/ 
 
FAMIJLIAIR JLETTEIRS 
 
 FROM 
 
 ITAI.Y- 
 
FAMILIAR 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 ITALY, 
 
 TO 
 
 A FRIEND IN ENGLAND. 
 BY PETER BECKFORD, ESQ. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 VADE, SED INCULTUS. 
 
 OViD. 
 
 ^ali.sibucp : 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY J. EASTON: 
 
 SOLD ALSO BY 
 
 J. HATCHARD, J. GINGER, PICCADILLY ; 
 
 KORNAVILLE AND FELL, NEW BOND-STREET; 
 
 f:ADELL AND DAVIES, I'AYNE AND MACKINLAY, 
 
 STRAND ; 
 
 AND J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUl's CHURCH-YARD, 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 1S05. 
 
r ' 
 
 ff 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 !M!any of the following Letters were written 
 in the year 1787; most of them before the 
 Invasion of Italy by the French. The many 
 changes that have happened since that time, 
 may, in some measure, render these Letters 
 useless ; but, as they will serve to shew what 
 Italy then was, they are offered by the 
 Author, with the greatest humility, to the 
 Candor of the Public. 
 
 CON- 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE FIRST VOLUME, 
 
 LETTER I.— PAGE 1. 
 
 -ILxTRODUCTiON — Intention of the following Letters. 
 
 LETTER IL— P. 8. 
 
 Travelling — Its Advantages — Enquiries necessary to render 
 it useful— Rules to be observed. 
 
 LETTER III.— P. 19. 
 
 Geneva — As a Summer Residence recommended — An ex- 
 traordinary Duel. 
 
 LETTER IV.— P. 33. 
 
 Voltaire and Rousseau — Some Anecdotes concerning them 
 — Beauties of Switzerland — William Tell — Battles of 
 Morat and St. Jacques. 
 
 LETTER v.— P. 45. 
 
 Passage of the Alps— Avalanche— Goitres — Mount Cenis 
 — Descent into Piedmont — Lucioles— Palace of Ri- 
 voli. 
 
 LETTER VI.— P. 59. 
 
 Turin — Commerce of Piedmont— Royal Villas — Accident 
 at Montcallier — Climate — Society and Manners. 
 
 LETTER VII.— P. 71. 
 Road to Milaii'-Cultivation of Rice—Death of Alboin. 
 
 LET- 
 
Vlll. 
 
 LETTER VIII.— P. 78. 
 Milan — Carnival — Society and INIanners — Extraordinary 
 Echo. 
 
 LETTER IX.— P. 89. 
 
 Genoa — Count de Ficsque — Marquis Botta — INIanners of 
 the People— Journey over the Apennines. 
 
 LETTER X.— P, 9S. 
 
 Cicisbeism. 
 
 LETTER XI.— P. lOi. 
 Piacenza — -Parma — Modena. 
 
 LETTER XII.— P. 112. 
 Bologna — Towers Asinelli and Garrizandi — University- 
 Institute — Madonna di St. Luca — Pietra Mala. 
 
 LETTER XIIL— P. II9. 
 
 Florence — River Arno— Bridge — Duomo— Campanile — 
 
 San Giovanni. 
 
 LETTER XIV—P. 131. 
 
 San Lorenzo — Santa Croce — Piazza Santa Croce — Annun- 
 
 ziata — Santa JNIaria Novella Ogni Santi — Santo 
 
 Spirito — San Marco — Manege, 
 
 LETTER XV.— P. 139. 
 
 Palazzo Vecchio — Fete of St. Romolo — 'Pitti Palace- 
 Garden of Boboli. 
 
 LETTER XVI.— P. 151. 
 
 KiccardiPaLice — Strozzi — Pallazzo non terminato — Corsini 
 Palace — Gherardesca — Girini — Altuiti — Rinuccini — 
 Bartolini — Buonarotti — Salviati — St. Gaetano — « 
 Death of Lord Camelford— Sigtior Carlo di P — Anec- 
 dote concerning him, 
 
 LET- 
 
IX 
 
 LETTER XVII.— P. l6l. 
 
 The Uffizzi— Gallery. 
 
 LETTER XVIII.— P. 173. 
 
 Gabinetto Fisico — Observatory — Unfortunate Accident to 
 a Lady. 
 
 LETTER XIX.— P. 180. 
 
 Laufenziana Library — Famous Virgil — Travels of Cosi- 
 nio III. in England — Maruccelliana Library — Mag- 
 liabechi — Accademia della Crusca — Del Disegno— 
 Dei Georgofili — Improvisatori's — State of Literature. 
 
 LETTER XX.— P. 191. 
 
 Hospital Santa Maria — A curious Experiment — Ability of 
 the Professors — Misericordia— Innocenti — Bigallo— 
 Scuola Regia — Anecdote of Gio. Gastone, 
 
 J.F.TTFR yXT.— P. 202. 
 Government of Florence. 
 
 LETTER XXII.— P. 212. 
 The same continued — Spies — Extraordinary Riot.. 
 
 LETTER XXIIL— P. 219. 
 Commerce — Mercato Nuovo — Studio of Pisani — Trade. 
 
 LETTER XXIV.— P. 227. 
 Commercio Libero — Monopoly— Markets — Poor. 
 
 LETTER XXV.~P. 235. 
 
 Society and ^Tanners — Signer P. P. M.— The Scrape he 
 has got himself into. 
 
 LET- 
 
LETTER XXVL— P. 245. 
 Extraordinary Customs — ]\Iy House robbed — ^Thief how 
 discovered. 
 
 LETTER XXVIL— P. 255. 
 Carnival — Theatres — Ginevra degli Amieri — Sermons 
 during Lent — Casino — Corso^ Hospitality. 
 
 LETTER XXVHL— P. 269. 
 
 Management of their Horses — Driving— Racing — Fete of 
 San Giovanni — Illumination. 
 
 LETTER XXIX.— P. 282. 
 
 Fairs — Fete under the Uffizzi Cascine — Villas of the 
 
 Grand Duke— Game— Reflections on Sporting — Ac- 
 commodation. 
 
 LETTER XXX.— P. 293. 
 VaU'ombrosa — When founded, and the Occasion of it. 
 
 LETTER XXXL— P. 303. 
 Alvernia — Its Situation, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXXIL— P. 311. 
 Camaldoli — Sant' Eremo — Climate — Fryars — Prato Vec- 
 chio— Capo D'Arrio— Road to the Consuma — Return 
 to Florence — Order of la Trappc: — Abbe de Ranee. 
 
 LETTER XXXIIL— P. 323. 
 
 Economy— Extravagance of the English — Some necessary 
 Rules — Italians and French better Economists than 
 the English— Journey to Pisa. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV,— P. 335. 
 
 The Town of Pisa. 
 
 lEX- 
 
let 
 
 LETTER XXXV.— P. 343. 
 The Duomo— -Batistero— Campo Santo~TorrePenclent(i-« 
 
 Hospitul. 
 
 LETTER XXXVL— P. 352. 
 Caravanna— University— Torre della fame-^Sapienza — 
 Specola — Library— Conservatorios— Death of the 
 Pretender. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIL~P. 36l. 
 
 Palace of the Grand Duke — Plis Court— Arch Dukes — 
 Cascine — Goltano— Death of the Abbe de Bourbon — 
 Alarm of Fire. • 
 
 LETTER XXXVIIL— P. 372. 
 Government— Commerce — Manufactures and Trade- 
 Quietism — Jansenism— St. Ranieri — lUuminara. 
 
 LEl'lEK XXXLX— P. 378. 
 Riot — Man killed — Turk,Kow treated — Force of the Town 
 — In what it consists— Gallerians — Gioco del Ponte. 
 
 LETTER XL.— P. 3SS. 
 
 Manner of burying— —Marriages — Dower — Education- 
 Duelling. 
 
 LETTER XLL— P. 396. 
 Income of the Pisans — Climate — Markets — Diversions — 
 Carnival — Society and Manners. 
 
 LETTER XLIL— P. 407. 
 
 Pisa Baths— Calci — Certosa — Villa Prini Massa— 
 
 Warmth and Cheapness of it. — Carrara, 
 
 LET- 
 
Xll 
 
 LETTER XLIII.— P. 4l6. 
 Road to Leghorn — The Town— Its Trade—Its Inhabitants. 
 
 LETTER XLIV.— P. 425. 
 
 Lucca— Ridiculous Mistake of an Englishman — Society 
 
 and Manners— Baths— Villas Santini and Manzi, 
 
 LETTER XLvl— P. 435. 
 
 Siena— Pictures of the Old Masters — House of Socini— 
 Extracts from a Work on Religion. 
 
 LETTER XLVI.— P. 444. 
 Lizza— Manege— Corso — Accommodation. 
 
 FAMI« 
 
FAMILIAR LETTERS. 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Pisa, Jan, 5, 1787. 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 YOU desire an account of my Travels, — I fear 
 it will not be the most agreeable part of our 
 correspondence,— I foresee many difficulties.— 
 I am well aware that it is not an easy task for a 
 stranger to judge of the character and genius, 
 customs and manners of a country through which 
 he passes, yet as it is a task that properly be- 
 longs to a Traveller, I flatter myself that you, 
 •who are acquainted with the difficulty, will not 
 tvithhold your indulgence. It may be also dif- 
 ficult to describe faithfully and not offisnd ; yet 
 that apprehension, unpleasant as it may be, shall 
 in no instance induce me to disguise the truth. 
 To those very discreet persons who think that 
 truth is not always to be spoken, I shall reply 
 that the truth is always to be spoken whenever a 
 Gentleman speaks. It is your business to re- 
 voL. I. s mem- 
 
2 
 
 member that in all general descriptions many ex- 
 ceptions are to be made. Nor is it the least un- 
 pleasant part of this undertaking to think that I 
 shall frequently tell you what you already know. 
 Local descriptions cannot vary much. We all 
 draw our knowledge from the same source, read 
 the same books, and visit the same objects. 
 Every thing curious in Italy has been described 
 again and again j but many things I may pro- 
 bably see in a different light from others, and de- 
 scribe in a different manner. Besides, Travellers 
 not only see things in different lights, but relate 
 them in different humours. Compare Pi ozzi with 
 Smollet; Baretti with Sharpe ; and you 
 will be at a loss what opinion to form of a coun- 
 try of which they all treat so differently. As for 
 Baretti, yOu must read him with the same cau- 
 tion you use when you deal with his countrymen. 
 Like them he concludes that you will not believe 
 all that is said ; that a reduction is to be made; 
 and he makes his account accordingly. I will 
 examine with care, relate with fidelity, and keep 
 as near the truth as lean. Rousseau says, " I 
 have passed my life in reading the accounts that 
 Travellers give, and have not met with two that 
 have given me the same idea of the same 
 people." 
 
 When we consider travelling under its several 
 motives of education, pleasure, health, and eco- 
 nomy, 
 
•v. 
 
 3 
 
 nomy, it becomes an object of such importance, 
 that we need not wonder if so many Writers both 
 male and female, have thought it worthy their 
 attention. They have given us many an useful 
 lesson ; and by describing, though faintly, the 
 sights that afforded them pleasure, enable us to 
 follow them in their excursions without either 
 expenceor trouble. I shall avail myself of their 
 labours. — La Lande's Account of Italy is now 
 upon my table ; I will read it with attention, and 
 shall follow that gentleman, or any other who has 
 written on this subject, with as litde scruple as 
 any ancient poet, or modern traveller whatever.* 
 But I will not blindly follow, nor adopt their 
 opinions when contrary to my own. If I should 
 mention Dionysius, Polybius, or any other 
 Greek author, as probably I may, do not fancy 
 that I read Greek. I have contented myself with 
 an English translation, and advise you to do the 
 same. As I have read more for amusement than 
 improvement, I have trusted too much to me- 
 mory. Favourite passages that I have tran- 
 scribed from books, are not only incorrect, but 
 
 . * Virgil is said to have copied Homer, in near 
 a thousand places — ^Terence has been called dmidiate 
 Menandre — and Writers of Travels, from the time of 
 Miss ON to the present day, have invariably copied one 
 fiom another. 
 
 s 2 un- 
 
unaccompanied often with the names of the au- 
 thors, and sometimes even with the references to 
 them. I derive one pleasure, however, from a 
 bad memory : — Shakespeare and the Spectator, 
 Don Quixotte and Gil Bias, after a year or two, 
 become as new to me, and are read with as much 
 pleasure as they were at first. If your memory 
 be equally bad, take notes of what you read.— 
 The best method, without doubt, is to carry the 
 knowledge you acquire in your head ; but if 
 that be a lost hope, the next best is to carry it in 
 your pocket. 
 
 An historical account of the places through 
 which I pass, of course, you will not expect: a 
 general description I shall not omit, and may 
 afterwards refer you to those useful books which 
 are written as Guides to strangers, and are to be 
 found in every town where the curiosities de- 
 serve remark. I shall endeavour to be candid 
 in my observations, and not ill-tempered in my 
 reflections ; yet I shall speak with the freedom 
 of my country, nor compliment even Princes at 
 the expence of truth. I shall say litde of the 
 government of any town, yet enough to answer 
 the purpose of a traveller, who does not mean 
 to become an inhabitant. In some states, and 
 one in particular, the laws and regulations are so 
 continually varying, that my pen would not 
 keep pace with the caprice of the Sovereign. 
 
 Though 
 
5 
 
 Though I may speak of the state of literature, I 
 shall decline mentioning the learned men, that I 
 may ofFcnd none of them. Poor AddisoxN is 
 accused by a lady of unkindness and injustice 
 when he speaks of the literature of Milan, I 
 dare say he spoke as he found it. 
 
 To judge of the character of a people we must 
 see them familiarly, and without reser\^e ; we 
 must have the tact of reconciling seeming con- 
 tradictions, and of discovering truth through the 
 cloud that surrounds it. Private characters for 
 this reason are difficult to be understood ; but 
 general characters, if found from observation to 
 be just, may without scruple be discussed. I shall 
 betray no confidence, nor relate any anecdote 
 that is not generally known, and publicly talked 
 of. One author* has already shewn how diffi- 
 cult it is to write on the customs and manners of 
 any country, and not find fault. He took up 
 his pen to correct this defect in another, at the 
 same time that he has abused Piemont, the coun- 
 try that gave him birth, more than the English- 
 man whose malignity he condemns. 
 
 It is said that Travellers will lie : — They must 
 lie, if every trifling mistake is to be deemed a 
 falsehood. Some from ignorance inform you 
 wrong ; some will purposely deceive you. I 
 
 * Bauetti. 
 
 shall 
 
 4 
 
6 
 
 shall describe things as I find them, nor be 
 answerable for the changes that time, or caprice 
 may make. When on the subject of economy, I 
 shall mention what I pay myself ; prices of course 
 will vary, and you must make the best bargain you 
 can. I shall not send you a regular account of 
 churches and palaces ; it would be tiresome to us 
 both : nor shall I pretend to describe pictures, 
 which to be admired must be seen. Whatever 
 I think necessary I shall not omit, as I am con- 
 scious the trifle I am now offering you would 
 be useless if I did. Pay no attention to the 
 dates of my Letters, since several visits made at 
 different seasons to the same place, may, to save 
 trouble to us both, be made the subject of one 
 letter. 
 
 My old friend, Sterne, has ludicrously de- 
 scribed several kinds of Travellers : — as I know 
 not under which of these you intend to be classed, 
 I shall endeavour that the hints I give may be 
 of service to all : — to amuse you if you please 
 —to inform you if I can — and to start now and 
 then a subject interesting to us both, will be the 
 endeavour of the following Letters. Suffer me, 
 however, to ride my hobby as I like j you are 
 at liberty to get up behind me if you think fit, 
 and may get down when you will j I only beg 
 that I may be permitted to continue my morn- 
 ing's ride as long as I find it agreeable. I am 
 
 in 
 
in a dull place, and hate to be idle.— I write 
 partly to inform you, and partly to employ my- 
 self. It is probable, therefore, that I shall take 
 a larger latitude than Writers of Travels usually 
 allow themselves, and not strictly confine myself 
 to the dull narrative which they have rendered 
 unnecessary. I foresee that my Letters will be 
 a pasticcioy a mere hotch potch, and will partake, 
 more of the extravagance of Montaign e, than 
 of the elegance of Pliny. No matter: — If 
 they prevent me at any time from doing worse, 
 or afford a transitory amusement to you, when 
 you have nothing to do, I shall not have been 
 ill employed. — I shall prefer it to sauntering in 
 a coffee-house, or to standing upon a bridge, 
 and spitting into the stream that runs beneath. 
 
 LIT- 
 
LETTER II. 
 
 YOUR letter, in answer to mine of the fifth 
 of January, is very consolatory. You 
 accept the conditions ; promise me your indul- 
 gence, and I shall proceed. You tell me also 
 that you mean to follow my steps shortly : it is 
 a pleasure to think that, in some degree at least, 
 I shall clear the way for you. 
 
 It would be needless to say much to recom- 
 mend travelling, which has so many advantages 
 attending it. Splenetic gentlemen, by change of 
 place, may chasser leur ennui ; those of an active 
 mind satisfy their curiosity ; the distressed live 
 as well as their neighbours ; and the magnificent 
 make a figure both in France and Italy with 
 little money. The philosopher will find that 
 mankind are equally slaves to their passions 
 every where, and may also see with pleasure, as a 
 Prince of Persia did before him, that they die even 
 in Rome as in other places.* But what is more 
 
 * When Co^^STANTiNE asked the brother of the King 
 
 of Persia, "What pleased him most at Rome?" he replied, 
 
 *' That nothing pleased him so well as to see that men died 
 
 there as they did in other places." 
 
 . to 
 
9 
 
 to our purpose, an Englishman will learn from 
 a knowledge of other countries to set a proper 
 value on his own. Ulysses, the wisest among 
 the Greeks, is described as one who had travel- 
 led much. The Romans considered travelling 
 as a necessary, part of education. Their youth 
 visited Greece as we visit Italy; though I be- 
 lieve with more advantage. It is not in looking 
 at pictures and statues only, that travelling is of 
 use, but in examining the laws, customs, and 
 manners of other countries, and comparing them 
 with our own. Agriculture, Natural History, 
 Trade, Commerce, Arts, and Sciences, all pre- 
 sent themselves under various forms to improve 
 and enlarge the understanding ; while a continual 
 habit of receiving favors will put us in good- 
 humour with the rest of the world, remove our 
 prejudices, increase our sensibility, and inspire 
 in us that general benevolence which renders 
 mankind so serviceable to one another. Partia- 
 lity is warrantable to a certain degree only- 
 relations, friends, acquaintance, countrymen, 
 ceteris paribus^ are entitled to a preference ; but 
 as a citizen of the world, I cannot subscribe to it 
 to the extent it is often carried. I know nothincr 
 
 o 
 
 that removes local prejudices so much as travel- 
 ling. Mankind are nearly the same in all coun- 
 tries, and you learn to esteem merit whereever 
 you find it. 
 
 Use- 
 
10 
 
 Useful as I have been taught to consider tra- 
 velling, I am surprised to hear it represented as 
 prejudicial to morality. Do you think it more 
 so than a fashionable London life ? What vices 
 is a young man likely to contract abroad, that he 
 cannot find at home ; and I beg leave to ask, if 
 he cannot injure his health, and ruin his fortune 
 as effectually in London, as in any other part of 
 the world ? They are much mistaken v^ho think 
 he is to be taught foppery in France, drinking in 
 Germany, gallantry in Italy, or gambling any 
 ■where. It is true, many travel too young; 
 were they better acquainted with their own laws, 
 customs, and manners, they would receive greater 
 advantage in comparing them with those of other 
 countries. Cicero was near thirty when he 
 travelled into Greece, at which age it is probable 
 he was perfectly acquainted with Rome, and had 
 already laid the foundation of that knowledge 
 which rendered him so famous afterwards. — 
 Other examples are not wanting : — Lycurgus, 
 and Peter the Great, men of exalted genius, 
 to whom their country owed all its splendour, 
 were travellers before hey were legislators. I 
 have seen many of my countrymen inquisitive 
 from routine after every trifle on the Continent, 
 and less acquainted with the curiosities of Lon- 
 don than an Italian, who could tell them even 
 more of Westminster Abbey, the Tower, Saint 
 
 Paul's, 
 
11 
 
 Paul's, and the Monument, than they knew be- 
 fore. — Apropos to the latter: — You probably 
 have never heard that a Preacher of that time 
 exclaiming againt Intemperance, declared the 
 fire of London to have been evidently a judg- 
 ment on the gluttony of the citizens, since, it 
 began in Pudding-laLnCy and ended in Pye-cor- 
 ner. 
 
 It is thought not without reason that the Eng- 
 lish are bad travellers ; that we are discontented 
 with every thing, and determined to find nothing 
 good or agreeable out of our own country. A 
 Frenchman makes up his mind to every incon- 
 venience; his room, his dinner, his bed, no- 
 thing comes amiss to him, while many whom 
 we know are never pleased but where they are 
 not — are to be contented only with what they 
 cannot get — and absurdly expect all their Eng- 
 lish comforts in an Italian inn. 
 
 Before you set out on your journey you will 
 of course provide every thing necessary : you 
 should at the same time consider what is, and 
 what is not necessary. Gray says : " Eine 
 quodcunque emendum est ; not only pictures, 
 medals, gems, drawings, &c. ; but cloaths, stock- 
 ings, shoes , handkerchiefs, little moveables, 
 every thing you may want all your life long." 
 This would be better advice from Gray the 
 futkr^ than Gray the poet. I am now as stu- 
 dious 
 
12 
 
 dious to lessen incumbrances, as I once was to 
 increase them ; and instead of loading myself with 
 cloaths, &c. that I do not want, readily give 
 away all that I can do without ; and may expect 
 to become an excellent Traveller by the time I 
 leave off travelling. 
 
 If you travel for improvement, observe the 
 customs, manners, and dispositions of the people, 
 • — study the laws, police, and the characters of 
 those that govern, — adapt your questions to the 
 capacity of those with whom you converse, and 
 you will seldom meet with any one from whom 
 some useful information may not be obtained ; 
 even the very mysteries of government will be- 
 come as familiar to you as the customs and man- 
 ners of the people. You will enquire if popu- 
 lation increases — if commerce improves — if the 
 arts flourish— if the taxes are judiciously laid, 
 and the revenues of the state carefully expended 
 —if the system of government be such as con- 
 ciliates the affections of the people — if that go- 
 vernment be firm, and able to controul the 
 guilty, secure the person and property of the 
 subject from insult, and make itself respected — 
 if the laws are concise, and easily understood i 
 if they are equally administered ? — You will at 
 the same time consider their stability as a proof 
 of their goodness, or suspect the propriety of 
 alterations that you see continually altering. — • 
 
 You 
 
13 
 
 You will observe if civil causes are decided ex- 
 peditiously and impartially ; and if criminals arc 
 tried fairly and mercifully, as we ourselves hope 
 to be tried. 
 
 In public edifices you will look for taste and 
 elegance, and in every public institution you 
 will examine how far the end answers the inten-^ 
 tion. 
 
 In the Sovereign you will expect grandeur 
 and magnificence without waste or profusion- 
 judicious mercy and punishments adapted to 
 their crimes — you will observe if he be indul- 
 gent or severe ; and if he set the example of vir- 
 tue which he wishes his subjects to follow ; if 
 his principles of governing be just, and if his 
 actions agree always with his principles ; in one 
 word, if he prefers the happiness and prosperity 
 of his people, to his own personal interest or 
 glory. 
 
 You will observe the state of religion, educa- 
 tion, and morals- — will enquire if the Clergy do 
 their duty, as well by example as precept ; if fa- 
 thers provide proper teachers for their children 
 without regard to expence or trouble ; and if 
 virtue be generally esteemed, and vice dis- 
 couraged. — You will also remark if the Noblesse 
 be generous and humane ; the people industrious, 
 frugal, and contented. These are useful enqui- 
 ries J and if a Traveller can but leave all national 
 
 pre- 
 
14 
 
 prejudice behind him, he will receive no small 
 advantage by thus comparing other countries 
 with his own. 
 
 In time of war, M'hen you have obtained a 
 passport, read it :— for want of that precaution 
 at Brussels, I found myself in a ridiculous situa- 
 tion at the gates of Luxembourgh. The name 
 of my companion was inserted, but by some 
 mistake or other, I was called the Chevalier dc 
 York! That gentleman was then expected at 
 Luxembourgh, on his way to the Congress at 
 Ausburg, and the Deputy Governor (the Gover- 
 nor was in the country) as soon as he heard of 
 his Excellency's arrival, came to pay him his 
 respects. He insisted on shewing the Chevalier 
 York the fortifications, mines, &c., which he as- 
 sured me at the same time no less a personage 
 could be permitted to see : and the Chevalier 
 York, after expressing his thanks, and secretly 
 wishing this officious gentleman at the Devil a 
 thousand times for his courtesy, returned to his 
 inn, in no little hurry, lest he should be dis- 
 covered, and hung up as a spy. 
 
 Travel by night as little as you can help ; ac- 
 cidents at that time are most hkely to happen, 
 and are least easy to remedy. A moon I know 
 is a great temptation to those who are in haste, 
 and though I cannot agree with our friend 
 Carraccioli, that the moon in Italy is as vjarm 
 
 as 
 
15 
 
 flS iht sun in England j yet it is certainly a better 
 moon than ours, and an English Traveller may be 
 astonished at the light it gives. Accept the friend- 
 ly assistance which the moon oflPers, and when 
 there is none, rathe? set out before day, than 
 travel after. Inquire at what hour they shut the 
 gales at every capital town you have occasion to 
 pass, and never run it too near for fear of acci- 
 dents. Never, on any pretence whatever, suffer 
 them to put more horses to your carriage than 
 the tariff allows; it generally occasions disputes, 
 and sometimes obliges you to continue the same 
 number to the end of your journey. Travel- 
 ling, in my younger days, through Germany, 
 and arriving with four horses only, I opposed 
 for some time the addition of two, that the 
 Postmaster was employing all his rhetoric to 
 persuade me to take : I insisted on seeing the 
 tariff. The tariff was in my favor; and yet, 
 like a great fool (the road being bad), I let him 
 carry his point, on giving me a letter to his friend 
 at the next post, confirming my arrival with four 
 horses only. The letter was written in German, 
 what it contained I know not; but I conclude it 
 said that I was a very silly fellow, for the post- 
 master, without further cereilnony, put six horses 
 fo my carriage, but politely offered me a similar 
 letter to his friend at the next post, if I chose to 
 accept it. 
 
 Avoid 
 
16 
 
 Avoid disputes with postmasters and postil- 
 lions ; you lose time, lose your temper, arid gain 
 nothing. I went twice at Poggibonsi to iht 
 Podesta,* to complain of the postmaster, but 
 got no redress. It taught me patience. In 
 Tuscany, where the regulations contradict each 
 other, you cannot always avoid disputes : — by 
 one order, they cannot refuse you four horses, 
 if you arrive with no more : by another, if your 
 baggage exceed three hundred pounds, they can 
 oblige you to take six. In France the post is 
 better regulated, the orders are clear, and admit 
 of no dispute. 
 
 Were the Italian inns less insufferable, I 
 ■would encounter all the tediousness of a Vet- 
 turino, rather than submit to the impertinence 
 of the postmasters, and the brutality of the pos- 
 tillions. The latter are the most worthless fel- 
 lows in Italy, and yet the only way to get 
 quickly and safely out of their hands is to pay 
 them well, and treat them civilly. 
 
 Stop as little as possible at the inns ; at all 
 you must expect to be imposed upon : — you 
 may assure yourself, if you travel in the winter, 
 that you will find no place so comfortable as your 
 
 •* The Podesta is> the magistrate for all civil concerns, 
 
 own 
 
17 
 
 own carriage. A Frenchman puts on his night- 
 cap, and gets into his chaise, as he gets into his 
 bed; and when hungry, usually contents himself 
 with the provisions he carries along with him. 
 Some good wine, and a cold pye in the well of 
 your carriage, with the addition of a fresh egg, 
 which is both clean and wholesome, will save 
 you from a bad dinner, and the inconvenience of 
 waiting for it. Let your supper be your princi- 
 pal meal. Where you intend to sleep make 
 your bargain before you leave your carriage, 
 and if you find them exorbitant in their demands, 
 drive on : if you are firm, they will be reason- 
 able. — Bespeak your horses as soon as you ar- 
 rive : — pay handsomely on the road that you 
 may be well served, and at the gates to avoid 
 trouble. — There is no fixed rule for these ex- 
 pences. — They always depend on the figure you 
 make, and what you are thought able to pay :— 
 a courier with lace on his jacket, will be expected 
 to pay more than one without. For comforts , 
 I should recommend an English inn ; they are 
 in general cleaner, and the eating more in the 
 style to which you have been accustomed ; but, 
 impartiality obliges me to add, that the travel- 
 ler who travels out of economy must never enter 
 them. 
 
 Monsieur Dutens and Mr. Martyn have 
 rendered any further direction unnecessary ; 
 
 VOL. I. c make 
 
18 
 
 make^OM your provision of patience and resig- 
 nation. If your bed be bad, leave it the sooner j 
 if the bread be heavy, make hght of it : neither 
 lose time unnecessarily on the road, nor hurry 
 where you have any thing to see. One Gentle- 
 man, to save timcy saw all the curiosities of 
 Rome in a few days, in a post-chaise and four! 
 Another passed through Lyons without seeing 
 it at all : he however said, " it was a nasty 
 town," and being asked, " what stay he made 
 there?" replied, " I arrived late at night; and, 
 J thank God, set out again early the ne:ct morn-> 
 ing,'* 
 
 LET- 
 
19 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 REMEMBER to pass the Alps early in the 
 autumn, before the first snows fall. I was 
 unluckily a week too late. If you wish to 
 avoid the heats of Italy, it is in Switzerland yoa 
 should pass the summer. Though I may be 
 thought a partial judge of the beauties of a coun- 
 try, where I remained three years, intending at 
 ■ray arrival to stay three days only. As Geneva 
 during all that time was my head-quarters, of 
 course you will expect some description of it. 
 The town is about two miles in circumference, 
 pleasantly situated, partly in Savoy, and partly 
 in Switzerland, at the western extremity of one 
 of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. It is of 
 ancient date, was not unknown in the early days 
 pf Rome, and has since undergone a variety of 
 revolutions. It was once united to the German 
 Empire, under the successors of Charlemagne. 
 After that, the Bishops of Geneva obtained the 
 supreme authority in opposition to the Counts, 
 
 c 2 and 
 
20 
 
 and exercised an unbecoming tyranny, till the re- 
 formation in the year 1535, under the direction 
 of Calvin, put an end to their pretensions.* 
 In 1602, their neighbour, Charles Emanuel 
 Duke of Savoy, though then at peace with the 
 Republic, made a treacherous attempt to take 
 the town by surprise. Ke approached in silence, 
 darkness favoured him, and by means of scaling 
 ladders which he fixed to the walls, many of his 
 soldiers had already mounted the ramparts be- 
 fore they were discovered. Luckily he failed 
 in the attempt. The principal ringleaders were 
 treated as they deserved, and the anniversary of 
 this piece of rascality, if I m.ay be allowed the 
 expression, has been observed till lately at Ge- 
 neva, as a joyful festival. To make my peace 
 with Sovereignty, I will now relate an anec- 
 dote as honourable as that was disgraceful : 
 —When the same Charles Emanuel entered 
 France to confer with Henry IV. concerning 
 some matters in dispute between them, the 
 King was advised to seize on the person of the 
 Duke till those differences were settled. The 
 gallant Monarch replied, " That he would ra- 
 
 * The Bishop still retains the title, and resides at An- 
 necy in Savo}?^ ; but Calvin applied the overplus of the be- 
 nefices which pampered his luxury, and that of his depen- 
 dants, to found an hospital, college, and academy. 
 
 iher 
 
21 
 
 ther lose his crown^ than betray the confidence rf- 
 posed in Am, even by an enemy."* 
 
 In 1754 the King of Sardinia by a solencin 
 act acknowledged the independence of that Re- 
 public. Of late years the aristocratical and de- 
 mocratical parties have been constantly at va- 
 riance ; the most opulent families have obtained 
 an almost exclusive jurisdiction, and the Court 
 of France, in the time of the Duke de Choiseul, 
 cruelly interfered in favor of a party already too 
 powerful for the liberties of the people. 
 
 You have heard much of the excellence of 
 the Geneva Government : — It is composed of 
 Le Petit Conseil of twenty-five members, Le 
 Grand Conseil des deux cens, and Le Conseil 
 General. The Grand Conseil never assembles 
 without the Petit Conseil, nor can any thing be 
 proposed to the former till it has been approved 
 by the latter, though they are at liberty to reject 
 it afterwards. The Conseil General is the as- 
 sembly of the Bourgeoise, where each has a vote, 
 and it is by them the magistrates are chosen. 
 The Sovereignty is in the Conseil General : they 
 declare war, and make peace ; but can only de- 
 bate on that which is proposed to them by the 
 Grand Conseil, who determine all other matters 
 both civil and criminal. The essential diffe- 
 rence between a Citizen and a Bourgeois is, 
 
 that 
 
.22 
 
 tliat the latter cannot be elected to any office, 
 though they are members of the Sovereign 
 Council as well as the citizens. Those who are 
 natives only cannot keep a shop, or serve in the 
 troops ; and pay a certain sum before they can 
 exercise any profession. They are, however, 
 adrmued to the bourgeoisie at a lower price than 
 those who are inhabitants only. 
 
 The principal magistrates are called Syndics : 
 there are four of them. The office is for one 
 year only, nor can they be re-chosen till three 
 years after. The Procureur General is another 
 magistrate of great consideration, for besides his 
 office of attorney general, the rights of the 
 people, the maintenance of the constitution, and 
 submission to the laws, are particularly confided 
 to him. The revenue was, one year with 
 another, about six hundred thousand French 
 livres ; a small sum, but equal to the ordinary 
 expences of the state.— The riches of the inha- 
 bitants is the treasury of the Republic. 
 
 Many of the Geneva laws are excellent; but 
 so many years have elapsed since my acquaint- 
 ance with them, they are almost all forgotten. 
 Some of their domestic regulations are just and 
 prudent. A father may dispose as he pleases of 
 half his estate, leaving the other half to be di- 
 vided equally among his children ; nor can they 
 hold any office under governmejit unless they 
 
 pay 
 
23 
 
 pay their proportion of their father's debts. If 
 a husband does not mention his wife in his will, 
 she is entitled to her dower only; and if that 
 should be insufficient, she is allowed a pension 
 during her widowhood out of the estate. It is 
 not permitted a man of sixty years of age to marry 
 a woman under forty ; nor a woman to marry a 
 man more than ten years younger than herself. — 
 As to the former, I do not know that either of 
 them has any necessity to marry at all. Divor- 
 ces are, perhaps, too easily obtained : — when the 
 affair is agreed upon between the parties, the 
 wife absents herself from her husband — he pub- 
 licly demands her, and if she does not appear in 
 a given time, a divorce is immediately granted. 
 This, you will allow, is very accommodating, but 
 I cannot persuade myself that the accommoda- 
 tion of individuals in this easy manner is an ad- 
 vantage to the state. 
 
 The Consistoire is a spiritual court, under the 
 direction of the Petit Conseil. The morals of 
 the people are under the particular inspection of 
 the Clergy. — These have twelve hundred French 
 livres a year allowed them : they undergo a 
 strict exauiination to entide them to it, not only 
 In theology, but in general knowledge and mo- 
 rality. They visit the sick, comfort the afflicted, 
 assist the widow and the orphan, procure pecu- 
 niary relief for the poor who want it, reprove 
 
 such 
 
24 
 
 sjich of the inhabitants as lead dissolute lives, 
 and reconcile such as are at variance. Four 
 times a year their own conduct is enquired into 
 by the Consistoire, and those are censured who 
 have neglected any of these important duties. — - 
 The Consistoire sets a good example to our 
 Bishops, and the Geneva Pastors to our English 
 Clergy. 
 
 The University in my time was on a respect- 
 able footing, and among the Professors were 
 many eminent men in all the sciences. The 
 academic exercises were in high repute, and 
 les usages du monde so necessary to accomplish a 
 gentleman, which are only to be acquired in good 
 company, and in which our own Universities 
 are so very deficient, were not wanting ; and 
 what was not less essential to young Englishmen, 
 the company they frequented had sentiments of 
 religion and liberty, congenial to their own. 
 
 A small state like this is to be governed like a 
 well-regulated family ; the authority like that of 
 a father, the submission like that of a son : but I 
 fear the Republic, since my time, has undergone 
 many material changes : — frequent struggles for 
 liberty, by exposing her natural weakness, have 
 deprived her at last of the little she had ; and an 
 introduction of French customs has given a 
 finishing stroke to that purity of manners which 
 
 is 
 
25 
 
 is essentially necessary to the very existence of 
 a Republic. 
 
 The Lake of Geneva, one of the greatest 
 beauties of Switzerland, is about fifty miles in 
 length, and in the widest part near nine miles 
 over : the water never freezes, and is higher in 
 summer than in winter, owing to the melting of 
 the snow on the neighbouring mountains. The 
 rapid Rhone runs through it; at Lyons it forms 
 its junction with the gentle Soane, and you will 
 observe with what a prudish reluctance she meets 
 his vigrorous embrace. It is on this lake the 
 Grib are caught, a bird somewhat resembling a 
 Dab-Chick : they are caught in the months of 
 December and January, when the weather is per- 
 fectly calm. The watermen row after them ; 
 the birds continue diving till their strength is ex- 
 hausted, and are afterwards easily taken. Of 
 the feathers of the breast, which is remarkably 
 white and soft, are made muffs and tippets. 
 The trout of the lake are famous: — Ouin 
 might have liked them as well as a John Dory; at 
 any rate, he would have liked the size better. — 
 I eat of one that weighed thirty-two pounds, 
 eighteen ounces to the pound, Geneva weight. 
 The villas that surround this charming lake are 
 delightful. The wine, called vi^i de la Coie^ is 
 excellent: — in short, I cannot conceive a more 
 pleasant summer residence. 
 
 A com- 
 
26 
 
 A commodious port on the lake, and a lucky 
 situation betwixt Germany, France, and Italy, 
 are great advantages to commerce, and en- 
 courage the industry of the people. In my 
 time, Geneva was more flourishing than Berne — 
 though a little spot, contained more inhabitants ; 
 and those were more rich, more commercial, 
 and more industrious. The principal trade of 
 the town is that of watches : — they had not less 
 than two thousand watch-makers, who were sup- 
 posed to give bread to near eight thousand 
 people. The worst trade was that of a lawyer : 
 — law-suits were generally made up by the 
 friends of the parties, and sometimes (believe it 
 if you can) by the lawyers themselves.* 
 
 The fortifications are more neat than strong, 
 and the daily guard consists of one hundred and 
 fifty men only. The buildings, as well as I can 
 recollect, have no extraordinary elegance. The 
 library contains some valuable manuscripts. 
 The hospitals are said to exceed their income, 
 the deficiency of which is supplied by charity. 
 Poor travellers are allowed one night's lodging, 
 and have money given them in the morning to 
 carry them on. The gates are shut at sun-set, 
 and never opened after. No Turk observes 
 
 * At Geneva every attorney takes an oath not to under- 
 la,ke any cause he does not, think just. 
 
 hi^ 
 
27 
 
 his Ramaudan more strictly than I did the day I 
 arrived at Geneva, or I should not have arrived 
 in time. Eagles are constantly kept in the town 
 of Geneva, as bears are at Berne ; and, I believe, 
 for no better reason. 
 
 The Genevois are in general rich, they are 
 also provident, and their magazines are seldom 
 "without a sufficiency of corn for two years sub- 
 sistence : besides which, many families find their 
 account in keeping a year's stock before-hand. 
 The corn is clwefly furnished from Savoy.— 
 There are two market days every week for corn, 
 and two for wine j what is brought in must be sold 
 the same day. The Savoyards supply them also 
 with butter, and will sometimes put stones into 
 it to increase the weight : — extreme poverty is 
 a sad enemy to honesty in every part of the 
 world. 
 
 The Genevois are long lived ; but whether it 
 be owing to the salubrity of the air, or the tem- 
 perate manner of their living, I cannot determine: 
 I knew six gentlemen belonging to the same 
 club, whose ages together made five hundred 
 and sixty-two, and I remember to have sat bnce 
 on the same bench with four, the youngest of 
 whom was eighty-two; and yet, Geneva is very 
 cold in winter, and the Bize, of all winds, is the 
 most intolerable. 
 
 The Genevois were not expensive in their 
 
 houses ; 
 
28 
 
 houses : — they were not suffered to use any 
 figured plate, nor to wear lace or diamonds. 
 Balls were over by ten o'clock, and usual'y be- 
 gan at four. Those they called Bah de Nuity 
 were seldom allowed except at marriages : they 
 began at ten, and lasted as long as the company 
 thought fit. They had not even a theatre ! — 
 Much has been written on the subject by the 
 most celebrated wits of that time, who I think 
 might have spared themselves the trouble, since 
 the stage undoubtedly is laudable, or otherwise, 
 according to the use or abuse that is made of it. 
 The men live very much in clubs. Their amuse- 
 ment in summer is bowls, not rolled like ours 
 over a level green, but pitched on any ground, 
 even or not, as they find it. They are famous 
 archers, and many of us Englishmen were chosen 
 members of that society,and became archers also. 
 It was at one of those meetings that I made 
 acquaintance wiih Leotard the painter, who 
 had been in England : he was a Genevois, 
 though he constantly wore the Turkish habit :— 
 Wort LEY Montague did the same at Venice: 
 in If any respects it certainly is a more conve- 
 nient dress than ours. — The Turks, wear no 
 garters, no tight wr'stbands or shirt collars, to 
 hinder the free circulation of their blood; and, 
 without doubt, are the healthier for it. 
 
 I found the men better in general than they 
 
 had 
 
29 
 
 had been represented. The sense of this coun- 
 try is surely undervahied by its neighbours. 
 Though the attic wit may be wanting, the Swiss 
 are by no means deficient in penetration or 
 judgment ; though taste and elegance are beyond 
 their reach, their fidelity and honesty may shame 
 those who are endowed with more brilliant qua- 
 lifications ; and in many parts of Switzerland you 
 will find them civilized, yet uncorrupt. How- 
 ever respectable genius may be, good sense is 
 more necessary in the common occurrences of 
 life : — genius may neither know how to stir a 
 fire or snufF a candle. 
 
 The women affect the French manners, and 
 are very amiable ; they pass their evenings in 
 small parties, called Societies, to which strangers 
 are frequently invited. It was at one of these 
 
 assemblies that Mademoiselle G , lost the 
 
 heart of our friend. Lord W ■ G , by 
 
 eating too rminy petits pates. Petits pates were 
 at thattime very much in fashion, and as the 
 Genevois dine early, slip down very easily. At 
 a concert I gave, a large quantity of them had 
 been provided with other things to be eaten be- 
 tween the acts. I was called out, — Toinette, 
 the girl of the house, who had the management 
 of the side-board, wanted to speak to me: — I 
 found her in tears— I concluded she was taken 
 ill : — " Toineue, what is the matter with you ?" 
 
 « Sir, 
 
30 
 
 " Sir, ahi, aU^^* replied Toinette, sobbing, 
 
 " Monsieur S • (a Geneva Parson), has been 
 
 here — ahi^ ahi^ ahi ; — I left the room for an 
 instant only, — ahiy ahi, ahi, ahi, — and he has 
 eat up eVery one of the pedis pates !'* 
 
 Monsieur was frequently invited to those 
 
 concerts. There is a particularity in that gentle- 
 man's history, which, in the manner it was then 
 told, I will now relate. — He courted Mademoi- 
 selle , but whether for the charms of her 
 
 person, or les beaux yeux de sa Cassette, I know 
 not. At any rate, he played his part so well, 
 that he became the favourite, and their marriage 
 •was concluded on. At this moment the famous 
 Count de , a Trcnzh. petit maitre, vain, in- 
 solent, and brave, arrived at Geneva, and no 
 sooner saw the two lovers, than he conceived 
 the idea of disturbing the nuptials. He easily 
 got introduced to the lady, and immediately gave 
 the gentleman to understand, that as he never 
 suffered a competitor, he had only to chuse 
 whether he would part with his mistress or his 
 life. The alternative, you will allow, was not 
 pleasant, and my friend, who was a lover, and 
 was not a swordsman, found himself in a cri- 
 tical situation, from which he knew not very 
 well how to extricate himself. He was notde- 
 iicient in courage, but was perfectly ignorant of 
 the art of defence* His fiist thought, therefore, 
 
 wa5 
 
31 
 
 was to send for Ponson, a fencing-master, to 
 whom be related what had happened. Ponson, 
 who knew the Count, told him fairly he could 
 not be in worse hands ; that his rival was an 
 excellent swordsman, had fought several duels, 
 and had never failed to kill his man. Rare 
 
 news for Monsieur ! who eagerly asked 
 
 Ponson ** If he could give him no instructions !" 
 — " None !" — replied Ponson j — " None !— 
 The time does not admit of it, and I could give 
 you no lesson of fencing but what would do you 
 more harm than good." Monsieur ' was 
 
 now in despair. — After a long silence, Ponson, 
 clapping him on the back, cried, " Courage, 
 sir, I think I can serve you ! Dare you look 
 your enemy in the face ?" — " Certainly I dare I'* 
 — *' Well then, follow my directions, and you 
 shall kill the Count : — he is skilful, but passio- 
 nate; frequent successes have rendered him im- 
 petuous ; he will attack you furiously, and des- 
 pise you sufficiently not to think of his own de- 
 fence : stand firm, look him steadily in the face, 
 you have a long arm, extend it to the utmost, 
 and, as he will rush on you with fury, it is pro- 
 bable he may kill himself." It happened exacdy 
 as Ponson foretold ; the Count came furiously 
 and blindly on, and at his first lunge, received 
 the point of his rival's sword full in his 
 
 bosom, and fell dead at his feet. Monsieur 
 
 had 
 
32 
 
 had thus the honour to ki^ll the Count de •, 
 
 and the happiness to marry Mademoiselle — ^ — 
 shortly after. 
 
 Here I met with that extraordinary charac- 
 ter, old Huet:— when turned of eighty, his life 
 was saved by his servant, who seeing him fall 
 down in an apoplexy, bled him instantly.— He 
 left him a legacy in his will on condition that he 
 did so no more. 
 
 LET« 
 
33 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 VOLTAIRE is a great loss to the English ; 
 he received them w ell, and invited them to 
 the fetes he gave, not the least interesting of 
 which were his own plays, acted in his own 
 theatre. As an actor (for he sometimes acted 
 himself), he had little merit. In this he resembles 
 a greater genius of ouf own, who makes but an 
 indifferent figure in the dramatis persona of the 
 sixteenth century, and whose best part is said to 
 have been that of the Ghost in Hamlet. I in- 
 troduced myself to this amiable Frenchman as 
 aji English Traveller desirous of paying my 
 respects to a man whose writings had afforded 
 me so much entertainment. He received me 
 with the greatest civility, and gave me a general 
 invitation to his house. He never failed to 
 present to you a poor toad-eating Jesuit, le Perc 
 Adam, for the sake of a joke that might have 
 been good the first time, but was an insolent 
 cruelty ever after. " Je vousj^nsente Mansuur 
 VOL.' I. a h 
 
34 
 
 le Pcre Adam qui n*est pas h premier des hom^ 
 mes." Like other geniuses he had his particu- 
 larities, and in society was sometimes agreeable, 
 sometimes otherwise. He was polite in his 
 manners, but satirical in his reflections, to which 
 ill-health did not a little contribute. He told a 
 ridiculous story, made, I believe, on purpose, 
 at the moment, to disconcert a lady present, 
 remarkable for her prudery : " You have not 
 heard, perhaps," said he, " that a lady, the other 
 day, whose name I shall not mention, questioned 
 her cook-maid about a sweet-bread she had or- 
 dered to be put by : * Betty,* said she, * What 
 is become of the sweet-bread ?' * I have eat it, 
 Madam,' replied Betty : — * But I longed for it;' 
 — * So did I, Madam !' — « But I am with 
 child:'' — * So am I, Madam:' — But I am with 
 child by your master^ hussey !' — And^ so am /, 
 Madam !" An acquaintance of ours. Lord 
 N , was not less ludicrous on a similar oc- 
 casion. Being in a boat on the river Thames, 
 
 with the Duchess of B (a lady of the same 
 
 stamp), and seeing some boys bathing, cried out, 
 affecting great surprise : *' Look, Duchess ! 
 Look at those naked girls in the water ! Is it 
 not a shame?" — " Girls! my Lord, they are 
 hoys !" — " Your Grace knows best.'* But, to 
 return to Voltaire : his features were ugly in 
 the extreme, but the activity of his mind was ex- 
 pressed 
 
35 
 
 pressed in his countenance. No man ever 
 wrote more agreeably, — it is much to be la- 
 mented that he sTiould have done more harm 
 than good. I am sorry to add that he was 
 an enemy to Shakespeare, whom he both 
 copied and condemned — But who would not 
 forgive la jalousie du MetieVy that frailty of hu- 
 man nature, to the indefatigable friend of the 
 unfortunate Call as. The fame of Shake- 
 speare is, out of the reach of slander. — Time, 
 that universal destroyer, is the stamp of genius, 
 and the Works of Homer will be read when the 
 pyramids of Egypt shall be no more. 
 
 KoussEAu,not less famous for his misfortunes 
 than his talents, persecuted and proscribed at 
 Geneva, was at that time at Moitier Travers, a 
 high mountain in the neighbourhood of Neuf 
 Chatel, whither he had retired sulkily from the 
 world, and from whence he wrote his Lettres 
 ie la MontagnCy not the best of his perfor- 
 mances. I took some trouble to get at this ex- 
 traordinary man at the risk of not seeing him at 
 last, for report said, he would see nobody. I 
 passed, however, several hours in his company 
 very agreeably, but found the celebrated author 
 of Emile, as I expected, differing as much in his 
 manners, as in his writings, from his more for- 
 tunate rival. He told me that the only reason 
 that prevented him taking refuge in England, was 
 -D 2 the 
 
36 
 
 the great kindness he had received from the 
 French during twenty-one years residence a- 
 mong them, which did not permit him to seek 
 an asylum in a country in enmity with them; 
 ** malgre toute I'envie qu'il en avoii,'* I know 
 your partiality to this extraordinary man, whose 
 talents you admire, and whose misfortunes you 
 pity; but you will not deny that his writings 
 also are in many parts exceptionable. I have 
 just been reading his Emile : — When the Gover- 
 nor of Emilcj to try the patience of his pupil, 
 supposes the possibility of Sophy's death, and 
 afks what he would do in such a case : — " What 
 J would doy" cries Emile, " / know not ; but this 
 J knowy that I would never see again the face of 
 the man who told 7}ie of it." — What a lesson of 
 Philosophy ! — He also says, ** j^e hais les livres, 
 ils n'apprennent qu' a parltr de ace qu'on ne 
 s^ait pas."-— 'Whsit a declaration from a Man of 
 Letters ! 
 
 Though the death of these great men is a loss 
 to Switzerland, should you pass a summer at 
 Geneva you will not want employment ; make 
 the Tour du Lac, — see the salt-works at Aigle,* 
 
 * Every hundred weight of water contains eleven pounds 
 and ahalf of salt. Thi-y make two thousand five hundred 
 pounds of salt a day. 
 
 visit 
 
37 
 
 — visit Lausanne, Vevay, and Meilleurie, where 
 I remember to have read the NouvelleEloise at 
 a time of my life that rendered every spot it 
 mentioned interesting. Follow the Rhone to its 
 source, and see scenes of savage nature that set 
 the pencil of Salvator at defiance. The Val- 
 lais merits your observation, where, for several 
 weeks together they never see the rays of the 
 sun,* and where the air at no time has a free 
 circulation, — where, among the inhabitants you 
 see creatures scarcely human ; Cretins, whose 
 sagacity is infinitely beneath the instinct of your 
 dog, and whose stature, about four feet high, is 
 rendered more disgustful by immense goitres. t 
 At the Grand St. Bernard you will experi- 
 ence another atmosphere, — perpetual winter, 
 where the thermometer, even in summer, is sel- 
 dom above the freezing point. The Convent, 
 which is one thousand two hundred and forty- 
 one toises above the level of the fca,is probably 
 the highest house in Europe : it takes its name 
 from a French Monk of the twelfth century, 
 who, in the different capacities of saint and hero, 
 founded a hundred and sixty convents, and sent 
 
 * Three weeks before the winter solstice, g.nd three weeks 
 
 after. 
 
 t A kind of wen in the neck, which sometimes grows to 
 ^ immense size. 
 
 in. 
 
38 
 
 innumerable thousands of infatuated wretches 
 to the Crusades, preposterously called Holy wars, 
 from whence they were never to return. The 
 Monks are twelve in number, and of the Au- 
 gustine order. They are of infii)ite service to 
 poor travellers, who frequently would perish 
 from cold and hunger, were it not for their as- 
 sistance. During the winter months they con- 
 stantly send out a person accompanied by great 
 dogs trained for that purpose, to look for such 
 as have lost their way in the snow, or are op- 
 pressed with hunger and fatigue. If they sleep 
 they die, — and yet, I fancy no death is attended 
 with so little pain. We all know how pleasant 
 sleep is after fatigue, and these sleepers awake no 
 more. I went thither in the month of August, 
 and had occasion to remark a strange confusion 
 of the seasons, not less than the extremes of 
 summer and winter in the same day. I rode in 
 my waistcoat in the Vallais, and arrived at the 
 Convent not only with my great coat on, but 
 was glad enough to warm myself by the great 
 fire I found there. This is one passage into 
 Italy, and by some thought to be that of Han- 
 nibal, 
 
 The Glaciere de Chamogni is not less worthy 
 your attention : it has the appearance of a 
 frozen sea, and the ice, which fills the whole vale, 
 
 has 
 
39 
 
 has probably been there ever since the deluge.* 
 The Crevices, and there are many, are danger- 
 ous : be cautious how you venture over them, 
 nor stir a step without your guide. Cherries 
 were not ripe at Chamogni in the month of Au- 
 gust ; — they had not begun hay-making — wo- 
 men were then mowing the grass, and the corn 
 which had been sown in May was but just come 
 into ear. 
 
 If you have time to spare, there is not a can- 
 ton in Switzerland that has not, besides its na- 
 tural beauties, some particularities either in the 
 government, production, industry, manners, or 
 even dress of its inhabitants that merit observa- 
 tion. The Protestant Cantons are better peo- 
 pled, more rich, and more flourishing than the 
 Catholic ; and you will observe that, notwith- 
 standing its barren mountains, they reckon a 
 thousand inhabitants for every league square : — 
 France reckons eight hundred only. This ex- 
 traordinary difference is only to be accounted 
 for by the difference of their religion and go- 
 
 , * The ice that melts in the summer, is renewed by the 
 snow that falls in the winter. The Glaciere is also sup- 
 plied by the snow which melts on the neighbouring moun- 
 tains during the day, and falls into the Valley, where it 
 freezes after sun-set. 
 
 vern-p 
 
' 40 
 
 vernment, Lavater, the celebrated physiog* 
 nomist, will discover the disposition of your 
 mind by the look of your countenance ; and 
 Michael Schuppack, called, the Physician 
 of the Mountain, will determine the state- 
 of your body from the appearance of your 
 water. 
 
 If you are a musician, listen to the Renz des 
 VacheSy the favourite Swiss tune, and remember 
 that useful lesson, de Gustibus non est disputan- 
 dum* You may have heard, perhaps, that this 
 famous tune is forbidden to be played by the 
 Sw-ss troops in the service of France, as it occa- 
 sions la mcdadie du pays (a longing to return 
 home). It is not so charming but any other man 
 except a Swiss may listen to it without danger. 
 
 See the fall of the Rhine, and, if an admirer 
 of mechanism, examine the curious bridge at 
 SchafFhouse, a single arch, a span of three 
 hundred and forty-two feet, made by a com-., 
 mon carpenter.* 
 
 If picturesque beauties please you, visit the 
 lakes, and if your search after knowledge, be 
 proof against fatigue and danger, the summit 
 of Mount Blanc is an enterprise worthy of you. 
 Mount Blanc is not only the highest mountain 
 
 Ulrick Grubenma» of Appenzell, 
 
 in 
 
41 
 
 m Europe, but probably in the world, if measured 
 from the base on which it stands.* 
 
 The arsenal at Berne presents you "with the 
 statue of William Tell, shooting at an apple 
 on the head of his son. The history of that 
 event is as interesting as it is strange. Gesler, 
 Governor of Uri, proud, insolent, and brutal, 
 not content with the respect that was due to his 
 office, but intoxicated with power^ fixed his hat 
 on a pole in the market-place at AltorfF, capital 
 of the province, and ordered the inhabitants on 
 pain of death, to bow to it as they passed. 
 William Tell, a young man, whose principles 
 M^ere republican, and whose spirit could ill brook 
 this vile idolatry, disobeyed the order, and was 
 condemned by the tyrant to shoot with a cross- 
 bow an apple placed on the head of his favourite 
 son, which missing, designedly or otherwise, be 
 was immediately to be put to death. Tell, 
 %laocked at the order — shuddering at the risk — 
 preferred instant death to such a trial, and made 
 a voluntary offer of his own life to save that of 
 
 *, Monsieur de Saussfre, Professor of Natural His- 
 tory at Geneva, ascended it on the first of August, 1787, 
 as Monsieur Pa cc a rd, Physician at Chamouni, the first 
 adventurer, had done the year before. 
 
 his 
 
42 . 
 
 his innocent child, but was told that unless he 
 submitted to his sentence, both should die. Re- 
 monstrance was of no avail — resistance impos- 
 sible, and Tell submitted to his fate. The 
 awful moment arrives — the market-place is 
 crowded with spectators, and Gesler himself 
 present. — The son is placed at a short distance 
 before his father ^ — an apple on his head. Fancy 
 to yourself the solemn silence that then pre- 
 vailed — fancy to yourself what were the feelings 
 of the multitude, of the son, of the father : — at 
 length, the arrow flies, and pierces the apple, 
 when it should have pierced the Tyrant's 
 heart.* 
 
 The triumph of innocence had been incom- 
 plete had it ended thus. A coward is always as 
 suspicious as he is cruel, and Gesler perceiving 
 another arrow which Tell had endeavoured to 
 conceal, asked him for what purpose that arrow 
 was intended ? — " For you /" — replied the hero, 
 — ** for you ! had I slain my son.'" A brave 
 answer like this, no tyrant could forgive : Tell 
 
 * Suetonius tells us that Domitian could shoot an 
 nrrow, even at a considerable distance, betwixt a boy's 
 fingers, without wounding either of them. Aster wrote 
 on his arrow: " To the right eye o/'PiiiLir." These 
 rcoder this account of William Tell less improbable. 
 
 was 
 
4.3 
 
 was immediately seized, bound, and forced into a 
 boat destined to transport him to a fortress on the 
 bank of the lake ; where, to see his orders exe- 
 cuted, and perhaps to enjoy the distress of his 
 victim, Gksler accompanies him. The dag- 
 ger, which though unperceived, still hangs by a 
 single thread over the head of the innocent, 
 when guilty to such an excess could not fail to 
 fall on the Governor of Uri. — The very ele- 
 ments take part against him, force him to un- 
 Jbind his captive, and seek his own safety from 
 the skill of the man on whom he had so lately 
 exercised such unheard of cruelty. Tradition 
 relates that, by the extraordinary exertions of 
 Tell, the boat approached the shore, when he 
 instandy leapt out, and making his escapcj lay in 
 wait for his Excellency the Governor, at a place 
 which he knew he must pass, and there ( I should 
 have seen it with pleasure} struck the tyrant to 
 the heart, and freed his country. 
 
 I now address you as a soldier, and recom- 
 mend the military history of this warlike people 
 to your attention. Famous have been their ex- 
 ploits ! — Inferior always in number to their ene- 
 my, they either conquered, or bravely died. I do 
 not recollect one dishonourable retreat. Morat 
 still possesses the precious relics of a defeated 
 army, and Saint Jaques, — Pardon me, ye im- 
 mortal heroes of Thermopyle; pardon me, if I 
 
 drop 
 
44 
 
 drop a tear to the memory of your rivals at Saint 
 Jaques ! * 
 
 ^ The army of the I>UKE of Burgundy, consisting of 
 forty-five thousand men, was entirely defeated at Moral : 
 twenty-five thousand were loft dead on the field of battle. 
 Over the building, where their bones are preserved, you 
 read the following laconic inscription : 
 
 " Deo Opt. Max. 
 " Caroli inclyti et fortissimi Burgundiae Ducis Exercitus 
 Muratum Obsidens ab Helvetiis csesus hoc sui Monumen- 
 tum reliquit. Anno imcccclxxvi." 
 
 At the Plains of Saint Jacques near Basle, fifteen 
 hundred Swiss engaged the whole French army, consisting 
 of thirty thousand men, where, after a terrible slaughter of 
 the enemy, they were all slain except ten, who, on their 
 return home, were declared infamous for surviving their 
 countrj'^men. The French army was commanded by the 
 Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI. The battle was fought 
 the 26th of August, 1444, and the bodies of eight thousand 
 French were left dead on the plain. It has been said of 
 the Swiss that fell : — " Ad extremum non victi Suitenses, 
 scd vjnccndo fatigati inter ingcntes hostium Catervas ceci- 
 derunt," 
 
 LET- 
 
45 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 FROM Geneva, or from Lyons, you may go 
 to Turin either by voiturier or post. In a 
 poor country like this you must not expect to find 
 excellent roads, or good accommodations.—- 
 Ratding cascades and roaring rivers, woods, 
 rocks, and mountains, supply the deficiency at 
 first, perhaps, not disagreeably, and afi:erwards, 
 pchzienza^ a word constantly used by the Italians 
 in all their distresses, and the first an English- 
 man should learn in travelling through their 
 country. 
 
 The more you consider the Monte della grotta, 
 the more it will astonish you, where an excel- 
 lent road was cut through a solid rock by 
 Charles Emanuel II, Duke of Savoy, in 
 the year 1670 : a stupendous work, little infe- 
 rior to that of Posilippo.* The inscription does 
 
 * Grotta di Posilippo, at Naples, thought to have beea 
 ^ade by Luct^tLVs. 
 
 honor 
 
46 
 
 honor both to the Prince and the Author : it is 
 elegant without flattery, and mentions the dif- 
 ficulties he overcame without exceeding the 
 truth.—" Natura occlusam, Romanis intentatam, 
 ceteris desperatam^ (^c/* 
 
 Some think that it was near les Echelles that 
 Hannibal made his first attack on the tremen- 
 dous rocks which opposed his passage into 
 Italy. Three different places have been named 
 by Plutarch, LivY,and Polybius. I should 
 myself incline to the litde Saint Bernard, for this 
 reason: Polybius wrote nearest the time the 
 event happened, was intimate in the family of 
 Scipio, and what is perhaps most material of 
 all, was himself a soldier. Livy tells us that he 
 dissolved the rock with vinegar.* However 
 ridiculous this story may appear, you will allow, 
 in whatever manner he effected it, it was a great 
 attempt worthy the enterprising spirit of that 
 brave Carthagenian. Here I saw a poor soli- 
 tary girl attending a few goats and sheep, that 
 brought to my mind la Bergere des Alpes, t and I 
 was at that moment sentimentally enough in- 
 clined to fancy I saw many beauties that upon 
 nearer acquaintance I might not have found. 
 
 * Also Juvenal, — " Et Monies nipit aceto." 
 
 Sat. 10. 
 f Mar M OK TEL, Contes Moraux, 
 
 Here 
 
47 
 
 Here I had the happiness to afford some re- 
 lief to a poor traveling Enghshman, not because 
 he was my countryman, but because he was in 
 distress, and in a strange land. I flatter myself 
 I should have given an Italian the preference in 
 England for the same good reason. The plea- 
 sure a generous mind receives in relieving the 
 distress of a fellow-creature, is in proportion to 
 his wants, and above all local prejudice. I ad- 
 mire these liberal sentiments in another, I en- 
 courage them in myself, and wish every Briton 
 thought the same. 
 
 If you mean to see the grande Chartreuse ^ an 
 object deserving a traveller's notice, you turn off 
 at les Echelles, Should you at any time visit 
 Grenoble, remember Bayard's tomb : a gentle- 
 man, who, by a conduct as irreproachable as gal- 
 lant, obtained from an envious world a tide 
 beyond the power of Sovereigns to bestow :— 
 he was called to the day of his death, " Le 
 Chevalier sans reproche, et sans peurJ* 
 
 Before you arrive at Chamberry you will see 
 a cascade that is said to fall one hundred and 
 fifty feet perpendicular. Chamberry, capital of 
 Savoy, and once the residence of its Dukes, is a 
 small ill populated town of a melancholy appear- 
 ance, not ill suited to the poverty of the inhabi- 
 tants. It is well situated, and as a summer resi- 
 dence not without advantages, but partakes too 
 
 much 
 
48 
 
 much of the Alpine snow to be agreeable in 
 winter. The Savoyards are a brave and gene- 
 rous people, industrious though not encouraged, 
 and chearful though oppressed. In former times 
 they were a warlike and respectable nation. The 
 Allobroges are frequently mentioned in the 
 history of ancient Rome, and the conspiracy of 
 Cataline was discovered by means of their Am- 
 bassadors. Alas ! where are their Ambassadors 
 now ? Modern Savoyards are reduced to the 
 dreadful alternative of starving at home, or sub- 
 mitting to the meanest of all occupations abroad. 
 I admire the character of the people, and lament 
 the cruel policy of the Court of Piedmont that 
 keeps this country poor, as the surest means of 
 securing it to themselves. In this neighbour- 
 hood are the baths of Aix, a chalybiate water, 
 much resorted to in the proper season. 
 
 The wine of Mont Melian is famous. At 
 Aiguebelle you should see the remains of the 
 village of Randan, destroyed in the year 1750, 
 by the fall of a "Tnountain. The fate of Randan 
 was similar to that of Valeia* Les Avalenches 
 in some parts of the Alps are dangerous in the 
 spring.* ■ Travellers at that time are careful 
 
 * An Avalanche is a large body of snow, which, detach* 
 iiig itself from the mountain, overwhelms all beneath. 
 
 to 
 
49 
 
 to make as little noise as possible, lest the sudden 
 vibration of the air should detach the snow that 
 is hanging over their heads. I have read of 
 one, four hundred feet long, ninety-four wide, 
 and sixty-six deep, that buried for thirty-seven 
 days two women and a child in a stable, who, 
 during that whole time lived on the milk of two 
 goats they had with them, drinking the snow 
 water which they melted with their hands. The 
 goats were better off — they had their usual pro- 
 vender within their reach. 
 
 The roads in this country are made and kept 
 in repair by the parishes. The poor peasant is 
 obliged to work in proportion to the number of 
 bis cattle ; an increase of wealth only exposes 
 bim to an increase of oppression. Our turn- 
 pikes, though expensive, are upon a better prin- 
 ciple, for those only contribute who are bene- 
 fited by them. You will pass over many a tot- 
 tering bridge, and travel on the brink of many a 
 |)recipice. There is no danger, and yet I could 
 Dot help sometimes looking down upon them with 
 ^he same terror as if they were to be my grave. 
 On one of these mountains a Hermit has chosen 
 his residence. — You will seldom see a spot better 
 fitted to meditation. But when I consider the 
 gloom that surrounds it ; the slender fare, pro- 
 bably such only as the woods afford, and the ri- 
 gour of a long winter, eight months at the least, 
 
 VOL. i^ E I am 
 
50 
 
 I am at a loss to conceive what abominable 
 crime that man had committed who fint thought 
 such mortification necessary. The horror oFthe 
 scene reminded me of the reply the old hermit 
 made to a young fellow of a very dissolute life, 
 " Father," said he, "you will be badly off if 
 there is not another world!" — " True son," 
 replied the hermit, " but you will be worse off 
 if there is." 
 
