to the other expences which the Republick is oblig'd to in cleaning the Canals of Venice and for the maintenance of such as Lie Commodious and useful to the City there are certain Summs arising from several Impositions that are to this purpose given and particularly applied to these matters Beâ—ides the Inhabitants of the Country are all oblig'd by some Light consideration to so many Days Work each man The Summs which the Republick pays for interest of money upon the Zecque or Treasury Chamber are comprehended within the Calculation of Ten Millions but since the Peace of Candia the Republick hath discharg'd her self of the great Interest she payed for Sums lent upon the Bank of Venice by Incorporating them into the Constitution at three per cent but as they only payed the half of that Interest by Reason of the great Necessities of the State during the late War so they have turn'd the Arrears into Principal for which is allowed two per cent The Republick hath moreover reduc'd to five all other Summs that were formerly at six seven and eight per cent There being a great deal due to the Officers that had served the Republick in the late Wars they thought fit to Publish a declaration importing that no Officers should be payed but those whose accounts were admitted and even they were only to receive the half of what appeared in their accounts the Republick did not only thus avoid taking notice of the damage she did to particulars by these sorts of Retrenchments that so much Augmented her Treasure by considerably diminishing her charge but they likewise order no payment that is not ballotted in the College and Senate so they are sure to be oppress'd with charges that prosecute their debts for her custom is to pay no more than a very moderate part at a time By these means the Republick in times of Peace does every year bring several Millions into the Coffers of the Treasury Which is the more easy by reason their Treasury is not only manag'd with an exact fidelity but likewise because there can be no new Employ made without having a General consent By this it appears that it will be do difficult matter for the Republick to acquit her self in a very small time of all the debts she contracted in the late War although they were esteem'd at above fourscore Millions of Livers End of the Second Part. OF THE CITY AND REPUBLICK OF VENICE The Third Part. Of the Customs and Manner of Living of the Venetian Gentlemen and Ladies as likewise of other Secular and Regular Persons with the Description of the Publick Diversions of Venice LONDON Printed for Charles Brome at the Gun at the West-End of St. Paul 's Church-Yard 1699. OF THE CITY AND Republick of VENICE The Third Part. Of the Education and Manners of the Young Nobility IF it be true That Education does not contribute less to the Improvement of Youth than the Natural Disposition to Good one ought not to wonder at the young Noble Venetians who not being restrain'd by those Considerations that usually engage Young People to the Principles of Vertue or at least that preserves them from Vice should Live so Irregularly and shew so little Moderation in their Conduct I pretend to speak now only of the Young Nobility as not designing to engage my self here to a General Description of the Customs and Inclinations of the Venetians which will be sufficiently shewn in the course of this Account The Fathers and Mothers here are so infinitely Fond of their Children that they never lay any restraint upon them for whom they have so great a Complacency as never to deny them any thing they desire They are no sooner able to go but they begin to Cloath them with the Richest things and at Five or Six Years Old they put them into the black Habit and Cloak ruffled with Gold or Silver-Laces their fondness even reaches the Shoes for they are then rais'd with very high Heels which are to make them look Taller than they really are and doubtless this may be one reason of their Walking so very ill as they do ever afterwards It is not anly this blind Affection of the Parents that first begins to corrupt the Manners of their Young People by rendring them Haughty Imperious Lascivious and violent in all their Passions but the sordid Flattery of their Domestick Servants does strangely help to increase the Ill For those Creatures think to establish their Fortunes by getting these Young Gentlemen to be their fast Protectors for which purpose they use their utmost endeavours as being well assured that there is nothing that they may not hope for at Venice when they are under the protection of one of their Powerful Houses upon which Considerations these Children are Ador'd and Regarded as the certain hope of their rising Fortune These Gentlemen being thus early accustom'd to be Treated like Princes and finding no opposition to the Career of their Desires do insensibly possess themselves with the thoughts of being Superior to all other Persons of Quality but when they begin to perceive that they are the only Mighty in the State they then elevate the Notion to that degree as to become Insupportable to all others For which Reason it is very rare for Strangers to find much Civility from those People unless it be among those that have learn'd the Rules of good Breeding in other Countries of which number such as have seen France do much distinguish themselves from the rest One may vainly imaginy that if this Young Nobility is not engag'd to the Study of good Letters by the Natural Inclination join'd to a great disposition of Learning there cannot be many expected to penetrate very far into the knowledge of the Sciences insomuch that