These Caves are dug out of the Rocks and extend very far on every side each Vault is commonly about fifteen or eighteen foot wide and the heighth of the Arch amounts to twelve or fifteen feet on each side there are hollow Niches in the Walls fram'd like Chests of all sizes plac'd in rows above one another without any regular Symmetry where the Bodies were laid without Coffins and cover'd with flat Stones or large Tyles cemented with Chalk and Sand as it appears distinctly in some places to this very day Besides the Niches in the Catacombs of Naples there are some Tombs of a reasonable bigness adorn'd with diverse Pictures among which there are many Figures of Heads and half-Bodies with the Names of the Persons Paulus Nicolaus Proculus c. and sometimes a hic jacet or hic requiescit is added to the Names Of all the Catacombs we view'd at Rome those of St. Sebastian are the grearest the Arches are commonly as high as those of Naples but the Vaults are but about two foot and a half broad In several places we saw a great number of cover'd Niches in the higher rows A Priest whom we happen'd one day to meet there had the Curiosity to open one of 'em in which we found a Skeleton almost moulder'd away into whitish Ashes yet we might perceive that the Body had been laid on its Back The reason why these Catacombs were not made wider is because the Ground is sandy and could not be underpropp'd whereas those of Naples are hewn out of the solid Rock They pretend here that these Vaults were dug by the Christians that during the First Ages of Christianity Divine Service was perform'd in 'em that these burying-places were peculiar to the Christians and never us'd by the Heathens that a great number of Saints and Martyrs were interr'd in 'em and consequently which is the Cream of the Story that they are inexhaustible Store-houses of Relicks Tho' these Suppositions were true they could not justifie the Practice of those who pick up every Bone they meet with in a Catacomb and meerly because they found it there conclude that it ought to be rank'd among those things call'd Relicks But this Consideration would lead me into a Controversie which I am not willing to examine at this time neither will I undertake to write a long Dissertation concerning the first part of the above-mention'd Hypothesis which would require more time and Books than I am Master of at present only in obedienee to your desire I shall make a few short Remarks on these Propositions Since we are not oblig'd to give credit to the single Testimony of any man in his own Cause 'T is a general Rule that admits of no Exceptions that every Man that expects to be believ'd must prove what he affirms 'T is plain then that they who maintain so positively That the Catacombs were made by Christians for their own peculiar use ought to demonstrate the Truth of their Assertion This they have not done and therefore I might justly reject their Opinion without being at the charge of an Argument to confute it Yet by way of supererogation and out of complaisance to you I shall subjoin some Considerations which will very much weaken if not entirely destroy their Hypothesis 1. The first thing that comes into my mind on this occasion is a Passage which I observ'd not long ago in Horace where that Author speaking of the Puteculi or public Burying-places where the poorer sort of People in Rome were usually interr'd makes a description of 'em which agrees exactly with the account I have given you of the Catacombs Huc priùs angustis ejecta Cadavera Cellis Conservus vili portanda locabat in arcâ Hoc miserae plebi stabat commune Sepulchrum Thomas Goodwin an English Author has represented 'em after the same manner in his Anthology of the Roman History see the Chapter that treats Of Funeral Ceremonies 2. I am not ignorant that the Christians were wont to imitate the Heathens on many occasions but the words Fata diis Manibus Domus aeternae and several other such like Expressions that are often found in the Epitaphs on these Tombs were so peculiar to the Heathens that it is not conceivable they were ever us'd by Christians I might if it were necessary confirm my Opinion by the Authority of no less famous an Antiquary than Mr. Spon for you may observe in the Collection of ancient Inscriptions with which he has enrich'd the account of his Voyage to Greece that he could not be perswaded to believe that the Epitaph on a Tomb at Thebes which they assur'd him was St. Luke's Sepulchre was made by a Christian meerly because of the word MOIPHC which he found in it tho' it also mention'd the Immortality of the Soul The same Author speaks more positively to this purpose when he refutes the common Opinion concerning the pretended Tomb of a Saint near Valentia He says expresly that the words Aethera and Superis mention'd in the Inscription are in his opinion sufficient Arguments to prove that it is the Tomb of a Heathen and subjoins this Maxim That the Stile of Epitaphs ought to be distinguish'd from that of Poesie by reason of the liberty claim'd by Poets of all Religions whereas he assures us that he has always discover'd evident marks of the Piety and Simplicity of the Primitive Church in the Inscriptions on ancient Tombs What opinion then do you think this learned Antiquary would have had of the Gods Manes and Eternal Houses of the Catacombs 3. The Glass Vials and little Metallic Vessels that have been frequently found in those Sepulchres are also marks of Paganism The Assertors of the common Opinion concerning the Catacombs pretend that these Vessels serv'd to contain the Blood of the Martyrs but this is a bare Conjecture without the least Proof or Illustration And besides we have reason to conclude that these are true Lachrymatories such as the Heathens were wont to put both into their Urns and Tombs You know that they were not only desirous to be lamented which made 'em hire Women to weep at their Funerals but also took care to gather these Tears and to preserve 'em with their Ashes or Bones I confess this Reason alone could not have convinc'd me since 't is certain as I intimated before that the Christians borrow'd several less innocent Customs from the Heathens But this Observation may serve to illustrate and confirm the first 4. There is a Passage in Tertullian's Apologetic that does not at all agree with the Opinion of those who believe that the ancient Christians were usually buried in the Catacombs That Author complains of the Fury of the Heathens who took the Bodies of the Christians out of their Tombs and drag'd 'em about the Streets and 't is probable that if once those Persecutors had discover'd these Caves they would have for ever depriv'd the Christians of ' em 5. If I should enquire how the
Places they have plenty of Fish Abundance of things are naturally wanting in Holland But Foreign Countries plentifully supply them with Corn as well as Wines and all other Necessaries for Life All the World knows how far their Trade extends And it may well be said that as it in part gave the original Strength to the State so it is still its principal or only support Every Man in Holland is a kind of Amphibious Creature equally accustomed both to Sea and Land I remember I have read it in a good Author That this sole Province hath more †The number of Vessels in the common Opinion is esteemed so great that it is thought to equal all the rest of Europe together Card. Bentivoglio Pufendorf saith the same and others bave writ that the Vnited Provinces have as many Ships as Houses I cannot think any Person hath exactly Calculated them every one speaks as he imagines or hath heard so that little heed is to be given to Discourses of this nature Shipping than all the rest of Europe It is true that if on one side the Sea is the cause of all the Riches of Holland it must also be confessed that it hath sometimes caused terrible Damages It is stopped with Banks of Earth which we call Dams and all care imaginable is taken to maintain them They have Mills to empty the Water and use all imaginable Industry to prevent Mischief or to remedy it when it hath happened Yet some places of these Banks are often broken and the rolling of the Waves makes most furious Ravages So that as to the * On the 17th of April 1420. one hundred thousand People were drowned at Dort or thereabouts There were fifteen Parishes drowned Seb. Munster The Sea carried away 121 Houses of the Villages of Scheveling and 1574. S. Parival at this day the Church is near the Sea whereas formerly it was in the midst of the Village Sea they may well use the Device of a Torch Reversed That which feeds me kills me This Sir is the fatal Mischief of Holland a strange inconveniency of which all that can be said is That they labour to help it as much as they can but can never restore the drowned Cities nor the lives of many Millions of Men who have from time to time perished by these Deluges It is not without some regret that I disturb your former and more pleasing Idea's but I fansie that to apprehend things well we must know both what 's for and what 's against them Nor is this the only defect For the Air is no where very good Sometimes in the fairest Weather it suddenly becomes Cold and this inequality admits of no great difference between the Summer and Winter Cloaths †The Gabel of Salt is the least considerable Salt costs but two Pence or three Pence the Pound of sixteen Ounces The greatest Imports are on Wine Beer and Corn. The Impositions are great which partly cause the dearness of Victuals But the People of this Country who are born under the Yoak and whom their great Trade hath made live at ease scarce think of it I confess I should not long admire those continued Meadows of which Holland is composed They seem very fine for a few hours but one grows weary of their perpetual uniformity And I am perswaded the variety of your Province of Kent must be far more grateful We were at the same time surpris'd and charm'd at the first thing which we observ'd at our arrival at Rotterdam This City having this singular Qualification that many of its Canals are broad and deep enough to receive the greatest Vessels nothing can compare with the effect produced by the extraordinary mixture of Chimnies tops of Trees and Streamers of Vessels One is astonished at the Port to behold so rare a confusion as is that of the tops of the Houses and Trees and Penons of the Masts one cannot tell whether it be a Fleet a City or a Forest at least one sees a thing seldom heard of a Convention of those three things the Sea the City and the Campagne ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is not accounted as one of the Principal Cities of the Province because it hath not been always in such a flourishing condition as we see it at this day but without doubt it ought to be the second of the first Rank whereas now it is but the first of the second It s Port is most commodious and fair and is always fill'd and encompass'd with Shipping and its Trade increases daily It is very large well Peopled rich and pleasant and hath the neatness I have represented the situation is flat as you are to suppose of the rest of the Cities The Magazines for the equipping of Ships The Town-house aad that of the Bank are all most stately Structures When you come into the Glass-house you see them at work on little enamell'd Bowls and I know not how many Children's Baubles with which they drive a great Trade amongst the Savages Also near this you have the curious Works in Paper of the Sieur Van Uliet as Ships Palaces and whole Landskips in Basso relievo all as they say done and made out with the point of a Pen-knife There are at present two French Churches at Rotterdam which the Magistrates take care particularly to see furnished with Ministers of exemplary Merit It is certain that this City is become famous for its Learned Men as well as by its Trade and Beauty It is this which bestowed on us the Novels of the Republick of Learning a work so accepted and esteemed I might even say a Work which is ready to be lamented since the Indisposition of the Author gives us reason to fear he will be no more able to apply himself to so painful an undertaking I am informed that Mr. Basnage de Beauval intends the continuation He is indowed with a great deal of Learning an extraordinary Wit and all the sharpness which can be thought necessary for the well-ordering such a Work Erasmus was born in Rotterdam Octob. 