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 TRAVEL S 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, 
 
 AND 
 
 SICILY. 
 
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 L(U(f dow)i on (7 /i/}faNe/' Scale 
 
TRAVELS 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, 
 
 AND 
 
 SICILY. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 
 
 OF 
 
 FREDERIC LEOPOLD COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 BY THOMAS HOLCROFT. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Tjo Y.(x7\a hn lOiq ayaS'Oij. PLATO. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR G<, G. AXD J- ROBINSON, PATERNOSTER- ROW. 
 MDCCXCVI. 
 
^ 1 . r .i 
 
 P R E F A C E. 
 
 JriE who has written, or he who has but traiiflated, 
 a book finds a ffcrong impulfe, if he knew how, to convey 
 to the reader the conceptions he has entertained of himfelf 
 during his progrefs, the labour he has fullained, the acumen 
 he has difplayed, and the difficulties he has overcome. But of 
 what import is it, to the reader, though he may have turned 
 over a thoufand volumes a thoufand times; to detecSl, to 
 elucidate, or to efcape error? And, if ten thoufand of thefe 
 errors have been thus efcaped, fliould any remain, he is flill 
 accountable: he is ftill interrogated on his ignorance; and 
 afked why he did not turn over more books, and take care to 
 be better informed ? A man unufed to the rigorous difcipline 
 will be impatient under it: he, who is become a veteran in 
 this juft and necelTary fufFerance, will allow it to be both 
 inevitable and wholefome : wholefome to himfelf, more 
 wholefome ftill to others ; and, reflecting that error is unli- 
 mited, and that mortal labour muft have its boundary, will 
 fmile inftead of being angry at that which he has the prefence 
 of mind to recollecSt is not wholly to be avoided. He will take 
 pleafufe in finding that his fmall circle was not the circum- 
 Vol. I. a ference 
 
vi PREFACE, 
 
 ference of knowledge ; and will acquire increafmg vigour at 
 every perceptible increafe of the luminous and beneficent 
 horizon of truth. 
 
 Eo"otito however is as confbicuous in extreme filence as in 
 extreme loquacity. Juftice is the due of every man; and he 
 who fliould forbear to demand his due, or he who fliould 
 demand it with violence, anger, and irritability, would alike 
 
 be immoral. 
 
 The Writer of the following Letters has in this work proved 
 himfelf to be a man of talle, of learning, and of obfervation : 
 a connoifTeur, a critic, a poet, and, as fuch rare qualities imply, 
 intimately acquainted with men and manners. But no man 
 can be deeply fkilled in and equally well informed upon all 
 topics ; and a traveller, if a man of obfervation, will be induced 
 to record fad:s on fubjeds of which he is either wholly igno- 
 rant or in part. His range of remark may lead him through 
 every fcience, every art, and every age. Of this clafs of travel- 
 lers is Count Stolberg ; and, in following his erratic and devious 
 path, which he has fometimes rather traced with flight touches 
 than marked with a deep and daring ftroke, the Tranflator has 
 not unfrequently found himfelf in a labyrinth : from which to 
 extricate himfelf, and never lofe fight of his author, was a tafk 
 of difficulty and addrefs. Technical term.s not known to the 
 didionaries, words coined with a kind of poetical licence by 
 the Count, himfelf a* poet and that way inclined, and fcientific 
 fads, of which fometimes the Author and fometimes ^' ^ 
 Tranflator had but an imperfed knowledge, aided to form this 
 labyrinth, and increafe thefe difficulties. Add the complex 
 
 conflrudion, 
 
P R E F A C E. 
 
 vn 
 
 conftrucSlioii, indefinite grammar, licentious orthograpliy, and 
 perplexed idiom, of the German language ; increafed by that 
 habit, to which all writers are addidled, of imagining that no 
 man can be ignorant of fubje6ls which are exceedingl}^ familiar 
 to themfelves, and that therefore it is more mafterly to hint 
 at than to defcribe them ; and the occafional dilemmas of the 
 Tranflator may be in good part conceived. He is much more 
 anxious to difcover and to avow his own miftakes than to 
 defend them ; and rather willing to court criticifm, for the 
 initrudlion of others, than to flirink from it, that he may 
 indulge the felf-love of cowardice, deceit, and imbecility. 
 
 To fpeak of his Author, in adequate terms, and in no degree 
 to conceal his own opinion, he muft perhaps appear paradoxical. 
 That the book contains information which may well gratify 
 the man of indolence, the man of the world, and the man of 
 refearch, the painter, the poet, the politician, and the philo- 
 fopher, him who loves to be amufcd, and him who is anxious 
 to be informed, there are few readers who will be difpofed to 
 deny. One thing, however, cannot be concealed : all men's 
 fentiments, more or lefs, are at war with each other ; and thofe 
 of Count Stolberg are fo in a certain degree. But, to his 
 honour be it fpoken, hovvcver his opinions may at this moment 
 war with the hopes of pcrfons who pant after a new order of 
 things, and at the next with the fears of men who are enthu- 
 liaftic admirers of the old, his intentions are evidently thofe 
 of a benevolent man ; and among the many paiTages which 
 the Tranilator, though neceirarily unnoticed as fuch, confidered 
 as the refult of prejudice and error, he fcarcely found one in 
 
 a 2 which 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 which the generous writer did not glow with the zeal of a 
 pertinacious and ardent lover of mankind. 
 
 Of the propenfities of which the heart of the Tranflator could 
 not forbear to accufe his Author, national prejudices, in favour 
 of Germany and in holHlity to France, evidently flrengthened 
 by the war that while he wrote was raging between thofe 
 countries, were the moft frequent. The ambition and tur- 
 bulence of individuals, the crimes they have been induced to 
 commit, and the maffacres of which they have been the 
 authors, deferve every cenfure that a juft and a feeling yet a 
 difpaffionate morality can beflow. But it is a well known 
 maxim, of which the Count has frequently reminded us, that 
 individuals are not a nation. In eftimating the worth of nations, 
 juftice requires that, while their vices are put into one fcale, 
 their virtues fliould as confcientioufly be poifed in the other. 
 Individuals and nations are equally Itung with a fenfe of wrong, 
 when their crimes are acrimonioufly recapitulated, and their 
 great and good adlions are all forgotten. This fatal forgetfulnefs 
 is the origin of that rancour which has fo long defolated the 
 earth. It diflradls private families, confounds public princi- 
 ples, and turns even patriotifm itfelf into poifon. Let thofe, 
 who have but the fmailelf love for the happinefs of mankind, 
 beware how they indulge this pernicious propenlity. He, 
 who in every man willies to meet a brother, v/ill very 
 rarely encounter an enemy. 
 
 Thefe obfervations are made by the Tranllator in juflice to 
 himfelf, in more anxious jultice to truth, and in the perfuafion 
 that they will neither injure the^ morals nor offend the prin- 
 ciples 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 ciples of any reader. In every ltru6lure raifed by man, bow- 
 ever much there may be to approve, there will ahvays be 
 fomething to quellioia, and fomething to amend. 
 
 He, who would never read, never recommend, or never 
 tranllate, a book which fliould contain opinions contrary to his 
 own, muft forfwear the fociety of books. He can only write 
 fuch himfelf ; and, if he be an impartial enquirer after truth, 
 twelve months after they are written, they will, in his own 
 opinion, partake more or lefs of the faults of other books. The 
 precife limits of truth, like thofe of time and meafure, never 
 can be afcertairied : yet they may be continually approached ; 
 and the road of approach is the broad, open, unimpeded road 
 of enquiry. Let the Count fpeak for himfelf. hi the pro- 
 grefs of refearch there mull be conflict : but there needs not 
 be acrimony. 
 
 Moft authors have their poetry and their profe ; their matter 
 of fa6l remarks and their flights of imagery, feeling, and fancy. 
 Matter of fa6l is a rigid tafl^i-mafter, that will not allow his 
 Haves to turn or even to look to the right or to the left. 
 Obedience to him muft be implicit ; and deviation, except 
 from the blind, is unpardonable. Imagination however holds 
 a loofer rein : her track is aerial ; and, though dazzling, clofes 
 inftantly upon the view. To trace her capricious courfe in an 
 exadl line is impoflible ; and thofe who tranflate poetry muft 
 not pore over the words of the author, but imbibe his feelinp-s, 
 animate themfelves with the fame lires, and foar on the fame 
 daring wing. The fenfations may be fimilar, may have a 
 refemblance, but the language will have none : or the fenfa- 
 tions 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 tions themfelves may be unlike, and yet their quantity may be 
 much the fame. If the tranflator fhould happen to increale 
 tliat quantity, the critic who fliall pronounce him guilty, 
 for this deviation, is either no poet or has forgotten his office. 
 
 Much of the defcriptive fcenery in the following work is 
 matter of fa6l, and much is matter of feeling ; and the Tranf- 
 lator has been hardy enough to coniider in the latter cafe how 
 the Count would have expreifed himfelf in Engiilli, rather 
 than how he has exprefTed himfelf in German ? has enquired, 
 how did the Author v/hile he wrote this feel, rather than what 
 is it that he has literally faid ? Metaphors, by ufe, have been 
 rendered if not beautiful not offenfive, in one language, which 
 in another would excite ridicule, if not contempt; and he 
 who ihould tranllate his author literally would frequently 
 infult both his author and his reader. 
 
 There are four poems inferted in the German, three of which 
 are tranflated : the fourth is omitted becaufe it is long, has no 
 relation, except that of imagery and feeling, to the work, and 
 is befide, in the Tranilator's opinion, incapable of infph'ing an 
 Engliili reader v/ith that high delight which is indifpenfably 
 the province of true poetry : unlefs it were to be fo greatly 
 changed as to be rather an original poem than a tranllation. 
 Liberties aim oft equal to this have been taken with the poems 
 that are tranilated; for which, if blame be due, let it be duly 
 diftributed. 
 
 The difappointment that is often experienced by readers, 
 when they meet with quotations in a language which they do 
 not underftand, induced the Count judicioully to add tranila- 
 
 tions 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 tions to fuch pafTages : fometimes by himfelf, but more fre- 
 quently by the befh tranflators of the ancients into the German 
 language. The Englifli Tranllator has rigoroufly adhered to 
 this rule ; and has chofen thofe tranflators, of the claffics, who 
 have at prefent the moft reputation. Of thefe he thinks it his 
 duty to fay that, though perhaps Francis, the tranflator of 
 Horace, be the moil literal, he is the leail fatisiadtoiy. Horace 
 is univerfally admired, by all who read and delight in the 
 works of the ancients : while thofe, who are ignorant of the 
 language in which he wrote, are particularly aftoniilied at the 
 high praife beftowed on the Roman poet, when they read him 
 difguifed in the garb of any Englifh tranflation that has 
 hitherto been made : fome very few feledl pieces, by Dryden 
 -and others, excepted. A truly poetical tranllation of Horace 
 has long been an urgent defideratum in Englifli literature. 
 May the arduous taflc be foon accompliflied. 
 
 The original Work has neither Tables of Contents nor refer- 
 ences of any kind. The utility as well as the amufement and 
 pleafure wldch judicious and copious hidexes afford are well 
 known to every man who delights in reading or has occa- 
 fion to confult books. Were the Tranflator to detail the 
 trouble and time that have been devoted to the Index for this 
 Work, he might appear. oflentatious on things which in general 
 are either overlooked, or coniidered as trifles. Much of the 
 merit of thefe Travels confifls in the mafs of mifcellaneous 
 fa6ts they contain. An hidex that fliould point out thefe fadts, 
 individually and collectively, to the farmer, the philofopher, 
 the antiquarian, the artifl:, the conuoifleur, and the botanifl: ; 
 I to 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 to him who dehghts in the grandeur of nature, her inexpli- 
 cable phenomena and h-er fiiblime afpe6ls, and him who 
 enquires into the revolutions of morals, manners, cities, and 
 flates ; and that Ihall clafs thefe fubjedls in fuch a manner as 
 that the Reader may find with facility whatever relates to each ; 
 fuch an Index, no doubt, would be highly valuable to every man 
 of enquiry, and afford no fmall fatisfadlion to the perfon who 
 reads only for amufement. This is the kind of Index that has 
 been attempted. The numerous references which are given 
 :to particular articles, fuch as plants, pictures, prospects, 
 proper names, and every other word that fuggefled itfelf as a 
 general head, while they have coft a degree of labour that 
 will not eafily be imagined, will enable any perfon, either 
 for his profit or his pleafure, to colle6l the fa6ts that are con- 
 tained in the Work ; and thus aid him in forming a whole of 
 each. This is tlie molt defirable end that the labours of man 
 can attain. It is not merely a knowledge of fa6ls, but it is that 
 knowledge combined with their arrangement, which confti- 
 tutes wifdom. 
 
 Such are the few remarks, which the Tranllator has thought 
 it his duty to make, concerning a work that has obliged him to 
 exert a minute degree of attention, a fufpicious unremitting 
 watchfulnefs,and labour accompanied by anxiety greater than 
 it is his intention ever again to encounter, in a work where 
 neither the thoughts, the manner, nor the materials, are his 
 own. 
 
HUM I ,1 ■ il l mum \ ■ iii mi iii w Mi iin ;n—i i ra igp^—M— >»— BBanaaca ■ i i «i naiMaMt i m iiiir— ai— pa 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. L 
 
 LETTER I. — Page i. 
 
 JOURNET to Di{j}'eldorf—KkpJlock—Kleuker'--M'6fer—Princefs Galliizin-^ 
 Baron of Filrjlenherg — Hemjierhuys — Haman, 
 
 LETTER II. - Page 5. 
 
 Diijfeldorf gallery of pi^iures. 
 
 LETTER III. — Page 9. 
 
 Timber-floats on the Rhine. 
 
 LETTER IV. — Page 11. 
 
 The valley of Elberfelde, and its pro/per ity — Cavern of Leuchtcnburg — Silent Monks 
 of La Trappe — facobi. 
 
 LETTER V. — Page 14. 
 
 Duchy of Berg — Thomas J'Figgenmann — Miihlheim — Cologne — Figures by Rubens 
 and Le Brun — Scenery — Rheinmagen, and procejfion to St. Apollinarius — Voltaire 
 — French at Coblentz — Ems — Naffau — Schwalbach — Wijbaden — Mentz — 
 Frankfort.^ and the Jews. 
 
 LETTER VI. — Page 24. 
 
 Darmfadtj and guard-houje — The Bergjiraffe, and fcenery~~ Agriculture — Cajlle of 
 Heidelberg^ andfcenery — Bruchfal. 
 
 LETTER VII. — Page 29. 
 
 Karlsruh — Schloffer^ a German author — Bockmajin, another author — Paflor Hahn, 
 and Auchy famous mechanics— Kolreuter the botaniji. 
 Vol. I. b LET- 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER VIII. — Page 34. 
 
 Pforzheim- — Stutgard, and academy — Palaces of the Solitude and Hohenheim^-Efs- 
 liiiger. — Gifsliugen — Ubh 
 
 LETTER IX. — Page 39. 
 
 Blderach — Ravenfburg — Tetnang — Angelica Kauffmann — Lindau, and bridge — 
 Lake of Conjlance — Pcem, 
 
 LETTER X. — Page 43. 
 
 Morjluro- — Botany — Scenery — Lakes of Conjlance, Zell, and Ueherlingen — Ahhey 
 of Reichenau, and relics — John Hufs^ and Jerome of Prague — "The city of Con^ 
 
 fiance. 
 
 LETTER XI. — Page 49. 
 
 Schaffhaufen — The fall of the Rhine — Miiller the hifiorian — Trippel the fculptor— 
 Egliffau — Ziirich, 
 
 LETTER XII. — Page 54. 
 
 Lavater — Ziirich, its walks, public fpirit^ government, rank, and force— Behaviour 
 of JUzt —The Prince de Soubife and Lochmann. 
 
 LETTER XIII. — Page 6r. 
 Kilchberg vifited, and Richterfchweil — Inundation at KUfnacht — Talwyl—Wdden- 
 
 fchweil The Abbey of Marieinfiedel— Saint Adehich — Count Rudolphus and his 
 
 fieward — The bridge of Rapperfchweil — The victories and virtues of the Swifs — 
 Waterfall near Richterfchweil. 
 
 LETTER XIV. — Page ^9. 
 
 Geffnefs monument. 
 
 LETTER XV. — Page 72. 
 
 Recognitions of youth — Orphan-houfe — Cathedral — Arfenal — Societies and cufioms of 
 ZUrich. 
 
 LETTER XVI. — Page 76. 
 
 Journey to Lucerne, andfcenery — Town and canton of Zug — Government produce 
 manners of the people — Account of Lucerne — Bridges over the Reufs, and pictures 
 — Account of General Rfyffer, and his model — Nicholas von der Fliie-^Vojage on 
 
 the^ 
 
CONTENTS. ±r 
 
 the lake of Lucerne — Anecdotes of William T'ell — Remarkable infcriptions — Son^ 
 of the Swifs. 
 
 LETTER XVII. — Page loi. 
 
 fourney to Berne — Lah: of Sempach — Sivifs farmers — Arrival at Thun — Journey 
 to the valley of Hajli — Numerous waterfalls — Herdfmen of the Alps — Valley of 
 Crindelwald — Inundation » 
 
 LETTER XVIII. — Page 114. 
 liifiorical Jketehes of Berne. 
 
 LETTER XIX. -^ Page 125. 
 Government and confiitution of Berne — General profperity of the Canton, 
 
 LETTER XX. — Page 137. 
 
 Arfenal — Hofpitals — Orphan- houfe — Cathedral — Air — Granaries^ and remarkahk 
 cujlo7n, at Berne. 
 
 LETTER XXI. — Page 142. 
 
 Journey to Laufanne — Lake of Biel — Peters ifland^ and Jean Jacques Rouffeau^^ 
 
 Vallengin, and Neufchatel—La Tour — Valley of Lock — Chaux de Fond The 
 
 fall of the Doux — The lake of Moiiron — Boudry — Granfon — Tverdon, 
 
 LETTER XXII. — Page 155. 
 
 Meillerie and Vevay — Evian — Laufanne^ its municipal government, public infiitu- 
 tions and buildings — TiJJot — Soldiers fent to the Pays de Vaud — Thoughts on go- 
 vernment and foldiers. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. — Page 163. 
 Journey to Geneva. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. — Page 165. 
 
 Brief hiflory of Geneva — Foreign and domefiic rulers— Parties and faSf ions, govern'^ 
 mcnt, and fiate of manners. 
 
 LETTER XXV. — Page 181. 
 
 Pleafant terrace, the Rhone, and the Arve. 
 
 b 2 LET- 
 
x\'| CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. — Page 182, 
 L^a Rive-^Scsnery — A vintage defer ihed* 
 
 LETTER XXVII. — Page 184. 
 A vifu to Mr. Necker. 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. — Page 185. 
 The library y and its portraits — La Rive—'The theatre^ and the French. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. — Page 186. 
 A vifit to the ■philojopher Bonnet, 
 
 LETTER XXX. — Page 188. 
 Journey to 'Turin — Vetturini — Savoy and Savoy ards-r-Chamberry — Montmelian — 
 Hannibal — Modane — Laneburg — Pajfage over Mount Cents — Mules — Noralefc — - 
 • Agriculture in Piedmont — Thoughts infpired by the Alps — 5/. Ambrofic — Rjvoll 
 The comic opera — Plains of Lcmbardy — Affaffinations and gaming. 
 
 LETTER XXXL— Page 199. 
 
 Turin^ its origin ^ fituation^ plan, flreets, palaces, pi5fures, buildings, and arfenal — • 
 . Country round Turin — Cattle, and agriculture. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. — Page 207. 
 
 A vijit to La Superga — Grandeur and beauty of the church, and of the profpetl from 
 the terrace — La Veneria, and garden — Academy, obfervatory, mufeum, library, 
 medals, floops, and jugglers of Turin, 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. — Page 213. 
 
 Journey to Genoa — Aleffandria — Apennines — La Bocchetta, 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. — Page 216. 
 
 Hijlorical Jketches of Genoa — Struggles for freedom, and contentions — Conjiitution 
 and government — -Bank of St. George — Genoefe territories, produSfs, manufactures, 
 palaces, haven, gardens and fituation, trade, climate, churches, improvifatore, 
 giant, 
 
 LETTER XXXV. — Page 225. 
 
 Palaces, pictures, hofpital, comedians, galley -fiaves, Turks, and beggars of Genoa 
 
 defcribed, 
 
 A L E T» 
 
CONTENTS. xvii 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. — Page 237. 
 
 Jeurney. to Pavia — Some account of the city and univerfity — Bronze Jlatues — T^'he 
 church of St. Michael. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIL — Page 244. 
 
 'Journey to Milan — Carthufian monaflery — Hiftorical ahflra^ of Milan — Revenge 
 cf Frederic the Firjl — Cathedral — Ambrofian library — Books^ manufcrlpts^ -pic- 
 tures^ andflatues. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. — Page 252. 
 
 The province of Milan — Robberies — Power of the nobility — Lodi — Vlacenza^— Cattle^ 
 fheep, andfwine — Inundations — Parma ^ paintings^ theatres^ library — The famous 
 picture of St, Jerome, 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. — Page 260. 
 Reggio and Modena — Ariojlo and Correggio — Cultivation — The bucket — Bologna, 
 
 LETTER XL. — Page 265. 
 
 Popidation and infiitutions of Bologna — P inures, and fchool of painters — St. Luke 
 and bispiBure of the Virgin — Particulars concerning the people and city of Bologna. 
 
 LETTER XLI. — • Page 274. 
 Journey to Florence — Hiftorical traces of the Tyrrheni and Etrurians, 
 
 LETTER XLII. — • Page 279. 
 
 Fkrence, piffure-gallery, fatues, mufeum, palaces, paintings, churches^ library — 
 Dante — Benevolent Jocieties. 
 
 LETTER XLIII. — Page 287. 
 
 Journey to Pifa, mild air, garden produBions, hiftorical traces — Ugolino^ botanic 
 garden, archite^ure — Algaroiti — Bridges, (^uays, and buildings, wine, fruit, and . 
 flowers. 
 
 LETTER XLIV. — Page 293. 
 
 Journey to and country round Sienna — Hiftorical Jketch of that place — Buildings, 
 library, paintings, ft atues —Journey to Rome — Radicofani and the furrcunding 
 
 country-— 
 
xviii CON T E N T S. 
 
 country-— Ac qua Pendente — Lake cf Bolfina— States of the Church — Viterho— 
 Ronciglione — Prcfpe^ of and entrance into Rome. 
 
 LETTER XLV. — Page 300. 
 Kigh mafs in St. Peter's— Reflections on the building — The reigning Pope, his per- 
 fon, age, guards^ and proccjfion. 
 
 LETTER XLVL — Page 302. 
 
 Ai'<yelica Kauffni-vm — Painting in zvax-cclours — Cardinal Bcrnis — Conz'erfazioni of 
 Italy and Rome — Italians characterized — Painters new-named — lid ares — T'hermar 
 dejcribed — The Font ana del aqiia Felice — The form of the Bcjllic, 
 
 LETTER XLVII. - Page 310. 
 
 Mofaic zvork — Palazzo Colonna— Magnificent buildings of modern Rome — The Co- 
 loffeum — Theatres — Roman luxury — Gladiators — Buildings in the vicinity of the 
 Colofj'cum — The Capitol — The viL'a Ludovifi, its gardens, flatues, antiquities, and 
 paintings — The theatre of Marcellus. 
 
 LETTER XLVIIL — Page 330. 
 The Ccp:tol—The hill Janiculus— Temples built by the Kings cf Rome — The Tar- 
 peian ?'ock — Buildings andftatues cf the Capitol— Mufeum— Particulars concern- 
 ing the Pope, fome Cardinals a.:d Grandees-^The Roman nobility, and the manners 
 of modern Rome. 
 
 LETTER XLIX. — Page 343. 
 Hiftcrical anecdotes of Rienzo — Buil dings, ft atues, and anecdotes of the ancient Romans 
 ■ — The garden of the villa Borghefe — The circus of Caracalla — The tomhs of the 
 S dpi OS. 
 
 LETTER L. — Page 361. 
 
 Torre degUfchiavi — Ancient aqueducts of Rome — Fountains — The mufeum of the Ca- 
 pi: jljts flatues, farcophagi, baffi relievi,bufts, vafes, and antiquities — The /iven- 
 tine hill, its neighbouring buildings and fine profpeCl — Ancient anecdotes — Church of 
 St, Paul — Chara^erifHc traits of Nero — The pyramid of Ceftius — The Monte 
 Teftacci^ — Snow, fkating, and climate. 
 
 LETTER LL — Page 380. 
 
 Ths villa Alba A, its anticiuities, ftatues, bajfi relievi, bufts, and paintings— The Pa- 
 ^ lazzo 
 
CONTENTS. xiK 
 
 ' lazzo Rondamni and its aniiquilies — "The Palazzo GiuJIimanl, Jiatues^ hufts^ 
 and piSlures — The monument of St. Conjlantia — Patriotifm of the ancient Remans 
 — Jacob More — Hackert and Wenzeflaus Peter. 
 
 LETTER Lir. — Page 389. 
 Poetical thoughts on Raphael. 
 
 LETTER LIII. — Page 391. 
 
 A trip to La Riccia — The country and its antiquities defcrihed — Anecdote of the 
 treachery of Tar quin— Miraculous tale of the fiege of Veii — The hill of Albano^ 
 and the grove of Ferentina — The lake of Albano — The Hcratii and Curiatii — 
 Lake and town of Nemi — Canals — Agriculture — Wine — Roman roads. 
 
 LETTER LIV. — Page 405. 
 
 The pi6lure of the Transfiguration, 
 
 LETTER LV. - Page 40^. 
 The villa Borghefe, its ftatues, baffi relievi, pillars, vqfes, piBureSy affd antiquities 
 — LeJJing — Guido — the Abate Puccini — and Raphael. 
 
 LETTER LVI. — Page 416. 
 
 The Palatine hill and its antiquities — The baths cf Livia — Domitians hall of au- 
 dience — Pratorian barracks — The temple of the Palatine Apollo — Patriotifm of 
 Valerius — Palaces and Forum cf Domitian — AJloniJhing Therms of Caracalla — 
 Maunt Ccelius^ and its antiquities-^ The church cf Lateran — The obelifks of Rome. 
 
 LETTER LVir. — Page 424. 
 The Pantheon, its antiquities, grandeur, and beauties — The pillar of Trajan — Pillars 
 of the Antonines-— Statues of Cajior and Pollux — Figures in the Palazzo Colonna 
 -—Apotheofis of Homer — Remarks on the Dilettanti — The Mufeum Pium Cle- 
 men tinum, and its beautiful antiques— The Torfo, Apollo Belvedere, Laoccon^ 
 and Antincus — Figures in the Mufeum Pium Ckmentinum, 
 
 LETTER LVIII. — Page 439. 
 
 The Lafi Judgment, and other pi5fures, by Michael Angela — Poetkal thoughts on this 
 wafer. 
 
 LET- 
 
xK CONTENT S. 
 
 LETTER UX. — Page 443. 
 Tiofitres in the Palazzo Borghefey and in the Palazzo Farmfm a— Letter written by 
 Raphael— Thoughts on that painter -^Remarks on the mijlakes cf antiquarians- 
 Gloom of ancient artijis, 
 
 I. E T T E R LX. — Page 451. ■ 
 
 jcurney to Naples— Draining of the Pcntlne marfJo, and repairing of the Atpian 
 
 way— Buffaloes and birds of the Pontine marfh—Bad roads, and dangerous air — 
 
 l/he fprin' of Feronia — The town of "Ferracina, and its beautiful rocks — Hofpi- 
 
 table monks— Mildnefs of the cUmate^State of Jgricultiire—Fondi—Caftellone 
 
 ^jola and Gaeta — Antiquarian conjectures — Remarkable rocky and natural 
 
 Irid'^e Ruins and town of Minturn£ — parrel of the Romans and the Samnites 
 
 Capua, and Roman cruelty — Amphitheatre at Cajua -Caferta, and its noble 
 
 aqueduuf. 
 
 LETTER LXI. ■— Page 47c. 
 
 Ancient Neapolis and modern Naples, with hiflorical traits — Remarks, chara5ierij- 
 tics and anecdotes — F'he Lazaroni — Nicola Sabbato — Population, carriages^ 
 
 crowds ArchiteBure — Indolence and curiofity of the Neapolitans — Beauties and 
 
 riches of the fea and frocre — The hill and grotto of Poftlipo. 
 
 LETTER LXIL — Page 482. 
 
 profpeEls from the Caflello di Sant' Elmo — Remarkable feature of the ijlands of the 
 Mediterranean — The hill of Pcfilipo, its profpeCJs, produ^s, and derivative name 
 — Lucidlus, and his villa — Sannazaro, and the tomb of Plrgil — Facetious car- 
 nival fports of Naples — Hacker ty and his paintings, 
 
 LETTER LXIIL — Page 488. 
 
 Excurfon to Pozzuoli — The lake of Avernus — C«?«^ — Bai^ and Bauli — Ruins 
 near Pozzuoli — The earthquake </ 1.-38 — Poetical f^iors concerning the lake of 
 Avernus — '^n ancient remain of Cumce — Beautiful profpetl— Fertility — Antiquity 
 of Cum a — Rcr,ian luxury — The haven of Baice — The Elyftan fields of Bauli — 
 Antiquarian and geographical refeanhes, and cenfure: on ccm?nentators — The Pif- 
 cina IV^irahilis, and other remains — The earthquake, and the fourteen towns of 
 Afia — The bridge of boats ^ and the folly of Caligula. 
 
 TRAVELS 
 
TRAVELS 
 
 OF 
 
 COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Pempelfort near Diifleldorf, July i6th I7grk 
 
 Jl must confefs to you that the Rhine produces here a 
 deeper impreffion on me, than the Elbe did at Hamburgh ; although the 
 banks of the former are not very beautiful, and the breadth, if my eye 
 does not deceive me, not much more than five hundred paces ; whereas 
 the Elbe is about a mile wide *. I fhould imagine you are of opinion, 
 with me, that, to the deep thinker, the character of magnitude is often 
 very very different from that of the fublime. The excefs of magnitude 
 overpowers, and weakens. My eye is apt to wander, among the hang- 
 ing woods of the fea beach ; and my mind to lofe itfelf in the boundlefs 
 expanfe of ocean. Where the horizon limits the profpedt, fancy burfts 
 the aerial barrier. The idea of infinitude always rifes on the benevo- 
 lent wing of eternal exiftence. How would energy fink, were it 
 bounded by what it can only fee ! 
 
 My fenfations are wholly different, when, from the northern fliores 
 of Zealand, I furvey the North fea; to what they are when, from the 
 eaftern, I contemplate the Baltic. The latter, it is true, communicates 
 with the ocean ; and yet the thought does not fatisfy the foul. When 
 
 * A Germnn mile contains from fix to eight EngUfli miles. T. 
 
 Vol. L B imagination 
 
2 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 imagination has fpread her fails, fhe is offended at the impediments fhe 
 meets with in the Sound. A fea is a very different thing from a river. 
 Beginning at its fource, we trace the flream to the ocean ; the eye 
 wullingly repofmg on its verdant banks. Too great width affords no 
 equivalent for this pleafure. We delight in tracing the progrefs of 
 power. Homer gave his heroes fupernatural force in a human form. 
 It was eafy to produce a Titan : Genius alone could create an Achilles. 
 We were not however infenfible to the beauties of the Elbe, when, 
 the wind favouring us, I and my wife, with our eldeft boy of eight 
 years old and Nicolovius, failed, in an hour, from Altonato Haarburgh: 
 having firil taken leave of Klopftock in his garden near Hamburg, 
 w^here he has reiided feveral fummers, and bidden adieu to my brother, 
 to his wife, to Windeme, and to her daughters. Claudius v\ras our efcort. 
 Of Weftphalia and Lower Saxony there is not much to remark. 
 Many thanks are due to the regency of Hanover, for the culture be- 
 flowed upon thefe deferts. In the parts under this government, we 
 faw the half barren wafte covered with beautiful fields of rye, good 
 potatoe grounds, nay even wheat, peas, and barley ; where the indo- 
 lence of the inhabitants would fcarcely have produced rye and buck 
 wheat. 
 
 Near Bomte, where the Ofnabrug domains begin, the profped bright- 
 ens. Between the towns of Bomte and Ofnabrug, we faw the majef- 
 tic oak ; which has continued to be the fubjed of aflonifhment for 
 centuries. 
 
 On the 6th, we remained at Ofnabrug, and gladly fpent the forenoon 
 with the juft thinking Kleuker; and the evening with the noble minded 
 patriot and philofopher Mofer. The next day we proceeded to Mun- 
 fter. We were intending to vifit the Princefs Gallitzin when her mef- 
 fage of invitation arrived. With her we found the Baron of Furjften- 
 berg. Germany acknowledges the merit of this great flatefman. The 
 Bilhopric of Miinfler honours and loves the wife and good man, as a 
 father. He fecured the rights of the Peafantry, infpired the Monks 
 
 with 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 3 
 
 ivith Induftry and patrlotifm, gave order to the war department, 
 awakened a general thirft of knowledge, and with unwearied perfever- 
 ance laboured to gratify the noble craving. Yes ; it was he that 
 promoted the pure and benevolent love of faience, through the fchools 
 and feminaries ; from the higheft to the loweft degree. 
 
 It is now feveral years fmce this worthy and enlightened Canon was 
 Prime Minifter ; and perhaps his influence will ad with greater freedom 
 and more dignified efFed on the public, now that its only fupport is its 
 proper worth. 
 
 The Princefs Gallitzin intends to publifli the works of the wife Hem- 
 fterhuys. As, when he lived, he fent his writings to his Diotima* to 
 corred, fo, at his death, in a manner honourable to them both, he left 
 his pofthumous works entirely to her difcretion. 
 
 We remained two days and a half with the Princefs ; and there be- 
 came acquainted with ProfelTor Overberg : a worthy ecclefiailic, whofe 
 wifdom and benevolence are aduated by all the glow of an energetic 
 mind. He is one of the head mailers of the upper fchools ; and, from 
 pure kindnefs, weekly dedicates a part of the forenoon to the inftruc- 
 tion of young girls. I fhall never forget the pleafure with which I 
 faw him catechifc fome hundreds of them, the animated intelligence of 
 his manner, the addrefs with which he fixed their attention, and the 
 acutenefs he difcovered in putting the queftion fo as to fuggeft the 
 anfwer. 
 
 Haman lies buried in the garden of the Princefs. Urns and infcrip- 
 tions charaderize the calm deep thinker ; whofe imagination rofe, on 
 the foaring pinions of poetry, far beyond the ken of common eyes ; 
 and fometimes was followed with difficulty by the keeneft fight. How 
 mull the Princefs have fympathifed with a heart and foul like his ! 
 
 * In fome of his writings he calls the Princefs his Diotima. Diotima was faid to have 
 been infpired by the Gods : in Plato's Banquet, Socrates afcribes high wifdom to her, and 
 profeffes to have learnt it from her, 
 
 B a Equally 
 
4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEP^G. 
 
 Equally fimple in manners, pure in mind, and holy in friendfliip, thej 
 raifed both the fagacious proteftant and the zealous catholic above the 
 narrow prejudices of their refpecLive creeds. 
 
 The catholic clergy wiflied to have his honoured remains interred in 
 confecrated ground : but from refpeft they yielded to the defire of the 
 Frincefs, in confideration of the undifguifed and enlightened readinefs 
 file had fliewn to pay the laft honours to this wife and worthy man. 
 
 We left Mlinfter early on the loth, with feelings fuch as none but 
 the good could excite. The following morning we arrived at Miihl- 
 heim, on the Ruhr. Here, for the fii*ft time, during a journey of two- 
 and-forty miles, we had a truly beautiful profpect. On each fide of 
 the valley, through which the meandering Ruhr purfues its courfe, we 
 faw the bold projeding rocks, clothed with hanging woods : beyond 
 them the mountains rofe, covered with forefts, and interfperfed with 
 plains of different elevations, all bedecked with rich and variegated fer- 
 tihty. A heavy fliower of rain, which poured from the lowring clouds, 
 did but increafe the beauty of the profpect ; gilded as it foon was by the 
 full radiance of the returning fun. 
 
 We arrived at Pempelfort at two in the afternoon ; and I felt myfelf 
 immediately as if at home, in the houfe of our dear Jacobi ; whom I 
 now faw for the firft time. In expectation of hearing from you with 
 your ufual punduality, I Ihall conclude ; wilhing you all happinefs 
 and patience 
 
 LET- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER IL 
 
 Pcmpdfurt, July lyth 1791. 
 
 E have been once at Dufleldorf, and have vifited the 
 famous Pldiure Gallery. You knov^ I am not a Connolfleur. I cannot 
 admu-e a pidure that fpeaks to the eye only, and not to the heart. 
 The moft inimitable deceptions, whether of painting or of poetrv, if 
 they place no living image before me, to me are equally uninterefting. 
 I may indeed be aftonifhed, at the talent I difcover, or rather at mv own 
 infenfibility : for fuch imitations, in my opinion, are merely talent ; 
 and are not the offspring of Genius: the charad;er of which is paffion,. 
 and invention. 
 
 The Diogenes, feeking an honeft man in the thronged market place 
 with a lanthorn at noon day, difplays great invention. Rubens has 
 given the face of the philofopher the expreflion of bitter but half con- 
 cealed irony. The crov/d, difterent in fex and age, cannot conceive his 
 meaning, and laugh at his folly. The malicious painter has introduced 
 his own v/ife; yet certainly he did not mean ferioufly to charaderize her 
 as a fooh What various marks of folly has he communicated to the 
 multitude ! How perfedly does the philofopher appear the only man 
 among them ! The very fpirit of Diogenes feems to have infpired the- 
 painter. He had certainly retired within himfelf, and, deep in con- 
 templation, had fludied each countenance, before his magic pencil could' 
 fo truly delineate this ample heritage of full grown folly. Plis ad:ion is 
 necefl'arily confined to the moment ; yet he artfully leads the fancy 
 through many fucceilive generations. 
 
 Oh Rubens, hadft thou been prefent when Diderot, ftanding to view 
 ^e pi^ure, imagined himfelf the hero,.and exclaimed to his guide C"^ 
 
 Diderot 
 
6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Diderot en HoUande * / thou wouldft have immortalized the feiffufficient 
 mien of the man on thy canvas ! Diogenes would not have put out his 
 lantliorn in his prefence ; but probably would have aiTumed an air of 
 more keen and bitter fatire. 
 
 Had Rubens read Milton's Paradife Lofl, the painter would have 
 foared beyond himfelf on the Vv^ings of the poet, would have added dig- 
 nity to his fallen angels, and would more emphatically have imparted to 
 them their inherent malignity. The vi<5lorious angel, in purfuit of Satan 
 as he defcends, bearing the flaming fword and invefted with the power 
 of the Almighty, is not unworthy the Michael of Milton. The poet 
 perhaps would Iiave been fatisfied with many of the fallen fpirits ; and 
 would have certainly done juflice to the genius of the painter. Either 
 I miftake, however, or many parts of this picture are degraded by the 
 image of vice under its grofleft forms. Rubens perhaps intended to 
 fliew that, the virtue of heaven being gone, its dignity had likewife dif- 
 appeared : but Satan could not defcend to fuch vulgar buffoonery ; nei- 
 ther could he fo immediately lofe all expreffion of heavenly grandeur. 
 Still the pidiure will ever remain the work of a great genius. Sir Jofhua 
 Reynolds tore himfelf from it with regret ; and exclaimed, " Other pic- 
 tures are excellently painted : here alone colours are made to fpeak." 
 
 The moft famous picture in this great colledlion is the St. John in 
 the wildernefs : by fome afcribed to Raphael ; by others to Andrea Sarpi. 
 The noble figure of the youth, above cenfure, or rather inimitably beau- 
 tiful and dignified, irrefiftibly attracts and fixes the attention : and, when 
 at laft you have left it, you are again and again brought back. Is it 
 depth of thought, or, is it not rather the vidory gained over temp- 
 tation, which thefe lines of noble and manly beauty with fo flow- 
 ing yet fo firm a touch denote ? He feems to bloom in the very fpring 
 tide of youth ; yet bears the promifed fruits of manhood. He is what 
 
 * 'Tis Diderot in Holland. 
 4 ^fchylus 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 7 
 
 iEfcliylus has fo finely defcribed one of his heroes to be, avS^PQirons 
 
 
 1 have ufed the phrafe " above cenfure ;" but it is faid there is falfe 
 drawing, in the forefhortening of one of the legs. I fhall ve .ture a 
 criticifm of another kind. Should wt recognize with certainty the great 
 harbinger of Chrift, if the crofs, his common fymbol,, were net lying by^ 
 his fide ? 
 
 The hiftory of this painting is fingular. One of the keepers of the 
 gallery was retouching a damaged Landfcape, in water colours, which 
 was not without merit. That which he had fuppofed to be mere canvas- 
 he difcovered to be coated with oil-colours. Curiofity induced him to 
 proceed ; and a mod beautiful body began to be vifible. He faw the 
 hand of a mafter, wafhed away the water colours, and reftored in full 
 perfedion the great work, that had fo long remained buried in darknefs.. 
 
 The Affiimption of the Virgin, by Guido, is one of the greatefl orna- 
 ments of the gallery. Devotion, rapture, divine benignity, infpire and 
 dignify the matron ; and, in all their luftre, feem to bear her to her 
 native heaven, which opens for her reception. 
 
 I did not fee the holy family of Raphael : it was not in the gallery, 
 but w^as fent to be engraved. 
 
 Rubens had certainly read Dante with great attention. The noble 
 and inventive genius of the poet infpired him, when he painted his day 
 of judgment. Yet he is unequal to Dante, in piduring both the good 
 and evil fpirits. The rage of the one, and the rapture of the other, are 
 more exquifitely defcribed by the Florentine. The figure of the Judge 
 of the world is beneath criticifm. The figure of the faint in the fore- 
 ground is noble : but. Oh ! how many thanks are due to the painter, for 
 the chearful countenance he has beftowed on the rifing negro ? The 
 idea of Ikeletons half clothed with flefh, and ftruggling into exigence, 
 is worthy of Dante or Milton. They are well contrafted with the already 
 rifen j and appear like the fappy buds of the aih in Spring, fwelling into 
 
 * A boy-man, 
 
 life. 
 
8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 life. Yet I could have wifhed for more variety ; and to have feen the 
 half formed creatures, as, in Milton, the angel defcribes the animals at 
 the moment of creation ; 
 
 The graffy clods now calved ; now half appeared 
 The tawny lionj pawing to get free 
 His hinder parts •, then fprings as broke from bonds, 
 And rampant Ihakes his brinded mane *. 
 
 Not only the falling deception of the burning lamps, and the glimmer- 
 ing matches on the ground, but the animated characters of the wife and 
 foolifh virgins, by Schalkcn, rank this pi(2:ure among the beft in the 
 gallery. 
 
 The adoration of the Shepherds, by Rubens, is very fine. On one 
 fide, in the clouds, an angel is feen, with his hands folded on his bread ; 
 an angel fuch as Raphael might have painted. 
 
 The Mary of Medicis, by Rubens, drew our attention ; from the great 
 
 refemblance it bears to our friend Mrs. . In thefe noble, ardent, 
 
 gentle, poetical traits, the phyfiognomiil would difcover the rank which 
 a Mary de Medicis would hold in fociety. 
 
 Chrift among the Dodors in the temple, by Vander Werf, appears 
 to me as worthy of the fubjedl as a pidture can be. I was not very 
 fond of this mailer, who to me appeared to have a littlenefs of manner ; 
 but this picture has given me a higher opinion of his genius. Youth, 
 beauty, benignity, grace, and wifdom, beam in the godhke boy. Sages, 
 fuch as you might imagine Gamaliel and Nicodemus to have been, are 
 liftening to his difcourfe. 
 
 No colledion contains fo many of the works of Rubens as this : 
 but I am told his beft produdions are to be found in the towns of Bra- 
 bant. The gallery is poor in pidures by the Italian mafters ; and not to 
 be compared with that of Drefden. It is ilkewife deficient in Land- 
 icapes. 
 
 * Par. L. Book VII. line 463. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^ 
 
 'The Diifleldorf academy is fufniflied with many excellent cafls, from 
 antique ftatues. It is likewife rich in engravings : and, were it not, the 
 numerous drawings, by Raphael, which it poiTelTes, give it a value 
 which few colledions can equal. Some are the light fports of his fine 
 and inexhauftible fancy : others are only fketches ; but they are the 
 iketches of a creative mind. And have not thefe flights of tranfcendent 
 genius, which never were meant for the vulgar eye that could not com- 
 prehend them, that were intended only for himfelf, for his own enjoy- 
 ment, have they not a character of unreftrained daring, and unexampled 
 beauty, peculiar to themfelves ? I fee them ftill, thefe lines thatfo. 
 fubllmely trace the heads of angels ! What amplitude ! What purity ! 
 What forms of flowing ftreaming life ! The means too fo limited, fo 
 imperceptible ; we dare not add fo indigent, fl:ruck as we are with aflo- 
 nifliment at beholding their effeds. Yes ; we look with joy as well as 
 wonder, and praife God for the power he has given to man. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Pempelfort, July T/gt> 
 
 J\. TIMBER float having been announced, we went yefter- 
 day in the afternoon toDlifl^eldorf to fee it : for which purpofe, we 
 hired a boat ; and rowed up the Rhine. The fpray of the oars was feen 
 from far ; and we prefently difcovered a fwimming village ; for fuch is 
 the appearance of the wooden huts, that are built on the float. 
 
 There are four floats that go, every fu mmer, from Andernach to Hol- 
 land. Each is about a thoufand feet long ; and a hundred and thirty 
 wide. The number of the floatmen is four hundred and fifty. The 
 rapidity of the fl:ream, and the bulk and unwieldinefs of the float, make 
 
 Vol. I, C the 
 
ID 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the navigation dangerous. The pafTage, if good, will be from fix to 
 feven days : but, if the water be low and the wind violent and adverfe-, 
 it may be as many weeks. 
 
 Several anchors are carried, and the float lies at anchor every night. 
 In the evening, the anchors are taken into the boats and brought to the 
 fhore. Tlieftrong motion of the float drags them, at firfl: but this mo- 
 tion flackens, and the float at lad becomes flationary. 
 
 The worth of the wood, of which the float is compofed, is eflimated 
 at five hundred thoufand florins. The toll it pays is heavy. At Diif- 
 feldorf i: amounts to a hundred and fixteen piftoles : at Kaiferfwerth, 
 which is likewife a town palatine, eighty piftoles : afid the PruIFian tolls 
 are ftill more fevere. 
 
 The dally maintenance of the floatmen is eftimated at upward of a 
 hundred rix dollars. The pay of each man, for the whole voyage, is 
 only five rix dollars. Having arrived at their place of deftination, they 
 form themfelves into parties, of feven each, club their pay, arid then 
 fhoot for the whole j and the lofers are oMiged to beg their way home. 
 
 The good cheer of the floatmen, during the voyage, delights and \wdl 
 repays them for their hard labour. We faw fat oxen on the float ; and 
 were informed that one was flaughtered daily. The cabin of the m.after 
 is as fpacious as that of the captain of an eighty gun fhip. The wood of 
 the float is chiefly for the ufe of flooring and carpenters. 
 
 LET- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ,1 
 
 LETTER IV, 
 
 Y] 
 
 Pcmpelfort, zg^h July 179 1, 
 
 ESTERDAY week, we were very agreeably furprifed, 
 by a vifit from the Princefs Gallitzin, her two children, the Baron of 
 Fiirftenberg, and Profeflbr Overberg. Thefe noble friends remained 
 with us three days : three memorable days. 
 
 After their departure, Jacobi took us, on a party of pleafure, to 
 Elberfelde. 
 
 This town lies in a fmall valley, on the Wupper : one of the innu- 
 merable tributary nymphs that pour their waters into the capacious 
 Rhine. The peculiar quality of this ftream maintains four populous 
 towns : the principal trade of which is bleaching. The valley is about 
 two leagues long ; and the high hills, on each fide, are covered with the 
 beech and the afh, and ikirted with corn fields, meadows, paftures, and 
 gardens, in various and rich fertility. 
 
 The four towns, which the Wupper waters, are Rittershaufen, Wup- 
 perfelde, Gemark (or Barmen), and Elberfelde ; which laft is the mofl 
 diftant. Barmen is a colony of Elberfelde: of which it is the rival, 
 both in induflry and profperity. Thefe properties are confpicuous, in 
 the handfome houfes and gardens, and in the countenances of the na- 
 tives ; who are remarkable for the cheerfulnefs and reditude of their 
 manners. 
 
 The whole appearance of this valley delights the eye, and makes a 
 deep and lafting impreilion upon the heart. Its various buildings, its 
 fwarming inhabitants, its meandering ftream, now deep and filent, now 
 rapid and fhallow, its bold proje5:ing rocks, hollow beneath, and loaded 
 above v^ith thick woods that fhade the horizon, the honeil, profper- 
 ous, and happy appearance of its people, fome dwelling in neat 
 
 C 2 towns, 
 
la TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 towns, others in fcattered houfes that ornament the vicinity, thefe 
 objedts, individually and colledtively, give unfpeakable pleafure. They 
 reminded me of the environs of Erzgebiirg: with its lofty mountains, 
 crowned with pines and watered with numerous rivulets : wdth this dif- 
 ference, that, at Erzgebiirg, the traveller was aftonifhed at the induftry 
 of art, which at laft afforded the inhabitants only a fcanty fubfiftence ; 
 while here abundance every where reigns. 
 
 The following day, wq faw, in a narrow valley, one of the grand 
 fpedtacles of nature. On our return from Elberfelde, we went to Met- 
 man ; a town which is four leagues diftant from Pempelfort. Pafling 
 through corn fields that had been reaped, we entered a Beech wood, 
 and fuddenly beheld an uncommonly wild mafs of rocks, that fixed 
 our attention. Proceeding through a wide opening, we went into a 
 cavern ; into which light had tw^o entrances, that w^ere unperceived by 
 us. We fuddenly came to a deep precipice, with high rocks in our 
 front ; and they, like the cavity in which we flood, were loaded with 
 trees, their fides adorned with fhrubs and ivy, and at their feet the rapid 
 DiifTel flowed. 
 
 This cavern is called the Leuchtenburo:. 
 
 We returned through a narrow pafTage, w^hich brought us to a pro- 
 jedting cliff; where, that we might the better look into the abyfs be- 
 neath, we laid ourfelves down, and each held the other in turn. This 
 cliff, which is called Rabenflein, or Ravenflone, appeared to me not lefs 
 beautiful than Rofstrappe, at Harz, in our own dear country. From 
 this, wepaffed into a fmall grotto ; called the Engelskammer, or Angefs 
 chamber ; and faw a black gulph, on the other fide, which people have 
 named the Teufelskammer ; or Devil's chamber. 
 
 Half a league from this, there is a Monaflery, of the rigorous order 
 of La Trappe j of which there w^as only one in Germany, one in France, 
 and one in Italy, founded. The monks of this order renounce the ufe 
 of fpeech : the prelate only, under certain reftridions, is allowed to 
 infringe this rule. Some years ago, a Princefs vifited this monaflery ; 
 
 and. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 23 
 
 end, after many entreaties, prevailed on the prelate to indulge two of 
 the monks, for a moment, in the ufe of fpeech : but they both gave her 
 to underftand, by figns, that they did not think themfelves authorized 
 to break their eternal filence. 
 
 Jacobi, one evening, took me and Nicolovius to this monaftery. The 
 door keeper, a lay brother, left us in the garden ; telling us that the 
 monks had retired to reft : however, we met orre of them ; who, by 
 the motion of his lips, was muttering his prayers. At laft, the prelate 
 appeared : but he fhewed no inclination to admit us into the monafterv. 
 The government has appointed a fpiritual commiffion, to reform the 
 rules of the monaftery. The veil of fecrecy guards their proceedings. 
 It is not, however, probable that they will raze the monaftery : they 
 would not for fuch a purpofe have appointed a fpiritual commiflion. 
 
 I have yet faid nothing of Pempelfort ; which is feparated, by a fpa- 
 cious Eledoral garden, from the town of Diifteldorf. Jacobi's houfe 
 is roomy, and well contrived : built for the convenience of a fage, who 
 wifhes neither to be incommoded by want of fpace, nor incumbered by 
 magnihcence. He has laid out his beautiful garden in the Englifh 
 manner ; but with a degree of tafte peculiar to himfelf. Trees, fome 
 fmgle, others in clufters, ornament the green lawn ; through which the 
 Diiflel meanders, and forms a cafcade. High palm trees, a row of 
 elms, a lake encircled with the weeping willow, many of the exotics 
 which can endure our climate, and a charming orange grove, exhaling 
 its fweets under the vv^indows of the houfe, give this garden a delight- 
 ful varietv. 
 
 Here, in fecial friendftiip, the heart of the deep thinking owner ex- 
 pands. Here he meditated, here, under trees of his own planting, he 
 occafionally wrote, his Woldemar, and his Allwill ; obedient to the 
 friendly didates of the mufe. Here he lived happy with his Eliza ; and 
 here he wept her iofs. Her pure her heavenly fpirit (Oh ! who can 
 doubt it ?) hovers round him ; and infpires his charming fifters, whofe 
 hearts and underftandings are a fource of confolation to him ; and whofe 
 
 fociety 
 
J4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 fociety he finds fo delightful, fo iiidifpenfible. Here too his brothef , 
 breathing the infpirations of the feeling mufe, wrote fome of his 
 moll excellent poems. 
 
 Tomorrow we depart from a place, where, inftead of a week, as we 
 had intended, we have remained nineteen days. But we fhall not leave 
 all the inhabitants of Pempelfort behind us : at our entreaty, Jacobi per- 
 mits his fon to accompany us j and the pleafure of our journey will not 
 be lefTened by his fociety. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Frankfort on the Main, Auguft 7th 1791.- 
 
 w 
 
 E had only a fhort half day's journey from Pempelfort 
 to Cologne ; our road lying through a fruitful and well cultivated dif- 
 trid. The Duchy of Berg appears to me to owe its profperity to the 
 conftitution it enjoys, under the government of the Elector of Bavaria, 
 and to the induftry of its inhabitants, more than even to the goodnefs 
 of its foil ; which, from excellent cultivation, is fo produdive. That 
 land muft be light, which one horfc can plough. The horfes and cattle 
 in this country are large and well fed. 
 
 Near Mlihlheim, on the Rhine, we vifited the grave of the worthy 
 Thomas Wiggenmann. He died young, in the arms of his dear friends; 
 and Jacobi has v^^itten a beautiful epitaph to his memory, which me- 
 mory will remain facred as long as his excellent w^crk, on the gofpel of 
 Saint Matthew, fliall be read ; a work calculated to calm the doubts of 
 many worthy fceptics. Death prevented hira from completing his 
 labour. His abilrad of the philofophy of Mendelfohn and Jacobi has 
 characterized him, as a clear and deep thinker. 
 
 At 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 15 
 
 ' At Muhllielm, we croffed the Rhine; and foon arrived at Cologne. 
 This ancient and free imperial city is built in the old ftyle ; with high 
 hoLifes, and narrow ftreets. 
 
 The Gothic Cathedral is beautiful, in its kind ; and would have 
 been one of the largefl: in Europe, had the immenfe work, which was 
 interrupted before finifhed, been completed. Its grandeur is ftill con- 
 fiderable ; and the unfinifhed part gives a pidurefque appearance of 
 Gothic ruins. 
 
 We faw a noble pidure, by Rubens, of Peter on the crofs, in Saint 
 Peter's Church ; which the painter prefented to his native city. 
 
 You know the ilory of this apoftle wifhing, from humility, to be 
 crucified with his head downward. This gave the great painter an 
 opportunity of difplaying his genius in what may be called the terribly- 
 beautiful. The blood, hurried toward the head, diftends the veins ;; 
 and, as the body is not outftretched, it is bent, and forefhortened ; ia 
 the executing of which Rubens has difplayed his whole power. The 
 mouth of the fufferer opens in fuch agony, and with fo much truth^ 
 that It has a wonderful appearance of reality. Various executioners are 
 employed around him : one of whom, with a fiend-like ferocity, is 
 driving a nail through his foot ; while a Roman foldier holds him faft, 
 with a placid diligence. The foldier's countenance would befpeak our 
 favour, were it not for the calm manner with which he attends to his 
 horrible office. None but a Roman foldier could have hardened his 
 countenance to fuch an iron ferenity. We feem to me to mifs that 
 animated participation, and heavenly dignity, which fhould have cha- 
 ra(flerized the hovering angel that holds the palm over the evangelical 
 martyr. 
 
 We faw a beautiful pid;ure,, by Le Brun, in the houfe of the Patrician 
 Jebbach. It reprefents one of his uiiceftors, furr.ounded by his family.. 
 Attached to eack other as they mutually were, the painter left this; 
 beautiful mark of his friendlhip. A chamber is fet apart for the pic- 
 ture ; to which ftrangers are always admitteda A noble finiplicity 
 
 dignifies 
 
,6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 dignilies the figures. Le Brun painted with afTedion ; and gave an 
 expreffion of gentlencfs and family concord to the whole. 
 
 Is it true that our anceftors were lefs diffipated than we are ? Did 
 they poflefs a more profound and capacious calm ? Or were the painters 
 of thofe ages fuperior to other men ? From whom did they learn the 
 art of depiding fo much greatnefs of mind? Their very portraits 
 breathe pure ferenity. Each painter appears to me to have formed to 
 liimfelf ideal beings : for who can be ignorant that thefe very filent 
 ferious and mild charaders are animated by the nobleft pafTions ? Do 
 -we not find, in the Greek artifts, the very extremes of depth of thought 
 and ardour of foul ? 
 
 It is the fame with the ancient poets. The dialogue of the old tragic 
 writers will frequently appear cold, becaufe of its fimplicity: yet with 
 ■what real, with what ardent, paffion do they glow ! What a pervading 
 tranquillity ! what a benevolent fimplicity ! yet what a llreaming 
 fervour, breathe through Homer and Offian ! 
 
 From Cologne to Bonn the road is delightful ; but, after we had 
 pafTed the latter, nature aflumed her higheft charms. 
 
 We now plainly faw the feven hills ; the fummits of which, on the 
 other fide of Diifl"eldorf, had gradually feemed to approach. The fer- 
 tile plains, through which we paiTed, abound with rich vineyards, and 
 beautiful orchards. Mountains were towering on every fide. Again 
 our road brought us to the high banks of the noble Rhine ; beyond 
 which were ftill more lofty heights, terminating in the rocky fummits 
 of the feven hills. Now the Rhine was fhut up between the mountains ; 
 and now the valley through which it rolled its waters widened, adorned 
 with corn fields and various fruits ; the apple, the pear, the walnut, 
 and the fpreading vine. The hills on the left fhores of the Rhine were 
 now clothed with vineyards, and now fhaded by the beech, the afli, 
 and the oak. On the oppofite banks the ripe grape, and the fportive 
 ivy, variegate the foot of the feven hills ; the latter winding up their 
 rocky fides. On fome of the heights, the ruins of old caftles are feen : 
 
 4 in 
 
TRAVELS OP COUNT STOLBERG. 17 
 
 riY other parts, the daring hand of nature proje<fls the overhanging 
 fearful cliff, that feems to brave the Ihock of time. The laft of the 
 feven hills, which is called the Drachenjlcin (Dragonftone), appears to 
 be the largeft. 
 
 As we approached the Rhine, it feemed to have become confiderably 
 narrower. We fuppofed it to flow over a deep bed of rock ; but we 
 foon perceived that the trees, on the other fide of this leffer current, 
 belonged to an ifland • behind which a fecond ifland rofe out of the 
 water : fo that the mighty river, divided into three ftreams, watered 
 and frudtified fix fliores. 
 
 There was a Cloifter of Nuns, called Nonenwerth, fituated in the 
 fecond ifland ; in a kind of Elyfian grove. Add to all thefe beauties 
 the picflurefque effed of light and fhade ; that here glimmered, and 
 there flied thick night among the valleys : while the hills were illumined 
 by the full glare of day. Add, too, the cheerful afped of the inhabit- 
 ants : young men chaunting their provincial fongs ; and maidens 
 bringing us fruits and flowers, in their clean wicker bafl^ets : here a 
 habitation refounding with dancing, and mirth ; and there a wooden 
 legged village mufician, thrumming his m.andoline, and charming him- 
 felf, and his hearers, with a flourifliing fymphony at the conclufion of 
 each flanza. 
 
 As we approached the fmall town of Rheinmagen, we met, on a 
 high narrow fhore at the foot of afliillhlgher hill, a folemn proceflion; 
 in honour of Saint ApoUinarius. The priefi: and the holy red banner 
 were followed by the crowd, fmging : boats glided along the ftream, 
 each bearing its own enfign, and refounding with the fame chorus. 
 
 We fmiled, when we were told that thefe good people were on a 
 pilgrimage to the remains of the Saint ; interred, as they fuppofed, on 
 a neighbouring hill ; for, a fortnight before, we had met thefe very 
 remains in a like folemn procefllon at Dufl^eldorf. No wonder that 
 thefe two communities fhould difpute the honour of poffefling the . 
 Vol. L D Saint: 
 
J 8 TRAVELS OF COUNT ST0L3ERG. 
 
 Saint ; when (o lately two municipalities, in France, would have made 
 ferocious war on each other, for the remains of Voltaire ; had not one 
 taken his body, and the other his licart. 
 
 The heart of Voltaire ! Oh you who laugh at the fimplicity of 
 
 the peafantr. of the Rhine, who devoutly chaunt their hymns to the 
 memory of a worthy man ! You v;ho llrain at a gnat, and fwallow a 
 camel ! You who cannot forgive the fanaticifm of implicit faith ! What 
 fay you to an aflembly of legillators, that decrees a niche in the new 
 temple of the Gods to the man who, while he lived, wandered from 
 country to country, refpeding neitlier the religion nor the manners of 
 any of them ! who, in his Candide, ridiculed the providence of God, 
 and to whom virtue v/as a jell* ? 
 
 Between Rheinmagen and Andernach, we beheld the majeftic 
 courfe of the meandering Rhine ; till the fight was loft, in the impene- 
 trable fhadows of the valleys that lie between the feven hills. Befide 
 us the clear liglit of the Sun beamed on large illands ; bearing corn, 
 orchards, and vineyards. Before us lay the ancient town of Ander- 
 nach ; with its gothic walls, and towers. We might have arrived at 
 Coblentz before dark, had w^e not wifhcd to travel at our eafe. 
 
 Oh Rhine! He that with precipitate hafte can empty the teeming 
 goblet of nature, is unworthy the w^ealth of thy ftream, the fertility of 
 thy fhores, and the tranfports that thy vineyards afford ! Such of old 
 were the Thracians. Barbarians! that knew not to honour gifts like 
 thine ; nor to tafte the calm and full dignity of fuch joys. 
 
 As we determined to remain all night at Andernach, we approached 
 
 * Men of the beft hearts and underftandings are liable to be miflaken. The author 
 hlmfelf is here an example. He Imagined, while writing the above apoftrophe, that he 
 ■wrote in the fpirit of truth and benevolence. How could a man of fo much thought be 
 fo unjuft to the intentions, or to the virtue, of Voltaire ? who, whatever the prejudices 
 of the prefent times may affirm, was one of the moll devoted, perfevering, and ineflima- 
 ble, friends of the human race, T. 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^9 
 
 the fliore, took a boat, and were rowed between high hills that were 
 clothed with hanging vineyards. The heat had been great ; and the 
 air on the water was refrefliing. 
 
 *' The hot foot of the hill waflied by the cooling wave*.** 
 
 We faw white infects in fwarms, fluttering in the evening air ; and 
 in fwarms faw them end their fhort lives in the ftream. We pafled 
 Neuwied, failing between rows of tall poplar. As the wind was 
 againft us, we were obliged to traverfe the river, from fliore to fhore, 
 till we came to Andernach ; the profped: changing every moment, and 
 every moment being enriched by new and innumerable beauties. 
 
 In the morning we continued our journey upon the Rhine, about 
 as far as we had failed the evening before. We then left it, proceeding 
 along fpacious roads ; and fhould have regretted its enlivening fcenery^ 
 had we not known that we fhould foon again behold it, in variegated 
 majefty. 
 
 Half a league from Coblentz, we pafTed the palace of Schonborn- 
 luft ; where the fugitive brothers of the King of France then refided. 
 What is the defliny that awaits this good King ? who, with the pureft 
 intentions, and with the general voice, has acquired the mofl honour- 
 able title that ever was given to Monarch ! that of the reftorer of 
 freedom ! 
 
 Coblentz is at prefent full of French emigrants : or rather appears to 
 be full of them ; for they crowd the ftreets in parties, and hurry to and 
 fro ; fome in carriages, fome on horfeback, and fome on foot j fo that 
 their numbers feem endlefs. The crofs of Saint Louis is at every but^ 
 ton hole. They have bought horfes, pradife equeftrian exercifes, and 
 certainly encourage the expedations of each other with indefatigable 
 induftry ; having formed high hopes of their enterprife againft the 
 National Alfembly. It is not in the charader of the French, as 
 prefent circuraflances demonflrate, to wait the change of fortune which 
 
 ^ Klopfto£k's Odes. 
 
 D 2 time 
 
20 TRzWELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 time might bring. Though light as the cork, they would rather fletn 
 the ungovernable ftream than ilay for the ebbing, tide ;. which might- 
 bring them lafely to fliore. 
 
 "When the intolerable heat of the day abated, we took a boat ; and 
 rowed on the Rhine, to view the town and the Eledtoral palaces, beau- 
 tifully built in the Ionic, order, on the banks of the river. The delight- 
 ful capacious Mofelle here empties itfelf, into the more delightful more, 
 capacious Rhine. On a rock, on the oppofite fide, the old caftle of. 
 Ehrenbreitftein tov/ers : v/hile higher hills crown the diftant fhores, 
 and mountains that feem to melt away in the horizon. 
 
 We continued our journey by the lide of a ftcep hill.; and, looking 
 behind us, contemplated the paradife we had palled ! We beheld the 
 courfe of the Rhine, winding between its high banks. Over thefe 
 heights, wc faw heights ftill greater ; with, fruitful intervening valleys,, 
 and thick forefts. Between the fhadows whicli the mountains caft, we 
 perceived plains that were more fpacious ; and the extent of which 
 increafed, as they were followed by the eye. They were enlightened. 
 by the rays of the evening Sun, and contrafted with the gloom of tlie 
 narrow valley?,, and the fhady fide of the mountains. 
 
 The fmall town of Ems, famous for its mineral waters, lies in a 
 deep narrow vale, that is watered by the Lahn, in the road between 
 Coblentz and NalTau. 
 
 On that fide of Ems that is next to Coblentz Is a fruitful valley,. 
 fliaded by hills and woods ; and on the other fide of it, more lofty trees 
 form a fpacious walk, on the banks of the Lahn, for the recreation of 
 thofe who come to take the waters. 
 
 Along this river, and between the mountains, lies the road to Naf- 
 fau ; which is fituated in a fertile valley, and furrounded by rocks. 
 On one of the hills ftand the very ancient and venerable ruins of 
 the caftle of NafTau ; from whence that famous houfe derived its 
 title. 
 
 On the fame hill, but lower, are the remains of another caftle;. 
 
 froni^ 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 2b. 
 
 frtjm which the family of Stein took its name. Thefe old cavaliers 
 whofe defcendants flill hold their poileffions, muft have had a f^ood 
 underrtanding with their mighty neighbour ; or mud have been very 
 alert, and by alliances have fecured themfelves againft his povv^er. It 
 is probable that the noble art of plundering was common to them 
 both : but who can fecure to himfelf a fair divilion of the booty, in- 
 treaties where the tiger hunts in company with the lic^i ? 
 
 Schwalbach, and AVifoaden, both celebrated for their mineral waters^ 
 are feated am.ong thefe mountains ; which are interfperfed with fruitful 
 plains. There is a very beautiful profped:, about a league from Wif- 
 baden^ from which a long courfe of the Rhine, the entire city of 
 Mentz, and the pleafant iflands that furround it, are feen. Mentz is 
 two full leagues from Wifbaden ; and this extenfive view, where \yq 
 beheld vineyards, corn fields, and large orchards with their branches: 
 weighed to the earth with fruit, afforded us great and unfeigned plea-- 
 fure. 
 
 We entered the ancient and beautiful city of Mentz over a. wide 
 bridge of boats. Though fo much nearer to its fo-urce, the Rhine is^ 
 more fpacious here than at DiifleldorL I counted my fteps over the 
 bridge ; and they amounted to feven hundred and forty. The palace 
 called La Favorite, belonging to the Eledior, v/ith its vaft garden, 
 ftands on the fhore where once the old Carthufian monaftery flood -, as 
 well as two nunneries, which have been demolifhed. Tlie. revenues; 
 of thefe foundations are paid to the univerfity ; and are dedicated to the 
 ufe of the banifhed monks and auns. The Elector purchafed the 
 deferted monaftery from the univerfity ; which pofTeffes about four 
 million of florins ; and laid out an ample Englifh garden : which, from 
 its fituation between the Rhine and the Main, is pofTefTed of beauties, 
 that none but the hand of nature can bellow. When the Carthufians. 
 received orders to quit their monaflery, an old monk died of grie£, 
 Thefe orders were given by the firft Archbifhop of the Gennan 
 Empire.. 
 
 M 
 
22 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 At Mentz, we became acquainted with Count Von Stadlon : a young 
 canon, who certainly has verified the early expedations that were 
 formed of his talents. 
 
 A Chapter that has chofen Dalberg for coadjutor, and which has long 
 been accuftomed courageouily to withftand the influence of the firft 
 powers of Germany, merits our efteem ; and, as good Patriots, we 
 are led to believe we fhall not be miftaken in the hopes to which it has 
 given birth. 
 
 One fine evening, w^e were rowed to the Ingelheimer-Au ; which 
 ifland I vifited becaufe of the agreeable hours I had there fpent, fixteen 
 years ago, in company with my brother, Gothen, Ilaugwitzen, and 
 Klinger. 
 
 Not fo far from the town, and oppofite to the caftle Biberich, lies 
 another ifland ; the Kurfiirfl:en-Au ; which, being thickly planted 
 with trees, appeared, as we rowed paft, to be the mofl: beautiful. 
 
 We then rowed to the farther end of the Rheinallee ; which not long 
 fmce was planted befide the fl:ream. This alley confifts of two rows 
 •of the hnden tree, Vv^ithin ; and two rows of poplar, without. Very 
 large trees had been brought hither ; which mufl: have been tranfplanted 
 with great art ; for their beautiful forms fliewed that the axe had never 
 lopped their branches. The largefl: trees are nearefl: to the town. 
 
 At the farther end of this alley, which is about half a league long, 
 feveral canons have, with great expence and induftry, cultivated a light 
 fandy foil, and turned it into pafture-land : while they have paifed by 
 and negleded much better ground. Thefe expenccs however will be 
 well repaid them, in the fequel*. 
 
 All the parts round Mentz, which abound in corn, fruit, and wine, 
 probably are more indebted for thefe produdions to the induftry of the 
 inhabitants, than to the goodnefs of the foil ; which is light and fandy. 
 
 * About the end of the year 1792, the French in multitudes overran our frontiers, took 
 Mentz, and laid wade thefe beautiful fituations. 
 
 4 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 43 
 
 The parts round Frankfort appear to me to be In the lame predlca- 
 nient. They are embellifhed and frudified by the Main, to the benefi- 
 cent waters of which they are wholly indebted. 
 
 A part of Frankfort is well built ; efpecialiy the principal ftreet, which 
 is called the Zeile, 
 
 The Jews, who are numerous, are confined to live In one ftreet ; 
 which is very long, narrow, and irregular. Their houfcs are feparated, 
 in back and front, from the reft of the citizens by a high wall, built 
 far above the firft floor. Every evening, about ten or eleven o'clock, 
 both ends of this ftreet are fhut up ; and no Jew, w^ithout particular 
 permiftion, is fuffered to quit this prifon, during the time of divine fer-- 
 vice among the Chriftians. 
 
 In former times, thele perfecuted people endured intolerable hard- 
 fhips ; which would now be abolifhed, did not the rich Jews find the 
 aftiftance of their poor brethren highly ufeful to them in their trade, 
 and therefore make prefilng remonftrances againft any change, which 
 would be fo beneficial even to themfelves.. 
 
 The Catholics enjoy the free exercife of their religion. The Luthe- 
 ran magiftracy, fome years ago, by application to the Emperor Jofeph, 
 eftabliftied places of worfhip for thofe of the reformed church*; two 
 of which have been built, for the German and French communities. 
 Before this, they v^ere obliged to perform divine fervice half a mile 
 out of town. 
 
 It was truly affli£ling that an. imperial city, not pofi^efled of chime- 
 rical but of real order, freedom, and equality of juftice, ftiould be fubjedl;: 
 to the reproach of that degree of intolerance which limited the manner 
 in w^hich its kind and good citizens fliould be permitted to exercife their 
 religion. 
 
 * Dlflenteis from the Lutherans ; or Calvinifts. T. 
 
 LET- 
 
24. TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 LETTER VL 
 
 Karlfruch, Auguft nth i/pt. 
 
 
 X HE fandinefs of the road, between Frankfort and Darni- 
 lladt, made the heat of the day infufferable : but we refreflied ourfelves, 
 on the way, with wine of this year's vintage. Before it is meliorated 
 by time, it is very acid : but this acidity has the good quality of quench- 
 ing thirft, more effedually than older and better wine. The p,rowth 
 of the bell Rhenifh wine is limited to a circle of about four or live 
 miles round Mentz : that noble wine which Klopftock fo poetically 
 praifes. 
 
 " Of happy German temperament art thou : 
 
 ** Warm, but not inflaming-, potent, but yet' 
 
 *' Not drowfy j and fparkling, yet free from froth." 
 
 Other kinds of Rhenifh are occafionally pleafant, and good : but 
 none of them are equal to this, in the mild and vinous glow which it 
 communicates. 
 
 At Darmftadt, we went, about twilight, to vlfit the beautiful Englifh 
 garden ; which particularly pleafed us, by the number of its large trees : 
 «fpecially the poplar. 
 
 You have heard of the vaft Guard-houfe, which is here. We wifhed 
 to fee it ; but it was fhut. The builder's art, in ereding the roof with- 
 out fupports, has been much praifed. In the time of the late Land- 
 grave, who was of a chilly habit, this houfe was warmed by fixteen 
 floves ; which were mofl of them near the centre. The foldiers, 
 {landing round them, have frequently fallen down in a fwoon. The 
 prefent Landgrave has had them removed. 
 
 On 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 25 
 
 'On the 8tb, we palled the celebrated Bergftraffe *; that extends 
 from Darmftadt to Heidelberg ; whicli is one of the moft pleafant and 
 remarkable roads in Germany. It is feven miles long ; and we thought 
 it progreffively beautiful, as we approached Heidelberg. To our left 
 lay the lofty uninterrupted chain of mountains. Oppofite to thefe, the 
 Melibokus rears its head ; on the top of which the late Landgrave 
 built a white watch-tower. We had feen this tower, fome miles 
 before we came to Mentz. It may be feen from Pirmacenz, on the 
 frontiers of Lorrain ; where this Prince often refides. 
 
 The ruins of old caftles, built in the feudal ages, are feen on the 
 other mounta.ins ; and the mofi lofty of them are adorned with forefts, 
 and vineyards, to the very top. Between the mountains lie plains of 
 various extent : the produdions of which maintain many towns, and 
 villages ; built at the feet, or on the fides, of the hills. 
 
 The valleys on the right fide are equally fertile ; and the profped: is 
 at one time broken by diftant blue hills, with bold and projecting forefts, 
 and at others diverfified by plains, that ftretch themfelves out to a vaft 
 extent. Thefe plains, like thofe at the foot of the chain of mountains, 
 have numerous large walnut, apple, pear, and plum orchards : the 
 height and beauty of which are by no means equalled in the gardens 
 of the north of Germany. The chefnut and the almond are feldoin 
 feen here : but the apricot grows to a great height. In this mild cli- 
 mate, and under the friendly (hade of foliage thus diverfified, the ferti- 
 lity is great and various. We did not fee the country in all its beauty ; 
 for the harveft was over, and the fields were ploughed to receive the 
 next year's feed. 
 
 Befide the common kinds of grain, the farmers here cultivate fpelt, 
 and dlinkel ; one of which is a good kind of rye, the other a variety 
 of wheat. BetVv^een the rows of vine plants, afparagus, lettuce, and 
 
 * A noble chain of mountains, fo called. T^ 
 
 Vol. I, E other 
 
26 TRAVELS OF COU.NT STOLBERG. 
 
 other vegetables are reared. Every kind of vegetable grows in com- 
 mon here v/ith various grains ; with trefoil, lucerne, hemp, poppy, 
 tobacco, plantations cf mulberry trees, and maife, which we call Turkiih 
 but v.'hich the Palatines call Italian wheat. The poor ufe this inftead 
 of oats: though its chief confumption is to feed the pigs and the 
 poultry. The ears of millet, that fall uninjured to the ground, are 
 given to the horned cattle ; Virhich are generally flail fed : though ftall 
 feeding is not fo univerfal but that large droves of them are feen, in an 
 evening, with herdfmen driving them home. 
 
 The fm-alleft furrows in the fields, and the grafs found in the lanes, 
 as in Saxony, afford them pafture. The rofy lalTes come in the evening, 
 with their iickles, and cut this grafs : for the ufe of the fickle is com- 
 mon. I have feen oats, the flalk of which was not flronger than ours, 
 cut with difficulty : though it might have been mowed with much 
 greater eafe, in much lefs time, and with lefs lofs. 
 
 The wine of thefe parts is called Bergflrafsler *. It is cooling ; and 
 refembles the fmall kind of Rhenifh, or the bcfl wine of Saxony. 
 
 The heat was very great ; and we put up at an inn, between Weinheim 
 and Heidelberg. It was a holiday, and the people were dancing. The 
 feftivity of the fcene, and the mufic of a fait box and a village fiddler, 
 enraptured our poftillion as much as if Oberon had been founding his 
 horn. Hot as he was, from the fides of his dripping horfe, he chofe 
 his girl, and, in a circular dance, fwung her round with might and 
 main. 
 
 1 have feldom enjoyed a glafs of country wine, and a fiice from a 
 holiday loaf, fo heartily as I did among thefe cheerful happy people. 
 
 Heidelberg lies behind a hill, round which we travelled, and on a 
 fudden had a view of the beautiful Neckar, with the town built on its 
 banks. Beyond, mountains are feen : Heidelberg being fituated in a 
 
 * Franconian. T. 
 ^^ fmall 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG^ 27 
 
 fmall valley, and part of it built on the declivity of a hill, with the old 
 
 caftle much above it, though far from the top. 
 
 I recolle£led the beautiful profpect from the caftle, w^hich I had fecii 
 
 fixteen years ago, v\rith great pleafure. We climbed the hill, in defpite 
 
 of the heat ; and vifited the grand and beautiful ruins. 
 
 The old Counts Palatine and Eledors cut in ftone, after the ancient 
 
 German manner, are placed in deep niches between the windows. 
 
 The ftatue of a female, with two young children m her arms, repre- 
 
 fenting chriftian love, and executed in a much fuperior ftyle, is placed in 
 
 a niche on the principal facade. The countenance of the w^oman is 
 
 highly charatflerized by dignity and beauty. 
 
 A deep moat, planted with trees, furrounds the caftle. A large part 
 
 of one of the vaft round towers is fallen j and lies in pitturefque ruins 
 
 on the fide of the moat. 
 
 There is a garden on the caftle hill, through which various trees, in 
 wild yet pleafmg neglect, are fcattcred ; among others a large Seven- 
 
 baum *. 
 
 There is a terrace in the garden, built on the fteepeft part of the hill, 
 from which is one of the moft captivating views in all Germany. Here, 
 fkirted by the foreft clothed hills, we fee the Neckar wind, bathing the 
 town, lofmg itfelf among the foliage of the plains, again appearing, and 
 again concealed. On thefe plains, we here and there dlfcovered lofty 
 trees ; and here and there majeftic woods, and diftant mountains, min- 
 gling with the horizon, and concealing the fun ; which, while we were 
 there, was fetting among the clouds. We loft the pleafure of feeing it 
 defcend ; but not that of contemplating the glowing w^elkin. Stream- 
 ing through the dark mafs, the rays fell on the diftant hills, gilding 
 them with their golden tints ; while thefe were admirably relieved and 
 tieightened, by the deep blue of ftill more diftant mountains. 
 
 We remained on the terrace, hoping that the fun might again be 
 
 , * Juniperus Sabina. 
 
 E 2 feen^ 
 
28 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOL5ERG. 
 
 feen, between the hills ; but twilight approached, thunder was heard 
 afar aff, the lightning played upon the oppofite heights, and the gather- 
 ing clouds began to obrcure the heavens. 
 
 \Ve lingered here fo long that we were too late to fee the famous 
 tun of Heidelberg ; concerning which my little Erneft has fo often 
 Gueftioned me. The people who ufually iliew it were gone home. 
 
 We faw a (lone image of the Virgin Mary, with the child Jefus In 
 her arms. On one fide was a truly catholic Latin infcription : on the 
 other we difcovered a no lefs remarkable German diftich "*. 
 
 Noch ftcin, nocli blld, noch fiiulen hier. 
 Das kind und mutter ehren wir '•'. 
 
 We continued our journey on the following morning through 
 Bruchfal, and Durlach ; and arrived here in the afternoon. The ap- 
 pellation Bergftrafle f very properly ceafes at Heidelberg ; where the 
 uninterrupted chain of mountains ends ; yet this road is charaderized 
 by the fame features. Smaller heights, moft of them planted with 
 vineyards, lie to the left. Both fides are remarkably fruitful. On the 
 right, the valley often expands ; and is fometimes interfperfed, and at 
 ethers appears wholly covered, with forefts of the oak and the beech. 
 Beyond thefe forefts, the diftant mountains of Lorrain are occafionally 
 
 feen. 
 
 Bruchfal is a well built town. The Bifhop of Spires refides here, In 
 a beautiful palace. There is a large filt work at this place. 
 
 About a league from Durlach, a fmall brook, rufhing from the top 
 of a hill, divides the circle of the Rhine from the circle of Swabia. 
 
 The manners and the countenances of the people of Swabia are 
 here alike diftind. 
 About a league of the road, between Durlach and Karlfruh, is decorated 
 
 * Neither ftone, nor image, nor pillars, but 
 the child and the mother we hoaour. 
 
 ■J- Street, or chain of mountains. 
 
 •witK 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 29 
 
 with a charming row of Lombardy poplars. We found thefe rare trees 
 beginning to be frequent at Diilfeldorf ; and the farther we proceeded,, 
 fouthward, the better they became. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 ^^ Karlfruli, 15 th Aiigufl 1791. 
 
 1 HE very day we came here, we hurried to the houfe of 
 Schloffer. About fixteen years ago, when he was High Bailiff in Em- 
 medingen, which belongs to Baden, I faw him for a fhort time. The 
 benevolence of his writings had long excited an ardent wifh in me to 
 meet him once again. The more original the more animated a man's 
 works are, the more clear and the more profound are his thoughts ; 
 and the more ftrong and flowing his fenfations, the more certain we 
 may be that the man is more excellent than his writings. Whoever is of 
 a fecondary order, either in poetry or philofophy, exhaufts himfelf on 
 paper. The works of a compiler are always fuperior to their author ; 
 with whom I have no wifh to be acquainted, even though he fhoukl 
 colled: fomething valuable for my amufement. We cannot long fland 
 to admire an artificial fountain, where the water iflfijes through the 
 mouths and breafl:s of dolphins and mermaids ; though we repofe 
 with delight at the bubbling fource, and under the cool fhade of the 
 dripping rocks where the flream firfl takes its rife. Oh Klopflock ! 
 Thou mighty river of our age and country, how often have I been 
 ilrengthened, refreflied, and infpired with new life, by thy fl:ream i ' 
 which, flowing, full, and exhaultlefs, direds its bold courfe to the ocean 
 of immortality ! 
 
 You will eafily imagine the joy I have felt, at meeting both Schlofl^er- 
 
 and 
 
30 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 and the poet jacobl ; with whom I have earneftly longed to be ac- 
 quahited for thefe twenty years. Schlofier is profefTor at Freiburg, m 
 Brifgau ; and conies here during the vacation. Alike as thefe men 
 are, in their ardent love of the true and the beautiful, yet in their pur- 
 fuits they are very different. The liberal difpafiionate philofopher, 
 who with the torch of truth expels the darknefs of the fophift ; who 
 finds him in his mcft hidden recefles, drags him to light, and with 
 attic irony expofes hi^, abfurdities ; the undaunted man, who dares 
 perform the duties of a citizen, and cut the gordian knot which the 
 added ignorance of ages has rendered all but impenetrable ; this man 
 anB the feeling the tender poet, w^ho, from early youth, has wooed 
 the mufe, free, friendly, and fportive, in her infpirations, can neither 
 of them be known without creating the moft lively and the moft ar~ 
 dent emotions of fympathy, of reverence, and of love. It irs- a general 
 and a facred law of nature, which binds the ftrong to the weak ; 
 the daring to the lovely. Is it not this law to which the human race 
 is indebted for its focial ties, and beft enjoyments ? I confider the 
 friendfhip of men like thefe as the moft blooming of the flowers with 
 which the liaFid of God, and not fcantily, has interwoven the.garland of 
 
 life. 
 
 T-he Margrave is abfent, on a vifit to the uplands of his principality. 
 Ke is univerfally ranked among the beft of the princes of Germany. 
 
 Counfellor Bockmann has very kindly fhewn us his inftruments, for 
 the promoting of mechanical and experimental difcoveries ; and ex- 
 plained their<ufes. He poflefles a large aftronomical clock, conftrudted 
 by the reveren<l paftor Hahn ; which not only contains the common 
 divifions ■of time, but has likewife divifions often, of a hundred, and 
 of a thoufand years. The fpedator contemplates with pleafure the 
 contrafted quick motion of the fecond hand, and the thoufand year 
 hand ; which turns on a fmall dial plate, not larger than that of a Pari- 
 fian watch. The progrefs of the latter in fifty years is very fmall ; fo 
 that its motion is imperceptible. The ten, hundred, and thoufand, 
 
 year 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 31 
 
 year hands are not a mere difplay of the art of the maker: they are of 
 great ufe ; for, on the large dial plate, which contains all the lefler, the 
 globes are defcribed, and the progrefs of the flars denoted: fo that the 
 hands, by their combining motions, difplay the variations, pofitions 
 and appearances, of the earth and the heavenly bodies. 
 
 We faw a watch made by Mr. Auch, of Stutgard ; a fcholar of the 
 minifter, Hahn. He is only fix-and-twenty ; yet, in the opinion of 
 fome, he already furpafles his mafter. This watch contains the divi- 
 fions of time, from a fecond to a century. On the oppofite fide, on a 
 clouded azure ground, is feen the courfe of the fun and the moon, with 
 its nodes and eclipfes. The artift means to improve this watch, and 
 defcribe the courfe of Venus ; as a morning and an evening ftar. The 
 price of the watch is only three hundred rix dollars; which is but about 
 half the fum paid for an Englifh time-keeper; and which does not de- 
 fcribe the courfe of the heavenly bodies. 
 
 This artift has likewife conftruded an arithmetical machine, that 
 works the moft difficult queftions, with incredible expedition, by the aid 
 of a comprehenfive table : in about five hours he worked all the fums 
 from eleven times eleven to one hundred and fixteen times a hundred 
 and fixteen; while an expeditious writer could fcarcely copy the pro- 
 duds faft enough *. 
 
 " Mr. Auch is now (1790) five-and-twenty years old ; and Is the foa 
 " of a peafant of Wiirtemberg. When a child, about the age of four 
 ** or five, he often rofe with the fun ; and diligently employed himfelf 
 ** in mechanical purfuits. He conducted water through tubes of elder; 
 " dug wells ; made conduits of quills ; and, about his fixth year, made 
 ** a pendulum clock, from fhingles, with a kind of Engliili cogs ; which 
 ** would go tolerably for a quarter of an hour. In his tenth year, he 
 
 * The above particulars, and what follows, of his life, are to be found in an eflay by Pro= 
 feflbr Bockmann, inferted in the firft part of the fecond yolxxmc of xUq journal der Phyfikjf, 
 publiflied by Dr. Gren profeflbr at Halle 1 790. 
 
 ^ •* wiflied 
 
.. TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 *' wiilied his fchool-mafter to teach hun arithmetic : in which reqiiefl. 
 *' he was not indulged. At eleven, h^s was permitted to ftand in a 
 *' corner, v/hile the teacher heard the other PchoLirs their leflbns ; all 
 '-'■ of whom he foon excelled, and was often cited, by the mafter, as 
 " an example ; and as capable of working fums too diflicult for the 
 " other pupils. His father wiihed to bind hiin apprentice to a barber: 
 " but for this the boy had no inclination. 
 
 " At laft, he was brought acquainted, by his own paftor, with the 
 " Reverend Mr. Hahn ; at Kornweftheim, near Ludwigfourg ; v^-ho 
 " found in him a fcholar as apt to learn as he was thankful for inftruc- 
 " tion. He afterwards quitted his teacher, and refided at Vaihngen ; a 
 " fmall town in the province of Wlirtemberg ; where he married, and 
 " lived highly refpedled for his talents and his morals. He employed 
 *' his leifure hours in reading ; much to the improvement of his heart, 
 " and underftanding. Aftronomical knowledge was that which he 
 " moil eagerly endeavoured to acquire. He conftrudied a meridian 
 " line for liimfelf, with other neceflary aftronomical inftruments ; and 
 " began, with great ardour, to obferve the motions of the heavenly bo- 
 " dies: proceeding to draw ingenious plans, to fimplify aftronomical 
 " watches, and the whoje fyftem of the univerfe." 
 
 I have the lefs difficulty in fending you thefe anecdotes of a living 
 artlft, becaufe I think it highly probable that this young man, who has 
 already difplayed fo m.uch genius, will hereafter make very valuable 
 difcoveries. 
 
 Mr. Bockmann fhewed us, among other valuable inftruments, a Wedge- 
 wood Pyrometer. It confifts of two ftraight pieces of brafs, fixed nearly 
 parallel to each other upon a flat fcale of the fame metal. There is a 
 ^aee between thefe brafs pieces about one Englifti line wider at one 
 end than at the other ; and, the whole length being divided into one 
 hundred and twenty parts, the inftrument becomes a gage for meafur- 
 ing to the hundred and twentieth part of a line : the line being the 
 twelfth part of an inch. In the ufe of the Pyrometer, a cylinder of 
 
 porcelain 
 
 c* 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. jj 
 
 porcelain clay is expofed, together with the fubjed of experiment, to 
 the fame heat of a furnace; and the gage, by admeafurement of the 
 greater or lefs contradion produced in the cyUnder, fhews the degree 
 of temperature with great exadtnefs, to the utmoft power of a meking 
 furnace. Thefe cylinders have accordingly been applied to the prac- 
 tical meafurement of the heat of furnaces for glafs making, or the fufion 
 of metals : a dlfcovery the utility of which is as great as it is felf- 
 evident. 
 
 We vifited Mr. Kolreuter, the famous -Botanift; who, by artificial 
 vegetation, has fucceeded in producing new fpecies of plants. His 
 mode is neither that of fowing feed nor of tranfplanting : but by plant- 
 ing of fhoots. It is remarkable that the growth of this new kind of 
 vegetation Ihould be greater than that which we have fuppofed to be the 
 natural growth : perhaps it is becaufe that, by this method, the expence 
 of fap is leflened. By repeated experiments, he has no lefs fuccefsfully 
 reduced thefe varieties to their original form, and genus. He has again 
 conducted them through their different gradations, and again and again 
 fully reftored them to all their original powers, and properties: bringing 
 back fome of them to the male kind, and others to the female. 
 
 Tirefias was ftruck blind, when he daringly endeavoured to unfold 
 the fecrets of Venus. May we not exped that another Nemefis fhall 
 purfue the man who, with wonderful wifdom and paflionate ardour, 
 has drawn afide the veil of Nature ? 
 
 This bold and dlfcreet obferver, who watched the Bees at their em- 
 ployment, and who, by placing glafs tubes in the ambrofial cups of 
 flowers, robbed them of their fweets and brought forth honey, this re- 
 markable man has not a foot of land, that he can call his own. Not 
 one of the great men of Germany has conferred on himfelf the 
 honour, or the delight, of beftowing a garden on this fage : wliofe fci- 
 ence is as pleafant as it is abundantly beneficial. 
 
 The palace garden at this place is large, agreeable, and rich in 
 
 exotics; fome of which would in vain be fought for in the Linnxan 
 
 ' Vol. L F fyftem: 
 
54 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 fyilem : and thefe are pointed out, by afterirms, in a printed cata- 
 logue. 
 
 Karlfruh is regularly built. The town contains about a third part 
 of a large circle j the centre of which is the palace. The ftreets are 
 at equal diftances; and terminate in the right line walks that lead to the 
 o-arden, and the wood ; forming, with thefe walks, the half of a circle ; 
 and having the appearance of a fpider's web. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Ulm, Auguft 19th I'jgi, 
 
 E left Karlfruh on the i6th. Our road led us back to 
 Durlach ; and afterward, through delightful meadows, to Pforzheim. 
 The people were bufy about their fecond hay harveft. In thefe fruitful 
 parts, the grafs is three times mowed each feafon. Their paftures mull 
 not only be very fruitful, but the hay very excellent; for its odour was 
 much ftronger than that of the north of Germany. It reminded me 
 of the hay harveft in Switzerland. 
 
 Pforzheim lies on the Ens, in a very pleafant valley. In the terri- 
 tory of Baden, the fertility of the earth and the induftry of the inhabit- 
 ants feem to vie with each other. 
 
 Wiirtemberg does not appear to me to be fo fruitful by far, though 
 equally well cultivated : neither are the roads there fo charming, as in 
 Baden. We paffed the caftle of Hohenafperg ; in which the Duke has 
 kept poor Schubart imprifoned for thefe ten years, no man knows why: 
 although he was enticed to quit Ulm, in which free imperial city he 
 was fettled j and although he was born a Burgher of the imperial city 
 
 Aalen.. 
 
 We 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^^ 
 
 .' We vifited the military academy in Stutgard. The Emperor Jofeph 
 the Second invefted it with the privileges of a imiverfity. In the upper 
 clafs, the fciences that appertain to the four faculties are taught. The 
 number of tutors is a hundred and forty-three. Inftrudion is amply 
 communicated ; and few feminaries equal this, either in fcholallic or 
 military fcience. 
 
 Whether a dignified fpirit infpires the whole ? Whether true huma- 
 nity finds its way into the halls, and chambers of the ftudents ? And 
 whether a military education be promoted in the beft manner ? are 
 queilions which all who vifit this univerfity mud afk. The cuftom of 
 giving each ftudent a cartel of the faults he has committed, which he is 
 to fhew the Duke when he vifits the academy, who dictates whatever 
 punifliment he thinks proper, appears to me to be very pernicious. 
 And the more fo as the youth keeps this memorandum for weeks ; till 
 the fum of his offences brings upon him a fevere punifhment. May 
 not this tend to embitter his temper ? Or make him cowardly ; perhaps 
 melancholy; perhaps fhamelefs? 
 
 We faw two hundred and feventy-five boys and youths eat in a fpa- 
 clous hall. Why is there a feparation made, at the table, between the 
 Ton of the citizen and of the noble ? It is not wife to oblige youth to 
 remark the inequality of rank, before they have learned to diflinguifh 
 the harmony which this inequality produces. By thefe means, youth 
 eafily adopt the pernicious opinion that, being better born than others, 
 they are better men. 
 
 Four young princes eat at a feparate table. Eight fcholars, in reward 
 of their good condud: and alTiduity, eat and fit without diftindion of 
 rank at another table. Does not this regulation itfelf likewife tend to 
 nourifh the pride of birth ? Is not that averfion which the citizen is fo 
 apt to conceive again (I the noble, and which is no lefs injurious than 
 the arrogance of high birth itfelf, thus increafed ? The marks of dif- 
 tindion too, called orders, which thefe eight youths wear ? Woe to 
 
 F 2 that 
 
56 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLE tRG. 
 
 that education which excites a defire of that which true pbiloibphyj 
 and dignity, teach us to defpife ! 
 
 Day fcholars inchided, the number of ftudents is about five hundred. 
 Nearly three hundred board in the houfe ; and ahnofl: one half of them 
 at the Duke's expence. The pay for the others is fmall ; two hundred 
 florins for boys of eight years old ; five hundred for thofe of fifteen and 
 upM^ard ; and the intervening ages in proportion. 
 
 They are well maintained, well fed, and well clothed. Their uni- 
 form is blue, with black trimmings. They are daily obliged to bathe 
 in the garden, which is large and ihady, in fummer ; and, in winter, 
 in a capacious houfe bath. Each fcholar has a fmall plat of ground 
 to himfelf. The colledion in natural hiftory is a good one; and, if 
 the fludents defire it, they have able mafters to inftrudt them not only 
 in the fciences but in the arts : and feveral good painters and engravers 
 have been educated here. 
 
 We viiited the Solitude j a country feat built by the Duke. The way 
 is pleafant: it lies up a fteep hill, leaving the town below in the valley, 
 furrounded by vineyards, and orchards ; and then leads through a beau- 
 tiful foreft, where the tame but proud flag is feen grazing. 
 
 The palace and the garden are fituated in a place which was formerly 
 a wildernefs. Travellers are not admitted into the palace ; though, as 
 they pafs, the glafs doors of the ground floor are open. An old tapeflry, 
 about an ell broad, is thrown over crofs laths, within the door, to pre- 
 vent entrance; and the traveller is left with that curiofity excited which 
 the guide refufes to gratify. You may well fuppofe we proceeded no 
 farther than the firfl door. 
 
 There is a large terrace in the front of the palace ; from which the 
 view is extenfive. Some fay that fixty-eight, others that eighty-two^ 
 towns and villages may be feen from it, through a telefcope. This 
 profpedt is deficient in water. 
 
 The garden is very large ; but, in the laying of it out, art rather than 
 
 good 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 37 
 
 good tafte has been confulted. The trees have been left to then* own 
 growth : the {hrubs are cut in ftralght walks in all directions ; and are 
 overgrown by high hedges, as if it were to conceal their miferable 
 condition. 
 
 The orangery confifts of about fifteen hundred trees, moft of them 
 very large. Without doubt, were they planted in a valley, with a fouth- 
 ern afpeCl, they would be more beautiful. The genius of conftraint Is 
 every where perceptible. Their branches are forced and bound in all 
 direClions : fo that the appearance of each tree is that of a round ball, 
 on the top of a high pole. 
 
 We were fhewn, with great triumph, a large pine tree; round which 
 netting was thrown, to a confiderabk height, as a cage for the birds. 
 They might have procured themfelves this pleafure with an aviary 
 formed of lefs trees : but this pine muft be brought hither, at great ex- 
 pence; the earth entirely round its root, and drawn in a waggon by 
 eighteen pair of oxen; which waggon, when the tree was tranfplanted, 
 was buried under the root. I own I fhould have left this place in a 
 very ill humour, had not I perceived, behind a high clipped hedge, fome 
 lofty oaks ; to which we repaired. 
 
 This place is called the Five Oaks : but of one there are nov/ no re- 
 mains; and of another little more than the root.. Such monuments of 
 antiquity deferve to have their legends ; and there is fomething unufual 
 in the hiftory of this latter tree.. 
 
 During the autumn of the year 1755, when the earthquake happened 
 at Lifbon, the florm that accompanied it, which was felt over all Eu- 
 rope, blew one of the oaks down ; though its roots were entangled with 
 the others. The three that remain are the fineft trees I ever faw : 
 two of them bear deep and honourable marks of the lightning on their 
 bark; though it did them no farther harm. All the three are flourifh- 
 ing ; and may well have defied a thoufand autumnal ftorms. At the 
 time when the garden was laid out, a fcafPold for dancing v/as built 
 from the topmoft arms of thefe trees. But this is falling to de- 
 cay.. 
 
38 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 cay. How quickly have thefe giants of the foreft, which ftorms and 
 tempefts could not conquer, overcome this petty mockery ! 
 
 For fome years, this place has been neglected. The Duke's attention 
 was foon drawn from it, by his new plans for Hohenhelm. However, 
 it has poll large fums ; and will coft ilill more. Hohenhelm is not 
 fhewn to ftrangers : at leaft not when, as at prefent, the Duke is abfent. 
 Neither foreigners nor natives muft fee it, without a fpecial permiffion. 
 
 We leftStutgard early; and in the evening reached Ulm. The roads 
 of Wiirtemberg are excellent. This day's journey was very pleafant. 
 We travelled all morning befide the Neckar; through diftrld:s as fertile 
 as they were delightful. 
 
 The fmall imperial town of Efsllngen lies on this river ; which wa- 
 ters a beautiful valley that abounds in green paftures, tall fruit trees, 
 and fruitful fields. The Neckar wine of thefe parts is very good. 
 Woody hills furround the vale ; and, at a diftance, the fummits of that 
 chain of mountains which is called Rauhe Alp,* and which is a part of 
 the Swabian Alps, arefeen. We afterward faw thefe hills approaching 
 to the right ; and other feparate mountains on the left : while the light 
 played on the churches, and the ruins, which we perceived on the 
 latter. 
 
 Among thefe hills, Hohenftaufen rlfes, In circular beauty, to the eye: 
 reminding the German patriot of its noble antiquity. This was the 
 cradle of our Kings and Emperors, from the Swabian line : a line 
 equally renowned In hlftory for its genius, its courage, and its misfor- 
 tunes. Near Gifsllngen, we travelled two leagues over thefe hills ; 
 which we long faw behind us : but, our road lying through a deep rocky 
 valley, we loft fight of them. 
 
 From this valley, the road conftantly afcends ; till we arrive at Ulm. 
 How much higher muft the fource of the Danube be than that of the 
 Rhine ! How many provinces muft it water, before it arrives at the fea ! 
 
 * The rugged Alps. T. 
 
 When 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 39 
 
 When we were a few leagues from Ulm, we perceived the Glaciers 
 of Switzerland ; which can frequently be feen to the diftance of forty 
 leagues: but the iky in that diredion was cloudy. 
 
 We fpcnt a day at Ulm, in company with my friend Miller ; w^itli 
 whom I had lived a year at Gottingen, and whom fixteen years ago I 
 had vifited here with my brother. After ages will admire and love the 
 noble fimplicity of his poems; and, in them, the excellent heart of 
 the poet. My grandchildren Ihall tell their playfellows they were 
 written by the man I had the happinefs to call my friend. He ihewed 
 us the Danube, with its fertile and lofty fhores, from the ramparts. 
 
 From this place, eighteen years ago, I turned a willful look to the 
 funny glaciers of Switzerland ; which I had juft left. I now once more 
 faw them from the ramparts ; and likewife from the tower of the cathe- 
 dral. 
 
 This cathedral, as well for its fize as for the height of its gothic 
 towers, is one of the largeft in Germany. From thefe towers the courfe 
 of the Danube may be traced, to a great diftance. This river, thougli 
 fo far from the ocean, has a charader of greatnefs ; which fhews it to. 
 be the firft river in Europe. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 W] 
 
 Lindau, on the Lake of Conflance, Auguft 21ft 179T,. 
 
 E left Ulm early yefterday ; proceeding at firft along 
 the Danube, till we faw its jundion with the Iller. During the whole 
 day's journey, the lofty Puft)erg was in view; and we pafTed through 
 parts that were generally fruitful, but not remarkable for their beauty. 
 
 S Right- 
 
40 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Right before the imperial town of Biderach, a lovely valley drew our 
 attention. 
 
 Some leagues from the fmall imperial town of Ravenfburg, we yefler- 
 day evening faw, in the faint and dark Ihades of the diftant horizon, 
 the high tops of the mountains of Switzerland. 
 
 We early left the vineyard heights, that furround the beautiful valley 
 which lies to the right of Ravenfburg ; and, on the other fide of the 
 lake of Conftance, faw the hills of Bregenz : beyond which lay the much 
 higher fummits of the diftant glaciers. The profpedt aftonifhed me. 
 It is true I had before feen the higheft mountains of Switzerland ; and 
 yet the furprife was fo great that I feveral times doubted whether I did 
 not miftake clouds for mountains. How deep is the impreflion which 
 thefe fublime beauties of nature leave behind them ! 
 
 We changed horfes at Tetnang ; an Auftrian diftrict, v/hich was 
 worthily for fome time the refidence of Angelica Kaufmann. This 
 excellent artift is a native of a fmall town in the foreft of Bregenz ; 
 which, while it enjoys great freedom, is under the protedion of 
 Auftria. 
 
 Travelling from Tetnang through forefts and meadows, the profpe£t 
 fuddenly became more extenfive. We beheld the lake of Conftance 
 approaching, and faw the mountains of Bregenz, and likewife thofe of 
 Tyrol, Appenzel, and Claris, crowned with eternal fnow. We tra- 
 velled amid continual vineyards and orchards : perceiving before us, 
 and on our right, a profped: of fertility that infpired the moft heartfelt 
 fatisfadion. This profpe£t was wonderfully heightened by the beams 
 of the morning fun ; caft, in different diredions, like tranfparent veils ; 
 of which no perfon can form any idea who has not feen the large lakes 
 of Switzerland, with their furrounding mountains. The clearnefs of 
 the water, on which the fun ftione, the fnowy heights, and the white 
 welkin, were contrafted with the midnight fhadows of the deep valleys 
 and cliffs. We continually approached the charming lake till we came 
 to the long beautiful bridge, which is three hundred an4 fifty paces over, 
 
 and 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 41 
 
 and which unites the well built fmall imperial town of Lindau with 
 Terra firma. 
 
 In the afternoon, we went upon the lake of Conftance : the largeft in 
 Germany, and indubitably one of the moil beautiful in Europe. Our 
 landlord took us to tlie houfe of a Burgoma.ter of this little republic; 
 from the windows of which we had a view of the whole lake. Hence 
 we perceived the rifing fummits of the mountains of Tyrol, Appenzel, 
 and Claris ; the profpedl extending to the rocky fortrefs of Hohent- 
 wiel in Wiirtemberg. Lord Baltimore, after he had travelled over a 
 great part of the earth, lived fome months in this houfe. He kept a 
 failing boat ; and perhaps found here more of the fublime and beau- 
 tiful, and with them more true enjoyment, than he had ever before met 
 with in all his travels. 
 
 In the dufk of the evening, we walked upon the bridge ; delighted 
 with the charming habitation of our friend, and with our own fenfa- 
 tions ; and determined, if the wind fliould favour us on the morrow, 
 to fall to Conftance. 
 
 We fliall remain there fome days : for, as I lately fang, in the beau- 
 teous vale of the Neckar, near Efslingen 
 
 Where'er my pilgrim feet would ftray, 
 I while the lingering hours away. 
 My former pleafur.^s back I bring. 
 On Memory's fwift and boundlefs wing : 
 She builds me temples ; where, full well. 
 The frolic Mufes love to dwell : 
 (Rapacious while the fons of care 
 Tormented hurry, here and there) 
 Enrapt I He, bound by their magic fpell. 
 
 Oh, welcome be my happy doom ! 
 The flowers of youth ftill round me bloom •, 
 "While the maturing mid-day fun, 
 Glowing and bright, is coming ou. 
 Vol. I. G With 
 
42 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 "With teeming fruits he fpreac's my board ; 
 Let me enjoy the precious hoard ! 
 Give my unbridled Fancy room 
 For prefent joys, and joys to come ; 
 By genius gathered, and by wifdom (lord ! 
 
 But fleeting pleafure will not (lay ! 
 
 Then be my life an April day ; 
 
 Skirted with clouds, of hope and fear : 
 
 And now a fmile, and now z tear : 
 
 This mild ; that melting ; full, yet bright \ 
 
 Such as the flowing heart delight ! 
 
 With purple ting'd, and edg'd with gold. 
 
 So (hall thefe clouds their wealth, untold, 
 
 Pour on my head, and blefs me in their fligh \ 
 
 The Gods behind their azure (kreert 
 
 Are hidden, now y and now are feen \ 
 
 "What time the jocund Hours advance, 
 
 And round them throng, in myftic dance* 
 
 For dancing Hill the Hours (hall come ; 
 
 On me (hall fmile j on me (hall bloom ! 
 
 They and the tiptoe Sports are mine ; 
 
 The Pleafures ; and the Mufe divine ! 
 
 The lovely Mufe, that makes my cot her home I 
 
 Free, yet domeftic, as a Dove ; 
 
 Now cradled, like an infant Love ; 
 
 And now on earth ; and now in air j 
 
 She flutters here, and flutters there ! 
 
 Lo how the jocund Mifchief fmiles \ 
 
 But mark her pranks, her whims, and wiles 
 
 In wanton warfare, playful ftrifc. 
 
 She fpins the golden thread of life. 
 
 And with eternal antics every care beguiles ! 
 
 LET. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 43 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Conftance or Koflnltz, •24t}i Auguft 1791. 
 
 HE day before yefl;erday,we were informed, at Lindau, that 
 the wind was unfavourable. Wejourneyed by land to Morfourg, which 
 is fituated befide the lake ten leagues from Lindau. Here the waters 
 of the Arge, which empties itfelf into the lake, were out ; fo that we 
 were obliged to go round, frequently lofmg fight of the lake, and a^ 
 often furprifed by its re-appearance. Whenever we looked toward 
 Switzerland, we faw the mountains. Our road continually lay through 
 large orchards ; and among forefts of pines. On every height, we faw 
 the valley and the lake below covered with the vine, with the apple, and 
 the walnut tree. The barberrybufh*, with its red berries, and the 
 beautiful lily-coloured crocus, which with us only grow in gardens, are 
 here found wild ; as likewife is the poifonous nightlliade. 
 
 You know I am no botanift, but I palTionately love plants ; and it 
 gives me great pleafure, when I difcover fome of them growing wild 
 which, with us in the northern provinces of Germany, are obliged to 
 be carefully reared. On our journey between Miinfter and Pempel- 
 fort, we faw the tall red digitalis^ or Fox glove, which in our province 
 only grows in gardens. 
 
 In the fmall imperial town of Buchhorn, we changed horfes ; and 
 proceeded by the fide of the lake to Morfburg, the feat of the Bifhop of 
 Conftance; 
 
 At Morfburg, we were rowed over the lake to Conftance ; and, as the 
 wind was unfavourable, we were three very pleafant hours on our paf- 
 fage. Oh that I could communicate to you forne fmall idea of the beau- 
 
 * Barbaritzen blifche 1 fuppofe it to be barberry bufh j thougt this bufii grows 
 
 "vi'Ild In the hedges of England. T. 
 
 G a ties 
 
44 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ties of the lake! It is about feventeen leagues long ; and from three to 
 five broad : and the clear green tranfparency of its waters, with the 
 changeable afpecSt of its (hores, give a combination of charms to its pro- 
 fpeCts which are feldom feen. The mild, fertile, and gently rifmg fliores 
 of Swabia are adorned with three imperial towns ; Lindau, Buchhorn, 
 and Ueberlingen : befide the little town of Morfburg, with various vil- 
 lages, hamlets, abbeys, and monafteries. 
 
 The Tyrol mountains lie in a circle to the fouth eaft, in the form of 
 a half moon ; fcarccly leaving room, on afmall flip of land, for the little 
 town of Bregenz: on both fides of which their feet advance far into 
 the lake, and their fummits rife to the clouds. 
 
 The populous fnores of Switzerland are more fteep and grand, than 
 thofe of Swabia. Behind them tower three fucceffive rows of moun- 
 tains J oppofite to each other, as if in order of battle ; and, by their 
 various directions, divide the Cantons of Switzerland and the county 
 of Tyrol fror.i each other. The artillery of heaven repofes, with 
 awful threats, upon their cloudy fummits. Between them lies the 
 Rheinthal*, through which the moft beautiful river in Germany takes 
 Its courfe, and pours its waters into the lake ; whence more voluminous 
 they again purfue their way. The Alpftein, a rocky mountain of" 
 the canton of Appenzel, rifes in all its terrors ; here and there covered 
 with fnow, and often emerging from among the vagrant clouds, but 
 feldom entirely vifible. More diftant, and ftill more lofty, more dar- 
 ing, and more fteep, are the mountains of the canton of Claris. If,, 
 while the Alpftein delights yet terrifies the imagination, you would 
 here repofe, fuperior promontorifes again attrad: your attention ; and thele 
 do but conceal the ftill higher glaciers, vv^hich cannot be feen from 
 the lake. 
 
 For my own part, I am half inclined to prefer this lake to all the 
 lakes of Switzerland. 
 
 * Rhine valley. T,. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 45 
 
 'I fay to them all : for, fixteen years ago^ I, my brother, and Haug- 
 wiz, travelled on foot over the thirteen cantons, the country of the 
 Grifons, the Italian flates, theValais, Neufchatel, and (Little Mlihlhau- 
 {cn excepted, which is furrounded by Alfatia) all tlie provinces on the 
 confines of Switzerland ; vifiting all the principal lakes of this noble 
 country to the number of four-and-twenty. 
 
 The north weft iide of the lake of Conftance is divided into two 
 parts, by a broad flip of land. They are called the lakes of Zell, and of 
 Ueberlingen ; after the little town of R-atolfszeil, or Zell, and UeberUn- 
 gen : though they are a part of the principal lake ; except that the lake 
 of Zell communicates only with the lake of Conftance by the courfe of 
 the Rhine. Each cf thefe fmall lakes is adorned with an ifland. 
 
 Yefterday in the afternoon, we w^ent to the Switzerland fhore ; 
 which is only half a quarter of a league from Thor : then proceeded 
 two leagues on the lake of Zell, and landed on the fmall iiland called 
 Rekhenau ; which appertains to Swabia. Here is a rich benedidtine 
 abbey ; under the government of the Bifhop of Conftance. It vaunts 
 of its antiquity, of the honour of poftefling the body of Charles the Fat, 
 of numerous relics, and of an emerald which is an ell long, about half 
 as broad, and of nine-and-twenty pounds weight.. The monks fay it 
 w^as a prefent from Charlemagne. "Whether this pretended emerald be 
 a piece of green glafs, of vitrification, or of fpar, I leave the naturalift to 
 determine. I would as wdlHngly believe in their relics as in their 
 emerald. 
 
 Although the monk who conducted us did not appear quite fo cer- 
 tain of the laft as of the firft, he ftill fpoke of the precious ftone, as 
 well- as of the relics, with awfurl amazement. He difcovered fome 
 doubts of the nobility of the emerald ; yet was fo ignorant as to make 
 Gonje6:ures concerning the fhell fifh, by which in his fuppofition it was 
 engendered. The precious jewel was valued by him at three mil- 
 lions. He did not forget to detail the poverty of the raonaftery. We 
 wiliingly left him, and pafled through orchards and vineyards over a hill, 
 
 from 
 
46 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 from wliich we had a^iae profpe(fl. The wine of Relchenau Is thought 
 to be the heft produced in the neighbourhood of this lake. 
 
 We paded over from the ifland to Arenenberg, on the Switzerland 
 fide, In the dlftrld of Thurgau ; which belongs to the eight old cantons. 
 This hill is not high, but pleafant from its beech woods, its rivulet, 
 which fprings from a rock, and its charming profped:. The fun was 
 fettlng, and we had a view of the lake of Zell and Relchenau. 
 
 Had not the fortrefs of Hohentwiel, two Auftrian hills, and the vine- 
 yards of the ifland, undeceived us, we might have imagined ourfelves 
 near the lake of Pioner in Holftein. 
 
 The owner of the hill, and of the houfe on its fummit, is a Major in 
 the imperial fervice ; who ferved in the feven years war, and has now 
 retired to Switzerland, there peaceably to enjoy himfelf in freedom. 
 He was not at home. The friendly manner in which his fervants 
 invited us to enter, took us to the window, fhewed us the profpedt, 
 pointed out the winding rivulet, and ferved us with fruit, were good 
 proofs of the hofpitality of Major von Streng, the owner. 
 
 In the morning, we went to vifit the Council-houfe ; where we were 
 fhewn the arm chair, in which the Emperor Slgifmund and Pope Mar- 
 tin the Fifth, of the family of Colonna, fat*. We then vifited the place 
 where, in 141 5, John Hufs, and two years afterward his friend Jerome 
 of Prague, who was at firft more timid but who became no lefs coura- 
 geous, were burnt ; having firft well defended the caufe for which 
 they fufFered, in the prefence of the aiTembled priefts and princes. We 
 faw, in a houfe, as we came back, the effigies of John Hufs, carved in 
 ftone, with the date of the year, 141 5. Perhaps he Uved in this houfe, 
 when the Emperor granted him a pafTport to condudt him fafely to 
 Conftance. 
 
 It is a noble figure : wifdom and love beam in the heaven direded 
 
 * Cox, In his Swifferland, fays John the XXIIW. It might be either, or both : for John 
 was depofed and Martin elected, by the Council of Conftance, in 141 7 j where they both 
 then were. T. 
 
 eye. 
 
T*RAVFXS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 47 
 
 eye. The countenance denotes no arrogance, but on the contrary tliat 
 benevolent fortitude with which, as Hufs approached the ftake, he told 
 his lordly perfecutors he -would perfevere in the truth to death. The 
 lines of the face are exprefiive of the filent afflidion he felt, at the de- 
 cline of the church. The form of the lips feems to denote that fcrenity 
 of mind which he poflefred at the ftake, when, to the old woman who 
 took up a firebrand that ilie might have fome part in the execution of 
 a heretic, he fmiling exclaimed, Oh fan^afimplicitas ! 
 
 Conftance, or Koftnitz, is one of the oldeft cities in Germany. It 
 was a free imperial city, w^as in alliance with the Dukes of Auftria,, 
 was often obliged to take part v/ith the Confederates, and was aeain 
 brought back to its former alliances under the Emperor Maximilian, 
 John Hufs and Jerome of Prague were burned here ; although, 
 a hundred years afterward, it was one of the firft to declare in 
 favour of the dodtrines of Luther. The reformed religion was 
 certainly taught here in 15 19; two years after Luther had begun to 
 preach againft indulgences. Under the pretext that it had oppofed the 
 Interim^ it was put under the baa of the Empire ; and became the feat 
 of war In the year 1546. In the year 1548 it went over to the Arch- 
 duke Ferdinand, the brother of Charles V: refigning itfelf, but with 
 referve of its rights and privileges, to the Archhoufe of Auftria. Ac- 
 cordingly it was relieved from the ban of the Empire ; and flattered 
 itfelf that the reconciliation was fmcere : but,, the year following, Fer- 
 dinand took pofieftion of it, in his brother's name, and compelled the 
 citizens to do homage. 
 
 The Empire exerted itfelf, in behalf of this city \ and the ftates 
 of Swabia loudly protefted againft the Emperor's condu<ft : but, after 
 many deceitful proceedings, the Emperor obliged the aflembly of the 
 ftates, at the Diet of Augfburg in the year 1559, to leave him in 
 pofleflion of theplace. The Proteftants continued to fly ; and, after the 
 time of the foux year council, during which the city was at great ex- 
 
 4 pence. 
 
48 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 expence, itstrade was negle^fled, and it was much aggrieved, it loft its 
 freedom and has gradually declined. 
 
 In the afternoon, we went to the ifland of Meinau ; which is a full 
 league from this place, lying between the lake of Conftance proper and 
 the lake of UeberUng. It is fix hundred paces from the fhore ; and 
 is ftill more pleafant than the ifland of Reichenau. It fesms to rife like 
 a little hill out of the water; and is covered with trees, vineyards, and 
 corn fields. A great part of the lake of Conftance is overlooked here ; 
 and when, by its winding, it efcapes the eye, the heights on its fliores 
 are feen. Over thefe the fteep Alpenftein here, as in Lindau, upright 
 appears to tower. 
 
 A gentle breeze fprung up ; and, at a diftance, the lake feemed 
 white and refplendent like a mirror ; its green weaves wafhing the 
 fhores. This fmall iiland contains all that man could wiih. The de- 
 fire of living here, apart from the world and its turmoils, was excited 
 in a very lively degree. 
 
 IlUc vlvere vellem. 
 
 OlUtusJiiiltorumy ohlivifcendus ei Ulis 1 
 
 Forgetting all that fools can give, 
 By fools forgotten, let me iive. . 
 
 The obUltis meoriim of Horace (forgotten by my friends) does not 
 coincide with my feelings ; and I am perfuaded that the amiable poet, 
 who only in .a moment of mifanthropy could have faid this, would 
 have approved of my reading. 
 
 On our return overthe long wooden bridge from the ifland, we faw the 
 fun go down, concealed by the w^oody fhores of the lake of Ueberling ; 
 while we occafionally caft a look at the large lake behind us. The Alpen- 
 ftein glowed with the beams of evening ; the mountains of Claris were 
 gilded with pure gold ; and the hills of Tyrol, fhaded wuth dark grey, 
 Ihed deep night over the plains beneath. The leiTer hills gradually 
 6 difappeared ; 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 45 
 
 (lifappeared ; while the more lofty feemed to hover in the air, like fo 
 many gigantic phantoms. 
 
