much as poſſible ſaying what others have faid, or at leaſt avoiding faying it in the fame manner, The great pilafters of the nave are only coloured to imitate blue and white marble, although the rest of the building and decora tions are almoſt all of different kinds of mar ble. How eafily might St. Paul's be paint ed in the fame manner ! or if only white waſhed, ( 347 ) wafhed, what an advantage would it be to its appearance ! The fuperb canopy of bronze over the high altar, and the hundred filver lamps continually burning before it, are deſcribed in every book. The glorious dome above, conftructed with a lightneſs and magnificence equally furpriſing and pleaſing to the be holder, has been as often deſcribed ; but words cannot do it juſtice, nor would I have any one hope to get an adequate idea of it by contemplating the gloomy cupola of St. Paul's. The aifles are occupied by a number of altars, the altar-pieces of which are accurate copies, in mofaic, of the moſt celebrated pictures in Rome, which by this means are immortalized; for nothing but the entire downfall of the building can ever do theſe mofaics the leaft injury, while the originals are daily approaching to decay. The beſt in the church is perhaps that of St. Petronilla, after the picture of Guercino, preferved in the Palace of Monte Cavallo, efteemed one of the four firft pictures in Rome; for the only three allowed to be com parable ( 348 ) 1 parable to it are, the Transfiguration of Raphael, the St. Jerome of Domenichino, and the Defcent from the Crofs of Daniel de Volterra, or rather Michael Angelo. So connoiffeurs have decided, and it becomes us humbly to affent. I only beg leave not to confine my admiration entirely within fuch narrow limits. To fay the truth, I have contemplated many pictures with more pleaſure than the Transfiguration of Raphael. The want of keeping, in making the hill fo low, is a glaring abfurdity ; and with reſpect to our Saviour, with Mofes and Elias hang ing in the air, three figures of elder pith fufpended by threads, and electrified fo as to repel each other, would have nearly the fame attitudes. The mofaics of the crucifixion of St. Se baftian, and the death of St. Jerome, after Domenichino, St. Bafil faying maſs, after Subleyras, with fome others, are excellent, and inferior to the pictures from which they are taken in ſome minutiae of drawing only, as the Abbé Richard obferves. The ſculptures of this magnificent church are fcarcely lefs worthy our attention. The 8 moft ( 349 ) moſt ſtriking of all is the bas-relief of Attila prevented from approaching Rome by the apparitions of St. Peter and St. Paul in the air. It confifts of a number of figures as large as life, byAlgardi, of whomI ſhall have more to ſay in fpeaking of Bologna. This fculpture is placed over the altar of St. Leo, in whoſe pontificate the event it repreſents was ſaid to have happened. For though the ftory is allowed by catholic writers to be a fable, it was too good a ſtory to be loft. The holy fathers have therefore permitted it to be perpetuated, even in the fanctuary of pretended truth. The more enlightened ſpectator may take it as an allegory, while the multitude, if they pleaſe, may believe it as goſpel. If an error, it is one on the right fide. Of all the ftatues of faints in the nave and tribune, the moſt celebrated, at leaſt in French books, is St. Dominic by Le Gros, becauſe the artiſt was a Frenchman . The faint is juſtly repreſented as a furious zealot, and accompanied by his ufual emblem, a dog with a lighted torch in his mouth ; an emblem fo infernal, that when I firſt ſaw it ( 350 ) it attributed to this faint and his order, in that bitter ſatire the Monachologia, I took it for a farcafm , as I fhould the ftatue in queftion, if I had met with it in a profane place. The feulptor has given fuch a diabo lical countenance to the animal, that I know not whether he or his mafter be the moſt ill-looking dog of the two. The figure of the Virgin with the dead Chriſt on her lap, one of the earlieſt works of Michael Angelo, is unpleafant in defign, and ftiff and hard in execution ; but the ex preffion is affecting, though far inferior to that of his inimitable bas-relief of the fame fubject in the Albergo at Genoa. Of the monuments, that of Queen Chrif tina claims our attention, more on her ac count than its own. That of the Countefs Matilda has more merit ; but her figure is too short to be graceful, according to the prefent faſhion. Thoſe of the different Popes are of various merit ; but having been chiefly the work of Bernini, are in a heavy turgid manner. The children upon that of Urban VIII. are remarkably fo; but the head of Charity is charming, and the figure of Y ( 351 ) of the Pope very good. This mauſoleum is nevertheleſs principally remarkable for the happy thought of the three bees, which are the arms of the Pope, difperfed upon his tomb, in allufion to the misfortunes of his family after his death, his nephews having been 圈 obliged to fly to the protection of France. What fhall we fay to De la Lande, who, although this moſt beautiful and ftrik ing allegory was pointed out to him, could not underſtand it ? See his Voyage, tom. 3. p. 467. Oppofite to this ftands the tomb of Paul III. byWilliam Della Porta, very celebrated, and not undefervedly, as a compofition. The figure of Prudence is faid by fome to repre fent a miſtreſs of this good Pope's, and that of Juftice his natural daughter. Whether it be fo or not, I fhould not apprehend being led into any imprudence, as Magnani deli cately calls it, by the charms of this laft mentioned lady, as is faid to have happened to a certain amorous abbé, before her pre fent drapery of bronze was adjufted. I think her by no means fo very enchant ing. The ( 352 ) • The ftatue of Truth on the monument of Alexander VII. has likewiſe been clothed for ſimilar reaſons ; the covering the artiſt had given her not being thought fufficient where there are fo many " holy men ofGod" in the way. This monument is one of the moft admired compofitions of Bernini, though the work of his old age. Over a door, made to repreſent the entrance of the tomb, is a vaft piece of drapery of Sicilian marble ; from under which Death appears preparing to ftrike the Pope, who is kneeling above, accompanied by Juftice, Prudence, Charity, and Truth. To the two laft he had no claim, and confequently but little to the firft. The figure of Alexander expreffes but too juftly his fneaking hypocritical cha racter ; and I could not help thinking, that Truth ſhrinking, as it were, into the folds of the drapery, ſeemed afhamed to own him as her friend. Near this is the fepulchre of Innocent XI. much kiffed by the faithful, though he has not yet been canonized ; and over the door of the ftaircafe is a neat monument for the pretended Queen of England, wife ofJamesIII. with ( 353 ) with her portrait in mofaic ; at the back of which, on the flairs, may be feen a grey marble farcophagus containing her body. This princefs was generally beloved at Rome. A certain traveller of very high rank is faid to have met with a fharp rebuff on throwing out fome farcafms at feeing her monument. In the chapel of the Sacrament is a fingu lar tomb of bronze, not much raiſed above the ground, erected by Pope Julius II. who is alſo buried here, in memory of his uncle and predeceffor, Sixtus IV. The bas-reliefs are in a hard dry ſtyle, We defcended into the fubterraneous chapels, under the great dome, where are the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul, and many other relicks ; with a profufion of fculptures, mofaics, and infcriptions of the earlier ages of Chriftianity, taken from the former church which ſtood in this place, the floor of which is partly preferved, and forms that of this fubterraneous church ; for it was thought too facred to be deftroyed when the new one was built. Here reft the bodies of many Popes inclofed in ftone tombs, fome of them with their effigies, as that of Alex VOL. I. A a ander ( 354 ) ander VI. others with their names only. Among them I obferved that of the old Pretender, called James III. King of Eng land, who died in 1766, or 1767. His body is to be removed from hence into a monument intended to be erected oppofite to that of his confort above mentioned. The new facrifty adjoining to St. Peter's Church is afumptuous edifice. The prefent Pope, whofe ftatue appears in the veſtibule, has had the completion of this building much at heart, and it is now finiſhed. The furniture is all of yellow fatin wood with mouldings of various brown woods, ex tremely elegant. On the whole, the tafte of this building is not of the firft rank, and in many parts it reminds one ofthe Grecian painter, who, not being able to draw Helen handſome, was determined at leaft to make her rich. 1 One fine afternoon, the 13th of April, we afcended the dome of St. Peter's, even into the ball, where we found a Swediſh infcription, fignifying that Guftavus III. had been there before us. The view from hence rewarded us for all our pains, which were 9 ( 355 ) 1 N 1 were not inconfiderable, as the latter part of the aſcent is very bad, the ladders not being near fo well contrived as thofe in St. Paul's. We then walked round the galleries within the dome, and faw that ftupendous fabrick in a new point of view, with its large mo faics, admirably well calculated to have an effect when ſeen from below. They are in the moſt complete prefervation, and every part is kept perfectly clean. The vaults of the nave and aifles are differently ornament ed, being difpofed in oblong compartments of ſtucco work, in white and gold, as is the roof ofthe veſtibule. This kind of ceil ing is, in my opinion, the richeſt in effect, as well as the moſt proper of all.. It is mor tifying to fee a fine painting placed in the only part of an apartment in which a ſpec tator cannot fee it with eaſe, as is preciſely the cafe with a painted ceiling. Theſe per formances are often indeed fo full of diftor tions, meant for foreſhortening and perfpec tive, and fo defective in colouring, that a connoiffeur is fatisfied with a fingle glance of them ; but he cannot get rid of their effect ; their glaring and ſcattered colours 2 deſtroy ( 356 ) deſtroy the harmony of every thing in the room, and the eye has no where to repofe. The modern faſhion of painting ceilings in minute compartments, which is like fetting the dome of St. Peter's with miniatures, is free from the diſadvantages above mention ed ; becauſe the paintings are almoſt invifi ble, and unleſs pointed out to us, may to tally eſcape notice. But if ceilings muſt be highly enriched, their defign fhould never theleſs be fimple and uniform, and their whole effect fhould ftrike, rather than any particular parts. I have no where feen a vaulted ceiling of white and gold ſo happily employed, as in a room at Harewood, in Yorkſhire, the noble feat of Lord Hare wood. It is rather more elegant than thoſe of St. Peter's, and harmonizes more perfect ly with the reſt of the apartment, END OF THE FIRST VOLUME, Say

Full text of volume 2

OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS MADE IN A JOURNEY THROUGH France, Italy, and Germany. NAPLE S.

ΟΝ the tenth day of this month we arrived early at Naples, for I think it was about two o'clock in the morning ; and ſure the providence of God preferved us, for never was fuch weather feen by me fince I came into the world ; thunder, lightning, ftorm at ſea, rain and wind, contending for maſtery, and combining to extinguish the torches bought to light us the laft ftage : Vefuvius, vomiting fire, and pouring torrents of red hot lava down its fides, was the only object viſible ; and that we faw plainly in the afternoon thirty miles off, where I aſked a Franciſcan friar, If it was the famous volcano? " Yes," replied VOL. II. B he, 2 OBSERVATIONS IN A T # he, " that's our mountain, which throws up money for us, by calling foreigners to fee the extraordinary effects of fo furpriſing a pha nomenon.' The weather was quiet then, and we had no notion of paffing ſuch a hor rible night ; but an hour after dark, a ftorm came on, which was really dreadful to endure ; or even look upon the blue lightning, whoſe colour fhewed the nature of the original mi nerals from which he drew her exiftence, fhone round us in a broad expanſe from time to time, and fudden darkneſs followed in an inftant : no object then but the fiery river could be feen, till another flaſh diſcovered the waves toffing and breaking, at a height I never faw before. "" Nothing fure was ever more fublime or awful than our entrance into Naples at the dead hour we arrived, when not a whiſper was to be heard in the ftreets, and not a glimpfe of light was left to guide us, except the fmall lamp hung now and then at a high window before a favourite image of the Virgin. My poor maid had by this time nearly loft her wits with terror, and the French valet, cruſhed with fatigue, and covered with JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 3 with rain and fea-fpray, had juft life enough left to exclaim " Ah, Madame ! il mefemble que nous fommes venus icy exprès pour voir la lafin du monde*. " The Ville de Londres inn was full, and could not accommodate our family ; but calling up the people , of the Crocelle, we obtained a noble apartment, the win dows of which look full upon the cele brated bay which waſhes the wall at our door. Caprea lies oppofite the drawing-room or gallery, which is magnificent ; and my bed-chamber commands a complete view of the mountain, which I value more, and which called me the first night twenty times away from fleep and fupper, though never fo in want of both as at that moment furely. Such were myfirft impreffions of this won derful metropolis, of which I had been always reading fummer deſcriptions, and had regarded ſomehow as an Hefperian garden, an earthly paradife, where delicacy and foftneſs fubdued every danger, and general ſweetneſs captivated

• Lord, Madam ! why we came here on purpoſe fure

to fee the end of the world. B 2 every 4 OBSERVATIONS IN A A every fenfe ; -nor have I any reaſon yet to fay it will not ſtill prove fo, for though wet, and weary, and hungry, we wanted no fire, and found only inconvenience from that they lighted on our arrival. It was the fafhion at Florence to ftruggle for a Terreno, but here we are all perched up one hundred and forty two ſteps from the level of the land or fea ; large balconies, apparently well fecured, give me every enjoyment of a profpect, which no repetition can render tedious : and here we have agreed to ſtay till Spring, which, I truſt, will come out in this country as foon as the new year calls it. Our eagerness to fee fights has been re ´preffed at Naples only by finding every thing a fight ; one need not ſtir out to look for won ders fure, while this amazing mountain con tinues to exhibit fuch various fcenes of fub limity and beauty at exactly the diſtance one would chufe to obferve it from ; a diſtance which almoft admits examination, and cer tainly excludes immediate fear. When in the filent night, however, one liftens to its groaning ; while hollow fighs, as of gigantic forrow, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. S forrow, are often heard diſtinctly in my apart ment ; nothing can furpafs one's fenfations of amazement, except the confcioufnefs that cuf tom will abate their keennefs : I have not, however, yet learned to lie quiet, when co lumns of flame, high as the mountain's felf, fhoot from its crater into the clear atmoſphere with a loud and violent noife ; nor fhall I ever forget the ſcene it prefented one day to my aftoniſhed eyes, while a thick cloud, charged heavily with electric matter, paffing over, met the fiery exploſion by mere chance, and went off in fuch a manner as effectually baffles all verbal defcription, and lafted too short a time for a painter to feize the moment, and imitate its very ſtrange effect . Monfieur de Vollaire, however, a native of France, long refident in this city, has obtained, by perpetual obferva tion, a power of repreſenting Vefuvius without that black ſhadow, which others have thought neceffary to increaſe the contraft, but which greatly takes away all reſemblance of its ori ginal. Upon reflection it appears to me, that the men moſt famous at London and Paris for performing tricks with fire have been always Italians in my time, and commonly Nea politans ; no wonder, I fhould think, Naples B 3 would 6 OBSERVATIONS IN A would produce prodigious connoiffeurs in this way; we have almoſt perpetual light ning of various colours, according to the foil from whence the vapours are exhaled ; fometimes of a pale ftraw or lemon colour, often white like artificial flame produced by camphor, but ofteneft blue, bright as the rays emitted through the coloured liquors fet in the window of a chemiſt's ſhop in London and with fuch thunder !! " For God's fake, Sir, " ſaid I to fome ofthem, " is there no danger ofthe ſhips in the harbour here catching fire ? why we ſhould all fly up in the air directly, if once theſe flaſhes fhould communicate to the room where any of the veffels keep their powder. "-" Gunpowder, Madam !" replies the man, amazed; " why if St. Peter and St. Paul came here with gunpowder on board, we fhould foon drive them out again : don't you know," aded he, "that every ſhip diſcharges her contents at ſuch a place (naming it) , and never comes into our port with a grain on board ?" The palaces and churches have no ſhare in one's admiration at Naples, who ſcorns to de pend on man, however mighty, however fkil ful, for her ornaments ; while Heaven has bestowed JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 7 beſtowed on her and her contorni all that can excite aftoniſhment, all that can imprefs awe. We have ſpent three or four days upon Poz zuoli and its environs ; its cavern ſcooped ori ginally by nature's hand, affifted by the armies of Cocceius Nerva-ever tremendous, ever gloomy grotto !—which leads to the road that fhews you Ifchia, an old volcano, now an iſland apparently rent afunder by an earth quake, the divifion too plain to beg afſiſtance from philofophy : this is commonly called the Grotto di Pofilippo though ; you paſs through it to go to every place ; not without flam beaux, if you would go fafely, and avoid the neceffity the poor are under, who, driving their carts through the fubterranean paffage, cry as they meet each other, to avoid jostling, alla montagna, or alla marina, keep to the rock fide, or keep to the fea fide. It is at the right hand, awhile before you enter this cavern, that climbing up among a heap of buſhes, you find a hollow place, and there go down again—it is the tomb of Virgil ; and, for other antiquities, I recollect nothing fhewed me when at Rome that gave me as complete an idea how things. were really carried on in former days, as does the temple of Shor Apis at Pozzuoli, where B 4 the 8 OBSERVATIONS IN A the area is exactly all it ever was ; the ring remains where the victim was faftened to ; the priefts apartments, lavatories, &c. the drains for carrying the beaft's blood away, all yet remains as perfect as it is poffible. The end of Caligula's bridge too, but that they fay is not his bridge, but a mole built by fome fuc ceeding emperor-a madder or a wickeder it could not be though here Nero bathed, and here he buried his mother Agrippina. Here are the centum camera, the prifons employed by that prince for the cruelleft of purpoſes ; and here are his country palaces reſerved for the moſt odious ones ; here effeminacy learn ed to fubfift without delicacy or fhame, hence honour was excluded by rapacity, and con fcience ftupefied by conftant inebriation : here brainfick folly put nature and common fenfe upon the rack -Caligula in madneſs courted the moon to his embraces-and Sylla, fatiated with blood, retired, and gave a premature ban quet to thofe worms he had fo often fed with the flesh of innocence : here dwelt depravity in various shapes, and here Pandora's cham bers left ſcarcely a Hope at the bottom that bet ter times fhould come :-who can write profe however JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 9 however in fuch places !-let the impoffibility of expreffing my thoughts any other way ex cufe the following VERSE S. I. First of Achelous' blood, Fairest daughter of the flood, Queen ofthe Sicilian fea, Beauteous, bright Parthenope ! Syren ſweet, whofe magic force Stops the ſwifteft in his courſe ; Wifdom's felf, when moft fevere, Longs to lend a lift'ning ear, Gently dips the fearful oar, Trembling eyes the tempting fhore, And fighing quit's th' enervate coaft, With only half his virtue loft. II. Let thy warm, thy wond'rous clime, Animate my artless rhyme, Whilft alternate round me rife Terror, pleaſure, and furpriſe. Here th' aftonifh'd foul furveys Dread Vefuvius' awful blaze, Smoke that to the ſky aſpires, Heavyhail offolid fires, Flames ΤΟ OBSERVATIONS IN A Flames the fruitful fields o'erflowing, Ocean with the reflex glowing ; Thunder, whofe redoubled found Echoes o'er the vaulted ground ! Such thy glories , fuch the gloom That conceals thy fecret tomb, Sov'reign of this enchanted fea, Where funk thy charms, Parthenope. III. Nowby the glimm'ring torch's ray I tread Pozzuoli's cavern'd way Hollow grot ! that might befeem Th' Ætnean cyclop, Polypheme : And here the bat at noonday ' bides, And here the houſelefs beggar hides, While the holy hermit's voice Glads me with accuftom'd noiſe. Now I trace, or trav❜llers err, Modeft Maro's fepulchre, Where nature, fure of his intent, Is ftudious to conceal That eminence he always meant Wefhould not fee but feel. While Sannazarius from the ſteep Views, well pleas'd, the fertile deep Give life to them that feize the fcaly fry, And to their poet—immortality. IV 1 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. II IV. Next beauteous Baia's warm remains invite To Nero's ſtoves my wond'ring fight ; Where palaces and domes deftroy'd Leave a flat unwholeſome void : Where underneath the cooling wave, Ordain'd pollution's fav'rite ſpot to lave, Nowhardly heaves the ftifled figh Hot, hydropic luxury. Yet, chas'd by Heav'n's correcting hand, Tho' various crimes have fled the land; Tho' brutish vice, tyrannic pow'r, No longer tread the trembling fhore, Or taint the ambient air; By deſtiny's kind care arrang'd, Th' inhabitants are ſcarcely chang'd ; For birds obfcene, and beafts of prey, That ſeek the night and fhun the day, Still find a dwelling there. V. If then beneath the deep profound Retires unfeen the flipp'ry ground ; If melted metals pour'd from high Averdant mountain grows by time, Where frifking kids can browze and climb, And fofter ſcenes fupply : Let us who view the varying ſcene, And tread th' inftructive paths between, Sec 12 OBSERVATIONS IN A 蜜 See famifh'd Time his fav'rite fons devour, Fix'd for an age-then fwallow'd in an hour; Let us at leaſt be early wife, And forward walk with heav'n- fix'd eyes, Each flow'ry ifle avoid, each precipice defpife ; Till, fpite of pleaſure, fear, or pain, Eternity's firm coaft we gain, Whence looking back with alter'd eye, Theſe fleeting phantoms we'll defcry, And find alike the fong and theme Was but-an empty, airy dream. When one has exhaufted all the ideas pre fented to the mind by the fight of Monte Nuovo, made in one night by the eruption of Solfa Terra, now funk into itſelf and almoſt extinguished ; by the lake Avernus ; by the Phlegræan fields, where Jupiter killed the giants, with fuch thunderbolts as fell about our ears the other night I truſt, and buried one of them alive under mount Etna ; when one has feen the Sybil's grott, and the Elyfian plains, and feat of fable and of verfe ; when one every has run about repeating Virgil's verfes and Claudian's by turns, and handled the hot fand under the cool waves of Baia ; when one has feen Cicero's villa and Diana's temple, and talked about antiquities till one is afraid of one's JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 13 one's own pedantry, and tired of every one's elfe ; it is almoft time to recollect realities of more near intereft to fuch of us as are not afhamed of being Chriftians, and to remem ber that it was at Pozzuoli St. Paul arrived after the ftorms he met with in theſe feas. The wind is ftill called here Sieuroc, o fia lo vento Greco ; and their manner of pro nouncing it led me to think it might poffibly be that called in Scripture Euroclydon, abbre viated by that grammatical figure, which lops off the concluding fyllables. The old Paftor Patrobas too, who received and entertained the Apoftle here, lies interred under the altar of an old church at Pozzuoli, made out of the remains of a temple to Jupiter, whofe pillars are in good prefervation : I was earneſt to fee the place at leaſt, as every thing named in the New Teftament is of true importance, but one meets few people of the fame tafte : for Romanists take moft delight in venerating traditionary heroes, and Calvinifts, perhaps too eafily difgufted, defire to venerate no heroes at all. Some curious infcriptions here, to me not legible, fhew how this poor country has been 5 over 14 OBSERVATIONS IN A overwhelmed by tyrants, earthquakes, Sara cens ! not to mention the Goths and Vandals, who however left no traces but defolation : while, as the prophet Joel fays, " Theground was as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a defolate wilderness. Theſe Mahometan invaders, leſs ſavage, but not lefs cruel, afforded at leaſt an unwillingfhel ter in that which is now their capital, for the wretched remains of literature. To their miſty envelopement of fcience, fatigued with ftruggling againſt perpetual fuffocation, fuc ceeded impofture, barbarifm, and credulity; with fuperftition at their head, who ftill keeps her footing in this country : and in fpires fuch veneration for St. Januarius, his name, his blood, his ftatue, &c. that the Neapolitans, who are famous for blafphemous oaths, and a facility of taking the moſt ſacred words into their mouths on every, and I may fay, on no occaſion, are never heard to repeat his name without pulling off their hat, or making ſome reverential ſign of worſhip at the moment. And I have feen Italians from other ſtates greatly fhocked at the groffneſs of theſe their unenlightened neighbours, parti cularly the half-Indian cuſtom of burning figures 6 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 15 figures upon their ſkins with gunpowder : theſe figures, large, and oddly diſplayed too, according to the coarſe notions of the wearer. As the weather is exceedingly warm, and there is little need of clothing for comfort, our Lazaroni have ſmall care about appearances, and go with a vaft deal of their perfons un covered, except by theſe ftrange ornaments. The man who rows you about this lovely bay, has perhaps the angel Raphael, or the bleffed Virgin Mary, delineated on one brawny fun-burnt leg, the faint of the town upon the other : his arms repreſent the Glory, or the ſeven ſpirits of God, or ſome ſtrange things, while a brafs medal hangs from his neck, expreffive ofhis favourite martyr : whom they confidently affirm is fo madly venerated by theſe poor uninſtructed mortals, that when the mountain burns, or any great diſaſter threatens them, they beg of our Saviour to ſpeak to St. Januarius in their behalf, and intreat him not to refuſe them his affiftance. Now though all this was told me by friends of the Romish perfuafion ; and told me too with a juft horror of the fuperftitious folly ; I think my remarks and inferences were not agreeable to them, when expreffing my A notion 16 OBSERVATIONS IN A notion that it was only a relick of the adora tion originally paid to Janus in Italy, where the ground yielding up its froft to the foft breath of the new year, is not ill- typified by the liquefaction of the blood ; a ceremony which has fucceeded to various Pagan ones celebrated by Ovid in the firſt book of his Fafti. We knowfrom hiftory too, that per fumes were offered in January always, to fignify the renovation of fweets ; and this was fo neceffary, that I think Tacitus tells us Thrafea was first impeached for abſence at the time of the new year, when in Janus's prefence, &c. good wishes were formed for the Emperor's felicity ; and no word of ill omen was to be pronounced. - Cautum erat apud Romanos ne quod mali ominis verbum calendis Januariis efferretur ;; fays Pliny: and the frena, or new-years gifts, called now by the French " les etrennes," and practifed by Lutherans as well as Romanifts, is the felf-fame veneration of old Janus, if fairly traced up to Tatius King of the Sa bines, who fought a laurel bough plucked from the grove of the goddefs Strenia, or Strenua, and prefented it to his favourites on the firft of January, from whence the cuſtom arofe ; JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 17 arofe ; and Symmachus, in his tenth book, twenty-eighth epiftle, mentions it clearly when writing to the Emperors Theodofius and Arcadius-" Strenuarum ufus adolevit auctoritate Tatii regis, qui verbenas felicis arboris ex luco Strenue anni." Octavius Cæfar took the name of Auguftus on the first of January in Janus's temple, by Plancus's advice, as a lucky day ; and I fup poſe our new-year's ode, fung before the King of England, may be derived from the fame fource. The old Fathers of the Church declaimed aloud againſt the cuſtom of new years gifts, becaufe they confidered them as of Pagan original. So much for Les Etrennes, As to St. Januarius, there certainly was a martyr ofthat name at Naples, and to him was transferred much of the veneration originally beſtowed on the deity from whom he was probably named. One need not however wan der round the world with Banks and Solander, or ftare fo at the accounts given us in Cook's Voyages of tattowed Indians, when Naples will fhew one the effects of a like operation, very very little better executed, on the broad fhoulders ofnumberlefs Lazaroni ; and of this there is no need . to examine books for in VOL. II. C forma 18 OBSERVATIONS IN A formation, he who runs over the Chiaja may read in large characters the grofs fuperftition of the Napolitani, who have no inclination to loſe their old claffical character for lazi nefs---- Et in otia natam Parthenopen ; fays Ovid. I wonder however whether our people would work much furrounded by fimilar circumftances ; I fancy not : Engliſh men, poor fellows ! muft either work or ftarve ; theſe folks want for nothing: a houſe would be an inconvenience to them ; they like to fleep out of doors, and it is plain they have fmall care for clothing, as many who poffefs decent habiliments enough, I ſpeak of the Lazaroni, throw almoſt all off till fome holiday, or time of gala, and fit by the fea fide playing at moro with their fingers. A Florentine nobleman told me once, that he aſked one of thefe fellows to carry his portmanteau for him, and offered him a car line, no fmall fum certainly to a Neapolitan, and rather more in proportion than an Eng lifh fhilling ; he had not twenty yards to go with it : " Are you hungry, Mafter ?" cries the fellow. " No," replied Count Manucci, " but JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 19 " but what of that ?"-" Why then no more am I:" was the anfwer, " and it is too bot weather to carry burthens :" fo turned about upon the other fide, and lay ftill. This clafs of people, amounting to a num ber that terrifies one but to think on, fome fay fixty thouſand fouls, and experience confirms no lefs, give the city an air of gaiety and cheerfulneſs, and one cannot help honeftly rejoicing in. The Strada del Toledo is one continual crowd : nothing can exceed the confufion to a walker, and here are little gigs drawn by one horſe, which, without any bit in his mouth, but a ftring tied round his noſe, tears along with inconceivable rapidity a fmall narrow gilt chair, fet between the two wheels, and no fpring to it, nor any thing elfe which can add to the weight ; and this flying car is a kind offiacre you pay fo much for a drive in, I forget the fum. Horſes are particularly handſome in this town, not fo large as at Milan, but very beautiful and fpirited ; the cream- coloured creatures, ſuch as draw our king's ſtate coach, are a common breed here, and ſhine like fattin : here are fome too of a ſhining filver C 2 white, 20 OBSERVATIONS IN A white, wonderfully elegant ; and the ladies upon the Corfo exhibit a variety fcarcely cre dible in the colour of their cattle which draw them but the coaches, harnefs, trappings, &c. are vafly inferior to the Milaneſe, whofe liveries are often fplendid ; whereas the four or five ill-dreffed ftrange-looking fellows that difgrace the Neapolitan equipages feem to be valued only for their number, and have very often much the air of Sir John Falſtaff's re cruits. Yeſterday however fhewed me what I knew not had exifted -a fkew-ball or pye balled afs, eminently well-proportioned, coated like a racer in an English ftud, fixteen hands and a half high, his colour bay and white in large patches, and his temper, as the proprietor told me, fingularly docile and gentle. I have longed perhaps to purchaſe few things in my life more earneſtly than this beautiful and ufeful animal, which I might have had too for two pounds fifteen fhillings English, but dared not, left like Dogberry I should have been written down for an afs by my merry country folks, who, I remember, could not let the Queen of England JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 21 e England herſelf poffefs in peace a creature of the fame kind, but handfomer ftill, and from a ftill hotter climate, called the Zebra. Apropos to quadrupeds, when Portia, in the Merchant of Venice, enumerates her lovers, fhe names the Neapolitan prince firſt ; who, the fays, does nothing, for his part, but talk of his horſe, and makes it his greateſt boaft that he can fhoe him himſelf. This is almost literally true of a nobleman here ; and they really do not throw their pains away ; for it is ſurpriſing to fee what command they have their cattle in, though bits are ſcarcely ufed among them. The coat armour of Naples confifts of an unbridled horſe ; and by what I can make out of their character, they much reſemble him ; Qualis ubi abruptis fugit præfæpia vinclis Tandem liber quus, &c. &c. &c. * ; generous and gay ; headstrong and violent in their diſpoſition ; eaſy to turn, but difficult Freed from his keepers thus with broken reins Thewanton courfer prances o'er the plains. DRYDEN. C 3 to 22 OBSERVATIONS IN A to stop. No authority is refpected by them when fome ftrong paffion animates them to fury yet lazily quiet, and unwilling to ftir till accident roufes them to terror, or rage urges them forward to incredible exertions of fuddenly-bestowed ftrength. In the eruption of 1779, their fears and fuperftitions roſe to fuch a height, that they feized the French ambaſſador upon the bridge, tore him al moft out of his carriage as he fled from Por tici, and was met by them upon the Ponte della Maddalena, where they threatened him with inftant death if he did not get out of his carriage, and proftrating himſelf before the ftatue of St. Januarius, which ſtands there, intreat his protection for the city. All this, however, Monf. le Comte de Clermont D'Am boife did not comprehend a word of ; but tak ing all the money out of his pocket, threw it down, happily for him, at the feet of the figure, and pacified them at once, gaining time by thofe means to eſcape their vengeance. It was, I think, upon fome other occafion that Sir William Hamilton's book relates their unworthy treatment of the venerable Arch bishop, who refufed them the relicks with which JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 23 which they had no doubt of faving the me naced town ; but every time Vefuvius burns with danger to the city, they fcruple not to infult their Sovereign as he flies from it ; throwing large ftones after his chariot, guards, & c.; making the infurrection, it is fure to occafion, more perilous, if poffible, than the volcano itſelf. And last night when La Mon tagna fu cattiva *, as their expreffion was, our Laquais de Place obferved that it might poffibly be becaufe fo many hereticks and un believers had been up it the day before. " Oh! let us," as King David wifely chofe, "fall into the hands of God-not into thofe of man." cc I wiſhed exceedingly to purchaſe here the genuine account of Maffaniello's far-famed fedition and revolt, more dreadful in a certain way than any of the earthquakes which have at different times fhaken this hollow-founded country. But my friends here tell me it was fuppreffed, and burned by the hands of the common executioner, with many chaſtiſe ments beſide beftowed upon the writer, who tried to eſcape, but found it more prudent to ſubmit to juſtice.

• When the mountain was in ill- humour.

C 4 Thomas 24 OBSERVATIONS IN A Thomas Agnello was the unluckily- adapted name of the mad fifherman who headed the mob on that truly memorable occafion : but it is not an unuſual thing here to cut off the firſt fyllable, and by the figure aphærefis alter the appellation entirely. By that device of dropping the to, he has been called Maffa niello ; and this is one of their methods to render the patois of Naples as unintelligible to us, as if we had never feen Italy till now ; and one is above all things tormented with their way of pronouncing names, Here are Don and Donna again at this town as at Mi lan however, becauſe the King of Spain, or Ré Cattolico, as thefe people always call him, has fill much influence ; and they feem to think nearly as reſpectfully of him as of their own immediate fovereign, who is however greatly beloved among them ; and fo he ought to be, for he is the repreſentative of them all. He rides and rows, and hunts the wild boar, and catches fish in the bay, and fells it in the market, as dear as he can too ; but gives away the money they pay him for it, and that directly : fo that no fufpicion of meanneſs, or of any thing worse than a little rough JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 25 rough merriment can be ever attached to his truly-honeft, open, undefigning character. Stories of monarchs feldom give me plea fure, who feldom am perfuaded to give credit to tales told of perfons few people have any access to, and whoſe behaviour towards thofe few is circumfcribed within the laws of infipid and dull routine ; but this prince lives among his fubjects with the old Roman idea of a window before his bofom I believe. They know the worst of him is that he fhoots at the birds, dances with the girls, eats ma caroni, and helps himſelf to it with his fin gers, and rows against the watermen in the bay, till one of them burst out o’bleeding at the noſe laſt week, with his uncourtly efforts to outdo the King, who won the trifling wager by this accident : conquered, laughed, and leaped on fhore amidst the acclamations ofthe populace, who huzzaed him home to the pa lace, from whence he fent double the fum he had won to the waterman's wife and chil dren, with other tokens of kindnefs. Mean time, while he refolves to be happy himſelf, he is equally determined to make no man miferable. When 26 OBSERVATIONS IN A When the Emperor and the Grand Duke talked to him oftheir new projects for reform ation in the church, he told them he faw little advantage they brought into their ſtates by theſe new-fangled notions ; that when he was at Florence and Milan, the deuce a Nea politan could he find in either, while his ca pital was crowded with refugees from thence ; that in ſhort they might do their way, but he would do his ; that he had not now an enemy in the world, public or private ; and that he would not make himſelf any for the fake of propagating doctrines he did not underſtand, and would not take the trouble to ſtudy : that he fhould fay his prayers as he uſed to do, and had no doubt of their being heard, while he only begged bleffings on his beloved peo ple. So if theſe wife brothers- in-law would learn of him to enjoy life, inftead of ſhorten ing it by unneceffary cares, he invited them to ſee him the next morning play a great match at tennis. Thetruth is, thejolly Neapolitans lead a coarſe life, but it is an unoppreffed one. Never fure was there in any town a greater fhew of abundance : no fettled market in any given place, I think, but every third ſhop full of what JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 27 what the French call fo properly ammunition de Bouche, while whole boars, kids and fmall calves dangle from a fort of neat ſcaffolding, all with their ſkins on, and make a pretty ap pearance. Poulterers hang up their animals in the feathers too, not lay them on boards plucked, as at London or Venice. The Strada del Toledo is at least as long as Oxford Road, and ftraight as Bond-ſtreet, very wide too, the houſes all of ſtone, and at leaft eight ftories high. Over the fhops live people of faſhion I am told, but the perfons of particularly high quality have their palaces in other parts of the town ; which town at laft is not a large one, but full as an egg : and Mr. Clarke, the antiquarian, who refides here always, informed me that the late dif treffes in Calabria had driven many families to Naples this year, befide fingle wanderers in numerable ; which wonderfully increaſed the daily throng one fees paffing and repaffing. To hear the Lazaroni fhout and bawl about the ſtreets night and day, one would really fancy one's felf in a femi-barbarous nation and a Milanefe officer, who has lived long among them, protefted that the manners of the great correfponded in every reſpect with the 28 OBSERVATIONS IN A the idea given of them by the little. His ac count of female conduct, and that even in the very high ranks, was fuch as reminded me of Queen Oberea's fincerity, when Sir Joſeph Banks joked her about Otoroo. It is how ever obfervable, and furely very praiſe worthy, that if the Italians are not aſhamed of their crimes, neither are they aſhamed of their contrition, I faw this very morning an odd fcene at church, which, though new to me, appeared, perhaps from its frequent repetition , to ftrike no one but myſelf. A lady with a long white dreſs, and veiled, came in her carriage, which waited for her at the door, with her own arms upon it, and three fervants better dreffed than is common here, followed and put a lighted taper in her hand. En cet etát, as the French fay, the moved flowly up the church, looking like Jane Shore in the laſt act, but not ſo feeble ; and being arrived at the fteps of the high altar, threw herſelf quite upon her face before it, remaining proftrate there at leaſt five mi nutes, in the face of the whole congrega tion, who, equally to my amazement, neither ftared nor fneered, neither laughed nor la mented, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 29 mented, but minded their own private de votions—no mafs was faying-till the lady rofe, kiffed the fteps, and bathed them with her tears, mingled with fobs of no affected or hypocritical penitence I am fure. Retiring afterwards to her own feat, where she waited with 'others the commencement of the facred office, having extinguifhed her candle, and ap parently lighted her heart ; I felt mine quite penetrated by her behaviour, and fancied her like our first parent defcribed by Milton in the fame manner: To confefs Humbly her faults, and pardon beg ; with tears Wateringthe ground, and with her fighs the air Frequenting, fent from heart contrite, in fign Offorrow unfeign'd, and humiliation meek. Let not this ftory, however, miflead any one to think that more general decorum or true devotion can be found in churches of the Romish perfuafion than in ours-quite the re verfe. This burft of penitential piety was in itſelf an indecorous thing ; but it is the nature and genius of the people not to mind 6 fmall OBSERVATIONS IN A 30 fmall matters. Dogs are fuffered to run about and dirty the churches all the time divine fervice is performing ; while the crying of babies, and the moft indecent methods taken by the women to pacify them, give one' ftill jufter offence. There is no treading for fpittle and naftinefs of one fort or another, in all the churches of Italy, whofe inhabitants allow the filthinefs of Naples, but endeavour to juſtify the diſorders of other cities ; though I do believe nothing ever equalled the Chiefa de Cavalieri at Pifa, in any Chriſtian land. Santa Giuftina at Padua, the Redentore at Venice, St Peter's at Rome, and fome ofthe leaſt frequented churches at Milan, are excep tions ; they are kept very clean, and do not, by the ſcandalous neglect of thoſe appointed to keep them, difgrace the beauty of their buildings. Here has, however, been a dreadful acci dent which puts fuch flight confiderations out of one's head. A Friar has killed a woman in the church juft by the Crocelle inn, for having refuſed him favours he fufpected fhe No ſtep is taken had granted to another. though towards puniſhing the murderer, be caufe JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 31 cauſe he is religiofo, è di più cavaliere. What a miracle that more fuch outrages are not daily committed in a country where profeffion of fanctity, and real high birth, are protections from law and juftice ! Surely nothing but perfect fobriety and great goodneſs of difpo fition can be alleged as a reaſon why worſe is not done every day. I faid fo to a gentle man juſt now, who affured me the criminal would not eſcape very fevere caftigation ; and that perhaps the convent would inflict fuch ſeverities upon that gentleman as would amply ſupply the want of activity in the exertion of civil power. It is a ftupid thing not to mention the common dreſs of the ordinary women here, which ladies likewife adopt, if they venture out on foot, defiring not to be known. Two black filk petticoats then ferve entirely to con ceal their whole figure ; as when both are tied round their waift, one is fuddenly turned up, and as they pull it quick over their heads, a looſe trimming of narrow black gauze drops over the face, while a hook and eye faftens all cloſe under the chin, and gives them an air not unlike our country wenches, who 4 throw 32 OBSERVATIONS IN A throw the gown tail over their heads, to pro tect them from a fummer's fhower. The ho liday dreffes mean time of the peasants round Naples, are very rich and cumberſome. One often fees a great coarfe raw-boned fellow on a Sunday, panting for heat under a thick blue velvet coat comically enough ; the females in a ſcarlet cloth petticoat, with a broad gold lace at the bottom, a jacket open before, but charged with heavy ornaments, and the head not unbecomingly dreffed with an embroide red handkerchief from Turkey, exactly as one fees them reprefented here in prints, which they fell dear enough, God knows ; and afk, as I am informed by the purchafers, not twice or thrice, but four or five times more than at laft they take, as indeed for every thing one buys here : One portrait is better, how ever, than a thoufand words, when fingle figures are to be delineated ; but of the Grotta del Cane, defcription gives a completer idea than drawing. Both are perhaps nearly un neceffary indeed, when ſpeaking of a place fo often and fo accurately defcribed. What ſurpriſed me moft among the ceremonies of this extraordinary place was, that the pent up vapour JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 33 I vapour ſhut in an excavation of the rock, fhould, upon opening the door, gradually move forwards a few yards, but not rife up above a foot from the furface, nor, by what I could obferve, ever diffipate in air ; I think we left it hovering over the favourite fpot, when the poor cur's nofe had been forcibly held in it for a minute or two, but he took care after his recovery to keep a very judi cious diſtance. Sporting with animal life is always highly offenfive ; and the fellow's ac count that his dog was uſed to the operation, and had already gone through it eight times, that it did him no harm, &c. I confidered as words uſed merely to quiet our impatience of the experiment, which is infinitely more amu fing when tried upon a lighted flambeau, ex tinguiſhing it moſt completely in a moment. What connection there is between flame and vitality, thoſe who know more of the matter than I do, muſt expound. Certain it is, that many forts of vapour are equally fatal to both ; and where fermentation is either going for ward, or has lately been, people accustomed to fuch matters always try with a candle whe ther the cafk is approachable by man or not ; VOL. II. D and 34 OBSERVATIONS IN A and I once faw a terrifying accident arife in a great brewhoufe, from the headstrong ftupi dity of a workman who would go down into a vat, the contents of which had lately been drawn off, without fending his proper præ curfor the candle, to enquire if all was fafe. The confequence was half expected by his companions, who hearing him drop off the fteps, and fall flat to the bottom , began in ftantly hooking him up again, but there were no figns of life ; fome ran for their maſter, others for a furgeon, but we were neareſt at hand, and recollecting what one had read of the recovery of dogs at Naples, by toffing them fuddenly into the lake Agnano, we made the men carry their patient to the cooler, and plunging him over head and ears, re ftored his life, exactly in the manner of the Grotta del Cane experiment, which ſucceeded fo completely in this fellow's cafe, I remember, that waking after the temporary fufpenfion , we had much ado to imprefs fo infenfible a mortal with a due fenfe of the danger his rafhnefs had incurred. But it is time to tell of Herculaneum, Pom peia, and Portici ; of a theatre, the ſcene of 7 gaiety JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 35 gaiety and pleaſure, overwhelmed by torrents of liquid fire ! the inhabitants of a whole town. furprifed by immediate and unavoidable de ftruction ! Where that very town indeed was built with the lava produced by former erup tions, one would think it ſcarce poffible that fuch calamities could be totally unexpected ; -but no matter, life muft go on, though we all know death is coming ; -fo the bread was baking in their ovens, the meat was fmoking on their difhes, fome of their wine already decanted for ufe, the reft in large jars (amphora), now petrified with their contents infide, and fixed to the walls ofthe cellars in which they ftand. -How dreadful are the thoughts which fuch a fight fuggefts ! how very horrible the cer tainty, that ſuch a ſcene may be all acted over again to- morrow ; and that we, who to-day are fpectators, may become fpectacles to tra vellers of a fucceeding century, who miſtaking our bones for thofe of the Neapolitans, may carry fome of them to their native country back again perhaps ; as it came into my head that a French gentleman was doing, when I faw him put a human bone into his pocket this morning, and told him I hoped he had got 4 D 2 • 36 OBSERVATIONS IN A got the jaw of a Gaulish officer, inftead of a Roman foldier, for future reflections to ener gize upon. Of all fingle objects offered here to one's contemplation, none are more ftriking than a woman's foot, the print of her foot I mean, taken apparently in the very act of running from the river of melted minerals that furrounded her, and which now ferves as an intaglio to commemorate the mifery it cauſed. Another melancholy proof of what needs no confirmation, is the impreffion of a fick fe male, known to be fo from thefole fhe wore, a drapery peculiar to the fex ; her bed, con verted into a fubftance like plafter of Paris, ftill retains the form and covering of her who periſhed quietly upon it, without ever making even an effort to eſcape. That one of thefe towns is crushed, or rather buried, under loads of heavy lava, and is therefore difficult to difentangle, all have heard ; that Pompeia is only lightly covered with pumice-ftones and afhes, is new to no body; it is in the power, as a Venetian gen tleman faid angrily, of an English hen and chickens to ſcratch it open in a week, though thefe lazy Neapolitans will leave it not half diflodged, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 37 diflodged, before a new eruption fwallows all . again. Our viſit to Portici was more than equally provoking in the fame way; to fee de pofited there all the antiques which are fo curious in themſelves, fo very valuable when confidered as fpecimens of ancient art, and of the mode of living practifed in ancient Rome, kept at a place where I do fincerely believe they will be again overwhelmed and con founded among the king ofNaples's furniture, to the great torture of future antiquarians, and to the difgrace of preſent inſenſibility. of car The triclinia andfibadia uſed at fupper by the old Romans prove the verſes which our critics have been working at fo long, to have been at leaſt well explained by them, and do infinite honour to thoſe who, without the ad vantage of feeing how the utenfils were con ftructed, knew perfectly well their way rying on life, from their acquaintance with a language long fince dead, and I am fure buried under a heap of rubbiſh heavier and more difficult to remove than all the lava heaped on Herculaneum ; but it is a fource of perpetual wonder, and let me add perpetual pleaſure too, to know that Cicero, and Virgil, and Horace, D3 if 38 OBSERVATIONS IN A if alive, would find their writings as well un derflood, ay and as perfectly tafted, by the ſcholars of Paris and London, as they had ever been by their own old literary acquaintance. The fight of the curule chair was charm ing, and one thought of old Papyrius, his long white beard, and ivory stick with which he reproved the infolence of a Gauliſh foldier, who, when Brennus entered the city, ſeeing all thoſe venerable fenators fitting in a row, took them for inanimate figures, and ftroked Papyrius's beard, to feel whether he was alive or no. The curule chair was fo called from currus a chariot, and this we ex amined had holes bored in it, where it had been fixed to the car : I do think there is juſt fuch a one in the Britiſh Mufæum, but that did not much engage my attention , ſo great is the influence of locality upon the mind. The way in which they decypher the old MSS. here likewife is pretty and curious, and re quires infinite patience, which as far as they have gone has not been well repaid ; the operation laboriofius eft quam Sibyllæ folia col ligere , to uſe the words of Politian, whofe

• More laborious than gathering up the Sibyls leaves.

right JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 39 right name I learned at Florence to be Meffer Angelo di Monte Pulciano. May not, however, a more important con fequence than any yet mentioned be found deducible from what we have ſeen this day? for if Jefus Chrift condefcended to use the Roman, or commonly adopted cuftom of ſup ping on a triclinium (as it is plain he did by the recumbent pofture of St. John) , when eating the Paffover for the laft time with his difciples at Jerufalem ; that fect of Chriſtians called Romanifts ought fure to be the laſt, notfirst, to exclude from falvation all fuch of their brethren as do not receive the Lord's Supper preciſely in their way ; when nothing can be clearer, from our bleffed Saviour's ex ample, than that he thought old forms, if laudable, not neceffary or effential to the well performing a devotional rite ; feeing that to eat the Paffover according to original inſtitu tion, thoſe who communicated were bound to take itſtanding, and with a ſtaff in their hands befide as expreffive of more hafte. The Chriſtmas feafon here at Naples is very pleaſingly obferved ; the Italians are peculiarly ingenious in adorning their ſhops I think, and D 4 fetting 40 OBSERVATIONS IN A fetting out their wares ; every grocer, fruit erer, &c. now mingles orange, and lemon, and myrtle leaves, among the goods expofed at his door, as we do greens in the churches. of England, but with infinitely more taſte ; and this device produces a very fine effect upon the whole, as one drives along la Strada del Toledo, which all morning looks ſhowy from theſe decorations, and all evening ſplendid from the profufion of torches, flambeaux, &c. that ſhine with leſs regularity indeed, but with more luftre and greater appearance of expen five gaiety, than our neat, clean, ſteady London lamps. Some odd, pretty, moveable coffee houſes too, or lemonade-fhops, fet on wheels, and adorned, according to the poffeffor's tafte, with gilding, painting, &c. and covered with ices, orgeats, and other refreſhments, as in emulation each of the other, and in a ſtrange variety of ſhapes and forms too, exquifitely well imagined for the moſt part,-help for ward the finery of Naples exceedingly : I have counted thirty of thefe galante fhops on each fide the ſtreet, which, with their neceffary illuminations, make a brilliant figure by candle light, till twelve o'clock, when all the fhow is over, and every body put out their lights and quietly JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 41 quietly lie down to reft. Till that hour, how ever, few things can exceed the tumultuous merriment of Naples, while volantes, or run ning footmen, dreffed like tumblers before a ſhow, precede all carriages of diftinction, and endeavour to keep the people from being run over; yet whilft they are liftening to Polici nello's jokes, or to ſome ſuch ſtreet orator as Dr. Moore deſcribes with equal truth and hu mour, they often get cruſhed and killed ; yet, as Pope fays, See fome ſtrange comfort ev'ry ſtate attend : The Lazaroni who has his child run over by the coach of a man of quality, has a regular claim uponhim for no leſs than twelve carlines (about five fhillings Engliſh) ; if it is his wife that meets with the accident, he gets two ducats, live or die ; and for the maſter of the family (houſe he has none) three is the regular compenſation ; and no words pafs here about trifles. Truth is, human life is lower rated in all parts of Italy than with us ; they think nothing of an individual, but fee him periſh (excepting by the hand of juftice) as a cat or dog. A young man fell from our car riage at Milan one evening ; he was not a fervant ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 42 OBSERVATIONS IN A fervant ofours, but a friend which, after wewere gone home, the coachman had picked up to go . with him to the fireworks which were exhi bited that night near the Corfo : there was a crowd and an embarras, and the fellow tum bled off and died upon the ſpot, and nobody even spoke, or I believe thought about the matter, except one woman, who fuppofed that he had neglected to cross himſelf when he got up behind. The works of art here at Naples are neither very numerous nor very excellent : I have feen the vaunted prefent of porcelain intended for the king of England, in return for fome cannon prefented by him to this court ; and think it more entertaining in its deſign than admirable as a manufacture. Every dish and plate, however, being the portrait as one may fay of fome famous Etrufcan vaſe, or other antique, dug out of the ruins of theſe newly difcovered cities, with an account of its fup poſed ſtory engraved neatly round the figure, makes it interefting and elegant, and worthy enough of one prince to accept, and another to beftow. There is a work of art, however, peculiar to this city, and attempted in no other ; on which JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 43 which furpriſing fums of money are laviſhed by many of the inhabitants, who connect or afſociate to this amufement ideas of piety and devotion : the thing when finiſhed is called a prefepio, and is compofed in honour of this facred ſeaſon, after which all is taken to pieces, and arranged after a different manner next year. In many houſes a room, in fome a whole fuite of apartments, in others the ter race upon the houfe-top, is dedicated to this very uncommon fhow; confifting of a mi niature reprefentation in fycamore wood, pro perly coloured, of the houſe at Bethlehem, with the bleffed Virgin, St. Jofeph, and our Saviour in the manger, with attendant an gels, &c. as in pictures of the nativity ; the figures are about fix inches high, and dreffed with the moft exact propriety. This how ever, though the principal thing intended to attract spectators' notice, is kept back, fo that fometimes I ſcarcely faw it at all ; while a ge neral and excellent landſcape, with figures of men at work, women dreffing dinner, a long road in real gravel, with rocks, hills, rivers, cattle, camels, every thing that can be imagined, fill the other rooms, fo happily dif pofed 44 OBSERVATIONS IN A poſed too for the most part, the light intro duced fo artfully, the perfpective kept fo fur prifingly ! -one wonders and cries out, it is certainly but a baby- houſe at beft ; yet ma naged by people whofe heads naturally turned towards architecture and deſign, give them power thus to defy a traveller not to feel de lighted with the general effect ; while if every fingle figure is not capitally executed, and nicely expreffed befide, the proprietor is truly miferable, and will cut a new cow, or vary the horfe's attitude, againft next Chriſtmas coûte qui coûte and perhaps I ſhould not have ſaid fo much about the matter, if there had not been ſhewn me within this laſt week, prefepios which have coft their poffeffors fifteen hundred or two thouſand English pounds ; and, rather than relinquish or fell them, many families have gone to ruin : I have wrote the fums down in letters, not figures, for fear of the poffibility of a miſtake. One of theſe playthings had the journey of the three kings repreſented in it, and the preſents were all of real gold and filver finely worked ; nothing could be better or more livelily finiſhed. " But, Sir," faid I, 66 why do you drefs up one of the Wife Men with JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 45 with a turban and crefcent, fix hundred years before the birth of Mahomet, who firſt put that mark in the forehead of his followers ? The eaſtern Magi were not Turks ; this is a breach of coftume." My gentleman pauſed, and thanked me ; faid he would enquire if there was nothing heretical in the objection ; and if all was right, it ſhould be changed next year without fail. A young lady here of Engliſh parents, juſt ten years old, aſked me, very pertinently, "Why this pretty fight was called a Pre Sepio ?" but faid the fuddenly, anſwering herſelf, " I fuppofe it is becauſe it is pre ceptive:" fuch a mistake was more valuable than knowledge, and gave me great eſteem of her underſtanding ; the little girl's name was Zaffory. The King's menagerie is neither rich in animals, nor particularly well kept : I won der a man of his character and difpofition ſhould not delight in poffeffing a very fine The bears however were as tame as lapdogs ; there was a wolf too, larger than ever I ſaw a wolf, and an elephant that played a hundred tricks at the command of his one. keeper, 46 OBSERVATIONS IN A keeper, little leſs a beaft than he ; but as Pope fays, after Horace, Let bear or elephant be e'er fo white, The people fure, the people are the fight. Let us then tell about the two affemblies, ofia converfazioni, where one goes in ſearch of amuſement as to the rooms of Bath or Tunbridge exactly ; only that one of thefe places is devoted to the nobiltà, the other is called de' buoni amici ; and fuch is the ſtate of fubordination in this country, that though the great people may come among the little ones, and be fure of the groffeft adulation, a merchant's wife, fhining in diamonds, being obliged to ftand up reverentially before the chair of a countefs, who does her the honour to ſpeak to her ; the poor amici are totally excluded from the fubfcription of the nobles, nor dare even to return the falutation of a fuperior, fhould a good-natured perfon of that rank be tempted, from frequently fee ing them at the rooms, to give them a kind nod in the ſtreet or elſewhere. All this ſeems comical enough to us, and I had much ado to look grave, while a beautiful and well educated JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 47 educated wife of a rich banker here, confeffed herſelf not fit company for an ignorant mean looking woman of quality. But though fuch unintelligible doctrines make one for a mo ment aſhamed both of one's fex and fpecies, that lady's knowledge of various languages, her numerous accomplishments in a thouſand methods of paffing time away with innocent elegance, and a fort of ftudied addrefs never obferved in Italy before, gave me infinite delight in her fociety, and daily increaſed my fufpicion that he was a foreigner, till nearer intimacy difcovered her a German Lutheran, with a fingular head of thick blonde hair, fo unlike thofe I fee around me. We grew daily better acquainted, and ſhe ſhewed me—but not indignantly at all—fome ladies from the higher affembly fitting among thefe, very low dreffed indeed, a knotting bag and counters in their lap, to fhew their contempt of the company ; while fuch as ſpoke to them ftood before their feat, like children before a governefs in England, as long as the converſation lafted. I inquired if the men confined their ad dreffes wholly to their own rank ? She faid, beauty often broke the barrier, and when a pretty 48 OBSERVATIONS IN A a pretty woman of the ſecond rank got a cavalier fervente of the firft, much happineſs and much diftinction was the confequence : but alas ! he will not even try to puſh her up among the people of faſhion, and when he meets any is fure to look afhamed of his miſtreſs ; fo that her felicity can confift only in triumphing over equals, for to rival a ſuperior is here an impoſſibility. Our Duke and Dutchefs of Cumberland have made all Naples adore them though, by going richly dreffed, and behaving with in finite courteſy and good-humour, at an af fembly or ball given in the lower rooms, as the Engliſh comically call them. A young Palermitan prince applauded them for it ex ceedingly ; fo I took the liberty to exprefs my wonder. " Oh," replied he, " we are not ignorant how much English manners differ from our own: I have already, though but juft eighteen years old, as fovereign of my own ftate, under the King of both Sicilies, condemned a man to death because he was a raſcal, but the law and the people govern in England I know." My defire of hearing about Sicily, which we could not contrive to vifit, made me happy to cultivate Prince. Venti JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 49 Ventimiglia's acquaintance ; he was very ftudious, very learned of his age, and un commonly clever : told me of the antiquities his iſland had to boaft, with great intelli gence, and a furpriſing knowledge of ancient hiftory. We wished to have made a party to go in the fame company to Pæftum, but my cow ardice kept me at home, fo bad was the account of the roads and accommodation ; though Abate Bianconi of Milan, for whom I have fo much eſteem, bid me remember to look at the buildings there attentively ; adding, that they were better worth our obſervation than all the boaſted antiquities at Rome ; 66 as they had ſeen (faid he) the original foundation of her empire, and outlived its decay : that they had feen her fecond birth too, and power under fome of her pontiffs over all Europe about fix or feven centuries ago ; and that they would now probably remain till all that was likewife abolished, with only flight traces left behind to fhew that fuimus, &c. " How mortifying it is to go home and never fee this Pæftum ! Prince Ventimiglia went there with Mr. Cox ; he profeffes his inten tion foon to viſit England, concerning the VOL. II. E man 50 OBSERVATIONS IN A manners and cuftoms of which he is very in quifitive, and not ill-versed in the language ; but books drop oddly into people's hands : This gentleman commended Ambrofe Phi lips's Paftorals, and I remember the Floren tines feemed ftrangely impreffed with the merit of the other Philips as a poet. Bonducci has tranflated his Cyder, and calls him emulous of Milton, in good time ! but it is difficult to diftinguish jeft from earnest in a foreign language. I will not, if I can help it, loſe fight of our Sicilian however, till I have made him tell me fomething about Dionyfius's Ear, about the eruptions of Etna, and the Caf tagno a cento cavalli, which, he protefts, is not magnified by Brydone. It is wonderfully mortifying to think how little information after all can be obtained of any thing new or any thing ftrange, though fo far from one's own country. What I picked up moſt curious and diverting from our converfation, was his expreffion of fur prife, when at our houfe one day he read a letter from his mother, telling him that ſuch a lady, naming her, remained ftill unmarried, and even unbetrothed, though now past ten 12 years JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 51 years old. " She will," faid I, " perhaps break through old cuftoms , and chufe for herſelf, as he is an orphan , and has no one whom the need confult . ' " Impoffible , Madam !" was the reply. " But tell me, Prince, for information's fake, if fuch a lady, this girl for example , fhould venture to affert the rights of humanity , and make a choice fomewhat unusual , what would come of it ?"-" Why nothing inthe world would come of it," anfwered he ; "the lafs would be immediately at liberty again, for no man fo circumftanced could be permitted to leave the country alive you know, nor would her folly benefit his family at all, as her eſtate would be immediately adjudged to the next heir. No perſon of inferior rank in our country would therefore , unlefs abfolutely mad, fet his life to hazard for the fake of a frolic, the event of which is fo well known before hand ; -lefs ftill, becaufe , if love be in the cafe, all perfonal attachment may be fully gratified , only let her but be once legally married to a man every way her equal. " Could one help recollecting Fielding's ſong in the Virgin unmasked ? who fays, E 2 99 -- For 52 OBSERVATIONS IN A Fornow I've found out that as Michaelmas day Is ftill the forerunner of Lammas ; So wedding another is juft the right way To get at my dear Mr. Thomas. I will mention another talk I had with a Sicilian lady. We met at the houſe ofthe Swediſh minifter, Monfieur André, uncle to the lamented officer who periſhed in our fo vereign's fervice in America ; and while the reſt of the company were entertaining them felves with cards and mufic, I began laughing in myſelf at hearing the gentleman and lady who fat next me, called by others Don Ra phael and Donna Camilla, becauſe thoſe two names bring Gil Blas into one's head. Their agreeable and interefting converſation how ever foon gave my mind a more ſerious turn when difcourfing on the liberal premiums now offered by the King of Naples to thoſe who are willing to rebuild and repeople Meſſina. Donna Camilla politely introduced me to a very fick but pleaſing-looking lady, who ſhe faid was going to return thither : at which he, ftarting, cried, " Oh God forbid, my dear friend !" in an accent that made me think fhe had already fuffered fomething from the concuf JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 53 concuffions that overwhelmed that city in the year 173. Her inviting manner, her foft and interefting eyes, whofe languid glances ſeemed to fhew beauty funk in forrow, and fpirit oppreffed by calamity, engaged my ut moſt attention, while Don Raphael preſſed her to indulge the foreigner's curiofity with fome particulars of the diftreffes fhe had thared. Her own feelings were all the could relate the faid-and thoſe confufedly. " You ſee that girl there," pointing to a child about feven or eight years old, who ſtood liftening to the harp fichord : " the eſcaped ! I cannot, for my foul, guefs how, for we were not together at the time. "-"Where were you, madam , at the mo mentofthe fatal accident?"--" Who? me?" and her eyes lighted up with recollected terror: " I was in the nurſery with my maid, employed in taking ftains out of fome Bruffels lace upon a brazier ; two babies, neither ofthem four years old, playing in the room. The eldeſt boy, dear lad ! had juft left us, and was in his father's country- houſe. The day grew fo dark all on a ſudden, and the brazier—Oh, Lord Jefus ! I felt the brazier flide from me, E 3 and " 54 OBSERVATIONS IN A and faw it run down the long room on its three legs. The maid fcreamed, and I fhut my eyes and knelt at a chair. We thought all over ; but hufband came, my and fnatch ing me up, cried, run, run. -I know not how nor where, but all amongst falling houfes it was, and people fhrieked fo, and there was fuch a noife ! My poor fon ! he was fifteen years old ; he tried to hold me. faft in the crowd. I remember kiffing him: Dear lad, dear lad ! I faid. I could ſpeakjuſt then but the throng at the gate ! Oh that gate ! Thouſands at once ! ay, thouſands ! thouſands at once : and my poor old con feffor too ! I knew him : I threw my arms about his aged neck. Padre mio ! faid I Padre mio ! Down he dropt, a great ftone ftruck his fhoulder ; I faw it coming, and my boy pulled me he faved mylife, dear, dear lad ! But the crash of the gate, the fcreams of the people, the heat-Oh fuch a heat ! I felt no more on't though ; I faw no more on't; I waked in bed, this girl by me, and her father giving me cordials. We were on fhipboard, they told me, coming to Naples to my bro ther's houfe here ; and do you think I'll ever go back there again ? No, no ; that's a curft JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 55 curft place ; I loft myfon in it. Never, never will I fee it more ! All my friends try to per fuade me, but the fight of it would do my bufinefs. If my poor boy were alive indeed ! but be ! ah, poor dear lad ! heloved his mo ther ; he held me faft-No, no, I'll never fee that place again : God has curſed it now ; I am fure he has. " A narrative fo melancholy, fo tender, and fo true, could not fail of its effect . I ran for refuge to the harpsichord, where a lady was ſinging divinely. I could not liften though : her grateful ſweetneſs who told the difinal ftory, followed me thither : fhe had ſeen my ill-fuppreffed tears, and followed to embrace me. The tale fhe had told faddened my heart, and the news we heard returning to the Cro celle did not contribute to lighten its weight, while an amiable young Englishman, who had long lain ill there, was now breathing his laſt, far from his friends, his country, or their cuſtoms ; all eafily difpenfed with, per haps derided, during the buſtle of a journey, and in the madneſs of fuperfluous health ; but fure to be fighed after, when life's laft twi light fhuts in precipitately clofer and clofer E 4 round 56 OBSERVATIONS IN A round a man, and leaves him only the nearer objects to repofe and dwell on. Such was Captain -'s fituation ! he had none but a foreign fervant with him. We thought it might footh him to hear " Can I do any thing for you, Sir ? in an Engliſh voice : fo I fent my maid : he had no com mands he faid ; he could not eat the jelly fhe had made him ; he wished fome clergyman could be found that he might ſpeak to : ſuch a one was vainly enquired for, till it was dif covered that ill-health had driven Mr. Mentze to Naples, who kindly adminiftered the laft confolation a Chriſtian can receive ; and heard the next day, when confined himſelf to bed, of his countryman's being properly thruſt by the banker into the Buco Proteftante ; ſo they contemptuouſly call a dirty garden one drives by in this town, where not less than a hundred people, fmall and great, from our ifland, annually refort, leaving fifty or fixty thouſand pounds behind them at a moderate computation ; though if their bodies are ob liged to take perpetual apartments here, no better place has been hitherto provided for them than this kitchen ground ; on which grow JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 57 grow cabbages, cauliflowers, &c. fold to their country folks for double price I trow, the re maining part of the ſeaſon. Well ! well ! if the Neapolitans do bury Chriſtians like dogs, they make ſome fingular compenſations we will confefs, by nurfing dogs like Chriftians. A very veracious man in- . formed me yefter morning, that his poor wife was half broken-hearted at hearing fuch a Counteſs's dog was run over ; " for," faid he, “ having fuckled the pretty creature her felf, fhe loved it like one of her children." I bid him repeat the circumftance, that no miſtake might be made : he did fo ; but fee ing me look fhocked, or afhamed, or fome thing he did not like,-" Why, madam,” ſaid the fellow, " it is a common thing enough for ordinary men's wives to fuckle the lap dogs of ladies of quality :" adding, that they were paid for their milk, and he faw no harm in gratifying one's fuperiors. As I was dif pofed to fee nothing but harm in diſputing 、 with fuch a competitor, our conference finiſh ed ſoon ; but the fact is certain . Indeed few things can be fooliſher than to debate the propriety of cuftoms one is not bound 1 58 OBSERVATIONS IN A bound to obferve or comply with. If you diſlike them, the remedy is eafy ; turn yours and your horfes heads the other way. zoth January 1786. Here are the moft excellent, the most in comparable fish I ever eat ; red mullets, large as our maycril, and of fingularly high fla vour ; befides the calamaro, or ink- fifh, a dainty worthy of imperial luxury ; almond and even apple trees in bloffom, to delight thoſe who can be paid for coarfe manners and confined notions by the beauties of a brilliant climate. Here are all the hedges in blow as you drive towards Pozzuoli, and a fnow of white May- flowers cluftering round Virgil's tomb. So ftrong was the fun's heat this morn ing, even before eleven o'clock, that I carried an umbrella to defend mefrom his rays, as we fauntered about the walks, which are fpacious. and elegant, laid out much in the ſtyle of St. James's Park, but with the fea on one fide of you, the broad ftreet, called Chiaja, on the other. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 59 other. What trees are planted there however, either do not grow up fo as to afford fhade, or elſe they cut them, and trim them about to make them in pretty fhapes forfooth, as we did in England half a century ago. Be this as it will, the vaunted view from the caftle of St. Elmo, though much more deeply interefting, is in confequence of this defect leſs naturally pleafing than the profpect from Lo mellino's villa near Genoa, or Lord Clifford's park, called King's Wefton, in Somerſetſhire ; thoſe two places being, in point of mere fitua tion, poffeffed of beauties hitherto unrivalled by any thing I have ſeen. Nor does the ſteady regularity of this Mediterranean ſea make me inclined to prefer it to our more capricious or rather active channel. Sea views have at beſt too little variety, and whenthe flux and reflux of the tide are taken away from one, there re mains only rough and fmooth : whereas the hope which its ebb and flow keep conſtantly renovating, ferves to animate, and a little change the courfe of one's ideas, juft as its fwelling and finking is of uſe, to purify in fome degree, and keep the whole from ftag nation. I made 60 OBSERVATIONS IN A I made inquiry after the old ftory of Ni cola Pefce, told by Kircher, and fweetly brought back to all our memories by Gold fmith, who, as Dr. Johnfon faid of him , touched nothing that he did not likewife adorn ; but I could gain no addition to what we have already heard. That there was fuch a man is certain, who, though become nearly amphibious by living conftantly in the water, only coming fometimes on fhore for fleep and refreſhment, fuffered avarice to be his ruin, leaping voluntarily into the Gulph ofCharybdis to fetch out a gold cup thrown in thither to tempt him-what could a gold cup have done one would wonder for Nicola Pefce ? -yet knowing the dangers of the place, he braved them all it ſeems for this bright reward ; and was ſuppoſed to be devoured by one of the polypus fish, who, fticking cloſe to the rocks, extend their arms for prey. When I ex preffed my indignation that he ſhould fo pe rifh ; " He forgot perhaps, " faid one prefent, 66 to recommend himſelfto Santo Gennaro. " The caftle on this hill, called the Caftel St. Elmo, would be much my comfort did I fix at Naples ; for here are eight thouſand foldiers conftantly JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 61 conſtantly kept, to fecure the city from fud den infurrection ; his majefty moſt wifely trufting their command only to Spaniſh or German officers, or fome few gentlemen from the northern ſtates of Italy, that no perfonal tenderneſs for any in the town below may in tervene, if occafion for fudden ſeverity ſhould arife. We went to-day and ſaw their garri fon, comfortably and even elegantly kept ; and I was wicked enough to rejoice that the fol diers were never, but with the very utmoſt difficulty, permitted to go among the townf men for a moment. To-morrow we mount the Volcano, whoſe preſent peaceful difpofition has tempted us to inſpect it more nearly. Though it appears little less than preſumption thus to profane with eyes of examination the favourite alem bic of nature, while the great work of projec tion is carrying on ; guarded as all its fecret caverns are too with every contradiction ; fnow and flame folid bodies heated into liquefac tion, and rolling gently down one of its fides ; while fluids congeal and harden into ice on the other ; nothing can exceed the curiofity of its appearance, now the lava is lefs rapid, and 62 OBSERVATIONS IN A and ſtiffens as it flows ; ftiffens too in ridges very ſurpriſingly, and gains an odd aſpect, not unlike the paſteboard waves repreſenting fea at a theatre, but black, becauſe this year's eruption has been mingled with coal. The connoiffeurs here know the different degrees, dates, and ſhades of lava to a perfection that ama zes one ; and Sir William Hamilton's courage, learning, and perfect ſkill in theſe matters, is more people's theme here than the Volcano itfelf. Bartolomeo, the Cyclop of Vesuvius as he is called, ftudies its effects and operations too with much attention and philoſophical ex actneſs, relating the adventures he has had with our minifter on the mountain to every Engliſhman that goes up, with great fuccefs. The way one climbs is by tying a broad ſaſh with long ends round this Bartolomeo, letting him walk before one, and holding it faft. As far as the Hermitage there is no great diffi culty, and to that place fome chufe to ride an afs, but I thought walking fafer ; and there you are fure of welcome and refreſhment from the poor good old man, who ſets up a little croſs wherever the fire has ſtopt near his cell ; fhews you the place with a fort ofpolite folemnity JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 63 folemnity that impreffes, fpreads his fcanty provifions before you kindly, and tells the paſt and preſent ſtate of the eruption accurately, inviting you to partake of His rufhy couch, his frugal fare, His bleffing and repoſe. GOLDSMITH. This Hermit is a Frenchman. J'ai danfe dans mon lit tans de fois , faid he : the ex preffion was not ſublime when ſpeaking of an earthquake, to be fure ; I looked among his books, however, and found Bruyere. " Would not the Duc de Rochefoucault have done bet ter?" faid I. " Did I never fee you before, Ma dam ?" faid he ; yes, fure I have, and dreffed you too, when I was a hair-dreffer in London, and lived with Monf. Martinant, and I dreff ed pretty Mifs Wynne too in the fame ftreet. Vit'elle encore ? Vit'elle encore † ? Ah I am old now," continued he ; " I remember when black pins first came up. " This was charming, and in fuch an unexpected way, I could hardly pre vail upon myſelf ever to leave the fpot ; but Mrs. Greatheed having been quite to the cra

• I have danced in my bed fo often this year.

+ Is fhe yet alive ? Is the yet alive ? ter's 64 OBSERVATIONS IN A ter's edge with her only fon, a baby of four years old ; ſhame rather than inclination urged me forward ; I afked the little boy what he had feen ; I faw the chimney, replied he, and it was on fire, but I liked the elephant better. near, That the fituation ofthe crater changed in this laft eruption is of little conſequence ; it will change and change again I fuppofe. The wonder is, that nobody gets killed by ven turing fo while red-hot ſtones are flying about them fo. The Bishop of Derry did, very near get his arm broke ; and the Italians. are always recounting the exploits of theſe rash Britons who look into the crater, and carry their wives and children up to the top ; while we are, with equal juſtice, amazed at the courageous Neapolitans, who build little fnug villages and dwell with as much confi dence at the foot of Vefuvius, as our people do in Paddington or Hornfey. When I en quired of an inhabitant of theſe houſes how fhe managed, and whether ſhe was not fright ed when the Volcano raged, left it should carry away her pretty little habitation : " Let it go," faid fhe, " we don't mind now if it goes , to 9 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 65 to-morrow, ſo as we can make it anſwer by raiſing our vines, oranges, &c. againſt it for three years, our fortune is made before the fourth arrives ; and then ifthe red river comes we can always run away, scappar via, our felves, and hang the property. We only defire three years uſe of the mountain as a hot wall or forcing-houſe, and then we are above the world, thanks be to God and St. Januarius," who always comes in for a large ſhare of their veneration ; and this morning having heard that the Neapolitans ftill preſent each other with a cake upon New-year's day, I began to hug my favourite hypothefis clofer, recollect ing the old ceremony of the wheaten cake feafoned with falt, and called Janualis in the Heathen days. All this however muft ftill end in mere conjecture ; for though the wea→ ther here favours one's idea of Janus, who loofened the furrow and liquefied the froft, to which the melting our martyr's blood might, without much ftraining of the matter, be made to allude ; yet it muſt be recollected after all, that the miracle is not performed in this month but that of May, and that St. Ja nuarius did certainly exift and give his life as VOL. II. F teſtimony 66 ❤ OBSERVATIONS IN A teftimony to the truth of our religion , in the third century. Can one wonder, however, if corruptions and miſtakes ſhould have crept in fince ? And would it not have been equal to a miracle had no tares fprung up in the field of religion, when our Saviour himſelf in. forms us that there is an enemy ever watch ing his opportunity to plant them ? Theſe dear people too at Rome and Naples do live fo in the very hulk of fhip-wrecked or rather foundered Paganiſm, have their habita tion fo at the very bottom ofthe cafk, can it fail to retain the ſcent when the lees are fcarce yet dried up, clean or evaporated ? That an odd jumble of paft and preſent days, paſt and pre fent ideas of dignity, events, and even manner of portioning out their time, ftill confuſe their heads, may be obferved in every converfation with them ; and when a few weeks ago we revifited, in company of fome newly-arrived English friends, the old baths of Baix, Lo crine lake, & c. Tobias, who rowed us over, bid us obferve the Appian way under the wa ter, where indeed it appears quite clearly, even to the tracks of wheels on its old pavement made of very large ftones ; and ſeeing me per haps JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 67 haps particularly attentive, "Yes, Madam," faid he, " I do affure you, that Don Horace and Don Virgil, of whom we hear fuch a deal, ufed to come from Rome to their country-feats here in a day, over this very road, which is now overflowed as you fee it, by repeated earthquakes, but which was then fo good and fo unbroken, that if they rofe early in the morning they could eaſily gallop hither againſt the Ave Maria.” It was very obfervable in our fecond vifit paid to the Stuffe San Germano, that they had increaſed prodigioufly in heat fince mount Vefuvius had ceaſed throwing out fire, though at leaſt fourteen miles from it, and a vaft por tion ofthe fea between them ; it vexed me to have no thermometer again, but by what one's immediate feelings could inform us, there were many degrees of difference. I could not now bear. my hand on any part of them for a moment. The fame lucklefs dog was again produced, and again reftored to life , like the lady in Dryden's Fables, who is condemned to be hunted, killed , recovered, and fet on foot again for the amufement of her tormentors ; a ſtory borrowed from the Italian. F 2 Solfaterra 68 OBSERVATIONS IN A Solfaterra burned my fingers as I plucked an incrustation off, which allured me by the beauty of its colours, and roared with more violence than when I was there before. This horrible volcano is by no means extinguifhed yet, but ſeems pregnant with wonders, prin cipally combuſtible, and likely to break with one at every flep, all the earth round it being hollow as a drum, and I fhould think of no great thickneſs neither ; fo plainly does one hear the fighings underneath, which ſome of the country people imagine to be tortured fpirits howling with agony. It is fuppofed that Lake Agnano, where the dog is flung in, if the dewy grafs do not fuffice to recover him, with its humidity and frefhnefs, as it often does ; is but another crater of another volcano, long ago felf deftroyed by fcorpion- like fuicide ; and it is like enough it may be fo. There are not wanting however thoſe that think, or ſay at leaft, how a fubterraneous or fubaqueous city remains even now under that lake, but lies too deep for inſpection. Sia comefia *, as the Italians exprefs them felves, thefe environs are beyond all power Be it as it may. of JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 69 of comprehenfion, much more beyond all effort of words to defcribe ; and as Sannaza rius fays of Venice, ſo I am ſure it may be faid of this place, " That man built Rome, but God created Naples : " for furely, furely he has ho noured no other ſpot with fuch an accumula tion of his wonders : nor can any thing more completely bring the defcription of the devoted cities mentioned in Genefis before one's eyes, than theſe concealed fires, which there I truſt burft up unexpectedly, and, attended by fuch lightning as only hot countries can exhibit, devoured all at once, nor fpared the too in credulous inquirer, who turned her head back with contempt of expected judgments, but entangling her feet in the purſuing ftream of lava, fixed her faſt, a monument of bituminous falt. Though furrounded by fuch terrifying ob jects, the Neapolitans are not, I think, dif poſed to cowardly, though eaſily perfuaded to devotional fuperftitions ; they are not afraid of ſpectres or fupernatural apparitions, but fleep contentedly and foundly in ſmall rooms, made for the ancient dead, and now actually in the occupation of old Roman bodies, the catacombs belonging to whom F 3 are 7༠ OBSERVATIONS IN A are ſtill very impreffive to the fancy ; and I have known many an Engliſh gentleman, who would not endure to have his courage impeached by living wight, whofe imagina tion would notwithſtanding have diſturbed his flumbers not a little, had he been obliged to paſs one night where thefe poor women fleep fecurely, wiſhing only for that money which travellers are not unwilling to beftow ; and perhaps a walk among theſe hollow caves of death, theſe ſad repoſitories of what was once animated by valour and illuminated by fcience, ftrike one much more than all the urns and lachrymatories of Portici, How judicious is Mr. Addifon's remark, "That SifleViator ! which has a ſtriking effect among the Roman tombs placed by the road fide, lofes all its power over the mind when placed in the body of a church : " I think he might have faid the fame, had he lived to fee funereal urns uſed as decorations of hackney-coach pannels, and Caput Bovis over the doors in New Tavistock- ſtreet. It is worth recollecting however, that the Dictator Sylla is fuppofed to be the firſt man of confequence who ordered his body to be burned at Rome, as till then, burial was ap parently JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 7 parently the faſhion : his death, occafioned by the morbus pedicularis, made his inter ment difficult, and what neceffity ſuggeſted to be done for him, grew up into a cuſtom, and the fycophants of power, ever hafty to follow their fuperiors, now fhewed their zeal even in poft obit imitation. But while I am writing, more modern and leſs tyrannic claimants for reſpect agreeably disturb one's meditations on the cruelty and oppreffion ufed by thefe wicked poffeffors of immortal though ill-gotten fame. The Queen of Naples is delivered, and we are all to make merry : the Caftello d' Uovo, juft under our windows, is to be illuminated and from the Carthufian con vent on the hill, to my poor folitary old acquaintance the hermit and hair- dreffer, who inhabits a cleft in mount Vefuvius, all refolve to be happy, and to rejoice in the felicity of a prince that loves them. Shouting, and candles, and torches, and coloured lamps, and Polinchinello above all the reft, did their beft to drive forward the general joy, and make known the birth of the royal baby for many miles round the capital ; and there was a fplendid opera the F 4 next 72 OBSERVATIONS IN A next night, in this fineſt of all fine theatres, though that of Milan pleaſes me better ; as Į prefer the elegant curtains which feftoon it over the boxes there, to our heavy gilt orna ments here at Naples ; and their boafted looking-glaffes, never cleaned, have no effect as I perceive towards helping forward the enchantment. A fefta di ballo, or mafque rade, given here however, was exceedingly gay, and the dreffes furpriſingly rich our party, a very large one, all Italians, retired at one in the morning to quite the fineſt fup per of its fize I ever faw. Fish of various forts, incomparable in their kinds, compoſed eight diſhes of the first courſe ; we had thirty eight ſet on the table in that courſe, forty nine in the fecond, with wines and deffert truly magnificent, for all which Mr. Piozzi pro teſted to me that we paid only three fhillings and fix-pence a head Engliſh money ; but for the truth of that he muft anfwer : we fate down twenty-two perfons to fupper, and Į obſerved there were numbers of theſe parties made in different taverns, or apartments adjoining to the theatre, whither after re freſhment we returned, and danced till day The light, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 73 The theatre is a vaft building, even when not inhabited or fet off by lights and company all of tone too, like that of Milan ; but particularly defended from fire by St. Anthony, who has an altar and chapel erected to his honour, and fhowily decorated at the door ; and on Sunday night, January the twenty-ſecond, there were fireworks exhibited in honour of himſelf and his pig, which was placed on the top, and illuminated with no fmall ingenuity : the fire catching hold of his tail firſt-con rispetto-as faid our Cice fone. But il Rè Lear è le fue tre Figlie are advertiſed, and I am fick to-night and can not go. - Oh what a time have I choſe out, &c. To wear a kerchief-would I were not fick! My loss however is fomewhat compenſated ; for though I could not ſee our own Shakeſpear's play acted at Naples, I went fome days after to one ofthe charming theatres this townis enter tained by every evening, and faw a play which ftruck me exceedingly : the plot was fimply this-An Englishman appears, dreffed preciſely as a Quaker, his hat on his head, his 74 OBSERVATIONS IN A his hands in his pockets, and with a very penfive air fays he will take that piſtol, pro ducing one, and ſhoot himſelf ; " for," fays he, " the politics go wrong at home now, and I hate the miniſterial party, fo England does not pleaſe me ; I tried France, but the people there laughed fo about nothing, and fung fo much out of tune, I could not bear France ; fo I went over to Holland ; thoſe Dutch dogs are fo covetous and hard-hearted, they think of nothing but their money ; I. could not endure a place where one heard no found in the whole country but frogs croak ing and ducats chinking. Maladetti ! fo I went to Spain, where I narrowly escaped a fun - ftroke for the fake of feeing thofe idle beggarly dons, that if they do condeſcend to cobble a man's fhoe, think they muſt do it with a fword by their fide. I came here to Naples therefore, but ne'er a woman will afford one a chafe, all are too easily caught to divert me, who like fomething in profpect ; and though it is fo fine a country, one can get no fox- hunting, only running after a wild pig. Yes, yes, I must shoot myſelf, the world is fo very dull I am tired on't. ” —He then JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 75 then coolly prepares matters for the operation, when a young woman burſts into his apart ment, bewails her fate a moment, and then faints away. Our countryman lays by his piftol, brings the lady to life, and having heard part of her ftory, fets her in a place offafety. More confufion follows ; a gen tleman enters ftorming with rage at a trea cherous friend he hints at, and a falfe mif trefs ; the Engliſhman gravely advifes him to fhoot himſelf: " No, no," replies the warm Italian, " I will ſhoot them though, if I can catch them ; but want of money hinders me from profecuting the fearch. " That how ever is now inftantly fupplied by the generous Briton, who enters into their affairs, detects and puniſhes the rogue who had betrayed them all , fettles the marriage and reconcilia tion of his new friends, adds himſelf fome thing to the good girl's fortune, and concludes the piece with faying that he has altered his intentions, and will think no more of ſhooting himſelf, while life may in all coun tries be rendered pleaſant to him who will employ it in the fervice of his fellow- crea tures ; and finiſhes with theſe words, that fuch are thefentiments of an Englishman. Were 76 OBSERVATIONS IN A Were this pretty ſtory in the hands of one of our elegant dramatic writers, how charm ing an entertainment would it make us ! Mr. Andrews fhall have it certainly, for though very flattering in its intentions towards our countrymen, and the ground-plot, as a fur veyor would call it, well imagined ; the play itſelf was fcarcely written I believe, and very little eſteemed by the Italians ; who made excuſes for its groffnefs, and faid that their theatre was at à very low ebb ; and fo I be lieve it is. Yet their genius is reſtleſs, and for ever fermenting ; and although, like their volcano, of which every individual has a fpark, it naturally throws out of its mouth more rubbiſh than marble ; like that too, from fome occafional eruptions we may gather gems ſtuck faft faft among ſubſtances of an inferior nature, which want only difentangling, and a new poliſh, to make them valued, even beyond thoſe that reward the toil of an ex pecting miner. The word gems reminds one of Capo di Monte, where the king's cameos are taken care of, and where the medallift may find perpetual entertainment ; for I do believe nothing can exceed the riches of this collection ; though it requires . I JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 77 N requires good eyes, great experience, and long Atudy, to examine their merits with accurate fkill, and praiſe them with intelligent rapture: of theſe three requifites I boaft none, fo cannot enjoy this regale as much as many others ; but I have a mortal averfion to thoſe who encumber the general progreſs of ſcience by reciprocating contempt upon its various branches: the politician however, who weighs the interefts of contending powers, or endea vours at the happineſs of regulating fome par ticular ſtate ; who ftudies to prevent the en croachments of prerogative, or impede ad vances to anarchy ; hears with faint appro bation, at beſt, of the diſcoveries made in the moon by modern aftronomers-diſcoveries of a country where he can obtain no power, and ſettle no fyftem of government-diſcoveries too, which can only be procured by peeping through glaffes which few can purchaſe, at a place which no man can defire to approach. While the mufical compofer equally laments the fate of the foffilift, who literally buries his talent in the ground, and equally dead to all the charms of taſte, the tranſports of true expreffion, and the delights of harmony, rifes with the fun only to fhun his beams, and 12 78 OBSERVATIONS IN A and feek in the dripping caverns of the earth the effects of his diminiſhed influence. The medallift has had much of this fcorn to contend with ; yet he that makes it his ſtudy to regiſter great events, is perhaps next to him who has contributed to their birth : and this palace difplays a degree of riches en ce genre, difficult to conceive. I was, however, better entertained by admiring the incomparable Schidonis, which are to be found only here : he was a fcholar, or rather an imitator, of Correg gio ; and what he has done feems more the refult of genius animated by obfervation, than of profound thought or minute nicety ; he painted fuch ragged folks as he found upon the Chiaja ; yet his pictures differ no leſs from the Dutch ſchool, than do thoſe which flow from the majeſtic pencil of the demi- divine Caracci and their followers, and for the fame reafon ; their minds reflected dignity and grace, his eyes looked upon forms finely propor tioned, though covered with tatters, or perhaps fcarcely covered at all ; no fmugnefs, no plumpnefs, no vulgar character, ever croffed the fancy of Schidone ; for a Lazaroni at Naples, like a failor at Portſmouth, is no mean character, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 79 character, though he is a coarſe one ; it is in the low Parifian, and the true-bred London blackguard, we muſt look for innate bafe nefs, and near approaches to brutality ; nor are the Hollanders wanting in originals I truft, when one has ſeen ſo many copies of the hu man form from their hands, divefted of foul as I may fay, and, like Prior's Emma when fhe refolves to ramble with her outlawed lover, And mingle with the people's wretched lee Oh line extreme of human infamy ! — Left by her look or colour be expreft The mark of aught high- born, or ever better dreft . Here is a beautiful performance too of the Venetian ſchool- a refurrection of Lazarus, by Leandro Baffano, efteemed the best performance of that family, and full of merit-the merit of character I mean; whileMary's eyes are wholly employed, and her mind apparently engroffed by the Saviour's benignity, and almighty power ; Martha thinks merely on the preſent exertion of them, and only watches the deli verance of her beloved brother from the tomb : the reftored Lazarus too-an apparent corpfe, re-awakened fuddenly to a thouſand ſenſations at once, wonder, gratitude, and affectionate 2 delight ! 80 OBSERVATIONS IN A delight ! How can one coldly fit to hear the connoiffeurs admire the folds of the drapery? Lanfranc's St. Michael too is a very noble picture ; and though his angel is infinitely leſs angelic than that of Guido, his devil is a leſs ordinary and vulgar devil than that of his fellow-ftudent, which fomewhat too much re fembles the common peeping fatyr in a land fcape ; whereas Lanfranc's Lucifer ſeems em bued with more intellectual vices- rage, re venge, and ambition. But I am called from my obfervations and reflexions, to ſee what the Neapolitans call il trionfo di Policinello, a perfon for whom they profeſs peculiar value. Harlequin and Brighella here fcarcely fhare the fondneſs of an audience, while at Venice, Milan, &c. much pleafantry is always caft into their cha racters. The triumph was a pageant of prodigious fize, fet on four broad wheels like our wag gons, but larger ; it confifted of a pyramid of men, twenty-eight in number, placed with wonderful ingenuity all of one fize, fomething like what one has feen exhibited at Sadler's Wells, the Royal Circus, &c.; dreffed in one uniform, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 81. uniform, viz. the white habit and puce coloured maſk of caro Policinello ; difpofed too with that ſkill which tumblers alone can either difplay or defcribe ; a fingle figure, ftill in the fame drefs, crowning the whole, and forming a point at the top, by ftanding fixed. on the fhoulders of his companions, and play ing merrily on the fiddle ; while twelve oxen of a beautiful white colour, and trapped with many fhining ornaments, drew the whole flowly over the city, amidst the acclamations. of innumerable fpectators, that followed and applauded the performance with fhouts. What I have learned from this fhow, and many others ofthe fame kind, is of no greater value than the derivation of his name who is fo much the favourite of Naples : but from the maſk he appears in, cut and coloured fo as exactly to reſemble a flea, with hook nofe and wrinkles, like the body of that animal ; his employment too, being ever ready to hop, and ſkip, and jump about, with affectation ofuncommon elafticity, giving his neighbours. a fly pinch from time to time : all theſe cir cumſtances, added to the very intimate ac quaintance and connection all the Neapolitans have with this, the leaft offenfive of all the VOL. II. G innu 82 OBSERVATIONS IN A innumerable infects that infeft them ; and, laft of all, his name, which, corrupt it how we pleaſe, was originally Pulicinello ; leaves me perfuaded that the appellation is merely little flea. Adrive to Caferta, the king's great palace, not yet quite finiſhed, carries me away from this important ſtudy, and leaves me little time to enjoy the praiſes due to a difcovery of fo much confequence. The drive perhaps pleafed us better than the palace, which is a prodigious maſs of building indeed, and to my eye appears to cover more fpace than proud Verſailles itſelf ; court within court, and quadrangle within quadrangle ; it is an enormous bulk to be fure-not pile-for it is not high in proportion to the ſurrounding objects fomehow ; and being compofed all of brick, prefents ideas rather of ſquat folidity, than of princely magnificence. Oftentation is expected always to ftrike, as elegance is known to charm, the beholder ; and space feldom fails in its immediate effect upon the mind ; but here the valley (I might fay hole) this houfe is fet in , looks too little for it ; and offends one in the fame manner as the more 9 beautiful JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 83 beautiful buildings do at Buxton, where from every hill one expects to tumble down upon the new Crefcent below. The ftair- cafe is ſuch, however, as I am perfuaded no other palace can fhew ; vaftly wider than any the French king can boaft, and infinitely more precious with regard to the marbles which compofe its fides. The immenſity of it , how ever, though it enhances the value, does not do much honour to the taſte of him who con trived it . No apartments can anſwer the ex pectations raiſed by fuch an approach ; and in fact the chapel alone is worthy an aſcent ſo fit for a triumphal proceſſion, inſtead of a pair ofſtairs. That chapel is I confefs of exquifite beauty and elegance ; and there is a picture, by Mengs, of the bleffed Virgin Mary's pre fentation when a girl, that is really paitrie des graces ; it fcarcely can be admired or com mended enough, and one can ſcarcely pre vail on one's felf ever to quit it. Her mar riage, a picture on the other fide, is not fo happily imagined ; but it ſeems as if the painter thought that joke too good to part with, that there never was a particularly ex cellent picture of a wedding ; and that Pouffin G 2 himſelf 84 OBSERVATIONS IN A himſelf failed, when having reprefented all the fix other facraments fo admirably, that of mar riage has been found fault with by the con noiffeurs of every fucceeding generation. Well! ifthe palace at Caferta muſt be deemed more heavy than handfome, I fear the gardens muft likewife be avowed to be laid out in a manner one would rather term favage than natural : all artifice is baniſhed however : the king of Naples fcorns petty tricks for the amuſement of petty minds ; -he turns a whole river down his cafcade,-a real one; and ifits formation is not of the firft rate for affuming an appearance of nature, it has the merit of being fincerely that which others. only pretend to be : while I am told that his architects are now employed in connect ing the great ftones awkwardly difpofed in two rows down each fide the torrent, with the very rocks and mountains among which the fpring rifes ; if they effect this, their cafcade will, fo far as ever I have read or heard, be fingle in its kind. Van Vittelli's aqueduct is a prodigiouſly beautiful, magnificent, and what is more, a ufeful performance : having the fineft models of antiquity, he is faid to have furpaffed them all. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 85 all. Why fuch fuperb and expenſive methods ſhould be ftill ufed to conduct water up and down Italy, any more than other nations, or why they are not equally neceffary in France and England, nobody informs me. Madame de Bocages enquired long ago, when the was taken to fee the fountain Trevi at Rome, why they had no water at Paris but the Seine ? I think the queſtion fo natural, that one wiſhes to repeat it ; and one great reafon, little urged by others, incites me to look with envy on the delicious and almoſt innumerable guſhes of water that cool the air of Naples and of Rome, and pour their pellucid tides through almoft. every ftreet of thoſe luxurious cities : it is this, that I confider them as a prefervative againſt that dreadfulleft of all maladies, canine mad neſs ; a diſtemper which, notwithſtanding the exceffive heat, has here fcarcely a name. Sure it is the plenty of drink the dogs meet at every turn, that muſt be the fole cauſe of a bleffing ſo deſirable. Myſtay has been always much ſhorter than I wiſhed it, in every great town of Italy ; but here! where numberlefs wonders ftrike the fenfe without fatiguing it, I do feel double G 3 pleafure ; 86 OBSERVATIONS IN A pleaſure ; and among all the new ideas I have acquired fince England leffened to my fight upon the fea, thofe gained at Naples will be the laft to quit me. The works of art may be found great and lovely, but the drunken Faun and the dying Gladiator will fade from one's remembrance, and leave the glow of Solfaterra and the gloom of Pofilippo indeli bly impreffed. Vefuvius too ! that terrified me fo when firft we drove into this amazing town, what future images can ever obliterate the thrilling fenfations it at firft occafioned ? Surely the fight of old friends after a tedious abſence can alone fupply the vacancy that a mind muſt feel which quits fuch fublime, fuch animated fcenery, and experiences a fudden. deprivation of delight, finding the bofom all at once unfurniſhed of what has yielded it for three fwiftly-flown months, perpetual change of undecaying pleaſures. To-morrow I ſhall take my laft look at the Bay, and driving forward, hope at night to lodge at Terracina. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 87 JOURNEY FROM NAPLES TO ROME. THE morning of the day we left our fair Parthenope was paffed in recollecting her va rious charms : every one who leaves her car ries off the fame fenfations. I have aſked feveral inhabitants of other Italian States what they liked beſt in Italy except home ; it was Naples always, dear delightful Naples ! When .. I fay this, I mean always to exclude thoſe whofe particular purfuits lead them to cities which contain the prize they prefs for. Eng liſh people when unprejudiced exprefs the like preference. Attachments formed by love or friendſhip, though they give charms to every place, cannot be admitted as a reafon for commending any one above the reft. A tra veller without candour it is vain to read ; one might as well hope to get a juft view of na ture by looking through a coloured glaſs, as to gain a true account of foreign countries, by turning over pages dictated by prejudice. Withthe nobility ofNaples I had no acquaint ance, and can of courſe fay nothing of their manners. Thoſe of the middling people feem to be behind- hand with their neighbours ; it G 4 is 88 OBSERVATIONS IN A is fo odd that they fhould never yet have ar rived at calling their money by other names than thoſe of the weights, an ounce and a grain ; the coins however are not ugly. The evening of the day we left this furpri fing city was spent out of its king's domini ons, at Terracina, which now affords one of the beſt inns in Italy ; it is kept by a French man, whofe price, though high, is regulated, whoſe behaviour is agreeable, and whofe fup pers and beds are delightful. Near the pot where his houfe now ftands, there was in an cient Pagan days a temple, erected to the me mory ofthe beardlefs Jupiter called Anxurus, of which Paufanias, and I believe Scaliger too, take notice ; though the medal of Panfa is imago barbata, fed intonfa, they tell me ; and Statius extends himſelf in defcribing the in nocence of Jupiter and Juno's converfation and connection in their early youth. Both of them had ftatues of particular magnificence venerated with very peculiar ceremonies, erected forthem in this town, however, ut An xur fuit quæ nunc Terracinæ funt *. tenth Thebaid too fpeaks much de templo The Which was once Anxur, and now is Terracina. 7 facro JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 89 facro et Junoni puella, Jovis Axuro * ; and who knows after all whether thefe odd cir cumſtances might not be the original reaſon of Anxur's grammatical peculiarity, well knownto all from the line in old Propria que maribus, Et genus Anxur quod dat utrumque ? This place was founded and colonifed by Emilius Mamercus and Lucius Plautus, Anno Mundi 3725 I think ; they took the town of Priverna, and fent each three hundred citizens to ſettle this new city, where Jupiter Anxurus was worſhipped, as Virgil among fo many other writers bears teftimony : Circeumque jugum, queis Jupiter Anxuris arvis Præfidet +. 7th ÆNEID. Æmilius Mamercus was a very pious conful, and when he ferved before with Genutius his colleague, made himſelf famous for driving the nail into Minerva's temple to ftop the progreſs of the plague ; he was therefore likely

• The temple facred to the maiden Juno and un

razored Jove. + And the ſteep hills of Circe ftretch around, Where fair Feronia boafts her ſtately grove, And Anxur glories in her guardian Jove. PITT. enough 90 OBSERVATIONS IN A enough to encourage this fuperftitious wor ſhip ofthe beardleſs Jupiter. Some books of geography, very old ones, had given me reaſon to make enquiry after a poiſonous fountain in the rocks near Terra cina. My enquiries were not vain. The fountain ftill exifts, and whoever drinks it dies ; though Martial fays, Sive falutiferis candidus Anxur acquis *. The place is now cruelly unwholeſome how ever ; fo much fo, that our French landlord protefts he is obliged to leave it all the fummer months, at leaſt the very hot feaſon, and re tire with his family to Molo di Gaeta. He told us with rational delight enough of a vifit the Pope had made to thofe places fome few years ago ; and that he had been heard to ſay to fome of his attendants how there was no mal aria at all thereabouts in paft days : an ob fervation which had much amazed them. It was equally their wonder how his Holineſs went o'walking about with a book in his hand or pocket, repeating verſes by the fea fide. One of them had afked the name ofthe book, but nobody could remember it. it Virgil ?" faid one of our company. " Eb mon " Was

• White Anxur's falutary waters roll .