27. 1467. he died at Basil June 12. 1536. They erected a Statue of Wood An. 1540. one of Stone Anno 1557. and at last that of Brass which is seen this day Anno 1622. The brazen Statue of Erasmus is in the Place called the great Bridge This Statue is on a Pedestal of Marble encompassed with Rails of Iron Erasmus is in a Doctors Habit with a Book in his Hand Hard by you may see the House in which he was born it is a very little one having this Distich wrote on the door Aedibus his Ortus Mundum decoravit Erasmus Artibus ingenuis Relligione Fide Being for some Reasons induced to visit a Village called Leckerkeck three Leagues distant from hence upon the River Leck I will impart to you three or four curious things which I observed there The Lord of the Place told us That the Salmon Fishing the fifth part whereof only belongs to
trifling Conjectures concerning this Wand concludes that Moses carried it to the Mountain where he dy'd and that it was afterwards plac'd in his Tomb. But after all it was never known what became either of this or of the Ark. Moses's Rod. The ‡ 'T is the Opinion of some Authors That Theodosius the Great gave this Nail to St. Ambrose others say that Saint went to look for it in the Shop of a certain Ironmonger at Rome call'd Paolino where he was warn'd in a Dream that he should find it Nail of the Crucifixion of which they say Constantine made a Bit for a Bridle is the most respected Relick in Milan 'T is kept on the great Altar surrounded with five Lights which burn night and day In the year 1576. Cardinal Borromeo call'd St. Charles carried it in a solemn procession to stop the Plague he walk'd bare-foot with a great Rope about his Neck tho' he was also cloth'd with the usual Ornaments of a Cardinal The * This Pavement is not yet finish'd The Charge of it will amount to Threescore and six thousand Two hundred and ninety Crowns without reckoning that of the Quire which has already cost Five thousand Two hundred and fifty Morigi Pavement of this Church is finer and more solid than that of St. Peter's at Rome where the Floor is laid with thin Leaves of Marble which begin already to cleave and will in a short time be quite rais'd up whereas here the pieces are very thick There are always Masons hewing Stone and Women spinning sewing and selling Fruit in the middle of the Church besides 't is dark and many parts of it imperfect All which Considerations laid together will easily convince you that the inside of it can neither charm nor surprize the Eye of a curious Beholder We went up to the Steeple from whence we had a view not only of Milan but of four or five other Cities in the vast Plain of Lombardy We discover'd also the Alps which are united to the Appennine Mountains towards Genoua The great Bell bears the name of St. Ambrose it contains seven feet in diameter and weighs Thirty thousand pounds Over against the Church there is a pretty large Place where in the Evening I usually observ'd about thirty Coaches which mov'd and stopp'd from time to time that the People within 'em might see those who pass'd along The place for taking the Air in Coaches is a great unpav'd Street in the Suburbs which is sprinkl'd every day with water * And therefore call'd Strada Marina as the Voorhout is at the Hague The Ambrosian Library was so nam'd by Cardinal Frederic Borromeo Ph. Vannemachero and Ch. Torre affirm That this Library contains Fourteen thousand Manuscripts but mention not the number of the printed Books It was much augmented by the addition of Vincent Pinelli's Library R. Lassels Rufinus's Version of Josephus is one of the oldest Manuscripts in this Library G. Burnet Fabio Mangoni built it It contains several Apartments The great Hall is 75 foot long and 30 broad It could not be made larger because of the Churches and Houses that surround it Besides the Books and Pictures 't is enrich'd with several Collections of very fair Medals and with rare and curious Pieces of antique Sculpture and Architecture with others moulded on the Originals Boschi wrote a Treatise De Origine Statu Bibliothecae Ambrosianae C. Torre Archbishop of Milan who founded it and dedicated it to St. Ambrose I read in a little Description of this Library printed at Tortona That it contains twelve thousand Manuscripts and seventy two thousand printed Volumes but we must not depend on that Author's Testimony for it appears plainly to the Eye that there are not so many and besides the Library-keeper told us that there were not above Forty thousand in all This Library is kept open two hours every Morning and Afternoon there is a Fire in it during the Winter and there are also Seats and Desks with all the other Conveniencies that are to be found in the Library of St. Victor at Paris They shew'd us a great Book of Mechanical Draughts which they told us Leonard de Vinci wrote with his own hand The Writing is extreamly awry and can hardly be read without a Perspective-glass There is an Inscription on the Wall which says That a certain King of England whose Name is not mention'd offer'd Three thousand Pistols for this Volume Adjoining to this Library there is an Academy for Painting where we saw many good Pictures Among the rest I remember one of Clement the Tenth which resembles a Print so exactly that we were all deceiv'd by it The Citadel is a regular Hexagon well lin'd furnish'd with store of Cannon and surrounded with a good Ditch and Counterscarps but the old Walls should be pull'd down with all those Towers Forts and other antique Works which are contain'd in the Citadel besides a considerable number of Houses for if all this useless Rubbish were taken away the place would be infinitely better After we had walk'd round the Ramparts we enter'd into a Hall in the Governor's Lodgings to see a score of Soldiers who were exercising their Postures and practising Spanish Sarabands against the Solemnity of Corpus-Christi-day when they were to dance before the Procession The principal Buildings in Milan without mentioning the Churches and Convents are the Palaces of the Governor and Archbishop the Houses of the Marquess Homodeo Count Barth Arese and Signior T. Marini the * This Structure was founded by Charles Borromeo and built by Joseph Mela. A double Portico 176 foot and 3 inches long and 16 foot 10 inches and a half broad goes round the great square Court on the inside The first Order is Doric and the second Ionic Over the great Portal stands Piety having on her Breast the Sun who is the Father of Light and on the other side Wisdom with swelling Breasts full of Provision for her Children C. Torre Seminary the Colleges of the Switzers of Breva and of the Jesuits the Town-house and the chief Hospital the great Court of the last-nam'd Structure is a Hundred and twenty paces square with two rows or stories of Portico's about the inside both which are supported on every side by Two and forty Pillars of a kind of Marble found in the neighbouring Alps every Pillar consisting of a single Piece The Body of the Edifice is of Brick moulded and fashion'd into several Ornaments of Architecture The old Hospital is join'd to this and both together make but one The †Begun 1489 by Duke Lewis Sforza call'd the Moor and finish'd by Lewis XII 1507. Bramante was the Architect of this Structure Lazaret or place appointed for the entertainment of those that are sick of Pestilential Distempers depends on the great Hospital and is situated about two or three hundred paces from the City It consists of four Galleries join'd in a square each containing Ninety two Chambers and
they make much of it as a precious Memorial if they do not worship it as a Relique Their Lance puts me in mind of their Arsenal which is one of the most renowned in Germany In the Year 1453 Mahomet II. besieged Constantinople and battered it with many Pieces of Cannon of Four hundred pound Ball there was one amongst the rest so heavy that there were twenty Yoke of Oxen to draw it Calvisius There are two great Halls in it each of two hundred and fifty paces long and well replenished with Arms. We counted three hundred Pieces of Cannon but to speak truth the greatest part of the other Arms savour of Antiquity Musquets and Harquebuses Casks and Cuirasses in great Number fine Hangings for Arsenals and this is all There are many of those great Cannons of a monstrous Bore which they call Mermaids and Basilisks and the biggest of these Pieces carries a three hundred pound Ball. We also saw the Library it is in a Cloyster which formerly belonged to the Dominicans and contains as they tell you twenty thousand Volumes This was collected out of the Ruines of many Convents in the Time of the Reformation The most ancient Manuscript is of nine hundred Years it is a Copy of the Gospels with the Prayers and Hymns formerly used in the Greek Church The Character is very different from that now in use It is a Treatise of Predestination I observed a Book which was printed at Spire in the Year 1446. but there might be an Errour in the Cyphers for they shewed us another of the Impression of Faustus at Mentz in 1459. at the End whereof there is an Advertisement by which it is said That this Book was not written by the Hand but was printed by an admirable Secret newly invented 'T is probable that this was the first Impression which was made at Mentz and if it be so there is no ground to suppose that another Book was printed at Spire thirteen Years before nor had Faustus any reason to boast so much of his new Secret I have heard that there is another Impression of Durandus's Officiale at Basil printed by Faustus in the same Year 1549. They keep in this Library many Rarities and curious Antiquities but they are not comparable to those that are in the Cabinet of Mr. Viati We saw it in a great Chamber quite fill'd with divers Arms of all Countries all Uses and all Fashions It is scarce to be conceived how a single Man and he a private Person who hath not the Means of a Prince or a very great Lord could heap together so many things for the Number is very great and I believe brought from all the four Quarters of the World He shewed us the Experiment of a Wind-Gun which is a very pretty but a most destructive Invention because with this Engine great Mischiefs may be done a far off and without any Noise From this Chamber you may go into another where there are rare Pictures Medals curious Works ancient and modern Idols Shells Plants Minerals and other natural Productions The Town-House is very great and has a very beautiful and well-proportion'd Front but it wants a Court before it When we went from thence our