 We took our leave of the lake, and of the furrounding mountains, 
 where we had remained four days. I am convinced that fenfations of 
 mild regret are beneficial to the heart. The young fledged birds beat 
 their wings, and flutter in the nefl:, before they take flight. We mor- 
 tals are but in the nefl : but the empyrium is in view, and we flutter 
 and clap our anxious wings. 
 
 Oh Pfyche ! How, imprifon'cl, dofl: thou pant ! 
 How ftrikt; thy pennons ! How, 'mid hopes, and doubts, 
 And fmiles, and tears, doft thou perceive the darknefs 
 Of thy knowledge, the languor of thy joys ? 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 Ziirlch, 26th Auguft 1791. 
 
 1 HE day before yefl:erday, with the rifing fun, we left Con- 
 ftance ; and pafled over the bridge of the Rhine. The farthefl: moun- 
 tains rofe more vifible than on the foregoing days. The people of 
 Swabia and Switzerland fay that, when mountains are thus feen, they 
 exped- ftorms, or rain. Proceeding to the lake of Zell, we had a view 
 of all the mountains that overlook the lake of Conftance. Before us 
 at the diftance of fome leagues, lay the three feparate mountains, Ho- 
 hentwiel, Hohnkreg, and Hohenftoffel ; and beyond all of Tyrol. We 
 likewife very clearly faw a chain of the Glaciers ; which, we were told 
 were in Italy; but, by their direclion, they appeared to me to lie be- 
 yond the lakes of the four Waldftiidte, in the canton of Lucerne, or 
 in the canton of Uri. The high fortrefs of Wijrtemberg, Hohent- 
 VoL. L H wiel. 
 
^ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 wiel, was at a fmall diilance from the road, as we went to Schaffhaufen, 
 Prifoners are kept in this fortrefs, as in that of Hohenafperg. 
 
 About a league before we came to Schaffhaufen, we faw the Rhine 
 in the valley, among woody fliores, ftrongly courfing its clear waves of 
 emerald green, after having refrefhed itfelf in the lake of Conftance. 
 The top of a hill, in the foreft over this ftream, divides the German 
 Empire (there no longer German) from Switzerland half a league be- 
 fore we come to Schaffhaufen. No longer. German ! 
 
 No 1 — By the facred waves of the Rhine, which rifes among the 
 mountains of our more free allies ; and which, v»^atering the plains of 
 the Batavians, lovers of liberty, empties itfelf in the fea ; No : our 
 brethren of thefe hills, and our brethren of thofe plains, are no longer 
 German ; becaufe they would no longer endure the yoke of tyranny. 
 We contemplate them with refpe^t : yet may they never forget their 
 origin ! We call a retrofpedive look of admiration over their dark val- 
 leys, with a hope that the time may come when the clouds that enve- 
 lop our own hills fhall difappcar. Here and there, where and when 
 it fhall be neceflary, may the mountains be vifible ! If they portend 
 jlorms, they likewife portend fertility. But oh, never may Germany, 
 like France, miftake the brand of exterminating difcord for the fire 
 of heaven ! With fuch a deluge may her parched plains never be 
 fertilized ! 
 
 The Rhine near Schaffhaufen is very beautiful, and flows over beds 
 of rocks. In former times, there certainly were warehoufes here, for 
 merchandize brought down the flream ; from Bunden, Lindau, Con- 
 ftance, and other parts. The goods were unloaded here, becaufe of its 
 vicinity to the fall of the Rhine. From thefe the town took its name. 
 In the Switzerland, Swabian, and Auftrian, dialects, the word SchalFen 
 fignifies to buy and fell. 
 
 In the afternoon, we vifited the fall of the Rhine. Oh that I could 
 give you an idea of this fpedacle ! But defcription, imagery, recol- 
 
 o iedlion 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. yi 
 
 le<fllon itfelf, all fink under the talk. I faw it three times ; and my 
 aftonifhment at the laft time was as great as at the firft. It amazed me 
 now, when a man, as much as it had done when I was a youth. 
 
 I appear to have faid fomething, and yet I have faid nothing, when I 
 relate that the broad flream, among bold cHfFs, overgrown with trees, 
 colleds its waters in a prodigious mafs ; which, though difturbed, here 
 and there rifes in circles of tranflucent green ; and, with thundering din 
 and raging impetuofity, dividing itfelf into three unequal cataracts, 
 dafhes headlong againft the rock below : that daringly refifts the ungo- 
 vernable fury of the torrent ! Daring, and dignified ; yet not unchaf- 
 tized : as the deep cavities in its bed, and its perforated fides, too plainly 
 fhew. 
 
 On the loweft of thefe high fliores, to the right of the waterfall, in 
 the territory of SchafFhaufen, ftands a thread mill. Oppofite to this, in 
 the diftridt of the canton of Ziirich, and on a very high rock, the caftle 
 of Laufen is built. 
 
 A ftranger is firft taken befide the thread mill, where he is fuddenly 
 furprifed ; and his aftonifhment pleafingly yet terribly excited. He is 
 then led, by a fmall winding path round the foot of the hill, to a circular 
 bafon of the ftream ; and, being there placed oppofite to the waterfall, 
 he learns that the cataraft, at which he has been amazed, is formed 
 only by the fhores and a rock that projedls out of the flream, which 
 conftitutes about a fifth part of the waterfall. 
 
 Here he perceives the whole ftream comprefTed between its rocky 
 fhores and three infulated cliffs. He is then taken into a fmall boat, 
 pafTes the cataradl on the dancing waves, and is landed on the fide of 
 Ziirich. Here, below the caftle of Laufen, is a IcafFolding built over 
 the waterfall. You are obliged to wait fome fhort time, till a fmal! 
 door is opened ; the key of which is kept in the caftle ; ftanding imme- 
 diately over the ftream, and liftening to its thunder. You then look 
 down upon the terrific gulph. The imagination, overpowered, is 
 
 H 2 dreadfully 
 
5t TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 dreadfully perfuaded that it fhall be hurried into the deep. No poffible 
 idea can be formed of the force of the water ; or of the refiftlefs vio- 
 lence with which it rufhes. The poet Lenz, ftanding here, ftruck his 
 thigh, and exclaimed, Hier ill eine Waflerholle* ! 
 
 After a fall thus rapid, the water is projeded back to a great height ; 
 forming a cloud, white and denfe as the fmoke of a forge, which con- 
 ceals all beyond it. Every bufh on the rocky fhores is dripping : 
 when the fun Ihines, the colours of the rainbow play in the froth and 
 the rifmg vapours. 
 
 No fpedacle of nature ever fo fixed and feized upon my mind as 
 this. My Sophia trembled, and turned pale. My young fon gazed, 
 in filent admiration, at the ftream ; for, the clouds of fpray concealing 
 all around, it w^as the only vifible objed. We ftood motionlefs ; in a 
 fearful yet holy trance. I feemed as if I intimately felt xht pr^efens tiu- 
 men : the divinity, prefent and adive. V/hile recolleding the manifeft 
 omnipotence of God, I was overpowered with the fenfation of his all 
 merciful love. It appeared as if the glory of the Lord pafTed before 
 me ; and 1 fcarcely could forbear falling on my face and exclaiming 
 — Oh Lord God, how gracious and benevolent art thou ! 
 
 We had proceeded a confiderable way on our return before we 
 broke filence. It was not till our ftrong feelings began to cool that we 
 had a tranfient recolledion of the philofopher, who, while beholding 
 the fall of the Rhine, afked, with cold apathy, " Of what utility is 
 this ?" A philofopher will anfwer, when a fage will be filent : a philo- 
 fopher may likewife quedion, when a fage will be fdent f. Man, my 
 
 good 
 
 * Literally : Here is a water hell. 
 
 f Our traveller fpeaks from the fullnefs of his heart ; and, as before, his intention Is 
 certainly excellent : but he forgets that diftindlions like thefe, where there is no real dif- 
 ference, have a tendency to irritate men, who are already too much difpofed to be angry. 
 Till lately the word philofopher fignificd, not indeed a perfe£l, but a wife and a virtuous, 
 man : a fincere and undaunted inquirer after truth. Why ftigmatife him now, as the re- 
 vcrfe of the fage ? Is the fage perfea ? Has the fage lefs fortitude, lefs fmcerlty, than the 
 
 philofopher ? 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 53 
 
 good ^\r^ lives not on bread alone. He has more dignified wants. 
 While with trembling rapture he glances at nature in all her greatnefs, 
 he can connect the utility of a thread mill with the fublimity of a 
 catarad. 
 
 We yefterday morning left Schaffhaufen. This town was firft ad- 
 mitted into the league of the confederates in 1501 : before this, it was 
 an imperial town, whofe burghers had ever been bold and ardent in 
 the caufe of freedom. Its conftitution is a mixture of arlftocracy and 
 democracy. John Muller, the great hiftorian of the confederates, who 
 to dignity of feeling and a clear underftanding added unufual ftrength 
 of ftyle, was born a citizen of Schaffhaufen. Sparing in words, origi- 
 nal in the turn of his phrafe, and full of his fubjed, he richly rewards 
 the reader ; who can follow his comprefled though occafionally heavy 
 periods. Were I condemned for my fms of authorihip to criticife a 
 work of fo much worth, the pen would drop from my hand. 
 
 Trippel, the celebrated fculptor at Rome, is likewife a burgher of 
 Schaffhaufen. 
 
 Once more, before we began our journey in the morning, we vi- 
 fited the fall of the Rhine ; and were once more amazed at the gran- 
 deur of the fpedacle. It is really of that nature that the oftener it is 
 feen the Wronger is the impreflion it makes. 
 
 About noon we arrived at Egliflau. This municipal town of the 
 canton of Zurich is fituated in a fmall valley, on both fides of the 
 Rhine ; which, winding firfl: an>ng narrow rocks, purfues its rapid 
 courfe in a right line, rolling its green v/aves among leafy hills, till It 
 a^rain takes a curve, and again concealed by the rocks is loft to the eye. 
 
 The little town of Egliffau is uncommonly pleafant ; its houfes de- 
 note the adive benevolence of freedom. The v/hole taxation of the 
 citizens, an inconfiderable rent excepted, confifts in the tythes of their 
 
 philofopher ? The author did not mean this : yet furely this is what he infinuates. He is 
 himfelf a philofopher, or a fage : but, like other philofophers, or fages^ he is now and 
 then fubjeft to niillake. T. 
 
 corn 
 
^4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 corn and wine. Tbefe tythes efFedually amount to the tenth of the 
 prockice ; and are colleded in kind ; for the maintenance of the clergy, 
 and the municipal officers. They originated in the church tythes, 
 which were aboHfhed at the Reformation ; when the magiftracy took 
 upon itfelf the fupport of the fchools and clergy. 
 
 The fame beneficent marks of profperity which diftinguifh the town 
 are vifible in the country. The people, well fed, well clothed, labo- 
 rious, and cheerful, live in roomy, clean, and airy houfes. Their fields 
 have the appearance of gardens ; by which they are the more ilrikingly 
 contrafted with the wild beauties of furrounding nature. 
 
 As we travelled through them, we fuddenly perceived the pleafant 
 tow^n of Zurich, built in a fruitful valley ; and likewife the river Lim- 
 mat and the lake. From the window of our inn, we faw the Limmat 
 iflue from the lake : on the other fide of which, beyond a double row 
 of mountains, ftlll higher mountains rofe. 
 
 LETTER XIL 
 
 Ziirich, 2d September 1791. 
 
 W E have now been here eight days : of which eight days, 
 oh, how much have I to fay ! After an abfence of fixteen years, I have 
 again feen our friends ; Lavater, Hefs, and Pfenninger. Are they en- 
 tirely what they were ? No : not entirely. The river at its mouth 
 grows larger, and more mighty. Wine every year becomes more po- 
 tent, and mild : the goodnefs of good men every year increafes. Time, 
 meditation, and fenfibility, have traced their furrows on the face of 
 Lavater : it betrays an alteration of more than fixteen years : but his 
 foul, his heart, his benevolence, his cheerfulnefs, his ferenity, flourifli 
 
 in 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. j5 
 
 m eternal youth. The taunts of his adverfaries have not conquered 
 him ; have not weakened in him that firm and Hvely belief in the 
 excellence of human nature, which was ever his chief charatleriftic. 
 
 I need not tell you that we vifit our friends as often as convenient. 
 We will fpeak more of them when we meet Their names will not 
 then be forgotten. Many an evening, as we fit by our own firefides, 
 will they again and again be repeated*. 
 
 Lava*:er took us, the day after our arrival, to a public walk ; which, 
 fome years ago, was laid out on the fouth eaft lide of the town*, 
 There are high terraces among thefe walks. Thefe and their various 
 profpedls, fome gently rifmg toward the hills, fome to t e lake, dif- 
 covering the fituation of Zurich, the lake bende which it is built, the 
 Limmat and the water fliiice, make this a charming place. Thofe 
 liberal expences, which charadlerize a free people, are incurred here 
 as well for the profit as the pleafure of the burghers. The ingenious 
 author, whofe acute and juft remarks have from the lines of the face 
 pointed out the propenfities of the man, maintains that the police of a 
 town may be known from its pavement. It is natural that free citi- 
 zens fiiould equally confult their convenience and their advantage ; 
 and, where the government is in one, or in many, it would be equally 
 advantageous to the one, or the many, were the enjoyments as well as 
 the neceffities of the w^hole their undeviating rule of adion. A Hand- 
 ing army, a brilliant court, a thoufand expences of never fa-isFied ca- 
 price, and a vain and ruinous luxury, exhauft in many kingdoms the 
 riches of their impoverifhed lands : but do not give happinefs to their 
 inhabitants. The fountain, which ihould water the fields of the farmer, 
 
 * The Reverend Mr. Pfenninger is now entering his four-and-f rtieth year. Perhaps, 
 in his writings, he may (hew a want of the coifiilency and con(ideration necefTary to an 
 author; but his fermons are fuperior to his other works ; and his fpiritual conduct is fii- 
 perior to his fermons. When young, I honoured his earr.ell zeal j and cannot now enough 
 admire his youthful ferenity, his cheerful temper, the noble fiinpHcity of his candour, and 
 the pure benevolence of his heart. 
 
 is 
 
56 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 IS made to rulh through the brazen throat of a dragon ; or the mar- 
 ble breaft of a mermaid : and is tlie token of a royal garden, the gates 
 of which are fnut upon the citizen, by whofe labour and at whofe ex- 
 pence it has been conftrudled. 
 
 In thefe Cantons, where the expence is fo trifling, thcftate is rich. 
 The walks I have defcribed cod above a hundred thoufand florins. A 
 wife government eflimates the advantage which poor day labourers 
 derive from works like thefe. Zurich is wealthy by the wifdom of its 
 oeconoray. It expends great funis for the benefit of the country. Its 
 buildings and public inftitutions are becoming the dignity of a free 
 town. Patriotic fimplicity ornaments the regulated welfare of the 
 happy burgher. 
 
 In theory, the government of th^ town is that which the antients 
 
 called ariilocratic ; but which the moderns continually confound with 
 
 democracy. Each burgher has equal rights ; and the ofliicers of admi- 
 
 niftration are chofen by their fellow citizens, among fuch as are fup- 
 
 pofed to be the moft capable. The government of the canton is an 
 
 oligarchy ; which government the moderns unjufl:ly call arifl:ocracy : 
 
 for the country people are excluded from all fhare in the adminiftra- 
 
 tion. The municipality confiflis of thirteen companies, only one of 
 
 which is noble. Twelve men are chofen from each company ; and 
 
 conftitute the great council: thefe again choofe the little council, which 
 
 is compofed of fifty men ; who are added to and complete the great 
 
 council. The fmall council is moft refpe£ted ; and may be confidered 
 
 as a m.ore fele^t body. To the half of the fmall council the admini- 
 
 ftration of afl^.li^s is committed ; and in fix months the other half 
 
 comes into office : fo that in half a year the firil burgomailer yields to 
 
 the fecond. The eledion is annual : but the cuPcom is to re-ele£l the 
 
 fame members. The commiilion of fome crime only can exclude a 
 
 member of the great council : but each member of the great council 
 
 has a right, when any one of the little council has been guilty of a 
 
 mifdemeanor, to propofc another. The propofition having been made, 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERQ. 57 
 
 tiie votes are colle£led ; and he who has a majority is chofen. Such 
 is the confidence which thefe people place in their great council, and on 
 which the cahn of the city depends: for, as they trull all the admiul- 
 ftration to the little council, it was wife to fubjed the powerful mem- 
 bers thus annually to the fuperintendance of the great. 
 
 Alliances, war, and peace, depend upon the coUedive voice of the 
 citizens : but they cannot alTemble without firft having been fummoned 
 by the burgomafter. People that are truly free do not feel the irritat- 
 ing neceffity to interfere upon all occafions. They know that the mind 
 ef the mechanic is deficient in the knowledge neceiTary for the admi- 
 Eiftration of public affairs. This difcretion, confirmed by the happy 
 experience of undifturbed felicity, originates in the cuftom which con- 
 tinues the members of the great council in office for life : though, for 
 form's fake, they: are annually chofen. This annual choice is no 
 more than a folemn ratification. Nothing difturbs the tranquillity of a 
 Rate more than frequent eledions ; as the fagacious Burke, one of the 
 greateft ftatefmen of our times, in his excellent pamphlet againft the 
 French revolution, has fo clearly fhewn. 
 
 Adions for debt are determined by the municipal court. The eccle- 
 fiafiiical court confifts of laymen and divines. Every other kind of 
 fuit, between burgher and burgher, comes before the little council : 
 with an appeal how^ever lying to the great. 
 
 In dignity, Ziirich is the firfl: canton ; though Berne is much more 
 powerful. To Ziirich, as to the canton that has the right of convok- 
 ing, all foreign affairs firft come. It annually ifliies mandates to affem- 
 ble the deputies from the other cantons at Frauenfeld ; which is the 
 chief town of the bailiwick of Thurgau. They meet in the middle of 
 July ; and continue to fit fix weeks. The ariflocratical cantons (I here 
 employ the ufual term) fend a treafurer, a fecretary, and the burgo- 
 mafter out of office; the democratical the Landaramann * out of 
 
 * The provincial chiefs or high bailiff. T. 
 
 Vox. I. I office. 
 
5^8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ofEce. The biirgomafter of Zurich has the precedence ; and opens the 
 affembly. With this right, Ziirich has Hkewife the right and the duty> 
 on urgent occafions, of convoking an extraordinary aflembly ; which is 
 called the Tagfat^ung : but this has feldom happened ; fo long is it fmce 
 the freedom of Switzerland has fuffered any difturbance*.. 
 
 This venerable affembly, which may be compared to the council of 
 Amphidyons in Greece, decide on all the important affairs of the thir- 
 teen confederate cantons. Here all internal differences are afliduoufly 
 appeafed. Here all complaints againft the high bailiffs, or governors, 
 are heard aud determined. Foreigners likewi-fe have the right to appeal: 
 to this affembly : yet it is very difficult, and almoft impoffible, for a 
 foreigner to becom.e a burgher of any canton. At Zurich, the firft 
 year of every century is a foreigner made a burgher: but his defcendants. 
 cannot be of the council till the centiuy foUawing. The prefent 
 members of the council are all branches of families that have enjoyed 
 thefe privileges thefe three hundred years. Mofl of the burghers of 
 Zlirlch can boaft of this honour : fo few have tke admiffions of fo- 
 reigners been. 
 
 The country is governed by high bailiffs ; who live in houfes that 
 are the property of the public, and on the produce of certain appro- 
 priated lands. The council always keep an open ear to the complaints 
 of the peafant againfl his high bailiff. The firmnefs with which Lava- 
 ter, when a youth, the painter Fufeli, and the minifler Felix Hefs, 
 profecuted a high bailiff, who, by his oppreffions, had excited the, in- 
 dignation of the people, is well known. The bailiff was the fon-in-law 
 of the chief burgomafler : but he could afford him no protedion. Any 
 
 * I wrote this in the year 1791. In the following year, the Ta^aizung was three 
 times aflembled : not from any internal difturbance ; but to confidcr how the Swifs legi- 
 ments in France might be protefted : as the French hadbafely and treacheroufly difarmed 
 the Ernft regiment of Berne •, and, in Auguft, had cut the Swifs guards to pieces in Paris. 
 Finding remonftrance ineffectual, they menaced to invade France with fixty thoufand 
 men y and the French fuffered the Swifs to retire. 
 
 6^ c&ample 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 54 
 
 example of offences like thefe, committed by the high bailiffs of Zurich, 
 has not fmce occurred. 
 
 The church tythes, which confift of the tenth of the a£lual produce 
 of the harveft and the vintage, conftitute the only tax which is levied 
 on the farmer. The ftate colleds thefe tythes, and maintains the 
 clergy. It likewife often aflifts thofe communities that ered: churches ; 
 though communities are expelled to erect and maintain them at their 
 own expence. Ten thoufand florins were very lately paid to a com- 
 munity from the treafury of the republic. 
 
 The obligation which the country people are under, to fell their 
 wrought manufactures to the burghers of Ziirich, is more oppreffive than 
 this inconfiderable tax. This reftraint affects the wholefale more than 
 the retail trader: for the latter could only furnifh the fhops at home ; 
 but the others might fupply foreign dealers. 
 
 The ftate poffefTes certain domains ; the farming of which increafes 
 its revenue. The burghers are obliged to pay five per cent, for all 
 goods manufactured in the town : an eafy tax, and which likewife 
 generally falls upon ftrangers, who trade with the place. Thefe tri- 
 fling revenues are more than fuflicient, in a country where the public 
 officers receive no falaries ; where no foldiers are maintained ; and 
 where, notwithftanding, forty thoufand men, trained and armed, can, 
 in four-and-twenty hours, be brought into the field ; which is about a 
 fifth part of the army of the whole confederacy. 
 
 The youth are trained to arms. All the m.ales are exercifed every 
 Sunday in the afternoon ; and no one dare marry till he can produce 
 accoutrements and arms that have been proved. Thofe who ferve in 
 foreign countries are fo many experienced warriors for Sv^itzerland. 
 In the democratic cantons, befide the pay of the foldier, each father of 
 a family receives a crown a year from France : this is not paid to the 
 ^riftocratic cantons. 
 
 Some years ago, the affembly of the canton of Schweitz, in a mena- 
 cing manner, wifhed to raife their pay with France. Jiizt, a fage high 
 
 I 2 bailiff. 
 
to T-RAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 bailiff, remonflrated againft their proceedings ; and the enraged commu- 
 nity accufed him of corruption. He was condemned either to pay a 
 hundred thoufand florins within eight days, which florins were to be 
 divided among them, or to forfeit his Hfe. He had property, but not 
 fufl&cient ; though he was willing to facrilice it all. On the appointed 
 day, he appeared. On his right hand thirty thoufand florins were 
 placed ; on his left, promiilbry notes for feventy thoufand more. I am 
 ready, faid he,^to pay each citizen his dividend, who fh all come to my 
 houfe in perfon and make the demand. Moft of them blufhed, few 
 appeared, and Jiizt only prud a third part of the penalty. 
 
 The canton fent threateningly to its citizens to return from France ;• 
 and, France juHly holding itfelf no longer bound by its former engage- 
 ments, the people of this canton found themafelves glad to fend their 
 youth to France again on lefs advantageous terms. Jiizt now live3 
 refpedled by his fellow citizens; who acknowledge the. injuflice of 
 which they were guilty. 
 
 Such defpotic proceedings are every where poflible, where the legif- 
 lative and executive authority are united. This combination is not the 
 lefs dangerous for being in the people. It is combining the moral and 
 the phyfical power. A tyrant muft tremble at a dagger ; a fenate at 
 rebellion. But whom does the people fear? All thofe, whether law- 
 givers of France or lifhwives of Paris (for often have thefe furies fhared 
 the fovereign authority, and in fadt with equal right) — all thofe who do 
 not know that the fafety of the community depends on yielding up 
 the phyfical power, as fubjedt to the moral, underftand but little of 
 politics. It is quite fuflicient that the phyfical power may be roufed 
 from its flumbers. An army of mercenaries forge their own fetters. 
 
 In the ariftocratic as well as in the democratic cantons of Switzer- 
 land, far from an army of mercenaries, they have no {landing army; 
 and where, as in the democratic cantons, each citizen is armed, there 
 the rights of the people are fufliciently fecured againft the innovations 
 of government. This flumbering power of the people would be dan- 
 gerous 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 6i 
 
 gerous to each individual, but for tliat fimpilcity of manners which 
 charaderizes the mild and upright yet \^^anike Swifs. To this fimpli- 
 city of manners, this refped for all that is facred, and not to their go- 
 vernment, which is extrern :iy defedive, are the little democratic can- 
 tons indebted for their happinefs and trar j^aillity. 
 
 In their miUtary arrangements with France, the Swifs have ftipulated 
 that their regiments lliall neither crofs the Rhine, to invade Germany, 
 nor be tranfported to parts beyond fea. The Prince de Soubife, during 
 the feven years war, required the Swifs to crofs the Rhine with the 
 French army ; and was oppofed by Lochmann, the General of the 
 Swifs and a native of Ziirich. Soubife angr Jy afked. Of what ufe then 
 are you ? Lochmann drily replied, We will cover your retreat. Soubife 
 however furrounded the Swifs with French^ regiments, and obliged 
 them to crofs the Rhine. 
 
 At Rofbach, the Swifs flood long after the French had fled ; and 
 did not retreat till a great part of the combined army and two thirds of 
 Lochmann's regiment ky dead on the plain. That the Swifs fhould 
 not have been more bold in their remonftrances to the French for this 
 violence, and fhould have fuffered their fellow citizens to be fent to 
 Gorfica, is not to the honour of this otherwife noble people. The 
 jiigers, or light horfe, are thought to be the heft of the troops of 
 Ziirich^ 
 
 LETTER XIIL 
 
 Ziirich, 3d September j 791; 
 
 vJN the 31ft of Auguft, we failed on the lake in company 
 with a friend to Kilchberg^ which is built on a hill, on the weft fide 
 
 of 
 
62 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 of the lake, a league from Zurich. When we were near Kilchberg \vc 
 faw Lavater, following us on foot ; and, having taken him into the 
 boat, we foon arrived at the foot of the hill. 
 
 An accident had feparated me a few paces from the company. As 
 I was walking, I perceived an old countryman ; who, having fallen 
 and broken his bald head, had covered it with vine leaves. He drew 
 my attention. He looked at me, faw I was a ftranger, and laughing 
 faid, " Well, good fir, is not Switzerland a fine country ?" " Yes," I re- 
 plied, in the fullnefs of my heart ; " it is indeed." *' God be with you," 
 fir," exclaimed he ; and fhook with pleafure the filver locks that adorned 
 his temples. 
 
 At Kilchberg, we vifited Mr, Wiirtz and his wife : a worthy pair. 
 Lavater was in that free, gay, and original, humour which diftin- 
 guiflies him ; and heightened our feftivity. We enjoyed a charming 
 •profped: from the hill ; and then took a walk in a pleafant beech- 
 wood, on the banks of the lake. 
 
 Much fnow had fallen the night before on the diftant mountains : 
 efpecially on the towering Todi, in the canton of Claris. On our 
 return, we beheld an uncommonly beautiful funfet : its beams de- 
 fcended on the white fummit of the Todi ; and fhed their pure gold 
 on the neareft chain of hills, mixed with variegated fhades of purple, 
 "while the decline of day produced continual novelty in the changeable 
 horizon. 
 
 The day before yefterday, I, my wife, and fon, with the good La- 
 vater, and his youngeft daughter, went to Richterfweil. It ftands 
 four long leagues from the town, to the weft of the lake ; which is 
 kept in view all the way. The road generally lies high above the 
 ihore ; among vineyards, and large fruit and walnut trees ; and fome- 
 times under the foliage of pines, evergreens, and groves. 
 
 The oppofite fhore is no lefs pleafant ; and both are incredibly po- 
 pulcus. The territories extend on both fides of the lake about four 
 leagues and a half^ Houfe after houfe, village after village, continu- 
 ally 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 63 
 
 ally meet the eye. The population of the flaores of the lake, not in- 
 cUiding Zurich, is eftimated at twenty-two thoufimd. 
 
 As well here, on the lake, as in the interior part of the country, the 
 culture of their fields, gardens and vineyards is attended to with extra- 
 ordinary care ; though moft of the inhabitants round the lake are manu- 
 facturers. The beauty of their churches, their neat and roomy houfes, the 
 good condition of their cattle ; and, more than all, their own cheerful and 
 friendly countenances, denote their happinefs. Some of them live by 
 fifhing ; which, as well as hunting, is free throughout Switzerland ; but 
 thofe who refide near the lake depend mod on their trade with Ziirich, 
 and with their neighbours in the canton of Schweitz ; which fupplies 
 the canton of Ziirich with corn that is purchafed in Swabia. 
 
 The grain of Ziirich is infufficient for its own confumption : its 
 population, the mountains excepted, being eftimated at between four 
 and five thoufand fouls to the geographical fquare mile. 
 
 A league from Ziirich we faw^ the town of Kiifnacht : which you 
 muft not confound with Kiifnacht, fo famous in hiftory, that is in the 
 canton of Schweitz on the lake of the four Waldftadte *. A rivulet runs 
 through this Kiifnacht J which is fituated on the oppofite fide of the 
 lake of Ziirich, where the lake is not a league in breadth. This rivu- 
 let, which defcends from the hills, about twelve years ago rofe to a. 
 fearful height ; wafhed away eight-and-tw^enty houfes, and fixty-three 
 of the inhabitants, and overflowed the firfh ftories of thofe houfes that 
 •were ftirong enough tb withftand its fury. A new married pair were 
 found in a chamber, w^ho had endeavoured to fave themfelves on 
 high place behind an oven, locked in each others arms : happy alike: 
 in love and in death. 
 
 Travellers to Richterfweil do not willingly pafs Talwyl, without 
 alighting and enjoying the profped from the high church yard over 
 tLe lake, 
 
 f This term Is explained in a. note to Letter XVL T^. 
 
 We 
 
64 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 We left the penlnfula called Au, which at high water is an iiland, on 
 
 our left. Klopllock mentions it, in his heaiuiful ode on the lake of 
 
 2<iirich. 
 
 *' In thofc cool groves that blefs thy happy fhores 
 " Wc feek the fliade." — 
 
 This ifland is high on all fides ; and is (liaded with the beech tree. 
 
 At Wadenfchweil, which is half a mile on this fide of Richterfweil, 
 ■we vifited the high bailiff Orell ; who inhabits a lofty caftle, from the 
 balcony of which there is a profpe6l thfit may well excite amazement. 
 
 I was glad once more to meet the fon of Lavater, who is a phyfician 
 at Richterfweil. The laft time I had i^QQii him, he was about eight 
 years old ; and I well remember the joy he teftified at going, with 
 other boys, to learn the ufe of arms. In thefe cantons, mothers do not 
 tremble, when their fons load and difcharge a mufl^et. 
 
 In the afternoon, we went upon the lake ; though it was rather 
 tempeftuous. The greateft part of our company were fet on fhore : 
 Sophia, Erneft, young Lavater, and I, ventured to accompany the 
 boatmen ; and to be danced aloft, by the green and foaming wave. 
 They fpread their fails, and, in a quarter of an hour, we arrived at the 
 little ifland ofUffenau; which is a league from Richterfweil. It be- 
 longs to the abbey of Marieinfiedel, which, as well as the ifland, is 
 fituated in and protected by the canton of Schweitz. Ziirich alfo lays 
 claim to this right ; becaufe the ifland lies on the ZUrich fide of the 
 bridp;e of Rapperfchweil. There is an old church in the ifland of Uf- 
 fenau, in which are the remains of Ulrich von Hutten ; the worthy 
 Franconian nobleman, a brave knight, the friend of Luther and Mer 
 landlhon, a zealous patriot, a lover of the mufes, the companion of the 
 great and the learned, and a fugitive to this place. 
 
 Here, likewife, is (hewn the grave of Saint Adelrich ; who lived in 
 the tenth century. The legend relates of him that he walked over the 
 
 lake, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 65 
 
 lake, from Pfeffiken to this ifland. He was a prince of the Swabian 
 race, and endowed this little church with mod of the tythes of the eaft 
 Ihore of the lake. 
 
 The abbey of Marieinfiedel, which carefully maintained the church 
 of Uffenau before it fell to decay, continues to this day to colle(St thefe 
 tythes. The ftate of Zurich fupports the clergy of thefe communities 
 from the public treafury ; and has lately granted the fum of one hun- 
 dred and lifty thoufand florins to increafe their ftipend. 
 
 There is likcwifc a little chapel on this ifland ; in which the capu- 
 chins of Rapperfchweil read mafs. Here lies the abbot of Marieinfie- 
 del J for whom, in quality of a prince of the German empire, a mafs 
 is annually faid. The little town of Rapperfchweil lies oppofite to the 
 ifland. It was formerly governed by its own Counts ; who were fre- 
 quently molefted by Ziirich. It is now under the prote(Slion of the 
 cantons of Ziirich, Berne, and Claris ; to which it mufl: do homage 
 every fix years. It mayjuftlybe efteemed fomething between a highly 
 privileged municipal town, and an independent free ftate. 
 
 The building of this town was undertaken in an extraordinary man- 
 ner. Count Rudolphus of Rapperfchweil, who lived toward the end 
 of the eleventh century, was very defirous of being happy with his 
 beautiful wife ; whofe virtue was neither unfufpeded by him, nor 
 blamelefs. As he one day returned from the war, his fteward met 
 him, with a thoughtful mien, before he entered the caftle ; and in- 
 formed him that he wiflied to fpeak to him on a very important affair. 
 
 An old chronicle, though later than that age, puts the following 
 words into the mouth of the Count. 
 
 " Say what thou wilt, dear fteward, only fay nothing againft my 
 *' wife ; for, wherever I am, when I bethink me of her beauty, my foul 
 " is delighted ; and, whatever cares, or misfortunes, befall me, when I 
 " remember the lovelinefs of my wife, I forget all my forrows, and 
 ** am moft glad to find myfelf once again at home." 
 
 The fteward, well perceiving that the uxorious warrior would have 
 
 Vol. I. K punifhed 
 
66 TKAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 puniilied him for his accufatlon, gave a ready turn to hisdifcourfe ; and 
 told the Count that, during his abfence, he had obferved a place in which 
 a fortified town might very conveniently be built 3 and pointed out this 
 fpot, on which, in the year 1 09 1 , Count Rudolphus built Rapperfchweil. 
 It pays no tythes, nor any kind of tax, has a free trade, and its 
 burghers are exempt from military fervice ; unlefs it be for the defence 
 of their town.. They may appeal for protection againft their magiftratesr 
 to the Cantons. They were granted this independence after the war of 
 the year 171 2, having then obtained it of the canton of Schweltz. 
 
 There is abridge at Rapperfchweil over the lake, which is more thart 
 eighteen hundred paces in length. This is thenarroweft part of the lake ; 
 and, together wHth a cape, divides it into the upper lake and the proper 
 lake of Zurich. Albert, the fecond Archduke of Auftria, firft built 
 this bridge. In old times, this was the boundary between the cantons 
 of Ziirich and Schweitz ; but, after the war of Ziirich, which this can- 
 ton w^aged againft the confederates from the year 1436 to the year 
 14465 when peace w^as made, Ziirich ceded a fmall corner of land on 
 this fide of the bridge ; which, fince that period, has belonged to 
 Schweitz. The lake was not mentioned in the treaty. The people 
 of Ziirich infifted on an exclufive right to the navigation on this fide of 
 the bridge ; which the people of Schweitz difputed. The great freight- 
 age of corn, with w^hich the former fupplied the latter, and the fre- 
 quent pilgrimages that were made to Marieinfiedel, gave confequence 
 to the difpute. The animofity between thefe cantons continued, was 
 ftrengthened by the fhort war of 171 2, and has not yet entirely 
 fubfided. 
 
 That this quarrel will not come to an open rupture may be reafon- 
 ably hoped, from the moderation and wifdom of the canton of Zurich. 
 The Schweitz perhaps may be the moft ready to engage in fuch a con- 
 tention ; notwithftanding that their numbers are but as one to five : for 
 they are the moft w^arlike people of Switzerland. All the cantons are 
 indeed warlike ; none but this canton however delights in war. It dif- 
 
 regards^ 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 67 
 
 regards numbers, forgets to eftlmate confequences, is blind to all com- 
 parifon of power, and remembers only ftrength of arm, and valour of 
 heart. In fa£t, where fuch are the feelings of each individual, poli- 
 tical proportions are infignificant. This was proved by the three me- 
 morable heroes. Waiter Fiirft, of Uri, Wetner von Staufacher, of 
 Schweitz, and Arnold von Melchthal, of Unterwald ; when, in the year 
 1307, thefe founders of freedom combined to refifl defpotifm. It v/as 
 proved again eight years afterward, when a few freemen vanquifhed 
 the powers of Duke Leopold at Morgarten ; and when, on the fame 
 day, a part only of the vidlors drove Count von Strafberg out of Un- 
 terwald. It was once more proved by Rudolphus von Erlach, a chief 
 of Berne ; who told his foldiers that, having fought in fix battles, he 
 had always feen the fmaller number vidlorious ; and who then gave 
 the enemy battle, and with only five thoufand put thirty thoufand of 
 them to flight. What fhall I fay of the battle of Sembach ? where, in 
 the year 1386, one thoufand three hundred confederates defied the 
 flower of the Auftrian army ; and where Winkelried, oppofmg their 
 moll fearful phalanx, facrificed himfelf, and by death opened the road 
 to victory. What of the battle of Noffells ? where a few of the men 
 of Claris, led by Matthias von Blirlen, fought five long hours, eleven 
 times beat back the attacking Auftrians, and, at laft, gained the victory. 
 What of the people of Bafle ? who, in the year 1444, refifted the nu- 
 merous forces of France in the church yard of St. James ; where the 
 heaps of flain obliged the Dauphin to con fefs that fuch another vidory 
 would be his ruin. What of the victory of the confederates at Gran- 
 fon, and at Miirten, over Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy ? And 
 what of their victories in the war of Swabia, toward the end of the 
 15th century? 
 
 It will not be faid that the Swifs owe their victories to their moun- 
 tainous fituation : fome of them were gained in the open plains. They 
 are much rather indebted to their fimplicity of manners, courage, and 
 love of freedom ; which frequently dillinguifh the inhabitants of moun- 
 
 K 2 tains 
 
«9 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 tains from thofe of flat eountnes. The love of liberty is a ray from hea- 
 Ten ; penetrating the heart of the fimple fhepherds of the Alps, and invi- 
 gorating their arm. It is that which has imparted courai^e to them, and 
 TV 111 ftill impart ; which has maintained their conftitution thefe live hun-^ 
 dred years, and will ftill maintain. It is that which has infpired them 
 with the fpirit of concord, which for fo many centuries has united fuch 
 a number of independent ftates : a concord which but fsldom, and for 
 a iliort time, has been interrupted. If in warlike courage the Greeks 
 and Romans were their equals, they rife fuperior in generofity, in mild 
 humanity toward their foes, in concord, and in purity of manners. 
 The paffions of men every where take root; and fo will continue to 
 take. Their wild feeds every where flourifh ; but here they are moll 
 fubdued. The excellence of their morals is the fupport of the laws ;. 
 and the fupport of their morals is the love of their country and reli- 
 gion. Will the names of their noble patriots be lefs famous in hiftory 
 than the names of the greateft of the Greeks and Romans ? They will 
 yield nothing to them in grandeur of foul; though, happily for their 
 country, they will in a fanguinary thirft of glory, and in feeking for 
 occafions to appeafe this thirft. No artful Pericles, in Switzerland, 
 will be able to kindle a Pelcponnefian war. No Virginius will be 
 obliged to ftrike the dagger to the heart of his daughter ; for no Ap- 
 pius will be found daring enough to attempt her chaftity ! 
 
 Certain virtues only receive their polifti by being contrafted with 
 certain vices. Should ever Switzerland produce a Timophanes, or a 
 Csefar, deliverers of their country would rife equal to Timoleon and 
 Brutus. Had the Greeks maintained their freedom by concord, Philip 
 of Macedon would have been as inCgnificant to them as an abbot of 
 St.. Gall to the Swifs. 
 
 From UfFenau we failed to Pfeffiken, in the canton of Schweitz ; 
 where we joined our company, who had been put on Ihore. I went 
 with young Lavater, the high bailiff Orel!, and Erneft, on foot, to Rich- 
 terfchweil ; and fa,w on our way an uncommonly beautiful waterfalL. 
 
 6 It 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STCLBERG. 69 
 
 It' is In the canton of Schweitz, 011 the borders of Zurich. Three Im- 
 petuous flreams, each above tlie other, rufh among the bending branches 
 of the trees, from a high cavity of a rock, into the valley. On the 
 height where you ftand to fee the catarad, you likewife have a full 
 view of the lake of Zurich. 
 
 D 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Zurich, 5th September 1791^^ 
 
 'URING my ftay here, the monument, which the friends 
 and admirers of Solomon GeiTner, the poet, affociated to ered to his 
 memory, arrived from Rome. It is the work of Trippel, the famous 
 fculptor of Schaffhaufen ; and is an excellent performance, worthy of 
 the great poet of Zurich, and his fellow citizens. 
 
 It confifts of a white marble flab, about five feet high and four broad : 
 where the two fhepherds of GefTner, Daphnis and Micon, are cut in 
 alto relievo ; at the inftant when Micon makes a libation to the memory 
 of the father of his friend. Perhaps you do not recolledt this beautiful 
 idyl of GeiTner.. 
 
 The goat of Daphnis and Micon has ftrayed from the flock, and 
 waded into a marfh. The fhepherds endeavour to relieve it ; and 
 Micon difcovers a fallen arch, and learns from Daphnis that it is a fe- 
 pulchre. Micon fees an urn, lying in the hollow ; and is terrified at 
 the figures carved round it, which, as he fays, appear to him to be 
 rifing from its fides " A dreadful warrior and a furious fteed ! Be- 
 held how his hoofs trample on the wounded and the fallen ! This- 
 man could never have been a fhepherdJ* 
 
 Daphnia 
 
70 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Daphnis replies," He was a monfter ; who laid wafte the fruitful field?, 
 
 and made freemen (laves The hoofs cf his war horfes have 
 
 trodden down the corn ; and he firev/ed the barren fields with the 
 bodies of our forefathers. As the ravenous wolf devours the flock, fo 
 did his warriors deftroy the innocent ; who did him no wrong." 
 
 Micon wonders at the wickednefs and folly of the inhuman wretch ; 
 and remarks that now reptiles fwarm in the urn and its bed 
 
 " Who but mud fmile to fee the toad crawling in the helmet of the 
 furious hero ; and tlie blind worm feated on his threatening fword?" 
 
 The {hepherds then converfe awhile on this warrior ; and Micon 
 
 exclaims " No, rather than be guilty of fuch odious crimes, 
 
 though it were to gain a world, I would live the mafter only of two 
 goats, and a pure heart ; detefting fnch wickednefs. One of thefe I 
 would willingly facrifice to the gods ; with thanks, for making me 
 thus happy. Give the wicked the riches of the whole earth, flill they 
 are not happy." 
 
 " Let us begone ;" anfwered Daphnis. " Let us leave a place, which 
 excites only melancholy and bitternefs. Follow me, I will ihew thee a 
 different monument, ereded by my father, a man of an upright heart." 
 
 Daphnis left the herd to Alexis, and led his friend, through mea- 
 dows, by the grove of Terminus, hung with the cluftering hop. 
 
 • They continued their way. On the right of the narrow path, 
 
 the grafs reached their knees. On the left, the corn grew ; the ears 
 waving above their fhoulders. They came to the calm fhades of 
 fruitful trees ; among which a neat cottage flood. In this cool and 
 pleafant place, Daphnis fpread a fmall table j and brought a bafket of 
 fruit, and a refrefhing jug of wine, 
 
 " Tell me," faid Micon, " where is the monument thy father built j 
 that the firft cup may be emptied to the memory of fo worthy a man ?" 
 
 " Here, friend," anfwered Daphnis. " This peaceful abode, what thou 
 now beholdeft, is the monument of his fame. This was once a barren 
 place J his induftry made it fruitful j his hand planted thefe orchards ; 
 
 to 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 71 
 
 to'him our thanks, we, who are his children, and all our defcendants, 
 for all our enjoyments, for all the good we give and receive, for thefe to 
 him ourthankvS are due. The bleffing of the virtuous man refts upon 
 us ; and frudifics thefe fields, thefe meadows, and thefe filent groves." 
 
 " Here is to thy memory, then, Oh noble ihade !" faid Micon, and 
 emptied his cup. " Oh worthy monument, conducive to the profpe- 
 rity of virtuous defcendants, the founder of v/hich though dead is ftill 
 beneficent 1" 
 
 It feems to me that a better paffage could not have been feleded 
 from the works of the poet, for the monument erected to his memory : 
 nor could it have been trufted to a more mafterly hand than that of 
 Trippel ; who^ recolleding that his labours were for the honour of a 
 countryman, muft have found his faculties roufed ; and it is evident 
 that he executed his talk co7i amore. 
 
 At prefent this monument is placed under a large awning, on the 
 great walk ; and it is intended to be erected in a circular grove on this 
 very walk ; which is beautiful and much frequented, particularly every 
 Sunday after dinner. In the afternoon on a Thurlday, the youth of 
 Ziirich are accuftomed to all'emble here. It is a fpacious place, adorn- 
 ed with the linden, poplar, V7ilda{h,and other trees ; and lies between 
 the Siehl and the Limmat ; which at the end of the walk fall into each 
 other. The minifter Bodmer delighted in this walk. I remember 
 having feen him here, furrounded and refpeded by the young and 
 the old.. 
 
 LET. 
 
7z TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Ziirich, 7th September 1791. 
 
 I ESTERDAY afternoon, I and fome friends took a turn on 
 the lake, andvifitedLavater, who was gone to his country houfe, which 
 is built upon a vine hill, and from which there is a good profped to- 
 ward the lake. 
 
 From this, with Sophia and Erneft, I went to fee the worthy 
 Jochen Berly ; a farmer, in whofe houfe I and my brother and Haug- 
 witz, fixteen years ago, fpent feveral cheerful weeks. He was in his 
 fields ; and one of his fons went for him, without informing him who 
 the ftranger was that waited for him. He knew me, leapt for joy 
 when he faw me, prefled me, my wife, and fon, by the hand with Swifs 
 cordiality, and affectionately queftioned me concerning the companions 
 of my former travels, and my fifter ; who had vifited him feven years 
 ago. He then took me to the banks of the Siehl ; for he well recol- 
 lected my favourite fpot. I remembered many places, where, in the 
 days of ardent youth, I had wandered fometimes alone, fometimes with 
 friends. I even recognized a ftone, hanging over the bank of the river, 
 on which, fhaded by young trees that were now full grown, I had read 
 many of the books of Homer. 
 
 On the other fide of the river ftands the Jiitlyberg ; which Klop- 
 flock named the Uto. It joins the Albis ; and is fhaded with woods 
 
 and fig trees. 
 
 Had 1 been a Greek, I fhould have made libations of mild country 
 wine and Switzerland milk to the Naiades, the Dryades, and the Oreades. 
 
 The kind man took us back to his dwelling. His wife and children 
 accompanied us a little way, when we departed ; and the good houfe- 
 wife wept heartily, as fhe preffed the hand of her old gueft, at taking 
 
 leave. 
 
 In 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 7^ 
 
 In my former letters, I have mentioned to you the public laftitu- 
 tions and buildings of this place : but it may not be unpleafant to add a 
 few more particulars. 
 
 The orphan-houfe is a large and noble building. It {lands in the 
 fincft quarter of the town, open on all fides, and on high ground near 
 the Limmat. The children live in roomy and lofty chambers ; and 
 confift both of orphans and the children of poor old perfons ftill living. 
 The number is not fixed, but varies according to circumftances : none 
 but the children of burghers are accepted. They are inftrudled in the 
 chriftian religion, reading, writing, arithmetic, drawing, geography, 
 and the hiftory of their own country. 
 
 Health blooms on their cheeks, good humour and fatlsfa£i;ion beain 
 in their eyes. It was delightful to fee the joy w^ith which they met our 
 guide, Mr. Deacon Geffner, a worthy and benevolent man, the fami- 
 liarity with which they furrounded the governor and govemefs, and 
 the charming freedom with which they took us flrangers by the hand. 
 Twice a day, when the weather permits, they are fuffered to play a con- 
 fiderable while in the garden. So much care is taken of their health, 
 and fo entirely are thefe children of a free town under the immediate 
 infpedion of the burghers, that, though they admit children of a year 
 old, and though life at this period is fo precarious, only two children 
 have died in four years. The prefent number of the children is ninety- 
 two ; and the numbers of the girls and boys are nearly equal. Our 
 kind Hefs took us to a public female fchool which is called the Toch- 
 terfchule*. In a well regulated ftate every citizen beholds the fons 
 and daughters of each other as the fons and daughtersof their country. 
 
 There are forty girls, divided into two clafles, according to their 
 attainments, and initrudled at the expenee of the ftate in religion, read- 
 ing, writing, arithmetic, and all the female duties. They read in our 
 prefence feveral ftanzas from ilie poems of Gellert ; and it was evident 
 
 * Daughters' fcliooL 
 
 Vol. I. L that 
 
^4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 that tliey had caught the meaning and the paffion of the poet. Their 
 miftrefs then put a few queftlons concerning what they had read ; to 
 which the girls returned fenfille anfwers. 
 
 The minifter Bodmer, whofe patriotifm was as pure as his love of 
 knowledge was ardent, has bellowed ten thoufand florins on this infti- 
 tution. 
 
 The cathedral of Zurich was built by Charlemagne ; whofe effigy, 
 well cut in ftone, is placed over the door. Zuingle and Billinger 
 belonged to this church ; which is the mother of many proteftant 
 daughters, particularly in England. 
 
 The arfenal is well ftored with a hundred pieces of artillery, and 
 complete new Hands of arms for thirty thoufand men. I, and Erneft, 
 vifited the old armoury ; purpofely to fee the ancient armour, and 
 efpeciaiiy,the crofsbow of William Tell, which is fliewn here as a fa- 
 credrelicr •, 
 
 rThere -is a foclety in Zurich, called the Bocke, Vv^hich has made 
 itfelf memorable in hiilory. Its origin is lofl, in the darknefs of the 
 middle ages : but it became famous during the war of Ziirich, in the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 Sixteen burghers, who gave themfelves this title with the permiflion 
 of the repubUc, feparated themfelves from the general fervice of the 
 war ; that, as free archers, they might nK)re efFedually annoy the ene- 
 my. They mutually pledged themfelves to difregard life ; and, making 
 incurfions, they plundered, burned, and cut off the enemy's convoys. 
 In the year 1446, this fociety w^as excluded from the peace of the con- 
 federates : but they learned that Friefen, the high bailiff of Uri, who 
 had vainly given himfelf much trouble to have them included in the 
 peace, had faid that, if they could get any perfon of confequence in 
 their power, they would then gain what they defired. Not long after, 
 as this chief was paffmg on the lake of Ziirich, the Bocke boarded his 
 veffel, advifed his attendants not to make a ufelefs refiftance, as they 
 intended him no harm, took him on Ihore, brought him to the high 
 
 town 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 75 
 
 town of Hohenkraien, which lies In Upper Auftria between Hohent- 
 wiel and StofTelberge, and which then belonged to them, treated him 
 as a diflinguiflied friend, and, as foon as tlic confederates had granted 
 ■w^hat they had demanded for his freedom, fuffered him to depart. 
 
 This fociety continued fome ages in focial connexion ; and, in the 
 beginning of this century, having increafed to the number of fixty- 
 four, appeared dangerous to their fellow citizens by their ambition : 
 for, thus combined, they knew how to play the chief offices of the 
 ftate into the hands of their confederates. They have fmce been re- 
 ftrained ; and, though the number of their members continues the 
 fame, they have no political influence ; and would probably no longer 
 exift, were not their duration continued by an annual feftival ia me- 
 jnory of their paft deeds. 
 
 Another fociety of feme years ftanding, called the Moral Society, is 
 no lefs patriotic and more peaceable. Its members are young men, 
 who take a noble pleafure in contributing to the paftimes of children ; 
 and invent a variety of fports and warlike games for them. They like- 
 wife read entertaining books to them ; and write works for their in- 
 ftrudion. Their purpofe is the improvement of the heart and under- 
 ftanding ; and, both in their readings and v^ritings, they are highly 
 attentive to prevent the tedioufnefs of time. 
 
 We have here become acquainted with Peftalozzi ; the author of the 
 excellent popular work, called Leonard and Gertrude. He is a burgher 
 of Zurich, but inhabits a farm in the canton of Berne ; the produce of 
 which he has for many years increafed by the fweat of his brow, till 
 he has brought it into excellent condition. This remarkable man has 
 difplayed great fimplicity, power, and knowledge of the human mind ; 
 and, in the fchool of experience, has ftudied new modes of forming the 
 heart. Nicolovius has vifited him ; and, from all that he has heard 
 and feen, is more fully convinced than ever that labour and misfor- 
 tune are beft calculated to form man, for the noble talk of being the 
 inftrudor and benefador of the human race. 
 
 L 2 The 
 
y5 TRAVELS OF COUNT ST0L3ERG. 
 
 The people of Zurich have an old cuflom, which they have proba- 
 bly derived from the wlfdom of their anceftors. If married people, in 
 fpite of remonftrance, perfift in a defire to feparate, they are confined 
 for fome weeks in a chamber of the council houfe ; in which there is 
 nothing but a fmall bed, a ftool, and a table. Their food is fervcd on 
 one difh ; with one plate, one knife, one fork, and one fpoon. Change 
 of place, privation, and the fociality that arifes from the neceffity of mu- 
 tually aiding each other, have frequently, before the time of probation 
 has expired, fo reconciled them to each other that they have renounced 
 all thoughts of parting, and have lived peaceably together till death. 
 
 Roman antiquities, which are found in a high part of the town, be- 
 fide the Limmat, are proofs that C:2far had a camp at Ziirich*. From 
 the linden trees which are there, it is called the Linden hof. It com- 
 mands a beautiful profpe(St of the Limmat, the lake, and the moun- 
 tains. A fountain ornaments one fide ; and a ftone ftatue of William 
 Tell the other. His little fon ftands befide him. The father is in a 
 noble attitude, with his crofs bow j w^hich appears rather to reil upon 
 his arm than upon his flioulder.. 
 
 LETTER XVL 
 
 W] 
 
 Lucerne, 12th September 1791. 
 
 E left Ziirich on the 9th, by day break. Orion and 
 Sirius were ftill twinkling. Thick mifts hovered over the lake, fub- 
 fided, and foretold a fine day. The lake was on our left ; on our right 
 
 * Caefar fought with the Tigurini ; an antient tribe, of whom the anceftors of the peo- 
 ple of Zurich were a part •, but he did not enter the territories of Zurich. 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUirf STOLBERG. 77 
 
 the foreft of Slehl, and the Jlitlyberg; till we turned and proceeded, by a 
 tolerably deep road, to the Albis, which joins the Jiitly. On this 
 hill, drivers iifually ftop to give their horfes breath : we took advan- 
 tage of this, and mounted to the place called the high watch j which 
 flands on the top. This is one of the heights from which fire fignals 
 are given : a pra<5lice common in Switzerland, on any extraordinary 
 occafion ; by which the confederates are warned. As foon as one fire 
 is feen, the next is lighted ; and, in a few hours, all the watch heights 
 in Switzerland are in a blaze : fo that, within four-and-twenty hours, 
 all the levies of the confederates are under arms. Diligent and peace- 
 ful as bees, who extrad the honey from fcattered flowers, thefe noble 
 people live among their mountains : but, no lefs watchful than the bee, 
 their fting for thofe who difturb their nefl is to be feared. Whoever 
 have attacked them, have repented of their temerity. 
 
 As we went up this hill, we had a profped of the left fide of the 
 lake of Zurich ; with its charming fhores, from Zurich to Uffenau* 
 The lake and the diftant Reufs were covered with mills ; which thick- 
 ened into white clouds more denfe than any I had ever feen. On the 
 fliore of the lake, they were rarefied ; and, being illumined by the 
 morning fun, they reminded me of the mills of Ollian ; which that 
 great fongfter of nature compares to the floating locks of his beautiful 
 Comala. Halfway over the lake, a white downy bed of clouds floated-, 
 as thick and filming as I have feen the fwelling and white clouds of the 
 iky, to which imagination attributes fantafl:ic forms: now triumphant 
 arches ; now lions with outfl:retched jaws. 
 
 From the height on which we flood, the defcent from the Albis was 
 fudden and fteep ; and formed, with the oppofite hill, which was co- 
 vered with pine trees, a beautiful but narrow valley. We vifibly faw, 
 though at the diftance of five or fix leagues, the Rigi ; which is the 
 firft hill of the neareft Alps, or the Alps proper, lying near Kiifnacht 
 in the canton of Schweitz. In the antient and generally received 
 phrafeology of Europe, thofe mountains- which are eternally covered 
 
 w.itb 
 
yg TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 with fnow are called the Alps : but not fo in the dialed of Switzer- 
 land ; where every hill has that appellation, on the top of which flocks 
 and herds may feed. I fhall continue to ufe this word in the latter 
 fenfe, in all my letters from Switzerland. 
 
 In my youth, I faw, from the fummit of the Rigi, the fetting of the 
 fun over fourteen lakes. 
 
 The mountain Pilatus, much higher than the Rigi, appeared to us 
 almoft as near. His forked rocky back forms one of the moft confpi- 
 cuous mountains in Switzerland. I never recoiled to have feen it free 
 from clouds. Sometimes its head is enveloped with them : at others, 
 the funbeams play upon its fummit ; wdiile a fmgle or double cloudy 
 fcarf envelops its breaft and fhoulders. Its top is generally cloudy ; 
 from whence it derives its name Pileatus from the Latin word pileus, 
 the hat. Its new and corrupt name has given rife to legends and 
 fables. 
 
 On this hill is a little lake ; whofe waters, as it is faid, are fo light as 
 to make fv/imming in them impoffible. A thing that may fo naturally 
 be accounted for has been afcribed to the ghoft of Pilate; who, fay they, 
 having drowned himfelf here, took pleafure in feizing the fwimmers 
 by the feet. The truth is, as I have been informed by General Pfyffer, 
 he found the water only a foot deep ; and did not believe it was any 
 where deeper. 
 
 It lies at lead eleven leagues from the Albis. The glaciers beamed 
 at a great diftance ; v^hich we, mifled by our condudors, fuppofed to 
 be the mountains of Neufchatel : but General Pfyffer has told me, who 
 perhaps is better acquainted with thefe heights than any man in Swit- 
 zerland, that they are the glaciers of Savoy, neareft to Geneva. Not 
 Mont Blanc, the fummit of which, though the higheft in Europe, is 
 concealed by nearer hills. 
 
 We paffed through a variegated country, among orchards and over 
 plains, till we came to Zug. Kappel, a fmall place, lay in our way ; 
 where a battle was fought, in the year 153 1, between the people of 
 
 ^ Ziirich 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 79 
 
 Zurich and Schweltz ; in which Zuingle, a zealous patriot and mild 
 reformer, was flaln. 
 
 The frnall town of Zug gives its name to the feventh and leaft of 
 the cantons. It is diftinguifhed from the other democratic cantons, by- 
 having a town : for the inhabitants of the others, from their love of 
 freedom, and after the manner of the antient Germans, do not choofe 
 to live in towns furrounded by walls. The people of Schweitz, Uri 
 Unterwald, Claris, and Appenzel, have no towns. 
 
 The adminiftration of public affairs, in the canton of Zug, is par- 
 tial. There is a general affembly of the town ; and likewife the indi- 
 vidual general aflembly of the three villages, Baar, Egeri, and Ment- 
 zing. In thefe four general aflemblies, which are democratic, all 
 foreign affairs of war, peace, and alliance, are determined. Thofe 
 refolutions in which the villages are agreed are likewife binding to 
 the town. Should the affemblies divide, two and two, the opinion in 
 favour of which the town declares prevails. 
 
 The Ammann, v/ho is not here, as in the other fmall cantons, called 
 Landammann, is chofen in the town ; not by the affembly, but by forty 
 counfellors. To this council the town fends thirteen deputies ; and 
 each of the three villages nine. It is a ftanding rule that the Ammann 
 muft be a native of the town, or of one of the villages. If of the town, 
 he holds his office three years ; if from a village, only two vears. 
 The council of forty likewife appoint the high bailiffs ; who govern 
 thofe villages that have no fhare in the public adminiftration of affairs. 
 The fubjeds of the ftate, except fonie fmall taxes to the high bailiff, 
 pay only the church tythes : like the Angehorige?i "* of Berne and Zu- 
 rich. I fay the Angehorigen : for the citizens of Berne and ZUrich be- 
 gin to-rejed: the odious name oi Untcrthanen '\ ^ and affume the milder 
 appellation Angehortgeii. That the Angehorigen of the ariftocratical 
 cantons, efpecially of Ziirich and Berne, enjoy a more calm freedom, 
 
 * Belonging to. f Subjeds. 
 
 and 
 
So TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 and a better adin'miftration of juftice than the Unterthanen of the de- 
 mocratic cantons is an undoubted truth. This is clearly manifefted irr 
 the bailiwicks which belong to the eight old cantons ; or to all the 
 twelve in common : for as to the thirteenth canton, Appenzel, it has 
 no Unterthanen. The general bailiwicks are governed by high bai- 
 liffs ; who continue in office fix years, and who are alternately choferi 
 by the cantons. Complaints are feldom made againft the bailiffs of the 
 ariftocratic cantons, though frequently againft the democratic, at the 
 general ailembly of Frauenfeld. 
 
 The people of Zug are held to be the moft reftlefs of Switzerland. 
 Their general affemblies are often tempeftuous, though feldom ftained 
 with the blood of their citizens. 
 
 This tow^n is built under a mountain, and on the north eaft fide of 
 a lake ; both bearing the fame name. The lake is four leagues long, 
 and one broad. Its fituation, between the Alps and other high moun- 
 tains, is inexpreffibly beautiful. The Rigi and the Pilatus appear to lie 
 on its very fhore. The country is rich in pafturage ; and the meadows 
 are as beautiful as any in Switzerland. On one fide of the lake, there 
 is a grove of fine chefnut trees. The people of Zug, and moft of the 
 inhabitants of the fmall cantons, when the harveft among the moun- 
 tains fails, generally ufe fern in winter inftead of ftraw. I have heard 
 experienced farmers of the canton of Berne maintain that the manure 
 of fern is better than that of ftraw. If this affertion be true, it may fo 
 happen either from the nature of the foil or of the fern of thefe parts. 
 With us, fern is only ufed in cafes of neceffity. 
 
 The wine of the canton of Zug is very acid ; while that of Zurich 
 is both mild and powerful. 
 
 The cantons of Zug and Lucerne have plenty of various kinds of 
 ftone fruit, as well as walnuts, and chefnuts. The fine growth of the 
 chefnut tree, which delights in a mild climate, verifies the cooling 
 influence which is afcribed to the neighbouring mountains, and to their 
 fituation befide the lake. The cantou of Lucerne is uncommonly fer- 
 tile. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ii 
 
 lile. Tlie meadows and woods, in which I faw the beech as high and 
 flexible as in Holilein and the fouth eaft fide of the duchy of Sic fwick 
 -are now as green and frefh as in fpring. The fertility of the foil, the 
 mildnefs of the climate, the gentle breezes from the hills, and the fre- 
 quent morning mifts, maintain this frefhnefs longer here than in the 
 north of Germany ; and among our ftill more northern neighbours ; 
 where fometimes the night frofts, and at others the extreme heat of the 
 long fummer'sday, together with unfriendly ftorms, impart a more dark 
 and lefs lovely verdure. We every where beheld fruitful valleys, 
 clothed with luxuriant herbage, and various flowers. Before us flood 
 the Rigi, and the Pilatus ; the delightful Reufs flowed on our right. 
 How different is it here, where its broad waters roll through pleafant 
 vales, to that boifl:erous impetuous Reufs which precipitates its thun- 
 dering ftream from the Gothard, beneath the Devil's bridge ! 
 
 We have often laughed, you know, at French travellers ; who give 
 their readers a defcription of every meal they make : but you will 
 fcarcely accufe me of this fault, though I fliould tell you that we made 
 a halt on the verdant banks of the Reufs ; and, fitting under the fliade 
 of overhanging orchards, with the lofty Pilatus in view, ate milk, 
 brought by kind and beautiful girls. The people of Zug and Lucerne 
 are very handfome, both in face and form. What our old poet, Walter, 
 has faid of Germans in general is particularly applicable to our bro- 
 thers of moft of the cantons among the Alps. 
 
 Der deutfche mann ift wohlgezogen, 
 Und wohlgethan das deutfche weib * ! 
 
 Freedom and opennefs of manners charaderize this noble and beau- 
 tiful people ; who, among their mountains, friendly, dignified, and un- 
 affected, €xercife that virtue, which the Romans and Greeks fuppofed 
 was only to be found in cities ; and which they called urbanity : a^stoTn^, 
 
 "• The German man is well-limbed j Cwell built ;) and well formed the German woman. 
 
 Vol. L M and 
 
82 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLEERG. 
 
 und urhanitas : and which we, having aplfhly imitated, have from 
 courts called courtefy^'. The unenflaved fhepherds are free in their 
 advances ; becaufe they cannot fitfpedt, where there is nothing to fear. 
 They approach with a grace ; for, as they want for nothing, they afk 
 for nothing. They love, and are beloved by, ftrangers. Perhaps they 
 love them becaufe they have a feeling of their own fuperiority, and 
 are flattered by the frequent vifits of travellers ; who come among them 
 that they may contemplate the grandeur of nature, and the freemen of 
 Switzerland. That landlords and guides, v/ho live by ftrangers, ihould 
 covet the money of ftrangers is a thing to be expeded : but he who 
 accufes the inhabitants of Switzerland of this vice has had no inter- 
 courfe with the people of the towns or the country. He has not eateii 
 in the cabins of the fimple fhepherds of the Alps, nor flept under the 
 flat roofs of their huts, on the fragrant hay, more foundly than on beds 
 of down. Such travellers haVe forborne to blufh, with the dignity of feel- 
 ing, when their friendly hoft has refufed to accept money for his hofpita- 
 lity ; or, at the utmoft, would receive nothing 'from a ftranger, except 
 a roll of tobacco. This hofpitality I fhall never forget. I experienced 
 -it in my iirft journey among the Swifs, and the Grifons ; and know 
 where again to look for that humanity, which originates in a delicate 
 fenfe of what is noble and what is ignoble. ..-.u /;.fii. . 
 
 The countries through which we continued'' ottr- jbiirney were 
 delightful; and we arrived at Lucerne as the night was fetting 
 
 in. 
 
 On the morning of the loth, we went upon the great bridge over 
 the Reufs ; which is near its jundion with the lake. It is covered at 
 the top, after the manner of the country, 'but open at Its. fides. Here 
 are numerous profpeds, fupremely beautiful. In my opinion, no towm 
 in Switzerland is fo charmingly fituated as Lucerne. Lovely hills,. 
 
 * A note is omitted relative to the German and French ufe of the M^ords StadtUchheit 
 
 sxi^'Courtoifie htQzyxic it would be uninteirefting al^d not very intelligibly t;Q.a»^EnglHh 
 
 leafipi:. T. y - ^ •, 
 
 6. * ' ' mmgled 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 8-, 
 
 mingled with groves of pine, and other trees, overlook the town, and 
 the neighbouring fhore of the lake of the four WaKliidte. Behind thefe 
 hills, the Alps are fee n ; and beyond them more diftant and hio-her 
 mountains, rifing to the clouds. The Reufs pours its waters into the 
 lake, with its accuftomed impetuofity. It is navigable ; and, by means 
 of the Aar, maintains a trade between Baden and Switzerland ; fo 
 paffing to the Rhine ; and might open a more valuable intercourfe 
 ^^ith Holland. Befide, the neareft road to Italy is over the Gothard • 
 the foot of which ftretches almoll as far as Altorf, in the canton of Uri 
 on the fouth fhore of the lake. But the canton of Lucerne, like moft of 
 the catholic cantons, is deficient in induPcry. From its fituation, 
 which is miuch more convenient than that of Zurich, and from thofe 
 ^vantages which are denied Geneva by its jealous neighbours, Lucerne 
 might be the firft commercial town of Switzerland. Yet what compa- 
 rifon is there between the inconfiderable trade of Lucerne and that of 
 Ziirich or Geneva ? 
 
 Its produd:, in corn, is more than fufhcient for its own confump- 
 tion : but, at the peace of 1712, when it had required aid from Uri, 
 Schweitz, and Unterwald, againil the proteftant cantons, it bound itfelf 
 ever afterward to fell corn to the burghers of thefe cantons at the price 
 paid by its own citizens. This convention is in itfelf good : and in 
 the true fpirit of the confederacy. Brothers ought not to depend 011 
 the caprice of brothers, for that which is neceflary for their exiftence. 
 But it was weak of thefe people, at the fame time, to be induced by 
 threats to promife never to fortify their town. It is excellent for a 
 free people, like thofe of antient Sparta and of thefe fmall cantons, to 
 difdain the fafeguard of walls ; for a rule fo daring, and fo dignified, 
 gives life and fecurity to freedom : but, when a town forbears to build 
 walls becaufe it is menaced, it will appear that it has need of them. 
 
 This ftipulation was made in an unlucky hour, perhaps by an unen- 
 lightened government j and it may be afi^ed whether any promife can 
 
 M 2 be 
 
84- TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 be brinding on a people, the evident tendency of which Is their polhlcal 
 injury ? 
 
 Perhaps it was this, though degrading, yet, honourable obfervance 
 of old engagements, which fo long held tlic people of Lucerne depend- 
 ant on Auflria. They waged, in behalf of their oppreflbrs, and with« 
 out receiving any aid from them, a ruinous war againft the cantons of 
 Schweitz, Uri, and Unterwald ; which war not only deftroyed their trade 
 but involved them in infupportable expences. Of old and often has the 
 houfe of Auftria incurred the reproach of forfeiting its engagements, 
 when they were moft indifpenfible. Lucerne, juftly offi^nded, renounced 
 an ally that, though very expeniive, afforded no aid ; and, in the year 
 1352, united itfelf with the other confederates ; and, by its courage and 
 love of freedom, fhewed itfelf worthy of that noble alliance which vir-^- 
 tuous nations form with each othcK. 
 
 The deeds of their anceftors are painted oa tlie great bridge ; and, 
 poor as the pidtures are, they gave me pleafure. They muft not be 
 confidered as works of art ; but, as records of memorable ads, are 
 highly honourable y for they nurture a glowing love of freedom. I 
 might reply to any unfeafonable critic in the words of Shakfpeare ; when 
 thecourtiers, in theMidfummsr Night'sDream, were defpifmg the rude. 
 dialogiie of Moonlhine and Wall ; and when Thefeus made them this- 
 
 remarkable anfwer " The beft of this kind are but fhadov/SFj and, 
 
 the word of them are not worfe, if imagination amend them." 
 
 On a lefs bridge, over the Reufs, which lies at a greater diftance, are-, 
 paintings that bear fomerefemblance to Holbein VDance of Death ; as it 
 may be feen in Baile, and Lubeck; It was the old German cuftom to 
 minglethe moft ferious fubjeds and the moft ludicrous vagaries. 
 
 from this place we went to vifit General Pfyffer ; a lieutenant- 
 general in the French fervice, and a native of: Lucerne; who has em- 
 ployed twenty years upon a model of Switzerland. He has worked 
 from his own town as from a centre ; for it is nearly in the centre of 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. B^ 
 
 tfte' country. He undertook his work with Intelii^rence ; and has conti- 
 nued it with admirable dexterity, and fortiaide. This model, the fize of 
 which is vaft, contains two hundred and twenty fquare leagues. Hills 
 and valleys keep their due place, and proportion ; and we are amazed to 
 find that the Albis, which we had fuppofed ib large a mountain, com- 
 pared to the Rigi was quite infignificant : that this again is trifling to 
 the Pilatus ; and that the Pilatus itfelf is much inferior to the ridge of 
 Glaciers, which with their lofty heads ftretch from the Krifpalt, where 
 the Rhine takes its rife, and extend to the mountains of Savoy. Thefe 
 laft are not in the model ;, but the Krifpalt is ; and a part of the Go- 
 thard, which is by no means fo lofty. Each high road, each foot path 
 that leads over the mountains, each waterfall, river, and bridge, each 
 town and village, nay every houfe has its place in the model. The 
 difference between pine forefts and other woods is even diftinguifli^ 
 able^ 
 
 The difficulties he has encountered may eafily be imagined, where 
 every hill and valley is accurately laid down, and where a fmgle rock, 
 or a hedge, will often take him as much time as a mountain ; or a foreft. 
 Thefe difhcukies were increafed- by the jealoufy of the little can- 
 tons, in behalf of their freedom : for they often interrupted and pre- 
 vented him, from the fear that his plans might be ufeful to an enemv. 
 'Ma.nj of them therefore were taken by moonlight. Valleys and 
 mountains, which had been fuppofed impalTable,. were vifited by this 
 indefatigable man ; who was above fifty years old when he began the 
 work. His induflry and art are alike confpicuous. His material is- 
 maflic, to which he gives the natural colours of objeds. I fuppofed. 
 that his pines were made out of/corm : he fmiled, went into his cabi- 
 net, and came back with a cotton nightcap on his head that was rough: 
 and downy. " With down like this," faid he, " which 1 coat with 
 maflic, I make the forefts of pine that you perceive." 
 
 On that fide where he has placed his fouthern mountains, he has: 
 areded a fmall fcaffold, at a diflance ;. which he afcends by fteps. From 
 
 this,, 
 
86 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 this, a viev/ of the whole work may befl: be taken. Here I beheld, iii 
 miniature, what I had formerly feen from the Hochwang: (a mountain 
 in the country of the Grifons :) the mountains of Tyrol on the right, 
 the Gothard on the left, and between them numberiefs mountain tops 
 that filled up the fpacious interval. 
 
 He likewife fhewed us a pidure of Henry IV of France, on horfe- 
 back, painted on canvas ; v/hich had been found in the Reufs, in which 
 river it had probably long been buried. During eight days that it was 
 drying, an almod infupportable ftench exhaled from'it ; yet the colours 
 are not wholly gone. The date marked on it is 1601. Henry is 
 painted with the armour which he prefented to the people of Soleure, 
 and which they ftill keep in their armoury. 
 
 General PfyfFer is a pleafant, animated, old man ; nearly eighty years 
 of age. He informed us of the nature of the Rigi ; which appears to 
 confift wholly of little flints. Thefe, it is fuppofed, have been wafhed 
 by fome great floods, probably the deluge, from fuperior mountains ; 
 and may have formed the Rigi. Petrified mufcles are found on the 
 Pilatus ; as they are upon fo many other mountains ; where w^e like- 
 wife often find the forms and imprefljons of various fifh in fl:one. 
 ■ In the afternoon, we made a trip on the lake to Stansfl:adt ; in the 
 canton of Unterwald. From the fhore we faw the Alps proper. Moft: 
 of them were loaded above with pines ; and below with various green 
 trees. The herdfmen feed their cattle on the tops of thefe mountains ; 
 during June, July, and Auguft. In fpring, and autumn, they graze 
 on lefl^er heights ; or in valleys. Their cabins upon the Alps are called 
 Sennhijtten ; and a herdfman with his family, flock, and hut, a Sen- 
 nerrey. Here they make their cheefe, and butter ; which, at the end of 
 the w^eek, they bring to fell among the villages. 
 
 Trees of walnut and various fruits are planted on the fhores of the 
 lake. On the fides of the hills, fmall beech trees grow among the fl:eep 
 faliant rocks ; and, from the cliifs of thefe, tall pines rife, or hanging 
 woods : while country feats, and houfes difperfed, give the foreground 
 
 a variety 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, g; 
 
 a variety the pleafure of which is greatly heightened by the towering 
 prefence of the Alps. On thefe mountains, the dun verdure of pine 
 forefts is intermingled with plats of emerald green; which, by the 
 mild refledion of the morning and evening horizon, produce a peculiar 
 effed; on the eye. The Pilatus, the Rigi, and the Biirgenberg, rife one 
 above the other ; and beyond them lofty mountains ftill more gigantic. 
 We landed at Stansftadt, a fmall village of Unterwald, half a league 
 from Stanz ; which is the chief place of the canton. Men, women, 
 and children, came round us; and handed us on fliore, as if we had 
 been known and expelled guefts. 
 
 Unter\*ald is divided into tv/o communities ; which are called Ober- 
 wald, and Unterwald. Each has its landammann, its council, and its 
 general affembly ; but, in the general affairs of the thirteen cantons, 
 the^ form only one canton. 
 
 Of all the people of Switzerland, thofe of Unterwald are perhaps 
 moft honoured and loved by the other cantons : for, to the courage and 
 zeal for liberty difplayed by Arnold von Melchtahl, they join the amia- 
 ble concord and fimplicity of their no lefs great countryman Nicholas 
 von der Fliie. 
 
 This worthy man had lived twenty years a hermit, ferving God In 
 calm retirement, when, toward the end of the fifteenth century, the 
 people of Freiburg and Soleure were accepted as part of the confederate 
 cantons. This was very agreeable to the ariftocratic cantons ; but not 
 to the democratic : who, dreading the increafe of power of the former 
 had nearly involved the whole in a dangerous conteft. An afTembly 
 of the deputies of the confederates was held at Stanz ; and was very 
 tempeftuous. A clergyman of Stanz went to Nicholas von der Flii^ 
 (that is of the rocks) and entreated ■ him to come and appeafe their 
 violence. He came, reminded them of their common victories 
 which facred concord only had obtained for them, moved them 
 by his eloquence, quieted the apprehenfions of the democrats, per- 
 fuaded them to accept Freiburg and Soleuxe am.ong the confederate 
 
 caotons. 
 
S8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 -cantons, and, having feen them all mingle and embrace as brothers, he 
 returned to his hermitage ; blefhng God, and bleffed by the people he 
 had ferved. • His memory is revered in Unterwald. They regard him 
 as their faint ; and every child can relate fomething of brother Klaus : 
 for that is the name by which he is familiarly known. 
 
 Beyond Stansftadt, lies a fruitful vale of meadows, furrounded by 
 hills, which, after the manner of the country, is planted w^ith walnut 
 trees ; the largeft I have ever feen. The vicinity of a rocky hill, covered 
 with leafy trees, enticed us to its fhade ; where my fon difcovered a 
 waterfall, to which we went. Down this overhanging molTy rock the 
 water, in various ftreams, hurries ; and, falling upon a jutting ftone, rolls 
 afterward foaming among the flints into a deep valley. 
 
 On this part of the hill is a rocky cavity, hung round with brulh- 
 wood. We climbed up the rock, till we could touch the water as it 
 was defcending through the air. Here we difcovered a cliff, which 
 feemed to have been formed by nature for a mod delightful hermitage. 
 The entrance, which is fufficiently large, is overhung with bufhes : and, 
 when within, the waterfall, the whole of the mountain Pilatus, and 
 through a fmall opening fideway the horizon, may be feen. If man 
 would enjoy the earth, he muft be able to look up to heaven. This 
 cave is wild, and bold. Here and there, the linden tree finds a place 
 among niches and cliffs ; while its bending branches hang much lower 
 than its roots. I never remember to have feen a place that I contem- 
 plated with more pleafure, or left with more regret. 
 
 On our return, we occafionally met a man or a woman ; who accofl- 
 ed us as they came up, and converfed in the moft unafTeded friendly ; 
 
 manner. 
 
 We returned to our vefTel ; and had not proceeded far before the twi- 
 light of the diftant hills began to brighten ; and, above the dark pines of 
 the Biirgenberg of Unterwald, the moon was feen rifing. You are 
 acquainted with the tender effed produced, on land and water, by her 
 light 5 but you muft have feen her among mountains like thefe, where, 
 
 even 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 89 
 
 even during her ablence, the varieties of fhadow among the hills and 
 valleys produce an ever variable fcene, to have had a full conception of 
 her pov^er. The fl^y, and the mountain Pilatus, were cloudlefs, and the 
 moon gradually reproduced the diftant mountains and the lake, v/hich 
 had difappeared at the clofe of day. The bells, round the necks of 
 cattle, were heard from the Alps : founds that give peculiar pleafure to 
 their inhabitants. They are the only harmlefs luxury of a people 
 among whom luxury is unknown. Many a favourite cow bears a 
 large bell about her neck ; which often is worth twice as much as her- 
 felf, and which often has been the ornament of the fucceiTive herd. 
 Thcfe bells are necefiary : for, when a fmgle cow or a whole herd fhall 
 have ftrayed, by their found they are not only recovered by the herdf- 
 man, but they find each other. 
 
 The fhore, between Stansftadt and Lucerne, is variegated with fmall 
 beech trees, jutting little hills, and bold rocks, that catch the eye. Shrubs 
 are fcattered among the cliiFs ; and pinefucceedsto pine, bearing their tops 
 toward the clouds. Can you not form to yourfelf fome faint idea of the 
 delightful fpedacle, which thefe objed:s, the moon, and the lake afforded? 
 
 We have devoted to-day and yefterday to a furvey of the beautiful 
 lake, and its fliore. The fame fine weather which hitherto has accom- 
 panied us on our journey was our attendant over the lake, on our vifit 
 to the faint of Switzerland. As I fhall often have occafion to mention 
 William Tell in thefe letters, I will give you his hiflory in a few words. 
 
 Gefsler, the Auftrian governor, who lived at Kiifnacht in the canton 
 of Schweitz, in order to break the independent fpirit of the people of 
 Uri, had hung his hat upon a lance, at Altorf ; and had given orders 
 that all who paffed it fhoiild be uncovered, in token of fubjedion. 
 William Tell, an inhabitant of Schacherthals near Altorf, paiTed the 
 hat, and omitted the ceremony. When Gefsler came to Altorf, to hold 
 a court of juflice for the canton of Uri^ complaints were lodged againft 
 Tell for difobedience. The accufed boldly declared he would not bow 
 to a hat without a head. The governor, or Zwi?tgherr'^\ for this was 
 
 * Zwing is to force : herr is lord, T. 
 
 Vol. L N the 
 
90 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the figniflcant title given by the people of Switzerland to the Auftrian 
 governor, condemned Tell to fhoot an apple from the head of his fon. 
 Thus compelled, Tell brought his fon, refolutely took aim, hit the ap- 
 ple, and did not hurt the boy. Being afked by the governor why he had 
 brought another arrow, he at firft alleged the ufe of arms as his reafon ; 
 but, being preffed, he replied : " Had I ftruck my child, I would have 
 buried this in your heart." 
 
 The governor put him in fetters ; and took him on board his boat, 
 to bring him to Kiifnacht. A ftorm came on, and the boatmen expeded 
 to be loft, unlefs Tell, who was an excellent pilot, would fteer : for the 
 deep fhores of thefe lakes have few landing places ; and ftorms, coming 
 from the mountains, are fudden and often dangerous. Tell was releafed, 
 and put to the helm. While fteering, he thought of the means of 
 efcape. As he approached the fhore, he perceived a projecting ftone, 
 on which he leapt, and with his foot pufhed the boat back to the lake ; 
 then, taking an unfrequented path, he haftened to Kiifnacht. Gefsler 
 likewife came there ; and mounted his horfe, to ride to his caftle. Tell, 
 in ambufh, waylaid him ; and fhot him from his horfe. 
 
 We intended to pafs along the lake as far as Fliiele : but v^e firft vifit- 
 ed Kiifnacht ; the place where the Zwingherr fell. 
 
 We proceeded along a fertile, mild, rifing fhore on the north of the 
 lake ; where many of the inhabitants of Lucerne have pleafant country 
 houfes. We faw the ruins of a hunting caftle of the ancient Counts of 
 Habfburg : for this is the name it bears, after its former pofTeflbrs ; 
 though this family muft not be confounded w^ith the houfe of Auftria. 
 It lies near Schinznach, in the canton of Berne. Immediately after- 
 ward, we perceived, behind two fmall infulated rocks, one decorated 
 with a crofs the other with a chapel, the little ifland of Altftadt ; where, 
 near the remains of a granary, the Abbe Raynal had projected to eredt 
 an obelifk, with a Latin infcription, to the memory of the three great 
 men, who firft bound themfelves by oath to the caufe of freedom. The 
 place where this confederacy began is in the canton of Uri. I fhall fay 
 more of it hereafter. Raynal, by the intermiffion of the Landammann, 
 
 Minter, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 91 
 
 Minter, In the year 1780, endeavoured to gain permlffion of the can- 
 ton to ered: his monument : but the wary people of Uri fhewed no in- 
 clination to grant his requeft. 
 
 " It was their opinion," faid a Swifs writer, " that there never will 
 " be any occafion for a monument of ftone, while the confederates 
 " fhall think as they do at prefent ; and while every Swifs, the firft time 
 " he fhall fail paft Griitlin, and, landing, fhall be fhewn the honour- 
 " able place where the freedom of Switzerland was planned, fhall blefs 
 " his anceftors, thank his God, congratulate himfelf, and feel that he is 
 ** free. And, fhould our defcendants forget thefe feelings, which we 
 " hope they never will, fuch a monument would be as ufelefs, to the 
 " confederates, as, in the decline of the republic, the monuments of 
 " Rome were to the enflaved Romans *.'* 
 
 Not perceiving in the anfwer any pofitive refufal, the Abbe perfifled 
 in his defign : but, finding fome trouble with the proprietor of the fpot 
 where he intended to ered his obelifk, he fixed upon another clofe by, 
 called Treib. Offended at the people of Uri, he afked and obtained 
 permifTion of the government of Lucerne to ere£t his monument on 
 the little ifland where it flands. It is a fmall infignificant obelifk ; and 
 its appearance is the more paltry from the neighbourhood of the gra- 
 nary. Such a monument, with its Latin infcription, may indeed bear 
 as much proportion to the event it is meant to celebrate as the Abbe 
 himfelf to the three heroes, who laid the foundation of a government 
 v;hich, for five hundred years, has been a bleffingto the people that en- 
 joy it, and an honour to the human racef. 
 
 We landed at KUfnacht, and walked to the ftreet which is called the 
 Hohlengafl^e ; which is the narrow way through which the governor 
 rode. They fhewed us the place where Tell ftood when he fhot him. 
 A chapel is built over the fpot where Gefsler fell ; in which a folemn 
 mafs is annually performed. Over the entrance are thefe lines : 
 
 * Schweitzer mufeum: v. J. 1783. 
 
 t The Baron is a truly liberal minded man, fometlmes : 'tis pity he is not fo always. T. 
 
 N 2 Hier 
 
92 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Hier Ift Gefslers hochmut vom Tell erfchofTen, 
 Und der Schwyzer edle freiheit entfprofl'en ; 
 Wie lang wird aber folche wahren ? 
 Noch lang wenn wlr die alte waren *. 
 
 Such is the reverence for their anceftors, fuch the caution, fuch the 
 facred fpirit of freedom, which chara6:erize thefe happy people. 
 
 We vifited the ruins of the tower of the Zw'uigherr ; which ftill are 
 {landing. Before we arrived, we faw, from a fmall eminence, on one 
 fide the lake and the hill of Zug, and on the other the Rigi, and the 
 lake of the four Walftadte. Klifnacht is a bailiwick, fubjcv^t to the can- 
 ton of Schweitz ; and is inhabited by many of the democratic peafants 
 of that canton. 
 
 We again took boat. The green waves of the lake were as clear as 
 cryftal, and we could fee fome fathoms deep through its emerald waters, 
 quite to the bottom. The depth in many parts is extraordinary ; and, 
 according to the account of our boatman, frequently as much as fix 
 hundred fathoms, between Brunnen and Altorf. It is generally over- 
 looked by the Alps ; which are loaded with the beech, the chefnut, the 
 pine, and other green trees j fome growing on the fummit, others on the 
 fide. Here and there a houfe is feen. At one time, a narrow foot path 
 winds befide the lake; at another, the rocky foot of the mountains 
 ftretches out, and finks perpendicularly into the deep : the ever ver- 
 dant paftures of the mountains intermingle with the dark green of the 
 pine. Here Hands a herdfman's fennerey ; and there, between rocks, 
 a hermit's folitary habitation. On the daring and tremendous cliff, 
 houfes, and often churches, which feem to be inacceffible, are built. 
 The imagination fcarcely can conceive there is fafety for men, on thefe 
 bold projeding crags : nor can we but tremble, left children, if they 
 fet foot out of doors, fhould tumble headlong into the lake. Yet conti- 
 nually whole villages hang, as it were, between the rocks and the lake.. 
 
 * Here the arrogant Gefsler was fhot by Tell : 
 And the noble freedom of Switzerland took birth. 
 But how long will it endure ? 
 For ever, did we but refemble our forefathers. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 53 
 
 The fpires of churches, which in open countries would be feen to a great 
 diftance, regarded from the lake, appear as infignificant as fo many nine- 
 pins. Flint ftones mark the paffage of the fnow rivulets ; which rufli 
 down during the fpring, but of which natural beauty we muft now be 
 deprived. The monftrous crags, down which they hurry, and on 
 whofe leafy tops the Sorbus, with its red berries, nods its head, denote 
 their impetuofity. 
 
 Higher mountains, with their bold round backs, rife behind the 
 Alps : and every where, from the middle of the lake, profpeds equally 
 aftonifhing are feen. The eye frequently catches a glimpfe of the 
 diftant glaciers, though concealed by the intervening mountains. 
 
 Between two long promontories, called the Nafen, the land declines, 
 and intrudes upon the lake ; which there becomes narrowed. As 
 we pafTed this place, we vifited the little free ftate of Gerfau. At 
 peace with the whole world, honoured by the confederates, its inhabit- 
 ants live befide the lake, under a fingle Alp, which conftitutes their 
 whole empire : a harmlefs, united people ; who have heroically com- 
 bated for the freedom of themfelves and their allies. 
 
 This ftate contains nine hundred fouls : between two and three 
 hundred of whom conftitute their general aflembly. Like the demo- 
 cratic cantons, they every year choofe two Landammanne ; who are at 
 the head of the council and the executive government. The council 
 confifts of nine perfons ; who, like the counfellors of the confederacy, 
 enjoy their dignity for life. 
 
 In the year 1359, Gerfau entered into alliance with the four Wald- 
 ftadten *, Schweitz, Uri, Unterwald, and Lucerne. Gerfau is no can- 
 ton ; and, probably becaufe it is fo fmall, fends no deputies to the 
 general aflembly ;, nor has any ihare in the general government of 
 Switzerland. In certain cafes, there is an appeal from their own coun- 
 cil, either to Schweitz or Lucerne : the choice is in the appellant. 
 
 * Literally, Toreft-towns : but Schweitz, Uri, and Unterwald, like Claris and Appen- 
 zel, have no towns. Stadi here fignifies not town, but free ftate ; jroMf, civitas, cite... 
 ^fl/i/ means a woody mountain. Thus we fay Thiiringerwald, and Schwarzwald. 
 
 They 
 
94 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 They have not condefcended to this appeal from weaknefs ; but pro- 
 bably from a juft confidence in their neighbours, and becaufe they 
 might perceive danger to property, if the firft fentence were decifive. 
 Safety and freedom might be mere names, w^here the decifion of a 
 judge, often partial and always liable to error, fhould not be rev.ocable 
 by the general aflembly. In fhort, they faw that the maker of law and 
 the judge of law could not be united in the fame perfon, without dan- 
 ger of tyranny ; they therefore referved to themfelves the power of 
 appeal. The power of legiflating, declaring war, making treaties, and 
 choofmg their Landammanne, is in the people. They might wifely have 
 remembered (for the founders of little ftates maturely reflect, while the 
 founders of great too often fport with the welfare of mankind) — I fay, 
 they might have remembered that, being fo few in number, neigh- 
 bourhood, kindred, and friendfhip might influence the judge; and, if they 
 even fhould not, might occafion him to be fufpeded. For thisreafon, 
 they referred the confirmation of their own fentence to foreign judges. 
 
 Many will laugh at me, for this long defcriptlon of fo fmall a tribe. 
 Thofe who eftimate lands by their extent, and people by their numbers, 
 will certainly overlook Gerfau ; but you, I think, will not. 
 
 We next perceived the little town of Brunnen ; and, beyond it, 
 Schweitz, lying between its two great rocks called the Haken : it is 
 the chief place of the canton of the fame name. We continued failing 
 fome leagues, while the lake fl:ill grew narrower ; and were delighted 
 by the tall beech, afh, and pine, which hang in an inconceivable man- 
 ner out of the fteep rocks of the upright fhore, in the cavities of which 
 they take root. Here the land forms a cape ; at the point of which 
 there is a prodigious rock, that has fallen into the lake : where, at fome 
 diftance from the land, it (lands eredt like a watch tower. Some pines 
 grow on its top ; with a large withered oak, which has decayed for 
 want of foil. Two cranes were ftanding on the rock ; which took 
 flight at our approach. 
 
 Having pafled this crag, other fcenes are prefent. Rocks of various 
 figures rife towering to the eye. The profpe(^ continually changes ; 
 
 and, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 95 
 
 and,' as you fail on, that which appeared the neareft gives place to that 
 which youfuppofed the fartheft ofF. The end of the lake is feen; and 
 beyond it the hills which conceal the Gothard. Thofe v^ho have never 
 vifited Switzerland, and have no other conception of the Alps than by 
 comparifon with the hills of their own country, will certainly have a 
 lefs juft idea of thefe fcenes than thofe who, never having feen moun- 
 tains, indulge in the adventurous flights of imagination. Nature here 
 boldly ftretches, far beyond her common limits, and her general pru- 
 dence. Pleafure is continually maintained, by an affemblage of the 
 beautiful, the terrible, and the fublime. 
 
 Befide us, we faw the Griitlin ; and, on the oppofite coaft, we vifited 
 the chapel of Tell, in the canton of Uri, ftanding on the fpct where he 
 fprang out of the boat, and drove it with his foot from the fhore. There 
 is a folemn proceflion annually made here. Mafs is read ; and a fer- 
 mon IS preached, on the origin of freedom. Thefe paftoral people de- 
 light in fuch monuments, which awaken and fandtify in them the love 
 of freedom. The neighbouring fteep rocks are adorned by nature 
 with flowers, and gaily fpringing evergreens. Among them, fearful 
 cavities are feen : while goats graze on their dreadful cliffs, and here 
 and there a crane peeps from among the thick and inacceflible bufhes. 
 
 We came to Fliiele, at the end of the lake, foon enough to go to 
 Altorf ; which is half a league farther. We pafl^ed through a fertile 
 valley, among numerous amphitheatres ; formed by the mountains 
 and the prodigious rocks ; and reached Altorf about twilight. This is 
 the chief place of the canton of Uri ; and here the general afl^embly 
 meet, on the firfl: Sunday in May. The canton of Uri is divided into 
 ten confederacies : or, as a German would call them, ten circles : from 
 each of which, fix of their burghers are chofen, as counfellors. Thefe 
 fixty counfellors, as in the other democratic cantons, enjoy their ofl^ce 
 for life. Once in two years, two Landammanne are eledted : each of 
 which has his year of adminiftration. To the one in office, is added a 
 deputy ; called a Statthalter. The general aflTembly enadls, alters, and 
 5 repeals. 
 
^6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 repeals laws, forms alliances, and makes war and peace. This con' 
 ftitution is common to all the democratic cantons. 
 
 The people of Uri have two colleges*; the members of which are 
 counfellors ; and two courts of juftice ; civil, and criminal. An appeal lies 
 to the general council : but, in this cafe, a citizen is added to each coun- 
 fellor. The general aflembly takes no cognizanceof legal proceedings. 
 
 In times when through all Europe the legiflative and executive 
 power were either not fufficiently feparated, or entirely confounded, 
 the fimple inhabitants of the Alps difcovered more wifdom than either 
 Greece or Rome. 
 
 Each youth of Uri enjoys the right of citizenfhip at fourteen. The 
 number of armed citizens is above three thoufand : but this is not the 
 whole amount of men able to bear arms. The fruitful valley of Liviner, 
 which lies beyond the Gothard, and is inhabited by Italians, is fubjedl 
 to Uri. Three other Italian diftrids, Riviera, Pollenz, and Bellenz, are 
 fubjed to Uri, Schweitz, and Unterwald : as likewife are Meynthal, 
 Mendris, Lugano, and Locarno, to the eleven other cantons. Appen- 
 zel only has no part in thefe diftrids ; and, with the noble Perfian, 
 Otanes, may boajl that they neither govern nor are governed. From 
 the Italian high bailiffs, w^ho are each of them named by the canton to 
 which the diftrids they govern are fubje£t, the people have an appeal 
 to the general aflembly of Locarno *. I believe, I have fomewhere 
 faid that the high bailiffs, appointed by the democratic cantons, are not 
 always jufl in their decifions. They often pay a great fum for their 
 places : for, according to an old bad cuflom, they frequently pay the 
 burghers of the general affembly for their vote ; which is the origin of 
 much evil. The virtuous are not preferred to the wealthy : nor have 
 the good fufficient influence ; for little attention is paid to the com- 
 plaints which are carried to the affembly of Locarno. A magiflrate, 
 w^ho is fhamelefs enough to purchafe his dignity, will not afterward 
 
 * Political, not academical, inftitutions. T. 
 f Or Logarno. 
 
 fcruple 
 
TRAVELS OF C0U2TT STOLBERG. 97 
 
 fcruple to repay himfelf, by the fale of juftlce. Were not abufes of 
 this kind common, the people of thefe diilrids would be as profperous 
 as thofe of Berne, Zlirich, Bafle, Lucerne, and SchafFhaufen ; for, 
 like them, they pay no taxes except tythes in kind. 
 
 The democratic burghers, who are all country people, pay fcarcely 
 any taxes : the fame may be faid of the inhabitants of the fmall cantons ; 
 and of the country of the Grifons and Valais. 
 
 The people of the valley of Liviner, near the Gothard, from which 
 the Reufs runs down a precipice under the Devifs bridge, are fo far 
 dependant on Uri, that the inhabitants have an appeal from their own 
 court to the canton. Yet they have their fmall general aflemblies ; 
 though all that relates to foreign affairs mufl: be fubjedi to revifal at Uri. 
 
 Early in the morning, we went to Biirgli ; which is half a league 
 from Altorf, in the valley of Schacher. Here Tell lived : but gratitude 
 and reverence changed his cottage into a chapel ; w^here mafs is folemnly 
 faid, and from which the people go in procefRon. Like the two other 
 chapels of Tell, it is adorned with images ; from holy writ, and the 
 hiftory of Switzerland. Under each image is a verfe. The follow- 
 ing lines are over the entrance : 
 
 * Allhier, auf dem platz diefer Kapell, 
 Hat vormals gewohnt der Wilhelm Tell ; 
 Der treue retter des vaterlands ; 
 Der theure urheber des freien ftands ! 
 Deme zum dank, Gott aber zur ehr. 
 Ward dlefe'Kapelle gefetzet her ; 
 Und felbe dem fchutz befohlen an 
 San£l Wilhelm, Rochli, und Sebaflian. 
 
 •On each fide likewife are the following i 
 
 if Sind wir gerecht, einig, und gut, 
 So iteht die Freiheit ficher gnug. 
 
 * On the place where this chapel (lands, formerly lived William Tell ; the true faviour 
 of his country, the honoured author of its freedom. In thankfulnefs to him, and in honour 
 to God, this chapel was built. It is dedicated to Saint William of Rochli, and Saint 
 Sebaflian. 
 
 f Let us be juft, united, and virtuous; and our freedom will be fecure. 
 
 Vol. I. O Dankbar 
 
^8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 * Dankbar gedenket an jene zeit 
 Da ihr feid worden gefreite leut. , 
 
 In the chapel over the altar, the dial plate of a clock is painted ; with 
 a hand, which is fignificant of concord, pointing to ,the hour one : 
 under which are thefe lines : 
 
 f Die freiheit wird fein von langer dauv 
 Wenn all'/eit Eins zeigt diefe uhr. 
 
 Many p. beautiflil verfe, which has borne the ftamp of genius, has not 
 excited fo much emotion In me, as the noble intention of thefe little 
 rhymes ; compofed In all the rudenefs of fimplicity. How free from 
 pretenfion, yet how full of the feeling, force, and courage, by which 
 mighty armies were deftroyed, are thefe infcriptions I They fpeak not 
 of heroic deeds : they only excite to mild concord, and reditude. By 
 inducing us to exercife noble virtues, they would reverence their 
 forefathers ; who fhed their blood In behalf of freedom ; and thank their 
 God, from whom cometh every good and perfe(£t gift, and from whom 
 concord and courage, reditude and freedom, proceed. 
 
 The Schacher, a charming mountain rivulet, rufhes tempeftuouily 
 through Burgli. It overflowed its banks, foon after Tell had fhot the 
 governor ; and occafioned much damage. Tell wifhed to have pre- 
 vented this misfortune : but the ftream overtook him ; and he only 
 lived to fee the dawn of freedom. 
 
 With what interefl fhould I here read my brother's manufcript play 
 of "William Tell ! How frequently have I occafion to regret his ab- 
 fence ; now that I daily hear his hero's name in the mouth of every 
 child ! 
 
 In Altorf, they fhewed us two ftone pillars ; {landing at the diftance 
 of one hundred and thirty paces from each other ; at which diftance 
 Tell fhot the apple from his fon's head. 
 
 * Thankfully, and for ever, remember the day that made you free. 
 •\ Freedom will endure as long as it Ihall be one o'clock by this dial. 
 
 Wc 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 99 
 
 We returned to our boat at Fliiele ; and, on our paflage to Lucerne, 
 vifited the GrLitlln ; or the Griitlin-Matte ; for (o is a fteep place on 
 a height befide the lake, covered with verdure, grafs, and foliage, called. 
 Here there is a fpring, by the fide of which the three great men, 
 Werner von Staufacher from Schweitz, Walter Fiirft from Uri, and 
 Arnold von Melchtahl from Unterwald, made a folemn oath to give 
 freedom to Switzerland. This oath was taken in the year 1307 ; and 
 in the new year's night of the following year, 1308, all the caftles of 
 the Zwingherrn were burnt. 
 
 At noon, we landed ; in a garden, at Gerfau. Clofe by the fhore, 
 we m.et a little boy, about fcven years old, alone in a large boat ; in 
 which he was proceeding on the lake. The helm was faftened in the 
 direction which he wifhed to go ; while he fat and rowed. We faw 
 another boy, at Gerfau, about eight or nine years old, who very dex- 
 teroufly hit the mark with a crofs bow. This might well be the fa- 
 vourite amufement of the day, for children, whofe elder brothers and 
 fathers had been (hooting at a butt, the day before, with mulkets. We 
 had heard their firing reverberate among the rocks. The Swifs, from 
 their childhood, all exercife themfelves in arms. The people of 
 Schweitz, who are the moil warlike of all, annually give four prizes, 
 each of fifty florins, for the bed lliots at four different butts ; with 
 finaller prizes for the fecond heft. We like wife yefterday heard the 
 guns of the people of Lucerne ; who were proving their artillery. 
 
 The conftitution of Lucerne, relatively to the town, is more an arifto- 
 cracy, or ratheran oligarchy, than that of Ziirich ; where each burgher 
 has an equal fliare in the government. The great council in Lucerne 
 confifts of a hundred perfons. From thefe, fix-and-thirty men, who 
 muft be patricians, are chofen for the little council. There is an appeal 
 from the little council to the colledive council. The members of both 
 councils hold their places for life ; and it may be faid, from the pradice 
 of filling up vacancies, that, in the little council, thefe places are in a 
 certain manne;- hereditary. The chief magiftrates are the two Schulr- 
 
 O 2 heifle ; 
 
,oo TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 he'ifle ; or mayors ; one of whom always fits at the hehn of the ffatc 
 They are chofen for life ; and one prefidesthis year, another the next. 
 War, peace, alliance, and new taxes, cannot be incurred without the 
 confent of the aflembled citizens. 
 
 The peafants are very happy : they pay nothing but tythes in kind^ 
 and half a florin annually, from every head of a family, to the high 
 bailiff. The country people enjoy a free trade ; and, in this refped):, are 
 not, like thofe of Zurich, dependant on the town. Lawfuits are not 
 expenfive, here ; as in the canton of Berne^ If however the complaints 
 which I have heard be not groundlefs, the high bailiffs of Lucerne are 
 not always free from the vice of peculation. 
 
 This is the moft powerful of the catholic cantons j and can bring; 
 twenty thoufand armed men into the field. The revenue of the fiate 
 does~?iot confift of above feventy-four thoufand florins ; of which there 
 is an annual furplus, that is employed for the general good. 
 
 Li Lucerne, as in all the catholic flates of the Helvetians, a regular 
 popifh Nuncio refides. 
 
 I here fend you the Kiihreihen*, with its mufic. Thus the inhabit* 
 ants of the Alps call the fong which they fmg, when they drive their 
 cattle from the valleys to the high mountains. Nothing fo flrongly en- 
 kindles the defire of returning to his native home, in- a Swifs, as the 
 fimple air of this fong. This will charm the foldier in the pay of France 
 to defert, though the pains of death are the penalty. 
 
 * Kub is cow ; reihen rows, The herdfmanjS evening fong. T. 
 
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TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^ loi 
 
 LETTER XVir. 
 
 W, 
 
 Thun and Berne, September i8th 1791. 
 
 E left Lucerne early on the thirteenth ; journeying 
 for a while along the Reufs, that courfed between its pleafant bank* 
 chafing its polilhed waters to the lake. The inhabitants of the canton 
 of Lucerne are equally happy in the bounties of nature, of induftry^ 
 and of freedom. 
 
 A few hours brought us to the lake of Sempach ; where we faw, on 
 the oppofite fhore, the old town of that name. Here, in the year 1386, 
 the famous battle of Sempach was won, by three hundred confederates, 
 againft Leopold Duke of Auftria and the flower of his army. 
 
 Arnold von Winkelried, of Unterwald, here" broke the phalanx of 
 the Auftrian army; oppofmg himfelfto their fpears, and, by feizing 
 as many as he could grafp, made an opening for his troops : thus will- 
 ingly devoting himfelf to death, that he might fecure the vidory to his 
 fellow warriors. 
 
 Sempach, though dependant on Lucerne, enjoys privileges fo great 
 that it may well value itfelf on its freedom. In antient times, it belong- 
 ed to the counts of Lenzburg ; then to thofe of Kyburg ; and afterward 
 to the counts of Habfburg. In the year 1333, it allied itfelf with Zii- 
 rich, Berne, Bafle, Soleure, and Saint Gall. After the battle of Sempach, it 
 appertained to Lucerne. It has its own magiftrates, an extenfive jurifdic* 
 tion, and confiderable privileges. From three of its citizens, chofen by 
 the town itfelf, the council of Lucerne eledts its Schultheifs* 
 
 The lake of Sempach is two leagues long, and half a league broad ; 
 and belongs to the canton of Lucerne. It has a confiderable fifhery ; the 
 revenue of which is colleded, by one of the council of Lucerne, for the 
 ftate. But this counfellor mufl: not interfere in the affairs of Sempach, 
 
 At the north end of the lake, Surfec Hands ; half a league beyond 
 
 which, 
 
102 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 which, on a height, we faw a chain of mountains, that, beginning with 
 the Rigi and Pilatus, proceeds to the Gothard and Engelberg, and ends 
 with the Schreckenhorn. We travelled eighteen leagues through the 
 territories of Lucerne, till we came into the canton of Berne ; and, leav- 
 ing the fortrefs of Aarburg which belongs to this canton on our right, 
 we pafled through Zofingen. The great canton of Berne is here only 
 a league broad ; being limited by the cantons of Lucerne and Soleure. 
 The country round Zofingen is famous for meadows. Never have I 
 beheld the art of watering meadows brought to fo much perfection as 
 here. An acre of meadow land is frequently fold for a thoufand rix 
 dollars. A good foil, induftry well direcled, and freedom enjoyed, 
 under a government wife, mild, and limited by fixed laws, raife the 
 people of Berne to a high degree of vifible profperity. 
 
 Farmers, of moil: countries, are reproached with an obflinate perfever- 
 ance in their old method of tillage, however bad, after a better has been 
 difcovered. In Switzerland, the pradlice is the reverfe. They examine 
 the nature of the foil, and how it will be moil produdlive ; and, as they 
 fow and reap only for themfelves, and are unreftrained and free from 
 the vexation of taxes, which other farmers think would be equally rea- 
 fonable and natural, they can wait the refult of any new experiment. 
 Hence it follows that they have more underftanding than the farmers of 
 other countries. But does it not likewife follow that other farmers are 
 mifled, by thofe oppreffions from which the firft are free ? Whoever 
 would contemplate the bleffings which refult from the full enjoy- 
 ment of the produce of the earth, muft viiit the fertile diftricts of 
 Switzerland. 
 
 The houfes of the country people of Berne are remarkably roomy, 
 and neat ; and they themfelves are well clothed, well fed, cheerful and 
 ■ftrong. Their cattle are large, in good condition, and fleek ; and the 
 men are w^ell formed. The fpirit of order is feen in the laying out, 
 management, and hedging, of their meadows and fields. The beauty 
 of both fexes is remarkable. I have no where feen fuch handfome 
 girls, except in the canton of Lucerne. The men of Berne, next to 
 
 thofe 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 103 
 
 thofe of Schweitz and Uri, appear to me the handfomeft in Swit- 
 zerland. 
 
 The frefh verdure, which is feen through all Switzerland, charms 
 
 the eye, and cheers the heart. In this hot fummer, v^hen I faw in the 
 moft fruitful parts of Germany the lands burnt up by the heat of the 
 fun, I find in Switzerland the trees green, and a lliining verdure on 
 the plains and paftures. The clouds do not only encircle the moun- 
 tains, but, evening and morning, defcend to the plains ; none of w^hich 
 are fo low but that, as you approach, they look like hills. When in a 
 morning the mountain tops beam, and the weft fide of the glaciers is 
 red with the rifmg fun, while the white clouds fmk below to the mifty 
 fields, the fpedator feems to view a kind of familiar alliance between 
 heaven and earth ; which is no where elfe to be found. 
 
 In the evening, we proceeded for a while along the banks of the Aar ; 
 and, about twilight, arrived at Morgenthal. This friendly little place 
 confifts of a few houfes ; which are built between pleafant hills, fliaded 
 with beech trees, befide the Aar. Here travellers meet with an inn 
 fuperior to many that are to be found in the principal cities of Europe. 
 We left Morgenthal on the 14th; and, paffing through a charming 
 country, flopped at Hochftadt, becaufe we could not reach Thun. 
 Before us, we perceived the mountains of Thun ; and, on our right, 
 the high mountains of Grindelwald. 
 
 Early on the 15th, we continued our journey ; and arrived about 
 eight o'clock at Thun, which is built at the end of the lake of Thun, at 
 the mouth of the Aar. The fituation of the town is charming. We 
 confulted with the landlord, how we might beft go to Grindelwald, 
 and Lauterbrunn ; and I advife other travellers, who wilh to make this 
 little trip, to do the fame ; for he is an intelligent man. 
 
 He bade us make no delay, that we might reach the valley of Hafll 
 by the evening. He furnifhed us with a good guide ; and with ftaves, 
 with pikes at the end, the better to affift our afcent up the fteep paths ; 
 and fupplied us with provifions and a boat. The weather was fine, 
 
 and 
 
I04 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 and we gaily fet fail, in expedation of the pleafure we fhould receive 
 upon the lake. 
 
 The lake of Thun is about five leagues long, and one broad. The 
 left fliore^ from the neighbourhood of Thun to the other fide of Hiilfte, 
 is adorned with vine hills. The Stockberge, the pyramidical Niefen- 
 berg, and beyond thefe the Kienthalberge, and the Bliimlialpe * to the 
 right, and on the left the Beatufberg, and other mountains, give thefe 
 fhores a noble appearance. In many places, the depth of the lake is 
 one hundred and twenty fathoms. I thinK I have told you that the 
 lake of the four Waldfiadte is, in many places, fix hundred fathoms 
 deep. The deeps of this country are in proportion to their heights ; 
 nature is every where (een in gigantic mafies. We beheld three caf- 
 cades on the left Ihore, fpringing from rocks : the Stampf bach, the Jung- 
 fraunbrunnen, and the Beatufbach. This laft rifes out of a cavern of 
 the Beatufberg. In this cavern, the holy Beatus, who firft taught the 
 gofpel in thefe parts, lived. The Breitklauenberg, on the right, and 
 the Harderberg, on the left, limit the lake ; affording only a paffage to 
 the Aar, which, a league from this, flows out of the lake of Brienz, 
 courfing through both the lakes. The great Eiger, the little Eiger, and 
 the Jungfrau rife, covered with everlafting fnow ; and higher ftill the 
 Schreckenhorn; whofe round rocky fummit appears continually covered^ 
 during the fummer, with two fhining fnow balls. This fummit is 
 always inacceffible ; and, in the fame of its height, it contends with 
 Mont Blanc in Savoy. 
 
 The £hores of the lake are covered with numerous villages. On the 
 
 "* The Blurtilialpe, or Flowery Alp, covered with fnow, muft formerly have been green. 
 Its name gives an air of probability to the account of the (hephcrds. Thefe people abound 
 in tales of the golr!en age ; when the heavens were more mild, the earth more fruitful, and 
 men more virtuous. In thofe dpys, fay they, the mountains which are now covered with 
 fnow were fruitful in variegated herbage. The valleys dropped fatnefs. The pernicious 
 
 Spurge itfelf was excellent fodder for cows; its juice turning into milk. Happy 
 
 ,_people ! Your golden age is not yet pafl'ed away. 
 
 2 right 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 105 
 
 right fide, the fouthern mountains rife, over the little village of Leiflin- 
 gen ; and, for the fpace of fix weeks in the winter, conceal it from the 
 fun. We landed at Neuhaus, and walked a league, partly befide the 
 Aar and always among large walnut trees, through rich paftures to In- 
 terlaken ; which has derived its name from the Latin, by being fiiuated 
 between two lakes. 
 
 Here we again took boat, and pafTed over the lake of Brienz. It is 
 three leagues long, and not qnite fo broad as the lake of Thun. Ver- 
 dant mountains furround it ori all fides ; fome of which gently rife, till 
 at a certain height they become deep ; fome fet their bold rocky feet 
 in the green waves ; while the fummits of others exhibit immenfe clifTs. 
 We faw many fine waterfalls ; the mofh beautiful of which is the Giefs- 
 bach. It palTes from a cliff in the rock among pines ; and, after twelve 
 different defcents, rufhes headlong into the lake. The mountain of 
 Brienz is one of the moft charming. The fruit and walnut hedges 
 at its foot, the friendly foliage of its middle region, and its verdant 
 grafsplats and difperfed cabins, contrafted with the dark pine, brought 
 to mind the delightful mountains of Gerfau. 
 
 We landed at Brienz ; which is a large village, the houfes of which, 
 after the general manner of the uplands of the canton of Berne, arc 
 built with the trunks of pines flripped of their bark and laid one above 
 the other, and roofed with fhingles. Thefe roofs are almoil flat ; and 
 over them, like the cabins in the Alps, flones are lai(J to prevent the 
 wind from carrying them away. The village church is built on a fmall 
 feparate rock. 
 
 Women and children flocked round us with friendly curiofity : the 
 men remained at a little diflance. 
 
 Our guide, John Stoller of Thun, a young man whom I would re- 
 commend to travellers, procured us fmall carriages ; in v/hich we were 
 conveyed to Meyringen ; or the valley of Hafli. Thefe carriages are 
 very light, have narrow wheels, and no coach pole ; but a forked fliaft 
 for one horfe. They may be drawn indeed by two horfes ; but then 
 
 Vol. I. P they 
 
,o5 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 thcv are either harncfTed one before the other, or, if they draw abreafl;,. 
 the fecond is faftened by a hook. The driver fits in the manner of 
 thofe carriages which the French call char a banc. They put only one 
 horfe to each of our carriages ; though it contained four people. Our 
 guide fometinies ran by our fide, and fometimes fprang with great 
 ac^llity, and feated hinifclf now on the horfe, and now on a kind o£ 
 coach box. 
 
 It is ' three leagues from Brlenz to the valley of Hafli ; which is: 
 fometimes called Ober Hafli '^\ though there is no Unter Hafli f in. 
 exiftence. We pafled, at a quick rate, through a narrow valley ; be- 
 tween high rocky mountains. I never beheld fuch fantaflic forms as 
 thofe of the Ballerberge, on our left. Om our right we faw three large 
 cafcades ; that of Olfbach ; which we had before feen from the lake of 
 Brienz at the difl:ance of two leagues and a half; that of Wandelbach ; 
 and that of Falkenerbach ; all tumbling from high rocks.. 
 
 In the valley of Hafli ftands the village of Meyringen ; fhut in by 
 high rocks, and fecluded as it were from the whole world. There are 
 five outlets, or roads^ between thefe rocks: one leading to Brienz, 
 another over the mountain Briining to Lucerne, a third over the Engel- 
 bero- to Unterwald, a fourth to Valais, over the Grinfelberg, and the 
 fifth over the Scheideck to Grindelwald. 
 
 The Aar runs through the valley of Hafli ;. which is about eleven 
 leagues in length. The Grinfel, the Wetterhorn, the Schreckenhorn, 
 the Jungfrau, and the Briiningberg,. are its boundaries. According to 
 tradition, the inhabitants originally came from Sweden. In antient 
 times, they were under diflferent lords. In 1333, they fhook oiF the 
 yoke of John baron of WeiflTenburg ; and, with a grant of great privi- 
 leges, fubmitted to the canton of Berne. They appoint their own 
 council ; the members of which are called Gerichtssafle : and from 
 0afi of three burghers, chofen by themfelves, the government of Berne: 
 
 * Upper Hafli. f Lower Hafli, 
 
 appoints:. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 107 
 
 appoints their Landammann ; who exercifes the power of a high bai- 
 Uff, and remains in office fix years ; but is obliged to give an account 
 of his admlnlftration, twice a year, to the high balilft ©f Intcrlaken. 
 
 Meyringen is the chief place of the valley. The meadows are ex- 
 tremely beautiful ; and the whole valley is covered with tall fruit and 
 walnut trees. Before I went to bed, I faw three waterfalls, by moon- 
 light, to the north, the Alpbach, the Dorfbach, and the Miihlenbach, 
 all tumbling their bright waters down the mountains. The following- 
 morning, I beheld, to the fouth, the Reichenbach, foaming againft the 
 rocks. 
 
 On the morning of the i6th, at break of day, with cheerful good- 
 will, we took our pikeilaves, and proceeded over the Scheideck. My 
 wife was borne on a litter by four men ; who, carrying two and two, 
 relieved each other. We had a litter for my fon, but he made no ufe 
 of it. I do not blufh for him when I tell you that, when the evening 
 before I appointed the men to carry his litter, the tears ran down his 
 cheeks. 
 
 The beginnnlng of the road is very fteep. In about an hour, we 
 came near to Reichenbach ; which is one of the moft beautiful water- 
 falls in Switzerland. A lofty current tumbled through the rocky 
 cliffs in broad iheets, and with a thundering din ; while the green moun- 
 tain, far and wide, was covered with its fpray. It was nearly an hour 
 before we reached a bridge, v,^hich is thrown over the rocky gulph. 
 Here, from above, we beheld the Reichenbach rufli, and faw it foam 
 below on our right. On a bed of rocks not far beneath us, we beheld 
 three enormous oaks, lying on the ground ; their branches lopped, and 
 ftripped of their bark ; which had been walhed down by the force of 
 the ftream, during one of its inundations. Here they will continue to 
 lie, till the water fhall rife and projed them headlong into the valley 
 below. 
 
 The nether and a part of the middle region of this mountain are co- 
 
 P 2 vered 
 
io8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 vered with green foliage : here we find the beech, elm, linden, hafle,.. 
 and the fervice tree * : tlie laft rather frequently. 
 
 The view down to the valley of Hafli is delightful. The Scheideck. 
 is a chariTting Alp ; abundant in fine meadows. Here and there a lonely- 
 cabin is built J round which herds of cattle and goats are grazing^ 
 The inhabitants are highly profperous, and pay no taxes ; for they grow- 
 neither corn nor %vine. We faw a young herdfman, Handing at his cabia 
 door, whofe beauty, ftrength, and noble figure, reminded us of thofeantient 
 tinies w^hen young heroes, the Ions of princes, did not think themfeives 
 degraded by keeping their f.ithers* flocks upon Mount Ida, "abounding^ 
 iti ftreams ;" or the cloudy Olympus. This herdfman feeds eighteen 
 Gows, and dally makes two large cheefes ; weighing together fixty 
 pounds. The pound of new cheefe is bought for twelve kreu%er. 
 They likewife make an inferior cheefe, from fldmmed milk; which 
 they call Zieger. The mountaineers of the canton of Claris are the only 
 people who know how to make this laft kind good ; and with them it is- 
 called Schab%iegcr, They have a plant peculiar to themfeives, wath.blue 
 flowers, which gives their cheefe its fcent and colourf . 
 