whatever Care is taken about the Instruction of these Gentlemen either in the School or their Houses yet they are not to be prevail'd upon to exceed what they themselves think fit In the mean time the Parents do not much trouble themselves about the matter for they are contented with the hopes of seeing them Venetian Politians at last However in this numerous Nobility there are some Gentlemen that Naturally take to Study which they follow with great Success So soon as these Young Gentlemen are Sixteen or Seventeen Years Old they begin to Associate with those of a more advanc'd Age and to pursue their Pleasures with the amplest liberty As they do not want Precedenrs in the Company they keep nor for Opportunities in this Famous City of Venice so it may easily be imagined without any farther Instances what sort of a Life they lead Such as have Money commonly spend it in Pleasure for they are not contented with one Courtisan but employ it to the Support of several Their Parents are so far from opposing the Libertinism that on the contrary they usually contribute to the Excess or at best but shut their Eyes to the Extravagancy of their Conduct The Son of a
Line and Tropicks in which places the Flux hath the most considerable effects From hence it comes that the Tides make but a small impression upon the Mediterranean which not being able to move the Waters causeth in them only Currents in many places as may be observ'd in the Sea of Genoa the Phare of Messina and several other Islands of the Archipelago But as the Adriatick Sea is a Gulph of the Meditarrenean and the most Northern part of it so consequently the impression it suffers being neither interrupted or stopt by such Coasts at the mouth of the Gulph that hinders its flowing in most other places so it must indubitably occasion the Waters to fall in here keeping their course along the Coasts to the very utmost end of the Gulf where being stopt they must necessarily rise until they have attained a moderate height This is exactly what is observ'd in this Sea for upon the Coasts of Calabria and the Kingdom of Naples you can only remark a setting of the Water without any manner of Elevation but in the middle of the Gulph and at Ancona the Flood begins to be visibly apparent which becomes infinitely more sensible at Rimini Ravenna upon the Lido of Venice and at Aquilea which lies directly in the very bottom of the Gulph The Flux of the Ocean is greater as it is distant from the places where it begins which is between the Two Tropicks consequently causing the Tides to be much higher upon the Northern than upon the Southern Coasts so the Tide of the Adriatick Gulph making only a small impression in the beginning by degrees appears at the lower end of the Sea a very considerable Tide and the more by reason this motion ever gains new force by its continuation So I am at present to give my reason for the Tides being much higher in the Lagunes and Canals of Venice than they are even in the Gulph it self I attribute it to the nature and disposition of the Place which I have already describ'd in the beginning of this part shewing them to be Plains that the Sea overflow'd when she made those Breaches in that Neck of Land which formerly denied her entrance For that little the Flood is in the Sea is by these natural Dikes which sustain the violencies and afterward permitting an open passage into the Lagunes mightily increas'd especially after having pass'd those Channels formerly mention'd it comes to be of so much consideration by many reasons more palpable than those I have alledg'd that what is not but little considerable in the Sea occasions of course a very considerable Flood in the Lagunes In short there is Six hours Tide of Flood which being stopt by the Coasts of Terra firma it then commonly rises to the height of Four foot in the Canals of Venice so takes its Course to the Sea through the Waters being fallen by the Ebbe of the Gulph which affords it the requisite means of returning in the same space of time and through the same places that the Flood brought it into the Lagunes One may in a Calm Season at the Mouth of the Lido observe with much pleasure the making of the Tide you see of a sudden and from time to time behold certain great Waves that mount themselves above the smooth surface of the Water which after having for some time held a murmuring and impetuous Course do at length loose themselves in the Lagunes at considerabe distance from the place where they first appear'd In this manner the Water is rais'd by the Flood and the Lagunes Swell'd like a great Sea whose Islands in the middle seem to be as many Sands and half drown'd Cities At or about half Ebbe you begln to see the Lagunes lie uncover'd of Wâ—ter which then seem to be about the City so many fine Meadows cross which the Tide hath made several Canals for the discharge of the Waters which are at all times deep enough for the greatest Barque to which purpose the most considerable of them are as hath been observed set out with Piles by which they keep on their Way when the Lagunes are cover'd without any danger of running aground It is nothing less particular than agreeable to behold the Canals of this City that seem to be so many Rivers change the Course of their Stream every Six hours which is more remarkable in the great Canals but especially in such as are long straight and whose extremities lie to the Sea they receive the Water directly without any circulation which must always diminish something of that Force attending the motions of the Ebbe and Flood of these Tides It is observable at Venice that the Canals after