 As you approach Lanenbourg the vale be- 
 comes narrower, the ascent more rapid, and the 
 face of the country more miserable. The in- 
 habitants are poor in the extreme : they cultivate 
 a little corn on the side of the mountain where- 
 ever corn will grow : in summer they make the 
 bread they eat in winter — bread that they soften 
 with the melted snow, and, I make no doubt, 
 frequently with their tears. The minds of the 
 people are as little cultivated, and the manners 
 as little improved, as the country they inhabit. 
 Here nature reigns in despite of art, and here 
 probably are the cloud-capped*' mountains that 
 will last decay. As for the outward appearance 
 of the natives, itis scarcely human, and we might 
 Conclude with the Poet, that, ** Some of nature'.s 
 journeymen had made them, and not made them 
 well; they imitate humanity so abominably." 
 Many are disfigured by goitres : — various have 
 been the conjectures concerning this strange ex- 
 
 cre- 
 
51 
 
 crescence, — I had myself my doubts till I read 
 Captain Cook's Second Voyage to the Southern 
 Hemisphere ; he tells us that the melted ice which 
 his sailors drankforwantof water produced a si- 
 milar effect. InTartary the goitre is observed in 
 similar situations, as in the Alps ; females are 
 more subject to it than males. Forster at- 
 tributes the cause to a deprivation of fixed air 
 in the iced water : others account for it more 
 simply by the continual use of water always cold 
 in the extreme. In either case, the opinion pretty 
 generally received of a mineral substance in the 
 water itself is completely refuted. These goitres 
 sometimes grow to an immense size, are hor- 
 ridly ugly, and yet custom has rendered them so 
 familiar to the eyes of the inhabitants, that they 
 are considered as a beauty. I have been told 
 that a stranger going into a church at Saint Jean 
 de Maurienne, was laughed at for being with- 
 out one ! It is said, however, that the Priest 
 rebuked them for it in the wordsof our Saviour, 
 and wisely remarked that, " It is better to enter 
 into Paradise without a goitre^ than with the best 
 of goitres to suffer everlasting damnation."* 
 
 You will see many an orang outang^ but not 
 one Antinous. It is true that animal treads close 
 
 * Vide eighteenth chapter of Saint Matthew. 
 
 E 2 upon 
 
' 52 
 
 upon our heels. I shall never forget an obser- 
 vation of a noble Lord of my acquaintance; he 
 said, " He never saw a monkey but he was 
 ready to shake him by the hand, and call him 
 Cousin:" — a strange proof how little we know 
 ourselves, for, had he seen himself as we saw 
 him, he would have been the last person to have 
 made the observation. 
 
 You may judge what kind of living we met with 
 in this poor country. You may hear talk of hares 
 and partridges, gelinottes and cocs de bruyere, 
 but you will not see one of them.* The fowls 
 we ate were killed on purpose for us, and were 
 tougher than the meat of which I.ady Mary 
 WoRTLEY Mom TAG UE complains. Had these 
 poor people been Turks, and our Vetturinos 
 Janissaries, they must have been utterly ruined. t 
 
 At length we arrived at Lanenbourg, a well- 
 peopled village at the foot of Mount Cenis, the 
 passage of which mountain constantly employs 
 the principal part of the inhabitants. Your 
 
 * The hares and partridges upon the Alps are said to 
 turn white in the winter. 
 
 t Lady Mary Wortlky Montague's Janissaries 
 obliged the Turks to pay them for the use of their teeth, 
 Avorn with doing them the honor of eating their meat.— 
 Vide that Lady's Letters. 
 
 Vet- 
 
53 
 
 Vetturino has all the trouble of dealing with 
 them, but were you to travel post they could 
 take no advantage of your ignorance. The 
 price is fixed, and a person appointed to provide 
 the number of men and mules that are necessary 
 for you : no imposition is suffered. In this the 
 King of Sardinia differs from all other Sove- 
 reigns, and kindly takes the ignorant and de- 
 fenceless traveller under his protection, — thank 
 him in your heart, for he saves you much cx- 
 pence and trouble. 
 
 Those Travellers who have been brought up 
 In Sybarite eflPeminacy, whose tender limbs are 
 offended with the folds of a rose leaf — are fa- 
 tigued at the sight of another's labour, and ex- 
 pect all the comforts of their own country in the 
 midst of these frozen mountains, will have a bad 
 time of it at Lanenbourg, while those who are 
 urged on by an interesting pursuit, be it what it 
 may, will look forward like Hannibal towards 
 the fertile plains of Italy, and a moment's re- 
 flection on the hardships he suffered in his pas- 
 sage, may make them think their coarse living, 
 luxury. Comfort, my good Sir, is unknown in 
 Savoy. — What we English call comfort, is not 
 understood I believe in any other country, nor 
 to be ex^rest in any other language. It is rest 
 of the body, it is repose of the mind, without 
 business, without bustle, and with every thing 
 
 con- 
 
54 
 
 convenient and pleasant about you : — it is often 
 lost in a palace, and found in a cottage, — it is in 
 itself a trifle : — a trifle gives it — a trifle takes it 
 away : — it is a cheerful room — a good fire — a 
 dish of tea — but — not as I am now drinking it, 
 with a chimney that smokes, a door I can't shut, 
 and a window that is broken. It would be dif- 
 ficult to relate all I suffered at Lanenbourg ;— 
 I never passed such a night! — I slept in my 
 cloaths — the bed was full of bugs — the house full 
 of people— and, to mend the matter, my good 
 
 neighbours above, p d upon me through the 
 
 ceiling — I dreamt I was drowning, and fancied 
 I was in the sea.* 
 
 We were ready early — we had no temptation 
 to lengthen our stay at Lanenbourg. When 
 the morning appeared, and the chairs were pre- 
 pared, we set out nobly escorted, each chair 
 having six or eight chairmen to attend it, and ta 
 relieve one another.t The avant guard consisted 
 of a considerable number of mules loaded with 
 
 * The beds in this country have no testers. 
 
 ■f A light elbow chair without legs, having a board slung 
 to support your feet. It is fastened to two long poles, and 
 carried like a sedan. By writing to Turin, sedan chairs may 
 be procured, if illness or the badness of the weather should 
 make them necessary. 
 
 our 
 
55 
 
 our baggage, and the wreck of a carriage that 
 seemed so completely undone as to leave little 
 hopes of ever being restored to its former state,— 
 our servants and Vetturinos mounted, brought 
 up the rear. 
 
 The ascent of the mountain is rendered as 
 easy as the height will permit.* To gain the 
 summit you may suppose a work of labour,— it 
 is also a work of time. Many are the resting 
 places, and many the relays. On one of these 
 occasions a dispute arose who should carry my 
 children, or rather who should not carry me; 
 the consequence of which was, that they set me 
 down, and the dispute continued so long, and 
 Was so obstinately contested, that I began to 
 think they never intended to take me up again. 
 We arrived at the top at last. Should you re- 
 turn in winter, you may descend rapidly on a 
 sledge (v'hich they call ramasser)^ and in a few 
 minutes find yourself at the bottom of a moun- 
 tain that took you more than an hour to ascend. 
 It is not dangerous, and saves much time and 
 trouble. The plain that now opened before us 
 is still encompassed by higher mountains where 
 the snow never melts. I once passed mount 
 Cenis in summer j the plain was then covered 
 
 * The Plain is one thousand toises above the Mediter- 
 ranean. 
 
 with 
 
56 
 
 with flowers ; it was now covered with snow. 
 Excellent pasture then formed a delightful con- 
 trast with the misery that surrounded it— all 
 now was of one colour, and all was horrid. It 
 is about six miles over. The lake is well 
 stocked with excellent trout, though it is frozen 
 at least seven months out of the twelve.* 
 
 At the Grande Croix your chairmen stop to 
 refresh themselves. It is not the interest of the 
 traveller they should stop too long, lest they 
 should drink too much. A few miles distant 
 on the right is the famous Col de VAssiette^ 
 where Count Belli sle made an unsuccessful 
 attack in the year 1749, and lost his life; but, 
 what is more to be lamented, sacrificed a parcel 
 of brave fellows in an enterprise more worthy of 
 Don Quixote than of an experienced com- 
 mander, A letter to his mistress was found in 
 his pocket after his death, giving her the news of 
 his victory — though the general was short-sighted, 
 you will allow that he was provident. From 
 one of these mountains, (it must ever, I believe, 
 remain uncertain which) Hann ibal first viewed 
 
 * Cattle are brought hither at St. Jean, and remain till 
 the first snow falls, which is usually some time in October. 
 The cows arc milked twice a day, and give from sixteen t^ 
 twenty pints. The cheese is excellent. 
 
 the 
 
57 
 
 the rich vale of Lombardy. He had employed 
 fifteen days in his passage — two days he passed 
 on the summit : — Turin was his first military 
 enterprise. 
 
 The descent into Piedmont is rapid; it v/ould 
 be dangerous were the chairmen less expert. 
 At Novalese we dined while our baggage was 
 visited and our carriage put together. I can- 
 not express the pleasure I felt at my arrival on 
 this side the Alps. I doubt if the sight of the 
 long- wished- for plains of Italy was more wel- 
 come to Hannibal who had suffered innumer- 
 able difficulties, had lost three thousand horse 
 and the best of his infantry, than the inn at 
 Novalese to your humble servant — half starved 
 with cold and hunger. We slept at Suze, the 
 first town in Piedmont, a place of considerable 
 strength, which secures this pass into Italy. 
 Here are the remains of a triumohal arch said to 
 be of the time of Augustus, the first with which 
 you meet ; see it if you can, for at your return 
 it will no longer be worth your notice.' If you 
 arrive in summer you will be astonished at the 
 LiiccioleSy little flies that have the phosphoric 
 quality of the glow-worm, and are peculiar to 
 this side the Alps ; — at Naples the air is full of 
 them. 
 
 At the Palace of Rivoli, Victor Amadeus 
 was confined and died. He had resigned his 
 
 crown 
 
58 
 
 crown to his son some years before, and was 
 afterwards weak enough to wish to take it back. 
 The Sovereign who abdicates is seldom so long 
 between his throne and the grave.* 
 
 From Rivoli to Turin the road is beautiful. — 
 An avenue of about six miles in length is ter- 
 minated by the Superga.t On the seventh day 
 we arrived at the capital of Piedmont. 
 
 * The abdication of Victor Amadeus II. is thought 
 to have been a stroke of policy to avoid a momentary evil. 
 He chose Chambery for his retreat at the age of sixty-four. 
 This took place September 2d, 1730. He returned to 
 Piedmont the August following, and went to jNIontcallier, 
 vhere shortly after, intuiguing to recover the throne, he 
 was made prisoner by his son, and sent to Rivoli, where 
 he died. Had the father siJcceeded, it is probable the son 
 had suffered the same fate. The King had already married 
 the Ccuntess St. Sebastian, his mistress, and the succession 
 might have taken another course. 
 
 t This church was built by Victor Amadeus to 
 satisfy a vow, made when the town was besieged by the 
 French in 1706. He is buried here, and it is since become 
 Ihe mausoleum of the family. 
 
 LET- 
 
59 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 TURIN is the capital of Piedmont, and the 
 residence of the King of Sardinia, a 
 title taken from an island in the Mediterranean, 
 otherwise he is only Duke of Savoy, and his son . 
 Prince of Piedmont. It was Victor Amadeus 
 Duke of Savoy, who exchanged Sicily for Sar- 
 dinia, an exchange dictated by necessity, not by 
 interest, for the title of King excepted, the ad- 
 vantage received from this island, famous at the 
 time of the Repubhc of Rome, and frequently a 
 cause of her quarrels with the Carthagenians, is 
 very inconsiderable. 
 
 Nothing but an insuperable dislike to sea ex-, 
 peditions prevented my visiting Sardinia last 
 summer. An account I have since received of 
 the manners of the inhabitants from a friend who 
 is just returned, has satisfied every wish, and un- 
 less I had as many lives as a cat, should scarcely 
 
 be 
 
60 
 
 be persuaded to venture myself among them. 
 The equipage of a Sardinian is a horse, a gun, 
 and a stiletto. , He always goes armed, even to 
 church, and is thus at all times prepared to defend 
 himself, or offend his neighbour. The island is 
 in continual warfare, and the strength of the go- 
 vernment is insufficient to punish offenders. A 
 few months ago a pitched battle was fought be- 
 tween two parishes ; the curate, who was at the 
 head of one of them was immediately made rec- 
 tor, and all the others pardoned. The Governor 
 told my friend that he knew no better method 
 than to reward, as he dared not punish. But to 
 return to Turin. 
 
 The town is pleasantly situated on a plain at 
 the foot of the Alps, seven hundred and thirty- 
 five feet above the level of the sea, is three miles 
 in circumference, and contains about eighty 
 thousand inhabitants. The new town is well 
 built and regular ; the streets are strait, wide, 
 and not ill paved, and are easily kept clean, as 
 they can be overflowed at pleasure. La rue du 
 Po is beautiful. Large squares and magnificent 
 buildings are not wanting, though they are nei- 
 ther numerous nor remarkable. Churches there 
 are many, few worth seeing, the Chapel of Le 
 Saint Suaire excepted, on account of itsprecious 
 relic, the winding-sheet of our Saviour. This 
 
 happens 
 
61 
 
 happens not to be the only one; but the Pied- 
 montois wisely persuade themselves that it is the 
 true one.* When the Abbe de Marolles was 
 shewn the head of Saint John at Amiens, he 
 said, as he kissed it, " God be thanked^ this is the 
 fifth or sixth I have already had the honor of kiss~ 
 ing.** The Superga you should see for the sake 
 of the view. It was built to satisfy a vow made 
 by Victor Amadeus in 1706, when the town 
 was besieged by the French. — A French author 
 observes with some humour, and probably not 
 without some truth, that he must have been con- 
 foundedly frightened to have made such a vow, 
 and erect such a building at such an enormous 
 expence. It was from this elevated spot that 
 Victor Amadeus and Prince Eugene recon- 
 noitred the French army : the Capuchins' Con- 
 vent you should also visit ; — the latter was a 
 principal post in possession of the French at the 
 time of the siege. 
 
 The Palace of the King is well furnished with 
 pictures of the best masters ; it would exceed 
 ray plan to describe them, or the famous 
 Gerrard Dow would not be the only one 
 I should recommend to your observation. 
 
 * Besanfon, capital of Franche Comtc, has also itjs 
 Saint Suaire, as well as Turin and ^ome. 
 
 The 
 
62 
 
 The extreme purity of this Court has banished 
 some naked beauties, which do honor in the 
 execution at least to their authors, and are worth 
 your inquiry. The other Palaces are those of 
 the Duke of Savoy and Prince of Carignan. 
 
 The citadel, which is one of the strongest in 
 Europe, cannot be seen without leave : — as for 
 me, I had enough of citadels at Luxembourg ;— 
 besides, I will confess to you, although you are 
 a soldier, that I admire nothing about them ex- 
 cept their neatness. I might it is true have been 
 better acquainted with their excellencies, having 
 studied fortification when at Geneva under a 
 famous engineer, at whose house I boarded, but 
 at that age the old gentleman's discourse, and the 
 terms he used, only served, I fear, to put me in 
 mind of his fair daughter. 
 
 The army of Piedmont is respectable, and 
 consists in time of peace of not less than thirty 
 thousand men. The military order of Saint 
 Maurice is a green riband worn like that of 
 Saint Lou IS in France. The Annunciation, the 
 most ancient order in Europe, is the blue riband 
 of Savoy. The government is absolute. The 
 executive .power is in the hands of a Senate ap- 
 pointed by the King. The revenue is about a 
 million sterling, which is expended with great 
 frugality. The police, I am told, is good : 
 the people are quiet and seem contented. 
 
 Bread 
 
63 
 
 Bread and meat are sold at a fixed price ; the 
 shape of the bread is particular — you buy a stick 
 of bread, not a loaf: those who like crust belter 
 than crumb should eat no other. 
 
 The commerce of Piedmont consists chiefly of 
 cattle and raw silk, much of the latter returns 
 again into the country after it is made up. The 
 balance of trade is not in their favor, and more 
 money is sent out of the country than comes into 
 it. Silk stockings are famous at Turin ; if you 
 want any buy them there. The silk of Piedmont 
 is said to be superior to any other, but whether 
 the leaves of the mulberry are of a better quality, 
 or the water in which the silk is spun off con- 
 tributes to its strength, I cannot determine. You 
 know this is the white mulberry, a tree planted 
 an purpose for the silk-worm : the leaf is 
 smoother and more delicate than ours, but the 
 fruit is not good to eat. . The silk-worm is 
 hatched in the month of April, and is regularly 
 fed with these leaves till it spins the silk. Shortly 
 after it makes it appearance in the shape of a 
 grub, then of a moth, when they engender, lay 
 their eggs, and die. Sensuality might envy this 
 last state of their existence, w^hen probably the 
 excess of their pleasure is in proportion to the 
 short duration of their lives. The silk is spoiled 
 if the grub eats its way out, to prevent which 
 they preserve only enough to breed, and kill the 
 
 rest 
 
64 
 
 rest by the heat of an oven. The males are 
 easily distinguished, one end being pointed ; the 
 females havp both ends round. The climate of 
 England is not favourable to the silk-worm, a 
 native of China, but it is the peculiar privilege of 
 our fortunate isle to enrich hefself by the pro- 
 duce of other countries : they were first intro- 
 duced into Europe by the Emperor Justinian, 
 to whom the modern Romans are obliged for a 
 piece of effeminacy unknown to the Caesars. — 
 At the time of Aurelian, silk was valued at its 
 weight in gold. 
 
 The Academy at present is Httle frequented by 
 strangers, nor is the University in any great re- 
 pute. Science seldom flourishes under a mili- 
 tary government, nor do the Arts, music ex- 
 cepted, receive much encouragement. Pug- 
 niani, Giardini, Viotti, &:c., are Pied- 
 montois, and the unfortunate David Rizzio, 
 a better musician than a statesman, to whom the 
 Scotch may probably have been indebted for the 
 elegance of their ballads, was also of this coun- 
 try. The famous Bodoni, a native of Pied- 
 mont, is established at Parma. I think it is the 
 observation of Baretti, that Piedmont never 
 produced a Poet : — I dont know how it 
 should, — till the other day they had neither 
 Grammar nor Dictionary I The language is a 
 patois, partly French, partly Italian ; and so 
 
 strangely 
 
65 
 
 Strangely corrupted, that it is not understood 
 by either of those nations : however. Count 
 Alfieri has at last effaced that blot from their 
 character, and has written several tragedies in 
 which you will find sentiments not unworthy 
 an ancient Roman. The Public Library of the 
 University is open to you when you please, and 
 in the Museum you will find entertainment for 
 an idle hour. La Table Isiaque is covered with 
 hieroglyphics, which the learned world will be 
 obliged to any one to explain. 
 
 The Hospital I am told is well provided with 
 every necessary convenience. At the Apothi- 
 carie medicines are administered to the poor 
 gratist dindi physicians and surgeons appointed to 
 attend them. 
 
 The Opera is one of the best in Italy ; it is di- 
 rected by a set of gentlemen who receive the 
 profits, and take the trouble and expence upon 
 themselves. The Theatre is immense; nor is it 
 unusual to see a company of soldiers or a troop of 
 horse make their appearance upon the stage. It 
 was at this theatre, among other extraordinary 
 things, that I saw Mithridates sprain his 
 ancle by falling into the sea. The Court in my 
 time was as regular as the clock. The opera was 
 of necessity to finish exactly at ten j and if one 
 air took more time in singing than usual, the 
 next was shortened to bring matters even. The 
 
 VOL. I, F great 
 
66 
 
 great theatre is open only during the carnival. 
 There is another theatre for burlettas and plays. 
 Boxes are always to be bought for the night.— 
 The Noblesse (all of them are not rich) will 
 sometimes accommodate foreigners with theirs 
 when they do not go themselves. An odd thing 
 happened,— I had a box for the season, — a lady 
 of my acquaintance borrowed the key for one 
 night, — I sent it her, and having unexpectedly 
 occasion a few hours after for a box myself, I 
 sent to buy one, and, to my great astonishment, 
 bought my own key again. The pit in Italy is 
 more convenient than in France, where the com- 
 pany are obhged to stand, though I know not 
 why they are made to undergo so unnecessary 
 and so severe a penance. 
 
 The royal villas in the neighbourhood are 
 worth your seeing. At Stupigny you may hunt 
 with the King. Though much inferior to the 
 diversion you are used to in England, the coup 
 d'csil is finfi ; I' equipage de chasscy magnifiqice ; 
 and the hunting interesting on this side the Alps 
 at least, for on leaving Turin you will not see 
 another hound. Formerly there was a public 
 breakfast, and those who were of the hunt and 
 wore the uniform partook of it. It was a hot 
 meal more resembling a dinner than a breakfast, 
 and the hard riding afterwards seldom failed to 
 give me the head-ach. The etiquette observed 
 
 here 
 
61 
 
 here in hunting, of not passing the King, might 
 displease a keen sportsman. Whenever I saw 
 Royalty, I took another road. It was at my 
 return from one of these hunts that I met with 
 
 the accident W told you of. The fair of 
 
 Montcallier was unluckily on the same day as 
 the hunt, and all Turin was assembled there. 
 The road had two lines of coaches returning 
 homewards, leaving an interval but just sufficient 
 for one carriage to pass. I was in an English 
 post-chaise with four horses. My postillions, I 
 know not why, fancied I was in a hurry, and broke 
 the rank, — in consequence of which we presently 
 met an unfortunate man on horseback, who, not 
 having room to pass, was knocked down, and 
 run over ; and the struggles of his horse over- 
 turned the chaise. The scene was dreadful !— 
 Figure to yourself a carriage overturned — har- 
 ness broken — a horse killed — a man to all appear- 
 ance dying — two bleeding figures getting out of 
 the window of the chaise, and two postillions on 
 their knees expecting to be instantly put to death, 
 begging for mercy : a Confessor who was hold- 
 ing up the cross to the dying man, added not a 
 litde to the horror of a scene that would make a 
 very interesting picture. Madame de Sevigne 
 relates with infinite humour a story somewhat si- 
 milar, but as I am not a Bishop, instead of cutting 
 off the man's ears and breaking his bones, 1 had 
 him taken care of and cured at my ej< pence. 
 
 F 2 The 
 
68 
 
 The climate of Piedmont may not please you. 
 It is not unusual for a place that is very cold in 
 winter, to be equally hot in summer. It is the 
 case of Turin. The spring and autumn are 
 the best seasons, and you may then be sure of a 
 good burletta opera. Should you come into 
 Italy late in the year, and intend to pass two 
 winters on this side the Alps, see the beginning 
 of the carnival at Turin, and the end of it at 
 Milan. Pass the sunimer in Tuscany, the fol- 
 lowing winter at Rome and Naples ; part of the 
 spring at Venice, and as much time as you can 
 afterwards spare in Switzerland. 
 
 Private apartments are to be had at Turin, 
 and at the inns good accommodation. The 
 Turinese live more a la Fran^oise than other 
 Italians. The cookery is not bad. You who 
 are fond of trufles will regale on those of Pied- 
 mont: it is a pity the smell is not as agreeable 
 as the taste— they make the breath stink worse 
 than onions. It was here, in the year 1765, I 
 met that eccentric genius Sterne — Alas, poor 
 Yorick! many a merry hour have I passed in 
 thy company, admired thy wit, and laughed at 
 thy vagaries ! — hours that might have been more 
 profitably employed, but never more agreeably. 
 
 The Turinese nobility have many indulgen- 
 cies : they have one disadvantage ; they cannot 
 absent themselves from the kingdom without 
 permission: the policy may be good with regard 
 
 to 
 
69 
 
 to Piedmont, yet the being restrained from 
 going where he pleases, is the most severe re- 
 striction that can be laid on man. The women 
 are handsome, and are thought to partake of the 
 warmth of the Italian climate. They have no 
 Cicisbeo's, persons whose office I shall explain 
 hereafter, but intrigue a la mode de France, 
 whose manners they imitate. Strangers are not 
 ill received by them, but their own officers 
 better; and as the garrison is relieved every two 
 years, the ladies are accustomed to variety. In- 
 constancy is first occasioned by necessity, and 
 continued afterwards by choice. La Bruyere 
 says, " Qu'il est plus rare de trouver une Jemme 
 qui n'eut eu qu'un amant, que d^en trouver une 
 qui ii'en tut point eu;" — though husbands are 
 no longer jealous, all are not equally patient. The 
 
 Marquis having discovered a private door 
 
 in his garden wall, by which his wife's gallant 
 entered by night, he had it walled up a few hours 
 before the time of his arrival. The lover was 
 punctual, and passed the greatest part of the 
 night in searching after a door that no longer 
 existed;' — the lady passed her time not less dis- 
 agreeably in expectation and disappointment. 
 Early in the morning the door was replaced. 
 The lover swore and intreated, but all in vain ; 
 the lady was inexorable; the door gave the lie 
 to all he said, and he was discarded for ever. 
 
 If 
 
70 
 
 If you are at Turin on New-Year's Day, 
 you will see the Court-dress of the ladies. It 
 is a curious one, and occasions an extraordinary 
 exhibition of bare bosoms, which unluckily does 
 not become all alike. 
 
 Here you will be made acquainted with. the 
 amusement of a Corso. It is strait; but, in 
 other respects, like the Ring in Hyde Park, 
 where the beaux and the belles of the last cen- 
 tury proudly displayed their taste in horses and 
 equipage. 
 
 You dine at two, make your afternoon visits 
 at four, and are in bed by eleven. Pekin is not 
 more quiet at midnight than the capital of Pied- 
 mont.* If you can accustom yourself to hours 
 so different from your own, you will find the 
 Royal Family gracious in the extreme ; the no- 
 bility well bred and courteous j and the society 
 better than in most towns in Italy. Perhaps I 
 am partial to a people from w^hom I have re- 
 ceived civilities, and to a Court from which I 
 have received favors, that I shall ever remem- 
 ber with respect and gratitude. Come, and 
 judge for yourself. 
 
 * At Pekin chains are fixed across the streets at an early 
 hour of the night. Centinels are posted, and patroles go 
 the rounds J nor are any midnight diversions suffered. 
 
 LET- 
 
71 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 YOUR route from Turin will probably de- 
 pend on the time you intend to bestow on 
 Italy. If you arrive in the autumn, and can 
 spare one year only on a country that, to be well 
 known, requires several, you had better take the 
 shortest road by Piacenza to Florence, that you 
 may get to Rome and Naples for the carnival. 
 If, on the contrary, you are not in a hurry, and 
 are in those happy circumstances that permit 
 you to consider amusement and conveniency, 
 and unite pleasure with profit, pass your first 
 carnival at Turin and Milan : in no part of Italy 
 is society so good, nor are Englishmen any 
 where so well received. Here your French 
 will serve you. Study Italian in the mean time 
 under a good master, and make yourself well 
 acquainted with that language before you want 
 it. Your chief difficulty will be with regard to 
 
 Genoa. 
 
M 
 
 2 
 
 Genoa. If you pass your summer in Tuscany, 
 the best summer residence on this side the Alps, 
 embark at Leghorn or Lerici, you will not be 
 many hours at sea, and may thus see Genoa with 
 little expence or trouble; otherwise you may go 
 thither immediately from Turin in your way to 
 Parma, or may leave it till you return from 
 Venice; when passing through Milan, you may 
 proceed to Genoa, and either return to Turin, 
 or embark for Antibes. Your motions from 
 Turin being thus uncertain, after that I have 
 said a few words concerning the Piacenza road, 
 I will recollect all I can of Milan and Genoa. 
 
 To Piacenza you have sixteen posts. In 
 your way you may see the Palace of Montcallier; 
 where Victor Amadeus, after a busy reign, 
 sometimes fortunate, sometimes otherwise, w^as 
 made prisoner by hi§ son. 
 
 Asti was a Roman colony. Hither the 
 frightened H o n or i u s retreated from A l a r i c the 
 Goth; and here the brave Stilicone, his Ge- 
 neral, defeated that Barbarian. In latter times, 
 it was capable of contending with Carlo I. 
 King of Naples, one of the most powerful Sove- 
 reigns then in Italy. We may say of Asti as of 
 many other places— Alas, how are the mighty 
 fallen ! 
 
 Alexandria, so called, not from Alexander 
 
 of 
 
7 
 
 Q 
 
 of Macedon, but Alexander of Rome,* and 
 out of derision nick-named Delia Paglia by the 
 Ghibellines, rendered the Guelphs great service. 
 The Emperor Frederic Barbarossa laid 
 siege to it for many months in vain; it with- 
 stood his whole force, and taught him an im- 
 portant truth, that an enemy is never to be 
 despised. Should you pass at the time of the 
 fair, you will find a tolerable opera. t The 
 town is then full of people; and French, Swiss, 
 and German commodities are exchanged for 
 those of Italy and the Levant. At a time like 
 this you must expect imposition. I paid two 
 sequins a day for one room. The man told me 
 with some humour, that at any other time I 
 should be welcome to his whole house for one 
 third of the money. 
 
 Tortona was a Roman colony, and even in 
 modern times much more considerable than it is 
 at present. 
 
 Voghera is the last town belonging to the 
 King of Sardinia; from thence you may either 
 go to Milan or Piacenza. The direct road 
 
 * Built in the twelfth century, and called after Pop* 
 Alexander III. 
 
 t The fairs are in April and October. 
 
 froiii 
 
74 
 
 from Turin to Milan by Novara is ten posts 
 and a half. 
 
 The pleasant and fertile Vale of Piedmont 
 forms an agreeable contrast with the cold and 
 barren Alps. Mulberry trees, the principal 
 support of its commerce, you will see with satis- 
 faction, whatever be your opinion with regard to 
 the cultivation of rice; a prolific and wholesome 
 food, but the manner of cultivating it is exceed- 
 ingly pernicious, the stagnated water it requires 
 rendering the air almost pestilential. 
 
 The country on this side the Alps was the 
 Cisalpine Gaul, of which the Rubicon was the 
 boundary. The government of it was Cesar's 
 portion. The consequence of his having passed 
 that boundary, I shall have occasion to treat of 
 hereafter. This country was afterwards called 
 Lombardy, from the Longi-Bardi. When the 
 Goths were expelled Italy by Justinian's 
 Generals, the Longi-Bardi, so called from the 
 long beards they wore, natives of Hungary, en- 
 tered, occupied, and ravaged Italy from one end 
 to the other. Great events proceed sometimes 
 from little causes. It is said, that the Eunuch 
 Narces introduced this people to revenge him- 
 self of the Empress Sophia, for a satirical re- 
 flection made on his person. They were a 
 hardy, warlike race; but uncivilised and cruel. 
 Under their government, arts, sciences, and let- 
 ters 
 
75 
 
 ters were in a manner annihilated; and in bad 
 taste, they even out-did their predecessors. 
 War was their only occupation : they burnt the 
 churches, unpeopled the cities, and laid waste 
 the country. 
 
 The death of Alboin was not less extraordi- 
 nary than his introduction. It was an usual 
 custom among the Barbarian chiefs to drink out 
 of the skull of an enemy slain in battle. The 
 victorious Alboin, at a public festival at Ve- 
 rona, drinking out of the skull of King Cuni- 
 MONDE, whom he had slain with his own hand, 
 ■invited his wife, Cunimonde's daughter, to do 
 the same — insultingly adding, that she would 
 then drink in company with her father. The 
 insult was of a nature not to be forgiven, and 
 the cruel tyrant highly merited the revenge that 
 followed. The manner in which it was effected 
 is extraordinary. The insulted Rosamonda 
 persuaded Elmogino, a favourite of the King, 
 ^whom she flattered with the prospect of the 
 throne, and bribed, as it is thought, with the 
 charms of her person, to enter into her design 
 on the life of his Sovereign. Unwilling, or per- 
 haps afraid, to take the fatal business on himself, 
 he recommended Perideo, an officer of great 
 strength and courage, as the most proper person 
 to rid her of her husband. Rosamonda ap- 
 proved of the proposal; but, finding that by 
 
 words 
 
76 
 
 words she could not persuade him to commit 
 the murder, had recourse to another expedient. 
 She was not ignorant that Perideo intrigued 
 with one of her attendants, with whom she con- 
 certed matters so well, that, unsuspected by any 
 one, she supplied her place. The usual ap- 
 pointment was given; and the punctual lover, 
 who thought himself in the arms of his mistress, 
 was astonished when he heard the voice of the 
 Queen, who gravely told him, that, after what 
 had passed between them, he had only to resolve 
 either to kill the King, or die himself. Peri- 
 deo was not long in determining, and Alboin, 
 who slept after dinner, as is usual in hot coun- 
 tries, was soon after murdered. The tragedy 
 did not end here. The lady, thus liberated 
 from her husband, married the man by whose 
 counsel it had been effected; but shortly after, 
 falling in love with another, Elmogino was to 
 be disposed of also. The second expedient was 
 less successful than the first; — she gave him a^ 
 bowl of poisoned wine as he came out of the 
 bath, which he discovering while drinking, forced 
 her to swallow down the remainder, and in a 
 few minutes both of them expired. 
 
 Charlemagne, about two hundred years 
 after, conquered the Milanese with the rest of-, 
 Italy. This country was afterwards governed a 
 considerable time by its own Dukes. Fran- 
 cois 
 
77 
 
 cois I., till the unfortunate battle of Pavia, 
 was some time master of it. After his defeat, 
 Charles V. gave it to his son Phillip II. of 
 Spain, and in the beginning of the present cen^ 
 tury it returned to the empire. 
 
 LET- 
 
rf 
 
 8 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 THE town of Milan is pleasantly situated in 
 the luxuriant vale of Lombardy ; is nearly 
 circular, six miles in circumference, and con- 
 tains about one hundred and twenty thousand 
 inhabitants. This was the capital of Cisalpine 
 Gaul, and when Rome was on the decline, fre- 
 quently became the residence of the Emperors. 
 In the time of the Goths it was often attacked, 
 taken, and plundered; in 1162 was entirely 
 destroyed by Frederic Barbarossa. The 
 present inhabitants, however, may rejoice that 
 their defenceless state renders resistance impos- 
 sible. Those who cannot conquer, had better 
 not contend. — These may sleep in peace, though 
 an enemy be at their gates, for they have neither 
 the massacre nor famine of another siege to ap- 
 prehend. 
 
 Under the unfortunate circumstances above 
 mentioned it would be needless to enquire after 
 
 anti- 
 
79 
 
 antiquities. The Duomo is the principal build- 
 ing, and from thence you have the best view of 
 the town. This immense Gothic fabric is in 
 size little inferior to Saint Peter's. Upwards of 
 three hundred years have slipped away since it 
 was begun, and it is not yet finished ! yet the 
 fund allotted to that purpose is sufficient were it 
 properly applied. The taste of the building 
 cannot be commended : — ornaments are in pro- 
 fusion, — they are continually adding more, and 
 at this rate the more money they lay out, the 
 worse it will appear. It is said there will not be 
 less than four thousand statues. This church is 
 in possession of a famous relic, il santo chiodo^ a 
 nail, that the Milanese persuade themselves fixed 
 our Saviour to the Cross. They shew you 
 the body of Saint Charles Borromeo. — I 
 never approached a living Prince with half the 
 respect I felt for the dead carcase of that pious 
 Saint, so amiable in all men, and particularly in 
 a Priest, is purity of manners and humility.* 
 The treasure is immense, — they tell you inferior 
 only to that of Loretto. You will be expected 
 to admire the statue of Saint Bartholomew; 
 the inscription would be more applicable to the 
 
 * The motto chosen by that family, and to be seen on 
 all their buildings, is Humilitas, 
 
 sculptor 
 
80 
 
 sculptor of Marsyas than the sculptor of 
 Venus.* 
 
 In Santa Maria delle Grazie is The Holy 
 Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It is true 
 enough, as Cochin remarks, that one of the 
 Apostles has six fingers on his left hand, — an in- 
 attention by no means to be credited, — with 
 greater probability may you suppose the original 
 design altered, and that time has since discovered 
 a finger the painter never intended should ap- 
 pear. 
 
 Saint Ambrogio is thought by some to be the 
 church which the famous Saint of that name 
 would not permit the Emperor Theodosius to 
 enter, after the horrid massacre of seven thou- 
 sand Thessalonians, men, women, and children, 
 in cold blood. In this act the good Emperor 
 was not less treacherous than cruel, for they 
 were invited to a race in the Circus, and there 
 surrounded and killed. It has been said, that 
 man at times differs more from himself, than 
 from any other of his kind. This surely was a 
 proof of it. Saint Ambrogio was much to be 
 commended; but what would an Emperor in 
 times like these say to a Bishop who, with no 
 
 Non me Praxiteles sed Marcus pinxit Agrati. 
 ' . - Other 
 
81 
 
 Other armour than his sanctity, should dare to 
 oppose his entrance into a church ? 
 
 The Ambrogian Library stands open to re- 
 ceive you, rich in manuscripts, books, medals, 
 statues, and pictures. The manuscript of Jo- 
 seph on Papyrus, La Lande tells us, is one 
 thousand one hundred years old. The manu- 
 scripts of Leonardo da Vinci are interesting 
 to those who are acquainted with the merit of 
 that extraordinary man; one of the most learned 
 and most accomplished of the age in which he 
 lived. He possessed many talents in an emi- 
 nent degree. He was as remarkable for his 
 strength as for his beauty; and without doubt 
 the Milanese ladies frequendy exclaimed, like 
 the ladies of Babylon, " Quel bonheur qu'un si 
 beau Gar^on ait tant de force," * His death 
 was not less extraordinary ; for he died in the 
 arms of that amiable " Monarch Francois I., 
 whose private virtues as a man, and personal 
 accomplishments as a gentleman, covered the 
 failings of the Sovereign; and whose protection 
 of the arts has jusdy endeared him to posterity. 
 |n Petrarch's Virgil you have a description 
 of his mistress. You know the personality of 
 Laura has been disputed. I apprehend Pe- 
 
 * See Vqlxaire's Princesse de Batfylone. 
 "^'OL, I. ^ TRARCH'S 
 
82 
 
 TRARCH*s own .words, written with his own 
 hand, can best settle the controversy. They 
 shew you a comedy, written in the fourteenth 
 century, entitled, Paulus ad Juvenum corri-. 
 gendos Mores', it was not till after Dante's 
 time that comedies were written in Italian. The 
 skeleton of the Milanese beauty was left as a 
 legacy to her sex, to shew them, " though they 
 paint an inch thick, to what they must come at 
 last." 
 
 The great Hospital, Lazaretto, and Prisons, 
 all deserve a stranger's notice. 
 
 The Milanese government suffers the great 
 disadvantage of being subject to the will of a 
 despot residing in another country. I doubt 
 much if the excellence of any governme t can 
 compensate for the want of the presence of the 
 Sovereign. Seven millions of livres travel an- 
 nually to Vienna, and are never seen again : — 
 money thus expatriated, like a river turned 
 out of its natural course, enriches another soil, 
 while its own languishes through the want of 
 it. 
 
 At my first acquaintance with Milan, the Duke 
 of Modena, with the tide of Governor, had all 
 the outward trappings of sovereignty; but the 
 power was vested in the Minister Plenipoten- 
 tiary, the Count de Fermian: I mention that 
 time the more readily, that I may pay a just tri- 
 bute 
 
83 
 
 biite to the memory of a minister who was one 
 of the most amiable men I ever knew. 
 
 The executive power is in the hands of a 
 Senate; but nothing material is concluded till 
 approved of at Vienna: — a system more mis- 
 chievous is not to be conceived; affairs of ne- 
 cessity cannot wait; affairs of importance fre- 
 quently change their aspect before the answer 
 arrives. If your bailiff is neither to cut nor 
 carry your hay without your order, it is easy to 
 conceive what pretty stuff will be made of it in 
 your absence. If a physician prescribes at ^ 
 distance, he knows full well that his prescrip- 
 , tiori, however good, may be unnecessary when 
 it arrives ; he also is aware, that a change of cir- 
 cumstances may render it hurtful. — Princes^ 
 •who pretend to more knowledge than human 
 nature is capable of, should read Condillac: 
 he roundly tells them that they are not infallible. 
 Confidence in his servants is necessary in a 
 Sovereign ; his best talent, that of employing the 
 most deserving. 
 
 Of the laws of Milan, I shall only mention 
 that they never punish the intention, but wait 
 till the act be committed. A man ran after his 
 father with an intention to murder him, but was 
 prevented : they could not punish him because 
 bis father was still alive. Corn is not exported 
 G 2 but 
 
84 
 
 but under proper restrictions. The price of 
 meat is fixed ; and monopoly as much as possi- 
 ble prevented. Silk and corn are the principal 
 objects of their commerce; and water carriage 
 is become one of its greatest advantages, though 
 the town was built without any river near it. 
 Trade is seldom at a stand where individuals are 
 rich. The shops in general seem well supplied. 
 The embroidery of Milan is famous, and the 
 equipages are not ill made. As for the beaux 
 arts, I believe we had better say nothing about 
 them. 
 
 Literature is neither destitute of friends nor 
 admirers. The Marquis Beccaria, author of 
 that humane book Dei Delitti e delle P&nCy first 
 cause of the revisal of the penal laws in Europe, 
 and to whom the offending multitude are obliged 
 for a mitigation of their punishments, is a Mi- 
 lanese. A weekly paper was published by a set 
 of gentlemen in imitation of the Spectator, called 
 11 Caffe : it has since been dropped. The com- 
 mon people of Milan are as ignorant as else- 
 where. Some Beaux-esprits used to meet every 
 evening to discourse on various subjects of lite- 
 rature, and, to prevent interruption from illite- 
 rate intruders, locked their door. Information 
 of their proceedings was soon given to Count 
 Fermian, who sent for one of them, and ad- 
 vised 
 
85 
 
 vised him as a friend to act with caution, for it 
 was generally believed that they met to raise the 
 Devil. 
 
 Public diversions are not wanting, except in 
 the autumn. It is said, that Milton took the 
 first idea of his Paradise Lost from a play be 
 saw acted here, called Adam, or Original Sin. 
 The carnival is famous, and it is the peculiar 
 privilege of the town of Milan to enjoy it four 
 days longer than any other town in a catholic 
 country. Gay people, after the Tuesday's Ball 
 at Turin and Venice, throw themselves into 
 their carriages, and travel hither as fast as they 
 can, where they find feasting instead of fasting, 
 and an Ash-Wednesday without sackcloth or 
 ashes: for this indulgence the Milanese may 
 thank their good friend Saint Ambrogio, whose 
 doctrine they follow. They tell you the Sun- 
 days, notwithstanding the Careme, were days of 
 festivity at Milan, instead of which they have 
 now a longer carnival ; but, to make matters 
 even with the church of Rome, they agree to 
 fast four days in the spring, which those who pre- 
 fer Gras to Maigre escape by going out of the 
 diocese. One of the most pleasing coup d' ceils 
 I ever remember was the ball at court, the last 
 day of the carnival. Figure to yourself a large 
 gallery, filled with well-dressed people of fashion, 
 and a spacious box adjoining, from which you 
 
 saw 
 
86 
 
 saw the masks in the theatre — the elegancies of 
 one scene, forming a striking contrast with the 
 buffooneries of the other. The new theatre is 
 no longer part of the palace. I wonder Princes 
 will forego so great a privilege as that of enjoy- 
 ing these amusements in their own palace with^ 
 out inconvenience. The new theatre is said to 
 be a good one : the boxes are large ; and it is 
 not unusual to play at cards and sup in them. I 
 can never reconcile myself to card-playing at an 
 opera — d quoi bon ? it can only be of advantage 
 to a deaf man, who probably v/ould win all the 
 money. 
 
 Milan is the only town in Italy where you are 
 invited often to dine, — and here, when once 
 known, you need never dine at home. The 
 
 Milanese keep excellent tables. L' Abbe , 
 
 a fat priest, who had completely gorged himself 
 at Count Fermian's, accompanied his Excel* 
 lency to the Corso afterwards. The servants 
 had no little difficulty to get him in at the coach 
 door; but when he wanted to get out again, that 
 was utterly impossible ; the servants pulled ; the 
 Abbe strove— but all in vain; the beat of the 
 day and jumbling of the carriage had relaxed his 
 muscles, and increased his bulk to such a degree, 
 that they were obliged to leave him where he 
 was till he had digested his dinner. 
 
 In the Milanese you will find more German 
 
 hospi- 
 
87 
 
 hospitality than Italian frugality. In their charac- 
 ter you will still finda mixture of Spanish,French, 
 and German manners, and will with difficulty 
 believe yourself in Italy. The climate also may 
 not exactly agree with the ideas you have formed 
 of this warm country; you must not fancy, my 
 good Sir, that when you have once passed the 
 Alps, you are to feel no more cold ; Turin and 
 Milan are both of them colder than London. 
 
 Gallantry is carried on at Milan more myste- 
 riously than in other towns in Italy ; nor are 
 Cavalieri serventi's so generally established : not 
 that I think the Devil is any loser. A coquette, 
 the other day, wrote to two gendemen, who, un- 
 luckily for her, were intimate friends, and com- 
 pared notes : she had given a rendezvous to 
 each, and to each said she desired nothing so 
 much as to get rid of his rival, who was a secca- 
 tore* One of them observed, that the two 
 letters were word for word the same. " True!" 
 replied the other; " but with this difference, if 
 you please: in this," alluding to the letter he 
 held in his hand, " in this, my good friend, it is 
 you who are the seccatore, instead of me." 
 
 See Castellazzo, and the Statue of Pompey; 
 Mozza, where the Court resides; and the Villa 
 
 A bore, or troublesome fellow. 
 
 Simo- 
 
88 
 
 Simonetti, for the sake of the Ecno : tliis echo 
 will repeat thirty-five times, according to La 
 Lande; and forty, according to Mr. Mar- 
 tin; but it i3 the last syllable only: and what 
 is that to another Echo that we have heard of, 
 which, when you ask, " How do you do?**-^ 
 replies, ** Very well, I thankyou^'* 
 
 ^ET. 
 
89 
 
 ' 'ra r- 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 THE Genoese history is a confusion of 
 events little interesting to a traveller. 
 When Rome was in its infancy, Genoa was the 
 capital of Liguria, resisted while it was able^ and 
 submitted unwillingly to the Roman yoke. 
 The friendship of Rome became afterwards 
 more pernicious to the Genoese than her en- 
 mity: they embraced her fortunes, and their 
 town was destroyed by the Carthaginians, At 
 the decline of the Romans they fell a prey to the 
 Goths ; after them, to the Lombards ; till 
 Charlemagne put a finish to their empire, 
 and made himself master of Genoa, with the rest 
 of Italy. It was not till the end of the eleventh 
 century that the Genoese formed their Republic, 
 which since that time has submitted to more 
 masters, and undergone more changes, than I 
 intend to relate. At the time of the Crusades, 
 the Genoese galleys, by favoring the designs of 
 
 religious 
 
90 
 
 religious fanatics, established iheir commerce 
 in the Levant. At Constantinople they had 
 already acquired Pera, as a reward for their 
 services against the Venetians. Corsica had 
 long been in their possession; and Sardinia was 
 a bone of contention between them and the 
 Pisans, till the famous engagement off Melorie 
 gave them a complete victory over their rivals, 
 and at once put an end to the pretensions of 
 Pisa. The violent contentions between the 
 GuELPHS and Gibbelins,* that kindled a flame 
 of civil war all over Italy, had more than once 
 disturbed the peace of Genoa, and obliged them 
 to accept the dangerous assistance of powerful 
 neighbours, and barter liberty for protection. 
 Milan, Spain, and France became each at dif- 
 ferent times master of a country it was easy to 
 gain, but difficult to keep.t It was not till 
 Andrea Doria, in the year 1528, forsook the 
 
 * The dissentions betwixt Gregory IX. and Frede- 
 ric II., gave rise to the two factions of Guelphs and 
 GiBBELi^'s: the former, embraced the interest of the 
 Pope ; the latter, that of the Emperor. IFe have had our 
 Houses of York and Lancaster — not less fatal. 
 
 t When the Genoese made an oftcr of their Republic to 
 Louis- XL, he replied — " Vous vovs donncz a moi, ct jc 
 toils donnc a ttjvs hs Diabks," 
 
 interest 
 
91 
 
 interest of Francois I. to embrace that of his 
 enemy Charles V., and became a patriot 
 through pique, that Uberty was restored to the 
 Republic, and a government established which 
 has since suffered little variation. It was once 
 in danger from a young conspirator of astonish- 
 ing enterprise, the Count de Fiesque,* who 
 wanted the good fortune only to which his bra- 
 very entided him, to have become master of 
 the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens : 
 every thing succeeded to his wishes ; he had, 
 possession of the town ; the enemy fled before 
 him ; when accidentally, it was in the night, 
 treading on an unsteady plank to get on board 
 a vessel in the harbour to give some orders, his 
 foot slipped, he fell, and was drowned, — and 
 with him sunk every hope of his party. 
 
 In the year 1746, though you cannot remem-p 
 ber it, many can, Genoa submitted to the House 
 of Austria. The Marquis Botta, a rough 
 German, took possession of the town, and treat- 
 ed the inhabitants with severity. It is impru- 
 dent to provoke people beyond bearing : — it is 
 dangerous to drive them to despair. — A trifling 
 circumstance, the ill usage of a citizen by a 
 soldier at the removal of a piece of ordnance, 
 
 * This conspiiacy happened the first of January, 1 547- 
 
 occa-* 
 
92 
 
 occasioned a revolt which more important con- 
 siderations had not been able to effect; — the 
 people rose upon the military, and, with no 
 better weapons than sticks and stones, drove the 
 General and a victorious army out of the town, 
 to which they never afterwards dared return. 
 Since that period, the most remarkable events 
 are the struggles of the Corsicans for liberty 
 under our friend Paoli, and the surrender of 
 that island, which the Genoese could no longer 
 keep, to their aUies the French. 
 
 The climate of Genoa is mild: green peas, 
 flowers, <&:c. are not unusual in winter. The 
 town is delightfully situated, is about six miles 
 in circumference, and contains near one hundred 
 thousand inhabitants. The Port is semicircular, 
 and the buildings rise one above another in the 
 form of an amphitheatre. An admirer of fine 
 prospects should take a sea view of the town, 
 and, till he has seen Naples, will conclude no 
 situation equal to that of Genoa. Internal 
 grandeur no otherwife corresponds than in the 
 marble palaces of the nobles, which are in a 
 superior style of magnificence, and has probably 
 given her the name o^ superb a^ to which, in other 
 respects, she is but little entitled. Though an- 
 cient, Genoa has none of those remains of anti- 
 quity that render oth.^r cities famous ; yet a 
 lover of pictures will find employment in every 
 
 palace. 
 
^3 
 
 palace, and in every church : A Lacquais de 
 Place, and that useful book Gidda dei Forestieri, 
 will shew and explain them. Of the public 
 buildings, the palace of the Doge ; the Albergo, 
 where the poor are received gratis ; the Grand 
 Hospital, to which the sick of every nation are 
 admitted ; and the Bank of St. Georgio, are 
 most worthy your observation. It would be 
 an affront for a soldier not to visit the Arsenal. 
 See also the Galley-slaves ; satisfy your curi- 
 osity; and let justice and good policy remain 
 silent, while you commend the lenity with which 
 such villains are treated. 
 
 The government is aristocratical : the legisla- 
 tive power is in the grand Conseil of all the nobles 
 assembled, but the petit Conseil of two hundred 
 do all the business. In each of these assemblies, 
 in order to carry a question, two thirds of the 
 votes must be in its favor. The executive 
 power is in the Doge, and -a Senate consisting of 
 twelve members chosen annually out of the grand 
 Conseil. These are his privy council, and as- 
 sist him in all his functions. The power of the 
 Doge is little more than that of a president, and 
 his reign is for two years only, — during which 
 time he has constantly two senators at his elbow 
 as spies on his conduct ; for eight days afrer he 
 is liable to any charge of mal-administration that 
 may be brought against him; nor can his imme- 
 diate 
 
94 
 
 diate successor be of the same family. Trouble- 
 some as this office is, the confinement of it ren- 
 ders it still more exceptionable. When the 
 Doge was sent to petition Lewis XIV., he was 
 asked what he thought most curious in France, 
 be replied, " De m'y voir.'' 
 
 II Collegio dei Procuratori have the direction 
 of the public revenue. Trials both civil and 
 criminal are in the hands of strangers. Though 
 this custom is pretty general throughout Italy, I 
 cannot but think it an invidious system, founded 
 On false principles, and liable to many objections. 
 Censors are appointed to watch over the execu- 
 tion of the laws, and examine into the conduct of 
 the officers. Inquisitors of state have charge of 
 the police. A holy inquisition' watch over re- 
 ligious concerns, but give as little trouble at 
 Genoa as in other towns of Italy. There were 
 formerly two distinct ranks of nobility j no other 
 distinction now remains than that which pride 
 makes. 
 
 The state is poor, — the individuals rich. The 
 revenue is about three hundred thousand pounds 
 sterling. The Bank of Saint Georgio, which, as 
 a man of business, deserves your contemplation, 
 is the support of the Republic. The land 
 forces of Genoa make no figure in the balance of 
 power of Europe. The naval force of those enter- 
 prising mariners was once formidable, till after a 
 
 severe 
 
95 
 
 severe contest of several years they submitted to 
 the Venetians. It is now reduced to a few 
 miserable galleys, not equal to the protection of 
 their trade against the Barbary corsairs. The 
 soil is so barren that the inhabitants would be 
 starved were it not for the constant supply they 
 receive from other states. To prevent a scar- 
 city of the necessaries of life, bread, wine, and 
 oil, are sold by government, who constantly 
 keep a year's supply beforehand. The profit 
 arising from this manoeuvre makes no incon- 
 siderable part of the public revenue. The 
 Genoese, as well as their neighbours of Pisa, 
 once carried on aqa extensive commerce with the 
 Greeks, and also supplied Constantinople with 
 foreign commodities till that capital was finally 
 subdued by the Turks. Though they have lost 
 in great part the tirade of the Levant, they fur- 
 nish all Italy witli the merchandise of other 
 countries.' — Velvets, silks, artificial flowers, 
 gloves, preserved fruits, oranges, and lemons, are 
 the principal articles of their own produce. 
 
 Of the society I hare litde to say ; I arrived 
 at Genoa in the autumn, when the greatest part 
 of the nobility were at their villas, and the town 
 was too dull to be agreeable. I saw what was 
 most curious, and went away. The principal 
 families seem more at their ease 'than in other 
 towns of Italy. Like other merchants, they live 
 
 con- 
 
96 
 
 Considerably within their incomes, and are attached 
 to the French, who are in possession of their mo- 
 ney, the strongest of all ties to a mercantile people. 
 Fine cloaths, and brilliant equipages, make no 
 part of the expence of a Genoese. The noblesse 
 are always in black. The men wear no swords, 
 nor the women diamonds. Chairs, as the streets 
 are narrow, are more generally used than coaches. 
 If a lady walk in the street her chair follows ; a 
 servant holds up her train, and she has always 
 one, and sometimes two Cicisbeos to attend her. 
 I have heard of more separations and divorces at 
 Genoa than in any other town in Italy,— divorces 
 for any thing you please, except infidelity. — To 
 make that a legal cause of divorce in this coun- 
 try, would be ipso facto to annihilate the mar- 
 riage state. 
 
 The common people have not the fairest re- 
 putation, but my short stay among them did not 
 permit me to judge how far they deserve it. It 
 has been said of Genoa, Uomini senza fede^ donne 
 senza ve7-gogna, mare senza pesce^-^loo severe to 
 be strictly true. 
 
 I shall never forget my journey to Genoa.-— 
 I had sent a Felucca from Leghorn with part of 
 my baggage to wait for me at Lerici. Arriving 
 there, as I hate the seaj I thought it pleasanter to 
 ride post over the Appennines, — a journey, I can- 
 not advise any one to undertake, for the roads, 
 
 horsesy 
 
97 
 
 horses, and accommodations, are all of them in- 
 tolerable. As I approached Genoa, heartily 
 tired of my post-horse, the calm sea tempted rhe 
 to pursue the rest of my journey, about twenty- 
 five miles, in an open boat. I think it was 
 Cato who said he never repented but of three 
 things : — that he had intrusted a secret to a wo- 
 man ; — that he had spent a whole day in idle- 
 ness ;— and had gone by water when he might 
 have gone by land. As to the latter, Cato him- 
 self never repented it more heartily than I did 
 in the Gulph of Genoa, where, more than once, 
 I was near going to the bottom. My running 
 footman, who was a Catholic, recommended him- 
 self to every Saint in the Calendar, not fo,rget- 
 tinghis good friend Saint Antonio di Padua: 
 as for me, I expected death in sullen silence; I 
 had made up my mind to the worst that could 
 happen, — and shall never forget the joy I felt 
 when 1 entered the harbour— when I cried out, 
 in a kind of extacy-^" Inveni porium ludite nunc 
 aliis" — for I determined from that instant never 
 to trust myself at sea again in an open boat with 
 Italian sailors. 
 
 The office of a Cicisbeo shall be the subject 
 of my next Letter. 
 
 VOL, I» - M LET- 
 
98 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 BARETTI tells us, that to whisper was for- 
 merly called Cicisbeare : and as the gentle- 
 man I am to describe, usually speaks by whis- 
 pers, he is called Cicisbeo. In other parts of 
 Italy, he is called Cavaliere Sefvente, a name 
 better suited to the purpose, and which explains 
 itself. He was originally of the husband's 
 choosing, generally one of the family, and sel- 
 dom either young or handsome. His office was 
 to attend the lady to the theatre, and to be her 
 constant companion in the absence of her hus- 
 band. Jealousy, without doubt, first instituted 
 this Male-Duenna — who, watchful as Argus, 
 and spiteful as the Dragon of the Hesperides, 
 observed the lady's looks, controuled her ac- 
 tions, and returned her at night as pure as he 
 Rad received her in the morning — and, probably 
 so tired of his company, that her husband be- 
 came a more welcome companion. — This ani- 
 mal. 
 
99 
 
 rtial, though scarce at present, is still to be seen 
 with a bride the first year of her marriage : for 
 as a husband of rank and fashion cannot appear 
 with credit in public with his own wife ; nor the 
 lady with propriety go out alone; an inoffensive 
 being, a kind of non-entity, is procured by the 
 family to accommodate both : — but, as matri- 
 mony in this country is, generally speaking, a 
 matter of convenience, the husband, in a short 
 time, returns to his former mistress, and Cara 
 Sposa chooses a Cavaliere Servente better suited 
 to her inclinations. This is the person with 
 whom you will have most to do, and this is the 
 Cavaliere Servente, whose office I shall now 
 describe. 
 
 The service of this gentleman begins early in 
 the morning, and ends late at night. He has 
 the entree at all hours — and the bed-chamber of 
 the lady is as familiar to him as to her husband. 
 He assists at her toilette ; decides about her 
 dress J jokes with her maid; and plays with her 
 lap-dog. If she goes out, it is his business to 
 accompany her : if she stays at home, he never 
 quits her side; for instinct tells him, whether he 
 has read or not, that with certain persons, and on 
 certain occasions, " Les absens ont toujour s tort." * 
 
 ■• Vide La Pucelle — Chant IV. 
 
 H 2 When 
 
roo 
 
 When dinner-time approaches, the Cavaliere 
 Servente takes his leave. 
 
 A frugal repast eagerly swallowed — a toilette 
 easily made — occupy a few hours only, and the 
 Cavaliere Servente returns to his lady with a 
 hasty step lest another supply his place. A 
 tite, d tite at this hour is usually this gendeman's 
 exclusive privilege. Ninon says, — " Qu* une 
 Liaison du cxur est la Piece du Monde ou les actes 
 sont les plus courts^ et les entre-actes les plus 
 longs'*'— znd. no people upon earth experience 
 the truth of the remark more than the couple I 
 am now describing. Tiie Ventitre at length ar- 
 rives * — the coach is ordered, and they drive up 
 and down the same street, looking different ways ; 
 and, for want of conversation, having said all 
 they had to say, bow to every carriage as it 
 passes, till the hour of the theatre. 
 
 If the lady goes to an assembly, the Cavaliere 
 Servente takes charge of her cloak, her fan, her 
 gloves, sorts her cards, and sits at her elbow. 
 At Genoa, he follows her chair; in other towns, 
 he accompanies her in her coach : while Jerry 
 Sneak, the husband, walks on foot, let the wea- 
 ther be what it may, his only equipage a pair of 
 
 * The Ventitre, an hour before sun-set, is the time of 
 the Corse. 
 
 thick 
 
101 
 
 thick shoes, and an umbrella. Wherever the 
 lady is invited, this gentleman is expected. At 
 public dinners he receives a formal invitation ; 
 and the husbanci, unless he be the Cavaliere 
 Servente of another lady, is purposely omitted. 
 The twenty-four hours are thus pretty equally 
 divided between them both; but, as the hus- 
 band enjoys the lady's company in the dark, 
 when the smooth skin and convenient features 
 of a Negro might better suit his portion than 
 the most beautiful profile Grec, the charms of 
 which are for the contemplation of his rival, it 
 is the height of folly to marry a woman for her 
 beauty only. I don't know that beauty in this 
 country is ever desirable in a wife, as it may 
 occasion uneasiness, after it has ceased to give 
 you pleasure. 
 
 An old gendeman asked me, the other day, 
 seriously, if he should marry? — Quin, on a 
 similar occasion, said — ** No:" and being press- 
 ed for his reason, replied — ^* If you marry. an 
 old womariy she will stink you out of bed ; if a 
 young one^ she will kick you out." — In Italy, 
 where a wife does not depend on her husband 
 only for her amusements, old gentlemen find 
 better treatment : 1 therefore told my friend, 
 that he should marry by all means, since proba- 
 bly by so doing he would make more than one 
 person happy. Voltaire recommends matri- 
 * mony 
 
102 
 
 mony pleasantly enough : he says-;-** Si voire 
 femme est sage et raisonable vous serez un hommc 
 heureuxy si elle est ^nechantCy oil coquette vous 
 deviendrez philosophc — vous lu pouvez jamais 
 qu'y gagne?'.'* Besides, those who marry to 
 have an heir to their estate, the principal object 
 of matrimony in this country, whatever be their 
 age, need never despair. Jealousy, I mean in 
 a husband, is become as ridiculous as a worn- 
 out fashion. The good man submits patiently 
 to his fate, and makes the following prayer: — 
 " Signorc vi prego che la mia moglie mi sia 
 fedeky e se mai non la fosse vi prego che io non 
 lo sappia; e se mai lo saptssiy che non me n'importi 
 un corno," * 
 
 You will conclude from this account, that 
 female virtue is at a low ebb in Italy : — I see 
 nothing to contradict the idea. Some chaste 
 women, without doubt, there are; but when 
 from a small number are taken those who have 
 no desires; those who have no temptation; and 
 those who, having both, have no opportunity; 
 the quantum of real virtue remaining will be 
 reduced almost to nothing: — such are the per- 
 
 * I pra^-GoD that my wife may be faithful! if not, that 
 I may not know it. — If I am to know it, that I may not 
 care about it. 
 
 nicious 
 
103 
 
 nicious effects of bad education, and bad exam- 
 ple, in a warm climate ! 
 
 That a rational being should be found idle 
 enough, both in body and mind, thus to fritter 
 away his whole time in the company of one 
 woman : that a wife should wilfully make herself 
 the talk of a whole town, and submit to the 
 tyranny of a man she is not in duty bound to 
 obey, and oftentimes is afraid to leave, though 
 she has ceased to love :* that a husband should 
 suffer another man to have more influence in 
 his house than he has himself; to enter it fami- 
 liarly and indecently at all hours, and be privy 
 to the most secret transactions of his family : 
 that Government should look with an indifferent 
 eye on a system of prostitution that corrupts the 
 manners, and at once destroys domestic happi- 
 ness, filial duty, and parental affection; will 
 probably be objects of astonishment to you, as 
 they have been to me. 
 
 * The change of a Cavaliere Servente is as much a 
 topic of discourse in any to^vn in Italy, as the change of* 
 Prime Minister is in England. 
 
 LET- 
 
104 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 ipiACENZA, probably so called from its 
 -■" pleasant situation, was a Roman colony in 
 the early days of the Republic of Rome. 
 
 In this neighbourhood Hannibal fought his 
 second battle after his descent into Italy, and 
 completely routed the whole Roman army under 
 Semproniusj as he had done the cavalry and 
 light infantry, a few days before, on the banks of 
 the Tesin, under Publius Scipio. It was 
 hither the brave ten thousand made good their 
 retreat, and in such a style, that those who had 
 conquered them dared not oppose their passage. 
 One circumstance renders the retreat of the ten 
 thousand Romans more extraordhiary than that 
 of the ten thousand Greeks — these were beaten, 
 those were conquerors. It was in this . battle 
 Hannibal lost his eye by the intense cold, and 
 every elephant, as we are informed, one only 
 excepted. 
 
 At 
 
105 
 
 At the decline of the Roman empire, Pia* 
 cenza, by lying in the direct road of every in- 
 vader, was frequently attacked, and often plun- 
 dered; yet it held out against Tot i la, till the 
 inhabitants, it is said, for want of provisions, 
 fed upon one another. In modern times, after 
 many revolutions, after having submitted to 
 many masters, it is annexed at last to the Duchy 
 of Parma, 
 
 The town is large, but ill peopled; and con- 
 tains little deserving notice, except the two 
 equestrian Statues of Alexander Farnese 
 and his Son. The ancient Amphitheatre, which 
 was burnt in the contest between Ox ho and 
 V I T E L L I u s, was the largest then in I taly. You 
 are now on the famous Emilian way, have only 
 four posts to Parma ; but have many rivers to 
 pass that are always troublesome, and sometimes 
 dangerous. 
 
 Parma was also a Roman colony, and suffered 
 like its neighbour at the decline of the empire. 
 In modern times, this territory has been often 
 in dispute between the Emperor and the Pope, 
 between Spain and Austria. The Farnese 
 family were in possession of it till their extinc- 
 tion ; and, by the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle, it 
 has since been confirmed to Don Philip of 
 Spain. 
 
 The town is pleasantly situated on a plain, 
 
 and 
 
lOG 
 
 and divided by a river into two unequal parts. 
 The circumference may be about four miles, and 
 contains near forty thousand inhabitants. The 
 streets are large, and some of the buildings ele- 
 gant. In the churches are many famous pic- 
 tures, by CoRREGio J and the Theatre, by 
 ViGNOLE, is the largest in the world. — When I 
 view the stupendous works of the Farnese and 
 Medici families, I conclude they were men of 
 a different stamp from the Princes of the present 
 day. 
 
 The power of the Duke is absolute, and 
 without controul. I passed some time at this 
 Court, during the minority of the present Sove- 
 reign, with two amiable friends; the Marquis 
 Felino, who was at that time Prime Minister, 
 and the Abbe de Condillac; both French- 
 men, and both an honour to their country. No 
 young Prince could be kept more constantly 
 employed: he rose early, and till ten was en- 
 gaged in study; after that hour he amused him- 
 self with drawing ; received his Court, heard 
 mass, and dined in public. About one he re- 
 tired, and took lessons of music;, he afterwards 
 either walked, or went out in his carriage. In 
 the evening, the Pere Jacquier, whose m.erit 
 is well known, instructed him in mathematics 
 and experimental philosophy. — I fancy these 
 clever men overshot the markj — the present 
 
 Duke 
 
107 
 
 Duke is said to be a bigot, and educated by s^ 
 Condi LLAC ! — and his son is a man of the 
 world, out of the hands of a capuchin ! 
 