 The cheefes are kept in cabins built for that purpofe ; and, in winter, 
 are packed upon interwoven pine branches ; and tranfported as upon 
 fledges to the valleys. We regaled ourfelves, in a cabin, with excellent 
 milk, "bread, cheefe, and Italian wine. The people of thefe mountains, 
 who are often vifited by travellers,, require only to be paid for the wine ;. 
 and leave the payment of the milk and cheefe to thepleafure of the gueils. 
 
 In the lefler cantons, and likew-ife wuth ihe Grifons and people of 
 Valals, you fcldom find bread, or wine, among the mountaineers : but. 
 ^hey hofpitably give their milk, butter, and cheefe ; and refufe money 
 
 * Crataegus. . 
 
 •|- Trifolium odoratum :- or, melilotum odoratum violaceum. Thefe plants likewife 
 ^row in gardens. I cannot fay whether they are found wild in other parts of Switzer- 
 land •, but they grow in great plenty only in Giaris. 
 
 even 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 109 
 
 * 
 even when It is offered. If you give them bread, or tobacco, though 
 
 they do not afk it, the gift is received with friendly thankfulnefs. 
 
 The fohage gradually difappeared j and we continued our way among, 
 pine trees. We found the myrtle in-great quantities ; and here and 
 there flrawberries : alfo a certain red berry, the tafte of which is acid but" 
 pleafant. The large yellow gentian, orfellv/ort, and the Alp rofe were 
 out of bloom : but various kinds of the blue gentian charmed us j and 
 particularly the fmall, which thefe people call the heavenly blue. 
 
 Ernefl: found a ftone, on which were imprinted the figures of various 
 leaves ; and brought it w^itli great joy to my wife. He was rewarded by 
 a pair of chamois horns, which fiie had bought of a mountaineer. I 
 cannot defcribe to you the flrength and cheerfulnefs of the Swifs guides. 
 They fang their ditties, bearing my wife up fteep heights ; which we, 
 breathlefs and half exhaufted, could fcarcely climb with the help of our 
 pikeftaves. Ernefl indeed continued unabatedly joyous. I more than 
 once funk on the grafs, my heart violently beating : yet how delightful 
 was it to repofe on the ambrofial verdure of the Alps! 
 
 As v>^e approached the upper region, the pines began to be few ; and 
 w^e came on our right to enormous rocks, which extended to the Wet- 
 terhorn ; and at the foot of v/hich ftands the Rofenlauer glacier. Not 
 far from us, huge pieces of fevered ice were detached, and fell with the 
 nolfe of thunder. 
 
 The laft height is veiy difficult to climb. The road downward, to^ 
 the Grindelwald, is fteep ; and not without danger : there being fome- 
 times precipices, fometim.es falling beds of flat ilate, and at others fliort 
 flippery grafs. Erneft had refigned his pikeftaff, at the beginning of the 
 journey ; as young David did the heavy armour of Saul. He ran and' 
 jumped like a wild goat : and I was obliged to ufe my parental autho- 
 rity, to induce him to be carried over the moft dangerous places. 
 
 The profpeft down to the Grindelwald feemed to refrefh us : though* 
 this high valley is not fo pleafant as the vale of Hafli. The firft cabin^ 
 
 6 we 
 
no TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 T»'-e came to, we fent our guides to announce us to the clergyman. The 
 notice of the arrival of ftrangers had fpread through the valley; and, at 
 feveral places, little girls came, v;ith their hlack and red cherries, and 
 blooming nofegays, among v'hich were' beautiful carnations; as if they 
 bad expected our arrival. In thefe m.ountainous diftridls, the cherries 
 -of Grindelwald are not much larger than myrtle berries ; but fweet 
 and palatable, efpecially the black. 
 
 The clergyman and his wife gave us a friendly reception. After an 
 excurfion of almofl: ten leagues, Vv^e regaled on wine and excellent honey. 
 Imagine to yourfelf the ambrofia which the bees of the Alps fuck, from 
 the flowers of the Alps; and imagine that you tafte the honey of Hy- 
 mettus, or of Hybla. 
 
 It v^as nearly five o'clock, and we were defirous of vifiting the loweft 
 glacier. The clergyman was our guide. It ftands half a league from 
 the parfonage houfe. Sophia went with us, notwithftandlng the diffi- 
 culty of tlie way, through a defile almoft impafTable, from cliffs, flints, 
 and fnow, which had been blown from the mountain. 
 
 Beneath us were enormous icicles. Jacobi difcovered a fpacious hall 
 of ice ; which 1 entered with him ; but the clergyman entreated us to 
 leave it, and perrifl:ed in departing from a place where, two days be- 
 fore, there had been none of the ice which we beheld. 
 
 The people of the Alps are all of them perfuaded that the glaciers 
 continue feven years to increafe, and feven years to diminifli. The 
 pafl:or, who has lived here eight years, has obferved it continually de- 
 creafe. Sixteen years ago, I, my brother, and Haugwitz, fl:ood on this 
 very glacier on the ice ; and fl:rawberries grew fo near us that we could 
 gather them ; which now is not poffible. The ice and fnow have 
 diminiflied ; but the defolation of the defcending ftones has increafed. 
 Thefe are now a barrier between eternal winter and the verdant 
 mountain. 
 
 The rock, which ftands at the foot of this glacier, is called the Fi- 
 
 fcherhorn. 
 
- 4v- /,////■// r/ ^/r/f/rr/rr///// . //■//// ///''■ A/// /y ///tcyMf/////t/i 
 
 C 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. m 
 
 fcherhorn. The white Lutfchina rifes out of the glacier; and the 
 black Lutfchina from a higherglacier at Scheideck. Their waters min^ 
 gle in the valley of Grindelwald. 
 
 On thefe heights, where the rocks furround the plains and are the 
 boundaries of eternal winter, milk and honey flow, wheat ripens, and 
 various fruits profper. The inhabitants annually fupply their neigh- 
 bours with above a hundred thoufand v/eight of cheefe ; and are fub- 
 jed to the high bailiff of Interlaken. If I am not miftaken, they are the 
 only people in Switzerland who pay a tax, though an inconfiderable 
 one, for their cattle. This was impofed upon them as a punifhmenr^ 
 for their obftinate refiftance of the reformation. In my opinion, it 
 would be worthy the wife government of Berne to annul this little tax ; 
 which was but an attempt to enflave opinion. 
 
 We early left our worthy hoft, and travelled four leagues on a de- 
 fcent to the valley of Grindelwald, and befide the Lutfchina, into the 
 valley of Lutfchina ; from which we proceeded to the ftill deeper vale 
 of Lauterbrunn. Our daring guides feldom locked the w^heel; 
 though the carriage often rolled precipitately along. Our road continued 
 through a narrow valley, betv^'-een rocks and mountains covered with 
 elms, pines, and other green trees ; which would have fhaded us, had 
 not thefe rocks and mountains fhut out the fun. The verdant valley, 
 through which the Lutfchina runs, is narrow and very populous. We 
 faw the Staubbach at a diftance ; and, on this fide of that celebrated wa- 
 terfall, afmaller cafcade. This lail, on the jth of Auguftof the prefent 
 year, fwelled by the gufli of a fummer fhower, poured its waters into the 
 valley. The Lutfchina rofe, and entirely carried away the inn. We 
 faw the ruins, fcattered in the bed of the river, at a confiderable diftance 
 from the place where the houfe had flood. 
 
 As foon as we came to the village of Lauterbrunn, v/e alighted ; and 
 went to the Staubbach. This waterfall ruOies down a wild rocky de- 
 clivity, nine hundred feet high ; which is overgrown with bruihwood;. 
 
 Here 
 
112 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Here the full ftream rolls tempeftuoufly. As it falls, the pillar of water 
 difperfes into a fine rain ; which does not defcend perpendicularly, but 
 yields a little to the wind. It then meets with a projeding fcaffold of 
 rock ; and a part runs down its fide in fingle ftreams, while another part 
 dafhes below in clouds, and covers the green turf with its fpray. 
 
 The path is fomewhat difficult, from the water overflowing the ftone; 
 and from the black flints. The morning fun formed a broad rainbow, 
 in the nether cloud of the fl:reara ; and, as we came nearer, we faw a 
 round and complete circle, which beamed with all the colours of the 
 
 iris. 
 
 Oppofite the Staubbach, an advancing cliff of the Jungfrau towers ; 
 xvhich is called the Monk, and which here conceals the fnow-covered 
 Jungfrau, the fummit of which we difcovered as foon as we were at a 
 little difl:ance. 
 
 We returned to our carriage, and quickly came to the houfe which 
 the inn-keeper, after the lofs of his inn, had hired to receive his guefl:s. 
 He was not at home, and v/e afl^ed the gentle and friendly hoftefs to 
 give us the hiftory of their misfortune. She did not, as many would 
 have done, exhaufl; herfelf in complaining ; but related the accident in 
 few words, and added that Ihe and her hufband had intended to fell the 
 houfe, that they might retire to that in which we were, and which be- 
 longed to them, and live at their eafe. Whether their lofs induced them 
 to renounce this peaceable project I do not know : but that the tran- 
 quillity of her mind was not to be difturbed, by lofs or gain, her cheer- 
 ful, fatisfied, and kind deportment fufficiently fhewed. 
 
 Baron von Block, whom I met fome weeks ago in Zurich, has given 
 me the following account of this fudden misfortune. 
 
 On the 17th of Auguft, late in the evening, he arrived at Lauter- 
 hrunn, when the people of the inn were all afleep ; and probably his 
 arrival prevented the landlord and the landlady, with their domeftics, 
 from perifhing. Soon after the landlady came to his chamber, and 
 
 called 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 113 
 
 called on him to fave himfelf. He hurried out, opened the houfe 
 door, and was met by the waves. The good people had fcarcely time 
 to place a ladder againft the chimney ; and, efcaping with their guefl 
 over the roof, made a great leap, to which the fear of death induced 
 them, upon an oppofite height, before the wild torrent had fwept away 
 and utterly deftroyed the houfe. On this height, they pafled a cold, 
 wet, and fearful night. The Baron von Block, who had efcaped with 
 the lofs of his clothes, and, what added to his diftrefs, who had loft in a 
 moment all the notes and drawings he had made in his travels, com- 
 miferated the good landlord ; who anfwered him, with the dignity of a 
 chriftian fage, *' The lord has given, the lord has taken away ;" he 
 perhaps may give again. 
 
 We continued our journey back to Interlaken ; and for a little way 
 by the fame road, till we came to a bridge over the Lutfchina. 
 
 We purfued the courfe of this pleafant ftream, which was always 
 winding among woody mountains and rocks. Of thefe mountains the 
 Saufeberg is the moft remarkable ; from which a rivulet deferving of Its 
 name, the Saufebach, or roaring ftream, rapidly flows. 
 
 From Interlaken, we went to Neuhaus, took boat, and returned yef- 
 terday evening, before dull^, to Thun. 
 
 The fmali diftrid: of Thun was long fubje£l to its own Counts. It 
 afterward defcendcd to the Dukes of Zahrlngen ; and from them to their 
 heirs the Counts of Kyburg. After its mafters had pledged it more 
 than once to Berne, they finally delivered it up to this canton, in the 
 year 1384. The principal magiftrate of Thun has the title of Schult-» 
 heifs. 
 
 The town of Thun enjoys great privileges, and has its own council: 
 but the Schulthelfs fits as prefident. 
 
 As we could not get horfes, we remained there all the morning, and 
 afcended the tower of the church ; from which there is a fineprofpeifl:, to- 
 ward the lake and the mountains. People are often detained in Swit- 
 zerland, by the v^^ant of Poft-houfes. Some years ago, the government 
 
 Vol. I. Q^ of 
 
,14 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 of Berne appointed extra poft-houfes ; but gave up the projedl becaufe 
 fodder was dear, and the Itate was a lofer. Travellers do not fufE- 
 cl£Titly!r-eGolle6t thefe ciraunftances, when they make exaggerated com- 
 pUints 'of the price paid to the guides. They forget too that the 
 driver and his horfes, in winter, are out of employment. 
 
 In the afternoon we proceeded to Berne; over a flat hut fruitful coun- 
 irv. I fnali give you an account of this very remarkable town in my next,. 
 
 LETTER XVm. 
 
 Berne, 20th September i/pr, 
 
 ERNE was founded in the year 1191, by Berthold V 
 Duke of Ziihringen. His father, Berthold the fourth, certainly 
 had the intention to build . this town.^ The Dukes of Zahringen 
 were Statthalters of the German ernpire, in "a part of Swabia and 
 of Switzerland. Berthold the ,foui;th built Freiburg in Switzer- 
 land ; and Berthold the third, Freiburg in Brifgau. The character 
 of the times impelled the little nobles, and free burghers, to feek 
 a fecure refuge againfl the enterprifes of the great nobles, and their 
 reftlefs fief holders; and the policy of princes eafily feized this pre- 
 tex% that, by leffening the power .of the gireat Barons, they might in- 
 creafe their ov.n. This town was particularly elleemed as a place of 
 fifety, and of rendezvous, for the fmali nobility. It was built on a 
 fpot w]\!ch nature had fortified ; the Aar flowing on three of its fides. 
 Berthold gave the new town laws, and privileges ; which, in the yeac 
 1.18, were confirmed by the Emperor : fo that it was, even then, a 
 free imperial town. 
 
 At the death of Berthold, it retained its ov/n government ; being 
 negleded by the unftable power of the empire. 
 
 Rudolphus of Habfburg, whofe intention it was to leave a confi- 
 
 j^ derable 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 115 
 
 derable inheritance to his defcendants in Switzerland, appeared before 
 Berne with an army, under the pretext of reinftating the fugitive Jews 
 in power : but the people ihut their gates againft him, and preffing 
 affairs called Rudolphus to another place. His fon, Albert the firft, 
 inherited his father's ambition, added to his own cupidity ; againft 
 which the wealth of the empire was as little fecure as the inheritance of 
 his nephew, John of Swabia. He made war upon Berne, with differ- 
 ent fuccefs ; the people of Berne being the moft frequently vidorious ; 
 till, in the year 1308, the three old cantons, Schweitz, Uri, and Unter- 
 wald, threw off the yoke. In 1309, Albert was murdered, by his ne- 
 phew John, and the other confpirators : John having conceived a bitter 
 hatred againft him, becaufe of the injuftice done him by Albert. 
 
 The territory of Berne w^as divided into four parifties. The nobles 
 ruled the little ftate ; and, with their w^ealth and blood, frequently de- 
 fended its pofteffions, freedom, and fecurity. The burghers gradually 
 became warlike : their fliort wars did not prevent them from cultivat- 
 ing their land, and colleding its produce ; though they were exercifed in 
 arms, and thus rendered habitually courageous. The youth of Berne, fre- 
 quently, and perhaps too eafily, provoked to the field, inflamed by their 
 increafmg love of v/ar, took caftle after caftle. Enemy after enemy was 
 attacked ; and the laws of war annexed the conquered diftrids to the 
 ftate. Small communities fought the protedion of Berne ; which 
 ftrengthened itfelf as much by its prudence as by its fortune in war : 
 making alliances with inferior ftates againft the mighty lief holders, 
 who, in the middle ages, were the common foe of growing cities. 
 
 Soleure Vv-as alv/ays the true friend of Berne. Freiburg, although 
 Its fifter, was always its rival ; and frequently its declared enemy. It 
 allied itfelf againft Berne, with the jealous Counts of Kyburg, Grliy- 
 ■eres, Arberg, Nidau, and Neufchatel. The allies, between twenty and 
 thirty thoufand ftrong, encamped before the little town of Laupen ; 
 which, with its diftrid, Berne had purchafed, and had firft ereded into 
 a bailiwick, 
 
 Q^ Rudolphus 
 
ii6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Riidolphus of Erlach, who had ferved the Counts of Nidau, but had 
 deferted them to combat for his country, was the leader of the little ar- 
 my of Berne ; which, with the aid fent by Schvveitz, Uri, Unterwal- 
 den, and other allies, amounted only to five thoufand men. Th« 
 proud Counts and their arrogant cavaliers defpifed the feeble foe : 
 not perhaps fo much becaufe of its fmall numbers, as from that fflf- 
 fufficient arrogance which the deeds of their forefathers, and in part 
 their own ads, infpired ; and which, if they could not juftify, feemed 
 to excufe them. But the prodigious fpears, wielded by the nervous 
 arms of the fmall army, unhorfed the mailed knights. The aDies againft 
 Berne left three thoufand flain on the field. 
 
 A new vidory, gained over Freiburg, by which it was in imminent 
 danger, increafed the courage of Berne. 
 
 The citizens of Berne were in full enjoyment of their vidory, when 
 a temporary truce was made, in the year 1343, through the mediation 
 of Agnes of Auftria, widow of Andrew, King of Hungary. When 
 war again broke out, the people of Berne fuffered a great defeat, in 
 the valley of Sieben. 
 
 In the year 1348, they were vifited by the plague ; which fpread 
 from the Italian ports through Germany ; and this vifitation was i^o 
 fearful, in the northern kingdoms, that the Danifh peafants to this day 
 occafionaliy mention it, by the name of the Black Death, 
 
 Lucerne and Ziirich had entered into an alliance witl; ^he three firft 
 cantons; and thefe allies having tak-n Claris and Zu by force of 
 arms, communicated to their inhabitaiits the full right: of liberty ; 
 when, in the year 1353, Berne was received into the anfederacy, 
 where it then alTumed the fecond rank ; which it has ever fmce main- 
 taineJ. 
 
 In the year 1375, En^^uerrend de Coucy, followed by Englifh, 
 French, and Brabant knights, who, according to the manners of thofe 
 times, were foldiers of fortune and had ferved in long wars between 
 France and England, attacked Switzerland, under the pretext of its 
 
 being 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBE^G. n; 
 
 being the dowry of his mother ; who was of the hoiife of Auftrla. 
 Coiicy was defeated by the confederates, at Lucerne ; and afterward at 
 Frauenbrunnen, by the people of Berne ; and he and his fugitives were, 
 driven frcn the country. 
 
 While the confederates were acquiring new fame againll Auftria, at 
 Sempach and Naffcls, the people of Berne attacked the Counts of Ky- 
 burg, who fided with Auftria, in Thun and Burgdorf :. both of which 
 places were ceded to them at the peace. They likewife conquered the 
 counties of Nidau and Buren. By various means, partly by the be- 
 flowing the rights of citizenfhip, and partly by the conquefl of feudal 
 knights and barons, they poflefTed. themfelves of the upland valleys of 
 the Alps. Thefe new conquefts increafed the power, but exhaufted the 
 treafury, of Berne. The chief magiftrates loaded the country with 
 taxes; and, in 1384, an aflembly of the burghers difplaced many of 
 the guilty, or who were fuppofed to be guilty, and reflored tranquillity. 
 
 When Frederick Duke of Auftria fell under the ban of the Empire, 
 in the council of Conftance, becaufe he had fupported the unfortunate 
 Pope John XXIII againft Martin V, the people of Berne, according 
 to the cuftoms of thofe times, and being invited to this ad by the Em- 
 peror Sigifmund, attacked Aargau; and obUged Zolingen, Aarau, 
 Brug, and Lenzburg, with their appendages to furrender : and thefe 
 now form one of the moft fertile diftrids in their poffeflion. They 
 and their alUes likewife conquered the county of Baden. Sigifmund, 
 glad to weaken his enemy, for a fum of money confirmed them in 
 the poflefTion of thefe territories. 
 
 After the death of the laft Count of Toggenburg, a ruinous war 
 broke out, between the cantons of Zurich and Schweitz, concerning his 
 inheritance. Ziirich demanded the ai'^ "f Auftria; and Schweitz re- 
 quired the confederates to decide between it and the canton that had 
 allied itfelf to the common foe* Ziirich would not admit of the deci- 
 fion of the confederates : they therefore took part with Schweitz. 
 This war, which was the firft that happened among the confederates,. 
 
 contrnued 
 
iiS TRAVELS OF COUxNT STOLBERG. 
 
 continued from the year 1436 to the year 1444. It was In the lafl 
 year of this war that the confederates faliered the honourable lofs that 
 befel them, in the churchyard of St. James at BaOe, againft Lewis the 
 Dauphin of France. Not the flight but the death of the opponents 
 gave victory, to the numerous army of France ; and compelled the 
 Dauphin to return to France, and confefs that his powers were infuffi- 
 cient for the obtaining of fuch another battle. 
 
 The confederates foon after made war on SigifmUxid, Duke of Au- 
 Rria ; who, being impoveriflied, mortgaged Alfatia and another terri- 
 tory to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Audacious princes 
 often impart their arrogance to their dependants. TYiq Jiatthaltery ot 
 governor of Charles, irritated the people of Berne ; and they fent am- 
 bafHidors to complain to the Duke, who made thefe ambalTadors kneel 
 in his prefence. A fimilar kind of condu(fl enflamed the Alfatians ; 
 -who, "being immediately under the power of Hagenbach, the ftatthalter, 
 were moft fubjed to his cruelty. They therefore feized him, and put 
 him- to death. Charles was frantic in his rage. Part of the council of 
 Berne wiflied for an accommodation with him, others for war. Lewis 
 XI of France had influence over fame of the members of the council ; 
 and to him it was partly owing that this warlike people took arms, 
 againfl: Charles. At that time, the fecret influence of France was more 
 dangerous than its fword ; and the quefl;ion was determined in favour 
 of war. 
 
 Adrian of Bubenberg, of an antient family, which in deeds of war 
 and peace had been famous from the earliefl: times of the republick, for 
 •certainly Berthold had been firfl; induced to build the city of Berne by 
 fone of this family, Adrian of Bubenberg was in favour of peace : but 
 young Nicholas of Diefbach, whofe wealth, ardour, and popular arti- 
 fice had weight, which was the more dangerous becaufe he was the par- 
 tifan of Lewis, was for war ; and accordingly an alliance was concluded, 
 between the confederates and Alfatia, againfl: Charles the Bold. The 
 Duke was employed elfewhere, when his army in Alfatia was attacked, 
 
 and 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 119 
 
 and defeated. The Swifs took Orbe, and Grandfon,from the family of 
 Chalons ; which was allied with the Duke ; fell on the Pays de Vaud, 
 and laid Geneva under contribution. 
 
 In the year 1476, Charles came with a powerfal army, took Grand- 
 fon by capitulation, and, contrary to his promife, hung, the garriion : 
 but he was afterward defeated here, and put to flight, by eighteen thou- 
 fand Swifs. 
 
 He then retired to Laufanne, collected troops, and befieged Murten 3 
 which Adrian of Bubenberg defended, with a garrifon of fifteen hun- 
 dred men. The Swifs marched againll Charles, and attacked him ; 
 aided by Renatus, Duke of Lorrain, whom Charles had robbed of his 
 poffeflions. Here they gained a celebrated vldory. The cavalry of 
 Burgundy were cut to pieces ; and the flying army was purfued to the 
 lake, in which thoufands perifhed. Charles only efcaped by fwini- 
 ming acrofs on horfeback. 
 
 In the beginning of the winter of 1477, Charles befieged Nancy; 
 and the Duke of Lorrain called on the Swifs for aid. They came the 
 Burgundians loft the battle, and Charles his life. An old French hif- 
 torian relates, with the fnuplicity and ardour of his times, that the 
 found of the great horn, which the Swifs are accuftomed to b)-^ .v at the 
 beginning of a battle, had put the boldeil warrior of his age to ilii'ht 
 by reminding him of the battle of Murten *. 
 
 The Swifs had now reached the fummit of warlike fame : but fuch 
 flimmits are ever dangerous to nations.. The warlike youth A^ere arro- 
 gant, and diforderly. Princes,, who durft not confide in their own. 
 troops, endeavoured, and not always in vain, to corrupt the chiefs of a 
 nation which they could not have conquei'ed in battle. Hence fuip- 
 cion, reftleffnefs, and contention, arof?.. 
 
 Berne had conquered Murten and Grandfon for itfelf ; and Orbe 
 in common with Erelburg. It likewife in common with Freiburg pof- 
 
 * Cn fit fonner !e grand cor, par trois fois, tant que ]e vent du foufHeur pouvt^it du- 
 Tcr j ce qui ebabit fort Monfieurde Bourgovgnej car Ti Morat I'avolt ouY. 
 
120 TRAVELS OF COUNT SIOLBKRG. 
 
 felTed Scluvarzenburg which it piirchafed of the Dukes of Savoy. The 
 dcmocratiG canlons looked with well-founded jealoiUy on the growing 
 power of Berne, and its new connexion with Freiburg. During the 
 Burgundian war, they had certainly ordered their commanders, when 
 they laid (lege to any place to keep their troops diftin(fl from thofe of 
 Berne and Freiburg. The pofleffion of fortified towns mull be hate- 
 ful, to thofe whofe love of freedom w^arns them to keep no fuch on 
 their own territories. Berne and Freiburg were but the more clofely 
 imited ; and the democratic cantons confidered this as a defertion of 
 the confederacy. The conteft became bitter ; and a general aflembly 
 of the confederates was called, at Stanz and Unterwald. They were 
 about to decide the difpute by force of arms with redoubled acrimony; 
 had not the worthy paftor of Stanz fent to Nicholas von der Flue. 
 This man had been Landammann, or high bailiff, of Unterwald. The 
 other particulars, the manner in which he appeafed them, and the ho- 
 nour -in which his name is held, I have already related. 
 
 About this time, many of the knights of Swabia had formed them- 
 felves into a band ; under the title of the knights of St. George. 
 Some trivial accidents brought on a war, between thefe knights and 
 the confederates ; and the Swifs, in various battles, had great' y the ad- 
 vantage. Their youth, before too fond of war, now became more 
 unruly ; and, in times of peace, eagerly fought occafion to fhew their 
 courage. The people of Berne, more than the others, enlifted them- 
 felves under foreign banners. It was cuftomary for Italian free ftates, 
 and princes, to hire foreign troops ; and they were particularly de- 
 firous of the Swifs. This noble people blufh at the remembrance of 
 thofe times, when, w^aging mercenary war, the brother pointed his 
 fpear againft the brother's breaft. Frequently deceived by the Italians, 
 the angry fon of the Alps would forfake one party, and go over to the 
 other. Oh that fome patriot had then played the Kuhreihen ; and 
 that the loud fong had awakened in them the remembrance of their 
 home, and the delights of their own country ! Oh that a Nicholas of 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. lat 
 
 t^e Rock had arlfen, and had driven th.e flranger and his mercenary- 
 bribes from the Land of peace and freedom ! 
 
 At the beginning of the fixteenth century, Balle, Schaffhaufen, and 
 Appenzel, were admitted into the confederacy. This century, which 
 was fo memorable to mod part of Europe, was no lefs remarkable for 
 the enlightened knowledge which it brought to many of the cantons 
 of Switzerland. The great Zuingle firil lighted ihe torch of truth in 
 Ziirich. Haller found more oppofition in Berne. To the reiiilance 
 which each new doctrine muft meet, was added that clandeftine oppo- 
 fition to thofe principles which combated prejudice, immorality, and 
 eftabliilied abtifes. Among other vices of the times, the reformers re- 
 proved the Swifs for taking arms in thefervice of foreign princes, or fi-ee 
 flates ; and, while Zuingle lived, he prevented the praQice in Ziirich. 
 
 Among other obftacles which Haller found, the interefl of the great 
 families was one^ The numerous and lucrative church benefices abuii' 
 dantly provided for their younger fons. Modern writers, who fometimes 
 magnify and at others diminifh objeds, and fet them in a falfe light, 
 have fome reafon on their fide, when they aflert that the reformatioa 
 was principally the work of felfiih princes, who thirfted after the pof- 
 felTions of the church; but they v.dll find it difficult clearly to (hew 
 what motive Ihould induce the council of Berne to countenance the ad- 
 miffion of the new dodrine. However, in 1528, the reformation was 
 eftabliilied, by a plurality of votes, in the greateil number of the thirteen 
 cantons. 
 
 The zealous citizens of Ziirich made war on the catholic cantons, be- 
 caufe the former wifhed the reformation fhould take place in them alL 
 Thej were vanquiihed, in two battles, by the catholics ; in one of 
 which Zuingle loft his life, at Kappel, in the territories of Zixrich, and 
 on the confines of Zug. 
 
 At Geneva, the partifans of the reformed, who were called the 
 Eidgnofs*, which the French mif-pronounce Hugonots, prevailed over 
 
 * EidgenofTen : confederates. 
 
 Vol, L R the 
 
122 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT 5TOLBERG. 
 
 the calliollcs ; who took the name of the Savoyards. In this year, 1528, 
 Geneva allied itfelf more clofely to Berne and Freiburg: for it had 
 been allied to thefe ftates at the time of the Burgundian war. The 
 Duke of Savoy was jealous of this alUance, and committed hoftilities ; 
 till at length a truce Vv^as made, between him and Geneva ; with the 
 condition that, if it vv^as again broken by the Duke, he fliould forfeit 
 the Pays de Vaiid to Berne : if broken by the people of Geneva, they 
 were no more to remain allied to thefe cantons. The war again broke 
 out ; for the people of Berne imagined they had juft caufe of com- 
 plaint, for which they had received no recompenfe. However, in 
 1536, when Francis the {\x^ of France took the principality of Pied- 
 mont from the Duke, Charles, they likewife took the Fays de Vaud^ 
 and a part of Savoy. 
 
 They were induced to refign their conquefts in Savoy, to which at 
 that time was annexed the country of Gex, which is now a part of 
 Burgundy, by the interpofition of the other cantons : but they re- 
 tained the whole Fays de Vaiid ; and, from that time, the limits be- 
 tween them and Savoy have been the lake of Geneva. The people of 
 Freiburg had a fmall fhare of this rich booty. The Counts of Gruy- 
 eres refufed to do homage to the cantons, for their lordfhips in the Fays 
 de Vaud: but Michael, the laft Count of this houfe, being much in 
 debt, had his rights bought up by the people of Berne ; and his de- 
 fcendants were robbed of Rougemont and Oron. This was the lafl, 
 and, truth to fay, not the moil dignified, cf the conquefts of Berne. 
 
 In 1574, Ziirich was included in the fixed alliance that had been 
 made, between Berne and Geneva, in 1557. About this time, Berne 
 was confirmed in its pofTeflion of the Pays de Vaud, by Henry the third 
 
 of France. 
 
 Some civil difturbances took place in Berne during the feventeenth 
 century, one caufe of which was the Anabaptifts. Their religion for- 
 bade them the ufe of arms ; and this perhaps is a greater inconvenience 
 in a republic, where the country is defended by its own citizens, than 
 
 4 it 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 123 
 
 It' IS In a monarchy, where an array of mercenaries may be em- 
 ployed. 
 
 The meafures that were taken agauifl them were certainly too fevere ; 
 and were certainly unjiift. A family of the reformed religion, who 
 had fled from Schweitzto Zurich, and w^jio were refufed by their coun- 
 trymen the property that they had left behind them, gave occafion to 
 a fhort wMr ; betv^^een the five catholic cantons on one fide, and Ziirich 
 and Berne on the other. The people of Lucerne gained a vidory over 
 the people of Berne ; and the conteft fabfided : but fifty years of peace 
 wnth foreign powers did not fiifle the fire of party jealoufy. The 
 catholic cantons thought they might, in cafe of need, depend upon aid 
 from France : but old Lewis was then engaged in an unfortunate w^ar 
 which perhaps induced the people of Berne and Zurich to draw their 
 fwords againft their brothers, in the year 171 2. 
 
 It cannot how^ever be denied but they had fome caufe. The Abbot 
 of St. Gall opprefled the greateft part of his fubjeds of Toggenburg. 
 This diftridt, which had formerly been fubjed to its owm Counts, was 
 in the year 1469, for a fum of money, configned to the Abbot of St. 
 Gall. Moft of the inhabitants, the number of whom may amount to 
 about fifty thoufand, were of the reformed religion ; and this part of 
 the community fuffered great vexation from the Abbot. In the year 
 1696, he opprefled them in a very infupportable manner. They 
 claimed their frequently-confirmed privileges ; and fled for fupport to 
 Zlirich, and Berne. Till the year 171 2, it w?,s only a war of vrords : 
 but it then broke out into open hofl:ilities between the cantons of 
 Schweitz, Uri, Unterw^ald, Lucerne, and Zug, in oppofition to Berne 
 and Ziirich. 
 
 During this fliort contefl:, the reformed cantons had the advantao-e. 
 The Abbot of St. Gall was allow^ed to pofl^efs the county of Too-gen- 
 burg : but religious freedom was fully confirmed to the Proteflants. 
 The catholic cantons lofl: their fhare in the county of Baden, and in 
 the lower part of what. were called the other free diflrids : but Berne 
 
 R 2 maintained 
 
124 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 maintained equal riglits, in common with the fcven old cantons, cvet 
 Thurgiu, Sargans, and Rheinthal. 
 
 So ended the laft war, in which the Swifs combated each other : and 
 may wars like thefe never be renewed ! But it will ever remain worthy 
 of admiration, that fo many independent ftates, v/hofe forms of govern- 
 ment and religion are fo different, and whofe interefts muft neceffarily 
 fo often clafh, fhould fo feldcm have broken the holy bonds of union: 
 a bond which, feventeen years hence, vnW have continued five centu- 
 ries ; and which will then well deferve a jubilee. 
 
 It mud be owned that the canton of Berne, in antient times, took 
 advantage of the Counts, their neighbours ; and, in modern, of the 
 people of Savoy ; to increafe their territories : for which their forefa- 
 thers may blufh. But, for many years, it lias been animated by a dif- 
 ferent fpirit. It is now honoured by all the powers of Europe, and 
 beloved by all the cantons ; and it will be difficult to furnifh an exam- 
 ple, from the hiftory of mankind, where more moderation and love of 
 juftice have been feen, than they have fhev/n to their allies of every 
 defcription. 
 
 I think it may now^ be confidently affirmed, that no canton has the 
 intention of taking advantage of another. Some are fatisfied with 
 their povrer and wealth: others with the peace and noble fnnplicity 
 which they enjoy. Each tafles, in various ways, the fruits of that 
 freedom which was feakd by the blood of their forefathers. This 
 freedom combines all that is dear, all that is holy; and no foreign 
 power can rob them of it while they remain worthy of its bleffing. 
 The Alps may again be furmounted ; armies again may crofs their 
 ftupendous clifl's : but concord, fimplicity of manners, good education, 
 religion grounded in virtue, and virtue ftrengrhening valour, thefe all 
 furround this happy people with a wall of fire; and deprive neigh- 
 bouring ftates of a wifh to attack a nation, which they w^ell may envy, 
 but cannot fubdue, 
 
 LET. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 125 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Benie, 2 id September (jgu 
 
 ERY oppofite opinions have been formed, concerning the 
 conftitution of Berne. Many have compared it to the oligarchy of 
 Venice : while fome have praifed it beyond all meafure. Thefe contra- 
 dldions do not perhaps fo much arife out of any real difference of opi- 
 nion, in the perfons whopraife, or blame, as out of the peculiar manner 
 of each in viewing the objeds. But we do not always adopt a right point 
 of view. We frequently form our judgment from the firft hafty glance. 
 This Indeed is the moft general mode of determining. But it is v/ltli 
 our underftanding as with our health : fliould difeafe attack us, if our 
 temperament be good, nature will give us aid. The hearts of the vir- 
 tuous are curable, faid Homer: and it is the fame with their under- 
 flanding. 
 
 Thofe who confider the mere outline of the conftitution of Berne„ 
 if they love freedom, will perhaps fmd it very defedive. He however 
 who attends to the healthy body of the fiate, where the head is clear, the 
 limbs are in adive harmony with each other, and the fulnefs of life 
 invigorates the arm, vvhile power and agility combine in the fervice- 
 able quick foot; he, I iliy, v/ho perceives this, will hedtate before he de- 
 cides againft a government, where the people certainly enjoy a high 
 degree of healthy freedom. 
 
 The living body of a ftate muft not be folely judged by its external 
 proportions. Wejuftlyand ligoroufiy require proportion, fiom the- 
 archited, and the fculptor : but they fliew us nothing hut the contour. 
 In the moft healthy bodies, the afioniined anatom.ift often finds great 
 defeds : while, in defiance of all theory, thefe bodies,, when livings 
 
 gave no figns of imperfedlon. 
 
 It 
 
2^ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 120 
 
 It is Iikev/lfe true that, '.n politics, there Is fi'equently a dead letter, 
 but a living rpirit. Manners make laws almoft ufelefs. The fpirit of 
 wifdom, benevolence, and moderation, defcending from father to fon, 
 will better fecure the freedom of a people than all the fplit-hair theories 
 of any conftitution ^'. 
 
 Berne is the only canton in which neither the whole people nor all 
 the freemen of the city ever affemble. 
 
 The dennocratic cantons, Schweitz, Url, Unterwald, Zug, Claris, 
 andAppenzel, all of them, have their general aflemblies. 
 
 Not only do Zurich and Bade, whofe conftitutions, confidered as 
 towns, are democratic, though the burghers rule the country people 
 like aridocrats, affem.ble the municipality of the town ; but fo likewife 
 do Lucerne, Freiburg, Soleure, and Schaff haufen : though the citizens 
 do not here enjoy an equal participation of the government. 
 
 The principles of the conftitution of Berne originated with the town 
 itfelf. It was built as a ftrong hold ; a place of rendezvous, for the 
 inferior nobles ; where they might find fafety againft the enterprifes 
 of the furrounding Counts, and great Lords. Thefe nobles were war- 
 like ; and, under their wing, the induftrious merchant and the peace- 
 ful mechanic found the tranquillity and protection of which they were 
 in need. They wnllingly renounced the cares of government, which 
 wife men do not always find a fource of true happinefs, to thofe ftrong 
 arms that were ready to draw the fword in their defence : and fo fre- 
 quently was it dravv^i, by thefe nobles, and fo effectually, that their 
 race became gradually extindt. The burghers and nobles then oecame 
 
 * Perhaps there is no truth that fo much deferves the ferious attention of mankind, ns 
 that which this paragraph contains. Thofe who think that laws govern a nation, :'.-.e 
 miferably miftaken. The people know nothing of law : or nothing but that it gives 
 them the power of tormenting each other. Their rule of condu£l is the opinion of 
 their neighbours : improve this opinion, and their morals and happinefs muft improve. 
 It is the deep importance of the fubje6l that forces from me this otherwife impertinent 
 note. T. 
 
 neceiTarily 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ,27 
 
 necelTanly united ; and the latter, now more temperate, had felt that 
 tlie government ought not to depend on too fmall a number ; but that 
 the many ought to call the few to account. The admifhon of certain 
 burgher families, into the adminiftration of affairs, did not alter the 
 fpirit of the conititution. 
 
 At Rome, the road to the higheft offices and honours was open to 
 the Plebeians : but though a Plebeian family, which had palTed the cu- 
 ruk chair, had acquired new dignity, power, and refped, yet this new 
 dignity was not equal to the fplendour of the Patrician. 
 
 The moft antient chronicles of the republic of Berne fliew that in 
 thofe times, the whole municipality was occafionally alfembled : but 
 fuch an affembly does not prove any ftated or adive power. In fimple 
 ages, men were not fo lightly fearful of fubtle conclufions. The in- 
 ferences that have been drawn, in our times, with rcfpe(ft to thefe af- 
 femblies, from which it has been imagined that the great council was 
 firft founded in the year 1384, were very hafty. An original paper, 
 fo early as the year 1294, mentions the tv/o hundred; and an edid: 
 of the ye:ir 13 14, likewife begins with thefe Vv'ords : Wir Schidtheifs^ 
 Rath^ iind Ziveihundert *. 
 
 The council of two hundred, formerly, adually confifled of that 
 round number: but it was gradually increafed, till it was fometimes 
 above three hundred. A law therefore was made, which limited the 
 number to two hundred and ninety-nine. No candidates were to be- 
 eleded, till there were eighty vacancies : but here too corruption crept 
 in. Young men, who afpired to this honour, found old counfellors, 
 who had no longer any hopes of enjoying the office of high baihff, 
 whom they fecretly penfioned to refign their places, in order to make 
 the eighty vacancies, that they might be eleded. Hence the law now 
 is that the vacancies of living counfellors muil not be numbered : 
 there muft be eighty counfellors dead, before there can be any new 
 €ledion. 
 
 * We the Advoyer, CouncU, and two hundred. 
 
 Each. 
 
,:3 TRAVl^LS CF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Each canJidate muft be nlne-and-twenty years of age ; dating eiglit 
 days after baptifm. Hence, in families who hope their delcendants 
 may be counfellors, they have the males chrifiened immediately after 
 birth. Eledions generally happen once in nine or ten years : and any 
 young man who at this time is a minor, if it be but for a few days, 
 mull wait till the next election. 
 
 Every burgher of Berne has -the right of being eleded to the higheil 
 dignities ; but few have the hope : for the little council, which con- 
 fifts of twenty-fcven members, and the fi>rteen, vvho are annually 
 chofen from the great council, propofe the members of this great 
 council ; fo tliat they continually circulate among the powerful fami- 
 lies. In the colledive great council*, of which the fmall council 
 is a committee, all pov^rer centres; but in different bodies. The 
 executive power is entrufted to the little council ; the legiflative to the 
 great. The little council affembles every day, Sunday excepted. 
 It firft examines every matter, which is afterwards laid before the great 
 council. All current affairs are in its difpofi.il : as likewife are mod of 
 the church benefices, and the inferior of the lay employments. It 
 pronounces fentence in criminal caufes ; except over the burghers 
 of Berne. 
 
 Tlie members of the little council are eledied in a very complex 
 manner. On the death of any one member, the remaining fix-and- 
 twenty affemble. Six-and-twenty fmall balls are put in a box; three 
 of which are gold. The members each draw a ball, lliofe who 
 draw the three golden balls nominate three eledors from their own 
 body. Seven other dediors are chofen by the great council. Thefe 
 t^n elediors nominate a number of candidates, not more than ten, and 
 not lefs than fix. The colledive council then give their votes. Thole 
 who have the moft votes in their favour draw four balls ; two of 
 
 * I underftand, by this paffage, that there are three councils ; The great council, the 
 little council, and the colledive great council. T. 
 
 which 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 129 
 
 which are gold, and two of filver : and one of thofc who have drawn 
 the golden balls is elected, by the plurality of votes of the colledive 
 council. 
 
 The little council confills of the two advoyers, two treafurers, tv^^o 
 bannerets, feven counfellors, and two hcimlichern^ or fecret counfellors. 
 The two advoyers prefide in the colledive council, and in the little 
 council. They are eledled by the collective council. They formerly 
 held their office only one year : it is now for life ; though the collec- 
 tive council has the right to remove them. They are annually con- 
 firmed in their office at Eafter, by the colledive council : after the 
 German treafurer has publicly folicited, in their name, letters of appro- 
 bation. The fame is done in the little council. The advoyer, who 
 was laft year in office, refigns to his affiDciate. The reigning advoyer 
 has precedence in the little and the colledive councils. The feal of the 
 republic lies before him. He never gives his vote, till it is demanded : 
 nor has he any vote, till, the numbers being equal, it becomes necef- 
 fary for him to decide. 
 
 The next in rank to the advoyers are the treafurers : the firft of 
 whom is for the German diftrids, and the other for the Pays de Vaud. 
 The two treafurers and the four bannerets con ftitute a college, or com- 
 mittee, of fi.nance. The bannerets are only a year in office ; the 
 treafurers may be continued for fix years. Each banneret is likewife 
 a high bailiff, without having the title of one of the four diilrids of 
 which the ftate originally confiftcd. 
 
 The advoyer, who by turn is out of office, is at the head of the 
 fecret college, or committee ; which confifts of himfelf, one treafurer, 
 the four bannerets, and the two fecret counfellors. In this committee 
 thofe affairs which muft not be made public are difcuffed. 
 
 The particular office of the fecret counfellor is to w^atch that nothing 
 cantrary to the conftitution fliall be done, either in the great or little 
 council. They have therefore the right, if they think it neceffary, to 
 
 Vol. L S convoke 
 
I30 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 convoke the great council, without leave of the advoyers. The dif- 
 ferent provincial committees, and the chambers of appeal, one for the 
 German diftrids, the other for the Pays de Vaud^ are members of the 
 councils. The conftitution of their courts of juilice might fuit the 
 charader of old times ; but, for the prefent, appear to me to be dan- 
 gerous. The fentence of the judge is highly refpeded, becaufe the 
 lav^^s are fo fimple; and, in reality, fo few. Neither here nor, if I do 
 not miftake, in the other cantons, is there any criminal code. This 
 deficiency might have dreadful confequences, were not thofe who 
 govern this country infpired by an unufual fpirit of benevolence. 
 
 Perhaps you, like me, will wonder at the little power of the advoyer. 
 His influence however is often very great, nay almoft preponderating ; 
 although, till it is demanded, he has no vote. But fnch muR ever be 
 the nature of having propofitions to make, in the mouth of a man of 
 underftanding and eloquence. Few ftates have been fufHciently watch- 
 ful of this influence. Such an influence is great, little, or nothing; in 
 proportion to the abilities of the perfon who ftates the propofition : 
 and the people of Berne appear, from this inftitution, to have fhewn a 
 deep knowledge of man. 
 
 The high bailiffs were formerly chofen, by vote, by the great coun- 
 cil : but they have now been chofen by lot for about eighty years. 
 Melancholy necefTity, after long experience, has taught them that the 
 blindnefs of chance had better be trufted, than the too frequent par- 
 tiality of man. That however was not the only reafon, why this 
 change took place : it was in order to prevent thofe who afpire to this 
 oihce from being dependant on the powerful members of the council, 
 whofe votes they would have found fo ufeful. That flate is half loft, 
 the rulers of which are become dependant on each other by unforefeeii 
 caufes. The dependance, which man muft unavoidably have on 
 man, can only be fimple, natural, and juft, when it is accompa- 
 nied by talents, and virtue : and even then it is too frequently danger- 
 
 C\l9k 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, ,31 
 
 ous. The Athenians limited it by oflracifm : the people of Syracufc 
 by petalifm *. 
 
 The bailiwicks are divided into four clafTes; according to their im- 
 portance and revenues ; and are frequently very lucrative. No man 
 can be high bailiff of the firft: clafs above once ; twice of the fecond 
 clafs ;. and three times of the third and fourth ; and the latter mufl be 
 at intervals. The high bailiff continues in office fix years; and each 
 annually lays his accounts before the committee of finance. Their 
 power is very great. To them is the police, the execution of the 
 orders of the council, the difpofal of the public money, and of the corn 
 granary, the appeals from the fmall courts, and the power of pro- 
 nouncing fentence, when complainants bring their caufes before them, 
 entrufted. 
 
 Difcontents, at the abufe of this power, were formerly frequent. 
 About a hundred and forty years ago, various ads of oppreffion and 
 tyranny occafioned an infurredion : but wife and effedual regulations 
 are certainly now, and long have been, adopted. An appeal is opea 
 to every peafant ; or, fhould he prefer that, he may complain to the little 
 council. Penalties are not at will, but determinate. Perfonal injuries, 
 which in fo many countries filence the complaints of the peafant, who 
 dreads the power of his oppreffor, are here impoffible. Hence, I may 
 fay, that the countryman i^ the beloved, nay the fpoiled, child of the 
 government of Berne. The country people well know this ; and I 
 may fafely affert that the lower orders of people are no where in the 
 world fo well fatisfied as in the cantons of Berne and Ziirich. I do not 
 include the democratic cantons j becaufe in them there is no diftinc- 
 tion of rank. 
 
 The clergy muft have been educated either at Berne or Laufanne, 
 The fmall council nominates to the provincial benefices : the colledivc 
 
 * In Athens, when any man became dangeroufly pov/erful, it was cuftomary for the 
 people to write his name on an oyfter fhell, and thus banifh him. In Syracufe^ they 
 wrote on a leaf. The term of banilhment from Athens was ten years ; from Syracufc 
 five. T. 
 
 S z council 
 
1.2 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 J 
 
 council to thofe of Berne. The clergy of the German dlftrids are- 
 divided into elglit fynods : each of which aflemblcs once a year. The 
 Pays de Vaud has five fynods. Moral offences, efpecially thofe againft 
 the fixth commandment, fall under the cenfure of the leffer conlifto- 
 ries : to which likewife affairs of marriage and divorce are committed* 
 The proceedings are fent to the high confiflory of Berne : which is a 
 mixture of citizens, laymen, and clergymen. 
 
 The clergy have little power in worldly affairs : except that their office 
 gives them great influence. This is as it ought to be. It frequently 
 happens that young men of rank dedicate themfelves to the church. 
 
 The people are regularly trained to arms, and annually muftered. 
 They are divided into one-and-twenty regiments of foot, each two 
 thoufand ftrong ; and four companies of jagers, or light horfe, and 
 eighteen of dragoons. Befide thefe, the perfons who hold eftates, that 
 confer titles of nobility, raife feveral companies of horfe. No foldier, 
 whether horfe or foot, dare marry, till he has firft provided himfelf 
 with his uniform, arms, and accoutrements. This is the drefs of the 
 bridegroom. The dragoon muff provide himfelf with a horfe : but 
 this is no great difficulty ; for, as a farmer, he muff keep many horfes. 
 
 The arfenal is well ilored : it contains above a thoufand cannon, 
 many mortars, mufkets for fixty thoufand men, and fufficient arms for 
 the cavalry. There are three companies of cannoneers, and one of 
 bombardeers, for the artillery. 
 
 The revenues of the ftate are not large ; yet fufficient for a republic, 
 the rulers of which have moft of them no falary, and the reft very 
 little, and which m^aintains no ftanding army. Thefe revenues chiefly 
 confift in fome domains, the tythes, a certain fmall ground rent, the 
 fixth part of the allodial fines of the fiefs In the Pays de Vaud, the 
 tenths of thofe inheritances in this fame country which do not de- 
 fcend to the next heir, certain trifling tolls, and the monopoly of fait. 
 Of this monopoly no one complains ; for it is fold cheaper by the go- 
 vernment than it could be afforded by the trader. I muft likewife add 
 to them the intereft paid for the outffanding capital 5 which, at pre- 
 
 fent. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 133 
 
 fent, amounts to feven hundred thoufand pounds Bernois : that is» 
 fomething more than two hundred thoufand rix dollars. 
 
 It Is probable that the treafury of the republic is rich ; and it would 
 annually increafe, but for its numerous expences in public buildin<>-s, 
 inftitutions, and high roads. 
 
 There is a remarkable cuflom, which proves the wifdom. of their 
 anceftors, but which is now very much on the decline. This is what 
 is called the Aeufleren Stand * ; which is the title of a community of 
 young burghers, who form the model, or the mimic counterpart, of 
 the republic. Formerly they determined on war, peace, and alliance ; 
 and treated on chimerical affairs with great induftry and ardour. 
 They now only {hare the dignities of the republic among themfelves. 
 Each who holds thefe ideal dignities pays fomething into the treafury. 
 The fociety, however, is become confiderably in debt: for the young 
 gentlemen are more bufied about parties of pleafure, and tavern din- 
 ners, than in moral or political enquiries. They have well cha- 
 radterized their mimicry, and emblematically reprefented the condition 
 of their declining finances, when they chofe an ape, riding upon a crab, 
 for their arms. The only remains of this once noble inftitution are 
 now its delinquencies. Every aflbciate, in this fociety, is fure to be 
 voted for in the great council ; although he fhould have been admitted 
 a member only the evening before election. 
 
 I have neither been able, nor defirous, to give you any thing more 
 than an outline of the conilitution of this republic ; againft which the 
 people of other countries have conceived great prejudices. At a firft 
 view, it is fuppofed to be an oligarchy ; which is certainly not to its 
 advantage. This the chiefs of the republic have perceived ; and, 
 adopting the advice of the great Haller, whofe memory is revered by 
 his countrymen, they have admitted more families of the burghers 
 Into the government. Each burgher is now capable of admiflion ; 
 
 * Exterior State, 
 
 whereas 
 
i34 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 whereas formerly none but feledt families had this capability, though 
 the burghers were numerous. 
 
 There is one principal feature, which diftinguiflies the ariflocratic 
 conftitutions of Switzerland from all others : a feature decifively in 
 favour of the freedom of the people, and w^hich can never be fufli- 
 ciently admired. 
 
 The government has no foldiers in its pay : and all the fubje6ts of 
 this warlike people are armed. 
 
 Real tranquillity, happinefs, and freedom, combined with the per- 
 ception of their flrength, which fecures them in their prefent condition, 
 place the inhabitants of thefe ftates in a high degree of fatisfa^Slion. 
 This fatisfadion, in the German diftridls of the republic, is univerfal 
 and unlimited. Of the difcontents which have prevailed in the Pays 
 de Vaud I will give you fome account, when I come to that country. 
 
 Though agriculture, in Berne, is induftrioufly purfued, yet fo nu- 
 merous are its mountains, and fo great its population (for freedom 
 lives not on bread alone), the corn it grows is not fufficient for its own 
 confumption. The trade of the country is fcarcely confiderable enough 
 to fupply the deficiency : it is very trifling indeed, except in Aargau, 
 the Pays de Vaud, and Emmenthal ; and the balance would be entirely 
 againft Berne, were it not for the fum.ptuary laws. Precious ftones, 
 and gold and filver lace, are forbidden : fo likewife are foreign wines, 
 unlefs efpecial permifTion be firft procured. Thefe regulations, in 
 addition to their fmall but adtive commerce, and the intereft of money, 
 which not only the ftate but various individuals draw, from foreign 
 countries, maintain the balance of trade. 
 
 I afcribe the little ufe which the town of Berne makes of its fitua- 
 tion on the Aar, to the warlike fpirit of former times. Thofe families 
 which take part in the government are the defcendants of a race of 
 bold warriors. They have imbibed and imparted the fentiments of 
 thtir anceftors : and happy is the land where fuch fentiments prevail. 
 
 Arillocrats would opprefs, were the trade in their hands. They 
 4 would 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 135 
 
 would be eafiiy induced to monopolize, and limit the trade of their 
 inferiors : add to which, the fpirit of trade bat ill agrees with a certain 
 dignity of thinking, and acting. However happy the countryman of 
 Zurich may in other refpeds feel himfelf, he complains, and not with- 
 out reafon, of the fetters which the town lays upon trade. Like the 
 noble Romans of the good republican ages, the importance of the citi- 
 zen of Berne, and after his example that of the countryman, is eafily 
 awakened. 
 
 The oeconomical community have done much good by their writings 
 and prize medals. That they are ad:uated by a noble fpirit what I am 
 going to mention will prove. They have been reproached with hav- 
 ing no Infurance offices in this country. So long, fay they, as the 
 chriftian fpirit of benevolence fhall animate the people of our country, 
 and of our towns, fuch inftitutions are unnecefTary : or, rather, would 
 injure this fpirit. 
 
 The anfwer is truly charaderiftic of the Swifs, in, general. If fire, 
 inundation, dearth, or any other misfortune of the kind, befall indivi- 
 duals or whole communities, aid pours in from every quarter. At 
 Klifnacht, in the canton of Zlirich, about twelve years ago, a rivulet 
 overflowed, fwept away eight-and-twenty houfes, and fixty-three peo- 
 ple : and not only did their neighbours, but people beyond the limits of 
 the canton, generoufly come to their aid. A few years ago, many fami- 
 lies in the Pays de Vaud were in diftrefs, from an accidental dearth; 
 and fo much money was fent to the clergy, from all parts, to be diftri- 
 buted, that they were obliged to require no more might be fent. 
 
 It is particularly to the honour of Berne that, from the times of their 
 cnterprifmg warlike noble?, they have ftill retained the generofity of 
 their anceftors ; and, for centuries paft, Berne has renounced its luft of 
 conqueft. The wars waged againft her counts and neighbours were 
 not all juftifiable : and, to ufe a mild expreffion, the conqueft of the 
 Pays de Vaud was at leaft of doubtful morality. But they now no 
 ■longer indulge plans of aggrandiferaent. All Switzerland loves the 
 
 2;overnment 
 
136 TRAVELS OF COUNT STCLBLRG. 
 
 government of Berne : particularly the little democratic cantons. It is 
 honoured by them all, as a peace-loving, noble, generous, member of 
 the confederacy. It is delightful to hear the burgher of Berne urge, 
 in the full warmth and rectitude of his heart, the patriotifm of his 
 countrymen ; who would take advantage of no neighbour, and ftill lefs 
 indulge themftlves in fowing the feeds of difcord among the little free 
 ftatcs ; but are much rather attentive to fpread and maintain brotherly 
 unity. 
 
 I cannot conclude this letter, w^ithout endeavouring to imprefs the 
 two following propofitions : although I have before mentioned them. 
 
 Lefs attention ought to be paid to the forms, than to the fpirit, of 
 any conflitution. This fpirit is communicated from century to century, 
 and from race to race ; however its forms may be modified. 
 
 A w^akeful people, who love freedom, are free ; if they have but 
 arms in their hands ; how^ever defencelefs their government may be. 
 
 To conclude, the peace and happinefs felt by the low^er orders, under 
 the ariftocratic conftitutions of Switzerland, denote not only the fpirit 
 of the government, but, likewife, the noble fpirit of the people ; who, 
 more enlightened than their neighbours, more alert, more animated, 
 than other country people, prove that that conftitution muft be excel- 
 lent, where fecurity, liberty, and property, are preferved. 
 
 A fmgle, but well founded, objection remains, againft the people of 
 Berne : the great expence of their lawfuits. But the government is 
 affiduoufly adive, in its endeavours to cure this abufe. 
 
 LET- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 137 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 Berne, 220 September 1791. 
 
 T was a great pleafure to me, yefterday, to take my fon, 
 and fliew him the arfenal. I had feen it on my firfl journey. It is 
 important, becaufe of its terrific flores, and new arms ; and remark- 
 able, to a traveller, for its antient Swifs and Burgundian armour. The 
 prodigious two-handed fwords, and long fpears, are dreadfully cum- 
 brous. We w^onder at the uncommon ftrength of our forefathers ; 
 who, it is evident from the remaining armour and jack boots, were 
 not larger than we are. The farmers in general, in the canton of 
 Berne, as well as in the three firft cantons, Schweitz, Url, and Unter- 
 wald, who are remarkably handfome men, are frequently too large for 
 this armour : yet, mufcular and ftrong as they are, I Ihould fcarcely 
 expert them to wield thefe fwords, or bear thefe fpears. The banners 
 of Burgundy, which they Ihewed me, and the ropes in which the Swifs 
 w^ere to be bound, are preferved and exhibited in a truly republican 
 fpirif. 
 
 There are likewife here the wooden image of William Tell, in the 
 acl of fhooting the apple from the head of his fon ; and of Berthold 
 the fifth, duke of Zahringen, the founder of the city. The building 
 is a bad one, and does not correfpond to the greatnefs of its deflination. 
 
 The hofpitals are both of them very beautiful. One is called ^e 
 Iiifeli or IHand; becaufe of its detached fituation. The iick of all nations 
 are here carefully nurfed, and dreffed, in roomy apartments ; from 
 which there is a full profpe«£l of the great chain of diftant glaciers. 
 
 Equally remarkable is the other great hofpital ; which much rather 
 refembles the palace of a prince than the abode of the poor. Yet not 
 the leaft convenience is facrificed to magnificence, which is fo fre- 
 
 VoL. L T quently 
 
133 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 quently the cafe in monarchrcal flates. The front gives an impreflioii. 
 of greatnefs ; which impreffion is much increafed, when the reader 
 feels the full meaning of the infcriptlon : Chr'ifio in paiiper'ibus : To 
 Chrlft in the poor. We then went into the great court, included 
 within the four fides of this ftrudure. The kitchen garden lies be- 
 tween the hofpital and the town ; and every poffible care has been 
 taken, that the free air fhould be enjoyed, as much as its iituation^. 
 which is in the town, would permit. The court is a verdant lawn, 
 planted with trees, and numerous flowers; and a fountain is in the 
 centre. Fifty perfons, fome of them poor, others fick, are here fup-- 
 ported. Beiide which, others are lodged and maintained at a fmalL 
 expence. 
 
 There is likewife, in this- hofpital, a feparate part for poor travellers. 
 In the evening, they are fupplied with bread, wine, and a bed. In the 
 morning, they receive a breakfaft ; which is likewife of bread and 
 wine ; and a fmall fupply of money. There is alfo, near che tov/n, a 
 very large and handfome receptacle for the lunatic, the venereal, and 
 incurable. In what is called the orphan- houfe, which is not intended 
 for orphans only but for other children of the burghers, forty boys, 
 for the fmall annual fum of thirty rix dollars, are fed, clothed, and 
 inftrudled in the chriftian religion, reading, wTiting, arithmetic, Ger- 
 man, French, Latin, Greek, hiftory, geography, mathematics, fmg- 
 ing, and drawing. Profeffor Ith, a meritorious gentleman, has planned 
 their courfe of ftudy. This houfe likewife ftands detached ; and en- 
 joys a clear air and a free profped: of the meanderings of the Aar., 
 
 There is a peculiar character, of humane and friendly benevolence, 
 difcoverable in all the public inflitutions throughout Switzerland.. 
 Their founders have not endeavoured to fupply the needful alone, but 
 the invigorating ; after the excellent example of thofe who, with the 
 nutritive wheat, permit the growth of the lovely blue flower the cryfl:al 
 dews of which emit a lively odour.. 
 
 In the library, to w^hich a new hall has been added, there is a bronze 
 
 6 baflb- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. J59 
 
 baiTo-rellevo, dug up at Laufanne, which reprefents a prlefl: pouring 
 out a Hbation between the horns of an ox. Addifon mentions it, in 
 his Travels. Here is iikewife a prodigious piece of cryftal ; perhaps the 
 largeft in Europe. 
 
 The cathedral is one of the fiaeft and largeft I have feen: thofe of 
 Strafburg and Ulm only can be campared to it. Before it is a fpacious 
 walk of trees, on a bold and elevated terrace ; which commands a pro- 
 fped: of the whole town, of the windings of the Aar, and efpecially 
 of the great chain of glaciers. 
 
 I and fome friends w^ent to the top of the cathedral ; v/here we en- 
 joyed one of the nobleil profpeds that the eye of man can embrace. 
 To the left, I faw a long ftretch of Mount Jura, extending from Bafle 
 to the lake of Geneva ; and, to the right, the more lofty glaciers, with 
 their inacceffible fummits, in the following order : firft the Engelberg, 
 in the canton of Unterwald ; and then the chain of the glaciers of 
 Berne ; Schreckhorn, Finfter-Alhorn, Fifchhorn, both the Eiger, the 
 Jungfrau, Breithorn, and Grofshorn, the red Zahne, the Bliimlialpe, and 
 the Gemmi. 
 
 The money for building this cathedral, like as for building St. 
 Peter's at Rome, was colledled through all Europe ; for which purpofe, 
 the Pope granted his indulgences. 
 
 The houfes are built with arcades ; under which are fhops. Thefc 
 arcades fhelter the foot paflenger from rain and heat. The granaries 
 are well built, and an ornament to the town ; and the ufeto which the 
 government puts them is deferving of praife. Corn is colle<£ted here 
 in great quantities ; not, as in Geneva, to oblige the baker to purchafe 
 there, but to prevent the price being exceffive. Berne has often fur- 
 nifhed neighbouring ftates with corn ; and, fome few years fince, it 
 generoufly aflifted Geneva, to its own lofs. The fupplies Iikewife 
 which it laft year granted the Pays de Vaud incurred a lofs of half a 
 million of dollars. 
 
 Not to mention the politenefs and true urbanity with which ftran- 
 
 T 2 gers 
 
140 fp.AVELS CF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 gers are here received, I cannot fufficiently praife the hearty, welcome 
 with which perfons whom I had only ciii'Torily feen, fixteen years agoj 
 rememhered' m.e ; or the good upon good, the friendlhip upon friend- 
 {hip, which they beftowed. 
 
 The air here is fo healtliy tliat the regifter for centuries proves, that 
 one man in three attains the age of feventy. This fanity of air is af- 
 cribed to its high fituation, the neighbourhood of the glaciers, and the 
 curvings of the rapid Aar. On an average comparifon of the tables of 
 Siifsmilch*, between tliis and other places, the advantage in favour of 
 Berne is as twenty-eight to twenty-four. 
 
 We left Berne in the morning ; and I cannot conclude this letter 
 without blaming, though unwilHngly, a very bad cuftom, which, 
 however harmlefs it might have been in more lim.ple ages, is certainly 
 pernicious at prcfent. 
 
 In antient times, a cuftom was introduced in the German diftri£ts of 
 the canton of Berne, that a maiden, having once received the holy fa- 
 crament, fhoiild every Saturday evening leave her chamber door open, 
 and receive a young man in bed. Improbable as it may appear, in 
 thofe days fuch nightly vifits were feldom attended with the confe- 
 quences that might. well have been expeded. The lover left the mai- 
 den as innocent as he found her; and continued to repeat his viiits. 
 This was called going to ^ilt; orio kilp : kllpen^ or ki!te?i^ is a phrafe 
 which only fignified a vifit after fupper. But this cuftom, which even 
 then was improper, for it could not but fully the innocence of the heart, 
 is now become much more reprehenfible. It is at prefent very difre- 
 putable for a young village girl to admit of a fecond lover, before iho, 
 has difcarded the firft : but fhe may have feveral lovers in a fhort 
 time, without incurring any blame ; although fuch vifits are no longer 
 as harmlefs as they formerly were. Should Are be with child, the fe- 
 ducer muft marry her : but fhe feldom knows who the father is; and 
 
 * I fuppofe this to be thenameof an author, with whom I am unacquainted. T. 
 
 therefore. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 141 
 
 therefore flie is at liberty to clioofe which of the lovers fhe pleafes as 
 the father. 
 
 So rooted is the prejudice ia favour of this cuftom, that the old peo- 
 ple encourage it ; and a chafte young woman, among the village girls, 
 is rarely to be found. They make faithful and affedtionate wives : nei- 
 ther do they bluih at the follies committed before marriage ; which 
 they do not confider as follies, and which the foberefi: matron among 
 them would not punifh as fuch. 
 
 I can conceive how dlfTicult it muft be to extirpate a prejudice from 
 a country where it has taken fuch deep root : but fo wife a government 
 as this fhould not be terrified at difficulties, when the chaftity of vvomen 
 and the virtue of men are fo intimately concerned. A cuftom like this 
 might have been expeded among the inhabitants of the fouth fea 
 iflands, rather than in the largeft canton in Switzerland : a country 
 which is fo jullly celebrated for the purity of its manners. How 
 blalnable is this cuftom, compared to that of the favages of North 
 America ! If a young man there wifhes to efpoufe a maiden, he goes 
 by night with a lighted candle into her hut, and places himfelf by her 
 bedfide. Should fhe difapprove his courtfhip, fhe gives a fign with 
 her hand ; and he retires without a murmur. If, on the contrary, fhe 
 is pleafed, fhe rifes half up in her bed ; while fweet modefty binds her 
 tongue ; and, as a token of approbation, blows out the light. Well 
 might the antients celebrate their Penelope, who, when her father 
 afked her whether fhe would remain with him or follow her hufband, 
 made no reply ; but, concealing her face wdth her veil, thereby de- 
 clared in favour of Ulyft^es. With equal delicacy of feeling, the Ame- 
 rican virgin gives the young favage her permifTion, by blowing out the 
 light before fhe takes him to her arms.. 
 
 LET- 
 
142 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER XXL 
 
 Laufanne, 27th September 1791. 
 
 E departed from Berne on the 23d5 and arrived here 
 yefterday evening. You will perceive vv^e continue our circuitous 
 mode of travelling : but who indeed would wi£h to travel otherwife, 
 in a country like this ? To examine it as it deferves, a man muft not 
 travel poft ; but as if he went to take a walk for his recreation. 
 
 About noon, we arrived at the lake of Bieler ; which is thus called 
 after the town and fmall republic of Biel, that is fituated on the eaft 
 fhore. It is four leagues in length, and one in breadth ; and is fur- 
 rounded by the canton of Berne, the principality of Neufchatel, and 
 the bifhopric of Bafle. 
 
 This lake has its peculiar beauties. Among hills, that gently rife 
 from the fhore, are meadows, pafture land, corn fields, vineyards, and 
 woods, intermingled with unceafing variety. Numerous fmall towns, 
 villages, and hamlets, prove the population of this diftinguifhed coun- 
 try. In the middle of the lake, the Peter's ifland rifes ; its verdant 
 ihores crowned with trees, and, on the weft, gently declining with 
 hanging vineyards. 
 
 This ifland belongs to the rich hofpital in Berne. The purveyor 
 of the hofpital inhabits the houfe, under the fhore, in which Jean 
 Jacques Rouifeau, for a fhort time, refided. We went into his cham- 
 ber; every corner and plank of which are fcribbled over, by travellers, 
 in all languages. From his own narrative, we feelingly perceive that 
 this extraordinary man, after fo many of the ftorms of life, fo many 
 imaginary and fo many real perfecutions, here found that calm of 
 which his ardent foul was ftill capable. Let it not be faid that he did 
 not actually find in this place that profound tranquillity, that fweet for- 
 
 getfulnefs 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBER.G. 143 
 
 getfulnefs of the forrows of a life of angiiifli, and thcfe gentle dreams 
 many of which were well worthy of the night- Vv^atching fage and his 
 folitary lamp. 
 
 Among the grand beauties of this ifland, entangled as we often were 
 by ihe thick and impervious bufhes, paiiing as we continually did under 
 the lofty oak, the chefnut, the afh, and the dufky fhades of various 
 fruit trees ; the lake now entirely loft, and now as fudclenly feen, de- 
 lighted by the fenfations wliich fertile nature every where infpired, we 
 fometimes forgot the philofophic hermit ; but v^e as often found him 
 again. Here, faid we, did the penfive Jean Jacques ruminate. On 
 this fteep height, and, glowing with all the delightful fweets of con- 
 fcious reditude, he contemplated the clear waters of the lake. Here 
 did he calm his too ardent fenfibility, by vievving the devv'-y plants, 
 which he took fo much pleafureto colled:. Under this rock, reclining 
 in a boat, he touched the foft flute. Yonder is the diminutive illand, 
 which he peopled with rabbits : that fmall fpot, which, comparatively, 
 makes the mother ifland a continent. 
 
 We took our meal on the ifland. Not far from the houfe is a round 
 pavilion, in which, during the vintage, the young people of the neigh- 
 bourhood aflfemble, every Sunday in the afternoon, to dance. 
 
 As we left the ifland, we were awakened by the recolledion of what 
 mufl; have been the fenfations of Roufl^eau, when he was obliged to 
 leave this place of refuge ; to which he had fo earneftly wiflied it were 
 his good fortune to have been baniflied. Poor Jean Jacques ! I acknow- 
 ledge that even thou hadfl; thy imperfed:ions. Often am I obliged to re- 
 colled; thy mifl:aken feelings, the fl:range weaknefs of thy fmgular foul 
 thy unexampled mixture of pliant confidence, and gloomy mifan- 
 thropy, thy meannefs, and thy dignity ! May the earth lie light upon 
 thee ! 
 
 We took boat, touched on the territories of Neufchatel, and in the 
 evening came to Arlach ; a fmall town in the canton of Berne, lying 
 on the north fide of the lake which bears its name. 
 
 This 
 
144 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 
 
 ^ This lake is nine leagues long, and two broad. The town, wliich is 
 exceedingly well built, contains about three thoufand inhabitants. 
 The council-houfe is a noble piece of architecture ; and the hall, in 
 which the lords of the council aflemble, combines republican dignity 
 with modern embellifliment. This building is ered:ed with money 
 •left by a rich burgher of Neufchatel, whofe name was Pury, and will 
 be finifhed in the prefent year. The to\vn has a poor-houfe, and a 
 hofpital. The granary is capacious, and built in a good ftyle. Large 
 corn magazines are found in every town in Sv>^itzerland ; which is fo 
 populous that this precaution is quite neceflary. 'I he buildings, ap- 
 propriated to this ufc, every where difcover the flmple grandeur of 
 architecture. A free people always have a fine feeling of the dignity 
 of man : whatever is dedicated to the fervice of the community, bears 
 the great and facred charader of its defignation. 
 
 The profpe6t toward the lake is delightful. Facing the town, on 
 each fide of the fhore, the craggy mountains of the canton of Freiburg 
 rife. The diftant glaciers of Berne, which I remember appeared de- 
 ceitfully near, towering as it were at my feet, were now clouded. 
 
 The county of Vallangin and the principality of Neufchatel, united, 
 are ten leagues in length, and five in their greateft breadth. They are 
 ftippofed to contain forty thoufand inhabitants. In the year 1707, 
 their race of princes became extinCt ; and the inhabitants chofe Frederic 
 the firfl, King of Pruflia, for their prince; as heir to the houfe of 
 Chalons^ after having firft ftipulated for their reciprocal rights. In 
 default of male heirs, the principality defcends to the female. The 
 reprefentative of the king fvv'ore to leave the rights, liberties, and cu''- 
 toms, written and unwritten, unmolefted. 1 he reprefentatives of the 
 country, in return, took the oath of allegiance. 
 
 All the affairs of government are to be difcufled in the ftate. The 
 
 king, being abfent, can only govern through the intervention of his 
 
 Jiatthalter^ and the council. By the fiate, and by the laws of the con- 
 
 flitution, alone, can any individual citizen be judged. The king has 
 
 no 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STGLBEP.G. 145 
 
 TiO claims over the country, except as prince of Neufchatel. It takes 
 no part in his wars : it remained firm to its alliance with France, dur- 
 ing the feven years war ; and the king was obliged to fuffer the two 
 companies of Neufchatel, that were in the French fcrvice, to fir^-ht 
 againft him. 
 
 In this happy land, no judge dare confine any individual, who has not 
 undergone a previous examination. Pains and penalties are limited, bv 
 laws that are inviolable ; and, when infiiillcd, are mild. The only pri- 
 vilege of the prince is that of mitigating or remitting punifliment. Fie 
 dares not impofe new taxes j and the old are trifling. Trade is entirely 
 free : the people of Neufchatel pay no duties, either of export or im- 
 port. The revenues of the King are farmed ; and annually produce 
 about twenty-five thoufand rix dollars. 
 
 This little country has great difference of climate. The fouth part, 
 tow^ard the lake, enjoys a very mild air. Wine, with every kind of 
 grain, and fruit, are produced here, as in the Pays de Vaud. The fea- 
 fons of the north on the contrary, including a part of Mount Jura, are 
 rude ; and the lands with difficulty produce oats and barley : however, 
 the country here is very populous, which is owing to the fkill and 
 mduftry of its inhabitants. A defcription, which v/as given us, by 
 profelTor Ith, of the people of thefe mountains, and of their great natu- 
 ral beauty, induced us to make a fhort journey thither ; which has 
 given me inexpreffible pleafure. 
 
 Having firfl made our obfervations on Neufchatel, we fet out early 
 on the 24th for this purpofe. Near the town, at the foot of the moun- 
 tains, we met with fruitful fields. The lands were enriched with the 
 growing wheat and rye. Our afcent was gradual ; and corn fields 
 gradually difappeared : but every where the beauty and ftrength of the 
 herbage, and the plants, were admirable. We frequently met with 
 fiowers, which, in lower fituations, bloom in the fpring. I plucked a 
 field rofe, whofe ftrong and frefh odour was Invigorating j like that 
 
 Vol. I. U kind 
 
146 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 kind of aromatic perfume, which is only to he met with in high 
 lands'^'. 
 
 The road was fleep, and very uneven. High rocks, fometimes 
 naked, at others clad with green trees, were frequent on the right. To 
 the left, in valleys of fteep defcent, were noble woods of beech and 
 pine. Between thefe woods, fpacious openings to the lake proffered 
 themfelves ; through which we faw the gentler beauties of its fhores. 
 The green paftures between the rocks were overgrown with the large 
 yellow gentian ; the tall flowers of which, during fummer, give great 
 beauty to thefe countries. 
 
 After travelling three leagues, we came to the top of a hill ; on 
 which were a few fcattered houfes. This refting place is called La 
 Tour. While our horfes were baiting, we felt the mountain air had 
 fharpened our appetites for a fecond breakfaft ; a thing unknown to 
 the inhabitants of plains. They gave us excellent butter and honey ; 
 and we men took a ftrengthening draught of the Switzerland Kirfch- 
 waflerf, which is neither inferior in flrcngth nor tafte to the Dantzic 
 Goldwafler J. 
 
 We again joyoufly fet forward on our journey. You know how 
 excellent a traveller Sophia is : few women would be able to makefuch 
 a journey. The road was fteep, and rocky ; and we frequently turned 
 fuddenly upon fearful precipices, that lay on our left. The traveller 
 muft depend on the caution of his guide, the ftrength of his fure footed 
 horfes, and the goodnefs of his carriage. Add to which, to enjoy a 
 journey like this, his mind muft be undifturbed. 
 
 Here we beheld unufually beautiful pines, on jthe fides of the moun- 
 tain, mixed with tall flender beeches, which ftill tower covered vnth 
 
 * In places whicTi are cold becaufe of their northern latitude, th? vegetation is feeble : 
 but it is not the fame with places that are cold becaufe of their elevation. The high Alps 
 have a fborter fummer, and a more fevere v^^inter, than places that lie betvi^een fifty-fix 
 and fifty-eight degrees of latitude : yet their vegetation is uncommonly vigorous- 
 
 t Cherry Brandy. % Dantzic Brandy. 
 
 a frcih 
 
TRAVELS OF COUN'T STOLBEPn^G. T47 
 
 a frcfli fummer green. Between their charming loluige, verdant val- 
 leys appeared, on which cattle w^ere grazhig ; and large paftures lay 
 among the rocks to our right. 
 
 After we had paiied La Tour about three leagues, we came to a 
 place where the road was a very deep dcfcent ; and law, in an elevated 
 valley, the handlbme village of Locle, lying below and before us. 
 This whole diftrid, which belongs to the county of Vallengin, about 
 the beginning of the fourteenth century was uninhabited. It is called 
 after its chief village, Locle, is about two leagues and a half in length, 
 and one in breadth, and was peopled by wild beads ; when a man, 
 named Droz de Corcelles, who came from thefouth part of Neufchatel, 
 being proteded by two lords of Vallengin, undertook, with his four 
 fons, to clear and cultivate this fpot of earth. Rocks, precipices, mo- 
 raffes, and places overgrown with trees, which, during eight months 
 in the year were under the rigorous dominion of winter, had no ter- 
 rors for him. He here eftablifhed a little free colony ; which took 
 its origin about the year in which the confederates obtained their liberty, 
 by fhaking off the yoke of the Auftrian Zwhigherrn. Such was the 
 fpirit of freedom which breathed over all Helvetia ; and to this fublime 
 fpirit has the high valley of Locle been indebted, for its profperity, 
 during five hundred years. How does a man learn in Switzerland to 
 feel the energy of Haller's mufe, where he fays, 
 
 Da wo die Freikeit wohnt, wird alle miihe minder. 
 Die felfen felbfl; beblUmt, und Boreas gelinder*j 
 
 in thele rough valleys, you find a village many of the houfes of 
 -which would become a town. The church is a large and noble edifice* 
 Their bells, efteemed the beft in Switzerland, refound through the 
 whole valley \ and call a free, virtuous, and happy people, who to the 
 
 * Where Freedom <i wells, flis every care beguiles ! 
 The rocks are fruitful, and the winter fmiles ! T, 
 
 U 2 pleafure 
 
148 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 pleafurc of the paftoral life add an intelligent and adive induflry, to 
 give thanks in the temple of their Holy Father. 
 
 The pavement and the fountains denote the fpirit of a free commu- 
 nltv ; which confults the convenience and henefit of its citizens. I'here 
 is a large weekly market here. We arrived on the Saturday ; and 
 the kind looking market people fwarmed, through the clean ftreets of 
 the village, like a neft of ants. Places, that were formerly the dens of 
 wolves and bears, are now the abode of mechanical knowledge, and 
 enlightened induftry. The father and fon, whole name is Droz, 
 whofe fcientific automatons are celebrated throughout Europe, and 
 who are the defcendants of the founder of this community, are now 
 living. Mills have here been built in deep pita, which are driven by 
 fubterranean ftreams. 
 
 Watchmakers, lace weavers, goldfmiths, cutlers, workers in ena- 
 mel. Iron, and fteel, people thefe diftrids. A country life, and the 
 mountain air, here keep men like thefe healthy and robuft ; who, from 
 their fedentary employment, in towns, are fo frequently weak,, and 
 effeminate. 
 
 As the weather was gloomy, and as we learnt that we were flill two 
 good leagues diftant from the waterfall of Doux, the day too being on 
 the decline, we determined to delay our excurfion till the morrow ; 
 hoping for better weather, and putting our truft in the peculiar cha- 
 rader of this fine year. We went however to Chaux de Fond ; which 
 is a; league and a half from Locle, and nearly on the fame level. 
 
 This valley is two leagues long, is divided into eleven parts, and, 
 exclufive of the villages, is every where fcattered over with houfes. 
 Here, under the wing of freedom, inhabit induftry, order, art, and 
 profperity. Here, the inhabitants are maintained by their manufac- 
 tures, and the excellence of their paftures. The number of thefe 
 inhabitants is about three thoufand ; four hundred of whom are watch- 
 makers. Each part of the watch is made by its particular workman. 
 This increafes the accuracy of the work, and the dexterity of the 
 
 artiftj 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ,4,^ 
 
 artift, and lowers the price of the watch. We w^ent to one of the 
 principal manufadories ; where they fhewed us watches of o-reat 
 beauty, and inftruments that fhew the courfe of the fun ; wliich con- 
 fequently muftbe adjufted according to the latitude. From ten to fix- 
 teen thoufand watches and many clocks are annually made here. 
 
 Sixteen hundred women are fuppofed to be employed in the lace 
 manufadory ; and in this valley, as well as in that of Locle, new me- 
 chanical inftruments are often invented. Many Germans are to be 
 met with here. It has likewife four large mills, the wheels of wlilch 
 are worked under ground. We were told that one of thefe wheels 
 puts eight faws in motion. 
 
 The fale of their cattle in part fupplies their deficiency of corn • and 
 the labours of their mechanics enrich the whole land. 
 
 In Switzerland, Nature is a fruitful,, healthy, and lovino-, mother. 
 Ever pregnant, fhe fcarcely has time to give her children the breaft. 
 Happy children, that imbibe freedom with their mother's milk ! Benevo- 
 lent nurfe, that preffes them to her foft glowing bofom. ! Rocks moun- 
 tains, and barren places, profper and fmile on thefe her paftoral fons. 
 
 We returned to Locle early on the 25th, and met our hoft a^^ain 
 with pleafure. The m.an is eighty-three ; his wife feventy-feven. 
 They have been fixty years married. The M^orthy old Baucis informed 
 me, with heartfelt delight, that they were the parent fcock of feventv- 
 feven living defcendants. 
 
 The good people had procured a charabanc for us, to vifit the fall of 
 the Doux. We afcended and defcended two very fteep heip-hts. It is in 
 vain to be afraid, among fhort turnings like thofe we pafled ; where often 
 the road diiiippears, and a precipice only is feen. The p-uide ran befide 
 us ; and frequently, in narrow roads, prefled as it were between the cliif 
 and the carriage, he leapt like a wild goat from rock to rock. The v/ay 
 is wonderfully pleafant. Rocks, covered with flirubs and trees, fome 
 low and ftrong, others tall and flender, profped:s that open and fliut 
 upon the verdant valleys, and at length a downward glimpfe of the 
 
 fmall 
 
KO 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 imall Doux, which feparates Neufchatel from Franche Comte, running 
 over a rocky bed to the lake, which from a French village is called 
 Lac dc Mouron ; all thefe objcds delight the eye, in an indefcribabic 
 manner, and make the heart overflow with pleafure. 
 
 A fudden defcent into the valley brought us to the little village of 
 T3rcncts. Here again w^e found watchmakers and mechanics. vVe 
 alighted from our carriage, and took boat on the Doux ; which here 
 becomes broader ; and, in a few minutes, we found ourfelves in that 
 deep rocky gulph which is called the lake of Mouron. This lake, 
 which frequently winds between lleep cliffs, is fo fmall that it 
 might cafdy be fuppofed to be the Doux ; did not its depth denote its 
 native fources. Its craggy fhores and naked cliffs fometimes rife, in 
 fantallic forms, to the clouds ; and fometimes are covered with the dark 
 pine. At others, their afcent is more gradual : while the friendly beech 
 and the clear green aih, in all the vigour of vegetation, grow wild, and 
 rife in ftories one above the other. 
 
 It was a charming day ; and the dark blue of the heavens, the up- 
 right canopy only of which we could fee, was contrafted with the 
 variegated verdure of the trees, and the dazzling walls of rock. A 
 deep filence reigns here : except interrupted by the bleat of a flray 
 goat, or the flight of the eagle. 
 
 Large eagles hovered over our heads, at an Immeafurable height ; 
 and only once feemed difturbed, when our boatmen awakened flum- 
 bering echo wdth firing their guns. The waters of the lake have waflr- 
 ed deep canals in the rock ; cavities that are really wonderful, nay in- 
 credible; being certainly from twenty to thirty ells in height, and fhew- 
 ing what was formerly the height of the lake. In antient times, far 
 indeed beyond the knowledge of the hiftory of this country, the whole 
 valley muft have been a deep lake. Thefe outlets increafe the phan- 
 tom-like appearance of the rocks ; where all that is ftrange and admi- 
 rable feems combined ! where every beauty flouriihes, and where the 
 horrible crags and caverns are hung with flowers and innumerable 
 
 flirubbery ! 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 151 
 
 {hrubbery ! Among the fmall cliffs, beautiful trees take root ; and on 
 the top of one of the higheft a tall pine grows, the bed of v;hlch, ac- 
 cording to all appearance, is the bare ftone. 
 
 We came at lad to the end of the lake ; and faw the dry bed of the 
 river, which in fummer has no vifible courfe, but conceals itfelf under 
 ground. We landed on the Neufchatel fliore, and faw three French 
 excife officers coming up to us; againft whofe impofitlon we were 
 warned by our boatman. They had lately, under fome frivolous pre- 
 text, detained a traveller almoft a whole day. We gave our pocket- 
 books and money into the pofleffion of one of our guides, that we 
 might not fatisfy the curiofity of thefe Frenchmen, nor be obliged, as 
 fome travellers have been, to exchange our louis d'ors for affignats at 
 forty per cent, difcount. We continued our way with a determined 
 air, which bordered on defiance, along the dry bed of the river. They 
 let us pafs peaceably, although they had evidently come to examine 
 us : but either our manner fettered their adlivity, or they did not hope 
 to find much booty on people who had emptied their pockets in their 
 very prefence. 
 
 After a few hundred paces, we came to a rocky height ; w^here w^e 
 again faw the Doux, on the other fide of a deep but narrow valley, rife 
 out of the earth that had drunk in its waters ; and in about thirty 
 yards, exadly oppofite to us, it fell perhaps eighty feet, impetuoufiy, 
 over rocks, into the valley. 
 
 The third part of its bed w^as not filled. At other feafons of the 
 year, or in a lefs dry fummer, the force of the cafcade muft be much 
 greater : but, even then, I have no conception of the manner in which 
 the earth imbibes its waters, or how they efcape after their fubterra- 
 neous paffage. 
 
 We again took boat, again with pleafure contemplated our lake and 
 
 its rocks, and flopped to view a large rent, which divided a rock from 
 
 the bottom to the top, and formed a deep cavity. AVe penetrated 
 
 about fifty paces into this cavern ; and fhould have proceeded farther 
 
 9 in 
 
1 5:2 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 in the dark hole, if our boatman had not forgotten to bring a light. 
 A man muft he utterly void of imagination, who fliould not, for a 
 moment, fuppofe himfelf an inhabitant of this rocky gulph. His 
 fancy will place him with a death's head, feated, like a repenting 
 hermit : or he will think it the refuge either of a hunter, a herdfman, 
 or a pair of lovers; who here, in innocence, afFedion,' and freedom, 
 live on the filli of the lake, the wild berries of the rock, and the milk 
 of the fkipping goat. 
 
 I own, I left this place with a kind of regret : witha fulnefs of heart. 
 
 We again took boat for Brenets, and were then carried in our char 
 a banc to Locle. There we dined ; hearing the ringing of the bells, 
 which fummoned the people to afternoon fervice. 
 
 After dinner, we continued our journey back to La Tour. We 
 now viewed the beautiful valley by funfhine ; which, the day before, 
 was lefs charming, becaufe the weather was bad. It was crowded with 
 people, in their Sunday attire, who were feen walking and familiarly 
 playing with their cattle. You know how fond the people of our 
 countrv are of animals : but this fondnefs is nothing, when compared 
 to the kind intercourfe that fubfifts between them and their owners in 
 Switzerland. Li mountainous diftrids, tillage is not the daily care of 
 the peaiant. His wealth is in his herd. At one appointed time, he 
 drives his cattle to the Alps ; and, at another, he brings them back. 
 Nevcrthclefs, the people of thefe valleys have a remarkable fondnefs 
 for animals. We faw men, women, and children, carefling the cows j 
 and I never fhall forget feeing a well looking man, with a woollen cap 
 on his head, who flood, his arms croffed and fatisfadion in his coun- 
 tenance, with his whole foul intent upon his large w^ell fed fpotted 
 cow, that had a handfome metal bell hung round her neck, and the 
 tinkling of which, at every ftep fhe made, delighted his ear. He took 
 no notice of our carriage, as it rolled along. His eyes and ears were 
 alike engroffed by his cow. 
 
 It was late when we reached La Tour; and happy was it for us that 
 
 we 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 153 
 
 we there found a man that knew the countr)' : for we neither widiecl 
 to return by Neufchatel, nor could we have arrived there before night. 
 We were therefore obliged to forfake the high road, and proceed along 
 a deep narrow road acrofs the country, which brought us into places 
 that were wholly unknov/n to the guide that came with us from Berne. 
 We Qccafionally pafled fteep rocks ; and, had it not been for our new 
 guide, we muft have fpent the night in the open air. 
 
 Soon after we had ftruck into the bye road, we fuddenly perceived 
 a great alteration in the climate. On the mountains, and high plains, 
 the air had been very fiiarp ; and, wherever the wind blew through 
 the openings in the mountains, we found the cold as great as in the 
 latter part of the month of November : but here we again met with 
 fruit trees, and the air was not fo rude. 
 
 At twilight, we arrived at the little town of Boudry ; which belongs 
 to Neufchatel : and early yefterday we purfued our road, and prefently 
 came to the lake of Neufchatel. We travelled by its fide, with its 
 frothy waves driven by the wind on our left, and the long promontory 
 of the woody Jura on our right, and arrived in the forenoon at 
 Yverdon. 
 
 A league before we came to Yverdon, we pafled through Grandfon, 
 This town, and its bailiwick of the fame name, belong in common t^ 
 Berne and Freiburg. In the year 1476, the town was taken by Charles 
 the Bold, Duke of Burgundy ; who, contrary ta his pledged faith, 
 hanged a part of the garrifon and drowned the reft. But foon after- 
 ward, on the third of March, in the very fame year, and place, ha 
 was defeated by the Swifs. He loft; his camp, his baggage, and his 
 artillery. This battle was the harbinger of the great victory at Mur- 
 ten, by which he was humbled; and of the battle of Nancy, where 
 the reftlefs warrior loft his life. 
 
 Yverdon is among the oldeft towns in Switzerland. It is one of the 
 four towns of the Pays de Vaud which are called Les quatrss bonnes 
 
 Vol. I. X villes i 
 
T54 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 villes'^\ thefe are Moiidon, Yverdon, Merges, and Nyon. They have 
 confiderable mimiclpal rights, with a little and a great council ; con- 
 fifting of thirty-fix perfons, the prefident of whom is a banneret. 
 
 There is an old caftle, in Yverdon, with four towers, which was 
 built in the tv/elfth century by Conrad, Duke of Zahringen. In this 
 town, there is a fociety, that collects voluntary alms for all the poor ; 
 to prevent begging, and keep the country free from the dirt, diforder, 
 and immorality, of mendicants. 
 
 The town is built at the fouth end of ^ the lake of Neufchatel, In a 
 charming fituation. It has beautiful alleys of the chefnut, the linden, 
 and the Italian poplar. It grieved me to fee the trees, of one of the 
 large linden walks, with their branches lopped, and their bark peeled 
 all round ; which fhewed they were doomed to the axe. Here, as in 
 other places, the large trees which were planted by our great great 
 grandfathers are hewn down, and replaced by the Italian poplar. It 
 is pleaded, in excufe, that the trees grew old, and were in part decayed. 
 It may be fo ; but, in my opinion, thofe who fell the large linden to 
 plant the ftripling poplar would be very worthy of inhabiting the city 
 of Abdera f. 
 
 In the afternoon, we continued our journey, through very fertile 
 regions. Two leagues from Laiifanne, we met with a marble obelilk, 
 erected in a village, on the four fides of which was the following in- 
 fcription, in the Latin, German, French, and Englifh languages : 
 
 PRAISE THE LORD, ALL YE PEOPLE! 
 
 We arrived here yefterday evening, about du(k ; too late to enjoy 
 the beautiful profpeds of the lake. 
 
 * The four good towns. 
 
 f Abdera was an antient maritime town of Thrace ; the inhabitants of which were 
 fubje(5l to a kind of ftupid phrenfy. T. 
 
 LET- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 155 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Laufanne, 30th September 1 79 1. 
 
 JL HE day before yefterday, in the morning, we went down to 
 the lake, and took boat, intending to make a two days \'oyage, to Vevay 
 and the Savoy fhore. We firft however proceeded to Meillerie, in 
 Savoy. The day was clear, and increafed the charms of the lake ; the 
 waters of which, in foft meanders, were loft behind the hills, while to 
 the left we faw their full extent ; and, beyond them, the mountains of 
 Valais, with their towering forked cliifs : among which we diftinguifh- 
 ed that which is called La dent de lament"^. Immediately before us 
 were the wood- decked hills of Savoy, and the far-famed rocks of Meil- 
 lerie. 
 
 This little village lies prefTed, as it were, between the waters of the 
 lake and the rifmg mountain. The rocks, which are a part of the 
 mountain, are perpendicular to the lake ; and leave but a fmall fpace 
 between the cliff and the edge of the lake. As foon as we landed, 
 we took a guide, to condudl us over the mountains. The road is often 
 fteep ; and on the edge of deep precipices. The nether and middle 
 region of the mountain are covered with walnut, and more efpecially 
 with chefnut, trees ; and above thefe grow the young beech, the fer- 
 vice tree, and other quick wood. We did not reach the fummit of the 
 mountain. Sophia and Erneft remained on a charming verdant fpot ; 
 where they had a full profped of the lake, and an amphitheatre formed 
 by the mountains of Valais. The reft of us took a truly goat-hunter's 
 track ; where one falfe ftep would have hurled us headlong into the 
 gulph below. Generally, however, we could catch at the young trees ; 
 or ftay ourfelves by the jutting rocks. 
 
 * Sorrow's tooth. 
 
 X 2 By 
 
1^6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 By thefe means, we arrived among thofe rocks which Rouffeau very 
 properly chofe as the retreat of a lover. We ftood oppofite to the 
 celebrated Vevay, upon the glittering flone on which St. Preux in- 
 fcrlbed his Julia's name ; and lay down on a large bed of rock, from 
 which, immediately under us, in the middle of the lake, we could fee 
 the promontories reflected in its tranfparent blue green waters. Thick 
 fhrubs and bufhes were above our heads ; and round us a folemn 
 fdence reigned, except that fuddenly, now and then, a ftone, hev;n 
 from fo me quarry, fell thundering; or we were alarmed by the loud 
 defcent of the pine tree, which, after being felled, is call from the top 
 of the mountain to be fhipped upon the lake. 
 
 The beauty of the profped, over the water, to the populous banks 
 of the Pays de Vaud, and to the high promontories of the VaViis, beyond 
 which the glaciers reared their heads, delighted and filled the mind : 
 which finking into thoughtfulnefs felt happy at being awakened from 
 contemplation by the various landfcape ; and, with pleafmg dread, wil- 
 lingly reflected on the fearful folitarinefs of thefe abodes j where no 
 eye fees, no voice is heard, and no footftep approaches. 
 
 We unwillingly tore curfelves from this place, again clambered 
 among the cliffs, and returned with Sophia and Erneil to Meillerie. 
 On our way we faw and heard the pine trees hewn, peeled, and rolled 
 down. The ftripped trunks are laid on the fteepeO: declivities ; from 
 which they glide down, with fuch incredible impetuofity and rapidity 
 that the guides always entreat their followers to be quick, in pafling 
 thefe tracks, left the yet unfeen and unheard trunks fhould inftantly 
 fweep them away, or crulli them to atoms. Some of thefe fleeps are 
 fo prodigious that a ftone, fet in motion, is a long while heard to roll, 
 from rock to rock, before it reaches the valley. 
 
 We fpent the mid-day at Meillerie, the inhabitants of which have 
 
 neither corn fields nor vineyards. Before and over their houfes are 
 
 numerous tall poles, loaded with grapes as excellent as thofe of the 
 
 Pays de Vaud : but they are not in fufficient quantities for the making 
 
 7 of 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 157 
 
 of wine, and are therefore eaten. Few of the inhabitants are wealthy 
 enough to keep a cow : they chiefly live on the produce of their wal- 
 nut trees, the oil of which is exprefled from the nut ; and on their chef- 
 nuts, w^hich they barter for corn. Their principal food is chefnuts 
 fi(h, and potatoes. 
 
 In the afternoon, we took boat to Vevay. The fun fet behind the 
 fhore of the lake, gilding the rocks with deep red and dark purple, 
 and the glaciers with a vivid rofe colour, which continued exceedino-ly 
 bright when we landed at the very dufk of the evening at Vevay. 
 
 Vevay is an old town. In the Itinerary of the Emperor Antonine, 
 it is mentioned by the name of Vivifcum. In the German language, 
 it is ftill called Vivis. It is the next town in rank, of the Pays de 
 Vaud, to Laufanne ; and is even more pleafant than the latter, by its 
 fituation and the mildnefs of its climate. Like the other towns of the 
 Pays de Vaud, it has its great and little council ; with many privileges. 
 It contains one church, which is very handfome. Its high fquare tower 
 is feen at a great diftance. The town is handfomely built, and inha- 
 bited by wealthy citizens. About the diftance of a cannon lliot to the 
 eaft, another little town is built j called La Tour de Peyl\ which ap- 
 pears to make but one with Vevay, 
 
 Yefterday morning, we afcended the fine tower of the church of 
 Vevay. A part of the hills v/ere covered with clouds ; and the valley, 
 through which the Rhone runs into the lake, was fo cloudy that it ap- 
 peared to be a fecond lake, which was divided from the true lake by a 
 dam, and which communicated with it by a fmall opening ; which 
 opening was the Rhone. Of this river, as of all thofe that flow 
 through lakes, the fable of the lifhermen is, and which fable they be- 
 lieve, that its waters do not mix with the waters of the lake. 
 
 Vevay is furrounded with vineyard hills ; and the wine is in great 
 eftimation. Mild however as the climate is, it is fubjed to very quick 
 changes. On my firft journey, I remember that I came here on the 
 day when the vintage ended : it was the thirtieth of Odober, and late 
 
 in 
 
15S TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 in the evening, and I then ate white figs and the grapes that had been 
 laft gathered. The evening was very mild ; but the following night 
 the froft was fo ftrong that ice was to be feen, the next day, long after 
 fun-rife. 
 
 Having left the tower, we took boat, to pafs over to the coafts of 
 Savoy. We once more, in our paflage, faw the rocks of Meillerie ; 
 and vfe men, with Erneft, landed two leagues from Evian, and pro- 
 ceeded on foot along a high path befide the lake, through a continual 
 wood of genuine chefnut and fome few nut trees. In Lower Ger- 
 many, the legitimate chefnut tree never attains any large fize ; and 
 the fruit feldom ripens ; but here, and indeed in moft parts in Swit- 
 zerland, particularly the fouthern confines, the Italian diftridls, and the 
 Grifons, the fruit of the chefnut tree frequently fupplies the place of 
 corn ; and the growth of the trees is equal in height to the beech of 
 Holllein, and in llrength to the oak of Weftphalia. I know no tree 
 which I think preferable. 
 
 The country people were very bufy in gathering their walnuts. In 
 my firft journey, I had frequent opportunities of ailbciating with the 
 Savoyards. They are a cheerful, kind-hearted people ; who bitterly 
 experience the oppreffions of government ; for they live and fufFer in 
 a very fertile country, while they behold their neighbours, in lands not 
 fo fruitful, profperous, and fignalized by the felf-evident bleffings of 
 freedom. 
 
 Evian is a little town, in which there are a few good houfes : but 
 the greater part are the very reverfe. It was the cuftom for the royal 
 princes to come every year and remain here, for fome months, to drink 
 the waters of the fprings; which rife about a league above the town : 
 but, for the three laft years, they have been abfent. The inn, which 
 our boatmen praifed as the beft in the place, was wretched : efpecially 
 by its total want of cleanlinefs; which is common in Savoy, and which 
 is the more confpicuous by being contrafted with the charming neat- 
 nef > of the Swifs. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 159 
 
 The fine weather, which has been fo true to us through our whole 
 journey, afforded us a favourable but a feeble wind back to Laufanne. 
 The finiling banks of the Pays de Vaud are juftly celebrated ; and yet 
 I inuft own I far prefer the lofty fliores of Savoy, with their rocks and 
 forefts of chefnut. 
 
 Laufanne is the largeft town of the Pays de Vaud, and is built on a 
 rifmg height, a fhort half league from the lake of Geneva. The houfes 
 are handibme ; but the ground upon which they are built is fo unequal 
 that three horfes are generally obliged to be harneifed abreaft, to draw 
 a coach up their deep ftreets. In the times of the Romans, it was called 
 Lajifonium^ or Loufamia : but it is fuppofed tohavebeen built lovv'er, at that 
 time, and nearer to the lake. In the fixteenth century, the bifhopric of 
 Avenche was transferred hither. Since the reformation, the biihop re- 
 fides at Freiburg : though he ftill draws fome little revenue from this 
 place. Laufanne enjoyed great privileges even in the time of the biiliops : 
 but they have been much extended under the government of Berne. 
 
 Laufanne eled:s its own burgomafter, five bannerets, the little coun- 
 cil, the council of fixty, and the great council of two hundred. The 
 town holds its own upper and lower courts of juRice. The govern- 
 ment of Berne has referved nothing for itfelf, except the rights of fo- 
 vereignty, of arming foldiers, coining money, and that beft of rights, 
 the right of forgiving. 
 
 The academy, which was founded in the year 1537, has been gra- 
 dually enlarged. A profeffbrfliip of medicine was added, for the cele- 
 brated phyfician, Tiifot. This gentleman is very highly valued for 
 his perfonal qualities. It is delightful to hear the inhabitants of the 
 town, after they have praifed his underftanding and his heart, conclude 
 this praife by adding : He faved the life of my wife ! He rellored my 
 mother to health ! He fnatched my two children from the grave ! 
 
 The cathedral is very beautiful ; though built in the gothic fiyle. 
 Facing the church, there is a walk planted with trees ; from which there 
 is a beautiful profped, toward the lake. 
 
 The 
 
i6o TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The liofpital Is large and magnificent. In this country, the bene- 
 volence of the inhabitants is greater than the neceiTities of the poor. 
 This fine building is almoft tenantlefs. 
 
 You muft certainly have read, in the public papers, that the govern- 
 ment of Berne has fent above three thoufand men into the Pays de 
 Vaud ; more than two thoufand of v^hom have been quartered in this 
 tov.-n for fome weeks. I have no doubt but that our gazette writers, 
 partly from ignorance, and partly becaufe they have their own reafons 
 for placing fo many wife regulations of governments in a falfe light, 
 will mifreprefcnt this ftep. And mifreprefent it they certainly will, if 
 they pretend to underftand the reafon of it better than the pcrfons by 
 whom it has been taken. Thus far we know, that the French, who in 
 the preceding years have fwarmed in this country, have fpread a fpirit 
 of difcontent. That this fpirit has manifefted itfelf in various ways, 
 and that the malevolent have endeavoured to inculcate it among the 
 people, is paft all contradidion. Some perfons have been fuddenly 
 arrefied, and imprifoned, in a caflle at the eaftern end of the lake. The 
 chief mxagiflrates of the towns of the Pays de Vaud have been fum- 
 moned to appear to-day ; and were admonlfhed by a deputation from 
 the o-overnment. The foldiers were under arms, to give the affair the 
 greater folemnity. I thought that the feelings of the inhabitants would 
 have burft forth: but perfons of various ranks approve the pro- 
 ceeding of the government of Berne. They gave it to be underftood 
 thaj: a fire was glowing under the afhes, and that it muft be immedi- 
 ately extinguifhed. 
 
 A gentleman of this country, a man of property, and under no obli- 
 gations to Berne, and another perfon, whofe name would give weight 
 to his opinion were I allowed to mention it, both fpoke the fame lan- 
 guage. I have not met any man in Berne, who did not fpeak with 
 regret of the neceffity of this ftep ; and the moft intelligent perfons of 
 the Pays de Vaud praife the wifdom and mildnefs of the government. 
 
 It is true that the nobility and the towns of this country, when they 
 
 were 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. i6i 
 
 were fubje<rT: to Savoy, exercifed the rlglit of afTembUng the ftates. 
 This right they loft, in the year 1536, when they were conquered by 
 the canton of Berne. The government of Berne, at that time, offered 
 the nobiUty of the conquered country the right of citizenfhip : a right 
 which would have entitled them to all the honourable offices of the re- 
 public : but this they declined, in expectation that the Duke of Savoy 
 would again recover the country. Three families only accepted it ; 
 and by thofe only it is now enjoyed. The conftitution however is in 
 a high degree free ; and the fpirit of the government is both mild and 
 prudent. 
 
 The people are perfectly fatisfied ; and thofe who would excite in- 
 furredion, from the love of change, would find themfelves oppofed by 
 all elafles. The poor citizens and the peafants would be as eager, in 
 refifting them, as the government itfelf. In the preceding year, this 
 province was vifited by a general dearth ; and the council of Berne 
 fupplied the inhabitants, from the ftores that it had provided, with 
 corn : by which a lofs was fuftained of fifteen hundred thoufand Berner 
 pounds ; which is more than fix hundred thoufand rix dollars. 
 
 You know my opinions. You know that, from my childhood, I 
 have been an enemy to all abfolute power ; and no friend either to un- 
 limited monarchies, or an ariftocracy that refembles an oligarchy ; and 
 I do not think I am in any danger of changing this opinion. In thefe 
 times hov/ever, when freedom and defpotlfm are exercifed by the peo- 
 ple, yes, by the people, or by their demagogues, they are fo confounded, 
 although they are directly contradictory, that I, with many others who 
 are lovers of order and fafety, may eafily be mifunderftood. My opi- 
 nion is, that freedom is founded on laws, laws on morals, and morals on 
 the fear of God. Yet I am not now, nor ever have been, of the. opi- 
 nion of Pope; who, in his well known diftich, fays 
 
 For forms of government let fools conteft ; 
 "Whate'er is bed adminifter'd is beft *. 
 
 * Eflay on Man. 
 
 Vol. I. Y For 
 
1 62 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 For there arc certain forms that are inadmiffible, in a good govern- 
 ment ; or at leaft for any length of time ; for they are derogatory to 
 the dignity of man. Deep confideration, and an attention to fads, 
 have convinced me that very much indeed depends on the form, but 
 Hill more on the fpirit, of a government. Ariftotle, the moft acwte of 
 all political philofophers, fo highly praifes the form of the conftitution 
 of Carthage, that he afTerts it was the very beft he knevv% And, yet, 
 who would venture to praife the fpirit of this conftitution ? The form 
 of the conftitution of Berne is very wide of ideal excellence, fuch as 
 I canfuppofe to myfelf; for it borders on oligarchy: but the wifdom^ 
 the grandeur, the benevolence, of its fpirit induce it to adminifter juf- 
 tice, as freely to the well-informed poor of the Pays de Vaud as to 
 thofe of the higher clafs. 
 
 The foldiers were to leave the country in a few days, and return to 
 their cabins. 
 
 How hateful, how barbarous, is the rigorous difcipline of mercena- 
 ries ! As hateful as the very diforders which thefe mercenaries are hired 
 to reprefs ! Yet this very rigour itfelf is fcarcely fufficient to keep them 
 in fubordination : while, from the officers of the free foldiers of a re- 
 public, a word is fufficient. Thofe who were inimical to their entrance 
 here, yet, praife their deportment. Far from the rapacity of maraud- 
 ers, they fcarcely would accept fuch refrelhments as were offered 
 them. Some foldiers were quartered on a rich burgher of Moudon, 
 whofe garden was full of ripe fruit. He was very unwilling to admit 
 them ; but, when they departed, he gave public teftimony that his 
 garden had never been better watched. They were as friendly with 
 the inhabitants as if they had been fellow townfmen : nor did even the 
 difference of language give occafion to the leaft mifunderftanding. 
 
 It is pleafant to fee thefe people under arms. Headed by officers 
 
 who have moft of them been in foreign fervice, and whofe capacity 
 
 foreigners celebrate, they are quick in obedience: but they obey with 
 
 a manly air. The officers acknowledge them as their free fellow-citi- 
 
 I zensj 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 163 
 
 zens ; and mingle with them in a friendly manner. They are a hand- 
 fome, ftrong, well-built race ; in whofe eyes cheerfulnefs and valour 
 fparkle. 
 
 Wi 
 
 LETTER XXIIL 
 
 Geneva, 2d October 1791. 
 
 E left Laufanne the day before yeflerday ; where we 
 fliould have made a longer ftay, had not the length of our journey and 
 the feafon of the year obliged us to depart. The fituation of the 
 town is uncommonly beautiful. We enjoyed it, as we left the place 
 and proceeded down the lovely heights, on which it is built, to the 
 fhores of the lake. Thefe heights too are abundant in diverfified beau- 
 ties. The various ranges of mountains, one behind another, on the 
 oppofite coafts of Savoy, are changeable every inftant ; while the fore- 
 mofl rocks, more changeable ftill, efcaped with their towering cliffs at 
 every ftep from the eye, fo as to form a diff*erent profpe£t. Mont 
 Blanc, whofe top may from various places in Laufanne be feen tower- 
 ing over the cliffs, continued to rife upon us, in fplendid beauty and 
 fearful fublimity. The aftonifhed eye repofes here, on the magnificent 
 wonders of nature ; then turns to the laughing regions of the coaft, 
 to their vineyards, their forefts, their populous hills, and onward to 
 the beauties of the lake. Bathed by its waters, the charming- little 
 town of Morges is feen ; the lefs agreeable but friendly town of Rolle, 
 and the more important Nion ; v/hich, nothing derogatory to its old 
 Roman origin, appears entirely to confift of the houfes of the wealthy, 
 who aflemble here to refide ; and, under the protedion of liberty, 
 cheerfully, and undifturbed, enjoy the youthful beauties of nature. 
 
 y 2 About 
 
i64 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 About noon we arrived at the hofpitable houfe of Mr. Reverdil ; 
 where we remained till the following morning. He is a worthy man. 
 I have not fecn him fmce I was quite a boy ; nearly thirty years ago. 
 I met him again with pleafure ; and with the greater becaufe he is now 
 in the happy pofleffion of a charming wife. 
 
 The next day, we continued our journey, and pafled by two places 
 that feemed to be confecrated the abode of happinefs : thefe were the 
 refidence of two fages of the prefent age, Necker, and Bonnet. I 
 hope foon to fay a word to you concerning thefe men. Mont Blanc 
 became more and more vifible. Itfelf a world of glaciers, it reared its 
 mighty fummits over the long range of Savoy glaciers ; while its mag- 
 nitude and brightnefs, inftead of being concealed by intervening pro- 
 montories, were rather increafed. 
 
 We faw ripe buck wheat, between Nion and Geneva ; which im- 
 mediately after the wheat harvefl is fown in the fam.e fields. 
 
 Geneva conceals itfelf behind a kind of cape ; as if fuddenly to rufh 
 upon the view. The traveller proceeds among the numerous country 
 houfes of its rich and free burghers, before he is aware of being in their 
 territories; till, at once, the city in all its majefty appears, built imme- 
 diately where the Rhone flows out of the lake. 1 congratulated my- 
 felf, that I was again about to fee a town, and a dillri6t, which I 
 honour and love. It appears to me, that as age advances we are very 
 defu'ous to revifit the places in which we fpent our early youth ; and 
 feel more interefled,at the fight of them, than at the novelty which other 
 parts infpire. When, as we grow old, we figh for fomething new, 
 imagination fpreads thofe mighty fails which the breath of earth is in- 
 faf&cient to fill : but are they not often fwelled by the breath of tha 
 departed ? 
 
 L E T- 
 
< 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 165 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Geneva, 7th Oclober 1791. 
 
 X HE free city of Geneva, with Its fmall territory, lies be- 
 tween the confines of Switzerland, Savoy, and France ; and Is built 011 
 the beautiful lake which takes its name. From this lake the Rhone 
 again purfues its courfe ; after having traverfed It entirely, and purified 
 its waters of the mud which it brought from the mountains of Valais. 
 
 The Rhone flows through the city ; Vv'here it forms an. ifland, which 
 is covered with houfes. Geneva was converted to chriftianlty in the 
 third or fourth century. It was afterward, more tban once, fhaken and 
 overrun by the northern invaders. Some of the Kings of Burgundy 
 chofe It for their refidence. It next fell under the j urifdi<ftion of the 
 Kings of France. While thefe lords governed, it was at one time fub- 
 je£t to the opprefTions of war, at others to the misfortunes of anarchy. 
 
 Charlemagne, one of the moft extraordinary of mankind, who meta- 
 morphofed whole kingdoms, alTembled his army here before he marched 
 againft the Lombards, and granted the town confiderable privileges. 
 It afterward became a part of the kingdom of Aries ; and after that of 
 Burgundy. 
 
 The race of Burgundy having become extind, Geneva, like the 
 other ftates that compofed this kingdom, in the year 1032, was. incor- 
 porated, by Conrad the Second, with the German empire. It was 
 about this time that cities began to fhake off the yoke of the great vaf- 
 fals of the empire. The Kings and Emperors of Germany often 
 afforded them this opportunity ; and endowed them with privileges^ 
 that they might be able to contend with thofe temporal and fpiritual 
 lords, whofe power was becon^e fo great as to be dangerous to the fo- 
 verelgni 
 
 Th<r 
 
i65 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The Bifhops of Geneva had gradually become more potent, and 
 accumulated their claims ; which the no lefs ambitious Counts of Ge- 
 neva, who had originally derived from the Emperor, though they were 
 likewife the vaffals of the bifliops, difputed with them. The people, 
 lovers of freedom, while thefe contefts were rather encouraged than 
 repreffed by the imperial and papal powers, knew how to profit by 
 them ; and at one time to obtain rights and privileges from one party, 
 and at another from its opponent. Still they were more inclined to 
 favour the bifhops than their hereditary counts. 
 
 Mean while a new power arofe, by v/hich the counts became em- 
 broiled ; and which induced them to quit the pofleffion of a flourifhing 
 and commercial city. 
 
 The people of Geneva then acknowledged the bifhops, as their fove- 
 reigns ; who, accordingly, exercifed the feignorial rights. The people 
 notwithflanding poflefled confiderable privileges. They annually 
 chofe a fyndic, and a treafurer ; and thefe appointed a council. The 
 people were confulted in the impofing of taxes, and in the forming of 
 alliances. Neither the bifhop nor the magiftrate could undertake any 
 thing of importance, unlefs they were affembled ; and each, at com- 
 ing into office, made a folemn oath before the fyndic, by which he 
 promifed to leave the privileges of the city undiminifhed. Hence 
 Geneva was pofTeiTed of confiderable freedom, under the bifliops which 
 it thus circumfcribed. 
 
 The German Emperors, often diflurbed by internal troubles, and 
 generally engaged in foreign wars, were the nominal fovereigns ; but 
 nothing more. 
 
 The Counts of Maurienne, vafTals of the antient Kings of Burgundy, 
 held a part of their lands, as fiefs, froni the Emperor Henry the Fifth ; 
 under the title of Counts of Savoy. 
 
 Amadeus, profiting by the jealoufy which the burghers of Geneva 
 entertained againfl the bifhop, feized oh the fecular rights ; which, till 
 then, the bifhop had adminiflered. The hiftory of all ages demon- 
 ' Urates 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 167 
 
 flrates how abfurd it is for fraali independent Hates, or for different par- 
 ties of the fame ftate, to call in the aid of a powerful arbitrator ; but, in 
 thefe dark ages, men were little acquainted with the hiftory of former 
 times. Befide, what power has hiflorical example over the violence of 
 party fplrit ? 
 
 Amadeus the Sixth was appointed Vicar of the Empire, in Italy 
 and the neighbouring ftates. He was indeed excluded from any 
 jurifdiction over the city ; but this dignity often gave the counts the 
 pretext, with the connivance of the bifhop and the burghers, of inter- 
 fering. 
 
 Amadeus the Eighth was lord of the county of Geneva ; of which, 
 in the year 1417, he was created Duke, by the Emperor Sigifmund, 
 Three years afterward, he obtained a favourable bull from Pope Martin 
 the Fifth ; which emboldened him to require the bifhop to cede the 
 exercife of the fecular rights. The bifhop affembled the people. 
 They advifed him not to refign his rights to Hrangers, and the propo- 
 fition wasrejedted. 
 
 About the middle of the fifteenth century, the number of the council, 
 which under the prefidency of the fyndics held the adminiflration of 
 public affairs, was fixed at five-and-twenty ; and a fuperior council, of 
 fifty, was inftituted : which, in certain cafes, was to be affociated with 
 the former. This was the origin of the great council of two hundred. 
 The Dukes of Savoy had long harboured intentions againfl Geneva. 
 Many of the principal burghers, fome of whom refided in Savoy, fa- 
 voured their projects ; and princes of their race, nay fometimes their 
 baftards, were appointed to the bifhopric. Charles the Third, who 
 lived about the beginning of the fixteenth century, and who favoured 
 the bifliops, often vifited the city with a magnificent train, gained fome 
 over, terrified others, exercifed power, and threw thofe who oppofed him 
 into prifon. His arrogance difgufted the good citizens ; and Berthelier in 
 particular, who had become a burgher of Freiburg, becaufe he no longer 
 confidered the citizenfhip of Geneva as a protection for a free man. 
 
 By 
 
i68 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERGT 
 
 By this perfon, an alliance was efFeded, between Freiburg and Ge- 
 neva. And now two parties arofe in the city ; thole who were of the 
 fadion of tlie Duke, who, in imitation of the tumultuous militia of the 
 Egyptian Sultans, were called Mammelucks, and thofe more virtuous 
 burghers, who were defirous to maintain their freedom, who were 
 called Hugonots : probably, infliead of Eidfgenojfcn ; which the French 
 could not pronounce. It is well known that this appellation was after- 
 ward beftowed on the proteftants of France. 
 
 Duke Charles exercifed his oppreffive power, and obliged Geneva to 
 renounce its alliance with Freiburg. He obtained a refolution, from 
 the other cantons, that the alliance with Freiburg fliould be annulled ; 
 but was obliged to prom.ife that the liberty of the republic of Geneva 
 fhould not be molefted. This promife however he broke ; and Berthe- 
 lier fell a facrifice to his revenge. 
 
 Two fucceffive biihops now exercifed their tyranny over the city : 
 yet the dread of the Swifs frequently fet limits to their oppreflions. 
 Several of the citizens fled for refuge to thefe free people ; and Berne 
 and Freiburg renewed their alliance with Geneva. This fecond 
 alliance was concluded in the year 1526 ; and, from this period, Geneva 
 may be truly efteemed to have become a free ftate. 
 
 The victorious party of the Hugonots, now, in turn, became the 
 oppreflbrs ; and the conquered Mammelucks were driven from their 
 counhy. 
 
 The baniflied citizens foon allied themfelves with the nobles of 
 Savoy, and diftarbed Geneva ; and thus the feeds of new contention, 
 between the city and the Dukes of Savoy, took root. About this time, 
 the Bifhop quarrelled with the Duke ; and fought for fecurity in the 
 municipal rights of a free city : a city which his lordly predecefTors had 
 fo often treated with caprice. 
 
 Another eruption was made by the Mammelucks, aided by Savoy; 
 and the oppohtion of Geneva occafioned a new war with the Duke: 
 "which was brought to a conclufion by the interference of the Swifs. 
 
 During 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. v6g 
 
 Dufing this war, the Bifhop wavered from fide to fide, and thus ia- 
 creafed the courage of the Hugonots. 
 
 Mean time, the dodrines of the reformers were very prevalent ; 
 and Berne excited the people of Geneva to fhake off the yoke of the 
 Pope, and the Eiihop. Freiburg indeed continued to profefs the faith 
 of its forefathers. In the year 153 J, the council of two hundred, 
 which had been fome years inflituted, admitted and countenanced the 
 new do6lrine ; on which Freiburg renounced its alhance. 
 
 The following year, Calvin came to Geneva. This man, whofe 
 thoughts were as ardent as they were profound, communicated order 
 both to church and ftate. By his advice, in the year 15^9, the aca- 
 demy was founded : a feminary which has produced great men, in 
 every fcience. 
 