Dieu, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 91 Dieu > , Madame, vous l'avez divinée * " replied the man. But, O dear (thought I ) , how would theſe poor people have ftared, if their amiable fovereign, enlightened and elegant as his mind is, had happened to talk more in their prefence of what he had been reading on the fea fhore, Virgil or Homer ; had he chanced to mention that Molo di Gaeta was in ancient times the feat of the Leftrygones, and inhabited by canibals, men who eat one an other ! and furely it is fcarcely lefs comical than curious, to recollect how Ulyffes ex preffes his fenfations on firft landing juft by this now lovely and highly- cultivated fpot, when he pathetically exclaims, Upon what coaft, On what new region is Ulyffes toft ? Poffeft by wild barbarians fierce in arms, Or men whoſe bofoms tender pity warms ? POPE'S ODYSSEY. Poor Cicero might indeed have aſked the queſtion ſeven or eight centuries after, in days falfely faid to be civilized to a ſtate of per fection ; when his moſt inhuman murder near thistown, completed the meafure of their crimes; who to their country's fate added that of its philofopher, its orator, its acknowledged father

• Why, Madam, you have hit on it fure enough.

and " 92 OBSERVATIONS IN A and preferver. -Cruel, ungrateful Rome ! ever crimson with the blood of its own best citi zens-theatre of civil difcord and profcrip tions, unheard of in any hiftory but her's ; who, next to Jerufalem in fins, has been next in fufferings too ; though twice fo highly favoured by Heaven-from the dread ful moment when all her power was at once cruſhed by barbariſm , and even her language rendered dead among mankind-to the pre ſent hour, when even her fecond ſplendours, like the laſt gleams of an aurora borealis, fade gradually from the view, and fink almoft im perceptibly into decay. Nor can the exem plary virtues and admirable conduct of this, and of her four laft princes, redeem her from ruin long threatened to her paft tyrannical offences ; any more than could the merits of Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius com penfate for the crimes of Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero.-Let the death of Cicero, which in fpired thisrhapfody, contribute to excuſe it ; and let me turn my eyes to the bewitching ſpot Where Circe dwelt, the daughter of the day. That fuch enchantreffes fhould inhabit fuch regions could have been fcarce a wonder in Homer's JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 93 Homer's time I trow ; the fame country ftill retains the fame power of producing fingers, to whom our English may with propriety enough cry out ; -Hail, foreign wonder ! Whom certes our rough fhades did never breed. MILTON. That ſhe ſhould be the offspring of Phoebus. too, in a place where the fun's rays have ſo much power, was a well-imagined fable one may feel; and her inftructions to Ulyffes for his fucceeding voyage, juft, apt, and proper : enjoining him a prayer to Crateis , the mother of Scylla, to pacify her rapacious daughter's fury, is the leaſt intelligible of all Circe's ad vice, to me. But when I faw the nafty trick they had at Naples, of ſpreading out the ox hides to dry upon the fea fhore, as one drives to Portici ; the Sicilian herds, mentioned in the Odyffey, and their crawling ſkins, came into my head in a moment. We have left theſe ſcenes of fabulous won der and real pleaſure however ; left the warm veftiges of claffic ftory, and places which have produced the nobleft efforts of the human mind ; places which have ſerved as no ig noble themes for truly immortal fong ; all quitted 94 OBSERVATIONS IN A quitted now! all left for recollection to mufe on, and for fancy to combine : but theſe eyes I fear will never more furvey them. Well ! no matter Whenlike the bafelefs fabric of a vifion, The cloud- capt tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces, The folemn temples, the great globe itſelf, Yea all which it inherit, ſhall diſſolve ; And like fome unſubſtantial pageant faded Leave not a wreck behind. ROME. WE are come here juft in time to fee the three laſt days of the carnival, and very droll it is to walk or drive, and fee the people run about the ſtreets, all in fome gay diſguiſe or other, and mafked, and patched, and painted to make fport. The Corfo is now quite a fcene of diftraction ; the coachmen on the boxes pretending to be drunk, and throwing fugar plumbs at the women, which it grows hard to find out in the crowd and confufion, as the evening, which fhuts in early, is the feftive hour and there is fome little hazard in pa rading the ſtreets, left an accident might hap pen; JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 95 pen ; though a temporary rail and trottoir are erected, to keep the carriages off. Our high joke, however, ſeems to confift in the men putting on girls clothes : a woman is fome what a rarity at Rome, and ſtrangely fuper fluous as it should appear by the extraordinary fubftitutes found for them on the ftage : it is more than wonderful to fee great ſtrong fel lows dancing the women's parts in theſe fa ſhionable dramas, paftoral and heroic ballets as they call them. Soprano fingers did not fo furpriſe ine with their feminine appearance in the Opera ; but theſe clumſy figurantes ! all ftout, coarſe-looking men, kicking about in hooped petticoats, were to me irreſiſtibly ri diculous : the gentlemen with me however, both Italians and Engliſh, were too much difgufted to laugh, while la premiere danfeufe acted the coquet beauty, or diftracted mother, with a black beard which no art could fubdue, and deſtroyed every illufion of the pantomime at a glance. All this ſtruck nobody but us foreigners after all ; tumultuous and often tender applaufes from the pit convinced us of their heart-felt approbation ! and in the par terre fat gentlemen much celebrated at Rome for their tafte and refinement. As 96 OBSERVATIONS IN A As their exhibition did not pleaſe our party, notwithstanding its fingularity, we went but once to the theatre, except when a Fefta di Ballo was advertiſed to begin at eleven o'clock one night, but detained the com pany waiting on its ftairs for two hours at leaſt beyond the time : for my own part I was better amuſed outside the doors, than in. Maſquerades can of themfelves give very little pleaſure except whenthey are new things. What was moſt my delight and wonder to ob ferve, was the fight of perhaps two hundred people of different ranks, all in my mind ftrangelyill-treated by a nobleman ; who having a private fupper in the room , prevented their entrance who paid for admiffion ; all mortified, all crowded together in an inconvenient place ; all fuffering much from heat, and more from diſappointment ; yetall in perfect good humour with each other, and with the gentleman who detained in longing and ardent, but not impa tiently-expreffed expectation, fuch a number of Romans : who, as I could not avoid remark ing, certainly deferve to rule over all the world once more, if, as we often read in hif tory, command is to be beft learned from the practice of obedience. The JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 97 The maſquerade was carried on when we had once begun it, with more tafte and ele gance here, than either at Naples or Milan ; fo it was at Florence, I remember ; more dref ſes of contrivance and fancy being produced. We had a very pretty device laſt night, ofa man whopretended to carry ftatues about as if forfale : the gentlemen and ladies who perfonated the figures were incomparable from the choice of attitudes, and ſkill in colouring ; but il car novale è morto, as the women of quality told દે us laſt night from their coaches, in which they carried little tranſparent lanthorns of a round form, red, blue, green, &c. to help forward the ſhine ; and theſe they throw at each other as they did fugar plums in the other towns, while the millions of fmall thin bougie candles held in every hand, and ftuck up at every bal cony, make the Strada del Popolo as light as day, and produce a wonderfully pretty effect, gay, natural, and pleafing. • The unftudied hilarity of Italians is very rejoi cing to the heart, from one's confciouſneſs that it is therefult of cheerfulneſs really felt, not a mere incentive to happineſs hoped for. The death of Carnovale, who was carried to his grave with fo many candles fuddenly extinguiſhed VOL. II. H at 98 OBSERVATIONS IN A at twelve o'clock laſt night, has reſtored us to a tranquil poffeffion of ourfelves, and to an op portunity of examining the beauties of nature and art that ſurround one. St. Peter's church is inconteftably the firſt object in this city, fo crowded with fingle fi gures : That this church fhould be built in the form of a Latin croſs inſtead of a Greek one may be wrong for ought I know ; that co łumns would have done better than piers in fide, I do not think ; but that whatever has been done by man might have been done better, if that is all the critics want, I readily 2 allow. This church is, after all their objec tions, nearer to perfect than any other build ing in the world ; and when Michael Angelo, looking at the Pantheon, faid, " Is this the beft our vaunted anceſtors could do ? Iffo, I will fhew the advancement of the art, in fufpending a dome of equal fize to this up in the air. " He made a glorious boaft, and was perhaps the only perſon ever exifting who could have performed his promife. The figures of angels, or rather cherubims, eight feet high, which ſupport the vaſes hold ing holy water, as they are made after the form of babies, do perfectly and clofely re prefent infants of eighteen or twenty months old; 2.. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 99 old ; nor till one comes quite cloſe to them. indeed, is it poffible to difcern that they are coloffal. This is brought by ſome as a proof of the exact proportions kept, and of the prodigious space occupied, by the area of this immenfe edifice ; and urged by others, as a peculiarity of the human body to deceive fo at a diſtance, moft unjustly : for one is fur priſed exactly in the fame manner by the doves, which ornament the church in various parts of it. They likewife appear of the natural fize, and completely within one's reach upon entering the door, but foon as approached, recede to a confiderable height, and prove their magnitude nicely propor tioned to that of the angels and other deco rations. The canopied altar, and its appurte nances, are likewife all coloffal I think, when they tell me of four hundred and fifty thou fand pounds weight of bronze brought from the Pantheon, and uſed to form the wreathed pillars which ſupport, and the torfes that adorn it. Yet airy lightneſs and exquifite elegance are the characteristics of the fabric, not gloomy greatneſs, or heavy folidity. How immenfe then muſt be the space it H2 ftands 100 OBSERVATIONS IN A 9 % ftands on! four hundred and fixty-feven of my ſteps carried me from the door to the end. Warwick caftle would be contained in its middle aisle. Here are one hundred and twenty filver lamps, each larger than I could lift, conftantly burning round the altar ; and one never fees either them, or the light they difpenfe, till forced upon the obſervation of them, fo completely are they loft in the ge neral grandeur of the whole. In ſhort, with a profufion of wealth that aftoniſhes, and of Splendour that dazzles, as foon as you enter on an examination of its fecondary parts, every man's first impreffion at entering St. Peter's church, muſt be ſurpriſe at ſeeing it fo clear of ſuperfluous ornament. This is the true character of innate excellence, the fim plex munditiis, or freedom from decoration ; the noble fimplicity to which no embelliſhment can add dignity, but feems a mere ap pendage. Getting on the top of this ftupen dous edifice, is however the readieſt way to fill one's mind with a deferving notion ofits extent, capacity, and beauty ; nor is any operation eaſier, fo happily contrived is the afcent. Contrivance here is an ill- choſen word too, fo luminous fo convenient is the walk, KOLTE JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 101 walk, fo fpacious the galleries befide, that all idea of danger is removed, when you per ceive that even round the undefended cor nice, our king's ftate coach might be moft fafely driven. The monuments, although incomparable, fcarcely obtain a fhare of your admiration for the firft ten times of your furveying the place ; Guglielmo della Porta's famous figure, ſupporting that dedicated to the memory of Paul the Third, was found fo happy an imi tation of female beauty by fome madman here however, that it is faid he was inflamed with a Pigmalion- like paffion for it, ofwhich the Pontiff hearing, commanded the ftatue to be draped. The fteps at almoſt the end. of this church we have all heard were por phyry, and fo they are ; how many hundred feet long I have now forgotten : -no matter ; what I have not forgotten is, that I thought as I looked at them why fo theyshould be por phyry-and that was all. While the vafes and cifterns of the fame beautiful ſubſtance at Villa Borghese attracted my wonder ; and Clement X.'s urn at St. John de Lateran, appeared to me an urn fitter for the afhes of an Egyptian monarch, Bufiris or Sefoftris, H 3 than 102 OBSERVATIONS IN A than for a Chriſtian prieſt or ſovereign, fince univerfal dominion has been abolished. No thing, however, can look very grand in St. Peter's church ; and though I faw the ge neral benediction given ( I hope partook it) upon Eafter day, my conftant impreffion was, that the people were below the place ; no pomp, no glare, no dove and glory on the chair of ftate, but what looked too little for the area that contained them. Sublimity dif dains to catch the vulgar eye, ſhe elevates the foul ; nor can long-drawn proceffions, or fplendid ceremonies, fuffice to content thoſe travellers who feek for images that never tar nifh, and for truths that never can decay. Pius Sextus, in his morning dreſs, paying his private devotions at the altar, without any pageantry, and with very few attendants, ftruck me more a thouſand and a thouſand times, than when arrayed in gold, in colours, and diamonds, he was carried to the front of a balcony big enough to have contained the conclave ; and there, fhaded by two white fans, which, though really enormous, looked no larger than that a girl carries in her pocket, pronounced words which on account of the height they came from were difficult to hear.. All JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 103 All this is known and felt by the managers of thefe theatrical exhibitions fo certainly, that they judiciouſly confine great part of them to the Capella Seftini, which being large enough to imprefs the mind with its folemnity, and not fpacious enough for the prieſts, congre gation, and all, to be loſt in it, is well adapted for thoſe various functions that really make Rome a ſcene of perpetual gala during the holy week ; which an English friend here proteſted to me he had never ſpent with fo little devotion in his life before. The mife rere has, however, a ftrong power over one's mind-the abſence of all inftrumental muſic, the ſteadineſs of ſo many human voices, the gloom of the place, the picture of Michael Angelo's laft judgment covering its walls, united with the mourning drefs of the fpec tators-is altogether calculated with great in genuity to give a ſudden ſtroke to the imagi nation, and kindle that temporary blaze of devotion it is wifely enough intended to ex cite but even this has much of its effect de ftroyed, from the admiffion of too many people crowd and buftle, and ftruggle for places, leave no room for any ideas to range H4 themſelves, 104 OBSERVATIONS IN A themſelves, and leaſt of all, ſerious ones : nor would the opening of our facred mufic in Weſtminſter Abbey, when nine hundred per formers join to celebrate Meffiab's praifes, make that impreffion which it does upon the mind, were not the king, and court, and all the audience, as ftill as death, when the firft note is taken. The ceremony ofwaſhing the pilgrims feet is a pleafing one : it is feen in high perfection here at Rome ; where all that the pope per fonally performs is done with infinite grace, and with an air of mingled majefty and ſweet nefs, difficult to hit, but fingularly becoming in him, who is both prieft of God, and fove reign of his people. But how, faid Cyrus, fhall I make men think me more excellent than themſelves ? By being really fo, replies Xenophon, putting his words into the mouth of Cambyfes. Pius Sextus takes no deeper method I believe, yet all acknowledge his fuperiour merit : No prince can lefs affect ftate, nor no clergyman can leſs adopt hypocritical behaviour. The Pope powders his hair like any other of the Cardinals, and is, it feems, the first who has ever done fo. When he takes the air it is in a fa 14 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 105 a faſhionable carriage, with a few, a very few guards on horfeback, and is by no means defirous of making himſelf a fhew. Now and then an old woman begs his bleffing as he paffes ; but I almoſt remember the time when our biſhops of Bangor and St. Asaph were followed by the country people in North Wales full as much or more, and with juft the fame feelings. One man in particular we uſed to talk of, who came from a diftant part of our mountainous province, with much expence in proportion to his abilities, poor fellow, and terrible fatigue ; he was a tenant of my father's, who afked him how he ven tured to undertake ſo troubleſome a journey ? It was to get my good Lord's bleffing, replied the farmer, I hope it will cure my rheumatism Kiffing the flipper at Rome will probably, in a hundred years more, be a thing to be thus faintly recollected by a few very old people ; and it is ſtrange to me it fhould have lafted fo long. No man better knows than the preſent learned and pious fucceffor of St. Peter, that St. Peter himſelf would permit no act of ado ration to his own perfon ; and that he feverely reproved Cornelius for kneeling to him, char ging him to rife and ſtand upon his feet, add ing 106. OBSERVATIONS IN A ing theſe remarkable words, feeing I alfo am a man *. Surely it will at laft be found out among them that ſuch a ceremony is inconfif tent with the Pope's character as a Chrif tian prieſt, however it may fuit ſtate matters to continue it in the character of a ſovereign. The road he is now making on every fide his capital to facilitate foreigners approach, the money he has laid out on the conveniencies ofthe Vatican, the defire he feels of reforming a police much in want of reformation, joined to an immaculate character for private virtue and an elegant tafte for the fine arts, muft make every one wish for a long continuance of his health and dignity ; though the wits and jokers, when they fee his arms up, as they are often placed in galleries, &c. about the palace, and confift of a zephyr blowing on a flower, a pair of eagle's wings, and a few ſtars, have invented this Epigram, to ſay that when the Emperor has got his eagle back, the King of France his fleurs de lys, and the ſtars are gone to heaven, Brafchi will have nothing left him but the wind : Redde aquilam Cæfari, Francorum lilia regì, Sydera redde polo, cætera Brafche tibi . Surge, et ego ipfe homo fum. VULGATE. Thefe JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 107 Theſe verſes were given me by an agreeable Benedictine Friar, member of a convent be longing to St. Paul'sfuor delle mura ; he was a learned man, a native of Ragufa, had been particularly intimate with Wortley Montague, whoſe variety of acquirements had impreſſed him exceedingly. He fhewed us the curiofities of his church, the fineſt in Rome next to St. Peter's, and had filver gates ; but the plating is worn off and only the brafs remains. There is an old Egyp tian candleſtick above five feet high preſerved here, and many other fingularities adorn the church. The Pillars are 136 in number, all marble, and each confifting of one unjoined and undivided piece ; 40 of theſe are fluted, and two which did belong to a temple of Mars are ſeven feet and a half each in diameter. Here is likewife the place where Nero ran for refuge to the houfe of his freed-man, and in the cloiſter a ſtone, with this infcription on it, Hocfpecus accepit poft aurea teta Neronem *. Here is an altar fupported by four pillars of red porphyry, and here are the pictures of all the popes ; St. Peter firſt, and our preſent Braf

• This hiding-hole received Nero after his golden boufe.

17 chi 108 OBSERVATIONS IN A - chi laft. It has given much occafion for chat that there ſhould now be no room left to hang a fucceffor's portrait, and that he who now occupies the chair is painted in powdered hair and a white head-drefs, fuch as he wears every day, to the great affliction of his courtiers, who recommended the ufual ſtate diadem ; but " No, no," ſaid he, " there have been red cap Popes enough, mineſhall be onlywhite, and whiteit is. This beautiful edifice was built by the Emperor Theodofius, and there is an old picture at the top, of our Saviour giving the benediction in the form that all the Greek priests give it now. Apropos, there have been many fects of Oriental Chriftians dropt into the Church of Rome within theſe late years ; a very venerable old Armenian ſays Greek mafs regularly in St. Peter's church every day before one particular altar ; his long black dreſs and white beard attracted much of my notice ; he faw it did, and now whenever we meet in the street by chance he kindly ftands ftill to blefs me. But the Syriac or Maronites have a church to themſelves juft by the Bocca della Verita ; and extremely cu rious we thought it to ſee their ceremonies upon Palm Sunday, when their aged patriarch, not lefs A JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 109 leſs thanninety-three years old, and richlyattir ed with an inconvenient weight of drapery, and a mitre ſhaped like that of Aaron in our Bibles exactly, was fupported by two olive coloured orientals, while he pronounced a benediction on the tree thatftood near the altar, and was at leaft ten feet high. The attendant clergy, habited after their own eaſtern taſte, and very ſuperbly, had broad phylacteries bound ontheir foreheads after the faſhion of the Jews, and carried long ſtrips of parchment up and down the church with the law written on them in Syriac cha racters, while they formed themſelves into a proceffion and led their truly reverend prin cipal back to his place. An exhibition fo ftriking, with the view of many monuments round the walls, facred to the memory of fuch, and fuch a bishop of Damafcus, gave fo ftrong an impreffion of Afiatic manners to the mind, that one felt glad to find Europe round one at going out again. One of the treaſures much renowned in it we have ſeen to-day, the transfiguration painted by Rafaelle ; it was the first thing the Emperor did viſit when he came to Rome, and fo a Francifcan Friar who fhews it, told us. He faw a gentleman walk into church it ſeems, and leaving his friends. at • 110 OBSERVATIONS IN A at dinner, went out to converfe with him. " Pull afide the curtain, Sir,” ſaid the ſtranger, 66 for I am in hafte to fee this mafter-piece of your immortal Raphael." I was as willing to be in a hurry as he, fays the Friar, and obferved how fortunate it was for us that it could not be moved, otherwife we had loft it long ago ; for, Sir, faid I, they would have carried it a way from poor Monte Citoria to fome finer temple long ago; though, let me tell you, this is an elegant Doric building too, and one of Bramante's beſt works, much admired bythe Engliſh in particular. I hope, if it pleaſe God now that I fhould live but a very little longer, I may have the honour offhewing it the Em peror. " Is he expected ?" enquired the gentleman. "Every day, Sir," replies the Friar. “ And well now," cries the foreigner, “ what fort of a man do you expect to fee ? Why, Sir, you feem a traveller, did you ever fee him?" quoth the Franciſcan. "Yes, fure, my good friend, very often indeed, he is as plain a man as myfelf, has good intentions, and an honeſt heart ; and I think you would like him if you knew him, becaufe he puts nobody out of their way." This JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 111 This dialogue, natural and fimple, had taken fuch hold of our good religieux's fancy, that not a word would he fay about the picture, while his imagination was fo full of the prince, and of his own amazement at the falutation of his companions, when returning to the re fectory ;-" Why, Gaetano," cried they, "thou haft been converfing with Cafar :”—I too liked the tale, becauſe it was artleſs, and be cauſe it was true. But the picture furpaffes all praife ; the woman kneeling on the fore ground, her back to the ſpectators, feems a repetition of the figure in Raphael's famous picture ofthe Vatican on fire, that is ſhewn in the chambers called particularly by his name; where theperſonifications of Juftice and Meek neſs, engraved by Strange, feize one's atten tion very forcibly : it is obfervable, that the first is every body's favourite in the painting, the laſt in the engraving. Raphael's Bible, as one of the long gal leries is comically called by the connoiffeurs, breaks one's neck to look at it. The ftories, beginning with Adam and Eve, are painted in fmall, compartments ; the colouring as vivid now as if it were done laft week ; and the arabefqués 112 ** OBSERVATIONS IN A arabesques fo gay and pretty, they are very often reprefented on fans ; and we have fine engravings in England of all, yet, though ex quifitely done, they give one ſomehow a falſe notion of the whole : fo did Piranefi's prints too, though invaluable, when confidered by themfelves as proofs of the artift's merit. His judicious manner, however, of keeping all coarfe objects from interfering with the grand ones, though it mightily increaſes the dignity, and adds to the fpirit of his performance, is apt to lead him who wishes for information, into a ſtyle of thinking that will at laft pro duce difappointment as to general appear ances, which here at Rome is really difpro portionate to the aftonishing productions of art contained within its walls. But I muft leave this glorious Vatican, with the perpetual regret of having ſeen ſcarcely any thing ofits invaluable library, except the prodigious fize and judicious ornaments of it :: neither book nor MS. could I prevail on the librarian to fhew me, except fome love-letters from Henry the Eighth of England to Anne: Boleyn, which he ſaid were moſt likely to in tereſt me: they were very grofs and in decent ones to be fure ; fo I felt offended, and went T

JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 113 went away, in a very ill humour, to fee Caftle St. Angelo ; where the emperor Adrian in tended perpetually to repofe ; but the urn containing his aſhes is now kept in a garden belonging to one of the courts in the palace, near the Apollo and other Greek ſtatues ofpe culiar excellence. From his tomb too, fome of the pillars of St. Paul's were taken, and this fplendid mauſolæum converted into a fort of citadel, where Sixtus Quintus depoſited three millions of gold, it is faid ; and Alexander the Sixth retired to fhield himſelf from Charles the Eighth of France, who entered Rome by torch-light in 1494, and forced the Pope to give him what the French hiftorians call l'inveftiture du royaume de Naples ; after which he took Capua, and made his conquering entry into Naples the February following, 1495 ; Ferdinand, fon of Alphonfo, flying before him. This Pope was the father ofthe famous Cæfar Borgia ; and it was on this oc cafion, I believe, that the French wits made the well-known diftich on his notorious ava rice and rapacity : Vendit Alexander claves, altaria, Chriftum, Vendere jure poteft, emerat ille prius*. I 21

• Our Alexander fells keys, altars, heaven ;

When law and right are fold, he'll buy : -that's even. I This brought VOL. II. "Keys, Altars, Chrift,this Popetofalehus. 322Hehuve moonsellwhat he before had bought 114 OBSERVATIONS IN A This Caftle St. Angelo went once, I be lieve, under the name of the Ælian Bridge, when the emperor Adrian firſt fixed his mind on making a monument for himſelf there. The foldiers of Belifarius are faid to have de ftroyed numberleſs ſtatues which then adorned it, by their odd manner of defending the place from the Gothic affaulters. It is now a fort of tower for the confinement of ſtate pri foners ; and decorated with many well-paint ed, but ill-kept pictures of Polydore and Julio Romano. The fire-works exhibited here on Eafter day are the completeft things of their kind in the world ; three thouſand rockets, all fent up into the air at once, make a wonderful burft indeed, and ſerve as a pretty imitation of Ve fuvius the lighting up of the building too on a fudden with fire-pots, had a new and beautiful effect ; we all liked the entertain ment vaftly. I looked here for what fome French recueil, Menagiana if I remember rightly, had taught me to expect ; this was fome braſs cannon be longing to Chriftina queen of Sweden, who had caufed them to be caft, and added an engraving JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 115 engraving on them with theſe remarkable words ; Habet fua fulmina Juno * . No fuch thing, however, could be found or heard of. Indeed a ſearch after truth requires fuch patience, fuch penetration, and fuch learning, that it is no wonder ſhe is fo feldom got a glimpſe of ; whoever is diligently de firous to find her, is fo perplexed by igno rance, ſo retarded by caution, fo confounded by different explications of the fame thing re curring at every turn, fo fickened with filly credulity on the one hand, and fo offended with pertneſs and pyrrhonifm on the other, that it is fairly rendered impoffible for one to keep clear of prejudices, while the ſteady re folution to do fo becomes itſelf a prejudice. But with regard to little follies, it is better to laugh at than lament them. We were fhewn one morning lately the fpot where it is fuppofed St. Paul fuffered decapitation ; and our Cicerone pointed out to us three fountains, about the warmth of Bux ton, Matlock, or Briftol water, which were faid to have burft from the ground at the moment of his martyrization. A Dutch gen Juno too has her thunder. I 2 Xender. tleman 116 OBSERVATIONS IN A tleman in company, and a fteady Calvinift, loudly ridiculed the tradition , called it an idle tale, and triumphantly expreffed his certain conviction, that fuch an event could not poſſibly have ever taken place. To this affertion no reply was made ; and as we drove home all together, the converfation having taken a wide range and a different turn, he related in the courſe of it a long Rouffeau-like tale of a lady he once knew, who having the ſtrongeſt poffible attachment to one lover, married an other upon principles of filial obedience, ftill retaining inviolate her paffion for the object of her choice, who, adorned with every ex cellence and every grace, continued a cor reſpondence with her across the Atlantic ocean; having inftantly changed his hemiſphere, not to give the huſband diſturbance ; who on his part admired their letters, many of which were written in his praiſe, who had fo cruelly in terrupted their felicity. Seeing ſome marks of disbelief in my countenance, he begun ob ſerving, in an altered tone of voice, that com mon and vulgar minds might hold fuch events to be out of poffibility, and fuchentiments to be out of nature, but it was only becauſe they were above the comprehenfion and beyond the 12 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 117 the reach of people educated in large and cor rupt capitals, Paris, Rome, or London, to think true. Now was not fome fhare of good breeding (beft learned in great capitals per haps) neceffary to prevent one from retorting upon fuch an orator-that it was more likely nature ſhould have been permitted to deviate in favour of Paul the apoftle of Jefus Chrift, than of a fat inhabitant of North Zealand, nơ way diſtinguiſhed from the mafs of mankind ? But we have been called to pafs fome mo ments onthe Cælian hill ; and fee ' the Chiefa di San Gregorio, interefting above all others to travellers who delight in the veftiges of Pagan Rome : as, having been built upon a Patrician's houſe, it ftill to a great degree re tains the form of one ; while to the ſcholar who is pleaſed with anecdotes of ecclefiaftical hif tory, the days recur when the ſtone chair they fhew us, contented the meek and vene rable biſhop of Rome who fate in it, while his gentle ſpirit fought the welfare of every Chriftian, and refuſed to perfecute even the benighted and unbelieving Jews ; oppofing only the arms of piety and prayer, to the few enemies his tranfcendent excellence had raiſed 13 him. 118 OBSERVATIONS IN A him. His picture here is conſidered as a mafter-piece of Annibale Caracci ; and it is ftrange to think that the trial- pieces, as they are called, fhould be erroneouſly treated of in the Carpenteriana : when ſpeaking of the contention between the two ſcholars, to decide which the mafter fent for an old woman, Monfieur de Carpentier tells us the difpute lay between Domenichino and Albano -a grofs miſtake ; as it was Guido, not Albano, who ventured to paint fomething in rivalry with Domenichino, relative to St. Andrew and his martyrdom ; and theſe trial-pieces produced from her the fame preference given by every fpectator who has feen them fince : for when Caracci (unwilling to offend either of his fcho lars, as both were men of the higheſt rank and talents) enquired of her what he thought of Guido's performance ? " Indeed," replied the old woman, " I have never yet looked at it, fo fully has my mind been occupied by the powers fhewn in that of Domenichino. " The vecchia is here at Rome the common phraſe when ſpeaking of your only female fer vant, a perfon not unlike an Oxford or Cam bridge bed-maker in appearance ; and much amazed JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 119 amazed was I two days ago at the anſwer of our vecchia, when curiofity prompted me to afk her age :-" 0, Madam, I am a very aged woman," was the reply, " and have two grandchildren married ; I am forty-two years old, poveretta me!" I told an Italian gentle man who dined with us what Caterina had ſaid, and begged him to aſk the laquais de place, who waited on us at table, a fimilar queftion. He appeared a large, well-looking, fturdy fellow, about thirty-eight years old ; but faid he was fcarce twenty-two ; that he had been married fix years, and had five chil dren. How old was your wife when you met ? " Thirteen, Sir," anſwered Carlo : fo all is kept even at leaft ; for if they end life fooner than in colder climates, they begin it earlier it is plain. Yet fuch things feem ftrange to us ; fo do a thouſand which occur in thefe warm coun tries in the commoneft life. Brick floors, for example, with hangings of a dirty printed cotton, affording no bad fhelter for fpiders, bugs, &c.; a table in the fame room, encruft ed with verd antique, very fine and worthy of Wilton houfe ; with fome exceeding good I 4 copies 120 FOBSERVATIONS IN A copies of the fineſt pictures here at Rome form the furniture of our prefent lodging : and now we liave got the little cafement win dows clean to look at it, I pafs whole hours. admiring, even in the copy, our glorious de ſcent from the cross, by Daniel de Volterra ; which to ſay truth lofes leſs than many a great performance of the fame kind, becauſe its merits confiſt in compofition and deſign ; and as fentiment, not ſtyle, is tranflatable, fo grouping and putting figures finely together can be eaſier tranfmitted by a copy, than the meaner excellencies of colouring and finiſh ing. Homer and Cervantes may be enjoyed bythoſe who never learned their language, at leaſt to a great degree ; while a true taſte of Gray's Odes or Martial's Epigrams has been hitherto found exceedingly difficult to com municate. It would, however, be cruel to deny the merit of colouring to Daniel de Vol terra's deſcent from the crofs, only becauſe being painted in freſco it has fuffered fo ter ribly by time and want of care, but it is now kept covered, and they remove the curtain when any body defires to contemplate its va rious beauties, The JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 121 The church of Santa Maria Maggiore has been too long unſpoken of, rich as it is withi the first gold torn from the unfortunate abo rigines ofAmerica ; a preſent from Ferdinand and Ifabella of Spain to the Pope, in return for that permiffion he had given them to exert and eſtabliſh their fanguinary fway over thoſe luckleſs nations. One pillar from the temple of Peace is an ill-adapted ornament to this edifice, built nearly in the form of an ancient bafilica ; and with fo expenſive a quantity of gilding, that it is faid two hun dred and fifty thouſand pounds were expend ed on one chapel only, which is at laſt inferior in fame and beauty to cappella Corfini ; in riches and magnificence to cappella Borghese, where an amethyst frame of immenſe value furrounds the names, in gold cypher, of our bleffed Saviour and his Mother, the ground of which is of tranſparent jafper, and cannot be matched for elegance or perfection , being at leaſt four feet high (the tablets I mean) , and three feet wide. But to this Borghefe family, I am well perfuaded, it would be a real fatigue to count the wealth which they enjoy.

Villa 122 OBSERVATIONS IN A Villa Pamphili is a lovely place, or might be made fo ; but laying out pleaſure grounds is not the forte of Italian tafte. I never faw one ofthem , except Lomellino of Genoa, who had higher notions of a garden than what an opera fcene affords ; and that is merely a range of trees in great pots with gilded handles, and rows of tall cypreffes planted one between every two pots, all ſtraight over againſt each other in long lines ; with an octangular marble bafon to hold water in the middle, covered for the moſt part with a thick green fcum. AtVilla Pamphili is a picture of Sanctorius, who made the weighing balance ſpoken of by Addifon in the Spectator ; it was originally contrived for the Pamphili Pope. And here is an old ftatue of Clodius profaning the myſteries of the Bona Dea, as we read in the Roman hiftory. And here are camels workingin the park like horſes : we found them playing about at their leifure when we were at Pifa, and at Milan they were fhewed for a fhow; fo little does one ftate of Italy connect with another. Theſe three cities cannot poffibly be much further from each other than Lon don, York, and Exeter; yet the manners differ entirely, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 123 entirely, and what is done in one place is not known at all in the other. It must be re membered that they are all ſeparate ſtates. At the Farnefini palace our amuſements were of a nature very contrary to this ; but every place produces amufement when one is will ing to be pleaſed. After looking over the various and ineftimable productions of art contained there, we came at laft to the cele brated marriage of Alexander's Roxana; where, fay fome of the books of defcription, the world's greateft hero is repreſented by Europe's greateſt painter. Some French gen tlemen were in our company, and looking fteadily at the picture for a while, one ofthem exclaimed, " A la fin voila ce qui eft vrayment noble ; cet Alexandre là; il paroit effectivement le roy de France même *.” The Spada palace boafts Guercino's Dido, fo difliked by the critics, who fay fhe looks fpitted ; but extremely efteemed by thoſe that underſtand its merit in other refpects. There is also the very ftatue kept at this palace, at the feet of which Cæfar fell when he was affaffinated at the capitol : thofe who fhew it

• Here's fomething at laft that's truly great however !

why this Alexander looks fit to be king of France. never 124 OBSERVATIONS IN A 1 never fail to relate his care to die gracefully ; which was likewife the laſt deſire that occupied Lucretia's mind : Auguſtus too, justly confidering his life as fcenical, defired the plaudits of his friends at its conclufion : and even Flavius Vefpafian, a plain man as one ſhould think during a pretty large por tion of his exiſtence, wifhed at laft to die like an emperor. That this ftatue of Pompey ſhould have been accidentally found with the head lying in one man's ground and the body in another, is curious enough : a rage for ap propriation gets the better of all the love of arts ; fo the contending parties (like the fifters in David Simple, with their fine- worked car pet) fairly fevered the ftatue, and took home each his half ; the proprietor of this palace meanwhile purchaſed the two pieces, ftuck them once more together, and here they are. -Pity but the fovereign had carried both off for himſelf.-Pius Sextus however is not fo difpofed : he has had a legacy left him within thefe laft years, to the prejudice of fome no bleman's heirs ; who loudly lamented their fate, and his tyranny who could take advantage, as they expreffed it, of their relation's ca price. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 125 price. The Pope did not give it them back, becauſe they behaved fo ill, he faid ; but nei ther did he feize what was left him, by dint of defpotic authority ; he went to law with the family for it, which I thought a very ftrange thing ; and loft bis caufe, which I thought a ftill ftranger. We have just been to fee his gardens ; they are poor things enough ; and the device of repreſenting Vulcan's cave with the Cyclops, in water-works, was more worthy of Ireland than Rome ! Monte Cavallo is however a palace of prodigious dignity ; the pictures beyond meaſure excellent ; his collection of china-ware valuable and tåfteful, and there are two Mexican jars that can never be equalled. Villa Albani is the most dazzling of any place yet however ; and the caryatid pillars the finest things in it, though replete with wonders, and diftracting with objects each worthy a whole day's attention. Here is an antique lift of Euripides's plays in marble, as thoſe tell me who can read the Greek infcrip tions ; I loſe infinite pleaſure every day, for want of deeper learning. Pillars not only of giall 126 OBSERVATIONS IN A giall' antique, but ofpaglia *, which no houſe but this poffeffes, amaze and delight indocti doctique though ; the Vatican itſelf cannot fhew fuch a red marble maſk here, three feet and a half in diameter, is unrivalled ; they tell you it is worth its own weight in louis d'ors : a canopus in bafalt too ; and ca meos by the thouſand. Mengs fhould have painted a more elegant Apollo for the centre of fuch a gallery ; but his muſes make amends ; the Viaggiana fays they are all portraits, but I could get nobody to tell me whofe. The Abbé Winckelman, who if I recollect aright loft his life by his paffion for virtù, arranged this ftupendous collection, in conjunction with the cardinal, whoſe taſte was by all his contemporaries acknowledged the beſt in Rome. We were carried this morning to a cabinet of natural hiſtory belonging to another car dinal, but it did not anſwer the account given of it by our conductors. What has moft ftruck me here as a real improvement upon focial and civil life, was the ſchool of Abate Sylvefter, who, upon the

• Paglia is a ftraw- coloured marble, wonderfully beau

tiful, and extremely rare ; found only in fome northern tracts of Africa, I am told here. 13 plan [ JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 127 plan of Monfieur L'Epée at Paris, teaches the deaf and dumb people to fpeak, read, write, and caft accounts ; he likewife teaches them the principles of logic, and inftructs them in the facred myfteries of our holy religion. I am not naturally credulous, nor apt to take payment in words for meanings ; much of my life has been ſpent, and all my youth, in the tuition of babies ; I was of courſe leſs likely to be deceived ; and I can fafely fay, that they did appear to have learned all he taught them that appearance too, if it were no more, is fo difficult to obtain, the patience required from the maſter is ſo very great, and the good he is doing to mankind fo extenfive, that I did not like offenfively to detect the dif ference between knowing a fyllogifm , and ap pearingto know it. With regard to morality, the pupils have certainly gained many præ cognita. While the capital ſcholars were fhew ing off to another party, I addreffed a girl who fat working in the window, and perceiv ed that ſhe could explain the meaning of the commandments competently well. Toprovethe truth, I pretended to pick a gentleman's pocket who ftood near me; peccato ! faid the wench diftinctly ; ſhewas about ten years old perhaps : but a little boy of feven was deſervedly the maſter's 128 OBSERVATIONS IN A maſter's favourite ; he really poffeffed the moft intelligent and intereſting countenance I ever faw, andwhen to explain the major, minor, and confequence, he put the two firſt together into his hat with an air of triumph, we were en chanted with him. Some one to teize him faid he had red hair ; he inftantly led them to a picture of our Saviour which hung in the room, faid it was the fame colour of his, and ought to be refpected. Surely it is little to the credit of us Eng liſh, that this worthy Abbé Sylveſter ſhould have a ftipend from government ; that Mon fieur L'Epée de Paris fhould be encouraged in the fame good work; that Mr. Braidwood's Scotch pupils ſhould juſtly engage every one's notice-while wefleep ! Afriend in company ſeeing me fret at this, aſked me if I , or any one elſe, had ever feen or heard of a perfon really qualified for the common duties of fo ciety by any of theſe profeffors ; -“ That a deaf and dumb man fhould underſtand how to diſcourſe about the hypoftatic union," added he, " I will not defire ; but was there ever known in Paris, Edinburgh, or Rome, a deaf and dumb fhoemaker, carpenter, or tay lor ? Or did ever any watchmaker, fiſh monger, or wheelwright, ever keep and will 1Cingly JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 129 ingly employ a deaf and dumb journeyman?” -Nobody replied ; and we went on our way to fee what was eafier decided upon and un derſtood the tomb of Raphael at the Pan-. theon. Among the many tours that have been written, a mufical tour, an aftronomical tour, &c. I wonder we have never had a fepulchral tour, making the tombs offamous men its ob ject of attention. That Raphael, Caracci, with, many more people of eminence, fleep at the Pantheon, is however but a fecondary confi deration ; few can think ofthe monuments in this church, till they have often contemplated its architecture, which is fo finely propor tioned that on firft entering you think it ſmaller than it really is : the pillars are enor- : mous, the fhafts all of one piece, the compo fition Egyptian granite ; theſe are the fixteen which fupport the portico built by Agrippa ; : whofe car, adorned with trophies and drawn by brazen horfes, once decorated the pedi ment, where the holes formed by the cramps: which faftened it are ftill vifible. Genferic: changed the gate, and connoiffeurs know not, where he placed that which Agrippa made the preſent gate is magnificent, but does not VOL. II. K. ::.. fic 730 OBSERVATIONS IN A fit the place ; much of the braſs plating was removed by Urban the Eighth, and carried te St. Peter's : he was the Barberini pope ; and of him the people ſaid— Barbarini faciunt barbara, &c. He was a poet however, and could make epi grams himſelf; there is a very fine edition of his poems printed at Paris under the title of Maffei Barberini Poemata ; and fuch was his knowledge of Greek literature, that he was called the Attic bee. The drunken faun aſleep at Palazzo Barberini, by fome accounted the firft ftatue in Rome, we owe wholly to his care in its prefervation. But the Pantheon muft not be quitted till we have mentioned its pavement, where the precious ftones are not difpofed, as in many churches, without tafte or care, ap parently by chance ; here all is inlaid, fo as to enchant the eye with its elegance, while it dazzles one with its riches : the black porphyry, in fmall fquares, difpofed in compartments, and infcribed as one may call it in pavonazzino perhaps ; the red, bounded by ferpentine ; the granites, in giall • antique, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 131 antique, have an undefcribable effect ; no Florence table was ever fo beautiful : nor can we here regret the caryatid pillars faid by Pliny to have graced this temple in his time ; while the four prodigious columns, two of Egyptian granite, two of porphyry, ftill re main, and replace them fo very well. Mon tiofius, who fought for the pillars faid by Pliny to have been placed by Diogenes, an Athenian architect, as fupporters of this temple, relates however, that in the year 1580 he faw four of them buried in the ground as high as their ſhoulders : but it does not feem a tale much attended to ; though I confefs my own defire of digging, as he points out the place fo exactly, on the right hand fide of the portico. The beſt modern cary atids are in the old Louvre at Paris, done by Goujon ; but thoſe of Villa Albani are true antiques, perfect in beauty, ineftimable in value. The church that now ftands where a temple to Bacchus was built, fuori delle mura, engaged our attention this morning. Nothing can be freſher than the old decorations in honour of this jocund deity ; the figures of men and K 2 women 1 132 OBSERVATIONS IN A * por women carrying grapes, oxen drawing bar rels, &c. all the progreſs of a gay and plen teous vintage ; a facrifice at the end. I forget to whom the church is now dedicated, but it is a church ; and from under it has been dug up a farcophagus, all of one piece of red phyry, which reprefents on its fides a Bac chanalian triumph ; the coffin is nine feet long, and the Pope intends removing it to the Vatican, as a companion to that of Scipio Emilianus, found a few months ago ; his name engraven on it , and his bones infide . Before the proper precautions could be taken how ever, they were flung away by miſtaken zeal and prejudice ; but an Engliſhman, ſay they, who loves an unbeliever, got poffeffion of a tooth meantime the afhes of the emperor Adrian, who, as Eufebius tells us, fet up the figure of a fwine on the gates of Bethlehem, built a temple in honour of Venus, on Mount Calvary ; another to Jupiter, upon the hill whence our Saviour afcended into heaven in fight of his difciples ; -bis afhes are kept in a gilt pine-apple, brought from Cafle St. Angelo, and preferved among other rarities in the Pope's mufæum. So poor Scipio's re mains needed not to have been treated worfe than JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 133 than his, as we know not how good a Chrif tian he might have made, had he lived but 150 years later : we are fure that he was a wife and a warlike man ; that he fulfilled the fcriptures unwittingly by burning Carthage ; and that he protected Polybius, whom he would fcarcely fuffer out of his fight. After looking often at the pictures of St. Sebaſtian, I have now feen his church founded by Conftantine : he lies here in white marble, done by Bernini ; and here are more mar vellous columns. I am tired of looking out words to exprefs their various merits. The catacombs attract me more ftrongly ; here, and here alone, can one obtain a juft idea of the melancholy lives, and difinal deaths, endured by thofe who firſt dared at Rome to profeſs a religion inoffenfive and beneficial to all mankind. San Filippo Neri has his body fomewhat diftinguiſhed from the reſt of theſe old pious Chriftians, among whom he lived to a furprifing age, making a cave his refidence. Relics are now dug up every day from theſe retreats, and venerated as having once belonged to martyrs murdered for their early attachment to a belief now K 3 happily 134 OBSERVATIONS IN A happily diſplayed over one quarter of the world, and making daily progreſs in another not diſcovered when thoſe heroic mortals died to atteft its truth. There is however great danger of deception in digging out the relics, theſe catacombs having been in Trajan's time made a burial-place for flaves ; and fuch it continued to be during the reign of thoſe Roman emperors who defpiſed rather than perfecuted the new religion in its infancy. The conſciouſneſs of this fact should cure the paffion many here fhew for relics, the authen ticity of which can never be ascertained. Thoſe fhewn to the people in St. Peter's church one evening in the holy week, all came from here it feems ; and loudly do our Proteftant travellers exclaim at their idolatry who kneel during the expofure ; though for my life I cannot fee how the cuſtom is idola trous. He who at the moment a dead martyr's robe is fhewn him, begs grace of God to fol low that great example, is certainly doing no harm, or in any wife contradicting the rules of our Anglican church, whofe collects for every faint's day exprefs a like fupplication for power to imitate that faint's good example ; if JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 135 if once they worship the relics indeed, it were better they were burned ; and to fay true, they should not be expofed without a fermon explaining their uſe, left vulgar minds might be unhappily miſled to miſtake the real end of their expofure, and profanely ſubſtitute the creature for the Creator. Meanwhile no one has a right to ridicule the love of what once belonged to a favourite character, who has ever felt attachment to a dead friend's fnuff-box, or defire of poffeffing Scipio Emi lianus's tooth. ( But the best effort to excite temporary de votion, and commemorate facred feaſons, was the illuminated cross upon Good Friday night, depending from the high dome of St. Peter's church; where its effect upon the architecture is ftrangely powerful, fo large are the maffes both of light and fhade ; whilft the fublime images raiſed in one's mind by its noble fim plicity and folitary light, hover before the fancy, and lead recollection round through a thouſand gloomy and myfterious paffages, with no unfteady pace however, while ſhe fol lows the rays which beam from the Re deemer's crofs. Being obliged indeed to go K4 with 136 OBSERVATIONS IN A f with company to theſe folemnities, takes off from their effect, and turns imagination into another channel, difagreeably enough, but it muſt be fo ; where there is a thing to be ſeen every one will go to fee it, and that which was intended to produce fenfations of gladneſs, gratitude, or wonder, ends in being a show. The conſciouſneſs of this fact only kept me from wishing to fee the Duomo di Milano, or the cathedral of Canterbury illuminated juſt fo, with lamps placed in rows upon a plain wooden crofs ; which furely would have, up on thofe old Gothic ftructures, an unequalled effect as to the forming of light and ſhadow. But let us wifh for any thing now rather than a fine fight. I am tired with the very word a fight ; while the Jefuits church here. at Rome, with the figure of St. Ignatius all covered with precious ftones, with bronze angels by Bernini, and every decoration that money can purchafe and induftry collect, ra ther dazzles than delights one, I think. The Italians feem to find out, I know not why, that it is a good thing the Jeſuits are gone ; though they ſteadily endeavour to retain thofe principles of defpotifin which it was their peculiar JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 137 peculiar province to infpire and confirm, and whilft all men muft fee that the work of edu cation goes on worfe in other hands. Indeed nothing can be wilder than committing youth to the tuition of monks and nuns, unleſs, like them, they were intended for the cloifter. Young people are but too ready to find fault with their teachers, and theſe are given into the hands of thoſe teachers who have a fault ready found. Every chriftian, every moral inftruction driven into their tender minds weakens with the experience that he or fhe who inculcated it was a reclufe ; and that they who are to live in the world forfooth, muft have more enlarged notions : whereas, to a Jefuit tutor, no fuch objection could be made ; they were themſelves men ofthe world, their inftitution not only permitted but obliged them to mingle with mankind, to ftudy characters, to attend to the various tranfactions paffing round them, and take an active part. It was indeed this ſpirit puſhed too far, which undid and deſtroyed their order, fo uſeful to the church of Rome. Connections with various nations they found beft obtained by commerce, and the fweets of commerce once tafted , what body of men has been yet able to relinquiſh ? 20 But 138 OBSERVATIONS IN A But the principles of trade are formed in direct oppofition to that ſpirit of fubordination by which alone their exiftence could continue ; and it is unjuſt to charge any fingle event or perſon with the diffolution of a body, incompatible with that ftate of opennefs and freedom to which Europe is haftening. Incorporated focieties too carry, like individuals, the feeds of their own deftruction in their boſoms ; As man perhaps the moment ofhis breath Receives the lurking principle of death ; The young diſeaſe, which muſt fubdue at length, Grows with his growth, and ftrengthens with his ftrength. Every warehoufe opened in every part of Europe, every ſettlement obtained abroad, fa cilitated their undoing, by looſening the band which tied them clofe together. Extremes can never keep their diftance from each other, while human affairs trot but in a circle ; and furcly no ftronger proof of that pofition can be found, than the fight of Quakers in Pen fylvania, and Jefuits in Paraguay, who lived with their converted Indian neighbours, alike in harmony, and peace, and love. We 1 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 139 We have been led to reflections of this fort by a view ofgirls portioned here at Rome once a year, fome for marriage and others for a nunnery ; the laft fet were handfomeft and feweft, and the people I converſe with ſaythat every day makes almoſt viſible diminution in the number of monks and nuns. I know not, however, whether Italy will go on much the better for having fo few convents ; fome ſhould furely be left, nay ſome muſt be left in a country where it is not poffible for every man to obtain a decent livelihood by labour as in England : no army, no navy, very little commerce poffible to the inland ftates, and very little need of it in any ; little ſtudy ofthe law too, where the prince or baron's lips pro nounce on the decifion of property ; what muſt people do where fo few profeffions are open ? Can they all be phyſicians, prieſts, or fhop-keepers, where little phyfic is taken, and few goods bought ? There are already more clergy than can live, and I faw an abate with the petit collet at Lucca, playing in the orcheſ tra at the opera for eighteen pence pay. Let us be all contented with the benefits received from heaven, and let us learn better than to fet up flf, whether nation or individual, as a ſtand ard 140 OBSERVATIONS IN A ard to which all others muſt be reduced ; while imitation is at laft but meannefs, and each may in his own fphere ferve God and love his neighbours, while variety renders life more pleafing. Quod fis effe velis *, is an admirable maxim, and furely no felf-denial is neceffary to its practice ; while God has kindly given to Italians a bright ſky, a penetrating intellect, a genius for the polite and liberal arts, and a foil which produces literally, as well as figura tively, almoft fpontaneous fruits. He has be ftowed on Engliſhmen a mild and wholefome climate, a ſpirit of application and improve ment, a judicious manner of thinking to increaſe, and commerce to procure, thoſe few comforts their own ifland fails to produce. The mind of an Italian is commonly like his country, extenfive, warm, and beautiful from the irregular diverſification of its ideas ; an ardent character, a glowing landſcape. That of an Engliſhman is cultivated, rich , and regularly difpofed ; a fteady character, a de licious landfcape. I must not quit Rome however without a word of Angelica Kauffman, who, though neither English nor Italian, has contrived to What you are already, that defire to be for ever. charm JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 141 charm both nations, and fhew her fuperior talents both here and there. Befide her paint ings, of which the world has been the judge, her converſation attracts all people of taſte to her houſe, which none can bear to leave with out difficulty and regret. But a fight of the Santa Croce palace, with its difgufting Job, and the man in armour fo vifibly horror ftriken, puts all painters but Salvator Rofa for a while out of one's head. This mafter's works are not frequent, though he painted with fa cility. I fuppofe he is difficult to imitate or copy, fo what we have of him is original. There are too many living objects here in Job's condition, not to render walking in the ſtreets extremely difagrecable ; and though we are told there are feventeen markets in Rome, I can find none, the forum boarium being kept alike in all parts of the city for ought I fee ; butchers ftanding at their fhop doors, which are not ſhut nor the fhop cleaned even on Sundays, while blood is fuffered to run along the kennels in a manner very fhocking to humanity. Mr. Greatheed made me remark that the knife they ufe now, is the fame em ployed by the old Romans in cutting up the facrificed 342 OBSERVATIONS IN A facrificed victim ; and there are in fact ancient figures in many bas-reliefs of this town, which repreſent the inferior officers, or popa, with a prieſt's albe reaching from their arms and tucked up tight, with the facrificing knife faſt ened to it, exactly as the modern butcher wears his dreſs. The apron was called limus, and there was a purple welt fewed on it in fuch a manner as to repreſent a ſerpent : Velati limo, et verbenâ tempora vinci * ; which Servius explains at length, but gives no reaſon for the ſerpentine form, byfome people exalted, particularly Mr. Hogarth, as nearly allied to the perfection of all poffible grace. This looks hypothetical, but when the map of both hemiſpheres diſplayed before one, fhews that the Sun's path forms the fame line, called by pre-eminence Ecliptic, we will pardon their predilection in its favour. But it is time to take leave of this Roma triumphans, as he is reprefented in one ſtatue witha weeping province at her foot, so beautiful ! it reminded me of Queen Eleanor and fair Rofamond. The Viaggiana fent me to look for many things I fhould not have found with