Friends brought us to the City Cellar which is two hundred and fifty Paces long and contains as they tell us Twenty thousand Aums of Wine that is to say Twenty thousand middle-siz'd Tuns We must allow it to be a very fair Cellar but the truth is such People as we know not how to enjoy all the Pleasures of it The Germans are you know Germanorum vivere bibere est strange Drinkers but there are no People in the World more obliging more civil or more officious and yet they have terrible Customs as to the Point of Drinking Every thing is done there by drinking and they drink in all they do There is not time given to speak three Words in a Visit but presently comes the Collation or at least some large Jacks of Wine with a Plate full of Crusts of Bread hash'd with Pepper and Salt a fatal Preparative for puny Topers But before we proceed I must give you an account of those sacred and inviolable Laws that are afterwards to be observ'd Every Draught must be a Health and assoon as you have emptied your Glass you must present it full to him whose Health you drunk You must never refuse the Glass which is presented and you must drink it off to the last drop Do but reflect a little on these Customs and see how it is possible to leave off drinking And indeed they never make an end * The Duke of Rohan sai h in his Voyage that the Germans have succeeded better than all the Mathematicians of the World in finding out the perpetual Motion by the continual Agitation of their Cups but carouse in a perpetual Round to drink in Germany is to drink eternally Pardon my Digression and judge of our troublesome Entertainment in the Cellar You must do penance there for some time and at last hide your self behind the Casks steal away and make your escape You must further know that the Glasses are as much respected in this Country as the Wine is beloved They place them all en Parade The greatest part of the Chambers are wainscotted even to two thirds of the Walls and the Glasses are ranged all about upon the Cornish of the Wainscot like Pipes of Organs They begin with the Little and end with the Great ones and these Great ones are always us'd and must be empty'd at a draught when there is any Health of Importance At going out of the Cellar we went to Consort where we hoped we should do nothing but sing but the Bread the Pepper the Salt and the Wine followed in such abundance that an Air was no sooner finished but the whole Company rose up to drink Divers Habits of the Women at Nuremberg Vol. 1. P. 73. The Husband was in Black Cloaths with a Cloak over-laid with Lace a great Ruff and a little Crown of Gold Plate-Lace above his Peruke But the Wife's Dress will be a little more difficult to describe The best Account I can give you of it is to tell you That in framing to your self an Idea of her Head-Tire you must fansie a Mixture of Plate-Wire gilded like a Bob-Peruke half a Foot higher than her Forehead and very much frizzed and swelled out on the Sides This was ordered after such a manner that in all the Thickness of this Bush there was no more space or distance between the Threads than was sufficient to fasten to them an infinite Number of little Plates of Gold round polished and shining which hung both within and without and waved with the least Motion Her Habit was Black with long Skirts resembling the Hongrelines which were not very long since used in France The Body of this little Cassock which was cut very short had a Gold Lace over all the Seams
Figures as these in the Front of this Church I observ'd in rhe Frontispiece of the great Portal two kind of Birds which by their Combs somewhat resembled Cocks They hold an Animal with a long Tail between them which we suspected was design'd to represent a Fox this poor Beast had his Feet tied together and hung over a Pole the ends of which were supported by the Cocks I cannot forbear searching into the meaning of this little Mystery and if you please I will adventure to tell you my Thoughts of it The allusion of Gallus a Cock to Gallus a French-man is a thing so familiar that I fansie the two Cocks may signifie two French-men and the Animal thus bound must be some crafty Fellow cheated nevertheless and supplanted by the Cocks The Crane hath formerly been too hard for Renard But to apply this Emblem to some particular Event Supposing it to be true that this Chuch was built under Pepin as it seems very probable it may be conjectur'd that his Father Charlemain and he were the two Cocks and that the unfortunate Didier the last King of the Lombards was the Fox You know Charlemain caus'd himself to be crown'd King of the Lombards after he had dispossessed Didier and Pepin was crown'd King of Italy some Years after Didier then vanquish'd stripp'd shaven and put into a Convent too nearly resembles the Fox Except you had rather it should be his Son whose Name I think was Adalgise who in the end was taken and kill'd after he had vainly employ'd all his Wit and Force to regain the Possession of his Father's Dominions I will not say that Pepin amus'd himself with such a Trifle but it was perhaps the Fancy of the Carver On the side of the same Portal they have put this fine Hieroglyphick There is a Man on Horse-back in basso relievo over whom these Three Verses are written in Characters half Roman half Gothick O Regem stultum petit infernale tributum Móxque paratur equus quem misit Daemon iniquus Exit aquâ nudus petit infera not rediturus Tho' I have given you some Conjectures concerning the Fox I confess I can make nothing of this Divel's Horse you may think of both as you please Returning from thence we pass'd by the little Church of St. Mary the Old near which are to be seen many magnificent Tombs of the Scaligers who as you know were Princes of Verona before that City belong'd to the Republick of Venice The Rarities which we saw in the Cabinet of the Count Mascardo deserve that some learned Man should undertake their Description And it may be cause of Admiration that those who have had the Curiosity and the Means to amass so many fine things together should not have had the care to procure Stamps of them and to add Explanatory Remarks on such as are most considerable scarce any thing more remarkable can fall within the Observation of a Traveller nor any thing that deserves better to be studied and describ'd There you find a Gallery and Six Chambers all fill'd with the most admirable Productions of Art or Nature But as it is not possible for me to give you a particular Account of so many things so will I not engage my self in such a Task neither at present nor for the future You need but call to mind all that you have already seen in my Letters and particularly that which I writ from Inspruck Of Pictures Books Roman Rods or Fasces Rings Animals Plants Metals monstrous or Extravagant Productions and Works of all Fashions and in a Word all that can be imagin'd curious or worth inquiry whether for Antiquity or Rarity or for the Delicacy and Excellency of the Workmanship the Catalogue of them would alone amount to a Volume only to satisfie you in some measure I assure you that when-ever I shall meet with any thing that I have not taken Notice of before and which shall seem worthy of particular Observation I shall take care to communicate it to you There are here many * The Vessels which they name are enclabria paterae prefericula ollae sympullae Many sorts of Knives dolabra cultri seva secespita Axes Mallets Candlesticks Instruments and Utensils which were used in the Pagan Sacrifices They also show'd us Figures of Brass that represent all sorts of things which they hung up in the Temples of their Gods when they had receiv'd any Assistance from them We saw also many pieces of Workmanship fram'd out of the Stone Amianthos which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so famous among the Naturalists this Stone as hard and weighty as it is is easily divided into Fibres or Threads which are so strong and flexible that they may be spun like Cotton Before I leave this Head I must acquaint you with this Remark concerning the Instances of Petrefaction which I have observ'd either here or elsewhere that there is many times a great deal of Errour and Uncertainty in them and that there are several Persons who scruple not to use a little Artifice to multiply and diversitie the Rarities with which they design to fill a Cabinet It cannot be deny'd that Nature seems to divert herself sometimes with such fantastical Changes but it must also be confess'd that they are often counterfeited by Art I know not whether you ever saw any of those pretended Animals call'd Basilisks which have a little resemblance of a Dragon The Invention is prettily contriv'd and has cheated many for they take a small Ray and having turn'd it after a certain manner and rais'd up the Fins in form of Wings they fit a little Tongue to it shaped like a Dart and add Claws and Eyes of Enammel with other little Knacks curiously order'd and this is the whole Secrecy of making Basilisks I am not ignorant that some Authors mention another sort of Basilisk without either Feet or Wings which they represent like a crown'd Serpent and many Naturalists affirm that it kills with its Breath and Looks Galen takes notice of it as the most Venemous of all Serpents and tells us that the Wezel only fears not its Poison but on the contrary poisons it with its Breath But I believe this Serpent is found only in the Land of Phoenixes and Unicorns The Curious may learn in Matthiolus how they make the Mandrakes I might alledge to you many other little Cheats like that of the first Basilisk but to return to our Account of Petrefaction I shall fix only on one of all those Observations that might be brought to Illustrate this Subject There is a certain natural Production according to some a kind of imperfect Plant or a Coralline Matter which extreamly resembles a Mushroom I know not whether they do not sometimes cheat themselves or are willing to cheat others Be it as it will this is that which they call Petrify'd Mushrooms which indeed were never Mushrooms The Question depends on the matter of Fact but one