 In the year 1584, the republic concluded an alliance with Berne 
 and Ziirich ; v/hich ftill continues, and which more than once has 
 been the fupport of liberty and order. This is the only alliance that 
 Geneva has with Switzerland. Geneva it is true, in the year 1570, 
 had made an effort to be united with the whole thirteen cantons : but 
 the partifans of this meafure were foiled, by the interference of Spain, 
 Savoy, and the catholics of Switzerland. 
 
 New plans had been formed againft Geneva, by Duke Emanuel 
 Philibert ; and, in 1588, his fon, Charles Emanuel, took advantage of 
 the troubles of France, and felzed on Saluzzo. The French ambafia- 
 doi> warned Berne, and Geneva, againft the common foe. Genevan 
 during a war of nine years, maintained a well difciplined little army of 
 foreigners in its pay : but it did not obtain, at the peace which was 
 concluded in the year 1600, that extent t3f territory which it had 
 hoped ; neither would Charles confent to the ftlpulation, fupported by 
 Henry the fourth of France, that Geneva fhould be confidered as allied 
 to the confederate cantons. With refped: to fecurity, however, its 
 gains were confiderable ; for France exchanged the little country of 
 Gex for Saluzzo ; and it was likewife relieved from the neighbourhood 
 
 Vol. I. Z of 
 
170 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEP.G. 
 
 of Savoy on its northern boundary : thus, from this period, the fafety of 
 Geneva was fecured by the jealoufy of its two neighbours. 
 
 In the night of the fhorteft day cf tlie year 1602, Charles made a 
 fecret attack upon the city. The Savoyards had fuccefsfully mounted 
 a baftion ; but the watchful burghers beat back the foe, and peace was 
 again concluded in the fummcr of the following year ; in which the 
 Duke was obliged to ftipulate that he would aflemble no forces within 
 four leagues of the city. 
 
 After this, Geneva remained free from external enemies : but it has 
 frequently been the feat of internal tumults ; and feveral times, in the 
 eourfe of the feventeenth century, the government and people have 
 been mutually accufed : the one of feverity, the other of riotous com- 
 motion. 
 
 In the year 1707, the malcontents demanded an ordinance, w^hich 
 fhould limit the povv^er of the principal families ; who, it appeared^ 
 held the chief ofEces in a kind of hereditary defcent. They required 
 that all laws and decrees fhould be collected and publilhed ; and that 
 balloting fhould take place, to fecure the freedom of eledion. They 
 obtained the two firft points, and were thereby enabled to revive an- 
 old cuftom ; which was, that the whole municipality fhould afTemble 
 every five years, and examine the proceedings of the council of the 
 republic. Thefe afTemblies v^ere often tumultuous ; and the council' 
 feized the opportunity, which the vicinity of the Swifs foldiers afforded, 
 to demand three hundred men from Berne, and one from Ziirich : 
 which point they carried. 
 
 As foon as thefe foreign troops werc introduced, the chiefs of the 
 malcontents were feized, tried, and fome of them put to death. The 
 people were fubdued ; and, in the year 171 2, loft the right of aiTem- 
 bling the niunicipality, and examining the conftitutional adts of the 
 council. 
 
 In the year 1730, a work appeared, in which the expences that had 
 
 been incurred by fortifying the city were examined j and which occa-^ 
 
 J fioned 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ijy 
 
 Tiontd great difturbances. ' About this time, the abufe of the liberty of 
 the prefs excited great difcontent. However, by calling a general 
 council, in the year 1734, v/hich coniiftcd of all the burghers who had 
 attained the age of five-and-twenty, to which the queftion of taxation 
 was referred, the government appeafed the people. Bv this council 
 the taxes were granted for ten years. 
 
 Two years afterward, the democratical party rofe; and the partifans 
 of the government obtained pcrmillion to oppofe them with arms 
 taken from the arfenal. Some perfons periihed in this fray ; and the 
 frrft fyndic was imprifoned. The next day, the democrats feized on 
 the gates; and feveral of the council and the firft families fled from 
 Geneva: but they returned, in the fequel. 
 
 Deputies were fent, by Berne andZiirich: but they found little con- 
 fidence, among a people who confidered them as the partifans of the 
 ariftocracy. Their prefence hovN^ever had fome weight; for it induced 
 the people to yield, in a few points, to the oppofite fadion, that they 
 might prevent the influx of thefe foreigners. Meanwhile, the Envoys 
 of France, in common with the two cantons allied to Geneva, prefented 
 a plan which was intended to accommodate the mutual pretenfions of 
 the council and the people. 
 
 The reinftating of fome maglftrates, who, in the year 1734, had 
 been depofed, occafioned great contention. The prefented plan how- 
 ever was received, in the general council, which was held in 1738; 
 and the laft article that this plan contained was that itfelf fhould have in 
 future the power of a law. By this new regulation, the taking up of 
 arms, without the confent of the governm.ent, was forbidden, under 
 pain of death. 
 
 In 1754, Geneva was acknowledged by the King of Sardinia as a free 
 independent republic ; and the boundaries of Geneva and Savoy were 
 accurately determined. 
 
 The flate now paid off the remainder of Its debts ; and it appeared to 
 have attained, that chief of bleflings, peace at home and with all the 
 
 Z 2 world. 
 
172 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 world. The fire however, though fmothered, was not extlnguiflied» 
 A partial enjoyment of the bleffings that refult from freedom occafioned, 
 as ufual, diiTatisfadtion, in a city in which there was an equaUty of 
 rights, but a great inequaUty of wealth. 
 
 In the year 1762, the democrats excited new commotions; which 
 were excited by the decifion of the council, on two of the works of 
 RoufTeau: his Emilius, and his Social Contradl. They were both for- 
 bidden, from religious and political motives. The council knew that 
 RoufTeau had fled from Paris to Geneva becaufe of thefe writings: they 
 therefore fummoned him before them ; and, had he appeared, would 
 have pafTed a fentence that would have endangered his liberty. 
 
 RoufTeau fled to the mountains of Neufchatel, and held a corre- 
 fpondence with his friends in Geneva ; who prefented a remonftrance, 
 that complained lefs of the fentence itfelf than of the forms that had 
 been obferved. 
 
 They demanded that the affair Ihould be examined by the council 
 general : that is, by the aiTembled citizens. The council, on the con- 
 trary, maintained that their demand was unconfl;itutional ; becaufe it 
 had adted in conformity to an exprefs and unambiguous law. 
 
 It is indeed flipulated, in the conftitution, that no affairs fliall be fub- 
 je(fted to the confideration of a council general, unlefs they fhall firft 
 have been examined, and permifTion granted, by the two council col- 
 leges. Thefe colleges likewife pofTefs the right of putting a negative 
 upon all innovations. Thofe who defended this right were named The 
 Negatives * : and thofe who maintained that the fubjedt ought to come 
 before a council general were called The Kemoriftrants f. The pre- 
 tenfions of The Negatives were maintained by Mr. Tronchin> who is 
 jftill living, in a work entitled Lettres ecrites de ta campagne\. This 
 was anfwered by Roufleau in his Lettres ecrites de la rnontugne \ ; by 
 which the party of the Remonjirants was ftill more enflamed. 
 
 * Les negatifs. f Les reprefentans. 
 
 t Letteis writtea from the country. § Letters written from the mountains. 
 
 This 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 173 
 
 This fplrit animated the citizens, in the year 1765; when they re- 
 jedted all the counfellors, who were named as candidates for the eledion 
 of new fyndics. Accordingly, the election did not take place ; and the 
 former remained in office. In this the council general might be faid to 
 have exercifed a right, which the conftitution gave them. It appears 
 irregular that the former fyndics fliould remain in office another year : 
 but it cannot be denied that the citizens themfelves neceffarily pro- 
 duced this irregularity, when they refufed to eled:,as the law ordained, 
 any of the perfons of the little council, who were propofed as chief 
 magiftrates. Though, it is true, the law, v/hile it ordered them to 
 eled:, gave them the power of a negative over each individual. 
 
 ^The Magiftrates now faw themfelves obliged to demand aid of their 
 three allies; France, Berne, and Zurich; in defence of a conftitution 
 which they had combined to form. Thefe powers fent their plenipo- 
 tentiaries ; and four-and-twenty commiffioners were chofen from among 
 the citizens. While the contefted rights were under examination, the 
 council obtained, from the three interfering powers, a declaration in 
 favour of their proceedings. This provoked the citizens, who, in a 
 general council, rejeded the decifion of the mediators; and, accord- 
 ingly, their plenipotentiaries were called home. 
 
 The haughty court of France fent troops on the confines of Geneva^ 
 and prohibited all trade between that kingdom and the party of the 
 RemonJ} -rants. Neither were the citizens permitted to travel through 
 the cantons, till they fhould firft have obtained a pafs. Ambafladors 
 from the interfering ftates again were fent to Soleure ; and they there 
 publiftied a proclamation, for the reftoration of order, under the title of 
 a Prononce. To this the citizens paid little attention. Thev held the 
 menaces of the foreign plenipotentiaries in contempt, defied their ma- 
 giftrates, and obliged the government fo to compromife thefe difputes 
 as to give the power into the hands of the popular party» This com- 
 promife was effeded on the nth of March 1768, 
 
 Several 
 
jy;4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLEERG. 
 
 Several members of the great council withdrew from their ofHte ; 
 and many burghers abfented themfelves from the council general, con- 
 fidering thofe changes which had been effected in this tumultuous 
 manner as difgraceful, and defpairing at prefent of the public weal^ 
 while the adminiftration of its affairs was committed to the loweft orders 
 of the people. 
 
 New claims, made by inhabitants who had never been burghers, 
 gave rife to new difturbances. 
 
 Manufadures and commerce had drawn many foreigners to Geneva, 
 Thefe people were called Inhabitants : and their children were allowed 
 to be called Natives, They and their defcendants enjoyed the protec- 
 tion, but did not participate all the privileges, of citizenfliip. While 
 the burghers were divided, both parties had flattered the Natives, to 
 prevent their oppofition : but the latter, perceiving that their interefts 
 were now negleded, began to complain ; and, although they obtained 
 many immunities, and it was agreed that five-and-twenty fhould that 
 year be admitted as burghers, and five every fucceeding year, yet they 
 were ftill diilatisfied, required more, and fome of them proceeded to 
 open oppofition. 
 
 The fudden rumour of an infurredion, which had. not been in the 
 ieaft fufpeded, again, on the 15th of February 1770, oqcafioned the 
 citizens to take arms. Some of the Natives were killed : eight were 
 baniihed, and many voluntarily left the city. Yet the fame cd'id of 
 the council general, by which, without fufficient reafon, eight of the 
 Natives were banifhed, granted new rights to thofe who remained. 
 
 Some years afterward, the publication of a new code of laws once 
 more produced diflTatisfadion ; which broke out into open war, between 
 the parties of the Remonjirants and the Negatives. The latter wiihed 
 the code to be fubjeded to the council of two hundred, that it might 
 be rejeded. Their opponents infilled that it fliould be received. The 
 Remonjirants twice flew to arms j and, on the Lift occafion, in the 
 
 fpring 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 175 
 
 fpring of 1782, feveral of the members of both councils, who were 
 fufpe<5ted by them, were imprifoned ; and, aided by the Natives^ they 
 feized on the gates and the ramparts. 
 
 While in this ftate of commotion, France, Sardinia, and Berne, fent 
 their troops into the city ; and a new conciliatory plan was devifed, 
 which was accepted by the little council, the great council, and the 
 council general, on the 4th of November 1782, and v/hich prc- 
 mifed permanency, by the guarantee of the interfering powers. All 
 thofe, however, who, in the laft infurredlion, had taken arms, v/ere. 
 excluded the council general; which, on this occafion, only confided 
 of two hundred and fifty men-. The people were divided, concerning 
 the eledlion of members ; and it vv'as determined that a regiment fliould 
 be maintained in the barracks, to hold the malcontents in awe. 
 
 It might have been forefeen that the government that committed this 
 infringement of the rights of the people, which was effedled likewife 
 in a partial affembly^ muft foon decline in its authority. This certainly 
 would have been quite a fufficient pretext ; and yet, feven years af- 
 terward, in 1789, the people employed one which was entirely 
 groundlefs. 
 
 Corn had rifen to a high price, at which it had been bought in by 
 government : but it was fold to the burghers much cheaper than at 
 the original coft, or than it could be purchafed either in France or the. 
 Pays de Vaud. They retailed it out to the lofs of forty-thoufand dol- 
 lars : but their own plan defeated itfelf, by lowering the price of 
 bread ; for the neighbouring people cam^e, in multitudes, to purchafe- 
 bread at Geneva ; till the bread likewife rofe. The corn college, or. 
 committee, remonftrated to the government ; and it thereupon found, 
 kfelf induced to fell grain at the fame price for which it had been pur- 
 chafed. The great quantity of bread that had been fold had made this 
 regulation neceffary. 
 
 But the burghers,, having been taught fufpicion, fhut their eyes to 
 
 the 
 
lyG TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the truth ; and a commotion enfued. The government called in the 
 regiment from its barracks: but the burghers found the means of avoid- 
 ing the foldiers, and of ftill continuing their tumults ; and the regiment, 
 after it had been fix-and-twenty hours under arms in the middle of 
 winter, abandoned its pofts. The burghers having now become 
 maRers, a new convention was made; by which the people regained 
 the right of eledion, and obtained the eftablifhment of a city militia. 
 
 The true conftitution was thus once more reftored ; and the burgh- 
 ers would have remained tranquil, had not their imaginations been 
 diRurbed by the French revolution. Some were weak enough ardently 
 to defire that Geneva might become incorporated with France ; and 
 thus refign certain freedom, in return for uncertain hope, attended 
 with all the dangers of a fanguinary revolution, and a ftill more perni-^ 
 cious corruption of manners. Others were anxious to maintain the 
 independance of the republic ; but were very ardent to gain all the 
 equality of rights, which had been prcmifed to the citizens of France. 
 By thefe, the Natives^ the Inhabitants^ and the peafantry of Geneva, 
 were excited to arms ; and they were joined by the inhabitants of the 
 country of Gex, which belongs to France. The infurgents had almoft 
 gained pofleflion of the city : but, by good condu£l and fortitude, they 
 were prevented. An accommodation once more took place : the con- 
 ftitution of 1789 was confirmed, and the government granted many 
 Natives^ Inhabitants^ and fome of the peafantry, the rights of burghers. 
 
 This fmall republic, from its fituation and conftitution, may be very 
 happy. Its conftitution is that which, among the antients, v»'as called 
 ariftocratic ; but which modern times have named democracy. This 
 change of names has produced many falfe ideas. By democracy, the 
 antients denoted that kind of conftitution in which both the legifla- 
 tivf and executive power were in the people; and which was ranked 
 by them as equal to a tyranny, or defpotifm. In fad:, the reftlefs de- 
 magogues, by whom the people are led, are the moft dangerous of 
 
 tyrants : 
 
TRAVFXS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ' 17- 
 
 tyrants : and defpotifm itfelf is not fo dreadful, in the hands of one, 
 as in the hands of the many ; when both political and phyfical power 
 are in their pofTeffion. 
 
 What we underftand by ariftocracy was called oligarchy, by the 
 antients ; fhe government of the few. Their ariftocracy, the goveni- 
 me?Jt of the beft^ was that kind of conftitution in which all the citizens 
 have equal rights ; the power of making laws being in the people, and 
 the power of executing them entrufted to men of their own choofmg. 
 
 In Geneva, the council general, which is likewife called the fove- 
 r^ign council, confifts of the members of the little and great councils 
 and of all the citizens and burghers, who have attained the age of five- 
 and-twenty. Citizens are thofe perfons whofe fathers were burghers, 
 and who have be^n born in Geneva. The burghers have equal rights, 
 but they are feldom eledled to public dignities. 
 
 This council general makes lav/s, decrees taxes, and determines on 
 affairs of war, of peace, and alliance; confirms the alienation or the 
 confolidating of the ftate domains, regulates works of fortification, ap- 
 points or changes courts of juftice, creates new dignities, and adjufts 
 the admiifion of foreign foldiers ; except in cafes when the powers 
 hat guaranty the conftitution think proper to fend their forces. By 
 eledion, the council general appoints all th^ o-iHcei-s of the republic 
 
 The chief executive power is entrufted to the little council, of five- 
 and-twenty. They firft deliberate on all affairs ; political, oeconomi- 
 cal, civil, and criminal. Their fentence is without appeal, in all cafes 
 v.'here the fum in difpute does not exceed two thouiand florins of Ge- 
 neva ; or one thoufand livres of France. 
 
 As foon as one of the live-and-tv>?enty is dead, his place is fupplied, 
 by elediion, from the council of two-hundred. 
 
 This great council, called The Two-hundred, confifts of two hun- 
 dred and fifty members. As foon as fixt-een places are vacant, tliey 
 proceed to eledion. The candidates give in their names ; and candi- 
 dates are hkewife named by the little council and by ten members of 
 •:-VoL. L A a the 
 
,78 TRAVELS OF COUiNT STGLBERG. 
 
 the great council, who acquire this right by lot ; after which the name* 
 are all prefented to the council general, by which the new members are 
 eleded*. 
 
 All the citizens, as well as the burghers, have the right of being 
 eledled to this office ; and, by that means, to higher dignities : all ap- 
 pointments being made from the council of two-hundred : but, as the 
 members of the council of two-hundred have no falaries, the poor and 
 the labouring citizens feldom pretend to the office. The lower orders 
 of the people therefore are not prevented from taking part in the pub- 
 He adminiftration of affairs, by any odious exclufive privileges, but by 
 their own choice. 
 
 If a burgher be unmarried, he muft be thirty years of age before he 
 is eligible : lawyers excepted ; who, like married men, may be ele£ted 
 at the age of feven-and- twenty. The council of two-hundred has the 
 fuperlntendance of all public offices, and departments ; as likewife of 
 all public undertakings, the expence of which exceeds twenty-one 
 thoufand florins of Geneva. It regulates the falaries of perfons in: 
 office, when they exceed twelve hundred florins ; creates new employ- 
 ments, and appoints the falaries that belong to them ; grants leafes, in- 
 fpe<5ts the public revenues, new buildings, coinage, trade, arts, weights 
 and meafures, the academy, fchools and public worffiip. 
 
 The council of fixty aflTembles but feldom. It confifts of a deputa- 
 tion of the council of two- hundred ; that is, of a part of the little 
 council, of the magiftrates ele^fled by the council general, and of one- 
 and-twenty members of the great council. It fuperintends all affairs 
 
 * The following account, taken from the DiB'tonnaire Hijloriquey Folitiqiie^ et Geogra- 
 
 ph'iquej de la Suijp^ printed at Geneva, is more circumftantial — The candidates who af- 
 
 pire to thefe places, either deliver in their names, or caufe them to be delivered in, to 
 
 the chancery. The two councils likewife propofe candidates. After the eligibility of 
 
 thofe who have been nominated has been examined, the little coimcil names fixteen ; 
 
 who are prefented to the council of two-hundred ; and eight of them are cle£led. The. 
 
 council of two-hundred alfo prefents fixteen to the little council •, out of which it eledls 
 
 the remaxning eight. T. 
 
 with 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLEERG. 179 
 
 with foreign powers ; and can likcwile advife the Uttle council, on any 
 important affairs which relate to internal government. 
 
 The council of war confifts of a fyndic, the ftaff officers of the regi* 
 ments, a quartermaftcr, fix members of the council of two-hundred, 
 and a fecretary ; who is likewife chofen from this latter council. To 
 the council of war all military affairs are committed : and it is annu- 
 ally obliged to make oath that it will be faithful to the republic, and 
 obedient to the great council. 
 
 The chief officers are the four fyndics, the lieutenant of juftice, the 
 treafurer, xh^ proairenr-gtneral^ the fecretaries of juftice, and the gover- 
 nors who prefide over the fubordinate territorial courts. The fyndics 
 and the lieutenant of juftice are members of the little council ; the 
 treafurer, ih.^ procureur-gencral, the fecretaries of juftice, and the o-o- 
 vernors, are members of the great. In the great council, the little is 
 -included : as in the cantons of Zurich, Berne, anti Lucerne. 
 
 The civil code is laconic, unambiguous, and fimple ; and, where 
 this code is infufficient, the Roman code is confulted. This little ftate 
 which probably contains more knowledge and wealth than compara- 
 tively any other in Europe, is lefs troubled with lawfuits than any 
 other. At prefent, they only enumerate five advocates, who really prac- 
 tife ; and feven attorneys. Whoever would have a perfed idea of the 
 juftice adminiftered in this city muft read the excellent work entitled 
 Etat ihil de Geneve^ par Francois Andre Naville, cltoyen de Geneve. 
 
 Manners here are likewife comparatively pure. The young men are 
 well informed : the education of the women is no lefs carefully attended 
 to ; and they are as celebrated for their real merit as for their charm- 
 ing manners. At Geneva, it is almoft become proverbial to fay^ 
 " Happy the children who have a woman te inftrudl theml" 
 
 There is an excellent law of the repubUc, which deferves notice. 
 
 Ifafon do not pay his father's debts, which the law cannot oblige 
 
 him to da, he is excluded from the enjoyment of every public office* 
 
 The fame prohibition extends to all w^ho have not paid their own 
 
 A -a 2 debts, 
 
ygo TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 debts, when demanded. The corn chamber is a ufeful inftitutiom 
 Its duty is to take care that a certain prelcribed quantity of corn fhal! 
 always be in the granary. The ftate has the exclufive right of felling 
 corn to the bakers. It fometimes gains : but it is much oftener a con- 
 fiderable lofer. 
 
 This regulation is neceilary, in a city whofe fmall territory is infufE- 
 cient for its own confumption. Supplies of grain from Savoy are pro- 
 hibited, by a {landing order of the King of Sardinia. It is true that, 
 in plentiful years, this prohibition is infringed : but, in times of dearth, 
 it i$-but the more ftridly enforced, and adhered to, by Savoy. At 
 thefe times, likewife, fimilar prohibitions are announced by their other 
 neighbours : France, and the Pays de Vaud. 
 
 Thofe who imagine that this privilege ever degenerates into a mo- 
 nopoly, in Geneva, are very little acquainted with the people, and the 
 government. The number of the people,' according to the accounts 
 delivered in laft year, was twenty-fix thoufand one hundred and forty, 
 within the walls ; and nine thoufand without : amounting in all to 
 thirty-five thoufand fouls. 
 
 The whole territory of the republic confifts of three fquare leagues 
 and feven hundred ells : allowing twenty leagues to a degree*. 
 
 To thofe who eflimate the importance of a ftate by the extent of 
 territory, Geneva will be deemed infignificant : but not to the philo- 
 fopher. The proportion of men and ftates, to him, is frequently in 
 an inverfe ratio : the more nearly a ftate approaches to the condi- 
 tion of a family, the more powerfully is its charader unfolded ; and 
 the more pure is the play of the fprings by which it is moved, 
 Rome loft itfelf in its own magnitude. Athens and Sparta gave laws 
 to THE GREAT KING j before they extended their own territories. 
 
 * There is fome error of the prefs here, as I fuppofe ; I therefore cite the original. 
 Der umfang der ganzen republik betr'dgt drei lieties undfteben hundertel im quadrat ; die Hem 
 %n zivanzig auf ('men grad gci-echiiet. Perhaps the word drei fliould be dreizehen. T. 
 
 a LET- 
 
I 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, x3i 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Geneva, loth October 1791. 
 
 CANNOT forbear to tell you of a large alley of wild chef- 
 nuts, planted on the terrace of the garden of St. John, about a quarter of 
 a league from the city. The Rhone here rufhes beneath our feet ; and, 
 oppofite the Rhone on the left, the Arve. They join their ftreams on 
 the right, foon after the Arve has received the tributary waters of 
 a beautiful rivulet. The waves of the Arve, which rifes out of the gla- 
 ciers of Savoy, are troubled and of a grey colour ; like other mountain 
 rivers, before they are purified by pafTmg through a lake. The Rhone, 
 on the contrary, having traverfed the lake of Geneva, is as clear as the 
 waters of the Rhine at Schaffbaufen. The courfe of the two rivers 
 is delightful. 
 
 Limited by thefe ftreams, the garden is a triangle, the bafe of which 
 is the city. A pleafant foreft cafts its fhades from an oppofite hill. 
 The mountains of Savoy and the rocky Saleve are feen at a diftance. 
 A foot path leads up to a fteep height, befide the Rhone ; which, 
 ■where it is leaft fteep, is planted with vineyards ; and, where the vine 
 will not take root, the ivy climbs, luxuriant and daring ; the moft: 
 ornamental of the vegetable tribe. 
 
 I went down to examine the place at which the rivers join. The 
 Arve ftill partakes of its fnow-cold origin ; and the Rhone, in compa- 
 rifon, is lukewarm. As far as the eye can diftinguifti, the difference 
 between the rivers is perceptible. The Nymph of the mountains ar- 
 dently rufties upon the river God, who difcourteoufly refifts her em- 
 brace. He has but juft left the lucid arms of the gentle Naiades of the 
 lake, and recedes from the lefs pure and too impetuous Arve. 
 
 LET^ 
 
1 82 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER XXVL 
 
 I 
 
 Geneva, ijth OAober 1791. 
 
 .N the company of La Rive, his wife, and friends, who, by 
 their foclety, have made the interefting city of Geneva more delight- 
 ful, we have taken a fhort journey into the country. The paintings of 
 La Rive will foon render him more celebrated, among our country- 
 men, than he Is at prefent. His early paflion for painting, which he 
 was not fufFered to indulge, did but difcover his natural genius the 
 more, the more It was oppofed. In this country, nature fpeaks with a 
 thoufand tongues ; and he, whofe genius formed him to be a landfcape 
 painter, has an ear to hear her voice. The firft attempts of La Rive 
 gave telllmony of his abilities, and juftified his paffion. Nature and 
 art combined to form him ; while. In Italy, he chofe and managed his 
 fubjeds with the fineft difcrimlnatlon. At one time, his ungovernable 
 tempefls Vv^ould terrify the fpedator ; at another he leads him among 
 the cool groves In which the Zephyrs appear to figh, and the rivulets 
 are heard to murmur. His horfes and cattle are animated by the moft 
 deceptive expreffion of reality j and remind me of the epigrams, by 
 vwhich the. Grecian poets rendered the brazen cow, the mafter-piece of 
 Myron, Immortal. 
 
 With thefe friends, we yefterday went to Sellgnl, which is three 
 leagues from Geneva, to fee the father of La Rive. This Is a village, 
 '{landing in the territories of Geneva ; but furrounded by the Pays de 
 'Vaud. It confifts partly of country houfes, and partly of farms ; the 
 owners of which are wealthy. The lake, vineyards, gardens, groves, 
 and hills, planted with the vine, may be feen from this place. .1 call 
 ^kofe rows of the vine, which are planted between the corn, vineyards. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 183 
 
 The cluftering grapes hang in bunches, from pole to pole, till they 
 meet in luxuriant plenty. 
 
 Pafling through the groves of Mr. Naville, we came to a pleafant 
 walk befide a brook, which fometimes winds among the rocks, and 
 at others through the meadows. Conducted by nature, it rolls over 
 ftones, here forming a cafcade ; there a pleafant ifland ; and at a third 
 place it mingles its waters with another rivulet. Before the houfe, there 
 is a row of tall flender plane trees. Over the lake, the bold rocks of 
 Savoy are feen ; and, oppofite to them, the neighbouring Jura. 
 
 We fpent yefterday evening and the greateft part of to-day at the 
 caftle of Prangin, which lies beyond Nyon, with a lady who is the 
 friend of La Rive. In hofpitable Switzerland, it is a proverb that " our 
 friend's friend is our friend :" and we found the proverb to be true. 
 The hilarity of the vintage added new charms to this delightful place. 
 It is a great pleafure to me to be prefent at a harvefl home ; but greater 
 Hill at a vintage. From this we receive not only profit but pleafure, 
 as an acceflary. The old become young, and infancy itfelf is adtive. 
 Little children of five and fix years of age trot befide their mother, 
 who gathers the grapes, and help to bring the full balkets back to their 
 father, at the wine prefs. How delighted muft he be to fee his lovely 
 boy bring the teeming fruit, whofe delicious juice is intended to invi- 
 gorate his declining years ! 
 
 That the great Creator defigned to provide us with food is taken for 
 granted : but his paternal goodnefs would not flop here. He willed 
 that we fhould eat in joy. Before the fun has warmed the earth, its 
 morning rays announce his kindnefs ; and its evening beams, in his 
 name, lead us to feek repofe. The flower of the vegetable affords me 
 greater delight even than its tafte: the cluftering grape more than the 
 waving wheat. " Wine maketh glad the heart of man." 
 
 You know that, in moft of the vine countries of Germany, paffea- 
 gers are allowed, not only to pluck and eat to their heart's content, but 
 to fill their pockets. In the Pays de Vaud, this is not permitted. When 
 
 the 
 
i84 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the grapea begin to ripen, the vnieyards are watched ; He, however, 
 who guards the vineyard, is obHged to give thofe who wifli to eat of 
 t-he fruit a bunch of grapes in each hand. 
 
 W] 
 
 LETTER XXVIL 
 
 Geneva, I4tli 0£lober 1791. 
 
 E have now twice vifited Mr. Necker, at Copet. People 
 had complained to me of the cold reception they had met with from 
 him, and the diftance of his manner. I fuffered them to talk, but I 
 knew what to think. An apparent coldnefs of manner, in a man whofe 
 heart glowed with fenfations like his, and whofe mind was fo enlighten- 
 ed, could not deceive me for a moment. I approached him with that 
 full confidence which none but great men can infpire. His firft afped: 
 filled me with a mild yet penetrating emotion ; the vifible flufhing of 
 which did not efcape his notice. I found myfelf at my eafe, in the 
 company of this dignified man ; and was convinced that the oftener I 
 faw him the more perfed would be the freedom I fhould feel. 
 
 He faid little ; but the little he did fay was worthy of himfelf. A 
 few excellent remarks, concerning his enemies, efcaped him : but they 
 were delivered in a mild, moderate, and noble manner; though with- 
 out any ihade of affeded forbearance. A gentle glow, though fcarcely 
 vifible, more than once overfpread his countenance. It was a beam, 
 from the warm and intelligent heart of a great man; a fpark of that 
 fire which gives immortality to his fame, his writings, and the violence 
 of his enemies. 
 
 I have here come in company and become acquainted with Mou- 
 nier. It was interefting to me to meet a man, who, with- courageous 
 
 ^ztal, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 .85 
 
 zeal, prefled the inftitutlng of afecond houfe in the National AfTembly; 
 and who developed, to the prefent times and to poftcrity, the crimes of 
 the 5th and 6th of Odober 1790 ; which, to the ihame of France, ftill 
 remain unpunifhed. 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 Geneva, 16th Odlober 1791. 
 
 HAVE again vifited the library, with pleafure, which I had 
 feen on my former travels : not fo much becaufe of the books, for who 
 can learn any thing froni fuch numerous volumes at a fmgle vifit ? but 
 to view the piOures of the great and celebrated men, by v^hich it is 
 ornamented. Among them are the reformers ; WicklifF, Hufs, Luther, 
 Calvin, Zulngle ; many heroes ; fuch as Henry the Fourth of France 
 when a child. Admiral Coligny, the valiant Duke of Rohan, who is 
 burled in the principal church, Guftavus Adolphus and Charles the 
 Twelfth of Sweden ; the poets and philofophers ; Marot, Rabelais, La 
 Fontaine, and Hugo Grotius ; with many others, w^hom I do not re- 
 colled, and two of our noble contemporaries, Necker, and Bonnet, who, 
 both of them burghers of Geneva, do honour to the city. 
 
 Mr. Tronchin, the poffeflbr of a country houfe near the city, which 
 is called Les Delices^ a friendly and lively old gentleman of feventy- 
 eight, has a very beautiful coUedion of pidures. 
 
 When I was firft at Geneva, fixteen years ago, the fpirit of repub- 
 
 li-canifm would not endure any theatre in the city. In the year 17S2, 
 
 the conftitution being very ariftocratic, France had fuflicient influence to 
 
 introduce a company of players. Since that time, cards have likewife 
 
 Vol. L B b become 
 
i86 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 become common. Both are continued, though the old conftitudon is- 
 reftored : but both draw the attention of the citizens from the difcuf- 
 fion of the principles of freedom. 
 
 Some few days fince, La Rive (you muft not confound this La Rive 
 with my friend the painter ; but La Rive the famous player of Paris) 
 with an adirefs, named Mademoifelle Fleury, came here ; and he yef- 
 terday played the character of Tancred. He was certainly born with 
 great talents. His attitude, his appearance, and the expreffion of his 
 eye, are mafterly. His voice is fine, and entirely at his command. Ac- 
 cording to the French manner and art of a6ling, he is indifputably a 
 great performer : but you know how difpleafmg to me the French 
 manner of ading is ; and, according to my conception, how different 
 from nature. 
 
 Unhappy people! How are they continually turned afide, from the 
 truth, by the cold rules and inftitutes of their philofophers, poets, and 
 players ! Among whom, the tender feeling foul of Racine himfelf is 
 often untuned, w^ho, thinking themfelves poflefTed by the fpirit 
 of freedom, prattle of moral and political regeneration ; and whofe 
 lawgivers, leaving Fenelon and Montefquieu in neglect, ered flatues 
 to the memory of Voltaire ! 
 
 Wi 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Geneva, 17th Oftober 1791. 
 
 E have been to Genthod this afternoon, to viiit Bonnet, 
 I hoped I {hould often have feen this noble fage, whofe writings I have 
 for years fo highly admired ; but, during my whole ft ay at Geneva, 
 he has been fo ill that, till now, he has not been able to receive vifitors. 
 
 He 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 187 
 
 " He has lived for feveral years at his houfe in the country ; and does 
 not remove to town in the winfer. Genthod lies on a delightful 
 height, not £\r from the lake, about a league from Geneva. In thefe 
 charming regions, he watches and frequently deteds Nature in her 
 moft fecret operations : for fhe willingly difcovers herfelf, to men whofe 
 hearts and minds are as pure as thofe of Bonnet. Making experience 
 his guide, he fteps more fecurely than many of the famous philofophers 
 of our age; dedicating his hours and underftanding to truth; and re- 
 vering religion, with purity, intelligence, and ardour. 
 
 His language and his eyes beamed with intelle<rT:. His works, which 
 inftrud the fage and entertain the unlearned, frequently trace the mi- 
 nuted objeds up to their great firft caufe; and he is equally happy in 
 the depth of his obfervations and his fublime views of the grandeur and 
 immenlity of Nature. 
 
 When the immortal author of the Meffiah raifed the enlightened 
 fpirit of Rahel from the grave, before the refurredion, while the duft 
 of the body began to be in motion, unconfcious of the approaching 
 tranfition, alike unconfcious that the duft was his own, the fpirit 
 ftood 
 
 Amazed to mark the eternal change ! And great 
 And fmall incomprehenfible alike ! 
 
 So ftands this worthy fage, cheerful, on the brink of the grave ; w^ell 
 knowing how foon it is to receive him; and joyfully expeding the 
 event. Meanwhile, he remains deep in obfervation, 
 
 Amazed to mark the eternal change ! And great 
 And fmall incomprehenfible alike ! 
 
 Happy the man who gathers the fruits of wifdom, and gathers for 
 eternity! 
 
 B b ^ L E T« 
 
i8S TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 W] 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 Turin, 24th Oftober J 791. 
 
 Eleft Geneva on the i8th, having firfl: hh"ed vettLinnl,or 
 guides, who have brought us to Turin. Thefe people never make along 
 day's journey. On the contrary, they travel flowdy : but they are well 
 acquainted with the country, and likewife with the charges which 
 ought to be made at inns; at which, unlefs a man be well verfed in 
 fuch affairs, he is likely to be ill ferved and much impofed on. Befide 
 that the infolence of Italian poftboys is exceedingly great. 1 therefore 
 think this the bed: w\ay of travelling. The guide who conduded 
 our chaife is a Neapolitan ; and comes from Lena, in the diftridH: of 
 Otranto. We have every reafon to be fatisfied with him ; and I hope 
 he will continue with us during our journey through Italy. He is 
 very lively, appears to be honeft, and is a good driver. His mules, 
 decorated with bells, are not quick ; but ftrong, and fure. His name, is 
 Guido Oroncio *. 
 
 About a quarter of a league after we left Geneva, we entered the 
 duchy of Savoy. The country is fruitful, and furrounded by moun- 
 tains at fome diftance : yet the valley foon becomes narrow, and appear- 
 ances change. About noon, as we approached the village of Frangy, 
 we faw below us a valley abounding in chefnut and walnut trees ; in 
 which were crowds of men and cattlcj it being a fair for the latter. 
 The poor but joyous Savoyards did not belie their character : loud 
 mirth, yet not riotous, rang through the valley, and brightened in their 
 faces. Buyers and fellers appeared with their wares 3 and feemed fatis- 
 fied with their bargains, and with each other. 
 
 * I have fince difcovered that the bad reputation which Italian poft-boys have acquired 
 
 as unmerited,. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 18.9 
 
 The horned cattle are a large fine breed, though ftill not comparable 
 to thofe of Switzerland. The goats are extremely beautiful: the 
 fwine very large, fleek, and all of them black. 
 
 We remained all night at Ramilly; a dirty little town, with a no 
 lefs dirty inn. As the chambers were all bur one engaged, the landlord 
 fent to a man; who kindly furnifhed me and my wife with a good 
 and, what is not ufual in Savoy, a clean chamber. We found the 
 worthy old man and his aged wife fitting by the fire-fide. Of nine 
 children, which (he had borne him, they had only one fon living ; and 
 he was then at Annecy, languiflilng with a lingering and dangerous 
 difeafe. Afia'alted by age, by grief, by the lofs of their dead children, 
 and by the ficknefs of the lad, whom they might probably furvive, they 
 behaved with noble firmnefs and mild refignation to the will of God. 
 
 On the 19th, about noon, we arrived at Chamberry, the chief town 
 of the duchy ; which contains about thirteen thoufand inhabitants. 
 Notwithftandin <; thit many of the nobility winter there, the town is ill 
 built : but its fruitful neighbourhood, and the orchards that fhade the 
 valleys, make it very pleafant. There are many country houfes near 
 the town ; and many of thofe which are in the town itfelf lie at a 
 diftance from the ftreets, buried among their charming gardens, and 
 feeming rather to belong to the country than the town. 
 
 We pafl^ed the evening at Montmelian, the wine of which is fo fa- 
 mous in this country. That however which they gave us, at the inn, 
 was not very good ; but of that kind of common Italian red wine which 
 is called Vi/20 Briifco * ; in oppofition to the V'mo Amabile f . 
 
 The farther we proceeded up the country the more narrow the val- 
 leys became, and the grandeur of nature increafed. In the forenoon of 
 the 20th, we journeyed along the Ifere ; which rifes in the mountains 
 of Savoy, and, running into France, empties itfelf into the Rhone. It 
 receives the waters of the Arc, not far from Aiguebelle ; and we faw 
 the courfe of the latter, till we came to the foot of Mount Cenis. 
 
 * Rough wine. f Smooth or pleafant wine, 
 
 Our. 
 
£90 TRAVELS OF dOUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Our journey in the afternoon lay among rocky declivities, and fleep 
 mountains. Between thefe rocks, and high up the mountains, we faw 
 the young green wiilter corn ; as likewife vine plants, fruit trees, and 
 wild (hrubs. The induftry with which the fields of Savoy are culti- 
 A^ated is wonderfully contrafted with the uiielcanlinefs of their inns. 
 That which w^e found in the evening, at La Chambre, was rather more 
 uncleanly than is ufual, even in this country. The ftaircafe that leads 
 to the chambers is ufually narrow, and dirty ; and the chamber itfelf 
 generally contains large ftoves, with three canopy beds, the duft of 
 which does not appear for years to have been difturbed. You fhrink 
 back with difguft, when you look at the old tattered dirty-coloured 
 coverlid; and the reft of the furniture correfponds with that of the 
 bed. A large chimney is the moft agreeable thing in the apartment. 
 Fortunately, the cooking is not fo bad as might be expedled. If how- 
 ever you wifh to eat with an appetite, you muft take care not to caH: 
 your eye toward the kitchen. Neither will you be much tempted to 
 examine the waiting maid, who is generally as like theSpanilh beauty, 
 Maritornes, which Cervantes has defcribed, as one drop of foul water 
 is to another. However, they are very diligent ; and do any thing 
 they are bid, with a good will. 
 
 On the 2ift, we paffed places which reminded me of thofe wild 
 profpeds that are perhaps exaggerated in pictures ; and that had afto- 
 nifhed me during my childhood. From one rocky valley we paffed, 
 through fmall openings, into another. Some of thefe valleys confift of 
 nothing more than the broad flinty bed of the Arc ; which, half dried 
 up in fummer, leaves fmall ftony iflands, which the induftrious people 
 plant with vegetables. Continuing among thefe fteep rocks, the road 
 winds fometimes on one fide of the river and at others on the op- 
 pofite ; having been dug, with unfpeakable labour : and every now and 
 then fmall valleys open upon us, where the vine reclines againft the 
 black flate, and where little fpots of land are cultivated by the fpade ; 
 it being impoflible to approach them with the plough. The induftrious 
 
 Savoyard 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ,91 
 
 Savoyard frequently carries earth, in bailiets, to bed t!ie rocks ; while 
 the fpouting waters ftream below, over the rufhing of which bold, 
 and high vaulted bridges are thrown. Wherever the valley becomes 
 very narrow, it is wholly filled by the Arc, 
 
 What were the means that Hannibal employed, before roads were 
 made, to pafs thefe valleys ? The recolledion of this great man gave us- 
 animation. We contemplated the pathleis rocks, among which he 
 his army, and his elephants, marched. We beheld the numerous ftones 
 which, thrown from the heights above, lie fcattered in the ftream. 
 
 Who can fay but they might be the artillery which the wild inhabit- 
 ants of the Alps difcharged at the Carthaginians, when they firft be- 
 held the fandity of impaftable nature thus violated ? What a hero was 
 Hannibal ! He who began his aftliult upon Rome by an enterprife fo 
 incredible ! whofe great foul no difficulties could appal, and in whom 
 his Carthaginians, his warlike Numidians, and Spaniards, and his {ling- 
 ers of the baleares, put fuch implicit confidence ! 
 
 The high mountains feemed to imprifon the horizon. Wherever 
 they open, the fhining glaciers appear in contraft with the dark blue of 
 that fmall part of heaven v/hich is vifible. Every where cafcades are 
 feen, pouring. their waters into the ftream. 
 
 Am.ong thefe wild diftrids, we faw a man employed in colleding 
 the beautiful faftron flower, which is fovv^ed among the black ftones. 
 It is diftinguiftied from the lovely meadow fafiron, which blooms in 
 Swabia and Switzerland, toward the end of the fummer and during the 
 whole of autumn, by a deeper violet colour, and by its beautiful dark 
 piftils," which conftitute the faffron ; the ufe of which is fo excellent. 
 
 Where the rocky declivities are not too fteep, and are not entirely 
 rendered barren by the torrents of rain, there confiderably tall chefnuts 
 and walnut trees flourifti. Every fpot of earth is cultivated ; but fome 
 of the valleys have no fpots of earth : for the wild waves of the Arc rufh 
 over ftones, and form cataracts that foam and thunder down the 
 perpendicular rock. 
 
 6 In 
 
^92 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 In the evening, we arrived at Modane ; a little village, which is five 
 leagues from the foot of Mount Cenis. We rofe at three o'clock in 
 the morning, that v/e might begin our day's journey by four : but 
 dreadful torrents of rain, which often in thefe parts fweep down hug€ 
 ilones, and pines, to the danger of the traveller, obliged us to wait till 
 the ftorm was over. 
 
 The morning was clear after this tempeftuous night ; and, about fix 
 o*clock, we fet forward, and frequently favv the tops of the glaciers, 
 dazzling with the rofy beams of the rifmg fun. The mountains around 
 us were like wife covered with fnow : while the autumnal yellow foli- 
 age of the birch, the pale leaves of the larch tree, and the dark ever- 
 green of the pine, fhaded the high rocky road. We faw however that 
 the higher we went the lefs flourifliing was the vegetation around us. 
 The young winter crops, on the banks of the river, became the only 
 verdure below the rocks. 
 
 From thefe narrow winding valleys, which are connected by fmall 
 openings with each other. Mount Cenis is firft {een, at the diftance of 
 about half a league. The little town of Laneburg ftands at its feet, in 
 a wild fituation, built with materials dug rough from the rock, and 
 roofed with flate : which, that the wind may not carry it away, is over- 
 laid with ftones. We arrived about noon ; and, at this place, our 
 carriages were taken to pieces, and mules and litters procured. About 
 half an hour after two, we proceeded on our journey. 
 
 My wife was borne in a covered Utter by fix men ; two carrying at 
 a time, and relieving each other. The foremoft had leather ftraps 
 acrofs his fhoulders ; and held a rope in his hand, which was faftened 
 to the pack-faddle of a lightly loaded mule ; by which, as he went, he 
 was helped along. We men rode on mules ; as likewife did Erneft, 
 to his great joy. 
 
 The road is fteep, and very uneven, being full of large ftones. We 
 had not afcended above a quarter of an hour before we faw the fnow, 
 covering the pine, and other green trees. After a time, we faw no- 
 thing: 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 195 
 
 tiling but ftunted leaflefs fhrubs ; and the rain, which had accompa- 
 nied us when we fet out, was now changed into large fleaks of fnow. It 
 was fomething more than an hour and a Iialf before we arrived at the 
 higheft part over which the road went, and which then continues 
 about three quarters of a league through a bread valley, lying between 
 the high fummits of the mountain, which heights no man can po/Tibly 
 afcend. In this lofty valley is a kkc, which is juflly celebrated for its 
 trout. We took fome refrefhment, at an inn on Mount Cenis; and 
 ■dried our clothes by the fire, which was a great pleafure. 
 
 We then continued our journey. However, I would not fufFer my 
 fon to mount his mule again, but put him into an uncovered litter. I 
 could perceive I very much damped his joy ; but I foon had reafon to 
 congratulate myfelf, at having fo done. The great expedations I had 
 formed of Mount Cenis had been partly difappointed : but they were 
 foon very highly exceeded. As we continued our journey down- 
 ward, we came to a high fantaflical crag ; after which the defcent 
 was one uninterrupted zig zag. Steep as the mountain is, on the fide 
 of Savoy, it is ftill much fleeper, and much higher, on that of Pied- 
 mont. Tiie Semar, a rivulet, which takes its rife in the lake on the 
 ' rnountaln, dafhes down among the rocks, and forms an uncommonly 
 beautiful cafcade. It then rufhes through a high valley, and feparates 
 "Savoy from Piedmont. At Sufa, it falls into the Dora ; which, at Tu- 
 rin, is mingled with the Po. 
 
 Here, the charms of Savoy took a kind of folemn leave of us : being fe- 
 parated from Piedmont by rocks of a ftrange appearance, and thundering 
 ■catarads. We continued onward for fome leagues, over a fteep and 
 ftony road, full of fhort turnings, having high rocks on one fide of us, 
 and on the other deep precipices. 
 
 The mules, that travel thefe roads, are uncommonly lluggiih. If 
 you are a little way behind, you may with great difficulty bring your 
 mule into a trot ; and then the followers will trot after ; but to make 
 your own mule overtake and pafs the firfl is a thing almoft impoffible. 
 
 Vol. L C c There 
 
194 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 There are few places, however, in which the traveller has any defire to- 
 trot. When the road is fteep, and encumbered with almoft impaflable 
 flones, the rider muft throw the bridle on the neck of the mule. The 
 animal then makes continual windings as he goes down the declivity ;, 
 proceeding to the very edge of the precipice, and then turning fhort 
 about. The mules are fhod with thin plates of iron ; which are 
 turned up, and are confiderably wider than the fore- part of the hoof. 
 With thefe they tread fafely, and do not run the rifk of getting fmall 
 flones between the fhoe and the hoof, which would make their ftep 
 infecure. 
 
 We were flill a league from the foot of the mountain, when night 
 approached. It was fo dark that I was obliged to open theglafs of my 
 watch, to fee what it was o'clock. The fure-footed mules ftill went 
 on, but with the nofe to the ground, and continually approaching the 
 very brink of the precipice, then turning fhort, but occafionally flop.- 
 ping for a moment, and looking down. At length I difmounted-; for 
 the road by this light was extremely difficult, and fcarcely to be diflin- 
 guiflied from the precipices. The noife of ftreamSj hurrying among 
 the rocks, thundered in our ears ; and their froth by night was fear- 
 fully beautiful. How happy was I that I had not fuffered Ernefl: to 
 ride, over roads like thefe, and under fuch circumflances ! He muft 
 have been in great danger; for I often ftaggered, and ftepped into 
 holes among the high flones. 
 
 At lafl, we arrived at Noralefe, a little town at the foot of the 
 mountain ; and I own my heart rejoiced to meet my wife and fon 
 again in fafety. The country confidered, we found the inn very good j 
 and fuch as would be thought tolerable in Germany. 
 
 We purfued our journey, yefterday, among fruitful valleys,, and fur- 
 rounded by rocks and mountains, which were clothed with trees. 
 Mofl of thefe valleys are tolerably extenfive, and cultivated with great 
 induftry. We felt in the mildnefs of the air, and we faw,in the frefhnefa 
 of the vegetatioa, that the Alps were on our backs fheltering us from the, 
 
 north* 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 195 
 
 nortli. The vine is not planted here after the German manner, but in 
 rows at a greater diftance ; the fprouts carried from tree to tree ; or, 
 from pole to pole, pendant over little fide laths ; and forming bowers. 
 Between thefe Vvdde rows, we often faw fcattered ears of Turkiili wheat 
 or maize ; and often young winter wheat. The land is partitioned by 
 broad furrows into high fmall beds, like garden beds, each about an ell 
 wide ; and drains are like wife cut through it, of a great depth. I imagine 
 that thefe valleys are often inundated, by the waters that pour down the 
 mountain ; and that the torrents make the furrows and the raifed beds 
 of this country neceflary. 
 
 I recoiled to have feen fimilar furrows in Bohemia ; though not fo 
 broad as thefe of Piedmont ; and the land was there caft into a rounder 
 form. Many mulberry trees here (land in rows, upon the ploughed 
 Jands : on which we likewife find the poplar, w^alnut, and chefnut 
 tree. In the gardens, we meet with the cyprefs, and fig tree, of a 
 height which they do not attain on the other fide of the Alps. 
 
 The profped of the Alps at our backs was truly grand. They not 
 only feparate us from Savoy, but they cut off our new world from the 
 old ; v^here all that was honourable, all that diftinguiihed civilized 
 man from the barbarian, the torch of fcience, the pleafures derived 
 from the arts, nay the holy fire of religion itfelf, took birth. Italy 
 was clofely conneded with Greece ; colonies from which, being 
 fent into the lower parts of this country, communicated to them the 
 name of Grascia Magna. Others of the Grecian people inhabited Afia 
 Minor ; and their colonies fpread ov^r the coafts of Afia and of Africa. 
 Grecian kings fat likewife on the antient throne of the Pharaohs ; be- 
 fore Egypt became a Roman province. 
 
 The dominions of Rome included all the nations that were bounded 
 by the Mediterranean, I hope foon to ftand on the fhores of this fea ; 
 the waves of which have fo often wafhed Italy, Sicily, the ruins of 
 Carthage, and the havens of Greece, in Europe and in Afia. Of 
 Greece ! in which favoured country every river, and every moun- 
 
 C c 2 tain. 
 
,96 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 tain, is become famous ; in hiftory, in poetry, and in mythology : here 
 while I fland, the iflands of the Archipelago will rife to remembrance ;: 
 with myilic Egypt ; and the facred children of Ifrael : a people, who,. 
 in their hiftory, and by their prophets, firft foretold the coming of the 
 Son of truth and love : He whofe pure fpirit, not limited by alps and 
 feas, fpreading from the Ganges to the Frozen Ocean, animates and! 
 enlightens the fons of men. 'Tis true his beams are fometimes dark- 
 ened, by the rifing vapours of earth : but, before the end of time fhall 
 come, they fhall afcend to their native heaven. 
 
 With thoughts like thefe,I looked back upon the white Alps, linked 
 to each other ; and among which the Rochemelon advanced its craggy 
 front, fuperior to the reft. 
 
 At Sufa, the valley becomes narrow, and forms the celebrated pafs 
 of that name ; which is ftrengthened by the fortrefs of Brunette, com- 
 manding two valleys, and ftanding oppofite to the fortrefs of Brian^on, 
 on the confines of France. We halted, at noon, at the little town of 
 St. Ambrofio ; in the front of which the monaftery of St. Michael is 
 feen at a diftance, on the top of a high mountain. 
 
 Between St. Ambrofio and Rivoli, the valleys widen ; and many 
 ruins, of antient caftles, are feen among the mountains. The parts 
 around are fertile, and pleafant. Rivoli is a fmall town ; overlooked 
 by a royal caftle, built on a hill. In Turin, the gates are Ihut early ; 
 we were therefore obliged to remain all night in a large but wretched 
 and exceffively dirty inn. 
 
 Being informed that there was a comic opera, v/e went out of curi- 
 ofity to the theatre, which is fmall, and found it entirely full. The 
 audience, with great politenefs, infifted upon our being feated in very 
 good places ; which had certainly been previoufly taken. The per- 
 formers were better drefTed than might have been expedled, in fo 
 fmall a place. The native talents of comedy were very confpicuous, 
 in the acting of a man v/ho performed the part of an old lover. A 
 fymphony was vociferouily called for, between the a(fts ; and the 
 
 players 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, ,97 
 
 players were loudly applauded in many of the fcenes. At the conclu- 
 fion of a duet, between the old lover and his young miftrefs, there were 
 two parties, who were very eager in exclaiming Bravo ! and Brava ! 
 fome applauding the man, and others the woman. 
 
 The paffion for theatrical exhibitions appears to be born with the 
 Italians. A little boy, about five years old, flood at the corner be- 
 fore the orcheftra on a fmall plank, at leaft two ells high, with his arms 
 round a pillar, and his attention fixed on the performers. We were 
 unable to enter into the paffion of the fcene with the ardour teftified by 
 the fpedators, and we left the theatre long before the conclufion of the 
 piece. 
 
 We departed early in the morning from the uncleanly town of Ri- 
 roli, and proceeded to Turin, which is only two leagues diftant. The 
 road is in a ftraight line, uncommonly fpacious, with a ditch on each 
 fide, that is planted with a row of large elms. 
 
 The extenfive plains of Lombardy, the fertility of which have been 
 famous for thefe thoufand years, begin on this fide Rivoli. It was to 
 thefe plains that Hannibal pointed, as a recompenfe to his army, for 
 the labours of their march, and as the feat of future vidory, for which 
 the hero was their guarantee. They extend over Piedmont, Milan, 
 Mantua, and the Venetian temtory, as far as the Adriatic. The lands 
 are excellent, and mulberry trees are frequently planted among the 
 corn. At fome diftance, high hills are feen ; which are clothed vv^ith 
 vineyards and fruit trees. Behind us and on each fide, curving and 
 forming a crefcent, the lordly Alps appeared, covered with fnow ; and 
 among them the Vifo, and the flill more lofty Rochemelon, advanced 
 in fearful grandeur. Right before us and fome leagues beyond Tu- 
 rin, we faw the magnificent monafl:ery called the Superga, built upon 
 a mountain. 
 
 The beauty of the great objeds around us, and the brightnefs of the 
 morning, infpired our hearts with joy ; which was fuddenly difturbed 
 by a fight of horror. Immediately before us, on the high road, we 
 
 9 faw 
 
,98 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 faw people affembled at an inn, and alked our vetturlno what was the 
 matter. E tin amma%'z>ato I It is a man murdered ! faid he ; but that is 
 nothing to you or me : let us go on and take no notice. 
 
 I and Nicolovius went up to the crowd, and there faw a handfome 
 young man, who had received a deep wound with a knife in the chin, 
 and another that went to the heart. During the night, he and the mur- 
 derer had been heard quarrelling together. My wife's maid, who had 
 feen him lie as (he paiTed by in the other chaife, thought fhe recolleded 
 in him a young man whom fhe had remarked at the inn the evening 
 before ; and who, being at play with another at mora^ and having loft, 
 had been quarrelling. 
 
 This game has coft many men their lives. It is played by two men, 
 holding up more or lefs fingers of the right hand, each againft the 
 other, and both calling, while the hand is raifing, the numbers which 
 they refpedively choofe. This is entirely guefs : yet the Italians 
 maintain that a good player, the moment he fees the hand of his op- 
 ponent, before it is half opened, can tell how many fingers he will 
 extend. The Italians are fo pafTionately addided to this game that no 
 lavrs can induce them to renounce it ; and the quicknefs with which 
 they play is incredible. 
 
 The murderer of the man we faw efcaped ; and, during the laft 
 night, not far from the fame place, another man was robbed and mur- 
 dered. The Pledmontefe are juftly accufed of a propenfity to drunk- 
 ennefs, and of being fcandaloufly rapacious, which induces them to 
 commit murder in cold blood. But how is it pofTible that, in fo adive 
 a government as that of Sardinia, no decifive regulations fhould have 
 taken place, fuflicient to redrefs this evil r How confpicuous does this 
 j-nake the charader of nations ! Among the inhabitants of Savoy, un- 
 der the very fame government, the traveller is in perfed: fecurity : 
 .while, on the plains of Piedmont, and in the very neighbourhood of 
 ;the metropolis, a man may be murdered at an inn, or on the high road. 
 
 We arrived at Turin before ten in the morning. Peace be with you. 
 
 L E T- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 199 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 Turin, 27th OAoberi^pr. 
 
 A URIN IS one of the moft beautiful and moft antient cities 
 m Europe. Fable derives its origin from a pretended Phetontes, bro- 
 ther of the Egyptian god Ofiris, who is faid to have lived fifteen 
 hundred years before the birth of Chrift and to have founded thi^ 
 place. Its large river we are told derives its name from his fon Eri- 
 danus. The later Romans called it Padus, and it is now called the 
 Po. According to thefe fables, the city's name, Turin, was given it 
 in honour of the Egyptian god Apis ; whom the people worfhipped 
 under th^ fymbol of a bull : as if the antient Egyptians could have 
 fpoken Greek ! It wouldi have feemed more probable had a Grecian 
 origin been afcribed to the town, and its antient name Taurafia derived 
 from the jundlion of the Dora with the Po ; or from the waters of the 
 latter. It was cuftomary, for the antientSy to compare a ftream with 
 two arms, or with high waves, to the horns of a bull. 
 
 The accounts given by hiftory are more worthy of attention ; and 
 firom thefe v/e learn that Taurafia, which was then its name, was the 
 chief city of the. Ligurians, and the firfi; which Hannibal took, after 
 his paflage over the Alps. The fame of this wonderful man gives a 
 greater fplendour even to the people he conquered than any that fable 
 could impart. 
 
 Some centuries afterward, under the reign of the Casfars, the Romans 
 fent a colony to this place ; and gave it the name of Augufta Tauri- 
 norum. 
 
 The fituation of Turin is uncommonly beautiful ; and, as mod tra- 
 vellers have remarked, very much refembles that of Drefden. 
 
 The 
 
200 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The charming Po winds along one part of the city, which is fur- 
 rounded with hills, and mountains, that afford numerous profpeds j 
 embellifhed with vineyards, groves, country feats, and gardens. Be- 
 yond the neighbouring heights and hills, the long range of Alps, co- 
 vered with fnow and fearful in grandeur, rife ; and fuperior, among 
 thefe giants of the earth, the Vifo and the Rochemelon, with their 
 beaming furamits, tower. Thefe charming profpeds are bell enjoyed 
 on the walls of the city ; and it is a pity that this fpacious walk is 
 interrupted, by the inclofed gardens of the royal palace. 
 
 We are aftoniflied to fee the Vifo fo near us ; when we remember 
 that the Po takes its rife in this mountain, and is already become fo 
 powerful a flream. The expedations I form of feeing this river 
 empty itfelf into the Adriatic, when it fliall have attained its full matu- 
 rity, are great ; its youthful flream being fo promifmg. 
 
 Immediately facing the gate, which takes its name from the Po, there 
 is a bridge over the river, that neither correfponds with the beauty 
 of the city nor the dignity of the flream. The Po flreet, which leads 
 to this gate, is handfomely built. The plan of Turin is a noble one. 
 The flreets are in right lines, and the gates and the houfes are built in 
 a good flyle and tafte : though the flreets, in proportion to the height 
 of the houfes, the Po flreet and the new flreet excepted, are not fuffi- 
 ciently fpacious. In the Po flreet, there are handfome and lofty ar- 
 cades, on both fides of the way. The outfide of the caflle is not very 
 promifmg : but the apartments are very magnificent. In a niche, at 
 the entrance, there is an equeflrian flatue of Vidor Amadeus the Firfl : 
 the horfe of marble, the duke of bronze. Amadeus is a noble figure: 
 but I cannot fay as much of his horfe. 
 
 I expeded to have found more of the Italian maflers in the pidure 
 gallery, and not fo many of the Flemifh. I fhall only mention a few 
 of thofe which principally drew my attention. 
 
 The Magdalen of Rubens, whofe bold and exprefBv€ pencil, ani- 
 mated by truth, cannot eafily be miflakenj is excellent. The air of the 
 
 head, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 20t 
 
 head, direded toward heaven, the negligence of the diflievelled hair, 
 the afflidion of the up-turned weeping eyes of the Magdalen, and her 
 half-opened mouth, denote her inward repentance, with fuch lines and 
 touches as the longer they are looked at the more they feem to live. 
 Raphael himfelf could not have painted a Magdalen with greater truth; 
 though he would have given her greater beauty. 
 
 The prodigal fon, by Guercino, falling at the feet of his father, is 
 painted with great ftrength of feeling. 
 
 The fick VN^oman, by Gerhard Dowe, is executed with all the affi- 
 duity and with all that animated expreflion, which this great artift 
 combined in fo wonderful a manner. She fits, leaning backward, in 
 an arm chair. The phyfician ftands behind her, with a thoughtful 
 countenance, and holding a urinal up to the light. Her daughter kneels 
 by her fide, tenderly clafping her maternal hand. Another daughter, 
 with filial love and attention, prefents a fpoon, with phyfic in it, to her 
 pale lips. The mother looks at her, with a calm, mild, countenance ; 
 but fhe appears as if flie would much rather thank her daughter for her 
 attention than open her lips to receive the medicine. 
 
 The annunciation of the Virgin, by Albani, though a fmail, appears 
 to me an excellent pid:ure. 
 
 Charles the Fir{l,by a fcholar of Vandyke, and the three children of 
 that monarch, by Vandyke himfelf, are painted with much of the ani- 
 mated deception of life. 
 
 St. Jerome, meditating on mortality, with a death's head in his hand, 
 by Guido, is aftoniihingly beautiful. 
 
 Among thefe pidures, Rubens and his wife, painted by himfelf, are 
 found. How willingly we contemplate the pidlure of a man, Vv-ho has 
 given us the pidure of fo many other men : efpecially while we dif- 
 tinguifh fatisfadion, genius, and benevolence, in every line of his face! 
 
 There are two landfcapes, by Claude Lorraine, which are charader- 
 ized by that foft, true, living, nature with which this great artift repre- 
 fented every kind of tree, every time of the day, and every feafon of 
 
 Vol. 1, D d the 
 
2C2 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the year. He was as exquifite, in the choice of his fubje^ls, as he was 
 accurate, in the reprefentation of them. 
 
 The hermit, fitting in a hollow tree, is a fine proof of the animating 
 and daring genius of Salvator Rofa. 
 
 An unfiniflied Lucretia, by Guido, is a fine picture: though, as fhe 
 has juft drawn the dagger from the wound, I do not fee how fhe could 
 fit upright. 
 
 A jovial fellow, by Gerhard Dowe, who triumphantly turns his glafs. 
 upfide down, is excellent. 
 
 Wouwermans has fome fine pidures here; and, among others, a 
 horfe fair. A brown tiger-fpotted horfe, fomewhat flartled, and as if 
 endeavouring to get free, has a wild look ; which is preferved from the 
 head to the hoof, through his whole figure, with great harmony. 
 
 There are large and fine paintings, of the victories gained, by the 
 warlike Dukes and Kings of Savoy, over the French. 
 
 Different iandfcapes, of views in Italy and on the Rhine, are likewife 
 fome of them very beautiful. 
 
 Between the caflle and the principal church, the chapel of the holy 
 handkerchief is built ; which relic the city believes itfelf to poflefs. 
 The chapel is entirely of black marble. The capitals of the pillars, and 
 the large filver candlefiicks, by which alone the building is lighted, are 
 gilded. The entrance infpires holy folemnity. The fuppofed genuine 
 handkerchief, which is confiderably large, is only publicly exhibited at 
 the beginning of a new reign, at the marriage of the prince royal, or 
 when any perfon of great rank arrives at Turin, and makes the requeft. 
 We were here fhewn a chalice of extraordinary value, fet with jewels; 
 faid to be the richeft in Italy. It is in a good tafte. 
 
 This chapel ftands immediately between the caflle and the high 
 church. Next to the cafl:le is the large theatre,, which is one of the 
 handfomeft in Italy. It is only open during carnival time ; and I have 
 not been able to form any good judgment of it, having only feen it by 
 the iight of a flambeau. The glimpfe I had, however, gave me plea- 
 o fure, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 203 
 
 fure, by the noble flyle In which it is built. It is cenfured as not accu- 
 rately conveying the founds; for, as it is faid, only the fpedators in 
 the boxes can hear. 
 
 The theatre of the Prince of Carignan is beautiful without pomn. 
 The comic opera is performed here, during fummer. There is like- 
 wife a third theatre in the city, and a fourth is to be added. 
 
 The celebrated palace of the Duke of Savoy, the facade of which is 
 built with pillars of the Corinthian order, ftands near the caflle ; than 
 which it is a much finer building. Next to this, the palace of the 
 Prince of Carignan is, in my opinion, the handfomeft. 
 
 The arfenal, which is ftill to be enlarged, is a fine and uncommonly 
 capacious building, including five courts. The halls are fupported by 
 heavy pillars, fimilar to thofe of Gothic churches. Round each of 
 thefe pillars a thoufand mufl^ets are ranged, in an ornamental manner. 
 Pyramids are erected between them ; on which horfe piftols are piled, 
 with great elegance. In the midft of thefe halls is one of a large fize, 
 and circular form ; the walls and pillars of which are ornamented with 
 trophies, of antient armour, ranged in military pomp. Before the 
 doors of this hall, the figures of old warriors ftand, eredt, in complete 
 armour. 
 
 The arfenal contains arms for a hundred and twenty thoufand men. 
 The cylindrical ramrod, for artillery, is not yet in ufe : the ramrods 
 here are all of iron. 
 
 In an adjoining chamber, we were fhewn a confiderable number of 
 fmall light arms ; which, from being very wide at the muzzle, are 
 called tromboni, as refembling a trumpet. The King has forbidden 
 the ufe of them ; they being deftru(3:ive, and eafy of carriage, and, 
 therefore, well adapted for the banditti : for which reafon they have all 
 been bought up. They are capable of being loaded either with feveral 
 balls or with cartridge fhot ; with which, by fcattering, they make 
 dreadful havock. 
 
 There is a cannon found ery, and likewife a chemical laboratory, 
 
 D d 2 ' annexed 
 
204 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 annexed to the arfenal. The whole is under tlic fuperintendance of the 
 learned Count Saluzzo ; who has had fo great a fliare in regulating the 
 improvements of the academy. This nobleman, who, to great learning 
 and fkili in war, adds the dignified manners and free deportment of an 
 antient gentleman, is defcended from the family that once held Saluzzo 
 as a marqaifate. In the fixteenth century, two brothers contefted their 
 claims to this diftrid. One of them furrendered it to France : but the 
 Duke of Savoy foon demanded it as a fief, dependant on him, and took 
 it from the French. It was afterward conquered by Henry the Fourth 
 of France ; and again, in the year 1601, ceded to Savoy. 
 
 I and my wife, the tirft afternoon that was convenient, went upon 
 the Corfo. This is the name of a charming public place; v/here, at 
 this feafon of the year, every evening, from five to fix, the nobility 
 aflemble : though they come rather to exhibit themfelves and their 
 equipage, than to converfe and enjoy the beautiful profped on the Po. 
 Fafhion is honoured here, in preference to Nature. On the banks of 
 the river, near the city, is the beautiful royal caftle of Valentin; which 
 the prefent King has granted to his chamberlain in chief, as a fummer 
 refidence. T he garden annexed to it is applied to botanical ftudies. 
 
 Sluices are carried through the ftreets, to cleanfe them, by means of 
 a canal, which receives its waters from the Dora. Thefe fluices flow 
 through drains into the Po; by which means the city is always clean. 
 There are many large fquares here, among which that of St. Charles 
 is the moft Ipacious and beautiful. The buildings are handfome, and 
 it has extennve arcades on each fide» 
 
 We went to vifit the Marquis of Caranzana, who is fecretary of war, 
 at his vineyard; from which we had a view of all Piedmont, properly 
 fo called, and a part of the county of Afti. At a little diftance on a 
 hill below us, we faw the royal caftle of Montecalieri, in the front of 
 which two rivulets pour their waters into the Po. Here too we had a 
 long profpe^t of the Po, whofe windings have a delightful ferpentine 
 appearance. The fertile plains feera like another paradife. Arable 
 
 lands. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^05 
 
 lands, vineyards, meadows, and paftures, witli Interchangeable variety, 
 are feen : while the poplar, the mulberry, and innumerable fruit trees, 
 call their fliades around, and look like fo many pleafure groves. The 
 Po meanders through the plains ; till, at laft, it lofes itfelf, among the 
 dillaat poplars, as if to relieve the flatnefs which might elfe fatigue the 
 eye: and, at the farthefl: limits of the horizon, the proud Alps ftand, 
 linked with another chain of mountains that unite them to the Apen- 
 nines. 
 
 It was here that Hannibal fhewed his wearied army the rich Eu- 
 ropean plains : or, if it were not here, it might well have been here. 
 I muft not forget to tell you that, owing to the extreme heat of the 
 prefent fummer, the foliage is nearly as much faded as it is in the 
 north of Germany, or even in Denmark, at the fame feafon. 
 
 The mulberry, which having been deprived of its firft leaves has 
 fprouted a fecond time, is the only tree that is entirely green. The 
 flowers ftill bloom, in youth and beauty ; and nov/, while I am writing, 
 carnations, rofes, gillyflowers, and double violets, which the gardener 
 on this delightful day has jufl: gathered for my wife, are perfuming 
 the chamber in which I fit. 
 
 The grapes here are excellent, and of various kinds. The wine com- 
 monly drunk here is not agreeable to Germans: it is either too acid, 
 too heavy, or too fweet. I have now however drunk of the white and 
 red vmo amabile ; both of which were made from the vineyards of the . 
 Marquis, and both of which are excellent: efpecially the red, which,, 
 pearly, as the isil de. perdrix of Champagne, unites the charming flavour 
 of the rafberry with the fine glow of the grape. 
 
 The red and white veined truffle, which is peculiar to this country, 
 is much preferred to the black, by the inhabitants ; of which lafl: they 
 have plenty. The truflle hound was firfl: brought to Germany from: 
 Piedmont. 
 
 The cattle of this country are more tame than thofe of Switzerland,, 
 but equally large. They are all either of a clear brown or pale yellow 
 
 colours. 
 
2o6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEP.G. 
 
 colour: thofe few of the Polifli breed excepted which are of a white 
 grey. For ploughing and for draft, the farmers prefer them to horfes. 
 
 Their waggons are low, and very ftrong beneath ; and I believe that, 
 if they be loaded with a proper equipoife, it would be difficult to over- 
 turn them. The backward bent fhaft, to the upper bending of which 
 the chains of the fhaft oxen are faftened, rifes nearly an ell higher than 
 their horns. It may be drawn downward by the ftrength of the cat- 
 tle ; but does not run the danger, in that cafe, as is frequent with us, 
 of being difplaced, when the road is uneven, by the quick afcent of the 
 {haft. The pull of the cattle is entirely from the yoke : they have no 
 fide harnefs. 
 
 The farmers here, with a few exceptions, are not proprietors of the 
 land : but they are not ferfs. What follows is the general ftate, in 
 Piedmont, of the landlord and farmer. The ground and the houfe be- 
 long to the landlord. The farmer has a leafe for three years; which 
 leafe may bg continually renewed, but muft not be made for a longer 
 period. For the poiTeffion of his farm, which is here called a cafmo^ 
 the farmer gives half the produce of his lands, his wine, and his raw 
 filk. He enjoys however the whole produce of a certain fmall part of 
 his vineyard, and of a number of mulberry trees. Fie pays a fmall 
 rent for his hay: but farmers dare neither fell their hay nor their draw. 
 The firft they ufe as fodder, and the lad as litter ; by which their cattle 
 are kept in good condition, and their land is well manured. In the 
 neighbourhood of the city, indeed, they are permitted to fell a certain 
 quantity of both ; on condition that they load their carts back with 
 feme kind of rubbiih. 
 
 The farmers gain confiderable fums, by their trade in cattle. They 
 purchafe young oxen, in Switzerland, in autumn ; at which feafon, 
 for want of hay, they are cheap in that country. After they have 
 been ufed in agriculture, the paftures into which they are turned are fo 
 rich that they fell to great advantage. They likewife fell their calves 
 at a dear rate : efpecially to the inhabitants on the confines of Genoa. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 507 
 
 The fame kind of regulations, with local varieties, prevail through 
 the general ftates of Italy ; and thefe regulations appear to me to have 
 much good in them. I could only wifli that, after the example of Eng- 
 land, the leafes were for a longer period. The precaution in favour of 
 heirs, left the farms fliould be leafed at an undervalue, feems to have 
 given occafion to thefe fhort leafes. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 Turin, 30th Oftober 1791. 
 
 Jl W O fhort leagues from Turin, is the height on which 
 the church called La Superga is built ; and which is one of the moft 
 beautiful places of Italy, confequently of Europe. This height over- 
 looks the plains of all Piedmont, as far as the utmoft limits of the Alps 
 aad Apennines. The church was built on this height in the year 1 706, 
 in confequence of a vow to the holy virgin, made by Victor Amadeus 
 the Second, when the French were befieging Turin, to induce her to 
 alTift him to raife the fiege. This help was fent him, in the perfon of 
 the great Eugene, who led the imperial forces; and in that of the 
 Prince of Anhalt, who commanded the Pruffians. 
 
 There is a large building annexed to the church, which is inhabited 
 by twelve canons, who are provided for as a part of the eftablifhment.. 
 The whole has a ftriking appearance of grandeur, and magnificence. 
 The church is ornamented with a cupola, on the fides of which two 
 fmall towers are built. Facing the entrance there is an ornamental and 
 noble row of pillars. The church is in the form of a Grecian crofs : that 
 is, a crofs the length and breadth of which are equal. The pictures do 
 not appear to me by any means fo beautiful as the three bafs reliefs, 
 
 Gverr 
 
2o8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 over the altars. The largeft, over the high altar, reprefents the raifing 
 the fiege of Turin. The holy virgin, with the child Jefus, is fufpended 
 over the army: at the head of which are Victor Amadeus, and Prince 
 Eugene. 
 
 The heauty of the well difpofed ornaments, the pillars, of the white 
 marhle of Carara and the red of Piedmont, and the height of the cu- 
 pola, produce altogether a grand efFed:. Whether, as fome affirm, of- 
 fences have been committed againft the rules of architecture is a quef- 
 tion which I am not qualified to decide : but great beauty is not incom- 
 patible with defeat ; and the former has certainly been attained, in a 
 building the afped: of which, at its entrance, infpires a fenfation of 
 grandeur and benevolence. 
 
 Over the inner entrance of the church is the following infcription: 
 
 VIRGINI GENITRICI VICTOR AMADEUS SARDINIA REX BELLO GAL- 
 LICO VOVIT, PULSIS HOSTIBUS EXTRUXIT DEDICAVITQUE. 
 
 Vowed to the Virgin Mother ^b'j ViElor Jmadeui^ King of Sardinia, ivhen at war with France : 
 Cindy his enemies being vanquijhed, ereFicd and dedicated. 
 
 The royal fepulchral vault is under the church. The coffins are 
 grand, and nobly ornamented. It is a fingular cuftom, which is efta- 
 blifhed, that the King who died laft is to be buried in one particular 
 grave, out of which his predeceflor is to be removed. The prefent king 
 feems to have felt the inconvenience of this cuftom. The body of his 
 father, which has indeed been buried as the laft deceafed in this dedi- 
 cated grave, isinclofed in a magnificent coffin ; on which is an infcrip- 
 tion, that begins thus : 
 
 SEMPITERN^ MEMORI^ ET QUIETI 
 
 Sacred to eternal rememhrance and rcpofe 
 
 The canons have an excellent library ; which is particularly rich in 
 the writings of the fathers; and is well provided in the claffics, and in 
 the works of good modern authors. 
 
 We 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 209 
 
 We were not fatlsfied with the grand profpecft from the terrace, but 
 afcended the fmall ftaircafe, which leads to the narrow outlet at the top 
 of the cupola ; where, at a fingle view, we beheld one of the fublimefl: 
 fpedacles in nature: the plains of Piedmont, the meanders of the Po 
 the whole fhining circle of the fnow-covered Alps, and after thefe 
 a range of the Apennines. The (ky was entirely clear, and the dazzling 
 brightnefs of the fnowy mountains drew our attention from the cupola 
 of Milan, which may fometimes be difcovered from this place: but our 
 eyes were fixed on the more grand and beautiful objeds, by which we 
 were furrounded. 
 
 Judging from the fituation of the country, we im.agined that we 
 could difcover Mont Blanc, among this magnificent ridge of Alps ; but 
 our guide could give us no information on the fubjed. I need not 
 inform you that the glaciers, it^xi from this place, do not appear to be 
 the fartheft limits of the horizon, but as confining it ; as grand objeds ; 
 fearful, yet fublime in their approach. Beneath us lay Turin ; next to 
 that Rivoli ; and afterward many cities, towns, villages, and caftles, as. 
 upon a map. All that is produced by the hand of man here looks dimi- 
 nutive ; and nature, eternal and ever youthful nature, feems only to be 
 vifible. The Po,^n all its beauty, winds along the laughing plains : the 
 Alps, in all their grandeur, tower like the walls of God. 
 
 La Veneria is the principal country palace of the King.; and is fitu- 
 ated about two leagues and a half from Turin. The Roval Family 
 always remain here fifty days, in the fpring of the year. The church 
 is beautiful : the palace contains handfome apartments, and the gar- 
 den is very large; but entirely laid out in the French tafte, and pro- ■ 
 bably by Le Notre himfelf, who was at Turin. 
 
 The orangery is a noble building ; and tLe trees that belong to It ' 
 were not returned into the green-houfe till this week. We have lately 
 had fome cold days. Reaumur's thermometer has frequently, at an 
 early hour, been only five degrees above the freezing point ; and at ^ 
 feven o'clock this morning it was only two degrees. 
 ; Vql, L ' E e Count 
 
210 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 Count Morozzo, who is the dlredor of the academy, has fhewn us 
 that building and the high obiervatory. From this, we could overlook 
 the whole city, and the country, far around. \Ye were delightfully 
 farprifed, while the Count, who is well acquainted with the geography 
 of the country, pointed out the whole courfe of the gigantic Alps; 
 which begin on the limits of Provence and Dauphine : then, in different 
 diredlions, feparate Savoy from Piedmont, and from Valais, afterward 
 lofe themfelves in the country of the Grifons, and divide Tyrol from Italy. 
 
 Count Morozzo fhewed us the model of a fmall turret, which is to 
 be built over the academy. It is to be convex at the top and pointed ; 
 and fo contrived that, by the aid of eafily governable machinery, it can 
 be turned in any dire<^ion. By this means, the telefcope may fo be 
 placed that the w^hole canopy of heaven may be feen through a few 
 openings at the top. 
 
 This morning, I was prefented to the king and the royal family, at 
 Mcntecalieri. His majefty is fixty-five years old, and has an animated 
 appearance. He is much honoured and beloved by his fubjeds ; which 
 he has well deferved, by his dignity of charader, and faithful admi- 
 niftration of public affairs. The prince royal of Piedmont appears to 
 have much animation ; and certainly has, at prefent, the welfare of 
 the country at heart. 
 
 The politenefs with which the nobility of this country receive 
 Grangers is confpicuous in the royal family. 
 
 Henry the Fourth prided himfelf on the honour of his being the firfl 
 gentleman in the kingdom ; and France found itfelf happy under the 
 government of a polifhed hero, who was a patriot king ; or, at leafl, 
 to his people he has fully realized this imaginary charader, and given 
 them as much fatisfadion as perhaps ever was, or ever will be, within 
 the power of a king. 
 
 The mufeum of the univerfity contains many curlofitles. Among its 
 valuable coUedion of antiques is a fleeping Cupid, of white marble, of 
 the fize of life j and of uncommon beauty. He lies extended, with 
 
 4 drooping 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, an 
 
 drooping wings, on a lion's hide ; his left leg turned under his right, 
 while the gentle life of fleep breathes through the whole form of the 
 charming boy. 
 
 Two Egyptian figures, feated, one of which reprefents the goddefs 
 ^luros with a cat's face, the other apparently a prieft, appear to be of 
 the highefl antiquity. 
 
 The table of Ifis is the moft remarkable curiofity. It is of black 
 marble, with many Egyptian figures and hieroglyphics encrufted in 
 filver. It was difcovered at Rome, in the place where formerly a tem- 
 ple of Ifis flood. The Egyptian worfhip, which, in defpite of the op- 
 pofition made by the fenate, more than once gained a footing in 
 Rome, was openly indulged, or rather favoured, in the times of the 
 Caefars. This table was once in the pofleffion of the learned Cardinal 
 Peter Bembo ; and afterward of the Duke of Mantua. In the year 
 1630, when Mantua was taken and plundered by the Auftrians, 
 Cardinal Para obtained it, and prefented it to the Duke of Savoy. It 
 has ben fomewhat damaged by the rapacity of the foldiers ; who tore 
 away a few of the inlaid figures, for the fake of the filver. The draw- 
 ings that were made of it having been thought imperfedl, it has now 
 been engraved. 
 
 I faw fome beautiful mofaic works, that had been difcovered in 
 Sardinia. Having been damaged by age, they have moft of them been, 
 repaired. The art of repairing them is no lefs ingenious than that by 
 which old paintings have been transferred to new canvas. Canvas is 
 fpread upon a table, and rubbed over with pitch : the cement which 
 holds the fmall ftones together, on the other fide, is then loofened, and 
 the ftones are placed upon the canvas in the pitchy mafs, which is fo pre- 
 pared that, though moift it the prefent, it will harden. The canvas is then 
 feparated from it, and the work afterward appears in all its recovered 
 beauty. People are at prefent employed in thus recovering an Or- 
 pheus, playing upon the lyre. Various wild animals, which, accord- 
 ing to the fable, are fuppofcd to have liftened to Orpheus, the ferocity 
 
 E e 2 of 
 
2,12 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 of which monfters his mufic had the power to tame, have been entirely 
 reftored. 
 
 The cabinet of medals contains many beautiful antient coins. There 
 are fifty-five thoufand volumes in the library, and about two-thoufand 
 manufcripts. Among the latter is a Pliny, of the fifteenth, and a 
 Dante of the fourteenth, century ; both remarkably beautiful. The 
 Pliny is ornamented with well executed illuminations, which are con- 
 fonant to the fubjed. 
 
 Among the printed books is a bible, in eleven folio volumes and four 
 different languages : the Hebrew, the Chaldaic, the Greek, and the 
 Latin. Philip the fecond King of Spain made a prefent of it to the 
 Duke of Savoy. I think I never have feen fo beautiful an impreffion. 
 
 There are various curlofities, in Turin and its neighbourhood, which 
 I have not been able to examine. I have not only left the rake at home, 
 which a certain defcription of travellers ufe, whofe purpofe is a trading 
 voyage ; but I have likewife negleded many things that might be 
 worthy the notice of a rational gleaner. I have neither feen the country 
 feat called Stupinigi, which is very celebrated, nor the Queen's vine- 
 yard. I have feen but a few of the churches, and thofe only curforily. 
 
 Turin is very populous. The ftreets are full of people ; though the 
 court, the greateft part of the nobility, and many ftudents and pro- 
 feffional men, to the number of three thoufand, are abfent ; it being 
 now vacation. In winter, the number of inhabitants is eflimated at 
 nearly one-hundred thoufand. 
 
 The high arcades, which adorn the Po-ftreet and various others of 
 the beft ftreets, are filled with fhops. The number of tradefmen and 
 mechanics, who expofe their wares for fale, is extraordinarily great. 
 
 Ja the great fquare, the people affemble to gaze at the tricks which 
 are played by jugglers ; or to liften to the quack doctors, who ftand 
 on a high fcaffold with monkeys by their fide. The quack appeals to 
 his monkey, who pretends to be fick, for the recommendation of his 
 medicines ; and by this mummery addrelTes himfelf to his wife audi- 
 tors. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 213 
 
 ton. I was not fo much furprifed at the hidlcroiis gravity of the doc- 
 tor, who had a part to ad, as at the ferlous atteatioii of the gaping 
 multitude. Tliough I do not think they confider him as a great con- 
 juror, yet they do feem to rank him as on^^ of their virtuoii ; and of a 
 pecuhar kind. It appears to me that wriatever relates to the art of 
 adting is a thing of great importance, among the Italians. Either I 
 miilake, or, what Cicero fixid of the Greeks of his age may, with great 
 truth, be appUed to this people : A^aUo comcsda eft. 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 Genoa, 3d November 1791. 
 
 E departed for Villa Nova on the 3 1 ft of Odober, in the 
 afternoon ; and journeyed through the pleafant and fertile plains of 
 Lombardy. The following day at noon, we were at Afti ; which is a 
 very antient and in part well built town ; and, in the Roman times, 
 was called Afta Pompeia. 
 
 We pafled the evening at Felizzano. Between this little place and 
 AlefTandria, we found the next morning the road was bad; various rivers, 
 and particularly the Tanaro, which runs through Afti and Alelfandria, 
 had overflowed from the rains, and injured the roads and bridges. Alef- 
 fandria is a tolerable town. It lies in the Piedmont diftrid of Milan ; 
 which, in the year 1703, was ceded at the treaty of Turin by Auftria 
 to Savoy. It was built toward the end of the twelfth century, by the 
 citizens of Milan, Cremona, and Placenza j as a place of refuge againft 
 the Emperor Frederic the Firft. You may remember that moft of the 
 Italian cities ^ vere of the party of the Guelphs, and were in favour of 
 the Popes, whofe excommunications were ifTued againft the Emperors 
 
 of 
 
214 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 of Germany ; and efpecially againft the powerful houfe of Hohenftau- 
 fen ; though fometimes ineiTed^ually. The new town, AlelTandria, in 
 the year 1 178 was named after Pope Alexander the Third. The title of 
 {{clla Paglia (of the ftraw) was given it, not as fome have falfely main- 
 tained becaufe the inhabitants of this plzice burn ftraw inllead of wood, 
 but becaufe the Ghibelin fadion mocked at the builders of a town, the 
 walls of which were compofcd of clay and ftraw. Frederic notwith- 
 ftanding, aftc* a tedious fiege, v/as obliged to quit thefev/alls. 
 
 The Latin infcription in the interior of the high church, which men- 
 tions this occurre.^.ce, does not mention the Emperor with the ofFenfive 
 epithet Barbarcfla ; but the more elegant Latin, jE?iobarba : which in 
 the Roman ages was applied to the race of Domitian. 
 
 The town has a confiderable trade ; particularly in cotton, filk, and 
 the merchandize of the Eaft. It is fituated between the Tanaro and 
 the river Bormia, in a fruitful plain, that is very rich in mulberry 
 trees. It is no proof of the induftry nor much to the honour of the 
 country of Piedmont, that it barters much raw filk for filk after it is 
 manufadured. The fields and paftures, in this country, are cut through, 
 with drains ; which receive the vv^ater and prevent the bad elFeds of 
 inundations. The fides of thefe drains are planted with hedges, which 
 fupply the inhabitants with firewood. The large dark-blue grapes of 
 thefe parts are excellent. One regiment of cavalry, and two of infantry, 
 are ftationed in garrifon at Alefiandria. 
 
 Yefterday afternoon, w^e left Alefiandria, and proceeded to Novi ; 
 and faw the Apennine mountains, vrith their tops covered with fnow, 
 immediately before us. Thefe famous mountains appeared, to us but 
 a row of hills, comparrd to the towering v/hite Alps ; which^ although 
 at a diftance, feemed as if they were in our neighbourhood, whenever 
 we turned to look at ther beaming fummits. 
 
 The territories of Genoa began at a fliort diftance before we reached 
 Novi ; which is a well built little town. Here we found, what we had 
 ib much wiftied for in Piedmont and Sayoy, a cleanly inn» 
 
 We 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 215 
 
 AVe fct off early in the morning, that we might reach Genoa before the 
 gates were Hiut. The road leads through valle^/s, and over fome hei<>-hts 
 of the Apennines ; the mod celebrated of which form what is called La 
 JBocchetta. As we proceeded over thefe mountains, we met an un- 
 common number of loaded mules, and affes. Some of the hel"-hts are 
 rude and craggy ; but moft of them are planted with the genuine chef- 
 nut tree. We had all along anticipated the pleafure we fliould have at 
 the Bocchetta, by viewing from thefe heights the Mediterranean fea t 
 but a thick cloud difagreeably robbed us of this noble profped: ; for we 
 had defcended into the valley before it had difperfed. 
 
 There is a very diftinguiiliable difference in the feafons, between tlie 
 north and fouth fide of the Apennines. On the north, the leaves were 
 all faded ; here they were ftiil green. The chefnut trees are of a fu- 
 perior growth : the mulberry and the fig tree are uncommonly large ; 
 ^nd in Campo Marone, where we baited at noon, we faw in the opea 
 air a tall laurel tree. 
 
 A continued and heavy rain robbed us of the beauty of our journey 
 from Campo Marone to Genoa. Our way led us befide the river Bifa- 
 geo ; which empties itfelf into the Mediterranean, not far from Genoa» 
 This country muft formerly have been very difficult to travel; but, in the 
 year 1778, a magnificent road was made, which, for the fpace of three 
 years, employed from five to eight hundred men, and at the expence of 
 the patrician family Cambiafi. The republic is indebted to the nobility 
 for public buildings, and foundations, which would do honour to a 
 monarch. 
 
 Immediately before we came to Genoa, we had at laft a fight of the 
 fea ; the expeded delight of which we had been fo long indulging. 
 We paffed many beautiful country houfes, belonging to the Genoefe, 
 before we came to the city. The fite of Genoa is theatrical in its form, 
 rifing from the fhore in a curve like a fickle. The rain and the du& 
 of the evening greatly concealed a profped, which, in fpite of thefe dif- 
 Itdvantages, was ftiil highly grandj and beautiful, 
 
 '^- L E T^ 
 
2i6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 Genoa, 4th November 1791. 
 
 X HIS city is of very high antiquity, and of very doubtful 
 origin. Though fome of the antients have called this the chief city of 
 Li"-ur:a, they have taken the name in hs limited fignification, as it is 
 now aT^plied to the territory of Genoa. In thofe times, the name of 
 Liguria was given to the whole extent of country which lies between 
 the Rhone and Arno. I am of opinion that the antient writers, who 
 have called Taurafia, or Turin, the chief city of Liguria, meant by the 
 latter, that part of the great Liguria which extends from the Po to the 
 Apennines, and is now called Piedmont. The Greek and Roman name- 
 of this city was the fame: we call it Genoa j the Italians Genova. 
 In the barbarous ages, there were fome v/ho gave it. the nameof Janua; 
 and hence derived its origin from the antient Janus, who reigned in 
 Italy fifteen hundred years before the birth ofChrifl, jq(a:t : 
 
 Genoa was early allied to the Romans; and, in the fecond Punic 
 war, was deftroyed by Mago, the brother of HannLbal. An antient 
 infcription proves that it afterward became a Roman [municipal city. 
 When the Oftro-Goths overran tne Roman Empire, this city fell under 
 their jurifdidiion ; but was again recovered by Belifarius. It was af- 
 terward laid wafte by the Saracens, and Lombards. Charlemagne 
 was tTie laft who took it; and he refiored it to its antien: freedom. 
 His fon P^pin, however, gave it to Adhemar, a Frenchman, with, the 
 title of Count. The yoke of thefe counts wasiliaken off by the Gcno- 
 efe, in the eleventh century ; and they then appointed Confuls. Even- 
 in thefe times, the city was furrounded with^walls ; and divided into 
 fix parts, with a tribune over each divifion. jv3 -a: to 
 
 Quarrels foon divided the citizens, who chofe a foreigner to b^ Thdi^ 
 
 podefla, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERO, 
 
 217 
 
 podefta, or chief magiflrat^ ; but, weary of this, they appointed a go- 
 vernor; and afterward cledled a- doge, from the nobility and the 
 citizens. 
 
 They were induced, by new dlfturbances, to put th-cinfelves under 
 the power of Charles the Sixth, of France. In the year 1409, they 
 broke the chains with which they had fettered themfclves, put tlie 
 French garrlfon to death, and fubje(fted themfelves to the Marquis of 
 Montferrat. Four years aftei*w^ard, they recovered their liberties, r.nd 
 once more elcded a doge : but they foon became tributary to tlie 
 Duke of Milan ; and again, in the year 1436, regained their free- 
 dom. In the year 1458, they once more fubjeded themfelves to the 
 French ; and in three years the people aiferted their former rights, 
 and reinftituted the doge. They once more offered themfelves to Lewk 
 the Eleventh ; who replied that, if Genoa were his, he would confign 
 it to the Devil. 
 
 After this, the city was torn by inteftine divifions ; by the fadions 
 >of the Guelphs and Ghibelins, and by the contefts between the fami- 
 lies of Adorno and Fregofo, The emperors of Germany, the kinr^s of 
 France, and the dukes of Milan, governed it in turns ; and it was on 
 the brink of deftrudion when the naval hero, Andrea Doria, one of the 
 greateft men Italy ever produced, fnatched it from the arms of France, 
 and once more reftored it to freedom. It was in his own choice to 
 have been the monarch of his country : but he nobly declined the fo- 
 vereign rule ; and was more honoured by the thankful citizens, when 
 they gave him the high title of Father of his country, than he could 
 have been, had he obtained the empire of the world Since that 
 time Genoa has ufually been allied with Spain. 
 
 In the year 1 684, it was bombarded by the French ; and obtained peace 
 only on the mofl humiliating conditions. The doge, who, according to 
 law, was never to be abfent, was obliged, with four fenators,to makea jour- 
 ney toVerfailles; there to pay homage to the arrogant Lewis the Four- 
 teenth. While they were fhewing him the parts of this new magnificent 
 
 Vol, I. 'Ff palace. 
 
2i8 TRAVELS OF COUiNT STOLBERG. 
 
 palace, he was aiked, what of all the things he had feeii he thought the 
 moil liirprifing ? He replied, with ^a fiitiric faille, It was to iee the 
 Doge of Genoa at Verfailles. 
 
 The conftitution of this free ftate is an ariuocracy : or rather an 
 oligarchy. The government is in the hands of the patricians ; who 
 are divided into the old and new nohility. This diftin^fiion firft hegan 
 with eight-and- twenty families ; that, in the year 1588, were feparatcd 
 by Doiia from the reft. However, the antient nobility do not date higher 
 than the tv%'elfth century. Since that time, other noble families have 
 been added to the antient nobility. The new nobility confift of about 
 five hundred families ; at the head of whom are the Giuftiniani, who 
 are properly of the antient nobility. 
 
 The new nobility was formerly excluded from the chief offices of the 
 State. Their privileges are now equal to thofe of the antient race ; 
 though the latter enjoy more power and refpect. The doge is elected 
 once in two years ; and is alternately chofen from the old and new 
 nobility. He has the precedence of fpeeeh and place, in all their public 
 affemblies ; and, after his two years have expired, complaints may be 
 lodged againft liim, for the fpace of eight days. Should judgment be 
 given in favour of the accufers, he is excluded from any fliare in pub- 
 lic affairs. No doge can be re-ele6led, till after a lapfe of ten years. 
 
 The two principal public bodies are the goveniatoriy and the procu- 
 rator'u The fignorla^ or fenate, confifts of the twelve governatori and 
 the doge. The procuratoi'i are eight, with the addition of thofe doges 
 who have been in office, and who enjoy this privilege for life. 
 Official appointments are only granted for two years. 
 
 The fignoria deliberates on the moft fecret affairs : but the mofl: im- 
 portant muft be fubmitted to the decifion of tlie great council, to which 
 muft be likewife added the confent of the procuratoii. To the latter 
 the fuperintendance of the treafury and the public revenues is entrufted. 
 All the nobility who have attained the age of twenty-two, have been 
 three year^ citizens, and are of unfullied reputation, may belong to the 
 
 great 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 219 
 
 great council ; which mufl: not exceed the number of four hundred. 
 This council it is true is annually eleded j but the fame members are 
 always re-chofen. 
 
 " The legifjative power refides in the great council : but the little coun- 
 cil, \vhich confifts of the governatori, the procurator!, and tvro hundred 
 counfellors, has a predominating influence. 
 
 The college of the fiipi-emi fyndicatori revifes the adminillratlon of 
 the doges, the governatori, the procurator!, and other magillrates, as 
 foon as they have laid down their dignities. Three confer vators of 
 peace, and two confervators of laws, are chofen every other year. Tlie 
 ktter fuperintend eledions •- the former enquire into private difputes ; 
 particularly of the matrimonial kind. 
 
 Among various colleges, or committees, which I fliall omit to de- 
 fcribe, I muft not forget one, whofe office is worthy of univerfal imi- 
 tation. It is to enquire into and defend the rights of poor prifoners. 
 The adminiftration of juflice, which is called rota civile^ is entrufted to 
 a college of five do6tors ; who are foreigners, and who are eleded to 
 their office once in two years. Whether the college of penal judges, 
 rota crhninalc^ confifts of foreigners is more than I know. The reaibn 
 that they choofe foreigners for the adminiftration of public juftice is, no 
 doubt, that they exped more impartiality from people wlio liave no 
 connedion in the country, than from natives : but it oiirht to have 
 been recolleded that judges, who continue only two years in the 
 country, are the more liable to be corrupted. Nor can it, certainlv, be 
 any good policy, thus degradingly to miftruft their own citizens. We 
 indubitably pofiefs very excellent courts of jufi:ice, in Germany; en 
 which no ihade of partiality has been caft'. 
 
 The bank of St. George is a kind of government within the "-overn- 
 ment : for it has its own laws, magiftrates, and affemblics. The per- 
 fons who are the ftock-holders are the members of this government. 
 Their revenues are greater, by one half, than thofe of the republic \ the 
 income of which does not exceed a million of dollars. 
 
 Ff 2 la 
 
220 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 In the yeat 1746, this bank advanced five millions of dollars to ther 
 State ; and, in the year 1751, it was in great danger of bankruptcy : 
 but the great council granted it aid, by eftablifning a poll tax for 
 twenty years. 
 
 Th-e council of the republic annually eled; a procurator, and eight 
 protedors ; who fuperintend the affairs of the bank. 
 
 The territories of the republic contain ninety German fquare miles,, 
 allowing fifteen miles to a degree ; and its population is eftimated at 
 four hundred thoufand fouls. The country is mountainous, and fte* 
 rile ; the people.Iaborious and hardy. This is teftified of them by Dio- 
 dorus Siculus*. Their grain is infufficient for their own confumption ; 
 but this is amply compenfated, by their vineyards and their orchards of 
 excellent fruits. Proteded from the north winds by the Apennines, 
 they enjoy a mild climate ; which produces fruits fuperior to thofe of 
 Tufcanv, and only equalled by the fouthern provinces of the Church 
 flates. The lemon, the orange, and pomegranate, ripen on trees 
 that ftand in the open air. Of almonds and figs they have great abun- 
 dance ; and their mulberry and olive trees are innumerable. 
 
 The filk manufactory of the city is fo extenfive that the raw filk, 
 produced in their own territory, is an infufficient fupply : they are 
 therefore obliged to purchafe more from the two Sicilies, and Pied- 
 mont. The oil produced at the prefles of St. Remo is acknowledged 
 to be the beft in Europe, 
 
 From the multitude and beauty of its palaces, the city deferves the 
 c^'nhet of La foperba, or the magnificent ; which it has obtained. Were 
 it not for the narrownefs of the Strada Balbi, and the Strada Nuova, 
 they would be the mod beautiful ftreets in the world. There is no 
 place from which their lofty palaces can be properly feen. The pave- 
 ment is of fi-one, with three rows of flags : one of them, in the middle, 
 broad j and the two fides next to the houfes narrow. The ftreets are 
 
 ^ Diodor. vol. i. p. 265 — 66. ed. Weflel. 
 
 kept 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 £21 
 
 J:ept clean with remarkable care. Many of them are uncommonly 
 narrow ; and, as the town is exceedingly populous, the throng is ex- 
 <;eedingly inconvenient. The houfes are from five to fix {lories hi^^h : 
 and I have even counted fome that were feven and eip-ht. 
 
 O 
 
 A little French work, entitled Dcfcr'ipt'wn des beantes dc Genes 
 1 78 1*, enumerates and defcribes forty-three palaces, befide the palace 
 of the Doge, which are moft of them built in a noble ftyle : though 
 many of them are disfigured, by painted pillars and other intended orna- 
 ments. The fituation, on the fliore of the Mediterranean, is certainly 
 one of the grandeft and moft beautiful in the world. Built in the form 
 of acrefcent, the fliore itfelf having the fame form, the city rifes on 
 its little hills, which are overhung by rocks. The haven is uncommon- 
 ly fpacious, circular, and bounded by a high ftone wall ; round which 
 the citizens walk. 
 
 Two lighthoufes ftand at each end of the entrance into the haven : 
 from which the eye lofes itfelf in the expanfe of waters. A much 
 higher lighthoufe is like wife built, on a rock which has the form of a 
 cone. 
 
 No fooner does the town end than the country houfes of its rich citi- 
 zens begin. The high gardens afford repofe to the eye, when, not fo 
 much fatigued as terrified by viewing the wild waves, it turns in fearch 
 of more tranquil objeds. Yet it cannot long refrain from reverting 
 again to the mighty deep ; the charms of which, to me, appear irre- 
 fiftible. We v^rere flanding on a wall, that was at leaft fixteen ells 
 above the furface of the fea. The air was calm, yet the motion of 
 the water was grand. We faw the fwelling waves proceeding from a 
 great diftance, till at lafl they came dafhing, with the noife of thun- 
 der, againfi: the walls ; and fprung, vaulting fo furioufly that they fa- 
 luted us with their fpray f. 
 
 When 
 
 * A defcriptlon of the beauties of Genoa. 
 
 '}■ I have fmce often remarked, in Sicily, that one of the general figns of the Scirocco Is, 
 
 thatj 
 
12Z 
 
 TP.AVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 When the iky is clear, the coafl of Corfica maybe feen. 
 Genoa Is a free port ; but not fo much frequented, by foreign na- 
 tions, as Leghorn : partly becaufe it is not quite fo fafe, and partly^ 
 becaufe the privileges of foreigners are not fo great, as in the latter 
 town. The limitations here are, that each foreign merchant may keep 
 vvarchoufcs ; in which, during a year, he may admit, or from which he 
 mav export, his merchandize duty free: except that, if this merchan- 
 dize lliould be purchafed in the ftate or city of Genoa, he mull in that 
 cafe pay a heavy duty. 
 
 The number of the inhabitants of the city is fuppofed to be eighty 
 thouland. The fmefl: profped of the haven, toward the Mediterra- 
 nean, is from the garden of the great palace of Doria; which is built 
 fronting the gate on the eaft fide of the city. In the centre of the 
 garden, and in the middle of a large fountain, is the ftatue of Andrea 
 Doria; under the figure of Neptune, ftanding in a chariot of (hells, and 
 drawn by three horfes. He holds a trident in his right hand ; and his 
 attitude and mien are commanding : as if, in the words of Virgil, he 
 were faying I^ios ego ! He is furrounded by box fhrubs and cyprefs 
 trees, cut and clipped in a wretched tafte, equally unv/orthy of the 
 grandeur of the place and of the man. 
 
 On one fide is a charming alley of the large evergreen prickly oak ; 
 the leaves of which, in form and colour, refemble the dark laurel leaves, 
 or the fliining foliage which we occafionally find in the prickly holly- 
 oak. The acorn is like that of an oak, only fomething lefs. 
 
 On the other fide is an orange grove; the trees of which. In the fe- 
 Yere winter of 1788-89, w^ere almoft frozen to the root: but have 
 fmce fo far recovered, and become fo fruitful, as fcarcely to leave any 
 trace of this misfortune. Some of the fweet orange trees, which have 
 fufFered a little, are of a confiderable fizej and are now^, in their growth 
 
 that, when this wind prevails, the fea Is in great motion though the air is calm. It 
 tlovvs from the fouth-wc(l:. 
 
 and 
 
TRAVELS CF COUNT 'VOi, ; :: *\ .23 
 
 and beauty, riclily adorned with the golden apples of the fiefperides. 
 Though it is November, rofes and carnations are in bloom ; and fo 
 continue to be, during the whole winder. The fpe^ator imaoines 
 himfelf in the gardens of Alcinous; or tranfported to the ilhind of Ca- 
 lypfo. I take it for granted that the difference of cli,nate, between 
 Genoa and Turin, is as great as that between Turin and Frankfort. 
 
 You would be furprifed to fee fprouts of the fig, and the laurel, 
 growing between the crevices of old walls. The fruit and vegetable 
 market is now^, in November, amply fupplied. Among other fruits, 
 there is a cheap berry which exceedingly refembles the ftrawberry: 
 except that it is fomething larger, and of a deeper red : though in tafte 
 and fcent it is much inferior. The plant that bears it is called the Ar- 
 butus unedo. The Reaumur thermometer at prefent is twelve degrees 
 above the freezing point. In the fevere winter of 1788, which is here 
 fpoken of as a remarkable event, it was never lower than the fifth degree 
 below the freezing point. 
 
 Our time is limited, and it VntouM require a long ftay to examine all 
 that is worthy of being fecn, in the churches and palaces. The church 
 of St. Charles is built in the form of a Greek crofs : the fide ghapel, 
 which is on the left of the high altar, is of black marble. There is a 
 large bronze crucifix, of great beauty. There are likewife twelve bufts 
 of bronze. The whole chapel is the work of Algardi. 
 
 The church of the Annunciata is rich and magnificent. The nave is 
 fupported by large indented pillars, of white marble, the hollow parts of 
 which are incrufted v/ith a mottled red and white marble. I did not 
 think the pidures very admirable ; except that, over the entrance, is a 
 Chrifl: adminiftering the lafl: fupper, the mailer piece of Giullo Cefare 
 Procaccino, which is really excellent. We faw it indeed to a difad- 
 vantage ; for the church itfelf is not light, and the day wms on the de- 
 cline. The whole cieling is painted. The church appeared to me to 
 have two faults; which, being combined, mutually increafe each other: 
 it is dark, and of different colours. 
 
 The 
 
224 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The Exchange is not fo magnificent as might have been expected, 
 in an antient wealthy and commercial city, like this: but it is light, 
 fpacious, and convenient. It is fur-rounded by the retail iliops of the 
 citizens. 
 
 The Jefults' college, which, fince the abolition of the order, has been 
 inhabited by other learned men, ftands in the Strada "Balbi. One of 
 the Balbi family gave this palace to the Jefuits, in the laft century. The 
 pillars of the court, the ftaircafe, the high galleries, which are likewife 
 fupported by pillars, and the two large lions of white marble, which 
 catch the eye at the lower ftaircafe, as foon as you pafs the portico 
 through which you enter, produce altogether a great effed. 
 
 The great place, Aqua Verde, which is much celebrated, I thought 
 very indifferent. 
 
 About noon, as we were fitting at table, a well drelTed man entered 
 the room, and threw before us a little unbound book. This book con- 
 tained poems, that he had compofed. He likewife announced himfelf 
 as an improvifatore^ and defired me to give him a fubjedt. I gave him 
 the fall of Phaeton. Scarcely had I uttered the word, before he began, 
 with incredible volubility, and with a very animated gefture, to fmg. 
 Not being fufficiently familiarized with the Italian pronunciation, and 
 lefs acquainted with the language than was necefTary for the occafion,, 
 we found it difficult to follow the inceflant flow of the words of a 
 finging improvifatore : hov>^ever, I underf^ood fufficient to admire the 
 fertility of his verfification, the fervour of his imagery, and the enthu- 
 fiafm of his imagination. 
 
 I own to you that, till I had heard this man, I had no great refped 
 for what may be called a legerdemain exhibition of genius : and I am 
 ftill very far from comparing this kind of facility of intelled: with thofe 
 infpired moments when the poet feels himfelf involuntarily feized, with 
 a grandeur of conception and a flow of thought which he cannot re- 
 ftrain. There is however an innate fertility, which feems peculiar to 
 a people whofe animation is univerfal, whofe produdive power is greats 
 9 and 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 225 
 
 and who have proved their fuperiority in works of every kind ; which 
 are immortal *. 
 
 Erneft has, at laft, had the fatlsfadion of feeing a giant. He is a 
 German, who comes from fome place near Frankfort on the Main. He 
 is more than two heads taller than the common fize of men: but, like 
 the other giants whom I have feen, he appears to be weak and helplefs. 
 I could not forbear laughing at a man, vv'ho, although he faw the boots 
 the giant ufually wore, and that his hands and arms were of a propor- 
 tionate fize to the reft of his body, yet fell into the abfurd perfuafion 
 that he made himfelf tall by the height of his boot heels. The giant, 
 by pulling off his boot, put him to the blulh. I mention this incident 
 as charadteriftic of a certain kind of obftinacy of unbelief. The man 
 imagined himfelf wifer than we were, becaufe he had the wit to doubt 
 of the fize of a giant, who ftood before his eyes. 
 
 * The Portuguefe likewife have their improvlfatori. The Spanlfh comedians pofTefs a 
 fimilar talent. I am informed that their poets only furnifh iTcetches for their plays : and 
 that the players add dialogue of their own, which is not preconcerted. They not only vie 
 with the wit of the poet, but endeavour, by the fallies of genius, to rival each other : fo 
 that the fame piece, every time it is performed, is played with new variations. 
 
 rr^ 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 Genoa, 7th November 1791. 
 
 J. HERE appears to me a fmgular difficulty, my friend, 
 while innumerable beauties of every kind are floating before. me, fo to 
 feledt and defcribe them as to give you pleafure. Out of this multi- 
 tude of objeds, which folicit attention in Italy, a traveller can but choofe 
 a few. Their number and their worth opprefs him 
 fl.VoL. I. G g Velut 
 
226 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Vulut u?ida fnpervetiit utidain* : 
 Wave impelling wave : 
 
 and embarrafs recolle£llon. How difficult likewlfe is it to fatisfy our- 
 felves, when we would wilh to communicate the pleafure we have re- 
 ceived, while contemplating the works of nature or of genius ! 
 
 The day before yefterday, we began with the palace of Brignole ; 
 which is called the red palace, to diftinguifh it from another, that like- 
 wife belongs to one of the family of Brignole, and that ftands oppofite 
 to it. We did not vifit it for the fake of its magnilicence, but to view 
 the paintings : though our aftonifhment was excUed by its grandeur, 
 and good tafle. The moft famous palaces of private perfons, among 
 us, are poor, compared to thefe. If we except the hall of the knights, 
 in the palace of Copenhagen, and the very extraordinary new palace 
 of Prince Potemkin, at Peterfburg ; it appears to me that all that I 
 have beheld, in the palaces of princes and kings, is trifiing, compared 
 with the magnificence of thofe of Genoa. 
 
 Of the many paintings, which I have feen here in palaces and 
 churches, there are only a few that I can now remember fufficiently to 
 defcribe. In the Brignole palace is a Phoebus, in his beaming car; with 
 the four Seafons, as little Genii ; and the Hours, ftrewing rofes. One of 
 the Hours is inexpreffibly lovely, and graceful. The pidure is by Do- 
 minico Piola. 
 
 A portrait of one of the Brignole family, on a white horfe, and, 
 oppofite, his wife, are both by Vandyke. 
 
 Chrift driving the money changers, and fellers of doves, out of the 
 temple, is by Guercino. The countenance of Chrift is moft excellently 
 expreffive, of facred folemnity and commanding dignity. A female 
 feller of doves looks at him with aftonifhment. A money changer ap- 
 pears very unwillingly impelled by apprehenfion to depart.. Fear cha- 
 raderifes all the fugitives. 
 
 * Horace. 
 
 Chrift 
 
, ' TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. S27 
 
 Chrifl: with the tribute money, by Vandyke, Is a dignified palntinc;. 
 The countenance and attitude of Chrill are noble, and beautiful, in the 
 higheft degree. The two fcribes are marked by a natural and ftrong 
 expreffion of deceitful knavery. The traits of comedy, which are vifi- 
 ble in their countenances, do not oiTend. Cunning dlfappointed, and 
 knavery outwitted, excite an inclination to laugh; however unwillinf^ 
 ycu may be. The fleady eye of Chrift penetrates to their very fouls. 
 It is a great pidure. 
 
 A beautiful Holy Family is by Giulio Cefare Pfocaccino. 
 Thefe are the works which I perfedly w^ell remember. The palace 
 may contain about a hundred and fifty pidures ; and among them are 
 many raaflerpieces : but the impreiTion they made on me was weakened 
 by their number. 
 
 The church which formerly belonged to the Jefuits, and which is 
 now the church of St. Ambrofe, is a grand building. It is entirely 
 painted in frefco, by Carlone. 
 
 Over the high altar is a large pidure of the Circumcifion, by Ru- 
 bens. It w^as painted in Antwerp ; and he w^as deceived in the height 
 ^t which it was intended to be hung : fo that it is not now feen to good 
 advantage. 
 
 I was better pleafed with an Ignatius Loyola, exorcifmg a woman 
 poflefTed, and raifing dead children. The calm mild grandeur of the 
 faint is moft excellently contrafted with the rage of the pofTeiTed wo- 
 man ; in -whofe attitude, backward diflorted neck, and inflated throat, 
 there is an expreffion of great terror. 
 
 The Aflumption of the Virgin, by Guldo, is of heavenly beauty; and 
 appears to me at leaft equal to the famous Aflumption, by the fame 
 mailer, which is at DlifTeldorf. 
 
 She is here high among the clouds, with angels hovering around 
 her, and the apoflles regarding her with aftonlfliment and love. 
 
 The palace of the Doge is grand ; but not to be compared with the 
 palaces of many private individuals. The pillars are daubed over with 
 
 G g 2 painty 
 
228 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 paint, and the marble is concealed. The whole building appears to me 
 rather to pretend to grandeur than to poflefs it. Fronting the ftaircafe 
 in the court, there are marble bufts of Andrea and John Andrea Dorla. 
 They are ill executed ; perhaps no better than the bufts of the Pruffian 
 generals, which are placed in William's Square in Berlin. 
 
 The halls of the little and the great councils are in this palace. That 
 of the latter is very capacious, and refts upon columns. The large fta- 
 tues do not appear to me beautiful : neither did I think the pictures 
 excellent. There arc places left for many others, with which it is 
 intended to ornam.ent this hall. 
 
 The hall of the little council is beautiful : but I thought the pidures 
 fpotted and poor. There is an arfenal in this palace; which is formi- 
 dably ftored, and well arranged. Among other things, they here fhew 
 about thirty coats of mail j which, as it is faid, the Genoefe women 
 caufed to be made for themfelves, toward the beG-innino; of the four- 
 teenth century, that they might make a crufade. This warlike expe- 
 dition was prevented by the Pope. Here too is a cannon of leather. 
 
 The iron head of a fhip, as ufed by the antients, and which had been 
 found in the haven, is kept in this arfenal. It is a roftrum in its pro- 
 per fenfe ; for its form is that of the head of a wild beaft, worked to a 
 point. 
 
 In the way from the palace of the Doge to the church of Carignan, 
 we pafTed over a broad high ftone bridge ; the intention of which is to 
 conned: the hill of Carignan with the hill of Sarzano. It is fo lofty that 
 houfes of fix ftories high are built under its arches ; between the roofs 
 of which and the bridge there is ftill a very confiderable fpace. On 
 one fide of the bridge, we could overlook a great part of the town; and 
 on the other the haven, with a part of the weftern coaft. This bridge 
 was erected by a perfon of the family of Sauli. 
 
 The predeceflbrs of this noble citizen were the founders of the church 
 of Carignan. The archited that built it was Galeazzo Aleffi Perugino. 
 It is beautiful, light, and grand ; and is adorned by four coloflal ftatues 
 
 2 of 
 
' TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 229 
 
 of marble, the fineil of which is Saint Sebaftian, bound naked to a tree, 
 with two arrow wounds in his fide. The dignity of the martyr, his 
 foretafte of heaven, and the pangs of fuifering nature, are united, and 
 fully exprefled, in his countenance. The body is of great trutli and 
 beauty. 
 
 Peter and John with the lame man, at the gate of the temple, by 
 Dominico Piola, is a fine picture. The lame man is excellent : but I 
 do not think I difcover all the grandeur and apoftolic dignity of Peter, 
 when, to the difeafed man who is expeding an alms from him, he 
 utters the words that precede the miracle : *' Silver and gold have I 
 " none: but fuch as I have give I thee. In the name of Jefus Chrill 
 " of Nazareth, rife up and walk." 
 
 We yefterday faw three palaces ; each behind the other. The firft, 
 belonging to Marcellino D«razzo, in royal magnificence excels even 
 the red palace of Brignole. In Genoa, you perceptibly feel that you are 
 in the palaces of the creditors of the princes of Europe. In one of the 
 firft halls, we faw three large pictures, by Luca Giordano : one of Se- 
 neca dying, another of Olindo and Sophronia, and the third of Perfeus, 
 with the head of Medufa, turning Phineas into ftone. They are full of 
 genius. The fecond reprefents Clorinda coming on horfeback, and the 
 two lovers, who were both to have been burnt, being bound to the 
 fame ftake, in the ad: of being fet free. Where is the reader of Taflb, 
 who has forgotten this fcene ? 
 
 A Magdalen, waihing the feet of Chrift, when he was fitting at the 
 feaft of the Pharifees, is by Paul Veronefe. The pidure is well pre- 
 ferved, and very beautiful ; though the two principal charaders do not 
 appear to me equal to fome of the others. The owner of the palace 
 has a copy of this pidure ; which is fo like the original that no man 
 could affirm it to be a copy. 
 
 Juno, transferring the eyes of Argus to the tail of the peacock, is by 
 Rubens. The body of Argus, lying before the car, is excellently paint- 
 ed. The painter was very right, in taking care to conceal the bleeding 
 
 part 
 
^30 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 part of the body : but the reprefentation of a female taking the head la 
 her hanci, and tearing oul: the eyes, is exceflively difagreeable ; as like- 
 wife are the eyes which Juno holds in the palm of her hand, where 
 they lie like colours on a pallet. 
 
 The whole haven, and beyond that the Mediterranean, are feen from 
 a high and large balcony of this palace. The roofs of the houfes of 
 Genoa are not flat, but are covered with flate a little elevated. The 
 palaces have open large balconies, on which the poffeflbrs may enjoy the 
 frefh air, furrounded by flowers and orange trees. After having been 
 examining numerous pictures, the quick fucceflion of which is inju- 
 rious to the pleafure they give, you feel a defire again to tafl:e undifl:urb- 
 ed the freili air ; and the profped of great nature, as fhe is, revives the 
 heart. Of her we were not eafily w^earied. We returned from the 
 works of art, like a child from its doll to the arms and lap of a kind 
 carefling mother. 
 
 The palace of Marcello Durazzo Is not fo magnificent as that which 
 I have before defcribed, by the name of Marcellino : but it is no lefs 
 rich in paintings. Of thefe I will mention only a few. 
 
 The Hiftory of Achilles, in fix pid:ures, by fix different mafters, to 
 me appears very cold. A man would imagine that thefe painters had 
 read the argument of every book of the Iliad, but not the Iliad itfeif. 
 The grand image of the hero they have neither felt nor produced. 
 
 A Chrift with the tribute money, by Guercino, in my opinion, 
 may contend the garland of vidory with that of Vandyke ; which I 
 faw the day before yefl:erday. I own the Chrifl; of Vandyke has the 
 mofl: power: yet that of Guercino is full of foul and dignity. It is 
 one of the few heads of Chrifl: which can fatisfy the eye of a chriftian ; 
 as far as it can be fatisfied, by the efforts of the painter. 
 
 Three of the fcribes are excellently contrafted with the dignified 
 grandeur of the Saviour. One who looks him in the face, while he 
 Ihews him the tribute money, wifhes to affume the appearance of ho- 
 nefl:y : but you vifibly read the cunning knave in his countenance. A 
 
 little 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 231 
 
 little behind him (lands another, with an artful malicious air; and a 
 third lurks and leers from behind a pillar. 
 