 The revenue of this Prince was about three 
 millions of French livres. His troops did not 
 exceed fifteen hundred : he has not occasion for 
 more ; and must depend rather on the protec- 
 tion of his allies, than the strength of his citadel. 
 The smallness of his territory is the cause of 
 continual desertion : you frequently hear a gun 
 fired ; it is a signal for the peasants to be on the 
 watch, and they are paid a Louis-d'or for every 
 deserter they bring in. On the Saturday of 
 Paques, when all the guns were fired, I concluded 
 the whole garrison had deserted at once. The 
 government seems mild, and the people happy. 
 I observed an excellent tribunal, called La 
 Reale Giunta^ composed of a certain number of 
 Counsellors, men of abilities and honour, who 
 decide civil causes ^r<2^» ; and from whom there 
 is no appeal, except to the Sovereign : but, as 
 they seldom pass any sentence without his ap- 
 probation, the appeal is nugatory. 
 
 In the Academy are antique statues and busts 
 and the famous Table found at Velleia, a town 
 supposed to have been destroyed by the falling 
 in of a mountain, towards the end of the fourth 
 century. The late Infant took great delight in 
 digging there; but the expence was so great, 
 
 and 
 
108 
 
 and the things found of so little value, that he 
 was persuaded to desist. 
 
 In the Library are drawings engraved by 
 Madame He Pompadour ; and a curious Manu- 
 script, with the arms of the noble Venetians on 
 one side, and on the other a description of each 
 family, what they originally were; if in trade, or 
 not ; and what they dealt in: — -very curious and 
 interesting, without doubt, to those it may con- 
 cern. A Plan of an Attack, which takes to 
 pieces, and shews the whole conduct of a siege, 
 from first investing a town till it be taken, was a 
 present of Louis XV. to the present Duke, 
 and is a military treasure. You have heard of 
 a famous collection of Pictures, &c. belonging 
 to the Palace: when Don Carlos forsook 
 Parma for Naples, he took them along with 
 him. 
 
 Not far from the Palazzo Giardino the French 
 gained the battle of Parma, in 1734. 
 
 The commerce of the town consists chiefly of 
 silk. The principal part of the cheese which 
 we call Parmesan, is made in the neighbourhood 
 of Lodi. The necessaries of hfe, I am told, are 
 in great plenty, and not dear; from whence 
 I conclude, the country is well cultivated. 
 The people, in general, have cheerful coun- 
 tenances ; a certain .sign the Government is 
 mild, and the taxes neither numerous nor op-, 
 
 prcs- 
 
109 
 
 pressive. The manners of the people are partly 
 Italian, partly French. I found them well bred, 
 and not unlearned. The Abbe Frugoni was 
 the best Poet in Italy. Count REzzoNicohas 
 written a Dissertation on Pliny: an intimate 
 friend of his said, in a joke — " I begin to think 
 you love Pliny better than me.*' — " Most cer- 
 tainly!" replied the Count: " / love you as 
 much as any man living; but I love Pliny 
 more," 
 
 You have heard of the famous Printer, ^o- 
 DON I, rival of our Baskerville. It is possi- 
 ble you may not have seen any of his Works, 
 for he has hitherto been chiefly employed in 
 printing books that nobody reads; — and, though 
 ambition might make me wish to appear to the 
 world as fine as Bodoni could make me, I fear 
 I have nothing by me pure enough to pass the 
 review of a Parma Inquisitor. It is curious, 
 that the first printing in Italy should have ap- 
 peared at Turin, and that Bodon.i should be a 
 Piemontois. 
 
 It was from hence, in the spring of the year 
 1766, that I sent my running-footman with a 
 letter to Mantua ; he could not have set out 
 before six o'clock in the morning, for till that 
 time the gates were not open; the answer was 
 dated Mantua, two o'clock at noon : I received 
 it early the next morning before I was up, and 
 
 he 
 
no 
 
 he made many excuses for not returning • the 
 same day. It is wonderful what these fellows 
 are capable of doing; but it is cruel to put it 
 unnecessarily to the trial. Remember, should 
 you be in this neighbourhood, that the Octave 
 of the Corpus Domini is one of the most bril- 
 liant days at Parma. 
 
 Modena, at the time of the Roman Republic, 
 was a place of consequence. Here Decimus 
 Brutus was besieged. Many curious strata- 
 - gems were then used by the Consul Hirtius, 
 who commanded the Roman army that came to 
 his assistance, to convey intelligence into the 
 town. Divers were first employed; and when 
 that scheme was discovered and prevented, they 
 used pigeons with letters fastened to their feet. 
 Here Octavius first tried his fortune against 
 Anthony : — here, in the first engagement, he 
 ran away; and, in the second, is strongly sus- 
 pected to have murdered the Consul Hirtius 
 in the confusion of the battle ; and to have poi- 
 soned the wounds of Pans a, the other Consul, 
 after the batde was over. — He thus became sole 
 General himself without a rival I 
 
 Modena has since undergone various changes, 
 and submitted to many masters, till, at the end 
 of the thirteenth century, it freely gave itself to 
 the House of Est. The Sovereignty is abso- 
 lute. The territory small. A stranger, who 
 
 had 
 
Ill 
 
 bad offended the late Duke, was ordered to 
 leave his dominions within twenty-four hours.— 
 He thanked his Serene Highness for allowing 
 him more time than was necessary, for he should 
 be out of them in as many minutes. 
 
 The town is handsome ; the streets wide and 
 regular ; and the excellence of the accommoda- 
 tion may tempt you to see the curiosities La 
 Lande describes. You may look for pictures 
 that are no longer to be found. The Night of 
 CoRREGio, supposed to be his best perform- 
 ance, is now at Dresden; thirty thousand se- 
 quins, they tell you, were paid for it. You will 
 think it an astonishing price for a picture ; but 
 you are to recollect, that the buyer and seller 
 were both of them Sovereigns. You will lament 
 the injury Sovereigns thus do their country in 
 robbing it of so great a treasure ! — If the Pope 
 could sell all the antiquities of Rome, he would 
 starve one half of the inhabitants. From hence 
 are two roads to Florence, by Pistoia^ and by 
 Bologna; you may take your choice. 
 
 LET- 
 
112 
 
 •••p*ni>M«r 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 BOLOGNA is an ancient city mentioned by 
 many of the Roman writers, and has been 
 at all times famous for her love of the arts, and 
 her struggles for liberty. In the thirteenth cen- 
 tury Bologna la Grassay so called from the fer- 
 tility of the country that surrounds it, was at the 
 head of a flourishing Republic, till betrayed by 
 private factions it fell into the hands of the Pope, 
 and suffered the various distractions of oppres- 
 sion, revolt, and bloodshed. The Bentivoglio 
 family, the most powerful, were at last entirely 
 suppressed, and the Bolognese gave themselves 
 under certain conditions and restrictions to the 
 Pope for ever, preserving, if not the reality, at 
 least the appearance of freedom. They have no 
 citadel. Their estates cannot be confiscated. 
 They are governed by a Legate, and have an 
 Embassador at Rome. Taxes I am told are 
 moderate; nor can they complain if forty thou- 
 sand 
 
113 
 
 sand crowns is all they pay to the Pope : — they 
 are not contented; they still remember that 
 they were once free ; but forget the turbulencies 
 of the times of freedom. 
 
 The town, which is situated at the foot of the 
 Apennines, on the ancient Via Emilia, is of 
 considerable size, but of glo»my aspect; owing, 
 in great measure, to the porticoes with which it 
 abounds — a blemish of so much use, both in 
 summer and winter, that I condemn it with re- 
 luctance. You, who delight in walking, will there 
 find the same advantage we horsemen find in the 
 
 o 
 
 Manage — exercise in all weather. Remember, 
 should you arrive in the night, to send your 
 Courier on before, that you may not be detained 
 at the gate. 
 
 The two towers, Asinelli and Garrizandi, are 
 the admiration of travellers who have not seen 
 Pisa. The latter, which is one hundred and 
 forty-four feet high, is said to be not less than 
 eight feet two inches out of the perpendicular. 
 Some tell you, it was the design of the builder; 
 others think^ with greater probability, that the 
 foundation has given way. From the top of the 
 former is a beautiful view of Ferrara, Modena, 
 Imola, and Cento. 
 
 The Fountain of Neptune, by Giovanni di 
 Bologna, is much admired. A short stay at 
 Bologna will not satisfy a lover of pictures. 
 
 VOL. I, I You 
 
i 
 
 114 
 
 You know it is the school of the Caracci, 
 Dome NICHING, Guido, Guercino,Albani, 
 &"c. : and every church and every palace is full 
 of the best works of those celebrated masters. ^ 
 It would be an endless labour to enumerate 
 them. I shall only say, that the picture of 
 Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in the Zampieri Pa- 
 lace by Guido, is alone worth, to a lover of 
 painting, a journey on purpose. My servant, 
 while I was admiring the pictures, was only 
 attentive to the frames, which he said were very 
 fine, and, without doubt, had he had his choice, 
 they would have had the preference. If you 
 collect pictures, it is not improbable that you 
 may meet with some good ones here; — the most 
 noble families are frequently in want of money, 
 and there are moments when they may easily be 
 persuaded to prefer the current coin of the 
 country to a piece of painted canvass. They 
 sell the original ; but, to save appearances, place 
 a copy in its stead : — let him, therefore, who is 
 not a connoisseur, be cautious what he buys. 
 
 The University was once more renowned than 
 it is at present, particularly in physic ; and has 
 produced many famous persons, both men and 
 women : not forgetting Tagliacosci that Hu- 
 DiBRAs mentions so ludicrously. 
 
 The Institute will find you amusement for 
 €very leisure moment. This treasure of arts 
 
 and 
 
115 
 
 and sciences, too extensive for the narrow limits 
 of the present Letter, Count Marsigli began, 
 and Pope Benedict XIV., better known by 
 the name of Lambertini, continued. Estab- 
 lishments like these are the best monuments that 
 men of genius can leave behind them; and yet 
 Bologna is less famous for its University and its 
 Institute, than for its sausages and its lap-dogs. 
 
 In the Library of St, Salvadore is a valuable 
 Manuscript of the Book of Esther, in Perga- 
 mena. The stone called Spongia di Luce, is a, 
 kind of phosphorus peculiar to Bologna, and 
 merits your attention. 
 
 The principal authority is in the Legate: tha 
 |*olice and the Revenue are under the controul 
 of the Senate, out of which body a Gonfaloniere 
 and eight Anziani are chosen every two months, 
 to whom the executive power is committed. 
 The administration of justice, both criminal and 
 civil, is entrusted to strangers, who are sent from 
 Rome J the former under the controul of the 
 Legate, the latter under that of the Senate. 
 
 The Madonna di St. Luca is about three miles 
 ■from the town. Yoy should see this Chapel, if 
 not for the sake of the Madonna, at least for the 
 sake of the prospect. The picture of the Ma- 
 donna, said to be painted by St. Luke, is 
 brought annually into the town, under a portico 
 built on purpose. The procession, and the 
 
 I 2 mul- 
 
116 
 
 multitude that attend it, must astonish every one 
 who is not a Catholic. We strangers have an 
 additional obligation to the Lady, for were it not 
 for the lights which devotion offers to her image, 
 in the dark streets of Italy, we frequently should 
 break our bones. At the Certosa, and at the 
 Capuccini, I am told, there are some good 
 pictures. 
 
 In an island not far distant, formed by the 
 Rhenus, Octavius, Anthony, and Lepidus, 
 met and divided between them the provinces of 
 Rome : — there, with the Devil constantly at 
 their elbow, they formed that bloody proscrip- 
 tion which doomed three hundred Senators and 
 two thousand Knights, ignorant and unsuspicious 
 of their intentions, to immediate death — a pro- 
 scription more infamous than that of Sylla !— 
 That tyrant condemned only his enemies ; these 
 villains sacrificed their relations and their friends ! 
 -—Anthony, his uncle; Lepidus, his brother; 
 and Octavius, Cicero — the very man he 
 called Father, and whose counsel he promised 
 to follow! — Luckily for him, Cicero was alto- 
 gether as vain, as he was deceitful. Some time 
 after, Augustus wrote against Pol lion, who, 
 when advised to reply, said — " Non est facile in 
 turn scribere qui potest proscrib ere" — Let us quit 
 this horrid subject! and rejoice, that, if we do 
 not possess what is called Roman Virtue, our 
 
 history. 
 
117 
 
 history, at least, will not be stained with the 
 enormous vices that so frequently disgraced 
 it. 
 
 Of the society of Bologna I can say nothing. 
 They have a good Theatre ; and I suppose lead 
 nearly the same uniform life as other Italians. 
 The common people are revengeful ; and, as the 
 Government is weak, and dares not punish, 
 assassinations are frequent. My host of the 
 Albergo Reale gave me an unfavourable opi- 
 nion of their honesty : his bill, which I still 
 keep by me as a memento, suflBciently shews 
 what an Italian inn-keeper is capable of. — 
 Rogues like these, are worse than highwaymen— 
 they have all the villainy of the character, with- 
 out the courage. Few travellers make a long 
 stay in either of the towns menlioned in this or 
 my last Letter, where they find no peculiar in- 
 ducement of climate or diversion to detain 
 them. 
 
 At Filicaie, where I slept, it did not a little 
 surprise me to find the hostess an excellent 
 singer. She had a good contralto voice, and 
 not a bad manner. She told us she never had a 
 master, but had acquired some knowledge of 
 music by attending upon the singers, male and 
 female, who are continually passing. You 
 know Bologna is the principal residence of 
 singers unemployed ; and it is there the Impre- 
 sarios 
 
118 
 
 sarros of other countries send to engage them. 
 Much as I was surprised to hear her sing, I was 
 still more, to hear her say, that she did not go 
 upon the stage, because she thought waiting 
 upon travellers a more honorable employment. 
 
 At Pietra Mala you see an extraordinary phe- 
 nomenon, supposed to be the remains of an 
 ancient volcano. My next shall be from Flo- 
 rence. 
 
 LET- 
 
119 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 YOU may have read of the twelve cities of 
 Etruria, each a separate Republic, and may 
 not know perhaps that Florence la belky Florence, 
 the present capital of all Tuscany was not thought 
 worthy of being admitted of the number, while Fie- 
 sole, the abandoned Fiesole, which in the midst of 
 herpresentmisery,looks down upon her rival with 
 contempt, was one of the most considerable ; and, 
 if you believe Villani, the most ancient city in 
 Europe — Fie Sola, meaning, as he tells us, the 
 only city at that time inhabited. Villani, 
 though an excellent historian in what concerns 
 his own tiniie, is not to be credited in all he says. 
 Fiesole was without doubt a considerable city, 
 and by nature strongly fortified. Florence was 
 at that time a Roman colony, founded, it is 
 thought, by the soldiers of Sylla, while his 
 army was at Fiesole ; but it was not till the de- 
 struction of that city by the Florentines in the 
 
 year 
 
120 
 
 year loio, that she rose to the degree of gran- 
 deur she has supported ever since. Villani 
 attributes the violent dissentions in the early days 
 of the Republic to the union of two parties dia- 
 metricdlly opposite. It was at Fiesole, Cata- 
 LiNE assembled the army that was intended to 
 destroy Rome. 
 
 If you read the History of Florence, you will 
 find that Republic torn to pieces by -various fac- 
 tions. The most powerful families had their 
 private quarrels, as well as their public differen- 
 ces : and like the Montagues and Capulets 
 of the tragedy, kept the town of Florence in 
 continual alarm. The Buondelmonte and 
 the Uberti, — the Bianchi and the Neri, — 
 GuELPHs and Gibbel-ins, were distinctions of 
 party, of rivalship, and contention. The nobles 
 and the people were also in continual opposition. 
 The former were tyrannical and cruel through 
 fear ; the latter suspicious and revengeful be- 
 cause they were oppressed. The nobles were not 
 less at variance one with the other. The most 
 powerful families, the Albizzi and the Riccr, 
 the PiTTi, Pazzi, SoDERiNi, and Medici, 
 were each of them ambitious of governing, and 
 the system of government varied as either of 
 these parties prevailed. Violence and oppres- 
 sion, cruelty and bloodshed, too often disturbed 
 the quiet of the city, and pref>ared the Floren- 
 tines 
 
121 
 
 tines for the change they were destined to un- 
 dergo under the dominion of the Medici. On 
 the other hand commerce flourished ; arts and 
 letters were encouraged ; Greece lent her aid, 
 and Florence became another Athens. As their 
 manners softened they became less enterprising; 
 they had few heroes, but the names of Dante, 
 Petrarch, Boccaccio, Macchiavello, Ga- 
 lileo, CiMABUE, Giotto, and Michael 
 Angelo, are an honor to the historic page. 
 
 The town of Florence is situated in a pleasant 
 vale. The surrounding hills are adorned with 
 buildings, and the country on every side is 
 cheerful and agreeable. The air is perfectly dry 
 and wholesome ; no dew in summer at sun-set, 
 and you may safely sleep at night with your 
 windows open. Florence is less agreeable in 
 winter ; it is very foggy and very cold. 
 
 The town is about six miles in circumference. 
 Though the walls are not fortified, there are two 
 fortresses better calculated to intimidate the in- 
 habitants than defend the city. From the Bel- 
 vedere you have a beautiful and extensive view\ 
 The gates are shut soon after sun-set ; but the 
 Porta San Gallo, Porta San Niccolo, and Porta 
 Romana, are opened to travellers till twelve 
 o'clock in winter, and in summer at any hour 
 of the night. The inhabitants of Florence do 
 not exceed eighty thousand. 
 
 The 
 
122 
 
 The river Arno, which divides the town, is 
 more famous for a bridge of uncommon form 
 and peculiar elegance than for the clearness of 
 its stream. It is Lord Lyttleton, I think, 
 who calls this a silver stream ! — any thing but a 
 silver stream, my goodLord ! It is as shallow as it 
 is dirty. If the Emperor Barbaross a had seen 
 no other, he had been safe enough : he had not 
 been tempted, or he had not been drowned.* 
 Amman ATI was architect of the bridge.t Here a 
 battle was fought at the marriage of Cos i mo II. 
 with the Archduchess of Austria, in imitation of 
 the battle of the bridge at Pisa ; and the two 
 factions of Santa Maria and Sant' Antonio 
 were sent for on purpose ; but it was observed 
 that they fought with less spirit, and dealt their 
 blows more sparingly, than on their own ground. 
 Here they had nothing but the name to animate 
 them. There they were interested to defend 
 the very ground on which they stood, and had 
 all Pisa besides to behold the contest. 
 
 * The Eniperor Bahbarossa, on his march to the 
 Holy Land, tempted by tiie clearness of the stream, bathed 
 in the river Cydnus, and was drowned, 
 
 f This bridge was built by order of Cosmo I., after the 
 flood in 1557. The arches were kept in their greatest ex- 
 fension, the former bridge having been carried away. 
 
 Near 
 
123 
 
 Near this bridge, the husband of the famous 
 jBiANCA Capello was way-laid and murdered. 
 She shortly after became Grand Duchess of Tus- 
 cany. With regard to the four statues, repre- 
 senting the four seasons, I cannot agree with 
 those who have commended them. 
 
 The streets are in general narrow, but they are 
 straight, and the pavement excellent. The ra- 
 vages of war, more destructive to the arts than 
 even time itself, have left few antique monu- 
 ments for Florence to boast of j yet a town or- 
 namented by Michael Angelo and his scho- 
 lars, cannot be deficient in taste or elegance ; 
 and, in the streets are statues that even Rome 
 might envy. I fear were they thus exposed in 
 the city of London, drunken men and idle boys 
 •would soon knock their heads off. 
 
 The Duomo begun in^the year 1298, is a 
 magnificent marble building of Gothic architec- 
 ture. The simplicity within is admirable, and 
 were it not for the respect which I bear to the 
 arts, I should wish it imitated. Religion in all 
 ages has been their friend. The finest buildings 
 amongst the ancients were their temples, and the 
 finest statues and most beautiful pictures con- 
 stantly adorned them : yet the gilded dome 
 surely is less calculated for religious purposes 
 than the cloistered cell, where devotion bends 
 the pliant knee, undisturbed by worldly vanities. 
 
 The 
 
124 
 
 The porch of this duirch, wl-ien first I knew 
 Tuscany, was a sanctuary for rogues and assas- 
 sins ; they had erected hovels, victuals were 
 regularly brought them, and they were never 
 molested ; a practice at that time pretty general 
 all over Italy. I have been almost afraid to en- 
 ter a church owing to the many assass.ns I saw 
 under the porch : figures that it was not pleasant 
 to encounter even there. 
 
 ■ This astonishing fabric was built in the time 
 of the Republic by a tax on cloth, at the low rate 
 of one soMo per braccio.* Four soldi a day, 
 when the Duomo was built, were equal to 
 twenty at present : one guinea then went as far 
 as five will now. You may judge of the riches 
 of Florence at that time by the size of this edi- 
 fice. You may judge of its present poverty by 
 observing that the facade has remained ever since 
 unfinished ; not but it was lately proposed to the 
 Grand Duke to finish it, and the means pointed 
 out by a man of no inconsiderable merit : — '* By 
 pulling doion and destroying the Church of San 
 Giovanni. The cupola, by Brun elleschi, 
 was a bold undertaking, whether you consider 
 the form, the size, or the manner of erecting it. 
 It was begun in 1400, and it took thirty-four 
 
 * A soldo, about a halfpenny English* , • 
 
 years 
 
125 
 
 years to finish it. The paintings by George 
 Vasari represent Heaven, Hell, and Purga- 
 tory (for so they tell us), and are worth ob- 
 serving were it only for the gigantic size of the 
 figures, and whimsicalness of the composition : 
 but you will think with me perhaps, that, not- 
 withstanding the celebrity of the painter, they 
 are of no advantage to the cupola. The choir 
 under is abominable, and ought to be removed. 
 The Sachristy is interesting and respectable. 
 Here the wounded Lorenzo saved himself, 
 when his brother Giuliano was assassinated in 
 the conspiracy Dei Pazzi. The time fixed by 
 those villains was durinsj the mass. Some art 
 was used to bring them there together, and not 
 a little cunning in examining, as they walked 
 along, if they had armour on. The signal of 
 attack was the exaltation of the host, and sacri- 
 lege was thus united to treachery and murder. 
 It is some satisfaction, however, to think that 
 not one of them escaped punishment, or died a 
 natural death: — even Bernardo Bandini, 
 who fled to Constantinople, and sought the pro- 
 tection of Bajazet, was delivered up by the 
 Mussulman, and hanged at Florence. The vil- 
 lain who aimed the dagger at Loren zo's breast, 
 little knew the value of the life he attempted to 
 destroy ; but succeeding ages have since had 
 reason to rejoice that he failed in the attempt. 
 
 In 
 
126 
 
 In this church is the portrait of the divine 
 Dante, who may be said to have created the 
 language in which he wrote. He was free of 
 speech, and easily provoked. When at the 
 Court of II Signore della Scala, then Sove- 
 reign of Verona, that Prince said to him one 
 day — " I wonder, Signor Dante, that a man so 
 learned as you are should be hated by all my 
 Court, and this fool," pointing to his favourite 
 buffoon, who stood by him, " should be by all 
 beloved !" — Dante, highly piqued at the com- 
 parison, replied — " Your Excellency would woU" 
 der less if you considered that we like those best 
 that most resemble ourselves.^* His portrait is a 
 satire on those who banished him : but, to make 
 amends for the persecution he underwent when 
 living, a person was appointed to explain his 
 works after he was dead. Thus Rousseau, 
 banished his country, and cruelly persecuted 
 when alive, has since had a statue erected to his 
 memory. Ostracism at Athens was considered 
 rather as a mark of superior virtue, than the 
 effect of criminality; and when a vile and con- 
 temptible person, owing to a private cabal, was 
 added to the number, the law was repealed. To 
 say man is an inconsistent animal, might be a 
 truer definition than to say he is a laughing 
 one. 
 
 You also see the tomb of Giovanni Acuto, 
 
 an 
 
127 
 
 an Englishman. He was General in the Flo- 
 rentine service; and is said to liave commanded 
 four thousand Englishmen in support of the 
 Ghibeline party at Florence. He died in 
 the year 1394. I cannot say much for the 
 figure of the General or his horse ; yet we are 
 told that at the time it was done, it was consi- 
 dered as a perfect piece of painting.* 
 
 Here also are the tombs of Brunelleschi 
 and Giotto. The epitaph of the latter does 
 him great honor, and might have been true at 
 the time it was made :— 
 
 " lUe ego sum per qiiem Pittura extincta revixit, 
 Plus licuit nulli Pingere, nee melius." 
 
 He was the scholar of Cimebue, and soon 
 excelled his master :— 
 
 " Credette Cimabue nella Pittura 
 Tenerlo Campo, cd ora ha Giotto il Grido." 
 
 Dante. 
 
 His children were remarkably ugly. Dante 
 asked him, how it happened that he who made 
 the children of others so handsome, should have 
 made his own so ugly? — ** Mine^" replied the 
 painter, " were made in the dark." 
 
 By Paolo Ugello. 
 
 In 
 
128 
 
 In this churchj at Easter, the Archbishop re- 
 news and consecrates the Holy Fire ; a curious 
 religious ceremony, probably of Pagan origin, 
 for the vestal virgins of ancient Rome did the 
 same, and nearly at the same season. This 
 done, a squib, in the form of a dove, sets fire to 
 a parcel of crackers at the door of the church, 
 to the no small diversion of the populace. The 
 Contadini (countrymen), who assemble in great 
 numbers, consider the prompt execution of this 
 fire-work as a certain sign of a good harvest.— 
 A fire-work at mid-day is an extraordinary sight 
 at least, if not an agreeable one. 
 
 The Campanile, by Giotto, is not finished. 
 The original intention was to raise it consider- 
 ably higher. It must now remain as it is. — 
 Great works like these are no longer carried on 
 in a country which has long lost its commerce, 
 and is not famous for industry. I shall say 
 nothing of the figures and ornaments already so 
 amply described : I shall only observe, that it 
 was the opinion of Charles the Fifth, that if it 
 were kept covered, and shewn only once in 
 several years, strangers would flock to see it. 
 Here Bandini, the assassin of Giuliano dei 
 Medici, when pursued by the friends of the 
 Medici Family, saved himself, the door luckily 
 standing open ; and, while they mounted the 
 stair-case to seize him^ let himself down on the 
 
 outside 
 
129 
 
 outside by means of a bell-rope, and escaped 
 like a harlequin. It is curious to observe, that 
 he was hanged several years after with the same 
 rope by which he had been saved so miracu- 
 lously. Conspiracies, even when they succeed, 
 which is but seldom, are generally fatal to their 
 authors. Of the assassins of C^sar, not one 
 died a natural death. — In the conspiracy of S^r- 
 TORius, one only escaped punishment; and he 
 led a miserable life in poverty and contempt. 
 From the top of the Campanile you have a good 
 view of the town of Florence. 
 
 San Giovanni is, supposed to have been built 
 on the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to 
 Mars. The doors are its principal ornament. 
 Those by Lorenzo Ghiberti took forty years 
 to -finish; and so highly were they esteemed by 
 Michael Angelo, that he thought them not 
 unworthy to be the gates of Paradise. Ra- 
 phael has copied several of the figures tali 
 qualL The two pillars of Egyptian porphyry 
 were a present from Pisa. The Chains are 
 spoils of the Porto Pisano, and taken by the Flo- 
 rentines in 1362. MiGLioRE, a writer of the 
 last century, on viewing these Chains, even then 
 half eaten up by rust, reflects on the destruction 
 time had already made. Thus publicly exposed^ 
 they gave great offence to the Pisans, as long as 
 they retained a sense of their former liberty: I 
 vol*. I. K. make 
 
130 
 
 make no doubt a modern Pisan looks on them 
 either with an eye of ignorance or indifference. 
 The Chapel contains a famous relic, the fore- 
 finger of St. John — and here all the Florentines 
 are christened. In the time of Villani, the 
 christenings usually amounted to from five to six 
 thousand annually : the males generally exceed- 
 ing the females from three hundred to five. 
 The number at present is considerably lessened. 
 In i779> the births amounted to three thousand 
 one hundred and ninety-nine only ; of which one 
 thousand six hundred and sixty-one were males; 
 females, one thousand five hundred and thirty- 
 eight. 
 
 Opposite this church is a curious monument 
 of Supersdtion — a pillar erected to commemo- 
 jrate a miracle which happened at the removal of 
 the body of St. Zanobi from the church of San 
 Lorenzo to the Duomo; an elm that formerly 
 stood there, blossomed, as it is said, in the month 
 of January, at the approach of the body of the 
 Saint, We may say of this miracle as Horace 
 did on an occasion somewhat similar— Cr^'^^^ 
 Judceus Apelia, who, by the bye, I conclude was 
 a very silly fellow.* 
 
 * San Zanobi was Bishop of Florence in the fourth 
 century. * 
 
131 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 SAN LORENZO, in the early days of the 
 Republic, was out of the city, the walls of 
 which at that time were al Canto dclla Paglia. 
 The statues of Guiliano Duke of Nemours, 
 and Lorenzo Duke of tJrbino, by Michael 
 Angelo, are much esteemed. The tomb of 
 Alexander, first Duke of Florence, is inte- 
 resting. Cos I MO prepared the way to despotism, 
 and obtained the respectable title of Pater Patri^ 
 dccreto publico : this Prince exercised it some 
 years after, and was assassinated. 
 
 The Medici Chapel, begun in 1604, ^^^ in- 
 tended by the Grand Duke Ferdinand for the 
 reception of the Holy Sepulchre, which he en- 
 deavoured to steal from Jerusalem. The acqui- 
 sition would have been highly advantageous to 
 the town of Florence, but failing in the attempt, 
 it was made the burying-place of his family. I 
 think it is Addison who prophesied that the fa- 
 K 2 iiiily 
 
132 
 
 mily would be extinct before the chapel would 
 be finished :-~he has proved but too true a 
 Prophet. Foreign marbles were collected at an 
 immense expencc, but the chapel is not finished ; 
 and now most probably never will be. I shall 
 not enumerate the relics contained in this church, 
 for I much doubt if a tooth of Santa Marta, or 
 even the milk of the Virgin Mary will do me any 
 credit with a Heretic. 
 
 The marble pedestal opposite represents Gi- 
 ovANNi DEI Medici, father of Cosimo I., 
 and one of the greatest warriors of his time. 
 Bran TOME tells us that being wounded by a 
 musquet ball in the leg, it was judged necessary 
 to cut it off, and he was desired that some per- 
 sons might hold him ; he said it was unnecessary ; 
 and during the whole of this painful operation, 
 held the candle himself. 
 
 In the Church of Santa Croce is the monu- 
 ment of Galileo. The fortune of this man 
 was not less extraordinary than his abilities. 
 He was put into the Inquisition at Rome at the 
 age of seventy-five, where he was confined six 
 months for saying that the earth moved round 
 the sun, and was made to retract it in order to 
 regain his liberty ; yet so perfectly was he con- 
 vinced of the truth of his system, that he could 
 not refrain in descending the staircase to exclaim, 
 " Eppure si muove /" His body was denied 
 
 Chris- 
 
133 
 
 Christian burial, and his bones have since been 
 removed into holy ground. He suffered for 
 maintaining a system which, though apparently 
 contrary to our senses, is at last universally al- 
 lowed. His friends to excuse him, said, that 
 he did not pretend that the earth really moved, 
 but only as God was omnipotent, he might have 
 ordained it so if he had thought proper. New- 
 ton was born the year that Galileo died, and 
 fortunately in a country less hostile to science. 
 
 Here are the monuments of Michael An- 
 GELo Buonarroti, and Leonardo da Vinci j 
 here also the long neglected Macchiavello 
 has at last received the tribute he had so lons^ 
 merited ; — the inscription is more elegant than 
 the monument : 
 
 Tanto Nomini Nullum par Eulogium. 
 Nicolaus Macchiavelli, 
 Obit. an. A. P. v.cioioxxvii. 
 This laconic inscription bears some resemblance 
 to that of the great Frederic, '* Hie Cinis No- 
 men ubiquCy" but, with this material difference, 
 the King of Prussia was his own biographer; 
 whereas Macchiavello has had this justice 
 done him by his countrymen more than two 
 hundred years after his decease. 
 
 You are shewn an elegant little Chapel of the 
 Nicolini family. The Cupola and four Sybils 
 are painted by Volterrano. There are also 
 
 other 
 
154 
 
 other paintings worth your notice, particularly 
 the Limbo by Bronzing. This church was in 
 danger not many years since of being turned 
 into a stable. If you consider the precious 
 monuments it contains, you will be shocked at 
 the barbarity. 
 
 In the cloister is a famous Chapel of the Pazzi 
 family, begun by Brunelleschi, and never 
 finished. It was one of the first attempts at the 
 revival of Grecian architecture in Italy, and not 
 unworthy the fifteenth century. There is a 
 remembrancer of a flood on the third of Decem- 
 ber 1740, the height six feet five inches English, 
 
 On the benches of the Piazza Santa Croce, 
 the inhabitants of Florence pass great part of the 
 night in summer ; and here formerly, during the 
 carnival, the Nobles played at foot-ball, and 
 kicked each other's shins to the no small diver- 
 sion of the populace. 
 
 Observe the front of the house of Senator 
 Antelli, painted in 1619 by Giovanni 
 DA San Giovanni, and other famous masters. 
 It was finished in twenty days. When fresh it 
 must have had an astonishing eHect, and still 
 serves to shew the magnificence of those times, 
 when the very outsides of their houses were 
 adorned with paintings of such uncommon ex- 
 cellence. The original design is in the gallery. 
 Baldinucio says, that in his time (sixty years 
 
 after 
 
135 ^ 
 
 after) it looked as fresh as if it were just painted. 
 The wolf, the lion, and the Cupid sleeping, were 
 at that time much admired. 
 
 At the corner of the coffee-house you see the 
 height of another inundation, or rather deluge in 
 the year 1557. I made my coachman measure 
 it with his whip, and conclude it cannot be less 
 than eleven English feet, I leave you to judge 
 of the confusion such an accident must have oc- 
 casioned in a town that is all nearly on the same 
 level. The street near it is still called Via del 
 Diluvio. The water of the fountain in the 
 Piazza is the best in Florence. 
 
 In the Cloister of the Annunziata is the fa- 
 mous Madonna del Sacco by Andrea del 
 Sarto, one of his best performances, and the 
 admiration of every succeeding painter. I think 
 it is Johnson who says that the distance of. a 
 calamity from the present time seems to preclude 
 the mind from contact, or sympathy. The re- 
 mark is certainly just, and I feel more concern 
 at the declinincr state of the Madonna del Sacco 
 than of the Colosseo at Rome. 
 
 Belonging to this church is another Madonna 
 not less worth seeing, but now seldom shewn. 
 They tell you the painter, after he had painted 
 the body, at a loss what expression to give the 
 countenance, fell asleep ; and when he awoke, 
 to his great astonishment found the whole pic- 
 ture 
 
136 
 
 ture finished ! This was a great miracle, without 
 doubt ; nor is it often, I believe, that you find a 
 painter silly enough to begin his picture at the 
 wrongend. Giovanni Bologna d'i Dovsy, 
 sculptor and architect, patronised by Cosimol,, 
 Francesco, and Ferdinand, was buried here. 
 
 The equestrian statue of Ferdinand, in the 
 Piazza, is by Pietro Tacca, scholar of Gio- 
 V AN N I Bo LOG N A, and is said to have been made 
 of the brass cannon taken by the Tuscan gallies 
 from the Turks. — One might ask, where are 
 your gallies now ? 
 
 In the Rucelai Chapel at Santa Maria Novella, 
 is a famous Madonna by Cimabue. Vasari 
 tells us, it was at that dme so much esteemed that 
 it was carried thither in procession, accompanied 
 by a band of music ; and in the cloister of the 
 Spanish Chapel are the portraits of Petrarch and 
 Laura, painted in 1330, by Simone Memmi 
 of Siena. Laura is cloathed in green, which is 
 said to have been her favourite colour, in which 
 she first won the heart of the unfortunate Pe- 
 trarch. SiMONE is celebrated by that aijthor, 
 as are Cimabue and Giotto by Dante. This 
 was the favourite church of Michael An gelo. 
 He called it his sposa (spouse). I find it is 
 with churches as with women. The old story^ 
 de gustibus non est disputandum. This convent 
 is famous for perfumes and essences. 
 
 In 
 
137 
 
 In the Church of Ogni Santi they shew you-^ 
 the tomb of Amerigo Vespucci, and near it i^ 
 the house he inhabited. This gentleman had 
 the honour of giving his name to the New World, 
 though Christopher Colombus was before- 
 hand with him in the discovery. It is not 
 a little extraordinary that Italy should not pos- 
 sess one foot of land in all that immense terri- 
 tory ; and that the heir of Amerigo Vespucci 
 should be one of the poorest gentlemen in 
 Florence; Vespucci has a pension of twelve 
 crowns a month from Government. — A poor 
 pittance for the descendant of a man who 
 claimed the discovery of a new world. 
 
 Santo Spirito, byBRUNELLESCHi,isa Convent 
 of Augustine Friars. The Cupola is said to 
 have been his coup d'essai before he attempted 
 that of the Duomo. 
 
 San Marco is pretty, but has an impertinent 
 kind of finery about it that little becomes a 
 place of Divine worship. The renowned Pico 
 BELLA MiRANDOLAwasburiedhere. Heiscalled 
 by Paul Giovio, the Phcenixof his time; yet I 
 don't find that his ashes have produced any other 
 such. Tliis convent also is famous for per- 
 fumes and essences. 
 
 In the Piazza was formerly the Seraglio of 
 wild beasts: and here was once seen a Giraffa 
 alive, sent as a present to Lorenzo dei Medici 
 
 froni 
 
138 
 
 from Sald ANO, King of Egypt, in 1487. This 
 uncommon animal, whose existence has been 
 doubted, was first shewn in the Circus at Rome, 
 ■when C^SAR was Dictator. Horace calls it 
 Panther Camel. 
 
 A Manage has since been wisely established 
 at St. Marco, instead of the Seraglio ; but, as 
 the Grand Duke Leopold sets litde value on 
 that useful science, and had as soon ride a mule 
 as a manage horse, lessons of horsemanship arc 
 no longer given : nor are any of those exercises 
 now encouraged that were once thought a neces- 
 sary part of the education of a gendeman. It 
 was in the reign of the Grand Duke^FRAN-i| 
 CEsco, that sixty young men of the first families 
 in Italy, were sent to this Court as Pages for the 
 benefit of their educadon. 
 
 LLT" 
 
139 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 PALAZZO VECCHIO was tlie seat of 
 Government in the time of the Republic. 
 There the Albizzi, Ricci, Pazzi, Pitti, 
 SoDERiNi, and MtDici, assembled. The Sa- 
 loon is not unworthy of them. The ceiling is 
 painted by Giorgio Vasari ; as are the paint- 
 ings in Fresco, intended to commemorate the 
 heroic actions of Cosimo dei Medici. Most 
 of the statues are by Bandinelli. At a 
 window of this palace, I believe that over the 
 Dogana, the Bishop Salviati was hanged in 
 his robes, when Giuliano dei Medici was 
 - assassinated. He had a principal share in that 
 conspiracy. He and his attendants had entered 
 the Palazzo Vecchio, where the magistrates were 
 assembled, on a pretence of business from the 
 Pope, but with the intention, had the plot suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
140 
 
 ceededj to have massacred them all. The 
 people, exasperated at his villainy, when thrown 
 down from the window, tore him piecemeal. 
 The Pope excommunicated the Florentines for 
 hanging the Bishop; and they in return excom- 
 municated the Pope for taking his part. — The 
 reasons they give are excellent ; the book is 
 scarce. 
 
 The business of Government is still carried 
 on in this palace. Here the Prime Minister 
 Serrestori took possession of the Duchy of 
 Tuscany for the Arch Duke Ferdinand, se- 
 cond son of the Emperor Peter Leopold, 
 before he arrived from Vienna. Illness pre- 
 vented me from attending the ceremony; but, 
 from the account I had of it, Sovereignty in this 
 country is bestowed from father to son with as 
 much ease as stock is transferred in England 
 from one brc/ker to another. 
 
 The Clock in the Tower shews the hour at 
 night, by means of alight artfully placed behind 
 the dial : an useful contrivance. 
 
 In this Tower, Cosimo Pater Patrice was 
 confined. His purse, which opened his prison- 
 doors, enabled him soon after to overturn the 
 liberties of his country. — Cicero obtained the 
 honorable title given to Cos i mo, for having 
 saved the liberties of his country; the Florentine 
 
 mer- 
 
141 
 
 hierchant, for the exertion of qualities that in 
 the end destroyed them. 
 
 The equestrian statue of Cosimo I. in the 
 Piazza, by Giovanni Bologna, was put up 
 by order of the Grand Duke Ferdinand, in 
 1594. That of Henri IV. on the Pont Neuf 
 at Paris (a silly name, by the bye, as it cannot 
 be al.vays applicable), was a copy by the same 
 artist, and intended as a present to the French 
 Monarch, who had married his niece. Neither 
 Henri, Ferdinand, nor the Sculptor, lived 
 to see it finished. Pietro Tacca, a scholar of 
 Giovanni Bologna, put the lasthand to it by 
 order of Cosimo II. j and, though of no ex- 
 traordinary excellence, it was received with the 
 utmost fanaticism by the French nation, in me- 
 mory of the beloved Sovereign it was meant to 
 represent, whose virtues were brilliant, and 
 whose very frailties, amiable. — Thither they 
 repair in their distresses to invoke the aid of a 
 Prince, who when living, was the father of his 
 people — a more natural application, let me tell 
 you, than to St. Antonio di Padua. I ad- 
 mire the fanaticism of the French ! I approached 
 the statue with respect j I viewed it with con- 
 cern; and cursed the hand of the assassin who 
 thus cruelly deprived the world of its brightest 
 ornament!— and had rather have been the man 
 who passed the Edict of Nantes, than he who 
 
 repealed 
 
142 
 
 repealed it — though one died in his bed, and the 
 other was assassinated.* 
 
 The fountain is by Ammanati, The statue 
 of Hercules is by Bandinelli; and was put 
 up by order of Duke Alexander, as a com- 
 panion to the David of Michael Angelo. 
 One ofthe Lions on the steps at the Loggia is 
 Grecian, the other Roman. The figure of 
 Silence is admirable; her companions, probably 
 are portraits : all are antique ; and were once 
 in the Villa Medici at Rome. The other three 
 capital figures are by Donatello, Benve- 
 NUTO, andGiovANNi Bologna. The Judith, 
 cutting off the head of Holophernes, was ori- 
 ginally in the Medici (now Riccardi) Palace* 
 and removed hither at the death of Alexan- 
 der, as a symbol of liberty. — One would think 
 they had hardly time to remove the statue, and 
 add the inscription — Publicce Salutis Exemplum 
 Civ. Pos. — so quickly and so readily did they 
 again surrender their liberties to Cos i mo !— 
 Donatello was the restorer of sculpture, and 
 much esteemed : it was his good fortune, that the 
 Grecian statues which at present adorn Italy 
 
 * Henry IV. passed the Edict of Nantes for the Tole- 
 ration of Protestants who were called Hugonots. Louis 
 XIV. repealed it, 
 
 then 
 
143 
 
 then lay under ground. The Perseus was or- 
 dered by Cos I MO I., and valued by Ba n di- 
 ne lli at sixteen thousand scudi d'oro: though 
 I do not find, in the Life of Benvenuto, 
 written by himself, that he ever received more 
 than three thousand; he was promised ten. The 
 Rape of the Sabine was undertaken by Giovan n i 
 Bologna, to prove that his talents were not 
 confined to a single figure only. The three ages 
 are there represented with great truth and ex- 
 pression. Carlino Ginori, a gentleman of 
 extraordinary size, is said to have served as a 
 model for the soldier. 
 
 The Piazza, which was of gravel, has been 
 lately paved. It has now an air of grandeur 
 and magnificence suited to the edifices that sur- 
 round it. The money was well laid out: but, 
 when I pass the Santa Croce Gate, I cannot 
 equally approve the twenty-six thousand crowns 
 which the community are laying out on a parcel 
 of pig-styes. Ancient edifices are left unfinish- 
 ed, while buildings of little or no importance, 
 and without taste or elegance, spring up like 
 mushrooms. 
 
 This is the most lively and most populous 
 part of the city. Here, on the day of Saint Ro- 
 MOLO, you may see a curious cart-race, a bur- 
 lesque on the ancient Circus. The Judge, a 
 facchino (porter), is dressed like a Roman Em- 
 peror, 
 
144 
 
 |)eror, and has his train-bearer and other attend- 
 ants ; intended probably, in the time of the 
 Republic, as a satire on Sovereignty.* Here 
 the idlers of Florence daily resort; and here 
 punches and mountebanks frequently collect 
 together the gaping multitude: but the Grand 
 Duke, out of a mistaken policy, discourages 
 merriment, and does not suflFer them to remain. 
 —The Medici family ! why are they regretted ? 
 Was property more secure, or personal safety 
 more respected ? Were the laws more favor- 
 able to the subject, or taxes less oppressive 
 under their government ? — Most certainly not : 
 but, in lieu of these things, the people had an 
 appearance of liberty, and were amused. — Those 
 cunning rulers knew that to keep the minds of 
 men constantly amused, is the surest means to 
 prevent them from criticising the conduct of 
 those who govern. The very poorest and most 
 miserable had neither leisure nor inclination to 
 brood over their wants, or their misfortunes. 
 Let us suppose, for an instant, their time divided 
 between sleep, work, and amusement : if amuse- 
 ment, of whatever nature it be, is considered as 
 four hours in the twenty-four, it may politically 
 
 * The representatioQ of this farce has lately been sup- 
 pressed. 
 
 be 
 
145 
 
 be considered as six, from the effect it has on thd 
 mind both before and after. It is not at balls 
 and theatres that conspiracies are formed : nor 
 was it the merry Anthony, but the gloomy and 
 thoughtful CAssitJs, that Caesar feared. — Des- 
 potic rulers ! would you live without fear, con- 
 ceal your power, and amuse your people. Au- 
 RELius, to keep the people in submission, pro- 
 vided plenty of bread and amusements. He 
 used to say — " Mind only your amusements, leave 
 to us the care of providing for you,'* 
 
 Pitti Palace, the present residence of the 
 Sovereigns of Tuscany, was built by Luc a 
 Pitti in 1460, and bought by Cosimo I. in 
 1549* It was the ruin of Luca Pitti, who 
 had the foolish vanity to rival in expence a 
 richer man than himself, Cosmo dei Medici, 
 It is an immense building, by Brunelleschi : 
 and when I consider that a private gentleman 
 built it^or his own residence, I am concerned 
 to think that the King of Great Britain, France, 
 and Ireland, my much honored Sovereign, 
 should be so indifferently lodged. This mag- 
 nificent fabric is still unfinished, and, of course, 
 has an awkward appearance in the midst of its 
 grandeur. On one side I see a want of sym- 
 metry in the parts, that I am astonished a Sove- 
 reign should look at twice and not remedy. 
 — As I advance, I find an apartment lately add- 
 
 vofc, J, fc ed. 
 
146 
 
 ed, which, differing in every respect from the 
 palace to which it is annexed, destroys at once 
 the beauty of the edifice. Princes I see are not 
 exempt from the natural failings of humanity. 
 Like us inferior beings, they also may say — 
 " We have left undone those things which we 
 ought to have done, and have done those things 
 which we ought not to have done,** 
 
 Several ceilings are admirably painted by 
 PiETRO DA Cortona: — I am concerned when 
 a good painter employs his art where it is not 
 possible to view it with satisfaction. The Ma- 
 donna della Seggiola, by Raphael, were it the 
 only picture, would render this palace famous: 
 though I conclude, from many of the paintings 
 of that great artist, that he had not always the 
 most beautiful models. In the same room is 
 the famous portrait of Leo X., by the same 
 master. You will see a copy of this picture at 
 Capo di Monte at Naples, by Andrea del 
 Sarto; not less remarkable from being that 
 which GiULio Romano, scholar of Raphael, 
 and himself an excellent painter, mistook for 
 the original picture, Vasari says, the mistake 
 had not been discovered, had he not been pre- 
 sent when Andrea copied it: and, the other 
 day, Fabrini, a Florentine artist, carried a 
 head to the Marquis Manfredini, as an An- 
 drea, which, being approved as such by the 
 
 Che- 
 
147 
 
 Chevalier , was hung np in the Marquis*s 
 
 cabinet of Old Masters as a true Andrea. It 
 has since been proved to have been painted by 
 Fabrini himself. This was an admirable piece 
 
 of revenge on the Chevalier , who had 
 
 spoken contemptuously of him as a painter. 
 Where so many pictures are good, I know not 
 which to mention. The Four Philosophers, by 
 Rubens, and the Two Children, by the same 
 hand, you will look at with pleasure. The 
 Venuses of this painter are less perfect. He 
 copied his own Wives, and they unluckily had 
 more of the Flemish enbonpoint than Grecian 
 elegance. The Cupids of A lb an o were copied 
 from his own children, and they were handsome. 
 Though the colouring of the Three Fates, by 
 Michael Angelo is faded, the outline is ad- 
 mirable. Among many excellent portraits of 
 Titian, is that of his Mistress: the head is the 
 same as that of his Venus in the Gallery, the 
 features of which are by no means suited to the 
 character, and have done all they could to spoil 
 the picture. It is clear Titiart was a lover, as 
 well as a painter. In the last room, you see a 
 tepresentation of Death, of the Resurrection, of 
 Hell, and of Paradise, by the Chevalier N as i n i, 
 of Siena— a Knight of little gallantry, for his 
 best and principal figure is that of a woman 
 falling headlong into hell-fire. Many of the 
 L a ' rooms 
 
14S 
 
 rooms are small, and some are dark. I don't 
 think the taste in fitting them up will every 
 where please you. — A parcel of naked boys 
 over the doors, in white stucco, look cold and 
 shivering in rooms hung with red damask, and 
 covered with pictures. The best part of the 
 furniture is the inlaid tables in Pietra Dura, a 
 "work of great labour and great expence. It is 
 difficult to say which is most admirable, the ma- 
 terials, or the workmanship. The old-fashioned 
 cabinets are monstrously ugly: and the glass- 
 tases, stuffed with baubles, are fit only for chil- 
 dren. Should you be at Florence when the 
 Court gives a fete, and see these apartments 
 illuminated, it will then appear like the palace 
 of a Sovereign. 
 
 I cannot quit this palace without acquainting 
 you, that in the passage is placed a trunk for 
 secret information, of which the Grand Duke 
 himself keeps the key. The Florentine cha- 
 racter is not free from malevolence — judge then 
 of the calumnies it contains ! — A vulgar saying 
 tells us, that listeners seldom hear any good of 
 themselves; — and this Prince often finds the 
 severest satires against himself: upon this occa- 
 sion they generally use printed characters to 
 avoid discovery. 
 
 The Corridore, which reaches from hence to 
 the Gallery, is a piece of magnificence worthy 
 
 the 
 
149 
 
 the family of Medici. It has been the occasion 
 of more than one amour. Here Cosimo I. 
 first saw Camilla Martelli, fell in love with 
 her, and married her: and here the Cardinal his 
 son, when Grand Duke of Tuscany, intrigued 
 vVith Viol ANTE Martelli, Camilla's niece. 
 
 It was in the Cortile of this Palace that the 
 Grand Duke Ferdinand gave a superb festival 
 at his marriage. A castle was besieged, and 
 taken from the Turks. The Duke of Mantua, 
 and others the first personages of Italy, engaged 
 afterwards in a tournament: and here, to con- 
 clude the festival, the company after supper 
 were agreeably surprised to behold a lake, where 
 they had so lately been witnesses of a siege ; and 
 a naval fight, on the very spot where knights had 
 engaged on horseback. This magnificence 
 ended with the family of Medici. 
 
 At one end of the Cortile you read an inscpp- 
 tion to the memory of a Mule that worked at 
 the building, and which Montaigne, in his 
 Description of Florence, tells vis was then liv- 
 ing. — It is but just, where the greatest part of 
 the labor lay, that there also should be some of 
 the honor.* 
 
 Lecticani, Lapides et Marmora, ligna, Columnas, 
 "N'exit, conduxit, traxit ct ista tulit. 
 
 The 
 
.150 
 
 I'he Garden of Boboli was open to thq public 
 only three days in the year. It is now, thanks 
 to the liberality of the present Sovereign, con- 
 stantly open at all times, and to all persons. 
 
 I have just heard of the death of a young 
 man of my acquaintance, drowned in the river: 
 a summer seldom passes without accidents of 
 this kind. All animals, except man, swim natu- 
 rally. Browne says, it is because they use the 
 same action in the water, they do on land. — We 
 must be taught; and a frog is the best master. 
 It is a necessary, precaution : and yet it may be 
 a doubt of which die most — ^of those who can 
 swim, or of those who cannot. 
 
 LET- 
 
151 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 THE Riccardi Palace, built by Cosimo 
 Pater Patriae, was the residence of the 
 Medici family, till Cosimo I. removed to 
 Pitti. It was begun in the year 1430, from the 
 plan, and under the direction, of Mich elozzo. 
 Duke Ferdinand sold it to the Riccardi family 
 in the year 1659, for for^ty-one thousand crowns. 
 The low windows of the Terreno were afterwards 
 added by Michael Angelo; high windows 
 were in fashion during the time of the Republic, 
 as a security against the populace. The Pa-, 
 lazzo Strozzi seems built to stand a siege — an 
 incontestible proof of the strange turbulency of 
 those times of freedom. 
 
 Here Alexander, first Duke of Florence, was 
 assassinated by Lorenzo, his cousin, while he 
 expected a mistress which that villain, his fami- 
 liar friend, and instrument of his pleasures, had 
 promised to procure. It was late in the even- 
 ing, 
 
153 
 
 ing, and at the time of the carnival. The 
 Duke, who was much fatigued, was desired by 
 Lorenzo, in whose apartment he was, to repose 
 himself on the bed till his return. The un- 
 suspicious Sovereign readily complied, and, 
 falling asleep, the villain soon after entered — not 
 with the beautiful Ginori, but with another 
 cut-throat as cruel as himself, — and the bloody 
 deed was done, though not without difficulty, 
 for the first stab not being mortal, the contest, 
 though unequal, was continued a considerable 
 time. Duke Alexander was a natural son; 
 his mother was of mean birth : there have been 
 different conjectures who was his father. He 
 obtained the Dukedom by means of the Em- 
 peror Charles V.> whose natural daughter he 
 married. They tell you, for the Italians are 
 fond of the marvellous, that the number six was 
 particularly unlucky to him : that he was twenty- 
 six when he was murdered ; that it was op the 
 twenty-sixth of January 1536 — at the sixth hour 
 of the night — in the sixth year of his reign;— 
 and they even go so far as to say, that he re- 
 ceived six wounds also ! — Lorenzo il Tradi- 
 TORE,for so he was afterwards called, is said, by 
 one act, to have effected three things direcdy 
 contrary to his interest and intentions : — he 
 killed the man who loved him best; made Duke 
 of Florence his most inveterate enemy j and 
 
 jren- 
 
It o 
 DO 
 
 rendered the condition of his country worse than 
 it was before. He was assassinated himself, 
 twelve years after, at Venice, by order of 
 Cosimo I. His two assassins received a reward 
 of one hundred crowns a year each, were made 
 citizens of Florence, and rimesse due teste; 
 which I suppose means a liberty to murder two 
 other persons. Assassinations were venial sins 
 in those days ; and the murder of one man was 
 pardoned by the murder of another. A mur- 
 derer, for instance, who escaped from justice, 
 was not suffered to return, unless he killed, with 
 his own hand, a rebel, or another murderer: 
 thus he who committed one murder, suffered 
 death J while he who committed two, was en- 
 titled to a pardon ! 
 
 Many magnificent festivals have been given 
 in this palace, once the residence of Kings, Em- 
 perors, and Popes. Those times are now no 
 more; nor does it seem probable that the pre- 
 sent proprietor should ever receive such guests. 
 •■ A collection of medals, the famous Pliny, and 
 a ceiling by Luca Giordano, are the principal 
 remains of its ancient grandeur. This palace, 
 as well as that of Pitti, was built by a private 
 person. The private gentlemen of those days 
 were more magnificent in their ideas than princes 
 {ire at present. 
 
 ThePalazzo Strozzi, built by BuoNTALENTi 
 
 in 
 
154 
 
 in 1489, is an immense building, and the Cor- 
 tile magnificent. It contains but few pictures; 
 one of the best is by Titian. 
 ; These three palaces are all of the Tuscan 
 order: an order more massive than elegant; 
 and, one might think, better suited to a prison 
 than a palace. When Pitti began, he boasted 
 that the windows of his palace should be larger 
 than the doors of that of Cosimo : and Filippo 
 Strozzi said he would build another that should 
 surpass them both. .Observe these three palaces 
 with attention, built nearly at the same time by 
 three private gentlemen of Florence, and name 
 me three such, if you can, in any other town in 
 Europe. 
 
 Palazzo non Terminato of the Strozzi famil)f 
 is by various architects. The lower windows, as 
 also the front towards II Borgo degli Albizzi, 
 are by Buontalenti. 
 
 The Corsini Palace is admirably situated on 
 the Lungarno, and contains several good pic- 
 tures, particularly that of a Muse, by Carlo 
 
 DOLCI. 
 
 The Gherardesca Palace has the advantage 
 of the country, and the pure air of Fiesole, 
 
 TOMMASO BoNAVENTURI DEI CoNTI BELLA 
 
 Gherardesca, Archbishop of Florence, when 
 Vicario,has the following anecdote related of him:; 
 A widow lady, with three children, threw herself at 
 
 his 
 
155 
 
 his feet to implore his protection, a neighbouring 
 gentleman having commenced a law-suit to de- 
 prive her of an estate which was the only sup- 
 port of herself and family : he listened to her 
 complaint, heard her reasons, which he thought 
 so satisfactory that he assured her she might he 
 perfectly easy^ for her cause was a good on^.— It 
 however happened, that the adverse party shortly 
 after produced such convincing proofs in hi§ 
 own favor asobhged the honest Vicario to pass 
 sentence against the widow, and deprive her of 
 her possessions ; recollecting, however, what 
 had passed between him and the lady, and the 
 assurance he had then given her, he sent for the 
 gendeman and bought the estate. When the 
 widow returned to relate what had happened, 
 and make known her distress, he received her 
 ;^wjth these words — *^ Notwithstanding y Madam, 
 •what passed between us when I saw you last, a^d- 
 the assurances 1 then gave you of my protection, 
 justice has obliged me to pass sentence against 
 you ; and charity now requires I should make 
 you the best amends in my power: dry up your 
 tears — console yourself, and accept this new title 
 to the estate, which now is honestly your own, and 
 nobody can deprive you of it.'' 
 
 In the Gerini Palace is the famous portrait 
 of Rembrant. You will admire the St. Andrew 
 of Carlo DoLCi. You will be pleased with the 
 
 St. 
 
156 
 
 St. Sebastian by Guercino: I suppose it to be 
 St. Sebastian; but as he is unbound, and holds 
 the arrows in his hand, which it is usual to see 
 stuck in his body, the painter leaves the matter 
 somewhat in doubt, which is never so well ex- 
 pressed as when it cannot be mistaken. The 
 Sebastian of Guido, though a horrid subject, 
 may be looked upon with delight. Should you 
 be inclined to criticise the elegant ease of the 
 attitude, and the unnatural serenity of the coun- 
 tenance, you have only to recollect that Sebas- 
 tian was a saint. 
 
 The Casa Altuiti possesses an inestimable 
 treasure in the portrait of Raphael, mentioned 
 by Vasari. The family have been tempted by 
 great offers ; but nothing short of absolute 
 necessity would excuse the parting with a por- 
 trait of Raphael painted by himself. — We 
 should be cautious how we dispose of any thing 
 for money, that money cannot procure again. 
 
 In the Casa Rinuccini is a drawinoj of Men^s 
 a descent from the Cross, that cost a thousand 
 crowns. It was one of the last of his per- 
 formances. 
 
 The Pretender inhabited for several years the 
 palace now belonging to Duke St. Clemente. 
 The terrejCLO, or ground- floor, where they live 
 chiefly in summer, is excellent. A ceiling by 
 VoLTERANNo has great merit. 
 
 Palazzo 
 
157 
 
 Palazzo Bartolini isby Baccio d'Agnolo* 
 In the Casa Buonarrotti you see the principal 
 occurrences in the hfe of the famous Michael 
 Angelo Buonarrotti, painted by his scholars : 
 also some of his designs unfinished, and his bust, 
 by Giovanni Bologna. The family still live 
 here ; but since his death have prudently declined 
 having any thing to do with the arts. It is said 
 there is a particularity attending this family 
 worth remarking. For six succeeding genera- 
 tions the heirs have alternately been distin- 
 guished by talents and by stupidity. The pre- 
 sent heir is a man of genius, but to a great 
 degree eccentric, and is sent out of the country. 
 The son of the famous Michael Angelo was 
 little better than an idiot. I have heard an 
 instance of the same kind in one of our English 
 families ; but I shall not name it, as I do not 
 recollect whether the present gentleman is a 
 man of genius, a madman, or a fool. 
 
 In the Palazzo Salviati, Cos i mo I. was edu-- 
 cated under the direction of his mother, Maria 
 Salviati. As I know nothing to commend in 
 the palace, I will relate an anecdote of one of 
 the family. A friend of this gentleman decoyed 
 into the palace, and delivered into his hands, a 
 professed and inveterate enemy, thinking to 
 render him an essential service; to whom he 
 sternly replied— J/^tfi no advantage, however. 
 
 greaiy 
 
158 
 
 great, should induce him so grossly to violate 
 the laws of hospitality y as to put a defenceless 
 man to death under his own ronf^ though an 
 enemy! — Who would not wish to call such a 
 man his friend ! 
 
 At St. Gaetano is a small house of beautiful 
 architecture, by Michael Angelo: but the 
 houses in general, with two or three exceptions, 
 have little to recommend them on the outside; 
 and within are better calculated for summer, than 
 for winter. I think they told me at the Ric- 
 Cardi Palace, that they had thirty-two rooms on 
 one floor, and only two fire-places : perhaps 
 they have found out, that chimneys occasion 
 more cold than heat. — In good truth, unless 
 great fires are kept in them, and it is not the 
 fashion in this country, they are neither more 
 nor less than holes in the wall, and do more 
 harm than good : in short, I verily believe you 
 would be warmer at Petersburgh in winter, than 
 at Florence; you must not expect the warm 
 comforts of colder climates ; doors and windows 
 are not made to shut like snuff-boxes, and the 
 north wind when it blows, is most severely felt. 
 For my own part, I was never more sensible of 
 the winter's cold than in this warm climate, 
 partly from the houses being so ill calculated to 
 resist it, and partly from the excessive heat of 
 the mid-day sunj your pores are open; you 
 
 are 
 
159 
 
 are chilled afterwards in the shade, and frozen 
 in the wind. To this may be attributed the 
 Mai di Petto (inflammation on the lungs), to 
 which Florence is particularly subject : it is not 
 less subject during the winter*months to acci^ 
 dejites (apoplexies): but the air is so pure, and 
 so dry in summer, that all sleep with their win- 
 dows open; and I have often thought, that, with 
 the greatest ease, every house might be robbed 
 ^t any hour of the night. Italians are not much 
 troubled with the gout; partly owing to their 
 abstemiousness, ■ and partly, perhaps, to the 
 warmth of a climate v;hich promotes perspiration 
 without the aid of violent exertions. Mark 
 Anthony was afflicted with it; but he was a" 
 jolly fellow, and owed it most probably to his 
 own intemperahce. England has lately suffered 
 a great loss from that' disorder by the: death oB 
 Lord Camelford. He left Florence for Pisa- 
 with the gout upon him, and died immediately 
 on his arrival. I know not if you were as well 
 acquainted with his value in private as in public 
 life ; he was truly amiable in both. As a man 
 of the world, his gende and engaging manners 
 endeared him to society, and will cause him to 
 be long regretted by all who knew him. 
 
 In a country more famed for economy than 
 
 expence, you will not exp?ct to find elegant 
 
 furniture. One apartment is usually fitted up 
 
 ^ new 
 
160 
 
 new at the marriage of the eldest son ; but even 
 then the floors, which are of brick, are not 
 covered with carpets : the windows are not 
 better glazed than an English cottage ; nor does 
 it equal in taste or elegance an indifferent hotel 
 in Paris. Footmen do the work of house-maids 
 in every town in Italy j nor are the insides of 
 our houses as clean as the yard of a Dutch- 
 man. 
 
 I have just been in company with a young 
 man whose history is particular: — his mother is 
 his sister, A gentleman who had a natural 
 daughter, put her into a Conservatorio at Venice, 
 and left the country; returning several years 
 after he met this girl by accident, fell in love 
 with her, and married her. He has lately dis- 
 covered, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that 
 he has married his own daughter.— Signor 
 Carlo de P— — is the unfortunate offspring 
 of that unnatural connection. 
 
 LET- 
 
161 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 THE elegant building of the Uffizzi, by 
 G. Vasari, was intended by Cosimo I. 
 for the different offices of the state.* It is to 
 his son Francesco, who succeeded to the 
 Diikedom, that we are obliged for the first 
 establishment of the Gallery. The Tribune, by 
 BuoNTALENTi, was added by his order: and 
 hither, under the direction of that excellent 
 artist, were removed the statues, pictures, me- 
 dals, &:c. of his ancestors. 
 
 Ferdinand, who, during a long residence at 
 Rome as Cardinal, increased that love of the 
 arts which was natural to him, added to the 
 building, and improved the collection. The 
 St. John, by Raphael; the Madonna della 
 Seggiola ; the Portrait of Leo X. ; and the 
 
 * Was built in the year 1564. 
 VOL. I. M famous 
 
162 
 
 famous Diamond, of one hundred and thirty- 
 nine carats'; are proofs of his taste and his 
 munificence.* 
 
 Ferdinand the Second followed the example 
 of his predecessors. The Hermaphrodite; 
 Cupid and Psyche; the famous Idol in bronze; 
 and the Venus of Titian; were owing to his 
 liberality. 
 
 You will little imagine that it was to the in- 
 temperance of Cos I MO IIL the Gallery owes 
 its greatest ornament. When advised by his 
 physicians to walk a great deal, his ministers 
 took that occasion to propose the Gallery; and 
 the famous Venus, the Lottatori, Arrotino, and 
 Antinoiis, were brought thither from Rome, and 
 many others 6f less note from the Pitti Palace 
 and Garden of BoboH, 
 
 I have thus slightly ■ traced the Gallery of 
 Florence from its first establishment, and have 
 mentioned the names of those illustrious per- 
 sonages to whom it has been most particularly 
 indebted. It now remains to say, that the 
 judicious arrangement of this treasure of the 
 arts was left to the Grand Duke Leopold, to 
 whose kind auspices it owes its present favorable 
 
 * Valued by Tavern IE R at four hundred and thirty- 
 five thousand crowns. 
 
 form ; 
 
163 
 
 form ; and by whose liberality artists of genius 
 daily improve by copying the most celebrated 
 paintings of the best masters. It is thus private 
 collections, in good hands, become of public 
 benefit. 
 
 To describe the various beauties of the Gal- 
 lery of Florence would infinitely exceed the 
 limits, of a letter. My remarks will be very 
 confined; but there are printed books that will 
 supply the deficiency. 
 