another time I had yesterday a long discourse with some Persons who believe that Padua was formerly a Sea-Port both because the Ancients speak of it as a very rich Place and because when they dig Wells or Foundations of Houses they find in divers places Anchors and Masts I know not if this Opinion may seem reasonable to you but since History hath given us no account of it I should rather have recourse to a more easie way to explain how Vessels come up to Padua which is that there was formerly some great Canal They affirm also that Padua was built by Antenor and they show there a great repository for Bones in which they have placed the pretended Bones of this old Trojan and it is commonly called Antenor's Tomb. But this Tradition is not very certain it cannot indeed be denied that * See the 1st Book of the Eneids Antenor came into this Country And 't is no less certain that he built a City which was called Patavium But the question is whether our Padua be the Patavium of Antenor Messala Corvinus saith that the Arms of Troy were placed by Antenor in the Temple of Padua and that they were a Sow in a Field Or. for this Opinion is not improbable yet there are Arguments against it as well as for it As for the Tomb it is a meer Bauble It is about four hundred and odd Years that they were working on the Foundations of an Hospital and dug up a Leaden-Coffin near which they found a Sword The Coffin had no Inscription and upon the Sword were some Leonin Verses of barbarous Latin Judge I pray you whether this may not as well agree with the Trojan Horse as Antenor In the mean time the immoderate love which some People have for every thing that bears the Stamp of Antiquity has made some Persons dream that they had found the Tomb of Antenor A certain Man called Lupatus who was then Magistrate and a Man of some Learning had also his Reasons or Prejudices in favour of these Bones And he it was who some Years after put them in that renowned Tomb which they call at this day the Tomb of Antenor and which is to be seen at the entrance of St. Laurence's-street He caused four Verses to be Engraved on it and which as you may believe are in Gothick Characters C. Inclytus Antenor patriae nisa quietem Transtulit huc Enetum Dardanidúmque fugas Expulit Euganeos Patavinam condidit Urbem Quem tenet hic humili marmore caesa domus There are some who read Patriae vox and others Patriam But they are both in the wrong for the ae of the word Patriae is plain and if one would joyn the m which follows with Patriae it must be read Patriaem This m is nearer to vox than Patriae nor can it be doubted to be an m because the same Character is found in divers words which follow I confess that Muox signifies nothing no more thin Patriaem and turn these Verses which way you please you will never find any good sence To conclude the account of this Inscription there are some who have made a false Remark upon the word caesa as if it were writ with a single e but they have not observed the * ae eciril which serves for an ae besides there are you know old Impressions which never regard this Dipthong Enetum is written without an h and there is no punctuation observ'd throughout I know not what to say of the C. which is put to the beginning of the Verse You must further know that Doctor Lupetus would have his own Tomb placed near that of his dear Antenor and they remain at present side by side The Church of St. * They call him St. Anthony of Padua because he died there and was there buried but he was a Franciscan of Lisbon and Cotemporary with St. Francis d'Assise Spond Bellarmin Trithemius c. Anthony of Lisbon is very great and full of fine things as well in Carving as in Painting There are many magnificent Tombs in it among which we observ'd †Made in the Year 1555. by Augustin Zotto that of Alexander Contarini Admiral of the Republick and Procurator of St. Mark and that of Count Horatio Sicco who was killed at Vienna in the last Siege There cannot be seen a fairer Picture in Fresco than that of the Chapel of St. Felix it was done by the famous Giotto who excelled in that sort of work But that which is the most considerable in this Church is the †Forty foot long and twenty five broad Ang. Port. Chapel of St. Anthony the great Protector of Padua whom by way of eminency they call the Saint His Body lies under the Altar which is inriched with a thousand precious things They say that the Bones of the Saint cast forth a very sweet Odour those who have the Curiosity to smell them go behind the Altar to a certain part which is not well joyned and where it were easie to thrust in some Balsam or such like odoriferous thing All the Chapel is covered with a Basso relievo Work of white Marble in which are represented the principal Miracles of St. Anthony Almost the whole work was done by Tullius Lombardus and Sansovin There are also six and thirty great silver Lamps which burn Night and Day round the Altar I will not trouble you with that medley of Stories which those who shew this Chapel are wont to relate concerning their Saint From this Church we went to that of St. Justina which is very great and beautiful though it be far from the Perfection to which they design to advance it It is pav'd with Marble-squares of red black and white the Roof of the great Body of the Church hath seven Domes which give it both Light and Ornament There are also two on each Arm of the Cross Besides the great Altar which is a stately Work there are twenty four others of fine Marble and all different in Colour And whereas the Church of St. Anthony is full of Monuments they will not suffer any in this There is only one Inscription which says That the Church was built at the only charge of the Convent The * This Work was perform'd in 22 Years by a Frenchman called Ricard Basso relievo of the Benches of the Choir is admirable and the design is fine throughout which represents the Prophecies of the Old Testament relating to Jesus Christ with their accomplishment in the New The Martyrdom of St. Justina which is over the great Altar was done by Paul of Verona I will not undertake to give you a particular description of this Church The Monastery is also vastly great it hath six Cloysters and many Courts and Gardens I will not trouble you with an account of the Image of the Virgin †See Baron an 726 and 730. which flew from Constantinople when it was taken by the Turks Nor will I
Constantinople at the same time with the Brazen Horses which I mentioned before I shall only name some of the most considerable Pieces The two Crowns of the Kingdoms of Candia and Cyprus many fine Vessels of Agat the Root of an Emerald and of Crystal of the Rock These Vessels say they belong'd to the Cupboard of Constantine a kind of Seal Eight Inches deep and as many diameter made of one only Granat a very fair Saphire which they say weighs Ten Ounces Twelve Croslets of Gold garnished with Pearls Twelve Head-Tires in form of Crowns which served in certain Ceremonies for the Maids of Honour of the Empress Helena to wear a Cup of one onely Turquoise with Egyptian Characters this Cup is Seven Inches in diameter and Three and a half in depth a Picture of St. Jerome in fine Mosaick consisting of Pieces that are not above one Line square and many other most rare and rich things Camerarius saith this Coronet is not esteemed worth more than Two hundred Thousand Crowns The Duke's Coronet is in my Opinion the finest of them all the Circle is of Gold the Bonnet of Crimson Velvet and the whole enrich'd with Stones and Pearls of great price Charles Paschal pretends to prove that this Coronet is nothing but the Phrygian Bonnet or Trojan Miter which Antenor brought into this Country the form whereof may yet be seen in divers Antick Pieces as in the Statue of Ganymede which is in the Porch of the Library of St. Mark upon some Medals of the God Lunus in some others where you see Aeneas carrying the good Man Anchyses You may see the form of this Coronet in the Figure of the Duke and in Miniatures of the Ancient Manuscript of Virgil in the Vatican This Manuscript puts me in Mind of that which they call The Gospel of St. Mark Mr. Payen hath written that it is of the Bark of a Tree he hath been mis-informed as well as P. Mesrie who said they were Leaves and is here esteem'd one of the most precious things in the Treasury I had time to consider it by a particular Favour It consists of old Leaves of Parchment loosed from each other worn torn defaced and so rotted with Moisture and other injuries of Time to which this Book without doubt hath been expos'd that one cannot touch it without some bits sticking to one's Fingers and it is a hard matter to discern any thing in it This Manuscript was in 4to about Two Fingers thickness The Remainders of it are shut up in a Box of Vermillion gilded made in form of a Book There remain still some traces of imperfect Characters but so little that scarce any thing can be distinguish'd but by turning over the Leaves I found Three or Four Letters well form'd I also met with the Word KATA written as you see I was with the Abbot Lith Library-Keeper of St. Mark and we search'd as much as we could without being able to discover any thing only that the Margent was broad and the Lines at a great distance and ruled with Two little Parallel Scores to make the Writing streight and equal This KATA with one Δ and one Σ which I also observ'd in it prove that it is a * Alfonsus Ciaconiâ—s positively affirms that this Manuscript is Latin and this was one of the Reasons upon which Baronius grounded his Opinion that St. Mark wrote his Gospel in Latin Greek Manuscript But the bare Tradition is not a sufficient Demonstration that it is the Hand of St. Mark The manner of Writing which I observ'd makes me fansie that it 's rather the Work of some professed Transcriber As to the rest we must rely on common Fame to believe it a Gospel rather than any thing else since it is difficult to decypher any Letters in it †This History is reported by Sabellicus Garon Larutti and many others The Treasury was robb'd in the Year 1427 by a certain Candiot named * Stamati having made known his designed Robbery to one Zachary Grio that Grio discovered the Affair and receiv'd a great Reward but the Theif was hanged between Two Columns or Marble Pillars which are at the Entrance of the Palace over-against the Loggietta Louis Garon affirms the Theft was valued at Two Millions of Gold They say that the Well in the Court of this Palace cannot be Poisoned because Two Vnicorn's Horns were cast into it See To. II. Let. XXXVI Stamati who broke thro' the Wall they recover'd every thing but the Thief was sentenced to be hanged and they say he begg'd the Favour of the Judges that he might have a Golden Halter which Civility they granted him Against the Wall over the first Door of the Treasury are two Figures in Mosaick which as they tell you represent St. Dominick and St. Francis and which they add were made a long time before either of them was born according to the Prophecy of the Abbot Joachim The Palace of St. Mark joins to the Church It is a great Building after the Gothick manner yet 't is very Magnificent It hath been burned four or five times and the various Reparations of it have spoiled the Uniformity of the Structure The side which is on the Canal is built of a kind of hard Stone brought from Istria and the Architecture of it is highly esteem'd Were the rest of the Building suitable it would be a most excellent Piece The Duke is lodg'd in this Palace and here it is that the Council of State and all the Magistracy do meet The Apartments are large lofty and well wainscotted but dark in comparison of the Light now a-days required in Buildings The Hall where the Body of the Nobles assemble which as you know composes the Grand Council in which the Sovereignty of the State resides is extraordinary large and adorn'd with Pictures among which are the Portraitures of the Dukes the History of the Conquest of Constantinople which was taken in the Year 1192 and lost about Threescore Years after the Picture of Frederick and Alexander is there also of the largest size and they have not forgot the Circumstance of the Foot on the Neck What I observ'd on this Picture gives me opportunity to add something to what I have already told you on the same Subject I think we ought not to take it in a rigorous and strictly literal Sence what is commonly said That the Pope set his †His Cloaths of Gold being laid down at the Feet of Alexander he begg'd Pardon and the Pope putting his Right Foot on his Neck said the Words of the Psalm Super Aspidem Basiliscum ambulabis conculcabis Leonem Draconem At which Provocation the Emperour answer'd Non tibi sed Petro. And the Pope treading harder said Et mihi Petro. Theodor. Valle Lit. di Pip. ch 10. The same Story is unanimously related by a Thousand other Authors Foot on the Emperour's Neck This Action would become less odious and easier