 Samuel anointing David king, by I know not what mafler, if I mil- 
 take not, is a very good piifture. Aftoniiliment and humility, but not 
 terror, are exprefled in the countenance of the fhepherd youth : who 
 is excellently reprefented, v/ith a dark complexion, fine eyes, and a 
 handfome figure. 
 
 Chrift with the woman taken in adultery, by Giulio Cefare Procaccino, 
 is a noble painting ; and in a great ftyle. 
 
 Heraclitus and Democritus, by Spagnioletto, are two fine pieces, and 
 full of charadter. 
 
 There is a weeping philofopher, by the fame mafter ; perhaps an^ 
 other Heraclitus. 
 
 In the palace of Francefco Balbi there are likewife many beautiful 
 pictures. 
 
 A pidure of Chrift with his difciples in the garden, by Michael An- 
 gelo Buonaroti, proves that men of the greateft genius, of which clafs 
 this painter undoubtedly was, fufFer themfelves to be led away by the 
 tafte of the times. Chrift is here reprefented twice in the fame piece, 
 and both times in the foreground ; once kneeUng at prayer, and 
 again haranguing the difciples. 
 
 Maria with the little Jefus, various men, women, and children, St. 
 George with the banner, and an old man, is a compofition by Rubens; 
 in which he has introduced himfelf, his wife, his children, and his fa- 
 ther. St. George is the charader he has chofen for himfelf. He ftands, 
 full of vigour and fatisfadion, with the banner ; which feems to be 
 beautifully waved by his mufcular arm. There is another pidure of the 
 fame fubjed, which is ftill more mafterly, at Antwerp ; and this Is very 
 probably a copy, by one of his fcholars. 
 
 Jofeph, interpreting the dream of the chief butler, is an excellent 
 performance, by Capueino. We are in want however of the chief 
 
 baker ; 
 
^3^ ' TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 baker ; Vvho it is true, in the ftory, ads but a tragical part : however, 
 for that very reafon, it would be ^bll contrafted with the chief butler. 
 
 Chrift and the Samaritan woman, by Guercino. 
 
 I fhall onnt defcribing feveral churches which we have feen. The 
 church of St. Stephen is not remarkable in itfelf, except that it pofleffes 
 a great trcafure in an altarpiece ; which reprefents the ftoning of St. 
 Stephen, with the heavens open, and Jefus fitting on the right hand of 
 God. The upper figures are by Julio Romano : thofe of Stephen and 
 the ftone {lingers are by Raphael. Anger and rage are confpicuous in 
 fome of the latter. An old man is inflamed with zeal. The noble 
 .martyr, kneeling, a beautiful and youthful figure, fixes his enraptured 
 eyes on heaven. Saul, not yet converted, kneels befide the garments of 
 the executioners ; looking likewife toward heaven, but with an afpetft 
 very different from that of Stephen. To the things which Stephen 
 beheld young Saul was blind : however, we difcover in his countenance 
 great zeal for the truths he knew. We perceive in him the future 
 apoftle ; which the painter well knew how to delineate. Oh Raphael ! 
 Raphael ! 
 
 The great hofpital has been built by the grandees of Genoa. Its 
 marble pillars, its handfome ftaircafe and avenue, and the greatnefs of 
 the whole, excite our admiration. The fick, of every nation and of 
 every faith, are here admitted ; and the number of them, in winter, 
 frequently amounts to fixteen hundred.^ '-'"^ t-r-inii'a sra ny. 
 
 This hofpital is ornamented with aboiit Teventy ftatiies, of perfons 
 %vho have given donations; and the kind of rank which thefe ftatues 
 maintain, among each other, is remarkable. Thofe who have beftowed 
 fifty thoufand livres of Genoa have each a marble buft ; thofe of a 
 hundred thoufand have whole length ftatues ; and thofe who have given 
 a greater fum are feated. 
 
 In the evening, we went to the playhoufe ; where we faw Harlequin, 
 Pantaloon, and Brighella, as the chief charaders in the piece. Partly 
 
 for 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. c^.^ 
 
 for want of being f-i miliar with the Italian language, and partly becaufe 
 of the diiferent dialedls, we milled underftanding many thino-s. How- 
 ever, we thought the entertainment fnort. Germans pretend to dif- 
 dain Harlequin: but can they, if they wi(h for real humour, entirely 
 fuffcr his abfence ? I do not aik what is poffible to man ; but what is 
 poffible to us. Among many buffooneries and not a little abfurdity, 
 there flill was a true comic vein that ran through the piece. For my 
 own part, I confider the Italian comedians, generally fpeaking, as pof- 
 fefTed of more comic humour than our own. There is lefs to blame in 
 them; though they are not blamelefs. 
 
 In the palace of Giacomo Balbi are likewife many noble pidures. 
 
 Luca Giordano has painted three, of a large fize. One is the rape of 
 the Sabines. This is a fine fubjed, and managed with great dignity, 
 by the painter. The numerous paflions here have free play ; manly 
 love, female anger, terror of a high degree, and determined courage, 
 are vv ell contrafted with each other. 
 
 Perfeus, with the head of Medufa, is a fecond ; and Jezebel, torn by 
 the dogs, a third, by this mafter. Jehu reins in his horfes, and atten- 
 tively regards the dreadful fpedacle : dreadful, yet nobly handled, and 
 without exciting difguR:, 
 
 Vandyke, with that art which was peculiarly his own, has here like- 
 wife painted three children ; with all the beauty, animation, and cha- 
 raderiftics, of childhood. 
 
 A very fine Magdalen, by Guido, with a death's head in her hand. 
 Deep felt forrow is moft excellently exprefled, in her beautiful coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 Two very noble large landfcapes, by Rubens. A fine choice of ob- 
 jeds, rich, and grand, with the foregrounds excellently made out, fo as 
 to make them rife from the canvas, with foftening fhades, till we come 
 to the moft diftant blue in which the horizon is loft to the fight, give 
 thefe pidures a ftrong appearance of nature. 
 
 Vol. I. Hh A Holy 
 
,., 1 TRAVELS OF COUNT 3TC-LBEKG.. 
 
 A Hcly Family, by the fame mafter ; from wliich the fpedator caiinof 
 tear himfelf without great difficulty. Few pidures have afforded me 
 equal pleafure. The child Jefus is extended in a cradle, careff- 
 ing John the Baptift. They are two beautiful boys. The dawn of 
 heavenly grace is vifible, in the ecftatic m.ien of the godlike child. John 
 looks, with infantine afloniQiment, at Jefus in the cradle. The virgin 
 is fitting ; and, with tender emotion, employing both her hands to rock 
 the cradle. Her beauty is not exquifite ; but her youthful countenance 
 is very agreeable. The more you look at it, the more you are interefi- 
 ed, by the expreffion of purity of heart, devotion, and maternal delight, 
 Jofeph, a venerable old man, i>ands behind, looking over her ihoulder ; 
 his body humbly inclined, regarding the child Jefus. Elizabeth kneels 
 behind John ; with the fweetefl expreffion of devotion, and the noblefl 
 countenance of a handfome matron that can be imagined. 
 
 We have vifited the haven, where the gallies lie ; befide which there 
 
 are fliops, where the Turks, who are enflaved, vend all kinds of wares; 
 
 coffee, chocolate, fugar, diftilled waters, pipes, tobacco, flippers and flraw 
 
 mats. They are fuffered to go free in the haven ; but mufl not walk 
 
 through the city, except chained two and two, and under the guard of 
 
 an overfeer. In this manner, they offer their wares to fale in the city ; 
 
 and particularly red and yellow flippers. At night they are obliged to 
 
 fleep on board the gallies. Thofe prifoners that have been condemned 
 
 to the gallies for their crimes are much more rigoroufly treated than the 
 
 Turks ; who are juflly confidered only as prifoners of war. The latter 
 
 therefore can only purchafe their redemption. The others are fen- 
 
 tenced to the gallies for a certain number of years, equivalent to the 
 
 greatnefs of their offence. None but great criminals remain fettered 
 
 on board the gallies. 
 
 Six months in the year, the prifoners are at fea. They are, beyond 
 all comparilon, better treated than the galley flaves of the French. I 
 fpokc with feveral of them, aud the only complaints I heard were of 
 
 their 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 23^ 
 
 their cold ftations, in winter nights, on board the gallies ; and of their 
 food. Their daily allowance is two pounds of bread, and three ounces of 
 large beans. 
 
 During the fix winter months, they are in harbour; and often have 
 an opportunity of earning fome trifle in the city. They are feldom, 
 and but for a ihort time, put to labour at public works. The Turks do 
 not eafily obtain their freedom : probably, becaufe they have no in- 
 tercourfe with their relations ; or that they want connexions in Ge- 
 noa. They purchafe their own redemption with the money which 
 they earn, during their imprifonment. Some of them have been pri- 
 foners from thirty to forty years ; and thefe mud either have been in- 
 dolent, or ignorant of trade. 
 
 You may recolle<ft how very much we both were moved, by the de- 
 fcription which is given, in Du Paty's Account of the condition of the 
 poor imprifoned Turks, at Genoa. I have made ftrid: enquiries, both 
 of a Swifs, who has lived here five years, and of a merchant from Ge- 
 neva, who has been fourteen years in this city. Both are men deferv- 
 ing of credit ; and the merchant was the friend of Du Paty, and bound 
 to him by the ties of mutual hofpitality : yet both declared that Du 
 Paty's relation was wholly ungrounded. His friend alleged, in his 
 defence, an overheated imagination ; a.nd an excefs of fenfibility j by 
 which he had been milled. 
 
 Thoufands blefs the memory of Howard^ the friend of the human 
 race, who travelled over kingdoms and feas, vifited hofpitals and pri- 
 ibns, and with noble fortitude oppofed avarice and opprefTion. He 
 was indeed the benefactor of the wretched ; numbers of whom, before 
 his time, were treated either with fhameful negled or with the mod 
 liard hearted and pernicious avarice. Writers of travels do well who 
 cenfure abules, after a careful examination : fome of which abufes, 
 indeed, are fo felf-evident that, to be proved, they require only to be 
 ieen. Kumberlefs cuftoms deferve cenfure ; but contempt is the lot 
 
 H h 2 of 
 
236 TPvAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 of that traveller, who aiTumes the mafk of humanity, or philofophy, 
 to calumniate a nation. 
 
 Sick Turks are generally brought to the hofpital, which is appointed 
 for the reception of prifoners ; where they are not treated as prifon- 
 ers, but as perfons fuffering under difeafe. I yeflerday fa^v one, in 
 the great hofpital. 
 
 I have no where fcen fuch a multitude of beggars, as In Genoa. 
 What is moft remarkable, they fcarcely ever addrefs themfelves to the 
 Genoefe, but to ftrangers only. The number of the lame and blind 
 is uncommonly great. A foreigner is followed by beggars in every 
 ftreet ; and he meets them again in the churches, and on the fteps be- 
 fore the church. It is no uncommon thing to find in the church a 
 beggar, all in rags, who will name you the mailer who painted each 
 picture, point out the beft place from which you may examine it, nay 
 frequently detail the fubjedt of the painting, and relate its whole 
 hiftory. 
 
 A knowledge of the arts, to a certain extent, is here very common ;, 
 and yet we find, among their mofb beautiful works, in the Italian 
 churches, not only very indifferent but frequently very wretched or- 
 naments, which are in a high degree unworthy of religion. I very 
 lately faw, in a church, a beautiful figure of the virgin, by Guercino 
 if I do not miftake, disfigured by a tinfel crown with gold ftars, as a 
 decoration to her head ; and a white fun,, of the fame defcription,.. 
 which they had fafl:ened upon her bofom. 
 
 The Genoefe ladies of diftindion appear chiefly to employ themfelves. 
 in painting, and drawing. In three of the palaces that we vifited, we 
 were ihewn copies of the pidtures ; w^hich had been made by the 
 ladies to whom they belonged.. We likewife feveral times faw, ia 
 their chambers, the works with which they amufed themfelves, and 
 the books they read : fome French, and fome ItaUan. 
 
 The government of Genoa is efteemed to be mild. The people of 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 237 
 
 the country pay very few taxes : particularly thofe of Riviera di Po- 
 veiite ; where alinoft every village, at the time that the State fhook off 
 foreign oppreffors, made its individual conditions with the city. Every 
 foreigner who has been ten years an inhabitant of Genoa may be ac- 
 cepted as a citizen : the proteftants themfeives are not excluded. With 
 the Turks, and efpecially with the people of the coaft of Barbary, this 
 State wages eternal war. The governors do not hov/ever rifk the gal- 
 Ues of the republic in the open fea : neither have they taken any iliip, 
 or made any prifoners, for thefe two years. 
 
 More than a hundred prifoners, who had paid their own ranfom, 
 were releafed this month ; and fent home. A merchant of this city 
 lately ranfomed about twenty Moors ; to fhew his gratitude to the em- 
 peror of Morocco, who had done him fome favour. 
 
 LETTER XXXVL 
 
 Pa via, 1 3th November 1791. 
 
 ■ -L HE thermometer, on the fixth, was twelve degrees above 
 the freezing point ; and on the 8th, as we left Genoa, the fnow fell 
 with a cutting wind ; which we felt more fenfibly than we ever re- 
 member to have felt cold in November. Changeablenefs of weather is at- 
 tributed to Genoa. Hiftory alfo fhews how very unfettled the people 
 were. The Ligurians were reprefented, by the antients, as a remarkably 
 unftable, rugged, and laborious, people. 
 
 On the noble high road, which leads to Campo Marone, the incon- 
 venience of the bad weather was more fupportable than at the Bochet- 
 ta ; where the wind from the mountains frequently blew with a cut- 
 ting, 
 
**s- 
 
 238 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ting fleet, and made the road fllppery ; over which the flow-paced 
 llaggeruig mule was obhged to go. 
 
 In the evening, we came to Vokaggio ; which is feated on the 
 northern declivity of the Bochetta. On the 9th, the air was cold : but 
 the dm flione very pleafantly. We left Cavi, with its high mountain 
 fortrefs, on the right, arrived at Novi about noon, and continued our 
 journey through a fertile plain, which is in Sardinian Milan, till we 
 came to Tortona ; a confiderable town, which once was a Roman co- 
 lony, at which time it v/as called Dertona. 
 
 The day before yefterday, after a cold night, we travelled on under 
 a very clear fky. Befide us, on the right, the Apennines rofe ; on the 
 left, the diftant chain of the Alps. We not only faw plates of ice in 
 the morning, but even in the afternoon we met with ice in the deep 
 ruts of the road; which had been injured confiderably in October, by 
 an overflowing of the Po. 
 
 This inundation had laid a part of fertile Lombardy under water ; 
 and had every where occafioned confiderable damage. I confider this 
 country, the extraordinary fertility of which is fo juftly celebrated, as 
 very unhealthy. The many rivers by which it is watered, like a gar- 
 den, often overflow their banks ; and leave ftagnant ditches. The in- 
 duftry of man endeavours to correct the miftake of nature. When the 
 waters begin to flagnate, they are drawn off from the rice fields ; and, 
 though vegetation is increafed, the air is filled with infalubrious va- 
 pours. This great plain is fatiguing to the eye, and in fummer muft 
 be painful. It Is planted indeed with numerous mulberry trees ; but 
 we look in vain for the fliady foreft. The large trees, which here and 
 there occur, have but a melancholy appearance ; and only remind us of 
 the foliage w^iich nature is fo prompt to beftow. The leaves are 
 given to their cattle; for which reafon the branches are lopped to the 
 very top, and nothing larger than twigs is fuffered to fprout in return. 
 The mulberry trees are cut, as in our village paftures, that they may be 
 the more produdive in foliage. 
 
 4 We 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 239 
 
 We were glad again to meet the charming Po ; on the banks of 
 which the poplar was permitted to grow uninjured. Having received 
 many ftreams during its courfe from Turin, it is here l^ecome of a 
 very confiderable breadth ; and we palled it on a moveable bridge of 
 boats. The beautiful fetting fun, and the poplars on the banks of the 
 river, reminded us ftrongly of the fable of Phaeton ; who v/as preci- 
 pitated from his chariot into this ftream, and his weeping fillers were 
 changed into poplars. 
 
 A quarter of a league before we came to this towm, we made a trip 
 over the canal of Ticinello ; which was dug by order of Francis the 
 Firft of France, and which divides the Sardinian diftrid: of Milan from 
 the Auftrian. Before we came to Pavia, we likewife croffed the great 
 bridge over the clear and rapid Ticino ; which was built by Galeazzo 
 Vifconti, firft Duke of Milan, who died in the year 1402. On the 
 banks of this river, which is not flu* from the Po, and into which it emp- 
 ties itfelf, Hannibal gained a vidory over the Romans, in a battle of 
 the cavalry. It was at this battle that the great Scipio, who was then 
 very young, faved the life of his father ; by whom the Romans vv ere 
 commanded. 
 
 It Vv^as after the river Ticinus, now called Ticino, or Teffino, that 
 the Romans named this town Ticinum. It afterward took the name 
 of Papia, before it was, as it now is, called Pavia. When it was the 
 feat of the Lombard kings, it is probable that, in proportion to the 
 times, it was a more confiderable city than it is at prefent. The num- 
 ber of its inhabitants is computed at about thirty thoufand. 
 
 It is famous for its univerfity ; which was founded by Charlemagne, 
 renovated by Charles the Fourth, and about twenty years ago, under 
 the government of the good Maria Therefa and the infpedion of the 
 meritorious Count of Firmian, placed in its prefent condition. The 
 divines of this univerfity are famous for their rectitude, their zeal, and 
 their talents ; but are not regarded favourably by the Papal chair, be- 
 caufe, like loyai and enlightened Catholics, they ground their dodrines 
 
 more 
 
240 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLT3ERG. 
 
 mere on the decifions of the general councils than on the mandates of 
 the Roman Fontin. In fome of the fciences, as jurilprudence, philology, 
 and philofophy, the German univerfities may perhaps lurpafs this ; but 
 fcarcely will equal itslearningln medicine, natural hiilory,a{lronoray,and 
 experimental philofophy. In favour of this afiertion, I need but men- 
 tion the names of the prefent learned profeiTors ofPavia: Spallanzani, 
 Franke, Fontana, Volta, Scarpa, and others, who, though they have 
 not obtained fo great a name as thefe among foreigners, are yet cele- 
 brated, as excellent men, among their afTociates. 
 
 Our countryman Franke, as worthy a man as he is an eminent phy- 
 fician, was our guide to the mufeum ; wdiich is rich in anatomical pre- 
 parations and injections by Scarpa, who is the profeiTor of anatomy, 
 and in various clafTes of natural hiftory. Under a glafs cover, which is 
 removable, in the firft chamber, there is a beautiful female figure, in 
 wax, of the fize of life. Surprifed as ^ve w^ere, at the workmanfhip of 
 the external parts, how^ much more fearfully were we aftonilhed, and 
 how was our curiofity excited, when, after removing fucceffively the 
 outward membranes of the body, which are in different divifions, the 
 entire internal ftrudure of a pregnant w^oman was exhibited ! The mu- 
 feum is kept in the largeft building of the univerfity ; w^hich likewife 
 contains the hall of auditory. Near the auditory of our countryman, 
 Franke, is a little hofpital ; in w^hich are twenty beds, for the reception 
 of patients feleded from the great hofpital : which latter receives three 
 hundred of the Tick. Franke takes his pupils, the number of whom 
 frequently amounts to a hundred and fifty, round with him, when he 
 vifits thefe patients : while nature, whofe interpreter he is fo w^orthy of 
 being, affords them inftrudion in the mofl expreffive and indubitable 
 manner. 
 
 Franke gives the hiRory of each cafe to his pupils ; one of whom Is 
 always chofen to attend each patient. Thefe difcourfes are made in 
 Latin ; that the poor difeafed people may not be diflurbed. A parti- 
 cular ftatement of the cafe of each perfon is written, by Franke, and 
 
 entered 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 24, 
 
 entered In the regifter. The patients that die are anatomlfed ; and the 
 whole faculty, as well as the Undents, are fummoned to be prefent 
 when the body is difleded. The hiftory of the diffeaion is likewife 
 entered in the regifter ; fo that the judgment which Franke delivered 
 upon the patient, while living, is fubmitted after death to this public 
 infped:ion, and revifion. 
 
 To him is committed the fuperintendance of all the hofpitals in the 
 duchies of Milan and Mantua. It is the duty of the phyficians to 
 ftate the cafes, and fend them to him ; and thefe cafes likewife ferve 
 for the inftrudion of the pupils. The hiftory of the cafes of his hof- 
 pit?l patients is to be publifhed, with anatomical engravings. 
 
 The number of ftudents amounts to about twelve hundred. There 
 are fix different colleges, in which ftudents are inftruded gratis : one 
 of them was founded by the great Carlo Borromeo. The collegians 
 are diftinguiftied by the colour of their robe, and by an embroidered 
 ornament, which they wear upon the right fhoulder. The revenue 
 of the univerfity Is annually four-and-twenty thoufand Dutch ducats • 
 and It pofteftes a very fine botanical garden. 
 
 We have become acquainted with the Abbe Bertola, who Is known 
 in Germany by his work on German literature, and his euloglum on 
 Gefl'ner. He Is an admirer of our country, has already made three 
 journeys Into Germany, and, as he defigns to write his travels he 
 likewife means to make a fourth. He is a man of intereftino- and 
 friendly manners. 
 
 In one of the fquares of this city, which Is called the Little Square, 
 there is an equeftrlan bronze ftatue of Antoninus Pius. Statues in bronze 
 of the antients, are uncommon ; but this does not need the cafual merit 
 of being rare to make It remarkable. 
 
 The horfe Is not fo beautifully fiuiltlefs as that of the coloflal ftatue 
 
 of Frederic the Fifth, at Copenhagen : nor is his attitude fo bold as 
 
 that of Peter the Great, at Peterfiourg : but it every moment gains 
 
 Vol. L I i upon 
 
242 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 upon the eye of the fpe£lator. Full of impatience, he appears to neigh, 
 and tear up the earth with his hoof — 
 
 Stare loco nefcit^ m'lcat aur'ibus^ ct trcin'it artiis, 
 ColUciumque premem volvit fuh naribus ignem *. 
 
 Starting with a bound, 
 He turns the turf and Ihakes the fohd ground ; 
 Fire from his eyes, clouds from hisnoftrils flow. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 The induftry of art, combined with talent, may give a general re- 
 prefentation of nature ; and, by opening the noftrils and fwelling the 
 \eins of the neck, may denote the courage of the horfe : but true ge- 
 nius alone can produce a figure which in every part, from the ered 
 and expreffive ear to the firm hoof, can communicate life to the whole 
 animal. We muft remember that, in the time of Antoninus, the Greek 
 fculpture was on the decUne. The horfe refembles a fine, animated 
 Turkifh charger. 
 
 The attitude of the emperor is well imagined. In contrail to the 
 impatience of the horfe, he fits full of tranquillity ; and ftretches out 
 his right hand, with a gentle bend of the arm, as if appeafing the riot- 
 ous multitude : but his figure, taken as a whole, is cold, llifF, and in- 
 animate. 
 
 In another fquare, there is a large bronze ftatue of Pope Pius the 
 Fifth ; which I think beautiful. If I do not miftake, there is a copy 
 of this ftatue, in marble, in fome public building : but this latter I 
 have noc feen. 
 
 The profpeds on both fides of the bridge, toward the Ticino, are 
 very charming. On one fide, we fee the diftani Alps, with the banks 
 of the rivers decorated with lovely poplars ; and a fmall ifland fhaded 
 with lofty trees. 
 
 On the oppofite fide, the clear llream lofes itfelf between poplars 
 that cover its banks. 
 
 * Virgil's Georgics, III. 84, 85. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 243 
 
 The land is low, and in many places eighty feet under the Laco 
 Magg'tore *. The art of watering the lands, by the aid of rivers and 
 canals, is more eafily effected here than in other places. This art has 
 attained great excellence, in thefe parts ; and communicates to the 
 earth, which in many places, and even in the famous diftrid; of Lodi, 
 abounds in fand, its great fertility. The grafs in this country is five 
 times mowed each feafon. The late King of Pruffia ufed to compare 
 all Lombardy to an artichoke ; from which every one has long been 
 willing to take a leaf. The duchy of Milan may very well be com- 
 pared to the heart of the artichoke ; and the neighbouring princes have 
 moft of them contemplated this country with a longing eye. 
 
 I have become acquainted with the Chevalier Volta : famous for his 
 experiments in eledricity ; and likewife with the great Spallanzani. 
 
 The latter is a friendly, animated man ; whofe moral virtiKS are 
 as excellent as his fcientific acquirements. You are not ignorant that 
 he is one of the greateft men of the age, in philofophical difcoveries. 
 
 Although the weather is cold, and the thermometer is five degrees 
 below the freezing point, yet feveral of the trees are tolerably leafy and 
 green. We muft not conclude, from the early cold, that it will be a 
 fevere winter. In the winter of 1 788, Reaumur's thermometer only fell 
 ten degrees below the freezing point. You freeze here in the chambers, 
 becaufe you are unproteded from the cold. The Itali.ms endure much 
 more cold, in their chambers, than we do ; and the fame is faid of the 
 Spaniards. I am told that our Emprcfs, when fhe went laft year from 
 Florence to Vienna, not only rejeded the ufe of ftoves but of fires alto- 
 gether : and I was acquainted with a chaplain to the Spanifli Ambaflador, 
 in Copenhagen, who kept no fires. Every morning when he rofe, he 
 drank fome glafles of water, icy cold ; then wrapped himfelf up in his 
 thick mantle, and fat down to his deik to read, or write. 
 
 Here is a very antient church, which is confecrated to the Arch- 
 
 * Tie cKief Lake. 
 
 I i 2 angel 
 
.244 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 angel Michael, of as rude a kind of archltedure as any I have feen, 
 and in which the kings of Lombardy were ufually crov ned. It is or- 
 namented on the outfide, or rather disfigured, by images cut in f^ione. 
 Among the beafts and monfters of a bewildered or rather of a wretciicd 
 imagination, we faw an angel quarrelling with a devil, about a hcarr. 
 
 The air, which is not healthy throughout Milan, is particularly utt- 
 healthy in Pavia ; and efpecially in fummer. Young Germans, who 
 come here to ftudy the fcience of medicine, or of natural hiftory, may 
 avoid the exceffive heats ; for the lectures begin in November, and 
 end in June. I readily grant this regulation prolongs the courfe of 
 ftudies from four to five years ; but, to young men who know how to 
 employ their time in the purfuits of fcience, this vacation might be very 
 profitably employed. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIL 
 
 Milan, 15th November 1791. 
 
 jL he day before yefterday, on our way from Pavia to this 
 city we vifited the great Carthufian monaftery ; which is a (hort Ger- 
 man mile diftant from Pavia. It lies near the high road ; from which 
 there is a very charming alley of Lombardy poplars, that leads to the 
 monaftery. I never before faw trees of this kind that were fo fine. 
 The building, at a diftanee, certainly conveyed an idea of its grandeur : 
 but this idea was greatly magnified by its truly Gothic but awful mag- 
 nificence, as we approached. 
 
 It was built toward the end of the fourteenth century, by Giovanni 
 Galeazzo Vifconti, the firft Duke of Milan ; whofe monument ftands 
 ia the church. His flatue, cut in white niarbie, lies extended on 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLT^ERG. 245 
 
 the monument ; next to which is the ftatue of Francefco Sforza. The 
 fa9ade of the church is of white marble ; on which there are many 
 infipid bajfi relievi. The workmanfhip is, generally fpeaking, rude ; and 
 there is a very uncommon mixture of facred and prophane hillory, 
 about its parts. In the latter, they have betrayed great ignorance : I 
 faw a medallion of Alexander, with the following infcription 
 
 Iwpcrator Alexander Jlfjg/ius *. 
 
 Over another head was written 
 
 Magnus Poftipejus Thejfalla Rex f . 
 
 The church is uncommonly fpacious, and magnificent. It has 
 feventeen altars ; each of which, if I do not midake, is adorned by a 
 painting. Some of thefe altars are of white marble ; and very artfully 
 inlaid, with uncommonly beautiful moiaic work, of variegated marble 
 jafper, onyx, lapis lazuli, and other flones. 
 
 Among the pidtm-es, there is a large one, by Perugino ; the mafter of 
 Raphaelr 
 
 The late Emperor took this monaftery from the Carthufians, and gave 
 it to the CiPiercian monks. 
 
 Thewhole country, between Pavia and Milan, is one entire flat; which 
 would be more infupportable to the eye than it is at prefent, were it 
 not relieved by a tolerable number of trees. A canal, which unites the 
 Ticino, and the Po, flows, or rather, in this level country, fl;agnates, 
 befide the high road. This canal was dug in the time of Philip the 
 Third, of Spain, 
 
 It was on this plain, under the reign of Charles the Fifth, in the year 
 1525, and not far from the Carthuiian monaftery, that the famous 
 victory was obtained over the French, by the Imperialifts ; in which 
 Francis the Firft was taken prifoner. 
 
 * The Emperor Alexander the Great. f Pompey the Great, King of ThefTaly. 
 
 Milan 
 
246 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Milan is a very antient city. The Gauls, having overrun the cauh- 
 try from Tufcany to the Ticino, founded it about four hundred years 
 before the birth of Chrifl:. It was the chief place of the Infubri ; and, 
 in the time of Polybius, was of a confiderable fize. In the age of Tra- 
 jan, it was numbered among the municipal cities of the Romans ; and 
 in it the fciences, even at that time, flouriflied. It was the archi-epif- 
 copal feat of St. Ambrofe ; who had the noble fortitude to refufe the 
 Emperor Theodofius the Great all entrance into the church, till he 
 iliould firft have done public penance, for having in a fit of anger put 
 to death many of the inhabitants of Antioch, after an infurredtion. 
 Theodofius revered the zeal of the faint, acknowledged and repented of 
 his offence, and efteemed Saint Ambrofe fo highly that, on his death 
 bed, he recommended his fon to his care. 
 
 Milan became the feat of many of the Emperors, after the divifion 
 of the Empire. About the middle of the fifth century, it was laid wafte 
 by Attila. It was again recovered by Belifarius. In the year 539, it 
 once more fell into the power of the barbarians. After Charlemagne 
 had driven the Lombards out of Milan, the city recovered its profperity, 
 under the archbifhops ; who refilled the papal authority, and were 
 confidered as the chiefs of the Ghibeline fadion. 
 
 The inhabitants rebelled again ft the Emperor Frederic the Firft ; 
 and infulted the Emprefs, by tying her on an afs, and, placing her with 
 her face toward the tail, leading her through the city. Frederic 
 marched againft them with an army ; the city was obliged to capitu- 
 late ; and the enraged hero took an indignant and terrible revenge, for 
 the infults that had been committed on his wife. The inhabitants, with 
 their hands tied behind their backs, were obliged each to take a fig, with 
 their teeth, from under the tail of an Afs ; and the city was laid in 
 
 ruins *. 
 
 In the year 1 171, at the requeft of the Pope, the people of Milan 
 
 * This hero, if hero be his proper title, totally demoUfhed the city, three churches 
 excepted, burnt it to the ground, and plowed and fowed the land with fait. T. 
 
 were 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 247 
 
 were again permitted to rebuild the city ; and it foon recovered its for- 
 mer importance. The town and territories of Milan, afterward, were 
 governed hy podeftas^ of the houfe of Turriani. This familv was ex- 
 pelled in the year 13 13, by Mattheus Vifconti ; who aiTumed the go- 
 vernment. His grandfon, Giovanni Galeazzo, was named Duke ; and 
 was of the greateft fervice to this country. By him military difclpline 
 was reftored in Italy. He likewife gave life to agriculture, and com- 
 merce ; and enjoyed a very commanding refped:, among the Italian 
 princes and free ftates. He died in the year 1402, and left a daughter, 
 named Valentina, who was married to Lewis, Duke of Orleans, the 
 fecond fon of Charles the Fifth, and father of Lewis the Twelfth of 
 France ; and he, by the extindlion of the houfe of Vifconti, was confi- 
 dered as the heir. Lewis the Twelfth wifhed to take poflefFion ; when 
 Franoefco Sforza, who had married a natural daughter of Philip Marcus 
 Vifconti, the fon of Giovanni Galeazzo, by the fupport of the arch- 
 bifhop and the favour of the people, although he was but the natural 
 fon of a peafant, acquired the Dukedom. 
 
 From Francefco the family of the Sforzas defcended ; whofe courage 
 in war, and high fpirit, have had fo much influence on the affairs and 
 the fate of Italy. 
 
 Francefco died in 1466 ; and, In 1499, Lewis the Tv/elfth lirft feized 
 on the city : but the Sforzas foon recovered their power. This fudden 
 revolution happened within a year. 
 
 Francis the Firft, the fon of Lewis, conquered Milan ; and l4)(l it 
 again, in 1525, by the battle In which he was taken prifoner. 
 
 It was fiibdued in 1 734 by Marfhal Villars ; but two years after- 
 Ward, at the peace, was reftored to the houfe of Auftria. 
 
 The city is fuppofedto contain a hundred and forty thoufand inhabit- 
 ants ; and laft year, the people of Auftrian Milan and of Mantua, be- 
 ing numbered, amounted to one million three hundred and ten thou- 
 fand. 
 
 At the fpoiling of the city under Frederic the Firft, called BarbarofTa, 
 I Or 
 
C48 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 or Red Beard, the antiquities were likewife deftroyed : except about 
 fixteen uncommonly large pillars, which remain, of a temple that was 
 dedicated to Hercules. 
 
 The cathedral here was built by Giovanni Galeazzo Vifconti. It Is 
 exceedingly large ; and, after St. Peter's at Rome, and St. Paul's at Lon- 
 don, is efleemed the largefl in Europe. The afpedl, as you enter, is 
 very grand ; and this church is not, like fo many others, disfigured by 
 falfe ornaments. The treafury of the church is of ineftimable value. 
 The filver, gold, pearls, and precious ftones which this treafury con- 
 tains, are fuppofed to render it the richeft in Italy, that of Loretto ex- 
 cepted. I was chiefly interefted by the filver ftatues of St. Am- 
 brofe, and Carlo Borromeo, who were both great, fmcere, and holy 
 men ; the benefadors of their country ,»and of the human race. 
 
 In the church of Santa Maria delle Gra'zie^ there are many beautiful, 
 pidures. Chrift crowned with thorns, by Titian, and the Holy Virgin 
 w4th the child Jefus, are both of them placed in fuch dark fituations 
 that they can fcarcely be feen. 
 
 St. Paul, by Gaudentio of Ferrara, is a beautiful piece. 
 
 As appertaining to the church, in the refedory of the Dominicans, 
 we were fliewn the Laft Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci ; which was 
 once a moft excellent painting, in frefco. It was Injured by the auda- 
 cious brulh of a painter, who infolently undertook to renew It : yet 
 notwithftanding many traces of its original beauty remain. Its excel- 
 lence is more indubitably proved by a copy, which Baptifta Bianchi 
 painted, in the library of St. Ambrofe. 
 
 This library, which was founded by Charles Frederic Borromeo, 
 Archbifliop of Milan and nephew of the great Carlo Borromeo, is ex- 
 ceedingly deferving of the attention of travellers. I cannot conceive how 
 Addifon, when examining this coUedion, could fay that " books are the 
 lead part of the furniture that one ordinarily goes to fee in an Italian 
 library." Is it any juft caufe of reproach, that they have decorated it 
 w^ith manv noble pictures ? The number of books Is very great. 
 
 Here 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 249 
 
 Kere are above fourteen thoufand manufcripts ; and about forty thou- 
 fand volumes of authors in print. The manufcripts, which conftitute 
 the richeft part, are kept in an apartment by thcnfclves ; and among 
 them I faw a Latin verfion of Jofephus, which is faid to be thirteen hun- 
 dred years old. The books are arranged in a fpacious gallery, which 
 has windows only on the top at both fides, and which is yet very light. 
 By this method, much room is gained ; which in our libraries is occu- 
 pied by the windows, though they do not give fo much light as thefe 
 high uninterrupted fky-lights. The library is open four hours every day, 
 for the ufe of the public. Among other things, the colledion of paint- 
 ings contains a large original drawing of Raphael's School of Athens, 
 executed by himfelf in black chalk, and which is very well preferved. 
 
 I was particularly delighted with a Holy Family, by Titian ; a Mag- 
 dalen, by the fame mafter ; and his own portrait, painted by him- 
 felf: and no lefs fo by a John the Baptift, when a child, carefling a lamb ; 
 a lovely piece by Bernardino Luino ; and a half length female figure, 
 with a fmall urn, by the fame mafler. 
 
 I was likewife fhewn two drawings, fattened on a board ; the one by^ 
 Andrea del Sarto, the other by Raphael, both when young. They 
 reprefent two men on horfeback ; and both drawings afford tokens of 
 the future great painter. 
 
 In a hall of the Ambrofian library, plaifter cafts are kept of the 
 principal ftatues of the antients ; and of one by Michael Angelo. 
 
 One of the works mofi: precious to artifts is that of Leonardo da 
 Vinci, in twelve volumes folio ; which are kept here. It difplays an 
 uncommon knowledge of anatomy, perfpedive, mechanics, mathema- 
 tics, and architedure, by which this great painter had ftudied, with very 
 fmgular induftry, to improve his art. 
 
 That which was formerly the Jefuits' college, and which Is now a 
 celebrated gymnafium, has a fquare court ; in which there Is a conti- 
 nued colonnade v^ith a double row of pillars. The upper pillars are of 
 the Ionic order j and the under of the Doric. Thefe kind of colon- 
 
 VOL. J. K k nades, 
 
250 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 nades, which are here common to many buildings, are not only beauti- 
 ful but exceedingly convenient, in fummer, for the fhade they afford. 
 You are aftoniflied to fmd Ihady places ereded in their cities at fo great 
 an expence ; when, at their country feats, the Italians care fo little for 
 fliade. This feeming paradox is folved by the cuftom they have, of 
 fpending the heat of fummer in the city. Toward the end of autumn, 
 they go into the country; but rather from habit than for the purpofe 
 of enjoying the beauties of nature ; and return to town in December^ 
 The winter, which in this country may be called the fpring time of 
 Paradife, and the fummer, when they might guard themfelves from 
 heat under the dufky foliage of their groves, and recline on the banks 
 of their rivers, they fpend in the gloomy walls of their cities. Artificial 
 amufements are fubftituted, to the more gentle and dignified joys of 
 nature. A capricious crowd of fiilitious follies come limping along ; 
 and, wherever they once gain admiffion over the threfhold, all true joy 
 is banifhed. Thofe who imprifon themfelves in their houfes, at the 
 fame time imprifon vice, and abfurdity ; and with them a long train of 
 miferies. 
 
 We now come from vifiting the church of Scmta Maria del Celfo ; 
 at the entrance of which two beautiful ftatues, of Adam and Eve, in 
 white marble, are placed in niches. The ferpent has a woman's head 
 and breaft ; and the body of the deceitful animal winds round a tree 
 behind Eve. 
 
 There are fome good and fome indifferent pidures in this building : 
 Its chief ornament is a copy after Raphael. It is a reprefentation of 
 the Virgin and the child Jefus, under a palm tree. The child is at 
 play with the infant John ; and Jofeph in the back ground is leaning 
 over Mary. The original was fent to the late Emprefs, Maria Therefa; 
 and this copy is by Martin Noller, a German painter from the county 
 of Tyrol. So much does the copy prove the heavenly fpirit of Raphael 
 that, in my opinion, it is equalled by very few originals. Inexpreffible 
 innocence and dignity are difcoverable, in the features of the beautiful 
 
 Virgin j 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 251 
 
 * 
 
 Virgin; and I have never feen the child Jefus more finely imagined, 
 nor with more of heavenly piety ; w^hich Raphael, better than any other 
 painter, knev^ how to exprefs. The infant John, and a noble figure 
 of Jofeph, are no lefs worthy of Raphael. 
 
 Near the two children, at play, there is a goldfinch, among flowers. 
 Raphael executed nothing with a thoughtlefs hand. This profound and 
 feeling painter well knew that, in treating a dignified fubjed:, it would 
 be difgraced by unneceflary ornaments : but thefe flowers do not bloom 
 in vain. This bird is a bird of good augury. The prefence of the 
 godlike child infpires peace and love through all nature : birds lole 
 their fear, and flowers fpring under his feet. 
 
 Oppofite to this ©f Raphael is a pidure by Leonardo da Vinci, repre- 
 fenting the Holy Ann, the mother of Mary, carefllng the child Jefus. 
 The child is very beautiful ; and Maria, who (lands behind her mother, 
 beams with maternal delight. The idea is good, and well exprefled : 
 yet the pidureof Raphael, though but a copy, allures you back, before 
 you have well examined the work of Da Vinci. 
 
 It is our intention at prefent to depart to-morrow, for Lodi. Time, 
 and the innumerable objeds that are to be feen in Italy, prefs upon us ; 
 although there are many here that I Ihould willingly have vifited. 
 Among them are the Seminary, the Helvetian college, both of them 
 founded by the great Carlo Borromeo, the large hofpital, the archiepif- 
 copal palace, the Duke's palace, the door where Theodofius was denied 
 entrance by the undaunted Ambrofe, by which it is become remarkable, 
 and fome other of their churches. 
 
 K k 2 LET. 
 
^c^^ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIIL 
 
 Parma, X9th November 1701. 
 
 W E arrived at Lodi the evening of the day on which we 
 left Milan. The broad high road proceeds, in a right line, through 
 fruitful plains ; which are interfered with numerous canals. Through- 
 out Milan, trees are every where planted, to divide the fields from each 
 other. I did not meet with, fo many mulberry trees, here, by far, as in 
 the Sardinian diftrid of Milan: but more paftures, and poplars. The 
 government recommends, or rather commands, the planting of trees : 
 that the unwholefome air may be rendered lefs noxious. 
 
 Milan is one of the richeft provinces of the houfe of Auftria. Its- 
 lands are very produdive to their owners ; but I do not envy them 
 their wealth. One endlefs uniformity fatigues the eye, and the heart. 
 A large tree, with its inviting fhade, is feldom feen. Seldom do we 
 meet any of thofe charms of nature which fhe, in fportive and free 
 good will, would prefent : all here is the effed of formal labour. 
 
 I am Hkewife informed that moil of thefe rich lands are pofTefled by 
 the nobility. I grant that the countryman is not here a ferf : but he 
 is not a landholder. He works partly as a day labourer ; and partly 
 that he may be permitted to live in the hut he inhabits. 
 
 It is to this caufe that the frequent highway robberies may be afcribed. 
 "Were robbers here, as in many other places, fometimes to unite, like 
 banditti, and fometimes to rob without alTociates, in this level country,, 
 they would not be able to efcape the adive vigilance of the Auftrian 
 government : but the high roads are peculiarly unfafe, becaufe the rob- 
 bers, watching their opportunity, expert from pradice, and well 
 acquainted with the country, rufh from their neighbouring huts; to 
 which it is difficult again to trace them, for, in appearance, they 
 r are 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. £53 
 
 are in no manner different from thofe of the other inhabitants. The 
 traveller has nothing to fear by clay ; but, in the dark, thefe high 
 roads are dangerous. 
 
 The nobility have likewife great power, In the towns of Milan. 
 Ten or twelve men are chofen, from their order, to be the chief 
 magiftrates : who, in other countries, are chofen from among the citi- 
 zens. The adminiftration of the confiderable revenues of all poor 
 houfes, hofpitals, and other inftitutions, is in the hands of the nobility. 
 A regulation like this muft have pernicious confequences. It is op^ 
 preffive to the citizen, and makes the noble hateful ; and, in all proba- 
 bility, often with good caufe. 
 
 About a mile on this fide Milan, looking behind us toward the city 
 we had left, we faw the Alps once more towering : a profpe£l which 
 delighted us the more by being contrafted with the flat lands, of which 
 we were heartily weary. 
 
 Lodi is not the antient Laus Pompeia ; which owed Its foundation 
 to the Gauls, and to v/hich the father of Pompey led a Roman colony ; 
 for that town was deftroyed, by the people of Milan, in the twelfth 
 century. When Frederick BarbarofTa had razed Milan to the ground, 
 he built the prefent Lodi on the Adda ; with a fortrefs upon a heightj 
 which height itfelf is fcarcely vifible, though the moft commanding In 
 thefe level plains. The town Is well built. Biifching tells us that. In 
 the year 1773, it contained above fixteen thoufand inhabitants. It Is 
 fituated about half a mile from the antient town; which nov/ Is called 
 Lodi Vecchia. It is at Lodi and In the neighbouring country, which Is 
 ealled after it, that the celebrated cheefe is made, which has unjuftly 
 obtained the name of Parmefan. 
 
 On the 1 6th in the forenoon, we travelled to Placenza. The 
 country between Milan and Lodi was every where one continued level. 
 The horned cattle were all of a dark red colour. I have no where in. 
 Italy feen any motley coloured cattle. The fheep are large, entirely 
 
 white- 
 
254 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 white, and with hanging ears. The fwine are all black, like the 
 Indian hen. 
 
 We crofled the Po over a bridge of boats ; beyond which the town 
 rofe, with a noble afped. It was from its charming fituation, on the 
 banks of this broad river, that the Romans gave it the name of Placen- 
 tia. It was foimded, and a colony was fcnt hither, in the year 569 of 
 the Roman sera ; under the confulfhip of P. Cornelius Scipio, and 
 Tiberius Sempronius Longus. It was burnt, during the fecond Punic 
 war, by the Carthaginians ; and rebuilt by the Romans. In the time 
 of Cicero, it was a municipal city. When it was befieged by Caecina, 
 in the war of Otho againft Vitellius, the amphitheatre, which flood in 
 the front of the city, was laid in afhes. 
 
 It again fuffered a dreadful fiege froraTotila, king of the Goths. Al- 
 boin, king of the Lombards, took it ; in the year 570 of the Chriftian xr&. 
 
 In the time of Charlemagne, it fell under the dominion of the kings 
 of Italy. It afterward became fubjed to the changeable fortune of the 
 Guelphs and Ghibelins, as each party prevailed ; and from them de- 
 fcended to the families of the Scotti, Turriani, Vifconti, the kings of 
 France, and the Popes. 
 
 Pope Paul the Third, of the houfe of Farnefe, gave to his natural 
 fon, Peter Aloyfuis Farnefe, Parma and Placenza, with the title of 
 Duke. Philip the Fifth, king of Spain, married a princefs of this family, 
 of which fhe was the heirefs ; and his youngeft fon, Don Philip, father 
 of the prefent Duke of Parma and Placenza, was put in pofTeffion of 
 thefe lands, part of which were in the hands of Auftria, and part of 
 Savoy, by the peace- of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748 ; after his elder bro- 
 ther, Don Carlos, who was king of Naples and Sicily, had been four 
 years in pdfleffion of them, from 1731 to 1735. 
 
 Placenza, as a city, is not fo beautiful as its fituation would promife ; 
 w^hen we view it from the Milan fide of the Po. Jt rather appears in 
 ailate of decay. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. o.. 
 
 The cupola of the cathedral is painted entirely by Guerclno. The 
 church of St. Auguftine is a fine building ; efpecially the facade, which 
 has lately been ereded. There is a beautiful performance, in the 
 facrifty, which is the work of a German. It is Chrift on the crofs 
 with a great multitude of people, fome of whom are on horfeback 
 carved out of a fmgle piece of wood. The figures are fine ; and fome 
 of them, for their reality and freedom of adion, mafterly. Under this 
 performance, and if I do not miftake on the fame piece of wood, there 
 is a carving of the Nativity. 
 
 In the church of St. Sixtus, over the high altar, there is a copy of 
 the beautiful pidure by Raphael, which is in the gallery of Drefden : 
 the Virgin with the Holy Jefus {landing on a globe. 
 
 There are two bronze equeftrian ftatues, (landing in an open place, 
 of two princes of the family of Farnefe. The riders are, in my opi- 
 nion, better executed than the horfes. The artift was defirous of com-° 
 municating ftrength and fire, to the latter ; but, inftead of thefe, he has- 
 given them an expreflion of wildnefs, which is lefs difficult to obtaia 
 than the mild and full expreffion of life ; and in which, if he fail, the 
 pretenfion and vanity of the mafter are but the more eafily detedted^ 
 Thefe ftatues, however, are not without merit. At fome diftance from 
 Placenza, the Trebia, which is celebrated by the fecond vidory of Han- 
 nibal over the Romans, falls into the Po. 
 
 The day before yefterday, we left Placenza ; and have been two days 
 on our journey to this city. The overflowing of the waters had very 
 much injured the roads ; and when we arrived at Borgo San Domnino,, 
 which was about noon, we were informed that the next ferry was im- 
 pafTable ; becaufe of the inundation of the Taro. We were obliged to 
 remain in this fmall town all night ; v>^here we found what in this 
 country maybe called a tolerable inn, but which in Germany we 
 fhould accufe of not being cleanly. 
 
 During the night, the rain was fo heavy that w^e were yefterday obliged 
 
 to make a circuit, that we might crofs at another ferry j but the river 
 
 2 wag 
 
236 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 •was fo high, and fo impetuous, that we remained five hours, in a vile inn, 
 in the viUap"e of Porto Grugno, on the banks of the Taro ; and ex- 
 pelled that we fhould have been obhged to flop there perhaps fome 
 (lays. The waters however very fuddenly fell j and we palled the 
 river, aad arrived at Parma. 
 
 The country of the duchies of Parma and Placenza is not quite fo 
 fiat as that of Milan. It likewife has more trees ; many of which indeed 
 are lopped, but flill there are fome that have been permitted to attain 
 their full growth : among others, wt found large oaks and poplars. 
 The fertile lands appeared to be well cultivated. We thought it re- 
 markable here, as we had done in Piedmont, to fee the young flax 
 in this month ; while, in Germany, this tender plant is often injured by 
 the night frofts of fpring. 
 
 Thefe roads are never fafe, by night. About a mile on this fide of 
 Placenza, we faw a fkuU inclofed in an iron cage, that v^^as faftened to 
 a tree ; that the terror of the fpedacle might deter other robbers. The 
 air was yefterday extremely mild. It was a foft fouthern breeze, 
 w"!/ich was very difagreeable, and a fpecies of the fcirocco : a wind 
 which, in Africa, is frequently deadly ; and which, traverfing the king- 
 doms of Sicily and Naples, is extremely irkfome, during the fummer, 
 and is felt even to the foot of the Alps. 
 
 The city of Parma is very antient : it was founded by the Etrurians ; 
 and was afterward in the poflelTion of the Gauls. In the year of Rome 
 569, when M. Claudius Marcellus and Q^Fabius Labio were confuls, 
 a hundred and eighty-four years before the birth of Chrift, a Roman 
 colony was fent to this place. After the depredations committed in 
 Italy, under the third triumvirate, Auguftus fent a new colony to 
 Parma; and gave it the name of Julia- Augulla- Parma. Time feldom 
 fubftantiates the ufurpations of tyranny, or of felf-conceit : Parma, the 
 antient name of this city, is only remembered. 
 
 Alboin, king of the Lombards, in the year of Chrift 570, feized on 
 ihis place. About two hundred years afterward, Parma iind Placenza 
 
 were 
 
TRAVELS OF COUN T STOLBERG. ^.^ 
 
 were both taken from Aftolf, one of the fucceflors of Alboln, bv Pc-v.li 
 king of France; wjio prefented tliem, with the duchies callecl afier 
 them, as he likewife did IVIodena and Reggio, to the Pope. It is 
 affirmed, by f jme, that Charlemagne ccnfirmed this gift of his father. 
 
 Mutual pretenfions, on Parma and Phicenza, were maintained; by 
 the kings of Italy, the fucceflbrs of Charlemagne, and the Popes. 
 
 In the middle of the thirteenth century, Parma fuftalned a fevere 
 fiege of two years, from Frederic tlie Second; and the citizens pre- 
 ferved themfelves by a courageous fluiy ; which obliged Frederic to 
 raife the fiege, and in which they took the imperial crown. In 
 revenge, Frederic laid waile Placenza. 
 
 The fate of thefe cities was variable. They fometlmes maintained 
 their freedom, were fometimes ruled by tyrants, and were nov^r devoted 
 to the Guelphs, and now to the Ghibelins ; wdth or without their con- 
 fent, as it happened. 
 
 Alexander Farnefe, who as pope affumed the name of Paul the Third, 
 in the year 1545, bellowed both thefe duchies on his natural fon, 
 Peter Lewis Farnefe. Two years after this, the Duke was murdered, 
 for his tyranny : yet his fon, Octavius, was as great a tyrant as himfelf. 
 The Pope w:as hurried to the grave, in the year 1549, by grief; at the 
 ill condu£l of his fon and grandfon. This branch of the houfe of 
 Farnefe continued to reign till the year 1727. Don Carlos, Infant of 
 Spain and fon of the Princefs royal Elizabeth of Farnefe, vs^as duke of 
 both thefe countries. When he afterward became king of the Tw^o 
 Sicilies, his brother, Don Philip, fucceeded to the government of them; 
 and likewife to the duchy of Guaftalla ; and they are now governed 
 by his fon. 
 
 Parma was the native place of Caffius; the brother in law^ and 
 friend of the great Marcus Brutus, and the firft who joined him in the 
 confpiracy. A poet Caffius, w^ho, according to a line in Horace, was a 
 very voluminous writer, was likewife born here. 
 
 The river Parma flows through the city ; w^hich is karge, and may 
 Vol. I. L 1 well 
 
258 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 well formerly have contained about fixty thoufand inhabitants. Its- 
 prefent number is fuppofed to exceed forty thoufand. 
 
 There are fome beautiful paintings in the churches. The cu- 
 pola of the cathedral is painted by Correggio ; but, as the church 
 is very dark, neither thefe paintings nor thofe of the cupola of 
 St. John the Evangeiift, which are hkewife by Correggio, are fccn to- 
 advantage. It is not without good reafon that the churches of Italy- 
 have been accufed of being dark : nor can I conceive how fo many 
 great painters could fo frequently have determined to facrifice their 
 talents, on the cupolas of churches like thefe ; where the fined flrokes 
 of the pencil mull be utterly loft. 
 
 The martyrdom of St. Conftantia, and 'of St. Placidus, in the church 
 of St. John the Evangelift, is likewife by Correggio. Both the Saints 
 are excellently painted. Oppofite to this pidlure, there is a dead Chriftj, 
 furrounded by the holy women, by the fame great painter. 
 
 In this church there is St. John writing the Gofpel, painted in fref- 
 00, by Correggio ; in which the expreffion of holy enthufiafm is mod 
 inimitably delineated, in the beautiful head of the apoftle. 
 
 The church of the Holy Sepulchre is decorated with the Flight into 
 Egypt, by Correggio. This pid:ure is called La Madonjia della Sco- 
 dtlla (Our lady of the cup) : becaufe the Virgin holds a cup in her 
 hand, to feed the child Jefus. Chrift ftands before her, with one hand 
 holding the hand of his mother, and the other that of Jofeph. Jofeph 
 is plucking dates from a palm tree ; the branches of which are fwayed 
 down by hovering angels; and the beautiful idea is excellently conveyed. 
 
 There were formerly fome fine paintings in the new palace of the 
 Duke, which is built very near the city ; but they w^ere taken by Don 
 Carlos to Naples. Only one chamber, which is painted in frefco, and 
 which therefore could not be ftripped, efcaped the plunder. The roof 
 is painted by Agoftino Caracci, who died during the work ; and the 
 Dukes have rather fuffered it to remain unfinifhed than to truft it to 
 another hand. The walls, which, as well as the roof, contain fubjeds 
 
 taken 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^-^ 
 
 taken from mythological hiftory, are painted by his fcholars ; \vhofe 
 works do honour to their great mailer. 
 
 The old palace of theFarnefe family is rich in curiofities. Here is 
 the immenfe theatre ; the moft famed for its beauty, and grandeur, of 
 any in modern times. The archited of this building was Bernini. It 
 will contain upward of twelve thoufand fpedators ; and is fo admirably- 
 contrived that neither the lowefl; whifper of the performers efcapes the 
 car, nor do the loudeft fhouts occafion any confufmg echoes. The front 
 of the theatre, containigthe feats of the fpedlators, has a gradual afcent, 
 in femicircles ; and the boxes confift of a gallery, decorated v/ith pil- 
 lars. The ftage is aftoniihingly large, which mud be exceedingly 
 advantageous to the fcenery. The fmking under the ftao-e is of a 
 great depth ; and the old Dukes of the houfe of Farnefe have frequently 
 taken away the flooring, and had water conduded through pipes from 
 the Parma, to fill up the cavity and reprefent battles at fea. The whole 
 theatre is built of wood. 
 
 As the lighting up of this theatre was very expenfive, and the num- 
 ber of the fpedators not adequate to its fize, another has long been 
 built ; and this mafterpiece of art is beginning to decay. The acade- 
 my of arts and the library are both kept in the above-mentioned palace* 
 The library is very rcfpedable. It is rich in beautiful editions, and muil 
 contain about fifty thoufand volumes. It has been fifty years in col- 
 leding ; for Don Carlos, who carried away the whole contents of the 
 pidure gallery to Naples, likewife took the former library. The only 
 pidure which the library now contains is a painting in frefco, by Cor^ 
 reggio; which reprefents God the Father crowning the Virgin with 
 ftars. 
 
 The moft fuperb ornament of the hall of the academy, and indeed of 
 all Parma, which Don Carlos would certainly not have left if it had 
 not belonged to a nunnery of the city, is that which is efteemed the 
 mafter-piece of Correggio. It reprefents the Virgin, holding the child 
 Jefus on her lap. Mary Magdalen, half kneeling, reclines her cheek 
 
 L 1 2 on 
 
26o TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 on the foot of the child ; before whom ftands an angel, holding a book 
 open. In the fore-ground is St. Jerome, vv-ith his half- appearing lion ; 
 and behind Mary Magdalen ayoiith, with a vafe containing the nardus. 
 Heavenly beauty and grace are communicated, in rich abunda ice, to 
 the whole pidlure. The manly St. Jerome, and the holy family, are 
 here dignified by the mofi: bewitching harmony of colours. Although 
 the piclure is above two hundred and fifty years old, it breathes all the 
 freih charms of youthful beauty ; efpecially at a little diilance. 
 
 The fickle, in the hand of the dignified St. Jerome, who is contem- 
 plating the godlike child w^ith veneration, fiiggefted to me the idea 
 of Time, contemplating this mafter-piece of art; and, out of veneration, 
 forbearing to commit his ufual ravages on the picture. 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 Bologna, 2i{l November !79r. 
 
 
 J_>ARLY yefleruay morning, we departed from Parma. The 
 air was mild, and we arrived at Reggio in the forenoon ; where we 
 remained fome hours. 
 
 This town may contain feventeen thoufand inhabitants : but it is not 
 well built. It was probably founded by the Romans, in the year of 
 Rome ^6^, under the confulfhip of M. iEmilius Lepidus and Flami- 
 nius- Nepos. It v/as at firft called Forum Lepidi ; though Cicero 
 calls it Regium Lepidi. The father of M. Brutus w^as murdered 
 here ; becaufe of the hatred borne him by the father of Pompey. Thofe 
 people, v/ho afcribe its origin, to Lepidus the triumvir, are miftaken. 
 This city is the chief place of the duchy of Reggio ; which is united 
 
 to 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 261 
 
 to the duchy of Modena. In the year 1474, Ailofto was born in 
 this city : one of the greatefl: poets that ever lived. 
 
 On our road to Modena, we pafTcd the little town of Corre"-oio • at 
 110 great diftance, but not fufficiently near to be feen. Here was the 
 great painter, who formed himfelf by the efforts of his own genius,. 
 born : he took his name from the placeof his birth. Havino- fecn a 
 picture by Raphael, his whole foul was moved : AncKio fo?2o pltiore * / 
 fliid he. The love of his art infpired his labours ; and, with little ftudy 
 either of the antique or the works of Raphael or of Titian, he became a 
 painter whom pofterityhas ranked immediatelynext to Raphael himfelf. 
 The whole country between Parma and Modena is fertile and well 
 cultivated. The fields are feparated from each other by rows of larfre 
 trees; round each of which a vine plant clings, winding its luxuriant 
 tendrils among the branches of the neighbouring tree, or extending in 
 fmking curves its prodigious length from one tree to another. 
 
 We faw whole fields covered with young growing horfe beans ; which 
 here can withfiand the winter, though with us they cannot endure tb.e 
 frofts of fpring, and are not fet till the month of April. As I approached 
 Bologna, I faw more of them, that were taller and in full bloom : they 
 are ufed here as green fodder, for the cattle. 
 
 Modena is a handfome city. The chief fl:reets are fpacious, and in 
 a right line. The houfes are beautiful ; and fo flat roofed that the 
 roofs cannot be perceived from the ftreets.. Lofty arcades, projecting 
 from the houfes, give the town a noble appearance; and afford the 
 foot pafienger a dry as well as a fiiady walk. The population of the 
 city may be about twenty thoufand perfons ; and of the two duchies 
 of Modena and Reggio,. taken together,, three hundred thoufandi 
 
 Modena was likewife a Roman colony. It became flimous during 
 the civil war of the lafl triumvirate, by the fiege which D. Brutus fuf- 
 tained here, againft Anthony. He was relieved by 00;avius, with the 
 aid of the two generals of Csefar, Hirtius and Panfa. 
 
 * I too am a painter ! 
 
 In 
 
252 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 In the year 1288, it fell under the government of the houfe of Efte. 
 It was next feized on b'y the Buona Corfi, tyrants of Mantua : then by 
 the prhices of the houfe of Ferrara. The houfe of Efte recovered pof- 
 feffion of it, in the year 1450 ; and it was erected into a duchy by the 
 Emperor Frederic the Third. It is now governed by the laft male 
 defcendant of the Italian branch of the houfe of Efte ; whofe daughter 
 and heirefs is the wife of Ferdinand archduke of Auftria, the governor 
 of Milan, and brother to the Emperor. 
 
 In the cathedral the bucket is kept, which the people of Modena 
 took from the people of Bologna ; and carried with them as a proof of 
 their victory. It is become famous by the favourite poem of Taflbni, 
 called La Secchia rap'tta (The rape of the bucket) ; which is very high- 
 ly efteemed, by the Italians. In my opinion, however, it has few 
 charms for readers of the prefent age ; who cannot underftand the nu- 
 merous allufions which the fatirift made to his contemporaries. Befide 
 which, it is difgraced by equivocal impurities. In a French book which 
 I lately read, Taflbni was confounded with Taflb ; the immortal au- 
 thor of jeriifalem delivered, I cannot boaft of having feen the bucket, 
 that remarkable token of vid:ory, which is a valuable monument of the 
 fpirit of the middle ages. 
 
 Not far from the city of Modena, there was formerly a ferry, over 
 the Panaro ; at prefent there is a magnificent bridge. The Panaro 
 feparates the territories of Modena from the territories of Bologna. The 
 road we travelled, from Placenza hither, was the old Roman ^milian 
 way, renewed and made wider ; v/hich had been conftrud:ed in the 
 times of the republic. It leads from this place to Rimini. 
 
 From Modena to Bologna, both fides of the road are planted with 
 large mulberry trees. The fields are feparated, in right lines from 
 each other, by elm trees ; round which the high vine branches twine. 
 The land is fruitful ; and, immediately round Bologna, we meet with 
 •many well cultivated kitchen gardens. In this mild climate, the vege- 
 tables 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 2^3 
 
 taBles of fummer and of autumn are feen in great plent)^, rlpenino- at 
 the fame time. 
 
 The city is very pleafantly fituated on the river Rene. A row of 
 cultivated hills, adorned with country feats and cloiilers, runs by the 
 fide of Bologna; and behind thefe hills the Apennine mountains 
 rife. 
 
 Bologna is a very antient place. In the times of the original Etru- 
 rian inhabitants, its name was Felfma ; and it was the chief place of the 
 Etrurian confederacy. As early as the reign of the firft Tarquin, the 
 Gauls began to make war on the northern limits of the Etrurians: 
 Feliina was conquered by them, and they called it Bononia. 
 
 In the year of Rome S^T)^ a Roman colony was planted here. The 
 people of Bologna attempted to fliake off the Roman yoke, under the 
 reign of the emperor Gratian ; but they were foon obliged to return 
 to obedience.. 
 
 Theodofms the younger founded the univerfity that is here. The 
 city v/as feized on by the Lombards ; but Pepin, of France, obliged 
 Adolphus, king of Lombardy, to yield it to the Pope ; together with 
 the exarchate of Ravenna. It once more fell under the dominion of the 
 Lombards ; but it was again recovered, by Charlemagne, when he took 
 Dietrich, the king of this people, prifoner. Bologna rebelled againil 
 Lotharius, the fon of Charlemagne ; but was reduced to fuhmiflion by 
 famine, and remained for fome time afterward under the government of 
 the Emperors. 
 
 After it had long been ruled by tyrants, like fo many other of the 
 old towns of Italy, it fhook off its chains, and maintained its freedom. 
 During the middle ages, the free ftates of Italy well knew how to pro-- 
 fit by the wars of the Emperors, their contentions with the Popes, and 
 the commotions excited by the Guelphs and Ghibelines, to recover ' 
 their independance. The Emperors, in general, being more formidable 
 than the Popes, the people willingly gave their fupport to the latter : 
 
 7. ^^ 
 
2f4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 
 
 fothat the cities were generally of the fadioii of the Guelphs, which 
 was the party of the Pope : but their aid was not without wavering or 
 witliout exccfTtion, 
 
 Proud of its profperity, Bologna conquered Lnola, Taenza, Ravenna, 
 aud Modena, with feveral little towns, and was the chief of a power- 
 ful republic. Internal quarrels put an end both to their grandeur and 
 their freedom. The fadion of the family of Lambertazzi, being op- 
 prelfed by the family of Geremei, demanded help from Pope Nicholas 
 the Third. Nicholas, and the following popes, interfered rather indi- 
 rectly, than immediately, in tlie aSairs of this city ; and perfuaded the 
 other cities to renounce its alliance : but, in the year 1324, the Pope 
 fent a legate hither, who lorded it at will ; and, ten years afterward, 
 he was driven from Bologna., by the citizens. 
 
 Thev' once more recovered their independance, with a facrifice of 
 fome part of their antient freedom, wdiich they were not very capable 
 of maintaining, and chofe Taddeo Pepoii for their chief magillrate ; 
 who governed them tv/elve years w^ith v^^ifdom. The unworthy foil 
 of a noble father fold the city, to the archbiHiop, Vifconti, of Milan ; 
 whofe deputy, John Oiigio, reigned defpotically, and, after the death 
 of the archbidiop, would have fubjecled it to a fuccefficn of tyrants. 
 Foiled in this attempt, he furrendered it to the papal legates ; who were 
 banifhed, in the year 1376; and Bologna once again had a fliort enjoy- 
 ment of liberty. 
 
 It was then feized on by John Bentivoglio, and he was maflacred. 
 John Galeazzo Vifconti, following his example, took it and delivered 
 it over to the Pope ; and it became fubje6l to frequent changes, now 
 being in the pofleflion of the Popes, and now of the family of Bentivoglio. 
 
 At lafl, in the year 15 13, the citizens willingly fubjected themfelves 
 to the Pope ; and made conditions, which flill left them in the poiTeffion 
 of valuable privileges, after they found themfelves unable to obtain or 
 perhaps to endure freedom. 
 
 By 
 
T-RAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 265 
 
 By virtue of thefe conditions, no fortrefs was to be built in Bologna : 
 "and the city appoints a reprefentative,who has a feat in the principal tri- 
 bunal of the Pope, which is called the Kota. The city keeps an envoy 
 at Rome. The citizens are not to be difturbed in their pofTeffions ; 
 and Bologna <:oins its own money, on which the word Libert as is im. 
 prefled. 
 
 The Pope's legate muft always be a cardinal ; and he and the vice 
 legate, who is the next in rank, prefide in a fenate confifting of fifty 
 fenators, one of whom always has the title of Gonfalonier, and which 
 dignity every two months he is obliged to refign to one of his peers. 
 Ecclefiaftical affairs are fubjeded to the archbifhop ; whofe jurifdidiou 
 extends over fix Italian bifhops. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 Bologna, 24th November 1791. 
 X HIS city is fuppofed to contain feventy thoufand inhabit- 
 ants ; and, next to Rome, is the principal of the States of the Church. 
 The arcades, that projed from the houfes, are fome of them high, and 
 confiderable ; but, in general, the town is ill built. 
 
 The grand inftitution for the encouragement of the fciences and the 
 fine arts, which was founded in the year 1712 by Count Marfigli, and 
 nobly endowed by Clement XI, Benedid XIV, and many private per- 
 fons, is an enormous building ; which contains above forty apartments, 
 with many halls under them, and a provifion for the fupport of the 
 arts and fciences, rich beyond all that I have ever i^^ix. The learned 
 have affured me that the cabinet of natural hiftory is not only amply 
 
 Vol. L M m provided 
 
2-66 IRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 provided with the weaUh of nature, in every divifion of her three king- 
 doms, hut that the fpecimens are pecuUarly fine ; efpecially the foffils. 
 
 The Ubrary is faid to contain above a hundred and twenty tlioufand 
 volumes ; not Including the numerous and valuable manufcripts^ 
 which fill an entire apartment. Befides which, thofe apartments 
 that are dedicated to fludy are furniilied with an individual library 
 for each fcience. The celebrated hall of anatomy is large, and 
 well fupplied with all parts of the human body ; which are admirably 
 imitated, in wax. The large and valuable collection of philofophical 
 inftruments, which belonged to the late Lord Cowper, was laft year 
 purchafed by fome private citizens of Bologna, and prefented to the 
 Inftitution. 
 
 What fliall we fay, of thofe travellers who reprefent Italy as a coun- 
 try in which the arts and fciences are neither known nor valued ? 
 Had authors like thefe, who have endeavoured to throw contempt, 
 nay odium, on this nation, gained credit in Germany, we fhould at 
 leaft have been fubjed to the bitter retort of ignorance : but our coun- 
 trymen are too well informed, and too juft, to be thus deceived. Con- 
 tempt more generally falls on thofe who, fometimes from ignorance, 
 fometimes from malice, are difpofed to contemn. The works of young 
 artiils, both painters and fculptors, as well difplay the genius of the 
 pupils as the induftry and talents of their teachers. 
 
 There is a hall in vv^hich Turkifh arms are kept, that were taken by 
 Marfigll ; who w^as in the imperial fervice. Though engaged in vv^ir, 
 the love of fcience did not forfake him ; for he took fome valuable 
 Eaftern manufcripts, vv^hich he prefented to this Inriitution, 
 
 The public palace is a very large building, the foundation of which 
 was certainly laid in the thirteenth century. It is inhabited by the car- 
 dinal legate, and the gonfalonier who is in office. 
 
 There is a beautiful colledion of pictures here ; among which is a 
 Sam.fon, grafping the jaw bone of an afs, and furrounded by the bodies 
 
 of 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBKRG. ad; 
 
 of the llaln Pliiliftines, by Guido. There is likewife a Holy Virgui, 
 holcHng the child Jefus in her arms, and repofing on a rainbow, fur- 
 rounded by hovering angels and fliints, who are regarding iier, by the 
 fame mafter ; which is an admirable pidture. 
 
 Bologna is immortalized by the number of noble maftcrs it has pro- 
 duced ; who formed a grand epocha, in the art of painting, and after 
 whom the Bolognefe fchool took its title : though by fome it is called 
 the fchool of Lombardy, becaufe many of the mailers were natives of 
 that neighbouring country. The Roman fchool, in the beginning of 
 the fixteenth century, having, through the works of Raphael -% attained 
 to v>^hat was fuppofed to be, and what perhaps really w^as, the fummit 
 of the art, many imitators of this great man arofe ; but few rivals. 
 Correggio alone pofleiTed that full, that glowing, convidion of his own 
 powerful genius, which made him exclaim Ancljio fono pittore: yet this 
 great man w^as by no means valued according to his defert, while he 
 lived. The painters of his own age carefully purfuedthe path which, 
 they imagined, only led to the temple of Fame : they were imitators of 
 Raphael : but imitators never can approach the great original, for they are 
 ftiil no better than imitators. Wings are the property of genius, and of 
 genius only. Fie that encounters genius in its flight mud himfelf be 
 upon the wing. What advantage is it to' the m.an on foot that he fliall 
 take the fiime diredion; fnice, though he can creep, he cannot foar ? 
 
 Ludovico Caracci was born in Bologna, in 1555 ; and, roufed by the 
 works and the fame of Titian, Andrea del Sarto, Raphael, Correcc^io 
 and Julio Romano, he did not fubmit to the vexation of beinp- an 
 imitator, but had the courage to be a rival. He fiudied thefe immortal 
 mafters, and the antients, with alliduity, and pafiion ; with burning- 
 zeal, and an attentive love of nature. Agoftino Caracci was formed 
 in his fchool : as likewife were his brother Annibal Caracci, and his 
 
 * Raphael was born at Urbino, in the territories of the church, ia T4S3 j and died, in 
 15 20; at the age of thirty-feven. 
 
 M m 2 coufm 
 
26$ TRAVELS OF COUiNT STOLBERG. 
 
 coufm Guido, who were ftill more excellent. Perhaps there never was 
 a bolder pencil than that of Annlbal Caracci. But, though he was 
 bold, he was not rafh. He was not, like many modern artifts, who, 
 by their unmeaning and unneceflary traits, and their impotent attempts 
 at that which they have not the genius to attain, wifh us to believe that 
 they underftand how to tranfgrefs the laws which Nature herfelf has 
 given ; and that they are audacious enough to foar beyond that which 
 they never coukl reach. Thofe men of daring yet delicate perception 
 who can diftinguifh the true line of beauty, who do not injure the free- 
 harmony of ideal perfedion, either by timid touches that fmk into 
 infignificance or fwelling excefs that defies truth and nature, they only 
 underftand how, when, and what, to dare. 
 
 By critics we are truly told 
 Infedbs are rafli, eagles are bold. 
 
 Guido, perhaps, was not fo inceflantly daring as Annibal Caracci ;: 
 but he was inexpreffibly lovely, and full of grace. His truth of repre- 
 fentation is exquifite ; even in his figures that hover in the air, which. 
 no painter ever touched with fo light a hand. 
 
 In this famous fchool, Guercino, Dominichino, Albani, Cavedone,. 
 Tiarini, and other great mafters were formed : each of whom had a 
 manner of his own, which not only colledively acquired fame for 
 themfelves, but communicated it to their inftrudors. The fchool of 
 Bologna was diftinguiflied by this great and peculiar quality, that 
 ihofe who attained a certain degree of perfedion had each a manner 
 that v/as truly original. 
 
 Next to Rome, there is no city in the world fo rich in excellent 
 paintings as Bologna. Here we find noble fpecimens of all the great 
 arcifts of Europe ; and the mafter pieces of thofe painters who formed 
 themfelves in this fchool. Of about two hundred and fifty churches, 
 there are few which do not contain fome of the works of thefe great 
 artifls ; and many are full of them. The fight of thefe pidures che- 
 
 riihes 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLEERG. 269 
 
 rifhes a love of the art, among the citizens : fome of whom truly feel 
 their beauties, and others pretend to feel them ; which occafion the 
 galleries of the palaces of Bologna to be richly furnifhed. 
 
 From what I have faid, you v^^iil perceive how much employment 
 there is here, for any traveller who fhouid vifit Italy for the fake of 
 the pidures it contains. Of this multitude, I fhall only examine a 
 few ; and fome only of thofe I fhall feledl to mention. It would be 
 well for good tafte, were it to pafs over mediocrity, and examine only 
 the beautiful : nay to pafs over the beautiful itfelf, and contemplate 
 none but the mod beautiful. 
 
 I mufl: here remind you, requefting you to remember, that I may 
 not have to repeat it at Florence, Rome, and Naples, I Ihall view many 
 pictures with admiration, which I fhall pafs over in filence. 
 
 I am wandering in the Hefperian garden ; where I behold the fruits 
 of Raphael, Correggio, Titian, Caracci, Guido, Michael Angelo, and' 
 I know not how many other immortal men. The poor commemo- 
 ration, w^hich I can beflow on fuch miracles of art, you muft confider 
 as a few flowers that I have plucked in Paradife : but flowers alas that, 
 having been torn from their roots, wither in ray hand. 
 
 In the Sampieri palace, I faw a pidure by Guido, which is efl:eemed 
 one of the moft beautiful this mafi:er ever produced. The fubjed: is 
 Peter weeping, after having denied Chrift, with a difciple ftanding be- 
 fore him, wifhing to afford him confolation. Profound grief is ex- 
 prefTed with inimitable force in the manly countenance of Peter. His 
 cheek is bedewed with a tear; and the whole attitude of the body, cor- 
 refponding with the convulfive motion of one of his arms, is inexprefH- 
 bly fine. The difciple flands facing him ; full of compaflion, and 
 anxiety. I thought I faw his embarrafTment, wifhing to confole yet 
 feeling the wliole guilt of his friend. It was Lebaus ftanding before 
 Peter J as Klopftock has defcribed — 
 
 — — •*' Here, here, I bleed ! This is my burning wound !" 
 
 were 
 
270 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 were the words which every hne in the countenance of the penitent 
 feemed to utter, while Lebaus was troubled to fmd an anfwer that 
 fliould afford relief — 
 
 *' The heart o'erwhehiied of Simon to confole." 
 
 The head of an angel, by Guido, is full of heavenly grace. The 
 cieling, painted by the three Caracci and Guercino, is inexpreffibly 
 bold. The fubjed is the labours of Hercules. None but artifts hke 
 thefe fhould dare to paint ciclings. They have a peculiar charm, by 
 the deception of their forelhortening. 
 
 The architc(ftin-e of the church Del Santijfimo Salvatore is fine ; the 
 nave of which is fupported by very large Corinthian pillars. Being 
 entirely vrhite within, it has a more light appearance than is ufual, in 
 the churches of Italy. Over the altar is the AiTumption of the Virgin : 
 a beautiful pidure, by Agoftino Caracci. 
 
 In the church which is dedicated to St. Dominic, the body of this 
 faint is buried ; and his fepulchrc is adorned with a magnificent monu- 
 ment of white marble: the work of Michael Angelo Buonaroti, and 
 other great mailers. 
 
 There are many excellent pldures in this church ; one of which Is 
 the Murder of the Innocents, by Guido. Here a mother prefles her- 
 infant to her bofom, hovering over it, kneeling, as if hoping to efcapc 
 the eye of the murderer ! Here another, impeding the blow with 
 her right hand ; and clafping her babe with the left ! One appears 
 as if efcaping : extreme anguifh is in her countenance, and you 
 think you hear the fhriek of defpair, from her opening mouth, while, 
 in her flight, fhe is feized behind by the veil. In the foreground, a 
 beautiful young mother kneels, with her hands clafped and her eyes 
 directed to heaven, with unutterable agony ; while her murdered child 
 is lying at her feet. The murdered innocents, on the ground, are flill 
 lovely in death. The pallid hue of death is lightly exprefled, on the 
 fading cheeks of the gentle fleepers. 
 
 1 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 271 
 
 TRe Dying Virgin is Jikewife fliewn in the church. The drawing is 
 faid to be by Guido ; and the colouring by EHzabeth Serani, who died 
 at the age of fix-and-twenty. Be it as it will, it appears to me a hea- 
 Tenly pidlure. Twenty holy people ftand, or kneel, round her bed : 
 one is reading, with a noble mien ; but they pav little attention to 
 him : the whole foul of each is fixed on the dying Virgin. The ecftacy 
 ©f approaching heaven beams in her upward-diredied eyes. A young 
 man Hands clofe by her fide ; whofe joyful expedation is moft excel- 
 lently contrafted, with the grief of the reft. This no doubt is St. John. 
 Angels are feen hovering in triumph ; and the opening heaven pours 
 down, its fources of eternal light on the expiring Virgin. 
 
 In this church, Taddeo Pepoli, Ludovico Caracci, Guido, and Count 
 Marfigli, the founder of the univerfity, are buried. 
 
 The famous St. Cecilia, of Raphael, is in the church Del Santo 
 Giovanni in Monte, To denote her invention of the organ, f!:ie holds a 
 row of pipes in her hand ; and Is looking toward heaven with mild 
 ecftacy. St. Paul, St. Auguftin, and Mary Magdalen, (land round her; 
 the latter of whom, in the dignified calm of her countenance, I think 
 much more beautiful than Cecilia. 
 
 There is likewife a Holy Family in this church, finely painted, by 
 Perugino ; the mafter of Raphael. 
 
 In the Ranuzzi palace, there Is a St. Agatha, by Raphael, w^hich I 
 prefer to the fo much celebrated Cecilia. In her countenance there is 
 that full expreifion of dignified tranquillity and female grace, which no 
 painter knew how to reprefent equal to Raphael. 
 
 Befide its gallery, in which am.ongmany other mafter piece? there are 
 a Sybil and an Ifaiah, by Guercino, the palace of Caprara has a hall that 
 is ornamented with Turkifh trophies ; which were the fpoils taken by 
 iEneas Caprara, Field Marlhal of Leopold the Firft. 
 
 There is a charming road, that leads to the handfome monaftery of 
 S. Michele in Bofco^ which ftands about a quartier of a league from 
 the city ; on a hill from which the whole city, and its environs, are 
 
 Over- 
 
272 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 overlooked. There was formerly an ancient temple ftandlng on this 
 height. The monaftery contains feveral fme pldures ; among which 
 there are paintings in frefco, by Guldo and Annlbal Caracci, which 
 would have been very remarkable, had it not been for the great injuries 
 they have received from time and the air. They are the decoration of 
 a circular portico, which furrounds the court of the fountain. There 
 is a copy, after Guldo, of a Mary Magdalen., in the facrifty of this 
 church, which is finely executed, by Canuti. When I come to Rome, 
 I hope to fee the original. The church of Gli Mendicanti di Dentro 
 is remarkably rich in paintings, by Guido, Annibal Caracci, and others 
 of the fame fchool. 
 
 A noble painting, by Guerclno, embelliflies the principal altar of 
 the church of Gefh e Maria-, the fubjedt of which is the circumcifion,; 
 and it contains tea manly figures of inimitable force and truth, fuch 
 as were the peculiar charaderiftics of this great mailer. 
 
 The greateft part of yefterday morning was fpent by us in reviewing 
 pidures which we had feen before ; and, in the afternoon, we vifited 
 a monaftery, that is called La Santa Madoima d'l Liica, It is fup- 
 pofed to contain the pidure of the Virgin, by the Evangelift Saint 
 Luke. Poffibly, the painter's name might be Lucas. Thepidure 
 became known by the name of the artift, and it would not be at all 
 wonderful that it fliould afterward be called the work of Saint Luke. 
 The church is magnificent, and the architedure noble. It ftands 
 on a hill, a fhort league from the city. There is an arcaded walk all 
 the way to it, which is fpacious, and fupported with pillars on one 
 fide. This and the church have both been ereded by a voluntary 
 tax, and by the donations of individuals, and of various companies and 
 communities. The benefadors are denoted by arms and infcriptions. 
 The very fervants of the city have takenalhare in this expence ; and, 
 what is more extraordinary, a company of French comedians, who 
 performed in Bologna, v^^ere likewife contributors. The fandified 
 pidure is a rude performance j and, like all miraculous paintings, ex- 
 ceedingly 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 273 
 
 ceedingly black. Nine Dominican nuns live In a cloifter near this 
 church ; who every two years are replaced by nine others from the 
 city. Their mode of living is exceedingly reclufe and fevere. 
 
 The celebrated Caffini has drawn a meridian line, upon a pavement 
 of white marble, in the church of St. Petronius. The ray of light 
 pafTes through a fmall aperture, in the upper part of the building. 
 The meridian palTage of the fun and the moon may here be taken in a 
 very convenient manner. 
 
 Near Bologna, the famous (lone called after the city is found ; which, 
 when calcined and expofed to the daylight, acquires the property of 
 iliining for fome time in the dark. 
 
 There are two fmall fquare towers in the city, which are named after 
 the noblemen at whofe expence they were built : Afmelli, and Gari- 
 fendi. The height of the firft is three hundred and feventy-fix feet ; 
 and that of the tower of Garifendi a hundred and thirty. The latter 
 Hands fo obliquely that the top is nine feet from the perpendicular. 
 The people of Bologna efteem this as a wonderful effort of architec- 
 ture ; though probably it is nothing more than a corifequence of the 
 fmking of the ground. However, though lefs than the other, and 
 fmking, it w^ill live the longeft in the memory of man : for it is men- 
 tioned in the immortal poem of Dante *. 
 
 Here, as in many parts of Italy, the men wear cloaks ; and the wo- 
 men, as in Modena, have them of black fatin. At a diftance from 
 various of the gates, arcades are built, as walks. During feveral days, 
 while we w^ere here, the weather was fo mild that we had no need of 
 fires; and, though the windows were left open all day, we felt no cold 
 or inconvenience from theftone floors of the chambers. 
 , The young gentlemen exhibit themfelves frequently in this city, as fo 
 many Phaetons, in their high carriages. They are well dreffed, drive 
 
 '* Like Garifendi's tower the giant Hood 
 Portentous leaning o'er Bologna's flood. 
 
 Inferno, canto xxsi. Boyd's tranflation. 
 
 Vol. I. N n Handing, 
 
274 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 {landing, and have fervants behind. This in itfelf may be a good and 
 a proper exercife, for a young nobleman : but to have the vanity of 
 attrading attention, by their theatrical attitudes, is only a proof that 
 they have no better mode of making themfelves known ; nor any ta» 
 lents more valuable than thefe, when they palpably court public admi^. 
 ration by fuch means. 
 
 I had almoft forgotten to remark that Salvani refides at Bologna^ 
 who has made himfelf fo famous by his new difcoveries in Animal 
 Eledtriclty. I was informed, by a learned friend from Italy, that he 
 finds the mufcles poflefs pofitive and the nerves negative eledlricity.. 
 Signer Volta, of Pavia, has gone ftill farther ; and has proved that the 
 nerves, fet in motion by eledricity, likewife move the mufcles. 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 
 I 
 
 Florence, yth December 1^91. 
 
 EXPECTED to have left Bologna on the 25th of Novem- 
 ber ; but was attacked by a cold and fever, which detained me nine 
 days ; and I was obliged at laft to fet out before my fever had left me. 
 I hope that the mild change of air, and the advice given me by Signor 
 Bicchierai, who is as interefting a man as he is a fagacious phyfician, 
 will be of fervice to me. 
 
 My journey over one of the Apennines might have been very dan- 
 gerous to me, had not the weather been extraordinarily mild. We 
 found fnow on the top of the mountain, which is n ]^art planted with 
 chefnut trees, which however are of very poor growth, and part is open. 
 A few oaks are fcattered here and there, which, being iopped as is the 
 cuftom in this country, afforded but a gloomy afped. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 275 
 
 The day before yefterday, we were furprifed by a very unexpeded 
 appearance : we faw a fire, which, as we were told, proceeded from a 
 volcano. It burns continually, and I wonder that it Ihould be fo little 
 known. 
 
 We perceived the air grow milder, as we approached Florence ; and 
 It was fo like fummer, yefterday evening, that we faw the glow worm 
 fliinlng in the grafs. Although indifpofed, here I fit without a fire, 
 and with my windows open. The balfamic mildnefs of the air entirely 
 exceeds my expectation: it is the garden ofHefperia. 
 
 Perhaps you will not be difpleafed to be briefly reminded of the 
 origin of the antient inhabitants of this country. They were called 
 Etruriaiis ; and Tufcans ; and by the Greeks Tyrrhf?u ; or Tyrfenu 
 The cradle of all nations is ftrewed with the flowers of fabulous 
 hiftory. Various writers impute their origin to various fources : but 
 who among them is fo deferving of belief as Dionyfius of Halicar- 
 naflus ? that profound enquirer into antiquity ! 
 
 According to him, as far as the uncertainty of hiftory and the dark- 
 nefs of former times might be depended upon, the Etrurians had always 
 been inhabitants of Italy : but not in the country which was properly 
 called Etruria, They had lived more northerly, between the Apen- 
 nines and the Po, from Bologna to Placenza. 
 
 The Tyrrheni were a very different people. They were Greeks, 
 and by origin certainly the Pdajgi They were driven out of Thefl^aly^ 
 by the Cares and the Leleges ; and became wanderers, went to Lydia, 
 and at laft, above three hundred years before the deftrudion of Troy, or 
 fifteen hundred years before the birth of Chrift, they fettled in Italv ; 
 extending themfelves from the two feas, as far as the Apennines and 
 the Tiber : which includes the prefent Tufcany, with a confiderable 
 part of the States of the Church. The Tyrrheni appear to have been a 
 very flouriftiing people. The following is the account given us by 
 Diodorus Siculus. 
 
 " The Tyrrheni, in early times, were valiant, conquered many coun- 
 
 N n 2 " tries. 
 
276 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 " tries, and fcized on nuraerous and large cities. Long mafters of the 
 " ocean, they gave their name to the Tyrrhenian fea. They im- 
 " proved the military art, and invented the Tyrrhenian trumpet ; which 
 " is very excellent in war. They firft gave their leaders lidors, the 
 " curule ivory chair, and the purple embroidered toga. They firil 
 " built pillared-walks round their houfes. They made a great progrefs 
 *' in natural hiftory, in mythology, and the fine fciences. They were ob- 
 " fervers of the weather, and explained the lightning as denoting the 
 " will of the gods ; for which reafon the all-conquering Romans ad- 
 " mired and confidered them as the interpreters of this will.' They 
 " induftriouOy cultivated their fruitful plains ; which not only afforded 
 " them fufficient food, but abundance, and fuperfiuity. They made 
 " two meals each day : and the cufhions on which they reclined, while 
 " at table, were embroidered with flowers. They had numerous 
 " drinking velTels of filver, and a great number of fervants to attend 
 " them : who were all clothed above the condition of fervitude. They 
 " had many different houfes, and feparate chambers. They had funk 
 *< into inactivity and voluptuoufnefs ; and, with the lofs of their admi- 
 " rable valour, had likewife loft their fame in war. This kind of in- 
 " dulgence was not a little increafed, by the fertility of their lands ; for 
 " the excellence of their foil afforded them great abundance, which they 
 " ftored in their granaries. Their fertile hills increafe the beauty of 
 " their wealthy plains ; and their country is fufficiently watered, even 
 " in fummer*." 
 
 Diodorus, in this paffage, evidently confounds the Tyrrheni with the 
 Etrurians. This however is the more pardonable fince, in reality, the 
 two nations mingled with each other, and gradually became one. What 
 he fays of their commerce belongs intirely to the Tyrrheni. Their 
 enquiries into nature, mythology, and their refpedful obfervance of 
 the will of the gods, were qualities for which the Etrurians were 
 
 * Diodor. vol. i. p. 362, ed. WeiTel. 
 
 famed 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 277 
 
 fumed; whom the Romans, applying to them the Greek word, ^ueiv, 
 to facrifice, called Tufcans, and employed principally to ferve in 
 their temples. We are told by Livy*, that it was afferted, in his time, 
 that the Roman youths formerly iifed to be inftruded in the Etrufcan 
 language ; as they afterward were in the Greek. 
 
 The Tyrrheni appear to have enjoyed a republican conftitution ; 
 which, among the Etrurians, had fomething of the monarchical form. 
 Their government was divided into twelve branches ; over each of 
 which they appointed a chief, whom they called the Luctimo, Long 
 before the Etrurians, forfaking their antient refidence on the other fide 
 of the Apennines, had come into that country which had firft been in- 
 habited by the Tyrrheni, and afterward took the name of Etruria, they 
 certainly had extenfive poflelTions in this country ; which reached even 
 as far as Campania, where they had built the city of Capua before the 
 founding of Rome. We are informed, by Virgil, that Pifa, in the time 
 of ^neas, was certainly an Etrurian town. Their removal over the 
 Apennines happened at the time that the Firft Tarquin governed in 
 Rome. It was then that the Gauls attacked them, with a powerful 
 army, and feized on their principal city, Felfma ; which they called 
 Bononia: the prefent Bologna. Though we may well imagine there 
 were bloody wars, between the Tyrrheni and the Etrurians, when 
 the latter attacked the Tyrrheni in the country they enjoyed beyond 
 the Apennines, yet the people became fo mingled, with each other 
 that at length they formed but one nation. 
 
 They carried on a great trade, feized on the coafts of Sardinia and 
 Corfica, and from thence failed into the great ocean, beyond the pillars 
 of Hercules. Here they difcovered an ifland ; to which they would 
 have fent a colony, but they were oppofed in this projed by the Car- 
 thaginians. 
 
 By degrees, the Etrurians became fhamefully vitiated ; and there- 
 fore were the more eafily fubjeded, by the Romans. 
 
 * Liv lib. xi. 36, 
 
 Whether 
 
278 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Whether Florence had with certainty been an Etrurian city, or, as 
 others affirm, was built by the foldicrs of Sylla, and was called Ftiien- 
 tia^ afterward Florcntia^ it is difficult to determine. It was deftroyed 
 by Totila, king of the Goths ; and rebuilt by Charlemagne. It main- 
 tained its liberty for feveral centuries ; but at length became neither 
 capable nor worthy of liberty, and was therefore continually diftradted 
 by different fadions. The Guelphs and Ghibelins affaulted each 
 other, with unextinguifhable rage. The party fubdued was obliged to 
 fly the country ; and was induftrious in exciting enemies againft it. 
 
 Jealous of their freedom, the Florentines took the fmgular refolution 
 of excluding the nobility from all public offices ; and confequently the 
 nobles had no other road open, to power, than that of becoming of 
 the rank of citizen. This rank very foon included all the power and 
 dignity that had formerly appertained to the rank of noble ; and there 
 can be no doubt but that, after the degradation of the nobility, the 
 reign of riches, which is certainly the moft rigorous and the moll 
 degrading, muft have taken place. 
 
 The family of the Medici foon predominated, by its wealth and in- 
 fluence ; and Cofimo Medici, a man of great talents, governed Florence 
 without poffeffmg the title of prince. The government was continued 
 in his family, till at laft its power was publicly acknowledged by the 
 people. 
 
 Freedom is an ineftimable bleffing : but, if it be not promoted by 
 purity of manners, it foon degenerates into anarchy, and the defpotifm 
 of the multitude ; which, of all others, is the moft dreadful misfortune 
 that can befall a country. Whoever will read the excellent hiftory of 
 Florence, by Machiavel, will be convinced that the Florentines were 
 incapable of freedom ; and that the change, which happened in their 
 conftitution, was evidently ablefling. 
 
 At the extindtion of the family of the Medici, FVancIs of Lorraine, 
 grand duke of Tufcany, w^as the hufband of Maria Therefa ; and ceded 
 Lorraine to StaniOaus, who had been king of Poland. Tufcany is now 
 
 I governed 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 279 
 
 governed by the grandfon of Francis ; who is the fecond fon of the 
 Emperor. 
 
 P. S. I have obtained further information, concerning the volcano 
 I mentioned, from the learned Signor Bicchierai ; who has vifited the 
 place himfelf. He does not believe it to be a volcano ; as he can nei- 
 ther find traces of any crater, of ftones that it has thrown out, or 
 of lava. He has only difcovered cavities in the earth, which exude a 
 petrol, or liquid bitumen^ This oil probably gives the air an inflamma- 
 tory quality. He believes that it is often enflamed by violent gufts of 
 wind J and that then it catches fire : though it does not conftantly 
 burn : but that very frequently this inflammatory air catches fire by the 
 torches that are brought thither. A flight degree of warmth is felt in 
 thefe places. Sir William Hamilton had this air bottled, and fent to 
 England : experiments were made upon it, and it was found to 
 be of the fame kind as the inflammable air, which is common to the 
 coalpits at Newcaftle. 
 
 LETTER XLir. 
 
 Florence, T 7th December 1791. 
 
 X HIS city, which in the time of its freedom was one of 
 the mofl: populous in Europe, does not now contain more than feventy- 
 four thoufand inhabitants. Its fite on the Arno is beautiful ; and its 
 four large bridges give it a grand appearance : but it is not well built. 
 I allow that the ftone houfes, of this as well as of all the Italian towns, 
 are greatly preferable to our own ; but their flreets are narrow and 
 crooked. 
 
 Imuil 
 
a8o TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 I mufl own, the famous Florentine gallery has not equalled my ex- 
 pedation. It contains pidures of the greateft mafters ; but they are 
 not their beft performances : and the remainder are of the Florentine 
 fchool ; the works of which are infipid and lifelefs, compared to the 
 full and powerful impreffions we receive, from the Bolognefe artifts ; 
 the three Caracci, Guido, and Guercino. 
 
 It is better provided with antient ftatues j for it contains the fineft 
 productions of antiquity. I will not enumerate all the antient empe- 
 rors, and the emprefles, with which this hall abounds ; but pafs on to 
 the famous Venus de Medicis, an Apollo, the Roman Have or whetter, 
 the wreftlers, and the dancing Fauns. You have feen excellent cafts 
 ofallthefe ftatues: but, oh, how inferior is the very beft of them to 
 the originals ! 
 
 Ariadne fleeping, of a coloflal fize, Hercules attacking NelTus, the 
 Centaur, and a fleeping Morpheus, with poppies in his hand, are all 
 full of expreflion. The Morpheus is of black marble. 
 
 A coloflal head of Alexander, dying, is of the higheft beauty. I 
 cannot imagine how Addifon could have fuppofed the artift meant to 
 reprefent Alexander weeping, becaufe he had no new worlds to con- 
 quer. A defire of new worlds might pafs fleeting through his great 
 mind ; but fuch a thought never could have been followed by fuch an 
 earneft appearance. I could much fooner believe that the fculptor 
 intended Alexander fliould be reprefented in the moment of repentance, 
 for the murder of Clytus. Be it as it will, we fee evident marks of the 
 approach of death. The genius of the artift has reprefented the ftrength 
 of the dying Alexander as fmking before that approach. 
 
 Niobe, with her feven fons and feven daughters, ftands in a fpacious 
 hall. Her offspring are all as large as life ; but the figure of Niobe is 
 coloflal. I know not how it happens, but this exception, with refpefl 
 to the mother, difturbs the harmony of the whole much lefs than you 
 would imagine. The point of time, chofen by the artift, is when only 
 one fon is flain, by the arrow of Apollo, The figure of the fallen 
 
 o youth 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 281 
 
 youth Is very fine. However, it appears to me unworthy of the great 
 artift to have given him two large wounds. The Greek artifts are 
 generally careful to keep the difagreeable out of fight ; and what need 
 was there for more than one wound, from the bow of the far-ftriking 
 God, to lay the dying youth in the duft ? 
 
 The youth lies on his back, and there is a horfe (landing befide him; 
 from which it has been conje<Stured, with great probabiUty, that the 
 dead youth was fhot from his horfe. The anima! cannot in truth be 
 praifed : which is the cafe with many of the horfes of antiquity, though 
 fome of them are excellent. 
 
 The young women are much more beautiful than the youths ; fome 
 of whom appear to me to be worthy neither of their mother nor their 
 fifters. All are reprefented indifferent attitudes, in expedation of ap- 
 proaching death. 
 
 Ovid, who in his noble narrative gives a different piclure to that of 
 the artift, fuffers more of the youths to be (hot from on horfeback : but 
 he appears to have feen thefe ftatues, for he has caught the moft love- 
 ly idea of the fculptor, that of the youngeft daughter frying to take 
 flielter in the lap of her mother. 
 
 Ultima reftabat, quamtoto corpore mater, 
 
 Tota vefle tegens, Unam, minimamque, rellnque 1 
 
 De multis minimam pofco, clamavit, et unam ! 
 
 The lafl with eager care the mother veil'd, ~\ 
 Behind her fpreading mantle clofe concealM > 
 And with her body guarded, as a fhield. 3 
 Oxily for this, this youngeft, I implore : 
 Grant me this one requeft, I afk no more. 
 
 Croxall. 
 
 The expreflion of the mother, whofe beauty fliines vifibly through 
 her grief, is inimitable. 
 
 There is a fixteenth figure, that is ambiguous. Some affirm it to be 
 Amphion, the hufband of Niobe ; who, according to the fable, killed 
 
 Vol. I. O o himfelf 
 
282 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 himfelf for grief, after the death of his children : but the figure of this 
 man does not appear to me to be fufhciently noble for Amphion. He 
 has a bonnet and a cloak, which are rather the coftume of a flave than 
 of a hero. Heyne, the aulic counfellor, it is faid, fuppofed it to be a 
 flave, who had been a tutor to the fons ; and yet this opinion does not 
 I think appear to be well grounded ; for this ambiguous reprefentatioa 
 of a flave, between Niobe and her fourteen children, would be a difa- 
 greeable expedient ; or fomething worfe. 
 
 It appears much more probable that this figure, though it was dif- 
 covered with the others in the fixteenth century, is no part of the fame 
 ftory*. 
 
 The mufeum of the Grand Duke is a very amiple and rem.arkable col- 
 ledion, from the three kingdoms of nature. The anatomical prepa- 
 rations, in w^ax, are executed with great powers of deception. 
 
 I have no where feen fo many fpecimens of birds, which were equal- 
 ly well preferved, and equally natural in their attitudes. It is likewife 
 admirably rich in infeds, and fiiells ; and connoifl^eurs affirm that the 
 mineralogical colledlion is exceedingly ample. One apartment is en- 
 tirely hlled v^uth plants, kept under glafles ; and thofe tender plants 
 that cannot be well preferved are reprefented, with uncommon art, in 
 wax. They appear to grow, in all their beautiful bloom ; and the 
 filver coloured down, of certain leaves, is imitated with the utmofl 
 degree of reality. 
 
 The nevvT palace of the Grand Duke, which is called the Palazzo Pitti^ 
 the name of its former pofleflbr, is noble in appearance, without, and 
 magnificent, vv'ithin. It is moft remarkable for its fine colledion of 
 pidures, only feme of which I fliall notice. 
 
 * When I wrote this, I had not feen a bafib relievo, at Rome -, \n which there is the 
 figure of Amphion, and likewife of the pedagogue, and the nurfe. In a farcophagus of 
 the Villa Eorghefi at Home, we likewife find the pedagogue and the nurfe. I therefore 
 retraft my opinion, and think it probable that Counfellor Heyne was right in his conjec- 
 ture \ but that, perhaps, the Amphion, as well as the nurfe, has notbeen-difcovered. 
 
 Here 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 283 
 
 Here Is the {0 jiiftly famed, and the fo frequently copied, Madonna 
 delta Sedia^ by Raphael ; which our Preifler, with his mafterly hand, 
 has hitely engraved. The pidure is in excellent prefervation, and is 
 kept covered with a glafs. 
 
 A large allegorical pidure, by Rubens, Is full of poetic fire. A 
 warrior iffues from the open gate of the temple of Janus, tearing him- 
 felf from the arms of a beautiful woman, who appears to be the figure 
 of Peace. The Furies of war force him from her. Another woman 
 follows him, ilirieking, bearing a mural crown; and before him are 
 extended, on the ground, various figures of men. 
 
 Two large landfcapes, by Rubens, poflefs all that life of nature 
 which that great painter knew how to beftow, as well on this branch 
 of the art as on hiftorical fubjeds. 
 
 Here too is a very beautiful painting, by Rubens, reprefenting him-- 
 felf, his brother, Hugo Grotlus, and Juftus Lipfius. 
 
 I found the fame Holy Family, by Rubens, here, which I had fo 
 much admired in the palace of Giacomo Balbi, at Genoa. This of the 
 Grand Duke may be the original ; but I confefs. If that at Genoa be the 
 copy, it has fomething in it of the lovely, which I cannot but prefer. 1 
 mull not however omit to add that the pidure here is in a bad light. 
 
 The portraits, by Raphael, are very fine ; and I was exceedingly 
 interefted to find, among them, thofe of Pope Julio the Second, and 
 Leo the Tenth. 
 
 A Madonna, with the Holy Child, by Carlo Dolce, is excellent : but 
 there are two pieces, by the fame mailer, a Chrift and a Madonna, which 
 I think more excellent. 
 
 There are two Holy Families, by Raphael j one of which is very 
 fmall, and uncommonly beautiful. 
 
 Here are Martin Luther and his wife, by Holbein. We are fur- 
 prifed to meet our Luther, fo frequently, in the galleries of Italy. 
 
 Another Holy Family, by Pvaphael, in his firfl manner. It is, very in- 
 terefting to contemplate by what degrees the mind of this great man 
 
 O o 2 feared 
 
a84 TRAVELS OF. COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 foared beyond his mafter, Peruglno. His firft performances might be 
 taken for the mafter pieces of his inftrudor. 
 
 A Saint Sebaflian, by Andrea del Sarto, is one of the iineft ornaments 
 of this rich colledion. 
 
 Four landfcapes, by Gregorio Fidanza, a painter now living at Rome, 
 are excellent. Two of them are of fummer : the third is a winter 
 piece, and the fourth a view on the fea fhore. 
 
 There is a large garden, belonging to the Palazzo Pitii, which, might 
 be called a winter garden ; for it is full of evergreens : among others 
 are the prickly oak, the cyprefs, various pines, the olive, the common 
 laurel, the lauro-cerafus^ the kntifcus^ and the wild laurel ; v^hich is in 
 bloom about Chrillmas in our hot-houfes, and then bears no fruit ; but 
 here, in the open air, at this feafon of the year, it teems with its clear 
 blue berries. Even the ph'ilyrea^ and the black poplar, are fcill in leaf 
 in this garden. 
 
 There are feveral pidtures in the church of the Annunciation, none 
 of which appear to me very remarkable ; except the famous MadoJina 
 del Sacco^ in frefco ; which is fo called becaufe Jofeph is leaning on a 
 fack. The perfonages are the Holy Virgin, the child Jefus, and 
 Jofeph. It is painted by Andrea del Sarto, and is very fine. 
 
 The figure of Dante is in the cathedral, crowned with laurel. We 
 often meet with him, here, and always crowned with laurel. This 
 great man was not buried in his native city, but at Ravenna. 
 
 In the church Delia Santa Croce are the monuments of three re- 
 markable men of genius, all Florentines : Galileo, Machiavel, and 
 Michael Angelo Buonaroti. The following infcription is on the monu» 
 jnent of Machiavel, which has been ereded in modern times. 
 
 Tanto nomini nullum elogium par. 
 
 Nicolaus Machiavelli 
 
 Obiit Ao M.D. XXVII. 
 
 The church of St. Lawrence is famous, for being the burying place 
 
 of 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 285 
 
 of the family of the Medici. They lie in the facrifty ; in which there 
 are two monuments, with beautiful flatuary, by Michael Angelo : but 
 they are not quite tinilhed. 
 
 A large and magnificent chapel has long been building, in which the 
 remains of the family of the Medici are to be placed. Its form is octa- 
 gon, and it contains fix large fepulchres ; four of Egyptian and two of 
 oriental granite ; defigned by Michael Angelo. There are niches 
 wrought above thefe fepulchres, in which coloflal Hatues of the Medici 
 are placed ; fome of which, by Giovanni di Bologna, are very excellent. 
 
 There is a fine library belonging to this church, the books of which 
 are all chained to tables, and which may be reached with convenience. 
 The number of volumes does not appear to be confiderable ; but it con- 
 tains fome choice manufcripts. I faw a Latin bible, and a Virgil ; the 
 firft of the fixth, and the laft of the fifth century. I looked into the 
 beginning of the iEneid, and did not find the four firft verfes ; be- 
 ginning Il'Ie ego qui quondam; whicli the beft commentators hold to be 
 fpurious. The poem begins with Arma virumque cano. 
 
 For my own part, I confefs thefe four verfes do not appear to me 
 unlike Virgil : but his fine tafle might difcover that they were unne- 
 cefTary, and not worthy to begin the iEneid : he might therefore omit 
 them. 
 
 The celebrated copy of the Pandeds, of the time of the Emperor 
 
 Juftinian, is not allowed to be fhewn, without permiffion. I eafily 
 
 confole 1 myfelf with the lofs of this fight; and could not help recol- 
 
 leding the queftion that once was put to me, with great vivacity, by a 
 
 German profefifor : who demanded whether the King of Denmark, thea 
 
 on his travels, had been to Florence, and had looked at the famous copy 
 
 of the Pandeds ? The fagacious pedant thought that no objea was fo 
 
 worthy of remark, to a young prince, as this manufcript. 
 
 There is a confiderable cohesion of pidures, in the PaIa%zo Rtccardi : 
 
 among others the Four Evangelifts, by Carlo Dolce. 
 
 A very fine portrait of Andrea Del Sarto, by himfelE 
 
 The 
 
286 TRAVELS Ol< COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The cieling of a large chamber full of ornaments is by Luca Gior- 
 dano. The fubjeds he has chofen are all mythological; and the 
 whole performance is of remarkable beauty. 
 
 On the walls of the Fdlazzo JItoviti are fifteen famous men, as Mer- 
 curies, cut in ftone : among whom are Dante, Petrarch, Boccacio, 
 Guicciardini, Ficino, who is well known for his fine edition of Plato, 
 and Amerij>-o Vefpucci. In the palace itfelf is a Imall colledion of 
 pidures ; which is remarkable for containing a noble portrait of Ra- 
 phael, by himfelf, and prefented to the anceftors of the prefent family. 
 
 I am jufl come from the ftone of Dante ( H fijfo del Baiite) ; a 
 place on a feat of ftone, which is oppofite to the cathedral, and is fo 
 called becaufe the poet ufed to delight to fit there. The memory of 
 this great man, who lived five hundred years ago, is very frefti among 
 his countrymen ; and will never be forgotten, while la dolce favella 
 Tofca^ the fweet Tufcan tongue, ftiall be fpoken and read. 
 
 When his noble poem firft became public, the people often pointed 
 with aftoniftiment to the man who had returned from vifiting purga- 
 tory, hell and heaven. They fuppofed the hundred cantos, of his 
 Div'ma Comedia^ to be the defcription of a real journey. 
 
 The church del Battijlerio is of noble architedure, circular, and 
 fupported by Corinthian pillars. Tradition maintains that it was an 
 antient temple of Mars. Its brazen gates are of remarkable beauty, 
 adorned with noble defigns in baflb relievo, which reprefent the hifto- 
 ries of holy writ. It is the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti. Michael 
 Angelo admired thefe gates fo much that he called them the gates of 
 Paradife. 
 
 I muft not conclude this letter without noticing an inftitution, 
 which does honour to Florence ; and which originated in the age of 
 liberty. A community, which is called La Societa della Mifericordla^ 
 which confifts of all ranks of people, make it their duty to aftbrd aid to 
 the poor and helplefs of the city. After enquiring into the difeafes of 
 the fick, they either take them to an excellent hofpital or into their own 
 I houfes. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 287 
 
 » 
 
 houfes. Any perfon, meeting with an extraordinary misfortune, may 
 depend upon receiving fuccour, from this community. When the 
 fociety affemble, or when any fudden accident calls a number of them 
 together, they appear in malks : partly from prudence, to conceal 
 themfelves, and partly not to put the poorer members of the fociety to 
 the blufh, by the difference of drefs in the more wealthy. 
 
 They afford their aid, wlien neceffary, unafked. When a diftreffed 
 perfon meets with any accident, though he have never belonged to the 
 fociety, he is made welcome. Similar focieties, which are called coti' 
 fraternita^ are common to the towns of Italy. 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER XLIIL 
 
 Pifa, 1 8th December 1 791. 
 
 COULD not wlthftand the inclination I had to vifit this 
 antient and famous city, though it was out of our road ; and I was the 
 rather induced, becaufe Pifa is not only well deferving of notice, but is 
 remarkable for the mild air it enjoys. 
 
 We fet out early, yefterday ; for we had a long day's journey to per- 
 form. The road is pleafant, and fometimes led us to the banks cf the 
 beautiful Arno. The Apennines were feen on our right, and fome- 
 times the profpe6l before us was very extenfive. The road itfelf is 
 excellent ; efpecially the laft half of the way. The land is cultivated 
 with extreme care, and planted with numerous olive and mulberry 
 trees ; round which the vine rifes, and clings : the flioots of which 
 there is no occafion to lay, in winter. 
 
 The nearer w^e came to Fifa, the milder v/e found the al<. The 
 Tyracanthits^ w^hich we call the fiery bufli, and plant in gardens, was 
 
 here 
 
2b8 TRAVEL^. OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Iieve verdant, and covered with its glowing berries. We faw garden 
 beans, that were about lix inches high ; and that, after growing all 
 winter, are gathered in x^pril. The men and women were employed 
 in digging large fields wdth the fpade. In thefe fields, a later kind of 
 garden bean, vlciafaba^ is planted ; which ripens in June. Many- 
 different trees have not yet loft their leaves ; particularly the oak, on 
 parts of w^hich we found green and tender fprouts, as in fummer. 
 
 Pifa muft have been built fome centuries before the deftrudion of 
 Troy. Tradition attributes its origin to the Greek town of Pifa, in 
 Elis, on the banks of the Alpheus, which was made fo famous by 
 the Olympian games. Virgil, fpe^king of it, fays, Alphece ah 07'iginc 
 
 Ariftotle houever, whofe enquiries w^ere much more extenfive and 
 profound, and after him Strabo, both tell us that Pifa was founded by 
 the Ligurians ; who were a Celtic nation. It afterward became one 
 of the principal cities of the Etrurians. In the year of Rome 572, the 
 Romans fent a Latin colony hither \ and in later times it became a mu- 
 nicipal city. 
 
 On the decline of the Roman Empire, Pifa obtained its freedom ; 
 which contributed, w^ith its fituation on the Arno, to raife it to a high 
 degree of power and rule. When all Italy was overrun by the inva- 
 fions of the pirates, the people of Pifa took the Iflands of Sardinia and 
 Corfica, from the Saracens, the towm of Palermo, in Sicily, and likewife 
 Carthago. They greatly aided the crufaders, who followed the holy ban- 
 ners into the Eaft, and, themfelves, raifed the fiege of the city of Alex- 
 andria, in Egypt. 
 
 Pifa did not efcape the general misfortunes which befel the inland 
 parts of Italy, during the fadions of the Guelphs and Ghibclins. 
 Diftraded by both thefe fadions, its power declined ; but its liberties 
 received the moft deadly wound during the war it waged with Genoa. 
 In this war, Pifa loft twelve thoufand men, forty-nine gallies, and, 
 what was Hill more fatal, its haven, Porto Pifano, aad the navigation 
 
 of 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^^ 
 
 of the Arno ; for, from this time, the commerce of Pifa became de- 
 pendant, and infignificant. 
 
 Ugolino, count of Gherardefca, a citizen of Pifa, for having favoured 
 the faction of the Guelphs, v^as aided by them, and became the tyrant 
 of his country. He was banifhed, but reftored again by the Floren- 
 tines ; v/as afterward feized, by the people of Pifa, and he. and his three 
 fons were imprifoned in a tower, by the Archbifliop Ruggieri; where 
 they were fufFered to die with hunger. This mournful ftory Dante 
 makes Ugolino himfelf relate, in hell, with all the ardour of poetry. 
 Befide, where is the German who is unacquainted with Gerftenberg's 
 terrifying tragedy of Ugolino ? which, had the author never written 
 any thing elfe, would have immortalized his name ! 
 
 Pifa, afterward, more than once, was fubjedted to the Florentines; 
 and, more than once, recovered its liberty : till it was finally fubdued, 
 by Florence ; which did but acft in obedience to the family of the Me- 
 dici. Many of its citizens abandoned their native place, where they 
 could no longer be free. The people of Pifa made an incfFedual 
 attempt, a hundred years afterward, to recover their antient liberty ; 
 and, after this ftruggle, Pifa declined fo faft that the number of its in- 
 habitants was decreafed from a hundred and fifty thoufand to fifteen 
 thoufand. The Grand Duke endeavoured to afford it relief, and 
 founded the order of St. Stephen ; the knights of which order w^ere to 
 inhabit Pifa. He likewife made it a univerfity. But how ineiTedlual 
 are means like thefe, to fupply the lofs of benevolent and all fertillfing 
 freedom ! 
 
 The prefent Grand Duke loves Pifa : and, in imitation of his father, 
 the Emperor, paffes feveral months of the year at this city. 
 
 The climate of Pifa is uncommonly mild. At ten o'clock this 
 morning, our thermometer flood at twelve degrees above the freezing 
 point. This was in the open air ; and, at the fame feafon of the year, 
 was one degree warmer than it was in my chamber in Germany, in 
 which I had a fire* 
 
 We vifited the botanic garden • having a letter of recommendation 
 
 Vol. L P P to 
 
a^o TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 to the fuperlntendant, Signor Gregorlo Santl, a very adive man^ 
 which was given us by Dcdor Blchierai, of Florence. 
 
 As we walked through the garden, we were charmed by the profped 
 of large orange and lemon trees, teeming with the golden fruit of the 
 gardens of Hefperia. A lovely laurel grove, of flender and tall trees, 
 jnade tlie garden, at this time of the year, very pleafant ; and, in fum- 
 mcr, its cool ihadcs and innumerable fniging birds muft render it un- 
 commonly delightful. 
 
 We faw the CaElus Opuntia in the open air, with its red fruit ; the 
 Ca&us heptagona ; feveral Aloes ; a large now leaflefs Morus papyrifera; 
 the Cham^rops bum'dis with its fruit, which did not yet bear '^ becaufe 
 the male tree was w^anting ; feveral jfucca with their fruit ; the Lauras 
 Alexandrtnus (riifcus) with fruit ; and the Gleditfui Triacafithus, with 
 its feed burfting through the large hufk, from which it is faid the crown 
 of thorns was made. We likewife faw a large CaBus cexeus^ planted 
 againft a wall, which v/as thicker than a man's arm and full ten elU 
 high. The Oleojider^ v/ith its fruit ; and the Coliiteci-xwd, Cytlfns^ which 
 here do not lofe their leaves till late in the winter: they are ftill green; 
 and- the Cyt'ifns now bears its yellow fiower ; wliich does not hang \\\ 
 fuch long bunches, at prefent, as it does with us in May. 
 
 The famous tower of Pifa, which is fwayed fifteen feet from the 
 centre, has a noble appearance : it is the belfry of the cathedral. This 
 cathedral, like thofe of Florence and of AfTifi, muft have been the work 
 of a German architedt of the eleventh century. In this age, architec- 
 ture flouriilied among the Germans. The Gothic architedlure tra- 
 velled, from Spain, through France to Germany. The numerous rich 
 and free cities' of oux country expedited its progrefs, and architeds of 
 the German fchool found their way to Italy; till at laft the Italians, 
 from the great works of antiquity which remained among them, were? 
 Induced to reftore the fine arts. This they effeded^.and d.efervedly 
 became the tutors of Europe. 
 
 * The text \%~mit feinen fruchteuy nvelche doch nicht hefruchut ivaren. This may fignify 
 not yet impregnated ; or perhaps not ripened : but I pretend to no> knowledge on the fubjedl, 
 jand therefore quote the author. T. t 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 291 
 
 In this church is the famous Campo Sajito ; which confiRs of a fpa- 
 cious corridore within a court, the figure of which is an oblong fquare. 
 The infide is painted in frefco ; and the fubjed of the paintings is 
 Dante'^ Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven ; but the execution is very un^ 
 v/orthy of the immortal poet. On the outward open fide, fupported 
 by pillars, are fepulchres of very rude workmaiifhip ; which denotes 
 their high antiquity. 
 
 Among thefe monuments is that which the late King of PrufTia 
 caufed to be ereded, to the memory of Algarotti. 
 
 At the top is the follov/ing infcription : 
 
 ALGAROTTO, OVIDII .EMULO, NEWTONII DISCIPULO. 
 FREDERIC US MAGNUS. 
 
 Below is a marbk bull of Algarotti, with thefe words : 
 ALGAROTTUS NON OMNIS. 
 
 Above the monument is a Mafe, reading ; and the owl of Pallas. 
 
 From this place, we Went to the obfervatory ; the different ftories of 
 which are provided with good aftronomical inftruments. The profef- 
 for of aflronomy, who is a native of Tyrol, fhewed them all to us with 
 great politenefs. From the top of the obfervatory, we faw the Apen- 
 nines toward the north, by which Pifa is protected from the north 
 wind; and this, added to the influence of the fea air, produces that 
 mildnefs of climate which the city enjoys. The famous marble of 
 Carara is dug in a part of thefe momitains, which now appertain to the 
 Duke of Modena: the Duke having married the heirefs of Maffa 
 Carara, though this lady is dead. 
 
 We once more had the pkafare to fee the Mediterranean ; and to 
 trace the courfe of the Arno, which empties itfelf into the fea. We 
 likewife faw Leghorn, the high ifland of Gorgona,* and that of Elva. 
 
 In 
 
 * Dante mentions rhrs ifland ; and another that is not far aidant from it, which is 
 
 P p 2 called 
 
292 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 In clear weather, Corfica may be feen ; but the fky was then too 
 cloudy : and I was affured that Sardinia itfelf might fometimes be per- 
 ceived ; though this appears to me impoffible. 
 