• Girt with the limus, and as to their temples, they

were crowned with vervain. 15 out JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 143 1 out that inſtructive guide, particularly the fin gular infcription on Gaudentius the actor's tomb, importing that Vefpafian rewarded him with death, but that Kriflus, for fo Chrift is ſpelt, will reward him with a finer theatre in heaven. He was one of our early martyrs it appears, and an altar to him would furely be now more judiciouſly placed at a play houſe door than one to good St. Anthony, under whoſe protection the theatre at Naples is built ; with no great propriety it muſt be confeffed, when that Saint, difgufted by the levities of life, retired to finish his exifl ence, far from the haunts of man, amongthe horrors of an unfrequented defert. So has it chanced however, that by many fects of Chriftians, the player and his profeffion have been ſeverely reprobated ; Calvinifts forbid them their walls as deftructive to morality, while Romanifts, confidering them as juftly excommunicated, refufe them the common rites of fepulture. Scripture affords no ground for fuch ſeverity. Dr. Johnfon once told me that St. Paul quoted in his epiftles a comedy of Menander; and I got the librarian at Ve nice to fhew me the paffage marked as a quo tation in one of the old editions : it is then a fair 144 OBSERVATIONS IN A a fair inference enough that the apoſtle could never have prohibited to his followers the fight of plays, when he cited them himſelf ; they were indeed more innocent than any other ſhow ofthe days he lived in , and if well managed may be always made fubfervient to the great cauſes of religion and virtue. The paffage cited was this : Evil communication corrupts good manners. And now with regard to the preſent ſtate of morals at Rome, one muſt not judge from ſtaring ſtories told one ; it is like Heliogaba lus's method of computing the number of his citizens from the weight of their cobwebs. It is wonderful to me the people are no worſe, where no methods are taken to keep them from being bad. As to the fociety, I fpeak not from myſelf, for I faw nothing of it ; fome Engliſh liked it, but more complained. Wanting amufe ment, however, can be no complaint, even without fociety, in a city fo pregnant with wonders, fo productive of reflections ; and if the Roman nobles are haughty, who can won der ; when one fees doors of agate, and chim ney JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 145 ney-pieces ofamethyst, one can ſcarcely be fur prifed at the poffeffors pride, fhould they in contempt turn their backs upon a foreigner, whom they are early taught to confider as the Turks confider women, creatures formed for their use only, or at beſt amusement, and de voted to certain deſtruction at the hour of death. With fuch principles, the hatred and fcorn they naturally feel for a proteftant will eafily ſwell into fuperciliouſneſs, or burst out into arrogance, the moment it is unreſtrained bythe neceffity of forms among the rich, and the defire of pillage in the poor. But I fhall be glad now to exchange lapis lazuli for violets, and verd antique for green fields. Here are more amethyſts about Rome than lilacs ; and the laburnum which at this gay feafon adorns the environs of London, I look for in vain about the Porta del Popolo. The proud purple tulip which decorates the ground hereabouts, oppofed to the British harebell, is Italy and England again ; but the harebellby cultivation becomes a hyacinth, the tulip remains where it began. We are now at the 16th of April, yet I know not how or why it is, although the oaks, young, ſmall, VOL. II. L and 146 OBSERVATIONS IN A and ftraggling as they are, have the leaves come Lout all broad and full already, thoughthe figis bursting out every day and hour, and the mul berry tree, fo tardy in our climate, that I have often been unable to fee fcarcely a bud upon them even in May, is here completely furniſh ed. Apple trees are yet in bloffom round this city, and the few elms that can be found, are but juft unfolding. Common fhrubs continue their wintry appearance, and in the general look of fpring little is gained. The hedges now of Kent and Surrey are filled with fra grance I amfure, and primroſes in the remoter provinces torment the ſportſmen with ſpoiling the drag on a ſoft ſcenting morning ; while limes, horfe- chefnuts, &c. contribute to pro duce an effect not fo inferior to that foſtered by Italian funſhine, as I expected to find it. Whythe first breath of far-diftant fummer fhould thus affect the oak and fig, yet leave the elm and apple as with us, the botanifts muft tell ; few advances have been made in vegetation fince we left Naples, that is certain ; the hedges were as forward near Pozzuoli two full months ago. And here are no China oranges to be bought ; no, nor a cherry or ftrawberry to be feen, while every man of faſhion's JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 147 faſhion's table in London is covered with them ; and all the ſhops of Covent-garden and St. James's- ftreet hang out their luxurious temptations of fruit, to prove the proximity of fummer, and the advantages of induſtrious cultivation. Our eating pleaſed me more at every town than this ; where however a man mightlive very well I believe for fixpence a-day, and lodge for twenty pounds a- year ; and who ever has no attachment to religion, friends, or country, no prejudices to plague his neigh bours with, and no diflike to take the world. as it goes, for fix or feven years of his life, may ſpend them profitably at Rome, if either his buſineſs or his pleaſure be made out of the works of art ; as an income of two, or indeed one hundred pounds per annum, will purchaſe a man more refined delights of that kind here, than as many thouſands in England : nor need he want fociety at the firſt houſes, palaces one ought to call them, as Italians meaſure no man's merit by the weight of his purfe ; they know how to reverence even poverty, and foften all its forrows with an appearance of reſpect, when they find it unfortunately con nected with noble birth. His own country folk's neglect, as they pafs through, would in L 2 deed 148 OBSERVATIONS IN A deed be likely enough to diſturb his felicity, and leffen the kindneſs of his Roman friends, who having no idea of a perfon's being ſhun ned for any other poffible reafon except the want of a pedigree, would conclude that his must be effentially deficient, and lament their having laid out fo many careffes on an impoftor. The air of this city is unwholeſome to fo reigners, but if they pafs the firſt year, the remainder goes well enough ; many Engliſh Teem very healthy, who are eſtabliſhed here without even the fmalleft intention of return ing home to Great Britain, for which place we arefetting outto- morrow, 19th April 1786, and quit a town that ftill retains fo many juſt pre tences to be ftyled thefirft amongthe cities ofthe earth; to which almoft as manyftrangers are now attracted by curiofity, as were dragged thither by violence in the firft ftage of its dominion, impelled by fuperftitious zeal in the fecond. The rage for antiquities now feems to have fpread its contagion of connoiffeurſhip over all thoſe people whoſe predeceffors tore down, levelled, and deftoyed, or buried under ground their ftatues, pictures, every work of art ; Poles, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. $49 Poles, Ruffians, Swedes, and Germans innu merable, flock daily hither in this age, to ad mire with rapture the remains of thoſe very fabrics which their own barbarous anceſtors pulled down ten centuries ago ; and give for the head of a Livia, a Probus, or Gallienus, what emperors and queens could not then uſe with any efficacy, for the prefervation oftheir own perfons, now grown facred by ruft, and valuable from their difficulty to be decyphered. The Engliſh were wont to be the only travel lers of Europe, the only dupes too in this way; but defire of diftinction is diffufed among all the northern nations, and our Romans here have it more in their power, with that prudence to affift them which it is faid they do not want, if not to not to conquer their neigh bours once again, at leaſt to ruin them, by dint of digging up their dead heroes, and call ing in the affiftance of their old Pagan deities, now uſeful to them in a new manner, and ever propitious to this city, although Enlighten'd Europe with difdain Beholds the reverenc'd heathen train, Nor names them more in this her clearer day, Unleſs with fabled force to aid the poet's lay." R. MERRY. L 3 150 OBSERVATIONS 1IN A FROM ROME TO ANCONA. In our road hither we paffed through what remains of Veia, once fo efteemed and liked by the Romans, that they had a good mind, after they had driven Brennus back, to change the feat of empire and remove it there ; but a belief in augury prevented it, and that event was put offtill Conftantine, feduced by beauties of fituation, made the fatal change, and broke the laft thread which had fo long bound tight together the fafces of Roman fway. We did not tafte the Vinum Veientanum mentioned by Martial and Horace, but trotted on to Ci vita Caftellana, where Camillus rejected the bafe offer of the ſchoolmaster of Fefcennium ; a good picture of his well-judged puniſhment is ftill preſerved in the Capitol. The first night of our journey was ſpent at Otricoli, where I heard the cuckoo fing in a fhriller ſharper note than he does in England. I had never liftened to him before fince I left my own country, and his fong alone would ¡ have JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 151 have convinced me I was no longer in it. Porta di Fuga at Spoleta gates, commemorating poor Hannibal's precipitate retreat after the battle of Thrafymene, may perhaps detain us a while upon this Flaminian way ; it was not Titus Flaminius though, whofe negotiations ruined Hannibal for ever, that gave nameto the road, but Caius ofthe fame family ; they had been Flamens formerly, and were therefore called Flaminius, when drawn up by accident or merit into notice ; the fame cuftom ftill obtains with us : we have Dr. Priestley and Mr. Parfons. Narni Bridge coft us fome trouble in clam bering, and more in difputing whether it was originally an aqueduct or a bridge- or both. It is a magnificent ftructure, irregularly built, the arches of majestic height, but all unequal. There was water enough under it when I was there to take off the impropriety apparent to many of turning fo large an arch over ſo finall a ftream. Yet notwithſtanding that the river was much fwelled by long continuance of the violent rains which lately fo overflowed the city of Rome, affifted by the Tyber, that peo ple went about the ſtreets in boats, notwith- ·· L4 ſtanding 嘿 OBSERVATIONS IN A 152 ftanding the fnows tumbled down from the furrounding mountains, muſt have much in creafed the quantity, and lowered the colour ofthe river :-We found it even now yellow with brimſtone, and well deſerving the epithet offulphureous Nar. The next day's drive carried us forward to Terni, where a fevere concuffion of the earth fuffered only three nights fince, kept all the little town in terrible alarm ; the houſes were deſerted , the churches crowded, fupplications and proceffions in every ſtreet, and people finging all night to the Virgin under our win dow. 1 Well! the next morning we hired horfes for our gentlemen ; a little cart, not inconve nient at all, for my maid and me ; and fcrambled over many rocks to view the far famed waterfall, through aſweet country, pleaf ingly interfected with hedges and planted with vines ; the ground finely undulated, and rifing by gradations of hill till the eye lofes itſelf among the lofty Appenines ; fur ly as they feem, and one would think imper vious ; but against human art and human ambition, the boundary of rocks and roaring feas lift their proud heads in vain. Man renders them 12 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 153 them fubfervient to his imperial will, and forces them to facilitate, not impede his do minion ; while ocean's felf ſupports his ſhips, and the mountain yields marble to decorate his palace. This is however no moment and no place to begin a panegyric upon the power of man, and of his fkill to fubjugate the works of na ture, where the people are trembling at its paft, and dreading its future effects. The caſcade we came to fee is formed by the fall of a whole river, which here abruptly drops into the Nar, from a height fo prodigi ous, and by a courſe ſo unbroken, that it is dif ficult to communicate, ſo as to receive the idea : for no eye can meaſure the depth of the preci pice, fuch is the toffing up of foam from its bottom ; and the terrible noiſe heard long be fore one arrives fo ftunned and confounded all my wits at once, that many minutes. paffed before I obſerved the horror in our con ductors, who coming with us, then firſt per ceived how the late earthquake had twiſted the torrent out of its proper channel, and thrown it down another neighbouring rock, leaving the original bed black and deferted, as a difmal proof of the concuffion's force. One 154 OBSERVATIONS IN A One of our Engliſh friends who had visited Schaffhaufen, made no difficulty to prefer this wonderful cafcade to the fall of the Rhine at that place ; and what with the fiffures made in the ground by recent earthquakes, the fight of propt-up cottages which fright the fancy more than thofe already fallen , and the roar ofdaſhing waters driven from their deftined currents by what the people here emphatically term palpitations of the earth ; one feels a thouſand fenfations of fublimity unexcited by lefs accidents, and foon obliterated by real danger. Why the inhabitants will have this tum bling river be Topino, I know not ; but no fuggeftions of mine could make them name it Velino, as our travellers uniformly call it : for, fay they, quello è il nome delforgente *; and in fact Virgil's line, Sulfureâ Nar, albus acqua fontefque Velini, fays no more. The mountains after Terni grow ſteep and difficult ; no one who wishes to fee the Ap penines in perfection muft mifs this road, yet are they not comparable to the Alps at beft, which being more lofty, more craggy, and

• That's the name of the fpring.

almoft JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 155 almoſt univerſally terminating in points of granite devoid of horizontal ftrata, give one a more majeſtic idea of their original and du ration. Spoleto is on the top of one of them, and Porta della Fuga meets one at its gates. Here as our coach broke (and who can won der?) wehave time to talk over old ftories, and look forftreams immortaliz'd infong : for being tied together only with ropes, we cannot hurry through a country moft delightful of all others to be detained in. The little temple to the river god Clitumnus. afforded matter of difcuffion amongst our party, whether this was, or was not the very one mentioned by Pliny : Adjacet templumprifcum et religiofum. Stat Clitumnus ipfe amictus or natuſque *. Mr. Greatheed was angry with me for ad miring fpiral columns, as he faid pillars were always meant to fupport fomething, and ſpiral lines betrayed weakness. Mr. Chappelow quoted every claffic author that had ever men tioned the white cattle ; and I ſaid that fo far as they were whiter than other beafts of the fame kind, fo far were they worfe ; for that

• There was an old religious temple hard by, where

Clitumnus himſelf was venerated with fuitable drefs and ornaments. whitenefs 156 OBSERVATIONS IN A C whiteness in the works of nature fhewed fee bleness ftill more than fpirals in the works of art perhaps. So chatting on-but on no Fla minian way, we arrived at Foligno ; where the people told us that it was the quality of thoſe waters to turn the clothing of many animals white, and accordingly all the fowls looked like thoſe of Darking. I had however no taſte oftheir beauty, recollecting that when I kept poultry, fome accident poiſoned me avery beautiful black hen, the breed of Lord Mansfield at Caen Wood : fhe recovered her illness ; but at the next moulting ſeaſon, her feathers came as white as the fwans. " Let us look," fays Mr. Sh- , " if all the wo men here have got grey hair. gars me, Tolentino and Macerata we will not ſpeak about, while Loretto courts defcription, and the richeſt treaſures of Europe ftand in the moſt delicious diſtrict of it. The number of beg offended becauſe I hold it next to im poffibility that they ſhould want in a country ſo luxuriantly abundant ; and their proftrations as they kneel and kifs the ground before you, are more calculated to produce diſguſt from Britiſh travellers, than compaffion. Nor can I think JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 157 I think thefe vagabonds diftreffed in earneft at this time above all others ; when their fove reign provides them with employment on the beautiful new road he is making, and infifts on their being well paid, who are found willing to work. But the town itſelf of Lo retto claims my attention ; fo clear are its ftrects, fo numerous and cheerful and induf trious are its inhabitants : one would think they had refolved to rob paffengers ofthe trite remark which the fight of dead wealth always inſpires, that the money might be better beflowed upon the living poor. For here are very few poor families, and fewer idlers than one ex pects to fee in a place where not buſineſs but devotion is the leading characteristic. So quiet too and inoffenfive are the folks here, that fcarcely any robberies or murders, or any. but very petty infringements of the law, are ever committed among them. Yet people grieve to ſee that wealth collected, which once diffuſed would certainly make many happy; and thoſe treaſures lying dead, which well dif perfed might keep thouſands alive. This ob fervation, not always made perhaps by thofe whofeel it moft, or that would fooneft give their 158 OBSERVATIONS IN A their ſhare of it away, if once poffeffed , is now, from being ſo often repeated, become neither bright nor new. Wewill not however be pe tulantly hafty to cenfure thoſe who firſt began the lamentation, remembering that our bleffed Saviour's earlieſt difciples, and thoſe moſt im mediately about him too, could not forbear grudging to fee precious ointment poured up on his feet, whom they themselves confeffed to be the Son of God. We fhould likewife recol lect his mild but grave reproof of thofe men who gave fo decided a preference to the poor over his facred perfon, fo foon to be facrificed for them, and his teftimony to the wo man's earneſt love and zeal expreffed by giv ing him the fineft thing fhe had. Such ac ceptance as fhe met with, I fuppofe prompted the hopes ofmany who have been diſtinguiſh ed by their rich prefents to Loretto ; and let not thofe at leaft mock or moleft them, who have been doing nothing better with their money. Upon examination of the jewels it is curious to obferve that the intrinfic value of the prefents is manifeftly greater, the more ancient they are ; but tafte fucceeds to folidity in every thing, and proofs of that pofition may be JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 159 be foundevery ſtep one treads. The veſtments, all embroidered over with picked pearl, are quite beyond my powers of eſtimation. The goldbabygiven at the birth of Louis Qua torze, of ſize and weight equal to the real in fant, has had its value often computed ; I for get the fum though. A rock of emeralds in their native bed prefented by the Queen of Portugal, though of Occidental growth, is furely ineftimable ; and our fanguinary Ma ry's heart of rubies is highly efteemed. I afk ed if Charles the Ninth of France had fent any thing ; for I thought their prefents ſhould have been placed together : far, far even from the wooden image of her who was a model of meekneſs, and carried in her ſpotleſs boſom the Prince of Peace. Many very exquiſite pieces of art too have found their way into the Virgin's cabinet ; the pearl however is the ſtriking rarity, as it exhibits in the manner of a blot on marble, the figure of our bleffed Saviour fitting on a cloud claſped in his mo ther's arms. Princess Borgheſe ſent an ele gantly-fet diamond necklace no longer ago than laft Chriftmas- day ; it is valued at a thousand pounds fterling English ; but the riches 9 160 OBSERVATIONS IN A riches of that family appear to me inexhauſt ible. Whoever fees it will fay, fhe might have fpent the money better ; but let them reflect that one may ſay that of all expence almoft ; and it is not from the ftate of Loretto theſe treaſures are taken at laft : they bring money there ; and if any perfon has a right to com plain, it muſt be the fubjects of diftant princes, who yet would ſcarcely have divided among them the fapphires, &c. they have fent in preſents to Loretto. It was curiousto fee the devotees drag them felves round the holy houfe upon their knees ; but the Santa Scala at Rome had fhewn me the fame operation performed with more dif ficulty ; and a written injunction at bottom, leſs agreeable for Italians to comply with, than any poffible proftration ; viz. That no one fhould fpit as he went up or down, except in his pocket-handkerchief. The lamps which burn night and day before the black image here at Loretto are of folid gold, and there is fuch a crowd of them I fcarcely could fee the figure for my own part ; and that one may fee ftill lefs, the attendant canons throw a veil over one's face going in. The JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 161 The confeffionals, where all may be heard in their own language, is not peculiar to this church ; I met with it fomewhere elfe, but have forgotten where, though I much efteem ed the eſtabliſhment. It is very, entertaining here too, to ſee inſcriptions in twelve different tongues, giving an account of the miraculous removal and arrival here of the Santa Cafa : I was delighted with the Welch one ; and our conductor faid there came not unfrequently pilgrims from the vale of Llwydd, who in their turns told the wonders of their holy well. In Latin then, and Greek, and Hebrew, Syriac, Phoenician, Arabic, French, Spaniſh, German, Welch, and Tufcan, may you read a ftory, once believed of equal credit, and more revered I fear, than even the facred words of God fpeaking by the fcriptures ; but which is now certainly upon the wane. I told a learned ecclefiaftic at Rome, that we ſhould return home by the way of Loretto : "There is no need," faid he, " to caution a native of your iſland againſt credulity ; but pray do not believe that we are ourſelves fatisfied with the tale you will read there ; no man of learning but knows, that Adrian de VOL. II. ftroyed M 162 OBSERVATIONS IN A ftroyed every trace and veftige of Chriſtianity, that he could find in the Eaft ; and he was acute, and diligent, and powerful. The em prefs Helena long after him, with piety that equalled even his profanenefs, could never hear of this holy houfe ; how then ſhould it have waited till fo many long years after Jeſus Chrift ? Truth is, Pope Boniface the VIIIth, who canonized St. Louis, who inftituted the jubilee, who quarrelled with Philippe le Bel about a new crufade, and who at laft fretted himſelf to death, though he had conquered all his enemies, becauſe he feared fome lofs of power to the church ; -defired to give mankind a new object of attention, and en couraged an old vifionary, in the year 1296, to propagate the tale he half- believed himſelf; how the bleffed Virgin had appeared to him, and related the ftory you will read upon the walls, which was then firft committed to paper. In confequence of this intelligence, Boniface fent men into the Eaft that he could beft depend upon, and they brought back juſt ſuch particulars as would beft pleaſe the Pope ; and in thoſe days you can ſcarce think how quick the blaze of fuperftition caught and 22 commu JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 163 communicated itſelf: no one wished to deny what his neighbour was willing to believe, and what he himſelf would then have gained no credit by contradicting. Pofitive evidence ofwhat the houſe really was, or whence it came, it was in a few years impoffible to obtain ; nor did Boniface the VIIIth know it himſelf I fuppofe, much leſs the old viſionary who firſt ſet the matter a-going. Meantime the houſe itſelf has no foundation, whatever the ſtory may have; it is a very fingular houſe as you may ſee ; it has been venerated by the beſt and wiſeſt among Chriftians now for five hundred years : even the Turks (who have the fame method of honouring their Prophet with gifts, as we do the Virgin Mary) reſpect the very name of Loretto : -why then ſhould the place be to any order of thinking beings a juſt object of infult or mockery ?"—Here he ended his difcourfe, the recollection of which never left me whilft we remained at the place. What Dr. Moore fays of the finging chap lains withfoprano voices, who ſay maſs at the altars of Loretto, is true enough, and may perhaps have been originally borrowed from the Pagan celebration of the rites of Cybele. M 2 When 164 OBSERVATIONS IN A When Chriſtianity was young, and weak, and tender, and unſupported by erudition, dread ful miſtakes and errors eaſily crept in : the hea then converts hearing much of MaterDei, con founded her idea with that of their Mater Deo rum; and we were fhewn, among the rari ties of Rome, a bronze Madonna, with a tower on her head, exactly as Cybele is repreſented. Thut the jewels are taken out of this trea fury and replaced with falſe ſtones, is a ſpeech always faid over fine things by the vulgar : I have heard the fame thing affirmed of the diamonds at St. Denis ; and can recollect the common people ſaying, when our King of England was crowned, that all the real pre cious ftones were locked up, or fold for ſtate expences ; while the jewels fhewn to them were only calculated to dazzle for the day. As there is always infinite falsehood in the world, fo there is always wonderful care, however ill applied, to avoid being duped ; a terror which hangs heavily over weak minds. in particular, and frights them as far from truth on the one fide, as credulity tempts them away from it on the other. But JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 165 But we muft vifit the apothecary's pots, painted by Raphael, and leave Loretto, to pro ceed alongthe fide ofthis lovely fea, hearing the pilgrims fing moft fweetly as they go along in troops towards the town, with now and then a female voice peculiarly diſtinguiſhed from the reft : bythis means a new image is prefented to one's mind ; the fight of fuch figures too half alarm the fancy, and give an air of diftance. from England, which nothing has hitherto inſpired half ſo ftrongly. This charming Adriatic gulph befide, though more than de licious to drive by, does not, like the Medi terranean, convey homeiſh or familiar ideas ; one feels that it belongs exclufively to Venice; one knows that ancient Greece is on the oppofite ſhore, and that with a quick fail one fhould foon fee Macedonia ; and defcending 1 匪 but a little to the fouthward, vifit Athens, Corinth, Sparta, Thebes- feats of philoſophy, freedom, virtue ; whence models of excellence and patterns of perfection have been drawn for twenty fucceeding centuries ! Here are plenty of nightingales, but they do not fing as well as in Hertfordshire : birds gain in colour as you approach the tropic, but M 3 they " 166 OBSERVATIONS IN A they loſe in fong ; under the torrid zone I have heard they never fing at all ; with us in England the lateſt leave off by midfummer, when the work of incubation goes forward, and the parental duties begin : the nightingale too chufes the cooleft hour; and though I have yet heard her in Italy only early in the mornings, Virgil knew ſhe ſung in the night: Flet noctem, &c. * To hear birds it is however indiſpenſably neceſſary that there ſhould be high trees ; and except in theſe parts of Italy, and thoſe about Genoa and Sienna, no timber of any good growth can I find. The roccolo too, and other methods taken to catch fmall birds, which many delight in eating, and more in taking, leffen the quantity of natural muſic vex atiouſly enough ; while gaudy infects ill fup ply their place, and fharpen their ftings at pleaſure when deprived of their greateſt ene mies. We are here leſs tormented than ufual however, while the profpects are varied fo that every look produces a new and beautiful landſcape. Nightly lamenting, &c. Ancona JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 167 Ancona is a town perfectly agreeable to ftrangers, from the good humour with which every nation is received, and every religion patiently endured : fomething of all this the ſcholars fay may be found in the derivation of its name, which being Greek I have nothing to do with. Pliny tells us its original, and fays ; A Siculis condita eft colonia Ancona*. That Dalmatia fhould be oppofite, yet to us at prefent inacceffible, we all regret ; I drank fea water however, fo did not leave untafted the waves which Lucan fpeaks of: Illic Dalmaticis obnoxia fluctibus Ancon t.. The fine turbots did not any of them fall to our ſhare ; but here are good fish, and, to fay true, every thing eatable as much in per fection as poffible : I could never fince I ar rived at Turin find real caufe of complaint ferious complaint I mean-except at that fa vage-looking place called Radicofani ; and fome other petty town in Tuſcany, near

• The colony of Ancona, founded by Sicilians.

+ The beauteous gulph which fair Ancona laves, Ancona wash'd by white Dalmatian waves. M 4 Sienna, 168 OBSERVATIONS IN A Sienna, where I eat too many eggs and grapes, becauſe there was nothing elſe. Nice accommodations muft not be looked for, and need not be regretted, where fo much amuſement during the day gives one good difpofition to fleep found at night : the worſt is, men and women, fervants and mafters, must often mefs together ; but if one frets about fuch things, it is better ſtay at home. The Italians like travelling in England no better than the Engliſh do travelling in Italy ; whilſt an exorbitant expence is incurred by the journey, not well repaid to them by the waiters white chitterlins, tambour waiſtcoats, and independent " No, Sir," echoed round a well-furniſhed inn or tavern ; which puts them but in the place of Socrates at the fair, who cried out " How many things have thefe people gathered together that I do not want !"— Anoble Florentine complained exceedingly to me once of the English hotels, where he was made to help pay for thoſe good gold watches the fellows who attended him drew from their pockets ; fo he fet up his quarters comically enough at the waggoners full Moon upon the old bridge at Bath, to be quit of the ifchiavitù, as he called it, of living like a gen tleman , JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 169 dleman, "where," fays he, " I am not known to be one." The truth is, a continental no bleman can have little heart of a country, where, to be treated as a man of faſhion, he muſt abſolutely behave as fuch : his rank is afcertained at home, and people's deportment to him regulated by long-eſtabliſhed cuſtoms ; nor can it be fuppofed flattering to its pre judices, to feel himſelf joftled in the ſtreet, or driven againſt upon the road by a rich trader, while he is contriving the cheapeſt method of going to look over his manufactory. Wealth diffuſed makes all men comfortable, and leaves no man fplendid ; gives every body two diſhes, but nobody two hundred. Objects of ſhow are therefore unfrequent in England, and a foreigner who travels through our country in ſearch of pofitive fights, will, after much money ſpent, go home but poorly entertained : " There is neither quarefima,” will he fay, " nor carnovale in any ſenſe of the word, among thoſe infipid iſlanders. " For he who does not love our government, and taſte our manners which refult from it, can never be delighted in England ; while the inhabitants of our nation may always be amufed 170 OBSERVATIONS IN A amufed in theirs, without any eſteem of it at all. I know not howAncona produced all theſe tedious reflexions : it is a trading place, and a fea-port town. Men working in chains upon the new mole did not pleaſe me though, and their infenfibility fhocks one : -" Give a poor thief ſomething, mafter," fays one im pudent fellow; -" Son ftato ladro padrone * ;" with a grin. That fuch people fhould be corrupt or coarſe however is no wonder ; what furpriſed me moft was, that when one of our company ſpoke of his conduct to a man of the town-" Why, what would you have, Sir ?" -replies the perfon applied to " when the poor creature is caftigato, it is enough fure, no need to make him be me lancholy too :"-and added with true Italian good-nature, " Siamo tutti peccatori †. " The mole is a prodigious work indeed ; a warm friend to Venice can ſcarce with its ſpeedy conclufion, as the ufeful and neceffary parts of the project are already nearly accom pliſhed, and it would be pity to feduce more

• I am a light-fingered fellow, Mafter,

+ We are all finners you know. commerce JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 171 commerce away from Venice, which has already loft fo much. The triumphal arch of Trajan, deſcribed by every traveller, and juftly admired by all ; white as his virtue, fhining as his character, and durable as his fame ; fixed our eyes à long time in admiration , and made us, while we examined the beautiful ftructure , recollect his incomparable qualities to whom it was dedi cated,-" Inter Cafares optimus * ,"-fays one of their old writers : nor could either column or arch be fo fure a proof that he was thought fo, as the wifh breathed at the inauguration of fucceeding emperors ; Sis tu felicior Au gufto, melior Trajano †. If thefe Ancona men were not proud of themſelves, one ſhould hate them ; deſcended as they are from thofe Syracufans liberated by Timoleon, who freed them firſt from the tyranny of Dionyfius ; foftered afterwards by Trajan, as peculiarly worth his notice ; and patroniſed in fucceeding times by the good Corfini Pope, Clement XII. whoſe care for them appears by the uſeful lazaretto he built,

• The beſt among the Cæfars.

+ Mayft thou be happier than Auguftus ! -better than Trajan! 66 to 172 OBSERVATIONS IN A cc " to fave," faid he, our beſt ſubjects, our fubjects ofAncona. " But we are haftening forward as faſt as our broken carriage will permit, to Padua, where we ſhall leave it : thither to arrive, we paſs through Senegallia, built by the Gauls, and ftill retaining the Gaulish name, but now little remarkable. What ftruck me moft was my own croffing the Rubicon in my way back to England, and our comfortable return to BOLOGNA, AFTER admiring the high forehead and in nocent fimper of Baroccio's beauties at Pefaro, where the beſt European filk nowcomes from ; againſtwhich the produce of Rimini vainly en deavours to vie. That town was once anUm brian colony I think, and there is a fine memo rial there where Diocletianus repofuit, refolving perhaps to end where Julius Cæfar had begun ; he died at Salo however in Dalmatia, Quâmaris Adriaci longas ferit unda Salones. Ravenna l'Antica tired more than it pleaf ed us ; Fano is a populous pretty little town ; but I know no reaſon why it was originally 20 dedicated JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 173 dedicated to Fortune. Truth is, we are weary of theſe facred fanes, and long to fee once more our amiable friends at Venice and at Milan. I have miffed San Marino at laſt, but re ceive kind aſſurances every day that the lofs is fmall ; being now little more than a con vent feated on a hill, which affords refuge for robbers ; and that the prefent Pope meditates its deſtruction as a nufance to the neighbour ing towns. There never was any coin ftruck there it ſeems ; I thought there had but the train of reflections excited by even a diſtant view of it are curious enough as oppofed to its protectreſs Rome ; which, founded by robbers and banditti, ends in being the feat of fanctity and prieftly government ; while San Marino, begun by a hermit, and fecluded from all other ftates for the mere purpoſes of purer devotion, finiſhes by its neceſſary re moval as a repoſitory for affaffins, and a re fuge for thoſe who break the laws with vio lence. 1 Such is this variable and capricious world ! and fo dies away my defire to examine this political curiofity ; the extinction of which I am half forry for. Privation is ftill a me lancholy • 174 OBSERVATIONS IN A lancholy idea, and were one to hear that the race of wafps were extirpated, it would grieve one. Bologna affords one time for every medita tion. No inn upon the Bath road is more elegant than the Pellegrino ; and we regretted our broken equipage the lefs as it drew us flowly through fo fweet a country. The medlar bloffoms adorn the hedges with their blanche rofes ; the hawthorn buſhes, later here than with us, perfume them; and the roads, little travelled, do not torment one with the duft as in England, where it not only offends the traveller, but takes away fome beauty from the country, by giving a brown or whitish look to the fhrubs and trees. We fhall repofe here very comfortably, or at leaſt change our mode of being bufy, which re freſhes one perhaps more than poſitive idle nefs. " But life," fays fome writer, " is a continual fever ; " and fure ours has been com pletely fo for theſe two years. A charming lady of our country, for whom I have the higheſt efteem, protefts fhe fhall be happy to get back to London if it is only for the relief of fitting ftill, and refolving to ſee no more fights exchanging fafto, fiera, and frittura, for JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 175 for a muffin, a mop, and a morning newſpa per: three things equally unknown in Italy, as the other three among us. With regard to pictures however, l'Appetit vient en mangeant *, as I experienced com pletely when traverſing the Zampieri palace with eagerness that increafed at every ſtep. I once more half-worshipped the works of di vine Guercino. Nothing fhall prevent my going to his birth-place at Cento, whether in our way or out of it. We ran about the Specola again, and re ceived a thouſand polite attentions from the gentleman who fhewed it. The piece of na tive gold here is much finer than that we faw among the treaſures of Loretto, which being du nouveau continent is always inferior. " But every thing does," as Monf. de Buf fon obferves, 66 degenerate in the Weft except birds ; " and the Brazilian plumage feems to ſurpaſs all poffibility of further glow. The continent however fhews us no fpecimens preſerved half as well as thofe of Sir Aſhton Lever. The marine rarities here at Bologna are very capital ; but I faw them to advantage Eating increaſes one's appetite,

now, 176 OBSERVATIONS IN A now, in company of Mr. Chappelow. We find this city at once hot, and loud, and pious ; lefs empty of occupation though than laft time ; for here is a new Gonfaloniere cho fen in to-day, and the drums beat, and the trumpets found, and fome donations are diftributed about, much in the pro portions Tom Davis defcribes Garrick's to have been ; ſmall pieces of money, and large pieces ofcake, with quantities of meat, bread, and birds, borne about the town in proceffion, to make diſplay of his bounty, who gives all this away at the time he is elected into office. Kids dreffed with ribbon therefore, alive and carried on men's fhoulders fhowily adorned, lambs waſhed white as fnow, and pretty red and white calves hanging their fimple faces out of fine gilt baſkets, paraded the ſtreets all day. What ftruck us moft however was an ox, handſomer and of a more filvery coat than I thought an ox's hide capable of being brought to ; his horns gold, and a garland of rofes between them. This was beautiful ; re minded one of all one had ever read and heard of victims going to facrifice ; and put in our heads again the old ftories of Hercules, Eu ryftheus, &c. At JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 177 At Bologna though, every thing puts peo ple in mind of their prayers ; fo a few good women nothing doubting but when ſhows were going forward, religious meanings muft be near at hand, dropt down on their knees. in the ſtreet, and recommended themſelves, or their dead friends perhaps, to heaven, with fervent and innocent carneftnefs, while the cattle paffed along. An English clergyman in our company, hurt and grieved, yet half difpofed to laugh, cried, What are thefe ,dear creatures muttering about now for, as if theirfalvation depended upon it ? --It was ab furd enough to be fure ; but in order to check our tittering difpofition, I recollected to him, that I had once heard an ignorant woman in Hertfordshire repeat the abfolution herſelf af ter the prieſt, with equally ill-placed fervour ; for which he reprimanded her, and afterwards explained to her the groffneſs of the impro priety. When we have added to our ſtock of connoiffeurſhip the graceful Sampſon, drink ing after his victory, by Guido, in this town, we ſhall quit it, and proceed through empty and deferted Ferrara to VOL. II. N PADUA. 178 OBSERVATIONS IN A PADU A.

WE fet out then for Ferrara, in our kind friend's poft-chaife ; that is, my maid and I did our good-natured gentlemen creeping flowly after in the broken coach ; and how ended this project for infuring fafety ? Why in the chaiſe lofing its hind wheel, and in our return to the carriage we had quitted . But it is for ever fo, I think ;—the fick folks live al ways, and the well ones die. We took turn therefore and left our friends ; but could not forbear a viſit to Cento, where I wiſhed much to fee what Guercino had done for the ornament of his native place, and was amply repaid my pains by the fight of one picture, which, for its immediate power overthe mind, at leaſt over mine, has no equal even in Palazzo Zampieri. It is a ſcene highly touching. The appearance of our Saviour to his Mother after his refurrection. The dig nity, the divinity of the Chrift ! the terror checked tranfport vifible in the parent Saint, whofe expreffive countenance and pathetic at titude JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 179 titude diſplay fervent adoration, maternal ten derneſs, and meek humility at once ! How often have I ſaid, this is the fineſt picture we have ſeen yet ! when looking on the Caraccis and their ſchool. I will fay no more, the painter's art can go no further than this. My partial preference of Guercino to any thing and to every thing, fhall not however bribe me to ſuppreſs my grief and indignation at his ftrange method of commemorating his own name over the altar where he was baptifed, which ſhocks every proteftant traveller by its profaneneſs, while the Romanifts admire his invention, and applaud his piety. Guercino then, fo called becauſe he was the little one eyed man, had a fancy to repreſent his real appellation of John Francis Barbieri in the church ; and took this mode as an ingenious one, painting St. John upon the right hand, St. Francis on the left, as two large full-length figures, and God the Father in the middle with a long beard for Barbieri. This is a mixture of Abel Drugger's con trivance in the Alchymift, and the infantine folly of three babies I once knew in England, children of a nobleman, who were feverely whipt by their governess for playing at Father, N 2 Son 180 OBSERVATIONS IN A Son, and Holy Ghoft, fitting upon three chairs, with folemn countenances, in order to imprefs their tender fancies with a reprefenta tion of what the good governeſs innocently and laudably had told them about the myſte Let rious and incomprehenfible Trinity. me add, that the eldeft of theſe babies was not fix years old, and the youngeſt but four, when they were caught in the blafphemous folly. Our Italians feem to be got very little further at forty. Padua appears cleaner and prettier than it did last year ; but fo many things contribute to make me love it better, that it is no won der one is prejudiced in its favour. It wasfo difficult to get fafe hither, the roads being very bad, the people were fo kind when we were here laſt, and the very inn-keeper and his af fiftants feemed fo obligingly rejoiced to fee us again, that I felt my heart quite expand at entering the Aquila d'oro, where we were foon rejoined by Mr. and Mrs. Greatheed, with whom we had parted in the Romagna, when they took the Perugia road, inftead of return ing by Bologna, a place they had feen before. Had we come three days fooner we might have feen the tranfit of Mercury from Abate Toaldo's yo I JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 181 Toaldo's obfervatory ; but our own tranfit took up all our thoughts, and it is a very great mercy that we are come fafe at laft. I think it was as much as four bulls and fix horfes could do to drag us into Rovigo. Bologna la Graffa Ma Padua la paffa *, fay the Venetians : and round this town where the heat is indeed prodigious, they get the beſt vipers for the Venice treacle, I am told. Here are quantities of curious plants to be feen blooming now in the botanical garden, and our kind profeffor told me I need not languish fo for horfe chefnuts ; for they would all be in flower as we returned up the Brenta from Venice. " They are all in flower now, Sir," faid I, " in my own grounds, eight miles from London : but our English oaks are not halffoforward as yours are. " He recollected the aphorifm ſo mucha favourite with our coun try folks ; how a Britiſh heart ought not to di late with the early funfhine of profperity, or droop at the first blafts of adverfe fortune, as

• Though fat Bologna feeds to the fill,

Our Padua is fatter ftill. N 3 the 182 OBSERVATIONS IN A ACCOUNT the Britiſh oak refufes to put out his leaves at fummer's early folicitations, and ſcorns to drop them at winter's firft rude fhake. Well! I have once more walked over St, Antony's church, and examined the bas reliefs that adorn his fhrine ; but their effect has ceaſed. Whoever has ſpent ſome time in the Mufæum Clementinum is callous to the won ders which fculpture can perform. Has one not read in Ulloa's travels, of a reſting-place on the fide of a Cordillera among the Andes, where the aſcending traveller is re gularly obferved to put on additional cloth ing, while he who comes down the mountain feels fo hot that he throws his clothes away? So it is with the fhrine of St. Antonio di Pa dua, and one's paffion for the ſculpture that adorns it : while Santa Giuftina's church re tains her power over the mind, a power ne ver miffed by fimplicity, while great effort has often ſmall effect. But we are haftening to Venice, and fhall leave our cares and our coach behind ; fuperfluous as they both are, in a city which admits of neither. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 183 VENICE. OUR wateryjourney was indeed delightful ; friendship, mufic, poetry combined their charms withthofeofnature to enchant us, andmake one think the paffage was too fhort, though long ing to embrace our much-regretted ſweet companions. The fcent of odoriferous plants, the fmoothness ofthe water, the ſweetneſs of the piano forte, which allured to its banks many of the gay inhabitants, who glad of a change in the variety of their amufements, came down to the fhores and danced or fang, as we went by, feized every fenfe at once, and filled me with unaffected pleaſure. I longed to fee the weeping willow planted along this elegant ftream ; but the Venetians like to fee nothing weep I fancy yet the Salix Babylonica would have a fine effect here, and fpread to a pro digious growth, like thofe on which the cap tive Ifraelites once hung their harps, on the banks ofthe river Euphrates. " Of all Eu rope however," Millar fays, " it profpers beſt in penſive Britain ;" N 4 Nor 184 1 OBSERVATIONS IN A Nor prov'd the blifs that lulls Italia's breaſt, Whenred-brow'd evening calmly finks to reft. Thefe lines, quoted from Merry's Paulina, remind me of the pleaſure we enjoyed in reading that glorious poem as we floated down. the Brenta. I have certainly read no poetry fince ; that would be like looking at Sanfo vino's fculpture, after having feen the Apollo, the Venus, and the Flora Farnefe. The view of Venice only made us fhut the book. Love ly Venice ! wife in her councils, grave and fteady in her juft authority, fplendid in her palaces, gay in her cafinos, and charming in all. Fama tra noi Roma pompofa e fanta, Bee Venezia ricca, faggia, e fignorile * , fays the Italian who celebrates all their towns by adding a well- adapted epithet to each. But Sannazarius, who experienced in return for it more than even Britiſh bounty would have beftowed, exalts it in his famous epigram to a decided preference even over Rome itſelf. Pompous and holy ancient Rome we call, Venice rich, wife, and lordly over all. Viderat JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 185 Viderat Adriacis Venetam Neptunus in undis Stare urbem, et toti ponere jura Mari ; Nunc mihi Tarpeias quantum vis Jupiter, arces Objice, et illa tui monia Martis ait Sit PelagoTibrim præfers, urbem afpice utramque Illam homines dices, hanc pofuiffe Deos.

And now really, if the ſubject did not bribe me to admiration of them, I fhould have much ado to think theſe fix lines better worth fifty pounds a piece, the price Sannazarius was paid for them, than many lines I have read ; as mythological allufions are always cheaply obtained, and this can hardly be faid to run with any peculiar happineſs : for if Mars built the Wall, and Jupiter founded the Capitol, how could Neptune juftly challenge this laſt among all people, to look on both, and fay, That men built Rome, but the Gods. founded Venice. Had he faid , that after all their pains, this was the manner in which thoſe two cities would in future times ftrike all impartial obfervers, it would have been enough; and it would have been true, and when fiction has done its beft, Le vray feul eft aimable *.

• Truth alone is pleaſing.

Here, 186 OBSERVATIONS IN AT Here, however, is the beſt tranflation or imi tation I can make, of the beſt praiſe ever given to this juſtly celebrated city. Baron Cronthal, the learned librarian of Brera, gave me, when at Milan, the epigram, and perfuaded me to try at a tranflation, but I never could fucceed till I had been upon the grand canal. When Neptune firft with pleaſure and ſurpriſe, Proud from her ſubject ſea ſaw Venice riſe ; Let Jove, faid he, vaunt his fam'd walls no more, Tarpeia's rock, or Tyber's fane- full fhore ; While humanhands thofe glittering fabrics frame, By touch celeftial beauteous Venice came. It is a ſweet place fure enough, and the caged * nightingales who, when men are moft filent, anſwer each other acroſs the canals, increaſe the enchantments of Venetian moon-light ; while the full gondolas fkimming over the tide with a lanthorn in their ſtern, like glow worms of a dark evening, daſhing the cool wave too as they glide along, leave no mo ments unmarked by peculiarity of pleaſure. The Doge's wedding has however been lefs brilliant this year ; his galleys have been fent to fight the Turks and Corfairs, and the fplendor at home of courſe fuffers fome tem Wilt thou have mufic ? hark, Apollo plays, And twenty caged nightingales fhall fing. SHAKESPEARE. porary JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. $87 1 porary diminution ; but the corfo of boats in the evening muſt be for ever charming, and the muſical parties upon the water delightful. We paſſed this morning in Pinelli's library, a collection fo valuable from the frequence of old editions, particularly the old fourteen hundreds as we call them, that it is fuppofed theywill be purchaſed by ſome crowned head ; and here are ſpecimens of Aldus's printing too, very curious ; but there are too many curiofities, I'm ftrangled with the wafte fertility, as Milton fays. Pinelli had an excellent tafte for pictures likewife, and here at Venice there are paintings to fatisfy, nay fatiate connoiffeur fhip herſelf. Tintoret's force of colouring at St. Rocque's, difplayed in the crucifixion, can furely be exceeded by no difpofition of light and ſhade ; but the Scuola Bolognefe has hard ened my heart againſt merit of other fort, fo much more eafy to be obtained , than that of character, dignity, and truth. Paul Vero neſe forgets too feldom his original trade of orefice, there is too much gold and filver in his drapery ; and though Darius's ladies are judi ciouſly adorned with a great deal of it here at Palazzo Pifani, I would willingly have abated any 188 OBSERVATIONS IN A abated fome brocade, for an addition of ex preffive majefty in the Alexander. What a ſtriking difference there is too between Guer cino's prodigal returned, and a picture at ſome Venetian palace of the fame ftory treated by Leandro Baffano ! yet who can forbear crying out Nature, nature ! when in the last named work one fees the faithful ſpaniel run out to meet and acknowledge his poor young mafter though in rags, while the cook admiring the uncommon fatnefs of the calf, feems to anti cipate the pleaſure of a jolly day : fo if the old father does look a little like pantaloon, why one forgives him, for we are not told that the fable had to do with nobilta, though Guercino has made his maſter of the houſe a rich and ftately oriental, who meets and con foles, near a column of Grecian architecture, his penitent fon, whofe half-uncovered form exhibits beauty funk into decay, and whofe graceful expreffion of fhame and forrow fhew the dignity of his original birth, and little ex pectation of the ill- endured pains his poverty has caufed the elder brother, meantime, glowing with reſentment, and turning with apparent fcorn away from the fight of a ſcene fo little to the honour of the family.. Bafta ! as JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY, 189 as the Italians fay; when we were at Rome we purchaſed a fine view of St. Mark's Place Venice ; now we are at Venice we have bought a ſketch of Guido's Aurora. The Doge's dinner was magnificent, the plate older and I think finer than the Pope's ; I forget on what occafion it was given, I mean the feaſt, but had it been an annual ceremony our kind friends would have fhewn it us laft year. We must leave them once more, for a long time I fear, but I part with lefs regret becauſe the heat grows almoft infupportable ; and either the stench of the fmall canals, or elfe the too great abundance of fardelline, a freſh anchovy with which theſe feas abound, keep me unwell and in perpetual fear of catching a putrid fever, fhould I indulge in eating once again offo rich but dangerous a dainty. Be fides that one may be tired of exertion, and fatigued with feftivity, purchaſed at the price of fleep and quiet. Non Hybla non me fpecifer capit Nilus, Nec quæ paludes delicata Pomptinus Ex arce clivi fpectat uva Seftini. Quid concupifcam ? quæris ergo, -dormire *.