 If you are an admirer of the arts, you will 
 first pay your court, without doubt, to the Me- 
 Dici family, to whose taste and magnificence 
 we owe this inestimable treasure. Their Seven 
 Busts are very properly placed in the Vestibule, 
 with inscriptions, which, if your Latin be not 
 forgotten, you will do well to read. As you are 
 a Jockey, you will look with a curious eye for 
 the names of some racers of antiquity, as famous 
 I suppose, in their time, as Herod and Eclypse. 
 As you are a Sportsman, the Two Dogs that 
 guard the entrance are entided to your regard. 
 
 The best pictures are not in the Corridore. 
 The portraits of great personages and famous 
 jjien, are most of them indiflPerent copies, from 
 whose features it would be difficult to trace the 
 tenor of their lives. That of Mary, Queen of 
 JScots, doe* by no means agree with Bran- 
 
 M 2 TOME** 
 
164 
 
 tome's description of her: he says, she wore 
 false locks, and of different colours; and that 
 no man ever beheld her person without admira- 
 tion or love. The Busts and Statues of the 
 Emperors and Empresses merit all your atten- 
 tion. Those who are acquainted with their 
 histories and their vices, will nicely examine the 
 different characters of their countenances ; those 
 who are not, may admire the sculpture; and 
 ladies will remark many head-dresses similar to 
 their own. Young Nero was a beautiful boy, 
 no feature in that countenance indicates cruelty, 
 or tyranny. It is also to be remarked, that, for 
 many years of his reign, Nero was the best of 
 Princes ; and so perfectly humane, that when 
 an order for the execution of a criminal was 
 brought him to sign, he said — " He wished he 
 knezu not how to write!" 
 
 Adrian was the first Emperor who wore a 
 beard. Before his time, their chins were kept 
 as smooth as our own ; but the means they used 
 are not so well known. Admire Antinous ; 
 his face and figure might have excused any other 
 frailty except that of Adrian. 
 
 Among the ladies, Agrippina claims your 
 attention: a majestic ease in her deportment, 
 bespeaks an Empress who for several years, 
 both as wife and mother, governed those who 
 
 governed 
 
165 
 
 governed the world. Her ambition, her vices, 
 and the manner of her death, merit some re- 
 flection. 
 
 Observe the head-dress of Marciana, Tra- 
 jan's sister — the same pin the Contadina's now 
 wear, supports her tresses behind, and the fore 
 part is composed of a false toupee, and, in my 
 opinion, not very becoming. Julia, Popple a, 
 and the frail Daughter of Antoninus Pius, 
 were the beauties of ancient Rome. v 
 
 You see a Vestal Virgin with the fire burning. 
 You have read much of the lata Clava ; you may 
 see it in a statue a few paces from the entrance. 
 Observe, as you proceed, the decadency of the 
 Arts, and the astonishing difference between the 
 ages of Augustus and CoNSTANTiNE. 
 
 The Chimera, half Lion, half Goat, with an 
 Etruscan epigraph which nobody understands, 
 was found near Arezzo, in the time of Cosimq 
 the First. 
 
 The Horse is thought to have belonged to 
 the family of Niobe. I cannot commend his 
 shape, and the part that has been restored is 
 abominable. The snaffle then in use differs but 
 litde from our own. 
 
 The Wild Boar is a wonderful piece of Gre- 
 cian sculpture. It was a litde damaged by the 
 fire in the year 1762, which threatened destrqc- 
 tion to the whole collection. 
 
 In 
 
16(5 
 
 In an inner room you see the Bella which the 
 young Patricians wore till they came of age; 
 they were nearly in the form of a heart, and were 
 usually of gold. 
 
 Among the Busts, that of Cicero with the 
 wart on his cheek, merits your attention — a 
 ridiculous mistake of the sculpture: it was the 
 name he inherited, not the wart. The Alexan- 
 der is beautiful; and whether he be lamenting 
 the death of his friend Clitus, or that he has 
 no other world to conquer, cannot be too much 
 admired. It has been remarked, that his hair is 
 in imitation of that of Jupiter, whose son he 
 wished to be thought. The conquests of Alex- 
 ander seem even more extraordinary than those 
 of C^sar, if you consider the inferiority of the 
 means by which they were effected: — besides, 
 he was always victorious; C^sar was sometimes 
 defeated. In peace he was, perhaps, his supe- 
 rior; and the whole tenor of his conduct, even to 
 the very moment of his death, when he left the 
 succession to the most worthyy is a strong contrast 
 to the turbulent character of that ambitious 
 Dictator! — But surely nothing does Alexan- 
 der so much honor as that the vanquished Da- 
 rius should employ the last moments of his life 
 in supplicating the Gods to recompense his con- 
 queror for the humanity, indulgence, and gene- 
 rosity he had shewn to those who were the dear- 
 est 
 
167 
 
 est to him upon earth. The unfinished bust of 
 Brutus, by Michael Angelo, has occasioned 
 some wit, and a more severe reflection on the 
 Roman patriot than the sculptor probably, whose 
 principles were Republican, ever intended. 
 Brutus, at least, was instigated to what he did 
 by the love of his country; the intention was 
 noble, though the means were vile. His virtue 
 in not occasioning more deaths than one, we can- 
 not but approve, though Macchi av el lo would 
 not commend its policy; he would have told 
 him that the death of Anthony was not less 
 necessary than that of C^sar to secure the 
 liberties and quiet of the Republic. 
 
 In many of the Basso Relievos you see the 
 manners and customs of the times ; and it may 
 be necessary to inform you that one of the most 
 curious pieces of ancient sculpture, is a certain 
 Pagan Deity, not commonly shewn ; but, to 
 judge by his extraordinary size, we may sup- 
 pose that, when publicly viewed, he was generally 
 worshipped. 
 
 The Tribune possesses the chief excellencies 
 of Sculpture and Painting. The Venus of 
 Medicis and Venus of Titian vie with each 
 other; and were the other pictures equal to the 
 other statues, this room would then be perfect. 
 TheVenus (Iwish she were taller) is of exquisite 
 beauty. The author is unknown : it was not 
 'on V70i\ Cle- 
 
168 ' 
 
 Cleomenes. It is doubtful whether it be the 
 Venus of Gnidos by Praxiteles, though she 
 is described in the same modest attitude ; and 
 employing both her hands, as bashful ness would 
 direct. Let the author be who he may, the more 
 you examine this statue, the more you will admire 
 it. You see at once that she is high bred, and, 
 were you not told she is a goddess, you could not 
 mistake her for a common woman. The hands 
 you may think rnanieriy but they are modern. 
 The Arrotino has long puzzled the Conoscenti. 
 The intention of the sculptor is not known, but 
 by the beard he wears, it is generally understood 
 that the person represented was of low condi- 
 tion. 
 
 Niobe and her Family have forsaken Ronae 
 to adorn the Gallery of Florence, where they are 
 more sumptuously lodged, but less advanta- 
 geously placed than in the Villa Medici. The 
 room is very large, and very cold. This, it is 
 true, is of htde consequence to them who stood 
 in a garden, exposed to the winter's blast for so 
 many years, but to us who visit them is by i?o 
 means a matter of indifference. It is finished 
 also in a style better suited to a drawing-room 
 than to a repository for statues ; but to such a 
 state of desperation are the arts reduced in this 
 once famous country that, we not. only cannot 
 make a statue, but know not what to do with it 
 
 when 
 
169 
 
 ,.y/hen we have it. The Centaur, a beautiful 
 statue by Giovanni Bologna, which had 
 stood near two hundred years in a street that had 
 ]taken its name, has been twice removed within 
 my remembrance : — it is now shut up, because 
 they literally do not know what to do with it, 
 and I wish they may not be tempted at last to 
 throw it into the river to avoid any further 
 trouble. 
 
 It is not my intention to describe the Pic- 
 tures of the Gallery. Were I to mention those 
 which please me most, I should be puzzled 
 where to begin and where to end. I was 
 shocked at the Medusa of Leonardo da 
 
 ^ Vinci, probably that which Vasari mentions, 
 and am always concerned when a painter of 
 eminence employs his art on a horrid subject. 
 
 The Portraits of upwards of four hundred 
 Painters, all painted by themselves, form a col- 
 lection not to be met with, I believe, in any 
 
 . other country. Your friend. Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds, is among the number. I wish the 
 
 \ colouring of his own portrait may last longer 
 
 ^ than that of his other paintings. This excellent 
 artist does not paint for posterity ; and in a few 
 years, were it not for the engraver, it might be a 
 doubt if he ever existed. I am no painter; yet 
 
 J I cannot help wondering the art of colouring 
 
 should 
 
170 
 
 should be so much neglected, since not only the 
 immediate effect depends upon it, but the future 
 reputation of the painter himself. — The colour- 
 ing of Titian, though three hundred years 
 are already elapsed, is as beautiful as it was at 
 first. 
 
 Statues and Pictures are not the only wonders 
 of this superb Gallery. It possesses a treasure 
 in gems, <&:c. that no Sovereign could afford to 
 purchase. The little elegant Cammeo, which 
 represents Cupid riding on a Lion, is of the 
 greatest beauty. The idea is ingenious, and the 
 execution admirable ! To complete this cabi- 
 net was the labour of more than two centuries. 
 The famous Medici Diamond was once its 
 brightest ornament. They tell you it is at 
 Vienna j — the Emperor best knows by what 
 right. 
 
 The collection of Coins and Medals, and the 
 Original Drawings by the old masters, are worth 
 your seeing, but are not usually shewn. 
 
 Here are also Etruscan inscriptions to amuse 
 and puzzle the antiquarian ; and antique vases, 
 of various forms, some for ornament, and some 
 for use : — Guttae, which held the oil to anoint^ 
 their bodies when they came out of the bath; 
 Paterae, used in sacrifices ; Lamps in abundance; 
 and litde glass botdes, called Lacrimatori, sup- 
 posed, 
 
171 
 
 posed to have received the tears they shed. 
 Observe the votive offerings which the ancients 
 hung up in their temples after a recovery.* 
 They are of potters' earth, and made to repre- 
 sent the part affected. You see a great number 
 of legs and arms j I observed a breast, from 
 whence one may presume the lady had been 
 cured of a cancer. 
 
 The Mosaic of Pietra dura, begun by Cosi- 
 MO I., continued by Francesco, and perfected 
 by Ferdinand, is formed of natural stones 
 inlaid, and not of a composition like that of 
 Rome : landscapes, sea views, birds, fruits, and 
 flowers, are usually represented. It is a work 
 of patience and expence. To finish a table like 
 those of the Pitti Palace is the constant occupa- 
 tion of three years; the cost not less than twenty 
 thousand crowns. The Mosaic at Rome an- 
 swers a better purpose; it will faithfully render 
 the paintings of the best masters to the latest 
 posterity. 
 
 The Gallery is always open for the benefit of 
 •iriists, except on holidays, and the inner apart- 
 ments are shewn to visitors by a person appointed 
 
 * The same custom is still observed at the Campo Santo 
 at Pisa. 
 
 on 
 
172 
 
 on purpose, and not permitted to receive any 
 
 gratuity. 
 
 One circumstance I forgot. They tell you 
 that this cabinet formerly contained an extraor- 
 dinary Padlock, or Ceinture de Chastete. — Let 
 every married man on this occasion remember 
 the words of Prior ; 
 
 Let all her ways be unconfin'd. 
 And clap the padlock on her mind. 
 
 LET- 
 
173 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 IT is astonishing with what rapidity a Museum 
 is formed that has an' intelligent- person to 
 direct it. Acquisitions are continually making, 
 and the bulk daily increasing, when, like the 
 miser's store, it suffers no diminution. In a 
 few years, the Chevalier Fontana, a man of 
 talents, native of Roveredo,. has formed a cabi- 
 net which, in many of its parts, has not its equal; 
 and where the well-informed naturalist may find 
 continual amusement : but the same reasons that 
 prevented my entering into the detail of the 
 beauties of the Gallery, must also deter me from 
 'describing the Gabinetto Fisico. 
 ' The anatomical preparations in wax are the 
 best in Europe. They may tempt you, per- 
 haps, to go through a course of anatomy, since 
 you can do it without disgust; nor can any 
 study be more interesting than that which so 
 nearly concerns ourselves. The part, however, 
 
 that 
 
174 
 
 that relates to labour, it may not be the interest 
 of mankind that women should see. The gen- 
 tleman to whom the town of Florence is obliged 
 for the arrangement and improvement of this 
 Museum, and the learned world for many valu- 
 able discoveries, is engaged at present in a work 
 of inestimr\ble value — a Statue in wood that 
 takes to pieces, shewing the whole body in all 
 its parts, its muscles, its nerves, its veins, its 
 arteries, and the whole intricacies of that frame 
 which we are told is so fearfully and so wonder- 
 fully made. What a pleasant way of studying 
 anatomy ! In one respect this answers even 
 better than the human body itself, where, to get 
 at one muscle, you must first destroy another : 
 here all take to pieces as tbey are wanteds - 
 
 Araohg tllie piapyoCurip^ities which this Mu- 
 *^unpi contains, are the I^prns of an unknown 
 fanimal, reseipbling those of a bull, but consi- 
 derably bigger ; and the Teeth of a young ele^ 
 phar)t, found in the Val d'Arno, not? far from 
 Florence, This is, indeed, a curipsity. Hay 
 these inhabitants of the torrid zone ever found 
 their way into a country so different from their 
 own, is a question, I believe, not easy to deter- 
 mine. They are found in great quantity, and 
 of all ages: the few that Hannibal brought 
 along with him into Italy, all died except one, 
 by the severity of the. cold at the battle of Treb- 
 
 bia.. 
 
175 
 
 bia. The bones of this animal, as well as those 
 of the rhinoceros, are also found in Siberia, 
 wliere it is pretty certain neither of them could 
 at present exist. You see basalt, pumice stones, 
 and lava, produce of volcanoes, found in Tus- 
 cany, where not a single volcano is now remain- 
 ing; which has led some to conclude that the 
 world is older than it is thought ; nor, as they 
 say, will the term of six thousand years in any- 
 wise account for the various strata of lava found 
 one under another in the neidibourhood of 
 iEtna and Vesuvius. Voltaire says—" Que 
 Ic monde est une vieille Putain qui cacfie Hen son 
 
 Examine the Amiantus, a mineral substance, 
 of woolly texture, endued with the wonderful 
 property of resisting firej froiii which the an- 
 cients made, a -^itid of cloth, V6 preserve thib 
 a^hes of the bodies that they burnt. It is found 
 in several parts of Italy. Of petrified wood 
 here are various specimens of the greatest beauty; 
 and fossils with the impression of fish, from 
 l^onte Bolca, near Verona: some of which are 
 unknown in these seas, and found in that of 
 Otaheite. The Cornu Ammonis has this parti- 
 jcularity, that, though the petrifaction is fre- 
 quently found, the shell itself is unknown. The 
 Camelion, a kind of lizard, changes colour 
 .according to the objects presented to itj lives 
 
 on 
 
176 
 
 on flies, but has been kept alive many montbs 
 without any kind of food. 
 
 Among the Insects is a Scarabeo Imperiale, a 
 briUiant little animal, that appears covered with 
 diamonds of different colours; and the Curculio 
 Bebula, lately found out to be efficacious iri 
 curing the; tooth-ach. In short, insects, shells, 
 and minerals, are the most complete parts of the 
 collection, and mostly deserve your attention. 
 Acquainted as you are with Lever's Museum, 
 you need not lose much time in looking at the 
 animals. Here is no Giraffa, to make amends 
 for other deficiencies ; nor even one Gumarre, 
 an animal supposed to be generated by horses 
 with cows, or by bulls with mares, and an- 
 nounced by Baretti as common in Piedmont; 
 but, as far as I can find, is as little known there, 
 ■as in this or any other country. 
 
 The Egyptian Mummy, which they tell us is 
 at least three thousand years old, is not a bit 
 bigger than ourselves : from whence we might \ 
 conclude that mankind are not so much degene- 
 rated as some people think, and as Homer and 
 Virgil would make us believe. The Egyp-f 
 lians are said to have painted their mummies to 
 resemble as much as possible the person when 
 alive :— either this was a bad painter, or the wo- 
 man one of the ugliest I ever beheld. A re- 
 presentation of the Plague in wax, done in the 
 
 timt 
 
 1 
 
177 
 
 time of the Medici, is said to be admirably 
 executed ; you will conclude therefore that it 
 cannot be looked at with pleasure. 
 
 I know not who was the first discoverer of the 
 fact that, in some of the insect tribes, animation is 
 capable of being suspended and renewed almost 
 ad injinitum. The Rotifer is well known to die 
 and revive alternately in the gutters of our 
 houses, during the summer months, by being 
 supplied with, or deprived of, a drop of moisture. 
 But the Chevalier Fontana has discovered a 
 much more curious instance of this property. 
 He has found that some damaged wheat, taken 
 from a granary in which it had remained up- 
 w'ards of forty years, is composed of millions of 
 eels, which, being moistened with water, imme- 
 diately revive, and move with agility ; but can 
 only be seen by the help of a microscope. 
 
 In the Gabinetto Fisico you will find a con- 
 tinual source of entertainment ; — but, since 
 something must ever be wanting, and whatever 
 has to do with brick and mortar in this country 
 must infallibly be mean and trifling, neither the 
 elegance nor convenience of the building in 
 any-wise correspond with the treasure it con- 
 tains. The rooms are all litde and low ; and so 
 cold, that even an inhabitant of the north, can- 
 not visit them without complaining. A private 
 collection, belonging to a countryman of ours, 
 
 VOL. I. N is 
 
178 
 
 IS also well furnished, and well arranged.—- 
 Though these Cabinets have afforded me infi- 
 nite pleasure, a moment's reflection tells me that 
 treasures of this kind are not to be envied, since 
 the stranger who is at no trouble or expence, 
 enjoys them more than the possessor. How 
 true what Shakespeare says : " Happy thou 
 art notyjor what thou hast not still thou strivest 
 to gety and what thou hast forgettest." How 
 applicable to every situation in life, and par- 
 ticularly to gentlemen oi^ virtu who are ever more 
 sensibly mortified by that which they cannot ob- 
 tain, than they receive pleasure from that which 
 they possess. 
 
 Of the Observatory, which is part of this 
 building, I have nothing to observe, unless it be 
 that in all the town of Florence it might be dif- 
 ficult to find another situation so ill suited to the 
 purpose. 
 
 If the force of attraction in all bodies were in 
 exact proportion to the quantity of matter they 
 contain, a Lady of my acquaintance, La Signora 
 , would be irresistable. She was as beauti- 
 ful, as large. You shall now hear what has just 
 happened to her. This unfortunate lady has 
 met with a monster in the form of a Cavalier 
 Servente, who, abusing the privilege of attend- 
 ing her to the theatre, has disfigured her on her 
 return home to such a degree as to render this 
 
 beau- 
 
179 
 
 beautiful woman an object of disgust and horror* 
 I have just been to see her : — her nose is almost 
 cut off, it hangs as it were by a single thread,— 
 her upper lip is severed in two, and has left a 
 frightful chasm, through which her teeth and 
 gums appear. The quantity of blood she has 
 lost, the pain she has suffered, the anxiety she 
 feels, render her one of the most interesting 
 objects I ever beheld, and the most disgusting. 
 Jealousy is thought to have occasioned it. 
 
 You will be surprised to hear that this ruffian 
 is of one of the best families at Naples. You 
 will be sorry to hear that he has escaped. If 
 assassination could ever be justified, it would be 
 in a case like this. I could readily forgive the 
 husband or the brother of this injured lady, 
 were he to send another villain after him, cruel 
 and unprincipled as himself, to treat him in the 
 same manner. He is beneath the resentment of 
 a man of honor. 
 
 N 2 LET- 
 
180 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 ITALY in general is well provided with pub- 
 lic Libraries, and much learning is shut up 
 there that all might have access to if they pleased. 
 The town of Florence has not less than three. 
 
 The Laurenziana Library begun by Cos i mo 
 Pater Patriae, and afterwards continued by Lo- 
 renzo il Magnifico his grandson, is confined to 
 Manuscripts only, and said to contain upwards 
 often thousand. They were procured in great 
 part from Constantinople, by means of the ex- 
 tensive commerce the Medici family at that time 
 carriedoninthe Levant; were afterwards increas- 
 ed by LEoX.andCLEMENxVIL, and completed 
 by CosiMO L in 1571. The plan of thebuilding 
 by Michael An GELO has this particularity: the 
 books are chained to reading desks on each side 
 the room. The door is much admired, but you 
 will be shocked to see a vestibule and stair-case 
 by the great Michael Angelo, unfinished, 
 
 and 
 
181 
 
 and the materials still on the spot, as they were 
 left in the time of the Medici. Michael 
 Angelo has still more reason to complain of 
 the barbarity of the age than Luc a Pitti.* 
 
 The famous Virgil, rival of that of the Vatican, 
 was procured at Rome by Cosimo I. of Cardinal 
 Innocenzio dei Monti, whose property it was. 
 This alone may be considered as a literary trea- 
 sure. For its antiquity you have the authority 
 of T. RuFius, who was Consul of Rome in the 
 year 494 : — " Tiirvles Ricfius Apronianus Asiem 
 rius Legiy et distinxi Codicem." This testimony 
 proves its existence then, but we do not know 
 how long it may have existed before that time. 
 The Eneid in this manuscript does not begin 
 with " ///^ ego qui quon-da?}iy Be.'" They are 
 indifferent lines, and it is generally believed that 
 Virgil never wrote them. I confess I should 
 have thought otherwise had I seen them here. 
 The Eneid was left unfinished, and condemned 
 by its author to the flames, as unfit for the public 
 eye. To the vanity of Augustus we ov/e its 
 preservation. That Emperor who would not 
 consent that it should be destroyed, gave it to 
 TuscA and Varus, men of distinguished abili- 
 ties, to revise and publish. They had the liberty 
 
 * See Letter XIV. 
 
 to 
 
182 
 
 to retrench, but not to add ; and the many un, 
 finished verses that still remain are incontestible 
 proofs that the confidence was not ill placed. 
 I will only ask if it is not more probable that 
 Virgil, in an unfavourable moment, should 
 have written those lines, than that two men of 
 acknowledged talents, in an age so renowned for 
 taste and elegance, should have been silly enough 
 to spoil, by an addition of their own, directly 
 ^contrary to the express order of the Emperor, an 
 introduction which has been the admiration and 
 envy of every succeeding Poet. It is said that 
 OcTAviA, sister to Augustus, gave Virgil 
 three thousand crowns for three lines. It was a 
 high price, yet not more than they deserved, 
 since we know of no other merit Marcellus 
 had. 
 
 They shew you a Bible in the time of San 
 Gregorio (about one hundred years after), 
 and you may perceive an evident difference 
 in the characters. — This is said to be the oldest 
 Bible in Europe. In Petrarch's Virgil is his 
 Portrait, and that of Laura. The Tacitus is 
 the father of all the Tacitus's now extant, and 
 the manuscript of the Florentine History by 
 Macchiavel, in his own hand writing, deserve^ 
 your attention. The Pandects, a collection of 
 Roman Laws by Justinian, brought by the 
 
 Pisan? 
 
1S3 
 
 Pisans from Amalfi, and from Pisa to Florence 
 in great triumph when that city was subdued by 
 the Florentines, is worth your inquiry ; as are 
 the Travels of Co si mo III. You will there 
 see many views of English villas, and may read 
 a curious journal of that Prince's travels. At 
 Wilton, the writer tells us two ladies sung him an 
 English air, assai male (very ill) ; and seems to 
 doubt whether to lay the greatest blame on the 
 singers or the music. His account of the man- 
 ners of the English Court is not more favour-, 
 able ; and, though he allows that the nobility, 
 and particularly those who had travelled, were 
 more civiUzed than the populace, yet he denies 
 that they arrive at the disinvoliura of the Italians 
 (it is an Italian who speaks), and describes them 
 as preserving their natural melancholy on every 
 occasion, their mind constantly occupied by 
 some unpleasant reflection. This Prince was 
 well received by Charles II. and staid three 
 months at his Court, yet his country received 
 but litde advantage from his travels ; he returned 
 proud, vain, and full of prejudices. Little bet- 
 ter could be expected from a man educated by 
 Friars, who from his youth was averse to plea- 
 sure, and is even represented as a declared 
 enemy to poetry and music. Avaricious, cruel, 
 and despotical, he was a bigot without virtue ; 
 
 and 
 
184 
 
 and as he had spent the greater part of his time 
 among Priests, by them only was he regretted.* 
 
 The Marucelliana Library is open every 
 Monday. Wednesday, and Friday, and contains 
 many useful books and some valuable editions, 
 particularly one of Dante of the year 1481, with 
 cuts by Maso Finiguerra, a Florentine, said 
 to have been the first engraver and inventor of 
 that art. Is it not strange that an art so simple, 
 and at the same time so useful, should have re- 
 mained so long unknown. Few of the editions 
 of Dante have more than two cuts — this has 
 nineteen. 
 
 Another valuable curiosity is the finger of 
 Galileo, a philosophical relic. The very 
 finger that first pointed out the Satellites of 
 Jupiter. He csWtdthQmStene Medicee/mcom- 
 pliment to the Grand Duke Cosimo IF, but if 
 that family had not immortalized themselves by 
 the encouragement they gave to arts and letters, 
 this attempt, though well meant, had not suc- 
 ceeded, for the Satellites of Jupiter have already 
 lost the name he gave them. A gentleman, I 
 shall not say of what nation, I am glad he was 
 
 * This Holy man, after various persecutions, confined 
 the Chevalier ActiAioLi in a dungeon for life, for no 
 other crime than that of marrying the Signora Mormor ai 
 without his approbation, 
 
 not 
 
185 
 
 pot an Englishman, asked the librarian if Ga- 
 lileo was not a Roman Emperor ! — I never 
 saw a man so shocked in my life, and I believe 
 he was heartily glad when he got rid of us. 
 
 The Magliabechi Library takes its name from 
 the founder Antonio Magliabechi, a man 
 of an extraordinary memory. In this library are 
 some curious manuscripts, and many beautiful 
 and rare editions. Compare Bodoni with 
 Baskerville; divest yourself of prejudice, 
 and give the Italian all the praise he deserves. 
 Here also is a Dante of the year 1481 ; and a 
 curious Pandect of Roman Laws of the year 
 1525, adorned with miniatures that are an ho- 
 nor to that time. The original Pandect from 
 which all the others are derived, I have already 
 mentioned among the Laurenziana manuscripts. 
 
 The Accademia Florentina, formerly La Crus- 
 ca, founded by the Grand Duke Ferdinand, is 
 held here every Thursday. This Academy 
 once rendered itself famous by its Criticisms on 
 the Jerusalem of Tasso, encouraged to it by 
 the Grand Duke Francesco, the family of 
 Medici, and the Florentines in general, having 
 been severely handled by that author in one of 
 his Dialogues. He calls the Florentines artists^ 
 and the Government, " Giogo della nuova Tiran^ 
 nide della Casa Medici." In return, they gave 
 the preference to Ariosto, and placed Tasso 
 
 second 
 
186 
 
 second only; a judgment to which the world, 
 I believe, has not generally subscribed. 
 
 L'Accademia del Cimento which began in 
 1657 for experimental Philosophy, under the 
 auspices ofl'rince Leopold, son of Cosi mo II. 
 set the example to Paris and London. Louis 
 XIV. and Charles II. founded their Royal 
 Academies in imitation of it. 
 
 The ancient Academy del Disegno, founded 
 in 1350, was the first academy of the kind in 
 Europe. It was re-established by the present 
 Sovereign in 1784. The students are provided 
 with casts of the best statues, and supplied with 
 paper, pencils, brushes, canvas, and colours, at 
 the expence of the Sovereign. Prize medals 
 are also distributed to the most deserving. 
 
 o 
 
 Thus far great praise is due : but if you inquire 
 into the capacity of the masters, you will find 
 some of them deficient in the common principles j 
 of drawing, and yet one month in the year the 
 whole academy is under their direction. — Are 
 such persons proper to direct where once Mi- 
 chael Angelo presided! and in a country 
 once superior in science even to Rome itself I — <- 
 A short residence in Tuscany will, however, 
 convince you, that were the means better adapted 
 to the intention, it would be to litde purpose 
 while taste is wanting, and merit is not en- 
 couraged. I have just bought General Elliot 
 
 on 
 
187 
 
 on horseback, by one of their best engravers, 
 .The horse is a perfect monster, and the General 
 not much better : I mean to hang it up by one 
 of Bartolozzi's, who is also a Florentine, to 
 shew their countrymen that talents seldom come 
 to perfection except where they meet with en- 
 couragement. What I have said of the masters, 
 leaves me nothing to say of the performances of 
 the scholar.s, in which there is little to com- 
 mend. 
 
 In this Academy you see a curious statue of 
 Germanicus. He is said to have invented the 
 game of Mora^ the present amusement of the 
 lowest class of people in Italy, in order to keep 
 his soldiers employed. This statue is supposed 
 to represent him playing at it. The original is 
 at Versailles. 
 
 The Accademia dei Georgofili was instituted 
 for the encouragement of agriculture, and pre- 
 miums are given every year. This institution 
 would be useful if the premiums were properly 
 bestowed. During the time I have been here, 
 I have known them given first for cutting down 
 trees, and shortly afterwards for planting them. 
 
 Having thus given some, though an imperfect 
 account of the libraries of Florence, you will 
 probably expect something should now be said 
 of the state of Literature. On this subject I 
 Jxave little to say. There is no science for gen- 
 tlemen 
 
188 
 
 tlemcn in this country but poetry, and few are 
 born poets. Where there is no copy-right, 
 there will be many publishers, and few authors. 
 Any one may print who pleases. An ingenious 
 friend of mine, whose Fables have already gone 
 through many editions, has himself received the 
 advantage of one only. The talents of Italy are 
 at present chiefly employed in translations, and 
 though no genius is necessary, more knowledge 
 is required than these gentlemen usually possess 
 — an intimate acquaintance with both languages. 
 Some there are who make a merit of using the 
 same number of words: it would be more to the 
 purpose were they to give the precise meaning 
 of the author. 
 
 Though authors refrain fiom publishing for 
 more than one reason ; though regular-bred 
 poets are no longer to be found, improvisatori, 
 or quacks in poetry, are frequently to be met 
 with, not only in Tuscany, but in every part of 
 Italy. Improvisatorying is a talent peculiar to 
 the Italians. Neither the author of Paradise 
 Lost, nor of the Henriade, nor any of their suc- 
 cessors, were improvisatori : from whence I 
 conclude it to depend more on the language of 
 the country, than on the poetic genius of the 
 people. I have no doubt that it is full of im- 
 posture — excuse and compliment form a con- 
 siderable part of it, which are ready piepared, 
 
 t and 
 
189 
 
 and suit all subjects, and all occasions. Verses 
 that please over night, would hardly escape the 
 fire in the morning. The Chevalier Perfetti, 
 the most celebrated improvisatore of his time, 
 esteemed all over Italy, and even crowned in 
 the Campidoglio, might have retained his repu- 
 tation had he not published his poetry, tt is 
 a charming talent in its proper place; but let it 
 be confined to the table where all are inclined to 
 merriment, and where, if you are enchanted, you 
 are seldom disposed critically to examine whe- 
 ther you ought to be eachanted or not. 
 
 Arts, sciences, and letters, are nearly on a 
 level, and from the same cause. It is not 
 genius that is wanting, but encouragement. The 
 Medici family not only encouraged science, 
 and protected men of learning, but received them 
 with kindness and familiarity. They were well 
 aware that the reputation of Princes is in their 
 hands; — that it is as easy to speak ill as well of 
 them, without deviating from the truth; and that 
 some virtues may be found in all. Augustus, 
 a dastardly cut-throat, did some good actions : 
 and our own Richard has found his panegyrist. 
 The policy of former times is now reversed : 
 science is annihilated ; and the day not far off 
 when talents will be sought for in Tuscany, and 
 not be found. — The principal offices of the 
 State must then be entrusted either to the hands 
 
 of 
 
190 
 
 of foreigners, who are always looked upon with 
 an evil eye ; or be left to the guidance of those 
 who, like unskilful pilots, will accelerate the 
 ruin they were intended to prevent I 
 
 L£T« 
 
191 
 
 LETTER XX, 
 
 !l' ' 
 
 IT may be a matter of doubt, whether Hospi- 
 tals, though in appearance and intention so 
 perfectly humane, are, in their consequences, an 
 advantage to the community, for whose benefit 
 they were established. I fancy those countries 
 where they are unknown, are not less healthy; 
 perhaps, not less populous.— But, as it is not 
 my design to enter into a question of such im- 
 portance, I shall proceed in my description of 
 the Hospitals of Florence. 
 
 The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova is a 
 handsome building, clean, airy, and wholesome ; 
 but is half ruined by an unlucky speculation, 
 that of disposing of their patrimony: they are 
 now obliged to buy every thing. Cato says— 
 " Pater familias vendaccrriy non eviacem esse 
 oporiet." The regulations, in many instances, 
 deserve commendadon. The sick are separated 
 from the wounded j the convalescents, from the 
 
 sick; 
 
 i 
 
192 , 
 
 sick ; the men, from the women ; and each has 
 a bed to himself. It was otherwise at Paris. 
 A friend of mine, a man of veracity, has assured 
 me, that he once saw there, what you will with 
 difficuUy believe, three men in one bed — one 
 ill, one dying, and one dead. — How horrid! It 
 is worse than the cruelty of Mezentius ! 
 
 The Kitchen is curious. The same fire not 
 only roasts and boils, but, by means of iron- 
 partitions, occasionally introduced, the several 
 stew-pans that are constantly in use, are heated 
 or cooled, without being moved from their 
 places. The same fire heats water also for the 
 baths, serves as a ventilator, and answers every 
 other purpose of the hospital. 
 
 It is said, that the ability of the Professors is 
 in no wise equal to the magnificence of the build- 
 ing : that operations are awkwardly performed,^ 
 and patients die under their hands that might 
 have been saved. Migliore informs us, that 
 from the foundation of this hospital, in the year 
 1287 to 1680, the year in which he wrote, it 
 appeared on the books that three hundred and 
 sixty thousand bodies had been buried there in 
 die space of three hundred and ninety-two years. 
 It is but lately that they have given mercury in 
 the venereal disease. For many years they used 
 no other remedy than salsa parilla, and guiacum. 
 I leave you to judge how many they cured. Is 
 
 it 
 
193 
 
 it not extraordinary that mercury, that wonder- 
 ful specific, the only one existing for that fatal 
 disorder, should have been known, tried, and its 
 good effects acknowledged, in the time of Paolo 
 Giovio,* yet disused and discredited afterwards 
 for more than a century, even till the time of 
 Alessandro da Carpi. It is said that this 
 disorder, when acquired in a warm, is not easily 
 got rid of in a cold climate. 
 
 It is computed that they lose two thirds of 
 those whom they cut for the stone. Considered 
 as a school of anatomy, the institution is excel- 
 lent. About thirty patients die every month; a 
 room is appropriated to receive the dead bodies, 
 and the surgeon who attended me, not finding 
 any there, said it was the first time he ever knew 
 it fail. From thence they are removed to the 
 dissecting room as they are wanted. — Had our 
 surgeons the same advantage, the dead might be 
 suffered to remain quiet in their graves :— phy- 
 sicians might learn to cure by those they kill ; 
 and he who had grossly and fatally mistaken the 
 disease, improve by his own errors. 
 
 A curious experiment has been tried here to 
 cure the bite of a mad dog, by the bite of a 
 
 * In the year 1494, soon after it first broke out in 
 Italy. 
 
 VOL. I, e viper* 
 
194 
 
 viper. You know that one is thought to be 
 fatal by dissolving the blood j the other, by go^. 
 agulating it. The experiment I think more 
 witty, than judicious J for, allowing the. theory 
 to be just, I cannot conceive the possibility of 
 hitting the exact proportion :' if too little of the 
 venom of the viper, the patient would die of the 
 bite of the mad dog ; if too much, of that of the 
 viper. 
 
 I saw in this hospital a shocking object ; a 
 man with a tumour in his arm that was swelled 
 as big as his body : no chance of suppuration — 
 amputation impossible : no rest, night nor day : 
 a probability of living some months — and the 
 certainty of a painful death ! A thought of such 
 an unfortunate being might render us easy under 
 those trifles which, for want of greater evils, we 
 call sufferings. It has since occurred to me in 
 riding by, that if an accident was then to happen, 
 I should prefer the hospital to my own house : — 
 that, surrounded by miseries greater than my 
 own, and perhap§ less merited, I should receive 
 more comfort thap from the sight of pleasures I 
 could not enjoy, and yet might envy. Not that 
 I should choose to be carried thither, like the 
 man I met yesterday, on a bier, covered with 
 black ; supported and attended by a parcel of 
 dismal figures in long black gowns and black 
 masks, looking more like devils than men: if 
 
 the 
 
195 
 
 the poor fellow had weak nerves, he might fancy 
 himself already both dead and damned. Count 
 — , just arrived at Florence, meeting with 
 an accident at Fiesole, the Misericordia were 
 sent for to carry him home ; but when he saw 
 the apparatus, and the dismal appearance it made, 
 he fancied they thought him dead, and intended 
 to bury him. ^t was to no purpose he was 
 assured to the contrary, and told how handy 
 they are in their operations ; he still persisted 
 that not one of them should touch himj he put 
 himself in a posture of defence; and they were 
 obliged to return as they came. 
 
 My friend Sterne took for the text of one 
 of his Sermons — " It is better to enter the house 
 of mourning, than the house of feasting;" and 
 then, after his own whimsical manner, adds — 
 " That I deny." The subject is ingeniously 
 treated, and, to a reflecting mind, both may be 
 useful. It is natural to fly from objects of hor- 
 ror ; yet a visit now and then to these mansions 
 of melancholy and distress, while it prompts us 
 to acts of charity and benevolence, may at the 
 same time teach us not to set a greater value on 
 life than it deserves. 
 
 Before I quit the subject I must tell you, that 
 a few years ago, the Governor (a great bigot) 
 ordered, that all the invalids should keep Lent, 
 except such as could produce a dispensation 
 
 o 2 under 
 
196 
 
 under the hand of their physician. One might 
 have thought the very circumstance of being in 
 the hospital a sufficient proof that they were 
 sick, without any other. 
 
 A separate hospital for the insane and cuta- 
 neous disorders is also worth your seeing. 
 
 The Misericordia was first instituted at the 
 time of the plague ; a calamity to which Flo- 
 rence has been subject not less, I think, than 
 twenty-one times. The most fatal was that in 
 the time of Boccaccio, when one hundred 
 thousand people died of it, the greatest part in 
 Florence. In the convent of the Monache di 
 San Martino, is a marble inscription against the 
 wall on the inside, near Via Polverosa, announ- 
 cing that twenty thousand bodies lie buried there 
 who died of the plague in 1479. During the 
 plague in 1630, the Misericordia were particu- 
 larly useful ; and left in writing the method they 
 then observed. It is an excellent institution, 
 and cannot be passed over in silence. 
 
 The number of brothers is not limited, and 
 any person may be admitted that pleases. They 
 are divided into three classes. The first are 
 called Capi di Guardia, and are those who have 
 been longest in the service : they are no longer 
 obliged to accompany the sick ; but when pre- 
 sent, order and direct the rest. 
 
 The second are tlie Giornanti ; each of these 
 
 has 
 
197 
 
 has one day in the week fixed for his attendance, 
 and on the other days is at liberty to attend or 
 not, as he thinks fit. 
 
 The third are the Volunteers : these are 
 alj\fays at liberty; but, if they do not sometimes 
 attend, are struck off the list. 
 
 Regulated in this manner, a sufficient number 
 of Brothers are present at every summons. If 
 the Volunteers fail, those of the Giornanti, 
 Avhose turn it is, are themselves sufficient to 
 answer every purpose. The Capi di Guardia 
 being numerous, one is always ready to take the 
 command: he goes before: he is the first to 
 enter the house of the sick person, and, accord- 
 ing to the circumstances, gives his orders; the 
 others upon this occasion, as well as upon the 
 march, observing the most profound silence. 
 The key of the bandages, restoratives, <Scc. &:c., 
 which they carry along with them, is also in his 
 keeping. 
 
 This Charity has three objects. They carry 
 the poor that are sick to the hospital, and, in all 
 casualties, the wounded or disabled person, if 
 alive ; biit if dead, to their own Chapel, where 
 he lays exposed as he was found, and every one 
 is admitted to see him. The servant of the 
 Misericordia is first made acquainted when an 
 accident happens. It is his business to repair 
 
 imme- 
 
198 
 
 immediately to the place, inquire into the fact, 
 and return to ring the hell, which is the summons 
 for the Brothers to assemble. When the bell is 
 rung twice, it is a sign the person is still alive : 
 three times is a confirmation of death; in which 
 case the body cannot be removed till it has been 
 first examined by the Police. 
 
 The same servant is also applied to when 
 any person is in want of their assistance to be 
 carried to the hospital ; and they not only never 
 refuse their attendance, but also make a collec- 
 tion among themselves for the support of the 
 wife or children that remain. There is beside^ 
 a box in their Chapel for public charity, which, 
 at the end of every month, is distributed among 
 the families of those they have carried to the 
 hospital. 
 
 Long practice has made them particularly 
 handy, and, though not obliged, they readily 
 attend upon the sick of all ranks when sent for. 
 They can accept no gratuity; not even victuals 
 or drink, nor have they any salary; — a funeral 
 service, and a mass said for their souls, after they 
 are dead, is their only recompence. 
 
 The Innocenti, a Foundling Hospital, wa§ 
 built by Brunelleschi. The childven/asciati 
 as an outside ornament, is a composition in- 
 Tcnted by Luca della Robbia, and called so 
 
 after 
 
199 
 
 after him. The art is lost, nor is it to be re- 
 gretted.* In the time of Benedetto Varchi 
 eleven thousand crowns were spent annually on 
 this charity, and not less than a tliousand chil- 
 dren received. In the time of Migliore, the 
 number was increased to four thousand. The 
 boys were retained, as now, till the age of eigh- 
 teen, and the girls till they were married. The 
 number received at present is little more than a 
 thousand. The income about fifty thousand 
 crowns. New-born infants only are received ; 
 and those through a hole in the wall, just large 
 enough for the head to pass. It is computed, 
 from the time they are received till the age of 
 ten years, they lose eighty in a hundred, that is, 
 four-fifths. I believe it more readily, as a ser- 
 vant of mine put four there, and they are all 
 dead in less than as many years. Without 
 doubt, there is a great fault somewhere, which 
 the humanity, as well as the good policy of the 
 Government, should endeavour to find out and 
 remedy. This, I am told, was the first institu- 
 tion of the kind, and Florence was excommuni- 
 cated for it by the Pope. Ridiculous as it may 
 
 * LucA DELLA RoBBiA, a Florentine, born in 1388, 
 invented the composition called after his name. A kind 
 of Terra Cotta, painted and varnished. 
 
 appear^ 
 
200 
 
 appear, I cannot think the Pope so much to 
 blame, unless better care were taken of them 
 afterwards. 
 
 At the BigallOjOr Abbandonati, poor boys and 
 girls who are fatherless, are also received, and 
 kept till the age of eighteen. They are taught 
 different trades ; and the girls at eighteen years 
 old may claim a dower of thirty crowns. The 
 income is about twelve thousand crowns. These 
 excellent establishments were in the time of the 
 Republic. 
 
 You should see the Scuola Regia, a day-school 
 for poor girls : there are four of them, one in 
 each quarter of the town. The girls come in 
 the morning and evening, and return home to 
 dine and sleep. They are paid half what they 
 earn. They are taught besides to write and 
 read, and are instructed in their religion. They 
 are, by turns, made to do the work of the house ; 
 clean the rooms, furniture, &c. Formerly they 
 used to dress the dinner; but I suppose they 
 were bad cooks, as this business is taken out of 
 their hands. Five dowers, of twenty crowns 
 each, are given every year; and the girls, at 
 eighteen years old, have a right to claim them. 
 This is an excellent institution, and does honor 
 to the Sovereign. 
 
 One anecdote of the last Duke of Tuscany, 
 of the Medici family, and I have done with the 
 
 town 
 
201 
 
 town of Florence. A gentleman, wishing to add 
 a Terrace to his house in Borgo Ogni Santi, 
 presented a petition to Gio. Gaston e for his 
 permission, who, not approving, and being a 
 humorist, 'wirote at the back — " Si concede all* 
 Rovescio;*' meaning that he would not grant it. 
 The petitioner thought fit to understand him 
 literally, and built his terrace, setting every part 
 upside down. This house is admirably situated 
 for the race of San Giovanni* 
 
 LET* 
 
202 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 For forms of Government let Fools contest, 
 That which is best administered is best. 
 
 POPE. 
 
 ARE all forms of Government then alike, 
 and is no distinction to be made between a 
 Divan and a Senate ? I am astonished that an 
 Englishman, born under the most perfect of all 
 possible governments, a limited Monarchy ; 
 where the executive power is in the hands of one 
 person, and he only restrained from doing ill. 
 The legislative in King, Lords, and Commons, 
 in Parliament assembled ; where the rights of 
 the people are maintained by representatives of 
 their own choosing, but where in their own per- 
 sons they have rather an ideal power than real 
 influence. The happiest medium between des- 
 potism and anarchy. I am astonished that the 
 Author of the Essay on Man should have been 
 
 so 
 
203 
 
 so little sensible of these blessings as to advance 
 a doctrine so pernicious, and so new. I confess 
 that I am one of those fools who fancy there is 
 nothing so essential to the happiness of mankind 
 as the nature of the Government under which 
 they live : — it influences their thoughts and ac- 
 tions — raises or depresses them — makes them 
 heroes, or makes them slaves. Visit the Swiss 
 Cantons, compare the cheerfulness of that coun- 
 try of liberty with the gloom of Tuscany.— 'The 
 cultivated mountains of the Vallais with the de- 
 solate Campagna of Rome. — Modern Greece 
 with ancient Sparta ; and then tell me if the 
 forms of Government are a matter of indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
 The second line I do not very well under- 
 stand. If the Author by " best administered" 
 means administered in a manner most conform- 
 able to its own principles ; in that case I appre- 
 hend the better a bad government is adminis- 
 tered, the worse it of course will be. With such 
 sentiments you will not expect me to be totally 
 silent on the Government of Florence. I shall 
 say but little, that little will be superficial, and I 
 shall dwell with less pleasure on the subject, as 
 the good effects do not always correspond with 
 the good intentions of the Sovereign. 
 
 The Grand Duke of Tuscany has both the 
 legislative and executive power in his own hands : 
 
 —of 
 
204 
 
 —of all systems the most adverse to liberty. 
 He changes his laws as often as he changes his 
 mind, and you will be able to judge by this short 
 Letter, how far the sentence of every Court of 
 Justice is under his particular influence. It is 
 true he has a Consiglio di Stato for foreign af- 
 fairs that meet once a week, but they meet only 
 in his presence, and under his direction. 
 
 The Magistrato Supremo is a Court of Jus- 
 tice for civil causes, corhposed of five Senators 
 and three auditors. The Senators meet only twice 
 in the week, the Auditors every day, and, in fact, 
 do all the business. The five Senators, part of 
 a body of forty-eight, are changed every four 
 months. They are representatives in name and 
 dress only of what was once the Senate. This 
 Court decides all causes in Prima istanza, the 
 appeal is to the Ruota composed of six Auditors, 
 three of whom form a Court, and preside alter- 
 nately. The second appeal is to those who were 
 not present at the first, and this last trial is deci- 
 sive. Though even then the Sovereign, if he 
 pleases, may refer their sentence to the Qonsulta, 
 a tribunal under his own immediate direction. 
 
 Criminal causes are first examined by the 
 Assessor, who passes sentence as the law directs. 
 The case, with all its circumstances, is then sent 
 to the Auditor, who has the power to confirm or 
 mitigate : it then goes to the President, whose 
 
 appro- 
 
205 
 
 approbation is necessary to confirm the sen- 
 tence. If the two first differ, the President de- 
 cides ; if they agree in an opinion different from 
 his own, he makes the alteration he thinks pro- 
 per, and returns the sentence for their approba- 
 tion : if they still persist, which seldom happens, 
 the case is referred to the Consuha, whose deci- 
 sion is final. 
 
 The Commissario is a Magistrate under the 
 direction of the Presidente del buon Governo, 
 who is himself directed by the Sovereign. He 
 tries all criminal causes of little consequence, 
 and all civil causes under one hundred livres. 
 The town is divided into four quarters, and has 
 a Commissary in each. This Magistrate has great 
 power, and may send for and question whomso- 
 ever he pleases. Gentlemen of the highest 
 rank, and in the highest offices, must obey his 
 summons. The morals of the people are under 
 his inspection ; and he still maintains an arbi- 
 trary power, notwithstanding the new Code of 
 Laws so justly celebrated. — Laws that I have 
 read with pleasure ; that do honor to the Sove- 
 reign ; that disclaim every act of tyranny and 
 oppression : yet the Processi Camerali are still 
 carried on — a jurisdiction more arbitrary, and 
 less limited, than that of the Inquisition itself. 
 
 The Communita of Florence is a Magistracy, 
 consisting of four nobles, four citizens, and four 
 
 inha- 
 
206 
 
 inhabitants. These twelve have the title of 
 Priori j the President has also that of Gonfa- 
 loniere. , They hold their offices for one year 
 only. They are chosen by ballot — a bad cus- 
 tom, since many are fit to elect, who are not fit 
 to be elected. Their names are drawn out of 
 their respective classes like tickets in the lottery ; 
 by which means, out of about twenty thousand 
 persons who are eligible to this office, the govern- 
 ment of the town, as far as relates to its internal 
 taxation, may fall by chance into the hands of 
 twelve persons who have not common sense. 
 This Chamber has a superintendance over all the 
 buildings of the City, all the public festivals, and 
 directs all the impositions that are laid on the 
 inhabitants for bridges, paving the streets. Sec. 
 Sec. ; they raise the money, and the Sovereign, 
 when he pleases, directs them how to employ 
 it. 
 
 I have heard of a circumstance that once 
 attended this institution, which, for its singula- 
 rity, merits to be recorded. In every question 
 the lesser number of votes prevailed over the 
 greater, that is, one third carried it against the 
 other two. The Legislator puts me in mind of 
 the Doctor of Roveredo, who perceiving that 
 every consumptive person constantly died under 
 the regular treatment, by way of experiment, 
 tried the reverse -.—instead of milk and vege- 
 tables. 
 
207 
 
 lables, ordered them brandy and salt meat ; in- 
 stead of gentle exercise, the most violent that 
 could be taken ; and instead of preventing per- 
 spi^tion, took every method to promote it. 
 
 Many are the inferior Courts. — But these are 
 the principal features of the Government of Flo- 
 rence, by which it may not be difficult to form 
 an idea of the rest. Divide d impcra, is the 
 maxim of the Court; and you vi'ill perceive, 
 that when two; persons are employed in the same 
 office, one is usually cjiosen with sentiments 
 diametrically opposite to the other. The Vicar 
 of Pistoia is in direct opposition to the Bishop 
 
 ■ — : a manoeuvre pretty general in e;ve^ 
 
 department of the State. 
 
 Peter Leopold is bis oi^fn Prinze Minister. 
 Others are appointed to figure in the, scene, but 
 are thought to be as thorouglily dependent, as 
 the puppets of the theatre — a system more pre- 
 sumptuous than politic. A Prhne Minister is 
 an excellent butt for the exercise of discontent, 
 and the best buckler a Sovereign can oppose to 
 the shafts of malice. — A King of England can 
 do no wrong, because the laws have wisely made 
 others answerable: when general discontent pre- 
 vails, the removal of a Minister restores tranquil- 
 lity, and the King still retains the affections of 
 his people. It is otherwise in Tuscany. Here 
 every act is traced directly to its source. The 
 
 Sove* 
 
208 
 
 Sovereign himself is pointed out as the sole 
 adviser, and perpetrator, of every change that 
 caprice suggests, or despotism imposes ! Louis 
 XV. always gave up his own opinion to that of 
 his Ministers; and when things went wrong, 
 which frequently happened, he would say — 
 " You see, gentlemen, I was right; yoic had 
 better have followed my advice,*' 
 
 A book has lately been published by the 
 Grand Duke, to justify his Administration. His 
 friends wish he had remained silent. There are 
 bold assertions, at which the Florentines shak^ 
 their heads ; and many excellent maxims, which 
 make them regret that they were not rhore 
 strictly observed. The calumniator under Tra- 
 jan was to suffer the same punishment, if he did 
 not make good his charge, to which the accused 
 was liable, if he did. In the above book is the 
 same sentiment — but I cannot say I have ever 
 heard of its being put in practice. 
 
 I lately read in an English newspaper, that 
 the Grand Duke of Tuscany is distinguished by 
 his simplification of the laws : his remission of 
 oppressive taxes ; his government being that of 
 a Philosophic Prince, who wishes to secure the 
 affections of his people. As I neither wish to 
 censure nor flatter, I shall answer his panegyrist 
 as shordy as possible. Every day produces a 
 new law : nor can I compliment a Sovereign on 
 
 the 
 
209 
 
 the simplification of laws that have increased so 
 astonishingly during a reign of twenty-five years. 
 The laws of ancient Rome were comprised in 
 twelve tables. The laws of Denmark are con- 
 tained in one moderate quarto volume, published 
 more than one hundred years ago, and are the 
 only laws observed at present in that country* 
 In Tuscany we have not an ancient law remain- 
 ing ; some of which, as a foreigner, I must con- 
 clude were good, because they are regretted; 
 and many that have replaced them, I must con- 
 clude bad, because they are not observed. So 
 far his Royal Highness seems to copy Justi- 
 nian, of whom it is said, that he every day 
 abolished an old law, or made a new one. 
 
 Many taxes, it is true, the Grand Duke has 
 repealed to his own prejudice. I am told, in 
 the article of snuff alone, he loses eighty thou- 
 sand crowns a year, without rendering an essen- 
 tial service to his subjects. Taxes that we have 
 been long accustomed to, we are prepared to 
 meet, and are as little sensible of their oppres- 
 sion, as we are of that of the atmospheric air 
 with which we are surrounded. The intention 
 pf this Prince was, without doubt, favorable to 
 his people ; I wish, therefore, he had kept the 
 jnoney, and employed it more to their benefit. 
 With such a sum he might have encouraged 
 
 vol. I. p merit. 
 
210 
 
 merit, relieved misery, and made many an honest 
 and deserving family happy. 
 
 If Philosophy is shewn by removing preju- 
 dices, without considering consequences, then 
 Peter Leopold may jusdy merit the tide of 
 Philosopher. But is it not to Philosophy^ such 
 as that of this Sovereign and his Brother, to 
 which we chiefly owe that disregard to Religion 
 —that absurd system of equality — those prin- 
 ciples of infidelity and Jacobinism, which of late 
 have so much prevailed ? — in short, all the poli- 
 tical mischiefs that have since happened, and by 
 which we are now surrounded. With regard to 
 his own country, had the Grand Duke been a 
 better politician, he would, rather than have 
 deprived his subjects of one Madonna, have 
 given them ten, and respected the prejudices of 
 a religion from which his government receives 
 its best support, and his people their greatest 
 comfort; instead of which, he has, by his pre- 
 sent conduct, shaken the faith of some ; called 
 forth the resistance of others ; and hurt the feel- 
 ings of all. - 
 
 As I hitherto have not flattered the Grand 
 Duke of Tuscany, you will not suspect my sin- 
 cerity if, on quitting the subject, I should add, 
 that his manners are amiable; his conversation, 
 easy, lively, and familiar; that in talents he is 
 
 supe- 
 
211 
 
 superior to most Sovereigns ; in assiduity, to all; 
 and those who are least contented under his 
 government, cannot but allow that Tuscany had 
 been too happy if the result of this Prince's 
 labours had always kept pace with the goodness 
 of his intentions. In one point, I fear we shall 
 differ. I know you approve the Sovereign who 
 is his own Prime Minister. Convinced that 
 there are but few Fredericks, I prefer that 
 intuition which enables him to understand cha- 
 racters, and adapt persons to their employments, 
 Non omnia possumus omnes. Princes, it is true, 
 surrounded by flatterers, and treated like Divi- 
 nities, do not without reason fancy themselves 
 infallible : but it would be better both for them- 
 selves and others, if, once in a year at least, like 
 the Lords of ancient Rome, they would conde- 
 scend to hear truth, suffer their slaves to tell 
 them of their weaknesses, and remind jhem that 
 they are men.— In your own family, which is 
 government on a smaller scale, you may easily, 
 if you please, put presumption to the proof.— 
 Instruct your house-keeper to pickle and pre- 
 serve ; your butler to make your beer ; your 
 cook to make your soup j and then, half poison- 
 ed, get on the coach-box, square your elbows, 
 smack your whip, and overturn the coach. 
 
 P 2 LET- 
 
212 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 " Rara temporum felicitate, ubi sentire quae velis, et 
 quae sentias dicere licet." 
 
 SUCH is the favorable portrait Pliny gives us 
 of the reign of Tr a jAN,whose amiable con- 
 duct in this particular, forms a strong contrast with 
 that of many of his predecessors, by whom spies, 
 informers, and calumniators were encouraged and 
 rewarded. I am concerned that some of our 
 modern Potentates, virtuous in other respects, 
 and worthy of esteem, strangers to the vices as 
 well as the cruelties of those times, should have 
 followed the example of the Neros and Cali- 
 GU LAS of antiquity, rather than that of Tr aj an 
 and the Antonines. 
 
 You who approve of spies, as far as the safety 
 of Government is concerned, and in seditious 
 times they certainly are of use, will agree with 
 me that they should neither be employed with- 
 out 
 
213 
 
 out caution, nor credited without proof. Their 
 information is always doubtful, for they give up 
 all pretension to character and honor when they 
 accept so infamous an employment. In the 
 town of Florence there is neither house nor 
 coffee-house that has not one or more of these 
 honorable persons belonging to it. Every class 
 furnishes them ; gendemen and ladies receive, 
 without shame, the wages of iniquity- The very 
 Convents are not without their share of the in- 
 famy. The streets swarm w idi those of inferior 
 note — they are posted at every corner ; even the 
 cripple who asks your charity is hired to betray 
 your secrets. We read that the Persian Mon- 
 arch had a set of Ministers who were called the 
 eyes of the King, and whose business it was to 
 report to him whatever they saw in his domi- 
 nions ; and others who were called the ears of 
 the King, because they informed him of all they 
 heard. Peter Leopold has improved on this, 
 and the same person is made to answer both 
 purposes. 
 
 The friends of this system tell us that it saves 
 the expence of an army ; but they do not consider 
 that it corrupts the morals of the people, causes 
 disquiet and distrust in every family, and de- 
 stroys all manner of confidence between man 
 and man. It is most pernicious under a despotic 
 government. In England the consequences are 
 
 less 
 
214 ^ 
 
 less to be dreaded : in that country of freedom 
 no man is detained in prison ; if accused, he is 
 tried, publicly tried : sees his accuser, hears the 
 accusation, and is only punished when found 
 guilty by his Peers. In either country it is not 
 without its remedy. Let us imitate the ancient 
 Philosopher who wished he had a glass on his 
 breast that men might see his thoughts as well as 
 his actions : let us neither say nor do any thing 
 to offend the laws of the country which affords 
 us protection, and we shall then have less rea- 
 son to disapprove the severity of a police which 
 increases our security. 
 
 Thieving, a common consequence of extreme 
 misery, bad education, and disrespect of the laws, 
 is at present unusual in Tuscany. 
 
 Riots and disturbances are also extraordinary 
 events, and seldom happen. If you ask me by 
 what means the people are kept in subjection I 
 shall be puzzled how to answer you. 
 
 When I first knew Florence, soon after the 
 accession of Peter Leopold to the Grand 
 Duchy of Tuscany, I found an army. At my 
 return in the year 1785, that army had been dis- 
 banded, and a militia, consisting of four hundred 
 men, were upon duty in its stead. During my 
 stay in Florence I saw regular troops again 
 established;, and though only four hundred, 
 to save the pitiful sum of as many Pauls a 
 
 day. 
 
215 
 
 day, they were disbanded a second time.* I have 
 an utter aversion to mistaken economy, nor can 
 I consider that money as lost to the State which 
 circulates so freely. It is easier to prevent evils 
 than remedy them. Tour hundred soldiers in 
 Florence answered all the purposes of an army,—' 
 that of keeping the people quiet : as many thou- 
 sands would be insufficient to resist them were 
 they in open rebellion. -A gentleman very 
 sillily asked me, when conversing together on 
 this subject, if I thought eighty thousand people 
 were to be kept in awe by four hundred ? — Cer- 
 tainly not, were the eighty thousand all of one 
 mind. But riots arise from small beginnings, 
 A mob is usually composed of unarmed people, 
 men, women, and children, which ten soldiers, 
 if opposed in time, might easily disperse. 
 
 Without the gift of prophecy, it was easy to 
 fortel what was to happen. In a town like 
 Florence, where public fetes are frequently given, 
 and where order is to be preserved by restraint 
 only, a military force is always necessary. The 
 very appearance of a soldier is sufficient in a 
 country accustomed to obey. The people fly 
 from him like sheep from the shepherd's dog, but 
 when left to themselves are not less disorderly. 
 I looked forward therefore, not with indifference 
 
 * A Paul, somewhat less than sixpence English, 
 
 to 
 
216 
 
 to the fete of San Giovanni. I was curiou3 
 to see, since we had not a soldier left, what 
 means would be taken to persuade the coach- 
 men to leave the Corso, a street two miles 
 long, at a given hour ; and the multitude to 
 range themselves on either side to let the horses 
 pass. The twenty-fourth of June I concluded 
 would be a day of riot and confusion. I was 
 however mistaken. The riot and confusion 
 happened sooner than I expected. Early in the 
 morning of the ninth of June a mob assembled 
 
 before the house of Senator G 3 broke the 
 
 windows, forced open the cellar doors, and car- 
 ried off whatever they could find. The Senator 
 himself only escaped hanging by foreseeing the 
 danger, and retiring into the country. From the 
 Senator's the mob went to another house, which 
 they also plundered, and had the insolence to 
 ,tell several gentlemen, who w^ere looking on, 
 that it would be their turn next. Still nothing 
 was done on the part of Government. What 
 could they do who had only a parcel of Sbirri 
 under their command; fellows, that but too often 
 deserve hanging themselves, and, who, however 
 expert they may be at intrapping people who are 
 sleeping quietly in their beds, never, on an ho- 
 norable occasion, dare look danger in the face. 
 The town was now at the mercy of the mob, 
 who luckily having no head, acted with as litt|e 
 
 judg- 
 
217 
 
 judgment as that of 'Lord in England. 
 
 Those rioters lost time in sacking the tough walls 
 of Newgate, when they might have been em- 
 ployed to more advantage at the Bank ; and these 
 let a whole morning. slip away in plundering cel- 
 lars for wine and oil, when the shops and houses 
 of all the monied men in Florence were at their 
 .disposal. At last, however, they fell upon the 
 Jews, and laid them under contribution. Dan- 
 ger now increased at every instant, and what be- 
 fore was riot, became rebellion. In vain Go- 
 vernment, actuated more by fear than prudence, 
 complied with all their demands : — in vain the 
 most popular of the Nobility entreated them to 
 desist J — in vain the Archbishop prayed : — they 
 respectfully received his benediction, and con- 
 tinued plundering. 
 
 Such was the state of Florence, and such the 
 conduct of the mob, when the butchers of the 
 market, shocked at their brutality, issued out 
 with no better weapons than their own knives, 
 find put to flight a parcel of ragamuffins that ten 
 dragoons on horseback might at any time have 
 dispersed ; and who, if they had continued as 
 they first began, and had attacked their Governors 
 only, might have hanged them all, one by one, so 
 little disposed were the inhabitants of every class 
 to stir in their defence. Different causes will 
 sometimes produce the same effects. What the 
 
 Govern- 
 
218 
 
 Government of Florence did from imbecility, 
 Macchiavel might have done from design. 
 Seeing the mischievous disposition of some of the 
 people, and the indolence of the rest, he would 
 probably have suffered private property to have 
 been attacked, for then each individual feels for 
 himself; — even hiitchers feel !— and those will 
 risk their lives to defend what belongs to them, 
 "who would not stir a step to save a Minister 
 from hanging. Thanks to the butchers, all now 
 is quiet, and we may sleep in peace. Now that 
 we are no longer in danger, we have ten thou- 
 sand men in arms : — I might also add, and not 
 one soldier among them ! 
 
 I should have told you that I was myself 
 stopped at noon-day in the Piazza del Duomo 
 by two of these sturdy beggars armed with clubs. 
 When they found I was resolutely determined 
 to give them nothing, one said to the other— 
 " He is a sti anger, let him pass.*' I don't think 
 I was much frightened, but I shall not sooa 
 forget their ugly faces. 
 
 LET- 
 
219 
 
 LETTER XXIIL 
 
 COSIMO DE MEDICI,who bent the stub- 
 born neck of the Florentine people to the 
 yoke, was himself a merchant. At that time 
 trade was encouraged, and Florence flourished. 
 A change in the Government, soon after occa- 
 sioned a change in the manners of the people. 
 Honors were conferred; commerce despised; 
 trade neglected; and Florence was reduced by 
 degrees to what it now is — as little like what it 
 once was, as I am to Hercules. It was said 
 of Cos I MO I., with more wit than truth, that 
 in establishing the Order of Saint Stefano he 
 had crucified the arts, alluding to the Cross the 
 Knights wear on their breasts. 
 
 In ViLLANi's time the town of Florence" 
 annually made from seventy to eighty thousand 
 pieces of cloth. He tells us, that the value, 
 some years, was not less than milk dugento mi- 
 
 gliaia 
 
220 
 
 gliaia di Fiorini d'oro (I use bis own words), 
 an immense sum.* The cloth manufactories, 
 which supplied other countries, and were once 
 the source of Florentine magnificence, now 
 scarcely furnish enough for their own consump- 
 tion, and even that of an inferior sort. In 1551, 
 twenty thousand pieces of cloth were sold, 
 which, at thirty crowns each, made the respect- 
 able sum of six hundred thousand sequins. In 
 the year 1561, the number increased to thirty- 
 three thousand j and in the reign of the Grand 
 Duke Ferdinand, the cloth made annually 
 amounted to three millions of crowns. — All this 
 must appear wonderful to one who sees Florence 
 in its present state, and does not know that at 
 that time it furnished all the Levant, and a great 
 part of Europe. English wool in the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth centuries was worked in Tuscany, 
 and returned in cloth : but, though the manufac- 
 ture of cloth originated in Italy, it soon spread 
 into other countries. Lorenzo dei Medici, 
 who was himself a capital merchant, to save the 
 expence of carriage, established a cloth manu- 
 
 * II Fiorino d'oro, in the time of the Republic, was the 
 same as the present Scudo Fiorentino of seven livres, about 
 five shillings and threepence English. 
 
 factory 
 
221 
 
 factory in England, with Florentine artists: 
 from which imprudent speculation may be dated 
 the origin of that branch of English commerce, 
 and, in a great measure, the ruin of that of Tus- 
 cany ; — I say in a great measure, for I fear they 
 have acquired idleness to a degree that is in 
 itself a bar to its advancement. Not long ago, 
 some Genevois came to Florence to establish a 
 manufactory of watches, bringing some ingenious 
 workmen along with them ; but they no sooner 
 saw with whom they were to associate, than they 
 abandoned the project, and returned from whence 
 they came, wisely considering idleness as an epi- 
 demical disease that cannot be too carefully 
 shunned by the industrious. 
 