the same Story These Books will also inform you how the Jesuits of Mentz having suffer'd only two Copies to be wrought off conform to the Original had the Impudence to * This they themselves confess to be true suppress all that displeas'd 'em in the rest of this Edition Anastasius wrote the Lives of the Popes to Nicholas ◠who succeeded Benedict the Third Before I take leave of Anastasius I must entreat you seriously to weigh the Authority of his Testimony He was a man of Learning he liv'd at Rome and was co-temporary with our Popess He speaks as an Eye-witness and two words of such an Author are sufficient to destroy all the frivolous Objections and little Shifts of those who contradict the Truth of this Relation In the next place I shall proceed to consider Mr. Chevreau's Reflexions on †M. Polonus flourish'd in the middle of the Thirteenth Age. Martinus Polonus or the Polander Archbishop of Cosenza and Penitentiary to ‖ Some Authors write That he discharg'd the same Office under Nicholas III. Innocent IV. M. Chevreau calls him a silly Monk and alledges three or four poor Reasons to prove his Simplicity Since that Monk says he in his Treatise of the Wonders of Rome mistakes the Gate of Ostia or of St. Paul and of Capena and St. Sebastian for another which he calls Collina instead as we may probably suppose of Collatina or Pinciana the Pantheon for a Temple of Cybele and the Amphitheater for a Temple of the Sun we may the more easily forgive that Blunder in his History where he mistakes a Pope for a Popess In answer to these Reflexions I say in the general That tho' M. Polonus were really guilty of some Errors in giving an account of things of little importance or in explaining some hard and obscure Questions we could not from thence infer that he had given us a false Relation of the Female Pontiff He took one Gate for another and therefore he took a Pope for a Popess is rather a Jest than an Argument or if it must pass for an Argument it may be easily retorted upon its Author for I may with equal reason affirm that if Mr. Chevreau's Reflexions on M. Polonus be false and groundless therefore all his Arguments against the Story that is the subject of our Controversie are meer Sophisms and he mistakes a Popess for a Pope That the Antecedent is certainly true will appear from the following Considerations 1. 'T is plain that Mr. Chevreau knew not that there was a Gate call'd Collina when he wrote That Polonus takes the Gate of Ostia and the Gate Capena for another which he call'd Collina instead of Collatina or Pinciana But 't is certain that Collina was the name of a Gate as well as Collatina it took its name à Colle Quirinali and is mention'd by Ovid Templa frequentari Collinae proxima portae Nunc decet Fast 4. This Gate is now call'd Salara 2. The Gate Collatina so call'd from the Town of Collatium is different from the Pinciana as F. Nardin has clearly demonstrated 3. Mr. Chevreau had no reason to find fault with Martinus Polonus for calling the Pantheon a Temple of Cybele since several learned Antiquaries are of the same opinion 'T is true indeed and I think I have already told you that Authors are not agreed in their Conjectures concerning the Denomination of the Pantheon But there are many who believe that it was so call'd because it was consecrated by Agrippa to Jupiter * Jupiter the Avenger and to †'T is not altogether improbable that Cybele her self was a multiply'd Deity for she was worship'd under the several Names of Ops Rhea Vesta Berecynthia Dindymena Tellus Magna Pales and Magna Mater She was also call'd Natura rorum Parens Cybele the Mother of all the Gods However since Opinions are divided and the Question is at the best problematical Polonus cannot without Injustice be accus'd of an Error for what he has written on this subject 4 Mr. Chevreau is not easily to be understood when he talks of the Roman Amphitheater for there were several Amphitheaters in that City and the Ruins of some of 'em are still remaining I suppose he meant the great Amphitheater call'd Colliseum which was built by Vespasian and dedicated by Titus 5. I confess I have not read Polonus's Treatise concerning Rome but 't is very improbable that he took the Colliseum for a Temple This is certainly too great an Absurdity to be believ'd and I vehemently suspect that some of his Expressions are misunderstood He might indeed speak of a Temple of the Sun near that Amphitheater but he could not possibly imagin that the Colliseum was its self a Temple I must further tell you that what you relate concerning a Manuscript Polonus which you have seen where this Story is written on the margin and by another Hand does not at all reach the bottom of our Controversie You may easily conceive that some interess'd Person having gelded our Author that Defect was afterwards supply'd by a more equitable Hand And thus your Manuscript is only a particular Instance from which nothing can be concluded against the Credit of other Copies If some person should think fit to restore the History of our Popess by way of a marginal Note in the mutilated Copies of Anastasius this could not destroy the Authority of those Originals where the same Relation is to be found in the Text. Thus we may reasonably suppose that the Story of Pope Joan was left out in your Manuscript and afterwards restor'd by another Hand And even Bellarmin confesses that Martinus Polonus wrote the History of our Popess But to return to Mr. Chevreau You may observe how much he was puzzl'd to give some probable account of the first occasion of that Controversie since he is forc'd to have recourse to the Opinion or rather Evasion of Onuphrius tho' he conceals the Name of the Author He pretends that Pope John the Twelfth had a Concubine call'd Joan who was his Favourite and govern'd him so absolutely that he was usually nick-nam'd Joan. Besides he goes further than Onuphrius for whereas that Author speaks only conjecturally Mr. Chevreau asserts positively That John the Twelfth was call'd Pope Joan because of the blind Complaisance that he had for his Concubine Onuphrius's Conjectures are meer airy Notions and groundless Suspicions and Mr. Chevreau's Assertion is rash and precarious he can produce no other Argument to prove that John the Twelfth was call'd Pope Joan but his own bare Authority and neither Onuphrius nor he can make it appear that * Platina calls him the most pernicious and infamous of all the Popes that preceeded him Some Writers relate adds that Author That he was slain in the act of Adultery ever Pope John had such a Concubine 'T is true they both cite Luitprand to confirm their Hypothesis but they cite him falsly The Name
since I perceive you insist on this Argument I must tell you plainly that it is a very unwarrantable piece of Partiality not to give it a worse name blindly to embrace the Opinions of any Man not divinely inspir'd whatever figure he may make in the World A Man of Sence will never suffer his Judgment to be byass'd either by the Voice of the Publick or by the Numbers or pretended Authority of Writers that are dignified by great Titles Three quarters of the Christian World are meer Slaves to those ancient Writers whom they call The Fathers tho' 't is certain the good Instructions they have left us are mix'd with a great number of dangerous false insipid and ridiculous Opinions I thought to have ended our Controversie here but I believe it will not be improper to remove another Difficulty before I leave this Subject I must confess I was somewhat surpriz'd to find that instead of Mr. Chevreau you had conjur'd up against me so terrible an Adversary as the famous * David Blondel Blondel who is the Pillar and Bulwark of Antipopessism and whose bare Name has gain'd abundance of Proselytes to his Opinions He was a man of Learning and Wit besides he was a Protestant and consequently was believ'd to have no other Interest than that of Truth in the Success of the Quarrel which he had espous'd 'T is certain his Authority has been always a Stone of Stumbling to those who are wont to make Prejudice their Rule of Faith The Name of the Author is the strongest Argument in his Book and it is that alone which has given the greatest Blow to his Enemies I have read this Piece over and over with attention and can assure you it is written after a manner very proper to blind the Eyes and confound the Judgments of the generality of Readers But those who will not suffer themselves to be impos'd upon and still look for something that is solid and material will not find any thing in the whole Book worthy of that Character I could fill a Volume with Observations and Criticisms on this Work for I have made some Reflexions on every Page and perhaps every Period in it This is not a proper place for 'em but I may find an opportunity hereafter to communicate 'em to you in the mean time I shall content my self with giving you a general Idea of it accompanied with a few particular Remarks according to the method by which I have anatomiz'd it Mr. Blondel begins with a Declaration that gives a wound to his Cause which all his Artifices can never palliate The Force of Truth and of authentick Testimonies which he receiv'd from * He means Salmasius those to whom he neither would nor durst refuse to give credit extorted this ingenuous Confession from him That the History of the Female Pope is contain'd in the Augsburg Copies of Anastasius which I mention'd before You see what Advantage he has given to his Enemies and what Stratagem d' ye think he uses to recover his Ground Could you imagine that a man of his parts would have recourse to the poorest Evasion that ever baffl'd Author was guilty of or that he would start an imaginary Difficulty that he might afterwards the more easily grapple with this Wind-mill in his own Brain He is sensible there is nothing but dry Blows to be got by meddling with these original Manuscripts and that they would be too hard for all his Rhetoric and therefore he e'en very fairly leaves 'em as he found 'em without ever mentioning 'em afterwards and finds out another Anastasius at Paris written about Two hundred years ago which contains also the same History but accompanied with some circumstances which he assures us imply several Contradictions And It seems adds he that the Parisian Anastasius should give light to those of Augsburg At first he dares not advance such a Paradox but with an it seems and without considering whether that which seems to him does also seem so to others he builds his Discourse on this uncertain Foundation and at the same time tho' tacitely establishes his Supposition for a certain Truth Thus with his Anastasius of Two hundred years he has found the Secret to confute all the other Copies of that Author without citing one of ' em But what is still worse his Anastasius is a private Piece which he shews only by Shreds and dares not produce If I were not restrain'd by fear of injuring Mr. Blondel's Sincerity I should be strongly tempted to suspect that his Manuscript was never seen by any Man but himself and at least I think I may be allow'd to suppose that he durst not quote the whole passage lest it might furnish his Adversaries with Weapons against himself In the first place then we must believe Mr. Blondel upon his own single Testimony that there was really such an Anastasius and such a Passage in it as he cites but his Manuscript might have been supposititious or at least a modern and even by his own