• Not Hybla's fweets, nor Naples devoloons,

Nor grapes which hide the hill with rich feftoons ; Nor fat Bologna's valley, have I choſe ; What is your with then ? May I fpeak ? —repsfe. 9 190 OBSERVATIONS INTAC S To PADU A.À. THEN we returned the twelfth ofJune, and furely it is too difficult to defcribe the ſweet fenfations excited by the enjoyment of Each rural fight, each rural found ; as the dear banks of the Brenta firft faluted our return to terrafirma from the watery refidence of our bella dominante. We dined at a lovely villa belonging to an amiable friend upon the margin ofthe river, where the kind embraces of the Padrona di Cafa, added to the fragrance of her garden, and the ſweet breath of oxen drawing in her team, revived me once more to the enjoyment of cheerful converſation, by reftoring my natural health, and proving be yond a poffibility of doubt, that my late difor der was of the putrid kind. We dined in at grotto-like room, and partook the evening re freſhments, cake, ice, and lemonade, under a tree by the river fide, whilft my own feelings reminded me of the failors delight deſcribed in Anfon's voyages when they landed at Juan Fernandez. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 191 Fernandez. Night was beft difpofed of in the barge, and I obferved as we entered Padua early in the morning, how furpriſingly quick had been the progrefs of fummer ; but in theſe countries vegetation is fo rapid, that every thing makes hafte to come and more to go. Scarce have you tafted green peafe or ſtrawberries, before they are out of feaſon ; and if you do not ſwallow your pleaſures, as Ma dame la Preſidente faid, you have a chance to mifs of getting any pleaſures at all. Here is no mediocrity in any thing, no moderate weather, no middle rank of life, no twilight ; whatever is not night is day, and whatever is not love is hatred ; and that the English fhould eat peaches in May, and green peafe in October, founds to Italian ears as a miracle ; they comfort themſelves, however, by faying that they must be very infipid, while we know that fruits forced by ftrong fire are at leaſt many of them higher in flavour than thoſe produced by fun ; the pine-apple particularly, which Weft Indians confefs eats better with us. than with them. Figs and cherries, however, defy a hot-houſe, and grapes raiſed by art are worthlittle exceptfor fhew; peaches, nectarines, and ananas are the glory of a Britiſh gardener, ΟΙ and 192 OBSERVATIONS IN A and no country but England can fhew fuch. Our morning, paffed at the villa of the fenator Quirini, fet us on this train of thinking, for every culled excellence adorned it, and brought to my mind Voltaire's defcription of Pococu ranti in Candide, falſe only in the oftentation , and there the character fails ; mifled by a French idea, that pleaſure is nothing without the de light of fhewing that you are pleaſed, like the old adage, or often- quoted paffage about learn ing : Scire tuum nihil eft, nifi te fcire hoc fciat alter * . AVenetian has no fuch notions ; by force of mind and dint of elegance inherent in it, he pleaſes himſelf firſt, and finds every body elfe delighted of courſe, nor would quit his own country except for paradife ; while an Engliſh nobleman clumps his trees, and twifts his river, to comply with his neighbour's taſte, when haps he has none of his own ; feels difgufted with all he has done, and runs away to live in Italy. per The evening of this day was fpent at the theatre, where I was glad the audience were no better pleafed, for the plaudits of an Italian

• Thy knowledge is nothing till other men know that

thou knoweft it. Platea JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 193 Platea at an air they like, when one's nerves are weak and the weather very hot, are all but totally inſupportable. What then muſt theſe poor actors have fuffered, who laboured fo violently to entertain us ? A tragedy in rhyme upon the fubject of Julius Sabinus and his wife Epponina was the reprefentation ; and wonderfully indeed did the players ftruggle, and bounce, and fprunt, like vigorous patients refifting the influence of a difeafe called opif thotonos, or dry gripes of Jamaica ; " Were their jaws once locked we fhould do better," faid Mr. Chappelow. " Che fpacca monti mai !" exclaimed the gentle Padovani. Spacca monte means juft our English Drawcanfir, a fellow that ſplits mountains with his blufter, a captain Blowmedown. The fair at Padua is a better place for fpending one's time than the theatre ; it is built round a pretty area, and I much wonder the middle is not filled by a band of mufic. Our Aftley is expected to fhine here fhortly, and the ladies are in hafte to fee il bel Inglefe a Cavallo ; but we must be feduced to ftay no longer among thofe whom I muft ever leave with grateful regret and truly affectionate regard. Our carriage is repaired, and the man VOL. II. 0 fays 194 OBSERVATIONS IN A fays it will now carry us fafely round the world if we pleaſe ; our firſt ſtage however will be no farther than to pretty VERONA. THE road from Padua hither is a vile one; one can ſcarcely make twenty miles a-day in any part of the Venetian ſtate. Its fenators, accuſtomed to water carriage, have little care for us who go by land. The Palanzuola way is worſe however, and I am glad once more to ſee ſweet Verona. Petruchio and Catharine might eaſily have met with all the adventures related by Grumio on their journey thither, but when once ar rived the fhould have been contented. This city is as lovely as ever, more fo than it was laft April twelvemonth, when the ſpring was fullen and backward ; every hill now glows with the gay produce of fummer, and every valley fmiles with plenty expected or pleaſure poffeffed. The antiquities however look lefs 13 reſpectable JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 195 refpectable than when I left them ; no am phitheatre will do after the Roman Coloffæum, and our triumphal arch here looked fo pitiful, I wondered what was come to it. So muſt it always happento the performances of art, which we compare one againſt another, and find that as man made the beft of them, fo fome man may in fome moment make a better ftill : but the productions of nature are the works of God ; we can only compare them with other things done bythe fame Almighty Maf ter, whoſe power is equally difcernible in all, from the fly's antennæ to the elephant's pro bofcis. Bozza's collection gave birth to this laft fentence ; the farther one goes the more aftoniſhing grows his mufæum, the neglect of which is fure no credit to the prefent age. I find his cabinet much fuller than I left it, and adorned with many new fpecimens from the fouthern feas, befides flying- fifh innumerable, beautifully preſerved, and one predaceous creature caught in the very act of gorging his prey, a proof of their deftruction being inſtant as that of the dwellers in Pompeia, who had their dinners difhed when the eruption over whelmed them. O 2 We 196 OBSERVATIONS IN A Wetook leave of our learned friends here with concern, but hope to ſee them again, and tread the ftucco floors fo prettily mottled and variegated, they look like the cold mock turtle foup exactly, which London paſtry-cooks keep in their shops, ready for immediate uſe. Whatan odd thing is cuftom! here is weather to fry one in, yet after exercife, and in a ſtate of the most violent perfpiration, no confe quences follow the uſe of iced beverages, ex cept the ſenſe of pleaſure refulting from them at the moment. Should a Bath belle indulge in fuch luxury, after dancing down forty couple at Mr. Tyfon's ball, we ſhould expect to hear next day of her furfeit at leaſt, if not of her fudden death. Lying-in ladies take the fame liberty with their conftitutions, and Say that no harm comes of it ; and when I tell them how differently we manage in England, cry, " mi pare che dev'efferefchiavitù grande in quel paefe della benedetta libertà * " Fine muflin linen nicely got up is however, fay they, one of the things to be produced, only in Great Britain, and much do our Italian ladies admire it, though they look very charmingly

• Methinks there feems to be much flavery required

from thoſe who inhabit your fine free country of England. with JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 197 with much lefs trouble taken. I lent one lady at fome place, I remember, my maid, to fhew her, as the fo much wifhed it, how the ope ration of clear-ftarching was performed ; but as foon as it began, the laughed at the ſuper fluous fatigue, as fhe called it ; and her fer vants crofled themſelves in every corner of the room, with wonder that fuch niceties fhould be required. -Well they might ! for I caught a great tall fellow ironing his lady's beft neck-handkerchief with the warming pan here at Padua very quietly ; and ſhe was a woman of quality too, and looked as lovely, when the toilette was once performed, as if much more attention had been bestowed upon it. PARMA. WE paffed through Mantua the 18th of June, where nothing much attracted my no tice, except a female figure in the ſtreet, veiled from head to foot, and covered wholly in black ; the walked backward and forward along the fame portion ofthe fame ftreet, from one to three o'clock, in the heat of the burn ing **** 03 198 OBSERVATIONS IN A 1 ing fun ; her hand held out ; but when I, more from curiofity than any better motive put money in it, ſhe threw it filently away, and the beggars picked it up, while fhe held her hand again as before. This conduct, in anytown of England, would be deemed madnefs or miſ chief; the woman would be carried before a magiftrate to give an account of herſelf, ſhould the mob forbear to uncafe her till they came ; or fome charitable perſon would feize and carry her home, fill her pockets with money, and coax her out of the anecdotes of her paft life to put in the Magazine ; her print would be publiſhed, and many engravers ſtruggle for its profits ; the name at bottom, Annabella, or the Sable Matron ; while novels would be written without end, and the circulating li braries would lend them out all the live-long day. Things are differently carried on how ever at Mantua : I aſked one ſhopkeeper, and ſhe gravely replied, " per divozione," and took no further notice : another (to my inquiries, which appeared to him far odder than the wo man's conduct) faid, Thelady was poffiblydoing a little penance ; that he had not minded her till I ſpoke, but that perhaps it might be ſome woman of faſhion, who having refuſed a poor 1 perfon 1 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 199 perfon roughly on fome occafion, was con demned by her confeffor to try for a couple of hours what begging was, and learn huma nity from experience of evil. The idea charmed me ; while the man coolly faid, all this was only his conjecture ; but that fuch things were done too often to attract atten tion ; and hoped fuch virtue was not rare enough to excite wonder. My juſt applauſe of ſuch ſentiments was ftopt by the la quais de place calling me to dinner ; when he informed me, that he had aſked about the perſon whoſe behaviour ftruck me fo, and could now tell me all there was to be known: fhe was a lady of quality, he faid, who had loft a dear friend on that day fome years paft, and that fhe wore black for two hours ever fince upon its anniverſary ; but that ſhe would now change her drefs, and I ſhould ſee her in the evening at the opera. My re collecting that if this were her cafe, I ought to have been keeping her company (as no one ever loſt a friend fo dear to them as was my incomparable mother, who likewife left me to mourn her lofs on this day thirteen years) , ſpoiled my appetite, and took from me all power of meeting the lady at the theatre. 04 We 200 OBSERVATIONS IN A We went again however to fee Virgil's field, and recollected that tenet nunc Par thenope ; congratulated the giants on their fu periority over Pietro de Cortona's paltry creatures, in one of the Roman palaces ; and drove forward to Parma, through bad roads enough. This Mantua is a very difagreeable town ; nor was Romeo wrong in lamenting his ba nishment to it ; for though I will not lay with him that الشفا FIE: There is no world without Verona's walls ; yet it must be allowed that few places do unite fuch various excellencies, and that the contraft is very ſtriking between that city and this. Parma exhibits an appearance fomewhat different from all the reft ; yet we ſhould ſcarcely have viſited it but for the fake ofthe four ſurpriſing pictures it contains : the Ma dona della Scodella is nature itfelf; and St. Girolamo exhibits fuch a proof of fancy and fervour, as are almoft inconceivable ; the ge neral effect, and the difficulty one has to take one's eye off it, afford conviction of its fu perior JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 201 perior merit, and greatly compenſate for that tafte, character, and expreffion, which are found only in the Caraccis and their ſchool. Corregio was perhaps one of the moſt power ful geniuffes that has appeared on earth ; deftitute of knowledge, or of the means of ac quiring it, he has left glorious proofs of what uninftructed man may do, and is perhaps a greater honour to the human fpecies, than thoſe who, from fermenting erudition of va rious kinds, produce performances of more complicated worth. The Fatal Curioſity, and Pilgrim's Progrefs, will live as long as the Prince of Abyffinia, or Les Avantures de Te lemaque, perhaps : and who ſhall dare fay, that Lillo, Bunyan, and Antonio Corregio, were not naturally equal to Johnfon, Michael An gelo, and the Archbishop of Cambray ? Have I faid enough, or can enough be ever ſaid in praiſe of a painter, whofe works the great Annibale Caracci delighted to study, to copy, and to praiſe ? Piacenza we found to offer us few objects of attention : an improviſatore, and not a very bad one, amufed that time which would otherwife have been paffed in lamenting our paucity 202 OBSERVATIONS IN A paucity of entertainment ; while his artful praiſes of England put me in good humour, fpite ofthe weather, which is too hot to bear. With all our lamentations about the heat however, here is no cicala on the trees, or Lucciola in the hedges, as at Florence ; the days are a little longer too, and the crepufcule lefs abrupt in its departure, How often, upon the Ponte della Trinitá, have I fecretly re gretted the long-drawn evenings of an Eng lish fummer; when the dewy night-fall re freshes the air, and filent dufk brings on a train of meditations uninfpired by Italian fkies ! In this decided country all that is not broad day is dark night ; all that is not loud mirth, is penitence and grief; when the rain falls, it falls in a torrent ; when the fun fhines, it glows like a burning-glafs ; where the people are rich, they flick in their very gems walls, and make their chimneys of amethyft; where they are poor, they clafp your knees in an agony of pinching want, and diſplay difeafes which cannot be a day furvived ! Talking on about Italy in which there is no mediocrity, and of England in which there is nothing else, we arrived at Lodi ; where I began JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 203 began to rejoice in hearing the people cry no' cor' altr' again, in reply to our com mands ; becauſe we were now once more re turned to the diftrict and dialect of dear Milan, where we have cool apartments and warm friends ; and where, after an abfence of fifteen months, we shall again fee thoſe acquaintance with whom we lived much before ; a fenfation always delightfully footh ing, even when one returns to lefs amiable fcenes, and lefs productive of innocent plea fure than theſe have been to me. The con ſciouſneſs of having, while at a diſtance, ſeen few people more agreeable than thoſe one left behind ; the natural thankfulneſs of one's heart to God, for having preſerved one's life fo as to fee them again, expands philan thropy ; and gives unaffected comfort in the reſtored ſociety of companions long concealed from one by accident or diſtance. 204 OBSERVATIONS IN A MILA N. 21st June 1786. AFTER rejoicing over my houfe and my friends ; after afking a hundred questions, and hearing a hundred ftories of thofe long left ; after reciprocating common civilities, and talking over common topics, we ob ferved how much the general look of Milan was improved in thefe laft fifteen months ; how the town was become neater, the ordi nary people ſmarter, the roads round their city mended, and the beggars cleared away from the streets. We did not find however that the people we talked to were at all charmed with thefe new advantages : their convents demolished, their proceffions put an end to, the number of their priests of courſe contracted, and their church plate carried by cart-loads to the mint ; holidays forbidden, and every faint's name erafed from the ca lendar, excepting only St. Peter and St. Paul ; whilft thoſe ſhopkeepers who worked for monafteries, 1 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 205 monaſteries, and thoſe muſicians who fung or played in oratorios, are left to find employ ment how they can ; -cloud the counte nances of all, and juftly ; as fuch fudden and rough reforms fhock the feelings of the mul titude ; offend the delicacy of the nobles ; make a general ftagnation of bufinefs and of pleaſure, in a country where both depend upon religious functions ; and terrify the clergy into no ill-grounded apprehenfions of being found in a few years more wholly uſeleſs, and as fuch difmiffed. - Well ! whatever is done haftily, can scarcely be done quite well ; and wherever much is done, a great part of it will doubtless be done wrong. A confiderable portion of all this however will be confeffed uſeful, and even neceffary, when the hour of violence on one fide, and prejudice on the other, is paſt away; as the fire ofLondon has been found beneficial by thofe who live in the newly-reſtored town. Meantime I think the prefent precipitation indecent enough for my own part; a thoufand little errors would burn out of themſelves, were they fuffered to die quietly away ; and when the morning breaks - in naturally, it is fuperfluous as awkward to put the ſtars out with one's fingers, like the Hours 206 OBSERVATIONS IN A Hours in Guercino's Aurora*. Whoever there fore will be at the pains a little to pick their principles, not graſp them by the bunch, will find as many unripe at one end, I believe, as there are rotten at the other : for could we ſee theſe hafty innovators erecting public ſchools for the inftruction of the poor, or public work-houſes for their employment ; did they unlock the treaſure-houſe of true re ligion, by publiſhing the Bible in every dialect of their dominions, and oblige their clergy to read it with the fouls committed to their charge ; -I ſhould have a better idea of their fincerity and difinterefted zeal for God's glory, than they give by tearing down his ftatues, or thoſe of his bleffed Virgin Mother, which Carlo Borromeo fet up. The folly of hanging churches with red damaſk would furely fade away of itſelf, among people of good fenfe and good taſte ; who could not long be fimple enough to ſup poſe, that concealing Greek architecture with fuch tranfient finery, and giving to God's houſe the air of a tattered theatre, could in

• In the fine cieling of Palazzo Ludovigi at Rome,

the Hours which furround Aurora's chariot are employed in extinguiſhing the Stars with their hands. any JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 207 any wife promote his fervice, or their falva tion. Manyfuperftitious and many unmean ing ceremonies do die off every day, becauſe unfupported by reafon or religion : Doctor Carpanni, a learned lawyer, told me but to day, that here in Lombardy they had a cuf tom, no longer ago than in his father's time, of burying a great lord or poffeffor of lands, with a ceremony of killing on his grave the favourite horſe, dog, &c. that he delighted in when alive ; a ufage borrowed from the Ori ental Pagans, who burn even the widows ofthe deceaſed their funeral pile ; and among our monuments in Weſtminſter Abbey, fet up in the days of darkneſs, I have minded now and thenthe hawk and greyhound of a noble man lying in marble at his feet ; fome of our antiquarians ſhould tell us if they killed upon them. Another odd affinity ftrikes me. Half a century ago there was an annual proceffion at Shrewſbury, called by way of pre- eminence Shrewsbury Show ; when a handfome young girl ofabout twelve years old rode round the town, and wiſhed profperity to every trade affembled at the fair : I forget what elfe made the amuſement intereſting ; but have heard my mother tell of the particular beauty of 208 OBSERVATIONS IN A of fome wench, who was ever after called the Queen, becaufe fhe had been carried in triumph as fuch on the day of Shrewsbury Show. Now if nobody gives a better derivation of that old cuftom, it may perhaps be found a dreg of the Romish fuperftition, which as many years ago, in various parts of Italy, prompted people to dress up a pretty girl, on the 25th of March, or other feafon dedicated to the Virgin, and carry her in proceffion about the ftreets, finging litanies to her, &c. and end ing, in profaneneſs of admiration, a day begun in idleness and folly. At Rome however no fuch indecorous abfurdities are encouraged : we faw a beautiful figure of the Madonna, dreffed from a picture of Guido Rheni, borne about one day ; but no human creature in the ſtreet offered to kneel, or gave one the flighteſt reaſon to ſay or ſuppoſe that ſhe was worfhipped: fome fweet hymns were fung in her praiſe, as the proceffion moved flowly on ; but no impropriety could I difcern, who watched with great attention. It is time to have done with all this though, and go fee the Ambrofian library ; which, as far as I can judge, is perfectly refpectable, The Prefect's politenefs kindly offered my curiofity any thing I was particularly anxious 9 to JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 209 to fee, and the learned Mr. Dugati was ex ceedingly obliging. The old Virgil preſerved here with Petrarch's marginal notes in his own hand-writing, intereft one much ; this little narration, evidently written for his own fancy to feed on, ofthe day and hour he firft felt the impreffion of Laura's charms, is the beſt proof of his genuine paffion for that lady, as he certainly never meant for our infpec tion what he wrote down in his own Virgil. Here is likewiſe the valuable MS. of Flavius Jofephus the Jewiſh hiſtorian, a curioſity de fervedly admired and efteemed : it is kept with peculiar care I think, and is in high preſervation : A Syriac bible too, very fine indeed, from which I underſtand they are now going to print off fome copies. I have been taught by the ſcholars not to think a Syriac bible of the Samaritan text ſo very rare ; but the Septuagint in that language is ſo exceedingly ſcarce, that many are perfuaded this is the only one extant ; and as our Lord, in his quotations from the old law, uſually cites that verfion, it is juftly preferred to all others. Leonardo da Vinci's famous folio preſerved in this library, for which James I. of England offered three thouſand ducats, an VOL. II. P event 210 OBSERVATIONS IN A event recorded here over the cheft that con tains it on a tablet of marble, deferves atten tion and reverence : nothing ſeems above, nothing below, the obfervation of that prodi gious genius. He has in this, and other volumes. ofthe fame curious work, apparently put down every painter's or mathematician's thought that croffed his imagination. It is a Leonardiana *, the common-place book of a great and wife man ; nor did our Britiſh ſovereign ever with more good fenſe evince his true love of learn ing, than by his princely offer of its purchaſe. Till now the looking at friends, and rarities, and telling old ftcries, and ſeeing new fights, &c. has lulled my conſcience afleep, nor fuffered me to recollect that, dazzled by the brightneſs of the Corregios at Parma, the account of their prefs, the fineſt in Europe, and infinitely fuperior to our Baskerville, eſcaped me. They have a glo rious collection too of bibles in their library ; their illuminations are moſt delicate, and their One volume ofthis Leonardiana is now in the private library of the king of England at the queen's houſe in the park, preferved from Charles or James the First's collec tion, and written with the left hand, or rather backwards, to be read only with the help of a mirror. <3 : bind 36 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 211 bindings pompous, but they poffefs a modern MS. of fuch fingular perfection, that none of thofe finiſhed when chirography was more cultivated than it is now, can at all pretend to compare with it. The characters are all gilt, the leaves vellum, the miniatures finiſhed with a degree of nicety rarely found in union, as here, with the utmoſt elegance and tafte. No words I can uſe will give a juſt idea of this little MS.: whoever is a true fancier of fuch things, would find his trouble well repaid, if he left London only to look at it. The book contains private devotions for the ducheſs with fuitable ornaments-I will talk no more ofit. The fine coloffal figure of the Virgin Mary in heaven crowned by her Son's hand, painted in the cieling of fome church at Parma, has a bad light, and it is difficult to comprehend its fublimity. One ap proaches nearer to understand the merits of that fingular performance when one looks at Caracci's copy of it, kept in the Ambroſian library here at Milan, But how was I fur priſed to hear related as a fact happening to him, the old ftory told to all who go to fee St. Paul's cathedral in London, of our Sir James Thornhill, who, while he was intent . P 2 on 212 OBSERVATIONS IN A on painting the cupola, walked backward to look at the effect, till, arriving at the very edge of the ſcaffold, he was in danger of daſh ing his brains out by falling from that hor rible height upon the marble below, had not fome bystander poffeffed readineſs of mind to run fuddenly forward, and throw a pencil daubed in white ftuff which ftood near him, at the figure Sir James's eyes were fixed on, which provoked the painter to follow him threatening, and fo faved his life. Could fuch an accident have happened twice ? and is it likely that to either of theſe perſons it ever happened at all ? Would fuch men as Annibal Caracci and Sir James Thornhill have expoſed themſelves upon an undefended fcaffold, without railing it round to prevent their tumbling down, when engaged in a work that would take them many days, nay weeks, to finish it ? Impoffible ! in every nation traditionary tales ſhake my belief ex ceedingly ; and what aſtoniſhes one more than it diſgufts, if poffible, is to ſee the fame ftory fitted to more nations than one. It is now many years fince a counſellor re lated at my houſe in Surrey the following nar ration, of which I had then no doubts, or idea 4 of JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 213 of fufpicion ; for he ſaid he was himſelf wit nefs to the fact , and laid the fcene at St. Ed mondſbury, a town in our county of Suffolk ; how a man accuſed of murder, with every corroborating circumftance, efcaped by the fteady reſolution of one juryman, who could not, by any arguments or remonftrances of his companions, be prevailed on to pronounce the fellow guilty, though every poffible cir cumftance combined to afcertain him as the perſon who took the deceafed's life ; and how, after all was over, the juryman confeſſed pri vately to the judge, that he himself, by fuch and fuch an accident, had killed the farmer, of whofe death the other ftood accufed. This event, true or falſe, of which I have fince found the rudiments in a French Re cueil, was told me at Venice by a gentleman as having happened there, under the immediate infpection of a friend he named. Quere, whether any fuch thing ever happened at all in any time or place ? but laxity of narra tion, and contempt of all exactness, at laſt extinguiſh one's beft-founded confi dence in the lips of mortal man. It is, how ever, clearly proved, that no duty is fo diffi cult as to preſerve truth in all our tranſactions, while no tranfaction is fo trifling as to pre P 3 clude 214 " OBSERVATIONS IN A 1 clude temptation of infringing it : for ifthere is no interest that prompts a liar, his vanity fuffices ; nor will we mention the ſuggeſtions of cowardice, malignity, or any ſpecies of vice, when, as in theſe laſt-mentioned ſtories, many fictions are invented by well-meaning people, who hope to prevent miſchief, incul cate the poffibility of hanging innocence, &c. and violate truth out of regard to virtue.

Well, well ! our good Italians here will not condefcend to live or lie, if now and then they No man in this fcruple not to tell one. country pretends either to tenderneſs or to in difference, when he feels no difpofition to be indifferent or tender ; and fo removed are they from all affectation ofſenſibility or of re finement, that when a conceited Englishman. ſtarts back in pretended rapture from a Ra phael he has perhaps little tafte for, it is dif ficult to perfuade theſe fincerer people that his tranſports are poffibly put on, only to deceive. fome of his countrymen who ftand by, and. who, if he took no notice of fo fine a picture, would laugh, and ſay he had been throwing his time away, without making even the com mon and neceffary improvements expected from every gentleman who travels through Italy ; yet furely it is a choice delight to live JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 215 live where the everlaſting fcourge held over London and Bath, of what will they think ? and what will theyfay? has no exiſtence and to reflect that I have now fojourned near two years in Italy, and ſcarcely can name one conceited man, or one affected woman, with whom, in any rank of life, I have been in the leaft connected. In Naples we ſee the works of nature dif played ; at Rome and Florence we furvey the performances of art ; at every place in Italy there is much worthy one's eſteem, faid the Venetian Reſident one day very elegantly; and at Milan there is the Abate Boffi. Should I forbear to add my teftimony to fuch talents and fuch virtue, which, expanded by nature to the wide range of human benevolence, he knows how to concentre occafionally for the fervice of private friendſhip, how great would be my ingratitude and neglect, while no character ever ſo completely reſembled his, as that of the famous Hough well known in England by the title of the good Bishop of Worcester. His ingenuity in compofing and placing theſe words on the 13th of May 1775, is perhaps one of his leaft valuable jeux d'efprit ; but pretty, when one knows P 4 that 216 OBSERVATIONS IN A J that on that day the empress was born, on that day the archduke arrived at Milan on a vifit to his brother, and on that day the duchefs was delivered of a fon. The words may be read our way or the Chineſe : Natalis Adventus Partus Matris Fratris Felix Optatus Principem Aulam Conjugis Incolumis Urbem Lectificabant. What a foolish thing it is in princes to give pain in a place like this, where all are difpofed to derive pleaſure even from praiſing them! There is a natural loyalty among the Lom bards, which oppreffion can ſcarcely extinguiſh, or tyranny deſtroy : and, as I have faid a thouſand times, they pretend to love no one ; they do love their rulers ; and, rather grieve than growl at the afflictions cauſed by their rapacity. I was told that I fhould find few difcrimi nations of character in Italy ; but the contrary proves true, and I do not wonder at it. Among thofe people who, by being folded or driven all together in flocks as the French are, with one faſhion to ſerve for the whole fociety, a man may eaſily contract a fimilarity of man ners JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 217 ners by rubbing down each afperity of cha racter againſt his nearest neighbour, no leſs plaſtic than himſelf; but here, where there is little apprehenfion of ridicule, and little fpi rit of imitation, monotonous tedioufnefs is al moſt ſure to be eſcaped. The very word po lite comes from poliſh I fuppofe ; and at Paris the place where you enjoy le veritable vernis St. Martin in perfection, the people can ſcarcely be termed polished, or even varniſhed : they are glazed ; and every thing flides off the exterieur of courſe, leaving the heart un touched. It is the fame thing with other pro ductions of nature ; in caverns we ſee petri factions ſhooting out in angular and excentric forms, becauſe in Caſtleton Hole dame Nature has fair play ; while the broad beach at Brighthelmſtone, evermore battered bythefame ocean, exhibits only a heap of round pebbles, and thoſe round pebbles all alike. But we muſt ceaſe reflections, and begin defcribing again. We have got a country houfe for the remaining part of the hot wea ther upon the confines of the Milaneſe do minions, where Switzerland firft begins to bow her bleak head, and foften the ſunſhine of Italian fertility. gradually in From every walk 218 OBSERVATIONS IN A walk and villa round this delightful ſpot, one fees an affemblage of beauties rarely to be met with: and there is a refemblance in it to the Vale ofLlwydd, which makes it ftill more in tereſting to me. But we have obtained leave to ſpend a week of our deftined Villeggiatura at the Borromaan palace, fituated in the mid dle ofLago Maggiore, on the iſland ſo truly termed Ifola Bella ; every ſtep to which from our villa at Vareſe teems with new beauties, and only wants the fea to render it, in point of mere landſcape, fuperior to any thing we have Teen yet. Our manner of living here is pofitively like nothing real, and the fanciful deſcription oforiental magnificence, with Seged's retire ment in the Rambler to his palace on the Lake Dambea, is all I ever read that could come in competition with it for here is one barge full of friends from Milan, another carrying a complete band of thirteen of the beſt muſi cians in Italy, to amuſe ourſelves and them with concerts every evening upon the water by moonlight, while the inhabitants oftheſe elyfian regions who live upon the banks, come down in crowds to the fhores glad to receive additional L JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 219 additional delight, where fatiety of pleaſure feems the fole evil to be dreaded. It is well known that the wild mountains of Savoy, the rich plains of Lombardy, the verdant paſtures of Piedmont, and the pointed Alps of Switzerland, form the limits of Lago Mag giore where, upon a naked rock, torn I truft from fome furrounding hill, or happily thrown up in the middle of the water by afub terranean volcano, the Count Borromeo, in the year 1613, began to carry earth ; and lay out a pretty garden, whichfrom that day has been per petuallyimproving, till an appearance ofeaſtern grandeur which it now wears, is rendered ftill more charming by all the ftudied elegance of art, and the conveniencies of common life. The palace is conſtructed as if to realife John fon's ideas in his Prince of Abyffinia : the garden confifts of ten terraces ; the walls of which are completely covered with orange, lemon, and cedrati trees, whoſe glowing co lours and whoſe fragrant fcent are eaſily diſ cerned at a confiderable diſtance, and the per fume particularly often reaches as far as to the oppoſite ſhore : nor are ſtandards of the fame plants wanting. I meaſured one not the largeſt in the grove, which had been planted 10 one 220 OBSERVATIONS IN A one hundred and five years ; it was a full yard and a quarter round. There were forty-fix of them fet near each other, and formed a de lightful fhade. The cedrati fruit grows as large as a late romana melon with us in Eng land ; and every thing one fees, and every thing one hears, and every thing one taſtes, brings to one's mind the fortunate iſlands and the golden age. Walks, woods, and terraces within the island, and a profpect of une qualled variety without, make this a kind of fairy habitation, fo like fomething one has feen repreſented on theatres, that my female companion cried out as we approached the place, " If we go any nearer now, I am fure it will all vanifh into air." There is folidity enough however : a little village conſiſting of eighteen fiſhermen's houfes, and a pretty church, with a dozen of well-grown poplars before it, together with the palace and gar den, compofe the territory, which commodi ously contains two hundred and fifty fouls, as the circuit is fomewhat more than a mea fured mile and a half, but not two miles in all : and we have cannons to guard our Calypfo like dominion, for which Count Borromæo pays tribute to the king of Sardinia ; but has himfelf JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 221 himſelf the right of raifing men upon the main land, and of coining money at Macau, a little town amid the hollows of theſe rocks, which preſent their irregular fronts to the lake in a manner furpriſingly beautiful. He has three other iflets on the fame water, for change of amufement ; of which that named la Superiore is covered with a hamlet, and l'Ifola Madre with a wood full of game, gui nea fowl, and common poultry ; a ſummer houfe befide furniſhed with chintz, and con taining fo many apartments, that I am told the uncle of the prefent poffeffor, having quar relled with his wife, and refolving in a pet to leave the world, ſhut himſelf up on that little ſpot of earth, and never touched the continent, as I may call it, for the laſt feventeen years of his life. Let me add, that he had there his church and his chaplain, three muſical profeffors in conftant pay, and a pretty yatcht to row or fail, and fetch in friends, phyſicians, &c. from the main land. His nephew has not the fame tafſte at all, feldom ſpending more than a week, and that only once a-year, among his iflands, which are kept however quite in a princely ftyle : the family creft, a unicorn, made in white mar ble, 1 222 OBSERVATIONS IN A ble, and of coloffal greatneſs, proudly over looking ten broad terraces which riſe in a py ramidal form from the water : each wall richly covered with orange and lemon trees, and every parapet concealed under thickly flowering fhrubs of inceffant variety, as if every climate had been cuiled, to adorn this tiny ſpot. More than a hundred beds are made in the palace, which has likewiſe a grotto floor of infinite ingenuity, and beautiful from being happily contrafted against the general fplendour of the houſe itſelf. I have ſeen no fuch effort ofwhat we call tafte fince I left England, as theſe apartments on a level with the lake exhibit, being all roofed and wain fcotted with well- difpofed fhellwork, and de corated with fountains in a lively and pleaf ing manner. The library up ſtairs had ma ny curious books in it -a Camden's Britannia particularly, tranflated into Spaniſh ; an Ara bic Bible worthy of the Bodleian collection , and well-chofen volumes of natural hiſtory to a very ferious degree of expence. Painting is not the firſt or ſecond boaft of Count Bor romeo, but there are fome tolerable land ſcapes by Tempefta, and three famous pic tures of Luca Giordano, well known in Lon don JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 223 don by the general diffufion of their prints, repreſenting the Rape of the Sabines, the Judgment of Paris, and the Triumph of Ga latea. Theſe large hiftory pieces adorn the walls of the vaft room we dine in ; where, though we never fit down fewer than twenty or twenty-five people to table, all feem loft from the greatneſs of its fize, till the concert fills it in the evening. It is the garden however more than the pa lace which deſerves deſcription. He who has the care of it was born upon the iſland, and never ftrayed further than four miles, he tells me, from the borders of his mafter's lake. Sure he muſt think the fall of man a fable : be lives in Eden ftill. How much muſt fuch a fellow be confounded, could he be carried blind-folded in the midſt of winter to London or to Paris ! and fet down in Fleet-ſtreet or Rue St. Honoré ! That he underſtands his bufinefs fo as to need no tuition from the in habitants ofeither city, may be ſeen bya fig tree which I found here ingrafted on alemon both bear fruit at the fame moment, whilft a vine curls up the ftem of the lemon-tree, dangling her grapes in that delicious com pany with apparent fatisfaction to herfelf.

ach Another I 224 OBSERVATIONS IN A Another inoculation of a mofs-roſe upon an orange, and a third of a carnation upon a ce drati tree, gave me new knowledge of what the gardener's art, aided by a happy climate, could perform. But when rowing round the lake with our band of mufic yeſterday, we touched at a country feat upon the fide which joins the Milanefe dominion, and I found myſelf preſented with currants and goofeber ries by a kind family, who having made their fortune in Amfterdam, had imbibed fome Dutch ideas ; my mind immediately felt her elaſtic force, and willingly confeſſed that li berty, fecurity, and opulence alone give the true reliſh to productions either of art or na ture ; that freedom can make the currants of Holland and golden pippins of Great Britain fweeter than all the grapes of Italy ; while to every manly underſtanding ſome ſhare ofthe government in a well-regulated ſtate, with the every-day comforts of common life made du rable and certain by the laws of a profperous country, are at laft far preferable to fplendid luxuries precarioufly enjoyed under the con ſciouſneſs of their poffible privation when leaſt expected by the hand of defpotic power. St. JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 225 St. Carlo Borromeo's coloffal ftatue in bronze fixed up at the place of his nativity by the fide ofthis beautiful water, fifteen miles from l'Ifola Bella, was our next object of curiofity. It is wonderfully well proportioned for its prodigious magnitude, which, though often meaſured and well known, will never ceaſe to aſtoniſh travellers, while twelve men can be eaſily contained in his head only, as fome of our company had the curiofity to prove ; but repented their frolic, as the metal heated by fuch a fun became infupportable. Abate Bianconi bid me remark that it was juſt the height of twelve men, each fix feet high ; that it is but juft once and a half leſs than that erected by Nero, which gives name to the Roman Coloffeo ; that it is to be feen clearly at the diſtance of twelve miles, though placed to no advantage, as fituation has been facrificed to the greater propriety of fetting it up upon the place where he was actually born, whoſe memory they hold, and juſtly, in fuch perfect veneration. I returned home per fuaded that the cardinal's dreſs, though an unfa vourable one to pictures, is very happily adapt ed to a coloffal ftatue, as the three cloaks or VOL. II. е petti " Chevy1 226 OBSERVATIONS IN A petticoats made a fort of ftep-ladder drapery which takes off exceedingly from the offence that is given by too long lines to the eye. We returned to our enchanted palace with mufic playing by our fide : I never faw a party of pleaſure carried on fo happily. The weather was fingularly bright and clear, the moon at full, the French-horns breaking the filence of the night, invited echo to anſwer them. The nine days (and we enjoyed feven teen or eighteen hours out of every twenty four) feemed nine minutes. When we came home to our country-houſe in the Varefotto, verfes and fonnets, faluted our arrival, and congratulated our wedding-day. The Madonna del Monte was the next fhow which called us abroad ; it is within a few miles of our preſent ſweet habitation, is celebrated for its profpect, and is indeed a very aftoniſhing ſpot of ground, exhibiting at one view the three cities of Turin, Milan, and Genoa ; and leading the eye ftill forward into the South of France. The lakes, which to thoſe who go o'pleaſuring upon them, ſeem like feas, and very like the mouth ofour river Dart, where the difgorges her elegantly-or namented ftream into the harbour at Kingſ weare, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 227 weare, here afford too little water in propor tion, though five in number, and the largeſt fifty miles round. I ſcarcely ever ſaw ſo much land within the eye from any place. That the road fhould be adorned with chapels up the mountain is lefs ftrange : there is a church dedicated to the Virgin at top. We have one here in Italy in every diſtrict almoſt, as the rage of worshipping on high places, fo ex prefsly and repeatedly forbidden in fcripture, has lafted furpriſingly in the world. Every refting-place is marked, and decorated with ftatues cut in wood, and painted to imitate human life with very extraordinary ſkill They are capital performances of their kind, and moſt reſemble, but I think excel, Mrs Wright's fineft figures in wax. A convent of nuns, fituated on the fummit of the hill, where theſe chapels end in an exceeding pretty church, entertained our large party with the moft hofpitable kindneſs : gave us a hand fome dinner and delicious deffert. We di verted the ladies with a little concert in re turn, and paffed a truly delightful day. All the environs of this Varefotto are very charmingly varied with mountains, lakes, and cultivated life ; the only fault in our proſpect "•2·1Q2 is 228 . OBSERVATIONS IN A +4 is the want of water. Had I told my com panions of yeſterday perhaps, that the view from Madonna del Monte reminded me of Chirk Caſtle Hill in North Wales, they would have laughed ; yet from that extraordinary ſpot are to be diftinctly ſeen ſeveral fertile counties, with many great, and many fmall towns,, and a moſt extenſive landſcape, watered by the large and navigable rivers Severn and Dee, roughened by the mountains of Merioneth ſhire, and bounded by the Iriſh ſea : I think that view has ſcarce its equal any where ; and, if any where, it is here in the vicinity ofVa reſe, where many gay villas interſperſed con tribute to variegate and enliven a fcene highly finiſhed by the hand of Nature, and want ing little addition from her attendant Art. Of the noblemen's feats in the neighbour hood it may indeed be remarked, that how ever ſpacious the houſe, and however fplendid the furniture may prove upon examination, however pompous the garden may be to the first glance, and the terraces however magni ficent,-ſpiders are feldom excluded from the manfion, or weeds from the pleaſure-ground of the poffeffor. A climate fo warm would afford JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 229 afford fome excufe for this naftineſs, could one obferve the inhabitants were diſcompofed at fuch an effect from a good caufe, or if one could flatter one's felf that they themſelves were hurt at it ; but when they gravely dif play an embroidered bed or counterpane wor thy of Arachne's fingers before her metamor phofis, covered over by her preſent labours, who can forbear laughing ?-The gardener in two minutes arriving to affift you up flopes, all flouriſhing with cat's-tail and poppy ; while your friends cry, " Here, this is nature! is it not ? pure nature ! -Tutto naturale fi, fecondo l'ufo Ingleſe *." Well! we have really paffed a prodigiouſly gay villegiatura here in this charming coun try, where the ſnowy cap of the gros St. Ber nard cools the air, though at fo great a dif tance ; and we have the pleaſure of ſeeing Switzerland, without the pain of feeling its cold, or the fatigue of climbing its glacieres : the Alps of the Grifons rife up like a fortifi cation behind us ; the fun glows hot in our rich and fertile valleys, and throws up every vegetable production with all the poignant

• All fo natural and pretty, -quite in the Engliſh ftyle.