 The silk trade is also on the decHne, and 
 partly from the same reasons. Other parts of 
 Italy have improved this branch of their com- 
 merce, and Florence already feels the ill effects. 
 I am even assured, that this year, in which the 
 silk-worms have almost entirely failed, there is 
 still silk enough remaining on hand to employ 
 the manufacturers. 
 
 The thirteenth century seems to have been the 
 epoch of Tuscan opulence. About the begin- 
 ning of the fourteenth century the manufactures 
 of silk and wool were so considerable, that Co- 
 siMo DEI Medici became the most wealthy 
 merchant ever known in Europe, The end of 
 
 the 
 
222 
 
 the fifteenth was the utmost period of her pros- 
 perity. When commerce was forsaken by the 
 family of Medici, the Nobles also declined it : 
 of course, it languished ; and the discovery of 
 America at the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, opening a new channel to the East Indies 
 by the Cape of Good Hope, gave the fatal blow, 
 from which it has never recovered. While 
 commerce flourished, the riches of the indivi- 
 duals were the riches of the State. The Me- 
 dici family were not only enabled to fight their 
 own battles, but also those of their Allies ; and 
 Pope Pio v., when he acknowledged Cosi- 
 Mo I. Grand Duke of Tuscany, after speaking 
 highly of his services, mentions his numerous 
 armies of horse and foot ; his fortresses, and his 
 galleys, not only sufficient to defend his own 
 coast, but that of Rome itself. 
 
 The introduction of tides proved shordy after 
 the ruin of trade ; and, instead of the Sovereign 
 being the Prince of Bankers, as the Grand 
 Duke Ferdinand was called, bankers now 
 became Counts and Marquisses. 
 
 The Mercato Nuovo, where the Nobility at 
 that time assembled every morning, as at the 
 Brogho at Venice, was soon after deserted for 
 the Casino ; and the Loggia Rucellai, and 
 others, preserve the names only of the noble 
 families who once deigned to inhabit them. 
 
 There 
 
22 
 
 o 
 
 There are some particularities concerning the 
 Mercato Nuovo that I cannot forbear to men- 
 tion. Bernardo Tasso, originally a car- 
 penter, was the architect. The three rows of 
 columns are said to have separated the three 
 different ages of the Nobility who frequented 
 them ; the old, the young, and the middle aged: 
 thus forming three distinct societies of the same 
 character, pursuits, and inclinations. In one of 
 the columns is concealed a stair-case by Buon- 
 TALENTi. A stone formerly stood in the mid- 
 dle of this portico where bankrupts were pub- 
 licly whipped — an excellent custom in a com- 
 mercial country ! Were every bankrupt in 
 England to be thus publicly whipped on the 
 Exchange of London, believe me, you would 
 have fewer bankruptcies, less roguery, less pre- 
 varication, and less perjury. As this, though 
 at present deserted spot, was once frequented 
 by all the Nobility and principal Citizens of 
 Florence, all kinds of arms were prohibited; 
 and, to render it more respectable, manslaughter 
 was immediately punished with death, and the 
 estate forfeited. The Wild Boar in bronze, 
 is a copy of that in the Gallery by Pietro 
 Tacca. 
 
 Ponte Vecchio is the common residence of all 
 the silversmiths and jewellers of Florence. 
 Tradesmen who deal in the same articles at 
 
 Canton, 
 
224 
 
 Canton, reside in the same quarter of the town. 
 It has its advantages. I wish every trade in 
 every town had a particular spot allotted to it. 
 
 The Studio of Pis an i, near the Prato Gate, 
 is worth your notice. Vases, and other orna- 
 ments for chimney-pieces, in alabaster, are there 
 worked with great taste and elegance. 
 
 The trade of Florence consists chiefly of per- 
 fumes, essences, and straw hats. Mechanical 
 work, in general, is clumsily made. In many 
 parts of the East, the inhabitants inherit the 
 trade of their parents, and cannot exercise any 
 other.— It was the custom at Athens when she 
 flourished most. Though this restriction may 
 not tally with our liberal ideas ; though, in some 
 instances, it may be a check to genius ; yet, 
 when to the master's professional knowledge, 
 there is added the interest and affection of a 
 father, and to the pupil the attention and obe- 
 dience of a son, it must be considered as the 
 surest means of perfection. The excellence of 
 the workmanship where these principles prevail, 
 form a striking contrast with the ruined state of 
 arts and manufactures in Tuscany. Here each 
 inhabitant, without any experience; without 
 serving any apprenticeship; without consulting 
 any other motive than his own caprice, is at 
 liberty to exercise what trade he will ; and calls 
 himself master of an art, of which he scarcely 
 
 knows 
 
225 
 
 knows the rudiments: you will, consequently, 
 observe in him less method than presumption, 
 and will have occasion to blame both his indo- 
 lence and incapacity ; — give him any thing to 
 copy, I speak from experience, he will con- 
 standy vary it, and always for the worse. 
 
 Under an arbitrary Government you seldom 
 see much industry. Wiien the people are not 
 contented, they seldom look beyond the present 
 moment : they get through the day as they can, 
 and so far follow the doctrine of Scripture, that 
 they literally leave the morrow to take care of 
 itself. If domestic happiness by ill humor and 
 contradicdon be disturbed, that also originates 
 but too often, I believe, in their mutual wants, 
 and mutual dissatisfaction with the Government 
 under which they live. — It may be otherwise 
 when the people, as a spur to their industry, 
 shall be put into better humor with the state: 
 when the taxes on the first necessaries of life 
 shall be lessened j monopoly prevented ; and a 
 brisker circulation of money procured by en- 
 couraging foreigners to reside amongst them. 
 It is not industry alone, however necessary it 
 may be to turn the balance of trade in favor of 
 any nadon, that is wanting ; industry cannot 
 exist without encouragement. In other coun- 
 tries, the tradesman looks forward to a time 
 when he shall retire from business, and be 
 VOL. I. Q happy 5 
 
226 
 
 happy ; and though that time may never come, 
 or if it should, may not bring happiness along 
 with it, yet the prospect is a pleasant one, and 
 serves to smooth the rugged path of life he is 
 doomed to tread. Here, on the contrary, the 
 same dull, dreary perspective still remains; the 
 lowest trades live literally from hand to mouth ; 
 and in the higher professions, little is to be gain- 
 ed : yet Baretti tells us, that a young physi- 
 cian in Italy has it in his power to get a liveli- 
 hood in a very short time — at the low rate of a 
 livre a visit (about ninepence English), the 
 utmost a young physician can pretend to — he 
 must be the death of a fine number of patients 
 first. The King of Prussia, when a certain 
 physician, who had made a considerable fortune, 
 was presented to him, said—** Monsieur \t 
 Medecin apparemment vous avez tue beaucoup 
 de monde." — " Beaucoup , Sire^ beaucoup^'' re- 
 plied the Doctor, " mais moins, ct avcc moins de 
 Cloire que voire Majeste," 
 
 LET- 
 
227 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 IT has long been a question, whether an un- 
 limited commercio libera (free commerce) as 
 practised at present in Tuscany, be, or be not, an 
 advantage to the State. Much has been said, 
 and much written on the subject. Those who 
 are its friends tell you that Florence has never 
 experienced a scarcity of corn since that regula- 
 tion took place ; but, before, often. While its 
 enemies talk highly of the flourishing state of 
 Tuscany in the time of the Medici, when a free 
 commerce was prohibited. I shall conclude 
 that both are right in their assertions, but can- 
 not agree with either in the conclusions drawn 
 from them. The one does not enough consider 
 that though the face of the country may be im- 
 proved by cultivation, the towns suffer from the 
 loss of their manufactures ; the other should be 
 reminded that there were some particularities in 
 the time of the Medici which no longer exist : 
 
 Q 2 Cosi- 
 
228 
 
 ■ — Co SI MO I. had ships of his own that carried 
 out merchandise on his own private account, 
 and returned loaded with corn ; he also en- 
 couraged his subjects to do the same, as an aid 
 to Government ; advanced them money ; found 
 them magazines ; and by allowing a bounty on 
 importation when corn was wanted, his granaries 
 were constantly kept supplied, and famine pre- 
 vented. 
 
 I confess myself more partial to the policy of 
 the English Government that allows a bounty 
 both on importation and exportation, as different 
 circumstances require. The improvement of 
 our marine probably makes no small part of the 
 consideration ; but it also acts as an encourage- 
 ment to agriculture, and is a check to imposi- 
 tion. When the price of corn does not bear a 
 just proportion to the expence and trouble it 
 occasions, cultivation ceases ; and on the other 
 hand, when the first necessaries of hfe exceed in 
 price what the common labourer can afford to 
 pay,arts and manufactures perish — -which, ceteris 
 paribuSy constantly flourish most where the ne- 
 cessaries of life are cheapest ; and on them, in 
 the opinion of many, the population and pros- 
 perity of a state principally depend. 
 
 It is a dangerous mistake to fancy that when 
 corn is dear, the price of labour increases in pro- 
 portion. The shoemaker dares not raise the 
 
 price 
 
229 ' 
 
 price of his shoes though his family are starving. 
 The poor trader always sells cheap, for he must 
 sell to eat. When corn is dear the monopo- 
 lizers are the principal gainers. It is not the 
 riches of a few individuals, but the general ease 
 of the middle class of inhabitants, or trading 
 people, that makes a nation flourish. 
 
 However desirable commerce may be, ex- 
 change is only necessary when you have more 
 of a commodity than you want. It is dangerous 
 to dispose of bread, the first necessary of life, 
 when the produce is not equal to the consump- 
 tion. There is scarce a nation in Europe that 
 at times does not prohibit exportation : it fol- 
 lows, therefore, that corn is not always to be 
 bought. On the other hand, I have seen ex- 
 portation prohibited ; the price immediately fell : 
 in consequence of which the corn was bought 
 up by the neighbouring states, and there was 
 presently after a scarcity. Unless smuggling 
 and monopoly could be prevented, the remedy 
 is worse than the disease. From whence I con- 
 clude, that the question is merely relative, de- 
 pending on times and circutr.stances ; that 
 neither unlimited exportation, nor constant pro- 
 Jiibition, are either of them a public benefit. 
 
 Est modus in rebus sunt certt deni^ue fines 
 Quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum. 
 
 That 
 
230 
 
 That monopoly should be permitted, I own 
 surprises me. Those who buy to sell again, are 
 a heavy charge on a poor state. The very 
 necessaries of life are bought up at a low price 
 by a parcel of people who thus avail themselves 
 of the labour of others, and are afterwards sold 
 at an advanced price, to the great prejudice of 
 the public, without any advantage to the culti- 
 vator. — This traffic, though highly unjust, is 
 carried on not only at the gates of the town, 
 but also in the markets : where it will end, I 
 know not; but it increases daily, nor is any 
 notice taken. In the time of the Medici, the 
 price of every article was fixed, and monopoly 
 as much as possible prevented. The quality of 
 the bread was carefully examined, as well as the 
 weight ; and the baker was punished if it was ill 
 baked : and so tender were they of the health of 
 their subjects, that not only animals that died a 
 natural death were not permitted to be sold, but 
 even sour grapes were prohibited under a severe 
 penalty. 
 
 To the astonishing imposition permitted at 
 present in the markets, may be attributed, in a 
 great measure, the extreme misery of the poorest 
 sort of the inhabitants. Two pounds of breads 
 when the Grand Duke Leopold became Em- 
 peror, was distributed by Government to the 
 poor of Florence, Sixty-two thousand took 
 
 the 
 
231 
 
 the benefit of it, that is, three fourths of the 
 inhabitants. It was even sent to my servants, 
 who were in great danger of being all discharged 
 for their meanness in accepting so pitiful a pre- 
 sent. Upon an inquiry, made at the same time, 
 it appeared, that the debts to the Monte, under 
 the trifling sum of seven livres, Amounted ta 
 twenty-three thousand crowns. There cannot, 
 surely, be a more alarming proof of the misery 
 of the inhabitants. The Monte di Pietd was 
 established first at Florence, in the year 1496, 
 to restrain the usury of the Jews. It has since 
 been established all over Italy, but with condi- 
 tions more or less favorable to the public. 
 Every commodity of any kind is here taken in 
 pawn. At Rome, formerly, all sums not ex- 
 ceeding thirty crowns, were lent without interest. 
 It was liable to abuse ; — many that were rich 
 pawned their plate, and made a profit of the 
 money. 
 
 The Florence market is well supplied with 
 every kind of butchers* meat, except mutton ; 
 that you must get from Pistoia. The mutton 
 of Florence totally differs from that of Astracan, 
 which, we are told, is only inferior to our veni- 
 son. The pork is excellent ; but is only to be 
 had during the winter months. The poultry is 
 not to be commended j and you will regret Les 
 Poulardes de Lyon, when you see the half- 
 starved 
 
232 
 
 starved chickens on an Italian table. Game is 
 scarce, and consequently dear : a hare, in the 
 time of the Medici, cost only ten Soldi (about 
 fivepence English); you cannot buy one at pre- 
 sent for less than four or five Paul's. Though 
 game is scarce, small birds are in the greatest 
 plenty. In the spring of the year, quails and 
 ortolans come hither from Africa to avoid the 
 heat. In autumn, thrushes, linnets, chafinches, 
 and other singing birds, arrive in flocks from 
 the Continent to avoid the cold. We have also 
 Becca Field, so called from their feeding on figsj 
 they are a lump of fat, and much esteemed by 
 those who like small birds : a goose, or a tur- 
 key, in your opinion, I know would have the 
 preference. I cannot boast of our fish : it 
 comes from afar, is very dear, and during the 
 hot weather is seldom eatable : that which is 
 sweet, has been kept in ice, and loses all its 
 flavor. In the months of April, May, and 
 June, the Tunny Fish arrives from Porto Fer- 
 rajo; when perfectly fresh, it is nearly as good 
 as our salmon ; when kept in oil, it supplies the 
 convents in the winter. 
 
 The fruit is good, particularly figs and me- 
 lons. The cherries are by much the largest I 
 ever saw : for that fruit we are obliged to Lu- 
 cuLLUs, who brought it into Italy, after his 
 defeat of Mithridates, from the town of 
 
 Ciresus, 
 
233 
 
 Ciresus, in Pontus." The peaches called poppa 
 di VenerCy are of an extraordinary size and 
 flavor. Grapes are nearly the same all over 
 Italy; the Muscadine and Salamanna are, I 
 think, the best. Pears and apples require a 
 colder climate. Their way of selling them is 
 fairer than ours ; they are sold by weight. The 
 rennet is the best apple. Strawberries last all 
 the summer ; when those of the gardens fail, 
 you have those of the mountains : I regularly 
 supped on them from the end of April to the 
 beginning of October. Among the best fruits, 
 I should not forget oranges — not those of Italy, 
 but of Malta. 
 
 The rich, you find, live tolerably well at 
 Florence; — -it is the poor that are put to their 
 shifts, and no work-houses are provided for 
 them. Surely the astonishing number of beg- 
 gars that encumber the streets, and importune 
 passengers from one end of Italy to the other, 
 is a disgrace to the Government, who should 
 find them employment, and not suffer them thus 
 to remain a partial tax on the benevolence ot 
 the public. Those who, without being in want, 
 make begging a profession, are litde entided to 
 our charity, — many more deserving objects pass 
 every day unnoticed, because they are ashamed 
 to beg. 
 
 At the Porta San Gallo, the evening's drive 
 
 of 
 
234 
 
 of the Beau Monde of Florence, your coach is 
 constantly beset with miserable objects, who 
 regularly relieve one another.* One fellow par- 
 ticularly offends me : he is perfectly healthy, 
 and has no other pretence to beg than a young 
 child that he carries on his shoulders, and se- 
 cretly pinches, I believe, to excite compassion. 
 What an employment for a man who is able to 
 work, and what an education for a child !— One 
 should, ipsojacto, be sent to a work-house, and 
 the other taken care of and educated at the 
 expence of the public. The Lacedemonians 
 wisely considered all their children as children 
 of the state. This defect is not peculiar to 
 Italy only; in France it is as bad, and beggars 
 are not there less troublesome. — One of them 
 being asked, why he did not work, being young 
 and able, he replied — " Ah ! MonseignieuTy si 
 vous saviez combienje suis Paresseux /" 
 
 Since changed for the Cascine. 
 
 LET- 
 
235 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 A Female panegyrist has remarked of the 
 manners of the Florentines that they are 
 polished into brilliancy. Surely the lady had in 
 her eye the French of the last age, rather than 
 the Florentines of this. It is not from those 
 who have resided long in a country that you are 
 to expect the most faithful account of the man- 
 ners and customs of the inhabitants. It is im- 
 possible not to be in some degree prejudiced 
 one way or the other j either for or against 
 them. It is the common imperfection of hu- 
 man nature, nor do I expect to be more exempt 
 from that failing than the lady herself. Having 
 lived for some time in a habit of civility and 
 friendship with the Florentines, I am become, I 
 believe, almost as partial to their faults, as to my 
 own. Many of them I may not perceive, and 
 Others I may wish to conceal. I am aware of 
 my difficulties, but will endeavour to relate with 
 
 fidelity. 
 
236 
 
 fidelity, nor will 1 designedly either flatter or 
 censure at the expence of truth. I shall confine 
 my account to circumstances publicly known, 
 rather than intrude into privacies where discre- 
 tion is a virtue. 
 
 The Court, and with that it is my duty to 
 begin, resides very little at Florence. They 
 usually pass the spring at Castello, the summer 
 and autumn at the Imperiale, and the winter 
 at Pisa. Travellers therefore are seldom pre- 
 sented, yet those who are desirous to pay their 
 court, are received by the Grand Duke and the 
 Grand Duchess, with that gracious affability so 
 peculiar to them both. The Palace partakes of 
 the economy of the country. State and magni- 
 ficence make no part of the expence of the 
 Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the salaries of his 
 household approach nearer to parsimony than 
 extravagance. The Sovereigns are themselves 
 contented with a thousand sequins a month each 
 for pocket money, and the Grand Duchess 
 spends the greatest part of hers in ch'arity. 
 
 The style of living of the Grand Duke is best 
 known to his Valet de chambre ; I can only re- 
 late what I hear : — that he keeps early hours, is 
 very temperate, and dedicates the greatest part 
 of his time to the good of his subjects. 
 
 The example of the Court is strictly followed 
 by the Nobles as far as regards regularity and 
 
 eco- 
 
237 . 
 
 economy. It is a system that generally prevails 
 both in the education of youth, and their con- 
 duct afterwards. Boys of fashion are not 
 allowed to run about the streets in Florence, as 
 in London. A tutor is appointed constandy to 
 attend them, and an attention is shewn to their 
 health and morals that might put an English 
 parent to the blush. — I wish I could as readily 
 commend the capacity of their instructors. 
 Colleges and Professors are not wanting. The 
 University of Pisa is deservedly looked upon as 
 one of the best in Italy; but there is not a 
 single instance at present of a Florentine Noble- 
 man having been sent thither to study, — so litde 
 do they consider learning as a necessary qualifi- 
 cation for a gentleman. The levelling system 
 of the Tuscan Government, that embraces every 
 opportunity to humble the Nobility, views with 
 pleasure, and encourages with zeal, alliances 
 that prejudice might condemn, and prudence 
 disapprove. It is not impossible but this also 
 may induce the Florentines to keep their sons at 
 home. Improper connections at that age are 
 more easily formed than broken. By a nevf 
 law, seduction admits not of pecuniary compen- 
 sation, and the seducer of a virgin, whatever be 
 her condition of life, is obliged to marry her;— 
 a law subject to very great abuses. How will 
 you prove the seduction ? How are you to be 
 
 certain 
 
238 
 
 certain she was a virgin ? The cunning of 
 Sang HO Pa no a, in this instance, is preferable 
 to the wisdom of Peter Leopold. Though 
 prudence may, in some measure, justify the 
 preference given in this country to a private 
 education, yet the economy that accompanies it 
 cannot be commended. When I tell you, that 
 a tutor has the trifling sum of four or five 
 crowns a month only, you will conclude that 
 much instruction is not to be acquired at so 
 cheap a rate. Those who are still more econo- 
 mical, hire an Abbe to walk out with their 
 children, and thus save victuals and drink. 
 Those peripatetics are well paid at two crowns 
 a month. Strange as this education must ap- 
 pear, I scarcely know how to blame the Floren- 
 tines. Learning in Tuscany is discouraged by 
 system. They see that it has no friend at 
 Court, and are but too apt to consider it as a 
 useless incumbrance. At eighteen the young 
 gentleman is of age, and has done with his 
 master. He shortly after takes to himself a 
 mistress ; commences Cavalier Servente, with 
 the consent and approbation of his parents, — and 
 here all instruction ceases : it ceases, unluckily, 
 at the very time the most useful knowledge is 
 usually acquired; for experience teaches, that 
 that which is done from obligation, is seldom 
 done willingly ; and that which is not done wil- 
 lingly. 
 
239 
 
 lingly, is never done well, and sometimes not 
 done at all. — Condi llac tells us, that the 
 most useful knowledge we acquire, is not from 
 our preceptors, but from ourselves. 
 
 The education of their daughters, I am told, 
 is worse. If Miss is sent to a convent, she 
 learns litde else than to knit stockings ; and if 
 kept at home, is either left to the care of com- 
 mon servants, from whom no good can be ex- 
 pected, or is early initiated into Italian customs 
 in the society of her Mamma — the duties and 
 privileges of a Cavalier Servente not excepted. 
 
 Having censured, I hope not without reason, 
 the system of education in this country, and, in 
 some instances, the conduct of parents towards 
 their children ; I cannot deny myself the plea- 
 sure of approving, as I ought, the duty and 
 affectionate attention of children to their parents. 
 Filial piety, believe me, is more 'observable in 
 Italy than in England ; occasioned, probably, 
 by the different mode of education. Our sons 
 are sent early out of our houses, and delivered 
 up to the care of others. We only see them at 
 their holidays; then chiefly at their meals; and 
 at other times have litde of their -company : 
 they pass the greatest part of their time without 
 any restraint, and soon lose all sense of atten- 
 tion and duty. Here it is otherwise; and when 
 they are not in the company of their parents, 
 
 ther 
 
240 
 
 they have constantly a person to attend them, 
 who is responsible for their conduct. Their 
 dress, to be sure, is sometimes ridiculous; but 
 their behaviour is strictly proper : with us, a 
 boarding-school girl, and a school boy,, are fit 
 company for the servants only, to whose care 
 they are usually consigned. The girl is an 
 awkward stiff thing that is afraid to move ; and 
 the boy is as troublesome and as mischievous as 
 a monkey. — That our system is better calcu- 
 lated to form men of the world, I will not deny; 
 yet you will allow me to wish it were done with 
 less injury to their health and morals. 
 
 Fathers, brothers, uncles, and aunts; wives, 
 sons, and daughters, and their respective fami- 
 lies, live all together under the same roof, out 
 of economy: — not always without a feeling of 
 that contempt for each other which familiarity is 
 said to occasion. This outward appearance of 
 cordiality is the cause of innumerable private 
 differences ; and the several branches of the 
 same family, thus heterogeneously united, are 
 but too often a mutual plague to each other. — 
 At Pekin, indeed, where the population is said 
 to amount to three millions, it may be necessary 
 to crowd two or three generations together, but 
 not at Florence. 
 
 A wife in this country, I am sorry to sayj^tJias 
 but too often a separate interest from her hus- 
 band, 
 
241 
 
 band, and is frequently treated like a stranger in 
 her own house. She is not trusted with the 
 fingering of any money; she pays no bills, un- 
 less, sometimes, her own; and has a trifling 
 assegnamento (pin-money), of about ten or 
 fifteen crowns a month, to supply all her wants : 
 and, in many families, so great is the economy, 
 so regulated the expenditure, that if she gives a 
 dish of coffee, or glass of lemonade, to a friend, 
 it is paid for out of her own pocket. — If you 
 observe how well they dress, and consider the 
 insufficiency of the means, you will be in fear 
 for human frailty. — Husbands take care ! beauty- 
 can never ask in vain, — and it is needless to 
 remind you, that gratitude is a virtue. 
 
 Notwithstanding this dangerous economy to- 
 wards their wives, the Florentines are remark- 
 able for an extracu'dinary piece of extravagance 
 towards their daughters-in-law, peculiar to them- 
 selves. When a girl of fashion marries, the 
 father-in-law provides the Corredino^ that is, a 
 wardrobe, containing every part of her dress, in 
 great profusion : this she finds at his house upon 
 her arrival, lest the Corredoy provided by her 
 own family, should not be ready. Curiosity 
 carried me, with half the town of Florence, to 
 see that of the Sposa Riccardi. The room 
 had the appearance of a fair ; the walls were 
 hung with gowns, riding habits, cloaks, hats, and 
 L.vgL, I, R bon- 
 
242 
 
 nets. A long table in the middle, and several 
 others that surrounded it, were completely 
 covered with every article of wearing apparel, 
 and seemed a provision for life. Expence was 
 not spared, nor was convenience alone con- 
 sidered. I observed towels with fine Flanders 
 lace, which I conclude the sposa will have the 
 good sense to apply to better purposes. The 
 addition of the Corredino to that of the Corredo 
 is surely an unnecessary piece of extravagance, 
 and unless the lady prudently disposes of one half, 
 shf cannot wear out the other while the fashion 
 lasts. The Corredo, found by the family of the 
 sposa, is reckoned as part of her portion j the 
 greatest part of which might be more usefully 
 employed. 
 
 By an old law, in the time of the Medici, the 
 expences attending marriage ceremonies were 
 exceedingly limited. Four strangers only were 
 to be invited ; four dishes provided j and a 
 gentleman was severely reprimanded by Govern- 
 ment for having laid out a whole sequin on his 
 wedding dinner. Compare this with the ex- 
 pences of the present day : — three great Gala din- 
 ners have been given by the family above men- 
 tioned ; one on the wedding day, the others on 
 the days following. All their relations and all 
 tbeir friends were invited. The very sugar- 
 plumbs, that it is usual to send on these occa- 
 - sions 
 
243 
 
 sions to their acquaintance, cost the Marquis 
 RiccARDi a thousand crowns. Our custom is 
 more decent. We give our dinners before the 
 wedding, and leave the happy couple in private 
 afterwards. In this country the conversation at 
 these public dinners puts modesty to the blush, 
 and the sposa hears enough on the wedding day, 
 and those that succeed it, to debauch her mind 
 most completely, if it be not already done. 
 Matrimony, at best, is a very indecent piece of 
 business, think what you will of it ; and virtue 
 exposes in this instance what vice with more de- 
 cency conceals. Among the sumptuary laws of 
 former times it is curious to observe that the 
 wives of citizens were forbid wearing more than 
 three rings at a time. — I think, while they were 
 about it, they might as well have confined them 
 to one only. 
 
 The news of the day occupies all Florence. 
 Santeuil placed himself in a confessional at 
 Paris, and a woman taking him for a Confessor, 
 confessed every thing to him, and then asked his 
 absolution: — " What," said he, " do you take 
 me for a Confessor?" — *' If you are not, why 
 did you listen to me ?" — " Why did you tell 
 me ?" replied Santeuil.—" Well, Sir, I will 
 acquaint the Bishop.''^—" And, if you do, Mdi- 
 ddim, I will acquaint your husband." Whether 
 Signer P— P— M— thought fit to imitate this 
 R 2 gentle- 
 
244 
 
 gentleman, or was prompted to it by a natural 
 impulse, I know not ; but he is in disgrace for 
 a frolic of the same kind, and it is as yet unknown 
 what will be the consequences. 
 
 LET- 
 
245 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 FOUR thousand crowns is a good Florentine 
 income: a sum, at least, equal to as many 
 thousand pounds in the hands of an Englishman, 
 You have already seen, that the assegnamento 
 of a wife does not cost much— the whole addi- 
 tional expence is computed at one thousand two 
 hundred crowns. The sons, when they become 
 men, are usually allowed ten or twelve crowns a 
 month to find themselves in clothes and pocket 
 money. The daughters, who are found in every 
 thing, have a sequin given them, now and then, 
 that they may have some money in their pockets. 
 — Is not a quarterly or monthly allowance pre- 
 ferable? they would then learn to make the most 
 of a little, and know what they have to depend 
 on. 
 
 Every expence in this country is calculated. 
 The usual calculation is two hundred crowns a 
 year for a coach and pair of horses, coachman 
 
 included: 
 
246 
 
 included : sixty crowns each footman, and forty 
 for each maid. Gluttony is not the vice of au 
 Italian. A Florentine Nobleman will agree 
 with his cook to provide dinner and supper at 
 the rate of three pauls a head for both ; bread, 
 wine, oil, and firing, not included. The pocket 
 never suffers, and the constitution is frequently a 
 gainer. Others fix a certain sum for their daily 
 expences : if they exceed it one day, parsimony 
 the next brings matters even. 
 
 An Italian dinner usually consists of a soup, 
 which never fails winter and summer j a piece of 
 bouilli J a fry of some kind or other; a ragout; 
 and the roti, which, whether it be a piece of 
 meat, or a few small birds, is served up last. 
 The soup is no better than broth, being the 
 essence of the bouilli only, which, of course, is 
 boiled to rags ; and the roast meat being usually 
 soaked in water before it is put to the fire, loses 
 all its flavor. The table-cloth is not taken off 
 neither here nor in France; nor, I believe, in 
 any part of the Continent : — their tables are 
 made of the commonest wood, and are always 
 dirty; — cur tables are both handsome and clean, 
 so we may use our pleasure. 
 
 Butter, you will sometimes see as a side dish : 
 it is rather a rarity, oil being commonly used in 
 their kitchens. Raw ham, Bologna sausages, 
 figs, and melons, are eaten at the first course. 
 
 Salt 
 
247 
 
 Salt meat, unless it be hams and tongues, is 
 totally unknown. No boiled leg of pork, and 
 peas-pudding; no bubble and squeak; — vulgar 
 dishes, it is true, but excellent notwithstanding : 
 nor have they the petits plats, in which the 
 French so much excel, to supply their places. 
 In short, you must not expect good cookery in 
 a country where all the servants are cooks. I 
 have five men in my house, and four of them 
 have acted in that capacity. I am afraid, the 
 worst is he whose business it is to dress the din- 
 ner : my coachman is said to be famous at a 
 made dish. 
 
 Though few breakfast, all sup ; a custom that 
 cannot but be unwholesome in a country where 
 it is usual to go to bed immediately after. 
 Johnson, who was not partial to the Scotch, 
 used to say, that if an epicure could remove by 
 a wish in quest of sensual gratifications, he 
 would breakfast in Scotland. — If breakfast was 
 that gentleman's favorite meal, he did well not 
 to come into Italy, where the comforts of it are 
 unknown. It is not allowed to servants. It is 
 not reckoned by the Vetturino, who supplies you 
 with every necessary on your journev ; and 
 those who indulge in this luxury, are contented 
 with a dish of coffee or chocolate ; a few fia^s, 
 or a bunch of grapes. — To complete the day, 
 according to Jqhnsoin's idea, 1 think his epi- 
 cure 
 
248 
 
 cure should dine in London ; take his after_ 
 noon's ^oz^/e in Switzerland; and sup at Paris. 
 
 It would be unpardonable, in writing to an 
 Englishman, to talk of the table, and not men- 
 tion wine : yet I much doubt if Florence wine, 
 though CosiMO III. made presents of it to 
 most of the Sovereigns in Europe, and though 
 Queen Anne is said to have preferred it to any 
 other, will please a palate accustomed to Claret^ 
 Champagne, and Burgundy. The most esteem^* 
 ed are the Aliatico, Chianti, and Monte Pulci-. 
 ano. That which you drink in England for 
 Florence wine, is Chianti, — even to this brandy 
 is added at Leghorn to give it strength : no 
 other will bear the sea. The common wine of 
 the country I conclude is weak, as you seldom 
 see a man drunk in tl^e streets, and in good com- 
 pany, never. 
 
 Dress is no article of expence. You are not 
 obliged, as in France, to have different clothes 
 for the different seasons : you are at liberty to 
 dress as you please ; and an English frock may 
 be worn throughout the year. We are told, that 
 a country gendeman appeared at the Opera at 
 Paris the beginning of autumn in his summer 
 suit : he was stared at as a monster, and habit 
 d'etSf habit d'etCf was repeated all over the 
 theatre. A friend of ours, by some strange 
 fatality, wore a pair of point-ruffles in the 
 
 jnonth 
 
249 
 
 month of May : the impropriety would have 
 utterly ruined another man ; — this gendeman, 
 who is a man of wit, excused himself by saying-— 
 he had a cold. The Florentines are too wise to 
 trouble themselves with numberless suits of 
 clothes, for the sole benefit of their tailors. 
 They go to the Opera in frocks ; and, during 
 the Carnival, to the Balls in bauttes. They 
 have a dress coat, and a Gala carriage ; the latter 
 lasts them their lives,— nor do they, like some 
 that shall be nameless, change their carriages 
 every two or three years to enrich their coach- 
 makers. They have also Gala liveries ; but 
 they are made to last as long as they can. 
 Every-day liveries must last two years : those 
 who make a figure, give two ; one for the sum- 
 mer, the other for the winter, — but each is to 
 last two seasons. 
 
 I cannot commend their taste; their very 
 magnificence is inelegant. Behind the same 
 carriage you will frequently see one footman 
 very tall, the other very short. I have just met 
 two such, who, being cloathed in green, looked like 
 the sign of Robin Hood and Little John. You will 
 also see one with a cocked hat, the other with a 
 round one. There is a want of feeling in these 
 trifles somewhat beyond a want of taste. Strictly 
 speaking, even their hair should be dressed alike; 
 
 and; 
 
250 
 
 and, if they wear queues, they should be of equal 
 length. 
 
 In all countries some custorhs ^re remarkable. 
 When first I knew Florence, about twenty years 
 ago, an odd custom prevailed at Court ; — all the 
 men curtsied to the Grand Duke and the Grand 
 Duchess ; foreigners only were permitted to 
 bow, who were supposed to know no better. 
 
 A refusal is expressed by the fingers in Italy 
 as in other countries by the head. A common 
 salutation is with the fingers up ; and they call 
 you, with the fingers down. 
 
 It is said that the voice, in speaking, seldom 
 rises higher, or sinks lower than three notes and 
 a half. It is otherwise here ; they change some- 
 times from their natural voice to a falsetto, till 
 you are ready to laugh in their faces. 
 
 They tell you, that if it rains on the third of 
 April, it is to continue to rain for forty days 
 after. We. run a risk of losing all our faith in 
 this country. 
 
 The Florentine Nobility were, as I have said, 
 originally merchants ; book-keepers were then 
 necessary. They have retained the custom ever 
 since, and in some families not less than eight or 
 ten of those persons are constantly employed— 
 I know not how. 
 
 The Noblesse sell wine, and hang out the sign 
 
 of 
 
251 
 
 oF an empty flask at the Palace window, A re- 
 tail trade, like this of the Florentine Nobility, 
 an English wine merchant would think beneath 
 his dignity. The best tap going at present is 
 that of the Bishop of Fiesole. 
 
 It is ridiculous to see a Sposa Monaca dressed 
 out to the height of the fashion, and driven about 
 from one end of the town to the othec Mercy 
 on us, what a mistake is here ! — Content more 
 easily proceeds from ignorance ihan conviction ; 
 por is it prudent to indulge in any pleasures that 
 are not always within our reach. 
 
 The kitchen frequently is at the top of the 
 house. I asked a reason of a Florentine friend, 
 and he gave me two ; — one, he said, was to pre- 
 vent the smoke of the charcoal and smell of 
 the dinner ; the other, to render it more difficult 
 for the servants to carry any thing away. As 
 they are at board wages, the vulgar adage, safe 
 bindy safe find y is never forgotten. Their mas- 
 ters know they are not scrupulous, and never put 
 temptation in their way. 
 
 It was the custom in the time of Juvenal 
 to blow the fire with their mouths, — it is so now. 
 I have a fellow in my family whose mouth is 
 better than any bellows. 
 
 The extreme unction which is administered to 
 those who are dying, is carried publicly, and in 
 procession : — a custom as improper as unneces- 
 sary. 
 
252 
 
 sary. The tinkling bell and hoarse voices of 
 those that accompany it, are unpleasant sounds 
 even to those who are well ; and, at a time of 
 epidemy, when deaths are frequent, might be 
 fatal to those who are sick. — A Spanish proverb 
 says:—'* If you think you shall die, you will 
 die.'* 
 
 They wear mourning but a short time for the 
 nearest relation, and that not constandy. I have 
 known a husband marry two months after his 
 wife's decease. It is true he was an elderly 
 gentleman, and had no time to lose. 
 
 Ladies in child-bed keep the house for forty 
 days, and do not get up till the twelfth day ; yet 
 many Contadinas, after the third day, are out at 
 work in the fields. I have read that in some parts 
 of America the wife is no sooner delivered of 
 her burden than she gets up, and her husband 
 keeps his bed ; she does the work of the house, 
 and he goes through all the ceremonies of a 
 lady in the straw. I had nearly forgotten one 
 custom that I think will surprise you : — they 
 feed their catSy and poison their dogs. Though 
 held in less veneration in Italy than in Egypt, 
 the cat still seems to be an object of general 
 affection. Florence swarms with them. Here 
 are people who make a trade of feeding them, 
 and are paid by the inhabitants, who, notwith- 
 standing their great economy, keep more cats 
 
 than 
 
255 
 
 than catch mice. Dogs, on the other hand, are 
 scarce: — that amiable and friendly animal is not 
 only neglected, but, during the summer months, 
 is poisoned in the streets. — If you are here in 
 the summer, take care of Rover. 
 
 I must leave off. — My house is in an uproar 
 of laughter, at the expence of a poor cobbler, 
 my opposite neighbour. My servant having fre- 
 quently missed different sums of money out of 
 a drawer in my bed-chamber, he suspected the 
 porter, and engaged his friend the cobbler to 
 watch and detect him. The affair did not ap^ 
 pear difficult, — the money was always taken on 
 a Monday, which was the day my weekly bills 
 were settled ; it was also observed, that the rob- 
 bery was committed at the time the other ser- 
 vants were all of them at dinner : these circum- 
 stances caused the porter to be suspected ; and 
 it was thought that he used a false key, as the 
 drawer was kept constantly locked. The cob- 
 bler, who had readily accepted the office, made 
 light of it J he used the common expression of 
 his countrymen, lascia/are, — and longed for the 
 arrival of Monday to shew his prowess. — At 
 length Monday came, and the honest cobbler, 
 determined to take the thief, placed himself 
 where he could best observe all that passed in 
 the chamber, and catch him in the fact. It was 
 not long before he appeared : — he was cautious 
 
 and 
 
254 
 
 and cunning,^^-he secured the door,— he listened 
 if all was quiet: — there was a closet in the room, 
 he examined it carefully, and then went to the 
 chest of drawers to begin his operation. — The 
 cobbler now thought he had him safe enough, — 
 but unluckily, as the Devil would have it, the 
 porter, recollecting that he had not looked under 
 the bed, lifted up the valance^ and discovered our 
 friend. — It is not easy to conceive the ridiculous 
 figure the poor cobbler made, lugged out from 
 his hiding place, taken prisoner, and brought 
 down stairs, as a culprit, by the very thief he 
 had promised to detect. — He seems determined 
 never to turn thief-taker again. The porter is 
 discharged. 
 
 LET- 
 
255 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 nPHOSE who, like you, live in one continued 
 -*- round of public amusement, and, in more 
 senses of the word than one, keep no Lent, can- 
 not conceive the joy that an Italian, whose 
 passions are heightened by a warmer sun, and 
 whose diversions are chiefly confined to this 
 season only, feels at the approach of the Carni- 
 val. — Even at Florence, not the gayest town in 
 Italy, it is not without its advantages. 
 
 Masking formerly began on Saint Antonio's 
 day ; it is now permitted the last fortnight of the 
 Carnival only : — it then gave" the ladies oppor- 
 tunities of intrigue, which the jealousy of their 
 husbands prevented all the rest of the year. — 
 Italian husbands are no longer jealous, and con^ 
 cealment is no longer necessary. — Wives are 
 mistresses of their own persons ; receive what 
 company they please in their own houses ; and 
 the black veil which they wear when they walk 
 
 out 
 
.256 
 
 out in the morning alone, conceals them as 
 effectually as a mask : — this, and rooms hired in 
 remote parts of the town, are temptations to 
 intrigue peculiar to Florence. — In short, ama- 
 teures are so plenty, that the professeures are 
 starving. The principal advantage they derive 
 from the last days of the Carnival, is that of 
 completely getting rid of a troublesome compa- 
 nion, a Cavalier Servente, who is then left to 
 shift for himself. — It is curious to see fine ladies, 
 who, at another time, cannot stir a step without 
 two horses to draw them along j two Cavalier 
 Serventes to support them ; and two footmen, 
 one to clear the way, and the other to hold up 
 their train : it is curious to see them disguised 
 in their bauttes, walking in the streets alone, and 
 from one theatre to another, with all the ease, 
 and all the assurance, of our sex. — They go 
 alone to the Casino, — alone to the Festa di 
 Ballo, — visit whom they please,— and enjoy the 
 most unqualified liberty of men, during the last 
 days of the Carnival. — They assume a freedom 
 their inferiors dare not pretend to; for, though 
 jealousy in the Nobihty is laughed out of coun- 
 tenance, it is still visible among the Bourgeoisie, 
 where the husband maintains his authority, and 
 the wife is always obedient, and sometimes 
 chaste. 
 
 In England, the theatres have one day of rest 
 
 QUt 
 
257 
 
 out of the seven : on the Continent they have 
 not even that. I remember when I first left my 
 own country, I fear near thirty years ago, I ar- 
 rived at Brussels on a Sunday : — it was late in 
 the evening, and the street was crouded with 
 carriages in waiting at the play-house. That you 
 may be better able to judge of my astonishment, 
 I must tell you that I had never heard of such 
 doings in my life, and concluded that before the 
 morning the Devil would fly away with them all. 
 Bad example, my good friend, is a dangerous 
 thing. The Sunday following I went to the 
 play-house myself. The different appellation of 
 the Sabbath is expressive of the different use that 
 is made of it. With us it is called a holyday, 
 or a day to be kept holy ; here it is called a 
 fete (festival), and consequently a day of merri- 
 ment. '' 
 
 Twelve Theatres were formerly open at Flo- 
 rence during the Carnival ; they are now re- 
 duced to six ; a number, one might think, more 
 than sufficient for the number of inhabitants, and 
 yet it frequently happens that all are full. I 
 have nothing to remark of either of them, except 
 that the boxes are dark. The Florentines never 
 use lights, partly to be more at their ease, and 
 pardy out of economy. It is at the theatre you 
 see the natural disposition of the people. They 
 are lively — animated — awake to every impres- 
 
 TOL, I, $ sion. 
 
25S 
 
 sion. When a new play pleases, and the curtain 
 drops, they not only call for the Author, but all 
 the principal Actors are made to pass over the 
 stage to receive their share of the applause. If 
 an lago, or some such villain, be among them, 
 he is sure to be received with groans and hisses ; 
 a circumstance which does as much honor to 
 their own sentiments, as to the ability of the 
 actor. 
 
 The Comedy I saw last night is founded on a 
 fact of such extraordinary circumstances as could 
 not be credited, were it not authenticated by the 
 best historians of that time. We are told, that 
 on the third of October 1400, Ginevra degh 
 Amieri, wife of Francesco Agolanti, a 
 Florentine Nobleman, being in a trance, and 
 thought to be dead, was on the same day removed 
 to the sepulchre of her family on the side of the 
 Duomo, near to the Campanile : that coming to 
 herself, about two o'clock in the morning, and 
 perceiving where she was by the light of the 
 moon, the stone of the vault, by a strange piece 
 of good fortune, not having been fastened down, 
 she delivered herself, not without difficulty, from 
 the horrid mansion ; and staggered, weak as she 
 was, to her own house. Her husband hearing a 
 violent knocking at the door at so hie an hour, 
 looked out of the window, but he no sooner saw 
 her pale figure in her shroud, than he fancied it 
 
 -was 
 
259 
 
 was her ghost come to upbraid him for his 
 cruelties (for they lived on ill terms together), 
 and ran away. She then made a last effort to 
 the house of Antonio Rondinelli, a former, 
 but unfavored lover. By him she was gladly re- 
 ceived, and by his means soon after recovered. 
 You will be glad to hear, however extraordinary 
 it must appear, that the first marriage was set 
 aside; andGiNEVRA given to the man by whom 
 she had been so kindly received, and so miracu- 
 lously recovered. The street which leads from 
 the vault to the house where she lived, is to this 
 day called Via delta Morte. 
 
 The price of entrance at all the theatres is as 
 moderate as you could wish. A serious opera, 
 is not dear at three pauls ; a burletta, at two; 
 a comedy, at one ; and at the little theatres, four 
 crazie only, somewhat less than three pence Eng-^ 
 lish. Men usually go into the pit. Boxes are 
 always to be hired for the night, and, at the 
 comedies, for a few pauls, unless you send your 
 Lacquais de Placet 'who will always cheat you 
 when he can. Moderate as these expences are, 
 those who are appaltaii pay considerably less.* 
 
 * A kind of subscription which admit* you when you 
 please. 
 
 S2 At 
 
260 
 
 At the serious opera, it does not exceed one paul 
 a night : this is the price paid by the Nobility ; 
 the towns people pay less ; and many are appal- 
 tail at the litde theatres out of economy, for the 
 oil they consume at home would cost them more. 
 A young Englishman at Turin received a letter 
 from his father, in the middle of the Carnival, 
 directing him to set out immediately for Rome. 
 He was unwilling to leave a place where he had 
 found a mistress much to his hking, but did not 
 know how to extricate himself: he thought, 
 however, of an expedient. His father was an 
 old miser, who had made an immense fortune 
 by strictly observing that excellent rule, of never 
 throwing away a single halfpenny : he, therefore, 
 told him, that though it was his wish to obey his 
 commands immediately, and without delay, yet 
 as, out of economy, he had appaltatied himself 
 at the theatre for the whole Carnival, he con- 
 cluded he would approve of his staying till it 
 was ended. 
 
 Our present Ballet at the Pergola is the most 
 bloody I ever saw, — the principal characters arc 
 all slain. It put me in mind of that famous 
 Italian tragedy where, towards the end of the 
 last act, all the personages withdraw for a 
 general engagement. — After a short pause, the 
 prompter makes his appearance on the stage, 
 and says — 
 
 « Udi- 
 
261 
 
 " Uditorl, m'accorgo die aspettate 
 Che nuova dclla pugna alcun vi porti 
 Ma I'aspettate in van'_, son' tutti morti" * 
 
 If you are fond of dancing, you may have 
 enough of it the last fortnight of the Carnival ; 
 besides the balls at the different theatres, others 
 are given at the Casino, where, when you have 
 been once presented, you go without invitation. 
 For the Coreofili (a subscription ball given by 
 the Nobility) strangers obtain tickets by means 
 of their minister, or may buy them for a few 
 pauls in the street. Feste di Ballo are also fre- 
 quently given by the Cittadini, and your banker, 
 or any other Italian friend, can easily get you 
 admitted. A bautta is the best dress upon all 
 these occasions; and, though it gives a disagree- 
 able gloom to every assembly", is very conve- 
 nient, particularly to the women, who have no 
 longer the trouble of a toilette, but as they are 
 in the morning, remain all day. The bautta, 
 with its white mask, is frightful ; with the mask 
 off, though they all look like Edward the Black 
 Prince with his beaver up, is not unbecoming ; 
 it buttons over the lower part of the face, and 
 
 * Spectators, I perceive that you wait 
 Till some one brings you news of the battle; 
 But you wait in vain — they are all slain. 
 
 hides 
 
262 
 
 hides the chin only; the hair is pulled forward, 
 and when the hat is well put on, most of the 
 •women look handsome. 
 
 You must not expect at an Italian masquerade 
 to see the same variety of dresses as at the Hay 
 Market. The Venetian bautta is common to 
 all. Humor is not understood, — i\o one masks 
 with an intention to promote it; the utmost 
 effort is sometimes to shew a handsome dress, 
 and a quantity of diamonds, which the Italian 
 ladies have in the greatest profusion. It is pro- 
 bable that some of them are false. — No bad 
 way, let me tell you, of making up the deficiency 
 of pin-money, or losses at the gaming table. 
 An English lady thought of this expedient, but 
 she thought of it too late : — when she sent for 
 her jeweller to dispose of her brilliants, and put 
 false stones in their stead, he said he would 
 readily have obliged her, but it was already 
 done by order of her husband. To return tq 
 the masquerade. When a beautiful young wo- 
 man represents an ugly old witch ; when a little 
 delicate gentleman represents a woman, or a 
 lusty gendewoman represents a man ; they may 
 deceive their most intimate acquaintance, and 
 contribute to the merriment of the scene :— but 
 an Orpheus and Euridice, covered wjth dia- 
 monds, stalking about the whole night arm in 
 arm, their heads continually moving from side 
 
 tq 
 
263 - 
 
 to side, like the pendulum of a clock, without a 
 single word ever coming from their lips, are 
 surely more to be pitied than admired. — Or- 
 pheus, indeed, had an opportunity of regaining 
 my good opinion. He stood a considerable 
 time where a parcel of awkward people were 
 dancing more like bears than human creatures ; 
 —had he but once struck his lyre, I could have 
 forgiven him all the rest. 
 
 During the last fortnight of the Carnival, we 
 have five Corso's, and all the carriages in Flo- 
 rence drive round the Piazza Santa Croce in 
 grand gala. One gentleman has a coach of 
 porcelain. — I have often thought of the havock 
 our hackney coachmen would make of it at 
 Ranelagh. The two last days, all the bauttes of 
 Florence assemble under the Uffizzi ; — and you 
 may conceive a just idea of the discontent of the 
 country from the general gloom, which, like an 
 infectious vapour, expands itself all over Tus- 
 cany, at a time of uncommon festivity, even at 
 Rome itself. 
 
 The Carnival over, it is curious to observe 
 the alteration made in a few hours by a few 
 ashes in the manners of the people. The 
 churches are now as much frequented as 
 the theatres were before; and they listen with 
 the same attention to the preacher, as they 
 did to harlequin.— Having been long used 
 
 to 
 
264 
 
 to the insipid dulness of an English curate, I 
 could not rehsh at first the enthusiastic warmth 
 of an ItaHan friar : I was only astonished at the 
 retentive memory of those religious orators, who 
 are able to repeat every day a fresh sermon of 
 an hour's length, without looking at a note, or 
 the least hesitation : I can now listen to them 
 with pleasure, for their discourse is usually con- 
 fined to moral duties ; — and delivered in a man- 
 ner highly calculated to engage and fix the 
 attention of their audience. Le PEREARRtus 
 said — " When Le Fere Bourdaloue preach- 
 ed at Rouen, the tradesmen forsook their shops, 
 lawyers their clients, physicians their sick ; but 
 when I preached there the year following, I set 
 all to r'lghis^'— -every man minded his own husi-^ 
 ness,^* 
 
 Besides the five churches, where sermons are 
 regularly preached every morning for such as 
 are devout, the Casino stands open morning, 
 noon, and night, for the idlers and gamblers of 
 both sexes; but so strict are they respecting 
 whom they shall receive, that the wife of a man 
 of the first nobility, if not noble herself, cannot 
 be admitted. This may be the reason why the 
 ladies put upon their visiting cards, Lucrezia 
 
 A nata B ; unless they are afraid one 
 
 should suspect them not to be born at alL — The 
 famous A SPAS I A, the amiable friend of Peri«. 
 
 CLES, 
 
265 
 
 CLES, would not meet -with the same indulgence 
 and cordiality at Florence, she did at Athens.— 
 It is not talents, — it is not merit, — rank only 
 gains admittance : and yet, without virtue, what 
 is family ! — I had some difficulty to make an 
 Italian Count comprehend, how I could be a 
 Gentleman, and not a Nobleman; that the 
 Nobility in England were Magistrates, and part 
 of the legislature ; and that we country gentle- 
 men. Lords of Manors, were the Counts and 
 Marquisses of other countries : that the eldest 
 son of a Peer, till he becomes a Peer himself by 
 the demise of his father, is only a Commoner; 
 and those that have the titles of Lords, have it 
 by courtesy only. It was also necessary to 
 explain to him how Gentlemen became Peers ; 
 some by inheritance, some by parliamentary in- 
 terest, and some by extraordinary abilities : that 
 certain law offices of themselves made Peers of 
 Solicitors and Attorneys : that the defence of a 
 town, or destruction of a fleet, have justly con- 
 ferred those honors, which, at another time, the 
 caprice of a Minister has less honorably bestowed 
 on his friends, or his enemies. — Family has sel- 
 dom been considered in either case : political 
 talents have at all times recommended possessors 
 of mean birth to this mark of ministerial favor: 
 and it is but of late years that the respectable 
 
 family 
 
266 
 
 family of Courteney, allied to more Crowns 
 than one, has been raised to the Peerage. 
 
 The visiting hour in the morning, is from 
 twelve till two. In the evening, it varies accord- 
 ing to the season. It is the custom in this 
 country to keep one servant constantly in wait- 
 ing in the andchamber; they take it by turns. 
 We ring our bell, and nobody comes. — When 
 I was a young man, and had one servant only, I 
 called WiLLiAiki, and William came: after- 
 wards, when I had many, and called who is 
 there ?^-'X\o one answered. I must, however, 
 acquaint you, that as it is usual to sleep after 
 dinner in summer all over Italy, every servant 
 follows the example of his master ; and should 
 you visit at that hour, you may knock and not 
 be heard. — It is no wonder, since the Spanish 
 soldiers at the siege of Gibraltar regularly took 
 their meridiana (afternoon's nap), notwithstand- 
 ing the noise of all the cannon of the citadel. 
 The ancient Romans, who had also their porter, 
 that he might be constantly at his post, had him 
 chained to the door. 
 
 The rooms are so darkened to keep out the 
 sun, that you can hardly find your way across 
 them, and for some time are unable to discover 
 the countenance of the person near whom you 
 sit. We open our windows to let in the air; 
 
 here 
 
5267 
 
 here tliey are kept shut to keep it out, — and 
 both are in the right. They inhabit the ground 
 floor during the heat of summer, and ascend by 
 degrees as the winter advances, preferring in cold 
 weather the third story to any other. I should 
 have told you, that some strip themselves after 
 dinner in summer, and get into bed ; and thus, 
 in some measure, make two days of one. 
 
 At the Ventitre, all go to the Corso, and from 
 thence to the theatre. The heat is so great at 
 Florence in the summer, that few stir out before 
 the evening ; but the air is so perfecdy dry and 
 wholesome, that they remain in the streets, and 
 on the benches in the squares, the greatest part 
 of the night. Nothing can surpass a summer's 
 night in Italy. — A bright moon; a clear sky; 
 a temperature the most desirable; music in the 
 Streets ; and love and contentment every where. 
 After Milan, you will have no more invita- 
 tions to dine or sup. — Hospitality would not be 
 consistent with the character of economy the 
 Florentines have so justly acquired : nor, for 
 political reasons, are their houses open to 
 strangers, at all hours, with the same freedom 
 as in many parts of Italy. I must, however, 
 mention a ridiculous circumstance that happened 
 to me the other morning, as an exception. — I 
 visited an English lady, who excused herself 
 from receiving me because she was in bed. I 
 
 then 
 
26S 
 
 then went to an Italian lady, who desired I would 
 ^vait a few minutes till she got into bed. — I must 
 now explain. — This lady, who was indisposed, 
 was at that instant getting out of a warm bath. 
 Ladies, both in France and Italy, receive com- 
 pany at their toilettes, and even when in their 
 beds, without ceremony. ^My fair country- 
 women will use their own discretion, and will be 
 on their guard against adopting any foreign 
 customs that may not become them in their own 
 country. 
 
 LET- 
 
269 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 ' I ''HOUGH a Newmarket man must most 
 -*- thorouglily despise an Italian race, yet an 
 account of the manner of treating and training, 
 horses in this country may not be unacceptable' 
 to one who I know is fond of them. 
 
 In all their stables there is much to condemn, 
 and nothing to imitate. You will scarcely credit 
 me when I tell you that the horses heads arc 
 never suffered to touch the ground, lest, as they 
 are kept on short allowance, they should eat up- 
 their Utter; the poor animal is thus made to take 
 his rest, if he can, his head suspended at least two 
 feet higher than his body. 
 
 The first time I saw my horse dressed by an 
 Italian groom, I was in fear for his life. The 
 fellow, who was near six feet high, began by ta- 
 king fast hold of his tail with both his hands ; he 
 then pulled at it with all his might, as if he in- 
 tended 
 
270 
 
 tended to pull it off. Not contented with that, 
 he next seized him by both his ears, as if he had 
 meant to pull his head off also. 
 
 They shoe their horses altogether as ill as they 
 dress them. They not only pare away too much 
 of the hoof which nature designed to defend the 
 foot, but the weight of the shoes, and largeness 
 of the nails, oblige you, out of compassion to 
 your horse, to keep that part longer than, strictly 
 speaking, it ought to be : besides, they seldom 
 open the heel, or keep the shoe sufficiently large 
 not to contract the foot. 
 
 They never cut their horses, from an idea that 
 it makes them start. When cut late, possibly it 
 may, though horses do not always start from fear. 
 Sometimes it is a defect in the sight, but pro^ 
 ceeds oftner from caprice and wantonness. A 
 tired horse seldom starts. I castrated one of 
 my horses the other day, and was asked, how I 
 could be so cruel. — They forget that they cas- 
 trate their men. 
 
 The usual allowance of corn is fifteen staia a 
 month for a pair of coach horses; and thirty 
 pounds of straw a day, at twelve ounces to the 
 pound, litter included. The horses, even of the 
 Grand Duke, eat no hay. A saddle horse is 
 allowed a quarter of a staia a day, and twenty 
 pounds weight of straw. Horses in this country 
 are not fed enough. In England you are in the 
 
 other 
 
271 
 
 other extreme, — a fault on the right side, if 
 prompted by humanity. 
 
 We break in our horses in the lightest carriage. 
 Here they have a heavy one, made on purpose, 
 which they fill full of people ! — This is beginning 
 at the wrong end ; it is like teaching a child first 
 to read, and then to spell. The manner in which 
 they couple their horses must prevent them driv- 
 ing with any tolerable exactitude. Each horse 
 is separate from the other ; the coupling rein 
 being fixed to the pad on his companions back; 
 nor has the coachman any command whatever 
 over it. When they put six horses together, the 
 traces are so long, and the distance of one pair 
 from die other so great, that it is highly ridicu- 
 lous. The reason an Italian gentleman gave me 
 is not less so — that it shews the excellence of the 
 coachman who thus has not a little difficulty to 
 keep the legs of one horse out of the traces of 
 another.. This difficulty, however, is made up 
 to bini in his reins, for he has two only in his 
 hand; to these tht leaders are coupled, within his 
 reach, it is true, but at arms length. Six horses 
 take up the room of ten. This, and a tall heavy 
 fellow in jack-boots whose legs, which look like 
 woodei;! ones, stick out beyond the shoulders of 
 his horse, never fail to give the whole equipage 
 a very uncomely appearance. 
 
 Phaetons are much in fashion among the 
 
 young 
 
272 
 
 young men at Florence. I heard a very ugly 
 fellow say, that he only wanted a high phaeton, 
 and a pair of English horses, to be as much un 
 homme a honne fortune as the best of them.-r-To 
 us whips, these charioteers appear very ridicu- 
 lous. They sit on the left side, and drive with 
 their hats off. They have dropped the insipid 
 formality of giving the right hand in iheir 
 coaches, where it is a matter of indifference ; 
 and still observe it in their phaetons, where it is 
 really a nuisance, and not without danger to the 
 eyes of their companion. — When the Prince 
 OF Wales drives any lady of his acquaintance, 
 he sits on the right hand : when he acts the 
 coachman," he wisely puts himself in the coach- 
 man's place. — The example of the best bred 
 man in Europe, if they are not incorrigible, one 
 would think, might set them right. An extraor- 
 dinary carriage has lately made its appearance, be- 
 longing to a Bolognese Nobleman : a car, in imi- 
 tation of the ancients, with four horses abreast. 
 It is on two wheels, and the gentleman, who drives 
 himself, stands upright :— thus the heroes fought 
 at the Trojan war. Low was the car, and open 
 behind ; conveniendy constructed to get up or 
 down — to fight or fly. This modern Paris is 
 the admiration of all Florence. 
 
 You who pique yourself on being a good 
 whip, and, without a compliment, drive a set of 
 
 horses 
 
273 
 
 horses almost as well as your coachman, what 
 think you of a gentleman* who drives sixteen 
 horses, eight pair, without a postillion ? — This 
 he has frequently done in the narrow streets of 
 Florence. You may think, perhaps, that I pre- 
 sume on the privilege of a traveller, and expect 
 me to reduce the number of my horses,— as 
 another did the length of his monkey's tail: — 
 but. Sir, you are mistaken. — I repeat it, eight 
 pair of horses without a postillion, — I have not 
 only the gentleman's own word for it, the fact is 
 authenticated by thousands who have seen it. 
 
 If you have pleasure in good horses, you 
 must bring them with you. The razza Gentile 
 introduced by Prince Ferdinand, son of 
 CosiMO III., from Tunis, are much degene- 
 rated: and, though the Grand Duke sells many 
 of his colts and cast horses by auction, it is not 
 often there are any good ones among them.— 
 By the bye, sales by auction, however general 
 the practice, is a very unfair way of dealing, — 
 unless, as they sell fish in Holland, beginning 
 high, and lowering till a price is offered, and 
 then the first bidder is the buyer : — or when, as 
 Tattersall says—" These horses are to be 
 sold withottt reserve, and Jor -what they -will 
 
 * II COMMENDATORE PaZZI. 
 
 VOL. I. T fetch*** 
 
274 
 
 ycifCi^."— "It then becomes a kind of lottery, and 
 it is not impossible but you may be a gainer ; 
 but when the commodity put up to auction is 
 bought in by the proprietor, unless the price 
 offered exceeds the value, and no one can be so 
 good a judge of that as the proprietor himself, it 
 is taking, let who will do it, an unfair advantage 
 of the ignorance or folly of the public. 
 
 I am at a loss what account to give you of 
 their training. Though it is not possible for 
 horses to be trained properly in a country where 
 they have no equality of ground or turf to gallop 
 upon ; yet, without doubt, they might easily be 
 better looked after than they are at present. 
 They might be dressed oftener ; have more corn 
 allowed ; more straw to lie down upon ; and 
 have hay to eat, instead of their litter : instead 
 of water given them in the stable, as much as 
 they can drink, and at all hours ; they might 
 have a proper quantity twice a day at fixed 
 hours, and between their gallops : — instead of 
 irregular exercise, now a great deal, now none 
 at all ; and sweats improperly given ; both might 
 be made regular, and at all times suited to the 
 strength and condition of the horse : and, what 
 is not less material, he might be put on the 
 muzzle over night, instead of having both vic- 
 tuals and drink given him a few hours before he 
 starts. 
 
 J should 
 
275 
 
 I should gain little credit were I to relate all 
 the follies I have seen them commit. An Ita- 
 lian friend, who had put his horse under my 
 direction, sent his groom secretly, the night 
 before running, with a hat full of bread, lest his 
 horse should be starved. I have known them 
 at starting put brandy into their ears, — aqua 
 regia up their fundament, — and I saw one horse 
 run with wildfire on his back. 
 
 Ridiculous as these races are, training is not 
 less necessary than it is with us. The horse has 
 no Jockey to moderate his ardor, and preserve 
 his wind ; but is at the extremity of his speed 
 from the first moment to the last.— You have 
 beard, without doubt, that they wear a kind of 
 harness, to which several round prickly balls are 
 loosely hung, and goad them as they run : thus 
 the willing, and unwilling horse, contrary to all 
 manner of justice, feel the spur alike. My 
 horses wore few of those balls, and were more 
 wounded by the balls of others as they passed 
 them, than by their own. 
 
 1 never told you, I believe, that, having no 
 hounds, and being destitute of amusement of 
 every kind, I bought a couple of race horses. 
 One of them was excellent; but, except at 
 Pistoia, where he won me a piece of velvet, with 
 which I covered a couple of sofas, I was out of 
 pocket by his victories.— -You must not think, 
 T 2 my 
 
276 
 
 my good Sir/ that these prizes arc all clear gain. 
 The fees of the winning horse at San Giovanni 
 amount to many crowns, without reckoning at 
 least thirty more given to the populace, who 
 assemble immediately after the race before your 
 door ; — money that may truly be said to be 
 thrown out of the window, since it does little 
 good, and falls to the lot of the most robust, not 
 to the most in want. I must now tell you, that 
 after I had taught my Jockey (not without dif- 
 ficulty, for he was as obstinate as he was igno- 
 rant), how to make his horse win ; he soon 
 found out, without any teaching, how to make 
 him lose whenever it suited his interest. — I have 
 always been of opinion, that the shortest follies 
 are the best, so I turned off my jockey, and left 
 off training. 
 
 The Palio (or horse race) is not on an open 
 Down, as in England, but in the street, which is 
 covered with sand on purpose. It is a strait 
 course, of about a mile and a half in lengdi ; and 
 during the summer is the principal diversion of 
 the town of Florence. To this day, they talk of 
 the Grand Diavolo, an English horse so called, 
 ■who, for many years together, won every thing 
 he ran for. In general, they consider more the 
 number of horses than their goodness, and seem 
 perfectly indifferent what they are, provided 
 there be many of them. A Palio of the trifling 
 
 value 
 
277 
 
 value of a few crowns, given by the colFee- 
 houses, and run for by the most miserable hacks 
 you ever saw, assembles the same company as a 
 Falio dei Barberi* — In short, to see, and to be 
 seen, is the only motive ; and the means, what- 
 ever they may be, are equally a matter of indif-,, 
 ference. Racing, to be sure, is at best a plea- 
 sure of very short duration. It has been admi- 
 rably expressed in few words — Here they come 
 — there they go — by G — d they are gone ! 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of June, the day of 
 San GiovAMNi, tutelar Saint of Florence, is 
 the first Palio, and principal festival of the year. 
 On the morning preceding is a procession to the 
 Duomo, of the children of the Abbandonati 
 and Innocenti Hospitals of Orphans and Found- 
 lings : such as are in arms, are carried by their 
 nurses; consequendy, this part of the proces- 
 sion is rather ludicrous. 
 
 In the evening is a Chariot Race, in the Pi- 
 azza Santa Maria Novella : — an humble imita- 
 tion of the ancient Circus, both in the manner of 
 running, and number of chariots. The contest 
 is not equal to that of the Olympic Games ; — 
 you see no Alexander or Alcibiades J nor 
 
 • Barberi — race horses, so called, as they came here 
 ©riginally from Tunis, 
 
 is 
 
278 
 
 is the victor so much elated with his success, 
 yet he lias something more essential, and proba-. 
 bly more to his taste, than a branch of laurel,— 
 a present of a few pauls, and a good supper. 
 Though the conquerors, being post-boys, as well 
 as charioteers, may be said, like those of old, 
 to be kept at the public expence, yet have they 
 no pre-eminence at the public festivals j they are 
 celebrated by no Poet; nor have their horses 
 any pyramids erected to eternise their victories. 
 I should tell you, that their dress is in the an- 
 tique style, and their colours those of the ancient 
 Circus, They were once dangerous factions—* 
 all had their partisans. — I doubt much if any are 
 interested in the success of the Florentine com- 
 petitors except their own families. They first 
 make the tour of the Circus at a slow pace, fol- 
 lowing each other according to the posts allotted 
 them ; and as the ancients stood up in their cha- 
 riots, so do they. When arrived at the Meta* 
 the four chariots draw up in a row, and start al- 
 together. He who arrives last, being in motion, 
 is sure to take the lead ; and as the two turnings 
 are at right angles, it is an advantage he is not 
 easily deprived of afterwards. An. Amphitheatre 
 is erected for the spectators j the very tops of the 
 
 g— - — . . • • ■ ^ 
 
 "* Meta — starting-post of the ancients, so called. 
 
 housesi 
 
279 
 
 houses are covered with people ; and the coup. 
 d'oeil is admirable. In the Piazza del Gran 
 Duca is a fire-work afterwards. 
 