the Winter Solstice and espcially in February are drain'd so very low that they are frequently not able to make use of their Gondola's for several Hours between the times of Ebbe and Flood excepting the great Canal which by reason of the great Currant there both in the ebbing and flowing of the Tides does always preserve a sufficient depth without being ever cleansed which they are frequently oblig'd to do with extraordinary charges in the other Canals of Venice Upon the blowing of the Syroc which is the South-east Wind the Tide flows so high as to cover with Water all the Keys of the City the quarter from whence this Wind comes does directly answer the Situation of the Gulph and so mightily augments the strength of the Tide that the Sea did once overflow all the Streets and Places and fill'd with salt Water all the Wells of Venice End of the First Part. OF THE CITY AND Republick of Venice PART II. Of the Foundation of the Republick of Venice and their Form of Government The First Rise of Venice THE Manner of Peopling the Isles of the Lagunes and the Qualities of their first Inhabitants are variously represented Some bring them from the City of Vannes in Britany by reason they were called Veneti in Caesar's Commentaries others will have it that they were Originally only Fishers As if the best Provinces of Italy such as those are in the State of Venice could probably want Inhabitants and that the Advantagious Situation of these Islands was not likely to draw to them some considerable Persons as well as so many Poor Eugitives in that Calamitous time which furnish'd this Countrey with Inhabitants For my own part I shall not detain my self here to assert my Opinion as being contented to follow the most probable Conjectures and such which best shew us the true beginnings of the City and Republick of Venice After the Emperour Constantine the Great had remov'd the Seat of the Empire to Constantinople Italy was afflicted with a long continuance of mis-fortunes and frequently harrass'd with the Invasions of the Barbarians In the Year 407 the Goths under their King Radagaisius over-run Italy putting all to Fire and Sword The Neighbouring People to the Lagunes found their safest Protection in those Maritime Islands in the most part of which Isles were
Podestate and the Captain about the matter of Jurisdiction so they are oblig'd to give the Senate an account of it before they proceed further the Podestate hath the precedency in all Publick Functions where they appear together so it is he who hath the burden of the most important affairs for the Cognisance of Causes Civil and Criminal and whatsoever regards the Government the Peace and Quiet of the People belong to him The Captain of Arms hath the command of the Souldiers and all Military People within the Limits of his Jurisdiction he hath the Cognisance of Crimes committed in the night and the care of paying the Publick charges by the means of the Receivers who are accountable to him The Cities of Padua Vicenza Verona Bressia Bergamo Crema and Treviso as the head Cities of Provinces and the most considerable upon Terra Firma have each of them a Podestate and a Captain of Arms. In the other â—ess considerable Cities these two Employs are united in the Person of the Podestate they are both of them for Sixteen Months and the Salaries the Republick allows these Officers are from Ten to Forty Ducats a Month for which Reason the Nobles which she deputes into the Great Cities are usually very considerable for their Riches to the end they may live handsomly and honour the dignity the poor Nobles do sufficiently find their accounts in the small Podestary's by not being obliged to any manner of expence As most of the Great Podestaries are very burthensome so the Gentlemen Nominated to them do sometimes rather choose to pay two thousand Ducats and to be debarr'd coming into the Great Council for two years than to accept those Employs which are more Prejudicial to them than these Penalties which the Laws impose upon such as refuse them yet is is a very Surprising thing how some of these Podestats as those commonly sent to Vicenza who are scarce Thirty Years of Age and who rarely have perform'd any other study or acquir'd further experience than what they have gained in the Intrigues and Ballotations of the Great Council should Judge and decide with so Singular a Prudence the most important affairs relating to the Subjects of the Republick It is true they always call to their Assistance Doctors of Civil Law in the Cities of their residence by whose advice they Regulate the decisions of the more difficult cases The Republick always sends a Noble of the first order into the Province of Frivoli with the title of Proveditor General of Nova Palma which is the handsomest and most regular Place in all their Diminions upon Terra Firma it is a Frontier Town to the Emperor and a mighty check against those Incursions that the Turks have frequently attempted on this side At Dine which is the residence of the Patriarch of Aquilea there is a Lieutenant and some Subaltern Officers In Istria of which Capo'd Istria is the Capital there are four Episcopal Cities and five less considerable who have all Podestats The Magistracies of Frivoli and Istria are for two years as likewise those of Dalmatia and the Isles of the Levant by being too far to be oftner removed The Republick confers the titles of Proveditors Counts Governours Captains or Castellans upon such Nobles as she sends into the Cities of Dalmatia for the Administration of Justice the Magistrates of the two principal places the Counties of Zara and Spalatro