Q3 flavour D1 230 OBSERVATIONS IN A flavour that Summer can beftow; nor is fhade wanting from the walnut and large chefnur trees, under which we often dine, and fing, and play at tarocco, and hear the horns and clarinets, while fipping our ice or fwallow ing our lemonade. The cicala now feels the genial influence of that heat the requires, but her voice here is weak, compared to the powers the difplayed fo much to our diſturb ance in Tuſcany ; and the lucciola has loft much of her fcintillant beauty, but the darts up and down the hedges now and then. Here is an emerald-coloured butterfly, whofe name I know not, plays over the lakes and ſtanding pools, in a very pleafing abundance ; the most exquifitely-tinted æphemera frolic before one all day long ; and Antiope flutters in every parterre, and ſhares the garden ſweets with a pale primroſe- coloured creature of her own kind, whofe wings are edged with brown, and, if I can remember right, bears the name of hyale. But we are not yet paft the refidence of fcorpions, which certainly do commit fuicide when provoked beyond all endurance ; a ftory I had always heard, but never gave much credit to , But JOURNEY THROUH ITALY. 231 5 i But I am diſturbed from writing my book by the good-humoured gaiety of our cheerful friends, with whom we never fit down fewer than fourteen or fifteen to table I think, and ſurely never riſe from it without many a ge nuine burſt of honeft merriment undiſguiſed by affectation, unfettered by reftraint. Our gentlemen make improvifo rhymes, and cut comical faces ; go out to the field after dinner, and play at a fort of blindman's buff, which they call breaking the pan ; nor do the low ones in company arrange their minds as I fee in compliment to the high ones, but tell their opinions with a freedom I little expected to find mixed fociety is very rare among them, almoſt unknown it feems ; but when they do mix at a country place like this, the great are kind, to do them juftice, and the little not fer vile. They are wife indeed in making fociety eaſy to them, for no human being ſuffers fo litude fo ill as does an Italian. An Engliſh lady once made me obferve, that a cat never purs when ſhe is alone, let her have what meat and warmth fhe will ; I think theſe ſocial-ſpirited Milanefe are like her, for they can hardly believe that there is exifting a perfon, who Q4 would 232 OBSERVATIONS IN A would not willingly prefer any company to none : when we were at the islands three weeks ago,-" A charming place," fays one of our companions, -" Cio é con un mondo d'amici cofi *.". - "But with one's own family, methinks," ſaid I, " and a good library of books, and this ſweet lake to bathe in :' " O!" cried they all at once, " Dio ne liberi †.” This is national character. Whythere are no birds of the watery kind, coots, wild ducks, cargeefe, upon thefe lakes, nobody informs me: I have been often told that of Geneva fwarms with them, and it is but a very few miles off : our people though have little care to afcertain fuch matters, and no defire at all to inveſtigate effects and cauſes ; thoſe who ſtudy among them, ſtudy claffic authors and learn rhetoric ; poetry too is by no means uncultivated at Milan, where the Abate Parini's fatires are admirable, and fo efteemed by thoſe who themſelves know very well how to write, and how to judge : com mon philoſophy (la phyfique, as the French call it), geography, aftronomy, chymiſtry, are

• That is, with a heap of friends about one in this

manner. + Oh! God keep one from that. oddly JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 233 oddly left behind ſomehow; and it is to their ignorance of theſe matters that I am apt to impute Italian credulity, to which every wonder is welcome. We have now paffed one day in Switzer land however, rowing to the little town Lu gano over its pretty lake. The mountains at the end are a neat miniature of Vefuvius, Somma, &c.; and the fituation altogether looks as a picture of Naples would look, if painted by Brughuel ; but not fo full offigures. Afancifultraveller too might betempted to think he could difcern fome ftreaks of liberty in the manners of the people, if it were but in the inn-keeper at whoſe houſe we dined ; this may however be merely my own prejudice, and fomebody told me it was fo. We were fhewn on one fide the water as we went acroſs, a fmall place called Campioni, which is feudo Imperiale, and governed by the Padre Abate of a neighbouring convent, who has power even over the lives of his ſubjects for fix years; at the expiration of which term another defpot of the day is chofen-appointed I fhould have faid ; and the laft returns to his original ſtate, amenable however for any very fhocking thing he may have done during the courfe 234 OBSERVATIONS IN A > courſe of his dictatorship ; and no complaint has been ever made yet of any fuch governor fo circumſtanced and appointed, whoſe con duct is commonly but too mild and clement. This I thought worth remarking, as confo latory to one's feelings. Lugano meantime fcorns abfolute autho rity our Cicerone there, in reply to the queflion aſked in Italy three times a- day I believe-Che Principe fà qui la fua refidenza*? -replied, that they were plagued with no Principi at all, while the thirteen Cantons protected all their fubjects ; and though, as the man expreffed it, only half of them were Chriftians, and the other half Proteftants ; no church or convent had ever wanted reſpect ; while their town regularly received a monthly governor from every canton, and was per fectly contented with this ambulatory domi nion. Here was the first gallows I have ſeen theſe two years. They have a pretty com merce too at Lugano for the fize of the place, and the ſhopkeepers fhew that officiouſneſs and attention feldom obferved in arbitrary ftates, where Content, the bane of induſtry, What prince makes his refidence here ? foon JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 235 foon leads people to neglect the trouble of getting, for the pleaſure of fpending their money. One therefore fees the inhabitants of Italian cities for the moft part merry and cheerful, or elſe pious and penitent ; little at tentive to their fhops, but eafily difpofed to loiter under their miſtreſs's window with a guitar, or rove about the ſtreets at night with a pretty girl under their arm, finging as they go, or fqueaking with a droll accent, if it is the time for maſquerades. Fraud, avarice, ambition, are the vices of republican ſtates and a cold climate ; idlenefs, fenfuality, and revenge, are the weeds of a warm country and monarchical governments. If theſe people are not good, they at leaft wish they were better; they do not applaud their own conduct when their paffions carry them too far ; nor rejoice, like old Moneytrap or Sir Giles Over reach, in their fuccefsful fins : but rather ſay with Racine's hero, tranflated by Philips, that Pyrrhus will ne'er approve his own injuſtice, Or form excufes while his heart condemns him. Theybeattheirbofoms at the feet of a crucifix in the ſtreet, withno more hypocrify thanthey beat a tam 235 OBSERVATIONS IN A a tambourine there ; perhaps with no more. effect neither, if no alteration of behaviour fuc ceeds their contrition : yet when an Engliſh man (who is probably more aſhamed of re penting than of finning) accuſes them of falfe pretenfions to pious fervour, he wrongs them, and would do well to repent himſelf. But a natural curiofity feen at Milan this 16th day of Auguft 1786, leads my mind into another channel. I went to wait upon and thank the lady, or the relations of the lady, who lent us her houſe at Vareſe, and make our proper acknowledgments ; and at that vifit faw fomething very uncommon furely though I remember Doctor Johnſon once faid, that nobody had ever ſeen a very ftrange thing ; and challenged the company (about feventeen people, myſelf among them) to produce a ſtrange thing ; -but I had not then feen Avvocato B-, a la wyerhere at Milan, and a man reſpected in his profeffion, who actually chews the cud like an ox ; which he did at my requeſt, and in my pre fence he is apparently much like another tall ftout man, but has many extraordinary pro perties, being eminent for ſtrength, and pof 6 feffing JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 237 feffing a ſet of ribs and fternum very furprif ing, and worthy the attention of anatomiſts : his body, upon the flighteſt touch, even through all his clothes, throws out electric fparks ; he can reject his meals from his fto mach at pleaſure, and did abfolutely in the courſe of two hours, the only two I ever paffed in his company, go through, to oblige me, the whole operation of eating, mafticating, ſwallowing, and returning bythe mouth, a large piece of bread and a peach. With all this conviction, nothing more was wanting ; but I obtained befide, the confirmation of com mon friends, who were willing likewife to bear teftimony of this ftrange accidental va riety. What I hear of his character is, that he is a low-fpirited, nervous man ; and I fup pofe his ruminating moments are ſpent in lamenting the fingularities of his frame :-be this how it will, we have now no time to think any more of them, as we are packing up for a trip to Bergamo, a city I have not yet feen. 238 OBSERVATIONS IN A - BERGAMO Is built up a fteep hill, like Lanfdown road at Bath ; the buildings not ſo regular ; the proſpect not inferior, but of a different kind, reſembling that one fees from Wrotham hill in Kent, but richer, and prefenting a variety beyond credibility, when it is pre miſed that ſcarce any water can be ſeen, and that the plains of Lombardy are low and flat : within the eye however one may count all the original bleffings beftowed on human kind, corn, wine, oil, and fruit ; -the in cloſures being ſmall too, and the trees touffu, as the French call it. No parterre was ever more beautifuly difpofed than are the fields furveyed from the fummit of the hill, where ftands the Marquis's palace elegantly fhel tered by a ftill higher rifing ground behind it, and commanding from every window of its ftately front a view of prodigious extent and almoſt unmatched beauty : as the diver fification of colouring reminds one of nothing but JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 239 but the fine pavement at the Roman Pan theon, ſo curiouſly interfected are the patches of grafs and grain, flax and vines, arable and tilth, in this happy difpofition of earth and its moſt valuable products ; while not a hedge fails to afford perfume that fills the very air with fragrance, from the fweet jeffamine that, twiſting through it, lends a weak ſupport to the wild grapes, which, dangling in cluſters, invite ten thouſand birds of every European fpecies I believe below the ſize of a pigeon. Nor is the taking of theſe creatures by the roccolo to be left out from among the amuse ments of Breſcian and Bergamafc nobility ; nor is the eating of them when taken to be defpifed : beccaficos and ortolans are here in high perfection ; and it was from thefe northern diſtricts of Italy I truft that Vitellius, and all the claffic gluttons of antiquity, got their curious diſhes of finging-bird pye, &c. The rich ſcent of melons at every cottage door is another delicious proof of the climate's fer tility and opulence, — Where fenfe is loft in every joy, every as Hughes expreffes it ; and where, in the de lightful villa of our highly accompliſhed ac 13 quaintance 240 OBSERVATIONS IN A quaintancethe Marquis ofAracieli, wehave paff ed ten days in all the pleaſures which wit could invent, money purchaſe, or friendſhip beſtow. The laſt nobleman who refided here, father to the prefent lord, was cavalierfervente to the im mortal Clelia Borromeo, whofe virtues and varieties of excellence would fill a volume ; nor can there be a ſtronger proof of her un common, almoſt unequalled merit, than the long-continued efteem of the famous Vallif nieri, whoſe writings on natural hiftory, par ticularly inſects, are valued for their learning, as their author was reſpected for his birth and talents. Letters from him are ſtill preſerved in the family by Marcheſe Aracieli, and breathe admiration of the conduct, beauty, and exten five knowledge poffeffed by this worthy de fcendant of the Borromæan houſe ; to whoſe incomparable qualities his father's ſteady at tachment bore the trueft teftimony, while the ſon ſtill ſpeaks of her death with tears, and delights in nothing more than in paying juſt tribute to her memory. He fhewed me this pretty diftich in her praife, made improviſo by the celebrated philofopher Vallifnieri : Contemptrix JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 241 Contemptrix fexus, omniſcia Clelia fexum, Illuftrat ftudio, moribus, arte metro *. The Italians are exceedingly happy in the power of making verſes improvifo, either in their old or their new language : we were ſpeaking the other day of the famous epigram in Aufonius ; Infelix Dido, nulli bene nupta marito, Hoc moriente fugis, hoc fugiente peris †. Our equally noble and ingenious mafter ofthe houſe rendered it in Italian thus immediately : Mifera Dido! fra i nuziali ardori, L'un muore e fuggi-l'altro fuggi e mori. This is more compreffed and clever than that of Guarini himſelf I think, Oh fortunata Dido! Mal fornita d'amante e di marito, Ti fu quel traditor, l'altro tradito ; Mori l'úno e fuggiſti, Fuggi l'altro e moriſti. Her ftudies, manners, arts, to all proclaim Fair Clelia's glory, and her fex's fhame. + Two lords in vain unlucky Dido tries ; One dead, the flies the land ; one fled-fhe dies. VOL. II. R Though 242 OBSERVATIONS IN A Though this latter has been preſerved with many deſerved eulogiums from Crefcembini, and likewiſe by Mr. de Chevreau. Could I clear my head of prejudice for fuch talents as I find here, and my heart of partial regard, which is in reality but grateful friend ſhip, juftly due from me for fo many favours received ; could I forget that we are now once more in the ſtate of Venice, where every thing affumes an air of cheerfulneſs unknown to other places, I might perhaps perceive that the fair at Bergamo differs little from a fair in England, except that theſe cattle are whiter and ours larger. How a fcore of good ewes now ? as Maſter Shallow fays ; but I really did afk the price of a pair of good ftrong oxen for work, and heard it was ten zecchines ; about halfthe price given at Blackwater, but ours are ftouter, and capable of rougher ſervice. It is ftrange to me where thefe creatures are kept all the reſt of the year, for except at fair time one very feldom fees them, unleſs in actual employment of carting, ploughing, &c. Nothing is fo little animated by the fight of living creatures as an Italian profpect. No ſheep upon their hills, no cattle grazing in their meadows, no water-fowl, fwans, ducks, &c. upon JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY, 243 upon their lakes ; and when you leave Lom bardy, no birds flying in the air, fave onlyfrom time to time betwixt Florence and Bologna, a folitary kite foaring over the furly Appenines, and breaking the immenfe void which fatigues the eye ; a ragged lad or wench too now and then leading a lean cow to pick among the hedges, has a melancholy appearance, the more fo as it is always faft held by a ſtring, and ftruggles in vain to get loofe. Thefe however are only confequences of luxuriant plenty, for where the farmer makes four harveſts of his grafs, and every other ſpeck of ground is pro fitably covered with grain, vines, &c. all poffi bility of open pafturage is precluded. Horfes too, fo ornamental in an English landſcape, will never be feen loofe in an Italian one, as they are all chevaux entiers, and cannot be trufted in troops together as ours are, even if there was ground unincloſed for them to graze on, like the common lands in Great Britain. A nobleman's park is another object never to be ſeen or expected in a country, where people would really be deſerving much blame did they retain in their hands for mere amuſement ten or twelve miles circuit of earth, capable to produce two or three thouſand R 2 pounds 244 OBSERVATIONS IN A pounds a-year profit to their families, befide making many tenants rich and happy in the mean time.. I will confefs, however, that the abſence of all theſe agrèmens gives a flatneſs and uniformity to the views which we cannot complain of in England ; but when Italians confider the cauſe, they will have reaſon to be fatisfied with the effect, eſpecially while vege table nature flouriſhes in full perfection , while everyſtep crufhes out perfume from thetrodden herbs, and thofe in the hedges difpenfe with delightful liberality a fragrance that enchants one. Hops and pyracanthus cover the fides of every cottage ; and the fcent of truffles at tracts, and the odour of melons gratifies one's nerves, when driving among the habitations. offertile Lombardy. The old church here of mingled Gothic and Grecian architecture pleafed me exceed ingly, it fends one back to old times fo, and fhews one the progrefs of barbariſm, rapid and gigantic in its ftrides, to overturn, confound, and deſtroy what tafte was left in the world at the moment of its onfet. Here is a picture of the Ifraelites paffing over the Red Sea, which Luca Giordano, contrary to his uſual cuftom, ſeems to have taken pains with, a rarity JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 245 rarity of courſe ; and here are ſome ſingle figures of the prophets, heroes, and judges of the Old Teftament, painted with prodigious fpirit indeed, by Ciro Ferri. That which ftruck me as moft capital, was Gideon wring ing the dew out of the fleece, full of character and glowing with expreffion. The theatre has fallen down, but they are building it up again with a nicety of propor tion that will enfure it from falling any more. Italians cannot live without a theatre ; they have erected a temporary one to ferve during the fair time, and even that is beautiful. The Terzetto of charming Guglielmi was fung laft night ; I liked it ftill better than when we heard it performed by fingers of more eſta bliſhed reputation at St. Carlo ; but then I like every thing at Bergamo, till it comes to the thunder ftorms, which are far more in noxious here than at Naples or in Tuſcany. We could contemplate electricity from this fine hill yeſterday with great compofure, being amufed with her caprices and not endangered by her anger. There has however been a fierce tempeft in the neighbourhood, which has greatly lowered the fpirits of the farmer ; and we have been told another tale, that lowers R 3 mine 246 OBSERVATIONS IN A mine much more as an Englishwoman, because the people of this town complain of ſtrange failure in their accuſtomed orders for filk from England, and the foreigners make difgraceful conjectures about our commerce, in confe quence ofthat failure. Here is a report prevailing too, of King George III. being affaffinated, which, though we all know to be falfe, fails not to produce much unpleafing talk. Were the Londoners aware of the diffuſion of their newſpapers, and the ftrange ideas taken up by foreigners about things which pafs by us like a day dream, I think more caution would be uſed, and cha racters lefs lightly hung up to infamy or ridi cule, on which thofe very prints mean not to beſtow fo lafting or fevere a puniſhment, as their ill word produces at a diſtance from home, whither the contradiction often miffes though the report arrives, and miſchief, origi nally little intended, becomes the fatal confe quence of a joke. But it is time to return to MILAN, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 247 MILA N, WHENCE I went for my very firſt airing to Cafa Simonetti, in fearch of the echo fo celebrated by my country- folks and fellow travellers, but did not find all that has been faid of it ftrictly true. It certainly does re peat a ſingle found more than ſeventy times, but has no power to give back by reverbera tion a whole fentence. I have met too with another petty mortification ; having been taught by Cave to expect, that in our Am broſian librarỳ here at Milan, there was a MS. of Boethius preferved relative to his con demnation, and confeffing his deſign of ſub verting the Gothic government in Lombardy. I therefore prevailed on Canonico Palazzi, a learned old ccclefiaftic, to go with me and beg a fight of it. The præfect politely promiſed indulgence, but referred me to a future day ; and when we returned again at the time ap pointed, fhewed me only Pere Mabillon's book, in which we read that it is to be found no R 4 where 248 OBSERVATIONS IN A where but at Florence, in the library of Lo renzo de Medicis. We were however fhewn fome curiofities to compenfate our trouble, par ticularly the ſkeleton of the lady mentioned by Dr. Moore and Lady Millar with fome con tempt. This is the copy of her inſcription : EGROTANTIUM SANITATI MORTUORUM INSPECTIONE VIVENTES PROSPICERE POSSINT HUNC ΣΚΕΛΕΤΟΝ P. A MS. of the Confolations of Philoſophy, very finely written in the tenth century, and kept in elegant preſervation ; —a private com mon- place of Leonardo da Vinci never fhewn, full of private memoirs, caricaturas, hints for pictures, ſketches, remarks, &c.; it is inva luable. But there is another treaſure in this town, the præfect tells me, by the fame ini mitable mafter, no other than an alphabet, pater nofter, &c. written out by himſelf for the uſe of his own little babies, and ornament ed JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 249

ed with vignettes, &c. to témpt them to ſtudy it. I fhall not fee it however, as Conte Tri vulci is out of town, to whom it belongs. I have not neglected to go fee the monument erected to one of his family, with the famous infcription, Hic quiefcit qui nunquam quievit ; preferved by father Bouhours. The fame day fhewed me the remains of a temple to Hercules, with many of the fine old pillars ftill ftanding. They are foon to be taken. down we hear for the purpoſe of widening the ſtreet, as Carfax was at Oxford. Myhunger after a journey to Pavia is much abated ; fince profeffor Villa, whoſe erudition is well known, and whofe works do him fo much honour, informed me that the infcrip tion faid by Pere Mabillon ftill to fubfift in praiſe of Boethius, is long fince periſhed by time ; nor do they now fhew the brick tower in which it is faid he was confined while he wrote his Confolations of Philofophy : for the tower is fallen to the ground, and fo is the report, every body being now perfuaded that they were compofed in a ſtrong place then ftanding upon the fpot called Calventianus 7 Ager, 250 OBSERVATIONS IN A Ager, from the name of a noble house to which it had belonged for ages, and which I am told Cicero mentions as a family half Placentian, half Milaneze. The field ftill goes by the name of Il Campo Calvenziano ; but, as it now belongs to people careleſs of remote events, however interefting to litera ture, is not adorned by any obelisk, or other mark, to denote its paft importance, in hav ing been once the ſcene of fufferings glo riouſly endured by the moſt zealous chrift ian, the moſt ſteady patriot, and the moſt refined philofopher of the age in which he lived. I have ſeen a fine MS. of the Confolations copied in the tenth century, not only legible but beautiful ; and I have been affured that the hymns written by his first wife Elpis, who, though she brought him no children, as Bertius fays, was yet fida curarum, etftu diorum focia *, are ftill fung in the Romish churches at Brefcia and Bergamo, fomewhat altered from the ftate we find them in at the end of Cominus's edition of the Confolations. Tradition too, I find, agrees with Proco pius in telling that this widow of Boethius,

• Faithful to his cares, and companionable in his ftudies .

Rufticiana, JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 251 Rufticiana, daughter of Symmachus, ſpent all the little money ſhe had left in hiring people to throw down in the night all the ftatues fet up in Rome to the honour of Theodoric, who had fentenced her huſband to a death fo dreadful, that it gave occafion to many fabulous tales reported by Martin Rota as miraculous. truths. His bones, gathered up as relics by Otho III. were placed in a chapel dedicated to St. Auſtin in St. Peter's church at Pavia four hundred and feventy-two years after his death, with an epitaph preferved by Pere Mabillon, but now no longer legible. We are now cutting hay here for the laft time this feafon, and all the environs fmell like fpring on this 15th September 1786. The autumnal tint, however, falls faft upon the trees, which are already rich with a deep yellow hue. A wintery feel upon the atmo ſphere early in a morning, heavy fogs about noon, and a hollow wind towards the ap proach of night, make it look like the very laft week of October in England, and warn us that fummer is going. The fame circum ſtances prompt me, who am about to forfake this her favourite region, to provide furs, flannels, &c. for the paffing of thofe Alps which 252 OBSERVATIONS IN A which look fo formidable when covered with fnow even at their prefent diftance. Our fwallows are calling their clamorous council round me while I write ; but the butterflies ftill flutter about in the middle of the day, and grapes are growing more wholeſome as with us when the mornings begin to be frofty. Our deferts, however, do not remind us of Tuſcany : the cherries here are not particularly fine, and the peaches all part from the ftone -miſerable things ! an Engliſh gardener would not fend them to table : the figs too were infinitely finer at Leghorn , and nectarines have I never feen at all. Well, here is the opera begun again ; fome merry wag, Abate Cafti I think, has accommodated and adapted the old story of king Theodore to put in ridicule the preſent king of Sweden, who is hated of the emperor for fome political reafons I forget what, and he of courſe patroniſes the jefter. Our ho neft Lombards, however, take no delight in mimicry, and feel more difguft than plea fure when fimplicity is infulted, or diftrefs made more corrofive by the bitterneſs of a fcoffing fpirit. I have tried to ſee whether they would laugh at any oddity in their neigh JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 253 neighbour's manner, but never could catch any, except perhaps now and then a fly Ro man who had a liking for it. "I fee nothing abfurd about the man, " fays one gentleman ; " every body may have ſome peculiarity, and moſt people have ; but fuch things make me no fport : let us, when we have a mind to laugh, go and laugh at Punchinello."-From fuch critics, therefore, the king of Sweden is fafe enough, as they have not yet acquired the tafte of hunting down royalty, and crowing with infantine malice, when poffeffed of the mean hope that they are able to pinch a noble heart. This old-fashioned country, which detefts the fight of fuffering majefty, hiffes off its theatre a performance calculated to divert them at the expence of a fovereign prince, whofe character is clear from blame, and whoſe perſonal weakneffes are protected by his birth and merit ; while it is to his open, free, andpolitely generous behaviour alone, they owe the knowledge that he has fuch foibles. Paifiello, therefore, cannot drive it down by his beſt muſic, though the poor king of Sweden is a Lutheran too, and if any thing would make them hate him, that would. One 254 OBSERVATIONS IN A One vice, however, fometimes prevents the commiffion of another, and that fame pré vailing idea which prompts theſe prejudiced Romanifts to conclude him doomed to lafting torments who dares differ from them, though in points of no real importance, inſpires them at the fame time with fuch compaffion for his ſuppoſed ſtate ofpredeftinated puniſhment, that they rather incline to defend him from further mifery, and kindly forbear to heap ridicule in this world upon a perſon who is fure to fuf fer eternal damnation in the other. How melancholy that people who poffefs fuch hearts fhould have the head thus per verfely turned ! I can attribute it but to one caufe ; their ſtrange neglect and forbearance to read and ſtudy God's holy word for nota very few of them have I found who ſeem to difbelieve the Old Teftament entirely, yet re main ſteadily and ftrenuouſly attached to the precedence their church claims over every other ; and who fhall wonder if ſuch a com bination of bigotry with fcepticiſm ſhould produce an evaporation of what little is left of popery from the world, as emetics triturated with opium are faid to produce a fudorific powder which no earthly conftitution can refift ? I But JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 255 But the Spanish grandee, who not only en tertained but aftoniſhed us all one night with his converfation at. Quirini's Cafino at Venice, is arrived here at Milan, and plays upon the violin. He challenged acquaintance with us in the ſtreet, half invited himſelf to our pri vate concert laſt night, and did us the honour to perform there, with the ſkill of a profeffor, the eager defire of a dilletante, and the tediouſ nefs of a folitary ftudent ; he continued to amaze, delight, and fatigue us for four long hours together. He is a man of prodigious talents, and replete with variety of knowledge. A new dance has been tried at here too, but was not well received, though it reprefents the terrible ſtory which, under Madame de Genlis' pen, had fuch uncommon fuccefs among the reading world, and is called La fepolta viva ; but as the duchefs Gira falco, whoſe misfortune it commemorates, is ftill alive, the pantomime will probably be fuppreffed : for fhe has relations at Milan it ſeems, and one lady diſtinguiſhed for elegance of form, and charms of voice and manner, told me yeſterday with equal fweetneſs, ſpirit, and propriety, that though the king of Naples fent his foldiers to free her aunt from that. a horrible 256 OBSERVATIONS IN A horrible dungeon where fhe had been nine years confined, yet if her miferies were to become the fubject of ſtage repreſentation, ſhe could hardly be pronounced happy, or even at eaſe. Truth is, I would be loath to fee the ſpirit of producing every one's private affairs, true or falfe, before the public eye, ſpread into this country: No! let that humour be confined to Great Britain, where the thouſand real advantages refulting from living in a free ftate, richly compenfate for the violations of delicacy annexed to it ; and where the laws. do protect, though the individuals infult one : but here, why the people would be miferable indeed, if to the oppreffion which may any hour be exerciſed over them by their prince, were likewife to be added the liberties taken perpetually in London by one's next door neighbour, of tearing forth every tranſaction, and publiſhing even every conjecture to one's diſadvantage. With thefe reflections, and many others, excited by gratitude to private friends, and general admiration of a country fo juftly efteemed, we ſhall foon take our leave of Milan, famed for her truly hofpitable diſpoſi tion ; a temper of mind fometimes abuſed by travellers IInd17 JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 257 travellers perhaps, whofe birth and preten fions are ſeldom or ever inquired into, whilſt no people are more careful of keeping their rank inviolate by never converfing on equal terms with a countryman or woman of their own, who cannot produce a proper length of anceſtry. I will not leave them though, without another word or two about their language , which, though it founded ſtrangely coarſe and broad to be fure, as we returned home from Florence, Rome, and Venice, I felt fincerely glad to hear again ; and have fome notion by their way of pronouncing bicchiere, a word uſed here to exprefs every thing that holds water, that our pitcher was probably derived from it ; and the Abate Divecchio, a polite ſcholar, and an uncommonly agreeable companion, feemed to think fo too. His knowledge of the Engliſh language, joined to the fingular power he has over his own ele gant Tuſcan tongue, made me torment him with a variety of inquiries about theſe con fufing dialects, which leave me at laſt little chance to underſtand any, whilſt a child is called bambino at Florence, putto at Venice, Schiatto at Bergamo, and creatura at Rome ; VOL. II. S and • • + N 258 OBSERVATIONS IN A and at Milan they call a wench tofa : an apron is grembiule at Florence I think, tra verfa at Venice, bigarrol at Breſcia and fome other parts of Lombardy, fenale at Rome, and at Milan fcozzá. Aforeigner may well be diſtracted by varieties fo ftriking ; but the turn and idiom differ ten times more ftill, and I love to hear our Milaneſe call an oak robur rather than quercia fomehow, and tell a lady when dreffed in white, that he is tutto in albedine. On Friday the 22d of September then weleft Milan, and I dropt a tear or two in remem brance of the many civilities fhewn by our kind and partial companions. The Abate Bian coni made me wild to go to Drefden, and enjoy the Correggios now moved from Mo dena to that gallery. I find he thinks the old Romans pronounced Cicero and Cæfar as the moderns do, and many Engliſh ſcholars are of the fame mind ; but here are coins dug up now out of the Veronefe mountain with the word Carolus, fpelt Karrulus, upon them quite plain ; and Chriftus was ſpelt Kriftus in Vefpafian's time it is certain, be cauſe of the player's monument at Rome.— Dr. Johnſon, I remember, was always fteady 7 to JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 259 to that opinion ; but it is time to leave all this, and rejoice in my third arrival at gay, cheerful, charming VERONA, WHITHER fome fweet leave-taking verſes have followed us, written by the facetious Abate Ravafi, a native of Rome, but for many years an inhabitant of Milan. His agreeable fonnet, every line ending with tutto, being upon a fubject of general import ance, would ferve as a better fpecimen of his abilities than lines dictated only by partial friendſhip ; -but I hear that is already circu lated about the world, and printed in one of our magazines ; to them let him truft his fame, they will pay my juft debts. We have now feen this enchanting spot in ſpring, ſummer, and autumn ; nor could winter's felf render it undelightful, while uniting every charm, and gratifying every fenfe. Greek and Roman antiquities falute one at the gates ; Gothic remains render each place of worſhip venerable : Nature in her $ 2 holi ו1 4 260 OBSERVATIONS IN A holiday dreſs decks the environs, and ſociety animates with intellectual fire the amiable in habitants. Oh ! were I to live here long, I ſhould not only excufe, but applaud the Sca ligers for ftraining probability, and neglect ing higher praiſe, only to claim kindred with the Scalas of Verona. Improviſation at this place pleaſes me far better than it did in Tuf cany. Our truly- learned Abate Lorenzi afto niſhes all who hear him, by repeating, not finging, a ſeries of admirably juſt and well digefted thoughts, which he, and he alone, poffeffes the power of arranging fuddenly as if by magic, and methodically as if byſtudy, to rhymes the moft melodious, and moſt varied ; while the Abbé Bertola, of the univerſity at Pavia, gives one pleaſure by the fame talent in a manner totally different, finging his un premeditated ſtrains to the accompaniment of a harpsichord, round which ſtand a little cho rus of friends, who interpolate from time to time two lines ofa well- known ſong, to which he pleaſingly adapts his compofitions, and goes on gracing the barren fubject , and adorn ing it with every poffible decoration of wit, and every defirable elegance of fentiment. Nothing can furely furpaſs the happy promp titude II JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 261 titude of his expreffion, unless it is the bril liancy of his genius. Wewere in a large companylaft night, where a beautiful woman of quality came in dreff ed according to the preſent taſte, with a gauze head-drefs, adjuſted turbanwife, and a heron's feather ; the neck wholly bare. Abate Ber tola bid me look at her, and, recollecting him felfa moment, made this Epigram improviſo : Volto e Crin hai di Sultana, Perchè mai mi vien diſdetto, Sodducente Muffulmana Di gittarti il Fazzoletto ? of which I can give no better imitation than the following : While turban'd head and plumage high A Sultanefs proclaims my Cloe ; Thus tempted, tho' no Turk, I'll try The handkerchiefyou fcorn-to throw ye. This is however a weak fpecimen of his powers, whofe charming fables have fo com pletely, in my mind, furpaffed all that has ever been written in that way fince La Fon taine. I am ftrongly tempted to give one little ſtory out of his pretty book. S3 Una וי + 1 Site 262 OBSERVATIONS IN A Una lucertoletta Diceva al cocodrillo, Oh quanto mi diletta Di veder finalmente Undella mia famiglia Si grande e fi potente ! Ho fatto mille miglia Per venirvi a vedere, Mentre tra noi ſi ſerba Di voi memoria viva ; Benche fuggiam tra l'erbą E il faffofo fentiero : In fen però non langue L'onor del prifco fangue, L'anfibio rè dormiva A quefti complimenti, Pur fugli ultimi accenti Dal fonno fe riſcoffe E dimandò chi foffe ? La parentela antica, Il viaggio, la fatica, Quella torno a dire, Ed ei torne a dormire. Lafcia i grandi ed i potenti, Afognar per parenti ; Puoi cortefi ftimarli Se dormon mentre parli. Walkingfull many a weary mile The lizard met the crocodile ; And JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY. 263 And thus began- how fat, how fair, How finely guarded, Sir, you are ! 'Tis really charming thus to fee One's kindred in profperity. I've travell'd far to find your coaſt, But fure the labour was not loft : Foryou muſt think we don't forget Our loving coufin now ſo great ; Andtho' our humble habitations. Are fuch as fuit our flender ftations, The honour of the lizard blood Was never better underſtood. Th' amphibious prince, who flept content, Ne'er liftening to her compliment, At this expreffion rais'd his head, And-Pray who are you ? cooly faid ; The little creature now renew'd Her hiſtory of toils fubdu’d, Her zeal to fee her coufin's face, The glory of her ancient race ; But looking nearer, found my lord Was faft afleep again—and fnor'd. Ne'er prefs upon a rich relation Rais'd to the ranks ofhigher ftation ; Or ifyou will diſturb your coz, Be happy that he does but doze. But I will not be feduced by the pleaſure of praifing my fweet friends at Verona, to lengthen this chapter with further panegyrics $ 4 upon T 264 OBSERVATIONS IN A upon a place I leave with the trueft tender nefs, and with the fincereft regret ; while the correſpondence I hope long to maintain with the charming Conteffa Mofconi, muſt com penfate all it can for the lofs of her agreeable Coterie, where my moft delightful evenings have been ſpent ; where fo many topics of Engliſh literature have been diſcuſſed ; where Lorenzi read Taffo to us of an afternoon, Ber tola made verſes, and the cavalier Pindemonte converfed ; where the three Graces, as they are called, joined their fweet voices to fing when fatiety of pleaſure made us change our mode of being happy, and kept one from wiſhing ever to hear any thing elfe ; while counteſs Carminati fung Bianchi's duets with the only tenor fit to accompany a voice fo touching, and a tafte fo refined. Verona ! qui te viderit, et non amarit, fays fome old writer, I forget who, protinus amar perdi tiffimo ; is credo fe ipfum non amat *. Indeed I never faw people live fo pleaſingly together as theſe do ; the women apparently delighting in each other's company, without mean rivalry,

• Whoever fees thee without being fmitten with ex

traordinary paffion , muft , I think, be incapable of loving even himſelf. or JOURNEY THROUGH ITÁLY. 265 or envy of thofe accompliſhments which are commonly beſtowed by heaven with diverſity enough for all to have their ſhare. The world furely affords room for every body's talents, would every body that poffeffed them but think fo ; and were malice and affectation once completely banished from cultivated fo ciety, Verona might be found in many places perhaps ; he is now confined, I think, to the ſweet ſtate of Venice.

JOURNEY THROUGH TRENT, INSPRUCK, MUNICK, AND SALTZSBURG, TO VIENNA. TH HE Tyrolefe Alps are not as beautiful as thofe of Savoy, though the river that runs between them is wider too ; but that very circumftance takes from the horror which conſtitutes beauty in a rocky country, while a navigable ftream and the paffage of large floats convey ideas of commerce and fo cial life, leaving little room for the folitary fancies produced, and the ftrokes of fublimity indelibly impreffed, by the mountains of La Haute Morienne. The fight of atown where all 1 OBSERVATIONS, &c.¯`\ 267 all the theological learning of Europe was once concentred, affords howevermuch ground of mental amuſement ; while the fight oftwo nations, not naturally congenial, living hap pily together, as the Germans and Italians here do, is pleafing to all. We faw the apartments of the Prince Bi ſhop, but found few things worth remarking, except that in the pictures of Carlo Loti there is a fhade ofthe Flemish ſchool to be difcerned, which was pretty as we are now hard upon the confines. Our fovereign here keeps his little menagerie in a mighty elegant ſtyle : the animals poffefs an infulated rock, furrounded by the Adige, and planted with every thing that can pleaſe them beft ; the wild, or more properly the predatory creatures, are confin ed, but in very fpacious apartments ; with each a handfome outlet for amufement : while fuch as are granivorous rove at plea fure over their domain, to which their maſter often comes in fummer to eat ice at a ban quetting houſe erected for him in the middle, whence a proſpect of a peculiar nature is enjoy ed ; great beauty, much variety, and a very limited horizon, like fome of the views about Bath. At 268 OBSERVATIONS IN A At the death of one prince another is chofen, and government carried on as at Rome in mi niature. We ftaid here two nights and one day, thought perpetually of Matlock and Ivy Bridge, and faw fome rarities belonging to a man who fhewed us a picture ofour Saviour's circumcifion, and told us it was San Simeone, a baby who having gone through many ftrange operations and torments among fome Jews who ftole him from his parents, as the ſtory goes here at Trent, they murdered him at laft, and he became a faint and a martyr, to whom much devotion is paid at this place, though I fancy he was never heard of any where elſe. The river foon after we left Trent con tracted to a rapid and narrow torrent, ſuch as dafhes at the foot of the Alps in Savoy ; the rocks grew more pointed, and the proſpects gained in fublimity at every step ; though the neatneſs of the culture, and quantity of vines, with the variegated colouring of the woods, continued to excite images more ſoft than formidable, lefs folemn than lovely. The barberry bushes bind every mountain round the middle as with a ſcarlet ſaſh, and when We JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. "269 we looked down upon them from a houſe fituated as if in the place which the Frenchman ſeemed to have a notion of, when he thought the aerian travellers were gone au lieu ou les vents fe forment, they looked wonderfully pretty. The cleanlineſs and comfort with which we are now lodged at every inn, evince our diſtance from France however, and even from Italy, where low cielings, clean windows, and warm rooms, are deemed pernicious to health, and deſtructive of true delight. Here however we find ourſelves cruelly diftreffed for want of language, and muſt therefore depend on our eyes only, not our ears, for information concerning the golden houſe, or more properly the golden roof, long known to fubfift at Infpruck. The ſtory, as well as I can gather it, is this : That fome man was reproached with ſpending more than he could. afford, till fome of his neighbours cried out, "Why he'll roof his houſe with gold foon, but who fhall pay the expence ?"—" I will ; " quoth the piqued German, and actually did gild his tiles. My heart tells me however, though my memory will not call up the par ticulars, that I have heard a tale very like this before now; but one is always liſtening to the fame 1 · 270 OBSERVATIONS IN A fame ftories I think : At Rome, when they fhew a fine head lightly ſketched by Michael Angelo, they inform you how he left it on Raphael's wall, after the manner of Apelles and Protogenes ; it is called Tefta di Ciam bellaro, becauſe he came difguiſed as a feller of ciambelle, or little biſcuits, while Raphael's ſcholars were painting at the Farnefini. At Milan, when they point out to you the extra ordinary architecture of the church detto il Giardino, the roof of which is fupported by geometrical dependance of one part upon another, without columns or piers, they tell how the architect ran away the moment it was finiſhed, for fear its fudden fall might difgrace him. This tale was very familiar to me, I had heard it long ago related of a Welch bridge ; but it is better only fay what is true. This is a fweetly fituated town, and a rapid ftream runs through it as at Trent ; and it is no fmall comfort to find one's felf once more waited on by clean looking females, who make your bed, ſweep your room, &c. while the pewters in the little neat kitchens, as one paffes through, amaze me with their bright nefs, JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 271 nefs, that I feel as if in a new world, it is fo long fince I have feen any metal but gold un encruſted by naftinefs, and gold will not be dirty. The clumfy churches here are more vio lently crowded with ornaments than I have found them yet ; and for one crucifix or Madonna to be met with on Italian roads, here are at leaſt forty ; an ill carved and worfe painted figure of a bleeding Saviour, large as life, meets one at every turn ; and I feel glad when the odd devotion of the inhabitants hangs a clean fhirt or laced waiſtcoat over it, or both. Another cuſtom they have wholly new to me, that of keeping the real fkeletons of their old nobles, orfaints, or any one for whom they have peculiar veneration, male or female, in a large clean glaſs box or cryftal cafe, placed horizon tally, and dreſſed in fine fcarlet and gold robes, the poor naked fkull crowned with a coronet, and the feet peeping out below the petticoats. Theſe melancholy objects adorn all their places of worſhip, being fet on brackets by the wall infide, and remind me ftrangely of our old ballad of Death and the Lady ; Fair lady, lay your coftly robes afide, &c. No 272 OBSERVATIONS IN A No body ever mentions that Infpruck is fubject to fires, and I wonder at it, as the roofs are all wood cut tile-ways, and heavily penfile, like our barns in England, for the fnow to roll off the eaſier. Well! we are far removed indeed from Italian architecture, Italian fculpture, and Ita lian manners ; but here are twenty- eight old kings, or keyfers, as our German friends call them, large as life, and of good folid bronze, curiouſly worked to imitate lace, embroidery, &c. ftanding in two rows, very extraordinarily, up one of their churches. I have not ſeen more frowning vifages or finer dreffes for a long time ; and here is a warm feel as one paffes by the houfes, even in the ftreet, from the heat ofthe ftoves, which moſt ingeniouſly conceal from one's view that moſt cheerful of all fights in cold weather, a good fire. This feems a very unneceflary device, and the heated porcelain is apt to make one's head ache be fide ; all for the fake of this cunning contri vance, to make one enjoy the effect of fire without feeing the cauſe. The women that run about the town, mean time, take the neareſt way to be warm, wrap ping JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 273 ping themſelves up in cloth clothes, like fo many fiſhermen at the mouth ofthe Humber, and wear a fort of rug cap grofsly unbecom ing. But too great an attention to convenience difgufts as furely as too little ; and while a Venetian wench apparently feeks only to cap tivate the contrary fex, theſe German girls as plainly proclaim their refolution not to facrifice a grain of perfonal comfort for the pleaſure of pleafing all the men alive. How truly hateful . are extremes of every thing each day's experience convinces ; from fuperftition and infidelity, down to the Fribble and the Brute, one's heart abhors the folly of reverfing wrong to look for right, which lives only in the middle way ; and Solomon, the wifeft man of any age or nation, places the fovereign good in mediocrity of every thing, moral, political, and religious. With this good axiom of nequid nimis * in our mouths and minds, we ſhould not per haps have driven fo very hard ; but a leſs effort would have detained us longer from the fineft object I almoft ever faw ; the fun rifing between fix and feven o'clock upon the plains of Munich, and difcovering to our foothed

• Nothing too much.

T fight VOL. II. T1ויV 274 OBSERVATIONS IN A fight a lovely champain country, fuch as might be called a flat I fear, by thoſe who were not like us accuſtomed to a hilly one ; but after four-and- twenty hours paffed among the Alps, I feel fincerely rejoiced to quit the clouds and get upon a level with human creatures, leaving the goats and chamois to delight as they do in bounding from rock to rock, with an agi lity that amazes one. Our weather continuing particularly fine, it was curious to watch one picturefque beauty. changing for another as we drove along ; for no fooner were the rich vineyards and fmall inclo fures left behind, than large pafture lands filled with feeding or repofing cattle, cows, oxen, horfes, fifty in a field perhaps, preſented to our eyes an object they had not contemplated for two years before, and revived ideas of England, which had long lain buried under Italian fertility. Inftead oflying down to reft, having heard we had friends at the fame inn, we ran with them to fee the picture gallery, more for the fake of doing again what we had once done before at Paris with the fame agreeable com pany, than with any hope of entertainment, which JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 275 which however upon trial was found by no means deficient. Had there been no more than the glow of colouring which refults from the fight of fo many Flemish pictures at once, it must have ftruck one forcibly ; but the murder of the Innocents by Rubens, a great performance, gave me an opportunity of ob ferving the different ways by which that great mafter, Guido Rheni, and Le Brun, lay hold of the human heart. The difference does not however appear to me inſpired at all by what we term national character ; for the inhabit ants of Germany are reckoned flow to anger, and of phlegmatic difpofitions, while a French man is accounted light and airy in his ideas, an Italian fiery and revengeful. Yet Rubens's principal, figure follows the ruffian who has feized her child, and with a countenance at once exciting and expreffive of horror, en deavours, and almoft arrives at tearing both his eyes out. One actually fees the fellow ftruggling between his efforts to hold the in fant faft, and yet rid himſelf of the mother, while blood and anguiſh apparently follow the impreffion her nails are making in the ten dereft parts of his face. Guido, on the con trary, in one of the churches at Bologna, ex T 2 hibits 276 OBSERVATIONS IN A hibits a beautiful young creature of no mean rank, elegant in her affliction, and lovely in her diftrefs, fitting with folded arms upon the fore-ground, contemplating the cold corpfe of her murdered baby ; his nurſe wringing her hands befide them, while crowds of dif tracted parents fill the perfpective, and the executioners themſelves appear to pay unwil ling obedience to their inhuman king, who is ſeen animating them himſelf from the top of a diftant tower. -Le Brun mean time, with more imagination and fublimity than either, makes even brute animals ſeem ſenſible, and fhudder at a ſcene fo dreadful ; while the very horfes who fhould bear the cruel prince over the theatre of his crimes, fnort and tremble, and turning away with uncontrollable fury, refufe by trampling in their blood to violate fuch injured innocence ! -Enough of this. The patient German is feen in all they fhew us, from the painting of Brughuel to the mufic of Haydn. A friend here who ſpeaks good Italian fhewed us a collection of rarities, among which was a picture formed of butter flies wings ; and a fet of boxes one within another, till my eyes were tired with trying to difcern, and the patience of my companions was JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 277 was wearied with counting them, when the number paffed feventy-three : this amuſement has at leaſt the grace of novelty to recommend it. I had not formed to myſelf an idea of fuch unmeaning, fuch taftelefs, yet truly ela borate nicety of workmanship, as may bę found in the Elector's chapel, where every relic repoſes in fome frame, enamelled and adorned with a minuteneſs of attention and delicacy of manual operation that aſtoniſhes. The prodigious quantity of theſe gold or ivory figures, finiſhed fo as to require a man's whole life to each of them, are of immenfe value in their way at leaſt, and fill one's mind with a fort of petty and frivolous wonder to tally unexperienced till now, bringing to one's recollection every hour Pope's famous line Lo! what huge heaps of littlenefs around! The contrast between this chapel and Cap pella Borgheſe never left my fancy for a mo ment : but if the coft of thefe curious trifles caufed my continued furprife, how was that ſurpriſe increaſed by obferving the bed chamber of the Elector ; where they told us that no less than one hundred thouſand T3 pounds 278 OBSERVATIONS IN A pounds fterling were buried under loads of gold tiffue, red velvet, and old-fashioned carved work, without the merit even of an attempt towards elegance or taſte ? Nimphenbourg palace and gardens remind ed me of Engliſh gardening forty years ago, while Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother, And half the platform juft reflects the other. I do think I can recollect going with my pa rents and friends to fee Lord Royſton's feat at Wreft, when we lived in Hertfordſhire, in the year 1750 ; and it was juſt fuch a place as Nimphenbourg is at this day. Now for fome juft praife : every thing is kept ſo neat here, fo clean, fo fweet, fo comfortably nice, that it is a real pleaſure fomehow either to go out in this town or ftay at home : the public baths are delicious ; the private rooms with boarded floors, all fwept, and bruſhed, and dufted, that not a cobweb can be ſeen in Munich, except one kept for a rarity, with the Virgin and Child worked in it, and wrought to fuch an unrivalled pitch of delicate fineness, that till we held it up to the light no naked eye JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 279 eye could diſcern the figures it contained, till a microſcope foon difcovered the fkill and patience requifite to its production ; -great pains indeed, and little effect ! We have left the country where things were exactly the reverfe,-great effect, and little pains ! But it is the fame in every thing. The women's fcrupulous attention to keep their perſons clear from dirt, makes their faces look doubly fair ; their complexions have quite a luftre upon them, like fome of our wenches in the Weft of England, whoſe tranſparent ſkins fhew, by the motion of the blood beneath, an illuminated countenance that ſtands in the place of eye-language, and betrays the fentiments of the innocent heart with uncontrolable fincerity. Theſe girls however will not be found to attract or retain lovers, like an Italian, whofe black eyes and white teeth (though their poffeffor thinks no more of cleaning the laft- named beauty than the firſt) tell her mind clearly, and with little pains again produce certain and ftrong effect. Our ſtiff gold-ſtuff cap here too, as round , as hard, and as heavy as an old Japan China baſon, and not very unlike one, is by no T4 means 280 OBSERVATIONS IN A means favourable to the face, as it is clapped cloſe round the head, the hair combed all ſmooth out of fight, and a plaited border of lace to it made firm with double- ſprigged wire; giving its wearer all the hardneſs and prim look of a Quaker, without that idea of fimplicity which in their drefs compenfates for the abſence of every ornament. The gentlemen's maniere de s'ajuster is to me equally ſtriking an old nobleman who takes delight in fhewing us the glories of his little court (where I have a notion he himſelf holds fome honourable office) came to dine with us yeſterday in a dreffed coat of fine, clean, white broad-cloth, laced all down with gold, and lined with crimſon fattin , of which likewife the waiſtcoat was made, and laced about with a narrower lace, but pretty broad too ; fo that I thought I faw the very coat my father went in to the old king's birth- day five and thirty years ago. There is more ftatelineſs too and ceremonious manners in the converſation of this gentleman, and the friends he introduced us to, than I have of late been accuſtomed to ; and they fatigue one with long, dry, uninterefting narratives. The inn keepers JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 281 keepers are honeft, but inflexible ; the fer vants filent and fullen ; the poftillions flow and inattentive ; and every thing exhibits the reverſe of what we have left behind. The treaſures of this little Elector are pro digious, his jewels fuperb ; the Electrefs's pearls are fuperior in fize and regularity to thoſe at Loretto, but that diſtinguiſhed by the name ofthe " Pearl of the Palatinate" is furely incomparable, and, as fuch, always carried to the election of a new Emperor, when each brings his fineft poffeffion in his hand, like the Princeſs of Babylon's wooers, -which was perhaps meant by Voltaire as a joke upon the cuftom. This pearl is about the bignefs and fhape of a very fine filberd, the upper part or cap of it jet black, fmooth and perfectly beau tiful ; it is unique in the known world. Our Prince's dinner here is announced by the found of drums and trumpets, and he has always a concert playing while he dines : pomp is at this place indeed fo artfully fub ftituted inſtead of general confequence, that while one remains here one fcarcely feels aware how little any one but his own cour tiers can be thinking about the Elector of Bavaria; 282 OBSERVATIONS IN A Bavaria ; but ceremony is of moſt uſe where there is leaft importance, and glitter beſt hides the want of folidity. From Munich to Saltzbourg nothing can exceed the beauties of the country ; whole woods, and we may fay forefts, of evergreen timber, keep all idea of winter kindly at a diſtance : the road lies through thefe ele gantly-varied thickets, which fometimes are formed of cedars, often of foxtailed pines, while a pale larch fometimes, and gloomy cyprefs, hinder the verdure from being too monotonous ; here are likewiſe mingled among them fome oak and beech of a majeſtic fize. Nor do our proſpects want that dignity which mountains alone can be ftow ; thoſe which ſeparate Bavaria from Hun gary are high, and of confiderable extent ; a long range they are of bulky fortifications, behind which I am informed the country is far coarfer than here. The cathedral at Saltzbourg is modern, built upon the model of St. Peter's at Rome, but on a fmall fcale : one now fees how few the defects are of that aftonishing pile, though brought clofe to one's eye, by being ftript of the JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 283 the awful magnitude that kept examination at a diftance. The mufical bells remind me of thofe at Bath, and every thing here feems, as at Bath, the work of this preſent century ; but there is a Benedictine convent feated on the top of a hill above the town, of exceeding antiquity, founded before the conqueft of England by William the Norman ; under which lie its founder and protectors, the old Dukes of Bavaria ; which they are happy to fhew travellers, with the regiſtered account of their young Prince Adam, who came over to our island with William, and gained a fet tlement : they were pleaſed when I proved to them, that his blood was not yet wholly ex tinct among us. A fever hindered us here from looking at the falt-works, from which the city takes its name: but the water-works at Heelbrun pleafed us for a moment ; and I never faw beavers live fo happily as with the Archbishop of Saltzbourg, who fuffers, and even en courages, his tame ones to dig, and build, and amuſe themſelves their own way : he has fifh too which eat out of his hand, and are not carp, but I do not know what they are ; my 284 OBSERVATIONS IN A my want of language diftracts me. Theſe German ftreams appear to us particularly pel lucid, and, by what I can gather from the people, this water never freezes. The tafte of gardening ſeems juſt what ours wasin England before Stowe was planned, and they divert you now with puppets moved by concealed machinery, as I recollect their doing at places round London, called the Spaniard at Hamp ftead and Don Saltero's at Chelſea. The Prince Archbishop's income is from three to four hundred thouſand a year I un derftand, and he ſpends it among his fubjects, who half adore him. His chief delight is in brute animals they tell me, particularly horfes, which engroſs ſo much of his attention that he keeps one hundred and feventeen for his own private and perſonal uſe, of various merits, beauties, and pedigrees ; never ſurely was fo elegant, fo capital a ftud ! And he is fingu larly fond of a breed of fine filky-haired Eng lifh fetting-dogs, red and white, and very high upon their legs. The country which carried us forward to Vienna is eminently fine, and fine in a way that is now once more grown new to me ; no hedges here, no fmall incloſures at all ; but rich JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 285 rich land, lying like as in Dorſetſhire, divided into arable and pafture grounds, clumped about with woods of evergreen. Such is the genius of this fovereign for Engliſh manners and Engliſh agriculture, that no converſation is faid to be more welcome at his court than what relates to the ſports or profits ofthe field in Britain ; to which accounts he liftens with good-humoured earneftneſs, and talks of a fine fcenting day with the true taſte of an English country gentleman. On this day I firſt ſaw the Danube at Lintz, where, though but juſt burſt from the ſpring, it is already ſo deep and ſtrong that ſcarcely any wooden bridge is capable to refift it, and accordingly it did a few months ago over whelm many cottages and fields, among which we paffed. The inhabitants here call it Donaw from its fwiftnefs ; and it deferves be fide, any name expreffive of that fingular pu rity which diſtinguiſhes the German torrents. The rivers of France, Italy, and England, give one no idea of that elemental perfection found in the fluids here ; not a pebble, not a fish in theſe tranſlucent ftreams, but may be difcerned to a depth of twelve feet. As the 2 water 286 OBSERVATIONS IN A water in Germany, fo is the atmoſphere in Italy, a medium fo little obftructed by vapour I remember, that Vefuvius looked as near to Naples, from our window, as does lord Lif burne's park from the little town of Exmouth oppofite, a diſtance of about five miles I be lieve, and the other is near ten. Let me add, that this peculiarity brings every object for ward with a certain degree of hardneſs not wholly pleafing to the eye. The profpects round Naples have another fault , reſulting from too great perfection : the ſky's brilliant unifor mity, and utter cloudleffneſs for many months together, takes away thoſe broad maffes of light and fhade, with the volant fhadows that croſs our Britiſh hills, relieving the fight, and difcriminating the landſcape. The fcenery round Conway Caftle in North Wales, with a thunder-ftorm rolling over the mountain ; the fea ftrongly illuminated on one fide, with the fun fhining bright upon the verdure on the other ; the lights dropping in patches about one ; exhibits a variety, the which to equal will be very difficult, let us tra vel as far as we pleaſe. Magnificence of a far different kind how ever claims our prefent attention a convent and JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 287 and church fhewn us at Molcke upon our way, the refidence of eighteen friars who in habit a ſtately palace it is confeffed, while three immenfe courts precede your entrance to a fplendid ſtructure of enormous ſize, on which the finery beſtowed amazed even me, who came from Rome ; nor had entertained an idea of ſeeing fuch gilding, and carving, and profufion of expence, laviſhed on a place of religious retirement in our road to VIENNA. WE entered the capital by night ; but I fancied, perhaps from having been told fo, that I ſaw ſomething like a look of London. round me. Apartments furniſhed wholly in the Paris tafte take off that look a little ; fo do the public walks and drives which are form ed etoile-wife, and moving flowly up and down the avenues, you fee large ſtags, wild boars, &c. grazing at liberty : this is grander than our park, and graver than the Corfo. Wheneverthey lay out a piece ofwater in this country, it is covered as in ours with fwans, > who - 8 288 OBSERVATIONS IN A who have completely quitted the odoriferous Po for the clear and rapid Danube. Vienna was not likely to ftrike one with its churches ; yet the old cathedral is majeſtic, and by no means ftript of thoſe ornaments which, while one fect of Chriftians think it par licularly pleafing in the fight of God to re tain, is hardly warrantable in another ſect, though wifer, to be over-hafty in tearing away. Here are however many devotional figures and chapels left in the ſtreets I fee, which, from the tales told in Auftrian Lom bardy, one had little reafon to expect ; but the emperor is tender even to the foibles of his Viennefe fubjects, while he fhews little feel ing to Italian mifery. Men drawing carts. along the roads and ftreet afford , indeed, fome what an awkward proof the government's le nity when human creatures are levelled with the beafts of burden, and called flott eifel, or ftout affes, as I underſtand, who by this in formation have learned that the frame which fupports a picture is for the fame reafon called an eifel, as we call a thing to hang clothes on a borfe. It is the genius ofthe German lan guage to degrade all our Engliſh words fome how: JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 289 how they call a coach a waggon, and afk a lady if ſhe will buy pomatum to smear her hair with. Such is however the refemblance between their tongue and ours, that the Ita lians proteft they cannot feparate either the ideas or the words. I must mention our going to the poft- office with a Venetian friend to look for letters, where, after receiving fome furly replies from the people who attended there, our laquais de place reminded my male companions that they ſhould ſtand uncovered. Finding them however fomewhat dilatory in their obedi ence, a rough fellow fnatched the hat from one of their heads, faying, " Don't you know, Sir, that you are standing before the emperor's officers ?"-" I know," replied the prompt Italian, " that we are come to a coun try where people wear their hats in the church, fo need not wonder we are bid to take them offin the poft-office." Well, where rulers are faid or fuppofed to be tyrannical, it is rational that good proviſion ſhould be made for arms; otherwiſe defpotifm dwindles into nugatory pompouſneſs and airy fhow ; Profpero's em pire in the enchanted ifland of Shakeſpeare is not more ſhadowy than the fight of prince VOL. II. U dom 290 OBSERVATIONS IN A dom united with impotence of power :-fuch have I feen, but fuch is not the character of Keyfar's dominion. The arſenal here is the fineſt thing in the world I fuppofe ; it grieved me to feel the ideas of London and Venice fade before it fo ; but the enormous fize and folidity of the quadrangle, the quantity and difpofition ofthe cannon, bombs, and mortars, filled my mind with enforced reſpect, and fhook my nerves with the thought of what might follow fuch dreadful preparation. Nothing can in fact be grander than the fight of the Auftrian eagle, all made out in arms, eight ancient heroes fternly frowning round it . The choice has fallen on Cæfar, Pompey, Alexander, Scipio, Hannibal, Fa bius Maximus, Cyrus, and Themistocles. I ſhould have thought Pyrrhus worthier the company of all the reft than this laft -named hero ; but petty criticiſms are much lefs wor thy a place in Vienna's arfenal, which im preffes one with a very majeſtic idea of Impe rial greatneſs. On the first of November we tried at an excurfion into Hungary, where we meant to have furveyed the Danube in all its dignity at Prefburgh, and have heard Hayden at Efther 4 hazie. JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 291 hazie. But my being unluckily taken ill, pre vented us from profecuting our journey fur ther than a wretched village, where I was laid up with a fever, and diſappointed my company of much hoped-for entertainment. It was curious however to find one's felf within a few poſts ofthe places one had read ſo much of; and the words Route de Belgrade upon a finger-poft gave me fenfations of diſtance never felt before. The comfortable fight of a proteftant chapel near me made much amends however. The officiating priefts were ofthe Moravian fect it feems, and dear Mr. Hut ton's image ruſhed upon my mind. A burial paffing by my windows, ftruck me as very extraordinary : not one follower or even bearer being dreffed in black, but all with green robes trimmed with dark brown furs, not robes neither ; but like long coats down to the men's heels, cut in fkirts, and trimmed up thoſe ſkirts as well as round the bottom with fur. It was a melancholy country that we paffed through, very bleak and diſmal, and I truft would not have mended upon us had we gone further. The few people one fees are all ignorant, and can all ſpeak Latin-fuch as it U 2 is 292 OBSERVATIONS IN A is -very fluently. I have lived with many very knowing people who never could ſpeak it with any fluency at all. Such is life !—and fuch is learning ! I long to talk about the fheep and ſwine : they feem very worthy of obfervation ; the latter large and finely ſhaped, of the old favage race ; one fancies them like thofe Eumæus tended, and perhaps they are fo ; with tuſks offingular beauty and whiteneſs, which the uniformly brown colour of the creature fhews off to much advantage ; amidſt his dark curls, waving all over his high back and long fides, in the manner of a curl-pated baby in England, only that the laſt is com monly fair and blonde. The sheep are ſpotted like our pigs, but prettier ; black and yellow like a tortoiſe-ſhell cat, with horns as long as thofe of any he goat I ever faw, but very different ; theſe animals carrying them ftraight upright like an antelope, and they are of a ſpiral ſhape. Our mutton meantime is deteftable ; but here are incomparable fish, carp large as fmall Severn falmon, and they bring them to table cut in pounds, and the joul for a handfome difh. I only wonder one has never heard of any an cient or any modern gluttons driving away to Prefburg JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 293 Prefburg or Buda, for the fake of eating a fine Danube carp. With regard to men and women in Hun gary, they are not thickly fcattered, but their lamentations are loud ; the emperor having refumed all the privileges granted them by Maria Thereſa in the year 1740, or there abouts, when diftrefs drove her to fhelter in that country, and has prohibited the import tion of falt herrings which uſed to come duty free from Amfterdam, fo that their fafts are rendered incommodious from the afperity of the foil, which produces very little vegetable food. Ground fquirrels are frequent in the forefts here ; but without Pennant's Synopfis I never remember the Linnæan names of quadrupeds, fo can get no information of the animal called a glutton in Engliſh, whofe fkin I fee in every fur-fhop, and who, I fancy, inhabits our Hungarian woods. The Imperial collection of pictures here is really a magnificent repofitory of Italian tafte, Flemish colouring, and Dutch exactneſs : in which the Baptift, by Giulio Romano, the crucifixion by Vandyke, and the phyſician U 3 holding 294 OBSERVATIONS IN A holding up a bottle to the light by Gerard Douw, are great examples. One does not in theſe countries look out par ticularly for the works of Roman or Bologneſe maſters ; but I remember a wonderful Caracci at Munich, worthy a firft place even in the Zampieri palace ; the fubject, Venus fitting under a great tree diverting herſelf with fee ing a fcuffle between the two boys Cupid and Anteros. In the gallery here at Vienna, many ofthe pictures have been handled a good deal ; one is dazzled with the brilliancy of theſe power ful colourists ; and here is a David Teniers furpriſingly natural, of Abraham offering up Ifaac ; a glorious Pordenone reprefenting Santa Juftina, reminded me of her fine church at Padua, and his centurion at Cremona, which I know not who could excel ; and here is Furino's Sigifmunda to be feen, the fame or a duplicate of that fold at Sir Luke Schaub's fale in London about thirty years ago, and called Correggio. I have feen it at Merriworth too, if not greatly mif taken. The price it went for in Lang ford's auction- room I cannot furely forget, it was three thouſand pounds, or theyfaidfo. I will JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 295 I will only add a word of a Dutch girl re prefenting Herodias, and fo lively in its co louring, that I think the king would have denied her who reſembled it nothing, had he been a native of Amfterdam. A Mount Calvary painted by the fame hand is very ſtriking, with a crowd of people gathered about the croſs, and men felling cakes to the mob, as if at a fair or horfe- race : two young peaſants at fifty-cuffs upon the fore ground quarrelling, as it fhould ſeem, about the propriety of our Saviour's execution. But I have this day heard fo many and ſuch intereſting particulars concerning the empe ror, that I ſhould not forgive myſelf if I failed to record and relate them, the lefs becauſe my authority was particularly good, and the anecdotes fingular and pleafing. He rifes then at five o'clock every morning, even at this ſharp feafon, writes in private till nine, takes fome refreshment then, and im mediately after calls his minifters, and em ploys the time till one profeffedly in ftate affairs, rides out till three, returns and ftudies alone, letting the people bring his dinner at the appointed hour, chufes out of all the things they bring him one difh, and fets it ja