 The people of Pifa maintain that the origin of their city was the 
 Greek city of Pifa; and every three years, on the 12th of May, they 
 have a game which they compare to the Olympic games. Three hun- 
 dred and fifty men, from that quarter of the city which is called Santa 
 Maria ^ afiemble on the principal bridge of the Arno, in complete an- 
 cient armour ; in oppofition to three hundred and fifty other men, 
 who come from another quarter, called San Antonio, A banner is 
 placed on the centre of the bridge ; and whichever party can drive the 
 ether beyond this banner is allowed to have gained the victory. The 
 river ufed to be covered with boats \ the purpofe of which was to catch 
 the falling combatants : but the fury of their ftrife hasS been limited^ 
 and now nothing but armour falls into the ftream. 
 
 There is a handfome quay on each fide of the Arno j which would 
 have a ftill better effect, if the profpedt toward the river were not inter- 
 rupted, by a ftone parapet that is rather high. Several bridges are built 
 over the Arno, which make the walks pleafant. The houfes of the 
 city are antient : the ftreets however are wide ; and, on one quay, there 
 are fome noble palaces, that were built by Michael Angelo. 
 
 The Exchange confifts of very handfome high arcades, built of ftone, 
 which on feflival days are illuminated. 
 
 called Capraja. He wifhes they both would rife from their beds, and dam up the mouthv 
 of the Arno •, that Pifa might he punifhed, for the cruelties infii£led on Ugolinc. 
 
 Muorafi la Capraja e la Gorgonaj 
 
 E faccian ficpe ad Arno, in fu la foCe ; 
 
 Si ch'egU annieghi in te ogni perfona. 
 
 Dante, Inferno, xxxiii. 82—84. 
 
 Yc towers of Pifaj may Gorgona's ftrand, 
 
 "With lofty mounds, the coming flood withftand j 
 
 And fend it foaming down to v/helm thy (hame. 
 
 EoTD» 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 293 
 
 The market is fupplied with fine fruit, vegetables, and with flowers 
 through every feafon of the year : for they bloom here all winter in the 
 open air. We faw rofes, carnations, hyacinths, gilly flowers, the 
 ranunculus, anemone, and other flowers. Like as our common gar- 
 den apples are fold by fcores, fo here fweet oranges are tied twenty to- 
 gether, and fold for a very trifle. 
 
 The wine of this country would be excellent, were it not that, like 
 mofl; of the Italian wines, it has the quality of not keeping longer than 
 from year to year. This defed: does not appear to proceed fo much 
 from the preparation as from the quality of the air ; for foreign wines 
 will feldom keep, Rhenifh only excepted. Burgundy indeed may be 
 kept ; but then efpecial care muft be taken to purify it from the dregs 
 which it depofits. 
 
 We were defirous of feeing La I'orre della Fa?ne (The tower of hun- - 
 ger) which had been fo named after the death of Ugolino and his fons : 
 but there is no trace of it remaining, and the place where it fl;ood i& 
 even difputed. 
 
 lETTER Xim 
 
 Rome, 34th December 179?* 
 
 E left Pi fa early on the 19th ; and travelled, through very 
 fertile and well cultivated countries, to Sienna : where we arrived on 
 the 20th. This diftridt abounds in mulberry trees ; round which the vine 
 clings, bearing fruit of an incredible fize. Sienna lies high among the 
 Apennines, between hills that are planted with olive trees. This town 
 is indebted for its cool fummers to the height of its fituation ; but the 
 winter is often very fevere here ; at leafl: it is fo thought by the Italians. 
 Some afiirm that Sienna was one of the twelve principal cities of the 
 Etrurians : others maintain that it was founded by Brennus, during his 
 
 war 
 
294 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 
 
 war with the Romans. Some contend that it derived the name of Sena 
 from the Senoiies, a tribe of the Gauls : but this opinion would be as 
 difficult to prove as to deny. A colony was fent hither in the time of 
 Auguftus, when it took the name of Sena Julia. 
 
 After the decline of the Roman Empire, this place underwent many 
 chanf^es ; but at lafl obtained its freedom, and fupported itfelf coura- 
 geoufly againft Florence, and Pifa. The citizens of this little free ftate, 
 in the year 1260, gained a famous victory over the Florentines and 
 Guelphs. 
 
 Inteftine broils were much more dangerous to Sienna than foreign 
 foes ; and Pandolfo Petrucci ereded himfelf its tyrant. His fucceifors 
 follow^ed his example ; till new difturbances arofe, and excited thedefire 
 of fubjedingit in France and Spain. 
 
 It is probable that France, according to its antient and modern cuf- 
 tom, encouraged thefe contentions : but Spain took advantage of them, 
 opprefled the citizens, and gave them into the power of the Medici. 
 The lofs of freedom occafioned the decay of the city. Its circumfe- 
 rence is computed to be a German mile, yet the number of its inhabit- 
 ants is only feventeen thoufand. It formerly contained a hundred 
 thoufand people. 
 
 Sienna is tolerably well built ; 'but we mifs here, as in the other towns 
 of Tufcany, the arcades of the houfes] which afford fuch cooling 
 fhades, and give fo noble an appearance, to the towns on the other fide 
 of the Apennines. This appears the more fmgular becaufe, according 
 to Diodorus, the arcade walks were the invention of the Tyrrheni. 
 
 The open place is handfome ; and larger than you ufually find, in 
 the cities of Italy. It is circular, and in the hollow form of a mufcle 
 {hell ; being lower in the middle than at the fides. 
 
 The cathedral is a good Gothic building, of white and red marble. 
 The front is perfedly Gothic ; and cx)vered and disfigured by nume- 
 rous carved images. The pavement within the church is of great 
 beauty. It reprefents ftories from holy writ, in mofaic work ; and is 
 covered with boards, which are removed whenever ftrangers come to 
 
 vifit 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 295 
 
 vifit the church. The body of the cathedral is decorated with many 
 figures, of the Popes, cut in ftone. 
 
 In one of the chapels, there are two beautiful ftatue-, fi'omthehand 
 of Bernini, of Mary Magdalen and St. Jerome; both of white marble. 
 An old odtagon pulpit, of white marble, is ornamented with fine baffi 
 Eelievi; of the workmanlhip of Nicolao and Giovanni of Pifa. 
 
 Here too is what is called the library ; but in which the only books 
 now remaining are a.bout thirty large folio volumes of church mufic • 
 which have belonged to the cathedral more than three hundred years. 
 They are decorated with finely illuminated figures, painted by a monk. 
 The Spaniards have taken away more than half, which are now to be 
 found in the great library of the Efcurial. 
 
 The library of Sienna is moft remarkable for fome large paintino-s, 
 in frefco, by Pinturicchio; in which Raphael muft have had a hand. 
 In fad, we difcover his portrait in one of thefe paintings : but, what is 
 more convincing, we difcover the true fpirit of Raphael ; in the free- 
 dom of the outlines, and in the breathing animation of many of the 
 figures. 
 
 Here is likewife an antique group, of white marble, reprefenting ths 
 Graces. It has been afcribed to the father of Socrates. Although it is 
 much damaged and is placed in a bad light, we- ftill could. recognife in 
 it the noble ftyle of the antients» 
 
 Between Sienna and Rome, Tufcany is chiefly barren, and moun- 
 tainous. We travelled three leagues before day-break, on the 2ifl; 
 and hoped to have reached Radicofani before night ; but a torrent 
 fwelled by rains, and the melted fnow from the mountains, occafioned 
 the waters to rife ; and w^e were obliged to turn back, and fleep at a 
 wretched inn. Fortunately, the weather changed ; and we were able 
 to pafs the ftream in the morning. To be detained by the rifing of 
 the waters is an accident to which travellers are frequently liable, in 
 Italy. The inhabitants of this country allege, as an excufe for the 
 want of bridges, the rapidity of the torrents : but are the torrents of 
 
 % Switzer-- 
 
296 TRAVELS' OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Switzerland lefs rapid? And what power has a narrow ftream of 
 water over a bridge the arch of v/hich is turned from bank to bank, fo 
 that the waters cannot reach it ? 
 
 Radicofani is a fortrefs, built on the top of a hill. It commands an 
 important pafs of the Tufcan territories, on the borders of the States of 
 the Church. No tree fliades the inhabitants of this fmall place ; where. 
 in fummer, the heat is infupportable. Many hamlets and villages are 
 feen, as you travel through the country, round which there is not a 
 fmgle tree. The people of Tufcany do not appear to love the fhade ; 
 and have very little conception of the beauty of trees. They plant but 
 few ; and thofe they lop. The country houfes of the rich are qnly 
 planted with a few gloomy cyprefs trees, mingled with the pale green 
 olive. They live in the country only during the months of Novem- 
 ber and December, and fpend the whole fummer in their towns ; where 
 they feek the gloom of their houfes, becaufe their naked fields expofe 
 them to the heat of the fun. This difmal cuftom prevails even ia 
 Xombardy, Modena, and Parma. 
 
 The country round Radicofani exhibits many traces of extinguilhed 
 volcanos. Naked rocks abound on the barren hills ; and appear to 
 point out the foregone deftrudion of nature. 
 
 Soon after we left Rjtdicofani, we entered the States of the Church; 
 and, before dufk, we paiTed over a tolerably fteep hill, on the top of 
 which the ill built little town of Acqua Pendente ftands. The hill is 
 very pleafant. The prickly oak, and the olive, grow among the wild 
 rocks on the right ; and the intervals are rendered pleafant with noble 
 cheihut trees. The valley opened upon us, toward the left, fmiling 
 with the cluftering vine. It afforded us fome regret, when we were 
 afierward told that this place derived its name from a waterfall, which 
 rufhesfrom ti? top of the mountain. 
 
 Yefterday morning, we paiTed the lake of Bolfena ; the woody (hores 
 and rocky illands of which, covered with trees, render it remarkably 
 'pleafauta It took its name from the antient Volfci -, Bolfena being 
 
 y their 
 
TRAVF.LS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 297 
 
 their principal town In thefe parts. Pliny mentions Its woody Iflands* ; 
 but fays they float in the waters of the lakes : whereas they vlfibly 
 refl: upon rocks. 
 
 This lake w^as called by the antlents Laciis Volfchiiejifis^ and Lacus 
 Tarqu'mienjis. In the States of the Church, you here and there find 
 noble trees that have not been lopped. The cattle are large, of a light 
 grey colour, as in Tufcany, and have horns of an extraordinary fize. 
 
 It is remarkable that, in thefe provinces as well as in all the provinces 
 of Italy, through which I have travelled, though their grounds are cul- 
 tivated by cattle, and the breed of the cattle is fo fine, there is yet a want 
 of milk. Probably they fell the heifer to the butcher oftener than the 
 fteer : we do the reverfe. 
 
 Agriculture, in the States of the Church, is but ill underfiood. Stones, 
 v/hich lie unmolefted, and unbroken clods of earth, interrupt the eourfc 
 of the plough. Whole fields are covered with high broom, fern, and 
 thiftles ; which dejiote the goodnefs of the foil, and the negligence of 
 the peoplef . 
 
 Notwithftanding the time of the year, we occafionally faw the broom 
 in bloom. Yefterdav before noon, we arrived at Viterbo ; a town that 
 contains about ten thoufand inhabitants, among w^hom there appears 
 to be much trade. 
 
 At four o'clock this morning, we went to Ronciglione ; the fituation 
 of which, yefterday by the light of a torch, had appeared to be plea- 
 fant. We paffed fome places where the fmell of the mephitic vapours 
 was exceiTively difagreeable. The whole country, from this place al- 
 moft to Rome, containing a trad of thirty- five miles, fixty to a degree, 
 ,is.£or the moftpart barren ; with here and there fomefigns of wretched 
 cultivation, but almoft fo/faken by mankind. The eye w^as only re- 
 
 *Plln. Hift. Nat. lib. II. C.95. 
 
 t 1 was afterward convinced, as I travelled through the eaftern provinces, that this 
 reproach, though generally made without exception, is not deferved by all the States of 
 the Church. 
 
 Vol. I. Qjq lleved 
 
29S TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Heved by a few bufhes, growing on the hills ; on which goats and flieep 
 were paftured. 
 
 The want of fertility, in the CampagJia di Roma^ has unjuflly been 
 entirely attributed to negletl in cultivation. I believe that the antient 
 Romans, partly becaufe they held agriculture in honour, and partly 
 becaufe they were regardlefs of the health of their feverely treated 
 flaves, cultivated thefe lands as well as it was pofTible : but the foil, in 
 their time, was poor and unhealthy. The republic early placed a 
 Roman garrifon in Capua ; and wifhed to feize upon the fertile plains 
 of the inhabitants. " Why," faid the foldiers, " ihould this people, 
 " who have not the courage to defend their poffeffions, enjoy the mod 
 " fertile territories of Italy ? Why fhould they not rather be ours, war- 
 " like and victorious as we are ; and who have driven out the Samnites 
 " with our fweat and blood ? Is it juft that they, who have furrendered 
 " to us, fhould enjoy the produce and pleafure of the earth : while 
 " we, fatigued with war, muft again return to till the unhealthy and 
 *' barren lands of Rome ; or fuffer, in the city, the daily extortion of 
 " ufurers * r" 
 
 It appears to me probable that the founders of Rome did not build 
 the city on that fpot from choice j but becaufe they had no other ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 Sixteen Italian miles from Rome, we had a profped: of this great 
 city ; the very name of which awakens fuch innumerable fenfations* 
 The cupola of St. Peter's rifes, predominant, over every object, to a 
 great dii1:ance. The other large buildings, compared to this church, 
 appear like fo many lliops ; built for the convenience of the pil- 
 grims, Vvrho come and throng round St. Peter's. 
 
 Two miles from the city, we paiTed a bridge, over an arm of the 
 Tiber ; the waters of which had a yellow tinge. Horace rightly called 
 it the yellow Tiber: Vidimus JlaviimTiberim, 
 
 The entrance, through La Porta del Popolo^ is grand. This gate is> 
 
 * Liv. vii. 38. 
 
 like wife- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 299 
 
 likewife called Forta Flaminia : for here the Flamin'ian military way 
 began. As you approach it, you fee three fpacious roads ; which lead 
 from the fine place through the gate into the town. This place is 
 adorned with a lofty obelifk, which was called after Auguflus : it hav- 
 ing been brought by that Emperor from Egypt to Rome, and ereded in 
 the large circus. It was found under the ruins of this circus, and Pope 
 Sixtus the Fifth had it ereded again here. 
 
 Two beautiful churches are built in this place, which add greatly 
 to its magnificence. 
 
 The recolledlion of the former grandeur of Rome feized me, as I en- 
 tered the city, and reminded me of the feeling of Horace while he 
 fang, 
 
 Alme Soly curru tik'ido diem qui 
 Promis et celas, al'mfque et idem 
 NaJceriSj pojfis nihil urhe Ro?7ia 
 Vijere majus ! 
 
 HoR. Carm. Sec. 
 
 Fair Sun, who with unchanging beam, 
 Rifing another and the fame, 
 
 Doft from thy beamy car unfold 
 The glorious day, 
 Or hide it in thy fetting ray. 
 Of light and life immortal fource, 
 Mayft thou, in all thy radiant courfe, 
 .Nothing more great than feven-hill'd Rome behold? 
 
 Francis. 
 
 On my arrival here, I found feveral letters from my fifters and 
 friends ; with accounts, which I fo eagerly defired, of my children. 
 Their tender images fwam before my eyes. They danced before me 
 full of life, and banillied the fhades of the Sciplos, Catos, and the elder 
 and younger Brutus. Immortal men, whofe awful prefence had rufhed 
 upon and taken poirefTion of my foul ! 
 
 Qjl 2 LET- 
 
3CO TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG". 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 
 Rome, 25th December 1791. 
 
 X HIS very Chnflmas day, the firft after our arrival, in the 
 forenoon, we faw the Pope celebrate high mafs, in St. Peter's. Do not 
 exped, at leaft not yet, a defcription of this temple : the largeft and 
 moft magnificent on earth. I Ihall vifit it frequently, and then fend 
 you fome few remarks ; with a drawing of the outward building,, and of 
 the place in which it is ereded. A place worthy of the temple : a 
 temple worthy of the place. Each in its kind the moft fuperb in Eu- 
 rone. No work of man ever feized upon and filled my mind like this. 
 Aftonifhment and delight fixed me, for a time, while I contemplated 
 the objeds without ; and ecftacy and awe, as I entered the church. 
 
 It is fmgular that both the outfide and the infide of this church, al- 
 though at the firft afpect they fill the heart with a fublime fenfe of ma- 
 jefty, do not appear fo vaft as they are in reality. Some critics afiirnv. 
 that this is a defed in the ftradure : others maintain that the gradual 
 development of its grandeur, though it does not immediately convey 
 to the eye an idea of its extraordinary magnitude, is but a confequence 
 of its perfea fymmetry ; and I believe that thefe laft are ia the right.. 
 You muft frequently have remarked that beautiful human figures, as. 
 well male as female, appear lefs than thofe of equal fize, that are not fo 
 well formed. I have often made the fame obfervation on trees. The 
 fineft oak I ever faw did not appear to me fo tall, or fo large, as others 
 around it ; which were lefs beautiful, and v/hich in fad were lefs ia 
 
 fize. 
 
 The Pope is a handfome old man, feventy-four years of age. He 
 cxercifes his office with great dignity ; and, if I may be allowed the ex- 
 prelTion, when fpeaking of fo facred a trade, with native grace. The 
 
 inufic,.. 
 
.i/trrj'n 
 
'/^-^'//■.; r/.^r/ ^. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 301 
 
 mufic, which is performed by men, from fifty to fixty in number, and 
 without inftrumental accompaniments, exalts and enraptures the heart 
 of the hearer. The principal perfons ftand in a circle round the altar ; 
 and furrounded by the Swifs guard. This guard, which is really com- 
 pofed of men born in Switzerland, is a gigantic company ; and, on fo- 
 lemn days, is clad in antient armour : which cffed:ually contributes to 
 increafe the folemnity of the whole. 
 
 When the fervice was over, the Pope was placed on a high throne, 
 and borne out of church. The guards marched on each fide of him ; 
 and two men followed the throne, who wore large plumes of white 
 peacock's feathers. The Cardinals walked before the Pope, who be- 
 llowed his benediction on the kneeling people. Our com.pany, and 
 fome other Proteftants, did not kneel ; either to receive the benedic- 
 tion, or when the Pope at mafs raifed the facred chalice, and fhewed 
 it to the people. 
 
 We fuffered all the people to leave the church, in which we after- 
 ward remained about half an hour. The longer we ftaid the more we 
 found the building expanding itfelf to our view. Full of the impref- 
 fi-on it had made upon us, at laft we left it ; but (hall often return. I 
 will lead you thither again, at lead in imagination, when the indivi- 
 dual obfervations I fhall have made, lliall have affumed fomething like 
 the form of a whole. The firft view has overcome my faculties. Like 
 the king of the beafts, it not only reigns but it devours.. 
 
 LET. 
 
3oi TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 Rome, 28th December 179J. 
 
 X HE very day after our arrival, we vlfited our dear country- 
 v/oman, Angelica KaufFmann. This diilinguifhed artift unites the fim- 
 plicity of a great man with all the lovelinefs of the female. 'Kindnefs 
 and dignity beam in her countenance ; confirming all that had been 
 told me of her, by my fifter and feveral friends. 
 
 From Angelica Kauffmann, we went to Counfellor Relfenfteln ; who 
 is an adive open friendly man, and an enthufiaftic lover of the arts. 
 He requefted us to come to him the next morning; and he then fhewed 
 us a picture painted in wax colours. You know that the antients made 
 ufe of thefe colours ; but that the art had been loft. A Spanifh Jefuit, 
 whofe name was Requino, recovered it, and wrote a book on the fub- 
 je6l. Artifts defpifed it ; but Reifenftein read the book, made fome 
 experiments hii»felf, convinced himfelf of the truth of the difcovery, 
 and induced a young painter of talent to exercife the art. After fome 
 trials, he produced an excellent picture ; the fubjedl of which is Ca- 
 tullus confoling Lefbia, for the death of her fparrow ; and beginning 
 his excellent poem, Liigetc Veneres Ciipidlnefque I Catullus is feated: 
 the beauteous Lefbia Hands before him, weeping. A female holds a 
 plate, on which is the dead bird. Something behind the latter, another 
 figure peeps; mocking at the forrow of Lefbia, but unfeen by her. 
 Lefbia is very lovely ; and the figure of Catullus, who is looking at her 
 and writing the firft verfe of his poem in his tablets, is in my opinion 
 excellent. Thefe colours are pleafant, expreffive, and animating ; and 
 have not that fhining glare, which is peculiar to oil colours ; and which 
 obliges the fpedator to remove from fide to fide to find the point of 
 
 view. 
 
 The 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 303 
 
 The art of painting in tliis manner, if I have iinderflood Counfellor 
 Reifenftein rightly, is as follows. Wax and gum are put in water, and 
 placed on the fire. The caput mortuum is depofited ; and the remain- 
 ing oily water is mixed up with colours. Thefe colours, when fnif^ly 
 laid on, are entirely fpiritlefs : but the pi€lure is afterward coated with 
 melted wax. It is then placed with its back toward a chafino* diili 
 properly prepared : by which the fuperfluous wax is taken away. 
 
 Either I miftake, or, the excellent produdlion of this young painter 
 leads us to hope that the loft art will be completely refto'red : if 1 ought 
 not rather to fay that it is reftored. 
 
 The paintings found in Herculaneum prove the durability of this 
 art. They have lain under ground above fifteen hundred years, and 
 are yet frefh : whereas our oil and water colours, fo fitaated, would 
 not have preferved their beauty twenty years. I remember to have 
 read in Plutarch that the paintings with which Pericles adorned one of 
 the temples of Athens, and v/hich Syila brought to Rome, according 
 to the teftimony of hiftorians, who had feen them, were as well pre- 
 ferved as when they came freih from the hands of the artifts. Who 
 can fay the fame of the pidures of Raphael ; or of later m afters ? Yet 
 thofe, which Plutarch faw, had been painted fome centuries longer than 
 th\3fe of Raphael have now been. v 
 
 I have made a vilit to Cardinal Bernis. This old gentleman, who fo 
 many years performed the fplendid character of AmbafTador from France, 
 lives now retired in his palace. All Rome ftill tcftifies great refpect for 
 him : and this behaviour muft be much more flattering to him now 
 than formerly ; becaufe its fmcerity is much lefs liable to be fufpefted. 
 He is an agreeable man, though he begins to feel the weight of years. 
 
 You know that what are called cQfiver%atio72i ^ in Italy, refemble our 
 affemblies ; and they well deferve their name, for there is much more 
 converfation in them than among us, who fpend our time in gaming. 
 Here they leldom play. T. hough the apartments, in which they affem- 
 ble, are much more fpacious thaa in other cities,, yet, the nobility is fo 
 J- numerous 
 
3C4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 •numerous tliat they are often very crowded. People go from one con- 
 vjcr%atione to another : for, as they come uninvited, they are at liberty 
 to ftay or go. 
 
 Here, the animation of the Italians is difplayed, in its full force. To 
 liften to their voices, to obferve their attitudes and gefticulation, you 
 would imagine they were dilcufTnig the moll momentous queftions : 
 but, when you approach and liften to their difcourfe, you are amazed 
 that the fubjed is fo trifling. 
 
 Among the uninftruded, this vivacity difplays itfelf in a tempeftuous 
 manner. Would you imagine that an aflembled crowd were on the 
 very point of drawing the ftiletto, and falling on each other with blind 
 rage, only becaufe, while one had been telling a ftory, others had been 
 ading it with grimace ? I muft however do the Italians the juftice to 
 ewn, that they do not pofiefs vivacity that is merely momentary ; but 
 that they have in general much more true ardour, than is common to 
 other nations ; and when, as it frequently happens, they are infpired 
 by the true and the beautiful, their converfation refembles a ftream of 
 fire. The boldeft and fineft expreffions crowd on each other. Ima- 
 gery and metaphor rapidly hurry them away ; and yet, amidft all their 
 heat, they will ftridly keep to the queftion they are difcuffing. It is 
 delightful to converfe with fuch men. They do not pofTefs the gravity 
 of the antient Romans ; but rather feem to have the argumentative, 
 animated, and pidurefque, powers of the Greeks. The latter are the 
 noble gifts of nature : the former were partly affumed, and partly the 
 confequence of the conftitution of antient Rome. 
 
 I have become acquainted with an Abbate, of the name of Puccini, 
 who is one of the moft witty and animated men I have ever known. 
 He has a fine fenfe of the beauties of poetry; and is a great connoifleur 
 in antient and modern art. He does not, like too many of his coun- 
 trymen, browfe among the brambles ; but enters at once the gates of 
 Paradife, which here open to receive him. 
 
 The fame vivacity is obfervable among the women ; but the wretched 
 
 education 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 305 
 
 education the mofl: of them receive gives it a falfe dlre£llon. Beau- 
 tlfiil faces and forms are feen, among the women of falhion ; but more 
 among the lov^^er orders. In all the parts of Italy that I have vifited, 
 I have met with many women, who might well fit as models for the 
 greateft painters. In reality, we immediately reco^nife the figures of 
 Raphael and Guido, when we look at women with children in their 
 arms, or handling the fpindle ; which, efpecially in Tufcany,^is feldom 
 out of the hands of the women among the poor. 
 
 To a (Iranger, who has but few acquaintance, the converfazioni are 
 likewife interefting by the beautiful pictures, with which the apart- 
 ments are ufually adorned. In the palace of Prince Doria, I lately 
 faw two large apartment'^, the walls of which Vv^ere entirely covered 
 with landfcapes by Poufiin. 
 
 I do not mean Pouflin the famous hiftory painter ; but his brother- 
 in-law, whofe true name was Dughet,v/ho lived in the houfe of Pouflln 
 at Rome, and from that circumflance was likewife called, by the Ro- 
 mans, Pouilin. Few of the principal painters have retained their true 
 names. Correglo was called Corregio from the place of his birth, in 
 the territory of Modena : his proper name was Allegri. The name 
 of Guercino was really Barbieri ; and he was called Guercino becaufe 
 he fquinted : which the word fignified. You may remember that, 
 among the old Romans, it was not held difgraceful to be named after 
 fome bodily defetfl ; and this cuftom they communicated to their de- 
 fcendants. Thus they had Pa^tus^ the fquinting : Verricofus, the 
 warty ; F^ana, the crooked-legged : and many others. Paul Vero- 
 nefe was called after his native city : his name was Cagliari, Alex- 
 ander Veronefe, whofe true name I do not know, Was called the Or- 
 betto^ the blind boy : becaufe, when a boy, he led a blind man. The 
 great Raphael was much oftener called Raphael iVUrbino^ from the 
 place of his birth, than by his family name, Santio. 
 
 The works of great mailers, while they are modern, have frequently 
 the fate not to be elleemed equal to their worth. Thefe paintings by 
 
 Vol, L R r Pouffin 
 
3o6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Pouirm were firft made ufe of as fkreens ; and in feveral of them we 
 ftill perceive the folds. 
 
 Vernet has often related, with unafTuming candour, what fmall and 
 contemptible prices were given at firft for his moft excellent piclures, 
 and how little they were efteemed. 
 
 I faw four beautiful pidures, by Albani, at the palace of the Prince 
 of Santa Croce ; and a noble Aflumption of the Virgin, by Guido. I 
 fuppofed it to be an extraordinarily beautiful copy of the pidure at 
 Diifleldorf ; but it is here affirmed to be an original. This may pro- 
 bably be the truth ; for he was called the painter of the Madonna; and 
 in the figure of the Virgin, we recognife the hand of Guido ; who may 
 w^ellhave painted the fame fubje6l twice: or, what perhaps is more pro- 
 bable, he has retouched a copy, that Vv^as painted by one of his fcholars. 
 
 We went this morning with Mr. Hirt, who is learned in antiquities 
 and arts, to vifit the remains of the TheniKs of Dioclefian. The word 
 Therms may eafily be mifunderftood. It may be fuppofed to mean 
 nothing but warm baths : but the baths were properly no more than 
 acceflbry. The chief purpofe of what was called the Thermse was to 
 form a place for the exercife both of body and mind. The plan 
 and its execution exceed all expreffion. Here, in one row of build- 
 ings, all in harmony with each other, there were four half circular 
 h.'i^ ; which were intended, two for philofophers, one for poets, and 
 another for orators. A Greek and a Latin library, a building for boys 
 to play at ball in, the v/arm baths, ^three fpacious open places, one for 
 wreftlers, one for the calling of the dilcus, the third for throwing the 
 lance and a lar^e bath for fwimmers, all were here. At the two corners, 
 were two round temples ; dedicated one to Minerva, and the other to 
 Hermes (Mercury) ; the firft as the protedrefs of fcience, the fecond 
 as the inventor of bodily exercifes. Perhaps the laft was dedicated to 
 Hercules. One of thefe temples, which conftituted but a very fmall 
 part of the whole, is now become the church of the Bernardines. 
 The whole wall is antient ; as likewife is a beautiful hemifpherical cu- 
 
 pohj 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 307 
 
 pola, at the top of which there was formerly an opeinng, but on which 
 there is now a Uttle covered cupola : which, in the language of archi- 
 tecture, is called a lanthorn. Within the outer row of buildings, there 
 is an alley of green plane trees ; that probably were planted for the 
 recreation of philofophers, poets, and orators. 
 
 The place which was deftined for the wreftlers is now a beautiful 
 Carthufian church, built in the figure of the Greek crofs. One fide of 
 the crofs now occupies the place where formerly the Appodytcrlon^ 
 where the wreftlers undrefFed themfelves, ftood. The large bath, for 
 the fwimmers, is dried up ; and is now the garden of the Carthufians. 
 The Bernardine cloifter, many large granaries of the Pope, and a great 
 laundry, take up the remainder of the place which w^as formerly fct 
 apart for thefe buildings. 
 
 The walls of this laundry are decorated with orange trees ; that 
 now, on the 28th of December, not only bear fruit but are in bloom. 
 A few days ago in the morning, we faw a little ice in the ftreets. In 
 this country, the trees ftrengthen more in the open air than, with us, in 
 the green houfe ; and endure a degree of cold, which would be infup- 
 portable in our climate. The difference between the climate of Italy 
 and of Germany is fo great that it is frequently* colder, here, at the end 
 of December, than it is with us in Odober ; when we find it necefiiiry 
 to remove the orange trees into the green houfe. 
 
 Near thefe Therms is the beautiful Fofitaiia del Aqua Felice ; fo called 
 after Sixtus the Fifrh, whofe proper name was Felix. This Pope reftored 
 the antient aqueducts; and likewife the fountain oiAqua yulia^ that was 
 erected by Agrippa. It is embellifhed with four Ionic columns, between 
 which there are three niches, cut in the hard lime ftone, v\^hich the Italians 
 call Travert'nw\. In the middle niche Mofes ftands, of a cololTal fize ; 
 with his armraifed, in the adl of commanding the water tofpringfrom the 
 rock. The two other niches are ornamented with baffi rclievi: one of which 
 
 * I fufpe£l the word nlcht^ not, has been accidentally omitted. T. 
 f This ftone is found at Tivoli, the antientTibur j and from Tihurtino the Italians have 
 made Traveriino. 
 
 R r 2 reprefents 
 
3o8 TP.AVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 reprefents Aaron, leading the Ifraelites to the fountain ; and the other 
 Gideon, choofmg his warriors at the brook, with whom he meant to 
 fight the Midianites. 
 
 I^eaving this place, we went to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore ; 
 which v>^as built in the middle of the fourth century, during the ponti- 
 ficate of Pope Liberlus, by joliannes Patricius, on the ruins of the tem- 
 ple of ymw Luclna. Within, it was entirely in the form of the antient 
 bafJica^ or court of juftice ; a form, which, according to the acute 
 obfervation of Mr. Hirt, was chofen by the Chriftians for two reafons : 
 firft, bccaufe of their diilike to the Pagan temples : and fecondly, be- 
 caufe the form of the Bafilic befl correfponded with the church fer- 
 vice, and the liturgy of thofe times. To render this idea the more 
 clear, I here enclofe a little drawing. 
 
 e 
 oooooooooooo 
 
 d 
 
 oooooooooooo 
 e 
 
 c 
 
 b^ 
 
 
 a The place of the praetor, among the Romans. 
 
 b Places of the other judges. 
 
 c Places of the pleaders. 
 
 I Places where the people flood, 
 e e J 
 
 The order of this beautiful building was well adapted to the divine 
 
 fervice of the Chriftians. 
 
 a The place of the bifhop. 
 
 b and c Places for the deacons. 
 
 d The congregation. 
 
 c In the body of the church, and between the pillars and the walls, 
 
 on 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 309 
 
 on one fide the women flood : on the other the unbaptlfed converts, 
 the catechumens, and probably the penitents. 
 
 The architects afterward added chapels, on each fide. They then 
 thought again, and enlarged the fides of the ftrudlure ; till the whole 
 building afliimed the form of a Greek crofs ; that is, a crofs the four 
 fides of which are equal. 
 
 By this means the churches loft, not only much of their antient 
 beauty, but likewife the advantage of the biihop being feen and eafily 
 heard, by the whole congregation : which advantage they willingly 
 facriiiced for another ; namely, that of ereding three altars, on each of 
 which mafs might be read. I fay three, becaufe one fide was fet apart 
 for the entrance. 
 
 From this alteration they proceeded to another, and affumed the form 
 of the long crofs ; which has been called the Latin crofs j becaufe, in 
 reality, the Grecian was not the true form of the crofs. The form of 
 this crofs became disfigured,, by chapels eredted on each fide (in which 
 they might place altars) to the number of five, or feven, or even more. 
 
 We Proteftants fhould do well again to revive the antient form of 
 the Bafilic. This word is derived from the Greek BcccriAivs ; which, 
 fignifies /ii^g ; becaufe, in antient times, the kings adminiftered juftice. 
 Without regard to their form, from an abufe of terms, the word Bciji/ic 
 has been applied to the principal church. In conformity to a barba- 
 rous cuftom, to-day being a feftival, the beautiful white marble pillars 
 were hung with red damalk.. 
 
 LET« 
 
3IO TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 T 
 
 LETTER XL VII. 
 
 Rome, 3ifl December 1791. 
 
 HE day before yefterday, we fpent a very pleafant morn- 
 ing, In vifiting St. Peter's with the Abbate Puccini. But do not expedl 
 me to fay any thing of this building at prefent. I muft endeavour to 
 underfland it better; and how fuperiicial at laft will be all I can have 
 to fay ! 
 
 FrorfL the church, he took us to where the mofaic work is executed. 
 This art has been brought to great perfection, by the moderns ; and it 
 may thank the works of the great painters t'lat it will remain, as long 
 as the names of thefe painters (hall be known, I thought I had feeu 
 fome very beautiful mofaic work, before I came to Rome ; but how was 
 I amazed, when I beheld that which is in St. Peter's church ! At 
 certain heights, where the joining of the inlaid pieces difappeared, the 
 degree of beauty and deception which is produced, is inconceivable. 
 
 Among the paintings, here copied in mofaic, is a very beautiful one 
 by Angelica. The youthful Mary, while yet a tender virgin, is pour- 
 ing water into a flower vafe ; in which are blooming lilies. A ray 
 from heaven falls on the holy maiden : her father ftands admiring : 
 her mother is wrapt in maternal ecftacy. The copy, in mofaic 
 work, is intended for the chapel of Loretto. The deftination of the 
 original is not yet fixed. 
 
 We went in the evening to the Palazzo Colomia^ at which there 
 was a concert. This palace exceeds in magnificence all that I have yet 
 feen. The palaces and apartments of our princes and kings are tinfel, 
 compared to the- grandeur of the principal Romans. I will not weary 
 you with defcriptions of common place pomp ; the number of their 
 fervants, the richnefs of their liveries, the colli y illuminations, and 
 
 other 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. q„ 
 
 other fuch trifles, not worth yoar notice : but will imagine the plea- 
 fure you would receive from the pictures, which fill the various apart- 
 ments ; efpecially the great gallery, one of the largeft in Europe, which 
 is entirely faced with marble, and embelliihed with a noble colledion 
 of paintings and antique ftatues. Here you find a profufion of the black 
 African marble ; which was brought from the territories of Carthage, 
 and from which quarries it is no longer dug ; and likewife four fine 
 antique pillars of giallo antico^ as it is called, or yellow marble, from 
 the fame country, which is now become equally rare. 
 
 Our princes, as well as many private perfons, who pretend to pomp 
 and grandeur, fhould behold the Roman magnificence, and quit thefe 
 pretenfions, by which they are fo much eclipfed : their own are as 
 detrimental as they are infignificant. 
 
 Yefterday morning, we vifited the ColofTeum. Before 1 fay any 
 thing of thefe grand remains of Roman antiquity, I will requeft you^ 
 to accompany me, in imagination, through the triumphal arches of 
 Conftantine, of Titus, of Septimius Severus, of the ruins of antient tem- 
 ples, which you will recognife partly from hiftory and partly from the 
 defcriptions of the poets, and thence through the Forum to the 
 Gapitol.. 
 
 Here, which was properly the feat of antient Rome, the remains of 
 antiquity feem colle(f;ted ; and only fcattered through other parts of the 
 city, though ftill found in plenty. Having pafied all thefe, we mud 
 repofe at the Colofieum. 
 
 Chariot races, and exercifes of (Irength and adivity, in the time of 
 the elder Tarquin, were the delight of the Romans ; who aifembled, for 
 thefe purpofes, in a fpacious oval place called the Great Circus. In thofe 
 days, the fpedators flood; in later ages they fat on wooden benches, 
 placed in rows one above the other. 
 
 Dramat'c reprefentations were not performed in ftationary theatres; 
 but on fcafib ding, which was quickly erected and removed. The law 
 did not permit them to build durable theatres : but the law feldom can 
 
 I reprefs 
 
312 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 reprefs the fplrlt of luxury, which here bad the unfortunate property of 
 combining the creations of genius with the madnefs of folly. In the 
 year of Rome 599, the Cenfors, Marcus Valerius Meflala, and Caius 
 Caflius Longinus, whofe duty it was to reftrain the increafe of luxury, 
 built a fuperb theatre ; which was pulled down before it was finifhed, 
 becaufe P. Scipio Nafica, whom thefenate declared to be a man of jufl 
 intentions, oppofed it with his whole power. 
 
 In the year of Rome 694, jEmilius Scaurus, the ftepfon of Sylla, 
 built a theatre which would contain eighty thoufand fpedators. I he 
 fcenes were of three partitions : the undermoft of marble, the middle of 
 glafs*, and the upper of gilded wood. It v/as adorned by three hundred 
 and fixty marble pillars, and three thoufand brazen ftatues; and, when 
 the performance of the games was ended, the whole was removed by 
 Scaurus. 
 
 The expence, in pidures, tapeftry, drefs, and other articles, w^as fo 
 great that, when his country houfe was fet on fire by his mutinous 
 flaves, the lofs was eftimated at three millions of rix-doUars ; which 
 unheard of fum the theatre itfelf muft have coft. 1 hefe fums were 
 the fruit of the robberies which Metella, the wife of Sylla, had fhared 
 with her blood-thirfty hufband. Scaurus however was fo deeply in 
 debt that the province of Sardinia, which, as Praetor, he opprelTed and 
 plundered, was infufficient for the reinftatement of his affairs. 
 
 In the year of Rome 701, Curio, whofe wealth, as Pliny tells us, 
 originated in the contefts of the principal men of Rome, determined to 
 excel Scaurus as much in novelty of invention as he was inferior to 
 him in enormity of expence. At the death of his father, he caufed 
 two theatres to be built. You know that the theatres of the antients 
 had always the figure of a femicircle ; and that their amphitheatres 
 were either circular or oval. The theatre which was dedicated to the 
 
 * Pliny xxxvl. 15. Lua pars fcena e marmore fuit^ med'ui e vitro, hiaudUo et poftea 
 geriere Itixu •'a. — Clafs can mean nothing but ornamented ivith glafs : however, we 
 have but a very imperfedl idea ot the ornamental magnificence of the antients. 
 
 exercife 
 
l^RAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ojh 
 
 •cxercife of genius was of Greek invention : the amphitheatre of Ro- 
 man ; that the citizens, in the latter, might be fpcdiators of racing, 
 wreftling, leaping, the fighting of wild heafts, and the combats of 
 gladiators. The two theatres of Curio were built with their backs 
 toward each other ; but fo that there was an empty fpace between them. 
 A dramatic piece was performed in each of them, in the morning. In 
 the afternoon, the theatres were both changed ; for, while the people 
 were feated upon high gradations of benches, the hinges were fo artfully- 
 contrived that the theatres met each other : fo that the whole fuddenly 
 formed an amphitheatre, in which com.batants prefenteda newfped:acle *. 
 In the year 488 after the building of the city, the fanguinary com- 
 bats between gladiators were iirft exhibited in the Circus, by M. and 
 D. Brutus ; who intended by this means to honour the funeral of their 
 father. The people of Campania indulged in the combats of the gla- 
 diators more early, and even during their banquets. This frantic love 
 of cruelty rapidly increafed. In the year of Rome ^^6, the fons of 
 M. Jimilius Lepidus, intending to honour their father's memory, had 
 games performed vv^hich continued three days, and in which twenty- 
 two pair of gladiators combated. Thirty-three years afterward, 
 feventy gladiators fought. 
 
 It became cuftomary for every general, before he undertook any 
 expedition, to prefent this prelude of murder to the people. Casfar 
 maintained, fome thoufands of gladiators, at his ov/n expence ; and, 
 when Jidile, exhibited games in which three hundred and tw^enty pair 
 entered the field of battle. Trajan, that pride of the Pagan world ! 
 Trajan, the greateft and moil benevolent of the Emperors ! Trajan, 
 whofe virtue, after he became Emperor, was proverbial, " As fortu- 
 nate as Auguftus, as virtuous as Trajan!" even Trajan indulged this 
 practice. He gave games during a hundred and twenty days fuccef- 
 fively, in which there were ten thoufand gladiators, 
 
 * Pliny xxxvi. 15. 
 
 Vol. L S f Auguflus 
 
314 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Auguftus made a law by which private individuals, who thought 
 proper to prefent the people with fuch fpedacles, Ihould be limited not 
 to expend above half their ftibftance. 
 
 The people expreffed their joy, when a gladiator received his death 
 wound, with wild (houts : crying, Habet I Hoc habet ! Some of the 
 combatants engaged each other with fimilar weapons : fuch were often 
 called Samnites ; not becaufe they really were Samnitcs, but becaufe 
 the Romans, full of ignoble antipathy againft a people who had refifted 
 their arms for a hun-dred years, delighted in beholding the murder of 
 a Samnite. 
 
 Cruelty once indulged is not eafily fatiated. It requires variety of 
 murder, and its horrible neceffities make it inventive. Gladiators, 
 who held an elaftic net in their right hand, and a three pronged wea- 
 pon in the left, endeavoured to cafl the net over the head of their op- 
 ponent ; and then to pierce him with their prongs. If the attempt 
 failed, the antagonift purfued the aflailant to death. Hence the latter 
 was called the Secutor^ pnrfuer ; and the former Retiarius^ the net 
 bearer. 
 
 The net bearers combated alfo with armed Gauls, who were called 
 Mirm'iUones. The latter bore the figure of a fifh on a helmet. Thefe 
 Mirmillones endeavoured to efcape the net bearer, by ducking the 
 head, and at the fame moment to give a blow in the foot, that fhould 
 difable his enemy ; that he might afterward deftroy him. It was 
 ufual for- the net bearer, as he followed the Mirmillon, to exclaim, 
 Non te peto, pifcempeto : ^iid'mcfugis^ Galle f I do not aim at thee, but 
 at thy fifti : Why doft thou % me, Gaul * ? 
 
 If a gladiator exprefled a fenfe of pain, after being wounded, or 
 ailced for his life, the people, enraged, would frequently exclaim, 
 
 * An allufion is no doubt made to the gladiators, and perhaps to this kind of gla- 
 diator, by Terence j when he makes his eld man, Simo, florming at his fon for being in 
 love with a girl, exclaim, Capitis ejl } habet. Ter. An. atl. I. fc. i. 
 
 Occlde ! 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG; ^i^ 
 
 Decide ! we ! vet^bera ! * Kill ! burn ! whip him ! I remember fome- 
 where to have read that they had the crueltv to ap|)ly burning irons 
 to the half expiring, that they might induce thc!n to exert their fmall 
 remains of powder. 
 
 Sometimes the people pardoned fuch gladiators as had formerly ex- 
 celled in agility, or courage. The raifmg of the hand, with the thumb 
 lowered, was a token that they fhould live. The hand Ihut, with the 
 thumb raifed, was the fign of death. It was ufual for the people to 
 cry, Recipe ferrum ! Receive the fword ! 
 
 As foon as a combatant w^as dead, flaves, w^hofe office it was, entered 
 drove a hook into his body, and dragged him away through the Porta 
 Libiti?m^ or gate of death, to bury him. 
 
 The gladiators were, fome of them prifoners of war; fome free per- 
 fons, who had ftudied the art ; and others foundlings, whofe education 
 deftined them to this trade. 
 
 The inftrudtor of thefe combatants w^as called Lanijla. The fchool 
 in which they were trained was a large building, in which thofe who 
 were fet apart to murder, or to be murdered, were exercifed. 
 
 They were not at liberty to go where they pleafed, when not exer- 
 cifmg ; but were each fhut up in a different cell, like dogs in their 
 kennel. In the latter times of the republic, thefe gladiators were 
 made fubfervient to the ambition of the powerful ; and were let loofe, 
 among the people, like hounds among wdld beafts. 
 
 When the people granted a gladiator his life, it was frequently only 
 for the day : he muft again attend the games on the morrow ; and, per- 
 haps, during their whole continuance, though they fhould be but jufl 
 begun. Whoever had vanquifhed feveral opponents one after the 
 other, received a fword of wood, rudis ; wdiich was encircled with 
 palm J and he was from that time releafed from the Arena of the gla- 
 
 * Seneca. 
 S f 2 diators. 
 
3i6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 diators. He then hung up his fword, his fhield, and his hehnet, in 
 the temple of Hercules *. 
 
 Free gladiators, who hired themfelves, were paid a great price ; and 
 the Rudiarii a much greater : for this was the epithet bellowed on thole 
 •who had received the wooden fword. 
 
 In the times of the Emperors, the Roman citizens, knights, and 
 fenators, degraded themfelves with combating with hired gladiators and 
 flaves. The Emperor Commodus prefented himfelf as a gladiator, and 
 received for each day out of the gladiators treafiiry, ly, ran u uvofxtx^ixo^v 
 ^oYfuaTMv t J about fifty thoufand rlx dollars. He was remarkably pow- 
 erful in combating with wild beafts. 
 
 In the time of Domitian, female gladiators rofe up ; and the Romans 
 
 * Horace has a beautiful allufion to this cuftom, when Maecenas wiilies again to induce; 
 him to write. 
 
 Prima d'lcle mihi, fumma d'lcende Camoena, 
 SpeBaiumfaiis et dotmtuinjam rude quarts y 
 Macettas^ iterum atitiquo me iticludere Itido. 
 Noti eadem ejl eztas^ non metis. FejaniuSy armis 
 Herculis ad pcf.em fix\s^latct ahditus ogroy 
 Ne populum extrema loties exorct arena. 
 
 HoR. lib. i. ep. i. i — 6^ 
 
 O Thou to whom the Mufe firfl: tun'd her lyre, 
 Whofe friendfliip fhall her latefl fong infpire,. 
 Wherefore, Mscenas, would you thus engage 
 Your bardj difmilTed with honour from the ftage. 
 Again to venture on the lifts of Fame, 
 His youth, his genius, now no more the fame ? 
 
 Secure in his retreat Vejauius lies, 
 Hangs up his arms, nor courts the doubtful prize j 
 Wifely refolv'd to tempt his fate no more. 
 Or the light crowd for his difcharge implore. 
 
 Francis.. 
 
 f Dion Caflius. 
 
 were 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 0^7 
 
 were at laft fo addided to this fanguinary fpedacle that, like theh'pre- 
 decefTors the people of (Campania, they had them at their feafts. 
 
 Certain combatants fought in chariots, and were called Ejfcdiarii, 
 Others fought on horfeback,, with deep helmets ; fo that they could 
 not fee each other ; and thus ran the courfe, witii then- fpears, blind- 
 fold. 
 
 When once a people are accuftomed to the fight of blood, the lufl 
 of indulging fuch horrible fpedlacles increafes to the moft outrageous 
 phrenfy. Political confiderations fhould have taught the free Romans 
 that a favage nation is incapable of liberty. And how favage mud that 
 nation be, vv^hofe very matrons, and veftals, were accuRomed to fucli. 
 fpedtacles ! 
 
 Thefubjeded Greeks were late in adopting thefe pradlices. When,. 
 In the time of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, it was propofed to the 
 Athenians to introduce them, in imitation of the Corinthian gladia- 
 tors, the philofopherDemonax exclaimed, with noble indignation, Oh,, 
 men of Athens, rife, before you indulge in battles like thefe, rife, 
 and demolifli the altars which your fathers have erected to Mercy ! 
 
 Conftantine, the firft Chrlftian Emperor, though not able entirely 
 to fupprefs this horrid pradlice, forbad it ; being excited fo to do by 
 Ladlantius. Under the Emperor Honorius, when Prudentius, a Chrif- 
 tian poet, had endeavoured to obtain the abolition of thefe fpedacles, 
 Telemachos, a hermit of the Eaft, appeared in the amphitheitrei^ As 
 foon as the combat had begun, he defcended, with a dignified fimpli- 
 city, inflamed by the fpirit of benevolence and holy zeal, into the 
 Arena, and endeavoured to prevent the combatants from murdering 
 each, other. The fpedtators, enraged, rofe and ftoned him. Perhaps 
 there may be fome who will feel inclined to ridicule the fimplicity of 
 this dignified man ; though, had it been the ad: of a Heathen phiiofo- 
 pher, they would have admired and cited it as exemplary. Telema- 
 chos however was the laft facrifice to this accurfed cuftom, Honorius 
 
 7 was 
 
31? THAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 vas moved, forbad the games of the gladiators, and from that period 
 they were entirely aboUfhed. 
 
 A fliort time before, it was proved, by the example of a young man, 
 how feducing the fight of bloodfhed is ; and how little man can depend 
 on his own 'refolution, Alipus came from Africa to Rome, filled v>^ith 
 abhorrence againft the games of the Amphitheatre. Some youths, who 
 were his fellov/ frudents in the law, entreated, teafed, and dragged him, 
 that they might forcibly make him accompany them to the fpedacle. 
 " You may oblige my body to go," faid Alipus, " but I will forbid 
 niy eves and my foul to take any part in the ad : they fhall triumph, 
 they fhall remain unmoved." They took him v/ith them, and found 
 the fpcctators heated by the fight of the combatants. Alipus fliut his 
 eyes and confirmed himfelf in his refolution. A loud cry of pleafure, 
 from the people, occafioned him to waver. He looked, and faw the 
 blood ftream.ing from the death wound of a gladiator. " At that in- 
 ftant," faid St. Auguftin, " his foul was overcome : he beheld the 
 blood without emiOtion ; and unconfcioufly to himfelf, imbibed cruelty, 
 excited rage in himfelf, reveled in crime, and fuddenly w^allowed in 
 blood ^." 
 
 He left the amphitheatre a changed man, and no longer abftained 
 fi-om vifiting it ; but rather was the encourager of others. 
 
 He attended the fchool of Rhetoric, in which Auguftin taught ; and 
 this holy man, having introduced the fubjed: of gladiators, fpoke fo as 
 to make a deep impreffion on the heart of Alipus. He debated with 
 himfelf, returned no more to the amphitheatre, and became an excellent 
 man, and a bifhop. By his virtuous life, he proved an enlightened 
 and warning example to his congregation. 
 
 I fhould not be aftonifhed, could we live to fee it, were we to behold 
 
 * Ut vidit ilium fa^igmnenif immanitatem Jimul ehihit ; et noti fe avert'it-, fed jlxit afpeclum^ 
 £i hauriebat fiirias et nejcichaty et deleclabatur fcelere certami?iisy et cruenta vohiptate hi" 
 ehr'iehatiiw 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 31^ 
 
 lawgivers of a nation, who have openly renounced the bleffinrs of 
 Chrilllanity, a thoufand years hence, again to introduce a cufloin fo 
 difgraceful to human nature. They may probably, from fome delufioii 
 of political blindnefs, or fome mifguided phrenfy, endeavour in this 
 manner to fatisfy the blood thii-fty propenfity of a people who fhall 
 have been accuftomed to the murder of their fellow-citizens. Inftead 
 of hounds, the Perfian hunter takes a fmall kind of tiger behind him 
 on his horfe ; having firft bandaged the animal's eyes. As foon as lie 
 difcovcrs his prey, he tears the bandage from the eyes of the ti;-^er 
 which fprings down, purfues the beaft, feizes upon him. and, catchinp- 
 him by the throat, drinks his blood. Having fatiated his third he 
 leaves the dead animal to the hunter ; who takes up the carcafe and 
 blinding the eyes of the tiger, again places him on his horfe. Should 
 the hunted animal efcape, the tiger is raging ; and his mafter ap- 
 proaches him warily, fmiling throws him a lamb, which he brou-rht 
 for the purpofe, and, when the tiger has drunk the blood, blinds 
 him again, but not without danger, and again purfues his Vv^-ay. 
 
 The firil permanent theatre was built by Pompey ; and the firft perma- 
 nent amphitheatre by Statilius Taurus. The games were firft acted in 
 the time of Auguftus. Vefpafian undertook to ered: one v/liich llioul'd 
 be as capacious as poffible : that is, that its aim fhould be to contain the 
 greateft number of fpe6lators, the moft diftant of whom fhould have a 
 clear view of the whole games. This purpofe was accomplilhed by 
 an architedt, whofe name was Gaudentius. He aftervv\ard became a 
 Chriftian ; and, like many other martyrs, Vv'as throv^m to the wild beafts, 
 in the amphitheatre that he had built. 
 
 This ft rupture was ered:ed by Vefpafian after his war with the Jews ; 
 ten thoufand of whom, his prifoners, were employed on the building. 
 Titus opened it with games ; and thus confecrated it to the memory of 
 his father, Vefpafian ; after whom, taking the family name of thefe 
 Emperors, it was called Amphitheatrum Flavmn, 
 
 The 
 
.^e TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The f;rcateR combat that Rome ever faw was given here by Domi- 
 tian ; the brother and fucceflbr of Titus. This Amphltheairiim Flavinm 
 was more frequently called the Colojfcum : from a colofTal ftatiie, Vv'hich 
 Nero had placed in the entrance hall of his palace. It was the figure of 
 Phoebus, to which Nero had given his own head. VefpaGan took away 
 the head of Nero, replaced it with another^ and removed the ftatue very 
 near the amphitheatre. 
 
 The Colojjhim is of an oval form. The Arena ^ or place for the com- 
 batants and wild beads to fight in, v^^as five hundred and eighty feet 
 lone;, and four hundred and eighty feet broad. The height of the build- 
 ing was fuppofed to be a hundred and fixty feet. The circumference, 
 and the v/alls to the north, are entirely preferved. The benches con- 
 tain places for eighty-fix thoufand fpectators ; with room for tvv^enty 
 thoufand that might (land. The lovN^eft rows of benches were for the 
 veftals and fenators- Above them there were feveral rows, rifmg in 
 giada.tion, for the Roman knights : above thefe the citizens fat ; over 
 them the vromen ; and, on the higheft feats of all, the principal ma- 
 trons. Above the fpedators flood the men whofe office it was to 
 fhade the whole building, by cloth : for the theatre and amphitheatre 
 were frequently prote<fled from the fun beams in this manner '''. The 
 
 great 
 
 * This piTiclIce was kno'.vn in the times of the republic. Q^Catulus firfl threw a 
 cloth over a theatre, when he rebuilt the Capitol, in the year of Rome 68 and confecrated 
 it, fourteen years after it had been burnt down f . Cjefar covered the whole Forum with 
 canvas, fo as to fliade -the way from his houfe to the Capitol 1. Lucretius, who was a con- 
 .temporary of Cicero, fpeaking of the effetl of the colours, fays, 
 
 JE.t volgo faciunt id lutea^ riijfaque vela, 
 Et ferrugitiaj cum magfiis intent a theatris 
 Per malos volgala trabeifque trementia jlutaitt : 
 Namjue ibi confejfum caveat fiibtcr^ et omneni 
 SccJiaifpeciem, Patruniy Mcdrumque^ Deorumqtie 
 
 f Plin. xix. cap. \. % Ibid, 
 
 Jnjiciunty 
 
,JL C.'L.. 
 
TRAX^ELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 321 
 
 great tribune of the Emperors was placed in the centre, between the 
 feats of the fenators. There were three rows of arcades, rifing each 
 aft)0ve the other, and each fupported by pillars. The imdermoft were 
 
 Injiciunty coguntque fiio Jluitare colore: 
 Et quanta circitm mage funt ineliifa theatri 
 Moetiioy tain magls hxc intus perfiifa lepore 
 
 Omnia conrident conrepta luce diet. 
 
 LucRET. *iv. 73 — 8r. 
 
 Thus when pal curtains, or the deeper red, 
 O'er all the fpacious theatre are fpread, 
 Which mighty mads and fturdy pillars bear, 
 And the loofe curtains wanton in the air, 
 Whole fireams of colours from the top do flow, 'v 
 The rays divide them in their paflage through, I 
 And (lain the fcenes, and men, and gods below : J 
 The more thefe curtains fpread, the pleafing dye 
 Rides on the beams the more, and courts the eye. 
 
 Creech, V. 75. 
 
 It was not fufficientfor the Romans to be fhaded by canvas, which was very coflly, bu!: 
 "^hey would have fine canvas, of different colours; and pleafed themfel^'es with the w,j. 
 ving brightnefs of thefe colours, which, as Lucretius fays, "wanton in the air," Ncio 
 fpread an entirely gilded theatre over with tapeflry •, in the centre of which he was repre- 
 fented, as a charioteer. Phcebus, no doubt ; for he was furrounded by ftars. Tluis that 
 which, in the t'i^rie of Catulus, was efteemed an unheard-of luxury, a few ao-cs afterward 
 b.ecame a neceflary. The tyrant Caligula was accufed of tyranny , for having frequently, 
 during the games of the gladiators, ordered the canvas, which fhaded the people from 
 the great heat of the fun, to be drawn back, and forbidden any one to leave the theatre *. 
 In thefe luxurious times, the Romans, in order to frefhen the air, had the cuflom of 
 mixing water, v/ine, and faffron f together; and, by the means of concealed machines, 
 to ftiower it down, from tiie higheft feats, over the opprefled fpe61ators, as a gentle rain. 
 The humidity fell llowly, like a finking cloud. We learn, from Seneca, that the coni- 
 preiTion of the air refifted thefe faflVon ihowers. Nor did they content themfelves with 
 the ufe of common faffron l; they gathered the crocus of the promontory of Coryctis : for 
 this plant certainly grew in the Coryciian Antrum of CUlc'ia. They likeu'ife covered the 
 theatre over with the expenfive atul purple cloth of Spain. 
 
 • Suet. Cal. cap. xxvi. t Sen. Nat. Qusft. lib. ii. 9, andSsn.Ep. 90.1 * Maternus 
 
 Ciljiio, RiJm. Alierth. i ih.f. 398. 
 
 Vol. L T t of 
 
jii TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 
 
 of th« Doric order, the next of the Ionic, and the uppermoft of the 
 Corinthian. As it was cuftomary for the anti-ents to introduce differ- 
 ent orders, they took care to place the fimpleft order, which fliould 
 have the charader of grandeur and folidity, as the fupport of the ligliter 
 and more ornamental. This was done to delight the eye, and to give 
 the greater reality of appearance. With equally ftrid and yet more 
 neceffary attention, they had learned the art of communicating folidity 
 to their prodigious buildings, by making the lighter mafs reft upon the 
 heavier. Thus they laid the light tufa ftone on the hard lime ftone ; 
 and upon the tufa the brick. 
 
 The uppermofl: arches are of another kind of porous tufa ftone, 
 which is lighter even than the brick. 
 
 1 fend you an engraving of the Colofleum, which v/ill give you a 
 better idea of the whole than any I can communicate j for I am but a 
 novice in the art of architedure. 
 
 We mounted to the feats of the citizens ; and, high as we were, we 
 could very plainly look down on the are/ia : nor is there any doubt but 
 that the ftiU higher matrons had their full view ; to favour which the 
 fpedators fat in half darknefs, and the light fell full on the place of 
 adion. 
 
 The Colofleum was built on the fpot which had been a fifli pond, 
 appertaining to what was called the golden palace of Nero. This pa- 
 lace, w4th its buildings, porticos, gardens, ponds, and baths, included a 
 great part of the antient city, three of its hills, the Palatine, theEfqui- 
 line, the CGelius, and ail the fpace between thefe places. Rome proper, 
 in thefe unfortunate times, became uninhabited. The citizens lived in 
 the foburbs. The Emperor's paffion for building could not find 
 fpace fufhcicnt in the city. Thus, many of the wonders of archi- 
 tedure were deftroyed : buildings by which their founders had endea- 
 voured to immortalize their names : and thus Nero, after the man- 
 ner of defpots, fearful of being forgotten, laboured to eftablifti his own 
 memory. His golden palace, however, was foon deftroyed ; and the 
 
 place 
 
Jj^erJV, 
 
 ZMrrJZm. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. -2. 
 
 place where it ftood was occupied by the ColofTeum, and the baths of 
 Titus. 
 
 On all fides of the ColofTeum there were works of art. Fir ft there 
 was the Coloffal Phoebus ; from which the building took its name, and 
 which was a hundred and forty fpans in height. Second, the Vrjaitum ; 
 or the enclofed place in which the wild beafts were kept. Third, a 
 portico, which led from the palace to the ColofTeum ; and, laftly, the 
 Meta fudansy or fweating goal ; which is the name of a fountain, fo 
 called, becaufe, like the goals of the Circus, its form wai.conicaU It is 
 now fallen, and the inner fedion of it only remains*. 
 
 Not far from the ColofTeum are the ruins of a temple ; which was 
 dedicated to Phoebus and Diana. It refled on two femi rotundas \ the 
 back parts of which touch each other. 
 
 On another fide, the triumphal arch of Conftantine remains. It is 
 in good prefervation ; and, for the moft part, is embellifhed with fla- 
 tues, and ba/Ti relievi, of antient times. The grandeur of art had ceafed 
 before the time of Conftantine. The love of the wonderful had ex- 
 tinguiftied the perception of the fublime. The bafli relievi, which are 
 of the time of Conftantine, disfigure the triumphal arch as much as it 
 is ornamented by thofe above mentioned. Among the laft are four 
 large ftatues of generals conquering the enemy. 
 
 One baiTo relievo appeared to me excellent. You muft remember 
 that Trajan, after his vidories over the Daci, refufed the honours of a 
 triumph, alighted from his horfe, and entered the city followed by 
 prodigious multitudes. Here, he is reprefented, with the people, led 
 by the Goddefs of Rome, and followed by VIdory ; by whom he is 
 crowned. Above, there are beautiful figures, in alto relievo, of the 
 
 * I afterward faw a reprefentation of this fountain on a pedeftal ; which, if I do not mif- 
 t'ake, was in the Mufeum Plum Clementhium. The water fpvang from a high fiTell-forme4 
 cone. From the fhell it ran through pipes, into the hollow cone ; from which it ftreamed, 
 through the open jaws of lions, to fatisfy the thirfty people, who flood under tlie fxiell. 
 
 T t 2 time 
 
3H TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 time of Marcus Aurellus, which reprefeat the deeds of his father, An- 
 toninus Pius. 
 
 Over the triumphal arch, there is the figure of tlie hero, as a con- 
 queror, in bronze, in a chariot with four horfes. 
 
 From this, we went to the triumphal arch of Titus. Among other 
 things, you here fee the river Jordan, one of the feven branched can- 
 dleilicks of the Temple, and a table with the fhevz-bread, carried in 
 triumph. In the hollow of the arch, above, is the apotheofis of Ti- 
 tus ; typified by an eagle bearing him away : a proof that this monu- 
 ment was created after his death. The Jews, to this day, do not pafi 
 through the arch ; but on one fide. 
 
 Leaving the triumphal arch of Titus, on the right you fee the ruins 
 of the temple of Peace ; which appears to have been the largeft of thofe 
 that were created by the Romans. You then come to the ruins of the 
 temple of Romulus and Remus ; and afterward of thofe that were 
 built by the Senate to M. Aurelius Antoninus and his wicked wife 
 Fauftina. 
 
 On the left are the beautiful remains of the temple of Concord ; 
 the work of Camillus, on reconciling the People and the Senate, after 
 their dangerous difl^enfions. It was in this temple that Cicero ailem- 
 bled the Senate, and obtained judgment againft Lentulus and Cethe- 
 gus, who were confpirators with Catiline. 
 
 Near this, on the fame fide, are the ruins of the temple that was firft 
 built by Romulus, on the fpot where the Sabine women, after being 
 reconciled to their hufbands, and having borne them children, had 
 rufhed into the field of battle, and perfuaded the Sabines and the Ro- 
 mans to make peace*. He called it the temple of Jupiter Stator, 
 Jupiter the Preventor. Neither of thefe temples, however, are of the 
 time of Romulus and Camillus; but of Adrian, by whom they were 
 built to replace the others, after the great fire of Rome. 
 
 ^ Liv. i* 13. 
 
 From 
 
.^fter Ptniri, 
 
 1 rfy!tifiC.<f tn'tiw t,m/'/to/\ru/>/Urroihms. 5 rrinp/e ofAntom)(^'' ^"'""'"' ■ ^^ The ih/ossaim . 
 
 S Vci'tioes or^/ie mnp/e oi" Cvrfavr/ . 6 Tmiple ofHonn^^''- ^4 TcinpiioftJicSu/ia/t(///iiM«i»i. 
 
 .■i Jrrh of\^rptimiu.v Saerux. 7 S.FroJuesai Jioii *' Vtwrr,;ej.- oTthc ThcmM,- or TitJis. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 325 
 
 From thence, we came to tho Forum Romaimm^ which is now called 
 the Campo Vacchio ; or Cow field ; becaufe it lerves as the beaft market. 
 We found it full of cattle, and hogs. What a change in mortal affairs! 
 The paflage of Virgil ftrongly recuced to my recollection, when T 
 heard the lowing of the cattle on the Roman Forum, in which he re- 
 lates that, above four hundred years before the founding of Rome, 
 Evander led iEneas to his poor hut, and the hero there heard cattle 
 IbWj.from the place where the Forum was afterward ered:ed. 
 
 ^allbiis inter fe diBis nd tecla fubtbant 
 
 Pauperis Evatidriy pajjlmque ar merit a videbant 
 
 Komanoqiie foro et lautis mitgire Carinis *. 
 
 ViRG. i^n. viii. 359 — 61. 
 Difcourfing thus together, they refort 
 
 Where poor Evander kept his country court. 
 
 They view'd the ground of Rome's litigious hall : 
 
 Gfice oxenlow'd, where now th^ lawyers bawl. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Before us now flood the Capitol- — 
 
 Cap'itoli Immobile faxtim I 
 
 Under the hill of the Capitol, three' pillars are ftih (landing of the 
 templew^hich was built by Auguftus, to fulfil a vow, made by him' at 
 ffeeing a man ftruck dead by lightning at his fide. Suetonius relates an 
 anecdote, which characterizes the fuperftition of the Romans. Auguftus 
 frequently vifited the temple oi Jupiter TofWfis ; and he once dreamed 
 that the Jupiter of the Capitol complained, becaufe he had occafioned 
 his altars to be forfaken. To this he replied, that he had appointed the 
 Thundering Jupiter his doorkeeper. Auguftus afterward hung up bells 
 in the temple of the Thunderer j becaufe it was cuftomary to hang up 
 bells at doors f . 
 
 We afcended the fteps of the Capitol ; which the Vakrii, the Fubiiy 
 
 * Carina (fhip keels) : fo a place of Rome was called. Virgil calls it Carinas lautas, 
 becaufe beautiful palaces in after times were built there. 
 
 t Suet, in vita Od. 91. 
 
 and 
 
326 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ^nd the Scipios, had afcended as conquerors of nations. They are 
 now fo convenient, low, and broad, that they are eafy of afcent. We 
 gratified ourfelves with a fuperficial view of the antiquities, and with 
 the thought that we were in the CapitoL We fhall foon examine it 
 more at our leifure : I fnall then fend you fuch remarks as I have to 
 
 make. 
 
 To-day, we vifited the V/ila Liidovifi ; which belongs to the Princes 
 of Piomblno di Cafa Buoncompagm^ and is only open once a week, on 
 a Saturday in the forenoon. It confifts of two buildings, feparated by 
 the garden. Dominichino was the builder of the principal edifice : for 
 this artift was not only a great painter, but alfo an excellent archited. 
 The garden is a fine one ; though, like moll of the Italian gardens, it 
 is chiefly planted with evergreens : which, in general, have not that 
 charader of lovelinefs that is fo delightful in the foliage of other trees. 
 
 The Italians appear as if they build only for fummer, and plant only 
 for winter. In the winter their houfes are cold, and their gardens are 
 
 green. 
 
 The Ludovifi garden is full of beautiful laurel, of Fibur?mfn-Laurus^ 
 Thymus^ which is now in full bloom, of the fine Italian pine, the P/- 
 nus Pinea of Linnseus, which grows in the form of an umbrella, and is 
 fo often feen in the landfcapes of Hackaert, of the prickly oak, and of 
 the large cyprefs; which, were it fuffered to have its free growth, would, 
 like all things in nature, have its peculiar beauties. Immediately facing 
 the principal building, there are two fine large wild aih trees. 
 
 This villa contains fome excellent antiques : among others, a re- 
 pofing Mars, as fome fay, with a little cajoling Cupid between his legs. 
 It is evident that another ftatue belonged to the group ; which conjec- 
 ture fuppofes to have been Venus. Others are of opinion that this is a 
 ftatue of Jafon ; and that the figure that is wanting is a Medea. 
 
 A Faun, with the^vvV/.v, or fhort flute of reeds, is very beautiful. 
 
 A Mercury is not without its excellence j but is not light enough 
 
 for the meflTenger of the gods. 
 
 Oppofice 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 327 
 
 Oppofite to this ftands a Bacchus ; of which the thigh, and torfo^ or 
 body, from the neck to the hip, are inimitable for foftnefs and beauty: 
 all the reft of the figure has been added, by an unfkilful hand. 
 
 A large Venus here is affirmed, from the tellimony of coins, to 1^ a 
 copy of the famous Venus of Praxiteles ; as worfhipped in Cnidos. 
 But how inferior muft this copy be to the celebrated original ! * 
 
 Two groups deferve particular attention : one of them is called, Pa- 
 pirius and his mother. You recolleft there was a Papirius who took 
 his fon, ahoy of fourteen, with him to the Senate; that his mother quef- 
 tioned him, concerning what the Senate was tranfadiing ; and that the 
 boy made her believe that this aflembly was difcuffing, whether it were 
 better for a 'man to have two wives, or a w^oman two hufbands. 
 
 Others fay this group reprefents Phsedra and Hippolytus : but, 
 though the female figure is full of tendernefs, it is w^ithout paffion. 
 The moft probable conjecflure is that the great fculptor intended to re- 
 prefent the difcovery of Oreftes and Eledra. The name of the artift 
 is under the group : Mevs^ccos Xre(pocv3 y.cc^fnri; i-oicu This is the 
 work of Menelaus, the fcholar of Stephanus. It is a group of high' 
 beauty ; particularly the tender countenance of the female figure. 
 
 The famous Partus and Arria compofe an excellent group. She Is 
 finking in death, he fupporting her with the left arm, and with the 
 right piercing himfelf with a fword. But he is naked ; and {lie is not 
 in the Roman coftume : neither have they their hair after the Roman 
 manner, nor have they the countenances of Romans. 
 
 To this may be added that the artift, if he meant to tell the ftory of 
 Partus and Arria, did not choofe the proper point of time. He fliould 
 have taken the moment when the heroine, drawing the dagger bleeding 
 from her bofom, and looking with inexpreffible aiTeclion at her hufband^ 
 laid to him, prefenting the weapon, F^ete^ non dolet I Partus, it pains 
 not ! The more feeble Partus ftiould not have been (hewn as fup- 
 porting her. The ftory thus told does not contradict hiliiorical pro- 
 bability ; but is injurious to moral efted. Perhaps the fculptor in- 
 I tended 
 
3z8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 tended to reprefent fome German, Gallic, or Thracian, General ; who, 
 being a prllbner to the Romans, killed firfl: his wife and then himfelf, 
 to efcape being led in triumph by the victor. This tragical fubjed is 
 treated with the true Greek tendernefs of fenfibility. As the fmking 
 woman declines, the wound is covered with drapery j fo that it is only 
 known by a few trickling drops of blood. 
 
 In this chamber there is the Rape of Proferpine, by Bernini. The 
 vicinity of the antiques injures this performance ; the failings of which 
 could not indeed, without them, efcape the eye. In which of the 
 works of Bernini are there not great faults ? Yet his figures have often 
 much animation. Many of his fcholars imitate his excefTes, without 
 poileffing his talents ; and produce works that offend the eye, without 
 affecting the feelings. They miftake the unnatural for the daring. 
 The French, both formerly and at prefent,do not only adopt but ad- 
 mire thefe defeds. 
 
 In another building, which is erected in the garden, there is a ciel- 
 ing, painted by Guerclno. The fubjed; is Aurora forfaking old Titho- 
 ^us, and journeying in her chariot. The dancing Hours precede 'Tier : 
 behind her Hefper, with his torch, (lill twinkles ; and the flars difap- 
 pear, at the approach of the Hours. Sleeping Night Is feen, in a cave ; 
 ,and, on the other fide, little Genii are awakening the birds on the bufhes, 
 To this pldure that blame Is due In my opinion, for the darknefs of the 
 (liades, which is generally attributed to Guerclno. This great Painter 
 fliould have chofen any fubje6t rather than that of Aurora. Tlie god- 
 defs herfelf is not beautiful ; nor is her chariot light : and yet, like all 
 the pictures of this great mafler, it is on the v/holc ^ work of genius. 
 
 In another chamber, there are four landfcapes : one by Guldo, a 
 fecond by Guerclno, and two others by Domlnlchlno. In the time of 
 tbefe great hlftory painters, the art of landfcape was flill In Its Infancy: 
 yet thefe are lovely pl^Slures, and full of mind. 
 
 There Is an 2in\\Q.r\X. farcophiigus^ In the garden, on which a half bar- 
 barous Infcrjption may be read, that muft have bren either of tli£ fifth 
 
 century 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 329 
 
 century or of a flill later age. The ftatues of the man and the woman 
 lie upon the monument, as if they were in bed. The bajfo relievo re- 
 prefents their nuptials, and their friends prefenting gifts. 
 
 In another part of the garden, they have injudicioufly placed a Sile- 
 nus recumbent upon difarcophagus. This Silenus is repofiug on a tun ; 
 and the character of the half intoxicated wretched pleafure of fuch re- 
 pofe is aflonifhingly well exprefled. 
 
 From hence we went to the theatre of Marcellus. It was begim by 
 Julius Caefar, finifhed by Auguftus ; and, in honour of his nephew, 
 young Marcellus, who died while it was building, he called it by his 
 name. This is the very youthful Marcellus whom Virgil has made fo 
 interefting to us, in the beautiful paflage which concludes with Tu 
 Marcellus eris *. 
 
 This theatre contained thirty thoufand fpedators ; and it is embel- 
 liflied by the four orders of architedure. In the middle ages, when the 
 Roman nobility frequently defied the bulls of the Pope, before which 
 the kings of Europe grovelled in the duft, this theatre of Marcellus 
 ferved as an excellent kind of fortrefs to a family of eminence. The 
 lower half only is now remaining, containing two rows of arches : the 
 loweft of which is ornamented with Doric pillars, and the upper with 
 Ionic. 
 
 Not far from this is the great Portico, which Auguftus ereded to the 
 honour of his fifter, 0£lavia, the mother of the young Marcellus. It 
 ftands upon two rows of pillars, which occupy three fides of a great 
 fquare ; and the fourth fide is the temple oi Hercules Mufagetes^ or the 
 leader of the Mufes. In the middle of this fquare were temples of 
 Jupiter and Juno ; and the coloflal ftatues of Caftor and Pollux, in 
 marble, which now face the Capitol. Of the portico there are but a 
 few pillars \ and of the temple of Juno only one is remaining. 
 
 * Virg. -^n.Yi. 870. 
 
 Vol. I. U u LET- 
 
330 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 LETTER XL VIII. 
 
 Rome, 3d January 1792, 
 
 In the forenoon of the firft day of the year, we vifited the 
 Capitol. Here we find only traces of the high antiquity of this pro- 
 per feat of the fovereigns of the world ; but fuch traces 1 who fliall 
 defcribe them ? 
 
 If we may believe the poets, this place was honoured in times the 
 moft remote. And who does not know that much of the true hiftory 
 of antient times, and nations, is concealed under the veil of fable ? It is 
 exceedingly probable that a Janus reigned, in Italy ; and before him a 
 Saturnus. The hill yaniculus might take its name from the firft ; and 
 Saturnius^ that on which the Capitol ftands, from the fecond. On the 
 one, Saturn may have built a fortrefs ; on the other Janus. Virgi! 
 makes Evander fpeakthusto ^neas: 
 
 Hizc duo pr£terea disjetlis oppida miirisy 
 Relliqulas 'ucUrtimqiie ludes monumenta virorinn. 
 Hanc Janus pater y banc Saturnus ccndidit arcem; 
 Janiculum huiCi illi fuerai Saturiiia nomen. 
 
 tEn. viii. 355— 58.. 
 
 Then faw two heaps of ruins -, once they flood 
 Two {lately towns, on either fide the floods 
 Saturnia's and Janiciila's remains : 
 And either place the founder's name retains* 
 
 DrydeNj v. 467. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans,. like the prefent Italians, were perhaps the 
 moft agreeably flattered, by other nations, when they were told of 
 their great antiquity; It was very^ artful of Virgil, in the Jineid, a 
 hiftorical poem of his own country, the hero of which lived three hun- 
 dred and fifty years before thefounding of Rome, to defcribe the walls 
 of thefe old fortifications as in ruins; which, in the great hiftorical 
 
 pi<^ur£. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^^, 
 
 piaure of the poet, while the darknefs of antiquity is glanced at but 
 not expatiated upon, does not fail of its effed. 
 
 In the time of Romulus, the guard of the Capitol was intruded to the 
 daughter of Spurius Tarpeius. She treacheroufly fuffered the Sabines 
 to enter it ; and the Sabines themfelves, being aihamed of the adion 
 put her to death : from which the hill obtained the name of Mo^n Tar-^ 
 pe'ius^: the Tarpeiari rock. 
 
 After Romulus had defeated the Ccenwenfes^ who befieged Rome 
 bad flain their king with his own hand, ar.d had taken the town of this 
 people by aflault, he bore the armour of the dead king upon a capacious 
 pageant bier, fercuhmi f, to this hill ; and made a vow to Jupiter 
 Feretrius^ to build a temple here ; which he afterward ereded. Fol- 
 lowing kings, in imitation of Romulus, built temples on this hill to fe- 
 A'^eral divinities. 
 
 The elder Tarquin laid the foundation of the temple of Jupiter ; in 
 compliance with a vow which he made in his war againft the Sabines • 
 and the laft Tarquin completed the building. Being in want of room 
 he intended to remove the other temples ; and confulted the au"-urs 
 that he might learn the will of the Gods. Permiflion was granted him 
 by all of them, except by Term'mus, the God of boundaries ; and 
 Juventus, the Goddefs of youth ; who refufed. Roman patriotifm 
 early gave it to be underftood that the grandeur of the city depended 
 on its flourifhing in immovable ftability, and eternal youth. Tradition 
 related that, on digging in the earth, the head of a man was found, 
 with the countenance entire : which gave birth to the Roman and 
 Etrurian predidion that Rome was to be the head of all nations f . 
 
 The 
 
 * Liv. lib. i, C. 1 1. f Liv. i. lo. 
 
 % The paflage, in which Virgil relates the facred awe, at the vicinity of the Gods, 
 with which the anticnt inhabitants of the place were feized, is very beautiful. While 
 -<Eneas was led round it by Evander, the poet fays : 
 
 Hinc ad Tarpeiamfedem et CapitoUa duett ^ 
 Aurea tiunc^ olim fylvefiribus horrida dumis. 
 
 U u 2 Jam 
 
2^2 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The Tarpeian rock obtained the epithet Ccifiitolium, from the Latin 
 at/'///, a head ; and Jupiter who v/as worfhipped there, that oi Capi- 
 foltnus. To him vidors brought the fpoils of nations, and laid their 
 triumphal laurels at his feet. From the Roman Forum you afcend a 
 flight of a hundred Heps, to this temple ; which was built exad:ly 
 oppofite to the Forum. Between thefe buildings, the hill was divided 
 into diiTere.nt terraces. Above flood the temple of 'Jupiter Capitol'ums ; 
 and oppofite weflward, on the fteep Tarpeian rock, the temple of the 
 Goddefs Juno-Moneta^ where the money was coined. It is imagined 
 that this was the place where the firft temple of yupiter Feretrius 
 
 Jam turn religio pavidos terrehat agrejles 
 
 Dim loci ^ jam turn fylvjm faxumque tremebant. 
 
 Hoc nemuSy himc^ viqmt^frondofo vertice collem 
 
 {^ns Deusy in cerium eji) habitat Deus : Arcades ipftim 
 
 Credunt fe vidijje yovem^ quiim fizpe nigrantem 
 
 Mgida concuteret dextra^ nimbofqiie cieret. 
 
 Thence, to the fteep Tarpeian rock he leads ; 
 
 Now roof 'd with gold ; then thatch'd with homely reeds-. 
 
 A rev'rend fear (fuch fuperftition reigns 
 
 Among the rude) ev'n then poflefs'd the fwains. 
 
 Some god they knew, what god they could not tell, 
 
 Did there amidfl the facred horror dwell. 
 
 Th' Arcadians thought him Jove j and faid they faw 
 
 The mighty Thuud'rer with majeftick awe ; 
 
 Who fliook his fhield, and dealt his bolts around ; 
 
 And fcatter'd tempefts on the teeming ground. 
 
 Drtden, v. 457. 
 
 I afk permiflion of my young readers to call their attention to the beauty of thefe 
 verfes •, particularly to the following line : 
 
 Jam tilm religio pavidos terrebat agreftcs. 
 
 How powerful between the foregoing two long and the two following fliort fyllables, 
 is the choriambic religio ! How full of expreffion the pavidos ! Do we not fee the Arca- 
 dians running ? Do we not fee them fall back, withawe, at the three long fyllables— </w. 
 ierre ? The two following fliort ones appear to relieve them, for an inftant ; but they are 
 again repelled, by the fwo long fyllables thatfucceed. 
 
 9 flood. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 333 
 
 flood. The chapels of I'erminus and ytiventus flood likewife near the 
 temple of Jupiter Cupitolinus, 
 
 The Curia^ in which the Senate were accuftomed to afTemble, flood 
 on the fecond terrace. Here the iahnlar'ta^ or archives, were kept. 
 
 On the third terrace, the temple of the Thunderer, and that of Con- 
 cord, the firft built by Auguftus, the fecond by Camillus, were erected. 
 Below thefe the Forum flood. 
 
 The numerous changes that have happened in Rome, have every 
 where altered the face of the ground ; and particularly on the hills. 
 The foundation of the temple of Concord is laid bare, to the height of 
 fome ells ; and, on the contrary, fo much rubbifh has been coUeded, 
 round the three remaining pillars of Jupiter To?ia?is^ that only the 
 fhaft of one of thefe pillars, as much as the length of the chapiter, is to 
 be feen. Of the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, which flands 
 immediately before the Capitol, in the Forum^ nearly one half is buried 
 under the ruins. A Swede, fome years ago, digging in the Forum^ firft 
 found the pavement of white marble j after having dug to the depth of 
 thirty palms, or fpans. 
 
 The w^all, which formerly furrounded the Capitol, was very high 5 
 for it reached from the Forum to the level of the temple of Concord. 
 
 We did not this time proceed by the triumphal way, but on the op- 
 pofite northern lide ; on which the fa9ade of the new Capitol is ereded. 
 
 Very handfome fteps lead up this fide. Below, at each wing, are 
 lions, of the Egyptian bafaltes, which ejed water from their mouths. 
 
 On the left, there is the lower part of a female figure, of porphyry, 
 the drapery of which is excellently wrought. On the two wings, 
 above, are the coloflal flatues of Callor and Pollux ; each of them hold- 
 ing a horfe. Along with them are the war fpoils of Trajan, which he 
 took from the Daci ; with other ornaments coUeded from various partSj 
 by feveral of the Popes, and placed here. 
 
 In the centre of the great place, before the Capitol, which is a per» 
 fed fquare, there is a noble coloflal flatue of Marcus- Aurelius Anto- 
 
 aiausj 
 
334 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 niiis, on horfeback, of gilded bronze. The attitude of the Emperor is 
 the fame that I have feen on a baffo reUevo ; in which he ftretches 
 out his ri(^ht hand, and grants peace to the kneeUng chiefs of the 
 Quadi, and Marcomanni, whom he had conquered. The horfe is full 
 of animation and beauty. Rccorda ti chefei vivo^ e cammina ! Remem- 
 ber that thou liv'ft, and begone ! exclaimed Michael Angelo. This 
 ftatue had formerly ftood facing the temple of M. Aurelius Anto- 
 ninus and Fauftina. It was found, in the time of Sextus the Fourth, 
 in a vineyard ; and he ereded it in the fquare of Lateran. Paul the 
 Third placed it here j and the marble pedeltal is the work of Michael 
 
 Angelo. 
 
 The principal building of the modern Capitol is the palace of the 
 fenators *. It was built upon the ruins of the antient Curia ; the walls 
 of which are ftill to be feen. A flight of fteps, embellifhed with a 
 beautiful fountain, leads to the firft lofty ftory. In the middle is a 
 Rome triumphant : Ro?na triuinpha7is : of Parian marble, faced with 
 porphyry j and on each fide, a colofTal River God : the Nile and the 
 
 * Full of the idea of their former grandeur and freedom, and without alking leave of 
 Popes or of Emperors, the Roman people long maintained the right of elefting a fenator, 
 whom they called the confervntore : it being his office to guard their privileges. Sovereign 
 princes, even kings of Naples, have not difdained this dignity. This was an abufe j but 
 notfo great as that which v-as afterward committed, when the office was granted to the 
 Popes ihemfelves, to guard againfl whofe power it was firft inftituted. It came to be 
 poflefled by feveral of the defcendants of the families of Orfini and Colonna ; and, as 
 feveral of the Popes were eleded from thefe families, the proper importance of this office 
 was relinquiflied, to increafe the power of the papal chair. After the extirpation of the 
 long fchifm, which had baniffied the Popes to Avignon, when they returned to Rome, 
 they took care to reduce this to an infignificant office j which, at firft, had refembled that 
 of the antient Tribunes. It is true indeed that a fenator of Rome inhabits the palace of 
 the Capitol ; but he is eledled by the Pope. He is the chief of a municipal council 5 which 
 confifts of three confervatori^ and a deputy of the city. The Pope appoints Italian, but 
 not Roman noblemen to this office. Jealous of the Roman nobility, the Popes have de- 
 creed that this fenator Ihall not be a citizen. The dignity is at prefent enjoyed by Prince 
 Rezonico. 
 
 Tiber. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 535 
 
 Tiber. In this palace the fenator lives, here holds his tribunal, and, 
 every three years diftribiites prizes to the young artifts ; who excel in 
 painting, fculpture, or archited:ure. 
 
 On the right of this ftrudure is the famous mufeum of the Capitol, 
 which I have not yet feen ; and, on the left, the palace of the confer^ 
 vatori^ in which they hold their afleinblies. It is adorned with many an- 
 tique ftatues. In the court, there are two colofTal heads, and two coloffal 
 feet ; and, much more remarkable than thefe, there is the marble group 
 of a lion having thrown down a horfe, and beginning to devour himw 
 It is indubitably the work of a Greek artift. The feet of the horfe 
 have been repaired, by a modern ; who did not think proper to let the 
 hoofs go without fhoeing, 
 
 Frederick the Fourth, king of Denmark, caufed a bronze caft of this 
 group to be made ; which is the fined piece of art that is to be found 
 in the Rofenburg garden of Copenhagen. In a colonnade of the court 
 are the ftatues of Cccfar and Auguftus. Flere we fee the Ccliimna 
 Roftrata ; which was erected by C. Duilius, in the Forum, Duilius 
 led the Roman galleys, in the firft Punic war, againft the enemy ; and 
 boldly {hewed the way to conquer the fkilful navigators of Carthage^ - 
 It is probable that this Columna Kojlrata is not the antient one ; but that 
 wliich was ordered to be made in imitation of it, by Claudius. 
 
 Before the palace is an antique ftatue of Rome triumphant, by the 
 fide of which there are likewife two antique ftatues of Thracian Kings : 
 one of which has loft the arms, and the other the hands. Perhaps fo*me 
 writer will tell us that a Roman Emperor, after having repeatedly con- 
 quered thefe people, being weary of the war, took the cruel determina- 
 tion thus to mangle the imprifoned kings and leaders^ and fend them 
 back to their own country. 
 
 I oniitto mention feveral ftatues, fome bajfi relievi^2Ci\<l'x\\Q pictures; 
 with which the walls are in part adorned, in part disfigured. I likewife pafs 
 the modern ftatues of Popes, and proceed to a chamber, there to contem- 
 platethe huft^.cf Lucius Junius Brutus; which was dedicated by. Mar- 
 cus ^ 
 
33$ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 
 
 cus Junius Brutus, The Deliverer, to The Deliverer, his anceftor. It was 
 found under the ruins of the temple of Romulus. It appears to be the 
 work of an Etrurian, but a fkilful hand ; and to be more antient than the 
 time of Marcus Brutus. The head is ferious, powerful, noble. It is 
 either really the head of that great man, or has been imagined with 
 admirable genius. I am inclined to the firft opinion : for the Etrurians 
 had certainly attained great excellence, in the art of fculpture, at the 
 time of the laft of the kings of Rome ; and perhaps none but a Greek 
 could have produced an ideal'head equal to this. 
 
 In the middle of the chamber is the celebrated She Wolf, of bronze, 
 which was ftruck by lightning in the confulfhip of Csefar. The 
 perceptible damage of the hind foot Ihews marks of the lightning. She 
 gives fuck to the twin children, Romulus and Remus ; but they are of 
 modern and poor workmanfhip. The wolf was found in the temple 
 of Romulus, and placed here by Sixtus the Fourth, 
 
 In this place, likewife, is the fhepherd, of bronze, drawing the thorn 
 out of his foot : for which reafon the ftatue is called Spinarhis. It is 
 one of the mofl beautiful of the works of art that have defcended to 
 modern times. 
 
 In another chamber, the walls have been decorated with many frag- 
 ments of the confulary^/. The charaders are finely cut, in white 
 marble. Were they complete, what a treafure would they be, for the 
 Roman Hiftorian ! As fragments, they ftill are valuable. 
 
 Over the door is a fine baffo relievo ; which is called the head of 
 Mithridates, but which Mr. Hirt is perfuaded is the head of Hedor. 
 I cannot but own that, to me, there appears more of the high charader 
 of that hero than of the bold but cunning Mithridates^ difcoverable in 
 this piece. 
 
 Here we likewife find an antique ftatue of CybeU^ with her mural 
 crown ; a perfonification which is rare. Virgil calls her Turrita : 
 Turret -crowned. 
 
 A coloifal Hercules, which was found in the ruins of the Forum 
 
 Boarmmy 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. ^37 
 
 Boarium, or Cattle Market, is not remarkably beautiful. You muft not 
 confound this Forum with the Forum Romanum ; although the latter is 
 now called the Cow Field. Perhaps it was placed in the cattle mar- 
 ket in allufion to the cattle faid to have been driven, by Hercules, from 
 Spain to Greece. The ftatue is gilded ; and the gilding is in extraor- 
 dinarily good prefervation. 
 
 Thefe monuments of antient genius, and of times long paft, are cer- 
 tainly very interefting to the lovers of art and antiquity : but Hill more 
 interefting to me are the places themfelves j and the ruins derive a great 
 part of their value by denoting the place. 
 
 There, repeatedly faid I to myfelf, looking on the Mount Palatine, 
 there muft the good Evander have lived. There he led the pious 
 JSneas into his low-roofed hut, when Virgil makes him fo beautifully 
 fay 
 
 Hac I'lmma v'lBor 
 Alcides fnh'ilt^ hccc ilium regia cepit. 
 Aude hojpeSy contemnere opes^ et te qtioque clignum 
 Finge Deo J rebufque veni non nfper cgenis ! 
 
 j51n. vili. 362—65. 
 
 * Mean as it is, this palace and this door 
 
 Received Alcides, then a conqueror. 
 Dare to be poor : accept our homely food, 
 Which feafled him, and emulate a God ! 
 
 Dryden, V.477. 
 
 Here Numa'ftrayed : here Servius Tullius, the elder and the younger 
 Brutus, the Valerii, the Fabii, the Scipios, the Catos, Cicero, and all 
 the great men of Rome. Here the fword of Brennus kept dov>m the 
 fcale ; v/hen, as Livy fays, gods and men forbad that the freedom of 
 Rome fhould be purchafed*. Camillus arrived with aid, commanded 
 the fcales to be emptied of the gold, and the Gauls to depart. 
 
 We now afcended the higheft hill, on which the temple of Jupiter 
 
 * Liv. vi. 48. 
 
 Vol. I. . X X CapitO" 
 
338 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERa. 
 
 CapiioUnus Hood. It was confecrated to the three deit'es : Japiter, 
 jiino, and Minerva. It was divided, like many churches, by two rows 
 of pillars, that formed three alfles : the centre of which was confecrated 
 to Jupiter ; and the tv/o others to the two goddefles. There novf 
 ftands a very old church here, which belongs to the Francifcans. It is 
 built after the Bafilica manner ; except that the pillars have no running 
 architrave, and that they fupport hemifpherical arches. 
 
 Whether thefe vv^ere the pillars that were brought by Sylla from 
 Athens, and that were fet up at the rebuilding of the Capitol, after it 
 had been burned, is difficult to determine. Their chapiters were gilded 
 with the firft gold that came from America. 
 
 An antient tradition relates that, at the time of the birth of Chrift'", 
 Auguftus ereded an altar to the firft born of the Gods : Primo genita 
 Deo : which was likewife called the altar of Heaven : an altar, which 
 was held to be this, was confecrated, in early times, by one of the ^ 
 Popes; and muflibe the fame which is now in a fide aille of the church. 
 It was afterward embelliflied with eight pillars of Eaftern marble. 
 
 On the weft fide of the hill is the famous Tarpeian rock. Many 
 travellers are not fliewn this place : for they are told that the Tarpeian 
 rock, mentioned in hiftory, is on the eaftern part of the hill. Hence 
 it happens that we have fo often been informed that the antients exag- 
 gerated its height. But why have they not examined the place where 
 the rock is now the higheft, and almoft perpendicular ? 
 
 Here it was that the Gauls afcended by night ; but certainly not 
 without great fatigue, and probably by the aid of the fhrubs that grev/ 
 in the crevices of the rock. Here it was that the watchful geefe, by 
 their cackling, awakened Marcus Manlius, who refided on the rock, 
 and preferved Rome. Here did that Manlius, who well deferved the 
 furname of CapUolmus^ with others, whom he quickly roufed from 
 their fleep, drive back the Gauls, and hurled them headlong down ; 
 and here too it was that he himfelf, foon afterward, being as bad a citi- 
 zen as he was a great warrior, delighting in ftrife and infurredion and 
 
 feeking 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^^9 
 
 fecklng fovereignty, was caft down from the very rock on which he 
 had faved Rome*. He merited his fate "f ! 
 
 On the place where the houfe of ManUus had flood, the mint and 
 temple of ^ufio Mojieta were afterward ereded. The epithet Moneta 
 was given to Juno, as fable relates, becaufe fhe taught the Romans, 
 after an earthquake, to appeafe the v/rath of the Gods, by facrificinp-a 
 fov.^ Mofiere means to inftru(St: ; to remind J. 
 
 To-day and yefterday, I have been in company with modern Ro- 
 mans. This morning, I was prefented to the Pope. This old man, 
 who exercifes his office with fo much folemn dignity, is exceedingly 
 plealant, and familiar, in perfonal intercourfc. I found him fitting at 
 his writing dePK : he defired me to fit by him, and converfed with me 
 with animation and intelligence, on different fubjeds. 
 
 Pius the Sixth occupies himfelf in the cabinet, gets up in winter be- 
 fore day-light, and performs the weighty duties of the papal chair with 
 a knowledge of prefent circumflances, and with a firm mind. 
 
 The difputes, between himfelf and the king of Naples, have been ad- 
 jufled by him with great prudence ; he having preferved, inflead of 
 renouncing the leaft of, his rights. He has conduded himfelf in the 
 affairs of France with equal wifdom and dignity ; and has efcaped all 
 the fnares that have been laid for him, openly and in fecret, by the 
 National Affembly, which might have led him to take fteps that would 
 have given an appearance of juftice to their rapacious views §. 
 
 The Secretary of State, Cardinal Zelada, is properly the Prime Mi- 
 nifler. He is a man of much underftanding, and uncommon afTiduity. 
 
 * Liv. lib. V. c. 47. 
 
 f Of this there have been many wife and virtuous men who have doubted. T. 
 
 % Cic. de DIv. i. 45. 
 
 § I omit a note, here, on the difputes at Rome, between the French and the Italians 
 fmce the Revolution, becaufe it relates nothing but what is known; and becaufe, I am forry 
 to add, various epithets are employed by the author that are highly unworthy of his libe- 
 ral and well-informed mind. T. 
 
 Xx2 He 
 
340 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 He riies, at this feafon of the year, at four in the morning ; and he 
 fcldom leaves the walls of the Vatican. 
 
 Cardinal Borgia is a man of great ardour, intelligence, and know- 
 ledge. He loves the learned ; and is glad to fee them aflemble round 
 him, at his table. 
 
 A tranllation of the poem of the Argonauts, by Apollonius Rhodius, 
 is nov/ preparing, by Cardinal Frangini. His knowledge of the mo- 
 dern Greek, which he fpeaks with facility, was ferviceable to him, by 
 rendering the antient Greek more familiar. 
 
 The Senator, Prince Rezonico, and a Count of the fame family, un- 
 derftand and love German literature. I have made an acquaintance 
 with the Marchefe Pvangone, formerly the firft Minifter of the Duke 
 of Modena. He likewife reads the German authors with delight ; and, 
 to a noble charadter, adds extenfive learning, and real genius. 
 
 You perceive that interefting men are ftill to be found, among the 
 great. I grant indeed they are rari nantcs in giiygite vajio. ' Moi'l of 
 the Principle Marcheft^ and titled nobility, here, are ignorant ; and have 
 that arrogance which deeps in barren ignorance, like earth unbroken 
 by the plough. But are there no fuch men among us ? 
 
 I am well aware that, in Germany, there is a certain degree of infor- 
 mation greater than in Italy ; but would it not be increafed, were we, 
 who perhaps are more inclined to do juilice to foreigners than any 
 other nation, to overcome our prejudices againft the Italians ? — Pre- 
 judices, of which many are only grounded on our folly. There 
 are fubje6ts enough to blame : ferious fubjeds ; demanding ferious 
 confideration : and fuch the love of truth will not fuffer me to over- 
 look. 
 
 The education of the daughters of the nobility is wretched. HencCj 
 domeftic happinefs is rare. Domeflic happinefs is a fource of tranquil- 
 lity, of joy, and a prefervative againft vice ; and I think it probable that 
 this kind of happinefs is better underftood, in Germany, than in 'any 
 I other 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 3^1 
 
 other country on earth. With refpedl to myfelf, I can with inward 
 peace and delight affirm, with the good old poet, Walter, 
 
 Und das iji me'iner re'ife?ifruchty 
 Dafs mlr gefdllt die deutfche ziicht */ 
 
 From the bad education of the Vv^omen, domePcic virtues, and with 
 them the domeftic happiftefs of the higher ranks, are injured ; and the 
 poifon of their vices iheds itfelf among their inferiors : whofe paffions 
 v/ithout this concomitant, are violent to excefs. The people of Rome 
 are rather led aftray and bewildered than, as fome w^ould perfuade us 
 addided to vice by nature. Where the climate inflames the paffions, 
 which are neither reilrained by education nor curbed by law, they 
 muft rife higher, and burn with greater excefs, than in other countries. 
 It is dreadful to hear that, in Rome, the population of which is edi- 
 mated at a hundred and fixty-eight thoufand perfons, there are annu- 
 ally about five hundred people murdered. I do not believe that, in all 
 Germany, fifty men periih, by murder, within the fame period. But 
 could this have been faid of the middle ages ? And yet our nation has 
 always maintained the beft reputation among nations. 
 
 The people of Rome cannot be juftly accufed of robbery. A ftran- 
 ger is nowhere fafer ; but is more frequently plundered in moft of the 
 great cities of Europe. The Roman ftabs his enemy, but does not 
 rob. Anger is his ftimulus ; and this anger frequently linp-ers for 
 months, and fometimes for years, till it finds an opportunity of re- 
 venge. This paffion, which is inconceivable to thofe who do not feel 
 it, this moft hateful of all the paffions, the antients frequently fuppofed 
 to be a virtue ; and it ftill rages among many of the nations of the 
 fouth. The paffions of the people of Rome are frequently roufed, by 
 playing at ?fiora ; though the law has feverely prohibited this game ; 
 and, if they are difappointed at the moment of their revenge, they wait 
 
 f By travel taught, I can atteft, 
 I love my native land the beft. 
 
 for 
 
342 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 
 
 for a future occafion. Jealoufy is another frequent caufe of murder : 
 it being with them an imaginary duty to revenge the fedudion of their 
 wife, their daughter, or their fifter, on the feducer. The cathohc reli- 
 gion, ill underftood, encourages the practice : the people being per- 
 fuaded that, by the performance of trifling ceremonies, and the inflidl- 
 ing of penance, they can walh away the guilt of blood. 
 
 All the affidulty of the prefent Pope is not fufficient to reform the 
 police; the faults of which originate in the conftitution of Rome. 
 Many churches afford a fanduary to the purfued culprit. Foreign am- 
 baffadors, likew^fe, yield protedion ; which extends not only to their 
 palaces but to whole quarters of the city, into w-hich the officers of 
 luftice dare not purfue offenders. The ambaffadors, it is true, are 
 obliged to maintain a guard : but who is ignorant of the mifchief 
 arifnig from complicated jurifdidion ? Many Cardinals feek to derive 
 honour, by affording protedion to purfued criminals. Could we 
 find all thefe abufes colleded in any other great city, many men would 
 be murdered, though not fo many as in Rome ; but robbery would be 
 dreadfully increafed, w^hich here is unkno^vn. 
 
 Were 1 to live in a foreign country, and condemned to fpend my 
 life in a great city, it is probable there is no place I fhould prefer to 
 Rome. In no place is the fafliionable world fo free from reftraint. You 
 may daily be prefent at the converfa'zioni ; and go from one to another. 
 Numerous focieties, in fpacious apartments, are continually to be found ; 
 and the vifitor is alvv^ays received v/ith the moft prepoffeffmg politenefs. 
 The intercourfe of fociety is no w^here fo free as here : you may neg- 
 Ld your vifits for weeks or months, and undifturbed indulge your own 
 humour. You may return again, after an abfence of weeks or months, 
 v/ithout being once queftioned, concerning the manner in which you 
 have dilpoled of your time. 
 
 Do not from thisaccufe the Roman nobility, m.ore than any other peo- 
 ple of falhion, of a v^-ant of perfonal affedion : the apathy of the great 
 world Is every where the fame. The abfence or the death of any man 
 
 IS 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 343 
 
 h in no country felt in fafhlonable fociety : but every where, except in 
 Italy, it arrogates to itfelf an infupportable tyranny, over each of its 
 aflbciates. 
 
 In the g-eat cities of Germany, v^e talk of being focial : but what 
 can be more nnfocial than a company of men, who fit down to a filent 
 card party? The animation of the Italians obviates the degrading necef- 
 fity of fuch parties. In company, they play very little ; but they con- 
 verfe with fire: and, notwithflanding their rapidity, many Italians ex- 
 prefs themfelves excellently, 
 
 A fenfe of the antient grandeur of Rome is not yet quite loft, to the 
 people. "When the Qiieen of Naples was laft her^, and at the theatre, 
 fhe was received with great applaufe. Self- forbearance induced her to 
 makefignsto the people to ceafc their loud clapping, and their fhouts 
 of welcome. The people took this very ill ; and, the next day, a per- 
 fbn of my acquaintance heard one orange woman fay to another, " Did 
 you hear how the foreign Queen defpifed our people, laft night ? She 
 muft furely have forgotten that many queens, before now^, have been 
 brought in chains to Rome.'* 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 Rome, 7 til January 1792. 
 
 XN the forenoon of the 4th, I indulged my imagination in 
 contemplating antient Rome ; and viewed many moll interefting mo- 
 numents ; of which, however imperfed: my defcription muft inevita- 
 bly be, I will endeavour to fay fomething. 
 
 We began with a piece of ruins of the middle ages ; the hiftory of 
 which is fmgular. It is a large remainder of the palace of Nicola Ga- 
 brino di Lorenzo : commonly called. Cola di Rienzo : who, in the 
 
 fourteenth 
 
344 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 fourteenth century, reigned a fliort time, under the title of a Roman 
 Tribune. This man was of low birth, but high minded. By read- 
 ing of the autients, he had kindled in himfelf a love and a defire of 
 freedom. He v/as early known, and was fent by the citizens of Rome, 
 with the celebrated Petrarch, to Avignon ; to induce Pope Clement the 
 Sixth to return to Rome : but neither the poetry of Petrarch nor the 
 eloquence of Rienzo were able to prevail on the Pope. 
 
 When Rienzo returned, he was eleded to the office of Tribune, by 
 the Romans ; who were enraged againil Clement. During the night 
 of the 17th of May, in the year 1347, he aflembled the people, without 
 arms, caufed mafs to be performed in the caftle of St. Angelo, and in 
 the morning led them to the Capitol. He ereded three banners ; 
 on v/hich the fymbols of Peace, Juftice, and Freedom, were depided ; 
 caufed fifteen regulations to be read, whicli were intended to be the 
 ground work of a good confliitution ; and then commanded a new 
 council to be called, which he named the Chamber of JuRice and 
 Peace. Criminals of all kinds, afraiFms, adulterers, robbers, houfe- 
 breakers, and others, he zealoufly puniflred ; putting fome to death, 
 and banilhing others. 
 
 He aflembled an army of twenty thoufand men ; and entreated all 
 princes and free ftates to unite with him, in fupport of the good con- 
 flitution : del biioiio Jiato. The Emperor, Lewis of Bavaria, Lewis 
 the Firft King of Hungary, and Johanna Queen of Naples, fent their 
 ambafTadors to him. 
 
 Rienzo ought to have treated the power of the Pope with more pru- 
 dence, and moderation; but he was dazzled, by the fplendour of his for- 
 tune : he cited independent princes to appear at his tribunal. The gran- 
 dees of Rome became diffatisiied at his condud, and caufed the people to 
 rife. 
 
 He then renounced his office, travelled to Naples, and lived two 
 years among hermits : after which, he returned to Rome, made a n^w, 
 but fliort, impreffion upon the people, and was again obliged to retire. 
 
 His 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 345 
 
 His next journey was to Prague, where he was recognized by the 
 Emperor, Charles the Fourth : one of the princes whom he had cited 
 to appear before him ; and by Charles was fent to the Pope, at Avi- 
 gnon, where he was imprifoned till the death of Clement. 
 
 He was once more releafed by the peaceable Innocent the Sixth ; 
 who fent him to Rome, and made him Senator. Aperfon of the name 
 of Baronetti was then tribune ; whofe office Rienzo took upon him- 
 felf, and once again became the tribune of the people. The nobility 
 rofe in oppofition, an infurreiSlion was the confequence, and, as it U 
 faid, he fell pierced by a hundred daggers. 
 
 The titles he had given himfelf were Nicholas, the mild and fev^ere, 
 the deliverer of the city, the guardian of Italy, the warrior of, and 
 candidate for, the Holy Ghoft, beloved of the world, and the digni- 
 fied tribune. 
 
 Rienzo built himfelf a palace, which in part was embelliflied by what 
 he had collected from the ruins, and partly disfigured by the architec- 
 ture of the times. After his ambition had been punilhed by death, 
 Pontifical hatred purfued his memory : the name of Pilate was given 
 him, and his palace was called the Palace of Pilate. In procefs of time, 
 the memory of Rienzo was loft, and the Palazzo di Pilato was held to 
 be the palace of Pontius Pilate. This was not enough : it was affirmed 
 that Pontius Pilate had not only brought his effects but, in particular, a 
 marble ftaircafe from Jerufalem to Rome : and that this was the ftair- 
 cafe which had been afcended, and defcended, by Jefus Chrift. Sixtus 
 the Fifth placed it in the Lateran, where it now ftands ; and whoever 
 goes up it muft afcend it on his knees. 
 
 Oppofite this palace is the fmall temple which was erected by Ser- 
 vhis Tullius to Foriuna Firi/is. The architrave on both fides is fup- 
 ported by five half-projed:ing Ionic pillars*. They prove that the tem- 
 ple was rebuilt in later times ; but certainly under the republic : partly 
 
 * Pilafters, as I fuppofe. T. 
 
 Vol. I. Y y becaufe 
 
r" 
 
 346 TRAVELS OF COUNT SI ^i^BERG. 
 
 becaufe it contains neither marble nor ornaments, and partly becaufe 
 we fliould have known by which of the Emperors It had been rebuilt. 
 There is a portico, in front, of four pillars ; which has been walled 
 round in order to lengthen the building and convert it into a church, 
 that is dedicated to St. Mary of Egypt. 
 
 We went on the banks of the Tiber, and faw the remains of antient 
 fteps ; up which goods were brought, from veflels that were unload- 
 ing. Here, facing us, we likewife faw the fine ruins of a ftone bridge ; 
 which was formerly called Pons Palatums^ and now Ponte Rotio^ the 
 broken bridge. It was begun by the Cenfor, Fulvius ; and completed 
 under the cenforihip of P. Scipio, who deftroyed Carthage, and his col- 
 league, L. Mummius. 
 
 To the right we faw the Tiber ifland ; the origin of which is fo re- 
 markable. We fhall foori pay it a vifit : at prefent we only notice it 
 by a paffing compliment. 
 
 On the left, we faw the lefs fuperb, yet remarkable, ruins of the 
 bridge which was built, by King Ancus Martius, over the Tiber*. Till 
 his time, there was no bridge built. This was conftruded of wood, 
 and called Pons Sublicius, 
 
 AVhen the army of Porfenna, who wifhed to bring back the Tar- 
 quins to Rome, had taken the hill Janiculus, this was the bridge where 
 Horatius Codes, affifted at firft by Spurius Lartius and Titus Hermi-* 
 nius, and afterward fingly, made a ftand againft the enemy ; till, by 
 his own order, the bridge was broken down behind him. He then, 
 though in complete armour, jumped into the river, and fwam back to 
 the city "j". 
 
 The bridge was afterward rebuilt with wood; and, in the time of 
 Tiberius, out of refpecfl for the antients, and for Horatius Codes, it 
 was once again rebuilt of wood. The fucceeding one of marble was 
 ereded by Antoninus Pius. 
 
 * LIv. i. 33. t LIv. il. 10. 
 
 this 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 347 
 
 This of marble was not without its fame; for, from this, the Empe- 
 rors, HeUogabalus and Commodus, were caft into the river. 
 
 Near the Tiber is the little circular temple of Veda ; which was firft 
 founded by Numa. The rebuilding of this temple has been afcribed, 
 by fome, to Vefpafian ; by others, to Domhian. It was furrounded 
 by a fine colonnade, of twenty Corinthian pillars ; but it has been 
 walled round, that the church, into which the temple has been con- 
 verted, might be more fpacious. In the antient temple, the light was 
 admitted through the high lattice. The fanduary of the holy fire 
 needed not much day-light j and to have given to this, as to other cir- 
 cular temples, an opening above, might have endangered the facred fire ; 
 the place of which was the centre of the temple. 
 
 Near this building ftood the houfe of Numa ; which was afterward 
 inhabited by the Veilals. Of this houfe there were fome remains in 
 the time of Horace. With what animation did I recolle<5l the follow- 
 ing beautiful lines from his ode, Jamfatu terns — 
 
 Vidimus Jlavuin Tiberinii retortis 
 Littore Etrufco violenter utidisy 
 Ire dejecliun momimenta regis ^ 
 Templaque Vejla : 
 
 Ilia dum fe nimium qtierenti 
 "JaBat liltoreniy vagus et fmijlra 
 Labitur ripa^ 'Jove non probantef 
 Uxorius amtiis, 
 
 HoR. I. od. ii. V. 13 — 20 
 
 We faw, pufh'd backward to his native fource. 
 The yellow Tiber roll his rapid courfe ; 
 With impious ruin threat'ning Vefta's fane. 
 And the great monuments of Numa's reign. 
 
 Y y 2 With 
 
48 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 With grief and rage, while Ilia's bofom glows, 
 Boaflful, for her revenge, his waters rofe, 
 But now th' uxorious river glides away, 
 So Jove commands, fmooth-winding to the fea. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 Not far from this the great common fewer, Cloaca maxima^ emptied 
 itfelf into the Tiber. This is one of the grandeft monuments of ar- 
 chitecture; and was conftruded in the time of the elder Tarquin. 
 
 We went from this to a church, which had formerly been a fchool 
 for eloquence, in which the great and holy Auguftin had himfelf 
 taken the chair. Some afRrm this building ftands on the fpot where 
 the Romans had built a temple to Pudicitia Patricia : the Patrician 
 Chaftity. Near the church, you perceive a circular flab, of white mar- 
 ble ; which is more than five feet in diameter, and from four to five 
 inches thick. On this flab a head is cut, with incifions entirely through 
 the eyes and mouth. It is called by the people Bocca della verita : the 
 mouth of truth: and fable relates that oaths were pronounced here. 
 The perfon, taking an oath, was to lay his hand on the open mouth ; 
 and, by the fuddenly clofing of the ftone lips, the guilty were chaftifed. 
 In this manner young women proved their chaftity ; or were punifhed 
 for their offences. Mr. Hirt has difcovered that the head on this mar- 
 ble reprefents a ytipiter Pluvkis ; a Raining Jupiter. It was found, 
 lying under a colonnade, between the flooring; where it ferved as a 
 conduit to the rain water. 
 
 A large four-fided ftone gate, called a Ja?2us^ which ftands in the 
 centre of four crofs ways, I fuppofed, before I came up to it, to have 
 been a triumphal arch. Structures like thefe were for traders and 
 ufurers. In the time of the Emperors, there were fixty of them in 
 Rome. Many niches were cut in them; in which Genii, or Penaies, 
 were accuftomed to be placed. 
 
 In 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 34^ 
 
 In this part Is the fpot where, in the time of Livy *, the fig tree 
 ftood, which was called i^/V//j" Rmninalis ; and originally, accordiiip- to 
 this writer's teftimony, Ficns Romularis ; the fig tree of Romulus : be- 
 caufe, as it was faid, Romulus and Remus were here left expofed. 
 The temple of Romulus, which ftill is ftanding, though no doubt re- 
 built by the Romans, denotes the place. The fhe-wolf of bronze, 
 which is now in the Capitol, formerly ftood in this temple. Before 
 chriftianity, it was cuftomary for the women, when their children were 
 fick or weakly, to bring them here. This temple has fmce been con- 
 verted into a church, and dedicated to St. Theodore. Still, however 
 the old cuftom is preferved ; and women ftill bring their fick and 
 weakly children here, hoping by that they will recover their health 
 and ftrength. 
 
 It is faid that the Tiber, Vv'hich is near this place, by overflowing had 
 formed a marfli ; that it was cuftomary to ferry over this marfh in 
 boats ; and that, from the words A vehendis ratibus the name Velabrum 
 was corruptly derived. The place is now called Velabro ; and the 
 church, that is built here, Sa?ito Grcgorlo di Velabro, It ftands on the 
 ruins of the BaJiUca Sempro?iia ; the place where juftice v/as admini- 
 ftered to merchants. 
 
 Clofe to this church ftands a little arch ; which was ereded, by the 
 ufurers and graziers, in honour of the Emperor Septimius Severus : 
 the baffi relievi of which have repeated figures of the Emperor, and his 
 two fons, Caracalla and Geta; and we once find him with his wife. 
 Caracalla caufed the figure of his brother Geta, whom he had mur- 
 dered, and the infcriptions of his name, to be every where defaced. 
 This arch, ereded to the honour of the father, is a monument of the 
 cruelty and rancour of the fon. You perhaps remember that the peo- 
 ple, farcaftically, gave him the nickname of Gelicus : as if he had con- 
 quered the Getis. Near this arch a fine fountain ran; which was the 
 firft in Rome, till the time of the Cenfor, Appius Claudius Csecus, the 
 
 * Liv, i. 4. 
 
 Blind I 
 
350 
 
 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Blind ; who undertook and completed many grand works, and who 
 fupplied the city with new fountains. It was called yitturjia ; which 
 name Virgil bellows on the lovely filler of Turnus, as a nymph. 
 
 The Romans embelllili the hillory pf this fountain with a charming 
 fable. They relate that, after the famous victory of the lake Regillus^ 
 in which the Didator Aulus Poflhumius overcame the Tarquins and 
 the army of the Latins, two youths came in the evening to the foun- 
 tain to refrefh themfelves, Vv^atered their horfes, announced the vitlory, 
 and dlfappeared. Livy has no trace of this pleafing tale. He only 
 informs us that the Didator dedicated a temple to Caflor. The beau- 
 tiful temple of Callor and Pollux adorns this fountain. 
 
 We nov\r vifited the temple of Phoebus and Luna, which we had 
 lately feen from the Colofieum. It confifts of two 1/alf circles, turned 
 back to back : the fanduary of Phoebus is turned toward the fouth, and 
 that of Luna toward the north. The latter affords a cool retreat ; vv^hich 
 is nov/ rendered the more pleafant by a fountain in the middle; and, 
 in the former, there are now fruitful orange trees : a charming fymbol 
 of the power of the all fertilizing fun. 
 
 This power is fo felf-evident, in the prefent feafon of the year, that 
 you cannot forbear doing juilice to Virgil, when, fpeaking of Italy, he 
 fays 
 
 Hie ver nffidintm atqtie alienis menfibus ajlas. 
 
 ViRG. Georg. ii. 149, 
 
 Perpetual fpring our happy climate fees j 
 
 Twice breed the cattle, and twice bear the trees; 
 
 And fummer funs recede by flow degrees. 
 
 Dryden, v. 20. 
 
 I met with the gilliflower blooming, among the ruins of the Colof- 
 feum, at the end of December. In like manner, we faw immediately 
 before us a large palm tree ; and I found the Medicago arborea in bloom 
 on the third of January, This is the Cytifiu of Virgil ; which you 
 
 3 mull 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. - cj-i 
 
 rnufl: not confound with the Cyt'ifus labernum. It was in the garden 
 of the Villa Borghefe. The plant called the ItaHan honey-fuckle, Cupri- 
 fol'ium perfoliatiun^ is verdant here all the }'ear. The hnple oiUlHower 
 the wild red ranunculus, and the violet, bloom all the winter; and 
 grafs and verdure are continually growing. 
 
 The extenfive beautiful garden, which I have mentioned, of the 
 Villa Borghefe is facing the Porta del Popolo ; and not far from the 
 houfe where we live, which ftands on what was formerly called the 
 Field of Mars, There are very pleafmt walks in this garden ; which 
 lead partly among laurel and evergreen prickly oaks, and partly among 
 oak trees, where tame deer pafture. It contains a lovely canal, in 
 which is an ifland that I fliould rather wifh were fliaded with trees 
 than, as it is, decorated with a modern temple to JEfcnlapius. There 
 is more green foliage, and more of the artlefs beauties of nature, in this 
 garden, than I have met Vv^ith in any other garden of Italy. In the 
 winter, you find here the green pine apple, prickly oak, laurel, and 
 orange tree. In fummer, the low parts of the garden are fhaded by 
 the large oak, and trees of different kinds. This garden is not only 
 open to all comers, but you are allowed to pluck what you pleafe. You 
 are told* by an infcription, to confider it as your property. 
 
 On that fide of the gate of St. Sebafiiian where formerly the Porta 
 Capena ftood, which is next the city, is what is called the triumphal 
 arch of Drufus ; but more properly belongs to the later times of Ca- 
 racalla, who built it here, to carry an aqueduct over it ; the walled 
 ftone bed of which is ftill vifible. 
 