being two Archbishopbricks are assisted by a Council of three Noble Venetians without whom they are not to come to any Resolution yet all these Officers obey the Proveditor of the Province who hath an absolute command in these affairs as likewise in those of the Military concern The Troupes maintain'd by the Republick in this Province which borders upon the territories of the Grand Seignior are however commanded by a foreign General who is in all occasions to follow the orders of the Proveditor General The Isles of Corfu Zante and Cafalonia are each of them Governed by a Proveditor assisted by a Council of three Noble Venetians Corfu is the most considerable not only for being an Archbishopbrick but likewise because it commands the entrance of the Gulph therefore the Venetians provide for the Security of this place with so much more Application as it is the Preservation of their Levant Trade and observed with the Greatest Jealousie by the Turks The Four Thousand Janisaries that appear'd not long since upon the Coast over against Corfu occasioned to the Senate a mighty uneasiness Notwithstanding the strength and good condition of the Fortress of this Important place There is a General of the three Islands to whom the particular Proveditors owe the same obedience which the Magistrates of the Cities of Dalmatia do to the Proveditor General of this Province These are the Officers to whom is confided the Authority of the Prince in the several States of the Republick Yet as there is no part in the Body of the strongest and Healthfullest Man that is not liable to be abus'd by ill Management so there are no Laws in the best ordered State that can prevent the Corruption of some Members that compose it The Republick therefore hath thought sit to make use of the Inquisitors to prevent and cure at the same time both these Distempers Of the Inquisitors of Terra Firma THE Republick commonly holds every five years in all the Provinces an Extrordinary Court or Session and for this purpose chooses out three of the first Senators to whom is given the Name of Inquisitors of Terra firma to distinguish them from those of the State but as this Commission is in no manner agreeable to them by reason of the Severity they are oblig'd to shew against such as are complained of so they only accept of it as not daring to refuse it they are to examine into the administration of the Podestats the behaviour of the Captains and other Publick Officers as likewise to receive the People's complaints against their behavour and to do them Justice in the wrongs received but excepting of Extortion and the ill application of the publick revenues the Noble Venetians need not much fear the Punishments that are due to an irregular Administration These severe Magistrates go attended with a Troop of Horse Officers and an Executioner that so they may seeing they have sufficient power and Authority render a quick and rigorous Justice upon the Lawful complaints of the People yet Notwithstanding the great noise of these examining Inquisitors the Tempest Lights commonly upon some Miserable Wretch or Gentleman of Terra firma their Gentry having more cause of apprehension than any others whatever as being the People that are most Liable to be made Examples This Severity keeps the Magistrates to their Duty the Country Nobility in fear and Submission and insinuates to the People the Mildness and equity of the Goverment under which they live As the Provinces of Terra firma are in a manner under the eyes of the Republick so the
the five Sages of Terra firma There is for each place a little Seat of gilt Leather with little moving desks both high and Flat to Separate them from each other which by drawing to them when they please makes Room for such as are to have place in their Audience according to the different Characters they appear in The five Sages of the order are set upon a bench with a back to it which is plac'd below on the left hand without the Estrade and underneath the Sages of Terra firma the Secretaries of the College some of whom are Interpreters at the Audiences of Embassadours and other forreign Ministers who have their places upon a bench on the other side but at a much greater distance from the Throne of the Prince Of the Doge IT may be observed by what is said that since the Republick hath been govern'd by Doges there hath happen'd no alteration in their Method of Government which hath not tended to the Diminution of the Princes Authority insomuch that the last reform at the Serrar del Consiglio in the Year 1289 depriv'd the Doges of the Credit then remaining to them upon the Creation of that Council which was one Hundred and Seventeen Years before this reform The Senat knows perfectly well that the Liberty of the Republick is Incompatible with the Interests of a Prince that shall pretend himself to be above the Laws therefore they have not only Subjected the Doge without any manner of Reservation but they have likewise added some as to his particular which do in many cases render his condition Inferiour to that of a private Senatour thus from being formerly Prince of the Republick he is now become a meer Image and the Real shadow of that Majesty which the Senate truely preserves within the Limits of her own Power only Nevertheless they raise to the Dogal Dignity such Senatours as have most distinguish'd themselves by their particular Services and they are usually taken from being Procurators of Saint Mark or that have honourably supported the Dignity of Embassadours the Supreme command of their Fleets or that have exercis'd the Principal Functions of the State