 About eight o'clock next morning, being the 
 day of San Giovanni, is the famous procession 
 of Cavalry that carry the Banners of the different 
 provinces belonging to the Sovereignty of Tus- 
 cany. They are dressed in different coloured 
 uniforms of ancient times, and observe as much 
 order in their march as can be expected from a 
 parcel of country fellows hired for the day, and 
 mounted on any horses they can procure. Siena 
 is particularly distinguished, and enjoys some 
 privileges ; comes last, presents a tribute, and 
 makes a speech. The Car of San Giovanni 
 follows immediately after. Formerly a naked 
 man represented the Saint, but this business 
 getting out of repute, a carved figure supplies 
 his place. It was said of a good-for-nothing 
 fellow : — *' Era tanto Birbone che aveva Jatto 
 anche il San Giovaimi.*' It was time to leave it 
 off. The procession is closed by the Palio,* 
 and the horses that are to run for it led with 
 great pomp, and attended by several servants of 
 
 * Palio — a piece of embroidered velvet, which is to be 
 the prize. 
 
 their 
 
280 
 
 their different masters in their best liveries. 
 Ladies must see this procession from a window 
 in the Piazza del Gran Duca ; men see it best 
 on foot ; nor is there a better place than the 
 steps of the Palazzo Vecchio. It was once a 
 splendid sight when Sovereignty was newer in 
 Tuscany. In these days Princes are more in- 
 tent how to enjoy the substance of Royalty, than 
 amuse themselves with its trappings. The Grand 
 Duke Leopold has not attended in person for 
 many years. 
 
 About six in the evening begins the Corso, 
 and about eight the horses start. A window 
 must be procured, for carriages are not suffered 
 to remain in the street at Florence, though they 
 are at Rome. The Grand Duke's box is open 
 to the Chamberlains of the Court, Foreign Mi- 
 nisters, and such Strangers as are invited. The 
 Giardino of Prince Corsi n i, where many of the 
 Nobility assemble, is the best situation. From 
 thence they start, which, in my opinion, is the 
 only part of an Italian race worth seeing j and 
 that only for the strange confusion it occasions. 
 
 Having a horse to run, I asked my groom if 
 he thought he would win ? — '' Eccelenza 5z," he 
 replied, " se Dio vuole e S an f Antonio," What- 
 ever may be your opinion of the Saint, Sant^ 
 Antonio del Porco, I can assure you he is in 
 
 high 
 
281 
 
 high repute all over Italy, and considered by 
 grooms, coachmen, post-boys, and vetturinos, as 
 equal if not superior to God himself. 
 
 This race must have been a fine sight in the 
 time of the Medici, when the Grand Duke, 
 accompanied by Foreigners, and attended by his 
 whole Court, paraded the streets on horseback. 
 It differs now from another Corso in the number 
 of coaches only. 
 
 An illumination at both the Theatres closes 
 the Fete of San Giovanni» 
 
 iET- 
 
282 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 T N countries where diversions are scarce, every 
 -*• trifling circumstance assembles the multitude. 
 Races of hacks, ponies, and jack asses, are not 
 less frequented than those of Newmarket and 
 York. Fairs also, for the same reason, form no 
 inconsiderable part of our summer amusement. 
 Those of Pistoia and Prato (one in July, the 
 other in September), are worth your seeing ; as 
 is also that of the Impruneta on the eighteenth of 
 October. It is a pleasant ride of about sevtn 
 miles, and the country finely variegated. You 
 can only go on horseback, and must return to . 
 dine, unless you can make a dinner on roasted 
 chesnuts, the only eatable you are likely to find 
 there. In the Gallery of Florence is a much 
 esteemed Print of this Fair, which once was 
 famous. 
 
 The best regulated fete I have seen in Tus- 
 cany was that given under the Uffizzi, when the 
 
 Grand 
 
283 
 
 Grand Duke was elected Emperor. It lasted 
 without interruption from ten in the morning 
 till the next day. Many ball-rooms were open 
 to those who were well dressed ; orchestras were 
 erected in different parts, and the common peo- 
 ple danced in the center, having the sky for a 
 canopy. In short, nothing was wanting but 
 gaiety to rnake it pleasant. The Gentlemen of 
 the Casino, on the same occasion, to their great 
 honor, liberated a hundred and fifty insolvent 
 debtors with a thousand crowns, while the Re- 
 gency were expending more than double that 
 sum in illuminations, squibs, and crackers. 
 
 A sportsman will with difficulty find exercise 
 enough in this country to keep him healthy. Sports 
 of the field are unknown, nor is it usual to ride or 
 walk ; you will not wonder, therefore, that their 
 villas and gardens are in a bad style, and the former 
 but little inhabited. I am just returned from 
 taking a solitary and tiresome walk in the old- 
 fashioned Garden of Boboli — where. Art has 
 most cruelly disfigured Nature, by endeavouring 
 to embellish her. Economy is ever averse to 
 expence, without show. A Florentine would 
 think you mad were you to talk of laying out 
 five hundred pounds in levelling ground that it 
 may afterwards look as if Nature had formed it 
 so, and had cost you nothing. I wish, however, 
 they would cpver the naked walls with ever- 
 greens. 
 
284 
 
 greens. One of the first principles in garden- 
 ing is to shut out every unpleasing object. 
 Planting has another advantage ; it gives an ap- 
 pearance of extent necessary to the Garden of 
 Boboli, whose principal feature is magnificence. 
 The Italians are wretched gardeners. Even 
 the French, our nearest neighbours, and greatest 
 imitators, have not an idea of rural beauty.— 
 They lay out their gardens as they paint their 
 faces, and forget that Artis est celare artem* 
 
 The Cascine I think will not displease you, 
 though even there modern taste is strangely de- 
 ficient, and poor Neptune and his trident make 
 but an indifferent figure upon a grass-plat ! 
 The woods are pleasant, and may put you in 
 mind of your own plantations. When I first 
 saw the great number of hares and pheasants that 
 cross you as you walk, I wished for my gun ; 
 and almost longed to be again a sportsman. 
 The house is not a bad one. The Grand Duke, 
 with a kind attention to his subjects not usual in 
 Sovereigns, has allotted some of the rooms for 
 their accommodation. A Traiteur is established, 
 and dinners provided at a short notice. For ten 
 Pauls a head you arc not ill served, but must 
 carry your own wine, unless you can be con- 
 tented with the common wine of the country. 
 If you chuse to eat a Royal pheasant either here 
 or at home, you may by paying for it. They arc 
 
 dear. 
 
285 
 
 dear, but surely you would not pay a Prince as 
 you pay a poacher. The Cascine is the general 
 rendezvous of the beau monde^ whether on foot or 
 on horseback ; Gentlemen in neat boots and 
 leather breeches ; Ladies on side saddles, a 
 I'Angloise. I shall never forget my surprise at 
 seeing a Lady in France full drest, astride on a 
 jack ass ! 
 
 The Grand Duke has many other villas in the 
 neighbourhood of Florence, some of which, an 
 English gentleman in these luxurious timeSj 
 might not think good enough to live in. Cus- 
 toms and manners have undergone an extraor- 
 dinary change during this and the last century ; 
 and when I visit Eastcheap, once the scene of 
 the midnight revels of Henry and Falstaff, 
 I conclude that the gallants of those days were 
 much less delicate than they are at present. 
 Pratolino, famous for its Water-works, and the 
 Colossal Statue by Giovanni Bologna, cost 
 the Grand Duke Francesco a million of crowns. 
 BuoNTALENTi was the architect. Seventy 
 thousand crowns are required to repair it. This 
 was the favorite residence of Prince Ferdinand, 
 5on of Co SI MO the Third, a very accomplished 
 gendeman, who unfortunately died in his father's 
 life-time. In this neighbourhood is Monte Se- 
 nario, where seven merchants of Florence, de- 
 sirous to retire entirely from the world, founded 
 
 the 
 
286 
 
 the Order dei Serviy in the year 1233, ^" the 
 day of the Assumption. This Convent is finely 
 situated, and a letter to the superior will procure 
 you a tolerable dinner. 
 
 Castello and Petraia are close together ; and 
 you should see them both. In this neighbour- 
 hood is a China manufactory of the Ginori 
 family, where you may agreeably pass a leisure 
 hour. 
 
 Poggio Imperiale, and Poggio a Caiano, are 
 the best villas of the Court. The former is 
 close to the town ; and the road up to it, made 
 by the widow of Cosimo II., under the direc- 
 tion of GiULio Parigi, is admirably con- 
 structed. The latter, built by Lorenzo dei 
 Medici, was the principal sporting seat of the 
 Medici family. Here the Grand Duke Fran- 
 cesco, and BiANCA Capello, were poisoned. 
 History does not determine how this was effect- 
 ed, and the policy of the times seems to have 
 thrown a veil over a transaction so disgraceful 
 to the family of Medici. The partisans of 
 that family would make you believe, that Bianca 
 Capello attempted, by a tart of her own mak- 
 ing, to poison her brother-in-law the Cardinal ; 
 and that on his refusal, seeing her husband eat 
 of it, she eat of it herself. I cannot say much 
 for the probability of such a story. I am of th6 
 opinion of those who suspect the CardJnal, His 
 
 be- 
 
■ 287 
 
 behaviour to both while alive j his conduct when 
 they were taken ill, not suffering them to receive 
 any assistance, — though no suspicion could pos- 
 sibly fall on his brother, who, at any rate, was 
 innocent ; — his ambition, and the dukedom to 
 which he succeeded, leave little doubt, in my 
 breast, where the suspicion ought to fall. 
 
 Two posts from Florence, on the road to Pisa, 
 stands Ambrogiana, the favorite villa of that 
 egregious bigot Co si mo III., whose zeal in 
 making Catholics of Turks and Jews, had he 
 lived a little longer, would have ruined his own 
 subjects entirely. — The palace is connected to 
 the convent by a corridore ; but the friars, who 
 were Spaniards, have long since been removed 
 to Spain. 
 
 The villas of the gentlemen in the neighbour- 
 hood of Florence are numerous, but httle fre- 
 quented. The buildings are large, but are 
 neither elegant without, nor convenient within : 
 many of them are well situated, and less obliged 
 to art than nature. Here is neither grass plat, 
 gravel walk, nor shrubbery ; and that neatness 
 which gives a polish to the whole, you must not 
 expect to see out of your own country. Even 
 at Poggio a Cajano, where the Grand Duke, in 
 tiie sporting season, sometimes resides and invites 
 company, our afternoon's walk, for want of a 
 garden, has been on the high road, in the midst 
 
 of 
 
288 
 
 of mud and dirt. How comes it, that the 
 cypress, that hated tree, dedicated by the an- 
 cients to Pluto and Proserpine, and a con- 
 stant attendant at their funerals, should be chosen 
 to adorn the modern villas? — Is it as a memento 
 moriy to teach that useful lesson — enjoy the pre- 
 sent Aowr ?— Is it to tell the possessors of these 
 stately mansions, that to-morrow may see them 
 in their coffins, and their heirs revelling and 
 carousing in their stead? — If so, though I cannot 
 admire the tree, for it is no ornament, I cannot 
 but approve the use they make of it. 
 
 I asked one of the servants, if they had any 
 game ; he told me they had only blackbirds and 
 thrushes, and not many of them.— -Italians are 
 bad sportsmen ! — A friend of mine, who has a 
 valuable Spanish pointer, was near hanging him 
 the other day, for not bringing a woodcock he 
 had shot; he also expects him to be a good 
 water-dog. — He is doomed, I fear, to be hanged 
 at last. 
 
 The Nobles in Tuscany enjoy no privileges 
 of which the Sovereign can hinder them. The 
 exclusive right of sporting on their own estates 
 is no longer allowed them. The cobbler who 
 mends your shoes, if he pays twelve pauls to 
 Government, may shoot your game before your 
 face: — and the Marquis Riccardi, notwith- 
 standing his wide domains, cannot call one hare 
 
 or 
 
289 
 
 or partridge his own, though they devour his 
 corn, and injure his property — I see neither 
 justice nor propriety in this proceeding. — My 
 pigeons are permitted to range over my neigh- 
 bours' fields, where they do an infinite deal of 
 mischief; while my partridges are not safe in my 
 own, where they injure no one but myself. — 
 One may conclude, therefore, that in a few 
 years there will no longer be any game in Tus- 
 cany, for the man must be mad who preserves it 
 on terms so disadvantageous to himself. Your 
 
 old gouty friend R , who can neither shoot 
 
 nor hunt; and with whom I have never been 
 able to agree on this subject, without doubt will 
 say,— what stuff! what a fuss about nothing ! — - 
 If he considers game as a delicacy for the table 
 only, it is, to be sure, of little consequence, for 
 man might live as well without it : but is health 
 nothing ? amusement nothing ? Considered in 
 this light, whatever be that gentleman's opinion, 
 sports of the field, properly and prudently, fol- 
 lowed, are most certainly of service both to the 
 mind and body. In England, though we do 
 possess an exclusive right on our own lands, as 
 far as relates to the advantages of game, we pay 
 dearly for it,— <2 su?}i not less than the whole 
 yearly produce: for instance, few estates make 
 more than two and a half per cent. ; the interest 
 of money is at five : if, therefore, a gentleman 
 vot. I. v whose 
 
290 
 
 whose landed property amounts to five thousand 
 pounds a year, were to sell it, and place the 
 money on mortgage, he would exactly double 
 his income, and have just as good security on 
 another man's estate as on his own : add to this 
 account, the great expence to which gentlemen 
 are put in preserving their game, and you will 
 allow that it is very unfair in those who intrude 
 and destroy it. It is thought that our Courts 
 of Justice are not friendly to the game laws. — I 
 cannot think it good policy, since, by such con- 
 duct, they lessen the value of landed property. 
 In this country, we suffer from a total want of 
 exercise and employment, A villa in England 
 on a public road is detestable; the road itself 
 is considered as a nuisance : — here, it is our only 
 amusement ; the company are constantly on the 
 look out for travellers ; a courier discovered, is 
 like a fox found, interests the company as much, 
 and, for want of other matter, is a subject of dis- 
 course for many hours afterwards. 
 
 Lady Orford's Villa at Fiesole would be 
 delightful could you get to it in a coach. If 
 beautiful and extensive views please you, you 
 should also see La Torre del Gallo and La 
 Parita. 
 
 Several hotels are kept at Florence for the 
 accommodation of strangers. A private lodging 
 is most economical. House rent is cheap, but 
 
 inns 
 
291 
 
 inns are always dear ; and you may hire a palace 
 by the year for less than an indifferent apartment 
 in an hotel will cost you. If you like quiet, 
 inquire who are your neighbours. I have some 
 noisy tradesmen near me, that the Sybarites 
 would not have permitted in their city, — and 
 some cocks in a yard adjoining which those 
 gentlemen would have soon got rid of.— I am 
 no Sybarite ; but had I been acquainted with 
 this inconvenience, I would not have established 
 myself in so troublesome a neighbourhood. A 
 lodging may be had for eight or ten sequins a 
 month. Pensions are to be had as low as eight 
 crowns a month : * and at an hotel in the Borgo 
 ogni Santi, a single man is lodged and boarded 
 at five pauls a day. A coach is ten pauls, and 
 the coachman three. You pay by the month 
 twelve sequins, and give the coachman four. 
 A Lacquais de Place has four pauls a day ; but, 
 if you hire a servant by the month, six crowns 
 is the highest price; you clothe him, and he 
 provides for himself. Some find victuals, and 
 iallow their servants nine pauls for bread, and the 
 same for wine; they are then well paid with 
 9 sequin a month salary, and you may exceed it 
 ?i few pauls without being extravagant. — If you 
 
 * Private houses, where you are lodged and boarded, 
 u 2 have 
 
292 
 
 have any difficulty, consult your banker ; if he 
 is an honest man, he will procure you all you 
 want at the price he pays himself. 
 
 The spring and autumn are the pleasantest 
 seasons to be at Florence. — Delightful seasons 
 in every country, but unfortunately too short in 
 this. 
 
 ■g 
 
 LET- 
 
293 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 SHOULD you be at Florence in the summer, 
 visit Vallombrosa, one of the greatest na- 
 tural curiosities in Tuscany, though Milton 
 only mentions' an ordinary circumstance, that of 
 the fall of the leaves in autumn. The distance, 
 which they call eighteen miles, may be somewhat 
 more, and is a journey of at least five hours. 
 Send on saddle horses to Pont a Sieve, and go 
 thither in your carriage. From thence are two 
 roads; the best, though perhaps the longest, is by 
 Pelago:* I went the other, and am not sorry to 
 have thus seen both. You procure a Guide at 
 Pont a Sieve, who attends on foot : let him 
 carry oats for your horses, the Convent provid- 
 
 * To Pelago, you may go in your carriage, and have 
 then only five miles to the Convent. At the Mill, ladies, 
 recommended to the Padre Abate, may be accommodated. 
 
 ing 
 
294 
 
 ing only hay ; and it may be necessary to inform 
 you, that they keep early hours, dine at twelve, 
 and shut their gates soon after sun-set : that fish 
 is scarce upon the Apennines ; and that you 
 had better not visit the good Friars on a maigre 
 day: that to be received with distinction, you 
 must procure a letter to the Superior,* though 
 travellers of all ranks, known or unknown, are 
 received with hospitality. If you are unable to 
 ride, or too lazy to walk, you must not under- 
 take a journey that admits not of a carriage of 
 any kind ; and, at any rate, must provide your^ 
 self with that patience and resignation which bad 
 roads usually require. — You must not think, my 
 good Sir, to saunter along, with a loose rein, as 
 over the green in Hyde Park ; or to gallop, 
 standing on your stirrups, as on the Newmarket 
 Downs :— every step requires caution, and is, 
 literally, up-hill work ; — it will repay your 
 labour. At Paterna, a territory belonging to 
 the Convent, rough as the rest, but polished by 
 industry, you may take repose, should you re^ 
 quire it. Here you will see a barren soil ren- 
 dered fertile by dint of cultivation j and sloping 
 
 * The title of the Superior at VaU'Ombrosa, is Padre 
 Ahbate. Before you leave Florence, you should procure 
 letters to the Convents you mean to visit. 
 
 vine- 
 
vineyards, that gratefully produce better wine 
 than richer land can boast. Farm-houses scat- 
 tered here and there, as if placed by art to 
 embellish a savage scene, — and inhabitants, 
 whose ruddy looks bespeak the pure air they 
 breathe. You will be astonished, the whole 
 way, at the boldness of the scenery, and gran- 
 deur of the objects : — the woods — the cascades 
 — the rocks — the precipices, — and not least, at 
 the mountain itself, which looks proudly down 
 on ail that surrounds it! — The very mountains 
 I had before looked up to with admiration, were 
 dwindled away to nothing, — and I could not 
 help exclaiming — " Where is now your wonted 
 pre-eminence !" — A forest of chesnuts leads you 
 to a forest of firs, and you at length arrive at the 
 Convent of Vallombrosa, situated on a delight- 
 ful lawn, inclosed in an amphitheatre of wood. 
 
 San Giovanni Gualberto, born at Flo- 
 rence in the year 985, of the noble family of 
 BisDOMiNi, founded the Convent of Vallom- 
 brosa. The circumstance that occasioned it was 
 sudden and extraordinary. His only brother 
 Ugone had been assassinated. Giovanni 
 accidentally meeting the murderer shortly after, 
 and drawing his sword to revenge the dea^h of a, 
 relation he dearly loved, the repentant sinner, 
 embracing his knees, begged for mercy in the 
 ,name of him who suffered for us on the Cross, 
 
 Jesus 
 
296 
 
 Jesus Christ our Saviour. — It was Good Fri- 
 day. — Giovanni, struck with the circumstance, 
 stopped his hand, and considering for a moment 
 his prostrate enemy, supphant and defenceless, 
 raised him from the earth, embraced him, and 
 forgave him: — " Go," said he, ** in peace ; and 
 may that God who on this day suffered for us en 
 the CrosSy and for whose sake I now pardon you, 
 ratify our reconciliation in Heaven for ever 
 more .'"— Greatly agitated by so affecting a 
 scene, he entered the church of Saint Miniato, 
 belonging to the Cluniacenzi Friars,* and while 
 he prayed, the crucifix at which he kneeled, 
 seemed to assume a pleasing aspect, and give 
 signs of approbation. Sensibly struck by a 
 miracle which he readily believed, from that 
 instant he determined to quit a world that had 
 seduced him from the paths of virtue, had flat- 
 tered his vanities, encouraged his passions, and 
 had rendered him dissatisfied with himself. — The 
 Friars, who had just lost their Superior, viewed 
 with admiration the new-made Saint, and would 
 gladly have placed him at the head of their 
 Order;— -but the Order was too relaxed in its 
 
 * Cluniacenzi Friars are also called Benedictines, that 
 Order having been first received at IMonte Casino, where 
 San Benedetto at that time resided. 
 
 disci- 
 
297 
 
 discipline to satisfy his rigid intentions, and he 
 preferred a spot better suited to the gloomy 
 habit of his soul. He sought retirement, and 
 founded a Convent of Benedictines in the midst 
 of woods, on the top of the Apennines, inhabited 
 by wolves and bears. — Such was the state of the 
 Convent of Vallombrosa when San Giovanni 
 GuALBERTO founded it : it is now become one 
 of the pleasantest spots in Tuscany. 
 
 The building is commodious. A College is 
 annexed to the Convent, and boys are received 
 from twelve till eighteen years of age, at the easy 
 rate of thirty-six crowns a year, every expence 
 included ; and are instructed in reading, writing, 
 and the Latin tongue. Four months of theyear 
 is a perpetual spring; the rest is winter. The 
 air, though sharp, is remarkably healthy, and the 
 good Friars, who have plenty of wood, and are 
 well supplied with all the necessaries of life, are 
 not unacquainted with some of its luxuries.* 
 Strangers are hospitably received, and may be 
 surprised to find a Library, some excellent 
 Pictures, and a Cabinet of Curiosities at the top 
 of the Apennines. John Hugford, an Eng- 
 lishman, Friar of this Convent, was the inventor 
 
 They are well supplied with ice jii summer. 
 
 of 
 
298 
 
 of the Scagliola* It is curious to see the begin- 
 ning and progress of an art which has since been 
 brought to the highest perfection. To this 
 gentleman Tuscany is also obliged for the intro- 
 duction of potatoes, a plant that is particularly 
 useful when bread is scarce, and for that reason 
 cannot be too much encouraged. 
 
 Among the petrifactions found in the vale be- 
 neath (the Val' d'Arno), are bones of elephants 
 of various sizes, old and young. The horn of 
 the Bonassus, or wild bull, is curious, as it is 
 now unknown ; and the jaw-bone of another 
 frugiferous animal, of which we have no account 
 "whatever. You will see excellent specimens of 
 Lumachelle, and some Corni Ammoni of con- 
 siderable size. 
 
 At the Paradisino is an admirable Picture of 
 Andrea del Sarto, painted the year before he 
 died. There is also a Portrait of Gualberto, 
 with an inscription referring to the event that oc- 
 casioned his conversion : 
 
 Diligite 
 
 Inimicos vestros 
 Benefacitc his 
 Qui oderunt vos. 
 
 * John Hugford died in the year 1771. If not the 
 
 inventor, to him, however, it owes its perfection. The 
 
 Seas- 
 
299 
 
 This little building is admirably situated, and 
 from the window, on a ciear day, you may dis- 
 tinguish the town of Florence. 
 
 Without the walls of the Convent are the 
 lawns of an English park, fed with sheep, and 
 surrounded by woods, cascades, and mountains, 
 that set art at defiance! — that a Brown might 
 admire, but could not imitate. The Convent 
 itself is inclosed in a forest of firs, the back- 
 ground of which is covered with beech to the 
 mountain's top. Of the fir,* a certain quantity 
 is cut every year for sale, and sent to Leghorn 
 for ship-building, but the carriage is attended 
 with so much expence that the Friars nett only 
 one third of the value. As soon as the trees 
 are cut down, the ground is dug, and sowed 
 with rye ; wheat will not grow there. The first 
 year's produce is extraordinary, not less than 
 twenty 'sacks for one! — The second about fif- 
 teen. — The third is seldom more than ten. A 
 young fir is then planted under the shelter of the 
 
 Scagliola is a composition of the Specchio d'Asino found 
 in this neighbourhood. It is baked, then reduced to a 
 powder and formed into a paste, which is afterwards 
 colored and polished. 
 
 * The Silver Fir, a harder and better wood than either 
 the Scotch or Spriice. 
 
 old 
 
300 
 
 old root, which, in the course of five or six 
 years, moulders away, and the young tree sup- 
 plies its place. In the intervals they cut hay for 
 their cattle, as long as any grass will grow; that 
 is, till the growth of the trees prevents it ; and, 
 at the end of a hundred years, the same ground 
 again undergoes the same cultivation. I should 
 tell you that of rye mixed with wheat they make 
 bread, which, seven months in the year (from 
 the end of November to the end of June), is given 
 to the poor ; a loaf every morning to every per- 
 son who comes, man, woman, or child. They 
 cheat the good Friars sometimes by coming 
 first dressed as men, and afterwards as women. 
 They have been known to bring children in their 
 arms, which have proved children of straw only ; 
 and sometimes a cat, swaddled up like a new- 
 born infant. The Padre Abate was lately, how- 
 ever, a match for them. Seeing a boy pass the 
 lawn with a loaf in his hand, whom he suspected 
 to be a girl, he halloed out of the window,— 
 ** What is your name^ my girl?'* — " Rose, at 
 your service ^ Sir." 
 
 You have done but half when you have done 
 with the Convent. The most picturesque views 
 are from the Masso del Diavolo, and the lawn 
 opposite. The best still remains, if your cou- 
 rage be equal to it. On foot it is fatiguing, on 
 horseback alarming. The road is bad, steep, 
 
 and 
 
301 
 
 and slippery ; the whole circuit of the mountain 
 takes about three hours, but you will not repent 
 your trouble. You will be delighted with the 
 verdure of the plain ; it is mowed every year, 
 and fed afterwards with sheep. Here the Friars 
 pass a merry day at the time of hay-making, and 
 dine amonsj the hav cocks. Within the borders 
 of the wood are reservoirs of ice. A deep hole 
 is dug, the snow of the plain is collected together, 
 made up into a mount, and then covered with 
 turf. Thus defended from the air, it will last a 
 long while, unless melted by the rains, and from 
 thence Florence is supplied when their ice fails.* 
 In this wood Farenheit's thermometer fell to 
 fifty-six degrees, though it stood as constantly at 
 sixty-eight at the Convent, as at eighty at Flo- 
 rence. Which ever w^a)'' you turn your eyes, the 
 view will both please and astonish you. If you 
 like a distant view, you have Alvernia, Camal- 
 doli, and Florence : the mountains of the Ro- 
 magna, Radicofani, and Modena: and, if the 
 day be clear, the sea at Leghorn. The nearer 
 view is delightful. The Val' d'Arno is beauti- 
 fully variegated ; and a savage scene on one side 
 is finely contrasted on the other by lawns in the 
 
 * The ice with which Florence is supplied, brings in to 
 the Convent five hundred crowns a year. 
 
 midst 
 
302 
 
 midst of woods, and an outline formed by na- 
 ture with beech, feathered to the ground, extend- 
 ing as far as the eye can reach, and rising majes- 
 tically one above the other to the very summit of 
 the mountain.* In short, it is unpardonable to 
 pass a summer at Florence, and not make a visit 
 to Vallombrosa. 
 
 * The Beech of the Mountain are never cut. They are 
 left as a defence to the Convent and the country belong- 
 in" to it. 
 
 LET- 
 
303 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 IF you have a taste for wild and romantic 
 scenes, and are not easily intimidated by 
 difficulties ; if you are master of your time, and 
 the season of the year be propitious ; stop not 
 short at Vallombrosa, but pursue your journey 
 to the other Convents on the Apennines.* I 
 will conclude all this, and send you a few hints 
 useful, if you observe them. The first requisite 
 is a good horse : he should be sure-footed, well 
 shod, and turned up behind ; the saddle should 
 be well fitted to his back,, and will require both 
 crupper and breastplate. Give him plenty of 
 corn, little hay, and, when travelling, let his 
 water be constantly warmed : for want of that 
 precaution, I had nearly lost a favorite horse 
 
 * July and August are the best months, though Septem- 
 ber, if it be not rainy, is not too late. 
 
 at 
 
304 
 
 at the Alvernia. The water of the Apennine£5 
 is cold in the extreme ; he was taken with a 
 chill, and, I fancy, nothing saved him but the 
 quantity of hot wine and spices I poured down 
 his throat. 
 
 The journey to the Alvernia, though short, 
 employs the whole day : though only twenty 
 miles, you may reckon ten hours ; and must 
 content yourself, brother fox -hunter, to go at 
 the easy rate of two miles an hour. When you 
 leave the woods of Vallombrosa, you descend a 
 barren mountain ; nor do you see house or tree 
 for several miles together. At Monte Minaio 
 the face of the country changes. You may now 
 fancy yourself in Savoy. Here poverty and 
 industry unite, and cultivation extends itself to 
 the very top of the mountain. The road, 
 though rough, is not unpleasant. Chesnut 
 groves shelter you from the sun; while cascades, 
 rocks, and precipices, diversify a rude scenery, 
 more sublime than beautiful, and more in the 
 style of Salvator, than of Claude. At Strada 
 we baited our horses; — I should have said, we 
 dined— if what we met with there had merited 
 the name of a dinner. There our hor><es fared 
 better than ourselves, and, considering the fa- 
 tigue they had to undergo, the preference was 
 not ill placed. At Borgo alia Collina is the 
 body of Christopher Landini, commentator 
 
 of 
 
305 
 
 of Dante, a man of great learning: they tell 
 you, he has lain uncorrupted upwards of three 
 hundred years.— Had it been the body of 
 Dante himself, I should not have gone a mile 
 out of my way to see it, — so little do I value the 
 body of any man when once the soul is out of it. 
 The country from hence is finely cultivated to 
 the foot of the barren mountain, on the top of 
 which stands the Convent of Alvernia. 
 
 Alvernia was originally the hermitage of Saint 
 Francesco. You are shewn his cell ; the ca- 
 vern in the rock where he reposed and medi- 
 tated J the spot on which he received the sacred 
 wounds that were inflicted on our Saviour; 
 and are told many wonderful stories, which a 
 heretic, though not expected to believe, may 
 read at the trifling expence of half a paul, in a 
 book sold at the gate of the Convent.* 
 
 Fancy cannot conceive a more romantic ap- 
 pearance than that of the Convent of Alvernia,— 
 more remarkable without, more curious within, 
 or more deserving the notice of a traveller. 
 Among other particularities, it is built on a rock, 
 is inaccessible on three sides, and, like another 
 Gibraltar, seems to bid defiance even to time 
 itself. — From the sacrilegious hand of rapine, it 
 
 * Founded by San Francesco, in 1213. 
 
 VOL, I. X has 
 
306 
 
 has still a better security than its strength — its 
 poverty. 
 
 This Order of Franciscans consists of a Padre 
 Guardiano, and about fifty Friars, who, in dress 
 and customs, except that they wear no beard, 
 are not unlike the Capuchins; — are equally 
 poor, equally rigid, and, like them, live by 
 charity. 
 
 I had heard much of the discipline which 
 these Monks inflict on themselves, and found it 
 more serious than I imagined. The instrument 
 of flagellation is composed of several bits of 
 flat iron, on separate swivels, fastened to a cord, 
 with which they scourge their naked shoulders 
 or posteriors, and frequently till the blood runs. 
 One of them, with whom I had made an ac- 
 quaintance, honestly told me, he preferred the 
 latter, being a part less sensible of pain. — On 
 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, after the 
 first Coro, the lights are put out, — they then 
 chastise themselves to their liking ; more or less, 
 according to the fervency of their devotion, or 
 rebellion of the flesh. 
 
 I saw four novices take the habit. — Never 
 ■was a toilette sooner made.— 'It is to be wished 
 they may as readily strip themselves of their 
 worldly passions, and as easily put on the armour 
 of grace.— Each received a kiss from the Friars, 
 and they were then exhorted by the master of 
 
 the 
 
S07 
 
 the novices^ to bid an eternal adieu to the world! 
 — Parents, friends, acquaintance, you will never 
 see again ! and that nothing worldly may remain, 
 as you lately changed your habit, change now 
 your names ! — you who were called Nicolas, 
 be now called Lore n zo, &:c. —-The ceremony 
 was really affecting ; but I comforted myself 
 with thinking, that a year's probation is always 
 allowed ; and if during that time the body should 
 be found unable, or the mind unwilling, to en- 
 dure the watchings, fastings, and penance, the 
 Order enjoins, they may return to us again. By 
 alateorder of the Grand Duke Peter Leopold, 
 no Friar can be received till eighteen years of 
 age, nor take the habit till he is twenty-four. 
 Peter the Czar did better: he ordered that 
 no person in his dominions should adopt the 
 monastic life till fifty years of age — a time when 
 women, at least, may embrace it without preju- 
 dice to posterity. 
 
 The immense rock on which the Convent 
 stands, and the beautiful beech that grow on its 
 summit, you will see with astonishment. If you 
 admire relics, they will shew you a part of the 
 Crosier of Saint Thomas a' Becket. Fine 
 pictures are seldom to be found in a Convent of 
 Capuchins ; you must content yourself with 
 some curious specimens in Terra della Robbia. 
 I was delighted with the organ : it is not, to be 
 X 2 sure. 
 
308 
 
 sure, the organ of Harlem ; but infinitely better 
 than you could expect to meet with on the top 
 of the Apennines. There is something solemn 
 in the sound of the organ that is not ill suited to 
 devotion ; but when I hear the squeaking fiddle, 
 so commonly used in Catholic churches, I fancy 
 myself in a less sacred place, and expect at every 
 instant to hear some tune or other little suited 
 to the solemnity of the occasion. The gardens 
 of the Friars are chiefly appropriated to the 
 growth of tobacco. 
 
 From the height above the Convent, which is 
 three thousand nine hundred feet higher than the 
 Duomo at Florence, you see the Adriatic, but 
 the view of the Mediterranean is obstructed by 
 the mountain of Vallombrosa. As you ascend, 
 (you must go on foot), you see towards the 
 south, about sixteen miles distant, the city of 
 San Sepolcro ; from the Chapel on the top of 
 the mountain, you see the Sassi di Simone at the 
 extremity of the Tuscan State, remarkable for 
 their size and the excellent pasture that sur- 
 rounds them. Nearly on the same line, but 
 further distant, is the mountain of the famous 
 Republic of San Marino ; and under you, at 
 the distance of about five miles, is the source of 
 tlie Tiber. It is a strange mistake to fancy the 
 sources of the Arno and the Tiber are close to- 
 gether. They are not less than twenty miles 
 
 apart. 
 
309 
 
 apart, and it is a doubt whether they can pro- 
 perly be said to belong to the same mountain 
 the Falterona, highest of the Tuscan Apennines, 
 and from whose summit on a clear day you see 
 two sea^ — the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. 
 This is not the only instance in which the map 
 of Italy is erroneous. 
 
 On the summit of this mountain, in the month 
 of August, at five in the evening, the glass was 
 at fifty-two, and the wind high and cold. It 
 brought to mymindPonte a Sieve, where I had 
 dined a few days before, and where the glass was 
 at eighty-eight :— -a trifling difference of thirty- 
 six degrees. The mountain is covered with 
 wood, chiefly beech and firs. In this walk you 
 will see rocks that will astonish you ; most of 
 them split asunder, the fragments standing per- 
 pendicular, several feet distant one from the 
 other. It may be necessary to remark that the 
 rock of Alvernia is all Macigno, a stone which 
 never cracks of itself, having no veins. Tradi- 
 tion tells us this strange event happened by an 
 earthquake at the death of Christ ;— no unna- 
 tural conjecture in a Christian country, since it 
 must have been a horrible moment that occa- 
 sioned it. 
 
 Primitive mountains, such as the Alps, are of 
 granite. The Apennines are also of granite at 
 the bottom, but on the top you find a chalky 
 
 sub- 
 
310 
 
 substance, such as is usually occasioned by the 
 settlement of water. Shells are found as high as 
 two thousand two hundred toises, but no higher : 
 — snow lies at one thousand four hundred. 
 
 The air at the Alvernia is fresh, even in the 
 midst of summer, P'arenheit's thermometer 
 in the grove on a very hot day, at twelve at noon, 
 was only at sixty-two degrees ; nor was a fire in 
 the evening anywise uncomfortable. At Flo- 
 rence I had only a sheet to cover me, and fre- 
 quently found that too much ; here I was glad 
 of two counterpanes ; in short, the same cover- 
 ing as at Florence in the depth of winter. The 
 good Friars receive you with great hospitality ; 
 give you honestly to understand that they are 
 poor, and in return for their sincerity, expect you 
 to leave a sequin or two for the trouble and ex- 
 pence you occasion. The mutton is not bad, 
 the bread and goats milk excellent, and the air 
 so pure, that I do not recollect ever to have en- 
 joyed such good spirits as on the mountain qf 
 Alvernia. 
 
 LET- 
 
311 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 nnHE Camaldoli is twelve miles distant from 
 -■- Alvernia. The roads are such as both 
 you and your horse are by this time accustomed 
 to, and will fear no longer. This Convent was 
 founded by San Romoaldo, in 1012. He 
 was second to his father, who killing his anta- 
 gonist in a duel, it affected him so much that he 
 retired from the world. The origin of the two 
 Convents of the Camaldoli and Vallombrosa 
 have a certain similitude that is not a little ex- 
 traordinary. The Convent is admirably situ- 
 ated for a monastic life, being encircled by 
 woods, encompassed by mountains, and, in a 
 manner, shut out from the rest of the world.— 
 It was this, probably, which made a Frenchman, 
 who came the other day to visit this place, say, 
 with some humor, that were he to choose his 
 future residence, it should be either Paris, Lon^ 
 doriy or the Camaldoli ;— and here I think, in a 
 
 sulky 
 
312 
 
 sulky mood, disgusted with the world and the 
 world's ways, a man might soon learn to forget 
 those by whom he thinks himself forgotten. 
 The Order, which is uncommonly severe, con- 
 sists of a Padre Maggiore, and about thirty 
 Friars. They never eat flesh, and nine hours 
 out of the twenty-four are spent in prayer. At 
 one o'clock after midnight, that hour of repose 
 to all beside, while you and I, my good friend, 
 are stretching our tired or lazy limbs on beds of 
 down, these Friars, though the wind whistles, 
 and the snow falls, leave their hard mattresses, 
 and, ready dressed,* assemble in the distant 
 choir t to say their prayers,— a ceremony with 
 which, I must confess, I should, at that hour, 
 not without difficulty comply. Their manner 
 of living is not less exceptionable. A broth 
 made of greens only ; half a pound of fish, or, 
 in lieu of that, for it is not always to be pro- 
 cured on the Apennines, three eggs boiled in 
 the shell ; a piece of cheese ; a sufficiency of 
 bread ; a few apples j and a small portion of 
 
 * They sleep constantly in their clothes. 
 
 t The Chapel is at some distance from their cells, and 
 when the snow is deep, a road is made for them to 
 
 pass. 
 
 wine. 
 
313 
 
 •wine, is their daily allowance.* This would 
 also have its difficulties. Yet, severe as such 
 mortification must appear, on every Friday they 
 exceed it ; bread and water, and a little fruit, is 
 then their only sustenance. Their manners are 
 not less austere. They are not corrupted by 
 communication. They are not only far removed 
 from the world, but are even separated from one 
 another. Each has his own cell, his study, his 
 chapel, and his garden; dines alone; nor, on 
 three days in the week, Mondays, Wednesdays, 
 and Fridays, are they permitted to speak to 
 each other when they meet. They can only 
 walk as far as the Crosses without leave j and 
 only once a month do they dine together in the 
 refrectory. They shave their heads, and let 
 their beards grow. They change their habits 
 once a month ; while those of the Alvernia 
 never change theirs but once in three years, 
 when they put on new. Though we naturally 
 feel some compassion for these Friars, who live 
 in one continual round of mortification and 
 pehance ; yet I could plainly perceive some 
 
 * A piece of cheese is delivered to each Friar every 
 Sunday to last the whole week. The quantity of bread is 
 jiot limited ; when they want more, they put a piece out 
 pf their window as a signal. 
 
 among 
 
314 
 
 among them who feel not less compassion for 
 us. They think us triflers at the best. — What 
 worldly pursuit can appear otherwise to those 
 whose sole thoughts are on a future state and 
 immortality! — It is like an instant of time, com- 
 pared with millions of years ; or poor threescore 
 years and ten, to all eternity. 
 
 At the Convent are some pictures by George 
 Vasari; and a copy of San Romoaldo's 
 Vision, the original of which, by Andrea 
 Sacchi, is esteemed one of the best pictures in 
 Rome.* The Chapel is elegant, and in a gayer 
 style than suits the solemnity of the Camaldoli ; 
 it would make a better ball-room. The view 
 from the Sant' Eremo is fine j there you may 
 read that excellent injunction, ** do as you would 
 he done hy^*' — though the inscription might be 
 more necessary over a palace. Hither that mad 
 fellow Benvenuto Cellini, better sculptor 
 than courtier, came on a pilgrimage to thank 
 God for the kind promises he had received 
 from his Sovereign : — had he waited till they 
 had been effected, he might have saved himself 
 
 • He dreamt that he saw a ladder which reached up to 
 Heaven, and the Friars who mounted were all drest in 
 white : upon which he founded the Order Camaldolesc. 
 He himself had been a Benedictine, and clothed in black, 
 
 the 
 
315 
 
 the trouble of the journey. You are shewn a 
 Sleeping Cupid by Michael Angelo Cara- 
 VAGGio: they have hid his wings, not thinking 
 the character suited to the place. They also 
 shew you their dresses ;— their uniforms, brother 
 soldier, of which they have a vast variety, and 
 all infinitely more gaudy than ours. I confess 
 I was not a little disgusted at such mistaken 
 finery, and thought it to the full as much out of 
 character with the place, as the wings of any 
 sleeping Cupid whatsoever. 
 
 The firs that surround the Convent are of an 
 uncommon size, and were they near a sea-port, 
 would be very valuable. The climate, though 
 about a couple of degrees warmer than at the 
 Alvernia, is immoderately cold ; and the Friars 
 keep constant fires in their cells all the year 
 round. I observed a water-mill to saw their 
 timber on a very simple principle j and I was 
 much concerned to see a trout stream, which 
 formerly supplied the Convent, without a single 
 fish remaining. When the Grand Duke took 
 off the banditi,* making all game and fish free 
 to every one, except his own; he might surely 
 
 * Banditi — a place so called, no one being permitted to 
 sport there. 
 
 have 
 
316 
 
 have excepted the fish of the Convents. It is 
 unjust to deprive those of the necessaries of 
 life who, by their profession, are obhged to ab- 
 stain from its luxuries ; and I know no better 
 privilege despotism enjoys, than that of the par- 
 tial good it is at liberty to confer. 
 
 To judge by the ages of the Friars, one would 
 not think their manner of life unhealthy. In 
 all these Convents are many of an advanced age. 
 If it be stricdy true, that those who observe the 
 greatest continence, live the longest, those gen- 
 tlemen, one might think, should live for ever. 
 I know no particular manner of living that can 
 be given as a certain rule to obtain old age. It 
 has been observed by some, that longevity does 
 not depend on original strength of body, but on 
 good stamina in small bodies of a thin habit. 
 They tell you, that Parr, Jenkins, the Coun- 
 tess of Desmond, and Anne Bishop, were 
 litde more than five feet high; and that Hesbe- 
 LOT was not so much. We are told, that not a 
 son died a natural death before his father for 
 near three thousand years after the creation ; 
 but the course of nature was still observed, and 
 he that was born first, died first. Great towns 
 are the destruction of mankind. Air already 
 breathed, is always pernicious. A third part of 
 all that are born in populous cities, die under 
 seven years old ; and the greatest part of those 
 
 that 
 
317 
 
 that remain are between fifteen and thirty-five* 
 Petersburgh is said to be the only great city 
 where the number of births exceed the burials. 
 I have seen old people of all descriptions ; but 
 I believe the quality most essentially necessary, 
 is a contented mind. One disorder, however, 
 these Friars are subject to — ruptures ; pardy 
 owing to the food they eat, particularly the 
 quantity of oil; and pardy to their standing so 
 long in an upright posture : that the latter is, in 
 some measure, the occasion, cannot be doubted, 
 since the lay brothers, who observe the same 
 diet, are afflicted in a much less degree. 
 
 From the Camaldoli to Prato Vecchio are six 
 miles, and may require about three hours. 
 Your Guide will probably shew you what is 
 generally thought a volcano ; it has been ex- 
 tinct about two years, and was only a stratum of 
 coal that took fire accidentally, and continued 
 burning without intermission till the whole was 
 consumed. At Prato Vecchio you must go to 
 the house of some gentleman, nor will it be dif- 
 ficult to obtain a letter at Florence for that pur- 
 pose, as there is not an inn fit to receive you in 
 the place. From hence to the Capo d'Arno is 
 really a serious undertaking ; it is called five 
 miles, is at least eight, and you could go thirty 
 sooner on a better road. There are those to 
 whom whatever is difficult, appears impossible : 
 
 I am 
 
318 
 
 I am of a different cast ; I think nothing impos- 
 sible, and therefore find few things difficult. — 
 You will not wonder, then, that I satisfied my 
 curiosity, and arrived at the source of the Arno, 
 tasted of the stream, cold as ice itself (it may be 
 tasted, but should not be drank), while my son 
 cut his name on the rock with the stiletto of the 
 Guide. — You must return from whence you 
 came. Stia, through which you pass, was the 
 birth-place of the famous Tanucci, Prime 
 Minister at Naples ; and the Casentino is said 
 to have been long famous for learned men. 
 
 To the Consuma are seven miles, the road 
 hilly and bad. The new road from Ponte a 
 Sieve to the top of the mountain at the Con- 
 suma, is a continual ascent for more than ten 
 miles; yet rendered so easy, that, though one 
 thousand four hundred and twenty-five bracci 
 perpendicular above the level of the river, it is 
 scarcely perceptible.* It was the intention of the 
 Grand Duke to continue this road through the 
 Casentino, and to pass the Apennines, either at 
 the Camaldoli or the Alvernia, and from thence 
 descend into the Romagna. Whether the ad- 
 
 * Braccio— two English feet, wanting an inch: there- 
 fore, one thousand four hundred and twenty-five bracci is 
 somewhat more than half a mile. 
 
 vantage 
 
319 
 
 vantage of that desirable communication would 
 have answered the enormous expence, not less 
 than five thousand five hundred crowns for each 
 mile, I cannot pretend to judge; but as the 
 plan is dropped for ever, I fancy if only a tenth 
 part of the fifty-five thousand crowns already 
 expended had been laid out in charitable pur- 
 poses, and the remainder thrown into the sea, 
 his Royal Highness had rendered a more essen- 
 tial service to his country, than by making a 
 wide and magnificent road to the Consuma for 
 a parcel of mules and jack-asses. 
 
 I am returned to Florence highly satisfied 
 with the different merits of the three Convents I 
 have seen, and of the hospitality of the Friars, 
 A traveller who stays no longer at eitlier than to 
 satisfy his curiosity ; who admires whatever is 
 grand in nature, and can overlook its deformity, 
 will prefer the Alvernia, The man of the world, 
 who, half-suffocated at Florence, sighs after 
 fresher air, and longs to enjoy the summer's 
 shade, without relinquishing all the comforts of 
 the capital; may pass his time very pleasantly 
 at Vallombrosa. — But if devotion be the motive, 
 he will approach with reverence the sacred man- 
 sion of Camaldoli ; and if mortification, pen- 
 ance, and retirement, be acceptable to God, he 
 will conclude those poor sequestered Friars in a 
 
 surer 
 
320 
 
 surer road to Heaven, than the rich and luxu- 
 rious Cardinals of Rome. 
 
 If you were interested in the fate of the gene- 
 rous Gu ALBERTO, and are not already tired 
 with Convents and Friars, listen to the story of 
 the unfortunate De Range'. You have heard, 
 without doubt, of the Order of La Trappe ; of 
 mortification suited only to wretches disgusted 
 with the world, and severities that might call 
 forth repentance from the most hardened sinner. 
 Retro u. Count de Perche, was the founder of 
 this Convent of Cestercensians, in the year 1214, 
 Though rigid the Order, the discipline was re- 
 laxed,— and the good Friars were beginning to 
 doubt whether mortification were necessary to 
 salvation, when the Count de Range', born in 
 the year 1626, a man of the world, ecclesiastic 
 by profession, became Superior of the Convent, 
 The Abbe de Range' was not a bigot from 
 inclination, nor did his situation as head of the 
 Convent, such were the customs of the times, 
 require any peculiar austerity of manners. Na- 
 ture had bestowed on him a tender heart, and 
 fashion had taught him to indulge his passions. 
 He was an admirer of beauty, and found in the 
 Duchess of Montbazon a mistress that grati- 
 fied every wish. 
 
 The pleasures of this world, alas ! are not 
 
 onlf 
 
321 
 
 only of short duration, but are as inconstant as 
 the April sun. — The enamoured Abbe, in the 
 height of his enjoyment, was unexpectedly called 
 into the country from the arms of the most be- 
 loved of women. — An absence like this, of a 
 few days only, was better calculated to increase 
 affection than diminish it j— his mind was solely 
 occupied on pleasures past, and the expectation 
 of those to come. — Returned to Paris, the eager 
 Abbe flew to the Duchess's hotel, and arrived 
 at her apartment, by means of a back stair-case, 
 unperceived by any one. He entered her bed- 
 chamber with more than usual impatience, — and 
 the first object that met his longing eyes, was a 
 surgeon severing the head from a dead body, 
 which a coffin that stood by was too little to 
 contain, — it was the head of the Duchess of 
 MoNTBAzoN, who had died of the small-pox 
 during his absence, and of whose illness he had 
 not the smallest notice. — A scene of horror like 
 this is not to be conceived : — the despair of the 
 lover was equal to his astonishment; — and poor 
 De Range' retired instantly from the world,* 
 and rendered the Order of La Trappe as re- 
 markable for the severity of its discipline, as 
 
 * In 1663; he died in 1700. 
 
 VOL. i^ Y their 
 
their Superior was famous for the singularity of 
 his misfortunes. 
 
 They live on fruits, vegetables, bread, and 
 water. They sleep in their clothes on a mat- 
 tress of straw laid on the bare boards. They 
 observe a profound silence when they meet. 
 Their time is chiefly employed in prayer ; and, 
 if you believe Comminges, when they are not 
 praying, each is employed in digging his own 
 grave.— -It has been said of them, that when they 
 quit this world, they do not, like all others, cease 
 to live, but cease to die. 
 
 LET* 
 
323 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 np HOUGH all my life I have been more in 
 -*- the habit of spending money than of sav- 
 ing it, a lessened income, and a long acquaint- 
 ance with the Florentines, enable me to give a 
 useful lesson of economy to an extravagant 
 young man like you. Example is better than 
 precept; and the counsel of one who speaks 
 feelingly, and from experience, is better than all 
 the lessons of the schools. I shall tell you then, 
 though you talk of economy in England, that it 
 is only in France and Italy that it is practised, 
 where no man throws away his money on things 
 he does not want. It is a mistake, to fancy that 
 our great incomes are so well employed : — use- 
 less state, troublesome magnificence, and un- 
 welcome companions, run away with the greatest 
 part of them ; and few of those who squander 
 Y 2 thou- 
 
324 
 
 thousands upon others, have a hundred pounds 
 at command to lay out as they please upon them- 
 selves. Every day Louis XV. went to hunt, 
 forty bottles of wine were carried with him. 
 One day, being dry, he called for a glass of 
 wine: he was told, there was not any. " What," 
 said the King, " not any ! — I thought you 
 brought out forty bottles." — " Yes, Sire, but 
 they are all emptied." " Another time, then, 
 remember to bring forty-onCy that I may, at 
 least, have one for myself^'* Suppose a young 
 man on. coming to his estate was to be told, that 
 of the six thousand pounds a year he thought he 
 had to spend, three thousand of it was to be 
 withheld to pay for houses he never saw, ser- 
 vants he did not want, and horses he never rode, 
 would it not appear ridiculous? — Yet how many 
 are ruined by extravagances from which they 
 receive no pleasure or satisfaction! — It is other- 
 wise in France and Italy : the gentlemen in 
 those countries keep nothing that is not of use; 
 buy nothing they do not want; and if they are 
 poor, nothing they can do without. Plato 
 says — " The man -who would be truly rich, should 
 rather contract his desires, than increase his 
 wealth," It is provoking to think, though we 
 spend more than double the money they do, 
 that we cannot live so well. Is it that we carry 
 our guineas in our waistcoat pocket, and throw 
 
 them 
 
^.25 
 
 them away by handfuUs ? — or do the tradesmen 
 with whom we deal, when they look us in the 
 face, see ignorance and extravagance written 
 there in capitals ? Be it as it may, it is an un- 
 doubted fact, that we pay more for every article 
 we buy than any other nation. Whether our 
 pride forbids us to refuse what is offered on 
 account of the price, or our indolence will not 
 suffer us to seek it at a cheaper place, let each 
 individual determine for himself. An Italian 
 gentleman has just shewn me a bill of his coach- 
 maker for thirty-two sequins, which the man 
 insisted was the just price. As it is not his 
 custom to pay a bill without examining its con- 
 tents, he found it exorbitant, taxed every article, 
 and gave him ten sequins only ;— and the rascal 
 went away perfectly satisfied. You would havQ 
 thought it beneath your dignity to have paid less 
 than he asked : of course, my Italian friend, 
 with one thousand a year, mak^s, as good a 
 figure as you with three. I have .sometimes 
 asked tradesmen, why they charge so much more 
 than they will take: they have constantly * re-» 
 plied, " It is the custom of the country.'' This 
 being the case, those who are not acquainted 
 with the custom of the country, and do not 
 know on which of the articles an abatement 
 ought to be made, are sure to be finely imposed 
 upon. It is necessary, therefore, in all bargains 
 
 to 
 
326 
 
 to have some idea of the real value of the com- 
 modity before you ask the price ; you will then 
 find every tradesman contented with a trifling 
 advantage, when he plainly perceives he must 
 not expect a greater. This hint, which the 
 avowed roguery of the Italians makes necessary 
 here, may not be unuseful in every other part 
 of the Globe. Where a price is fixed, learn 
 what it is, and pay no more : * where it is not, 
 meet imposition with firmness, and be cheated as 
 little as you can help. — Sapere aude. — You are 
 not covetous, be not ashamed to be economical : 
 you are generous, remember that economy is the 
 source of generosity. When you consider the 
 great good you can do with every little saving ; 
 the merit it may reward, — the distresses it may 
 relieve,— it becomes a serious duty not to suffer 
 yourself to be cheated out of it. — Do any thing 
 but hoard it; for then it is useless to others, and 
 may become a burthen to yourself. 
 
 We have acquired, and I believe not un- 
 justly, a strange character for extravagance all 
 over Europe, — and, unluckily, what, in some of 
 us, may proceed from generosity, is generally 
 attributed to folly, pride, and indolence in all. 
 
 • In coffee-houses, where the price of every thing is 
 fixed, it is safest and best not to appear ignorant of it. 
 
 An 
 
o 
 
 27 
 
 An Italian, the other day, speaking of a country- 
 man of ours, said — He did not spend his money 
 like an Englishman* I could not help observ- 
 ing, that he paid him a compliment without in- 
 tending it ; that I knew the Italians thought 
 us all fools in our dealings with them^ and that 
 no people upon earth deserved it so much at 
 their hands. Among numberless examples, take 
 
 the following: — Mr. , from the East Indies, 
 
 more rich than wise, has agreed to pay twenty 
 sequins a month to the famous Nakdini for 
 lessons on the fiddle, though there is not an in- 
 stance of any one beside himself paying more 
 than three. — An imposition like this degrades 
 the man of talents below the pickpocket. — The 
 lad who ingeniously robs you of your handker- 
 chief to support his parents, is a more respect- 
 able character. When I want a master for my 
 children, I first inquire what he usually takes of 
 his countrymen: if it be a sequin a month, I 
 agree with him for somewhat more; if I am 
 afterwards satisfied with his behaviour, I give 
 him two ; but had rather he should owe it to my 
 generosity, than my ignorance : — the one is a 
 quality that renders me contented with myself; 
 I am always ashamed of the other. Without 
 some method, no income is sufficient. A Rus- 
 sian Prince, with an estate of sixty thousand 
 pounds a year, is over head and ears in debt, and 
 
 says 
 
328 
 
 says he will readily allow four thousand pounds 
 a year to the man who with his income will 
 enable him to live like a gentleman. We are 
 rich only in the proportion our receipts bear to 
 our expenditure. The man who is in debt, is 
 poor, let his income be what it may. You will 
 tell me, perhaps, you had rather be imposed 
 upon than take any trouble to prevent it. I 
 don't know, strictly speaking, that you are at 
 liberty to make the choice. Though you have 
 money to throw away, your neighbour may not, 
 and in that case he becomes a sufferer : — you 
 encourage roguery and extortion, and fix the 
 character of stinginess on those who merit that 
 of discretion. Many generous actions are liable 
 to the same objection. The conduct of your 
 friend — , who gave up his Colonel's pay 
 to the private men of his regiment, was, in my 
 opinion, among the number; and could not fail 
 to prove a detriment to the service. 
 
 If ever you should leave England out of eco- 
 nomy, whether you establish yourself in France 
 or in Italy, go first to a poor town, which, 
 generally speaking, is the cheapest: you will 
 there learn the prices of the necessaries of life, 
 and make some progress in economy that will 
 be of use to you ever after. You may there 
 make a figure with little money, and, as you 
 will live as well as your neighbours, will have 
 
 less 
 
329 
 
 ]css reason to wish for more. I need not tell 
 you, that, on a plan like this, much will depend 
 on the honesty of your servants. One you must 
 have in whom you can place a confidence, and 
 the difficulty will be where to find him. It is 
 by no means proper he should be an English- 
 man ; — they are by much the worst travelling 
 servants I know ;• — none are so little attached to 
 their masters, or so much dissatisfied with every 
 thing they meet with out of their own country : 
 besides, they are as easily imposed upon as 
 yourself, and their ideas of expence are always 
 conformable to the extravagance they have been 
 accustomed to.-^He must not be a Lacquais dc 
 Place^ for they are all rogues by profession, and 
 in league with every tradesman.— Whatever 
 servant you take, whether he be French, Swiss, 
 German, or Italian, inquire yourself into his 
 character from his master, — and probably, as he 
 can have no interest in deceiving you, he may 
 give a true one. You must not, however, ex- 
 pect him to be the same careful, economical 
 person with you as with one of his own country; 
 you will soon spoil him : — his idea of your riches 
 will soon make him less frugal, — and it will be 
 well if your indolence does not make him a 
 rogue. — Never confide where you are not 
 obliged; nor shew mistrust where you are 
 obliged to confide, — Give good wages, and pay 
 
 them 
 
330 
 
 them regularly. A gentleman of my acquaint- 
 ance observes a method in treating his servants 
 somewhat curious. — He begins by giving them 
 as little as possible, fully convinced that the 
 poorer they are, the better they will behave : 
 however, as an encouragement to behave well, 
 after a certain time he raises their wages, but 
 reduces them again, if they cease to deserve it. 
 One lamed his horse, the other day, by riding 
 him hard, though he knew he had lost a shoe : 
 this man was reduced till the horse was cured. — 
 The same horse was frisky the other day, and 
 near throwing him off; — he has been ordered 
 a feed of corn a day less, till he mends his 
 manners. 
 
 Let your daily expences, ordinary and ex- 
 traordinary, be brought in every night, though 
 you pay them only once a week. Buy every 
 thing with ready money. Have no bills ; for if 
 you intend to pay, as every honest man ought, 
 you are sure to pay most exorbitantly at last : — 
 besides, it is a temptation to exceed your in- 
 come. When you purchase with ready money, 
 it is a kind of calculation whether you prefer 
 the commodity or your money ; when you pay 
 with words only, you seldom make any calcula- 
 tion at all. — // n'y a rien qui mine comme I'etrc 
 sans argerct, says Madame de Sevigne': the 
 expression is witty, and the sentiment is just. 
 
 The 
 
331 
 
 The more you simplify, the less you will be 
 imposed upon. Your tailor's account, for in- 
 stance, will be more easily understood, if, when 
 you want a new coat, you buy the cloth, and 
 pay for the making : — above all, affect economy, 
 if you have it not. I was told the other day of 
 a great imposition a countryman of ours suffers 
 in his family. The person who informed me of 
 it was one of his own servants ; of course, I 
 asked him why he did not prevent it : he replied, 
 " My mastery Sir, does not mind it, then why 
 should I ?" Count is in the other ex- 
 treme : his wife lay at the point of death, and 
 the physician, instead of medicine, had ordered 
 her some chicken-broth. The Count, over- 
 whelmed with grief, asked, " ]f there were then no 
 hopes remaining."—'** NonCy" answered the phy- 
 sician, " none ! nor can she survive many hours.'* 
 " If you are certain of that Doctor y" replied the 
 Count, ** tell the cook not to kill the chicken, — 
 / see no reason why I am to lose my wife, and 
 my chicken too.'' 
 
 It may be necessary to inform you, that in all 
 bargains, tricking is not looked upon as disgrace- 
 ful in this country, where every man is as littk 
 to be depended upon as a Yorkshire jockey. — 
 It is considered as a trial of skill, and he is 
 looked upon as the cleverest fellow who can 
 
 cheat 
 
332 
 
 cheat most. As I cannot baggie for trifles, I 
 know I am no match for an Italian. The 
 knowledge of their imposition carries its anti- 
 dote along with it, and I lay out as little money 
 as I can help in a country where I am to expect 
 no fair dealing.— This an Englishman, who has 
 paid for his experience, may be permitted to say, 
 since one of their own dramatic writers has 
 thought it deserving of public censure. 
 
 Whatever you have occasion to order, inquire 
 what it will cost, and make your bargain first. 
 Whatever you have occasion to buy, rather trust 
 your servant, than buy it yourself of the mer- 
 chant : that your servant will cheat you, is highly 
 probable, — but he will cheat you less, as he 
 expects to cheat you often ; and with a little 
 inquiry, you may soon be a match for him. 
 Lord Mansfield turned away a coachman for 
 his roguery. Seeing him some time after on a 
 gentleman's coach-box, he had the curiosity to 
 ask by what good fortune he got a place with 
 so bad a character. The man replied, that as 
 the character his Lordship gave recommended 
 him as a good coachman, his master said his 
 roguery was of no consequence, for, being a 
 Yorkshire man himself, he might cheat him if he 
 could. 
 
 It cannot be necessary to tell an Englishman 
 not to be scrupulous in trifles, or mean in any 
 
 thing. 
 
333 
 
 thing. Where you doubt, inquire what others 
 pay, and keep on the handsome side of it. 
 Many of those who squabble for a sixpence, and 
 receive a thousand curses, lay out hundreds in 
 expences which neither contribute to th'eir 
 honor or amusement. The value of one coat, 
 which, for the sake of wearing two or three times, 
 you carry about with you the whole year at no 
 small inconvenience, will make all the difference 
 in the character of a generous man and a covet- 
 ous one. I must again remind you, that the 
 true scavoir vivre is only to be learned in France 
 and Italy. The smallness of their incomes 
 obliges them to look minutely into their affairs, 
 and proves how much may be done with a little 
 if well regulated ; while their self-denial in all 
 unnecessary wants, shews the absurdity of squan- 
 dering money on things that procure little or no 
 satisfaction, at the risk of wanting it for such as 
 are necessary. Their sensible enjoyment of the 
 present hour, would be no unprofitable lesson 
 to many of us, who are either foolishly regret- 
 ting the time past, or imprudently anticipating 
 the time to come. The gay manner with which 
 they bear misfortunes of consequence, might also 
 teach us not to m^ke ourselves miserable for 
 trifles ; and the value they set on trifles, might 
 convince us that all is vanity, and make us both 
 wiser and better men. 
 
 It 
 
334 
 
 It is now time to quit this subject, and tell 
 you, that when we left Florence for Pisa, we 
 were advised to go by water. The Arno was 
 full, and they said would carry us as quickly as 
 the post. You go with the stream, and in a 
 covered boat. In the summer, it may not be 
 unpleasant; but in the rainy season, I had as 
 soon be an egg in a duck's belly. We went 
 post. Those who are heavily laden, must be 
 contented to move slowly ; and, though we had 
 but six posts to go, and sat out early in the 
 morning, it was late at night when we arrived at 
 Pisa. 
 
 LET- 
 
o 
 
 35 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE town of Pisa is situated on an extensive 
 plain ; high mountains shelter it from the 
 north and east winds, and render the climate, 
 Naples excepted, the warmest of Italy. It is six 
 posts from Florence, two from Leghorn, and 
 two from Lucca. The river Arno runs through 
 the middle of the town, and at the distance of 
 about five miles empties itself into the sea. The 
 Porto Pisano was once famous, though the exact 
 spot is not at present known. There Publius 
 Scipio disembarked his troops when he met 
 Hannibal, who beat him shortly after near the 
 Tesin. 
 
 NuMiTiANUs RuTiLius, a Latin Poet of 
 the fifth century, supposes the Pisans to be of 
 Grecian origin, from Pisa a city in Arcadia. In 
 his time Pisa was a peninsula ; and the Serchio 
 which is now at the distance of some miles, and 
 empties itself into the sea, then entered the 
 
 Arno 
 
336 
 
 Arno a little below the town, forming the cone 
 of a pyramid. This author describes very mi- 
 nutely his voyage from Rome by sea, and bis 
 description of ihe town of Pisa, differing so essen- 
 sentially from its present state, is worth your 
 notice.* 
 
 The history of this Republic adds one instance 
 more to the many that have preceded it, of the 
 instability of worldly grandeur. Like other 
 states it had its period : — it rose — it flourished — 
 and it fell. At the siege of Palermo, the Pisan 
 gallies gained great honour against the Saracens. 
 In the thirteenth century the Pisans were mas- 
 ters of Sardinia, Corsica, and Elba ; and at that 
 time were not only superior to every one of their 
 neighbours singly, but a match for them all to- 
 gether. ViLLANi tells us that Pisa was at- 
 tacked at the same time by Florence, Lucca, 
 Siena, Pistoia, Prato, Volterra, Sanguminia, 
 Colle, and Genoa ; and a respectable modern 
 historian speaking of the Greek fire, an inven- 
 tion which he tells us the Romans of the East 
 frequently used with success against their ene- 
 mies, either to burn their fleets, or annoy their 
 armies, remarks that, *' at the end of the eleventb 
 
 * This book is in the Library of the University. Nu- 
 MiTiANus RuTiiius wfote in the year 4:l6. 
 
 cen- 
 
S37 
 
 century, the Pisans, to whom every sea, and 
 every art were familiar, suffered the effects 
 without understanding the composition of the 
 Greek fire." Bran tome also speaking of Pisa, 
 ranks it among the most flourishing cities of 
 Europe. He says, Paris in France, Milan in 
 Lombardy, Rome in Italy, and Pisa in Tus- 
 cany. The Pisans may be proud of such ho-- 
 norable testimonies of their pre-eminence. Pisa 
 stood high in arts and arms, when Florence was 
 an inconsiderable city ; the inhabitants at that 
 time are said to have despised the unpolished 
 manners of their present masters, and contemp- 
 tuously called them their mountaineers. 
 