 From this place, w^e yefterday went to the church of Sa?ito Sebafi- 
 0710 ; which is facing the city, and in which this faint is buried. His 
 fepulchre is ornamented with a beautiful recumbent ftatue of the faint; 
 which is the work of Gorgetti, a fcholar of Bernini. In my own 
 opinion, I have ittw nothing, by the hand of Bernini, which can be 
 compared to this mafterpiece, by his fcholar. Near it is the fepulchre 
 of Cjecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Csecilius Metellus Creticus, 
 
 and 
 
352 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 and the wife of Craffus ; it is therefore as antient as the times of the ] 
 repubUc. Its figure is circular, {landing on a high fquare bafe, and has 
 the following inlcription : 
 
 C^CILI^ 
 
 Q^ CRETiCI F. 
 
 r.IETELL^E CRASSI. 
 
 Each fide of the fquare wall is fixteen paces : the diameter of the 
 internal circular part is ten paces. Here the farcophagiis of the Ro- 
 man lady ftood, walled up to a confiderable height; but it was re- 
 moved by Pope Paul the Third, when he built his Farnefe palace. 
 The monument was flightly vaulted with a fmall cupola ; and a broad 
 terrace was carried round the thick wall. 
 
 In the time of Boniface the Eighth, who was fuvereign Pontiff at 
 the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century, 
 and was of the family of Gartani, this family ereded a tower with tur- 
 rets on the monument, to defend itfelf againft other great families ; 
 and, among the reft, from the family of Colonna, w^th w^hich Boniface 
 had frequent ftrife. This tower, with its turrets, or parapets, yet re- 
 mains. Under the antient cupola, a marble cornice is carried round, 
 which contains hajji relievi. Occafionally, after the manner of the 
 antients, it is ornamented with the ox head ; from thence the family 
 of the Gartani affumed the ox head in its arms. The people called 
 this bejiutiful monument Capo dt Bove : Ox head. 
 
 Not far from this monument, we meet with the Circus of Caracalla; 
 the ruins of which are fo perfed: that, from them, aided by antient 
 authors, we may form a tolerably juft idea of every circus of the Ro- 
 mans : for we find that thefe buildings of the antients were fimilar to 
 each other, at leaft in their principal parts. I fend you the drawing of 
 the building, and will endeavour to explain it as well as I can. Your 
 own knowledge of antiquity will probably fupply the deficiency of my 
 defcription. 
 
 A A were 
 
;a, _^ pnr 
 
 I Mi 
 
 CC 
 liivcn. 
 
 I it Go 
 liktrdi 
 
 \m 
 
 Vol 
 
Zrfffr .T7./T. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ^ ^ s> 
 
 A A were the lifts: carceres : from which the Chariot race began. 
 They form an oblique line; becaufe the chariots ftartcd on the rip-ht 
 fide of the goal, and each chariot which darted from the left fide of 
 the lifts, was more and more diftant from the goal than the others. 
 It was then determined by lot from what part of the lifts each fliould 
 ftart ; and at VN?hat time, as whether firft, fecond, third, or fo forth. 
 
 B is the great gate ; which, as well as the lifts, is feebly ir«irked in 
 the drawing ; to denote that both the lifts and the gate are almoft 
 buried under the rubbilh. The goals were arched above. Over the 
 goals the Confuls had their feat. The chariots for the courfe, v/hich 
 frequently were as many as a hundred, made four divifions. Thefe 
 were diftinguiflied by the colour of the drefs of the charioteer; and, 
 after them v/ere called the green, the blue, the red, and the white. To 
 thefe Domitian added the purple, and the gold colour; but they did 
 not meet with lafting approbation. The parties were called factions ; 
 and originally they were no more than two ; the white, and the red ; 
 Hke as, in the beginning, the chariots for the courfe were drawn by two 
 horfes, as defcribed by Homer : though, in the time of Pindar, we find 
 the chariot and four. So v/e likevvife find that, in the time of Pindar, 
 the charioteers were frequently hired : and thus, in very early times, 
 the principal Romans configned this office to hired charioteers : though 
 certainly it was the intention of the elder Tarquin, when he eredled 
 the great Circus and inftituted thefe games, that the young nobility 
 fliould form themfelves to bodily exercifes. 
 
 C C. The two goals ; round which the chariots were feven times 
 driven. Each of thefe goals was denoted by three ftones of a conical 
 figure. The goals were hollow within, and contained the images of 
 the Goddefs Confas, or of counfel, that of Metias, or of goals ; and 
 other deities, that fhunned the light of day, becaufe their worfliip was 
 myfterious. 
 
 D D. A low wall ; which ran from one goal to the other. It was 
 Vol. I. Z z called 
 
354 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 called S J) hi a, 01' back bone; becaiife it was in or near the middle. It 
 had more than one pui*pofe ; for it prevented the chariots, that had 
 not fully attained the fecond goal, from turning round the firft ; and on 
 this wall the Judges flood. Agrippa, who imparted the highefl degree 
 of order to thefe games, caufed eggs of marble to be placed on one fide 
 of the wall, and dolphins of marble on the other ; and, each time that 
 the courfe was run, an egg and a dolphin were taken away, that there 
 might be no miftake in the number of rounds they had gone. Agrippa 
 chofe dolphins in honour of Neptune ; and eggs, of Caftor, the tamer 
 of fteeds: who, with Helen, according to the fable, originated from 
 the egg of Leda, who was vifited by Zeus in the form of a fwan : like 
 as Pollux and Clytemneftra were derived from another egg, by Leda. 
 
 On a baflb relievo, in the Mufeum Pium Clementinum, there is the 
 reprefentation of a chariot race in the Circus; where all the charioteers. 
 are Cupids. Here likewife there are dolphins, upon fome pillars, and. 
 eggs upon others ; and againft one of thefe pillars a ladder is placed. 
 Other antique reprefentations exhibit the dolphins and the eggs, placed 
 on pillars; and, inconvenient as it may appear, the judge muft have 
 mounted on a ladder, before the race was ended, to take thefe tokens 
 away one after the other. 
 
 Upon this Spijia, which was likewife called Lhieafp'inea^ the images 
 of different deities were placed. Cybele, Fortuna, and Victoria, re- 
 mained ftationary. The other deities were brought in pomp from the 
 Capitol, under the condud: of the Pontifex Maximus. In the middle 
 of ihtfpina of this Circus flood an obelifk ; which was ornamentalj 
 but unneceffary. It was removed by Pope Innocent the Tenth, to the 
 Ptatzza Navotid. The letter E, in the drawing, points out the place 
 where the obelifk formerly flood. 
 
 At the end of the Circus, F, oppofite the lifts, ftood the Porta triiim^ 
 phalis^ or gate of vidory ; through which none but the vidors paffed. 
 
 The gate G has generally been fuppofed to be the Porta Libit in ^s y 
 
 the. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^55 
 
 the gate of the Goddefs of Death * It is aflerted, with probability, that 
 the antients were unwilUng to fee the Hving and the dead go out at the 
 fame gate ; and that the dead, as well the unfortunate charioteers as the 
 numerous llain gladiators, were equally obliged to pafs this way. Yet, 
 as this gate was exadly oppofite the feat of the Emperors, it is fcarcely 
 probable it flaould be devoted to fo gloomy a purpofe. Perhaps the 
 images of the Gods pafled through it in pomp ; and perhaps the opi- 
 nion of Mr. Hirt is true, which is, that it was the place of exit for the 
 lofmg chariots. 
 
 H. Here flood the puhinar, or feat of the Emperor ; traces of 
 which are vifible, in the outward wall. He fat in this place where he 
 could beil difcern the turning of the chariots, round the hindmoft 
 goal. 
 
 I 1. Two towers ; the deftination of which is uncertain. How 
 could the Judges fit here ? They fat on the Spi?ta, Were thefe the 
 places from which the names of the vidors were proclaimed to the 
 people ? Or was the choir of mufic here ? Mr. Hirt imagines that 
 as, in antient times, the courfe for the chariot races was very extenfive, 
 and therefore the turning round the utmoft limit could not well be 
 perceived by the fpedators, hills were formerly thrown up ; on 
 which perfons were ftationed, to proclaim the quick motions of the 
 race. We find indeed, in Homer, that the chariots were partly con- 
 cealed from the fpedators. In the twenty-third book of the Iliad, a 
 violent quarrel arifes between Idomeneus and -Ajax, the fon of Oileus, 
 becaufe one imagined he could difcern the horfes of Diomedes and 
 the other of Eumelus. But, allowing that the Greeks in early times 
 
 * To this Goddefs, or rather to Venus, under the name of Venus Libitinaj Servius 
 Tullius erected a temple ; In which money was depofited for the deceafed. Here like- 
 wife furniture for funerals was purchafed. Plutarch fuppofes that the worfliip of this 
 Goddefs was before invented by Numa ; and that he intended to wean men from the 
 fear of death, by fignlfying to them that the fame Goddefs prefided over the gate of 
 life and the gate of de^th. Vid. Rofmi Ant. Rom. 
 
 Z z 2 did 
 
356 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 did throw up fuch hills, the better to publifli the viclory, why fhould 
 the Romans, in their much lels circus, imitate them, by building unne- 
 ceflary towers ? 
 
 It is the opinion of fon^.e that the fignal for ftarting from the lifts 
 was given from thefe towers. But why from two towers ? Befide, 
 we know that, in the age of the republic, this fignal was given fome- 
 times by the Prxtor, fometimes by a Conful, at others by a Didator ; 
 and that afterward it was given by the Emperors. This fignal was a 
 napkin, thrown among the people; as we are informed by feveral allu- 
 fions of the poets. 
 
 On certain days, the Confuls ate publicly, in the theatre. AVhen 
 their meal was ended, and they had wiped their hands with the mappa^ 
 or mappula^ or napkin, the mappar'ius^ or napkin bearer, received it 
 from their hand; and this was the fignal for ftarting '•''. 
 
 Nero having once fat longer than ufual at dinner, the people became 
 impatient for the games to begin ; and he threw the napkin out of 
 the window, as a token of his permifficn. 
 
 L L. Seats of the fpedators, on the wall ; within which, in order 
 to proted the foremofl and loweft of the fpedators againft the chariots 
 and horfes, and likewife from the wild beafts that were brought to 
 combat, a ditch was carried round. 
 
 M. Traces of a building, the deftination of which is doubtful. 
 Here likevN^ife it is probable that the Judges flood. Its fituation was 
 advantageous to obferve the thronging of the chariots toward the firft 
 
 goal. 
 
 N N. Two places of exit ; probably deftined for the gladiators ; 
 and perhaps the dead were carried through them. 
 
 The ufe of the building O, which is behind the imperial pulvmar^ is 
 utterly uncertain. Upon a fquare wall, which rifes high above the 
 ground, {lands a prodigious pillar ; by which and by the outward wall 
 
 * V'td. Rofini Ant. Rom, 
 
 a rotunda 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ' .-^y 
 
 a rotunda was fupported, and only the floorlnc^ of which can now be 
 feen : the wall and the cupola are fallen. Below, in the fquare build- 
 ing, and between the outward wall and the pillar, a broad pafTa'^e runs. 
 Some maintain that the chariots ftood here: but the place is too little 
 for the purpofe. Above, a temple might have been ereded: yet, why 
 fo near the circus? 
 
 Mr. Hirt conje«5tures, and I think v>'ith reafon, that the upper part 
 was a family fepulchre ; and the lower the burial place of the freed- 
 men. Antiently, public games were generally given in honour of the 
 dead. It was thus that Achilles honoured Patroclus*; and iEneas 
 celebrated the anniverfary of the death of x^nchifes by public games 
 with his friendly hoft of Sicily f . The Romans had the fame cuftoni of 
 honouring the manes of the deceafed. There was a projedlion from 
 this rotunda, which refted on pillars, leading immediately to the Ap^ 
 pian way. You know it was cuftomary with the Romans to build 
 their tombs by the road fide ; and it is highly probable that this ro- 
 tunda was the tomb of a principal Roman, in honour of whom the 
 games were inftituted. The Circus itfelf may more probably be 
 afcribed to fome private perfon than to the Emperor Caracalla ; with 
 "whofe prodigious Thermse, if we may judge from thefe ruins, it fo ill 
 agrees %. The dotted lines, in the drawing, only fignify that regula- 
 rity was in part facrificed to higher purpofes. The fpace for running, 
 on the right, is rather broader than on the left ; becaiife the chariots, 
 immediately after they had ftarted from the lifts, ftill continued on a 
 line with each other ; and it was necelTary to avoid obftrud:ion on 
 turning the firft goal. I call the moft diftant the firft ; becaufe it was 
 turned the firft. Neither was the wall between G and N perfectly 
 
 * Horn. II. xxiil. f Virg. -^n. v. 
 
 X An Italian author, from whom I borrowed the drawing, imagines this Circus be- 
 longs to the later times of the Chriilian emperors ; who, unable immediately to wean 
 the people from the combats of the gladiators, chofe a place without the city: though 
 this opinion does not appear to me very probable. Vid. Momimenti Aniichi ineditu 
 MDCCLXXXIX. 
 
 right 
 
338 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 right lined, but foinething oblique ; in order to bring the chariot of 
 the outward lift nearer to the goal. 
 
 The gates of the outward wall are marked in the drawing ; through 
 -which the people afcended to their feats ; a« likewife are the fteps of 
 the inward wall, by which they defcended when the fpedlacle was 
 •over. The windows between each gate, that give light to the narrow- 
 entrance, are alfo marked. Allowing that the fteps within v.' ere for 
 the people to enter, yet the vomitoria^ or outward gates, w^ere neceflary 
 for thofe who wilhed to depart during the exhibition. The circus was 
 one thoufand four hundred and eighty-four Parifian feet in length. 
 ThQ fpina is eight hundred and thirty-four feet long. The Rhenifh 
 foot is fomething lefs than the Parifian *. 
 
 Not far from this circus are the remains of the monuments of the 
 Servilii : but the architecture betrays later times than thofe of any 
 fepulchre that could contain the allies of the noble Spurius Servilius 
 Ahala, who lived in the early and beft days of the republic, and who 
 in the female line was the worthy progenitor of Marcus Brutus. 
 
 A temple, faid to be of Bacchus, of uncertain origin, and of the 
 fourth or fifth century, is now confecrated to St. Urban. 
 
 The rocky grotto of the fountain Egeria is very delightful ; and 
 would be more delightful ftill, had they not, if I do not miftake, 
 thrown a walled arch over it, in the time of Auguftus. Its high anti- 
 quity, and the recolledtion of the wife Numa, who was the legiflator of 
 a lawlefs people, and who here nightly received the revelations of the 
 nymph Egeria, give a very peculiar worth to this fountain. The 
 water flows clear from the rock, is excellent, and the memory of the 
 virtuous Numa gives it a value which is all its own f . 
 
 Behind 
 
 * Vid. Mon. Ant. tned. 
 
 f Conjuge qui fel'ix Nymphoy ducibttfque Camoems 
 Sacrificos docuit ritusy gentemqiie feroci 
 AJfuetam bello pads traduxit ad artes. 
 
 Ovid, lib. xv. 482—84. 
 
 Oh 
 
TRAVELS GF COUNT STOLBERG. ^x^t^^ 
 
 Behind the grotto the ftatue of a River God lies ; probably of the 
 neighbouring river, Almo, which has erroneoufly been taken for the 
 ftatue of the Nymph. The head of this figure is wanting. 
 
 Near the fountain is a fmall grove ; which fome believe to have been 
 dedicated to Hgeria, fome to Diana. Probably it is the fame that Numa 
 confecrated to the Mufes, under the name of the Camcence, 
 
 We went upon the field, that lies between the Porta Cape?ia and the 
 Porta Latetia^ which v;as occupied by Hannibal and his victorious 
 army J and which was fold in Rome, while this leader and his army 
 were there, for as high a price as if the city had enjoyed the moft pro- 
 found calm *. 
 
 In this field, w^e are fhewn a fmall temple ; which was built by the 
 Romans, after the retreat of Hannibal, to the God Rediculus ; and 
 not to the God Ridiculus, as many have affirmed ; for Hannibal, even; 
 when retreating, was not a fubjed for laughter. In the very antient 
 language of Rome, their general ending was in icidus ; and, from the 
 word Redire, to go back, they produced this new created Godhead - 
 as if the God had occafioned the retreat of Hannibal. 
 
 Others affirm that this fmall temple was of an earlier date, and eredted 
 in honour of Fortuna Muliebris : or Female Fortune : in the place where 
 Caius Martn/s, to whom the Romans gave the name of Coriolanus^ from^ 
 Corioli, a fmall town of the Volfci^ was met by his mother Veturia^ and . 
 
 Oh happy monarch, fent by heaven to blefs 
 A favage nation with foft arts of peace j 
 To teach religion, rapine to reftrain, 
 Give laws to luft, and facrifice ordain ! 
 Himfelf a Saint, a Goddefs was his bride "j 
 And all the Mufes o'er his a6ts prefide. 
 
 Dryden, 1. 715, 
 
 According to this poet, Egeria diflblved in tears at the death of Niimaj and \vz% 
 changed into a fountain at Alicia. — IbiD:, 
 
 * Liv. xxvi. XI. 
 
 Hs 
 
360 - TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 his wife Voliimn'ia :, by whom the obftinate Coriolanus was foftened, 
 after liavhig led the Volfci^ whom he had conquered, aganift his 
 countiy ; and when he had defpifed the entreaties of the ambafilidors 
 and priefts, that had been fent to him ^'. 
 
 But this building is of much later times, and of the fourth or fifth 
 century after the birth of Chrifl:. With what view it was ereded is 
 uncertain : it now ferves as a hog fty. 
 
 The river Almo — cinfiiqiie hrevijjlmus Almo f — runs near this place ; 
 and is now called Acc'ia^ A-cqiia d'Accia, and, in the corrupt dialed of 
 the vulgar, Acquataccia, Every year, on the 6th of the calends of 
 April, the flirines of Cyhele were wafhed by their priefts in the waters 
 of this river. 
 
 In the year 1780, v/ithin the gate Sehajl'iano^ deep under ground, in 
 formerly unknown vaults, the tombs of the Scipios were difcovered. 
 Neither of the two Scipios, who bore the furname Africafius^ are bu- 
 ried here. The firfl died in Litemiim : the fepulchre of the fecond 
 Scipio Afrkaims, who conquered Carthage, was a beautiful pyramid ; 
 which was deftroyed and ftripped of its marble by Pope Alexander the 
 Sixth ; and, on the place where it flood, there is a covered way, which 
 leads from the Vatican to the caftle of Saint Angelo. 
 
 The burial place of the Scipios is very fimple. We defcended, 
 with a light, fome fmall and fteep fteps. The prefent Pope conceived 
 the unlucky projed of taking the farcophagl^ and infcriptions, to orna- 
 ment the Mufeum Plum CIcmentinum; and to replace them wdth coun- 
 terfeits. How much greater w^ould the pleafure be of feeing thefe 
 farcophagt in their true places, inftead of viewing them as part of a 
 prodigious coUedion, in which the number of objeds "deftroys the 
 effed of each ! 
 
 Among thefe fepulchres was likewife that of Scipio Barhatus ; who 
 was conful in the year of Rome 456, about thirty years before the firfl: 
 Punic war, and a hundred years before the confulfhip of the firfl: oc'ipio 
 
 * Liv. ii. 40, f Ovid. Met. xiv. 329. 
 
 Afrkaniis^ 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 361 
 
 Africanus, The infcriptlon, which pointed out his fepulckre, is pro- 
 bably the moll antient of the Roman infcriptions, that have come 
 down to our times. 
 
 LETTER L. 
 
 Rome, nth January 1792. 
 
 'N the eafl fide of the city, a good half league from the 
 P'orlJ Maggiore^ formerly Pra^77e/ii?ia^ alfo Labicana^ there is an antient 
 round half fallen building; which appears to have been ereded about 
 the feccnd or third century after the birth of Chrlfl ; and to have been 
 •called, though i know not why, l^orre dcgli fchiavi : the tower of the 
 fiaves. 
 
 This building is entirely of the fame kind as the rotunda of the Cir- 
 cus of Caracalla. Here you find arches that are turned in the fame 
 manner as thofe of the arches of the rotunda; and fupported by pillars 
 iof a like thicknef^r I informed you, in my laft letter, that nothing 
 above ground is remaining of the rotunda ; but here the walls, and a 
 great part of the cupola, are flili ftanding. There are niches in the 
 walls, not round and arched over as thofe in which the ftatues of the 
 Gods ftood, but long and horizontal; and, by their figure, evidently 
 fhew they were intended to contdixn farcophagt. 
 
 This ftrudture likewife is a fepulchre ; and appears to prove the opi- 
 nion of Mr. Hirt, that the rotunda of the Circus of Caracalla was, in 
 like manner, a fepulchre : although the under arches have been held to 
 be a place in which chariots or horfes were kept ; and that it was a 
 riding houfe, for which it was ill fitted. It is more probable that the 
 
 Vol. I. 3 A family 
 
362 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEP.G. 
 
 family of the'poffefTors of this fepulchre were buried in the upper part ; 
 and their freed men in the lower. 
 
 The cupola is very flat, and covered with grafs and brambles. Some 
 remains of a wall denote an cnclofed place, that formerly flood facing 
 this fepulchre. Perhaps combats of gladiators were given here in ho- 
 nour of the perfons whom they interred. 
 
 Near this T'orre degli fcJj'mvi is another (1111 more ruinous building ; 
 concerning the deftination of which there have been many doubts. 
 Like the other, it is built on arches. The cupola is fallen down : but 
 it is difcoverable, from fome remains, that it was very flatly arched 5 
 and the walls, which fupported it, were not high. You can only en- 
 ter the lower vaulting, as well as the upper rotunda, through fome ca- 
 vities which are occafioned by decay. 
 
 Neither of thefe towers has doors. Mr. Hirt, as far as I am in- 
 formed, was the firfl: who made a probable conjecture concerning them. 
 He believes that thefe buildings ferved as refervoirs, to fome private fa- 
 mily ; probably to the fame whofe fepulchre we have been viewing. 
 The neighbouring large aqueduds made it very eafy for water to be 
 brought into thefe towers, by fmall conduits :,and from thence through 
 pipes into the houfe of the owner. The country round Rome is poor 
 in fprings ; and the antients were more profufe, in the ufe of water, 
 becaufe of their baths, than we are. In fome places of this building 
 there is a part of the abutment of the wall remaining ; and with it a 
 part even of the mortar with which fountains orfubterranean conduits, 
 that were deftined for the containing of water, were formed. 
 
 An antient odlagon fepulchre, on which fome other adjund: had 
 been erected in the middle ages, which had been fupported by a ftrong 
 round column, forms a continuation of the before deicribed ruins ; and, 
 conned:ed with ruins more difl:ant, produces the greater effetSt upon 
 the eye by being, in part, thrown down, and, in part, Handing, to a 
 confiderable height, in a pidturefque manner. 
 
 Nothing attrads you more forcibly than the long row of grand 
 
 aqueducfts ; 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. y,^ 
 
 aqnedu(fts ; which formerly were extended far heyond Tihiir^ the pre- 
 fent T^ivoli^ to this place, and by which water was brought to the city. 
 The beautiful arcades of the lofty wall, over which the water ran, rife 
 high in the air. The work was begun by Claudius and completed by Nero. 
 
 Six aqueducts met together, at the Porta Pranejlhia : one of them 
 was fubterranean, and proceeded from the river An'io ; now the Tcve- 
 rone. We fee the fpace beneath, quite to the wall, through which it 
 flowed. In the wall of the city, which w^as the work oftlie Emperor 
 Aurelian, there is a much more antient ftone pillar, through which 
 three different aqueduds were brought. Here you fee the apertures 
 through which they flowed : they ftill ftand one above the other. 
 The undermioit was the aquedud: of Martins ; and v/as built, in the 
 time of the republic, by an iEdile, who was a defcendant of the family 
 that produced King Ancus Martius and Coriolanus. The fecond was 
 the Aqueduct Tcpula; and the uppermoft the Julian Aquedudl, built 
 by Agrippa^ who contributed fo much to the convenience and embel- 
 liihment of the city. 
 
 In another part, and through the wall, the aqueduds of Claudia and 
 Atilo Novus flowed. Water was brought through both thefe aque- 
 duds to a capacious refervoir : Cajldltim : likewife, Cajlrum : which 
 w^as built by Trajan, and the ruins of which are clofe to the gate. 
 It was adorned by the trophies of Marius, as they are called, but in re- 
 ality, of Trajan ; which now ftand facing the Capitol. Elere the water 
 of each aquedud was kept, in a particular divifion of the refervoir : for 
 the Rom.ans, acquainted with their different qualities, ufcd them for 
 difl^erent purpofes. Some were conveyed onward for beverage ; and 
 others fcr the baths. 
 
 Such like aqueduds were new in Rome : the fubterranean was the 
 mofl: antient, which was brought to the city by Appius Claudius Ctcus, 
 during his cenforfhip in the year of Rome 442, from the hill at Ti/fcH- 
 liniiy under the Porta Capena ^, 
 
 * Liv. Ix. 29. 
 
 3 A 2 the 
 
364 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG, 
 
 The greatnefs of the work of thefe aquedudls was the more affo- 
 nifliing, becaufe that the Romans, probably to prevent the too quick 
 courfe of the water, did not build them in a continued right line, but 
 frequently with large windings. 
 
 " Whoever," faid Pliny, " would fufficiently eftimate the abundance 
 " of the waters, brought from diftant parts for the ufe of the public, 
 " for our baths, ourpools, our houfes, canals, gardens, and villas, which 
 *' furround the city, and would confider the expence of erecting arches, 
 *' di<^<^in^ through mountains, and filling up valleys, would t!;ea know 
 " that the whole earth does not contain any thing more wonderful *." 
 
 Time, and ftill more eifedually perhaps the Barbarians, that have 
 fucceffively taken and ruined Rome, have rendered thefe aqueducts- 
 ufelefs ; except the three which ftill remain, and which three continue 
 to fupply feveral of the fountains that adorn the ci y, and afford its in- 
 habitants water. 
 
 At the foot of the hill formerly called ^h'lnal^ now Monte Cavallo^. 
 there is ftill the fountain of the Virgin, aqua Fr-go, which Agrippa.. 
 condu'Stedto this place from Tufculum. Some affirm it was called the 
 Vir^-in becaufe it v/as dedicated to Diana . others becaufe a young 
 maiden pointed it out to fome foldiers, that were in fearch. of water. 
 This aquedu6t was likewife much injured by the Barbarians ; but 
 three Popes have contributed to its reftoration. The fprings that 
 fupply the fountain v/ere embellifhed by Clement the Twelfth. It is 
 called FoJitana di Trevi ; which fome fay is after Diana, that Goddefs 
 being woriliipped by the Romans under the name of Trivia : becaufe, 
 as Goddefs of the Moon, {he traverfed the heavens, as Goddefs of 
 hunting, the earth ; and hell under the character of Hecate. 
 
 Here is a colofllil ftatue of Neptune, In his fliell chariot, drawn by 
 two wild horfes, with their bodies half in the water, where the rufh- 
 ing frothy waves gufti into the fountain. Two Tritons are at the 
 heads of the horfes ; the right horfe fprings afide terrified, while a 
 
 * Plin. xxxvi. 15. 
 
 I Triton 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 353 
 
 Triton holds him by the rein. Neptune looking at the horfe pro- 
 duces a bad efled. : a look of momentary apprehenfion is totally un- 
 worthy of the God of the ocean. 
 
 This fo'intain is ornamented with Corinthian pillars, and bajfi relievh 
 BifTerent mafters have laboured at it, after the defigns of FrancefcQ 
 Salvi ; and, with all i<:s im perfection s, the efFed of the whole is great. 
 It fubdues the critic, whofe voice is overpowered by the neio-hing of 
 the liorfes and the rufhing of the water. 
 
 In the large place called Navona^ which occupies the fpace where 
 the Circus of Alexander Severus formerly flood, there are three foun- 
 tains. That in the middle is large, and by Bernini ; and is very afto- 
 nifhins;. On a rock, which is perforated on four fides, the four prin- 
 cipal rivers of the world are lying : the God of the Danube, as a Giant; 
 the Kile^ with his head covered in allufion to the unknown fources of 
 the ftream ; the Ganges ; and Rio dc la Plata. Vaft ftreams pour 
 from their urns into the large bafon, and fupply the pipes of other 
 fountains. Beneath the rock there are fpacious cavities, in which animals 
 are feen ; a horfe, a lion, and others. Bernini muft furely have been 
 infpired, by the following verfes of Horace to Auguftus 
 
 Te font'ium qui celat'origines 
 WihifqiUy et IJier, te rapidtis Tigris^ ^ 
 
 TV belhio;us qui remotis 
 
 Objirepit Oceanus B i tannic 
 
 • — audit' - 
 
 H6i^. lib. iv. od. 14,: 
 
 The Nile, who hides his feven-fold fource j 
 
 The Tigris, headlong, in his courfe ; 
 
 The Danube, and the ocean, wild, that roars, . 
 
 With monfter-beanng waves, round Britain's rocky fhores, - 
 
 Obey thee Francis. 
 
 The daring genius of Bernini is here vifible ; but he knew not how 
 to imitate nature with truth, • 
 
 Upon 
 
-;56 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 J 
 
 Upon the rock, above, an Egyptian obellfk is Handing, which was 
 brou^'-ht to R-ome by Caracalla ; and contains hieroglyphics. 
 
 The Funtana di Paolo gulhes through three wide outlets, near the 
 chu.rch F'lctro in Montorio, on the hill Janicidus, This fountain is 
 the mod: copious in Rome. It is provided with vv^ater by the aqueduifl 
 which Auiruftus built. By the command of Pope Paul the Fifth it was 
 repaired, and embelliihed. It would have produced a great effect, if 
 the three wide and two fmall outlets, through which the water iiTues, 
 had been reduced to one capacious whole. The decorations, with the 
 beautiful Ionic pillars, are not well conneded v.^ith the fountain j Vv'hich 
 is the defeiSl of many of the decorations of modern Rome. 
 
 Were it not for the above fault, I ihould have thought the fountain 
 on the place of St. Peter's the fined of any. The beautiful Iheets of 
 water afcend, Ipreading their broad flreams, and dafliing ail around, 
 fo as to form glittering rainbows, when the fun ihines, like the water-' 
 falls of mountains. The air round the fountain is cool. 
 
 The Mufeum of the Capitol contains one of the richeft and fineft 
 colledions of antiques that have been formed. You mull: not expert 
 me to mention either the whole or the greateft part of them : according 
 to cuftcm, I fliall feled thofe that have interefted me the mofb. The 
 palace, in which the mafter-pieces of art are contained, is one of the 
 three buildings of which the modern Capitol confifts. There is a 
 gallery round the court, which is walled without, and within is fup- 
 ported by pillars, and in which there are many remarkable antiques. 
 Two large Egyptian ftatues of the Goddefs His merit our notice only 
 becaufe of their antiquity. I was more attraded by an antient Roman 
 altar, in which Claudia is reprefented in baffo relievo, and is fliewn 
 drawing the fhip containing the Cybele with her girdle. 
 
 In the time of the fecond Punic War, the Romans were terrified, by 
 a paiTage in the Sihyllme books ; which faid that their foreign enemies 
 could not be driven back, nor overcome, till the Idean Mother, that is, 
 Cybele^ the Mother of the Gods, Ihould be brought from PeJJi?ms to 
 
 Rome. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 367 
 
 Ro:nc. The Seaate feat to Attains^ kin^ of Pergamus^ hoping to ob- 
 tain the Goddefs through his means. The ambalMors, on their jour- 
 ney, confulted the oracle oi Delphi^ which foretold them a favourable re- 
 ception from Aitalus ; but advifed them, when theyihouid have brought 
 the Goddefs to Rome, to pla<e her in the houfe of the bed man in the 
 city. Atta-us received the ambalTadors in a friendly manner con- 
 duced them to Fe/Ji?ji/s in Phrygia^^ and prefented them with a holy 
 flonc, which the inhabitants called the Moiher of the Gods. Valerius 
 owQ of their train, was fent by tlie ambaifadors with the intelligence 
 that the C^oddefs was coming; and reqaefting them to feek the bed 
 man of the city to receive her. 
 
 The Senate were not a little embarrafTed by the mefllige of Valerius. 
 How were they to difcover the bell: man in the city ? l"his would have 
 b-een a vidory, faid Livy, which they would each individually have 
 prized, beyond all the honours and dignities that the Senate or the 
 People could beftowf. Piiblius Scipio Nafica^ a kinfman of the Firft 
 Africanus, was adjudged to be the beft of the Romans. He was ftill 
 a youth when he was commiilioned to go, with the principal women 
 of the city, to Oftia, at the mouth of the Tiber, and receive the God- 
 defs. The (liip having ftruck on the flmds, from which it could not 
 be releafed, Claudia, as a different hidorian relates, took her girdle, tied 
 it to a rope which v\^as faftened to the fhip, and drew the veiTel to the 
 land. By this miracle fhe vindicated her chaftity ; which had before, 
 according to Livy, been doubted J. 
 
 Claudia is reprefented on this altar in the a(£l of drawing the fhip, in 
 which the ftatue of Cybele is feated. On one fide of the altar, we fee a 
 Phrygian bonnet ; and on the other a fhepherd's crook, and a crotalum, 
 
 * Liv. xxix TO, IT. 
 
 \Veram ce:te v'lElonam ejus ret fihi quifque mallet quam iilla imper'ia^ honorefve^fuffragio 
 feu puirum feu pleh'is ddatos. 
 
 \ C a ilubiuj ut trcditurj anteafamay clariorem ad pojieros tarn religwfo minijlerio pudicitlam 
 fecit. 
 
 The 
 
J 
 
 68 TP.AVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Tlie flicpherd's crook is indubitably a fymbol of Atys, the fhepherd be- 
 loved by the Goddefs. 
 
 On another aUar, we find on one fide "xFortuna^ with her attributes;; 
 and on the other a Via^ the Goddefs of Roads, with hers : that is, fit- 
 ting- on a wheel lying on the ground, with a whip in her hand, and a 
 columna miUiar'ia '• {landing before her. 
 
 A third altar, if not a pedeftal to foine ftatue of Jupiter, is decorated 
 with very fine bajjl relievi. In front is a Jupiter, when a child, lying 
 at the teat of the goat Amalthea ; with Corybantes beating their cym- 
 bals, that the child-devouring father may not hear the cry of the boy. 
 On the left Saturn ftands ; to whom Rhea prefents a flone, fwaddled 
 like a child, for him to devour inflead of Jupiter. On the right there 
 is an aflembly of the Gods. 
 
 In the court, fronting the palace, lies the celebrated coloflal ftatue 
 called Marforio ; and embellifhes a fountain. This ftatue reprefents 
 the Rhine, and was placed in the forum of Mars by Auguftus ; from 
 which the Romans have given it the corrupt name of Marforim, 
 
 In a lower apartment, near the court, are Egyptian ftatacs ; which 
 Were found in the Villa of Adrian, at Tivoli. This Emperor had a 
 particular and whimfical preference for Egyptian idolatry. The fta- 
 tues are in the Egyptian coftume ; but are the -work of a Roman 
 artift. On the wall of the ftaircafe, leading to the apartments of the 
 Mufeum, there is a very artfully defcribed plan of antient Rome. It 
 formerly ferved as flooring, in the temple of Romulus and Remus; 
 and includes certain buildings which were conftruded by Septimius 
 Severus. Thefe fragments confift of twenty-fix white marble tables, 
 each of which is about two and a half ells long and two ells broad. 
 
 How much it is to be lamented that the whole plan is not preferved ! 
 The fragments that remain are of great worth, and explain many 
 things of which we fhould otherwife be ignorant. 
 
 I was particularly pleafed by the following antiques. 
 
 ^ A Roman mile flone* 
 
 THE 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 3^^ 
 
 THE FIRST APARTMENT. 
 
 hfcircophagus : Endymion, fieeping in the lap of Morpheus. Diana 
 approaching on tip toe, fearful of awaking him, led by a Cupid. Her 
 chariot ftands ftill ; and in it is feated another Cupid. A third is on 
 the right of the horfes ; and, while he holds the bridle, refts with one 
 foot againft the neck of the horfe. TMi^ farcophagiis is probably fym- 
 bolical : and, if fo, how lovely is fuch a reprefentation of death ! Diana 
 feeks her beloved while he lleeps. 
 
 You find the fame idea, fomewhat differently prefented, on another 
 Sarcophagus ; the lid of which is adorned with five bajfi relievi* 
 
 Firjl, A man and woman, feated, tenderly embracing each other j 
 with a dog, the fymbol of fidelity, by their fide. 
 
 Second. Mercury^ with his cadiiceus in one hand, and his waving wand, 
 with which he conduds fouls to the regions of darknefs, in the other. 
 Homer fupplies him v/ith this wand, when he leads the fouls of the 
 lovers of Penelope. 
 
 'AvJ'^iaiy (Wvur^owv, i'xj. ^£ poi.i'^ov fXBTec %ef <7iv 
 KaXw, Xf''e''"'»"'> T»7 t' av^^iiv OfA,/j,aTa BsXysi 
 
 Ofi.Ol n. 1. 
 
 Cyllenius now to Pluto's dreary reign 
 Conveys the dead j a lamentable train ! 
 The golden wand that caufes fleep to fly. 
 Or in foft flumber feals the wakeful eye. 
 That drives the ghoft to realms of night ot day^ 
 Points out the long uncomfortable way. 
 
 Pope, Od. b. xxiv. i. 
 
 TJj'ird. A facrifice to Pluto and Proferpine. 
 
 Fourth. Mnemofyne : the Goddefs of Memory^ and the Mother 
 of the Mufes. 
 
 Fifth, The three Parcse. The man kneels and prays before them, 
 Vol. I. 3 B on 
 
370 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOT.BERG. 
 
 on one fide ; and the woman on the other. Probably tliey are each 
 praying that the life of the other may be proionged. 
 
 A third /arcopbagiis ap^QSii's to have contained the aflies of a poet. 
 The nine Mufes are figured, on the great bajh relievo : on one fide 
 are Homer and the Mufe Calliope : on the other Socrates, and Mne- 
 mofyne : and there is a Bacchanal on the lid, 
 
 THE SECOND APARTMENT- 
 
 A beautiful Pfyche, flying the wrath of Venus. As fhe runs, fhe 
 looks behind her. It is a ilatue of inimitable lovelinefs, and delicate 
 animation. 
 
 What a contraft is the above to an old Vsroman, feated, who holds a 
 large earthen veflel between her knees, with her head thrown back- 
 ward, in the atthude of wild inebriety : while her whole haggard de- 
 bilitated body denotes'the injuries of age ! This likewife, in its kind, 
 is a mafterpiece. 
 
 Cupid and Pfyche, kifhng and embracing, are moft tenderly beautiful 
 
 THE THIRD APARTMENT. 
 
 The famous dying gladiator. Who has not heard of this ? which 
 is certainly one of the greateft mafter- pieces of antient art that has 
 defcended to us ! Mr. Hirt does not agree with the common opinion. 
 He imagines it to be the Gaul, who defied the mod valiant of the 
 Romans to fingle combat, and was llain by T. Manlius. Manlius 
 took from him his golden neck band, and wore it himfelf ; whence he 
 obtained the furname of Torgiiatus^^ which he left to his defcendants, 
 I will not objed to Mr. Hirt that the ftatue rather bears a cord than a 
 golden neck band. The epitome of the feventh book of Livy informs 
 us that it was of gold. The word torques indeed feems to denote a 
 twilled neck band, which might very well refemble a rope. But there 
 is a more ferious obje(^ion. Livy defcribes the Gaul in a various- 
 
 * Liv. vii. 9. 
 
 co' cured 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 371 
 
 coloured drefs ; and the ilatue is naked. However, the artlft, as it 
 has happened in many •fmiilar cafes, might facriiice the coftume of hif- 
 tory to the beauty of art. I can give no explanation of the horn, that 
 lies upon the fhield : but it does not appear to rne to favour the opinion 
 of Mr. Hirt. There was no need of a horn, for the Gaul to call aloud 
 from the bridge, and bid the Roman come forth, ^ajitum maxima 
 voce potuit. 
 
 The right arm has been badly repaired by a modern artlft. The 
 hand is much larger than the other, and the joints have a great hard- 
 nefs of expreffion. It is inconceivable that the beautiful works of the 
 anticnts fhould be fo frequently unikilfully repaired by the Italians. In 
 the gallery of Florence, I faw a beautiful Leda the fwan to which was 
 wantinf^ ; and a modern artift, to fupply the lofs, had given her a duck 
 in her hand, which fhe held as if fhe had fcolen it. 
 
 THE FOURTH APARTMENTi- --- 
 
 J-Ierc Vv'e find heads of the great Poets and Plillofophei s : Homer, 
 Pindar, Euripides, Socrates, Archimedes, Lyfias, Plato, though of thie 
 theri is no certainty, Epicurus, and his fcholar Metrodorus. Thefe 
 t\" o heads are back to back, and have only one neck ; as Janus v»^as re- 
 p/efented by the Romans. To thefe add a whole length ftatue of Zeno, 
 the founder of the Stoic philofophy. 
 
 THE FIFTH APARTiMENT. 
 
 A beautiful Venus of Parian marble, the white colour of which is 
 remarkably well preferved. It has the attitude of the famous Venus 
 de Medicis at Florence ; but is not fo tender, and has by no means fo 
 many charms. 
 
 Avmong many of the Cxfars, who, with their wives and the various 
 branches of their family, are here, my attention was particularly at- 
 traded by a fine head of Trajan, who is my favourite Emperor. 
 
 A ftatue of Flora : the drapery of which is excellent, the head 
 
 modern. 
 
 2 B 2 Two 
 
372 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEHG. 
 
 Two beautiful bajfi relievl, on the wall : the firft, Perfeus delivering 
 Andromeda"; and the fecond, a fleeping Endymion. His dog, a grey- 
 hound, is his defender, and has one foot held up, after the manner of 
 greyhounds, and the other bent in the air, himfelf barking and looking 
 upward. The artifl no doubt, though he has omitted the figure of 
 Diana, meant to denote her near approach to her beloved Ihepherd. 
 
 THE LONG GALLERY. 
 In this there are many beautiful ftatues ; and, among others, two 
 coloflal buds of the two great Emperors : Trajan, and Antoninus 
 Pius. Trajan is crowned with his oak garland : probably after his 
 vi<ftory over the Dacl. Likewife, a fine buil of the firft P. Cornelius 
 Scipio Africanus ; with the fear on the head. 
 
 THE SIXTH APAPvTMENT. 
 
 In this there are mifcellaneous works. A head of Bacchus, which 
 is faid to be the moft beautiful exifting of this God ; and a larger head 
 of Ariadne. 
 
 A noble head of Alexander, as the fon of Jupiter, with fiaming 
 hair. 
 
 A beautiful mofaic work, of tlie antients, depids four doves feated 
 on the rim of a circular vafe. One drinks ; another has been wafhing, 
 and is putting its feathers in order ; a third lies fide w^ays, with 
 wings fluttering, like the adion of doves when they mean to dip in 
 the water. The fourth is fitting at reft; and, in all of them, there is 
 the moft animated and inimitable expreffion of lovely nature. 
 
 The ftatue of a child, holding a bu'd in one hand. The bird is at- 
 Tem.pting to peck at the face of the child ; who turns away his head, 
 fearful of the beak of the bird, but more fearful left it fnould efcape. 
 
 A beautiful Faun oi rojfo ant'ico : which is the name given to a fort 
 of red marble, ufed by the antients; but we do not know from whence 
 they obtained it. 
 
 A fine and very large brazen vafe, in the form of a beaker ; which 
 
 is 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^73 
 
 Is called the vafe of Mithridates. On the ring of the beaker, there is 
 an infcription, of which EocaiAius MiSrpiS'oiTm, King Mithridates, only- 
 are legible. 
 
 From this we afcended the Aventine hill ; which name it ftill bears, 
 and which it received from a King of Alba, called Aventlnus, who 
 was here ftruck dead by lightning*. According to others, it was fo 
 called by the Sabines, after one of their rivers f; to whom it was yield- 
 ed by Romulus, when this people made peace with the Romans. 
 
 The church of St. Sabina ftands on Mount Aventine, vv^here formerly 
 a temple of Diana ftood ; and near this is the church of St. Alexius, on 
 the place where once the temple of Juno Regina ftood. This temple 
 was built by Camillus, in confequence of a vow, vv^hen he was ap- 
 pointed commander againft Vcii^ in the tenth year of the fiege J. 
 
 On the top of this hill there is a fine profped:, from the terrace of a 
 garden ; which belongs to a Maltefe priory. To the right is the city 
 of Rome; in front, the river Tiber; beyond this, Mount Janiculus, 
 which extends to the left ; and belov^;■ us we faw, in the Tiber, the 
 ruins of the bridge which Horatius Codes, the One-eyed, defended 
 againft the army of Porfenna. The ftation of Porfenna was on the 
 hill Janiculus. The field, between this hill and the river, was after- 
 ward called the meadows of Mucius : prata Mucia : in honour of the 
 undaunted Mucius Scsevola ; who, having gone to kill Porfenna in his 
 camp, was feized, and, to convince the King how impolhble it was to 
 terrify a Roman by threats, burnt off his own right hand, in the fire 
 which Porfenna had ordered either to terrify or to torment his captive §. 
 As a reward, or rather perhaps in honour of his courage, the Roman 
 People prefented him v.'ith a part of the field which afctrward bore his 
 name. The place which was once the meadows of Mucius afterward 
 became the garden of Csefar, which he bequeathed in liis will to the 
 people. HereAiiguftus placed hi^ Nau7?iachi i. 
 
 Here too it was that Cleiia, when Ihe and the other virgins were 
 
 * Liv. i. 3. f Varro. J Liv.v. c 2i. § Liv. ii. 12. 
 
 I ient 
 
374 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 fent to Porfenna as hoftages, fwam over the Tiber, with her comDa^ 
 nions, afi'ailed by the arrows of the enemy. The Romar:s fent them 
 back: but Porfenna, who honoured courage in an enemy, gave Clciia 
 her freedom, v/ith the choice of a companion j and (he chofe the 
 youngeft *. 
 
 On the other fide of the city, we faw the fr ow-covered Apennines; 
 and the now entirely white mountain Sorade. One feems to exclaim 
 to the other 
 
 Vides ut ahajlet n'lve cand'idtim 
 SoraSle ? 
 
 HoR. i. od. 9. 
 
 Behold Sora£les, airy height I 
 See how It (lands a heap of fnow. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 In the church of the priory of Malta is a fdrcophagus^ from which 
 it is conjed;ured that the antients frequently made farcophagt an ob- 
 ject of traffic. On the principal baifo relievo there is a Minerva, at- 
 tended by the nine Mufes. Near the Goddefs fcands a man, the head 
 of which figure is not wrought ; and probably was left, that the liead 
 of the perfon for whom the monument fhould be purchafed might be 
 cut. It fl^iould feem that \\\\^ f.ircophagus had remained empty, till a 
 bilhop of the houfe of Spinelli v/as buried there. 
 
 Here is a fine ftatue of the archited Piranefi, as large as life, placed 
 there by his fon. It is the work of the living artift, Angolini ; and, 
 though it certainly cannot be compared with the beft antiques, it fdll 
 poffeiTes real merit. 
 
 Facing the Paul's gate, which is fo called becaufe St. Paul was be- 
 headed before this gate, and which formerly was called the gate of 
 Oftia, becaufe the road through it led to Oilia, ftands the church of 
 St. Paul. This building was begun by Theodofms the Great ; and 
 finillied by his fon Honorius. It is one of the largeft and fmeft 
 churches in Rome ; and, like all the oldeft churches in Rome, is built 
 in the bafilican manner. But as the pillars of the nave do not extend 
 
 * Liv. ii. 13. 
 
 to 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 375 
 
 to the tribune, or cho'r, it has, befide five naves in length, two in 
 breadth. The principal nave is fupported by four-and-twenty pillars, 
 of variegated African marble; which has been taken from the Maufo- 
 leum of Adrian, the prefent caftle of Saint Angelo. It does not appear 
 that this marble was any longer dug from the quarry, in the time of 
 Theodofius. The pillars, which have been placed befide thefe an- 
 tient rillars, are of grey marble ; and, compared to thofe of Adrian, 
 are of bad workmanfliip. 
 
 In one of the fide allies ftands a large pillar of marble of Pentelicus ; 
 which v/as elleemed to be the moft beautiful in Rome, and of Athe- 
 nian workmanfliip. 
 
 The principal gate is of bronze ; and was modelled at Conftantino- 
 ple, in the year 1070, at the expence of the Roman Conful, Pantaleone 
 Caftelii. The defeendants of the old Romans vv^ere lone- addidled to 
 works of magnificence. 
 
 It is affirmed that the aflies of the great apoftle, to whom the church 
 is dedicated, repofe under the high altar. Indeed, it is not incredible 
 that the Chriftians of Rome might carefully have preferved his body, 
 to the time of Theodofius. 
 
 The large and beautiful church, though not v/ithout ftriking defeds, 
 produces a great impreffion. 7 he eighty pillars, which fland in front, 
 though large, are unequal to the grandeur of the church. To give this 
 a height which fliould be in proportion to its length, inftead of a run- 
 ning architrave, the pillars ought to fupport arches ; and over thefe 
 arch- 8 the wall fliould be carried very high: for, according to the rules 
 of architedure, the height of the upper wall fliould not be. more than 
 two thirds of the length of the pillars, meafured from the pedeflal to 
 the cornice. 
 
 There is an old farcophagiis^ in the cloifter of the church, of rude 
 workmanfliip, and injured by time. The baflb relievo is remarkable 
 for its workmanfliip, though difgufling in its fubjed. It is Mercury 
 flaying Marfyas, in the prefence of Apollo. Below thefe is a man 
 
 whetting 
 
2j6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 whetting a knife ; from -which it has been inferred that the famous 
 llatue of the knife whettcr, at Florence, belonged to the group of which 
 this bafTo relievo is a copy. 
 
 1 he fquare court of the cloifler is furrounded by a portico ; v/hich 
 13 in a wretched tafie. There is a ftone preferved in it, which was 
 found in the place where Nero killed himfelf, bearing this infcription : 
 
 HiVc fptcus exceplt pofi atirea tecla Neronem ; 
 Nam vivii?n inferius fe Jepelire timet *. 
 
 You may remember the terror, and the anguifli, with which Nero 
 fled from Rom.e, when the people openly declared in favour of Galba. 
 His freedman, Phaon, offered him his country houfe ; which was four 
 miles from Rom*e. He was difguifed, and heard the voices of Romans, 
 queftioning one another: " What news of Nero ?" Dreading to be 
 difcovered by the Praetorian bands, terrified by tliunder, lightning, and 
 earthquakes, and tormented by his confcience, he rode for fome time 
 with his contemptible companions, after he had found the doors of his 
 friends all fhut againft him; none of whom would put him to di ith. 
 In this condition, he exclaimed, " What ! have I neither friend nor 
 foe ?" Qiiitting his horfe, he painfully dragged his body through 
 brambles, till he arrived at the back wall of the country houfe. Phaon 
 requefled him to conceal himfelf in a fand pit, till a fecret entrance 
 could be prepared : to which he replied, that while he lived he would 
 not go under ground. This was the circumftance that gave occafion 
 to the above infcription. At laft, he crept on all fours through a hole, 
 that was made into the houfe. Every one entreated him to fly farther ; 
 but he required them to dig a grave of the length of his body, and that 
 they {hould feek for fragments of marble, if fuch could be found, and 
 w^ood, for his approaching funeral. 
 
 As he had made great pretenfions, and not without reafon, to a know- 
 
 * This cave received Nero who fled from his golden palace \ for he feared to bury 
 himfelf alive. 
 
 ledge 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ..,-, 
 
 o// 
 
 ledge of architedure, he ridiculed his own plan; and exclaimed 
 
 " What an artift I die !" Having learned from the letters, which he 
 had wrefted from Phaon, that the Senate had declared him an enemy, 
 and were in fearch of him, that he might be punifhed according to the 
 cuftom of Rome, he demanded what that cuftomary punifliment was ? 
 He was informed that it was whipping to death ; on which, he took 
 two daggers, that he carried about him, to examine which was the 
 fliarpeft, and fheathed them again ; faying, " that the hour of fate was- 
 not yet arrived." Soon afterward, he entreated, with tears and wail- 
 ing, his conductor, Sporus, to kill himfelf, to give him an example of 
 fortitude ; and lamented his own cowardice. " Have I lived to fuffer 
 " fhame and difhonour like this ? Thus circumftanced, a man fhoulcj 
 " be courageous. Roufe thyfelf, and awake!'* 
 
 Horfemen were approaching to take him alive. He heard them, 
 and exclaimed, in the language of Homer, 
 
 'ItTTTUV ft' (OKUTTO^UV a(A,^l KTVTTOi OVaTO, ^X\\El, 
 
 II. X. 535. 
 
 Methinks the noife of trampling fteeds I hear ; 
 Thick'ning this way, and gath'ring on my ear. 
 
 Pope, II. b. x. 1. 626, 
 
 He then, with the help of Epaphroditus, pierced his throat with a 
 dagger. Half lifelefs, he faw the leader of the horfemen Handing be- 
 fore him, diflembling friendfhip for him, and holding his robe to the 
 wound ; being deHrous to take him alive. " It is too late," faid Nero j 
 and added, " This is fidelity * ! After which, his eyes ftarting, to the 
 difguft of all around him, he breathed his laft. 
 
 The pyramid of Ceftius, who lived in the time of Auguftus, may give 
 U5 an idea, in miniature, of the wonderful Egyptian pyramids ; vvhich, 
 without doubt, are the mod antient, as they certainly are the moft 
 •durable, monuments of architedurc. This of Ceftius is a hundred 
 
 * Sueto. in Vita Ner, 47, 48, 49- 
 VoL. I. 3 C and 
 
378 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 and uxty pafms or fpans high, a hundred and thhty in breadth at the 
 bottom, and is covered with large ftones of white marble. We learn, 
 from the infcription, that the building was completed in three hundred 
 and thirty days. The paflage has been cut in modern times. It is 
 fmall, and you are obliged to go with your body bent to reach the 
 burial vault ; which is twenty-fix palms in length, eighteen in breadth, 
 and nineteen in height. "Th^ farcopkagus has been removed. We 
 perceived on the fide walls, by the light of the torch, traces of Arabefc 
 painting; and above, on each of the four fides, a hovering Genius, 
 with garlands of flowers. Thefe Genii are in goodpreiervation, and the 
 drawing of them is free. The only entrance into this burial vault came 
 from above ; as in the Egyptian pyramids. A ftone was removed, at 
 a tolerable height up the pyramid, to give entrance ; and the dead were 
 brought down, into their ceils, through oblique dark paflages. One 
 fide of the pyramid is concealed, by a part of the Aurelian city wall, 
 which furrounds it ; and the whole building can only be feen at a 
 diftance from the city. At the bafe of each of the vifible corners, there 
 are two pillars. 
 
 Facing this pyramid, there is an open place ; which is the burial 
 ♦rround of the Proteftants. 
 
 The Monte Tejlaccio is within the city j and derives its name from 
 broken pots, v/hich fome fay King Servius Tullius, and others the Se- 
 nate, in later times, commanded all to be thrown in this place. Per- 
 haps the Romans, whofe knowledge in agriculture was great, were 
 perfuaded that thefe remains of baked earth, which unlimitedly refift 
 the ravages of time, and which are made very hot by the fun, might 
 injure the lands. Perhaps they were fearful fuch rubbifh, if thrown 
 into the Tiber, might render the bed of the river unequal : which fear 
 was the more probable becaufe the ftream, at lead here, is remarkably 
 (low. 
 
 - ■ - ' Lcmfiuit agmine Tihr'is. 
 
 VlRGIL = 
 
 By 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 37c; 
 
 By degrees, the increafing Monte Teftaccio became leven hundred 
 and forty pahiis In circumference, and two hundred and forty in 
 height ; a proof that the Romans were right in their judgment. Such 
 a regulation, which Ihould Ilkewife include tiles, would be very bene- 
 ficial to us ; as well with refpecl to the rivers as the fields. 
 
 It Is affirmed that a frefh air is breathed here in fummer, from thefe 
 hollow pots; and that the lovers of the bottle are not In vain Invited 
 to cool themfelves and their flaggon, or, according to Horace, their 
 Pia tejia'^, among thefe fragments. 
 
 Early the day before yefterday, It fnowed in Rome ; and, as the air 
 was yefterday tolerably cold and the fun did not appear, the fnow re- 
 mained on the tops of the houfes. They had not feen fnow for three 
 years, fmce the winter of 1788-9 ; which v^^as exceffively fevere with 
 us, and uncommonly fo in Italy. In that winter, the fnow lay here 
 five days fucceffively ; and the flreets were frozen. Many horfes fell, 
 and broke their legs ; becaufe no fmith underftood how to fhoe them 
 for the froft. To remedy this evil, they took dung out of the ftables, 
 and flrewed the flreets vvith It: but a fouth wind rofe, and melted the 
 fnow ; and the thaw occafioned an infupportable odour. 
 
 During thefe five days the Germans and the Engllfh, v^ho imme- 
 diately caufed fkates to be made, fkated on the pool of the Villa 
 Borghefe ; to the aftonlfnment of the Romans, v/bo could not conceive 
 how thefe foreigners, with a ridge of iron under the foot, could glide 
 rapidly along, whi^e they vfere unable fafely to place one foot before 
 another. 
 
 Yet what was this very winter, of 1788, compared to that which 
 occurred two hundred and feventy years before the birth of Chrift ; 
 v>rhich th^n vlfited this city, and when the fnow lay forty days in the 
 flreets of Rome ? Various pafiages, from liifLorlans and poets, prove 
 that, in the time of the antlent Romans, the cllm.ate of this city and Its 
 
 ■''■ Lib. iii. od. 21- 
 
 J C 2 . neighbourhood 
 
380 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 neif^hboiirhood was not fo mild as it is at prefent. Let the naturalift 
 enquire into the reafon of this : the fad is not to be doubted *. 
 
 In the public offices of this city there are feldom chimneys, and much 
 feldomer ftoves ; and all the fchools and courts of juftice are fhut, as 
 foon as it fnows ; and are not opened again till the fnow can no longer 
 be feen on the roofs of the houfes. 
 
 Yefterday the cold aftonifhed the Romans. The flowers however 
 of the garden have not fuffered ; and, not only fuch flowers as are 
 forerunners of the fpring are now to be found in the fields, but Uke- 
 wife the flowers of fpring itfelf. 
 
 LETTER LL 
 
 Rome, 14th January 179^. 
 
 X HE numerous antiquities of the Villa Albani were col- 
 leded by the Cardinal of that name, who died ibme years ago. Win- 
 kelmann was his antiquarian, his reader, and, what is more, his friend. 
 
 * What I have faid, of the change of the Roman climate, may be applied to the cli- 
 mates of other fouthern countries. When I ucuUus, during the war againft Mithridates 
 King of Pontus, and Tigranes King of Armenia, was in Mycia, there fell fo heavy a fnow, 
 followed with fuch intenfe cold, that many of his foldiers were obliged to remain behind. 
 Mycia is a province of Afia Minor, and is in the fame degree of northern latitude as 
 Naples and Taranto. After the victory of Lucullus over the two Kings, near the river 
 Arfanias, he led his army into the higher parts of Armenia, During the feafon of the 
 autumnal equinox, the weather became unexpectedly fo fevere that the rivers were co- 
 vered with ice, which wounded the horfes; and the march of the foldiers, through the 
 fnow, was fo difficult that they mutinied, and obliged the general to retreat. 
 
 PlutarchV Life of Luculluu 
 
 You 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 381 
 
 You doubtlefs exped to find here one of the mofl fuperb of the collec* 
 tions of the beautiful ? Yet, if you do, you may perhaps be difap- 
 pointed. The refearches of the profound antiquarian are not confined 
 to the mafterpieces of art. To him, the rarity of the thing gives it a 
 value : fo does its form, or any attribute of this form, if it throw any 
 light on the defet^ls of art among the antients. Exclufive of defiring- 
 to delight his eye and excite his fineft feelings by the produdions of 
 art, he feeks inftrudlion from the inferior, or even from the wretched, 
 produ(5lions of later ages. From them, he frequently learns to diftin- 
 guifh the originals of thofe better times, when the arts flourifhed in all 
 their luftre. Thus confidered, the colledion of the Villa Alba?ii is 
 really meritorious ; add to which, it actually contains beautiful fpeci- 
 mens of antient art. 
 
 The ftaircafe is ornamented with bajfi rel'ievi ; among which there is 
 a Philodetes, unique in its kind. The hero is feated on a rock, with a 
 deep impreflion of grief in his countenance ; under which rock a fer- 
 pent creeps. It is a fine thought that he fhould inconfiderately, though 
 not without the decree of the Gods, have wounded himfelf with a 
 poifoned arrow, deeped in the blood of the Centaur Neffus ; which 
 had been given him by the dying Hercules ; and that this wound 
 fhould be a chaftifement for having difcovered the place, where Her- 
 cules was burnt, to the hero of the Greeks by a ftamp with his foot ; 
 although he had taken an oath to fecrecy *. But Homer makes him 
 to be ftung, by a water ferpent. 
 
 'Aa^' iizv ev vmu «£(To, K^anp a\yia 'Kaffyjiv^ 
 An/xvu h nya^Bvi, b^i /xiv Xittov vtsg 'A%aiwy, 
 'EXx£i'//o%3<^ovTa 7caKa Jaoo^^ovoj y5pa. 
 'EvS' oy£ h£it' ax£&iv. 
 
 II. ii. 1. 721. 
 
 But he lay raging on the Lemnian ground, 
 A poifonous hydra gave the burning wound ; 
 There groan'd the chief in agonifing pain. 
 
 Pope, II. b. ii. 1. 878. 
 * Fenelon, Tel. Liv. xv. 
 
 Sophocles 
 
382 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Sophocles llkewife makes him wounded by an afpick. 
 
 diflempcrcd as I was 
 
 By the envenom'd ferpent's deep felt wound. 
 
 Francklin. 
 
 In the upper apartments, my attention was principally drawn by the 
 objedts which I ihall cite. 
 
 The ftatue of a little Faunus bearing a tun. The idea of weight, 
 preffing upon his Hioulder, compared with the entirely light and lovely 
 formed body, is evidently of that kind which none but the hand of a 
 Greek could exprefs. 
 
 A buft of the Poet Perfeus. 
 
 A baffo relievo of the apotheofis of Hercules. Below is a Genius, 
 pouring the wine of immortality into a vafe ; which is held by Hebe. 
 Behind her Hercules (lands, in a noble attitude, holding a fmall goblet. 
 Above, the aflembly of the Gods is feen. 
 
 An Apollo ; which is an imitation of the celebrated Apollo the Li« 
 zard-ilayer, by Praxiteles, as we are informed by Pliny*. Apollo, as a 
 youth, is fliooting an arrow at a lizard, that is creeping up a tree. 
 
 The bud of a little laughing Faun. 
 
 A Minerva, as large as life, full of dignity. 
 
 The cieling of the great hall is painted by Mengs ; and reprefents 
 ParnaiTus. 1 doubt whether colours were ever fo animatedly mingled 
 in frefco before. In this hall I noticed the following. 
 
 Dxdalus and Icarus; a haffo relievo of white marble. Icarus already 
 has his wings ; and Daedalus is .working at his own. The boy, full of 
 youthful impatience to raife himfelf on his waxen wings, holds a wing 
 on which his father is at work. 
 
 There is another of the fame fubjedt, in this villa, of rajfo antico, 
 
 * Feck et (Praxiteles) puberem Apollinem, fubrepe?iti lacerta comjjnis fagitta hifuUantem, 
 qiiem SauroSfononvoca/it. Vhi^. Nat, Hi/}, xxxiv. 8. 
 
 2 They 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 3S3 
 
 They were both damaged, but in different places j and, by comparlfon, 
 have mutually aided to repair each other. 
 
 A fine large ftatue, of Leucothea and the- youthful Bacchus. 
 
 The under apartments and the portico, among others, contain the 
 following. 
 
 The bufts of the heroes and the poets, that are fhewn here, would 
 engage my attention more than any other ftatues, were it but well cer- 
 tified that they are the real bufts of the great men they are faid to re- 
 prefent ; Homer, Leonidas, Them.iPiocles, Pindar, Euripides, Arifti- 
 des, Xenophon, and others. iEfop alone is cognizable, by his de- 
 formity. 
 
 An imprifoned Phrygian general feated, as large as life. The head 
 is of white marble ; the drapery of the Egyptian breccia. The fenfe 
 of imprifonment and greatnefs of charader are difcoverable in his face. 
 
 An antique landfcape, in crayons. The colours are almoft gone : 
 the drawing is very light. 
 
 A female fatyr. This is a very rareperfonification. The antients 
 might well have felt that a female body with horns, and the legs of a 
 goat, could only excite difagreeable fenfations. 
 
 A bajfo relievo : Ceres, in fearch of her daughter, refrefiied with 
 wine by Bacchus. 
 
 IN THE GARDEN. 
 
 Two coloflal heads ; of Titus, and Trajan. 
 
 Very beautiful female Caryatides ; bearing a flower bafket, which 
 they hold with both their hands : after the manner of our milk maids 
 with their brimming pails. On the flowers of this ba&et the archi- 
 trave or a fmall cool portico' repofes. 
 
 THE PALACE RONDANINI. 
 
 Here an antient Roman farcophagiis drew my attention. TKc 
 figure of the dead perfon is half raifed on the lid.' His right arm em- 
 braces 
 
3^4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 braces the bud of his wife ; whom he regards with tendernefs. Near 
 it there is an opening in the marble, with a lid ; and this probably con- 
 tained the afhes of his deccafed wife : the body of the hufband being 
 i-n Xh^farcophagns. The manner of the woman's hair denotes this mo- 
 nument to have been of the time of Vefpafian, Titus, or Domitian. 
 
 An antique head ; which is fuppofed to be that of Marcus Brutus. 
 The remainder of the figure is modern. He is reprefented with a 
 dagger in his hand, and in the adt of ftabbing. In the upper part of 
 the countenance, I difcover fomething of the grandeur of the man ; 
 but nothing of that benignity, or noblenefs of character, in the mouth, 
 which fhould denote the benevolence and grandeur of Marcus Brutus. 
 
 The ftatue of Alexander, naked ; and a coloflal Hygeia, the God- 
 defs of Health ; are both very fine. 
 
 A head of Medufa ; without doubt of the beft times of Greece, and 
 one of the mofl excellent of the works of antient art. I fcarcely know 
 one which 1 fhould prefer to this, for grandeur of exprefHon. 
 
 The Palazzo Gitijiiniani is likewife well flored with objects worthy 
 of notice. 
 
 The great Marcellus, feated ; as large as life. It gave me pleafure 
 to behold the hero, whom, in the time of Hannibal, the Romans had 
 called their fword ; as they called Fabius their fhield. 
 
 A large head of Jupiter Serapis ; a deity compounded of half Egyp- 
 tian and half Grecian mythology. You diflinguifh him from the 
 other heads of Jupiter by the mofs that he bears on his crown. 
 
 A youthful head of Apollo ; of the greatefl beauty. 
 
 • ■ 'focies quam clicere vere 
 
 Virg'itieam in pueroj puerile m in vir gine poffis^ 
 
 Ovid. lib. vlii, 322 — 23. 
 
 Such was her face as, in a nymph, difplay'd 
 ,A fair herce boy ; or, in a boy, betray'd 
 Theblufhing beauties of a modeft maid. 
 
 Dryden : in Garth's Ovid, 1. 479. 
 
 A Mi- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 385 
 
 A Minerva ; of the age of already beautiful but rude art. It was 
 found on what was formerly the field of Mars ; on which the greateft 
 part of the prefent city is built, extending from the Capitol to the 
 Porta del Popolo ; and, if I do not miftake, on the very place where Pom- 
 pey had ered:ed a temple to Minerva. This leader brought many of 
 the ftatues of Greece to Rome. 
 
 A beautiful Faun. 
 
 A head of Sappho ; which, if it be not Sappho, is worthy of the great 
 poetefs. Yet, if this countenance had been infpired by the feeling and 
 the genius of Sappho, could Phaon have been infenfible of its charms ? 
 
 A veftal ; fo called : but, according to Mr. Hirt's opinion, a Juno in 
 Samos, of more antient but ruder times of Grecian art. 
 
 A head of Memnon ; of black bafaltes. This hero, the fon of Au- 
 rora, who went to the aid of Troy, has a countenance w^orthy of him- 
 felf. The artift, to diflinguifh his origin, has given him woolly hair. 
 
 The following are the paintings I mofl obferved. 
 
 Chrift before Caiaphas. A night piece ; by Hundhorft, or Hont- 
 horft, a Flemifh painter. The Italians could not pronounce his name, 
 and therefore called him Gcrardo della Natte ; becaufe he particularly 
 excelled in night pieces, of which this is a proof. Chrift ftands vnth. 
 dignity before Caiaphas ; though not with fo much as might have been 
 expeded. Caiaphas is excellently painted. We difcover the captious 
 interrogator, the proud high prieft, and the blood thirfty judge. The 
 • light, reflededfrom the table, cafts a beam on the countenance of Caia- 
 phas, and on his uplifted hand, fo as to produce a great eifed. 
 
 St. John in the clouds, borne by an eagle, and writing the Revela- 
 tions, by Julio Romano, is a pidure in which fome imagine they difco- 
 ver the hand of Raphael. The elevated countenance, and the infpired 
 eyes, of the great prophet are worthy of the latter mafter. 
 
 A mother, furrounded by her children ; kneeling, and giving the 
 hreaft to one, as he ftands, and with her countenance hanging over 
 
 Vol. I. 3D him, 
 
386 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 him, full of undefcribable maternal affection. This piece is by Luca 
 Cambiafi. 
 
 We now left the city, and pafTed through the Porta Pta ; formerly, 
 Porta Nomcntana. 
 
 The firft thing we remarked was the monument of St. Conftantia, 
 daughter of Conftantine the Great ; whom he buried in a church that 
 he had erected to her memory, and which he called after her. It is 
 circular, and the cupola is fupported by many pillars. The fine /2?rr(3- 
 phagus of porphyry had been deftined, by Pope Paul the Third, to 
 adorn his own monument ; and it had been removed for that purpofe 
 when Paul died. . Sixtus the Fourth however fent it back to its proper 
 place. 
 
 Facing the church, we find the traces of a hippodrome ; or rather 
 perhaps, as the place feems too fmall for chariot races, of a circus for 
 gladiators : for the Chrlftian Emperors, of that age, had not yet been 
 able to divert the people from thefe fanguinary fpe£tacles. 
 
 We proceeded along the banks of the Teverofia ; formerly the Afiio^ 
 and the Anien ; and pafled the bridge on which the Gaul flood, when 
 he defied the moft valiant of the Romans to come forth, and was flaiii 
 by Titus Manlius. The A?iio was the boundary, between antient 
 Latium and the country of the Sabines. 
 
 Before us, we faw what was called the Holy Hill ; Mons Sacer ; 
 which, from a remarkable occurrence, became fo celebrated in Roman 
 hiflory. Embittered againfl the Patricians, and principally becaufe 
 of the rigour with which the latter purfued to the utmoft the yet un- 
 mitigated laws againfl debtors, in the early ages of the republic, the 
 greateft part of the people forfook the city. They took nothing with 
 them but the neceffaries for exiflence ; attacked no man's private pro- 
 perty, entrenched themfelves on this hill, and there remained fome 
 days : neither attacking nor attacked. This determined moderation, 
 of a people who werejuflly enraged againfl the higher orders, will, in 
 
 my 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 3^; 
 
 my opinion, everlafcingly redound to their honour. The Senate was 
 in the utmofl: confternation. 
 
 Menenius Agrippa, a Patrician, who was beloved by the plebeians 
 for the mildnefs of his manners, went to the angry feceders, and 
 related to them the well-known fable of the belly and the members : 
 the latter refufmg to receive food to the former, with which they 
 were angry, till they became impotent and difeafed : and, by this fim- 
 ple illuftration, he perfuaded them to return to the city. 
 
 The people however made a condition, which proved their profound 
 knowledge of politics. They infilled on and obtained the right of 
 choofing officers, from among themfelves, whofe perfons fhould be 
 inviolable ; and whofe office it fhould be to protedt the people againfl 
 the opprefFions of the Patricians*. 
 
 This was the origin of the Tribunes of the people : a wife inflitu- 
 tion, which became the fliield of the Roman freedom, and the abufe 
 of which, in later times, efpecially in the times of the Gracchi, proba- 
 bly more conduced to the deflru£lion of the republic than even the am- 
 bition of the great : for, by this, its deflruction was long prepared ; 
 and at lafl effe£i:ed. 
 
 We have viiited two painters. Jacob More, the firfl, is a Scotch- 
 man ; and one of the good landfcape painters of our times. Among 
 other pidures, he fhewed us a ftormy lea, with a rocky fhore : the 
 time night, the moon in her laft quarter, and obfcured, the lightning 
 defcending, dead bodies fwimming tov/ard the fliore, and fhipwrecked 
 mariners half expiring dragged to land by the people. By this you 
 perceive that Jacob More handles his pencil like a poet. The pidure 
 is excellent, and full of terror. 
 
 As a companion to this, he has painted the arrival of TelemachLis 
 and Mentor on the iiland of Calypfo. The morning fun glimmers, 
 and trembles, on the foft broken Vv^aves of the fea. The iiland is a 
 charming fpot. Earth, fea, and air, all wear the mofc friendly frailes. 
 
 * Liv. ii. 32. 
 
 3 I> 2 The 
 
.88 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 The trees and foliage of this painter, however, do not wave and 
 breathe, with that pure life of nature, which Hackart has the art to 
 communicate. Neither dol difcover, in More, the fame aerial and linear 
 perfpedive, nor thofe charming diftances, which continually furprife 
 me, in the pictures of Hackart. The dazzUng pencil of More is not, in 
 my opinion, dipped in the colours of nature. 
 
 WenzeQaus Peter, a Bohemian, has, by his diftinguifhed talents, been 
 the carver of his owm fortune. At the age of twenty-feven, he was a 
 gunfmith ; and became acquainted with a man of rank, by whofe aid 
 he inftructed himfelf in the art of drawing. He began to ftudy fculp^ 
 ture ; but painting appeared to him a more ready road to fame, and 
 one which better pleafed his tafte. When the gallery of the Vatican-, 
 by Raphael, w^as copied for the Emprefs of Ruflia, he undertook to 
 afTift in the Arabefc ; and foon the whole was entrufted to him. But 
 his inclination led him to cattle painting : accordingly, he has painted 
 animals of all kinds ; and, in this branch of the art, he is undoubtedly 
 without a rival. I faw a large pidure of Paradife, by his hand, the 
 landfcape of which is beautiful. He has afllimed different attitudes 
 for almoft every olne of the animals. The point of time he has chofen 
 is the m.oment when Eve prefents the apple to Adam. He has two 
 chambers full of animals, painted moft of them as large as life. The 
 lion and the dove, the fox and the lamb, are equally familiar to this 
 mafter. Each individual animal appears to me nearly a greater mafter- 
 piecethan the beautiful, though perhaps overloaded, picture of Paradife* 
 
 LET^ 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 389 
 
 LETTER LII. 
 
 Rome, 15th January 1792. 
 
 X HAVE feen the pidures of Raphael, in the Vatican • as 
 well thofe which are painted in frefco, in the open galleiy, and there- 
 fore called Le Loggie di Rafaello : ihQ gallery of Raphael ; as the great 
 pidures of this immortal -m after, in the apartments of the Vatican, that 
 occafion thofe apartments to be called Le Stance di Rafaello : the apart- 
 ments of Raphael. I- mean to fee them frequently ; and even then per- 
 haps I (hall be able to prefent no other pidure to your mind, than the 
 general impreffion they have produced upon me. Who can felecSt 
 parts, v/here each compofes fo beautiful, fo harmonious, and fo per- 
 fed, a whole ? Who fhall dired our choice amidft this rich fuper- 
 abundance ? Who fhall difled: this dignity in unity ? 
 
 My feelings were a little relieved, by indulging in the following 
 rhapfodies of imagination* 
 
 RAPHAEL. 
 
 HOW was my foul o'erwhelm'd, immortal man ! 
 "When, fix'd, entranced, fir'd by thy mighty mind, 
 Fill'd v/ith thy genius, motionlefs I flood ! 
 Through all the Vatican thy fpirit breath'd ! 
 The dead, called up by thee, before me rofe. 
 Moving, living, breathing; difcourfing themes' 
 Of earth and heaven •, of angels, martyrs, men j 
 Of fmners and of faints •, of apoftles and gods ! 
 
 Of what pure ?ether did th' Eternal frame 
 Thy foul, from which ftreamed, flooding, Nature's firft ' 
 Great Caufe ! He that made, he that faved, and he 
 1 hat will eternally reward his beft 
 Mod admirable workman ! Yes, 'twas he 
 That did infpire thy genius, guide thy hand, 
 And purify thy fpirit ! Chafed far off 
 Each thought that glowed not with celeftial fire. 
 
 And 
 
390 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG„ 
 
 And fitted thee to fill the mighty tafk ; 
 That, daring elfe, audacious, rafli, had been. 
 
 Thy courfe on earth is run ! Ages have rolled 
 Over thy peaceful grave ! Like as the youth 
 Howding laments, who vi^ith his virghr bride 
 Is by the raging torrent fvvept away ; 
 So fuffering Art, with wails, and tears, and crieSj 
 Impatient calls, with anguilh clamorous now, 
 And now fupplicating her own Raphael, 
 Her to revifit, and her fons impel 
 Again to feize the pencil, bold and free. 
 And emulate the mighty mafter's fire. 
 
 Behold the Grecian Mufe, with dully train, 
 Erft by Apelles woo'd, won, and enjoy'd ! 
 Lo, mid the wrecks of Time, fhe weeping ftands ; 
 Ever and anon glancing at thy tomb *, 
 And bitterly rememb'ring days long pad ! 
 I hear her murmurs now, in dead of night ; 
 The chafte Diana prefent, though half veil'd. 
 The blafl: of darknefs chafing now, and now 
 Admitting ! Terror ftruck, I hear her figh 
 For her departed fons ! And lad Raphael ! 
 Mournful as the widow'd Spring over her 
 Blighted fruits ! Or as the bleak Winter's winds 
 Hovi'l through the ruins of .the houfelefs Gods, 
 Thus fearfully, thus plaintively, flie grieves I 
 
 *' Pride of my heart ! Delight of my eye ! Where ! 
 " Oh ! Where art thou fled ? Laurel crown'd by me, 
 " And by my filler Mufes, thee we caught, 
 " While yet an infant. In our arms j and fed 
 *' Thee with immortal fweets ! Homer not more 
 " Our nurfling ; nor Plato our more delight ! 
 " On thy forehead beam'd the morning dawn ; 
 *' Thine eyes (hot fire; bright as meridian day 
 *' Thy vifage ftione : while manna dropt from Heav'n, 
 *' And fruits that Paradife alone could yield, 
 
 * Raphael lies buried in the church which is now called the Rotunda, formerly the Pan- 
 theon •, a temple, dedicated to all the Gods. It was built by Agrippa, in the time of Au- 
 guftus ; and is the nobleft building in Rome. I fliall fpeak more of it in my letters ; and fhall 
 now only add that there is a monument in it to the memory of Raphael, with his bull. 
 
 " Were 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 391 
 
 " Were profFer'd to thy lips ! Wifdom thine ear 
 
 ** Saluted j and Nature, in all her bloom, 
 
 " Splendid in charms, firft met thy infant eye ; 
 
 " Prolific {hed her rofeate dews around, 
 
 ** And, in one large bequeft, pour'd out her (lores, 
 
 *' Gave all (he had, and taught thee all (he knew ! 
 
 ** Where art thou now, my fon ? Too like the flower, 
 ** Which the tender virgin rears, temped fwept, 
 " The moment of maturity beheld 
 " Thee blighted, in the fullnefs of tliy bloom." 
 
 Thus mourned the Mufe ! And thus, with fighs of deep 
 Regret, penfive I homeward bent my way. 
 
 LETTER Lin. 
 
 I 
 
 Rome, 20th January 1792, 
 
 HAVE been three days in the country ; and have again 
 beheld great and beautiful nature, in this empire of eternal fpring. 
 On the feventeenth we left Rome, and went to La Riccia. 
 
 Egrejfum magna me excepH Aric'ia Roma. 
 
 HoR. i. Sat. V. I. 
 
 Leaving imperial Rome, my courfe I (leer 
 
 To poor Aricia 
 
 Fravcis. 
 
 We vifited the Portuguefe Ambaflador, the Count of Soufa, and 
 his wife ; who often refide at a country houfe in La Riccia.^ the antient 
 Aricia, This place is about three German miles from Rome. At 
 firft, the Campagna di Roma on this fide is very naked, deftitute of 
 trees, and ill cultivated ; and you meet with little except the monu- 
 ments of the antients. The eye long continues to follow the aquedudt, 
 which, was carried from there to Tivoli 3 and which, in various places, 
 I is 
 
392 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 is fallen to ruins. Many of the fepulchres of the ant'ients are on the 
 road ; and have more or lefs fallen to decay. They particularly point 
 out the direction of the antient Appian way ; on each fide of which, 
 according to the cuftoin of the antients, who ere(5ted tliefe monuments 
 on the road fide, many are now ftanding. 
 
 This cuftora gives us the true meaning of fo many antient infcrlp- 
 tions, which beg;in with the words S'ljie gradum^ viator. It was ratio- 
 nal to addrefs the paflenger on the high road : but it is abfurd, or at 
 leaft thoughtlefs, to begin infcriptions of modern monuments, erecSted 
 in bye places, with the words " Stop, Paflenger." The road began to 
 be pleafant at Albano ; round v.^hich we meet with fruitful fields, vine- 
 yards, and trees. Cajldl gandolfo lies very near Albano, on the left. 
 
 Albano is a fmall infignificant town ; yet it is much vifited and in- 
 habited in autumn, and the beginning of fpring, by the principal Ro- 
 mans ; who have villas here. High old walls, which appear to fur- 
 round a kind of court, are fuppofed to be the remains of the barracks 
 in which the Roman foldiers Hved. It is probable that, even in the 
 times of the republic, tliere was a military ftation here. We find in 
 one of the orations of Cicero that, after the death of Caefar, two legions 
 lay here : the Fourth, and the Martian.* Pompey, and Clodius, that 
 infamous enemy of Cicero and of Rome, here had country houfes : as 
 afterward had Tiberius, Caligula, and Domitian. Many great ruins of 
 the villa of the latter are at prefent to be feen in the Villa Barbarini, 
 They extend as far as Cajlell gandolfo^ and to the banks of the Alban 
 lake ; on which Domitian ufed to reprefent his Naiimachia. Ruins 
 of an amphitheatre, and vaft terraces fupported by arcades, are the 
 principal objeds. In this villa he gave the feftival of Minerva, exhi- 
 bited combats uf gladiators and wild beads, declaimed as a tragedian, 
 exhibited his fkill in fhooting the arrow, held public difputations with 
 philofophcrs, and poets, and made equally vain pretenfions to wit and 
 learning f . 
 
 It is probable that the villa of Domitian was built in the very place 
 
 * Cic. Phil 3. t Suet, in vita Dom. c 4. 
 
 where 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 39. 
 
 xvliere the villa of Clodlus had formerly flood. Cicero called this laft 
 villa the great fubftrudion *, or prodigious pile ; which muft have 
 been difcoverable had it been on a different fpot. 
 
 Thefe feats, and the legions which were quartered here, gave Al- 
 hano its origin, as a town, in the time of the Emperors of the firft cen- 
 tury. The diftrid: of Albano was fo called after the antlent town of 
 Alba ; which was much older than Rome, and v/hich the Romans 
 deftroyed about fix hundred years before the building of Albano. La 
 Riccia is one of the oldeft towns of Italy. About eleven hundred years 
 before the birth of Chrift, the antlent inhabitants of Aricia, who were 
 th€ Slculi^ were driven out of the country by the united povv^er of the 
 Pelafgi and the Oaiotru, Thefe Siculi^ and their brothers in Latium, 
 whotook their name from an antlent king called S'lculus^ fled to Sicilv; 
 and gave their name to the then inhabited ifland of Sicama. 
 
 Had the Latins given ear to a citizen of Aricia, called Turnus Her- 
 donlus, Rome perhaps would not have been the foverelgn of the world. 
 Tarquin the Proud fummoned the chief men of the Latins to the Fe- 
 rentlnlan grove, and there fuffered them to wait. Turnus warned them 
 againft his pride, and advifed his comrades to return home. 
 
 Tarquin at lad appeared, and apologifed. In the night, he caufed 
 arms to be brought to the houfe of Turnus, fummoned the chiefs of 
 Latium to appear early, and accufed Turnus of intending to have put 
 himfelf and the other affembled princes to death. The arms were 
 found, and Turnus was felzed and thrown into the Ferentinian foun-: • 
 tain, inclofed in a cage of ozlers, in which ftones were putf. 
 
 The prefent Riccia is built on the height where the fortrefs of an- 
 tlent Aricia flood ; w^hich lay at the foot of the hill. The church, built 
 by Bernini, is very beautiful. There is a cupola, on the rotunda, of 
 
 * 
 
 -Alhams tumulcs atqtie Iticos^ Alhanortimque obnttas aras, quas Clodlus^ cttjis fanBiJTunis 
 hlaSffiibJiruBiombusfuis opprejferat . Cic pro Miloiie. 
 f Liv. i. 50. 
 
 Vol. I. 3 E a beau- 
 
J94 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 a beautiful and perfectly hem'ifpherical form; which form we mlfs In St. 
 Peter's church. But this ornament is more proper for a rotunda than 
 for a ftrudure like St. Peter's ; where the cupola is raifed upon a 
 
 fquare. 
 
 The country between Albano and Riccia is very pleafant. It is em- 
 bellilhed with oaks, and the evergreen prickly oak of an extraordinary 
 frze ; with rocks, rivulets, and a pfofpecl to the fea. On a hill, near 
 the fmall town of Riccia, is a large park ; which appertains to a palace 
 of the family of the Princes Chigi. The park is beautiful, becaufe no 
 intentional decorating-plan has injured it; but it isrefignedto the charms 
 of ever various nature. And how active is fhe, when llie remains un- 
 difturbed, in this mild climate ! 
 
 Near Riccia, there is an antient monument ; which fome have fup- 
 pofed to be the fepulchre of the Horatii and Ciiriatii. 
 
 The number five, of the towers, which are raifed on a very durable 
 foundation, appears to favour this opinion. But why were the heroes 
 buried at fuch a diftance from Rome ? 
 
 Others affirm that Clodius, who fell by the hand of Milo near this 
 place, was entombed here. A third opinion is that Cornelia, the widow 
 of Pompey, ereded this monument near his villa ; and that the five 
 towers are the tokens of as many triumphs, granted to this great leader. 
 
 South of the town lies a pleafant valley ; which is called Valle di 
 Kiccia : the Valley of Riccia. In the time of Pliny it was called Co/i- 
 vallis Aricina *. The great naturalift fays that, in antient times, this 
 valley had been a lake ; and appearances confirm his teftimony. The 
 valley is circumfcribed and (hut in by a high border ; which is embel- 
 lifhed by trees, vineyards, and gardens. The valley itfelf is uncom- 
 monly fertile ; and is watered by a canal, which is brought here from 
 the lake of Nemi. 
 
 The lake of Albano, overlooked by higji and rocky fhores, and- 
 
 * Plin.Nat.Hift.xix.S. 
 
 fhaded 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 395 
 
 fliaded by numerous trees, lies below Albano and Caftell gandolfo. 
 Here I faw at this feafon and entirely green, bearing its yellow flowers, 
 the Medlcago arhorca : the cyt'ifus of Virgil. This lake, as well as the 
 valley near Riccia and the lake of Nemi, afford vifible traces of volca- 
 nos. Pliny had read in antient writers that, formerly, the earth of the 
 lands that lie below Arieia would have caught fire, if a hot coal had 
 fallen upon them *. 
 
 The crater of the volcano, after a violent difcharge of the fire within, 
 gave w^ay ; and the cooling lava aiTumed the figure of an inverted 
 cone. The rain, and the water defcending from the heights, gradually 
 filled this hard bed ; from which there was no outlet. In proportion 
 as the uppermoft lava v/as undermined, it formed itfelf into earth ; and 
 being wafiied down by torrents of rain, the water was confequently 
 raifed. Probably, it might long have maintained a fubterranean con- 
 ne£lion with the lea : for naturalifis affirm that there is a necefiary co- 
 Operation between the ocean and the eruptions of volcanos. According 
 •to the teftimony of Livy, when the Veil v/ere befieged, the water of the 
 lake of Albano rofe to an extraordinary height ; though it had not 
 been increafed by any unufual rains. Wearied by a ten years' fiege, 
 and terrified by figns which they confidered as fearful, the Romans 
 fent ambafladors to Delphi ; who received the following anfv/er from 
 the oracle : " Romans, beware that the water remain no longer in the 
 " lake of Albano. Beware that it difcharge itfelf not into the fea. Give 
 ** it pafTage through the fields, which it will water. By cutting canals, 
 " it may all be dried up : then boldly attack the walls of the foe *." 
 
 The Romans were. the more aftoniflied at this fpeech becaufe an old 
 man, of the Veii^ had called to the Roman foldiers — " that the Romans 
 *' would never take the town, till the water of the lake of Albano 
 ** fhould be drawn away." The water was drawn off, through a canal, 
 
 ■ * Plin. Nat. Hift. ii. 107. fLiv. v. 
 
 3 E 5 to 
 
^y'- 
 
 c£ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 to the height that it is at prefent ; and in the fame year the- Romans 
 took the town. 
 
 Cicero, in his tre^iiCcDcDhvinafio/ie, gives us to underftand that the Se- 
 nate was much lefs induced to this work by motives of fuperftition, than 
 by a perception of the advantage of which fuch a canal v/ould be; in wa^ 
 teringand rendering the country fruitful, which till that time had been 
 barren. The prediction of the old man, which probably was only 
 uttered in derifion, might furnifli this wife aflembly with an opportu- 
 nity of encouraging the people to tlic undertaking, by the furprifmg 
 anfwer obtained from the oracle. 
 
 The inferior fliore of the lake of Albano may be about one German 
 mile and a quarter in circumference. In the upper part, its rocky bed 
 extends, and afterward contrads; fo as to affume the form of a funnel. 
 I defcended through a winding path, among wood and fhrubs, to the 
 place where the outlet, emljfarium^ of the lake had been made. When 
 I was below, I faw large halls, hewn in the rock, furrounded by ftone 
 walls, and probably at one time faced with marble ; which many fup- 
 pofe to have been baths. I believe that they v/ere in honour of the 
 Nymphs of the lake ; and probably thefe halls appertained to the villa 
 of Domitian. After fome paces, I arrived at a lofty wall conftrudcd 
 with large ftones. A fifherman of Albano, who kept the key of the 
 door, gave me admiiTion ; and I entered a fquare court, three fides of 
 which were inclofed by fimilar walls. The prickly oak had taken root, 
 between the uppermoft fiones ; and had grown to a very uncommon 
 fize. It had likewife extended itfelf downward, in two lateral branches; 
 and, while its evergreen foliage w^as penetrated by the blue light of hea- 
 ven, it overfliadowed the whole court and the external fides of the wall. 
 Behind the open fide of the court is a great circular hall. The water 
 of a canal, cut in its rocky bed, flows through the middle of the court 
 and the hall. The canal may be about fifteen hundred paces from 
 this to the other fide of the hill, where it finds its outlet. 
 
 Livy, 
 
tRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 39; 
 
 Livy, who had been accuftomed to contemplate the immenfe works 
 of the later Romans, mentions this work in the following cold words : 
 " The water of the lake of Albano was conducted through the fields:** 
 but immediately afterward he adds, in a holder tone : " and Fate vi- 
 fited the Veil *." This work, which was begun and ended two thou- 
 fand one hundred and eighty-eight years ago, would have excited our 
 "aftonifhment had it been undertaken in thofe ages when Rome had 
 attained its greateO: power : Rome, which, three hundred and fifty- 
 feven years after its foundation, pofTefTed no more than a little corner 
 of little Latium. 
 
 The hill of Albano rifes, beyond the lake, over \t{^dY heights like a 
 pyramid. Ferent'ma flands on the right, with its grove; in which 
 the antient Latins were accuftomed to afTemble and deliberate, and to 
 pay honour to the Gods. In more early times, they held thefe aflem- 
 blies on the top of the hill of Albano ; w^here there was a temple dedi- 
 cated to the Latiaa Jupiter, which: was held facred by the Romans. 
 
 The Roman generals were accuftomed to k^ep their triumphs on 
 this hill, when the Senate denied them a triumph in the Capitol. Here 
 was the triumph of the great Marcellus kept; and afterward a fmall 
 triumph, or an ovation, in Rome f, for the conqueft of Syracufe. 
 
 This- hill was famous among Hre fu' eriHtious Romans for the nu- 
 merous auguries, and wonders, which were here divulged to them J. 
 It lies higher than the hills around it, is often covered with clouds, and 
 may frequently have been ftruck v/ith lighrning. At prefent it only 
 
 * Jam ex lacit Alhatto aqua enuJT'i in agrcs^ Fejofque Fata appetebant. Liv. v. 1 9. 
 
 f Liv. xxvi. 21. In the triutrph, the viSqnv.-as drawn in a chariot and four; and 
 facrificed an ex to, Jupiter. In the. ovations he wajked j- and r^crificed a (heep. Mar- 
 cellus was denied a triumph, becaafe the war ui Sicily was not ended, and his army not 
 returned. 
 
 \ Vulplus is of opinion that, for this reafen, Jupiter was worfhlpped here: under 
 whofe name the antient xnythologifts under iloodVthe air. Vetus Latium Frofanum^ 
 vol. vn. p. 35. ' 
 
 forebodes 
 
398 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 forebodes rain. Monte Cavo ha il capello : piovera. " The hill Caro 
 " has his hat on ; it will rain :" fay the country people, when its firni- 
 mit is covered with clouds. They call it Monte Cavo ; the hollow 
 hill J and Monte delle Cave ; the hill with hollows ; becaufe many hol- 
 low places have been made in it. In the ages of the Romans, it was 
 ftruck with lightning at one time, rained ftones at another, and voices 
 were heard to iffue from it at a third. That it rained ftones there is 
 frequent teftimony ; which proves this diftrid: to be of a volcanic 
 nature. Yet the hill betrays no figns of a crater, nor of lava ; although 
 thefe parts are full of fuch fubftances, according to the teftimony of 
 naturalifts. 
 
 The fiftierman, who fliewed me the canal of the lake, told me that 
 the Devil was frequently feen on its banks. Are not tales like thefe the 
 remains of the antient credulity of the Romans, who believed in fo 
 many wonders of the hill of Albano ? This appears to me the more 
 probable becaufe the common people of this country, who have fuch 
 lively fancies, and are fp delighted and fed by their own terrific legen- 
 dary tales, have no fear of ghofts and hobgoblins. Their adive ima- 
 ginations feem rather to delight in lively pictures than in gloomy. 
 Perhaps for this they may thank the beauties of nature, the ferenity of 
 the climate, and the lightnefs of the air: perhaps they are in part in- 
 debted to their noble and humanizing architedure. Our Gothic church- 
 es, with their interfeding aifles and monuments, muft fill the heart with 
 gloom. To thefe may be added our long nights. The farther we 
 proceed, northward, the more numerous we find thefe fantaftic images 
 of fpedres, and goblins. 
 
 The antient Alba, the mother of Rome, was built between the hill and 
 the lake. This town extended itfelf fouthward, and Mras called Alba 
 the loTig ; to diftinguifti it from another Alba, which ftood near the 
 lake Fucinus. 
 
 When Numitor w^as dead, who, after the murder of the ufurper 
 Amulius, had placed his grandfons Romulus and Remus on the throne 
 
 of 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 399 
 
 of Alba, the people of Alba would not acknowledge the foverelgnty of 
 Romulus. Tullus H^ftilius, the third King of Rome, waged war 
 againft the Albanians ; and an agreement v/as made that three young 
 men, on each part, fhould be chofen for the combat, and that the city 
 of thofe who remained vidors fliould bear the rule. The three Curi- 
 atii, all brothers, appeared on the part of Alba ; and the three Horatii 
 on the part of Rome. Of the fix combatants only one of the Horatii 
 was left living : but the General of Alba would not fubmit to this deci- 
 fion of vidory. A battle enfued, the Romans were victorious, the 
 Albanian General, as a public violator, was torn afunder by four horfes; 
 and the city of Alba was razed: the temple only was left ftanding. 
 The rights of citizenfhip were granted, by the Romans, to the Alba- 
 nians. 
 
 Whether Alba was founded by ^neas, or by his fon, for of the father's 
 coming to Italy I very much doubt, its origin could not be later than 
 the Trojan war; but might be earlier. No certain traces of the city 
 of Alba remain. It is affirmed that ruins were difcovered by fome 
 huntfmen: but the knowledge of huntfmen, as antiquarians, is little to 
 be trufted. Neither muft we forget that the Italians are very much 
 addi(3:ed to prattle, with vanity, of their antient remains. 
 
 The lake of Nemi is lefs than the lake of Albano ; but its banks are 
 flill more pleaflmt. High rocks, and Ihady hills, furround it on every 
 fide ; and the declivities are in part planted with trees, and in part 
 with vineyards and gardens. Two fmall towns, oppofite to each other, 
 Nemi toward the eafl, and Gewzano toward the weft, are built high 
 upon the fhore. Genzano is fo called after its antient name Cynthi" 
 anum : ox Faniim Cynthia : the temple of Cynthia. You know that 
 Apollo and Diana were called Cynthius and Cynthia ; after the moun- 
 tain Cynthus in Delos ; becaufe Latona was delivered of them both in 
 this ifland. According to ftill earlier mythology, Apollo only was born 
 in Delos * ; and Diana in the little ifland Ortygia^ near Sicilia : on 
 
 * Homer's Hymn to Apollo. 
 I which 
 
400 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 which the moil antlent and the only remainhig part of Syracufe now 
 fcands. In U\e temples of Diana this Goddefs was worfhipned under 
 the title of Diana Scythica^ or Diana 'Taur'ica, in antient Latium ; be- 
 caufe that it was believed that Oreftes and Iphigenia had ftolen her 
 image and brought it hither. Nemi was called after the grove of this 
 t-emple, which the Romans named Nemus : the word Nemiis fignifying 
 a grove. I know not whether the Romans of thofe times had named 
 the deep ftill and clear lake of Nemi the mirror of Diana ; but it is 
 often fo called by the prefent Italians. It was generally called by the 
 antients Lacus 7icmo7~ofiis^ the lake of the foreft ; becaufe it is furround- 
 ed by foreils. There is a fmall pleafant path in moft parts by the fide 
 of the lake ; v/hich is fliaded by the chefnut, the poplar, and the alder 
 tree. 
 
 The antient town of Nemi Hands very high, on a rock; under which, 
 on the declivity of the fhore, the rivulet fprings of which Ovid, in his 
 beautiful fables, relates that the difconfolate Egeria, after the death of 
 Numa, wandered weeping here at the foot of the mountain ; and that, 
 melting in tears, fhe was metamorphofed by Diana into this ftream. 
 
 niont'ifque jacetis radlcihus Imis 
 
 Liquitur in lacrimas^ donee pietate dolentis : 
 
 Mota joror Fhcehi gelidum de corpore fontem 
 Fecit ^ et ctternas artus tenuavit in undas. 
 
 Ovid. lib. xv. 548 — 51. 
 
 Beneath the hill all comfortlefs (lie laid, 
 The dropping tears her eyes inceflant fhed j 
 Till pitying Phoebe eas'd her pious woe, 
 Thaw'd to a fpring whofe Ilreams for ever flow. 
 
 Dryden, 809. 
 
 The fame poet tells us that Hlppolytus, the fon of Thefeus, after his 
 flight from Athens to Trcezen, and being dragged by his horfes, which 
 had been terrified by the n=^„ after rifmg from the ocean, was again re- 
 flored to life by ^fculapius. By favour of Diana, in recompenfe for 
 
 his 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 401 
 
 his continence, he having refifted the enflamed foUcitations ofhisftep- 
 mother, Phasdra, he was admitted one of the leffer Deities ; and inha- 
 bited the grove of the Goddefs, under the name of Virbiiis *. 
 
 As I was proceeding along the bank of the lake, 1 heard the running 
 of a rivulet at a diflance ; and, afcending the hill, I came to its fource. 
 Here it foftly muraiured along, and meandered through the herbage ; 
 till it concealed itfelf among the rocks, which were overgrown by ivy 
 to a confiderable height. Prefently afterward it rufhed from among 
 the evergreen ivy, frothing and noify. The metamorphofed Egeria, 
 widowed, and mourning for Numa, now gives motion to four mills 
 before fhe arrives at the lake. Thus, in antient times, the v/idows of 
 imprifoned heroes, and of llain kings, have frequently been reduced to 
 the moft degrading labours, and to work in mills. 
 
 The Rorians have likewife made a canal from this lake, bv which it 
 is prevented from overflowing. This canal runs into another, in the 
 valley of Riccia ; which by thefe means is become extremely fruitful. 
 
 The whole country is very charming, and well cultivated. The 
 farmers are induftrious ; and the inhabitants of Genzano muft be pro- 
 fperous, for they have built a handfome church at their own expence. 
 Nemi fupplies Rome with excellent fruit. Much charcoal is burnt in 
 thefe parts. Their fields and kitchen gardens are well managed ; and 
 their vineyards induftrioufly fupplied with reed poles. The ftrong 
 reed, Aruiido Donax^ grows to an aftonifhing height, in all the lakes 
 and marfhy places of Italy. It is introduced into gardens ; partly to 
 fupport weak plants, and partly, while the reeds are young, to feparate, 
 by being twined together, the flower beds from each other. 
 
 We are not often now, as in the time of Horace, invited to drink 
 
 Albanian wine of nine years old : though this v;ine is fliill brought in 
 
 great quantities to Rome \, 
 
 The 
 
 * Ovid. lib. XV. 497. 
 
 f EJl mihi noniim fuper anils annum 
 Plenus Albani cadus — 
 
 HoR. iv. od. II. 
 Vol. I. 3 F Phillls, 
 
4oa TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 The vines of Arlcia were formerly famous for their extraordinary 
 height. Cineas, the friend and ambaiTador of Pyrrhus, was furprifed 
 at them: but he thought the wine acid, and faid that the mother of 
 the wine, the grape, deferred to be crucified on fo high a crofs *. Near 
 Riccia are great remains of the antient Via App'ta ; or Appian way ; 
 which Appius Claudius, the Blind, in the year of Rome 442, while he 
 was Cenfor, conftruded. It is paved with broad ftones, which the 
 Italians call/'/a (fdce) from the Latin, fiUx. They are blue, and of 
 volcanic origin ; a kind of lava. In this place the road is cut through 
 the fide of a hill ; and, that the earth might not fall dov/n and over- 
 whelm it, the antients have given it a fupport of large ftones, with a 
 degree of labour which cannot be beheld without amazement. The 
 road is not broad ; becaufe the carriages of the antients were narrow in 
 their conftrudion. Their horfes were not fhod ; for which reafon the 
 fmooth ftones were to them no inconvenience. Yet horfes that are 
 fhod foon accuftom themfelves to fuch roads. The Danifli horfe of 
 Count Soufa, which I rode, has gone very fafely over thefe fmooth 
 ftones "I'. 
 
 In other refpeds, the Roman roads had many great advantages. As 
 
 Phillls, I have a cafk of wine, 
 Mellow'd by fummers more than nine. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 Horace, in one of his fatires, defcribing the voluptuous giver of a banquet, appears t<s 
 rank this wine as equal to that of Falernia. 
 
 Alhanumy MacenaSyftve Falernum 
 
 Te Tnagis appofitis deleBat, habemus utrumque. 
 
 Lib. ii. fat. 8. v. 16. 
 
 If Alban and Falernian pleafe you more. 
 
 So fays our holt, you may have both good ftore. 
 
 Francis. 
 * Plin. Nat. Hift. xiv. i. 
 
 f All Naples is paved with lava ; as are the high roads of Naples. The horfes accuf- 
 
 tomed to them will often flip 5 but I have feen none of them fall. 
 
 far 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 403 
 
 far as it was poflible, they were conflrufled in a right line ; and in the 
 fliorteft diredion. They were convenient ; becaufe the flat ftones nei- 
 ther jolted, occafioned the foot of man to flip, nor injured the hoof of 
 the horfe. They were not damaged by rain ; becaufe it would not lie 
 on a flippery pavement : and their duration is a proof of their fl:rength. 
 
 Going in a carriage on the road to Paleftnna^ formerly Pnsnefte^ one 
 of the oldefl: and mofl: famous towns of Latium, I alighted with Signor 
 Fea, the Italian tranflator of Winkelmann, and examined the ruins of 
 the villa of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. Little of the walls above 
 the ground is now remaining j but the broad terraces and large founda- 
 tions denote the circumference of this villa. From this place I had an 
 extenfive profped:. Before me lay Veleln ; formerly Felilr^^; an an- 
 tient town of the Volfci\ beyond that, Cora; which was likewife an an- 
 tient town of the fame people. On the broad declivity of a hill to the 
 right, was a long ftretch of the marfli oi Pomptince ; and, at the extent 
 of the horizon, the high promontory of Circe, I was not a little de- 
 lighted to fee the regions of Homer. 
 
 Homer called this promontory an ifland. Either the marfli of Pomp- 
 tinse, in antient times, extended to what is now the land fide of this 
 hill, or Homer, having feen it from the fea, fuppofed it to be an 
 ifland *. 
 
 Cluverius, who was no lefs acute than indufl;rious in his enquiries, 
 fays that the hill appeared, as well by fea as on fliore, to be an ifland f ; 
 and, from the place where I fl:ood, I fliould have taken it for a high 
 ifland. It appears to me about as high as, or perhaps higher than, the 
 
 Ody. X. 135,36. 
 
 Now dropp'd our anchors In th' Aean bay, 
 Where Circe dwelt, the daughter of the day. 
 
 Pope, b. x. 157. 
 
 t Cluv. Ital. Ant. 
 
 3 F 2 ifland 
 
^o4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ifland Gorgone ; which we faw at Pifa. The villa of Antoniaus Pius 
 ftood near the antient Latin town haniivium; wiiich was the native 
 place of this Emperor; and ftili more near to the teriiple and grove of 
 Juno Sofplfa^ mentioned by Livy and other writers.: This temple 
 muft have been famous in the fourth century after the building of 
 Rome, v^hen the Romans granted the rights of citizens to the people 
 of Lanuvium^ and the enjoyment of all things in common, except the 
 ufe of this temple and grove "*'% The foundation of the temple is ftill 
 vihble. As I entered the little town of Lamivmm^ which* is now called 
 CivitaLavhia^ Signor Fea pointed out to me the remains of two beau- 
 tiful pillars that now fupport a cellar in a wretched houfe, and which it 
 is probable formerly belonged to the temple of Juno. 
 
 The modern name of this town has led many, even among the Italian 
 antiquaries, into a whimfical error : they confound Lajiiivium with 
 Lavinium ; which is fituated befide the fea ; from which Lanuvium is 
 diftant two German miles. One error gave rife to another, and it has 
 farther been affirmed that the fea, which adually has receded from the 
 lliore, formerly wafhed its walls. There is an iron ring in the wall 
 of a houfe, to which, according to their account, iEneas, when he land- 
 ed, moored his veflel. 
 
 Near La Riccia, I faw at this time an almond tree in bloom. What 
 a climate is this ! 
 
 * Liv. viii. 14. 
 
 LET- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 405 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 
 Rome, 21ft January 1792. 
 
 HAVE feeii the famdus-.^i6:ure of Raphael, the transfi- 
 guration ; which is in the church of San Pieh'o in Montorio. Confident 
 in his own powers, he has been daring beyond imitation : or perhaps he 
 has done that, of which, if it be blameable, he knew the defeifls would 
 be overpowered by the beauty of the thought, and its execution. A 
 genius like Raphael will ftand in no need of pardon : he will rather 
 enforce aftonifliment. He will deliberately bid defiance to rule • and 
 will delight himfelf with his own daring. 
 
 The fports of genius are properto itfelf. Raphael has fhewn us 
 Chrift high in the clouds ; a little lower, above the mountain, Elias 
 and Mofes are hovering : John, James, and Peter, lie extended in 
 ecftacy on its fummit;; >aad at the. foot of the hill is the pofleiTed man 
 out of whom the other difciples could not drive the Devil 'during the 
 abfence of Chrift. 
 
 At what place could we be ftationed,. fo as to fee at once the fignl- 
 
 ficant countenances of all thefe perfons ? Raphael affords fto time to 
 
 the feverity of criticifm. His illufions are eiithanting ! Terror felzes 
 
 us, at the afped of the poffefled y(^th ! vVe participate the embar- 
 
 raffment of the difciples, the attentic^n 'of the fpeclators, the anguifh of 
 
 the enquiring eyes of the father, who wifhes to know if his fon can be 
 
 relieved, and the bitter grief of the mother and the fifter ! Our eye 
 
 fearfully wanders farther : we are entranced with the difciples : with 
 
 the two great prophets, we ardently afpire after heaven; afpire with 
 
 them to approach him who afcends in clemency, furrounded by the rays 
 
 of eternal glory ! him who beams with love, with grace, with dig- - 
 
 nity 
 a 
 
4o6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 nity undefcrlbable ! his devotion rifing in ecftacy ; his mercy a\id infi- 
 nite benevolence defcending to blefs the earth ! 
 
 Snarler, where is thy fling? Critic, where is thy vidory ? 
 
 LETTER LV. 
 
 N< 
 
 Rome, 23d January 1792. 
 
 O private perfon in Europe, and very few princes, poflefs 
 fo ample and excellent a collection of antiques as the Prince Borghefe, 
 in his villa ; which is near the walls of Rome. A mere catalogue of 
 them would fill many pages. I fhall confequently be obliged to fol- 
 low my ufual cuftom, of mentioning none but fuch as I think are the 
 moft meritorious. 
 
 The very walls of the houfe, particularly toward the garden, are 
 embellifhed with feveral hajfi relievi oifarcophagi^ many of which v/ould 
 probably be the principal ornaments of a German or Northern cabinet 
 of art. I much doubt whether any king poffefTes fix pillars of luma- 
 cello^ or fliell marble *, in his moft magnificent apartment, equal to 
 thofe which are placed in the entrance hall of the villa. You know 
 that I do not fet any extraordinary value upon things of this kind ; the 
 excefTive pomp of which was efteemed, by the nobleft men of antient 
 Rome, as the harbinger and the caufe of its decline f : but I laugh, when 
 
 I recol- 
 
 * A fpecies of marble, mixed with petrified (hells of periwinkles, which It is faid is no 
 longer to be found. T. 
 
 t When Fabius had taken Tarentum, he left the citizens their beautiful ftatues, con- 
 cealing a ferious thought in a jeft. " Let us," faid he, ** leave the Tarentines their angry 
 
 Gods !" 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 407 
 
 I recoiled how many of our little and our great grandees boaft of a 
 colledion of rarities which the people here, who are accuftomed to 
 what is really rare, would trample under foot. 
 
 The following works you will no doubt think interefting. 
 
 A ftatue ; fuppofed to be that of Mafmifla, King of Numidia. 
 Mr. Flirt believes it to be Segeftus ; who, unworthy oJF his great fon, 
 Hermanns, was the ally of the Romans. The breeches that he wears, 
 the manner in which his hair is tied^ and the traits of his countenance, 
 may well indicate an antient German ; but certainly not a Numidian. 
 
 A baflb reUevo. In works of this kind, the antients repeatedly pre- 
 fented the fame perfon as adling, or a6ted upon, at different points of 
 time : a fault with which fome of our old painters are reproached. 
 Of this fault the prefent baffo relievo is guilty. The figure of Achilles 
 is wanting: but we fee the kneeling and entreating- Priam, befide the 
 body of Hedtor, and, immediately afterward, in the middle of the 
 marble, Hedlor is already brought back ; and the weeping Andro- 
 mache, the little Aftyanax, with his nurfe, Helen, and others, are 
 furrounding and contemplating the body. Caffandra is turning toward 
 Troy ; with her head thrown back, and her arms ftretched upward to 
 heaven. In her v\^e behold the lamenting prophetefs, foreboding the 
 fall of Troy. 
 
 A ftatue ; which till lately was fuppofed to be that of Mars. Winkel- 
 mann himfelf was of this opinion* How could Achilles remain fo 
 
 Gods !" Cato of Utica, having conquered the ifland of Cyprus in the name of Rome, 
 took no ftatue but that of Zeno, " For Zeno taught me," faid this great man, " to prize 
 that which was great greatly ; and that which was little but little." Cicero, in the fame 
 fpirit, fpeaks with indignation of the exceflive admiration in which the works of 
 art were held, in feveral of his orations againft the plunderer and connoifleur Verres. 
 Cicero even capricioully vaunted of his ignorance of fuch things j the beauty of which 
 however he well underftood. His letter to Fabius Callus (Lib. vii. Epift. ad famil.), 
 and his fifth paradox, are remarkable ; and ought to be read to thofe who afFed to be 
 dikttatiti, 
 
 long: 
 
4o8 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 lon'^ unknown ? Who that ever read and felt the Iliad could fail to 
 recoo-nize the hero ? It needed not the outward token, at the ankle ; 
 the part by which Thetis held him when, endeavouring to render 
 him invulnerable, fhe dipped him in the Styx, and, unknowing what 
 fhe did, by grafping the leg v^dth her hand, left an entrance for death. 
 For my own part, I wifh the artiil had omitted this tale of later 
 times • and not of Homer : unworthy as it is of the Achilles of the 
 Father of Poetry. The whole ftatue is full of dignity, and beauty ; of 
 the adivity, the power, and the fire, of Achilles. How charaderiftic 
 is this form ! this mixture of heroic courage and youthful impetuofity ! 
 of native benevolence and iron inflexibility ! So could Achilles have 
 raged over the dead body of the noble Hedor : and fo Vv^ould have 
 been obliged to melt, as he liftened to the entreating Priam. While 
 the monarch only entreated, he could ftart pafTionately away ; but, 
 when he beheld the tears of Priam dropping over Hedor, he could not 
 forget that he had left an antient father at home. His foul was foft- 
 ened ; and fympathetic tears began to flow. He could not refifl: con- 
 doling with the afflided Priam, taking him by the hand, and banifliing 
 all fear from the heart of ttie aged King. 
 
 A bajfo relievo^ upon ^.farcophagus ; reprefenting the death of Melea- 
 ger. In this likewife the unity of time is not obferved. You fee 
 Meleager in combat with his uncles, in one place ; and in another you 
 behold the enamoured lover of Tssgeai, by whom the two uncles, who 
 took the ikin of the wild boar from Atalanta, had already been mur- 
 dered. 
 
 At a diilance fl:ands the mother, holding the brand on which the 
 life of her fon depended : for, after having been delivered of her child, 
 fhe beheld the Parcce^ who threw a brand into the fire, and fang 
 
 ^emporaj d'lxeruntj eadem Ugnoque t'lhiqiie^ 
 
 O mo4o nate^ dam us. 
 
 Ovid. lib. viii. 454. 
 
 To 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 409 
 
 To this red brand and thee, 
 
 Oh new born babe, we give an equal deftiny. 
 
 So vanifhed out of view 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 The mother fprang to the brand, fnatched it from the flame:, and 
 preferved it moft carefully : but, in her rage for the murder of her 
 brothers, fhe afterward caft it in the fire. One of the Furies is re- 
 prefented as exciting her wrath. Near the Fury (lands the Goddefs 
 of DeRiny, with her foot flopping her wheel. 
 
 Dextraqiie averfa iremeni'i 
 
 Funereum torrem medios conjecit in ignes^ 
 
 For the lafb time, the mother lifts her hand, 
 Averts her eyes, and half unwilling drops the brand. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 In the centre of the bafTo relievo the fick Meleager is lying ; with 
 his lamenting fiflers by his bedfide, one of whom is adminiflering 
 medicine. An antient pedagogue flands mourning : but the afflid:ion 
 of his old nurfe appeals to be the moil clamorous. 
 
 A penfive man, fitting wrapt up in a fmooth mantle, negligently 
 thrown about him, has been called a Belifarius : but the declining arts 
 could not have produced a work equal to this, in the age of Belifarius. 
 Mr. Hirt fuppofes it to be a Chryfippus. It appears indeed to be one 
 of the floic philofophers : and who among them, after Zeno, was fo 
 celebrated as Chryfippus ? 
 
 A vafe ; with mafks of fatyrs, and nehrides^ or flcins of young deer, 
 in which the Fauns were accuftomed to clothe themfelves, hanging to 
 
 A capacious and very beautiful yafe of Anaone, playing on the tyre 
 to Bacchus ; with Fauns and Bacchantes dancing. The intoxicate^ 
 ftate of one of the Bacchantes is mofl excellently expreffed, in all. the 
 parts of the body, in the head thrown backward, in the fwelling neck, 
 and in the floating hair. Silenus is fupported b)^^]Eall^3. , . '^^e> qy 
 ^..VoL. I. 3G drunkard 
 
4io TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 drunkard Is cliaratlerlzed as well by this paflive incident as by the- 
 manner in which the confequences of excefs of wine art vifibly pour- 
 trayed. 
 
 Had LefUng examined more works of antient art, ^he would not 
 have affirmed that the Greeks had only reprefented the beautiful. I 
 acknowledge the poffibility of imparting horrible beauty to the Furies ; 
 and probably of terror to the Graces. The antients had their terrible 
 Graces {(poj^epo.? ya^irccs). A grand thought ! But many of their Furies 
 are armed with ftill more horrid terrors : Furies like thefe, with theiir 
 drunken Silenus, handled in a manner fo difgufting ; a manner whichi 
 furpalTes nature itfelf, and the reprefentation of which is made dura- 
 ble in marble. They likewife had their Marfyas, flayed at the com- 
 mand of Apollo; and other reprefentations of the fame kind prove 
 that the antients, though comparatively feldom, have repeatedly em«- 
 ployed their powers on the difagreeable, and the terrible. The eternal 
 principle of art was, and is, to combine the rigorous reality of truth 
 with the utmoft ftretch of poetic reality. Happy the artift, happy the 
 poet, who thus knows to unite the laws of truth with the feledion of 
 the fublime and beautiful. 
 
 Thefe vafes, and many others, are decorated with figures, fome of 
 which reprefent Bacchus, and others the perfons and things by which 
 he was characterized. The Drama was confecrated to Bacchuj. 
 Thefpis, v/hofe vagabond car w^as the cradle of the tragic Mufe, at 
 each reprefentation accepted of a goat ; which was the enemy of the 
 grape, and was facrificed to Bacchus. From the word Tragos^ which, 
 in the language of the Greeks fignified a goat, Tragedy derived its 
 name. 
 
 In later times, thofe poets whofe pieces gained the prize were pre- 
 fented with a vafe; and it is extremely probable that feveral of thefe 
 vafes, which are ornamented with Bacchantes, nebrides, thyrfi, the 
 figures of Bacchus, Ariadne, Silenus, and others, had been the prizes 
 of fome tragic or comic poet, 
 
 A Boxer, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 411 
 
 A Boxer, with nothing but leather (Irlngs round his hands and arms : 
 the ceftus therefore was not always furnifhed with knobs of iron* 
 The attitude in which this pugilift ftands is excellent. He ftrikes, and 
 throws back his body upon his guard. You imagine you behold his 
 antagonift ; whom, though the great artift could not reprefent, he knew 
 how to make you fuppofe. 
 
 A Faun, fuffering another Faun to draw a thorn out of his foot. 
 To prevent himfelf from falling, he holds with both hands by the ftump 
 of a tree, on which he fits ; and, pitifully crying, turns back his head. 
 The other Faun fupports himfelf on one knee. The very careful 
 good will with which he is gently drawing the thorn from the foot has 
 a very comic effed on his Faun countenance. 
 
 Three fleeping Cupids j all of them lovingly lying one over another. 
 
 Two Cupids and a goat. One milks ; and the other drinks out of 
 a cup with infantine fatisfadion. 
 
 The dancing Hours, in baffo relievo, abound in grace. The Hours, 
 painted by Guido in his Aurora, muft have been taken from thefe. 
 
 Venus girding herfelf with the fword of Mars ; and Cupid trying 
 on the helmet. 
 
 A common Venus (in oppofition to the heavenly Venus, which was 
 named Veims Ura??ia) who has clipped the wings of Cupid, which fhe 
 is holding in her hand. The boy v/eeps pitifully. How charming 
 is this fubjed ; and how full of deep refledion ! 
 