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H7 U 4 on 296 OBSERVATIONS IN A on the ftove to keep hot, eating it when nature calls for food, but never detaining a fervant in the room to wait ; at five he goes: to the Corridor juft near his own apartment, where poor and rich, ſmall and great, have accefs to his perfon at pleaſure, and often get him to arbitrate their law-fuits, and decide their domeſtic differences, as nothing is more agreeable to him than finding himſelf confi dered by his people as their father, and dif penfer of juftice over all his extenfive domi nions. His attention to the duties he has im pofed upon himſelf is ſo great, that, in order to maintain a pure impartiality in his mind towards every claimant, he fuffers no man or woman to have any influence over him, and forbears even the flight gratification of fond ling a dog, left it ſhould take up too much of his time. The emperor is a ſtranger upon principle to the joys of confidence and friend fhip, but cultivates the acquaintance of many ladies and gentlemen, at whofe houſes (when they fee company) he drops in, and ſpends the evening cheerfully in cards or converfa tion, putting no man under the leaft reſtraint ; and if he fees a new comer in look difcon certed, goes up to him and fays kindly, “ Di Tvert JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 297 vert yourſelf your own way, good Sir ; and do not let me diſturb you. " His coach is like the commoneft gentleman's of Vienna ; his fer vants diftinguiſhed only by the plainneſs of their liveries ; and, left their infolence might make his company troublefome to the houſes where he vifits, he leaves the carriage in the ftreet, and will not even be driven into the court-yard, where other equipages and foot men wait. A large difh of hot chocolate thick ened with bread and cream is a common afternoon's regale here, and the emperor often takes one, obferving to the miſtreſs of the houſe how acceptable fuch a meal is to him after fo wretched a dinner. Afew mornings ago fhowed his character in a ftrong light. Some poor women were coming down the Danube on a float, the planks fepa rated, and they were in danger of drowning ; as it wasvery early in the day, and no one awake upon the ſhore except a fawyer that was cut ting wood ; who, not being able to obtain from his phlegmatic neighbours that affiſtance their cafe immediately required, ran directly to call the emperor who he knew would be ſtirring, and who came flying to give that help which from fome happy accident was no longer f11I4I1 298 OBSERVATIONS IN A longer wanted : but Jofeph loft no good hu mour on the occafion ; on the contrary, he con gratulated the women on their deliverance, praiſing at the fame time and rewarding the fellow for having diſturbed him. My informer told me likewife, that if two men difpute about any matter till miſchief is expected, the wife of one of them will often cry out, "Come, have done, have done directly, or I'll call our mafter, and he'll make you have done." Now is it fair not to do every thing but adore a fovereign like this? when we know that iffuch tales were told us ofMarcus Aurelius, or TitusVefpafian, it would be our delight to repeat, our favourite learning to read of them. Such conduct would ferve fucceeding princes for models, nor could the weight of a dozen centuries fmother their ftill riſing fame. Yet is not my heart perfuaded that the reputation of Jofeph the Second will be configned im maculate from age to age, like that of theſe immortal worthies, though dearly purchaſed by the lofs of eaſe and pleaſure ; while neither the mitred prelate nor the blameleſs puritan purſue with bleffings a heart unawed by ſplen dour, unfoftened by fimplicity ; a hand ftretched forth rather to diſpenſe juſtice, than opening fpontaneoufly to diftribute charity. To JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 299 To ſpeak lefs folemnly, if men were nearer than they are to perfect creatures, abfolute monarchy would be the moſt perfect form of government, for the will of the prince could never deviate from propriety ; but if one king can fee all with his own eyes, and hear all with his own ears, no fucceffor will ever be able to do the fame ; and it is like giving Harriſon 10,000 l . for finding the longitude, to commend a perfon for having hit on the right way of governing a great nation, while his fcience is incommunicable, and his powers of execution muſt end with his life. The fociety here is charming ; Sherlock fays, that he who does not like Vienna is his own fatirift ; I fhall leave others to be mine. The ladies here feem very highly accompliſhed, and ſpeak a great variety of languages with facility, ftudying to adorn the converfation with every ornament that literature can be ftow ; nor do they appear terrified as in Lon don, left pedantry fhould be imputed to them, for venturing fometimes to uſe in company that knowledge they have acquired in pri vate by diligent application. Here alfo are to be ſeen young unmarried women once again : miffes, who wink at each other, and

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21titter 300 OBSERVATIONS IN A titter in corners at what is paffing in the rooms, public or private : I had lived fo long away from them, that I had half forgotten their exiftence. The horfes here are trimmed at the heels, and led about in body clothes like ours in England ; but their drawing is ill managed, no fhafts fomehow but a pole, which, when there is one horſe only, looks awkward and badly contrived. Beafts of various kinds plowing to gether has a ftrange look, and the ox har neffed up like a hunter in a phaeton cuts a comical figure enough. One need no longer fay, Optat ephippia bos piger * ; but it is very filly, as no uſe can be thus made of that ſtrength which lies only in his head and horns. Plenty of wood makes the Germans profuſely elegant in their pales, hurdles, & c. which give an air of comfort and opulence, and make the beſt compenfation a cold climate can make for the hedges of jeffamine and medlar flowers, which I fhall fee no more. Our architecture here can hardlybe exped ed to pleaſe an eye made faftidious from the contemplation of Michael Angelo's works at Rome, or Palladio's at Venice ; nor will Ger

• The lazy ox for trappings fighs.

man JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 301 man mufic much delight thoſe who have been long accustomed to more fimple melody, though intrinfic merit and complicated excel lence will always deferve the higheſt note of praiſe. Whoever takes upon him to under-rate that which no one can obtain without infinite labour and ſtudy, will ever be cenfured, and juftly, for refufing the reward due to deep reſearch ; but if a man's tafte leads him to like Cyprus wine, let him drink that, and content himſelf with commending the old bock. Apropos, we hear that Sacchini, theMetaftafio of muſical compofers, is dead ; but nobody at Vienna cares about his compofitions. Our Italian friends are more candid ; they are always talking in favour of Bach and Brug huel, Handel and Rubens. The cabinet of natural hiftory is exceed ingly fine, and the rooms fingularly well dif pofed. There are more cameos at Bologna, and one fuperior ſpecimen of native gold : every thing elſe I believe is better here, and fuch opals did I never fee before, no not at Loretto : the petrified lemon and artichoke. have no equals, and a brown diamond was new to me to-day. A fpecimen of fea falt filled with air bubbles like the rings one 3 buys 302 OBSERVATIONS IN A buys at Vicenza, is worth going a long way to look at ; but the gentleman at Munich, who fhewed us the Virgin Mary in a cobweb, had a piece of red filver ſhot out into a ruby like cryftal, more extraordinary than any mi neral production I have feen. Our attention was caught by Maria Thereſa's bouquet, but one cannot forget the pearls belonging to the electreſs of Bavaria. What feemed, however, moft to charm the people who fhewed the cabinet, was a ſnuff box confifting of various gems, none bigger than a barley-corn, each of prodigious value, and the workmanship of more, every ſquare being inlaid fo neatly, and no precious ftone repeated, though the number is no leſs than one hundred and eighty-three; a falſe bottom befides of gold, opening with a ſpring touch, and difcovering a written catalogue of the jewels in the fineſt hand-writing, and the ſmall eft poffible. This was to me a real curioſity, afforded a new and fingular proof of that aſtoniſhing power of eye, and delicacy of manual operation, feconded by a patient and perfevering attention to things frivolous in themſelves, which will be for ever alike ne glected JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 303 glected by the fire of Italian genius, and dif dained by the dignity of Britiſh ſcience. We have ſeen other fort of things to- day however. The Hungarian and Bohemian robes pleaſed me beft, and the wild unfet jewels in the diadem of Tranfylvania im preffed me with a valuable idea of Gothic greatnefs. The fervice of gold plate too is very grand from its old-fashioned folidity. I liked it better than I did the fnuff-box ; and here is a diſhin ivory puts one in mind of no thing but Achilles's fhield , fo worked is its broad margin with miniature repreſentations of bat tles, landſcapes, &c. three dozen different ſtories round the diſh, one might have looked at it with microſcopes for a week together. The porcelane plates have been painted to ridicule Raphael's pots at Loretto I fancy ; Julio Ro mano's manner is comically parodied upon one of them. Prince Lichtenſtein's pictures are charm ing ; a Salmacis in the water by Albano is the beſt work of that mafter I ever faw, not diffuſed as his works commonly are, but all collected fomehow, and fine in a way I cannot expreſs for want of more knowledge ; very, very fine it is however, and full of ex preffion and character. The Caracci ſchool again. -304 OBSERVATIONS IN A again. Here is the whole hiftory of Decius by Rubens too, wonderfully learned ; and an affumption ofthe Virgin fo like Mrs. Pritchard our famous actreſs, no portrait ever reprefent ed her fo well. A St. Sebaftian divinely beautiful, by Vandyke ; and a girl playing on the guitar, which you may run round almoft, by the coarfe but natural hand of Caravagio. The library is new and fplendid, and they buy books for it very liberally. The learned and ainiable Abbé Denys fhewed me a thou fand unmerited civilities, was charmed with the character of Dr. Johnſon, and delighted with the ſtory of his converfation at Rouen with Monf. l'Abbé Roffette. This gentle man ſeems to love England very much, and English literature ; fpoke of Humphry Pri deaux with refpect, and has his head full of Offian's poetry, of which he can repeat whole pages. He fhewed me a fragment of Livy written in the fifth century, a pfalter and creed beautifully illuminated of the year nine hundred, and a large portion of St. Mark's gofpel on blue paper of the year three hundred and feven. A Bibbia de Poveri too, as the Italians call it, curious enough ; the figures all engraved on wood, and only a text at bottom to explain them. K Wincef JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY, 305 Winceflaus marked every book he ever pof feffed, it ſeems, with the five vowels on the back ; and almoſt every one with ſome little miniature made by himſelf, recording his eſcape from confinement at Prague in Bohemia, where the waſher-woman having affifted him to get out ofpriſon under pretence of bathing, he has been very ftudious to regiſter the event ; ſo much fo that even on the margins of his bible he has been tempted to paint paſt ſcenes that had better have been blotted from his me mory. The Livy which learned men have hoped to find fafe in the feraglio of Conftantinople, was burned by their late ſultan Amurath, our Abbé Denys tells me; the motive ſprung from miſtaken piety, but the effect is to be lamented. He fhewed me an Alcoran in extremely fmall characters, furpriſingly fo indeed, taken out of a Turkiſh officer's pocket when John Sobi efky raiſed the fiege of this city in the year 1590, and a preacher took for his text the Sunday after, " There was a man fent from God whofe name was John." I was much amuſed with a fight ofthe Mexican MSS and Peruvian quipos ; nor are the Turkiſh figures VOL. II. X of 306 OBSERVATIONS IN A ofAdam and Eve, our Saviour and his mo ther, less remarkable ; but Mahomet furround ed by a glory about his head, a veil concealing his face as too bright for inſpection, exceeded all the reft. 1 Here are many ladies of fashion in this. town very eminent for their muſical abilities, particularly Meſdemoiſelles de Martinas, one of whom is member of the Academies of Berlin and Bologna : the celebrated Metaſtaſio died in their houſe, after having lived with the family fixty-five years more or leſs. They fet his poe try and fing it very finely, appearing to recol lect his converſation andfriendſhip, with infinite tenderneſs and delight. He was to have been preſented to the Pope the very day he died, I underſtand, and in the delirium which im mediately preceded diffolution he raved much of the fuppofed interview. Unwilling to hear of death, no one was ever permitted even to mention it before him ; and nothing put him fo certainly out of humour, as finding that rule tranfgreffed even by his neareſt friends. Even the fmall-pox was not to be named in his prefence, and whoever did name that dif order, though unconfcious of the offence he 3 had JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 307 had given, Metaftafio would ſee him no more. The other peculiarities I could gather from Mifs Martinas were thefe : That he had con tentedly lived half a century at Vienna, without ever even wiſhing to learn its language ; that he had never given more than five guineas English money in all that time to the poor ; that he always fat in the fame feat at church, but ne ver paid for it, and that nobody dared afk him for the trifling fum ; that he was grate ful and beneficent to the friends who began by being his protectors, but ended much his debtors, for folid benefits as well as for elegant prefents, which it was his delight to be per petually making them, leaving to them at laſt all he had ever gained without the charge even of a fingle legacy ; obferving in his will that it was to them he owed it, and other conduct would in him have been injuſtice. Such were the fentiments, and fuch the con duct of this great poet, of whom it is of little confequence to tell, that he never changed the faſhion of his wig, the cut or colour of his coat, fo that his portrait taken not very long ago looks like thoſe of Boileau or Moliere at the head of their works. His life was arranged with fuch methodical exactneſs, that 敏X 2 he 308 OBSERVATIONS IN A he rofe, ftudied, chatted, flept, and dined at the fame hours for fifty years together, enjoying uninterrupted health, which probably gave him that happyſweetneſs oftemper, or habitual gen tleneſs of manners, which never fuffered itſelf to be ruffled, but when his fole injunction was forgotten, and the death ofany perfon whatever was unwittingly mentioned before him. No folicitation had ever prevailed on him to dine from home, nor had his neareſt intimates ever feen him eat more than a bifcuit with his le monade, every meal being performed with even myſterious privacy to the laſt. When his end approached by ſteps fo very rapid, he did not in the leaſt ſuſpect that it was coming ; and Mademoiſelle Martinas has ſcarcely yet done rejoicing in the thought that he eſcaped the preparations he fo dreaded. His early paffion for a celebrated finger is well known upon the continent ; fince that affair finiſhed, all his pleaſures have been confined to mufic and converfation. He had the fatisfaction of ſeeing the feventieth edition of his works I think they ſaid, but am afhamed to copy out the number from my own notes, it ſeems fo very ftrange ; and the delight he took in hearing the lady he lived with fing his fongs, 4 was JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 309 was viſible to every one. An Italian Abate here faid, comically enough, " Oh! he looked like a man in the ſtate of beatification always when Mademoiſelle de Martinas accompanied his verſes with her fine voice and brilliant finger. The father of Metaftafio was a gold fmith at Rome, but his fon had fo devoted himſelf to the family he lived with, that he refuſed to hear, and took pains not to know, whether he had in his latter days any one relation left in the world. On a character fo fingular I leave my readers to make their own obfervations and reflections. Au refte, as the French fay ; I have no no tion that Vienna, fempre ventofo o velenofo *, can be a very wholeſome place to live in ; the double windows, double feather-beds, &c. in a room without a chimney, is furely ill con trived ; and ſleeping ſmothered up in down ſo, like a hydrophobous patient in ſome parts of Ireland, is not particularly agreeable, though I begin to like it better than I did. All ex ternal air is fhut out in fuch a manner that I am frighted left, after a certain time, the room fhould become like an exhaufted receiver,

• Ever ftormy or venemous,

X 3 while 310 OBSERVATIONS IN A while the wind whirls one about the ftreet in fuch a manner that it is diſpleaſing to put out one's head ; and a phyfician from Ragufa fettled here told me, that wounded lungs are a common confequence of the triturated ftone blown about here ; and in fact afthmas and confumptions are their reigning diſeaſes. Apropos, the plague is now raging in Tran fylvania ; how little ſafe ſhould we think our felves at London, were a diforder fo contagious known to be no farther diftant than Derby ? Thediſtance is fcarcelygreater nowfrom Vienna to the place of diftrefs ; yet I will not fay we are in much danger to be fure, for that per petual connection kept up between all the towns and counties of Great Britain is un known in other nations, and we ſhould be as many days going to Tranfylvania from here perhaps, as we ſhould be hours running from Toddenham-court road to Derby. Sheenburn is pretty, but it is no feaſon forfee ing pretty places. The ftreets of Vienna are not pretty at all, God knows ; fo narrow, fo ill built, focrowded, manywares placed uponthe ground where there is a little opening, feems a ftrange awkward difpofition of things for fale ; and the people cutting wood in the ftreet makes one half JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 311 half wild when walking ; it is hardly poffible to paſs another ftrange cuftom, borrowed from Italy I truſt, of ſhutting up their ſhops in the middle of the day ; it muſt tend, one would think, but little to the promotion of that com merce which the fovereign profeffes to en courage, and I fee no excufe for it here which can be made from heat, gaiety, or devotion. Many families living in the fame houſe, and at the entrance of the apartments belonging to each, a strong iron gate to ſeparate the refidence of one fet from that of another, has likewiſe an odd melancholy look, like that of a priſon or a nunnery. Nunneries, however, here are none ; and if the old women turned out of thofe they have long dwelt in, are not provided with decent penfions, it muſt ſurely diſtreſs even the Emperor's cold heart to fee age driven from the refuges of difappointment, and forced to wander through the world with inexperience for its guide, while youth is no longer led, but thrust into temptation by fuch a fudden tranfition from utter retirement to open and buſy life. We have been this morning to look over his academy of painting, &c. His exhibition room is neatly kept, and I dare fay will pro X 4 fper : 312 OBSERVATIONS IN A fper : the ftudents are zealous and laborious, and earnestly defire the promulgation of fcience : their collection of models is meagre, but it will mend by degrees. Perhaps Jofeph the IId. is the firſt European fovereign who, eſtabliſhing a ſchool for painting and fculp ture, has infifted on the artiſts never exercif ing their ſkill upon any fubject which could hurt any perfon's delicacy ; -an example well worthy honeft praiſe and ſpeedy imitation. The very few charitable foundations efta bliſhed at Vienna by Imperial munificence are well managed; their paucity is accounted for bythe recollection of many abuſes confequent on the late Emprefs's bounty ; her fon there fore took all the annuities away, which he thought her tenderneſs had been duped out of; but let it be remembered that when he rides or walks in a morning, he always takes with him a hundred ducats, out of which he never brings any home, but gives in private donations what he knows to be well beftow ed, without the oftentation of affected gene rofity: it is not in rewards for paſt ſervices perhaps, nor in public and ftately inftitutions, as I am told here, that this prince's liberalities are to be looked for ; yet In JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 313 In Mis'ry's darkeſt caverns known, His uſeful care is ever nigh ; Where hopeleſs Anguish pours her groan, And lonely Want retires to die. Tomorrow (23d of November) we venture to leave Vienna and proceed northwards, as I long to fee the Drefden gallery. Here every thing appears to me a caricatura of London ; the language like ours, but coarſer; the plays like ours, but duller ; the ſtreets at night lighted up, not like ours now, but very like what they were thirty or forty years ago. Among the people I have feen here, Ma demoiſelle Paradies, the blind performer on the harpsichord, intereſted me very much ; -and fhe liked England fo, and the King and Queen were ſo kind to her, and ſhe was So happy, ſhe ſaid ! —While life and its vex ations ſeem to oppreſs ſuch numbers of hearts, and cloud fuch variety of otherwiſe agreeable faces, one must go to a blind girl to hear of happineſs, it ſeems ! But fhe has wonderful talents for languages as well as muſic, and has learned the English pronunciation moſt fur prifingly. It is a foothing fight when one finds the mind compenfate for the body's de fects : 314 OBSERVATIONS IN A fects : I took great delight in the converſation of Mademoiſelle Paradies. - The collection of rarities, particularly an Alexander's head worthy of Capo di Monte, now inthe poffeffion of Madame de Heffe, be came daily more my study, as I received more and more civilities from the charming family at whofe houſe it refides : there are ſome very fine cameos in it, and a great variety of mif cellaneous curiofities. you So different are the cuftoms here and at Venice, that the German ladies offer you chocolate on the fame falver with coffee, of an evening, and fill up both with milk ; faying that you may have the latter quite black if chufe it-" Tout noir, Monfieur, à la Vene tienne;"-adding their beft advice not to rifque a practice fo unwholefome. While their care upon that account reminds me chiefly of a friend, who lives upon the Grand Canal, that in reply to a long panegyric upon Engliſh de licacy, faid fhe would tell a story that would prove them to be nafty enough, at leaſt in fome things ; for that ſhe had actually ſeen a handfome young nobleman, who came from. London (and ought to have known better), fouce fome thick cream into the fine clear coffee JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 315 coffee the preſented him with ; which every body must confefs to be vera porcheria ! a very piggish trick !-So neceffary and fo pleafing is conformity, and fo abfurd and per verfe is it ever to forbear fuch affimilation of manners, when not inconfiftent with the virtue, honour, or neceffary intereft :-let us eat four-crout in Germany, frittura at Milan, macaroni at Naples, and beef-fteaks in Eng land, if one wiſhes to pleaſe the inhabitants of either country ; and all are very good, ſo it is a flight compliance. Poor Dr. Goldſmith faid once-" I would adviſe every young fel low fetting out in life to love gravy ;"—and added, that he had formerly feen a glutton's eldeft nephew difinherited, becauſe his uncle never could perſuade him to fay he liked gravy.

316 OBSERVATIONS IN A PRAGU E. THE inns between Vienna and this place are very bad; but we arrived here fafe the 24th of November, when I looked for little comfort but much diverfion ; things turned out however exactly the reverſe, and aux bains de Prague in Bohemia we found beds more elegant, dinners neater dreffed, apart ments cleaner and with a leſs foreign aſpect, than almost any where elfe. Such is not mean time the general appearance of the town out of doors, which is favage enough ; and the celebrated bridge fingularly ugly I think, crowded with vaft groupes of ill-made ſtatues, and heavy to excefs, though not incom modious to drive over, and of a ſurpriſing extent. Theſe German rivers are magni ficent, and our Mulda here (which is but a branch of the Elbe neither) is refpectable for its volume of water, uſeful for the fish con tained in it, and lovely in the windings of its courſe. Bohemia . JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 317 1 ན།Bohemia feems no badly- cultivated coun-. try ; the ground undulates like many parts of Hertfordshire, and the property feems divided much in the fame manner as about Dunſtable ; my head ran upon Lilly-hoo, when they fhewed me the plains of Kolin. Doctor Johnſon was very angry with a gentleman at our houfe once, I well remem ber, for not being better company; and urged that he had travelled into Bohemia, and feen Prague :-" Surely," added he, " the man who has feen Prague might tell us ſomething new and fomething ſtrange, and not fit filent for want of matter to put his lips in motion !" Horrefco referens ;-I have now been at Prague as well as Doctor Fitzpatrick, but have brought away nothing very intereſting I fear ; unleſs that the floor of the opera-ſtage there is inlaid, which fo far as I have obſerved is a new thing ; the cathedral I am fure is an old thing, and charged with heavy and ill-chofen ornaments, worthy of the age in which it was fabricated !-One would be loth to ſee any alteration take place, or any picture drive old Frank's Three Kings, divided into three com partments, from its ſtation over the high altar. St.

1. f1

1 " 318 OBSERVATIONS IN A St. John Neppomucene has an altar here all of folid filver, very bright and clean ; his having been flung into the river Mulda in the perfecuting days, holding faſt his crucifix and his religion, gives him a rational title to veneration among the martyrs, and he is confidered as the tutelar faint here, where his ſtatue meets one at the entrance of every town. This truly Gothic edifice was very near being deſtroyed by the King of Pruffia, who bombarded the city thirty- five years ago ; I faw the mark made by one ball juft at the cathedral door, and heard with horror of the dreadful ſiege, when an egg was fold for a florin, and other eatables in proportion : the whole town has, in confequence of that long blockade, a ragged and half-ruined melan choly aſpect ; and the roads round it, then broken up, have ſcarcely been mended fince. The ladies too looked more like maſquerad ing figures than any thing elſe, as they fat in their boxes at the opera, with rich embroi dered caps, or bright pink and blue fattin head-dreffes, with ermine or fable fronts, a heavy gold taffel hanging low down from the left JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 319 left ear, and no powder ; which gives a girlish look, and reminded me of a faſhion our lower tradeſmen in London had about fifteen or eighteen years ago, of dreffing their daugh ters, from nine to twelve years old, in puffed black fattin caps, with a long ear hanging down on one fide. It is a becoming mode enough as the women wear it here, but gives no idea of cleanlineſs ; and I ſuppoſe that whilft finery retains its power of friking, de licacy keeps her diftance, nor attempts to come in play till the other has failed of its effect. Ladies dreſs here very richly, as in deed I expected to find them, and coloured filk ftockings are worn as they were in Eng land till the days of the Spectator : -" Thrift, thrift, Horatio;" as Hamlet obferves ; for our expences in Great Britain are infinitely in creaſed by our advancement from ſplendor to neatnefs. Here every thing feems at leaſt five cen turies behind- hand, and religion has not pu rified itſelf the leaft in the world fince the days of its early ftruggle ; for here Hufs preached, and here Jerome, known by the name of Jerome of Prague, firſt began to project the fcheme of a future reformation. The 320 OBSERVATIONS IN A

The Bohemians had indeed been long before that time indulged by the Popes with permif fion to receive the cup in the facrament, a fa vour granted no one elfe ; and of that no no tice was ever taken, till further fteps were made for the obtaining many alterations that have crept in fince that time in other nations, not ſo haſty to do by violence what will one day be done of themſelves without any vio lence at all. I afked to fee fome Proteftant meeting houſes, and was introduced to a very pleaſing mannered Livorneſe, who ſpoke ſweet Italian, and was miniſter to a little place of worſhip which could not have contained two hundred people at the moft ; in fact his flock were all foldiers, he faid. Not a perfon who could keep a fhop was to be found of our perſuaſion, nor was Lutheranifm half fo much detefted even in Italy, he faid. Though I remember the boys hooting us at Tivoli too, and calling our Engliſh Gentlemen, Monfieur Dannato. The library does not feem ancient, but the grave perſon who fhewed it ſpoke very indif ferent French, fo that I could better truft my eyes than my ears ; this want of language is terrible ! --A celeftial globe moving by clock work JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 321 work concealed within, and fhewing the fun's place upon the ecliptic very exactly, detained our attention agreeably ; and I ob ferved a polyglot bible printed at London in Cromwell's time, with a compliment to him in the preface, which they have expunged in fucceeding editions. Amiffal too was curious. enough from its being decorated with fome fingular illuminations upon one leaf; at the top of the page a figure of Wickliffe is feen, ſtriking the flint and ſteel ; under him, in an other ſmall compartment, Jerome of Prague blowing tinder to make his torch kindle ; below him again down the fame fide, Martin' Luther, the flambeau well lighted and blazing in his hand ; at the bottom of the page poor John Hufs, betrayed by the Emperor who promiſed him protection, and burning alive at a flake, to the apparent fatisfaction of the charitable fathers affembled at the council of Conftance. Another curioſity ſhould be re membered ; the manufcript letter from Zifca, the famous Proteftant general who headed the revolters in 1420 ; I was amazed to fee in how elegant an Italian hand it was written ; the librarian faid comically enough—" Ay, ay, VOL. II. Y it p 322 OBSERVATIONS IN A it begins all about the fear of God, &c.; thefe fellows," continued he, " you know , are al waysfure to be canters !" The reigning fovereign has made few changes in church matters here, except that which was become almoft indifpenfable, the reſolution to have mafs faid only at one altar, inſtead of many at a time ; the contrary practice does certainly disturb devotion , and produce unavoidable indecorums, as no one can tell what he turns his back upon, while the bell rings in fo many places of a large church at once, and fo many different func tions are going forward, that people's atten tion muſt almoſt neceffarily be diſtracted. The eating here is incomparable ; I never faw fuch poultry even at London or Bath, and there is a plenty of game that amazes one ; no inn fo wretched but you have a pheaſant for your ſupper, and often partridge foup. The fish is carried about the ſtreets in fo elegant a ftyle it tempts one ; a very large round bathing-tub, as we fhould call it, fet barrow-wife on two not very low wheels, is eafily puſhed along by one man, though full ofthe moft pellucid water, in which the carp, tench, JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 323 tench, and eels, are all leaping alive, to a fize and perfection I am ashamed to relate ; but the tench of four and five pounds weight have a richneſs and flavour one had no notion of till we arrived at Vienna, and they are the fame here. How trade ftands or moves in thefe coun tries I cannot tell ; there is great rigour ſhewn at the cuitom- houfe ; but till the shopkeepers learn to keep their doors open at least for the whole of the fhort days, not fhut them up fo and go to fleep at one or two o'clock for a couple of hours, I think they do not deferve to be diſturbed by cuſtomers who bring ready To- morrow (30th November 1786) we ſet out, wrapped in good furs and flan nels, for money. Y 2 DRESDEN; 324 OBSERVATIONS IN A

DRESDEN; WHITHER we arrive fafe this 4th of December, A wond'rous token Of Heav'n's kind care, with bones unbroken! As the ingenious Soame Jenyns fays of a lefs hazardous drive in a lefs barbarous country I hope but really to English paffengers in English carriages, the road from Prague hither is too bad to think on ; while nothing literally impels one forward except the impoffibility of going back. Lady Mary Wortley fays, her hufband and poftillions flept upon the pre cipices between Lowofitz and Auffig ; but furely the way muft have been much better then, as all the opium in both would scarce. have ftupefied their apprehenfions now, when a fall into the Elbe muft either have inter rupted or finiſhed their nap ; becauſe cur coach was held up every step of the journey by JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 325 by men's hands, while we walked at the bot tom about ſeven miles by the river's fide, fuf- · fering nothing but a little fatigue, and enjoy ing the most cloudlefs beautiful weather ever feen. The Elbe is here as wide I think as the Severn at Gloucefter, and rolls through the moſt varied and elegant landſcape poffible, not inferior to that which adorns the fides of the little Dart in Devonshire, but on a greater fcale ; every hill crowned with fome wood, or ornamented by ſome caſtle. As foon as we arrived, tired and hungry, at Auffig, we put our fhattered coach on board a bark, and floated her down to Drefden ; whither we drove forward in the little carts of the country, called chaifes, but very rough and with no ſprings, as our very old-fashioned curricles were about the year 1750. The brightness of the weather made even fuch a drive delightful though, and the millions of geefe on and off the river gave animation to the views, and accounted for the frequency of thofe foft downy feather-beds, which footh our cares and relieve our fatigue fo comfort ably every night. Hares will fcarce move from near the carriage wheels, fo little appre henfive are they of offence ; and the partridges Y 3 run 326 OBSERVATIONS IN A run before one fo, it is quite amuſing to look at them. The trout in theſe great rivers are neither large nor red ; I have never feen trout worth catching fince I left England ; the river at Rickmanſworth produces (one ſhould like to know why) that fish in far higher perfec tion than it can be found in any other ſtream perhaps in Europe. 4 The being ferved at every inn, fince we came into Saxony, upon Drefden china, gives one an odd feel fomehow ; but here at the Hôtel de Pologne there is every thing one can wifh, and ferved in fo grand a ſtyle, that I queftion whether any English inn or tavern can compare with it ; fo elegantly fine is the linen, fo beautiful the porcelaine of which every the meaneft utenfil is made ; and if the waiter did not appear before one dreſſed like Abel Drugger with a green cloth apron, and did not his entrance always fill the room with a ſtrong ſcent of tobacco, I fhould think my felf at home again almoft. This really does ſeem a very charming town ; the ſtreets well built and fpacious ; the fhops full of goods, and the people willing to fhew them ; and if they do cut all their wood before their own doors, why there is room to paſs here without brawling 12 JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 327 1 brawling and bones-breaking, which difgufts one ſo at Vienna ; it feems lighter too here than there ; I cannot tell why, but every thing looks clean and comfortable, and one feels fo much at home. I hate prejudice ; no thing is ſo ſtupid, nothing fo fure a mark of a narrow mind yet who can be fure that the fight of a Lutheran town does not afford in itſelf an honeft pleaſure to one who has lived. fo long, though very happily, under my Lord Peter's protection ? Here Brother Martin has all precedence paid him ; for though the court are Ro maniſts, their fplendid church here is called only a chapel, and they are not permitted to ring the bell, a privilege the Lutherans feem much attached to, for nothing can equal the noife of our bells on a Sunday morning at Drefden. The architecture is truly hideous, but no ornaments are fpared ; and the church of Notre Dame here is very magnificent. The china ſteeples all over the country are the oddeſt things in the world ; fpires of blue or green porcelaine tiles glittering in the fun have a ſtrange effect. But nothing can afford a ftronger proof that crucifixes, Madonnas, Y 4 and 328 OBSERVATIONS IN. A and faints, need not be driven out of churches for fear they fhould be worshipped, than the Lutherans admiffion of them into theirs ; for no people can be further removed from idol atry, or better inftructed in the Chriftian re ligion, than the common people of this town; where a decent obfervation of the fabbath ftruck me with moſt confolatory feelings, after living at Paris, Rome, and Florence, where it is confidered as a merry, not a holy day at all and though there feems nothing incon fiftent or offenfive in our rejoicing on the day of our Lord's refurrection, yet if people are encouraged to play, they will foon find out that they may work too, the ſhops will ſcarcely be fhut, and all appearance of regard to the fourth commandment will be done away. The Lutherans really feem to obferve the golden mean; they frequent their churches. all morning with a rigorous folemnity, no carts or bufinefs of any fort goes forward in the ſtreets, public and private devotion takes up the whole forenoon ; but they do not for bear to meet and dance after fix o'clock in the evening, or play a fober game for ſmall fums at a friend's houfe. The 1 JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 329 The fociety is to me very delightful ; more women than men though, and the women moſt agreeable ; exceedingly ſenſible, well in formed, and willing to talk on every ſubject ofgeneral importance, but religion or politics feem the favourite themes, and are I believe moft ftudied here ; -no wonder, the court and city being of different fects, each ſteadily and irrevocably fixed in a firm perfuafion that their own is beft, cauſes an inveſtigation that comes not in the head of people of other countries ; and it is wonderful to fee even the low Romaniſts fkilled in controverfial points to a degree that would aſtoniſh the people neareſt the Pope's perfon, I am well per fuaded. The Saxons are exceffively loyal however, and have the fenfe to love and honour their fovereign no leſs for his difference of opinion from theirs, than if all were of one mind ; yet knowing his principles, they watch with a jealous eye againſt encroachments, while the amiable elector and electreſs uſe every tender method to induce their fubjects to embrace their tenets, and weary heaven with prayers for their converfion, as if the people were heathens. 330 OBSERVATIONS IN A heathens. One great advantage reſults from this odd mixture of what fo fteadily refifts uniting ; it is the earneſt defire each has to juſtify and recommend their notions by their practice, ſo that the inhabitants of Drefden are among the moft moral, decent, thinking people I have ſeen in my travels, or indeed in mylife. The general air and manner both of place and people, puts one in mind of the pretty clean parts of our London, about Queen Square, Ormond Street, Lincoln's- Inn-Fields, and Southampton Row. The bridge is beautiful, more elegant than fhowy ; the light iron railing is better in fome reſpects than a ftone baluftrade, and I do not diſlike the rule they make to them felves of going on one fide the way always, and returning the other, to avoid a crowd and confufion. But it is time to talk about the picture gallery, where, cold as our weather is, I con trive to paſs three hours every day, my feet well defended by perlaches, a fort of cloth clogs, very ufeful and commodious. And now I have ſeen the Notte di Corregio, from which almoſt all pictures of effect have taken their JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY, 331 their original idea ; and here are three other Corregios inimitable, invaluable, incompa rable. Surely this Notte might ſtand ſide by fide with Raphael's Transfiguration ; and as Sherlock fays that Shakeſpear and Corneille would look only on the Vefuvius fide of the proſpect at Naples, while Pope and Racine would turn their heads towards Pofilippo ; fo probably, while the two firft would faften all their attention upon the Demoniac, the two laft would confole their eyes with the fweetness of Corregio's Nativity. His little. Magdalen too fet round with jewels, itſelf more precious than any or than all of them, poffeffes wonderful powers of attraction ; it is an hour before one can recollect that there are fome glorious Titians in the fame façade ; but Caracci, who depends not on his colouring for applaufe, lofes little by their vicinity, and Pouffin is always equally refpectable. The Rembrandts are beyond credibility perfect of their kind, and produce a most powerful ef fect. His portrait of his own daughter has neither equal nor price, I believe ; though the girl has little dignity to be fure, and leſs grace about her; but if to repreſent nature as ſhe is fuffices, this is the firſt ſingle figure in Europe as 332 OBSERVATIONS.IN . A.. as painting a live woman. -The Jupiter and Ganymede is very droll indeed, and done with very un-Italian notions ; but the eagle looks as if one might pluck his feathers ; it is very life itſelf. -A candle- light Rubens here is fhewn as a prodigious rarity ; a Ruyfdael as much refembling nature in his country, I do believe, as Claude Lorraine ever painted in bis.-The crayons Cupid of Mengs which dazzles, and the portrait of old Parr by Van dycke which interefts one, are pictures which call one to look at them again and again ; and the little Vanderwerfs kept in glaſs cafes, fimooth as ivory, and finished to perfection, are all alike to be fure ; one would wonder that a man fhould never be weary of painting fingle figures fo, and conftantly repeating the fame idea ; his eyes must have had peculiar frength too, to endure fuch trials, mine have been pained enough this morning with only looking at his labours, and thofe of the in defatigable Denny. Let me refresh them with a Parnaffus of Giacomo Tintoret, who puts all the colourists to flight except Cor regio. But here are two pictures which display prodigious genius, by a mafter of whom I 8 never JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 333 .. never heard any one fpeak, Ferdinand Bol, who unites grace and dignity to the clear ob fcure of Rembrandt, whoſe ſcholar he was. Jacob bleffing Pharoah, painted by him, is delightful ; and Jofeph's expreffions while he prefents his father, full of affectionate partial ity and fond regard for the old man, heightens his perfonal beauty ; ' while the king's charac ter is happily managed too, and gives one the higheſt idea of the artist's fkill. A Ma donna repoſing in her flight to Egypt with a fatigued look, her head ſupported by her hand, is elegant, and worthy of the Roman or Bologneſe ſchools ; the landſcape is like Rembrant. This gallery boafts an Egyptian Mary by Spagnolet, too terrifying to look long at ; and a ſmall picture by Lodovico Carracci of the Virgin clafping her Son, who lies afleep in her lap, while a vifion of his future cru cifixion fhewn her by angels in the fky, agitates every charming feature of her face, and cauſes a fhrinking in her figure which no power of art can exceed. As I fuffered fo much for the fake of ſeeing this collection, I have indulged myſelf too long in talking of it perhaps ; but Garrick is dead, and Siddons at a diftance, and fome compen . fation 334 OBSERVATIONS IN A fation muſt be had ; can any thing afford it except the ftatues of Rome, and the pictures of Bologna? here are a vaſt many from thence in this magnificent gallery. We had a concert made on purpoſe for us laſt night by fome amiable friends : it was a very good one. What I liked beſt though, was Mr. Tricklir's new invention of keeping a harpsichord always in tune ; and it ſeems to anfwer. I am no good mechanic, nor parti cularly fond of multiplying combinations ; but the device of adding a thermometer to fhew how much heat the ftrings will bear with out relaxation feems ingenious enough : we had a vaſt many experiments made, and nobody could put the ftrings out of tune, or even break them, when his method was adopted ; and it does not take up two minutes in the operation. We have ſeen the Elector's treaſures ; and, as a Frenchman would exprefs it, C'eft icy qu'on voit des beaux diamants *! The yellow brilliant ring is unique it feems, and valued at an enormous fum ; the green one is larger, and fet transparent ; it is not green like an emerald, but pale and bright, and beyond Here's the place to fee fine diamonds. conception JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 335 conception beautiful : hyacinths were new to me here, their glorious colour dazzles one ; and here is a white diamond from the Great Mogul's empire, of unequalled perfection ; beſides an onyx large as a common dinner plate, well known to be firſt in the univerſe. What majeſtic treaſures are theſe ! -The fap phires and rubies beat thofe of Bavaria, but the Electreſs's pearls at Munich are unrivalled yet. Saxony is a very rich country in her own bofom it ſeems ; the agates and jafpers produced here are excellent, nor are good amethyfts wanting ; the topazes are pale and fickly. Nothing can be finer, or in its way more tafteful, than a chimney-piece made for the Elector, entirely from the manufacture and produce of his own dominions ; that part which we should form of marble is white porcelane, with an exquifite bas- relief in the middle copied from the antique ; its fides are fet with Saxon gems, cameowife ; and fuch carnelions much amaze one in fo northern a latitude ; the workmanſhip is beyond praiſe. -I aſked the gentleman who fhewed us the cabinet of natural hiſtory, why ſuch richly coloured minerals, and even precious ftones, were found in thefe climates ; while every animal 335 OBSERVATIONS IN A animal product grows paler as it approaches the pole ? " Where phlogifton is frequent," replied he, " there is no danger of the tint being too lightly beſtowed : our quantity of iron here in Saxony, gives purple to the ame thyfts you admire ; and fee here if the rain bow-ftone of Labrador yields in glowing hue to the productions of Mexico or Malabar. " The ſpecimens here however were not as va luable as the converfation of him who has the care of them ; but a plica Polonica took much of my attention ; the fize and weight of it was enormous, its length four yards and a half; the perfon who was killed by its growth was a Polish lady of quality well known in King Auguftus's court ; it is a very ſtrange and a very thocking thing ! Our library here is new and not eminently well stocked ; but it is too cold weather now to ftand long looking at rarities. The firft Reformation bible publiſhed by Luther him felf, with a portrait of the firſt Proteftant Elector, is however too curious and intereft ing to be neglected ; in froft and fnow fuch fights might warm a heart well diſpoſed to fee the word of God diffeminated, which had lain too long locked up by ignorance and in tereft JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 337 tereft united. Here is a book too, which howit eſcaped Pinelli I know not, a Venetian tranſlation of the holy fcriptures a Brucioli, the date 1592. King Auguftus's maps pleaſe one from their coftlinefs ; the Elector has twelve volumes of them ; every letter is gold, every city painted in miniature at the corners, while arms, trophies, &c. adorn the whole, to an incredible expence : they were engraved on purpoſe for his ufe ; and that no other Prince might ever have ſuch again, he ordered the plates to be broke. Sunday, December 17. I am juſt now re turned home from the Lutheran church c Nôtre Dame ; where, though the commu nicants do not kneel down like us, it is odd to ſay I never faw the facrament adminiftered with fuch folemnity and pomp. Four prieſts ornamented with a large crofs on the back, a multitude of lighted tapers blazing round them, a uniformity in the drefs of all who received, and mufic played in a flat third ſomehow very impreffively, as they moved round in a fort of proceffion, making a pro found reverence to the altar when they paffed it, ftruck me extremely, who have been VOL. II. Ꮓ lately 338 OBSERVATIONS IN A

lately accuſtomed to ſee very little ceremony ufed on fuch occafions ; and I well remember at Pifa in particular, that while we were look ing about the church for curiofity, one poor woman knelt down juft by us, and a prieſt coming out adminiſtered the facrament to her alone, the whole finiſhing in less than five minutes I am perfuaded. I faid to Mr. Sey delman, when we had returned home to day, that the Saxons feemed to follow the first manner in reformation, our Anglicans the fecond, and the Calvinifts the third : he understood my allufion to the cant of con noiffeurship. The fedan chairs here give the town a fort of homeiſh look ; I had not been carried in one fince I left Genoa, and it is fo com fortable this cold clear weather ! A regular market too, though not a fine one, has an Engliſh air ; and a faddle of mutton, or more properly a chine, was a fight I had not con templated for two years and a half. The Italians do call a cook teologo, out of fport ; but I think he would be the propereft theo logian in good earneſt, to tell why Catholics and Proteftants fhould not cut their meat alike at leaſt, if they cannot agree in other points. This JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 339 This is the firft town I have feen however, where the butchers divided their beafts as we do. The arfenal we have walked over delighted us but little : Saxons fhould fay to their fwords, like Benvolio in the play, " Godfend me no need ofthee !" -for the Emperor is on one fide of them, and the King of Pruffia on the other. This laft is always mentioned as a pacific prince though ; and the firft has fo much to do and to think of, I hope he will forget Dreſden, and fuffer them to poſſeſs their fine territory and gems in perfect peace and quietnefs. One thing however was odd and pretty, and worth remarking, That at Rome there was an arſenal in the church-I mean belonging to it ; and here there is a church in the arſenal. The bombardment of this pretty town by their active neighbour Frederic ; the ſweet Electreſs's death in confequence of the per fonal mortifications fhe received during that dreadful fiege ; the embarkation of the trea fures to fend them fafe away by water ; and the various diſtreſſes ſuffered by this city in the time of that great war ; -make much of our converfation, and that converfation is intereſt Z 2 ing, 340 OBSERVATIONS IN A ing. I only wonder they have fo quickly recovered a blow ftruck fo hard. The gaiety and good-humour of the court are much defired by the Saxons, who have a moft lofty notion of princes, and repeat all they fay, and all that is faid of them, with a moft venerating affection. I fee no national partiality to England however, as in many other parts of Europe, though our religions are fo nearly allied : and here is a fpirit of fubordination beyond what I have yet been witneſs to an aunt kiffing the hand of her own niece (a baby not fix years old) , and calling her " ma chere comteffe !"-carried it as high I think as it can be carried. The environs of Drefden are happily dif pofed, for though it is deep winter we have had ſcarcely any fnow, and the horizon is very clear, ſo that one may be a tolerable judge of the profpects. Our river Elbe is truly ma jeftic, and the great iflands of ice floating down it have a fine appearance. They do not double their fafh-windows as at Vienna, but there is lefs wind to keep out. In every place people have a trick of lament ing, and there are two themes of lamentation 7 univerfal JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 341 univerfal for aught I fee -the weather and the poor. I fee no beggars here, and feel no rain, but hear heavy complaints of both. Crying the hour in the night as at London pleafed me much ; why the ceremony is ac companied by the found of a horn, nobody ſeems able to tell. The march of foldiers morning and night to mufic through the ftreets is likewiſe agreeable, and gives ideas of fecurity ; but driving great heavy wag gons up and down, with two horfes a- breaft, like a chaife in England, and a poftillion upon one of them, is very droll to look at. Ordi nary fellows too in the Elector's livery (blue and yellow) would ſeem ſtrange, but that as foon as Dover is left behind every man feems to belong to fome other man, and no man to himſelf. The Emperor's livery is very hand fome, but I do not admire this. A cuſtom of fifteen or twenty grave- looking men, dreffed like counſellors in Weſtminſter Hall, with half a dozen boys in their company for fo pranos, finging counterpoint under one's win dow, has an odd effect ; they are confra ternities of people I am told, who live in a fort of community together, are maintained by Z3 contri -- 342 OBSERVATIONS IN A contributing friends, and taught mufic at their expence ; fo in order to accomplish them felves, and fhew how well they are accom pliſhed, this curious contrivance is adopted. Every Sunday we hear them again in the church belonging to the pariſh that maintains them. A proceffion of bakers too is a droll oddity, but fhews that where there is much leifure for the common people, fome cheap amuſement must be found : two of theſe bakers fight at the corner of every ſtreet for precedence, which by this means often changes hands ; yet does not the conquered baker fhew any figns of fhame or depreſſion, nor does the conteſt laft long, or prove intereſting, I ſuppoſe they have fettled all the battles be forehand no meaning feemed to be annexed either by performers or fpectators to the fhow; we could make little diverfion out of it, but have no doubt of its being an old fu perſtition. On Chriſtmas eve I went to Santa Sophia's church, and heard a famous preacher ; his manner was energetic, and he kept an hour glafs by him, finishing with ftrange abrupt nefs the moment it was expired. This was in ufe JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 343 " ufe among our diftant provinces as late as Gay's time ; he mentions it in a line of his paftorals, and fays He preach'd the hour-glafs in her praife quite out ; fpeaking of dead Blouzelind as I recollect. It now ſeems a ſtrange groffiereté, but refine ment follows hard upon the heels of reform ation. There is an agreeable fancy here, which one has always heard of, but never ſeen perhaps ; the notion of calling together a do zen pretty children to receive preſents upon Chriſtmas eve. The cuſtom is exceedingly amiable in itſelf, and gives befide a pleaſing pretext for parents and relations to meet, and while away the time till fupper in reciprocat ing careffes with their babies, and rejoicing in that ſpecies of happineſs (the pureſt of all perhaps) which childhood alone can either receive or beftow. I was invited to an ex hibition of this fort, and, for ſome time ſaw little preparation for pleaſure, except the fight of fourteen or fifteen well-dreffed little crea tures, all under the age of twelve I think, and more girls than boys : the company confifted of three or four and twenty people ; all ſpoke Z4 French, 344 OBSERVATIONS IN A French, and I was directed to obferve how the young ones watched for the opening ofa particular door ; which however remained fhut fo long, that I forgot it again, and had begun to intereft myfelf in chat with my nearest neighbour (no mother of course), when the door flew wide, and the maſter of the houfe announced the hour of felicity, fhewing us an apartment gaily illuminated with co loured lamps ; a fort of tree in grotto-work adorned the middle, and the prefents were arranged all round ; dolls innumerable, va riouſly adjuſted ; fine new clothes, fans, trin kets, work- baſkets, little efcritoires, purſes, pocket-books, toys, dancing- fhoes, —every thing. The children fkipped about, and ca pered with exultation ; -" My own mama! my dear aunt ! my ſweet kind grandpapa !' refounded wherever we turned our heads I think it was the lovelieft little fhow imagin able, and am forry to know how deſcription muft neceffarily wrong it : les etrennes de Drefde fhall however remain indelibly fixed in my memory. When the pretty dears had appropriated and arranged their prefents, cake and lemonade were brought to quiet their agi tated

F JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 345 tated ſpirits, and all went home happy to bed. Their fparkling eyes and rofy cheeks ferved for our theme till fupper-time ; and I fat try ing, but in vain, to find a reaſon why pater nal affection appears fo much warmer always in Proteftant countries, and filial piety in thoſe which remain firm to the church of Rome. Wereturned home to our inn exceedingly well amufed ; the fupper had been magnificent, and the preceding faſt gave it additional reliſh. I now tremble with apprehenfion however left the ſhow of yeſterday was too fplendid : for if the mothers begin once to vie with each other whofe gifts fhall be grandeft, or if once the friend at whofe houſe the treat is prepared produces a more coftly entertainment than his neighbours have hitherto contented themfelves with giving, this innocent and even praiſe worthy paftime will foon fwell into expenſive luxury, and burſt from having been poiſoned bythe corroding touch of malice and of envy. Our Saxons however feemed well-bred, airy, and agreeable in laſt night's hour offefti vity ; and could I have fancied their gaiety quite natural like that of Venice or Verona, I might 346 OBSERVATIONS IN A might perhaps have caught the fweet infection, and felt difpofed to merriment myſelf; but much of this was ftudied mirth one faw, and pleaſure upon principle, as in our own iſland ; which, though more elegant, is leſs attractive. It is difficult to catch the contagion of artificial hilarity, and a celebrated furgeon once told me, that one might live with fafety at Sutton houfe among the inoculated patients, without ever taking the diſorder, unleſs the operation were regularly performed upon one's ſelf. Well ! we muſt ſhortly quit this very com fortable reſting-place, and leave a town more like our own than any I have yet ſeen ; where, however, the dreffes, of ordinary women I mean, are extraordinary enough, each when ſhe is made up for fhow wearing a rich old faſhioned brocade cloke lined with green luteftring, and edged round with narrow fur. This is univerfal. Her neat black love-hood however is not fo ugly as the man's bright yellow braſs comb, ftuck regularly in all their heads of long ſtraight hair who are not peo ple of faſhion ; and no powder is ever uſed among the Lutherans here in Saxony I fee, except by gentlemen and ladies, who often take JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 347 take all theirs out when they go to church, from fome odd principle of devotion. It is very pretty though to fee the little clean-faced lads and wenches running to ſchool fo in a morning at every proteftant town, with the grammar and teftament under their arm, while every the meaneft houſe has a folio bi ble in it, and all the people of the loweſt ranks can read it, On this ift of January 1787, I may boaft ofhaving viſited lord Peter, Jack, and Martin, all in the courſe of one day. Hearing Monf. Dumarre preach to the French Huguenots in the morning, attending the eſtabliſhed church at Notre Dame at noon, and going to the Elector's truly-magnificent place of worſhip at night, where Haffe's Te Deum was fung, and executed with prodigious regularity and pomp, over againſt an altar decorated with well- em ployed fplendour, exhibiting zeal for God's houſe, animated by elegant tafte, and encou raged by royal prefence ; While from the cenfer clouds offragrance roll, And fwelling organs lift the rifing foul. 4 I ftudied 348 OBSERVATIONS IN A I ftudied then to keep my mind, I hope I kept it free from narrow and from vulgar pre judice, defirous only of feeing the three prin cipal fects ofChriftians adoring their Redeemer, each in the way they think most likely to pleaſe him ; nor will I mention which method had the moſt immediate effect on me ; but this I ſaw, that beneath Such plain roofs as piety could raiſe, Made vocal only by our maker's praiſe, Monfieur Dumarre produced from his peace ful auditors more tears of gratitude and tenderneſs in true remembrance of the facred feafon, than were ſhed at either of the other churches. Indeed the fublime and pathetic fimplicity of the place, the truly- touching rhetoric of the preacher, his ſtory a fad one ; while his perfecuted family were forced to fly their native country, driven thence by the ri gour of Romiſh ſeverity, and his life exactly correſponding to the purity of that doctrine he teaches his tones of voice, his tranquillity of manners, His plainnefs moves men more than eloquence, And to his flock, joy be the confequence ! The JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 349 I The eſtabliſhed fect here-Lutheranifm, keeps almoſt the exact medium between the other two, though their places of worſhip ſtrike me as fomething more theatrical than one could wish ; very ftately they are certainly, and very impofing. As few people however are fond of a middle ftate, as here is prodi gious encouragement given by the court to Romanifts, and full toleration from the ſtate. to the difciples of John Calvin, I wonder more members of the national church do not quit her communion for that of one of theſe chapels, which however owe their very ex iftence in Saxony to that truly chriſtian and catholick ſpirit of toleration , poffeffed by Martin alone. We have recovered ourfelves now from all fatigues ; our coach and our ſpirits are once more repaired, and ready to fet out for BERLIN. 350 OBSERVATIONS IN A BERLIN. THE road hither is all a heavy fand, cut through vaft forefts of ever-green timber, but not beautiful like thofe of Bavaria, rather te dious, flat, and triftful : to encreaſe which fenfations, and make them more grievous to us, our fervants complained bitterly of the laſt long frofty night, which we ſpent wholly in the carriage till it brought us here, where the man of the houſe, a bad one enough indeed, fpeaks as good Engliſh as I do, and has lived long in London. I am not much enchanted with this place however. Dean Swift ſaid, that a good ſtyle was only proper words in proper places; and if a good city is to be judged of in the fame way, perhaps Berlin may obtain the first place, which one would not on an immediate glance think it likely to deſerve ; as a mere refidence however, it will be difficult to find a finer. Hewho fighs for the happy union offitua tion, climate, fertility, and grandeur, will think JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 351 think Genoa tranfcends all that even a warm imagination can wish. If with a very, very little lefs degree of pofitive beauty, he feels himſelf chiefly affected by a number of Na ture's moſt intereſting features, finely, and even philofophically arranged ; Naples is the town that can afford him moft matter both of folemn and pleafing fpeculation.

If ruins of priſtine fplendour, folid proofs of univerfal dominion, once, nay twice enjoy ed with the view of temporal power crushed by its own weight, folicits his curiofity. -It will be amply gratified at Rome ; where all that modern magnificence can perform , is added to all that ancient empire has left behind. Romantic ideas of Armida's palace, fancied fcenes of perennial pleaſure, and magical imagesofever varying delight, will be beſt real houſes ized at fmiling Venice of any place ; but if a city may be called perfect in proportion to its external convenience, if making many to hold many people, keeping infection away by cleanlinefs, and enſuring ſecurity againſt fire by a nice feparation of almoſt every building from almoſt every other ; if unifor mity of appearance can compenfate for ele gance 董 -LÉGÉNVISLÁVORES 7 352 OBSERVATIONS IN A gance ofarchitecture, and ſpace make amends for beauty, Berlin certainly deſerves to be feen, and he who planned it, to be highly com mended. The whole looks at its worft now ; all the churches are in mourning, fo are the coaches : no theatre is open, and no muſic heard, except now and then a melancholy German organ droning its dull round of tunes under one's window, without even the Lon don accompaniment of a hoarſe voice crying Woolfleet oxfters. Come ! Berlin can boaſt an arfenal capable of containing arms for two hundred and fifty thouſand men. The con tempt of decoration for a place deſtined to real uſe ſeemed reſpectable in itſelf, and charac teriſtic of its founder. No columns of guns or capitals of piftols, neatly placed, are to be feen here. A vaft, large, clean, cold- looking room, with fwords and mufkets laid up only that they may be taken down, is all one has to look at in Frederick's preparations for attack or defence. In accumulation of ornaments one hopes to find elegance, and in rejection of fuperfluity there is dignity of fentiment ; but nothing can excuſe a ſovereign prince for keeping as cu riofities JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 353 riofities worthy a traveller's attention, a heap of trumpery fit to furnish out the ſhop ofa Weſtminſter pawnbroker. Our cabinet of rarities here is literally no better than twenty old country gentlemen's feats, fituated in the diſtant provinces of England, fhew to the fer vants of a neighbouring family upon a Chriſt mas vifit, when the houſekeeper is in good humour, and, gently wiping the duft off my late lady's mother's amber-boxes, produces forth the wax figures of my lord John and my lord Robert when babies. For this pitia ble exhibition, fhips cut in paper, and faints carved in wood, we paid half a guinea each ; not gratuity to the perfon who has them in charge, but tax impofed by the government. Every houſe here is obliged to maintain fo many foldiers, excepting fuch and fuch only who have the word free written over their doors ; here feem to be no people in the town almoſt except foldiers though ; fo they na turally command whatever is to be had. Moſt nations begin and end with a military domi nion, as red is commonly the firft and laft co lour obtained by the chymift in his various ex periments upon artificial tints. This ftate is VOL. II. A a yet 354 OBSERVATIONS IN A yet young, and many things in it not quite, come to their full growth, fo we muſt not be rigorous in our judgments. I have feen the library, in which we were for the first time ſhewn what is confidentlyſaid to be an Ethio pian manufcript, and fuch it certainly may be for aught I know. What interefted me much more was our Tonfon's Cafar, a book re markable for having been written by the first hero and general in the world perhaps, dedi cated to the fecond, and poffeffed by the third. Here is an exceeding perfect collec tion of all Hogarth's prints. This city appears to be a very wholeſome one ; the houſes are not high to confine the air between them, or drive it forward in cur rents upon the principle of Paris or Vienna ; the ftreets are few, but long, ſtraight, and wide ; ground has not been ſpared in its con ftruction, which feems a moft judicious one ; and with this well-earned praiſe I am moſt willing to quit it. It is the firft place of any confequence I have felt in a hurry to run away from ; for till now there have been ſome at tractions in every town ; fomething that com manded veneration or invited fondneſs ; ſome thing JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 355 thing pleating in its fociety, or inftructive in its hiſtory. It would however be fullen enough to feel no agreeable fenfation in ſeeing this child of the prefent century come to age fo: the tomb of its author is the object of our preſent curioſity, which will be gratified to morrow.

Oufont ils donc, ces foudres de guerre, Qui faifoient trembler l'univers ? Ils ne font plus qu'un peu de terre, Reftes, qu'ont epargnis les vers *. • What are they after all their pains, Theſe thunderbolts of war? Mere caput mortuum that remains Which worms vouchfafe to fpare. A a 2 356 OBSERVATIONS IN A POTZ DA M. + AND now, ifBerlin wants tafte and magni ficence, here's Potzdam built on purpoſe, I believe, to fhew that even with both a place may be very diſmal and very diſagreeable. The commoneft buildings in this city look like the beft fide of Grofvenor-fquare in London, or Queen's-fquare at Bath. I have not ſeen a ftreet fo narrow as Oxford Road, but many here are much wider, with canals up the mid dle, and a row oftrees planted on each ſide, a gravel walk near the water for foot paffen gers, inſtead of a trottoir by the fide of the houſes. Every dwelling is ornamented to a degree of profufion ; but to one's queftion of, " Who lives in thefe palaces ?" one hears that they are all empty ſpace, or only occupied by goods never wanted, or corn there is nobody to feed with this amazes one ; and in fact here are no inhabitants of dignity at all pro portioned to the refidences provided for them ; fo that when one fees the copies of antique 8 bas JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 357 bas-reliefs, in no bad fculpture, decorating the doors whence dangle a fhoulder of mutton, or a fhoemaker's laft, it either fhocks one or makes one laugh, like the old Bartholomew trick of putting a baby's face upon an old man's fhoulders, or fticking a king's crown upon a peaſant's head. The churches are very fine on the outſide, butſtrangely plain within : that, however, where the royal body repofes looked folemn and ftately in its mourning drefs. Black velvet, with filver fringe and taffels very rich and heavy, hung over the pulpit, family feat, &c. and every thing ftruck one with an air of me lancholy dignity. The king of Pruffia's corpfe, no longer animated by ambition, refts quietly in an unornamented folid filver coffin, placed in a fort of cloſet above ground, the door to which opens cloſe to the pulpit's feet, and ſhews the narrow space which now holds his body, beſide that of his father, and the great elector, as he is ftill juftly called. My fepulchral tour is now nearly finished : we have in the courſe of this journey ſeen the laft remains of many a celebrated mortal. Virgil, Raphael, Ariofto, Scipio, Galileo, Petrarch, Carlo Borromeo, and the king of A a 3 Pruffia. $358 OBSERVATIONS IN A Pruffia. How different each from other in his life ! How like each other now! But Tous ces morts ont vecu ; toi qui lis-tu mourras ; L'inftant fatal approche, et tu n'y penſe pas *. I could have wifhed before my return to have pauſed a moment on the tomb of Me lanethon, who might be faid to have united in himſelf their ſeparate perfections. Cou rage, genius, moderation, piety ! perfever ing ſteadineſs in the right way himſelf; can did acknowledgment of merit, even in his ene mies, where he faw their intentions right, though he thought their tenets and their con duct wrong. But we are removed far from the dwelling of the peacemaker ; let us at leaſt look at the palace, now we have examined the coffin of him whoſe ſtudy and delight was war. Sans Souci is furely an elegantly chofen fpot, its architecture excellent, its furniture rich yet delicate, the gardens very happily difpofed, the profpect from its windows agree able, the pictures within an admirable collec $ All theſe have liv'd ; ye too who read muft die : Hafte and be wife, the fateful minutes fly. 10 tion. 1 JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 359 tion. A hall built in imitation of the Colonna gallery fhews Frederick's tafte at once and li beral fpirit the front feems borrowed from fomething at St. Peter's ; all is beautiful ; the gilding of his long-room makes a very ſudden and ftrong effect, nor are marbles of immenſe value wanting ; here is a fpecimen of every thing I think, and two agate tables of prodi gious fize and beauty. The Silefian chryfo paz, and Carolina marble of a bright ſcarlet colour, quite luminous like the feathers of a fighting cock, ftruck me with their fingular and fplendid appearance, Rubens's merit was not new to me, I hope; yet here is a reſurrec tion of Lazarus, in which he has been laviſh of it. The compofition of this picture ſeems to have been intended to furpafs every thing put together by other artifts : its colouring glows like life. The king's town-houfe, however, is finer far: than this his villa was defigned to be ; but I grew very tired walking over it : when one has dragged through twenty- four rooms variouſly hung with pink and filver, green and gold, &c. one grows cruelly weary with repeatingthe fame ideas by drawling through forty-eight more. A a 4 I wished 1 360 OBSERVATIONS IN A I wished to fee his own private living apart ments, and to mind with what books and pictures he adorned the dreffing-room he al ways fate in the firft were chiefly works of Voltaire and Metaftafio -the laft were ſmall landſcapes of Albano and Watteau. At our defire they fhewed us the little bed he flept, the chairs he fate in familiarly. Suetonius in French and Italian was the laft author he looked into ; they have made a mark at the death of Auguftus, where he was reading when the fame vifitant called on him, quite unexpected by himself it feems, though all his attendants were well aware of his ap proach. As he expired he ſaid, Igiveyou a vaft deal oftrouble. We faw the ſpot he fate in at the moment ; for Frederick no more died in his bed, than did the famous Flavius Vefpafian ; his fervants wept as they repeated the particulars, careffing while they ſpoke his favourite dogs, one of which, a terrier, could hardly be prevailed upon to quit the body. It uſed to amuſe the king to ſee them frighted when he would take them to a long room lined with French mirrors, which le did now and then to laugh at the effect. Every JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 361 Every thing at Potzdam fhews a man in hafte to enjoy what he had laboured fo hard to procure ; nor did he ever refufe himſelf, they fay, any gratification that could make age lefs wearifome, or illneſs lefs afflictive. He had much tafte of English ingenuity combinations of convenience, and improve ments in mechanifm : his own writing- table, however, was contrived by himſelf; it ſtands on four legs, one pair longer than the other to make it flope ; the covering is green velvet, with a fquare hole for the ftandish to drop in and not ſpill the ink : I liked the device exceedingly, but wondered he thought any device worth his preference. His converſation to his fervants was affable and even gay ; they loved his perfon, it is plain, and half adore his memory. Such were the manners then, and fuch the death, of the far-famed philofopher of Sans Souci ! And in truth, when he had fo often fet all preſent and future happineſs to hazard, it would have been inconfiftent not to haften the enjoyment : nobody comes to inhabit his fine town, however, which has muchthe look of buildings in a ſtage perſpective. Soldiers only, and fuch as fell wares neceflary to fol diers, 362 OBSERVATIONS IN A diers, were all the human creatures I could fee here ; nor are families, or travellers of any fort indeed, better accommodated here than at inns of lefs pompous appearance on the outfide. For accommodations, however, I care but little ; I have now walked over the oldeſt and the youngeſt cities in all Europe, and have left each with fincere admiration of their con→ tents. Both are full of buildings and empty of inhabitants, nor am I defirous to add to the number in either. I was going to ſtep forward into fome room of the palace yefter day-"Madam, come back this inftant," ex claimed our Cicerone ; " if that chamber is en tered, my head will be off my ſhoulders in three days time. " Another well atteſted anec dote may be worth relating : A gentleman with whom we paffed an agreeable evening at Berlin, whofe lady invited to meet us what ever was moſt charming in the town, told the following ftory of a foldier who, being defirous of his body's diffolution, but fearful of his foul's rufhing unprepared into eternity, caught and murdered a fix months old baby ; giving this ftrange account of his own feelings. on the occafion, and adding, that he did not like JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 363 like to kill an adult, left his own impatience of life's infupportable torment might by that means precipitate his neighbour to perdition ; but that a baptized infant would be fure of heaven, and he himſelf fhould gain time to prepareforfollowing it-"And, Lord ! " faidmy informer, "what reafoners this world has init!" The foldier was hanged fix weeks after the dreadful crime was committed ; he made a very decent and penitential end. On fuch facts what obfervations or reflec tions can refult ? I made none, but gave God thanks that I was born a fubject of Great Britain. POTZDAM TO HANOVER. On the 13th of January 1787 then we quitted Potzdam, ftrongly impreffed by the beauties of a town apparently fabricated by a modern Cadmus, who, when all the foldiers that he could raife were fallen in battle for his amuſement, retired with the five that were left, and built a fine city! Branden 364 OBSERVATIONS IN A • Brandenbourg was our next refting place, and feemed to me to merit a longer ſtay in it ; I faw an old Runick figure in the ſtreet, its fize coloffal, and its compofition feemed black bafalt ; but of this I could obtain no account for want of language, our ftill recurring tor ment. This place feems fuller of inhabitants than the laſt ; but it is fo melancholy to have no compenfation for the fatigues of a tedious journey and in theſe countries information cannot be procured for travellers that do not mean to refide, prefent letters, &c.; which taſk we have at this ſeaſon little taſte to renew. ― Magdebourg makes a refpectable appear ance at a diſtance, from the loftinefs of its turrets ; one fees them at leaft four long hours before the roads which lead to it permit one's approach ; and the towers feem to retire be fore one, like Ulyffes's fictitious country raiſed to deceive him. Never was I fo weary in my life as when we entered Magdebourg, where, inftead of going out to fee fights as ufual, I defired nothing fo fincerely as a hot fupper and foft bed, which the inns of Germany ne ver fail to afford us in even elegant perfec tion. Our JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 365 Our linen too, fo beautifully, and I will add ſo unneceffarily fine ! The king of Naples probably never faw fuch fheets and table- cloths as we have been comforted with here, not only at Dreſden, but every poft fince. Magdebourg feems to have almoſt all its Atreets united by bridges ; the Elbe divides there into fo many branches, and none ofthem fmall. Helmftadt is a little place which affords few images to the mind, and Brunſwick to mere paffengers, as we were, feemed to yield none but fad ones. The houſes all of wood, even to prince Ferdinand's palace, and painted ofa dull olive colour with heavy penfile roofs, giving the town a melancholy look ; but we met with young Englishmen who commended the fociety, and faid no place could be gayer than Brunfwick. This is among the reports one wishes to be true, and we are led the more willingly to believe them. Another delight which I enjoyed at this city was, to find that every body in it, and every body paffing through it, adored the duchefs, whofe partial fondneſs, and tender remembrance of her native country, juftly endears 366 OBSERVATIONS IN A 1 endears her name to every ſubject of Great Britain. Her chapel is pretty ; the garden, where they ſaid ſhe always walked two hours every day, put me in mind of Gray's- Inn walks twenty or thirty years ago ; they were then very like it. From theſe fcenes of folitude without re tirement, and of age without antiquity, I was willing enough to be gone ; but they would fhew me one curiofity they faid, as I feemed to feel particular pleaſure in ſpeaking of their charming duchefs. We followed, and were fhewn her coffin! all in filver, finely carved, chafed, engraved, what you will. " Before fhe is dead !" exclaimed I-" Before ſhe was even married, madam," replied our Cicerone; " it is the very fineſt ever made in Brunſwick; we had it ready for her againſt ſhe came home to us, and you fee the plate left vacant for her age." I was glad to drive forward now, and flept at Peina ; which, though in itſelf a miferable place, exhibits one confolatory fight for a Chriftian-the fight of toleration. Here Romanifts, Lutherans, and Calvinifts, live all affectionately and quietly together, under the protection of the bishop of Pader borne ; and here I firft faw the king of Eng land's 1 JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 367. land's livery upon the king of England's fer vants fince I left home-"And ifthey are rag-: ged youngſters who wear it," ſaid I , “ they are my fellow-fubjects, and glad am I to fee them !" The villages and churches hereabouts re femble thoſe of Merionethfhire, only that not a mountain rears its head at all-one vaft, wide, barren flat, through which roads that no weather can render better than barely paf fable brought us at length to Hanover, which ftands, as all thefe cities do in the north of Germany, upon an immenfe plain, with a thick wood of noble timber trees breaking from time to time the almoft boundleſs void, and relieving the eye, which is fatigued by extent without any object to repoſe upon, in a manner I can with difficulty comprehend, much leſs explain ; but the fight of a paffing waggon, or diſtant ſpire, is a felicity feldom found, though continually fought by me, while travelling through theſe wide waſted countries, where no idea is afforded to the imagination, no image remitted to the mind, but that of two armies encountering each other, to dispute the plunder of fome place already unable to feed its few inhabitants. "4 The 368 OBSERVATIONS IN A The horſes however are exceedingly beauti ful ; we were offered a pair ofvery fine ones for only forty pounds. They would have run fuch hazards getting home ! " There are two ways to chufe out of," faid I ; " if we purchaſe them, we ſhall repent on it every day till we arrive in London ; if we do not, we fhall repent on it every day after we get there." Such is life ! we did not buy the cattle. The cleanlinefs of the windows, the man ner of paving and lighting the ſtreets at Ha nover, put us in mind a little of fome country towns in the remoter provinces of England ; and there ſeems to be likewiſe a little glimpſe ofBritiſh manners, drefs , &c. breaking through the common and natural faſhions of the country. This was very pleafing to us, but I wished the place grander ; I do not very well know why, but we had long counted on com forts here as at home, and I had formed ex pectations of fomething much more magnifi cent than we found ; though the Duke of York's refidence does give the town an air of cheerfulneſs it fcarce could fhew without that advantage ; and here are concerts and balls, and efforts at being gay, which may probably fucceed fometime. How did all the JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 369 the talk however, and all the pamphlets, and all the lamentations made by old King George's new fubjects, rush into my mind, when I recollected the loud, illiberal, and indecent clamours made from the year 1720 to the year 1750, at leaſt till the alarm given by the Rebellion began to operate, and open people's eyes to the virtues of the reigning family ! for till then, no topic had fo completely engroſſed both prefs and converfation, as the misfor tunes accruing to poor old England, from their King's defire of enriching his Electoral do minions, and feeding his favourite Hano verians with their good guineas, making fat the objects of his partial tenderneſs with their beft treaſures- in good time ! Such ground lefs charges remind one of a ſtory the famous French wit Monfieur de Menage tells of his mother and her maid, who, having wafted or fold a pound of butter, laid the theft upon the cat, perſiſting ſo violently that it had been all devoured by the rapacious favourite, that Madame de Menage faid, " It's very well ; we will weigh the cat, poor thing ! and know the truth :" The fcales were produced, but pufs could be found to weigh only three quar ters, after all her depredations. VOL. II. Bb FROM

• 370 OBSERVATIONS IN A

" FROM HANOVER TO BRUSSELS. TRAVELLING night and day through the moſt diſmal country I ever yet beheld, brought us at length to Munfter, where we had a good inn again, and talked Engliſh. Well may all our writers agree in celebrating the miferies of Weftphalia ! well may they, while the wretched inhabitants, uniting poverty with pride, live on their hogs, with their hogs, and like their hogs, in mud-walled cottages, a dozen of which together is called by courteſy a village, furrounded by black heaths, and wild uncultivated plains, over which the un refifted wind fweeps with a velocity I never yet was witneſs to, and now and then, exaf perated perhaps by folitude, returns upon itſelf in eddies terrible to look on. Well, the woes of mortal man are chiefly his own fault ; war and ambition have depopulated the country, which otherwife need not I believe be poor, as here is capability enough, and the weather, though JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 371

though ftormy, is not otherwife particularly difagreeable. January is no mild month any where; even Naples, fo proverbially delicious, is noify enough with thunder and lightning ; and the torrents of rain which often fall at this feafon at Rome and Florence, make them unpleafing enough. Nor do I believe that the very few people one finds here are of a lazy difpofition at all ; but it is fo feldom that one meets with the human face divine in this Weſtern fide of Germany, that one ſcarce knows what they are, but by report. The town of Munfter is catholic I fee ; their cathedral heavily and clumfily adorned, like the old Lutheran church called Santa Sophia at Drefden. One pair of their filver candleſticks however are eight feet high, and exhibit more folidity than elegance. They told us fomething about the three kings, who muſt have loſt their way amazingly if ever they wandered into Weftphalia, and deſerved to loſe their name of wife men too, I think. We were likewiſe fhewn the ſword worn by St. Paul, they told us, and a backgammon table preſerved behind the high altar, I could not for my life find out why ; at firſt our inter Bb 2 preter 372 OBSERVATIONS IN A preter told us, that the man faid it had be longed to John the Baptif, but on further en quiry we understood him that it was once ufed by fome Anabaptifts ; as that feemed no lefs wild a reafon for keeping it there, than the other feemed as an account of its original, we came away uninformed. Of the reaſon why Hams are better here than in any other part of Europe, it was not fo difficult to obtain the knowledge, and the inquiry was much more uſeful. Poor people here burn a vast quantity of fine old oak in their cottages, which, very having no chimney, detain the fmoke a long time before it makes its efcape out at the door. This fmoke gives the peculiar flavour to that bacon which hangs from the roof, already fat with the produce of the fame tree growing about theſe diſtricts in a plenty not to be be lieved. Indeed the fole decoration of this devafted country is the large quantity of ma jeftic timber trees, almoſt all oak, living to fuch an age, and fpreading their broad arms with fuch venerable dignity, that it is they who appear the ancient poffeffors of the land, who, in the true ftyle of Gothic fupremacy, fuck JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 373 fuck all the nutriment of it to themſelves, only haking off a few acorns to content the im-. mediate hunger of the animal race, which here feems in a state of great degeneracy in deed, compared to thoſe haughty vegetables. This day I faw a fryar ; the firſt that has croffed my fight fince we left the town of Mu nich in Bavaria. Onthe road to Duffeldorp one fees the country mend at every ſtep ; but even I can perceive the language harfher, the further one is removed from Hanover on either fide for Hanover, as Madame de Bi anconi told me at Drefden, is the Florence of Germany ; and the tongue ſpoken at that town is ſuppoſed, and juftly, the criterion of perfect Teutfch. The gallery of paintings here fhall delay us but two or three days ; I am ſo very weary of living on the high roads of Teuchland all winter long ! Gerard Dow's delightful mountebank ought, however, to have two of thoſe days devoted to him, and here is the moft capital Teniers which the world has to fhow. Jaques Jordaens never painted any thing fo well as the feaſt in this gallery, where there are likewife fome wonderful Sckalkens ; Bb3 befides 374 OBSERVATIONS IN A befides Rembrandt's portrait of himſelf much out of repair, and old Franck's Seven Acts of Mercy varnished up, as well as the martyr doms repreſenting ſome of the perſecutions in early times of Chriſtianity ; theſe might be called the Seven Acts of Cruelty-a duplicate ofthe picture may be ſeen at Vienna. When one has mentioned the Vanderwerfs, which are all fifters, and the demi-divine Carlo Dolce in the window, repreſenting the infant Jefus with flowers, full of ſweetneſs and in nocent expreffion, it will be time to talk of the General Judgment, painted with aſtoniſh ing hardihood by Rubens, and which we ftopt here chiefly to fee. The ſecond Perfon of the Trinity is truly fublime, and formed upon an idea more worthy of him, at leaſt more correfpondent to the general ideas than that in Cappella Seftini ; where a beholder is tempted to think on Julius Cæfar fomehow, inſtead of Jefus Chrift-a Conqueror, more than a Saviour of mankind. St.Michael's figure is incomparable; thoſe of Mofes and St. Peter happily imagined ; thefpirit of compofition, the manner of grouping and colouring, the general effect of the whole, prodigious ! I know not why he has fo fallen below JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 375 below himſelf in the Madonna's character ; perhaps not imitating Tintoret's lovely Virgin in Paradiſe, he has done worſe for fear of being fervile. Tintoret's idea of her is fo very poetical ! but thoſe who fhewed it me at Ve nice faid the drawing was borrowed from Guariento, I remember. Who however except Rubens would have thought ſo juſtly, fo liberally, fo wiſely, about the Negro drawn up to heaven by the angels ? who ſtill retains the old terreſtrial character, ſo far as to fhew a difpofition to laugh at their fituation who on earth tormented him. When all is faid, every body knows very well that Michael Angelo's picture on this fubject is by farthefineft; and that neither Rubens norTin toret ever pretended, or even hoped to be thought as great artiſts as he: but thoughDante is a fublimer poet than Taffo, and Milton a writer of more eminence than Pope, theſe laft will have readers, reciters, and quoters, while the others muft fit down contented with filent veneration and acknowledged fuperiority. This day we faw the Rhine -what rivers theſe are ! and what enormous inhabitants they do contain! a brace of bream, and eels of a mag Bb 4 1 nitude

• • *. *

376 OBSERVATIONS IN A nitude and flavour very uncommon except in Germany, were our fupper here. But the manners begin I fee to fade away upon the borders ; our foft feather beds are left behind OS men too, fometimes fad, nafty, ill-looked fellows, come in one's room to ſweep, &c. and light the fire in the ftove, which is now al ways made of lead, and the fumes are very offenfive ; no more tight maids to be feen : but we ſhall get good roads ; at Liege, down in a dirty coal pit, the bad ones end I think ; and that town may be faid to finiſh all our difficulties. After paffing through our laſt diſagreeable refting-place then, one finds the manners take a tint of France, and begins to fee again what one has often ſeen before, The forests too are fairly left behind, but neat agriculture, and comfortable cottages more than fupply their lofs. Broom, juniper, every Englishfhrub, announce our proximityto Great Britain, while pots of mazerion in flower at the windows fhew that we are arrived in a country where fpring is welcomed with cere-, mony, as well as received with delight. The forwardneſs of the feafon is indeed ſurpriſing ; though it freezes at night now and then, the general feel of the air is very mild ; willows already JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 377 already give figns of refufcitation, while flights of yellowhammers, a bird never obſerved in Italy I think, enliven the fields, and look as if they expected food and felicity to be near. Louvaine would have been a place well worth ftopping at, they tell me; but we were in hafte to finish our journey and arrive at BRUSSEL S. EVERY ftep towards this comfortable city lies through a country too well known to need defcription, and too beautiful to be ever de fcribed as it deferves. Les Vues de Flandres are bought by the Engliſh, admired by the Italians, and even efteemed by the French, who like few things out of their own nation ; but theſe places once belonged to Louis Qua torze, and the language has taken fuch root it will never more be eradicated. Here are very fine pictures in many private hands ; Mr. Danot's collection does not want me to cele brate its merits ; and here is a lovely park, and 378 OBSERVATIONS $ IN A and a pleaſing coterie of Engliſh, and a very gay carnival as can be, people running about the streets in crowds ; but their theatre is a vile one after Italy, it will doubtlefs be diffi cult to find mafques that can amuſe, or theatres that can ſtrike one. But never did nation poffefs a family more charming than that of La Ducheffe D'Arenberg, who, graced with every accompliſhment of mind and perfon, devotes her time and thoughts wholly to the amuſement of her amiable confort, calling round them all which has any power of al leviating his diſtreſsful condemnation to per petual darkneſs, from an accident upon a fhooting party that coft him his fight about fix or ſeven years ago. Mean time her arm always guides, her elegant converſation always foothes him ; and either from gaieté de cœur, philofophical refolution to bear what heaven ordains without repining, or a kind defire of correfponding with the Duchefs's intentions, he appears to lofe no pleaſure himſelf, nor power of pleafing others, by his misfortune ; but dances, plays at cards, chats with his English friends, and liftens delightedly (as who does not ?) when charming Counteſs Cleri fings to the harpfichord's accompaniment, with JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 379 with all Italian tafte, and all German exe cution. By the Duke D'Aremberg we were introduced to Prince Albert of Saxony, and the Princeffe Gouvernante, whoſe reſemblance to her Imperial brother is very ſtriking ; her hand however, fo eminently beautiful, is to be kiffed no more ; the abolition of that cere mony has taken place in all the Emperor's family. The palace belonging to theſe princes is fo entirely in the Engliſh taſte, with plea fure grounds, fhrubbery, lawn, and laid out water, that I thought myſelf at home, not becauſe of the polite attentions received, for thofe I have found abroad, where no merits of mine could poffibly have deferved, nor no fervices have purchaſed them. Spontaneous kindneſs, and friendſhip refulting merely from that innate worth that loves to energize its own affections on an object which fome cir cumftances had cafually rendered intereſting, are the lafting comforts I have derived from a journey which has fhewn me much variety, and impreffed me with an eſteem of many characters I have been both the happier and the wiſer for having known. Such were the friends I left with regret, when, croffing the Tyrolefe Alps, I fent my laft kind wishes back 13 380 OBSERVATIONS IN A back to the dear ftate of Venice in a figh ; fuch too were my emotions, when we took leave laſt night at Lady Torrington's ; and refolving to quit Bruffels to-morrow for Ant werp, determined to exchange the brilliant converfation of a Boyle, for the glowing pen cil of a Rubens. ANTWERP. THIS is a difmal heavy looking town-fo melancholy the Scheld fhut up ! the grafs growing in the ſtreets ! thofe ſtreets fo empty of inhabitants ! and it was fo famous once. Atuatum nobile Brabantiæ opidum in ripâ Schal dis flu. Europa nationibus maximèfrequenta tum. Sumptuofis tam privatis quam publicis nitet ædificiis *, ſay the not very old books of geography when ſpeaking of this once ſtately city ; But trade's proud empire fweeps to fwift decay, As ocean heaves the labour'd mole away. GOLDSMITH.

• Antwerp is a noble town of Brabant, fituated on

the banks of the Scheld ; frequented by moft of the na tions in Europe, and fumptuous in its buildings both public and private. And JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 381 away And furely if the empire of Rome is actu ally fled into air like a dream, the opu lence of Antwerp may well crumble to earth like a clod. What defies time is genius ; and of that, many and glorious proofs are yet left behind in this place. The compoſition of a picture painted to adorn the altar under which lies buried that which was mortal of its artift, is beyond all meaner praife. The figure of St. George might ſtand by that of Corregio, and fuffer no diminution of one's efteem . The defcent from the crofs too ! -Well! if Daniel de Volterra's is more elegantly pathetic, Ru bens has put his pathos in a properer place. The bleffed Virgin Mary ought to be but the fecond figure certainly in a ſcene which repre ſents our almighty Saviour himſelf complet ing the redemption ofall mankind. But here is another devotional piece, highly poetical, almoft dramatic, reprefenting Chrift defcend ing in anger to confume a guilty world. The globe at a distance low beneath his feet, his pious mother proftrate before him, covering part of it with her robe, and deprecating the divine wrath in a moft touching manner. St. Sebaftian fhewing his wounds with an air of the tendereft fupplication ; Carlo Borromeo 8 befeeching 382 OBSERVATIONS IN A " beſeeching in heaven for thoſe fellow- creatures he ceaſed not loving or ferving while on earth ; and St. Francis in the groupe, but furely ill chofen ; as he who left the world, and planned only his own falvation by retirement from its cares and temptations, would be unlikely enough to intreat for its longer continuance : his dreſs however, fo favourable to painters, was the reaſon he was pitched upon I truft, as it affords a particularly happy contraſt to the cardinal's robes of St. Carlo. I will finiſh my reflections upon painting here, and apologize for their frequency only byconfeffing my fondness for the art ; and my conviction, that had I faid nothing of that art in a journey through Italy and Germany, where ſo much of every traveller's attention is led to mention it, I ſhould have been juſtly blamed for affectation ; while being cenfured for impertinence difgufts me lefs of the two. What I have learned from the Italians is a maxim more valuable than all my ſtock of connoiffeurſhip : Che c'è in tutto ilfuo bene, e ilfuo male-that there is much of evil and of good in every thing : and the life of a traveller evinces the truth of that pofition perhaps more than JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 383 I than any other. So perfuaded, we made a bold endeavour to crofs the Scheld ; but the wind was ſo outrageouſly high, no boat was willing to venture till towards night at that hour " Unus, et hic audax*" as Leander fays, offered his ſervice to convey us ; but the paffage of the Rhine had been fo rough be fore, that I felt by no means difpofed to face danger again juſt at the cloſe of the battle. When we find a diſpoſition to talk over our adventures, the great ice iſlands driving down Rhenus ferox, as Seneca juftly calls it, and threatening to run againſt and deſtroy our awkward ill-contrived boat, may divert care over a winter's fire, fome evening in England, by recollection of paft perils. I thought it a dreadful one at the time ; and have no taſte to renew a like ſcene for the fake of croffing the Scheld, and arriving a very few moments ſooner than returning through Bruffels will bring us a la Place de One-and he a bold one. LILLE ; 384 OBSERVATIONS IN A LILLE; WHERE every thing appears to me to be just like England, at leaſt juſt by it ; and in fact four and twenty hours would carry us thither with a fair wind : and now it really does feel as if the journey were over ; and even in that ſenſation, though there is fome pleaſure, there is fome pain too ; -the ` time and the places are paft ; -and I have only left to with, that my improvements of the one, and my accounts of the others, were better ; for though Mr. Sherlock comforts his fol lowers with the kind affertion , That if a hun dred men of parts travelled over Italy, and each made a feparate book of what be faw and obferved, a hundred excellent compofitions might be made, of which no two ſhould be alike, yet all new, all reſembling the original, and all admirable of their kind. -One's con ftantly-recurring fear is, left the readers ſhould cry out, with Juliet Yea, but all this did I know before ! How JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 385 Howtruly might they fay fo, did I mention the oddity (for oddity it ftill is) in this town of Lille, to fee dogs drawing in carts as beaſts of burden, and lying down in the market place when their work is done, to gnaw the bones thrown them by their drivers : they are of maſtiff race ſeemingly, croffed by the bull dog, yet not quarrelfome at all. This is a veryawkward and barbarous practice however, and, as far as I know, confined to this city ; for in all others, people feem to have found out, that horſes, affes, and oxen are the pro per creatures to draw wheel carriages except indeed at Vienna, where the ſtreets are fo very narrow, that the men refolve rather to be harneffed than run over. How fine I thought theſe churches thirteen years ago, comes now thirteen times a-day into my head ; they are not fine at all ; but it was the first time I had ever croffed the channel, and I thought every thing a wonder, and fancied we were arrived at the world's end almoft ; fo differently do the ſelf- fame places appeartothe felf-fame people furrounded by different circumftances ! I now feel as if we were at Canterbury. Was one to go to VOL. II. Cc Egypt, 386 OBSERVATIONS IN A Egypt, the fight of Naples on the return home would probably afford a like fenfation of proximity: and I recollect, one of the gen tlemen who had been with Admiral Anfon round the world told us, that when he came back as near as our Eaft India fettlements, he confidered the voyage as finiſhed, and all his toils at an end-fo is my little book; and (if Italy may be confidered, upon Sherlock's principle, as a fort of academy-figure fet up for us all to draw from) my defign of it may have a chance to go in the portfolio with the reft, after its exhibition-day is over. • With regard to the general effect travelling has upon the human mind, it is different with different people. Brydone has obſerved, that the magnetic needle lofes her habits upon the heights of Ætna, nor ever more regains her partiality for the north, till again newly touched by the loadftone : it is ſo with many men who have lived long from home ; they find, like Imogen, That there's living out of Britain ; and if they return to it after an abfence of feveral years, bring back with them an alien I ated JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 387 ated mind-this is not well. Others there are, who, being accuſtomed to live a con fiderable time in places where they have not the ſmalleſt intention to fix for ever, but on the contrary firmly refolve to leave fometime, learn to treat the world as a man treats his miſtreſs, whom he likes well enough, but has no defign to marry, and of courſe never pro vides for-this is not well neither. A third fet gain the love of hurrying perpetually from place to place ; living familiarly with all , but intimately with none ; till confounding their own ideas (ftill undifclofed) of right and wrong, they learn to think virtue and vice ambulatory, as Browne fays ; profefs that climate and conftitution regulate men's ac tions, till they try to perfuade their com panions into a belief moft welcome to them felves, that the will of God in one place is by no means his will in another ; and moſt re femble in their whirling fancies a boy's top I once faw fhewn by a profeffor who read us a lecture upon opticks ; it was painted in re gular ftripes round like a narrow ribbon, red, blue, green, and yellow ; we fet it a-fpinning by direction of our philofopher, who, whip ping it merrily about, obtained as a general Cc 2 effect 388 OBSERVATIONS IN A effect the total privation of all the four co lours, fo diftin&t at the beginning of its tour; -it refembled a dirty white ! With thefe reflexions and recollections we drove forward to Calais, where I left the following lines at our inn : Over mountains, rivers, vallies, Here are we return'd to Calais ; After all their taunts and malice, Ent'ring fafe the gates of Calais ; While, conſtrain'd, our captain dallies, Waiting for a wind at Calais, Mufe ! prepare fome fprightly fallies To divert ennui at Calais. Turkiſh fhips, Venetian gallies, Have we feen fince laft at Calais ; But tho' Hogarth ( rogue who rallies ! ) Ridicules the French at Calais, We, who've walk'd o'er many a palace, Quite well content return to Calais ; For, ftriking honeſtly the tallies, There's little choice ' twixt them and Calais. It would have been gracelefs not to give thefe lines a companion on the other fide the water, like Dean Swift's diftich before and after he climbed Penmanmaur : theſe verſes were therefore written, and I believe ftill re inain, in an apartment ofthe Ship inn : He JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY. 389 - He whom fair winds have wafted over, Firft hails his native land at Dover, And doubts not but he fhall diſcover Pleaſure in ev'ry path round Dover ; Envies the happy crows which hover About old Shakeſpeare's cliff at Dover; Nor once reflects that each young rover Feels juft the fame, return'd to Dover. Fromthis fond dream he'll foon recover When debts fhall drive him back to Dover, Hoping, though poor, to live in clover, Once fafely paſt the ftraits of Dover. But he alone's his country's lover, Who, abfent long, returns to Dover, And can by fair experience prove her The beſt he has found fince laft at Dover. THE END. Cc 3

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