confession an uncertain Copy since he tells us it had been often taken for a Platina 'T is strange that any man that can read should not be able to distinguish Anastasius from Platina Secondly After we have blindly believ'd all that this Author is pleas'd to tell us concerning his pretended Anastasius we must extend our Complaisance further and upon the credit of his bare it seems either believe or suppose his tacite Inference that this Manuscript not only may serve to illustrate the Anastasius's of Augsburg as he pretends at first but is a true Copy of these and even of the most ancient and exact Anastasius's for if this supposition be false all his Arguments must fall to the Ground I may venture to affirm that this Consideration alone is sufficient to discredit Mr. Blondel's famous Book the main design of which should have been to destroy and confute by clear and solid Reasons the positive Testimony of such a learn'd and uninteress'd Eye-witness as Anastasius Before I proceed to communicate to you some other Remarks on Mr. Blondel's Treatise I must desire you not to expect to find 'em all accompanied with Demonstrations I may perhaps for brevity's sake omit the Proofs of some of my Assertions but I shall be ready to supply that Defect when you please In the general 't is certain that this Book may be entirely and unanswerably confuted out of it self and that far from destroying the History of the Popess the Truth of that Event may be solidly demonstrated by Reasons drawn from this very Treatise These are two Positions which I dare confidently assert and undertake to maintain Among all the Contradictions with which this Discourse is stuff'd I shall only desire you to observe that two thirds of it are spent in litigious Chronological Cavils and vain Rhodomontadoes against the Authors of our History After which he forgets himself so far Above all the Chronology of the Bishops or
tell you that there is a Church for Germans and another for Italians in this City and there was also an English Church formerly The most considerable Italian Families I know besides those mention'd in my Letter from Lucca are those call'd Gallatin Sartoris Puerari Leger Minutoli Stoppa Diodati Offredi Cerduini and * Rubbati Franconi Malcontent Butini Bartolone Carnelli Servini Mirollio Lambercier Pelissari Martini c. I think there are eight or ten more The †If there is any credit to be given to the little Book call'd Scaligerana the Savoyard Tongue was us'd in the Council in Jos Scaliger's time and all Men were prohibited under pain of being fin'd to speak any other Savoyard Language is commonly spoken here but all that are rais'd above the Dregs of the People speak also French 'T is true their Dialect is none of the purest but 't is at the least as good as any that are us'd in most Provinces of France About four small leagues from Geneva between the Fort of Sluys and Mount Credo the Rhone tumbles down a Precipice among the Rocks and disappears entirely for some space and therefore they who intend to go from Geneva to Lyons by Water are forc'd to embark at Seissel below the Fall and Rising again of the River I am SIR Your c. Geneva July 12 1688. LETTER XXXV SIR THERE cannot be a more pleasant way than the Road between Geneva and Lausanne for the whole way seems to be one continued Hillock very populous and well till'd We rarely lost sight of the Lake and sometimes on the other side we saw Piles of lofty and forked Mountains glittering with Snow The first night after our departure from Geneva we lay at the little Town of Morges Morges on the Bank of the Lake from thence we discover'd the Smoke of a Fire that did a great deal of mischief at Vevay towards the end of the Lake as we were inform'd next morning LAUSANNE The situation of Lausanns is extreamly rough and uneven We stop'd not there nor in any of the little Towns we met with afterwards there being nothing in 'em worth observation Morat On the Bank of the Lake Morat we took notice of a kind of Chapel which is quite fill'd with the Bones of those Burgundians that were defeated in that place * On the 20th of July 1476 we observ'd the following Inscription D. O. M. Caroli inclyti fortissimi Ducis Burgundiae Exercitus Muratrum obsidens ab Helvetiis caesus hoc sui monumentum reliquit A. 1476. to the number of Eighteen Thousand by the joint Forces of Lorrain and Switzerland Bern is not a large City BERN. tho' 't is the Metropolis of the most potent Canton in Switzerland Only married Persons are admitted into the Council G. Burnet it is almost wholly built of hewn Stone but the Buildings are more solid than beautiful the Streets are clean parted by a Rivulet that runs in the middle on each side of which there are cover'd Walks under Portico's but they are too narrow This City was built in the year * Others say 1191. On the 6th of March 1352 this City enter'd into the Swiss Confederacy J. Simler 1175 by Berthold IV Duke of Zeringhen and the common Opinion is that it had its name from a Bear that was taken there when its Foundations were laid the word Bern signifying a Bear in the German Language for which reason also it bears that Animal in its Coat of Arms and there are Bears kept and fed here as those of Geneva breed Eagles In this City we only visited the Arsenal and the great Church the first of which is very well furnish'd and in good condition In one of the Halls there is a Statue of that †William Tell. Citizen of Switz who with an Arrow shot down an Apple that was plac'd on the Head of his own Child fifty paces from him and they are both represented in that posture You know that cruel and extravagant Humour of the Governor Grisler join'd to several other Grievances of the same nature ‖ An. 1307 under the Empire of Albert I. gave birth to the Swiss Republic Childrey relates among other English Prodigies That one Robert Bone of Cornwal shot a little Bird on the Back of a Cow but this last Archer did not run so great a hazard as the other The following Inscription was lately plac'd over the Gate of the House appointed for Manufactories * I 'm inform'd this Inscription was remov'd in October 1692 at the desire of the French Ambassador Tempore quo crassa Clericorum Ignorantia cum gratia Privilegio Regis in verum Dei cultum fureret atque DRACONUM operâ eos quos Huguenotes vocant ferro flammâ omnis generis cruce è Regno pelleret Supremus Magistratus è ruderibus Coenobii olim Praedicatorum has Aedes extruxit ut Pietatem simul Artem Galliâ exulantes hospitalibus tectis exciperet Faxit Deus T. O. M. ut Charitatis hoc opificium sit incremento Patriae When the blind Ignorance of the Clergy supported by the King 's Favor and Authority rag'd against the true Worshippers of GOD and by a Mission of Dragoons with fire and Sword and all manner of Torments drove those whom they call Huguenots out of the Kingdom This House was erected by order of the Supreme Magistracy out of the Ruins of an old Monastery of Praedicant Fryars that Religion and Art banish'd together out of France might here find a Hospitable Entertainment May it please the most Great and Good GOD that this Work of Charity may turn to the Advantage of our Country In the Church that belong'd to the Dominicans they preserve some Monuments of that memorable piece of Roguery acted by the Jacobin Fryars of which you may have read an account in Lavater's Treatise of Specters Henry Stephen relates it at length and Nicholas Manuel who translated it into the German Tongue says That it has been publish'd in all Languages The Story in short is thus After several violent Debates between the Jacobins and Cordeliers concerning the Conception of the Virgin whom these last maintain'd to be exempted from Original Sin * John Vetter Stephen Boltzhorst Francis Ulchi and Hen. Steniker four Jacobins of Bern at the earnest solicitation of several others of the same Order undertook to prove their Assertion by a Miracle to carry on which design they resolv'd to counterfeit Apparitions and under borrow'd shapes to speak in the night to a simple †John Jetzer Novice and after many subtile Contrivances they proceeded to make the Virgin her self tell him that she was conceiv'd in Sin hoping to perswade the People by the noise of these Apparitions The Plot succeeded for some time according to their desire the Novice was deceiv'd he related his Visions the People repair'd to him as to a Saint or Prophet and the Opinion of the
at Vienna or follows the Imperial Court This ‖ This Council is alâ—o compos'd of Members of both Religions Council is not perpetual nor in all respects of equal Dignity with the Imperial Chamber yet Cases of the same nature are also debated and soveraignly determin'd here No Suits can be remov'd from one of these Chambers to the other only in some cases a review of the Judgment may be obtain'd before the Emperor himself The express Orders which the Mareschal de Turenne receiv'd during the last Wars not to disturb or interrupt the ordinary course of Justice in the Chamber of Spire makes the Members of that Court believe that they shall be still treated with the same Respect And they are so firmly perswaded of the * A little after the first Edition of this Book Spire and Worms were plunder'd by the French Troops without the least regard to the Imperial Chamber French Civility that tho' they lye open to an Invasion in case of a Rupture they never think of removing either the Court or Original Records I shall pass from Spire to Colen having nothing to add to the account I have already given you of the Cities that lye between ' em JULIERS At our departure from Colen we took the Road to Juliers the Motropolis of the Dutchy of the same Name As far as we could judge by the slight view we had of it 't is pretty well fortified Here the Protestants enjoy the free exercise of their Religion by vertue of the Treaty which I mention'd before AIX LA CHAPELLE an Imperial City 't is also call'd Royal being perhaps honour'd with that Title because according to the Tenor of the Golden Bull the King of the Romans ought to receive his first Crown here Heiss Leaving Juliers we pass'd thro' a good and pleasant Country and in four or five hours came to Aix la Chapelle That famous City is still large and beautiful tho' it has lost much of its ancient lustre It has also preserv'd its Liberty entire only the Duke of Newburg as Duke of Juliers within whose Lands it lies has a Right to name the Burgo-master 'T is under the Protection of the King of Spain as Duke of Brabant This * This City is double the inward City call'd Carolina is enclos'd with its ancient Walls Blond City was almost wholly rebuilt by Charles the Great having lain desolate for almost four Ages after it was sack'd by Attila The same Emperor endow'd it with several Privileges made it the capital City of Gaul beyond the Alps and honour'd it with his usual Residence He built also the great Church from which the Town took the Name of Aix la Chapelle whereas before it was call'd Aquisgranum from a †The old Tower join'd to the Town-house on the East side does still retain the name of Granus or Granius Idem Roman Prince nam'd Granus a Brother or Kinsman of Nero who having discover'd Mineral Waters in this place built a Castle and laid the first Foundations of the City Charles the Great ‖ At the age of 72 years in the Fourteenth year of his Empire the Forty eighth of his Reign and of Christ 814. dy'd here and his Tomb remains to this day For the space of above Five hundred years several Emperors that succeeded