But as the Senate Introduces them into this high place to make use of their Names only in the Government so the ablest Senatours are not always the most fit Persons for that Station The advanc'd Age easy temper and the Illustrious Birth are the three principal and most essential qualities that promote them to the dignity Reason of State requires their Princes to be particularly mild and peaceable that so they may yield and submit the easier to their sentiments as have a greater share than he in the Government Dominico Contarini lately Doge did not pass through all the degrees that usually raise the Noble Venetian to this Dignity for he was at the time of his being Elected Doge improving the Pleasures of his Country Seat but he being of one of the most Illustrious Families and which hath at several times afforded Eight Doges to this Republick to which may be added an evenness of Temper an Affability so charming and his Person so Noble and Majestical that he equally gained both the Love and Veneration of the Nobility and People The Young Gentlemen especially were so taken with his Merit that I have oftentimes hear'd them say aloud upon observing of him in the Administration of the publick Functions Le adorabile quel vectio Nicolas Sagredo who succeeded him is the first Doge of this Family which is of the Second class or order of Nobility he was made for his great Merits Procurator of Saint Mark having been a great while in the most considerable Employs of the Republick and actually had the greatest share in the Government of the State Insomuch that his Elevation must be rather ascrib'd to his own perticular Merits than to the Factions of his Friends Notwithstanding the severity of the Conditions that attend the Dogal Dignity yet there were never so many known to stand for it as upon this Election or so many Persons capable to discharge the Duties of this great Place This Dignity is no ways less burthensome to the Family than it is to the Person of the Doge for his Brothers Sons and Grandsons can have no considerable Employs in the Republick which have any Affinity with the Government if they have any or chance to be Embassadours they are oblig'd to quit those Affairs upon his Election If the Doge is a Married Man his Wife is not Treated with the Title of Princesse neither hath the Senate thought fit to Crown them this last Age as being desirous either to Moderate the Ambition of the Women or to save those great Sums that were expended upon the Coronation of the last Princess Wife to the Doge Martin Crimani The particular restraint that is laid upon the persons of the Doges as likewise their ways of living and all these other Circumstances of that condition together are not sufficient to deter such Families as have given no Doges to the Republick from making their utmost Efforts to attain this Honour by which they do not only hope to bring themselves into a much greater consideration but likewise to Establish their Fortunes by the Sums they may acquire if the Doge happens to live many Years after his Election which is one of the Reasons why the Doge is Created for Life besides if it was for a certain space of time only he would not be so much consider'd in all other Courts neither would the Senate be able to keep him in the great restraint that is now imposed upon him through the Fear of being depos'd or of a retrospection into his conduct after Death to the mighty Prejudice of his whole Family As the Republick hath sometimes forc'd their Princes to assume and continue this Dignity so they have likewise depos'd others whose Age or Infirmities have rendred them useless to the State yet in reality the Republick makes a greater use of their name than their presence upon which Apprehensions the Doge never desists from going to the Colledge and all other Courts of Justice to which the Duties of his Station oblige him unless he finds himself altogether uncapable of doing it therefore I do not in the least doubt but that Dominico Contarini did expect some such Resolution upon his long Indisposition of the Palsy that deprived him for Eighteen Months of the use of one side of his Body For when any Embassadour sent to compliment him he always concluded his thanks with his being much better and that he was in hopes to see the Embassadour in a little time at the College The Doge presides in all the Councils but he is esteem'd Prince of the Republick only at the head of the Senate at the Tribunals where he assists and in the Ducal Palace of Saint Mark out of which places he hath much less Authority than some other particular Persons for he dares not engage in any business
whatever There are some who have reported in their writings that it is Lawful to affront or kill him upon finding him out of the City and that he hath not the Liberty to go out of his Palace It is true that there hath been formerly very severe Regulations as to this matter but things are not carried to that Exiremity at present however he goes not out of the City without asking in a manner leave of his Councellors Dominico Contarini went frequently to see his Daughters and Nieces that were in several Nunneries as likewise very often every Year to his Country House to enjoy the Air of the Continent When the Doge goes out of the City he is not attended with any External Marks that may distinguish him from any other Venetian Gentleman his apparel is then a gray close Bodied Coat and his sword by his side if any Noble happens to meet him he seems not to know him to avoid rendring those respects that are due to him when he is with the Republick who are the same thing in his absence