 The eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centu- 
 ries were the great epoch of Pisan splendor. 
 Her commerce was extensive, and her armies 
 victorious. Freedom, and Industry her usual 
 companion, made this brave people happy ; and 
 the Arts, which delight in both, united to render 
 them famous. At this period they began to re- 
 vive in Italy, and Pisa is justly entided to the 
 honor of having lent the first hand to raise them. 
 Thus far fortune seems to have favored the 
 Pisans. At length their minds alienated from 
 ^heir country by internal divisions ; their num- 
 bers diminished by a severe pestilence, and an 
 unsuccessful engagement at sea ; the Florentines 
 
 VOL. I* z de- 
 
338 
 
 deprived them of their liberties, and Leghorn 
 has since robbed them of their commerce. The 
 pubHc edifices of this town, which serve to shew 
 what Pisa once was, when compared with what 
 she now is, afford a melancholy but useful lesson 
 to the Philosopher, and, were it the only one, 
 would sufficiently evince that all is vanity. 
 
 The town of Pisa is about five miles in cir- 
 cumference, but being considerably too large for 
 its present inhabitants, what otherwise would lay 
 waste is wisely turned into gardens. Pisa at 
 present contains about fourteen thousand souls, 
 and though a small number for a town, which 
 even in its present state would contain at least 
 forty thousand, is greatly increased since the 
 Court have made it their winter's residence. 
 La Lande tells us it once counted one hundred 
 and fifty thousand. I suppose he means at the 
 end of the eleventh century, at which time their 
 population was at the highest : it was at the 
 lowest in the fifteenth, when some pretend it did 
 not exceed two thousand. Both these accounts 
 seem exagerated. It is however certain that at 
 the death of the Grand Duke Francesco^ the 
 total number of inhabitants amounted to eight 
 thousand only. 
 
 The climate of Pisa is nearly equal to that of 
 Nice and Naples. Snow is an unusual sight, 
 unless at a distance ; and the severities of frost 
 
 are 
 
339 
 
 are totally unknown. Fa rem he it's thermo- 
 meter, exposed to the north in the shade during 
 the months of December and January, was 
 never lower at twelve at noon than forty-four 
 degrees. The mid-day sun is too powerful on 
 the Lungarno, even in winter. In the shortest 
 day you can see to read till near five o'clock : 
 and the earth is at least a month forwarder in 
 her productions than in England. 
 
 The town is not fortified ; is surrounded by 
 an old wall ; and two of the gates, those of Flo- 
 rence and Lucca, are opened at any hour of the 
 night. Custom-house officers are constantly 
 upon the watch, and nothing can enter that has 
 not some duty to pay. As I know you have 
 too much good sense to judge of a whole coun- 
 try from the stupidity of one man, I shall relate 
 a ridiculous circumstance that happened to me 
 the other morning at the custom-house. Among 
 a variety of articles received from England, was 
 a parcel of gunpowder : this parcel was deli- 
 livered with the rest into the hands of a young 
 fellow, who readily enough opened the others ; 
 but when he was told what this contained, he 
 laid it down with as much precipitation as if it 
 had been a firebrand : — it is literally true, that 
 this ancient Republican, — this brave Pisan, — this 
 conqueror of Sardinia, Corsica, &c. 8cc. &c., 
 was afraid to cut the string with his knife, lest he 
 
 z 2 should 
 
340 
 
 should be blown up with the gunpowder. — I 
 wish it had been all gunpowder I 
 
 At a place still called the Fortezza, a Gover- 
 nor formerly resided : but the system of govern- 
 ment being changed, the Governor is dismissed, 
 and the garrison disbanded. The town is now 
 guarded by a militia, consisting of one hundred 
 and fifty men, sixteen of whom mount guard 
 every day, twelve remain all night, the others 
 return home to their wives. 
 
 The principal public buildings are the Du- 
 omo, Battistero, Campo Santo, and Torre Pen- 
 dente. Palaces here are but few. The hand- 
 somest, on the outside at least, being of white 
 marble, is that of the Cavalier Lanfreducci. 
 It has a motto over the door. Alia Giornata, 
 which I have never been able to get a satisfac- 
 tory account of, not even from the gendeman 
 himself. The houses in general are very indif- 
 ferent. It is not unusual for the ground-floor 
 to be either a shop or a coffee-house j and the 
 roofs, which hang over into the street, though 
 they afford shelter to those who walk, add little 
 beauty to the edifices. The streets are wide, 
 are well paved, and kept clean by the galley- 
 slaves, who, chained two and two, and accompa- 
 nied by a soldier, or, to speak more properly, by 
 a man with a firelock on his shoulder, make this 
 their daily exercise. 
 
 We 
 
341 
 
 We have no public gardens. The Lungarno 
 is the general rendezvous of all Pisa, and, for 
 length and breadth, having the river Arno run- 
 ning through the middle of it, is one of the 
 finest streets I know. The middle bridge, 
 which is of marble, is the place of combat at the 
 Gioco del Ponte. At the lower bridge, one arch 
 occasionally served as a draw-bridge to let the 
 galleys pass. They were laid up where the 
 Grand Duke now keeps his horses. The size 
 of the stables will give you some idea of their 
 dimensions. They were a hundred bracci long 
 (about one hundred and ninety-two English 
 feet), and fourteen wide; had thirty-four oars, 
 five men to each, and carried, soldiers and sail- 
 ors included, about three hundred men. Near 
 the Leghorn Gate are still to be seen some of 
 the poops : they are of admirable workmanship, 
 and merit your inquiry. This mode of fighting 
 got out of use when ships of war came into the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 Near the town are many pleasant walks. 
 Those on the Argine are most frequented. The 
 usual drive is to San Michele. The Corso is 
 on the Lungarno. Remote antiquity has left 
 nothing for Pisa to boast of. — No remains of 
 either Circus or Theatre, though without doubt, 
 in former times, it was amply supplied with 
 
 both : 
 
342 
 
 both : nor do I know of one antique statue in 
 the town. 
 
 The principal inns are the Donzelle and the 
 Ussero. One is recommended by its situation 
 on the Lungarno ; the other is most reasonable 
 and best. 
 
 I shall now only add, that were a stranger to 
 enter Fisa at the Porta Nuova, he would see the 
 Duomo, Batistero, Carapo Santo, Torre Pen- 
 dente, and the Hospital : — were he afterwards to 
 drive through the Piazza dei Cavalieri, take the 
 whole length of the Lungarno, and lea\re the 
 town immediately, he might then fancy it one of 
 the most magnificent, and most populous cities; 
 in Italy, and be mistaken in both. 
 
 tET- 
 
34 
 
 Q 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 'TpHE Duomo of Pisa was begun in the year 
 -*• 1064; but whether Buschetti, the ar- 
 chitect, was of Pisan or Grecian origin, we are 
 left in doubt; we only know, from an ancient 
 inscription, that he was buried here. The ex- 
 pence of the building was in part defrayed by 
 the spoils taken from the Saracens at the siege 
 of Palermo the preceding year. This ancient 
 Gothic pile, faulty as it may now appear to the 
 nicer eye of modern architecture, without doubt 
 did honor to the eleventh century : at that pe- 
 riod, the arts were proud of such an ornament, 
 and the other Cities of Tuscany were glad of 
 such a model. The doors of bronze by Gio- 
 vanni Bologna are deservedly admired. 
 Those by Bo nan no, in 1180, were destroyed 
 by lire. The form is a Roman cross. Many 
 of the marble pillars were brought from Greece; 
 others probably were part of the ruins of ancient 
 
 tcm- 
 
344 
 
 temples. They are chiefly of granite, are of 
 various dimensions, and the architect has shewn 
 uncommon skill in the manner of disposing 
 them. The best pictures are by Andrea del 
 Sartq, whose correctness of drawing is always 
 admirable. Saint Aqnes is beautiful. A so- 
 lemn gloom reigns throughout this church ; it is 
 its peculiar excellence j let those who criticise it, 
 remember, that it is not a drawing-room. 
 
 You are shewn the tomb of the Emperor 
 Henry VIL, who was crowned King of Italy at 
 Milan, — Emperor at Rome, — and fought his 
 way from the very foot of the Alps to be poi- 
 soned at last by a treacherous and sacrilegious 
 priest at Buonconyento. 
 
 The body of Sail Ranieri, kept in a glass 
 case, is exposed on particular days to the popu- 
 lace, by whom it is held in the highest venera- 
 tion ; — a veneration not undeservedly bestowed, 
 if we may credit what is said of it. The Che- 
 valier Tin i tells us, " Subitqche viene scoperto 
 il sue Miracoloso Cprpo si vede rasserenarsj 
 O intorbidirsi I'Ariji a secondo dei Bisogni di 
 queste Campagne, Miracolo che ogni vivente 
 ne puo far testimonianza pcrche frequentemente 
 si ne vede I'Effetto." * — I mentioned, the other 
 
 * No sooner is his miraculous body uncovered, than you 
 see the weather change either to wet or dry, as it is wanteci 
 
 in 
 
345 
 
 day, this curious assertion to a friend of mine, a 
 Pisan, and expected he would join with me in 
 laughing at it ; instead of which he very gravely 
 replied — " To he surCy Sir, nor can any one doubt 
 it." — From that moment I determined not to 
 doubt it in this country at least, whatever I may 
 do in another. On the outside of the church is 
 the Sarcophagus of the Countess Beatrice, 
 mother of the Countess Matilda. Melea- 
 G E R is there represented in basso relievo — that 
 famous sportsman of antiquity. 
 
 The Batistero, begun in the year 1153, is a 
 handsome circular building, where the Pisans 
 are all baptised. It was built by the voluntary 
 subscription of a florin from each family, at a 
 time that Pisa contained not less than thirty- 
 four thousand families. The pulpit of alabaster 
 is by NiccoLo' da Pisa, restorer of sculpture 
 in Italy ; an art that is said to have been the last 
 that perished, and the first restored. On one 
 of the pillars you read the name of Diotisalvi 
 the architect. The walls, like those of the gal- 
 lery in Saint Paul's, render the lowest whisper 
 intelligible from one end to the other ; the usual 
 effect of elliptic ceilings. 
 
 in the adjacent country, — a Miracle to which every living 
 person can bear testimony, as the effect of it is often seen. 
 
 The 
 
346 
 
 The Campo Santo, burial place of the ancient 
 Pisans, was begun in the year 1278, and demon- 
 strates, more than any thing beside, their former 
 grandeur. A large oblong cloister, two hundred 
 and seventeen bracci in length, eight hundred 
 and seventy-two wide, su-rrounds an extensive 
 burying ground, whose earth, brought from 
 Jerusalem, had once the quality of consuming a 
 dead body in the space of twenty-four hours ;— 
 a virtue which they candidly confess it has long 
 lost. This was probably in imitation of the 
 ancient Romans, who, when they no longer 
 burnt the bodies of their dead, put them into a 
 stone coffin of a quality that consumed them 
 presently: in this they differed from the Egyp- 
 tians, who, the better to preserve theirs, made 
 mummies of them. Many of the Sarcophagi, 
 some of which are of Grecian, others of Roman 
 sculpture, merit your regard; and it is curious 
 to observe the tombs of about four hundred 
 noble families of Pisa, of which four or five only 
 are now remaining. The walls are painted by 
 the first masters of the ancient school. Simon£ 
 Memmi, of Sienna, celebrated by Petharchj 
 whose Laura he painted, has represented the 
 miracles of SanRANiERi, Giotto, scholar 
 of CiMABUE, the History of Job : the two last 
 are both celebrated by Dante. Noah is 
 represented naked, and his daughter holding her 
 
 hands 
 
347 
 
 hands before her face, and peeping through her 
 fingers ; — she is called La Vergogniosa del Campo 
 SantOy and is become a proverb for false mo- 
 desty. The Triumph of Death is painted by 
 Orgagni : and three Bodies are shewn in their 
 different stages of corruption, intended, as it is 
 supposed, to illustrate the effect the ear^h of the 
 Campo Santo then had upon the human frame. 
 In another part. Death is represented flying from 
 the poor, who court his embrace, to the tons 
 vivants, who neither desire nor expect him. 
 Solomon is, ridiculously enough, placed be- 
 tween Heaven and Hell ; and stands like the 
 prompter of the Italian theatre, between the 
 stage and the pit :— the Painter thus expressing 
 his doubts to which place he most properly be- 
 longs. A Colonna Miliaria, and a Decree of 
 the Senate of Pisa, upon the death of L. and 
 C. C^sAR, sons of Augustus, ordering the 
 inhabitants to wear mourning for a year, and 
 refrain from all public diversions, are also 
 worthy of remark. — Here contemplation in- 
 dulges a pleasing melancholy on the past ; and 
 thus prepares the mind for that which is to come, 
 and is inevitable. At the close of a summer's 
 day, what an interesting walk does this Cloister 
 afford to the philosopher ! — What a moment for 
 reflection on the vanities of the world amid the 
 tombs of a people once so famous, now no 
 
 morel 
 
348 
 
 more !— It may teach charity to the wealthy, — 
 patience to the afflicted, — and may afford to the 
 miserable this comfort at least, that a few years 
 will assuredly put an end to all their sufferings. \ 
 
 There is not a people but entertain for the 
 ton^bs of their ancestors respect and veneration, 
 except the Tuscans. 
 
 The ancients, who were ever anxious to give 
 the last kiss, and close with their own hands the 
 mouth and eyes of their friends and relations, 
 continued their regard for their bodies even 
 after their decease, and visited their tombs. 
 Homer makes the spirit of Patroclus appear 
 to his friend, to intercede that their bones may lay 
 in the same tomb ; and how amiable is Ac grip- 
 pin a weeping over the ashes of her Germani- 
 cus. Even Ovid, in the midst of his suffer- 
 ings in a distant country, is not unmindful of his 
 ashes ; and desires they may be carried to the 
 tomb of his ancestors. The tombs of the three 
 hundred Spartans were of more service to Greece 
 than any victory she ever gained. In ancient Rome 
 the Fabius' and the Scipios* were thus encou- 
 raged, as Sal LUST observes, to actions of valor 
 by the valor of their ancestors. The Funeral 
 Oration, it is true, is needless now ; for what 
 can you say but that he lived, and that he died 5 
 yet, after a life of seventy years are we to be en- 
 tirely forgotten, — not even a stone to tell that we 
 
 ever 
 
349 
 
 ever existed ! Be it pride, be it weakness, be it 
 what it may, I am sorry for it. That the people 
 of this country are no longer to sleep with their 
 fathers, but are to be buried like dogs, I own 
 concerns me ; but I console myself with think- 
 ing that of all their hardships it is what they will 
 feel the least. Though I disapprove the Tuscan 
 manner of getting rid of the deadj I am no friend 
 to costly funerals ; they are the height of absur- 
 dity, Nero, who murdered his wife Poppea, 
 is said to have consumed more cinnamon and 
 cassia at her funeral than the country from which 
 it was imported produced in a whole year ! 
 
 The Torre Pendente, built in 1174 byGuc- 
 LiELMO Tedesco, and Bonanno Pisano is 
 the greatest curiosity in Pisa. The form is 
 cilindrical : the height one hundred and sixty- 
 eight feet, and its inclination out of the perpen- 
 dicular not less than thirteen. It consists of 
 eight stories surrounded by pillars, and from the 
 top, which serves as a belfry, you have a de- 
 lightful view of Pisa, the Baths, Leghorn, and 
 the Sea. Various are the opinions concerning 
 this extraordinary building. Some think it was 
 designedly built as it now is ; others, that acci- 
 dent occasioned it. The most probable con- 
 jecture, in my opinion is, that after three stories 
 were finished the foundation gave way, and that 
 rather than destroy what they had so far ad- 
 vanced. 
 
350 
 
 vanced, the whimsical idea suggested itself of 
 continuing the building, and correcting its de- 
 fects. It is evident that each story after the 
 third inclines less and less. The last was added 
 afterwards, so late as the middle of the four- 
 teenth century. This is not the only building 
 in Pisa that is out of its perpendicular. The 
 Specola inclines visibly, and many others. 
 
 It was from this Tower that the famous 
 Galileo, when Professor at the University, 
 made his Philosophical experiments, and found, 
 in opposition to the received opinion of Aris- 
 totle, that the velocity in the fall of bodies de- 
 pends more on their surface than their weight. 
 Further experiments have since confirmed the 
 opinion of Galileo, and have proved that all 
 bodies, let their weight be what it may, fall with 
 an equal velocity in an air-pump. — Remove the 
 resistance of the air, and all fall alike; — a piece 
 of lead not quicker than a feather. 
 
 Whether this wonderful building inclines by 
 accident or design, we are at least certain that it 
 is one hundred and sixty-eight feet in height, 
 and not less than thirteen feet out of its perpen- 
 dicular : — that it threatens instant ruin to the 
 houses under it, and has already stood upwards 
 of six centuries. All these edifices receive great 
 advantage from their situation, nor do I think 
 four such interestiilg pieces of architecture are 
 
 to 
 
351 
 
 to be found together in any other part of the 
 world. 
 
 See the Hospital, if you have not already seen 
 that of Florence. The. inscription, Providentia 
 Leopoldi Patris Pauperum, is a poor imitation of 
 Patris Patriae. -A boy who has been bitten by 
 a mad dog is just returned thither from visiting 
 Saint DoNiNO, near Volterra, a worthy Gentle- 
 man, who has left behind him a crooked nail, 
 which, heated in the fire and applied to the part, 
 is said to prevent every bad effect from this 
 terrible malady. The wound looks well, and 
 the boy makes light of it :■— whatever faith can 
 do I perceive is not wanting. Could I be sure 
 the dog was mad, I miglit have some faith in the 
 miracle, for I can have none in the; remedy ; and' 
 shall pertainly add, if ever I am in want. Saint 
 Ormskirk, or Saint Cobb, lest the crooked nail 
 of an Italian Saint should have no effect on the 
 blood of a Heretic. 
 
 i.£T« 
 
352 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE Caravanna is the Palace where thd 
 Knights of Saint Stefan o reside, an 
 Order instituted by Cosimo I. in commemora- 
 tion of the two victories he gained at Monte- 
 murlo, andScannagallo, both on Saint Stephen's 
 Day. The third of September, if I mistake not, 
 was not less remarkable in the life of Crom- 
 well. It was both fortunate and fatal to him. 
 On that day he won the two famous battles of 
 Dunbar and Worcester; and on that day he 
 died. The Knights of Saint Stephano, like 
 those of Malta, were first intended to defend 
 their own coast against the Infidels ; like them 
 must prove their Nobility, but are not obliged to 
 celibacy, and their vow of chastity is but in- 
 differendy kept. Formerly they served three 
 years on board the galleys of the State against the 
 enemies of their religion ; they now reside three 
 years in the Caravanna at Pisa, and are after- 
 wards 
 
353 
 
 wards promoted, according to seniority, to the 
 different Commanderies of the Order. I am 
 told that each Knight is obliged by the statutes 
 to say one hundred Pater Nosiers, and as many 
 Ave Marias every day ; an omission, that, were 
 the more necessary ordinances more strictly ob- 
 served, might easily be forgiven. 
 
 The Caravan in its present state is neither 
 more nor less than a college for the education of 
 young men of family, of which, the Grand Prior, 
 who constantly resides among them, may be 
 considered as the head. The Knights are no- 
 minated by the Grand Duke, nor is the number 
 fixed. They cannot sleep out of the Caravan 
 without leave, during their eight month's resi- 
 dence, nor appear in the town without their uni- 
 form. Each at his entrance must be in posses- 
 sion of three hundred crowns a year ; which, 
 little as it is, seems to be the specific sum thought 
 necessary by the Sovereign to maintain the dig- 
 nity of Nobility in Tuscany. 
 
 Under proper regulations the Caravan might 
 become an excellent place of education, but it 
 cannot be denied that thirty young men (which 
 is the number at present) of different ages, are 
 not easily managed. Too much severity is ill- 
 brooked at five and twenty ; and too much 
 lenity ill-suited to seventeen. A peevish dis- 
 position, that notices every trifle, creates dis- 
 . VOL, I A A gust 
 
354 
 
 gust and provokes opposition ; while an easy dis- 
 position, which is offended at nothing, soon loses 
 its authority. The happy medium between the 
 two extremes, so rarely to be met with, is still 
 wanting to render this establishment useful. 
 All Italy might then be benefited by such a 
 place of study, and the Grand Duke made 
 iacquainted with the capacity of his subjects 
 before he employed them :-— but for this purpose, 
 other regulations are necessary than those at 
 present in use ; and other occupations required, 
 than that of a Cavalier Servente. 
 
 The Chapel of the Caravan is neat and ele- 
 gant. The walls are adorned with flags, stand- 
 ards, &c., spoils in former times taken from the 
 enemy : — the Knights of the. present day must 
 content themselves with portraits, lockets, &c. — 
 trophies of a more gentle kind, and more easily 
 obtained. 
 
 Not far distant stood the famous Torre della 
 Fame, where Count Ugolino, his two sons, 
 and three nephews, were confined, and cruelly 
 starved to death. Dante gives a very affect- 
 ing description of this piece of barbarity in his 
 thirty-third chapter Del Inferno^ to which I refer 
 you. 
 
 The University of Pisa is justly celebrated as 
 one of the best in Italy, and has produced many 
 learned men : having already mentioned Gali- 
 leo, 
 
355 
 
 LEO, it is needless to name another. It con- 
 sists of several Colleges, where youth are edu- 
 cated and qualified for the professions of divi- 
 nity, law, and physic. At each they are lodged 
 and boarded, but cannot remain longer than six 
 years, nor less than four. Degrees are not 
 confirmed till after four years residence; each 
 student must then produce a testimonial from 
 the several Professors whose lectures he has 
 attended; he is then examined for his degree, 
 and from that moment becomes a Doctor to all 
 intents and purposes. — Physicians, hov/ever, are 
 obliged to attend the Hospital two years longer, 
 before they are let loose upon the public. 
 
 At the Sapienza, where fifty students are 
 lodged and boarded at the expence of the Sove- 
 reign, the public lectures are read. Formerly 
 they were only read in Latin, they are now 
 repeated afterwards in Italian. I have occa- 
 sionally attended them, and found both instruc- 
 tion and entertainment. A course of private 
 lectures in each science is also read by the Pro- 
 fessors at their respective houses. The number 
 of Professors is not limited. The fund from 
 which their salaries are paid, as well as other 
 cxpences of the University^ was originally a tax 
 granted by Leo X. and his successors on the 
 estates of the church, to the amount of sixteen 
 thousand crowns,— The Grand Duke, who ha^ 
 A A 2 taken 
 
Q 
 
 56 
 
 taken the receipts into his own hands, allows the 
 University seventeen thousand, instead of the 
 former sum, — and, having made some new re- 
 gulations, is thought to have made no bad bar- 
 gain for himself. 
 
 The Professors are appointed by the Sove- 
 reign. Their salaries are not fixed, but varv 
 according to circumstances and the different 
 merits of the Professors : formerly all were 
 raised twenty crowns at the end of every three 
 years ; instead of which, they are in future to 
 have a larger salary. They receive also an- 
 other augmentation, called Accrescimento straor- 
 dinario^ when they publish any work deserving 
 of notice. 
 
 The Specula is an observatory well furnished 
 with the necessary instruments; inhabited by a 
 Professor, who is constantly employed in astro- 
 nomical observations. 
 
 The Botanic Garden contains a great ^variety 
 of plants, and a Professor is appointed to in- 
 struct the students in their several uses. A 
 Museum is also annexed. 
 
 Chemistry, experimental philosophy, and ana- 
 tomy, have also their Professors, and a course of 
 lectures is read annually in each. The anato- 
 mists are supplied with bodies fresh from the 
 Hospital, and copiously. I have read, that, in 
 the time of the Medici family, the body of one 
 
 criminal 
 
357 
 
 criminal only was annually given to the Univer- 
 sity for the study of anatomy. — He must have 
 stunk finely before they had done with him. 
 
 The Library is considerable, and increases 
 daily. The students have the use of it, and 
 the Professors the privilege of taking any of the 
 books to their own houses. The University 
 has a Tribunal independent of the Magistracy of 
 Pisa, and try all causes, civil and criminal, that 
 concern either the Professors or the scholars. 
 The number of students exceed four hundred ; 
 and what, without doubt, will surprise you, not 
 more than five or six of them are Pisans, who, 
 to their disgrace be it spoken, are contented 
 to remain illiterate in the midst of learned 
 men. 
 
 Till lately, a very ridiculous custom prevailed 
 on the day of San Marti no. —The students 
 had the privilege to catch a Jew, weigh him, and 
 demand as many pounds of sugar-plums as he 
 weighed; — you will conclude they picked out 
 the fattest they could find. — The Grand Duke 
 has abolished the custom, and a certain quantity 
 of sugar-plums is annually given by the Jews 
 instead of it. 
 
 Convents are diminished here, as well as in 
 every other part of the Grand Duke's dommions. 
 Instead of which, two Conservaiorios have lately 
 been established for the education of young 
 
 ladies ; 
 
358 
 
 ladies ; one of which is confined to the Noblesse 
 only. They are admitted at the age of ten 
 years, and may remain till eighteen. Thirty- 
 six crowns a year are paid for their board, about 
 nine pounds English ; a trifling sum, and yet the 
 Pisans think themselves aggrieved. — It is true, 
 it cost them considerably less in the Convents : 
 my friend P— — •, a man of the first Nobility, 
 paid only twelve crowns a year for his sister's 
 education : — though the emolument was inade- 
 quate to the consumption, the Nuns had their 
 reasons, and found their advantage, — it fre- 
 quently happened that a young lady took the 
 veil, and spent her whole fortune among them. 
 
 The Grand Duke, fancying the corruption of 
 manners to be owing to the indifferent educa- 
 tion young women received in the Convents, has 
 established Conservatorios : — but the same igno- 
 rance, and the same prejudices, must remain 
 under the same teachers.— Would he alter the 
 manners of his subjects, let them see virtue 
 respected, and vice discouraged : if probity, 
 good conduct, and fidelity, were in esteem, they 
 would affect virtue, if they had it not ; — it is 
 true, it would be at the risk of a vice which, 
 to give them their due, they are at present 
 without. 
 
 Near the bridge towards the north, is a marble 
 building, intended by Cosimo I. as an Empo- 
 rium 
 
359 
 
 rium for the merchandize of Leghorn, then a 
 harbour only. On the other side is the Casino, 
 where balls are given during the Carnival, and 
 where ladies assemble in the Careme, but at no 
 other time. The town has many fountains, and 
 is amply supplied with excellent water ; a benefit 
 they owe to the Medici family, who brought it 
 upon arches near five miles from the mountain 
 of Asciano, — a work worthy their magnificence. 
 Good water, my good Sir, is more essential to 
 the prosperity of a people than you wine-drink- 
 ers are willing to allow. 
 
 The Pretender then is dead at last: — there 
 was a time when this would have been joyful 
 news at Saint James's. — A little sooner, and he 
 had died on the very day his great-grandfather 
 was beheaded. The pretensions of the Stuart 
 line now center in the King of Sardinia, who, I 
 conclude, will have more sense than to take the 
 title. The history of this unfortunate Prince is 
 very extraordinary, and would make no bad 
 figure in romance. He frequently suffered 
 great difficulties, and was not always without 
 great expectations. He had the weakness to 
 talk of his army and his navy to the last; and 
 was never so well pleased as when he could get 
 any of the English about him. His brother, 
 the Cardinal, was desirous of burying him with 
 
 regal 
 
360 
 
 regal honors, but the Pope very wisely replied, 
 ** As I have constantly refused him those honors 
 ■while he was alivcy I see no reason to allow them 
 to him now that he is dead,'* 
 
 LET^ 
 
361 
 
 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 ^T^HE Palace of the Grand Duke has little to 
 -■- be proud of, unless it be its situation on 
 the best part of the Lungarno. Near it stands 
 a statue representing plenty, erected to Ferdi- 
 nand II., who reinstated Pisa, after her suffer- 
 ings under a former reign. — One statue like 
 this, indifferent as it is, does more honor to a 
 Sovereign than all the statues of Louis XIV. 
 for all his victories. 
 
 The Court usually remove hither from Flo- 
 rence the first week in November, and remain 
 till after Easter : few of the coxps diplomatique 
 follow : nor have we levees, or drawing-rooms, 
 as at other Courts ; those who wish to be pre- 
 sented, desire an audience. — A Court that is a 
 professed enemy to form, you will imagine but 
 ill provided with Officers of State, — and it is 
 frequently his Royal Highness's valet de cham- 
 bre who presents you to him. Twice a week 
 
 during 
 
362 
 
 during Lent the Grand Duchess has regular 
 assemblies, and foreigners who have been pre- 
 sented are always invited. 
 
 Though, from its distance to the capital, Pisa 
 certainly may be considered as a place of retire- 
 ment, yet the cares of Princes constantly follow 
 them : — though the Grand Duke has not the 
 insipid formality and inconvenient etiquette of a 
 Court to undergo, yet has he the murmurings 
 of discontent to encounter, and the insatiability 
 of human wants to satisfy :— he gives up amuse- 
 ments ; toils from morning till night in revoking 
 old laws and forming new ; and at last, like the 
 Prophets of old, is more esteemed out of his 
 own country than he is in it. 
 
 The education of the Arch Dukes is not ne- 
 glected : they have masters in various sciences, 
 and, as far as our usual conversation with Princes 
 will authorise an opinion, are not wanting in 
 talents. Report speaks well of their disposi- 
 tions ; and the severity with which their conduct 
 is observed, answers for its regularity. — The 
 amusements of Princes are seldom to be envied. 
 Their lives are uniform : they drive out every 
 day; sometimes go to the Opera, and enjoy 
 every pleasure with greater restriction than any 
 of their subjects. 
 
 The Cascine is a delightful spot, about three 
 miles distant from Pisa, and consists of wood 
 
 and 
 
^63 
 
 o 
 
 and lawn agreeably intermixed. It is part of 
 the Chasse reservee of the Grand Duke, The 
 Cascine at Florence is like the plantation of a 
 private gentleman ; this is like the forest of a 
 Prince. If you take your tea equipage and 
 bread from Pisa, every thing else may be found 
 there : nor shall I soon forget the excellent 
 breakfast I made at the Cascine. The catde, 
 the dairy, and their manner of making butter 
 and cheese, merit observation. If you prefer 
 going by water, for a sequin they will carry you, 
 and bring you back. 
 
 At the Cascine many camels are bred.— -The 
 Devil take them ! — they frightened my horse, 
 which was near throwing me into the river.— 
 They are, however, in themselves an useful, 
 submissive, and profitable animal ; will carry 
 more than double the load of a horse, and eat a 
 third less : they live chiefly on leaves in sum- 
 mer, and hay in winter. They are very tract- 
 able, and readily lay down to receive their bur- 
 dens. They go best on the plain ; cannot en- 
 dure cold ; and the softness of their feet renders 
 them totally unfit for stony roads. We read, 
 that these natives of the Desart can travel seve- 
 ral days together without victuals or drink ; and 
 that the long hair which falls annually from their 
 bodies, furnishes the Arabs with tents and 
 clothing. Horses seem to have a natural dread 
 
 of 
 
364 
 
 of a camel. An elegant modern historian is of 
 a different opinion : — I fancy he is mistaken ; 
 but I esteem him too much to wish him to put 
 it to the trial, as I have done, at the risk of a 
 tumble. — I had the curiosity to mount one of 
 them ; the motion is very disagreeable, and so 
 fatiguing that, I am told, the couriers in Asia 
 who ride these animals are very short lived. In 
 rising, they have three motions, at each of which 
 you must sit with as much caution as at a stand- 
 ing leap. 
 
 Here are no longer any buffaloes : a mon- 
 strous ugly animal, and very savage in its nature. 
 He is put to the same use as the ox, and is con- 
 siderably stronger, though less, and more clum- 
 sily made. His horns do not project like those 
 of the ox; nor is the flesh so good. He cannot 
 bear the extremes either of heat or cold ; and is 
 only profitable in rushy grounds, where the ox 
 cannot live. These animals, which are thought 
 to be n-ear-sighted, have a natural antipathy to 
 a red colour, and will run at it when they see it. 
 — It is well for you soldiers in red, that your 
 enemies are not mounted on their backs. 
 
 Adjoining to the Cascine, they were shearing 
 their sheep : an operation they perform here in 
 the open fields. The sheep are perfectly tame, 
 are caught easily, and, having their legs tied, lie 
 quietly down to lose a burden, which, though it 
 
 is 
 
365 
 
 is only the twelfth of March, they already find 
 more troublesome than necessary. I observed 
 a bit of wool left on the middle of their backs, 
 tied into half a dozen knots: I asked its use; 
 they replied — " Per bellezza" (for ornament}.— 
 I cannot say it answered the design. They asked 
 me in return, if we had any of those animals in 
 England. — I could not help smiling at the ques- 
 tion, and told them — " We have afew.^' 
 
 I know not if you have ever eat a frog : they are 
 a common maigre dish in this country, make a 
 good soup, and not a bad fricassee. Seeing 
 some men on this road angling, as I thought, I 
 stopped to look at them. — They were catching 
 frogs. — I gave one of them my horse to hold, 
 and took his rod. — I never fished with so much 
 success, and, considered as a diversion only, I 
 see no reason why it should not have the prefer- 
 ence to fishing. — You shew the same dexterity 
 in throwing the bait, and as much skill in pulling 
 them out : you have neither worm, fly, nor fish 
 to torture, for you use no hook ; nor are you 
 under the necessity of killing them afterwards : 
 the bait is a bit of raw flesh; their own is as 
 good as any. 
 
 Coltano, about five miles from Pisa, is another 
 hunting seat of the Grand Duke, where the Stud 
 is kept. I must remark two very extraordinary 
 regulations I observed there : one, that of turn- 
 
see 
 
 ing out the stallion with the mares he is intended 
 to cover ; the other, that of not breeding from 
 the same mare two years following. Though 
 Ericthoytus kept three thousand brood mares, 
 Homer tells us they bred a colt every year. 
 This extraordinary custom of breeding from 
 them only every other year is a new invention, 
 as void of economy, as common sense. 
 
 The present establishment consists of eighteen 
 stallions, and five hundred mares ; five asses 
 cover fifty of them. The asses are wonderful 
 animals for size, strength, and shape. Two are 
 lately arrived from Spain at an enormous ex- 
 pence ;— money not ill bestowed to improve the 
 breed, yet I cannot but lament that the horse, 
 that noble and generous animal, should be thought 
 less deserving his Royal Highness's favor.— 
 Stallions also of a better kind are wanted, or 
 the breed, which at present does not answer the 
 cxpence, will shortly be good for nothing. — It 
 is the more to be lamented, as Pisa is a Univer- 
 sity, and the art of horsemanship not only a 
 necessary part of the education of a gentleman, 
 but the exercise of it a benefit even to the stu- 
 dious. It was the breeding season, and the 
 Master of the Horse, who knew of my coming, 
 very kindly reserved a horse and an ass that I 
 might see the function (for so I think lie called 
 it),— and was very much surprised, that the 
 
 lady 
 
367 
 
 lady who accompanied me declined being of the 
 party. 
 
 The house at Coltano is barely good enough 
 to answer the purposes of a hunting seat. It is 
 here the Grand Duke, in jack-boots water proof, 
 that reach up to his middle, shoots wild fowl, 
 which are in the greatest plenty. The whole 
 country is a marsh, and consequently unhealthy 
 in summer. 
 
 As a Shooting Seat it is but justice to say, it 
 is finely planted; — the lawns are spotted with 
 large clumps ; narrow borders unite the woods, 
 which extend more in length than breadth, and 
 have walks cut through them. The walking is 
 excellent ; the shooting would be excellent like- 
 wise, — were there any thing to shoot at. We 
 found three foxes, but neither hare nor bird, 
 though I am confident our men and our dogs 
 left nothing behind them undisturbed. 
 
 News is this instant arrived of the death of 
 
 your rival with Lady , the Abbe de Bourbon, 
 
 of the small-pox, at Naples. Not many months 
 ago I saw him at Florence, revelling in all those 
 luxuries to which youth, beauty, and riches 
 invite, — the general admiration of every circle, 
 and not improbably the secret wish of many a 
 female;— the worms are now feeding on his car- 
 case.-— When an old man dies, his body worn 
 
 out 
 
368 
 
 out with infirmities, the faculties of the mind 
 impaired, and every part visibly tending to its 
 dissolution, death may be considered rather as a 
 relief from pain, than a deprivauon from plea- 
 sure. — Life then goes out like a candle burning 
 dnd stinking in the socket. — But in the bloom 
 of youth, the grim visitant comes unlooked for ; 
 the body is in full vigor to oppose him, and the 
 contest is dreadful ; while the mind, too much 
 attached to the pleasures of this world, foregoes 
 them with reluctance, and sometimes resigns 
 them with desperation. — A Swedish lady, at the 
 point of death, was observed by her attendants 
 to be in this horrid state : she was advised to be 
 more resigned, as her death was inevitable. 
 She replied — " She would not die ; — that she had 
 never been married; — that it -was a pleasure she 
 was intended to enjoy^ and was determined not to 
 go out of the world without it!'' — The intention 
 was laudable; the determination only was too 
 late ; and she died notwithstanding. — But, to 
 return to the poor Abbe de Bourbon. One 
 cannot but lament the obstinacy which prevents 
 mankind from opening their eyes to the benefit 
 of inoculation, and has deprived the world of a 
 young man who might otherwise have long con- 
 tinued one of its greatest ornaments. — 
 
 Post- 
 
369 
 
 Postscript. — While writing the above Let- 
 ter, I have been disturbed by a cry of fire : it 
 was of litde consequence, and extinguished pre- 
 sendy. I have been horridly afraid of fire ever 
 since an accident that happened to me at Turin. 
 I had been indisposed, and, though getting bet- 
 ter, still kept my bed. Music is never more 
 agreeable than when we are in a state of indo-. 
 lence, and incapable of employment : I fancied 
 it might do me good; I was certain it would 
 give me pleasure ; and musicians were sent for. 
 It being late when they came, they gave me to 
 understand, that if I kept them after eleven, I 
 must give them a supper, for the next day being 
 a fast, they could not eat meat after twelve 
 o'clock. 
 
 When they were dismissed, they retired into 
 a large hall adjoining to my bed-chamber, where 
 a great fire was made, the weather being in- 
 tensely cold, and a supper prepared. How long 
 they staid I know not ; attention to the music, 
 and my weak state made repose welcome, and I 
 soon fell into the most profound sleep. It is 
 supposed that som? timber in the chimney com- 
 municated with the wainscot of the chamber 
 where I slept ; and it is also probable that no 
 fire, or at least no such fire, had ever been made 
 there before. About three o'clock in the morn- 
 
 VOL. I. B B ing 
 
o n 
 
 70 
 
 ing I was awoke by my dog, who had jumped 
 upon the bed, was exceedingly restless, and was 
 lying upon me. The room was now full of 
 smoke, and one side of it on fire. How I got 
 put of bed I know not, for the fright had so 
 totally deprived me of my senses, that 1 did not 
 at the first moment recollect where I was, or 
 where to find either door or window. I had, 
 however, sense enough left to perceive the want 
 of them, and I returned to my bed to quiet and 
 recollect myself: I soon perceived what had, in 
 some measure, occasioned my confusion, — that 
 the fire I then saw was not in the chimney, but 
 ' on the opposite side of the room: it was evident 
 also, that the danger of suffocation and burning 
 was advancing rapidly. 
 
 Recovered from my fright, my first care was 
 to pull the bell, and call my servants. — Half 
 suffocated, I then opened the window, which I 
 had better not have done, as it immediately set 
 the whole room in a blaze : the door was then 
 opened, and my servants judging from the tone 
 of the bell that all was not right, ran down in an 
 instant nearly as Nature made them, and having 
 plenty of water, they soon extinguished the 
 fire. 
 
 Whether it was the intention of my dog to 
 alarm me of my danger, or seek my protection ; 
 
 whether 
 
371 
 
 whether it was a regard for himself, or his regard 
 for me, that induced him to wake me, may not 
 be easy to determine ; but it is past a doubt, 
 that honest Smutz, the most faithful of dogs, 
 thus saved his master's life. 
 
 !■ 
 
 B E 3 LET- 
 
372 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 WHEN the different Republics submitted 
 to the Florentine yoke, it is to be sup- 
 posed that all made the best terms they could, 
 and some enjoyed privileges peculiar to them- 
 selves. These privileges have gradually de- 
 creased, and the government of the Grand 
 Duke's dominions is now, with very little dif- 
 ference, in every part the same. Florence, the 
 capital of Tuscany, is the residence of the 
 Ministry and seat of justice. To that tribunal 
 in civil causes the parties may appeal, and from 
 thence criminal sentences must receive their 
 confirmation. 
 
 Of the commerce, manufactures, and trade of 
 Pisa, I have little to say, — and still less of the 
 arts.— No Raphael, Corregio, or Titian ! 
 — No Claude, Salvator Rosa, or Pous- 
 siN ! — and Sculpture, which was once their 
 boast, is no longer heard of. Commerce is 
 
 removed 
 
373 
 
 removed to Leghorn; manufactures have gra- 
 dually declined ; and the only trade which seems 
 to succeed, is that of a cabinet-maker. — Shops 
 in general are miserably provided ; and even the 
 roguery of an Italian tradesman is put to its 
 shifts to gain a livelihood. — Chimney-sweepers 
 sell pins and needles ; and apothecaries, wax- 
 candles, tea, and sugar, — for physicians in Italy 
 do not dose their patients for the sake of the 
 apothecaries, like some we know in another 
 country, — a practice as mean as it is inhuman. 
 After what I have said of the apothecaries, you 
 will of course conclude, that the Pisans are in 
 general healthy, and physicians scarce. Medical 
 gendemen differ as much at Pisa as at other 
 places ; for where there is rivality, cordiality is 
 not to be expected: one of them falling dan- 
 gerously ill, sent, as usual, for a brother doctor, 
 who on the arrival of the messenger said to a 
 friend who was with him — '* See how the fellow 
 uses me ! He has now fallen ill on purpose to 
 ruin me ; — I cannot refuse to attend him ; and 
 if he should die, as most probably he will, it will 
 be said that / killed him to get rid of him.'' 
 
 Notwithstanding the extreme poverty of the 
 town of Pisa, it cannot be denied that it has 
 many advantages. The Court, Caravan, Uni- 
 versity, and Strangers, leave annually a consi- 
 derable sum of money behind them. It is pos- 
 sible. 
 
374 
 
 sible, indeed, that too much of this may get into 
 other hands. The Pisa markets are chiefly 
 supplied by strangers ; and there is besides a 
 monopoly carried on at the gates that ought in 
 good policy to be prevented. 
 
 The unnecessary number of holidays, which 
 contribute not a little to the idleness of the Ita- 
 lians, and consequently to their poverty, are 
 greatly reduced in Tuscany. Popery is out of 
 fashion. A Bishop, by some thought of Pro- 
 testant principles, publicly opposes many of its 
 tenets, owing, it is supposed, to the following 
 circumstance : — Some Nuns in a Convent at 
 Prato, having adopted a strange kind of doc- 
 trine, by the persuasion of some Friars who 
 occasionally visited them, grew so refractory 
 that the Abbess lost her authority : they would 
 not attend mass, nor observe any of the rites 
 their religion required, fully persuaded that they 
 were arrived at a state of perfection, which ren- 
 dered religious ceremonies no longer necessary; 
 and that even acts of sin might be committed 
 with impunity. — This convenient doctrine is 
 called Quietism, The Abbess complained to 
 the Bishop ; the Bishop to the Sovereign, who 
 ordered the Friars to be removed, and the Nuns 
 to Florence, The Pope, considering this as an 
 encroachment on his spiritual authority, sent for 
 the Bishop to give an account of his conduct : 
 
 thus 
 
375 
 
 thus the affair becoming serious, the Grand 
 Duke supported his Bishop, and the Pope, 
 through good pohcy, gave up the contest. — 
 Such was the beginning, it is thought, of our 
 present Jansenismy which, though no longer 
 heard of in France, is reviving in Tuscany^ 
 We have ladies who call themselves Jansenists, 
 without knowing, I believe, what it means. I 
 will tell them one of its tenets. — The man who 
 cohabits with his wife with any other intention 
 than that o^ perpetuating his species, is guilty of 
 a sin : such, therefore, as are pregnant, must 
 forego their exclusive privilege. — It was this 
 severe doctrine that gave Louis XV. his first 
 mistress; and the French nation, the pernicious 
 councils of a Pompadour. 
 
 The Archbishop of Pisa is Primate of Sar- 
 dinia and Corsica. We read, that the Canons 
 are all of them noble, and have the privilege ©f 
 wearing the dress of Cardinals. — It is true, they 
 were noble; but as the Grand Duke has lately 
 introduced among them some that are not, it is 
 clearly his intention they should no longer re- 
 main so. — As to the privilege above mentioned, 
 I cannot find, any proof that it ever existed. 
 
 Saint Ranieri is the tutelar Saint of the 
 town and country of Pisa. He lived in the 
 twelfth century; and it is in honor of that Saint, 
 that, every third year, on the sixteenth of June, 
 
 the 
 
376 
 
 tbe famous Illuminara (illumination) is exhibited. 
 It is not possible to give an adequate descrip- 
 tion of that extraordinary festival, nor in any 
 other town in Europe would it have the same 
 effect as on the Lungarno at Pisa. The public 
 buildings and bridges are illuminated at the ex- 
 pence of the community ; the houses, by each 
 proprietor according to his own taste and muni- 
 ficence. Every small house, and every remote 
 corner, contribute to the general splendor; but 
 the Piazza del Cavalieri, and the Lungarno^ are 
 most worthy the notice of a stranger. 
 
 Fancy to yourself a long and wide street, with 
 a large river running through the middle of it in 
 the most beautiful curve imaginable; on either 
 side the doors and windows of every house, 
 without exception, illuminated ; each forming a 
 detached, but perfect piece of ornamental archi- 
 tecture : public buildings lavishly adorned in 
 fancied shapes : a prison that looks like a pa- 
 lace ; a palace like an enchanted castle : bare 
 walls of Convents become beautiful facades, and 
 market-places arches of triumph : — to complete 
 the whole, the bridges at either extremity close 
 and collect this blaze of light with innumerable 
 lamps beautifully disposed and reflected in the 
 water.— The effect is wonderful — the very stars 
 are darkened — and you have an artificial day at 
 midnight : in short, you might fancy yourself in 
 
 the 
 
377 
 
 the regions of Pluto — in a town of fire. — But 
 as all sights tire after a time, and as seeing is the 
 sense that is soonest satisfied, Pisans ! would 
 you render your Illunriinara still more perfect, 
 place several bands of music on the water to 
 please the ear, and, at a given hour, let ofi' a 
 firework on the middle bridge as a signal for the 
 company to go to supper. 
 
 The boat-race, the diversion of the next day, 
 is not without its merit. The river is covered 
 with boats; the parapet "walls on each side are 
 covered with people; and every window is 
 crowded with well dressed women of fashion. 
 
 The expence of the lUuminara is not less than 
 twenty thousand crowns; a considerable sum,—, 
 but, as one good turn deserves another, it is to 
 be hoped that the Saint makes ample amends to 
 the poor Pisans afterwards. 
 
 In our frequent conversations on these sub- 
 jects, I have had occasion to mention the sights 
 which have pleased and surprised me most :— 
 The Music in Westminster Abbey, in comme- 
 moration of Handel; the Illumination of Saint 
 Peter's, and Girandola at Rome ; a Rigatta at 
 Venice; and the function of San Gennaro at 
 Naples, — not on account of the miracle, but on 
 account of the number and enthusiasm of the 
 people who accompany it.— The Illuminara at 
 Pisa is not inferior to either. 
 
 LET- 
 
378 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 A RIDICULOUS circumstance happened 
 the other night. The bell of San Pietrino 
 rung at twelve o'clock ; the people were alarm- 
 ed ; the Sbirri assembled ; and it was generally 
 thought the town was on fire. The priest of 
 San Pietrino, who perhaps had drank a little too 
 freely in the evening, mistook the moon for the 
 sun, fancied it was day at midnight, rung the 
 bell, and was preparing to celebrate mass, when 
 the people arrived in multitudes to extinguish 
 the fire.— This was a farce j but, contrary to the 
 common order of representations,, a tragedy 
 shortly after followed. Five Jews of Leghorn, 
 walking about the streets of Pisa, were said to 
 have been guilty of some indecency towards the 
 Christian Religion. The report soon caused a 
 general tumult. They were insulted — pursued 
 —and one of them murdered. At that instant 
 an unfortunate Turk passing through the same 
 
 street. 
 
379 
 
 street, was suspected to belong to the same com- 
 pany, and most inhumanly treated. He tried to 
 escape, but in vain. He ran into several houses 
 to implore assistance, but could find none j they 
 - forced him out, tore his beard, pelted him with 
 stones, and would soon have finished him, had 
 not Providence directed his steps towards the 
 door of a foreign minister, which luckily at that 
 time stood open : he entered, — but it was not 
 to the protection he met with there; it was not 
 to the respect that in all civilized countries is 
 shewn to the residence of a Minister ; nor was 
 it to the interposition of Government in his 
 favor, that this miserable and wounded object 
 owed his preservation, — but to a door so forti- 
 fied, that every attempt to force it proved inef- 
 fectual. In this state of warfare did we remain 
 (for I had part of the same house) for near three 
 hours, exposed to the fury of an incensed mob, 
 and that a religious one, — the most violent, the 
 least humane, and perhaps the only one that is 
 not sensible of fear. At length a few militia 
 men, and nine dragoons on horseback, came to 
 our assistance, and raised the siege. It was 
 now late at night, and the people, some hungry, 
 some weary, retired to their respective habita- 
 tions to eat and sleep. 
 
 A Turk arriving at Leghorn from Constanti- 
 nople to see his friend, the unfortunate person I 
 
 have 
 
380 
 
 have just mentioned, had followed him to Pisa, 
 and arrived on one side the Arno at the very 
 time of the riot on the other. Curiosity led 
 him to inquire what the mob were about : he 
 was told that the Pisans were murdering every 
 Jew and every Turk they could find. — " Bag- 
 gatella /" replied the Turk; " turn ahouty postil- 
 lion!'' — and I trust it will be some time before 
 the town of Pisa will see that gentleman's face 
 again. 
 
 You need not conclude from this disturbance, 
 that the Pisans are more riotous than their 
 neighbours; since it is highly probable any odier 
 people, with the same provocation, the same 
 power, and no opposition, would have done 
 worse. No country is secure but by the pro- 
 tection of its laws ; nor can laws avail, unless 
 there be a sufficient force at all times ready to 
 preserve the peace, and punish offenders. For- 
 merly, I am told, a Cavalier de San Stefano 
 could disperse a mob, and quiet a disturbance : 
 I believe any Cavalier who was to attempt it 
 now, would be thrown himself into the Arno— 
 Buttar in Arno, is the common threatening of 
 an angry Pisan : a punishment for all offences : 
 a kind of Purgatory, — but such a one as not all 
 the Saints that ever saved a sinner can get you 
 out of, unless you can swim. I wish this un- 
 fortunate accident may serve as a lesson to my 
 
 coun- 
 
381 
 
 countrymen never to give offence in matters of 
 Religion : here was one man murdered, others 
 wounded, and a tov^'n in rebellion, occasioned, 
 as it is generally allowed, by the merest trifle ; — 
 but that trifle was a religious one, and Religion 
 is not to be trifled with. 
 
 As you will probably ask in what the force of the 
 townofPisaconsists, I will tell you without waiting 
 the inquiry. It consists of eighteen Sbirriy ten of 
 whom, if I am rightly informed, were employed 
 the other day to secure one man; and a Militia 
 of one hundred and fifty Pisans, all of whom, 
 sixteen excepted, who mount the guard, are at 
 work in their shops, or sleeping in their beds ; 
 and when wanted may not be found, and if found, 
 may refuse to come : they are liable to no 
 punishment ; are hired at a livre and a half a 
 day ; and may demand their discharge at the 
 end of it. We have also nine Dragoons. I 
 saw this troop in actual service, when they had 
 enough to do to manage their own horses ; and, 
 before the affair was over, I concluded half of 
 them would have been sent to the hospital. — 
 Surely the Pisans must be naturally good, and 
 peaceably inclined, or this is not a proper force 
 to keep them in subjection. 
 
 You may also wish to know, how the death 
 of the Jew has been received at Florence ; and 
 what punishment is likely to be inflicted on th^ 
 
 mur- 
 
. 38^ 
 
 murderer. The latter I can already tell you— 
 the galleys; and a temporal confinement for the 
 other oflPenders, By a new code of laws just 
 published, no crime, however atrocious, is any 
 longer to be punished with death ; instead of 
 which they are sent to the galleys, and are 
 lodged, clothed, and fed, at the expence of the 
 Sovereign. — They are in chains, it is true ; but, 
 that excepted, they are not more confined than 
 the man who guards them. Their labour is to 
 clean the streets ; very moderate, and not un- 
 wholesome exercise. Each is allowed twenty- 
 eight ounces of bread a day ; three times a week 
 they have a soup made of beans ; and every day 
 they work, four soldi are paid to each. They 
 are also found in shoes and stockings. — Mur- 
 derers are distinguished by a chain which they 
 wear round their neqks — a kind of Order : they 
 ought, indeed, to go barefoot j the latter, how- 
 ever, is dispensed with, — I cannot conceive 
 why, unless it be to render their situation bet- 
 ter, in every respect, than that of a common 
 labourer. 
 
 Curiosity led me to see the den where these 
 ■wild beasts are kept. One thing surprised me ; 
 they falsify an old proverb, j)'om can have no more 
 oj a cat than her skiuy — for they skin her first, 
 and eat her afterwards. The gentleman who 
 was with me lamented the fate of the Gallerians, 
 
 and 
 
S83 
 
 and laid great stress on their laying on benches, 
 and being confined for life: and yet there are at 
 Naples not less than thirty thousand Lazzaroni, 
 and some honest men I suppose among them, 
 who have no other bed : — and what are Con- 
 vents, I beg to know, but prisons for life ? — It 
 is not necessary punishment should be cruel, — 
 it is sufficient that it be certain. — The torments 
 of a Ravillac did not prevent a Damien.— - 
 But, to keep mankind tolerably honest, no wilful 
 offence should escape without some punishment: 
 Mercy, that heavenly prerogative, should be 
 exercised with discretion. — It was the imprudent 
 pardon of an assassin that deprived the world of 
 a WiNKELMAN :— and the galleys in Tuscany 
 are rendered so mild a punishment, that the 
 murderer glories in his villany. — The jailor told 
 one of them the other day, that he was the worst 
 of villains : if others were guilty of robbery, it 
 was for something considerable ; if they com- 
 mitted murder, it was to satisfy revenge : while 
 he had cruelly murdered a poor cripple, for the 
 paltry sum of seventeen pauls.— " All this is 
 truCy' replied the Gallerian, with great compo- 
 sure ; " and it is not less truCy that I have by that 
 means secured to myself a livelihood." 
 
 Another is just arrived, who offended in 
 some manner or other by the curate of his 
 parish, shot him while he was saying mass. The 
 
 whole 
 
384 
 
 whole congregation, as you may suppose, were 
 in the utmost confusion ; and he was told to 
 run away : for in this country, those sentiments 
 of honor which prompt every man to secure an 
 offender are totally unknown. He replied— 
 " He preferred being sent to the galleys : he fre- 
 quently had not bread to eat; he was sure to find 
 it there as long as he lived,^" 
 
 Of the prisons I shall only observe, that they 
 are such as Mr. Howard has seen, and disap- 
 proved : but I should hate myself, could I men- 
 tion the name of that gentleman, and not pay a 
 just tribute to his memory, — a name already 
 celebrated, but more honored by the uncommon 
 benevolence of that private individual, than by 
 all the tides of all its peers. 
 
 One disagreeable consequence has arisen 
 from the Pisa riot that very much affects your 
 humble servant : the Grand Duke has just an- 
 nounced to us, from Florence, that we are no 
 longer to expect the Gioco del Ponte^ — a severe 
 punishment on the town of Pisa.* 
 
 The origin of this extraordinary festival is 
 unknown. The river which divides the town, 
 separates the two contending factions of Saint 
 
 * The usual time was once in three years. 
 
 Anto- 
 
385 
 
 Antonio and Saint Maria, each of which 
 furnishes three hundred and twenty combattenti 
 (combatants), clad in a complete suit of heavy 
 armour, to dispute the passage of the bridge, 
 which at the first onset is equally divided be- 
 tween them, and at the end of three quarters of 
 an hour victory is declared in favor of those who 
 have made their antagonists retreat. The offen- 
 
 o 
 
 sive weapon to obtain this purpose is a kind of 
 club : with this they parry, sometimes strike, 
 but more commonly push. The form of attack 
 is a kind of phalanx, and so close, that the 
 officers walk on the heads of the men, whose 
 helmets, which, for greater security, are closed 
 after they are put on, are so battered by the 
 hard blows they receive from the enemy, that it 
 is not always easy to get them off again. 
 
 Twenty-four Celestiniy so called I know not 
 why, are solely employed in making prisoners, 
 by catching the enemy by the legs, and throwing 
 them on their backs. They are all picked men; 
 are less armed than the rest ; have no weapon ; 
 and as their faces are exposed, they keep them- 
 selves almost upon their knees, and are defended 
 by the Combattenti. They have also twenty- 
 four attendants to take charge of, and carry 
 away the prisoners they make. 
 
 As the principal object is to make prisoners, 
 and thereby weaken the force of the enemy, the 
 
 VOL.1. cc activity 
 
o 
 
 86 
 
 activity of the Celestini usually decides the fate 
 of the battle ; towards the end of which, and 
 when the three quarters of an hour are nearly 
 expired, the Combattenti who are then in pos- 
 session of the greatest part of the bridge, stand 
 an unmoveable mass, suffering the blows of their 
 antagonists with patience till the flag drops, and 
 the cavalry enter to disperse them all. — It is 
 called a game, but seldom ends without some 
 broken bones : they fight in earnest ; and the 
 whole town is interested in the event : every 
 man, woman, and child, is on one side or the 
 other ; even husbands and wives have been 
 known to separate beds, and not speak to each 
 other for several weeks before and after. The 
 party beaten seldom make their appearance any 
 more that day. The greatest calamity could 
 not occasion more general concern. A Lucca 
 gentleman, on a visit to a friend at Pisa, who, 
 unluckily for him, was on the side that had been 
 worsted, was surprised to see no preparation for 
 supper: but much more, when his friend told 
 him, with a lamentable countenance — " Thai 
 it was no longer a time to think of such trijles,** 
 
 The last Gioco del Ponte was given in the 
 year 1785, at the arrival of the King of Naples, 
 who, observing the splendor of Pisa on that 
 occasion, asked the Grand Duke, how many 
 classes of Nobility he had in Tuscany. The 
 
 Grand 
 
387 
 
 Grand Duke replied—" He knew hut of two 
 distinctions in his dominions — men and women." 
 Tell me, you cunning ones, — you who know the 
 secret intricacies of the human heart,^ — was this 
 the speech of a Republican, or a Despot ! 
 
 The same Sovereign, if I am rightly inform- 
 ed, had once the strange idea of restoring to the 
 Tuscans their former liberty — that is, after his 
 own decease.— 'RcHeci on that also. 
 
 C C 2 LET- 
 
Q 
 
 88 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 A STRANGER might fancy the Pisans 
 never die. He will meet no corpse, nor 
 will he hear a bell toll. Burials are now per- 
 formed by night, and without ceremony : pray- 
 ers are said in the church without the body, and 
 the body is put into the grave without a prayer. 
 When the corpse was carried into the church, 
 priests were not free from the suspicion of bury- 
 ing the body in order to save the wax. So 
 fearful were the ancient Romans of burying 
 their dead alive, that they kept them till the 
 eighth day, consequently till they stunk. It is 
 well known, that many persons in this country 
 have been buried alive. One man is an ex- 
 traordinary living instance of it. I have seen 
 him; conversed with him; and have heard this 
 part of his history from his own mouth : — That 
 having laid two hours at the Hospital, and two 
 more in the Chapel, he was carried to his grave : 
 
 and 
 
389 
 
 and to the indelicate manner of burying the 
 dead without a coffin he owes his present exist- 
 ence : — the extreme coldness of the ground, it 
 being the depth of winter, restored him to his 
 senses ;-— the dead man on a sudden started up 
 in his grave, and the Sexton, who was at this 
 instant covering him with earth, his teeth chat- 
 tering, and limbs trembling, threw his spade at 
 him, and ran away. — The wounded object, thus 
 left alone, disengaged himself as well as he was 
 able from the earth that surrounded him; took 
 up his winding-sheet, which was near at hand, 
 wrapped himself up in it, and crawled back again 
 upon his hands and knees into the chapel from 
 whence he was brought. — A horrible spectre ! — 
 His head fresh bleeding from the wound he had 
 just received, realized in some degree that chi- 
 mera of a nurse's brain, that imaginary Hob- 
 goblin, — a raw-head, and bloody-bones. The 
 Parson, who at this instant was coming out of 
 the chapel, meeting this spectre crawling into it, 
 fancied it was the Devil, and ran away also. 
 The alarm now became general ; a large body 
 of Friars came in procession, with the Parson at 
 their head, and, after many signs of the Cross, 
 and usual exorcisms, demanded of him, in the 
 name of God the Father, the Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, whence he came, and what he 
 wanted. The poor fellow by this time was able 
 
 to 
 
3M 
 
 to give an account of himself; related his dis- 
 tresses, eased them of their fears, and was car- 
 ried back, again to the hospital. Though very 
 old, he is strong and lusty ; and may conclude 
 perhaps, that having once died, he is now to live 
 for ever. 
 
 You hear as little of marriages, as you see of 
 burials. The Pisans are in general too poor to 
 bear the additional burden of a family. The 
 eldest son only can afford tp marry. You will 
 little suspect the Italians of declining marriage 
 in the month of May:— a ridiculous supersti- 
 tion, of very ancient date. The months of 
 April and June were thought most propitious to 
 wedlock : the Romans preferred the latter. 
 The month of May was constantly precluded; — 
 the month, of all others, the most congenial to 
 love ; and the only one in which a French lady. 
 
 La Marquise de S- , said she could not 
 
 answer for herself.— Some tell you, it is because 
 asses cover at that season,— a most excellent 
 reason truly! In my reckoning, two days only 
 are of consequence in the whole year, — Saint 
 Thomas and Saint Bartholomew ; the one 
 best suited to a young couple, the other to an 
 old one. 
 
 Four or five thousand crowns is the usual 
 Pisa dower; half of which returns to the family 
 of the wife, should she die without issue within 
 
 the 
 
o 
 
 91 
 
 the year. I am sorry to add, four or five 
 crowns a month is tne usual Pisa pin-money. 
 A widow is worse off; she is entitled to no 
 more than she brings. I know one, and of the 
 first nobility, who if she were to marry, or otherwise 
 leave the family of her husband, where she is at 
 present boarded, and has the use of a coach and 
 servants, could claim only her own fortune — - 
 the miserable pittance of a thousand crowns ; 
 which, at four per cent, would not produce more 
 than ten pounds a year, — considerably less than 
 the wages, &c. of a common house-maid. By 
 an old law, a husband was not permitted to leave 
 his wife a legacy. The law perhaps was not an 
 unwise one j but then the jointure should be 
 larger ; nor should the fortune of the wife be 
 any consideration, if insuflBcient to maintain her. 
 The increased luxury of the times, and the little 
 proportion the fortune of the wife bears to the 
 expence she occasions, keep many asunder that 
 Nature would otherwise unite ; and there seems 
 to be no better understanding between Cupid 
 and Hymen before, than there is after marriage. 
 ' — Poor girls ! it is you who are the suiferers. 
 A Sposo discoursing with the mother of a young 
 lady on the subject of her marriage portion, the 
 smallness of which he objected to, the girl, pull- 
 ing him by the sleeve, said — " Prayt SiVj take 
 my mother's money if you can,*' 
 
 youth 
 
392 
 
 Youth are educated at Pisa, better, as far as 
 relates to the Sciences, than in any pait of Italy. 
 The Professors are most of them of distinguished 
 learning ; exact in their lectures ; and the young 
 men who come hither to study, finding few 
 temptations to be idle, may improve if they will 
 take the trouble. From a private tutor of sense 
 and discernment, who will lead on his pupil step 
 by step, from the most easy science, to that 
 which is most difficult, constantly clearing the 
 way before him, more knowledge is to be ac- 
 quired than from a public lecturer. — United, 
 they seem to answer the purposes of education 
 best, and in this point of view the University of 
 Pisa is excellent. Three young men of fashion 
 of Cremona are sent hither under the care of an 
 Abbe of good family and great talents. They 
 live in good company, and in a healthy town, where 
 they neither see dissipation nor extravagance. 
 The public lectures of the University are made 
 the subject of their private conversation, and by 
 mixing a knowledge of the world with their 
 studies, it will be their own fault if they become 
 not men of learning without pedantry ; and if 
 they add not the advantages of a public educa- 
 tion to the benefit of a private one. 
 
 We think alike with regard to our great Eng- 
 lish schools ; and though I would certainly send 
 a son to one of them, for the sake of the ad- 
 vantages 
 
393 
 
 vantages that are peculiar to them, yet would I 
 as certainly remove him from thence before he 
 arrived at an age to be tainted by the vices 
 which so generally prevail there, and should hope 
 in a couple of years, under the tuition of a man 
 of sense and learning, that he would acquire 
 more useful knowledge than schools usually af- 
 ford. Some lay too great a stress on the advan- 
 tage of knowing mankind. A better knowledge 
 might be to know yourself. Both, however, are 
 necessary ; but it is less material to know 
 whether Mr. A— — is most knave or fool, than 
 to find out and correct that depravity, or debility 
 of mind, which may naturally incline you either 
 to one or the other. The Pythian Oracle* is a 
 surer guide to happiness than Sir Clement 
 
 CoTTEREL.t 
 
 Postscript. — Notwithstanding that fighting 
 is out of fashion in Italy, in every way y I ex- 
 pected (and left my letter open on purpose) to 
 have sent you news of a Pisa Duel. Blows 
 past the other day between two Gentlemen in a 
 public coffee-house, but, as far as 1 can find, no 
 
 * The Pythian Oracle says — " Know thyself T 
 
 f SirCLEMENT CoTTEREL, Master of the Ceremonies. 
 
 notice 
 
394 
 
 notice whatever has been taken of it. Surgeons, 
 in this country, do more mischief with their 
 lancets, than gentlemen with their swords. In 
 the reign of Louis XIII., the first question in 
 the morning was — Who fought yesterday ? After 
 dinner — Who fought this morning ? They fre- 
 quently fought several on a side, and if one was 
 wanted to make up the number, a messenger 
 was sent in search of the first Gentleman that 
 could be found. In the famous duel between 
 the Duke of Beaufort and the Duke of 
 Nemours, they fought five against five. The 
 Duke of Nemours was killed, and two others 
 of the combatants ; the rest were slightly wounded. 
 The most extraordinary duel we have upon re- 
 cord is that between Lord Bruce and Sir 
 Edward Sackville ; you will find it in The 
 Guardian. The frequency of duelling in France 
 is pardy owing to a custom, long estabhshed, of 
 repeating private conversation. A pretty ser- 
 vice you render your friends. Gentlemen, in 
 telling them what they must be sorry to hear, 
 and are bound in honor to resent! A blow in 
 that country admits of no reparation.-^The par- 
 ties must fight till one falls. — Should he recover, 
 they must fight again, and so on, till death at last 
 puts an end to the combat. There has been an 
 instance of two Officers fighting for the same 
 offence six times following. This is the excess 
 
 of 
 
395 
 
 of barbarity ! I had rather see the right hand of 
 the man who gave the blow chopped off by the 
 common hangman, than that an innocent person, 
 perhaps a whole family, should be involved in 
 one general distress by the intemperance or 
 brutality of a man whom I cannot consider 
 otherwise than as an honorable assassin. The 
 brave Gassion, Marshal of France, told his 
 son, that, " Though he should become his greatest 
 enemy if he wanted couragey he would be second 
 to his antagonist if ever he attempted to shew 
 that courage by fighting a duel which he could 
 avoid with honor, "^^ Though I have dwelt longer 
 on this subject than I first intended, do not 
 fancy that I am a duellist ; — I detest the practice, 
 and lament as much as you can do, the unfortu- 
 nate situation of a Gendeman who is never se- 
 cure in the uprightness of his own conduct, but 
 always at the mercy of any rascal who is brutal 
 enough wantonly to affront him. There are af- 
 fronts which a man of honor, who values reputa- 
 tion more than life, cannot put up widi. Pru- 
 dence and Christianity forbid his resentment^ 
 but prejudice too often prevails against thera 
 both. 
 