Charles the Great were desirous to be Crown'd at Aix and I think I told you that Charles IV. made a positive regulation of this Ceremony by one of the Constitutions of the Golden Bull which ordain'd that the Emperors should afterwards receive their first Crown here but that Custom has been laid aside for some time and there remain only two Marks of the ancient Privileges of this City first there are Deputies sent both to Aix and Nuremburg to acquaint 'em with the Election of a new Emperor that they may send the Imperial * Ornaments and other things necessary for the Solemnity of the Inauguration Aix sends some Relicks a book of the Gospels written in Letters of Gold and one of Charles the Great 's Swords with the Brit I have already given an account of the Ornament that are kept at Nuremburg that are deposited in their hands And secondly wheresoever the Ceremony is perform'd the Emperor declares solemnly That tho' for some particular Reasons he could not receive his first Crown at Aix that Omission shall not be interpreted to the prejudice or diminution of the Privileges of that City The Emperor is always a Canon of Aix and takes an Oath for that purpose on the day of his Coronation Some Persons here assure me that both Religions enjoy equal Privileges at Aix but I must confess I forgot to enquire when I pass'd by that City and therefore I will affirm nothing positively I read t'other day in a short description of the Country of Juliers 〈◊〉 Monulsus and St. Godulrus Bishops of Liege that two Canoniz'd Prelates gave themselves the trouble of rising from the Dead on purpose to be present at the Dedication of the Chapel of Aix after which they march'd back to their Tombs Does not this Story put you in mind of L. Q. Cincinnatus who after he had been Dictator and gain'd a Battel return'd peaceably to his Plough MASTREICHT We stay'd but two or three hours at Mastreicht a City of an indifferent largeness pretty well built and strongly fortified the Garrison consists of between Nine and Ten thousand Men and we saw the †The present King of England Prince of Orange take a review of ' em Some Battalions perform'd several Martial Exercises and they are all extreamly well disciplin'd The little part of the City on the right Bank of the Meuse is call'd Wyek I know not whether you have observ'd that the Names of Mastreicht and Vtrecht are both deriv'd from the word Trajectum which is their common Name in Latin Vtrecht was call'd inferius or ulterius Trajectum and was the passage of the Rhine And Mastreicht was nam'd Mosae Trajectum the passage of the Meuse and Trajectum superius or the upper Passage About Three a-clock in the Afternoon we left Mastreicht LIEGE and arriv'd the same Evening at Liege which we found so full of People The Bishop's Seat was formerly at Tongres from whence it was transferr'd to Mastreicht and from thence to Liege Heiss by reason of the Ceremony of the Bishop's Election that we could not be accommodated with Beds Liege is a pretty large City populous and adorn'd with some fine Structures of which the Cathedral Church and the Bishop's Palace are the two principal Formerly there was not a Chapter in the whole Empire so honourable as that of Liege The Annals of this City relate that in the year 1131 when the Emperor Lotharius II. was crown'd in this place by Pope Innocent II the Chapter that assisted at the Ceremony was compos'd of nine Sons of Kings fourteen Sons of Dukes who were Soveraign Princes nine and twenty
and Towers separated from the Body of the Church but they are perfect Strangers to such Steeples as that of this Cathedral Thirty paces from the same Church there is a Well where we observ'd that the Iron branches on which the Pully hangs are adorn'd with Foliages and were told that they were wrought by a famous Smith call'd Quintin Mathys This Anvil-beater became enamour'd of a Painter's Daughter and had the good Fortune to touch her Heart he was handsom witty and ingenious and besides was Master of a considerable Fortune for a man of his Profession but the Painter would by no means be perswaded to give his Daughter to a Black-smith The old man's Obstinacy did not dishearten Quintin his Love animated him and taught him to overcome that difficulty he exchang'd his Hammer for a Pencil and in a little time equal'd and even surpass'd the best Painters in Antwerp after which he receiv'd the dear Reward of his Labours This generous Lover dy'd Anno 1529 and was buried at the Foot of the Cathedral near the great Portal the following Verse is engrav'd on the Wall over his Tomb. CONNVBIALIS AMOR DE MVLCIBRE FECIT APELLEM Love metamorphos'd Vulcan to Apelles Plantin's Printing-house remains in some measure to this very day 't is now in the possession of Moretus who is also a very skilful Printer The Water of the Scheld being always brackish before Antwerp and the Fountains of the City not sufficient to serve the Brewhouses they were forc'd to be at the charge of bringing a new supply of Water by a Canal which empties its self into a great Cistern out of which the Water is rais'd by Engines to a large Bason from whence 't is distributed by forty Pipes to as many Brewhouses The Brewers are fix'd to that number by reason of the great scarcity of Water which they have only at certain hours and every one knows when to open the Cock of his Pipe Some Authors relate That Charles the Fifth passing thro' Paris to show his contempt of that City said he would put it in his * In French Gan signifies a Glove and Ghent is also call'd Gant In the year 1427 the Count of Nassaw Baron de Diestein the Marquess of Bergopzom and the Baron of Wesemale caus'd the Circuit of several great Cities to be measur'd for a Wager and they found as it appears by an authentic Record still extant that the Circumference of Lovain exceeds that of Ghent by three Rods or sixty Feet Voyage to Flanders Glove meaning That it might be contain'd in Ghent The Jests of great Princes are commonly receiv'd as Oracles and this little Story whether true or false has doubtless occasion'd the ridiculous mistake of several Authors who speak of Ghent as of the greatest City in Europe I know not whether it might not be contain'd in the Suburb of St. Germans but I 'm sure it will appear very inconsiderable if it be compar'd to Paris 'T is true Ghent is a City but Paris is a little World After all it must be acknowledg'd that Ghent is a very pleasant place 't is a fine City neat prettily built in a good Air and convenient situation whereas at Paris the Houses hide the City here they are not so thick but that the Town may be easily view'd The French King took it in six days notwithstanding the Inundations of its Sluces Ann. 1678. It receives great Advantages from the neighbourhood of the Scheld and Lys there is a Bridge over the latter on which there are two Statues of Brass representing one Man ready to cut off another's Head The same Figures are to be seen in a large Picture in the Town-house with this Inscription written below Ae Gandt le en Fandt fraepe sae Pere se taete desuu maeis se heppe rompe si graece de Dieu 1371. I know not whether you can understand this Gaulish or rather old Walloon Tongue without the help of an Interpreter A Gand says the Inscription l'Enfant frappe son Pere dessus la teste mais son épée romp par la grace de Dieu To explain the meaning of it they told us the following Story A Father and his Son being convicted of a certain Crime receiv'd Sentence of Death but afterwards a Pardon was offer'd to either of 'em that would be the other's Executioner This rigorous Mercy inspir'd both the unhappy Wretches with a desire of dying and they contended obstinately for that which they esteem'd the more advantageous part of so cruel a Choice but at last the Father prevail'd he had a greater Strength of Mind and the length of his Life had weaken'd the desire of it After the Son had resolv'd to take away the Life of him to whom he ow'd his own and had already put himself in a posture to give the fatal blow the Sword either broke in the Air or the Blade flew out of the Handle which Accident being interpreted as a particular Effect of Providence both the Malefactors were set at liberty The ancient Building call'd the Princes Court was heretofore the Palace of the Counts of Flanders We went thither to see the Chamber where Charles the Fifth was * The Prelates of Ghent presented him with a Bible as soon as he was born with these words written on it Study this Book Act. Her de Ch. V. born which is so little a Room that 't is impossible there could ever be a Bed in it and yet there is an ancient Inscription which proves evidently that this is the place where that Prince came into the World However Ghent has no reason to boast of giving birth to so great a Prince In the Church of the Nuns call'd Beguines there is a miraculous Crucifix with an open Mouth It happen'd one day during the time of the Carnaval that all the Sisterhood went abroad to take their Pleasure leaving only one of their Companions at home who was perhaps as great a lover of the Sport as any of the rest and unable to bear so great an Affront went to make her Complaint to the Crucifix from which she receiv'd the following Answer Grieve not my Daughter to morrow thou shalt rejoice with me at my eternal Wedding This Prophecy was entirely accomplish'd for the Beguin dy'd the next day and the Crucifix remain'd ever afterwards with its Mouth open for he us'd it so roughly afterwards that it had been better for that City he had never been born 'T is observ'd that his birth happen'd on St. Matthias's day and that afterwards on the same day he was proclaim'd Emperor and took King Francis I. Prisoner The Cathedral is a vast Structure dedicated to St. Bavon Here I observ'd an Epitaph on a certain Prelate which tho' plain and short is perhaps more expressive than the most studied Elogies Ecclesia Antistitem amisit Respublica Virum The Church has lost a Bishop And the Commonwealth a Man From Ghent we embark'd on the Canal that