as when he is present upon any particular Visits that the Doge makes in the City he is only attended like another Noble with a Valet de Chambre and two Gondalo's neither is that discernable from another but by a Carpet and two flower'd Sattin Cushions against the Back-board which small marks of Dignity are so far from being exposed that the Gondaliers most an end cover them all with the black Curtains of the Gondalo His Dress is on these occasions like those of the Counsellors which is Purple but he wears a General 's Cap of the same Colour with his Vest it is round made of Paste-board only four Fingers high the Crown flat and the circumference of the whole double to what the Entrance of the Head is They give the Doge the Title of your Screnity and Most Screne Prince and that he may be sensible that these Titles do not belong to his Person all Embassadors take care to use the same Expressions when they speak to the College seldom saying your Screnity without adding your Excellency's being confus'd Titles among which no difference ought to be made in this Assembly where the Majesty of the Republick is dilated upon all the Members that compose the College Altho all Dispatches are made in the Name of the Prince as likewise the Answers of Embassadors are address'd to him yet he cannot open them which may be done and answer'd without him and that he may continually remember that he only lends his Name to the Senate they forbear the Examination of all Propositions made to the College by Embassadors or other Ministers until such time as he and his Councellors are withdrawn then the Business is examin'd the Opinions of the Sages are taken upon which they draw the Deliberation into Writing which is delivered at the next Assembly of the Senate in the Presence of the Doge and his Counsellors where he hath only a single Vote with the other Senators to confirm or reject what was done in his Absence The Money of Venice bears the Name of the Doge but it is not made with his Impression upon the Coin as it was formerly in the time when the Doge had the absolute Power of the Government there being now instead of his Effigies a Doge in his Ducal Habits upon his Knees to St. Mark to shew that the Prince is the Subject of the Republick of which the Picture of St. Mark is the Hieroglyphick Yet in the Mint where the Money is Coin'd all private Persons upon paying the Duties to the Prince have the Liberty of Coining what Sums they please the Doge gives the Permission and enjoys the Advantages proceeding from it The Doge is allowed by the Republick fourteen thousand Ducats per Annum to defray his Houshold Expences and the Charges of treating four times in a Year all Embassadors the Seignory and such of the Senators as are assistant at those Festivals The ordinary Retinue of the Doge consists of two Valets de Chambre four Gondaliers and some other Servants the Republick discharges all other Officers that only wait upon him at publick Ceremonies He hath the Sellings of the Offices of Commanders of the Palace who are a sort of Serjeants as also the Ecuyers or Squires of the Doge which are 25 in number from these Profits and the Gifts of all Benefices belonging to St. Mark 's arise the principal Advantages of his Dignity The Republick hath not only invested the Prince with all the apparent marks of Sovereign Dignity but they have also obtain'd for him from the Popes and Kings the real Prerogatives of Royal Majesty and the preference next to Crown'd Heads of all other Princes in general It is to be admired that they should as it seems go contrary to these Advantages of Pre-eminency by reducing of him to the degree of all other Princes in respect of the Cardinals for when a Cardinal hath Audience he sits on the Right of the Doge in his own Chair that is made larger upon these Occasions and upon any particular Visit the Doge goes to receive him at his Gondalo These particular Visits as also those of Embassadors upon extraordinary Occasions are made with the Permission of the Senate which is desired at the College for the Doge hath it not in his Power to see whom he pleases and he lives so retired that one may say Solitude and Dependance are the most Essential Qualities of his Condition neither are these Visits very agreeable to the Senate who never give their Permissions but for want of a civil Excuse to avoid it The Count D' Avaux was the first that undertook to visit the Doge Dominico Contarini in his Sickness to which the Senate consented In this Occasion the Gentleman of the Doge and some other Officers are at the Landing-place of the Palace to conduct the Ambassadour to the Doge The Senate are sure in these Junctures to be punctually informed of the most insignificant Words that pass in the Discourse Altho the Marquis de la Fuente Ambassador of Spain was vex'd for being preceded in the Visit by Monsieur D' Avaux yet he demanded leave of the Senate to see the Doge esteeming that an Advantage which few Ambassadors receive in the whole Course of their Employs The Doge can only give general Answers to Embassadors upon the Propositions they intend to exhibit to the College for if he should word it so as to bring the Senate into the least Engagement he would not only meet with the Confusion of having it disown'd but would likewise expose himself to the most sensible Mortifications However if the Propositions of an Embassador are prejudicial to the Dignity of the Republick the Doge is not only supported in such a Juncture by answering in the Name of the Republick with all the Rigour of an incens'd Prince but he is moreover oblig'd to act in that Nature if he