 LET- 
 
596 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 
 THE income of the Nobility of Pisa, is 
 smaller than would be credited in any part 
 of England, and I should risk being thought the 
 most lying of all Travellers, were I to relate 
 half of what they do with it. Twelve hundred 
 crowns is a tolerable Pisa income. With this 
 they keep a coach, horses, and servants; have a 
 box at the theatre j and live, in external appear- 
 ance at least, equal to the people of fashion in 
 other countries. Their stile of living, in their 
 own houses, is best known to themselves, for it 
 is not usual to invite others to partake of it. 
 You will observe in the very poorest towns of 
 Italy, magnificence abroad, and misery at home. 
 Pride will not abate an inch of its outward 
 finery, though the whole family smart for it. 
 It is otherwise in Fiance. The French consider 
 parade no more than as it contributes to their 
 convenience; they keep an excellent table, nor 
 will they starve themselves to add a few servants 
 
 to 
 
397 
 
 to their equipage. A friend of mine, dining 
 with a French Gentleman at his country-house 
 (they go to their estates to get money, not to 
 spend it), observed a hole in the wall, and asked 
 him, if he could not stop it ? " Stop it :" — Yes, 
 to be sure I could," replied the Marquis, " but 
 it must be with the leg of mutton now before us, 
 and I had rather see it upon the table.** A 
 widow lady, who could ill afford two footmen 
 behind her carriage, and knew that one only was 
 necessary, had a figure stuffed with straw to 
 answer the purpose of the other. The inven- 
 tion succeeded admirably, till one unlucky day 
 making a visit near to a stand of hackney- 
 coaches, one of the half-starved animals smelt 
 out the straw, and eat up the footman. 
 
 To feel the warmth of summer in the depth 
 of winter ; to seek the shade, and yet see the 
 distant mountains covered with snow, are cir- 
 cumstances peculiar to the chmate and situation 
 of Pisa; nor are they its only recommendation. 
 Invalids in fortune, as well as invalids in health, 
 find benefit in a town where living is cheap, and 
 the inhabitants free from every extravagance. 
 — A countryman of ours (an invalid of the 
 former class), single, and without a servant, was 
 lodged, boarded, and found with candies, at- 
 tendants, &-C. for five pauls; his whole daily 
 cxpence not exceeding half-a-crown. A family 
 
 may 
 
398 
 
 may be lodged for ten sequins a month, and 
 supplied from a traiteur at their own price. 
 The dinner of an English gentleman, consisting 
 of three masters and four servants was served 
 for twelve pauls a day :— bread and wine only 
 excepted. Traiteurs, neither here nor else- 
 where, will serve you well two days following, 
 unless kept up to it by scolding. I heard a 
 French Gentleman complain of a good dinner ; 
 he said — " he complaincdy that he anight not be 
 starved the next day." Put confidence in an 
 Englishman, and give him good words, he will 
 use you well. In France and in Italy you must 
 do the reverse : — put no confidence, and con- 
 tinually find fault. 
 
 A coach for the whole day, is ten pauls, 
 buona mano to the coachman included. For 
 the evening, you pay only six. A horse is 
 hired for three pauls. A box at the theatre 
 for the Carnival is eight sequins. A stranger 
 must be contented to pay more, his ignorance 
 or his necessity are irresistable temptations in 
 the way of an Italian. If you love music, you 
 may indulge that taste at little cost. — Musicians 
 for a concert are paid five pauls. To Sforzi, 
 who will lead the band, you may give ten ; and 
 he will give you a Sonata on the Mandoline 
 into the bargain. The price of Masters is a 
 sequin a month ; with twenty livres you pay 
 
 hand- 
 
^^99 
 
 oi 
 
 handsomely ; with two sequins you pay like an 
 Englishman ; one sous more, and, you pay like a 
 fool. 
 
 I foresee other prices. A colony of English 
 established for one winter at Pisa, will introduce 
 new customs, and strange demands. Luxury 
 and extravagance accompany us every where, 
 which the natives cannot see without regret, or 
 imitate without ruin. Man is best suited to his 
 native soil, and will seldom bear transplanting : 
 —even Omai was glad to return to his own 
 country. 
 
 The markets are well supplied, and with great 
 variety. A red-legged partridge, and a carrion 
 crow, I once saw on the same board : had I 
 had a servant with me, I would have bought 
 both out of curiosity. — Nothing comes amiss to 
 an Italian stomach. Fish is in great plenty. 
 The red mullet excellent j but the Mediterra- 
 nean turtle, I am sorry to say, is not like that 
 of the Adantic. Pistoia mutton, and Lucca 
 veal, are famous ; and beef as good at Pisa, as 
 in London. It is not a good town for an Epi- 
 cure notwithstanding ; not that he will have 
 little to eat, but because he will have little appe- 
 tite, which he would think as bad. The air is 
 heavy, and exercise, which was the Spartan 
 sauce, is necessary here. The Proverb says— 
 " Fisa pesa a chi posa," In England, where 
 
 all 
 
400 
 
 all the morning you are flying over the country 
 after a fox, or climbing the hills after partridges 
 or woodcocks, you may at your return eat a^ 
 you please, — here you should eat little. Doctor 
 Franklin, who lived to a great age, and was 
 always remarkably healthy, made it a rule, if 
 not to fast, at least to live abstemiously one day 
 out of the seven. Cornaro cured himself of a 
 bad disorder, and continued healthy to an ad- 
 vanced age, by temperance alone : read what 
 that worthy gentleman has written on the sub- 
 ject, though you do not practise it ; and should 
 a dish at any time be wanting at your table, let 
 CoRNARO be served up instead of it. If I am 
 more healthy than others of the same age, I owe 
 it all to ternperance, to early hours, and a total 
 abstinence from wine. Monsieur Dumon tin, 
 a famous physician at Paris, being on his death- 
 bed, and surrounded by many of the faculty, 
 said — " Gentlemen, / am going ; but I leave 
 behind me three great physicians." Each 
 thinking himself included in the number, begged 
 earnestly that he would name them : he did so — 
 " VEau; V Exercise ; et la Diete." The 
 Court and common people dine at one, the 
 Noblesse at two. 
 
 I cannot say the moist air of this town agrees 
 with me. To day it is particularly oppressive. 
 When the sky is overcast, and the rain pours 
 
 down 
 
401 
 
 down without intermission, we feel ourselves 
 oppressed, and usually exclaim, " How heavy 
 the air is '/' yet the air is lighter then than at 
 another time. We feel ourselves oppressed, it 
 is true, but from another cause : the vessels are 
 more dilated, having less external pressure; and 
 the blood is consequently retarded in its circu- 
 lation. Much of this oppression did I feel at 
 limes during the three winters I passed here; 
 others have felt the same. A Frenchman who 
 had spent three weeks at Pisa, in the month of 
 November, when it rained incessantly, returned 
 three years after at the same season on a very 
 wet day : — " Morbleu !" said he, " quel chien dc 
 pays : il pleuvoit quand je suis patti^ il y a trois 
 ans que je suis absent^ et il pleut encore." 
 
 Winter is notwithstanding the best season to 
 be at Pisa. It snows so seldom here, that a 
 young Pisan might be as much surprised at the 
 sight of it, as the Negro who was sent from 
 Jamaica to my house in Dorsetshire, for the 
 recovery of his health: he fancied the first snow 
 he saw was cotton blown from the trees. For 
 invalids, the Lungarno is the best situation. 
 Though fogs are less frequent than at Florence, 
 they have more rain, not like a Scotch mist, 
 that is said to wet an Englishman to the skin, 
 but a downright heavy rain that no covering is 
 a match for : you see, indeed, in the morning 
 
 "S'OL. I. D D ^he 
 
402 
 
 the weather you are to expect, and, as sudden 
 showers seldom fall, it will be your own fault if 
 you are ever wet. A constant fire, as in Eno-. 
 land, is without example. When a stranger 
 arrives, or they wish particularly to warm them- 
 selves, they make ^ fiammata^ that is, they burn 
 a faggot. Though they seldom approach a fire, 
 they will sit a whole day with a vase of burning 
 coals in their laps, and another under their petti- 
 coats. The men are not less chilly than the 
 women : they are wrapped up in their cloaks, 
 even in the middle of the day, to their very 
 noses — a custom totally unaccountable, unless, 
 like the Arabs, they wear their cloaks to keep 
 off the sun. I know one, who for the night has 
 an excellent contrivance: he gets into a sack, 
 and when warm in bed, kicks it off; his wife 
 does the same. I know nothing of Pisa in 
 summer ; but am told, that the excessive heat is 
 greatly moderated by the maestrale^ or sea- 
 breeze, which invariably blows from ten in the 
 morning till the evening. 
 
 Of the public diversions of Pisa I have little 
 to say. The Theatre is large enough for the 
 number of inhabitants ; and the Opera some- 
 times good, sometimes bad, as in other places, 
 but always cheap. A first singer, singing almost 
 every night throughout the Carnival, is well 
 paid at one hundred sequins ; while in England 
 
 you 
 
403 
 
 you pay more than twenty times that sum : in 
 short, you spoil them, and may thank yourselves 
 for their impertinence. — You pay half a guinea 
 at the door, we pay only a shilling. 
 
 At Pisa, during the Carnival, masks claim a 
 right to enter every box, and frequently sit 
 themselves down in a corner without speaking a 
 word. This piece of impertinence, and the in- 
 convenience of having your box-door continu- 
 ally open in a cold season, render the Theatre 
 particularly disagreeable. Only the last days of 
 the Carnival can now give you an idea what a 
 Carnival once was. You see but few masks, 
 and few characters sustained with propriety. A 
 young fellow, perfectly well made, painted his 
 body black, and walked naked, his waist only 
 excepted, on the Lungarno, to personate a 
 Moor; — he caught a fever, and died. If I 
 thought I should be believed, I would also add, 
 that his brother, the Carnival following, com- 
 mitted the same folly, and died in the same 
 manner. 
 
 The Pisans are not expensive in their dress. 
 Economy in this particular they learn of their 
 Master, who, when he is dressed, appears always 
 in a uniform ; and, in his undress, is not to be dis- 
 tinguished from the shabbiest of his subjects, 
 and yet I have a fat coachman who takes snuflF 
 and wears ear-rings. — I wish he knew how t<3 
 D D a drive. 
 
404 
 
 drive. — He has neither eye nor hand, and the 
 fellow turns like an alligator. When I was at 
 Turin in my younger days, fat coachmen were 
 in fashion. Marquis Prie' sent to Paris for the 
 fattest that could be procured, and the first day 
 he drove, he ran him against a post. Prie', v.'ith 
 the greatest composure let down the fore-glass 
 of his chariot, and said — ^' EcouteZy mon ami, ce 
 n*est pas tout d' avoir un gros ventre il Jaut U 
 savoir conduire." 
 
 Italians in general have few occupations. 
 Those who are not Cavalier Servente's have 
 nothing to do, and pass the greatest part of their 
 time in the streets and coffee-houses. Day 
 succeeds day in the same dull uniformity, and 
 you are certain at the same place, and at the 
 same hour, to meet the same company. 
 
 You meet many crooked people in the streets 
 that the Spartans would have destroyed ; to which 
 the hemg fasciatiy that is, swaddled tip for months 
 like an Egyptian mummy, may probably con- 
 tribute. The method may be convenient, but 
 it is impossible to express, for we know not half 
 the ills it may occasion. The ancients procured 
 their dwarfs somewhat after the same manner. 
 It is thus by confinement the Chinese procure 
 little feet.' Luckily in England this folly is un- 
 known. The tender limbs of our infants are 
 not squeezed into unnatural forms, but are per- 
 mitted 
 
405 
 
 mitted to grow like those of other animals, as 
 natnre intended them. 
 
 The common people, whom I rather suspect 
 to be indolent and idle, and, like the Florentines, 
 more disposed to chatter than to work, have 
 one excellent quality that makes amends for 
 many failings. — They are not revengeful, nor 
 do they use knives in their quarrels like other 
 Italians. They box ; but are not over scrupu- 
 lous in the manner, and will readily enough fall 
 three or four upon one. They are thought to 
 be wanting in humanity. Two French Officers 
 lately came from Leghorn to see Pisa, when one 
 of them stooping to pick up his hat, which had 
 fallen into the river, fell in himself, and was 
 drowned. I am sorry to add, that no trouble 
 whatever was taken to get him out : and yet, if a 
 fowl fall in, an accident I have seen happen, the 
 whole town is in an uproar. But a fowl is good 
 to eat, whereas a drowned Frenchnian is good 
 for nothing. 
 
 The visiting hour is from eleven to one at 
 noon, and in winter at five in the evening. 
 Where you are intimate you go when you please. 
 The women at Pisa wear no rouge unless they 
 want it J and then it is laid on naturally : if they 
 do not improve nature, at least they do not ren- 
 der it monstrous. Few of them take snuff". If 
 women did but know how much rouge, un-. 
 
 na« 
 
406 
 
 naturally put on, disfigures them ; and how of- 
 fensive snufF is to more senses than one, vanity 
 would surely prevent the use of either. They 
 wear no caps. Many only a ribband fillet such 
 as Art EM ESI A wore. It is simple and becom- 
 ing. Their teeth are in general bad, but whe- 
 ther it be owing to the humidity of the air, or the 
 little care they take of them, I cannot determine. 
 I have just had a curious conversation with one 
 of them on the subject of Love Potions, Evil 
 Eyes, and Witchcraft ; — a superstition that Italy 
 has been always famous for from- Vm oil's days 
 to ours J and Pisa is not without a living instance 
 of it. For my own part, I never met with any 
 eyes I thought dangerous, but beautiful ones. 
 As it is probable you may think. I have already 
 said more of Pisa than it deserves, I shall only 
 add, that though the Pisans are thought to be less 
 sociable than their neighbours, should you reside 
 any time among them, you will find them a civil 
 and obliging people. 
 
 LET- 
 
407 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 THE Baths of Pisa, four miles from the town 
 on the road to Lucca, are pleasantly situ- 
 ated, and amply provided with every convenience 
 necessary. These waters are not only used as a 
 bath, but are also taken as a medicine. Asth- 
 matic, paralytic, and rheumatic complaints; con- 
 vulsions, giddiness, and pains in the head, they 
 are said to cure : but when my Conductor added, 
 they were excellent for all eruptions on the skin, 
 I thought I must have laughed in his face; — a 
 more perfect Bardolph you never saw. He 
 put me in mind of the man, who when asked 
 whither he was going, replied — ** To cu-u-ure 
 
 Sir E-E-Edward B of sta-a-a-a-am- 
 
 mering." 
 
 During the summer months, the Baths of Pisa 
 are much frequented. Barren women are said 
 to become pregnant by virtue of these waters ; 
 
 but 
 
408 
 
 but they are thought to be most efficacious, when 
 the husband is not of the party. 
 
 It is not unusual for ladies to receive com- 
 pany in the bath ; nor is it disadvantageous to 
 those who are well made. The Queen's Bath 
 is appropriated to the Noblesse only. A Citta- 
 dina of Florence was suffered to enter by mis- 
 take while my wife was bathing. It was no 
 sooner known than many excuses were made ; 
 and one lady in particular, who had the propriety 
 of the place much at heart, told me.—" She was 
 shocked at what had happened!*' — I begged her 
 to be perfectly easy on that account, for I could 
 
 assure her, Mrs. B had not been sensible 
 
 of the difference. I thank God we belong to a 
 country where such fooleries are unknown ; and 
 •where rank has little claim to pre-eminence, 
 unless at a procession. 
 
 Calci is a pleasant village, seven miles from 
 Pisa, at the foot of a ridge of mountains, under 
 whose shelter the extremes of heat and cold are 
 seldom if ever felt: Calci, therefore, is a good 
 summer retreat for such invalids as pass the win- 
 ter at Pisa. For consumptive complaints it 
 seems particularly well adapted : the air is ex- 
 cellent; the goats' milk famous; and the heat 
 of the sun less violent than on the plain, where 
 he reigns at least three hours longer. Another 
 circumstance, of no small consequence, attends 
 
 this 
 
409 
 
 this retired spot — they keep early hours. It 
 is a melancholy truth, that consumptive people 
 seldom recover; whether sent to Lisbon of 
 Naples, Nice or Pisa, few hve to returnt. 
 — The fault, I believe, is as often in the 
 selfishness of the physician, as in the consti- 
 tution of the patient. They keep them too long 
 in England. They suck the orange while any 
 juice remains, and are glad enough afterwards to 
 get rid of ihe rind. When this disorder is not 
 hereditary, and is taken in time, every thing may 
 ■be expected from a favorable climate, cool 
 rooms, early hours, exercise on horseback, milk, 
 and vegetables. The famous Tronchin, in a 
 letter I once received from him on this subject, 
 also added — " Scyez gaiy et soyez chaste.'' Tis- 
 soT tells us, that asses' milk is heavier than 
 cows, but more easily digested : that mares* 
 milk comes the nearest to that of asses : that 
 woman's milk is more nourishing than either 
 one or the other, and of use in a decline. An 
 English gentleman, who resided some time here, 
 and thought by his physicians to be in the great- 
 est danger, was perfectly recovered by it. 
 
 Though the Italians look upon consumptions 
 to be infectious, and perhaps not entirely with- 
 out reason ; yet are they less scrupulous in re- 
 ceiving consumptive people into their houses 
 than formerly. By an old law, when a con- 
 sumptive 
 
410 
 
 sumptive person died, the physician was obliged 
 to give immediate notice to Government under 
 a severe penalty. The house was new painted 
 and white-washed ; and every part of the furni- 
 ture destroyed. The law has been repealed ; 
 but the apprehension of infection, though much 
 diminished, is not entirely eradicated. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Calci, admirably 
 situated, stands the Certosa, where thirty-seven 
 Monks, retired from the world, are building 
 themselves a Palace.— 5zc vos non vobis vellera 
 fertis oves* I may be a false prophet, but con- 
 sidering the present state of religion in Tuscany, 
 I cannot be thought an extravagant one. 
 
 This Order is one of the strictest after that of 
 La Trappe; each Monk has his apartment, 
 chapel, and garden. They dine together on par- 
 ticular days only, and then never speak in the 
 refractory. No meat is suffered to enter the 
 wall, nor is any female admitted. If you intend 
 to dine there, let the Prior be apprised of your 
 coming, or you will make but an indifferent- 
 dinner. 
 
 Many and various are the rides in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Pisa. Follow the Condotta to its 
 source. The fountain of Arethusa had not 
 better water, nor was it by any means so plea- 
 santly situated ; yet if that famous fountain had 
 the extraordinary quality of embellishing those 
 
 who 
 
411 
 
 "(s^o drank of it, it was an advantage Acciano i^ 
 without, for I never saw more ugly women. 
 
 The Villa Prini is worth your seeing, were it 
 only for the notice in the drawing-room, — 
 " Che non sia kcito a Chickessia pisciar sopra k 
 Scale/' 
 
 To Leghorn you may go by land or water. 
 You may go post or hire a calesse, many of 
 which are constantly in waiting at the bridge, 
 and for ten pauls will carry you thither, and 
 for eighteen both carry and bring you back. 
 A procaccia sets out every day at twelve 
 o'clock, and a boat every day at eleven. When 
 an express has been necessary, I have sent a 
 man on foot, who has gone thither and back in 
 about seven hours for six pauls. The vicinity 
 of Leghorn to Pisa is attended with many ad- 
 vantages to the strangers who reside there. — It 
 is the utter ruin of the town ! Mantua had not 
 more reason to lament the vicinity of Cremona, 
 than Pisa of Leghorn,* 
 
 To Lucca you may go post, or by Vetturino; 
 it is also a pleasant ride on horseback. These 
 are all the convenient excursions of a day ; but 
 
 ^ Mantua vse misera nimiuin vicinar-Gremona?. 
 
 VlRGIIr. 
 
 if 
 
412 
 
 if you have time to spare, and choose to extend 
 your steps, you should visit Massa, and the 
 stone quarries at Carrara. - 
 
 Massa is four posts from Pisa. The air is 
 milder, and every article beyond comparison 
 cheaper. The orange and lemon trees suffer so 
 little from the winter, that in the month of Janu^ 
 ary many were covered with ripe fruit, and still 
 in flower. The aloes had fruited in the open 
 air, and yet the neighbouring mountains were 
 covered with snow. In short, you see winter, 
 but do not feel it ; and, strangers excepted, none 
 approach a fire. 
 
 Furnished lodgings may be had for ten sequins 
 a month, linen, &c. included. A chair costs 
 fifteen Florence livres a month. A coach is 
 unnecessary. A servant is paid four crowns, 
 and keeps himself; if you keep him, he then 
 has ten pauls only (five shillingsj : and I am in- 
 formed, that a maid does all the work of the 
 house and kitchen in a Massa family, besides 
 waiting on the lady, for three livres a month 
 (two shillings and threepence). The price of a. 
 box at the Theatre for the Carnival, is three 
 sequins : you pay at the door six soldi floren- 
 tini (about threepence English), or may be ab-, 
 bonned for seven pauls. The best beef is half a 
 p^ul a pound; pork the same; sea-fish, six 
 soldi ; a fowl, two pauls ; a capon, three ; a 
 
 pigeon. 
 
413 
 
 pigeon, one. The Massa livre is somewhat less 
 than half the value of the Florentine, and you 
 will generally observe, that where the livre is 
 small, money is scarce ; and consequently a 
 sequin at Massa, will go as far as two in 
 Tuscany. 
 
 The best families make a figure with five 
 hundred sequins a year. Few have that income, 
 none exceed it. The poorest of the Nobility 
 may have from a hundred to a hundred and fifty 
 sequins, and no more. If you inquire how 
 they contrive to live on so litde, — I believe you 
 will find, by selling the corn of the month of 
 June, before the end of the Carnival. I am 
 only answerable for the mildness of the climate; 
 economy of living ; and civility of the inha- 
 bitants. My visit being to a person who was 
 lodged in the palace, I can give no account of 
 the accommodation : I fear it is indifferent; but, 
 without doubt, if two or three English families 
 were to establish themselves at Massa, they would 
 soon find every convenience that is necessary. 
 
 Carrara is seven miles from Massa, if you go 
 in a carriage; if on horseback, three miles only. 
 The quarries, the water-mills, and the studii,* 
 
 * Studii — shops, where the marble is worked and sold, 
 
 are 
 
414 
 
 are worthy observation ; and if you want an 
 elegant marble chimney-piece, this is the place 
 where you should buy it. I was particularly 
 fortunate. Had the Arch Duchess herself 
 given notice of her intention of visiting Carrara, 
 and had they been prepared for her reception, 
 she could not have seen it to greater perfection. 
 The instant I arrived at one of the quarries, 
 they sprung a mine ; and from the quarry di- 
 rectly opposite a large piece of marble was de- 
 tached, which rolled from the top of the moun- 
 tain to the bottom, with a noise and violence 
 tremendous indeed, but never fatal, for notice 
 is always given, and the road kept clear of pas- 
 sengers. 
 
 Avenza (or Avanza) being the extremity of 
 the ancient Luni, was once a sea-port. A deed, 
 made in the year 1 400, and still existing, mentions 
 the Fortress of Lavenza to be within eighteen 
 feet of the sea. It is now more than two miles 
 distant. This Fortress, as well as that of Massa, 
 were built by the famous Castruccio, once' 
 master of all this country. 
 
 If you go from Massa on horseback, go over 
 the mountain, and return by the plain. You 
 will admire the industry of the inhabitants, which 
 has rendered even the sea sand fertile. 
 
 The inhabitants of Massa and Carrara arc 
 about twenty-two thousand. The income does 
 
 not 
 
415 
 
 not exceed some private fortunes in England ; 
 but is luckily in the hands of a Sovereign who 
 does not want it, and generously lays out a con- 
 siderable part in improvements. 
 
 LET- 
 
41 6 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 THE Church of Saint Peter, on the road to 
 Leghorn, is remarkable for its antiquity. 
 The common people believe that Saint Peter 
 built it ; and Montaign e, who visited Pisa in 
 the year 1580, was then told, that formerly on 
 Saint Peter's day the Bishop of Pisa came in 
 procession to this church, and wedded the Me- 
 diterranean Sea, as the Doge of Venice does the 
 Adriatic now: the sea was then close to the 
 church ; it has since retired at least three miles 
 distant. 
 
 The road from hence is through a beautiful 
 wood, enlivened in winter by the ilix and the 
 cork tree, both evergreens ; and is superior in. 
 breadth, in goodness, and in beauty, to any road 
 I ever travelled. As you advance, the land on 
 the left belongs to a certain Bertolla, who 
 twenty years ago sold fish about the streets of 
 Pisa, and carried them at his back;— he has 
 
 lately 
 
417 
 
 lately offered to purchase of the Grand Duke 
 an estate of the trifling value of two hundred 
 thousand crowns. — How he came by the money, 
 though various are the conjectures, is a secret 
 best known to himself. 
 
 The town of Leghorn is regularly, though not 
 strongly, fortified. On the sea side, is better 
 protected by the shallowness of the water, than 
 by the force of its batteries ; and on the other, the 
 fortifications, though not very extensive, would 
 require more soldiers than the. Grand Duke has 
 in all Tuscany to defend them: twelve hundred 
 of infantry, a company of artillery, and a troop 
 of dragoons, is the whole force of the garrison. 
 When the Grand Duke wants soldiers, he seizes 
 all the discoli* he can find without exception. 
 They are condemned to serve eight years j but, 
 if they behave well, are discharged at the end of 
 four. Though liable to great abuses, this me- 
 thod of recruiting is not unworthy the imitation 
 of an absolute Sovereign : it spares the more 
 useful part of his subjects; it is a security to 
 private property ; and, in some degree, may 
 save the morals of the inhabitants from cor- 
 ruption. 
 
 Leghorn, which less than three centuries ago 
 
 * Discoli — ^young men of dissolute lives. 
 
 VOL. I. £ £ was 
 
418 
 
 was a place of little consequence, is now become 
 the richest town in Tuscany. We read, that 
 Sarzana, a town of some note, was exchanged 
 by CosiMo I. with the Genoese for Leghorn; 
 at that time an inconsiderable village, inhabited 
 by fishermen. It is the height of wisdom to be 
 able to dive into futurity by the help of well 
 comb'ned probabilities. — The French General 
 who resigned Canada to the English, said, that 
 the time was not far off when they would repent 
 the acquisition.— I know not whether he lived 
 to see the completion of his prophecy ; but the 
 event has but too clearly proved the wisdom of 
 the prophet. — Turenne observes very justly, 
 that it is a foolish excuse to say — " / should not 
 have thought it.*' — I believe, however, that Mon- 
 sieur de la Martiniere is mistaken : Leghorn 
 belonged originally to Pisa, and was taken by 
 the Genoese when they gained the superiority 
 at sea. In the year 1406 Pisa became subject 
 to Florence; and about the year 1421, the Flo- 
 i-entine Republic, foreseeing the utility of Leg- 
 horn, bought it of the Genoese for one hundred 
 thousand ducats. 
 
 The Fortezza Vecchia was built by Duke 
 Alexander ; and you still see that remarkable 
 inscription — " Sotto una Fede e Legge, e tino 
 Signore Solo." Cosimo I., who succeeded to 
 the Dukedom, drained the adjacent country at 
 
 a great 
 
419 
 
 a great expence, rendered it wholesome, and 
 first established its commerce. The new City 
 was begun by Francesco, and improved by 
 Ferdinand. Though not a third so large as 
 Pisa, it contains forty-seven thousand inha- 
 bitants, thirteen thousand of which are Jews. 
 The square in the middle is magnificent, but so 
 exceedingly out of proportion, that it looks like 
 an immense hall in a small house. — In no other 
 place have you room to breathe : every corner 
 in every street is crowded, and every garret in 
 every house is crammed; — the never-failing 
 effects of trade and toleration. 
 
 The English at Leghorn have an established 
 Chapel, and a place of Burial ; an advantage we 
 have not in any other Catholic country. Turks, 
 Moors, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Chris- 
 tians, resort to this free port, are united by 
 interest, and live amicably together. Disturb- 
 ances seldom happen. An English sailor some- 
 times, it is true, will thrash an Italian ; but he 
 treats him afterwards, and, to do him justice, is 
 always as ready to do the one, as the other. 
 
 A place of trade, where every one is more 
 intent on getting money, than on spending it, 
 cannot be supposed to abound in palaces, pic- 
 tures, or statues : nor are there many public 
 buildings at Leghorn that merit the observation 
 E E 2 of 
 
420 
 
 of a stranger. At the palace of the Governor, 
 civility requires (unless your stay be short), that 
 you should write your name. Your own Con- 
 sul, and the English Clergyman, you will vi.<it 
 or not, as you think fit; or as your occasions 
 may require. 
 
 The harbour is full of ships of every nation, 
 except its own. The Grand Duke had formerly 
 three frigates, and many galleys : he has not at 
 present one vessel of force remaining to defend 
 his coasts. Large ships are much exposed in 
 this road during the winter months. Spezia 
 Bay, about twenty leagues distant, is one of the 
 finest harbours in the world. 
 
 The Leghorn trade with England, besides the 
 various commodities of the Levant, consists of 
 marbles, silk, wine, oil, anchovies, &c., the pro- 
 duce of Tuscany ; and receive in return salt- 
 fish, hardware, woollen cloths, Manchester stuffs, 
 Staffordshire ware, tin, &c. : in short, there is 
 scarcely any thing of English manufactury, that 
 is not to be had at Leghorn. The only manu- 
 facture of the country, is that of coral : it is in 
 the hands of the Jews, and employs a great 
 number of people to sort it, cut it, round it, 
 pierce it, polish it, and string it. The best is 
 brought from the coast of Africa j and the high- 
 est coloured is most esteemed. It is sent all 
 
 over 
 
421 
 
 over the worW, particularly into Asia; and is 
 chiefly used for necklaces, bracelets, and other 
 female ornaments. 
 
 AM payments are made in pezzi — an imagi- 
 nary coin, like the pound sterling, which never 
 had existence. The Exchange was once a Cha- 
 pel. The Magazines for oil, salt, and tobacco; 
 the Mole, Arsenal, Fortezza Vecchia, and For- 
 tino ; the Greek Church, and Jews' Synagogue ; 
 the English and Dutch Burial-places ; are all 
 objects worthy your curiosity : nor should the 
 Campo Santo of the Tuscans be omitted — where 
 the proud patrician, and the poor peasant ; the 
 fair virgin, and the disordered prostitute, lie 
 equally undistinguished : — where more bodies 
 than one are crammed into the same hole: — 
 where the most inveterate enemies are thus made to 
 embrace : — and where husbands and wives, who 
 lived separately during their lives, are compelled 
 at last to lay most lovingly together. — A rare 
 lesson of humility ! 
 
 If you have time to spare, visit also the Cha- 
 pel at Monte Nero, four miles distant from the 
 town. A calesse (they are continually in wait- 
 ing, like hackney-coaches in England) will carry 
 you thither, and bring you back, for five pauls. 
 You will have an extensive view of the Medi- 
 terranean and country round Leghorn ; but you 
 
 should 
 
422 
 
 should be told, that you have a very steep hill 
 to climb, for the calesses stop short at a house 
 in the bottom. 
 
 The Shop of Micali is an object of curio- 
 sity : there is scarcely any commodity it does 
 
 not furnish. Lord B bought a service of 
 
 China at one end of the shop, while his son tried 
 on a pair of Enghsh leather breeches at the 
 other. See it by all means, but be cautious 
 what you buy. — Micali has the vice of his 
 countrymen, constantly asks more than he will 
 take, and will cheat you if he can. 
 
 The price of every article of consumption 
 being in proportion to the demand, you will 
 conclude there is nothing cheap in a town so 
 populous and so rich. Families who make a 
 tolerable figure at Pisa, would be puzzled how 
 to live at Leghorn. The adjacent country does 
 not supply necessaries for its own subsistence. 
 Corn, wine, oil, and cattle, come from afar; and 
 the very water, such as is fit to drink, is fetched 
 from Pisa. 
 
 The Casino is not confined to the Noblesse 
 only ; nor are there more than four or five noble 
 families in the town. The Theatre is larger 
 than that at Pisa, and the Operas are better. 
 The public walk is on the ramparts. The 
 Corso is in the principal street; and, although 
 
 the 
 
423- 
 
 the inhabitants are so numerous, thirty coaches 
 only are kept ; while the deserted and miserable 
 Pisa has at least double that number. 
 
 I know not what to say of the inhabitants, 
 they are such a motley crew. The men, I have 
 already told you, are of all nations. The wo- 
 men, like those of Genoa, wear long figured 
 cloaks of linen that cover their heads, and reach 
 below their waists ; they are convenient, not 
 unbecoming, and, when they choose it, haye all 
 the advantages of concealment.* We are told, 
 in an English newspaper — ** Prostitutiony in a 
 short timet will be as completely rooted out at 
 LeghorUy as it is. already out of every other part 
 of Tuscany." — And what then ! Does the gen- 
 tleman think morality will be a gainer ? I have 
 always observed the morals least corrupted,— 
 domestic happiness least interrupted, — where 
 common women are tolerated j and, though I 
 may admire the excessive purity of the legislator, 
 I cannot commend that policy which is studious 
 to prevent small crimes, and encourages great 
 ones. — Common women, as soon as known, are 
 sent out of the state : and adultery is not only 
 tolerated, but countenanced and encouraged, — 
 
 * The Mezzaro, as it is called, is used by the women in 
 many other towns of Italy, but is. of black silk. 
 
 a prin- 
 
424 
 
 a principle which appears to me as strange as if 
 the robber were to be hanged ; and he who 
 both robs and murders^ to be pardoned and 
 rewarded. 
 
 The town of Leghorn is not deficient in 
 accommodation Tor travellers. Imposition I 
 apprehelid to be nearly the same every where : 
 you must bargain for your rooms ; and they can 
 afford to supply your table for six pauls a head. 
 Few take private lodgings ; in two days they 
 satisfy their curiosity j nor are they inclined to 
 stay longer in a place where every one is busy, 
 and they only are unemployed. From hence 
 you may embark for Genoa; eight sequins is 
 the usual price of a felucca ; it carries your 
 coach, and is entirely at your disposal. You 
 are a night and a day at sea ; or you may go to 
 Lerici, which is seven posts from Pisa, and em- 
 barking there, may arrive at Genoa in eight 
 hours. 
 
 Leghorn is more famous for rich than for 
 learned men. Arithmetic is more studied than 
 the Graces ; and the Belles Lettres the Livor- 
 nese are most conversant in, are Letters of Ex- 
 change : in short, in every respect it is better 
 calculated for business than amusement. 
 
 LET* 
 
425 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 T UCCAis the capital of a little Republic, 
 -*— ' containing, at most, one hundred and 
 twenty-five thousand people, who, by extraor- 
 dinary good fortune, have preserved their liber- 
 ties in the midst of despotism. Here Pompey, 
 CjEsar, and Crassus met to settle some dif^ 
 ferences of their own, and formed that plan which 
 afterwards overset the liberties of Rome. An- 
 other remarkable circumstance attends this Re- 
 public : — not less than two hundred years have 
 elapsed since it saw the face of an enemy. — 
 Voltaire, therefore, had good reason to say : 
 ** Sa Foiblesse la garde ; et Lucque est plus tran^ 
 quille que Dresde^ et que Berlin.*' 
 
 Surrounded by mountains which, during the 
 winter months are covered with snow, the cli- 
 mate of Lucca is considerably colder than that 
 
 of 
 
426 
 
 of Pisa. The soil is good, and well cultivated, 
 but the produce of wheat is not equal to the con- 
 sumption. As a remedy to this defect, the ovens 
 are all in the hands of Government. Three 
 years provision is kept constantly in store; and 
 bread is sold nearly at the same price all the year 
 round. A monopoly like this is good policy. 
 The gain, if there be any, thus becomes of more 
 general advantage ; and the loss, when it hap- 
 pens, is not felt by the public. I wish, by the 
 bye, their Excellencies were better bakers. 
 
 The town is fortified, and has three gates ; over 
 each, proud of its peculiar privilege, is written in 
 capitals, Liber tas. Yet Denmark created the most 
 absolute of Monarchies, to free herself from the 
 tyranny of a Senate ; and Rome is said to "have 
 been happier under the worst of its Emperors, 
 than during the last sixty years of the Common- 
 wealth. Though not above two miles in cir- 
 cumference, Lucca contains near twenty thou- 
 sand inhabitants. The garrison consists of six 
 hundred men only, but a militia of twenty thou- 
 sand can be assembled at a short notice, by sig- 
 nals appointed for that purpose. The low situa- 
 tion of the town and country might encourage an 
 attempt to drown them with their own river, and 
 the enemy might again succeed as ill as in the 
 
 time of FORTEBRACCIO. 
 
 Lucca does not furnish large squares, wide 
 
 streets. 
 
427 
 
 streets, or magnificent palaces.* The circum- 
 ference of the ancient Amphitheatre, part of 
 which still remains, is the best proof of her 
 former grandeur. The Churches are indifferently- 
 furnished with pictures. In the arsenal are arms 
 for thirty thousand men : they are kept clean, 
 and are well arranged, but I had no other satis- 
 faction in viewing those instruments of destruc- 
 tion, than that of thinking they were never likely 
 to be employed. They shew you the Saddle 
 and Arms of the famous CastruccioCastra- 
 CANi,who, Macchiavel tells us, died at the 
 same age as Philip of Macedon and Scipio 
 (forty-four), and adds — " Would have been supe~ 
 rior to them both, had he had the powers of Mace-- 
 don and Rome, instead of those of Lucca." 
 - The Cathedral, the outside of which is truly 
 Gothic, contains little within worth seeing, un- 
 less it be the Volto Santo, which we are not per- 
 mitted to see. My Conductor assured me, that 
 a Bishop who insisted upon having it uncovered, 
 was struck bliad for his temerity. After such a 
 declaration, you may judge if I had any curi- 
 
 * One of the principal streets not being wide enough for 
 two carriages to pass, a ring is fixed in the center, and 
 when two obstinate coachmen meet, he who arrives there 
 last is obliged to return as he came. 
 
 osity 
 
428 
 
 osity left. The Volto Santo is the Image of 
 our Saviour upon the Cross, carved in wood. 
 It is uncovered on three days in the year only.— 
 The first Sunday after Easter, the third of May, 
 and the fourteenth of September. Like another 
 Saint Ranieri, it never fails to reheve all the 
 wants of its supplicants ; but it is also thought 
 that the Lucchese are discreet, and never ask 
 but when they are certain to obtain. 
 
 The Government is Aristocratical. The 
 Legislative power is in the hands of a Senate. 
 One hundred Senators must be present to form 
 a Council; and two-thirds must be in favor of 
 any question that is carried. Every Noble is 
 entitled to vote at the age of twenty-five years, 
 but such as have purchased their Nobility are 
 not eligible to the office of Anziani. 
 
 The Executive Power is composed of a Gon- 
 faloniere, and nine Anziani, who together govern 
 the Republic. They reside in the palace ; each 
 has two rooms allotted him ; and they all dine 
 together. The Gonfaloniere has some particular 
 privileges ; he is the Prince of the Republic ; he 
 can propose to the Senate any question he 
 pleases ; and has the tide of Eccellenza : the 
 Anziani have only that of Illustrissimo, except 
 when two are together, they then are Eccellenza 
 also. — We know that two negatives make an 
 affirmative ; but that two Illustrissimo's should 
 
 make 
 
429 
 
 make an Eccellenza, is very extraordinary.— 
 Though honorable, the office of Anziani has its 
 inconvenience : they are constantly employed at 
 the palace all the morning : they take the direc- 
 tion by turns three days each ; and during the 
 whole time they reside in the palace, cannot go 
 out but in a coach ; cannot enter a coffee-house, 
 nor mix publicly with the people. Each is 
 allowed five sequins a day for his expences, nor 
 has he any other salary. The reign of these 
 Sovereigns is shortj two months see the end of 
 it; and lest this should not be sufficient to con- 
 vince them of the instability of all worldly gran- 
 deur, on the fourteenth of September, when the 
 customary flax is burnt before the Bishop, they 
 are then told — " Sic transit gloria mundi.'* 
 
 Once in two years, in the month of June, one 
 hundred and twenty of the Senate are chosen by 
 ballot to fill the above mentioned offices. It is 
 a time of great festivity. Many particularities 
 attend this ceremony that render it worthy the 
 observation of a stranger. The dresses of the 
 Gonfaloniere, Anziani, and Council ; their 
 manner of voting; the assembly of all the 
 Noblesse of Lucca, men and women ; the ora- 
 tions, music, and different suppers of Anziani, 
 Electors, Friars, and Secretaries ; — all is uncom- 
 mon ; and the ladies who stand behind the chairs 
 of the gentlemen while they sup, give a gro- 
 tesque 
 
430 
 
 tesque appearance to the scene not easy to be 
 imagined. These gentlemen, to give them their 
 due, seemed to feel all the awkwardness of a 
 situation rendered indispensable, and were more 
 assiduous in supplying the wants of the ladies 
 near them, than their own. I am told, it is 
 otherwise in a country that shall be nameless ;— 
 there, without any indispensable necessityy the 
 gentlemen take the best places at supper, and 
 will sit contentedly on their broad bottoms, 
 while ladies, fainting with heat, and sinking with 
 fatigue, cannot find a vacant place, or a chair to 
 sit downi upon : — if this be true, it is not only 
 uncivil and ill-bred, but savage in the extreme ; 
 nor is it to be met with in any other civilized 
 country in Europe. But to return to Lucca. 
 Each night forty Anziani are chosen ; but their 
 turns of service are determined afterwards by 
 lot : nor does any one of them know who is to 
 be his successor till he is chosen. A ridiculous 
 circumstance happened at the last election. An 
 English gentleman, with whom I was in com- 
 pany, newly arrived from India, fell by accident 
 into the procession of the electors, without know- 
 ing what they were going about; and seeing 
 those who were before him put their hands into 
 a box, he fancied it was the poor-box, and, had 
 he not been prevented, would have put in a 
 paul. This mistake occasioned some confusion. 
 
 Luckily 
 
431 
 
 Luckily it was attributed to its right cause, and 
 laughed at exceedingly. 
 
 A Fodesta, and four Auditors, try all causes, 
 civil and criminal : they must be foreigners. 
 Forty Sbirri patrole the streets every night; and 
 two men on the tower of the palace are con- 
 stantly on the watch, to give an alarm in case of 
 fire ; — an excellent reguladon, and no where so 
 much wanted as in London. Punishment is 
 more frequent here than in Tuscany. Crimi- 
 nals are sent to the galleys at Venice for eight 
 or ten years, from whence they seldom return. 
 
 The revenue of the Republic is small, so are 
 its expences. The former does not exceed one 
 hundred and ten thousand sequins, and yet is 
 more than equal to the expenditure. 
 
 We read, that in the year 1314, Lucca 
 alone enjoyed the lucrative monopoly of silk ; 
 it was afterwards spread by degrees all over 
 Europe. Silk and oil still form the principal 
 part of her commerce. From the oil alone the 
 Lucchese are said to receive one hundred and 
 fifty thousand sequins annually ; a produce that 
 makes ample amends for the twenty thousand 
 sequins they are supposed to lay but "in wheat. 
 Silk, linen cloth, wax, and glass, are the chief 
 manufactures. The markets are well supplied, 
 and the veal is famous. The Noblesse are polite 
 and courteous to strangers; Jews only excepted, 
 
 who 
 
432 
 
 who are suffered to remain in the town three 
 days only. The Lucchese always wear black, 
 men and women : it gives a gloomy cast to 
 every assembly, and many an ordinary-looking 
 gentleman may be taken for an undertaker. 
 Swords are not allowed to be worn, except by 
 officers. The clocks go " aW Italiana :" they 
 also strike every quarter of an hour ; a circum- 
 stance particularly unpleasant to those who do 
 not understand them. 
 
 The Lucchese Nobility are rich. It is easily 
 accounted for. When the Pisans want money, 
 which often happens. Government having little 
 to do with theirs, lend it to one of their own 
 body at three per cent., who places it at Pisa at 
 five : — a clear gain of two per cent, to the latter, 
 and three to the State. This is the usual gain 
 of the Lucchese Gentlemen on money ; but 
 when they buy corn and oil, their profit is sel- 
 dom less than ten times as much. 
 
 The Lucchese are better husbandmen than the 
 Pisans. The very opinion that they are free, 
 renders them industrious. Their hay is excel- 
 lent : — they spread it as soon as it is cut ; and 
 for my own use, I would prefer one load of 
 Lucca hay to all that the Grand Duke has. In 
 this country when their hay is dry, they carry it, 
 though it be on a Sunday. The common people 
 in England would think it the height of impiety 
 
 were 
 
433 
 
 were they called from the alehouse on such an 
 occasion. The Jews are even more rigid ob- 
 servers of the Sabbath than \ve are. A certain 
 Rabbi called Solomon, falling into a deep ditch 
 on the Sabbath day, would not suffer any one to 
 pull him out, saying, '* Sahbatha saticta colo,de 
 stercore sergere nolo." He was made to remain 
 there the next day also, the Christians then say- 
 ing, " Sabbatha nostra quidem Solomon cde~ 
 hrabis ibidem." 
 
 The Corso is on the ramparts ; it is also the 
 only walk the Lucchese have. The fourteenth 
 of September, the festival of the Santa Croce, is 
 the most favorable time to visit Lucca ; or 
 should you be in that neighbourhood in the 
 spring, remember the first Sunday after Easter 
 is another great festival — La Festa dclla Liberia, 
 At other times a stranger can expect but little 
 amusement in a place where there are seldom 
 public diversions. Even the Casino is not visited 
 by the women, consequently is little frequemed 
 by the men. It was at Lucca that Monsieur 
 DupATY, speaking of the French Literature, 
 tells us, " That though the Italians admire and 
 prefer it to every other^ they have not sense enough 
 to comprehend one half of its beauties. — That the 
 artoffne Writing is confned to France.'" Here 
 let me stop, for I am sorry to say any thing to 
 the disadvantage of an Author who, in his Let- 
 
 voL. I. F F ters 
 
434 
 
 ters from Nice, speaks so advantageously of my 
 better half. 
 
 Fifteen miles from the town are the Lucca 
 Baths. They are said to have nearly the same 
 virtue as those of Pisa. For situation and ac- 
 commodation, coolness only excepted, the lat- 
 ter are preferable. Travellers that go thither 
 are obliged to take horses from the post, unless 
 they use their own. 
 
 See the beautiful villas Santini and Manzi ; 
 and while you admire, agree with me, that plea- 
 sures of this kind are not always without their 
 inconvenience. Samuel Johnson, after hav- 
 ing passed some pleasant hours with his friend 
 Garrick, at his beautiful villa at Hampton, 
 clapping him on the shoulder, said — '* These, 
 David, these are the things that make a death- 
 bed horrible.'* 
 
 The best inn is the Pantera. You must make 
 your bargain before-hand lest, as it is not often 
 they see a stranger, they should make too much 
 of you. A Foreign Embassador, travelling in 
 England, was charged most exorbitantly for a 
 boiled chicken. — ** Sure," said he, to the land- 
 lord, " Chickens are scarce in England." — 
 ** No, please your Excellency," replied the 
 landlord, " It is Embassadors that are scarce." 
 
 LET- 
 
433 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 
 THE town of Siena is built on the summit of 
 a hill. The purity and freshness of the 
 air, and peculiar exemption from gnats, render 
 it during the summer months the most desirable 
 spot in Italy. Its origin is unknown. Its an- 
 tiquity is certain : Sena Julia was a Roman 
 colony in the time of Augustus. Liberty, 
 that mountain nymph, was ever dear to this 
 lively people : they signalized their bravery in 
 many successful engagements with the Floren- 
 tines and Pisans ; and, at the present moment, 
 might not belong to the former of those states, 
 if they had not, like the latter, first fallen out 
 among themselves. A writer of those times, a 
 famous warrior (Monluc), says, that he never 
 saw a Siena man frightened in his life; and 
 •would rather undertake to defend Siena with 
 Siena women only, than Rome with the Romans 
 that then inhabited it. This gentleman ex- 
 F F 2 presses 
 
436 
 
 presses himself perhaps too warmly; but it is 
 well known, that, in more than one instance, the 
 Siena women have given proofs of the most 
 determined and most heroic valor. 
 
 Siena suffered long under the Spanish yoke, 
 and when relieved, had only to choose the chains 
 she thought the lightest — Spanish, French, or 
 German. Miserable alternative ! the loss of 
 liberty is always fatal. The year 1557 put an 
 entire finish to the freedom of Siena ; since 
 which period trade has gradually decreased, a 
 general languor has pervaded the whole country, 
 and a city, whose streets in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, were crowded with merchants and artists, 
 and said to have contained one hundred thou- 
 sand inhabitants, at present scarcely contains a 
 sixth part of that number. 
 
 Siena is five posts from Florence, and eigh- 
 teen and a half from Rome; is irregularly built, 
 and has every disadvantage that extreme inequa- 
 lity of ground can possibly occasion. Many 
 streets are inaccessible to coaches. The pave- 
 ment, which, as well as the houses, is chiefly of 
 brick, is in every part execrable. The town is 
 about six miles in circumference, is surrounded 
 with a high wall, in tolerable repair, but not 
 fortified. The Florentine and Roman gates are 
 opened at any hour. You may always get in, 
 but when once they are shut, you cannot get 
 
 out 
 
- 437 
 
 out without leave from the Governor. In the 
 year 1301 there were thirty-nine gates; they 
 are very properly reduced to seven. The num- 
 ber of towers was not less extraordinary ; they 
 were erected by the Nobles, in the time of the 
 Republic, as a security against the people, and 
 afterwards became a symbol of nobility. Few 
 are now remaining, either at Siena or Pisa. It 
 was wise to take them down, lest in length of 
 time their enormous weight should destroy the 
 edifices they were intended to defend. 
 
 Siena, though ancient, has litde remains of 
 antiquity ; nor is it much indebted to modern 
 architecture. Few are its palaces. The public 
 edifices are none of them extraordinary j and 
 the Duomo, with few exceptions, is the only 
 church worthy the notice of a stranger. This 
 magnificent Gothic pile, of black and white 
 marble, was built in the thirteenth century. The 
 original plan was more extensive, but left unfi- 
 nished. The profusion of ornaments in the front 
 of the cathedral was, without doubt, the admira- 
 tion of that age, as it is the wonder of this. 
 The Mosaic of the floor, invented and begun by 
 Duccio in 1350, was improved and finished by 
 Beccafumi in 1500, who made use of yellow 
 marble as a mezzotinto. Some of the heads are 
 executed in a style that would not disgrace the 
 drawings of the best masters. Among the busts 
 
 of 
 
438 
 
 of the Popes, which are continued to Adrian 
 the Fourth, you may look in vain for Pope 
 ToAN : I conclude the whole to be a fiction> 
 and that no such Pope ever existed. The Pul- 
 pit, by NiccoLO Pis AN o, is better executed 
 than that of Pisa. The Pictures are none of 
 them extraordinary : the iVladonna was painted, 
 they tell you, by Saint Luke. The Siennese 
 having invoked the aid of this Madonna when 
 hard pressed by the Florentines in the year 
 1260, and gaining a complete victory, generously 
 gave their persons and their city to her for ever. 
 The Paintings in the Library are by P:nto- 
 mccio; the designs by Raphael. The an- 
 tique group of the Graces, though mutilated, 
 has been much admired. The right hand of 
 Saint John, a valuable relic, is safely locked up 
 in this church, under three keys, in the keeping 
 of three different persons, the Capitano del 
 Popolo, the Archbishop, and the Rector. It is 
 exposed to the populace every year, the first day 
 after Pentecost : and is thus guarded lest the 
 Florentines should run away with it, — they have 
 already got one of his fingers. 
 
 Siena contains several good pictures of the 
 old Masters. Guido di Siena was the first 
 painter at the restoration of the arts in Italy; 
 CiM ABUE, the Florentine, was not born till near 
 twenty years after, la the Dominican Convent 
 :,'.. is 
 
439 
 
 is the Madonna of Gu I DO, painted in 1221, and 
 has the following voucher : 
 
 Me Guido de Senis diebus pinxit Amoenis, 
 Quern Christus lenis nullis velit agere poenis. 
 
 A.D. MCCXXI. 
 
 In the same church is the martyrdom of San 
 DoMjNicANo, by CiMABUE. Obscrve the 
 three Sybils at the Duomo Vecchio, painted on 
 the wall by Baldassare Pehuzzi. They tell 
 you the Grand Duke would have removed them 
 to Florence if he could. , At San Francesco are 
 several pictures by Cimabue, Calabresi, 
 PiETRo Perugino, and Beccafumi. At San 
 Ouirico, by Cassolani and Vanni, At 
 the Agostiniani, by Pietro Perugino and 
 So do mo. 
 
 At Santa Maria in Provinciano, is a Madonna 
 in stone. This, as far as I can find, is the Ma- 
 donna a la mode, I asked my Conductor, if she 
 performed greater miracles than the lady at the 
 Duomo: he replied — " Uguale!" — I inquired 
 no further. There are many other churches 
 and convents, and three conservatorios for the 
 education of young women ; one for the no- 
 blesse, and two for the citizens. 
 
 Enter the door of the Hospital for the sake of 
 the view. On one side the ground is level, on 
 the other is a precipice that will surprise you. 
 
 This 
 
440 
 
 This builcing may serve as a specimen of the 
 strange inequality of ground on which Siena 
 stands; and you may satisfy your curiosity 
 without danger to your health, or prejudice to 
 your feelings : should you fear infection, wet 
 your nostrils with vinegar and camphor, or with 
 that of the four thieves. This Hospital is ad- 
 mirably placed, having a large square on one 
 side, and an open country on the other. Men, 
 women, and children are admitted ; all disor- 
 ders, and all accidents, are treated : women in 
 labor, and foundlings, have also apartments 
 allotted to them. In the Chapel is a famous 
 picture by the Chevalier Cong a. If you are 
 not acquainted with the rules of perspective, the 
 pillars will surprise you — «they become crooked 
 as you approach them. 
 
 Neither the Palace of the Grand Duke, nor 
 of the Archbishop, contain any thing extraordi- 
 nary. In the Palazzo della Signoria is a good 
 picture by Luca Giordano; and several by 
 Beccafumi and Sodomo, both Sienese. From 
 the Tower you have an extensive view of the 
 country, and from thence only can you form an 
 idea of the City. The prisons are immediately 
 under the Theatre — Is the music a prisoner 
 thus hears an increase of punishment, or mitiga- 
 tion of his sufferings ? At any rate, it is a very 
 unnatural connexion. The Casino was for- 
 merly 
 
441 
 
 inerly a chnrch, — another connexion not less 
 extraordinary. Tlie Piazza has the appearance 
 of a great scollop shell, and has a wonderfully 
 good effect when full of ptople. The water 
 that the fountain supplies is of a bad quality, 
 and supposed to occasion disorders in the blad- 
 der ; on which account most of the houses have 
 wells, and use rain water. Another fountain, 
 called Fonte Blanda, is much celebrated : whe- 
 ther this ancient fountain be that which Dante 
 mentions in his Thirtieth Canto, or not ; whe- 
 ther it should be written Fonte Blanda, or Fontc 
 Eranda, is a matter of little consequence either 
 to you or me, — take care how you taste of its 
 stream, lest it give you a share of that extrava- 
 gance of which the Sienese are so generally 
 accused. 
 
 Not far distant is the house of Socini, uncle 
 and nephew, heads of a sect of Deists, who dis- 
 pute the Divinity, and deny the mysteries 
 of Christ. At the death of the present inha- 
 bitant, that family will be extinct : — better would 
 it be had it never existed. 
 
 Another Siena Gentleman, a Monsignore 
 (Bishop), has rendered himself famous by sen- 
 timents directly opposite. He has just published 
 a Treatise on Divine Grace, not very intelli- 
 gible. I will mention a few of its tenets. 
 
 This Gentleman begins by saying, — " It 
 
 would 
 
443 
 
 would not properly be a Grace if it were pre- 
 ceded by Merit." He then tells us, " That 
 without this Grace all are inevitably damned, 
 though in every other respect they may be per- 
 fect, and want only that to become Saints. 
 
 " That Jesus Christ bestows this Grace on 
 one, and refuses it to another ; nor can man, by 
 any act of his, ever merit it, prevent it, augment 
 it, or preserve it. 
 
 ** That God, in bestowing this Grace, makes 
 BO distinction, and often chuses the most wicked 
 to give it to them. 
 
 " That, except jn the Catholic Church, there 
 is neither Grace nor Life. 
 
 •* Thatlove of your Country, Parents, Friends; 
 ybur Duty in every situation ; Equity, Justice, 
 Benevolence, Temperance, Prudence, are no- 
 thing without Grace. 
 
 " That a good Character, Justice, Equity, Sin- 
 cerity, Candour, Tenderness, Affection, Com- 
 passion, arc of no use whatever to the person 
 who has them, without the Grace of Jesus 
 Christ; they not only are insufficient to save 
 him, but may become causes of his damna- 
 tion." 
 
 The Bishop tells us, *' That the Deity, in or- 
 der to certify the necessity of Grace, has not 
 scrupled to sacrifice, for four thousand years, al- 
 Tftost all the inhabitants of the earth, till the com- 
 ing 
 
443 
 
 ing of Jesus Christ." One might ask, what 
 is become of Noah, Job, and other good men 
 before the law ; and of Moses, David, and 
 other good men after it ? 
 
 If you believe the Jansenists, you can do no- 
 thing to save yourself. — Not only can do no 
 good action, but cannot even form the wish to do 
 it ; but they give you this comfort, that, if one 
 of the Elect, you cannot be damned. That he 
 ^ho does not fear God, nor love his neighbour, 
 if it pleases God to give him one of these strong 
 Graces, all his wickedness shall not be sufficient 
 to prevent their good effects. He may become 
 a sinner, but cannot remain so till death, because 
 he is of the Elect. Far be it from me to dispute 
 the Omnipotency of the Creator ; but I am 
 astonished at the Doctrine of the Bishop, who is 
 thus a Comforter of Sinners, and Encourager to 
 Sin! 
 
 LET* 
 
444 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 'TnHE Lizza is a pleasant walk, planted with 
 "*• trees, where every evening in summer, a 
 great number of contented people assemble, 
 chiefly in pairs, to enjoy a freshness of air un- 
 known in any other part of Italy. At the en- 
 trance of the Fortezza you read the following 
 inscription : 
 
 A. CosiMo. Mediceo. 
 
 ad. imperii. Securitatem. fundatam. 
 
 A.CIO.IO.LXI. 
 
 Petrus. Leopoldus. Aust. 
 
 Spectata. Senensium. fide. 
 
 ad. Delicias. vertit. 
 
 A.CIO.IOCC.LXXVIII. 
 
 Sinenses, ben. ociamini et plaudite. 
 
 The inscription is a kind one, and, taken lite- 
 rally, does not deserve an ill-natured comment. 
 Pallone, a favorite game of the Italians, is play- 
 ed every evening under the walls of the fortress. 
 
 The 
 
445 
 
 The exercise is violent, and very unequally dis- 
 tributed. This game affords but little amuse- 
 ment to the lookers on, unless it be excellently 
 played* I fancy it to be the same game that 
 was in use in ancient Rome. In one of the 
 Casemates are kept tame rabbits. I had fre- 
 quently looked down on them in my walks, and 
 one day, seeing their backs without any cover- 
 ing, I concluded dry meat had given them the 
 mange ; upon inquiry, I find they pluck them 
 every two months, and make gloves and stock- 
 ings of the fur. The Lizza and Fortezza thus 
 united, make an extensive walk. — I long to give 
 a fete to the Sienese on this delightful spot. The 
 walks might be illuminated at a small expence ; 
 a firework played off in the center j music dis- 
 posed in different parts to keep up a continual 
 harmony ; a coffee-house opened in the For- 
 tezza to supply refreshments ; — and then an 
 Epicure like you, with his mistress in one hand, 
 and a nosegay in the other, might enjoy all his 
 senses at once. 
 
 The Manege is well situated on the Lizza. 
 The number of horses is not in proportion to 
 the number of scholars. — Cruel and mistaken 
 economy ! — The scholars are dissatisfied ; and 
 this generous and noble animal shortly becomes 
 a victim to his own spirit and docility. 
 
 For want of other exercise, I ride constantly 
 
 in 
 
446 
 
 in the Manege. — You who are scampering over 
 hedges and ditches, will hold this amusement 
 cheap ; but, my good Sir, I have no other. Let 
 me then make the most of it, and for once en- 
 treat you to spare your wonted severities on an 
 art that in every country in Europe, except our 
 own, is in high estimation. I agree with you, 
 that a dressed horse requires a skilful person to 
 manage him : he is used to a weight that he 
 bears less unwillingly, owing to its firmness : he 
 is also accustomed to particular aids, to wh:ch he 
 has learned a ready obedience. Put a man on 
 his back whose body has not acquired the equi- 
 librium of the manege seat ; let him bend him 
 one way, when he means he should go the other; 
 let the aid of his leg be in opposition to that of 
 his hand j and I make no doubt the sagacious 
 animal will resist, and endeavour to avail himself 
 of the unsteadiness and unskilfulness of his rider, 
 I also agree with you, that a woman's horse may 
 easily be taught too much, and may acquire 
 some tricks and gentilesses in the Manege that 
 he had better be without. If he be bitted, and 
 taught to canter on the right leg only, it is as 
 much as is necessary; he will then be light in 
 hand, and, having been worked on a small circle, 
 will be more obedient, have his haunches more 
 under him, and be less liable to stumble than 
 another horse. 
 
 % It 
 
447 
 
 It is also in the Manege that horses are best 
 taught to stand fire ; to bear the beat of drums ; 
 display of colours. Sec, ; without which they are 
 useless to military men, and sometimes danger- 
 ous to other^. You may have seen, perhaps, 
 these curious lines : 
 
 "■ Les chevaiix la plus part sont fougueux lorsque 
 oil tire, 
 L'un saute, Tautre rue ; et, ce qu' est bien pire, 
 II Jette quelque fois a terre un Cavalier." 
 
 Besides the advantages already mentioned, do 
 you reckon as nothing the exercise you may taka 
 in all weathers. Health and long life depend, I 
 believe, on regularity. The fatigue of to-day 
 does not make amends for the indolence of yes- 
 terday. It is constant. ^nd regular exercise that 
 preserves the machine from injury, and enables 
 it to perform with ease its separate functions, 
 till all its parts decay gradually together. I have 
 known many Ecuyers all heakhy and long lived. 
 Youknovy Sir Sydney Meadows; that Gentle- 
 man, if I am rightly informed, was born in the 
 year One, and I know not how you will account 
 for the extraordinary vigour he at present en- 
 joys, if not by the regular exercise he has con- 
 stantly taken. Having said thus much, candour 
 obliges me to confess, that a perfect Manege 
 Horse is only fit for the Manege ; even the 
 
 supple- 
 
448 
 
 suppleness and agility he acquires there, render 
 him dangerous out of it. I had occasion to 
 put my servant the other day on a horse he was 
 no longer able to ride; he assured me the Ma- 
 nege had spoiled him ; and that he walked on 
 his hind legs like a dancing bear. 
 
 The Corso is out of the Porta Cormolia. It 
 is usual to return to the Lizza, where some get 
 out and walk. — You who, on a windy day, I 
 have often seen, with a curioils and eager eye, 
 take the exact dimensions of a woman's foot, 
 will probably not find one to admire here.— In 
 my reckoning it is of little consequence, since, 
 if a beauty, it is seldom seen ; and if a defect, is 
 easily concealed. The Italians, at any rate, 
 have one advantage over the Chinese, which you 
 will allow makes them some amends ; — they can 
 walk: and no women in Italy make better use 
 of their legs than the women of Siena; they 
 consequently look healthier and handsomer than 
 in other places. Beauty however here, as well 
 as elsewhere, is most conspicuous in the people 
 of middle rank, who, living between the ex- 
 tremes of want and luxury, fatigue and indo- 
 lence, lead the kind of life best adapted to our 
 natures, and most conducive to health and come- 
 liness. Paul Giovio tells us, that in his time 
 the Siena women were the handsomest in Italy. 
 Though I disregard a little foot, for the 
 
 reasons 
 
449 
 
 reasons I have just given, I know no country 
 where a pretty hand is so necessary as in Italy : 
 a well-bred Italian, when he enters or leaves a 
 room, seldom fails to kiss the hand of the lady 
 
 he visits. Mrs. has a beautiful hand, and 
 
 little foot ; one of her admirers has just told me, 
 there is no part of a woman he likes so well : — 
 of such sentiments one cannot be jealous ; and 
 I hope, if ever he is fool enough to tell her so, 
 that she will requite him with a slap in the face, 
 and a kick in the breech. 
 
 Situated dm we are at Siena, on a high mountain, 
 superior to most of those which surround it, it is 
 curious to think that the height of Turin is little 
 inferior. La Lande makes only twenty toises 
 difference between the second floor of the Hotel 
 d'Angleterre at Turin, and that of the Three 
 Kings at Siena. But you descend from the 
 Alps to the one, and on every side ascend to 
 the other. 
 
 The best inns are the Sun and the Three 
 Kings. None are open after ten o'clock at 
 night, except to Travellers, nor is it permitted 
 the Sienese to be hungry after that hour. Those 
 who stay any time at Siena take lodgings. A 
 coach costs ten pauls a day, hcona mano in- 
 cluded ; you cannot have one for the evening 
 only as at Pisa. Chairs are to be had, but men 
 generally walk on foot. 
 
 VOL. I. G G Hav- 
 
450 
 
 Having praised tlie milk and butter of Pisa, 
 it may be necessary to acquaint an Englishman 
 that Siena is very ill supplied v^^ith both. I am 
 indifferent about the latter : since it is bad, I 
 conclude we shall eat less, and consequendy be 
 healthier. I have no objection to a piece of 
 butter in warm water as an emedc, but nothing, 
 I think, could induce me to eat half the quantity 
 you do every morning for your breakfast: it 
 would make me either as sick as a dog, or as fat 
 as a pig. 
 
 A Lady of this town. La Signora — — , is 
 ordered to drink asses milk, and, being too weak 
 to take any physic, diey have physiced the ass. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
JS^-BI 
 
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