Counts of the Sacred Empire and eight Barons But now any Licentiate Doctor in the University of Lovain may be a Canon of Liege This City is divided by the Meuse into two parts of which that on the left side of the River is the principal They are join'd by a fair Stone-bridge which gives a passage under its Arches to great Barks which bring all sorts of Merchandise and are very convenient for Trade Coal is also found in France in some parts of Auvergne and in Forests There are many Armorers in this place who are drawn hither without doubt for the conveniency of Coal which is found here and burnt as commonly as at London 'T is call'd Houille from a certain Smith nam'd Good-man le Houilloux by whom they pretend it was first discover'd They add that a Ghost under the shape of an old Man cloth'd in white shew'd him the Mine The Vineyards with which the little Hills of Liege are almost wholly cover'd deserve to be taken notice of because of the Climate tho' the Wine is not strong The same Hills contain Quarries of very fine black Marble Departing from Liege we pass'd in sight of Tongres and Saintron and lay at the little City of Tilmont Tilmont or Tirlemont The next day we din'd at Lovain and arriv'd in the Evening at Brussels where we still remain LOVAIN the Metropolitan See of Brabant One of the Laws of the University ordains that Whoremongers should be Beheaded with a Wooden Saw and Pimps or those that are accessory to the committing of Whoredom banish'd It was formerly the Privilege of the Dean of the Canons to receive the Oath from the Duke of Brabant at his accession to the Soveraignty The Well in the Castle is remarkable for its depth and an Eccho that resounds in it There is a Tower in the City call'd Verloren Kost or Charge Lost because the People of Lovain intended to have built Seven other Towers like to this but were prevented by some Accidents so that they erected only one Voyage to Flanders by a nameless Author There are some Vineyards about Lovain Lovain the second City of Brabant is very large and pleasantly built 't is said there are some Monuments in it of the age of Caesar We visited several fair Churches the Town-house the School of Medicine and some other considerable Structures but in my Opinion the Vniversity is its greatest Ornament which was founded by John IV Duke of Brabant in the year 1425. It contains Five and forty endow'd Colleges with Schools of Divinity Law and Physick An Inhabitant of Lovain who happen'd to be in an Inn where we were offer'd to carry us to a Convent a quarter of a league from the City where he promis'd to procure us a sight of several Curiosities but we had not time to accept of his Kindness He told us that among other things there was in that Monastery a Genealogical Stem of the House of Croüy by which it appear'd that the Head of that Family now living was descended in a right line from Adam An English Gentleman to whom I related the Story t'other day assur'd me that he knew several Families in Wales who produce like Catalogues of their Ancestors But don't ye think they might content themselves with deriving their Pedigree from Noah If these Gentelmen had read * See E. Pasquier Part 2 Book 19 Letter 6. Le Feron's Heraldry who informs us that Adam bore Three Fig-leaves in his Coat of Arms 't is probable they would not make use of any other Scutcheon I hope we shall meet with some noble Preadamites some time or other At Mr. Gutschoven's House who is a Physician and great Anatomist we saw several embalm'd Bodies dissected after divers methods and very well preserv'd in which the Veins Arteries Muscles Nerves c. are separated and distinguish'd from each other so that almost the entire Contexture of the Parts of a Human Body may be perfectly discern'd The Veins Arteries and even the least Fibres are fill'd with a certain red matter which makes 'em appear like so many Branches of Coral This is esteem'd a rare Curiosity I must not forget to mention another Rarity which we saw at Milan Some Dutch Mariners shew'd for Two-pence a Sea-Calf which they had taken on the Coast of Greenland and was grown so tame that he who had the chief care of it could make it play a hundred apish Tricks 'T is about the bigness of a Lamb fifteen days old its Hair is smooth soft and almost of an Olive colour it has a short Head with two Whiskers like a Cat Pinnis quibus in mari utuntur humi quoque vice pedum Serpunt Plin. and its four Feet end in Toes or Claws join'd like those of a Goose it walks and stands on its fore-feet and draws the other two after it which are always stretch'd backwards This Amphibious Creature is at present nourish'd with Milk I remember as we pass'd by the Hague almost a year ago a Lady of Zealand told me she had seen a tame Sea Dog at Tergoutz who eat all sorts of Victuals and bark'd like other Dogs but made a duller noise I have been long expecting with impatience to hear from you I entreat you to do me the favour to write to me as soon as you can I am very sincerely SIR Your c. Brussels Aug. 12. 1688. LETTER XXXVII SIR YOUR Reflexions on my last Letters and several other Passages in that which I receiv'd from you might furnish me with sufficient matter for a very long Answer but since I hope to have the honour to see you very speedily I shall defer the further consideration of these points till our meeting and at present only communicate to you some of those Observations I have made during our stay at Brussels I need not tell you BRUSSELS that this is the capital City of the Dutchy of Brabant and the ordinary Residence of the Governors of the Spanish Netherlands This City is of an oval Figure large populous enclos'd * On one side there are some neglected Fortifications which were never lin'd only with a Wall and Ditches and situated partly in a Plain and partly on the Brow of a little Hill The low Town is divided by great Canals which are fill'd by the little River Senne and communicate with that of the Scheld These Canals are navigable by Barks of a considerable burthen and are very convenient for Trade The Air of Brussels is very good the public places are adorn'd with Fountains the Streets are of a convenient breadth and well pav'd the Houses large and commodious and the whole neighbouring Country is extreamly fertile The People of Brussels and generally of all Brabant are free kind civil and perhaps a little too easie but notwithstanding all their Simplicity they change their Humor when they are provok'd and have on some occasions given sufficient Proofs of their Bravery The Palace usually call'd
the Court where the * The Marquess of Castanaga 1688. Since the first Edition of this Book the Elector of Bavaria was made perpetual Governour 1691. Governour resides is neither regular nor magnificent and at most can be call'd moderately beautiful but the prospect of the Park from its principal Apartments is extreamly pleasant Descending from the Palace to the Park on the end of a Wall near the little Garden I observ'd a great Gun the Story of which deserves to be related but that I may not detain you too long I shall only subjoin the †The sum of which is that one of the Enemy's Ships being blown up by a Shot that Cannon together with a young Maid were carried thro' the Air and fell in the Palace and that the Governess of the Netherlands order'd the Maid to be educated Inscription which is engrav'd on a piece of Marble beneath the Cannon Dederit ne viam Casúsve Deúsve Mirabili certe casu Hostilis navis tormentis Regiis perforata Cum accenso pulvere crepuisset Hoc tormentum unà Juvenculam Altè sublatam in Regis Praetorio deposuit Adeo tutum in Rege non solum Innocentia Sed etiam supplex hostilitas perfugium habet ISABELLA CLARA EUGENIA BELGII PRINCEPS in rei monumentum Tormentum hîc deponi Juvenculam ali jussit From the Garden or Flower-plot you ascend to the Park which is planted with Oaks Beech-trees and Walnut-trees and contains a great number of Deer It s lovely Alleys make one of the pleasantest Walks about the City and you may also walk quite round the Ramparts almost always between two rows of Trees On the other side of the Park there is a little House of Pleasure which was * After he had resign'd his Power he retir'd to this House and stay'd there five or six months built by Charles the Fifth and where among other things the Cradle of that Emperor is still preserv'd In the great Hall of the other Palace he resign'd the Kingdom of Spain to his Son Philip. Not far from thence they shew'd us a large Gallery full of several sorts of Arms and Furniture for Turnaments besides ancient Suits of Harness or Armour of several Emperors Kings Archdukes and other Princes or great Captains In the same place they have also taken care to preserve the Memory of three illustrious Horses whose Skins are glu'd on artificial Horses of the same stature with the Originals They told us That one of these Horses was sold for 12000 Crowns to Philip II who made a Present of him to Lewis de Requesens great Commander of Castil and †After the Duke of Alva Governour of the Netherlands The second had the Honour to bear the Infanta Isabella when she made her Entry into Brussels And the third sav'd the Life of Archduke Albert at the Siege of Ostend One of my Friends gave me the Epitaph of the last of these Animals whose Name was Noble you will find in it a Reflexion worthy of a Horse of Merit Siste gradum Spectator ego de nomine dicor Nobilis at Virtus nomine major erat Archiduci Alberto prostravi terga tenacem Cum circa Ostendam Martia Erinnys erat Hunc ipsum eripui pugnantem hostilibus armis Cum Mors sanguineum falce parabat opus Me magis ardebat Miles quia Virginis instar Cernebat niveâ crescere fronte jubam Hinc ut me raperet crebrò sua spicula enses In caput ignoti struxerat Archiducis Evasi eduxique Virum meque ipse reduxit Incolumem Nostrae non erat hora necis Ast anno vertente die quo evasimus ambo Nobilis interii Cernite qualis eram There is a very odd Custom in this City that Coaches are drawn by Dogs as usually as by Horses These Dogs are not extraordinarily big They Harness three or four Mastiffs whom they place at one another's side and make 'em draw prodigious weights I am certainly inform'd that on a Wager two of those Animals drew five Men in a Coach from one end of the City to the other Besides which is the main conveniency in this way of carriage Dogs may be kept at a much easier rate than Horses and here there are Eating houses or Half-penny Ordinaries for 'em where they may fill their Bellies with Flesh taken from the Dunghills and such other Victuals †I believe M. is guilty of a Mistake which doubtless proceeded from his misunderstanding the following Passage in Dionys Halic Mihi sane tria magnificentissima videntur ex quibus maxime apparet magnitudo Romani Imperii Aquaeductus viae Stratae Cloacae reputanti non solum utilitatem operum verum etiam impensarum magnitudinem quam vel hinc licet conjicere quod ut affirmat C. Aquilius neglectas aliquando Cloacas non transmittentes aquas Censores mille talentis purgandas locaverint According to F. Nardin 's Calculation a Thousand Talents are equivalent to Six hundred thousand Crowns of Gold Since it has been observ'd by some Authors that the Roman Censors caus'd the * Filth that was taken ex latrinis or out of the Common-shores to be * M. confines the meaning of the Phrase to hominum stercora or Human Excrements but this is a second Error for the Cloaca maxima was the Common-shore or Sink of all manner of Filth and Nastiness according to Livy Receptaculum omnium purgamentorum Urbis sold and that the price of it in one year amounted to Six hundred thousand Crowns I may venture to acquaint you that they drive the same Trade at Brussels They gather all the Filth of the City very carefully into one place and after it is duly fermented it is bought and sold like other Commodities I had the fortune one day to pass by that place just as three or four Dutch Barks were taking in their sweet Lading this put me in mind of Juvenal's Reflexion which I think could never be more fitly apply'd lucri bonus ex re Qualibet You know Vespasian's Answer to Titus concerning the Imposition on Urine As they are great Lovers of Flowers in Holland and Flanders they take particular care to preserve this sort of Dung to make Beds for 'em and I fancy the odoriferous Smell of those Flowers might furnish matter for a Riddle not unlike to that of Sampson's Honey To change the Subject of our Discourse I can assure you that there are few Cities in this Country so well furnish'd with good Company as Brussels Almost all the Inhabitants speak French there is a great number of Persons of Quality the Ladies are handsom and a Stranger may be easily introduc'd into the best company Four or five great Streets of the low Town form an Island and at the same time a kind of Circle where they usually take the Air in Coaches every Evening and even in Winter as well as in Summer for they chuse rather to take their Pleasure in Coaches than