 The Gladiator ; fo called. This is one of the nobleft works of Gre- 
 cian art, and is very improperly called the Gladiator. The beft 
 informed connoifleurs have now difcovered it to be a hero. The figure 
 is perfedly beautiful : not the beautiful of imagination, but of nature, 
 formed in her luckiefl: moments ; when, to all that was beautiful, fhe 
 added all that was great ; when Ihe was guilty of no excefs ; of no- 
 thing too little, nor any thing too much. With all the reality of life, 
 the ftrength of age in its prime, and the dignified courage of adive 
 power, he (lands immoveable as manhood, agile as youth. He leans 
 
 3 C^ 2 forward, 
 
412 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 forward, fupported on the right leg, the left ftretched out behind^ 
 From the left fiioulder to the left heel, ycu may draw a right line. 
 With his left hand, he covers himfelf by his litile round fhield ; and 
 in his right, which is drawn backward, he holds a fliort javelin. His 
 attitude is the attitude of power in acStion, which cannot ftand ftill. 
 How could the mailer feize the very moment when nature, in motion, 
 fhould affume this attitude ! It would not be polTible for man to ftand 
 thus for a minute before a painter. I may as well alk how could 
 Raphael naint the heavenly flight of the winged angels in HeliodoruSj 
 whofe feet v>^hile they touch are quitting the earth, and whcfe flaming 
 hair fl:reams backward ? In infl:ances like thefe, model is out of the 
 queftion. 
 
 In the ftatue, we fhould have difcovered the hand and the- genius of 
 a Greek, though the Greek mafter'had not infcribed his name on the 
 work. He was called Agafias, the fon of Dofitheus ; and was of 
 Ephefas. It would greatly prom.ote the knowledge of art, could we 
 difcover who were his contemporaries. 
 
 A Silenus, holding a young Bacchus in his arms, is very exprefllve. 
 The boy looks with infantine kindnefs on Silenus : Silenus with 
 anxious love on the boy. It is an excellent piece. 
 
 An old Centaur, v/ith his hands bound behind him. A Cupid is 
 riding on his back ; whom the Centaur endeavours tobrufh away with 
 his tail as a horfe does a fly ; but turns at the fame time with an en- 
 treating look toward Cupid. The thought is fine. The animal part 
 ufes its arms often inftindlively, when they cannot afford any help. 
 The hands of man are bound by men : his proper limbs are impeded, 
 by their own power, at the very time they entreat to be free. The 
 fympathy of regret and the abufe of power are reciprocal. 
 
 The pi<flures of this palace are placed in the uppermofl flories. 
 
 A Venus ftanding, by Paul Veronefe, is of extraordinary beauty, 
 
 A Venus lying, by Titian. 
 
 One entire apartment is filled with landfcapes by Van Blumen, or 
 I Bloemen, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 413 
 
 Bloemen, a Flemlfli painter. They are excellent, yet lofe of their 
 effect by being thus afTembled together. This painter's fky has always 
 the fame deep blue colour. The fimilarlty of his horizons was fo great 
 that the Italians called him Ori%onte ; by which name alone he is 
 known in Rome. 
 
 A John the Baptift, by Mengs. Mengs was a great mafter, and 
 deeply initiated in the fecrets of the art. It may no doubt be difgrace- 
 ful to me fliould I fay that his pictures, in my apprehenfion^ always 
 
 appear cold. Yes, no doubt it may ; and yet ■ 
 
 Some excellent animals, by Wenceflaus Peter. 
 
 An apartment entirely filled with landfcapes by Hackert. The 
 pencil of this great mafter is known to you. It is known how he 
 embraces Nature, is favoured by her, and is an honour to her. His 
 excellent choice of fubjeds, and his animated- delineation of them, 
 are equally known. 
 
 There are various ftatues and farcophagl in the garden. I fhall 
 feled firil a large chandelier, which ftands on a triangular marble 
 pedeftal, in. order to fliew how eafily miftakes may be committed,, 
 refpecling antient art. Three bajfi r^Z/V't;/ reprefent the twelve fuperlor 
 deities, under which the inferior are placed. 
 
 Onebaflb relievo has been repaired, and badly repaired : on the lower 
 part of a Vulcan, the upper part of a Juno has been placed ; by which 
 means the tongs of the limping God are put into her hand. Winkel- 
 mann fuppofed this to be the figure of a Juno Lucina^ holding thefe 
 tongs to afTift in childbirth. I doubt if any fuch inftrument v/ere 
 known to the antients : but fuppofing it had been known, what an idea ! 
 On another balTo relievo, in the fame garden, Jupiter is fitting on 
 the back part of a Centaur. Winkelmann fays he is going to the 
 chace. The connoifTeur frequently formed his judgment from copies : 
 had he examined the originals of all that he has defcribed, he would 
 in the firft inftance have feen the blunder of repairing tiiat I have 
 defcribed ; and in this the ftar in the corner of the marble. He would^ 
 
 have 
 
4T4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 have compared this hajfo relievo with two others that belong to it, and 
 would have difcovered that the fubjed was allronomlcal ; and that it 
 was the planet Jupiter, reprefented in the fign of the Centaur Sagittarius, 
 It is far from my intention to be guilty of detradion againft this 
 learned, this acute man ; and, what is more, this man whofe fenfi- 
 biUty was fo much alive. I honour his merit, and am not ignorant 
 how highly he promoted the knowledge of art, and efpecially.of anti- 
 quity : 
 
 .. _ neque illi detrahcre atiftm 
 
 Hareiitem capiti vnilta cum laude coronain. 
 
 HoR. Sat. lib. i. 10 
 
 "Nor from his head ftiall I prefume to.tear 
 Tliatfacred wreath he well deferves to wear. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 I fpeak only to warn. The flowers which flourifh in Rome decay 
 and He confounded in cabinets. Winkelmann himfelf ftaggered. 
 What muft thofe loud talkers do, who not only did not pofTefs his 
 intelligence, and .good tafte, but who have never feen the remains of 
 antiquity.? 
 
 I have already mentioned to you the very fpacious and pleafant gar- 
 den of the villa Borghefe. Oh that we could ftray together among 
 its groves, together could wander among the ruins of Rome, and 
 together recline on the banks of the -lake of Nemi, befide the rulhing 
 fountain of Egeria ! 
 
 We have feen the Aurora of Guido, in the palace i^o/^i^-Z/o/?. This 
 pidure is called the Aurora becaufe, of all the beautiful figures it 
 contains, that of Aurora is the moft beautifuL Phoebus is feated in 
 his chariot, drawn by four foaming horfes, the flying fpeed of which 
 he is guiding. Round him dance feven lovely virgins, the Hours*. 
 
 * ' Hfai, daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were the goddeffesof the hours, of 
 the feafons, and of the life of man ; particularly of youth : for which reafon Homer, 
 in hisfecond hym» to Venus, makes this goddefs to be attired by the Hours. 
 
 Over 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 415 
 
 Over the liorfes, the figure of a boy, with a torch, hovers ; denoting 
 the morning ftar : and, preceding them all, with flying drapery, her 
 hair floating backward, and fcattering flowers with both hands, Aurora 
 glides along. She turns to look at the bright God of day, whofe 
 beautiful countenance beams upon and enlightens her lovely face. 
 His fpreading rays are difllifed, in a joyous and cherirtiing manner, 
 through the whole pidure. The fea has that deep blue with which, 
 as the clouds difappear at break of day, it is tinged, before the morn- 
 ing fun burfts upon its waves. 
 
 A fine engraving has been made of this pidure, by an artifl: of 
 Rome; which, of all' the pieces that I have feen of this kind, in the 
 prefent day, appears to me the mofl: excellent. The name of the en- 
 graver is Morghen: He is of a German family ; though his father 
 who is now living at Naples, was an Italian born. 
 
 The following verfes, by my friend Puccini, are written under the 
 engraving : 
 
 ^(adrijvgis inve£ius equts Sol aureus exit. 
 Cut fepfem variis circiimjiant •vejVihus Hora. 
 Lucifer ante volnt^ Rapidi Juge lampada So/iff 
 AiirorOy umhrarum viSirix ne vicia recedas. 
 
 Drawn by four foaming fleeds, bright Sol appears ! 
 
 In varied vefts, the Hours come dancing round ! 
 
 Lucifer flies I Fly thou, Aurora ! Fly 
 
 The rapid fplendcur of his golden beams ; 
 
 Left, conquerefs of the fhades, thou conquer 'd be. 
 
 This morning, we have a third time been to contemplate the apart- 
 ments of Raphael, in the Vatican : Puccini went with us. This man 
 of genius, of feeling, and of fire, has entered more deeply into the fpirit 
 of Raphael, and has better underftood his immortal works, than per- 
 haps even any painter. Dante would have laid of him 6" e Internato 
 nel Rqfaello, He is entombed in Riphael. What beauties, what 
 thoughts, has he pointed out to me from thefe wonderful produdions ! 
 
 How 
 
4i6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 How deeply has he dived into this ocean of deliglit ! No painter ever 
 Uke Raphael poiTefled equal wealth and equal frugality. He exhibits 
 nature living and full as Ihe is, but not overflowing. The longer we 
 look, the more we difcover. Every part is a poem. Poets, beware how 
 you paint too much ! Learn the dignity of poetry ! Raphael, from 
 w^hom all painters are fo infinitely diftant, was thus inimitably great, 
 becaufe, in his v/orks, he was not only a poet, but a philofopher. Per- 
 haps he never wrote a line ; yet few poets ever had fo many poetical 
 
 thoughts. 
 
 Since the death of Raphael, many of his thoughts remain unob- 
 ferved in thefe pidures. I hope that Puccini will benefit the public 
 with his remarks, and his difcoveries ; which {hould he do, I fhall be 
 o-lad to have given you this notice. 
 
 In expedation of this pleafing publication, I cannot prevail on my- 
 felf to fend you the poor remarks I am able to make. 
 
 LETTER LVL 
 
 Rome, 26th January 1792. 
 
 E have been wandering over the Palatine hill, among 
 the buried ruins of the great Lords of the world ! We paiTed through 
 a p-arden which, in the time of the C^fars, was called the garden of 
 Adonis; and which was very much embelliihed by Domitian. We 
 then proceeded to the baths of the imperial palace ; which had long 
 ■been buried under rubbiih, and were firft difcovered in 1724. 
 
 Here we faw two fubterranean rotundas, various apartments, and a 
 hall. Thefe, as well as the rotundas, have fquare niches ; in which 
 •were the bathing velTels : and round niches ; in which flatues were 
 
 placed ; 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^ly 
 
 placed : but thefe, as well as the other, and with them the marble with 
 which the baths were faced within^ were taken away by a Frenchman, 
 who was the poiTeflbr of the garden. 
 
 In the times of Auguftus, the water ufed for the baths was carried 
 in ; but under later Emperors it was fupplied from the Claudian aque- 
 duct, and the Anio. 
 
 The Palatine may figuratively be called the foundation, or corner 
 itone, of antient Rome. Here Romulus began to build the immortal 
 city ; and we might imagine that he had a foreknowledge, in this be- 
 ginning, of its immortality. About four hundred years before his time, 
 Evander, on this height, had founded his little fovereignty ; and, above 
 eleven hundred years after Evander, on the fouth fide of this hill, Au- 
 guftus built his palace, and fucceeding Emperors endeavoured to rival 
 each other in their magnificent ftrudtures. 
 
 Not fatisfied with one hill, Nero extended his golden palace over 
 three ; the Palatine, the Efquiline, and the Coelius ; with the whole 
 fpace that lay between them : which included the greatefl part of what 
 was properly antient Rome, whofe citizens were comprefled together 
 in the ever increafing fuburbs. 
 
 Galba played but a fliort part. Otho and Vitellius performed their 
 characters on the great theatre of the v/orld but wretchedly. Vefpafian, 
 Titus, and Domitian, once again limited themfelves to the Palatine : 
 but Domitian built new palaces on this hill, from which hill the term 
 palace is derived. From the Hippodrome of Augufl:us, which is now 
 a fruit garden, you have a view of the v/hole circumference; with its 
 walls and ruins. 
 
 What are called the baths of Livia, but which were probably the work 
 of Auguftus, in part are ftili remaining. We defcended into them with 
 torches ; for they are fubterranean, and do not admit of day-light. On 
 the upper arching, which is Hill decorated with gold, we faw Arabeic 
 ornaments ; and little pictures, the colours of which are almoft gone 
 and the drawing light. 
 
 Vol. L 3 H On 
 
4i8 TRAVELS OF COUNT SIOLUERG. 
 
 On the eaft, Domklan liad built a great hall of audience ; Autam 
 Palatlnam : in which he received princes and foreign ambalfadors, 
 and probably likewife adminiftered juftice. 
 
 The barracks, for the Pnetorlan guard, were built round the hill ; 
 which, after the manner of the Romans, was terraced. Thefe terraces 
 were eredled on prodigious foundations of ftone ; under which weue 
 arcades, that ferved partly as the habitation of flaves, and partly were 
 embelliilied to krve as cool walks. 
 
 Of the barracks high walls are remaining;, which prove that they 
 confifted of two ftories. Auguftus conftrud:ed a colonnade above 
 them ; from which he could overlook the greateft part of Rome, and 
 the furrounding country. T'he Aventine hill lies to the weft ; and 
 between this and the Palatine the great Circus extends itfelf. The 
 elder Tarquln w^as the firft that began it -, and he furrounded it with 
 wooden benches. By Csefar, it was ornamented with marble feats, and 
 r.rcades. This Circus would contain three hundred thouiiuid fpedii- 
 tors. Auguftus gave it the additional decoration of an Egyptian obe- 
 lifk ; and a ftiil much greater obelifk was placed there by Conftantine. 
 The laft now ftands on the Lateran ; and the firft on the Piazza dd 
 Popolo : the place of the people. 
 
 Here we ftill fee the pulv'uia/\ or the tribune of Auguftus; and Iiis 
 exedra is ftill ftanding in the Hippodrome. The exedra was a kind 
 of building that was fo called, by the Romans, and that was open in 
 front, half circular, and arched like the choirs of many churches ; or 
 like the half fe(Stion of a rotunda. 
 
 Of themoft magnificent of the buildings of the Palatine hill, at leaft 
 the moft beautiful that were there in the time of Auguftus, the temple 
 of the Palatine Apollo, there is now no remaining trace. It ftood on a 
 fpot which is now occupied by a Francifcan cloifter. Propertius has 
 given us a defcription of this building, which fufficiently infpires us 
 with an idea of its great beauty. The ftatues of the fifty daughters of 
 Danaus ftood in tlie portico, between pillars of Punic marble : ^ialb 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 41^ 
 
 antico. The marble Image of the God was not merely beautiful, and 
 animated, but appeared as if infpired. The altar was furrounded by- 
 four life-breathing animals, the workmanfhip of Myron. I do not 
 here fpeak of the altar within the building ; but of the altar without 
 the temple. The temple itfelf was of white marble. On the frontif- 
 piece was the golden chariot of the Sun. The folding doors were of 
 ivory, embelliflied with bajfi relievi ; one of which reprefented the ex- 
 pulfion of the Gauls from ParnafTus, and the other the ftory of Niobe *. 
 Within the temple flood Apollo, between Latona and Diana f. 
 
 Two libraries were on the fide of the temple; one of Greek authors 
 and one of Latin. Celfus, a young poet, who, as it appears, was very 
 
 * Paufanias, b. x. 23, where, with the licence of fable, this defeat of the Gauls is de- 
 
 fcribed. 
 
 f ^tarls cur vemam tibl tardior ? Aurea Phoehi 
 
 Portkus a magno Ccsfare apertafuit. 
 Tot a erat infpeciem Pcenis d'lgejla cohtmnis : 
 
 Liter quas Danai femitia ttirha fenis . 
 Hie eqiiidem Phoeho vijus mihi pitlchrior Ipfo 
 
 Marmoreus tacila carmen hiare lyj'a. 
 Atque aram circumjieterant armenta Myr^uis 
 
 ^uatuor art'ijic'is vividafigtia boves. 
 Turn medium claro furgehat martnore templumy 
 
 Et patria Phccho carit/s Ortygia. 
 Attro foUs erat fupra fajVigin currus^ 
 Et valve Libyci nobile dentis opus. 
 Altera dejeflos ParnaJJi vertice G alios. 
 
 Altera moerebat funera Tantalidos. 
 Deitide inter matrem Deus ipfe interque fororem 
 
 Pythius in longa cannina vejle fonat. 
 
 Propert. ii. elegia 29. 
 
 I know not on what tradition Propertius makes Ortygia the native p'ace of Apollo. 
 Homer makes Dclos his place of birth, and Ortygia that of Diana. This has been the 
 pievailing opinion ; though later mythologlfts give Delos as the native couniry of both. 
 
 3 H 2 willing 
 
^,0 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 willing to appropriate to himfelf the thoughts of great writers, is thu5^ 
 warned to greater caution by Horace : 
 
 Privatas ut quarat cpeSy et tongere vltct 
 Scrlpta Palathius qucccunque recepit Apollo. 
 
 HoR. i. ep. 3. ver, i<5, 17. 
 
 Let Celfus be admonifli'il, o'er and o'er, 
 To fearch the treafurcs of his native ftore, 
 Nor touch what Phcebus confecrates to fame. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 Were this very temple of Apollo now {landing, however it might, 
 have affeded me, I fhould have been ftill more affected by the north 
 wfft part of the Palatine, which is called VeVia. Here it was that the 
 noble Valerius, who had fo great a part in the expulfion of the Tar- 
 quins, had built his houfe. That envy to v/hich his renown had given 
 birth was his calumniator : the people were told he was ambitious of 
 the fupreme rule, for his houfe overlooked the whole city, like a for- 
 trefs. He heard the calumny Vs^ith virtuous indignation, and caufed 
 the people to be affembled. Being Conful, he commanded the lidors 
 to lower the fafces before the people, thus affembled, as an acknowledg- 
 ment of their fovereignty: after which, he thus complahied of the in- 
 juftice of his fellow-citizens : 
 
 " Can virtue find no fufficient proof, that fhall fecure it againft fuf- 
 " picion ? Is your confidence in me fo unliable that it depends more 
 " on where, than v/hat, I am? No, Quirites: the houfe of Publius 
 " Valerius (hall be no obftacle to your freedom ! You Ihall be fecure 
 " from Velia. Not only in the plain but immediately under the hill 
 " will I build my houfe ; that it may be overlooked by the fufpicious 
 " citizens. Let the man build on Velia who is a better guardian of 
 •* freedom than Publius Valerius." 
 
 Accordingly, he ordered his houfe to be pulled down, and built an- 
 other 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 421 
 
 other in the place below ; and the people honoured him with the fur- 
 name of PidUcola. 
 
 The new palaces of Domitlaii did not fingly occupy the open place 
 of the Palatine : he likewife built a F&rum there, and Nerva inclofe J it 
 by building a greater. The Forum of Nerva exteriorly had an irregular 
 form ; as may at prefent be feen, by the very ftrong and lofty walls 
 that almofi: furround it. This building is of the ruftic kind, and fug- 
 gefted the model of the palaces of Florence ; which moil of them are 
 of ruftic architedure. The intention of a Forum was properly a court 
 of juftice : bafilics, or courts of jullice, were buih within it ; and there 
 are ftill three large Corinthian pillars remaining of the bafilic of Nerva. 
 The architrave is ornamented with hz^wCxiKAbaJfi rdlevi -, which re- 
 prefent the hgures of females, varioully occupied. 
 
 We could not contemplate the remains of the Thermx of Caracalla 
 without aftonilhment. The golden palace of Nero excepted, this work, 
 and the buildings that belonged to it, formed the greateft of the works 
 of Rome. Prodigious ruins of walls, which formerly were all coated 
 with marble, ftill point out the two temples, the two epbdea, the 
 places where youths exercifed themfelves in the gymnaftic games, the 
 place for the wreftlers, xhQ pifcuia^ or the pool for the fwimmers, dif- 
 ferent divifions for the houfes of the fuperintendants, the apodytcr'wn^ 
 or place where the wreftlers undrefled, the conijlerio?!^ or place where 
 the wreftlers, after being anointed with oil, were fprinkled with duft, 
 the heliajlerion^ or place where they funned themfelves, the vejllbulum^ 
 which was a rotunda, the baths, VN^hich conftfted of cold, lukewarm, 
 warm, and fweating baths, the theatre, two libraries, one Greek and 
 one Latin, the courfe for racing, the place for playing at ball, a 
 place which formerly v/as planted with the plane tree, and cxedra;^ for 
 poets, philofophers, and rhetoricians. The fubterranean baths of the 
 ilaves ferved as the foundation of a terrace ; on which people exercifed 
 themfelves in throvv-ing the quoit, or difcuu 
 
 All thcfe places, as well thofe that were open as thofe that were in- 
 4 clofed. 
 
42 2 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 clofed, were embelliflied with ftatues. The niches in which they flood 
 ;ire in part ilili in exiflence. The different baths were capable of re- 
 ceiving three thoufand people. 
 
 From this, we went to Mount Coelius j another of the feven hills 
 of antient Rome. 
 
 The gate, which leads out of the city to the antient fuburb, was 
 built by Dolabella, the fon-in-law of Cicero, in the year that he was 
 Conful. 
 
 Not far from this place is the church of Lateran ; the oldefl church 
 in Rome, and probably the mod antient in Chriftendom. This build- 
 ing was founded by Conftantine. It is a bafilic of five aifles, origin- 
 ally built in the ftyle of St. Paul's church at Rome. Clement the 
 Twelfth, if I do not miftake, in later times entirely built up the large 
 columns with fquare pillars ; and thus injured the beauty of the archi- 
 te(^ure. Four columns of bronze fland fronting the altar, with which 
 Titus had formerly decorated the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Ihey 
 are of the Roman order. Tradition maintains them to have been 
 brought by Titus from the temple ot Jerufalem ; and the probability 
 is that the bronze, of which they confifl:, was brought by Titus from 
 this temple, where he found that metal in abundance. The portico is 
 large, and is outwardly fuftained by pillars. The entrance is fupported 
 by four large columns of white marble, of the Roman order. At the 
 end of the portico there is a ftatue cf Conflantine, of wretched work- 
 manfhip. 
 
 Facing the Lateran ftands the largefl and moft antient obellfk. It 
 was brought to Rome by Germanicus, and is fuppofed to be of the time 
 of the antient Egyptian King Rhamfes, who was a powerful con- 
 queror. 
 
 Another obelifk, which flands in front of the council houfe, on the 
 Monte Citorio^ is faid to be of the age of Sefoftris. 
 
 To the fon of Sefoftris, Pheron, who is faid to be Pharaoh, the op- 
 prefTor of the Ifraelites, whom the power of God by the arm of Mofes 
 
 deftroyed. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 42; 
 
 deftroyed, the obelifk is afcribed which ftands before the church of St. 
 Peter. It is the only one which contains no hieroglyphics. This 
 circuniRance has fuggefted a hypotlielis to Mr. Hirt, which appears to 
 me fo ingenious as to deferve your notice. 
 
 Pheron, fuppofnig him to be the Pharaoh who opprefTed the 
 IfraeUtes, we are informed by holy writ, was arrogant and crueL The 
 fame chara6l:er is given of him by Plerodotus*. Angry with the qk- 
 ceflive rifing of the Nile, which the Egyptians held to be a facred 
 flream, he threw his fpear into the overflowing river. For this he was 
 punifhed by the Gods with ten years' blindnefs ; and he was cured by a 
 remedy, which was fuggefted by a foothfayer, but the execution of 
 which occalioned him to commit great cruelty. 
 
 A king like this might well become hateful to his people. You no 
 doubt remember the excellent cuftom of the Egyptians ; who, after the 
 death of their kings, brought to judgment and condemned them to 
 open fhame, or revered them with public honours. The opinion of 
 Mr. Hirt is that this Pheron was condemned to difgrace ; and that, for 
 that reafon, his obelifk was without infcription. And indeed this filent 
 cenfure appears to me more fevere than any fentence that fhould have 
 been recorded in hieroglyphics j the facred characters of which the 
 people did not underftand. 
 
 The obelifk which is on the Piaz^-o del Popolo is afcribed, by 
 Pliny f , to a much later King, Semneferteus ; in whofe time Pytha- 
 goras vifited Egypt. Pythagoras was a contemporary of Cyrus and 
 Solon. 
 
 Befide thefe four principal obelifks, there are feven others that orna- 
 ment different places of Rome. 
 
 Thus did this antient Queen of cities collect within herfelf the la- 
 bours and arts of many nations, and many ages. She adorned herfelf 
 with the antient and modern works of her children, with the myftic 
 obelifks of Egypt, and with the fineft ftatues that Greece produced. 
 
 * Herod, lib. li. •}• Nat. Hift. xxxvi. 9. 
 
 Many 
 
^24 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 Many centuries before her foundations were laid, the hewers of ftone 
 on the banks of the Nile laboured for her ; and, before her name was 
 known beyond the narrow limits of Latlum, the artifls of Afia Minor, of 
 Corinth, of Sicyon, and of Athens, were vying who (hould ^mbellilh 
 her molt. Out of her duft and allies, from which the Goths and Van- 
 dals had bedecked themfelves, again, after a weary winter, the youthful 
 arts fprung up ; and, like the groves of Italy, once more appeared to 
 bloom in eternal fpring. To her Germany has fent her AngeUca ; 
 v^ho now weaves young and not faded flowers into the antient and 
 never withering garland of immortal Rome. 
 
 LETTER LVII. 
 
 I 
 
 Rome, aSth January 1792, 
 
 HAVE now been four times to the Pantheon ; and I feel 
 fatisfadion in fending you an engraving, which may convey fom'e- 
 thing of an idea of the beauty of this temple. 
 
 It is the only monument that has withftood the ravages of time ; or 
 rather of the barbarians, who fo often defolated Rome. It v/as built 
 by Agrippa, after the battle of Adium, and confecrated to Jupiter the 
 avenger, whofe ftatue was placed in the principal niche over the en- 
 trance. In the other fix niches there were ftatues of other Gods. 
 
 The architrave refts on fixteen large columns of glallo antico^ or 
 yellow African marble ; the chapiters of which were of the bronze of 
 Syracufe. Over the cornice, according to Pliny, there formerly ftood 
 caryatides : by which word you muft not here underftand the female 
 figures that with their heads fupported a part of the building, but de- 
 tached female ftatues; which were the work of the Athenian, Diogenes. 
 
 They 
 
^-/ffi'r/)'r,nu\- 
 
////:. ^///r/Y/Y (-/ //i(:_^/7////Ar:<wy, fV (AM^/ta/i . 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEPvG. 425 
 
 They were celebrated, by Pliny, as mafterpleces of art*. The cupola 
 is perfedly hemifpherlcal. The light falls entirely from above, through 
 a circular aperture ; which is twelve ells in diameter, and has a clear 
 and pleaiant effed: : for, as it ialls in one mals, it produces no falfe 
 lights, but expands over all the beautiful objects of the whole temple. ■ 
 
 In the wall between the niches, there were tabernacles ; with 
 frontifpieccs, fupported by fmall columns of g'lallo ant'ico : which, as 
 well as the niches themfelves, nowferve for altars. The brazen gates, 
 which formerly were embellifhed with bajfi relieviy notwithftanding 
 that they have been robbed of their ornaments, are beautiful in their 
 grandeur. The architrave, with its pods and entablature, are of the 
 nobleft architedure. The whole cupola w^as covered with gilded 
 bronze ; which, as well as the brazen fteps before the portico, was 
 carried away by Conftans the Second, for the embellifliment of Con- 
 ftantinople. The pronaos, or portico, before the temple, was fup- 
 ported by fixteen columns of red granite. The frontifpiece was 
 adorned with a bronze baffo relievo ; and from what remains of this, 
 the fubje6: is fuppofed to be Jupiter in a war chariot, wielding the 
 thunder againft the Titans, whom he is hurling from heaven. This 
 allegory, which was fo well adapted to a temple that was dedicated to 
 Jupiter the Avenger, had likewife a flattering allufion to the vid:ory 
 of Auguftus ; which he gained over the enemy at A(^ium ; he being 
 by adoption the Ton of Julius Csefar, who by Venus was of the race 
 of Jupiter. The immenfe armament of Anthony might very well 
 be compared to the mountains heaped upon mountains of the giants, 
 ftorming heaven; and the wild valour of the man, his ambition, and 
 prefumption, gave him an emblematical refemblance to the mighty 
 fons of the earth. 
 
 On the top of the frontifpiece, and at both corners, there likewife 
 w^ere brazen ftatues of great beauty. 
 
 * Agrippce Panthcum decoravit Diogenes Athctnevjis^ et caryatides in colunwis templi ejus 
 probantur inter pauca openim, Plin. xxxvi. c 5. 
 
 Vol. I. 3 I Whoever 
 
426 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Whoever would wifh to have a jufl idea of the purpofes to whicB 
 this building v/as dedicated, and of what it formerly was, fhould read 
 the hiflorical architedural remarks of Mr. Hirt, on the Pantheon *. 
 
 It was connected with the Therms of Agrippa, as may ftill be 
 plainly feen. Some of the learned, in exprefs contradidtion to the 
 teftimony of the antients, place the ere<Sling of the Pantheon in the 
 times of the republic ; and, Vv^ith as little reafon and greater abfurdity^ 
 maintain that it was a bath. The baths were indeed adorned with the 
 ftatues of the Gods : but who could behold this mafterpiece of art, in 
 which it had exerted its highefl; magnificence, and fuppofe the building 
 to be a bath ? Thefe vifionary conjedlures have been filenced by Mr. 
 Hirt ; who has made it appear probable that, at firft, the columns, 
 which now ftand facing the fix great fide niches, once ftood befide 
 them ; and fupported the projecting of an architrave, fimilar to the 
 niches in the middle ; which now ftand detached. 
 
 Dion CafTius is of opinion f that this temple was not called the Pan- 
 theon becaufe it contained the images of the Gods, but becaufe^ its 
 cupola was arched like the firmament. 
 
 The columns of the portico bear deep traces of the conflagrations ; 
 to which calamity Rome was fo frequently fubjeft. 
 
 Some of thefe columns had been entirely calcined, and were fallen 
 down ; but were replaced by fimilar columns, that had been found in 
 the Therm IS of Nero. 
 
 The Emperor Phocas granted the Pantheon to Pope Boniface the 
 Fourth ; by whom it was confecrated as a church. By degrees, it was 
 embellifhed with flatues and pidlures : but why were not the moft beau- 
 tiful fele6led, for this purpofe ? The hand of Raphael fhould have been 
 exercifed in this building. 
 
 In the walls there are fmall oval niches, that are faced with white 
 marble, in fome of which there are the bufts of great artifts ; and 
 
 * Die hijlorifch-architeiton'tfchen Betrachtungen^ des Herrn Hirt, liber das Pantheon,. ■ 
 
 \ lib. Uii> 
 
 6 others 
 
A///^/// A// ,////fL^/af///,r»:t>y_^/ryff^/o/n 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 4.17 
 
 otliers of them are vacant. Raphael and Annlbal Caracci were both 
 buried here. Among the bufts, we find thofe of Metaflafio, Nicho- 
 las PoufTin, Mengs, and Winkehiiann ; and over the graves of Raphaei 
 and Annibal Caracci are the bufts of thofe great mafters. The church 
 is now called the Rotunda, and is dedicated to the Holy Virgin and all 
 the martyrs. 
 
 Caft your eye over the engraving. The church of St. Peter is much 
 larger, and is truly a noble building : but how inferior is it, in that 
 which charadterizes real grandeur and beauty, to the Rotunda ! 
 
 Place yourfelf in the centre of the Rotunda, and all your ideas are 
 awful. You are infpired with a profound fenfe of the noble fimplicity 
 which every where meets your eye. Before you rife the ages that have 
 paiTed away, and the races of men that have defcended to the duft, 
 fmce the foundation of this temple. 
 
 When Agrippa raifed this monument to the power of Auguftus, the 
 -earth was covered with the altars of idols. It was but the dawn of that 
 day which was to enlighten the earth : the temple of idols is now con- 
 fecrated to the living God. Imbued with folemn reverence, I looked 
 upward and beheld the open vault of the azure and infinite heaven. 
 Clouds here and there concealed its ethereal beams : but they were dif. 
 perfed by the all enlightening fun. 
 
 Ever intent on the means of immortalizing their deeds, the thought 
 faggefled itfelf to the Romans of raifing columns, which Ihould 
 remain the monuments of their fame. The pillar of Trajan was eredt- 
 ed on the Forum which bore his name. The fhaft confifts of three-and- 
 twenty large pieces ; and there is a winding ftair cafe within, that 
 leads up it to the very top. This ftair cafe, the interior of the pillar, 
 and the whole of the outfide, have all been hewn from the fame bed 
 of marble. The fteps of the ftair cafe are high, and a hundred and 
 eighty-five in number. The furrounding foil has been fo increafed, 
 by the rubbiih of houfes that have fallen, that it envelops the whole of 
 the pedeftal ; fo that you defcend three-and-twenty fteps to the foot of 
 
 3 I 2 the 
 
42g TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the pillar. Trophies are cut in the pedeftal j and the ads of the Empe- 
 ror embellilli the ihaft. The number of the figures of men, which are 
 three palms or fpans high, are eftimated at two thoufand five hundred ; 
 with numerous elephants, horfes, trophies, and other objcdls. 
 
 Thefe hajj] rdiev'i reprefent the vi<5tories of Trajan, during his cam- 
 paign againil the Daci. 
 
 On the top of the pillar was the colofiTal ftatue of Trajan, call in 
 bronze, and gilded ; which was placed on a pedeftal, that had the form. 
 of a truncated cone. 
 
 Sixtus the Fifth replaced this ftatue by a no lefs colofTal ftatue of the 
 apoftle Peter. 
 
 From the top of this pillar, w^e overlook the whole city and the fur- 
 rounding country. 
 
 The pillar of Antonine was ereded, by the fenate, to the Emperor 
 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. This column is likewife embelliftied 
 ys'vCa. bajfi relic vi \ v/hich reprefent the deeds of the Emperor againftj 
 the Marcomanni and the Quadi: nations that inhabited Bohemia and 
 Moravia. 
 
 Though thefe bajfi reVievi^ which are fo projeding that they might 
 almoft be miftaken for alti rel'iev'i^ are very beautiful, yet the artift: 
 feems to have over-ftepped the fage laws of antient proportion. They 
 are lefs excellent than the figures of the pillar of Trajan. The pillar 
 of Antonine, however, has been injured by fire. 
 
 One of the remarkable events that are here recorded was the danger 
 in which the Romans found themfelves, during a battle, from thirfl 
 and heat ; and from which they were relieved by a miraculous tempeft, 
 by the rain of which they were cooled while lightning and hail fear- 
 fully annoyed the foe. 
 
 The rain, which revived the army, is typified by the Jupiter Pluvius • 
 who is perfonified under the figure of an antient head, with a dripping 
 beard, and dripping wings, hovering over the army of the Romans^ 
 The artift appears to have had the paflage of Ovid in his recolledion, 
 
 where 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 429 
 
 where he defcribes the blowing of the fouth wind before the general 
 deluge of Deucalion. 
 
 Madidis Notiis evolat all's j 
 
 ^erribilem picen teElus cal'ig'nie wiltttm. 
 Barba gravis fiimbis, catits Jlult unda cap'illis : 
 Frontefedent nebula : rorant pennaque^ fmufque, 
 Utque inatiu lata pende?itia tiiibila prejjity 
 Fitfragor : hinc denjr funduninr ab athere nhnbi. 
 
 Ovid. lib. I. 264 = 
 
 The fouth he loos'd, who night and horror brings ; 
 
 .■41 
 
 And fogs are (haken from his flaggy wings. 
 From his divided beard two dreams he pours. 
 His head, and rheumy eyes diftil in (how'rs. 
 With rain his robe and heavy mantle flow : 
 And lazy mifts are low'ring on his brow. 
 Still as he fwept along, with his clench'd fift 
 He fqueez'd the clouds, th* imprifon'd clouds refift : 
 The flcies, from pole to pole, with peals refound ;. 
 And fhow'rs inlarg'd come pouring to the ground. 
 
 Drtden. 
 
 The artift thought proper to give no more than the head and wlng^ 
 of the Jupiter Pluvius. 
 
 Sixtus the Fifth caufed the ftatue of the apoftle Paul to be placed on 
 the top of the pillar, inftead of the ftatue of Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 It had long been believed that this was the pillar which Marcus 
 
 Aurelius Antoninus ereded to the memory of Antoninus Pius. 'Tis 
 
 ftrange that Marcus Aurelius could be fo mifconflrued. How could 
 
 he dedicate a pillar to the memory of his great predecefTor, and bene- 
 
 fador, and commemorate his own adions on this pillar ? The pillar 
 
 was ereded by the Senate to Marcus Aurelius ; and that which was 
 
 erected by him to Antoninus Pius was difcovered about fifty years ago. 
 
 It was without bajft rellevi ; and was broken by an accident, while they 
 
 were again attempting to ered it. 
 
 Beautiful 
 
430 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Beautiful as thefe works are, for their proportion, invention, and 
 great labour, they yet appear to charaderize an age in which the arts 
 began to degenerate. I think it at leaft a miflaken idea to place a ftatue 
 upon a pillar, or to infcribe thofe deeds upon fuch u work, w^iich by 
 their height almoft efcape the eye» 
 
 How diiFerent is the genius of the antient Greeks ! Follow me to the 
 Quirinal. Behold with what animation, what power, the two colofTal 
 youths {land befide the horfes that feem to fly ! Heroic power, more 
 than human, teftifies Caftor and Pollux to be the fons of Jupiter. How 
 daring ! How dignified ! The horfes indeed are not beautiful : but 
 they are alive. They once ornamented the two extremities of the 
 flone pier, which circled the haven of Alexandria. They were 
 brought here by Conflantine. There are infcriptions of the age of this 
 Emperor on the pedeftals, which afcribe them one to Phidias, the other 
 to Praxiteles : but I do not fo much truft to the infcriptions as to the 
 charader difcoverable in the work. The ftatue that is afcribed to Phi- 
 dias has that exprefTion of intrepidity, and power, which were the 
 fculptor's proper qualities. The other, no lefs full of life and genius, 
 is wrought with greater delicacy, but lefs boldnefs ; and might perhaps 
 be acknowledged by Praxiteles for his own work. The prefent Pope 
 has caufed an Egyptian obelifK to be ere£led between thefe ftatues. 
 
 The Quirinal mount has been called Monte Cavallo^ or horfe hill, after 
 thefe flatues. Above, on the fame hill, the palace of the prince of 
 Colonna is built; which contains a fine colledion of pidures. Among 
 others, there are two here by Raphael, in his firft manner. 
 
 One of them is Mary, with the child Jefus j and in this we perceive 
 the fcholar of Perugino. The more lofty fpirit of Raphael however 
 "breaks forth. 
 
 The other is likewlfe a Mary and Jefus : the latter bleffing the child 
 John the Baptift. The charms of infancy are equally confpicuous ia 
 th.e bleifing and the bleffed, who appears to feel the value of the boon 
 
 bellowed. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUiNT STOLBERG, 431 
 
 beflowed. Peter and Paul are prefent ; and properly charaderized ; 
 efpecially Peter. This deeply conceived and powerfully felt pidure 
 was painted by Raphael when he was but eighteen years of age. 
 
 In a gallery below is a famous hajfo relievo ; the fubjed of which is 
 the Apotheofis of Homer. Jupiter, feated on the top of Olympus, 
 grafps the thunder ; with his eagle by his fide. Below him, on differ- 
 ent heights, fland Apollo Mufagetes, Mnemofyne (the Mother of the 
 Mufes) and the Mufes ; one of whom, full of infpiration, dances down 
 the mountain. Below fits Homer, with hischair fupported,one on each 
 fide, by two female figures; the one holding a fword in her hand, the 
 other a rudder: the laft denotes the Odyflcy, the firfl: the Iliad. Be- 
 hind the great poet ftand the Genius of time and the Genius of the 
 earth, placing a crown on his head. Mice are running round him, in 
 allufion to his poem of the war of the frogs and mice ; and before him 
 is an ox led to the altar. Nature, Wifdom, and Memory, juftly take 
 part in the honour done to Homer. Hiftory, in a facerdotal charac- 
 ter, ftands befide the altar ; and behind her Poetry, infpired, with 
 torches in her outftretched hands. 
 
 The artift has infcribed the name beneath each perfonage. I grant 
 you that fuch an infcription is no ornament to a work of this kind ; 
 and I very well know the objections that may be alleged. I have no 
 doubt but that the artift knew them likewife ; but he facrificed this 
 trifling inconvenience, or in fome fort conventional evil, to the greater 
 advantage of not difturbing the imagination. 
 
 Tell me what it is that more difturbs us, than exercifmg the acute- 
 nefs of divination on allegorical fubjeds. We are not only dif- 
 turbed by the exercife of the underftanding, but we are alTaffinated by 
 the ebullitions of vanity ; which prides itfelf on its conjedural pene- 
 tration. The pure feelings, that the poet and artift would excite, 
 are killed by nothing fo much as by conceited pretenfions to learn- 
 ing and connoifleurfhip. For my own part, nothing fo effedually 
 difturbs my fenfations as the vain prattle of thofe who, while they 
 
 make 
 
432 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 make tliclr remarks on the beauties of the artlft, endeavour to turn the 
 attention of others all on themfclves, on their own knowledge, and on 
 that factitious flame by which they flrain to light up their falfe feelings. 
 I am much lefs offended by the apathy of an Englifli My Lord and 
 My Lady, who pafs a Raphael without noticing its beauties, than by 
 a French Abbe, who, with as little feeling as the firft, plays the part of 
 an enraptured dilettante^ or a difcerning connolffeur. I even prefer 
 them to a lady who, having been taught to admire, makes a memo- 
 randum of the beauties in her pocket-book ; and the next moment pro- 
 duces this fecond hand opinion, this fenfation which fhe never expe- 
 rienced, this illegitimate foundling, as the child of her ov/n heart and 
 underftanding. 
 
 All thefe are only ridiculous : but there are other feelings that are 
 painful and difgufting. Such to me is a woman, who facrifices the 
 modelly of her fex to the vanity of being a dilettante ; who expatiates 
 with learned rapture on a naked Apollo, argues with men concerning 
 the feminine charms of a Venus or a Danae, and, regardlefs of the 
 pain Ihe gives to her officious hufband, places her learned finger on the 
 mufcular thigh of a Hercules. 
 
 The Mufeum-Pium-Clemcnt'inum is certainly beyond all comparifon 
 the moft beautiful colledion of antiques now in exigence. At firft, 
 it only occupied fome apartments on that fide of the Vatican which, 
 from its extenfive profped, has been called the Belvedere, Clement 
 "the Fourteenth enlarged the place, becauie he improved the rich collec- 
 tion. The prefent Pope, who has built new galleries and two charm- 
 ing rotundas in addition, and has likewife adorned it with numerous 
 mafterpieces, has now called it, after himfelf and its former benefador, 
 Miifemn-Pium-Clementinum, 
 
 As I entered, I immediately perceived the great Torfo ; in Vv^hich 
 Winkelmann (fhall I call it penetration or delightful inebriety r) ima- 
 gined he difcovered (o much which other eyes can with difficulty fup- 
 pofc, on examining the mere trunk and thighs of a ftatue, What re- 
 mains. 
 
TRAVELS OF 9OUNT STOLBERG. 433 
 
 mains, however, Is fo Inexpre^ibly beautiful, that the conjedure does 
 not appear to me very abfurd which doubts whether the great mafter 
 lefs pleafed with the head, the arms, and the legs, than wuth the re- 
 mainder, did not deftroy them himfelf ; that the before imperfea: work 
 might enjoy the higheft degree' of perfedion which the art affords. 
 His name is on the Torfo i he was called Apollonlus, the fon of Neftor 
 and came from Athens. 
 
 The farcophagus (removed from the fepulchre of the Sclplos) of 
 Scipio Barbatus, who lived in the fifth century after the building of 
 Rome, is fimple, and remarkable for its antiquity ; which is likewife 
 proved by the antient Latin of the Infcrlptlon that it contains — 
 
 CORNELIUS. LUCIUS. SCIPIO. BARBATUS. 
 
 CNAIVO. D. PATRE. 
 
 PROGNATUS. FORTIS. VI R. SAPIENS. QUE 
 
 QVOIVS. FORMA. VIRTVTEI. PARISUMA. 
 
 FVIT. CONSOL. CENSOR. AIDILIS. QVE. FVIT. 
 
 APVD. VOS. TAURASIA. CISAVNA. 
 
 SAMNIO. CEPIT. SUBIGIT. OMNE. LOVCANA, 
 
 OBSIDES. Q\^E. ABDOVCIT. 
 
 He who has only feen the caft of the famous Apollo Belvedere is but 
 half acquainted whh its beauties. Its dignified and not fo much angry 
 as godlike angry countenance lofes in the cafts many of its Olympian 
 graces. And yet— Oh thofe Greeks !— And yet, this ftatue appears to 
 be no more than a copy after an antient Greek ftatue ; for it is of the 
 marble of Carrara. It was found In the ruins of the villa of Nero, at 
 Antium. 
 
 The Laocoon^ however, if any w^ork of genius remains of antient 
 Greece, is Grecian. The infcription does not tell us the time but 
 only the names and the countries of the artifts ; and that they were 
 all from Greece. Every part of this mafterly work would tell us that 
 without an infcrlptlon. There w^ere three mafters, who worked at 
 this group. Agefandros, of Rhodus, and his two foas ; Polydorus, 
 
 Vol. L 3 K and 
 
434 TRAVELS OP COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 and Athenadorus. What genius was it, that prefented himfelf be- 
 fore Agefandros in the attitude which he has given to the Laocoon I 
 Nothing lefs than the pains of death,, his ftruggles to refift them, and. 
 the fufterings of his fons, one of whom is at that moment bitten by the 
 ferpent that twines round him, could produce this diftorted anguifa : 
 the perfect harmony of which- is didind in every part, from the rifmg 
 hair down to the fvvelling veins of the feet ! The imagination of the 
 artifl has fo faithfully feized on the reality of nature that every eye ac- 
 knowledges it ! Every tongue exclaims. Yes ! Thus muft Laocoon 
 have appeared! Thus muft he have wreftled with death j thus have 
 writhed, in the laft moments of his mighty yet impotent ftruggles, and 
 have retained thofe traces of fatherly affedion which are apparent in 
 the very midft of his horrible anguifti ! This was the purpofe of Age- 
 fandros : and this purpofe he has attained,. The palm is due to hiiu 
 and to his fons. 
 
 The colledion of mafterly w^orks is immenfe j and I can only take 
 fome flight notice of a few. 
 
 A Cow, of grey marble. This cannot be the work of Myron, for 
 he only worked in brafs : but it may be the copy of a cow by Myron ; 
 and perhaps the very cow for which he became fo celebrated, by the 
 Greek epigrammatifts. In this gallery there are many figures, of ani- 
 mals, which are moft of them very beautiful.. 
 
 The Nile ; a recumbent coloffal ftatue, holding in his right handears> 
 of corn, and in his left a cornucopia. Sixteen children are at play, 
 round him ; fome v»'ith crocodiles ; others fitting on the curving of the 
 cornucopia ; on the rim of which one is feated, encircled with fruits and 
 flowers, and with his arms thrown: round another boy. The boy that^ 
 is thus fitting is moft delightfully infantine. The God is extended 
 upon a Sphinx. The fixteen boys perhaps are types of the fixteen 
 canals, that flow from the Nile ; or perhaps of the fixteen degrees of 
 the Nihmeter. lam much inclined to the latter opinion: for the fix- 
 I. teenth 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. /-^r 
 
 'teenth degree Is fignlficant of the highefl fertility 5 and for this reafon a 
 child is feated at the mouth of the cornucopia, 
 
 Oppofite to this Is the Tiber ; with a corfiucop'ia in the right hand, 
 and a rudder in the left. Befide him the wolf is placed ; with Romu- 
 lus and Remus fucking at her nipples. 
 
 There is a charming reprefentation of two weeping Genii, on a 7^; - 
 cophagus ; one of them holding a butterfly, the type of the foul, over 
 torches on the ground. A lovely allegory of the refined ilatc of man 
 after death, when purified by pain. 
 
 A Hecate ; with her quiver on her back, and her torch in her left 
 hand. Her fteps are terrible, her pace is winged, and her hafte me- 
 nacing. Her hair flies backward ; and the folds of her garments are 
 fwelled, and wafted, in the fame direction by the quick-healing air. 
 
 Apollo, the AttoAAwv Sau^ojcToro?} or the Lizard-flayer, after a ftatae 
 by Praxiteles, is very beautiful. 
 
 The nine Mufes, and Apollo in flowing robes, as Mufagetes, the 
 leader of the Mufes» Thefe fl;atues are very fine : efpecially Melpo* 
 mene, and Thalia. They likewife interefl: us becaufe of their anticnt 
 owner : they were found at Tivollj in the villa of Cafllus. 
 
 An Indian Bacchus, of uncommon beauty. The heads of the In- 
 dian Bacchus are generally fuppofed to be the head of Plato. It is a 
 charming mlftake ! Why fhould not Plato have had fuch a head ? 
 Did not Plato poflTefs that noble inebriety of imagination v/hich is 
 afcribed to the ignoble Bacchus ? The Indian Bacchus holds the fame 
 rank, compared to the common Bacchus, as the Venus Urania to the 
 common Venus. 
 
 A Triton, bearing a Nereid away. Oh how the charming Nereid 
 fhrinks, as fhe fl:ruggles ! Two Cupids are feated on the monfl;rous 
 fifii-tail ; one of them laughing : the other, a fiitirical knave, puts his 
 finger to his lip ; with all the exprefllon of malicious, filent, and there- 
 fore the more bitter, irony. 
 The Fiflierman of Gyrene, as it is called : after which a lofl: comedy 
 
 3 K 2 by 
 
^x6 TP.AVELS OF COUNT STOLBRR.G. 
 
 by Meiiaiider was entitled. The good old man is almoft naked; and' 
 the impotence of age is erthibited in the half opened mouth, the body 
 bending forward, the finking knees, the relaxed mufcles of the thighs,, 
 the foldings of theftomach, and the wrinkles of the flcin; The upper 
 part of another body, fimiiar to^ this, was found ; and was then and 
 ftill is held to be a Seneca in the bath, after his veins were opened : but 
 Seneca would fcarcely have continued {landing after this operatloiiv 
 Neither does the ftatue poflefs thofe charaderillics which fhouid be- 
 token a Seneca. 
 
 A Menander, feated. The keen^ obferver, and the animated dra- 
 matic poet, are evident in his forehead, his looks, and his lips. 
 
 A Paris, feated ; with the Phrygian bonnet, and holding an apple in 
 his hand. We perfectly conceive Venus, in his aftonilhed enamoured 
 afped. 
 
 Ajax, enraged: a coloflal bufl:. His helmet is on, his wrathful eye 
 is caft upward, and afkance, his hps are half open, and his hair audi 
 beard are alive with paffion. 
 
 A delightful Amazon, {landing. 
 
 A Chariot and pair. The driver has obtained the vidory, and bearr 
 a palm branch in his hand. His body is tight bound, that the rapid' 
 force of the air may not produce fpafms. 
 
 Afpafia, as a Herma : which means only the head on a pillar, that, 
 from its bafe, gradually extends itfelf. It is very fine, wholly Afpafia, 
 all charming, all foul ! 
 
 A coloflal Melpomene: a flatue of extraordinary beauty. 
 
 An excellent Juno. 
 
 The Lanuvinian Juno : that is, a Juno that was worfhipped in La* 
 nuvium. Her temple was very famous. She has a fpear and a fhield, 
 and treads upon a ferpent; Thefe attributes are given her from her 
 hiftory; according to which, when fhe was called upon for aid, fhe 
 appeared, and was the author of peace. 
 
 A beautiful horned Bacchus, as a Herma* 
 
 A Chlorls % 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 437 
 
 A Chloiis : the only furvivmg daughter of Niobe. She was the 
 mother of Neftor. Her hair is cut fhort, and her drapery is gathered 
 lip in fliort folds ; with the intention, as it fhould" appear, to begin the 
 eourfein the Olympic games of Pi fa. The firft name of this Chloris 
 was Melibofa; and fhe obtained the name of Chloris becaufe fhe turned 
 pale with terror, and fo remained. According to a paflage in Paufa- 
 nias*, her fifter, Amycla, was^ likewife faved ; becaufe they both called 
 for aid on Latona. And, from another paflage of the fame writer, 
 one of their brothers was alfo faved f.. Slie' bore the prize from the 
 virgins in the Olympic race. 
 
 A little Cupid, with the Nemean lion's fkin purloined from' Hers^ 
 cules ; the claw of which- he has twifted round his necL He ftaggers 
 againfl the flump of a tree, holds a beaker in his 'hand, and looks (o 
 knavifli that he appears as if he only counterfeited intoxication.- 
 
 A young Mercury, with a purfe in hishand ; in which we behold the 
 arch rafcal who-, having ftolen the cattle of Apollo,, as a trial of fkill, 
 made the God laugh, when, looking round for his quiver with an ini- 
 tention to punifli the theft, he found it was ftolen likewife, 
 
 TV boves olim nijt redd'idijfes 
 Per doliim amoias piierum m'lnaci 
 Voce diim terret, viduus pharetra 
 Riftt Apollo %. 
 
 Hor. lib. i. od. x. 
 
 "When from the God, who gilds the pole, ' 
 E'en yet a boy his herds you ftole, 
 With angry \oice, the threat'ning pov/r 
 Bade thee the fraudful prey relVore : 
 But, of his quiver too beguil'd, 
 Pleas'd with the theft, Apollo fmil'd. 
 
 Francis..^ 
 
 * Pauf. lib. ii. f Pauf. lib.. V. 
 
 X See the Hymn to Mercury afcribed to Homer. 
 
 A remark- 
 
^3S TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 A remarkable baflb relievo, on an urn, reprefents one Cupid bolding 
 a fwine ; another a butterfly. The idea of the metempfychofis of the 
 foul of a drunkard, the fouls of whom, according to Plato, were con- 
 demned for a certain feafon to the bodies of fwine, here appears to be 
 typified. Yet, is it not flrange that any thing fo injurious, to the me- 
 mory of a man, Ihould be reprefented on the urn that contains his afhes \ 
 Befide, there is a third Cupid, with a bird in his hand: what does that 
 
 fignify ? 
 
 A vafe of bafaltes, mside brown by fire, is a proof that all bafaltes, as 
 fome maintain, are not lava. Where were the volcanos of Egypt, in 
 4yhich country fo much bafaltes is found ? 
 
 One of the fineft works of art is that which is called the Antlnous ,» 
 but, in the figure which fo many have difcovered to be the Antifious, it 
 needs only an experienced eye to difcover a hero. An imitation of 
 this ftatue, with wings at its feet, having been elfewhere found, the 
 learned Abate Vifconti fuppofed it to be a Mercury, Winkelmann 
 imagined he found in it the ftatue of Meleager -, and, in the opinion of 
 Mr. Hirt, it is a Perfeus. This reconciles us to the wings on the feet 
 of the imitation : which ftatue was not found till after the death of 
 Winkelmann. Hence we may infer that the feet of the original ftatue 
 were broken off, and afterward replaced ; which was probably done to 
 rob them of the wings of brafs. It is generally acknowledged that 
 brafs was coveted by the Barbarians ; and particularly by the Vandals. 
 
 In this Mufeum, there is a.gallery of paintings ; of which I will only 
 mention the foUov^ing. 
 
 Maria, with maternal rapture and folded hands, beftowing her bene- 
 diaion on the fuppllant John ; who kneels to Jefus, fitting on his 
 mother's lap. Elizabeth fupports the hand which beftows the blefting. 
 Jofeph ftands in the back ground, in earneft meditation. This pidture 
 is by Raphael. 
 
 Two landfcapes, by Paul Brill : who was properly the father of land- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 43^ 
 
 fcape pamting. In aerial perfpeaive, he is excelled by modem paint- 
 ers of landfcape : his pidures, however, are full of life, full of nature ; 
 £uch only as genius could imagine, fuch only as genius could delineate. 
 
 LETTER LVIIL 
 
 D 
 
 Rome, 29th January 1792, 
 
 EPART not from Italy, without viewing the pidures of 
 Michael Angelo. Imagine not that the grandeur of this man's genius 
 may be entirely comprehended from his ftatues. 
 
 In the chapel of Pope Sixtus IV. in the Vatican, his greatefl works 
 are placed. The ceiling of this chapel was painted forty years before 
 his great pidure of the Day of Judgment ; where God the father is- 
 reprefented on the flying clouds of the open heaven. In this principal 
 figure, he has not been fuccefsful. Oh that he rather had con- 
 cealed him by the clouds than have painted him thus ! Terror would- 
 have feized us, had we not {qqu. the Judge of the world : for Michael 
 Angelo has diffufed the expreffion of terror through every figure in 
 the pidure. The Virgin herfelf clings fearfully to her fon. The dread 
 of this moment is expanded, with a deep felt variety, over the juft and 
 the unjuft. A tender maiden rufhesinto the arms of her mother. Below 
 the dead awake and rife, half ikeletons, and half clothed vnth flefh, at 
 the found of the trumpet of the awakening angel. To many the found 
 is rapture : to many defpair. Above, the apollles and the faints fur- 
 round the Judge : the martyrs fhew him their wounds — The very 
 beft among them tremble, at this awful moment ! The mofl holy feel 
 themfelves ftill impure ! 
 
440 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 In the fhady diftance, two lovers are rlfing upward. 
 
 Angels bear the righteous to heaven ; while the .condemned arc 
 feized, and call among the damned^ by Devils. 
 
 In imitation of Dante, Michael Angelo has had recourfe to mytho- 
 logy ; and has reprefented old Charon, and his boat. The old boatman 
 is feen conducing condemned fouls over a river. The painter had evi- 
 dently thefe verfes of the poet in hisrecolledion; 
 
 CaroU) diwo^'iOf con occhi di bragia.j 
 Loro accennando tittte le raccogUe ; 
 Batte col remo qtialunque s'adagia. 
 
 Pante, Inf. lii. 
 
 And as, in crowds on crowds, the Cnners came, 
 Charon, with lifted oar and eyes of flame, 
 Compelled the ling'ring fouls to halle on board. 
 
 Boyd. 
 
 In the foreground on one fide, the painter has introduced a certaia 
 Mofifignore della Cafa; who, while he was prefent, had made remarks 
 to the Pope on the naked figures that were in the pidure. Michael 
 Angelo has clothed him with twining ferpents. When La Cafa com- 
 plained to the Pope, his Holinefs anfwered — ^" Had he placed you in 
 " purgatory, I might perhaps have done fomething for you : but there 
 " is no releafmg you from hell *." 
 
 Prophets and fibyls, mingled with each other, are painted by Michael 
 Angelo above ; on the ceiling of this chapel. Some among them are 
 of very dignified beauty. 
 
 The 
 
 * The following is the flory, as told by Pilkington ; in his Di£llonary of Painters. T. 
 
 ** The pi6lure of the Laft Judgment employed him for eight years ; and, in that cele- 
 brated compofition, a multitude of figures prefent themfelves to the view; voiulerfully in- 
 vented, and grouped with great judgment ; every mufcle, and limb, being diftindtly, and 
 curioufly, marked, as the figures were reprefented entirely naked. That circumflance, of 
 fo many nudities, occafioned the obfervation made by Bingio^ of Cefenna, the Pope's 
 
 mafter 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 441 
 
 <rThe moft excellent of the pidures of this chapel are thofe that re- 
 prefent the creation of the firft man, and the iirfi; woman : in hoth oi 
 which Michael Angelo has difplayed himfelf, in all his fplendour, 
 
 God is fufpended in the clouds, and reprefented under the figure of 
 a majeflic fire. In the full courfe of his motion, he throws his mantle 
 over him, and ftretches out his arm with a:n almoil inconceivable ex- 
 preffion of power ; which power is vifible in the moil minute part of 
 his body. Adam is extended on the ground : there he lies, but newly- 
 called from non-exiflence ; yet beginning to raifc himfelf, and holding 
 out his hand toward the Eternal Father, to v/hom his eye is firfl di^- 
 reded. 
 
 A perfonification fuch as this, efpecially of the angels in the mantle, 
 would have been infufferable from any other hand than that of Mi- 
 chael Angelo ; Raphael alone excepted. But thefe great mailers com- 
 municated fuch potency of animation to all their perfonages, that we 
 continually imagine we behold them live. Raphael has imitated this 
 Eternal Father, in the Loggie di Rafaello of the Vatican ; where he is 
 reprefented fufpended above the globe, touching the earth with his 
 finger, and prefcribing the limits of land and water. 
 
 In the Creation of Eve, Michael Angelo has given her thofe female 
 graces which the pencil of Raphael himfelf could not have furpaffed. 
 Adam is on the ground, and aileep. The Eternal Father Hands before 
 him. Eve is rihng, and already fupporting herfelf on one foot, and 
 bending the knee of the other leg. We beheld her moving, through 
 
 mafter of die ceremonies, " that fuch an exhibition of naked figures was more fuitable 
 to a brothel, than a chapeL" But Michael Angelo revenged himfelf fulTiciently on Biagio, 
 for that farcafm j for he painted his portrait exceedingly like, and reprefented h'm as a 
 demon with afs's ears, encircled with a large ferpent, and i)laced him in hell. The Pope 
 indeed frequently folicited Buonaroti to deliver his mafter of the ceremonies from that 
 place of torment \ but he excufed himfelf by obferving to the Pope, '' that, had he been 
 ©nly in purgatory, he might have been releafed •, but from hell there was no redemption." 
 
 Vol. I. 3 L the 
 
442 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEUG:. 
 
 the power of the Creator, as cheerful as the morning dawn. To him> 
 Ihe ftretches out her clafped hands. He looks benevolently upon her, 
 and warns her with dignified reditude. 
 
 Michael Angelo Buonaroti was born in the year 1474, in the Great 
 Duchy of Tufcany ; a country which has produced fo many great men: 
 of every kindi This was nine years before the birth of Raphael, whonv 
 he long outlived. Raphael died in his thirty-feventh yean MichaeF 
 Angelo attained the age of ninety. 
 
 ONCE more I trembling fnatcli and ftrike the lyre,. 
 That trembles ftill with theme too bold. The fong 
 Was mighty and immortal. Raphael's praife ! 
 Again, with tears of ecflacy bedew'd, 
 In majefty the mailer rofe! The trance 
 Was holy ! luminous ! The gloom of fliades 
 That glided by godlike creations all ! 
 Like vifions of the. night, they haunt me ftill ! 
 
 But, lo ! earth heaves, and tempefts rend the fky ! ! 
 Terrors appal my foul ; and, burfting from 
 Concealing clouds, a phantom frowning ftands, 
 Accufing, threat'ning, dreadful in his ire ! 
 With hair ereft and eyes aghaft, I cry, 
 " Speak, potent fpirit ! fay ! what is my crime ? 
 " Oh ! more puiflant than thy brother fhades, . 
 " More terror ftriking, fpeak ! What have I done i"' 
 
 Faffing, as if difdalnful of reply. 
 Back tow'rd his native heaven the fpirit flam'd-^ 
 Not -^tna, in its wildefl burft, infpires 
 Superior awe ! ' Tis he ! 'Tis Angelo ! 
 " Jealous, perturbed fpirit, be appeas'd : 
 *' Avert thy wrath, for I confefs thy pow'ri 
 ** Deep of fublimity thy foul has drunk ! 
 " At thy command, behold ! the marble lives ! 
 " Thy colours, lo ! in magic terrors move I 
 " In pallid horrors dipt, they fhake the foul ! 
 " I honour, feel, and own thy juft renown/' 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 44.3 
 
 The foften'd fpiritheard, and paus'd, benign : 
 And as, the temped paft, the clouds diffolve. 
 And fmiling day with tenfold joy breaks forth, 
 So Michael fmil'd, and beam'd, and melted into air. 
 
 LETTER LIX. 
 
 T] 
 
 Ronic, ill February 1792, 
 
 HE palazzo Borghefe is one of the largeft and moft mag- 
 nificent palaces of Rome. It contains two galleries ; one of which 
 belongs to the Prince Borghefe, and the other to his uncle Prince Aldo- 
 brandinl. 
 
 In the firft, which is very fpacious, the following pictures will pro.- 
 bably be thought principally to deferve notice. 
 
 A Virgin and Child, with St. Jerome and St. Francis ; by Perugino. 
 
 A Virgin in the clouds, furrounded by angels, with a w^oman who 
 clafps her hands and looks upward ; by Old Palma. 
 
 The Adoration of the Shepherds ; by Angelo Bronzino. Above are 
 hovering little angels, who fupport a lovely garland of flowers worthy 
 of being brought from heaven. 
 
 The celebrated Chace of Diana ; by Doniinichlno. The Goddefs is 
 not beautiful, her attitude offenfive, and fhe injures the pidure fo 
 much at firft view, at leaft according to my feelings, that, after cafting 
 my eye over it, I was tempted to leave it : but I was to blame. The 
 longer it is confidered, the more beauties it will be found to contain. 
 A Nymph, drawing her bow, is excellent; and another little plump 
 Nymph is full of nature. She- is Tia'ive^ frolickfome, and a little 
 roguifh. 
 
 The Roman Charity j by Guercino. 
 
 3 L 2 The 
 
44^ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERa 
 
 The portrait of Valentine Borgia. Were but the hand painted 
 like the excellent head, who would have any doubt but that it is juftly 
 afcribed to Raphael I 
 
 A Saint Catherine ; in Raphael's firft manner, while he ftill conti- 
 nued to refemble his great mafter, Perugino : though already more 
 noble : piu grandiofo^ as the Italians fay. 
 
 The celebrated Cecilia ; by Dominichino. 
 
 The ilill marc beautiful Cecilia, if I may trufl; my own judgment, 
 by Guido. 
 
 Chrift borne to the fepulchre ; by Raphael, in his fecond manner^ 
 before he came to Rome. His genius had by this time enriched itfelf ; 
 and was more dignified in compofition than that of Perugino. The 
 mother of Chrift fainting, and the holy women that furround her, form 
 a group in the high flyle. 
 
 A beautiful Mary, with her infant, by Raphael. 
 
 Another Mary and child ; which, although beautiful, is not charac- 
 teriflic. I fcarcely fhould be inclined to think it the work of the great 
 Leonardo da Vinci, to v^^hom however it is afcribed. 
 
 A Mary and child, by Francefco Raibolini, called Fraiicia. In a 
 letter that was written to him by Raphael, in the year 1508, he men- 
 tions this Madonna ; and likewife fpeaks of one flill fuperior by this- 
 jnafter. 
 
 lopurc le mirero con quel gujlo^ efodi%fa%iom^ che vedb^ e lodo, tutte 
 Paltre ; non vedendone^ danijfun altro^piu belle ^ e phi divot e, e hen fat te *. 
 
 I admire it with all the enjoyment, and fatisfadion, with which I 
 contemplate and praife all the others : for I fnid no one more beautiful, 
 more devout, or better executed. 
 
 A Madonna, in company with a Saint ; by Albert Durer. 
 
 IN THE GALLERY OE PRINCE ALDOBRANDINL 
 
 A Sea piece ; by Adrian Manglard, a French painter, the rnader of 
 Vernet. 
 
 * Raccoliadl httere^fitla pitturay/cohurajedarchitettura, Roma 1754. 
 
 ^ Two 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 445 
 
 Two beautiful Landfcapes ; by Locattelll : or perhaps by Lucattelli ; 
 for thefe are names that are frequently confounded. 
 
 A charming Holy Family ; by Benvenuto : to whom the name of 
 Garofano * has been given, becaufe he generally introduced a gilly- 
 flower in each pi(fture. At firft, they called him Ortolatto^ or Gardener, 
 becaufe he was a gardener's fon. The Italians in general only know 
 him by the name of Garofano f . This is a very delightful pidlure* 
 The Eternal Father is feen in the open heavens, furrounded by angels, 
 looking down on the godlike child. 
 The Flight into Egypt ; by Barocci, 
 
 Mary, the child Jefus, and the little John the Baptift ; by Raphael : 
 an excellent performance. 
 
 Chrift among the Pharifees ; by Leonardo da Vinci. No painter, 
 I will not except Raphael himfelf, has prefented us with a more noble 
 and beautiful figure of Chrift than this. Cunning and malice are ex- 
 cellently exprefied, in four of the old Pharifees ; by whom he is vifited. 
 Chrift looks right before him, with the moft difpaffionate ferenity, 
 placing a finger of his right hand upon a finger of his left, as if he 
 would diftinguiOi between two propofitions. This diredlion of the 
 hand denotes, in my opinion, that pailage in holy writ which is recited 
 by three of the Evangelifts. I will give it you in the words of St. 
 Matthew. 
 
 " Then one of them, which was a lawyer, afkcd him a queftion ^ 
 " tempting him, and faying, 
 
 " Mafter, which is the irreat commandment in the law ? 
 " Jefus faid unto him, Thoufhalt love the lord thy God with all thy 
 *' heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. 
 " This is the firft and great commandment.- 
 
 * See AUgemewes FCiln filer-lexicon : VJn Fuefslhu Zurich 1779. 
 
 •j- The author ticice fpells this word Garcfalo .• yet it was probably an error of the 
 t^rcfs. T. 
 
 "And 
 
446 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 " And the fecond is like unto it : Thou flialt love thy neighbour a& 
 " thyfelf. 
 
 " On thefe two commandments hang all the law and the pro- 
 phets *." 
 
 This wifdom, this impulfe of foul, this benevolence, beams in the 
 eves of the moft beautiful and manly countenance which perhaps was 
 ever painted. The picture is in excellent condition. 
 
 Leonardo da Vinci, who m.ay be placed in the fame rank with Ra- 
 phael and Michael Angelo, and in which rank, according to my judg- 
 ment, no other painter can fland, though none fo nearly approach 
 them as Correggio and Dominichino — ^Leonardo da Vinci was born in 
 the year 1445, in the Duchy of Tufcany. He was of a noble family, 
 and was one of the ftrongeft and handfomeft men of his age. The 
 Hours, the Graces, and the Mufes, had each prefented him with their 
 gifts, in emulation of the other. He united the moft extraordinary 
 excellence, in all bodily exercifes, with profound knowledge, and 
 uncommon genius. This genius, guided by his judgment, was made 
 ferviceable to him in the acquirements which he attained, in math e--^ 
 matics, hydraulics, anatomy, optics, and mechanics. Like Michael 
 Angelo and Raphael, he was a painter, a fculptor, and an architect:: 
 nay more, he was a mufician and a poet. He invented a lyre, which 
 was celebrated for its harmonious tone. He produced a lion, which 
 was moved by fprings. He undertook, and executed, the cutting of 
 the canal, w^iich is carried from the city of Milan to the river Adda, 
 after feveral engineers had abandoned the enterprife. 
 
 Leonardo da Vinci died in the arms of Francis the Firft, king of 
 France. 
 
 In the Palazzo Farncfina^ which mull not be confounded with the 
 .Palazzo Farnefe, though they both belong to the king of Naples, is a 
 
 * Matt. xxii. 35. 
 
 fpacious 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 447 
 
 fpaclous hall ; the ceiling of which was painted by the fcholars of 
 Raphael, after the defigns of their mafter. This great work contains, 
 in many divilions, the whole hiftory of Cupid and Pfyche. One of 
 the tvv^o principal compartments, into which the roof is divided, repre- 
 fents Venus and Cupid, demanding juftice againfi: each other of Jupi- 
 ter, in a full aflembly of the Gods. The other exhibits the nuptials 
 of Cupid and Pfyche. Round thefe the whole charming hiftory of 
 Pfyche is given. Raphael died while he was employed in exe^ 
 cuting the drawings of this epcpela of his pencil. His fcholars were 
 great mafters ; yet many of thufe graces were loft, which none but 
 Raphael could have exprefied. 
 
 Thefe paintings had fuifered by time; and" have been retouched by 
 Carlo Maratti, who lived at the latter end of the laft century and the 
 beginning of the prefent. How much more of the fpirit of Raphael 
 muft thus have evaporated! And yet, we ftill behold the numerous 
 aind ever blooming, rich, poetical, ideas, and deeply confidered art, of 
 this great man. 
 
 Here likewife is his Galatea, drawn in a fea fhell by dolphins, and" 
 furrounded by Tritons, one of whom is embracing a beautiful Nereid. 
 Three Cupids hover in the air, and prepare to fhoot. A fourth hides 
 himfelf among the clouds, with aprovifion of arrows in his quiver. 
 
 This beautiful pidure is defcribed by Raphael, in a letter which he 
 wrote to Count Balthafar Caftiglione, at the time that Leo the Tenth, 
 had entrufted the building of St. Peter's church to him, after the death 
 ofBramante. Raphael's liberal feelings concerning himfelf, and the 
 ncble difcretion by which they were guided, are apparent in this let- 
 ter J the infertion of which will fcarcely be thought uninterefting. 
 
 Slgnor Conte^ ' 
 
 HO fat to difegnl^ in put maniere, fopra Vinven%i07ii dz 
 voftr-a Signoria ; efodisfaccto a tutti^ fe tuttl non mi fono adulatori. Ma 
 non fodisfaccio al mio guidicio ; perche temo di non fodis fare al vofiro, 
 
 Ve gU 
 
448 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Vegl'i maiido, VoJJlgnoria facc'ia eletto d^alcuno^fc alciuio fard da leifii" 
 7nato degJio. Nc/Iro /ignore^ con Ponorarmi, mha mejfo un gran pefo 
 
 fopra lefpalle ; quejlo e la cur a dellafabbrlca dl S. P'letro. Spero bene di 
 non cadej'vicifotfo ; e tanto pin quanta ilmodello^ ch'"io ne ho fatto^ place afiia 
 Santlta^ ed e lodato da moltl belli lngcgnl\ ma lo me levo col pejifiero pm 
 alto, Vorrel trovare le belle forme degll edlfiz,l anilchl ; ne Jo fc II volo 
 
 far a d^ Icaro. Me ne porge una gran luce Vltruvlo ; 7na non taiito che 
 bafu 
 
 Delia Galatea^ ml t err el un gran maefro^fe vl f offer o la met a d.lle 
 tante cofe^ che V. S, ml fcrlve\ ma nellefue parole rlconofco V atnore che mi 
 
 porta^ e le dlco con quefa condl'zlo7ie^ che V. S. fi trovajje meco a far fcelta 
 del megllo ; ma^ effcndo carefla e de' buonl gludlcl e dl belle donne^ lo mi 
 
 fervo dl cert a Idea che ml vlene alia ?nente, Se quefa ha In fe ale una 
 
 'ecccllen%a dl arte^ lo non fo ; ben m affatico d^averla. V. S. ml comandl, 
 Dl Roma, Raffaello San%io *. 
 
 Signer Count, 
 
 I HAVE made defigns, in various manners, after the 
 inventions of your lordlTiip ; to the fatisfad;ion of all who have i^Q.Vi 
 them, if they do not all flatter me ; yet not equal to my own defire, 
 left they fhould not equal yours. I fend them. Your Lordiliip will 
 choofe that w^hich pleafes you, if any of them fhould be thought wor- 
 thy. His Holinefs has done me the honour to burthen me with a 
 great undertaking ; the care of the building of St, Peter's. I hope I 
 Ihall not fmk under it ; and the rather becaufe the model, which I 
 have made, pleafes his Holinefs, and is praifed by many ingenious 
 perfons. Yet I raife my thoughts ftiil higher. I wifli to equal the 
 beautiful forms of antient edifices. I know not whether I fhall have 
 the fate of Icarus. Vitruvius has afforded me great light ; but yet not 
 fufficient. 
 
 * Raccolta dlktlerey Julia p'lttiira^ fcolturay ed archil citm-n\ fciitte da put celcbri profejjori 
 ehe in dkte artifiortrotio dal fccolo xv al xvii. Roma I754> 
 
 Refpecling 
 
' TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 44^ 
 
 Reipeding the Galatea, I fliould conficler myfelf as a great inafter, 
 were half the things your lordfliip has written to me but true. How- 
 ever, I recognize in your la,nguage the love you bear me ; and accept it 
 on this condition, that your lordfliip will aflifl me in the choice of the 
 beft : and, there being a fcarcity of good judges and handfome women, 
 I avail myfelf of thofe ideas of the beautiful that have occurred to me. 
 I know not whether I have attained any excellence of art j but I v/ell 
 know that I have ufed my utmoll: endeavours. 
 
 Your lordihip's to command, 
 Rome, Raffaello Sanzio. 
 
 In the Farnefma palace are two beautiful pidures, in frefco ; by So- 
 doma of Sienna, whofe proper name was John Antonio Verzelli. 
 
 The nuptials of Alexander and Roxana. Roxana is feated on the 
 nuptial bed, and is undrefled by Cupids that are very lovely : efpecially 
 a little knave, who, affeding modefty, has concealed himfelf in the 
 folds of the curtain, from which he peeps hypocritically, as from a 
 friar's hood. 
 
 The other pldure in frefco reprefents Alexander in the tent of the 
 Perfian PrincefTes, his prifoners. It is the charming fcene in which 
 Syfigambis, the mother of Darius, throv/s herfelf at the feet of He- 
 phxftion ; whom fhe fuppofes to be Alexander. Hephseftion fheps 
 back, embarraiTed ; and Alexander comes forward to the unfortunate 
 princefs, while we read in his countenance his immortal anfwer : 
 " Mother, you are not miftaken : he too is Alexander*." Pain and 
 confufion are finely contrafted, in the princefles, with the indifference 
 of the concubines ; v/ho all appear to examine their new lord either 
 with curiofity or fome concealed hopes. 
 
 To-morrow we fhall leave Rome ; where there are flill fo many re- 
 markable things, which we have not examined. On our return, in 
 autumn, we probably fhall only continue herea iliort time, and be able 
 
 * Quint. Cur. iii. 12. 
 
 Vol. I. 3 M to 
 
450 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 to colled a few gleanirrgs. My intention however Is not to leave the 
 things beft deferving notice unfeen : nor am I averfe again to contem- 
 plate thofe I have fo frequently viewed. Neither fhali I deeply regret 
 the having facrificed fome objects ; which, though excellent, are lefs 
 interefting. I may fome day perhaps wifh the number had been more 
 conlined, that I had feleded the moft perfect of ail kinds, had exa- 
 mined them oftener, and confidered them deeper. ImprefTion is 
 always weakened by excefs. The Genius of the fublim.e and beautiful 
 is a jealous fpirit, and only half reveala himfelf to thofe who worfliip 
 inferior objeds. 
 
 I ought to have dedicated more of my time to the pidlures of Ra- 
 phael ; and have delved more deeply into this mine of treafure. I 
 fubmit the two following remarks, one of which relates to the inter- 
 preters of antient art, and the other to the works themfelves, to your 
 penetrating judgment; and fhall exped your opinion, after you have 
 made your intended tour to Italy. 
 
 Manyreafons maybe given for the mifinterpretation of antiquaries*. 
 Vanity, for example, a defu'e of novelty, a blind confidence in the 
 received opinions of certain perfons, or the weaknefs of thofe whofe 
 peculiar folly it is to hunt after paradox.. 
 
 They likewife are frequently led aftray by the fuppofition that every: 
 work of antient art muft be elucidated by the antient writers. They 
 forget that fo many of the antient v/riters, or rather beyond comparifoa 
 the greatefl: part of them, have bi^en loft. If, inftead of their nume- 
 rous profound conjedures, they had thejufticeand the courage ta 
 acknowledge their ignorance, they would be lefs liable to miilead thofe. 
 they mean to inform ; and would obtain more refped, for their own 
 learning. 
 
 A certain character of feverlty, a want of fympathy, the gloom of 
 melancholy bordering on anger, characterize moft of the heads of the. 
 antient ftatues : as well the gods as the men ; as well the male as the 
 female race. If I do not miftake, the imagination of the heathen 
 
 artifts 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 451 
 
 artlfbs was thus worked upon by the recolledion of the v^-'icle ftretcinn"- 
 power of death, Txv)iMyeoi ^ocvoiroiQ ; and worked upon in different 
 manners, according as the charadier of each artift fteeled itfelf agalnfl, 
 or nouriflied, thefe impreffions. The fenfation was in the heart ; and, 
 from the heart, was communicated to the arm, and the marble. I 
 appeal to the feelings of all difpafTionate perfons, though they fhould 
 only be acquainted with the works of the antients from engravings. 
 The thought of death hovers like a black cloud even over the fea- 
 tures of their gods, whofe youth is eternal. 
 
 LETTER LX. 
 
 Naples, Sth February 1792.. 
 
 'N the 2d in the forenoon, we departed from Rome. Our 
 road to Naples led us through the pleafant diftrids, with which we 
 were before acquainted, of Albano, Riccia, and Genzano, to Velletri j 
 the antient Velitrce ; which was one of the principal tov/ns of the 
 Volfci, and which is fituated among the hills in a charming valley. 
 The mildnefs of the air, and the clearnefs of the fky, invited us to a 
 Walk by moonlight. We remarked the different fituations of the flars, 
 as feen in this place and as feen by us in Germany. 
 
 The pole ftar here is much lower. Orion and Sirius rife higher 
 than with us ; and below thefe we faw ftars that are many of them 
 invifibie to us, and others that but feldom rife fufficiently to be difco- 
 verable. 
 
 While wewere obferving thefe with pleafure, fuddenly a Will of the 
 wifp rofe over a marlh, which we fuppofed to be the beginning of the 
 Pomptine or Pontine Mar/Io, This drew our attention, 1 had never 
 
 3 M 2 feen 
 
452 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 {ten cue fo bright before. It frequently rofe very high, danced to a 
 great diftance, and always returned back to its former place. 
 
 On the follov/ing day, we found our travelling by no means fo un- 
 pleafant as we had expected. We had been deceived by the ig//is 
 fatuus : we fuppofed that the Pontine marfh began immediately 
 beyond Velletri ; but we continued our journey through pleailmt coun- 
 tries, faw varieties of agriculture, and came through a charming wood 
 of the prickly oak to Cifterne ; the antient 'T7'es Tabern^e ; whither 
 fome of the hrft Chriftians went X.o meet the apoftle Paul*. Others 
 met him in the Forum Appii\ which muft have iiood on the place 
 where the canal begins, that had been dug by Appius Claudius the Blind, 
 when Cenfor, in the firft fifty years of the fifth century of the Roman 
 sra, along the road that leads through the marfh. From the narrative 
 of Horace of his journey to Brundufium, we learn that this place 
 abounded in feamen and cheating landlords. 
 
 Differtum nautis cauponibus aique malignls. 
 
 HoR. lib. i. fat. 5. 
 
 StufF'd widi rank boatmen and with vintners bafe. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 The prefent Pope has reftored the antient Appian way, and the ca- 
 nal ; and people now may perform this journey in a boat, as in the 
 time of Horace. We met one of thefe boats ; but it was not, like that 
 of Horace, drawn by a mule, but by men. Without feeing this canal, 
 which now after the prefent Pope is called L'lnea Pia^ it is impoflible 
 to know any thing of this part of the journey of Horace. 
 
 There is a vulgar prejudice, w^hich blames the modern Romans ; as 
 if they had fufFered this marfh to rife through neglect of culture. A 
 very flight knowledge of antient authors would have corred:ed this 
 miftake. In the year of Rome 591, the conful, Cornelius Cethegus, 
 
 * A6ls, chap, xxviii. 15. 
 
 I caufed 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 453 
 
 caufed the marfli to be drained, and changed it into arable land *. 
 About a hundred and fifty years before, when Appius conftrudled the 
 Appian way, he certainly had done the fame. A hundred and ei"-hty 
 years afterward, Csefar died with the intention of again undertakino- 
 the work f ; and it was completed by Auguftus. Probably, the com- 
 motions of Italy, during the firft and third triumvirates, drove the 
 inhabitants from this country, and fiivoured the itap-nation of the wa- 
 ters. Whether Trajan, who repaired the Appian way, paid any atten- 
 tion to the improvement of the country is uncertain : but, had it been 
 neceffary, the work would certainly not have been negleded by fo 
 good and great an Emperor, Theodoric, king of the Oftro"-oths and 
 iirfl: king of Italy, drained the marlh. Several of the Popes were not 
 deficient in that public fpirit which undertakes great national works • 
 but mod of them were deterred through old age, and by the experience 
 of former times : from which they learned how feldom it happened 
 that any work which one Pope began had been completed by his fuc- 
 ceiTor. The undertaking has been begun by the prefent Pope, Pius the 
 Sir^th ; and is continued with great perfeverance. Much is already 
 effected : May it not be renounced by his fuccefibr ! 
 
 The road is good, the canal broad and clear, and different lateral 
 canals drain a part of the marfh. Thofe verdant fields are contem- 
 plated with delight which, for ages, had been covered with ftagnant 
 water. Parts that are the moft humid are either converted to pafiure 
 or planted with trees; and thefe plantations, and this culture, render 
 a journey through the Pontine marfh, in a cool time of the year, . 
 very refrefning and pleafant. The Apennines rife on the let ; on 
 the right, you frequently have a profpecl: of the fea, and feldom 
 lofe fight of the promontory of C'/Vr^; or Monte Clr cello ; which has 
 likewife- been called by the inhabitants Mo?tte Felice. And even 
 thofe, to whom the name of Circe is as little known as the name of 
 
 * Liv. Epit. 46, f Suet, in Jul. Cief. cap. 44. 
 
 the 
 
454 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the pcet who rendered the enchantrefs immortal, have yet their narra- 
 lives to detail, concerning the great forcerefs that once inhabited this 
 mountain. But, oh, godlike Homer I It was not from her incanta- 
 tions but from thine that the memory of Circe is immortalized. Should 
 the ftream of ages inundate Europe with another race of barbarians, 
 flill the untaught countryman of Italy will celebrate the memory of 
 Circe, as long as the riling promontory fhall be vifible to him on which 
 thy mighty fpirit placed her ahodt, 
 
 Among other beafts, we here faw the bufialo grazing. His colour 
 is a dark deep red. He is fmall, favage, and has fliort horns bent back- 
 ward ; which rather ferve him to butt with than to gore. When do- 
 mefticated, he ftill is wild and fhy ; and it is long before the buffalo 
 cow will quietly fuffer herfelf to be milked. The traveller finds en- 
 tertainment in the numerous eagles, kites, llarlings, wuld geefe, and 
 Gthcr birds, which partly inhabit the marlli and partly vidt it for the 
 fake of prey. 
 
 Much yet remains to be done before this road from Rome to Naples 
 will be paflable at all feafons in the year ; and which you muft pafs, 
 if you travel in a carriage. The air is very dangerous, in the months 
 of July, Auguft, and September: particularly if you fleep ; to vrhich 
 you are prompted by its denfity. The drains fhould be carried to the 
 fea, and always kept in repair. The drains already cut are beneficial ; 
 but not fufficient to carry off the water, which annually defcends from 
 the hills, and remains ilagnant at their feet. At the beginning of the 
 mai'fh, we found the thermometer (landing at the feventh degree above 
 the freezing point ; and, after travelling a few leagues, it mounted to 
 the twentieth degree : yet this is only the third of February. 
 
 Three Italian miles from Terracina is the charming fpring of Fcronla ; 
 at which Horace difembarked, and proceeded by land to the town. It 
 rifes out of an advancing promontory of the Apennines, which lies 
 immediately on the road. The diftance of the town, which is flated 
 
 by 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 455 
 
 'by Horace at three miles, as well as fome confiderable ruins, point out 
 the place of the Temple of Feronia : but I faw no trace remaining of 
 its grove, which is mentioned by Virgil — 
 
 ■ Viridi gaitdetis Feromn luco. 
 
 ViRG. -^n. vii. 800. 
 
 And where Feronia's grove and temple ftands. 
 
 Dryden, vii. 961. 
 
 We had fcarcely turned the corner of the hill before we faw Terra- 
 elna facing us ; ftanding on a rocky fummit — 
 
 Impcfttiim faxis late cafidentibus Ar.xiir. 
 
 HoR. lib. i. fat. 5. 
 
 « ■ " ■ And climb the rocky fleep 
 
 Where Anxur Ihines. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 The name the Volfci gave it was Anxur ; for this town likewife 
 belonged to that warlike nation. By the Greeks, it was called, from: 
 a vvord that fignified rugged, or craggy, Tarracina : r^ax^s '- and after- 
 ward Terrac'wa. Previous to the taking of Veii, this town was con- 
 quered by a Fabius, and given up to plunder. At this time, Livy tells^ 
 us, it was rich in antient profperity. Oppidum vetere fortiina opule?i- 
 tiim *. It appears, from his account, that one part of the town, at 
 that time, was built on the mountain ; and another part immediately 
 on the fea fhore. A Roman colony was fent here, in the year of 
 Rome 425. 
 
 There was no need of a journey through a marih, to be moft agree- 
 ably furprlfed by the fight of Terracina. Here we found the paradife 
 of the foutb of Italy. This charming little place, v,^hich rather refem- 
 bles a row of country houfes than a town, is built partly upon the rocks^ 
 partly befide them, and is partly bathed by the lea. It extends itfelf 
 
 * Liv. iv. cap. 59. 
 
 lengthways 
 
456 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 lengthways among orange and citron groves ; which appear to form 
 a Uttle foreft. Thofe who have only feen our orange trees can have 
 but Uttle idea of the beauty of thefe ; fwelling as they are with the fap 
 of life, embellifhed with their golden fruit, and growing in the friendly 
 open air. Among them, we occafionally find the noble palm tree. 
 The almond was in full bloom ; and there too the lovely Italian 
 pine fpread its branches : a tree which has a peculiar charm for the 
 eye, and to the vivid foliage of which few of our pines can be com- 
 pared. 
 
 I never before beheld rocks fo beautiful. One of them, on the fouth 
 of the town, rifes to a great height ; like a round tower. Its bafe for- 
 merly extended itfelf farther : but.it has been levelled by the pick ax ; 
 and the hewn ftone was numbered with Roman figures, by v^'hich the 
 contents in palms were given. On the lower part, the number a hun- 
 dred and twenty is cut. The fedlion thus hewn away appears to me 
 to contain about a fourth part of the height of the rock. The work is 
 afcribed to King Theodoric the Firft ; who turned the Appian way 
 below along the fea fhore, which had formerly proceeded over the 
 rock. 
 
 As foon as we arrived, we went and enjoyed the majeft:y of the fea ; 
 and the profpe^t of its (hores, and iflands. Some well intentioned and 
 friendly Francifcan monks invited us into the garden of their cloiiler, 
 to view the fettlng of the fun. 
 
 This they did with that kind and noble humanity which is as prefer- 
 able to complacency as complacency is to politenefs. 
 
 We cheerfully accepted their invitation, and found that thefe good 
 men not only lived in Elyfium but were fenfible of their happinefs. 
 Their cloifter is fituated on the north of the town, and built on the 
 ruins of antlent Anxur ; probably on the very place where formerly a 
 temple of Minerva fi:ood. A part of their wall was once the antient 
 town wall ; and, on the top of the hill that belongs to them, which is 
 higher than the refi:, there are large ruhis of an antient fquare building; 
 
 the 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 455? 
 
 the twelve arcades of which afford a charming profped toward the 
 fea. 
 
 This building is generally fuppofed to have been a theatre : but I 
 have never heard that the antients had fquare theatres. Why may it 
 not have been the temple of Jupiter, which was fo celebrated ? That it 
 might have been built on this height would have been very probable, 
 even had it not feemingly been glanced at by Virgil. Speaking of the 
 people who were led by Turnus in perfon, he fays : 
 
 . ^icis 'Jupiter AtiKurus arvis 
 
 PrjESIDET, et viridi gaudens Feronia Inco \ 
 ^la Satunejacet atra paluSy gelidufque per imas 
 ^tarit iter valles otque in mare cofiditur Ufens. 
 
 ViRG. ^n. vii. 799. 
 
 And thofe who live where lake Clmlnla fprlngs 5 
 And where Feronia's grove and temple (lands, 
 Who till Fefcennian or Flavinian lands : 
 c. All thefe In order march, and marching fing 
 
 The warlike anions of their fea-born King. 
 
 Dryden, vii. p^o. 
 
 Satitra Talus lignified likewife the marfh of Pomptina ; and the Ufens 
 is a river, which flows into the fea not far from Terracina. 
 
 In the garden of the Francifcans, we beheld thofe plenteous gifts 
 which nature poiirs down on this happy country. The caSlus opuntia, 
 or Indian fig, grows plentifully among the rocks. Fruitful trees ftand 
 one above another ; which, by engrafting, bear two kinds of fruit, the 
 citron and the dark orange, on the fame trunk. Among them, we faw 
 a high palm tree ; and the almond in bloom ; with various other fruits. 
 One of the monks told us that they had gathered pears on the 24th of 
 December, and fent them to the Pope. Thus do produdive harveft 
 and the flowery fpring fliake hands together, in a country, fuch as our 
 much-loved Fenelon fang of his Abbey, in the fouth of France, 
 
 Vol. L 3 N Ou 
 
458 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 On le cielferein mus donne 
 
 Le PrlntemSt apres VAutomne j 
 
 Zans f aire place a I'Hyvef. 
 
 Where Spring fucceeds to Autumn, each ferenc j 
 And icy Winter dares not intervene. 
 
 The pea already is here in bloom ; and we faw, growing wild ai 
 our feet on its high ftem, the beautiful flower of the ornithogalum^ of 
 the colour of the peach flower ; whofe little pale fifter, in our gardens, 
 is often falfely fuppofed to be a bafl:ard hyacinth. We faw the long 
 verdant elder in bloom ; which, as you know, in the north of Ger- 
 many, happens about the end of May. 
 
 The fun was fetting behind the promontory of Circe : before us lay 
 the iflands of Ponza, Palmarola, Zannone, and Ventotiene ; and, farther 
 toward the left, Ifchia : then the promontory of Sorento, the moun- 
 tain of Vefuvius, and, more near us, on its projeding cape, Gaeta, 
 {landing on a rock. 
 
 We took leave of the friendly monks, who cordially invited us to 
 pay them another vifit in a finer feafon of the year. They are pro- 
 tected againfl: the Scirocco wind by their mountain. They fuffer but 
 little from the bad air of fummer, on their height, the influence of 
 which is fo prejudicial in the town that a traveller would not wifh to 
 remain there all night. The landlord himfelf, about the end of May, 
 is annually obliged to remove to the Mola di Gaeta, He is a native 
 of Avignon : but the natives of the place themfelves fuffer much from 
 the unwholefome air ; and many of them are fometimes cut off in the 
 courfe of a fummer. 
 
 Here we ate the ?'hojnbus of the antients, which ftill is called rotnbo : 
 a fifh which the yolpptuQ.U3 Romans valued very highly. It is our 
 Jleinbutt'^. - -■—"^■^ - 
 
 After fupper, we fat on the rocks and lifl:ened to the roaring of the 
 fea.j and, between nine and ten in the evening, we took a boat and 
 
 * Turbot. T. 
 
 went 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 45$. 
 
 went on the water by moonllgKt. Our merry boatmen had brought 
 a man with them, who fang to the mandolhie, and had the pleafure of 
 giving a ferenade to a Spanifh veflel. The captain had a hght in his 
 cabin ; and, had all the men on board been afleep, the jocund fhouts 
 of our Italians would have awakened them. Their efforts however 
 could not overcome Spanifh gravity ; though they feveral times rowed 
 round the veffel, with their feftive uproar. They were only anfwered 
 by the watch dog, that barked and capered. 
 
 Biifchingis miftaken, when he tells us that the haven of Terraclna was 
 conflru£led by Antoninus Pius : it was only repaired by that Emperor. 
 
 Proceeding to Naples, you leave the fea, after travelling about half a 
 league, and arrive at the lake which, from Fondly is called Lago di 
 Fotid't. It is fliaded with trees ; and furrounded on the fouth-weft by 
 high hills. 
 
 Here are the boundaries between the kingdom of Naples and the 
 Hates of the Church. The difference of the ftate of agriculture is 
 ftriking. There are no provinces of Italy in which tillage is fo bad as 
 in the ftates of the Church * ; in the kingdom of Naples it is excellent. 
 Harveff time excepted, the labour of the countryman is not fo feverc 
 as with us. He cultivates a delightful foil; which, beyond the annals 
 of hiftory has been turned by the plough, and is free from ftones. His 
 labour however continues through the year : at the time that he is 
 planting one thing he gathers another. Vegetables are continually in 
 feafon. Soon after he has houfed his chefnuts, which are not plen- 
 tiful here, his olive harveft begins ; and this lafts long, for the trees are 
 very numerous, and the fruit is gathered partly ripe, for the making of 
 oil, and partly unripe, for preferving. The fweet and Seville orange, 
 as well as various kinds of lemons, then are fit for plucking. The land 
 muft be dug, for the feeds and plants of fpring ; and peas, flax, and 
 beans, are foon afterward in bloom. 
 
 * I wrote this before I had feen the eaftern provinces of the Church ftates ; the Duchy 
 of Urbinoj the Rotnagnay and the Marca d'Ancona^ which are excellently cultivated, and 
 ^very flourilhing countries. 
 
 3 N 2 . The 
 
46o TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 The friendly Hours fcatter flowers and fruits over every feafon of the 
 year : but their favour muft be obtained by afRduity ; though they do 
 not, as in colder climates, rigoroufly tax the hufbandmam 
 
 Fondi is feated among orange groves : it was the antient Fundi ; a 
 town of Ofcian^ or Auf'.timn^ origin *. The Ofci^ or Aufoni^ were the 
 fame people. The celebrated wine of Ccucubum was produced here ; 
 which is fo frequently mentioned by Horace. After proceeding about 
 a league, this flat country was changed for a valley furroundedby hills-; 
 fome of which are very ftony, but yet embellifhed with the myrtle 
 bufli, and the kntifciis :■ others bear the olive tree, and befide it the St. 
 John's bread tree, or carobs eeratonia ; the evergreen leaves of which 
 refrefh the eye. This tree attains the medium height ; and is frequently 
 hollow, without appearing to be fickly. 
 
 Juft before we come to Cajlellonei there is an antient round tower % 
 on which a fmall fquare wall is built. It points out the place where 
 Cicero was murdered, by Herennius and Popilius, two of the depend^ 
 ants of Antony, when he endeavoured to fave himfelf from the power 
 of the latter. Soon afterward, you perceive large ruins, and terraced 
 places ; which point out the antient town of Formia, This place was 
 built where the prefent CaJlello7ie and Mola di Gaeta^ v^^hich join each 
 other, now ftand. You, likewife, perceive, as you enter Caftellone, a 
 circular portico, fuftained by columns, a bath, and arcades, which are 
 precious remains of Cicero's villa. They lie in an orange grove on the 
 fea fhore. Both the towns are built on the fea fhore, with their backs 
 toward the Apennines. Formise was one of the moft antient towns in 
 Italy ; and was long fuppofed to be the town of the L^firigons^ which 
 Homer called Teiepylos, 
 
 Od. b. X. 8i. 
 
 The next proud Lamos' ftately tow'rs appear. 
 And Laeftrigonia's gat^s arife diftin^l in air. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 * CluY. Ital. Ant. 
 
 The. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 4<Sr 
 
 The fituation of Mola is one of the mod beautiful imaginable. 
 When I fay Mola, I include Caftellone ; fox- they both together make 
 only one long town. They are feated, on each fide, among orange 
 groves ; behind which the rocky, lofty, and in part forefl: clothed, 
 Apennines tower. The winding coafl: on the right, toward the north- 
 eafl; forms a fpacious bay; and, at the extremity of the cape, the for- 
 trefs of Gaeta is built high on a rock. Before you ftands the ifland of 
 Ifchia, which rifes like a mountain in the feaj to the left the ifland of 
 Capri ; and you afterward trace the winding coaft beyond Naples, as 
 far as the promontory of Sorento. 
 
 I looked for the fountain of Artac'ia ; from which the daughter of 
 King Antlphates, the Lseftrigon, drew water, to give the men who- 
 were fent by Ulyfles to difcover the country, and by whom fhe was 
 met. We were fhewn two fprings; one of which iffued from the 
 rocks at the end of Mola, and the other of Caftellone, and each in an 
 orange grove. The firft bubbles below, from a ftony cliff; the other 
 fprings from a rock under a laurel tree. Both are abundant in water, 
 are limpid, and refrefliing, and equally deferve the epithet oi Jifie- 
 Jlow'mg : y.ccA?iioee:^^ov : which is applied to the fountain mentioned by 
 Homer. 
 
 My pleafure, at having difcovered thefe charming fprings, was not a 
 little increafed by the belief that one of them was the fpring of Homer:: 
 though I hefita^ted which it might be. Antient and modern writers 
 confider this town as the Telepylos of Homer^ Horace, in his ode to 
 ^lius Lamias, fays, that the moft antient records deduce the lineage of 
 this Roman from the Lamos who had reigned over Formiae and the 
 fhore of the Liris, But what is any authority, even that of Horace 
 himfelf, compared to the fmgle teftimony of Homer? He defcribes, 
 with all that imagery which was proper to himfelf, the haven of. 
 Telepylos — 
 
 'Hajj3«tc)j TiTuxmi ^ia/*;rffff fl;/*f oTf f wSt v * 
 
4^52 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 'Ev rofjLari 7rf8%8crjv afain o' euohi j;iv. 
 
 'A( |U£v «/3 IvToaSev hifiivoii hoi'Kcio Se^evto 
 
 'OyTj jwsy', oyr' oMyov ' ?.£f/«)i J' )5V sc^ufi yaXvivrj. 
 
 Od. b, X. 87 — 94* 
 
 Within a long recefs a bay there lies, 
 
 Edg'd round with cliffs, high-pointing to the fkiesi 
 
 The jutting fhores that fwell on either fide 
 
 Contra£l its mouth, and break the rufhing tide. 
 
 Our eager failors feize the fair retreat, 
 
 And bound within the port their crowded fleet : 
 
 For here retir'd the finking billows fleep, 
 
 And fmiling calmnefs filver'd o'er the deep. 
 
 Pope, Od. b. x. lOi. 
 
 This whole defcrlption does not agree with Mola, the fituation of 
 which forms no haven ; except fuch as it may afford to a few fifhing 
 boats *. But where muft we feek for the town of the Lfcftrigons ? 
 The mariners of Ulyffes rowed fix days and fix nights from the ifland 
 of jEolus^ which is the modern Lipari ; and, on the feventh, came to 
 the refidence of Lamos. As this cannot be Mola, what other could it 
 be, except Terracina ; the origin of w^hich is lofl in the annals 
 of antiquity ? Its haven lies among rocks formed by nature. The 
 high rock, which rifes over it like a round tower, mufl have flrongly 
 impreffed an imagination fuch as Homer's. The whole fituation is in 
 the higheft degree poetical. Ulyffes afcended a rock; other rocks 
 concealed the town from him, but he faw the fmoke rife. The antient 
 
 * Cluverius appeals to Tacitus, to prove that there had been a kind of haven in For- 
 miae : and the hlftorian in reality fays, Ann. xv. cap. 46, that fhips failed from Formise ; 
 but a haven, fuch as Homer defcribes, was certainly never there. Add to this, Formise 
 had been founded by Lacedaemonians, the companions of Caftor and Pollux ; and Caftor 
 and Pollux were the contemporaries of Ulyfles, who landed on the Italian coaft a few 
 years after their death. How came he to find, in this nev-ly founded Grecian town, bar- 
 barians, cannibals, and giants ? 
 
 wall 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 463 
 
 Wall of Anxur flill lies concealed behind a hill ; upon which, long after 
 the time of Homer, a temple was built, the ruins of which I have feen. 
 The fountain of Artacia was the fountain of Feronia. Here the 
 Laeftrigons hewed the wood from the mountains, according to Homer ; 
 and afterward, in the time of Virgil, there the nymph Feronia had her 
 grove — 
 
 ■ Virtdi gaudens Ferotiia lues. 
 
 And where Feroma's grove and temple (lands. 
 
 Dryden, 
 
 Homer farther fays that UlyfTes, after he had loft his other fhips and 
 companions, efcaped in a fmgle fhip with his remaining followers. Ha 
 thus makes UlyfTes relate : 
 
 'AcTjWEvo/ ex ^cxvaroio, (pi^^ng dX£cravT£f STat^a;. 
 
 'Aiaiw J'lj vwov a(pi>iofjt,B^\ 
 
 Od. b. X. 133^ 
 
 But the fad fate that did our friends deftroy, 
 Cool'd every breaft, and damp'd the rifing joy. 
 Now dropp'd our anchors in th' ^sean bay. 
 
 Pope, b. x. 155. 
 
 He does not fay that they had rowed all day long — 'Ev^ev d(pLx,o}x2^''i. 
 — " From thence we came." — ^The promontory of Circe is not in 
 reality an entire day's rowing diftant from Terracina. 
 
 In the afternoon, inftead of purfuing our journey, we were rowed 
 over to the fortrefs of Gaeta ; which, according to Virgil, was formerly 
 called Cajeta :. after the nurfe of ^neas, who was buried here. This 
 fortrefs is high, and built on a circular rock of the promontory. There 
 is a fmall ifthmus ; by which this promontory is connected with the 
 winding coaft, on which the long and narrow fuburbs of Gaeta are 
 built, that contain fourteen thoufand inhabitants. In the fortrefs, there 
 are only threa thoufand y and its works are hewed in the rocks, and 
 
 7: ^^^ 
 
4^4 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERC. 
 
 rife very high above the fea. Standing on the cape, you have a pro- 
 fpe£l of the two bays which this promontory helps to form. As the 
 afcent was too difEcult at prefent for my wife, ihe remained below on 
 the coaft. 
 
 Here they fliewed us a phenomenon fo remarkable as feldom to be 
 equalled. A rock of an incredible height feems to be burft open from 
 top to bottom : the two fides are full three ells diftant ; and in the cen- 
 tre, where the opening is much the greateft, there is a large ftone 
 "which forms a natural bridge, and conned:s the two rocks. This ftone 
 lies on the outward fide, next the fea. Pious tradition relates that 
 the rock was thus cloven at the death of our Saviour. A chapel has 
 feeen built upon the ftone ; to which the people go through a paiTage 
 that has been hewn in the rock, and which is fifty-feven paces in 
 length. From the chapel, you look through a crevice in the rock 
 down into the fea; which beneath, with its emerald waves, dafhes foam- 
 ing in the air. The deep blue horizon can likewife be feen through 
 the cavity. In the clefts of the rock palm trees have taken root, of the 
 date bearing kind ; among which we faw the white tacett *, and prim- 
 rofe, in bloom on the fourth of February, on a fteep high ftone on 
 which there is no earth ; fome duft excepted, which falls from above f. 
 As we pafled under the fortrefs, we received an invitation from the 
 commandant. General Von Tfchudy, a Swifs from the canton of Cla- 
 ris, whofe meflenger informed us that my wufe was with him, an4 
 requefting our company. This worthy warrior received us with that 
 dignified cordiality which charaderizes his countrymen. He had feen 
 
 * An odoriferous flower of fpring, foraething like a jonquil : the Englifli name of 
 which I cannot difcover. T. 
 
 f With refpe£l to the palm tree, I have no doubt been mlftaken, and confounded the 
 Palma Chamarops with which 1 was then unacquainted, with the date-bearing palm tree. 
 The firft is frequently found growing wild in the fouth of Italy, and Hill more frequently 
 in Sicily : but the lad will not grow wild even in Sicily itfelf, but muftbe under the care 
 of man : and the foot of man never ftepped on the declivities where I faw the tree 
 growing, nor could it be conveyed thitlier by birds, becaufe the feed is too large. 
 
 my 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 465 
 
 my wife hi the garden, and had invited her into the fortrefs. He 
 ^ould not confent that we Ihould row back to Mola by night ; and 
 Nicolovius and Jacobi efcaped him with dlfEcuky. When v/e re- 
 turned, he accompanied us himfelf. 
 
 We unwilUngly departed from the beautiful ivlola, and foon loft 
 fight of the fea coaft. We faw the aloe planted in the furrounding 
 country : or, more properly, the agava. 
 
 We arrived at the confiderable ruins of Minturncs^ which coniift of 
 the great remains of an aquedud, and of feveral arches ftill {landing, 
 that are fuppofed to be the ruins of a theatre ; though to us they 
 rather appeared to be the ruins of therma, W^e fuppofed a hollow, 
 that we faw in the earth, to have been the bed of a pool for fwimmers ; 
 which the antients called pifctncs^ or fifii ponds, akhough thofe that 
 were within the thoniit^ ferved for the exercife of the young men. 
 
 The antient tov^^n extends itfelf to this fide of the river Liris ; which 
 now is called Garigliano. Horace repeatedly mentions this river. We 
 faluted the fields 
 
 quee Lirls quieta 
 
 Mordet oqua, taciturniis amn'is. 
 
 HoR. od. 31. 
 
 that Liris laves 
 
 And eats away with filent .^'aves. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 We had fcarcely croffed the river, over a ferry, before, on the right 
 iide of the road, lapwings, and fea gulls, denoted the v>^atery parts 
 where formerly the marih of Mhiturncs lay ! in which Marius con- 
 cealed himfelf from the horfemen of Sylla. However, he was difco- 
 vered ; and brought prifoner into the town of Mintiirncs, A foldler 
 was fent to put him to death, who knew not the perfon on whom he 
 was to exercife his office. He was a Cimbrian : and, during the glo- 
 rious war which Marius had waged with that people, this man had 
 been a prifoner. As he entered the dungeon, Marius raifed himfelf 
 Vol, L 3 O up, 
 
466 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 un, and exclaimed, " Darefl thou, man, put Marlus to death ?'* Terror 
 feized the Cimbrian, when he beheld the conqueror of his nation ; he 
 dropped the fword with a cry, and ran away. The people of Min- 
 turnse reconfidered the matter, and furniflied Marius with clothing and 
 pro-vifions, and likewife with a veiTel, on board of which he failed to 
 Africa to his fon *. 
 
 We left the hill Monte Dnrgone^ the MaJJiciis of the antients, on our 
 right ; the wine cf which v\'as fo famous. On the oppofite fide to this 
 hill, you ft 1 11 fee the great ruins of the antient Slmiejfa\ which the 
 Greeks called Sinope ; and its haven. This Sinueifa of the Aurunci 
 xnufi not be mifiaken for the Sijiuejfa of the Vclfc'i ; a large town, which 
 was fituated in the country near VeUtr^e^ and Cora. On the left, we 
 paffed what is now the little town of Sejfa. 
 
 The diftrid from Monte Dragone to the river Volturno^ the Vulturnus 
 of the antients, is that which produced the noble Falernian wine. 
 The modern Capua is fituated on the Volturno. This place was built 
 about the middle of the ninth century. The antient Capua was 
 founded by the Etrurians^ eight-and-forty years before the building of 
 Rome: its firft name v/as Viilturnum\ after the neighbouring river, 
 Yidturnus\, In the year 332 after the founding of Rome, the Sam- 
 nites, who had always been received as the friends and fellow citizens 
 of the people, feized on this city by night, and murdered the antient 
 inhabitants ; and from them it received the name of Capua. Forgetful of 
 their origin, in the year of Rome 41 2, joining the Sidicint^ they became 
 the opponents of the Samnites §. The Sidk'tm were foon humbled ; 
 becaufe the Campanians, whofe principal city was Capita^ could not 
 afford, fufficient aid. The latter were obliged fmgly to bear the burthen 
 
 • Plut. Life of Mar. fLiv.iv. 37. 
 
 \ According to others, the river was firfl called Alturnus \ the town AlUirnum : but Livy 
 f:ys its firfl: name was Vultuniinn. Vid. Cluv. Ital. Ant. 
 
 § Liv. vii. 29. 
 
 of 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEHG. 467 
 
 of the war. They had .already been beaten, the enemy was at the 
 .gates of Gapua^ and, in this (late of diftrefs, they appUed to the Romans 
 for aid. The Romans anfwered them that they couUl not march 
 againft the Samnites, their allies : but they would intercede in their 
 favour. To this the ambaiTadors of the Campaaians replied, " If you 
 " will not defend us againft violence, at leaft defend what is your own. 
 ^' Into your hands we deliver the people of Campania, the city of Ga- 
 " pua^ the lands, the temples, and all that belongs to the gods and 
 " men. Whatever we muft endure we will endure as your depen- 
 " dants." 
 
 The Romans fentto the Samnites, and requefted them not to opprefs 
 their friends : but their ambaiTadors were received with haughtinefs ; 
 and the chiefs of the Samnites, in their prefence, commanded their 
 captains to lay wafte the lands of Campania. This was the origin of 
 the obftinate war of a hundred years duration, betv^'^een the Romans 
 and the Samnites : in which both people teftified equal valour, though 
 in the conclufion the Samnites were fubdued. In the fecond Punic 
 war, after the battle of Canns, the Campanians went over to the Car- 
 thaginians. Hannibal gave repofe to himfelf and his army, during the 
 winter, in Gapua *. Livy accufes the Carthaginian of having here 
 given himfelf up to pleafure, and of having become effeminate : but 
 the diftreftes which he for fifteen years brought upon Italy, and the 
 deeds that he performed, ill fupported as he was by his counlry, will 
 vindicate Hannibal from this afperfion. 
 
 The Romans marched againft Gapua \ and, after a long fiege, the 
 Campanians having in vain hoped that their city would be relieved by 
 Hannibal, the fenate determined to fubmit to the Romans. Vibius 
 Virius, who had induced them to ally themfelves to the Carthaginians, 
 made an energetic oration againft this proceeding ; which he reprefented 
 both as pernicious and degrading. He concluded his fpeech with invit- 
 
 * LIv. xxlii. c. r. 
 
 3 O 2 hig 
 
458 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ing all thofe who felt like him to partake of a banquet, and of a bowl, 
 which fhould at once relieve them from fliame and fervitude *. Seven- 
 and-twenty fenators follovv^ed hira, partook of his feaft, drank the poi- 
 fon from his cup, embraced, and wept over the fate of their country. 
 Some returned to die in their houfes ; the reft rem^ained together, that 
 their bodies might be confumed on the fame funeral pile. The poifon 
 did not take eiied; fo quickly as was expected f : however, they all 
 died before the gates were opened to the Romans. 
 
 The confuls, Q. Fulvius Flaccus, and Appius Claudius, differed con- 
 cerning the manner in which they ought to treat the people of Capua. 
 Claudius, whofe temper was m.ild, defired that the Roman fenate 
 fhould determine on their fate. Fulvius received the command of the 
 Senate to fpare the fenators of Capua at the very moment that they 
 were bound to the ftake. He did not read it till the fenators had beea 
 fcourged, and beheaded j and in this manner eighty fenators were put 
 to death, three hundred nobles thrown into prifon, and the people 
 fold as ilaves J. 
 
 Thus did the Romans indulge their revenge, againft a people who 
 probably w^ould have fuffered as much from the Carthaginians, had 
 they not allied themfelves with Hannibal after the battle of Cannae. 
 The buildings of the city were preferved and given to ftrangers, who 
 had not enjoyed the rights of citizenfhip, to freedmen, and to mer- 
 chants. Thefe people had no magiftrates properly their own §, but 
 were governed by an officer annually fent from Rome. 
 
 The ruins of Capua denote that it afterward became very flourifh- 
 ing, under the Romans. The amphitheatre, which was built in the 
 firft century after the birth of Chrift, confifts, like the Coloffeum, of 
 the four orders of archited:ure ; one above the other. The arefia is a 
 hundred and fixteen paces in length, and fixty-four in breadth : the 
 lower arches are many of them ftill fubfifiing. The Romans, while 
 
 * Liv. xxvi. c. 13. f Liv. xxvl. c. 14- X Cap. 15. § Cap. 16. 
 
 free. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 469 
 
 free, nex^er had a building that v/as equal to this in grandeur. It in- 
 cluded all that luxuriant magnificence of which their Emperors were 
 (o prodigal. The tem-per of Rome, while a republic, was more bene- 
 ficial, more circumfped: : though its undertakings v/ere equally great, 
 and more beneficial, in aqueducts, roads, and public works. 
 
 The plains of Campania maintain their antient renown for their 
 abundant fertility, and are excellently cultivated. 
 
 We journeyed on to Caftrta^ where there is a royal caftle ; and there 
 faw the great aquedudl which, in the true Roman fpirit, was conftructed 
 by the late King. The water is brought through hills and over a val- 
 ley by a walled aquedudl ; in the deepeft part of which there are three 
 high arches, one above the other. It is fo broad that it may be tra- 
 velled over, from one hill to another : though the King referves this 
 privilege for himfelf, and fuch as he fliall authorize. You may like- 
 wife walk on foot under the uppermofl arches ; for through each of 
 the arches there is an opening left. This canal does not merely ferve 
 to fupply a v/aterfall at Caferta, as a hafty and invidious traveller might 
 think, but furniflies a great part of the city of Naples with water, 
 paffing over a trad; of feven German miles. 
 
 As we wifhed to arrive at Naples in good time, we defifted from. ? 
 viewing the large caille and the gardens ; v/hich are celebrated for be- 
 ing laid out in the Englilh tafte. 
 
 We proceeded from Caferta to Naples, which are about two Ger- 
 man miles afunder, through fruitful fields, and gardens, planted with 
 vegetables ; where we faw the vine plant continually twining round 
 rows of high elms. Beyond the city. Mount Vefuvius and its exha- 
 lations rofe. 
 
 Many travellers go poft, from Rome to Naples, in five-and-twenty 
 hours : v^e have employed five days on the journey ; five delicious 
 days ; not one hour of which I w^ould have fhortened. 
 
 How much could I tell you, already, of the wonderful profpedl 
 toward the fea, of the Pofilipo grotto, and of other matters ! 
 
470 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Sea nos wimenftim fpai'i'is c9/}fec'iinus aqtior^ 
 Et jam tcmpus cquuinfiimatitiafolverc colU. 
 
 ViRG. Georg. il. 542. 
 
 But overlabouv'd with fo long a courfe, 
 'Tis tune to fct at eafe the finoking horfe. 
 
 Dryden, v. 793. 
 
 P. S. I think I have fufTiclently proved that Mola cannot be the 
 Telepylos of Homer. The general ideas, which I had colledled from 
 the Greeks and Romans, have induced me to feek the country of the 
 Lseftrigons on the coaft of Italy. I am in like manner embarrafled 
 between the antients and moderns, when I confider the ifland of Lipari 
 as the ifland of iEolus. A map of the world, fuch as it was laid 
 down by the antients long after the time of Homer, and which appeared 
 with Vofs's nev/ edition of the OdyiTey, will prove, though this is but 
 the Icaft merit of Vofs, the perfeverance with which he has traced the 
 geographical documents of the antients. He is the firfl who has given 
 us a clue, that will guide us on our journey with Ulyfles; and lead us 
 out of that labyrinth in which we have been wandering for centuries. 
 
 LETTER LXI. 
 
 Naples, nth February 1792. 
 
 X HE city of Neapolis^ or Naples, is of high antiquity, and 
 Greek origin : you muft therefore expect that the wanton flowers of 
 fable twine themfelves round the old trunk of its early hiftory. Some 
 tell us that its name Partbenope was derived from a Syren ; who threw 
 herfelf into the fea, becaufe UlyfTes refufed to liften to her fong ; and 
 that fhe was buried, by him, on a hill in the city. If, however, we 
 
 may 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 471 
 
 may truO: a pafTage in Strabo, the city pretends to a much higher origin 
 than that of having been founded by Falernus : one of the Argonauts. 
 
 It is fufficient for us to know that its founders were Greeks ; and 
 that it was either built or increafed by the citizens of the neighbouring 
 CumGe; who were defcendants from Chalcis, in Kuba^a. Its name, 
 which in the Greek tongue figniiied new city, was given it to diftin- 
 guifh it from its filler Falcspolis : or old city. Livy attributes the fame 
 origin to both. He tells us that the people of Chalcis firH: landed on 
 the iflands of Ifchia and Procida *, foon made themfelves pov^^erful by 
 fea, and then ventured to eftablilli themfelves on the continent. Palse- 
 polis flood between Neapolis and Heraclea ; and, fince the time of 
 Auguftus, who united the two firft, they have formed only one city. 
 
 In the time of the fecond Punic war, Neapolis had become a place 
 of power. I^annibal made feveral attempts either to conquer or to win 
 it over. He was pleafed with the haven : but Naples remained true 
 to the Romans, and Hannibal was deterred by its high walls. The 
 city long continued to ufe the cufloms and the language of the 
 Greeks f . 
 
 In the fifteenth century, it was fubdued by the Goths ; and recon- 
 quered by Belifarius. Totila next took it, and laid it in ruins: after 
 which, Neapolis again fell under the power of the Empire of the Eafl. 
 It became tributary to the Lombards : but the Saracens vainly endea- 
 voured to conquer it; though they laid wafte the neighbouring country, 
 and an alliance was entered into with them by Sergius, Duke of 
 Naples. 
 
 Forty Norman knights, on their return from the Holy Land in the 
 eleventh century, gave a new form to all Lower Italy. Melon, a Lorn- 
 
 * Prima in infulas Mnariam et Pithecufas egreffi : I think we fhould read, Mnariarn et Pro- 
 cidam i for Mnaria and Pithecufa were two names given to the ifland of Ifchia, wliich 
 hkewife was called Inarime. Perhaps Livy merely called it Mnaria ; and it may have- 
 been corrupted by a commen:ator, who, to explain it, introduced tlie word Fithecufas. 
 
 I Liv. xxiii. c. i. 14. 
 
 bardj 
 
^^a TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 bard, endeavoured to aiTifl: the city of Bari ; which was befieged by the 
 Greeks, and requeued the affiftance of thefe bold warriors. By them 
 Bari, and afterward Salerno, which was befieged by the Saracens, were 
 relieved. The Italians invited them to remain in their country ; and 
 the Normans ingratiated themfelves with the people, willingly ex- 
 changing their own rude regions for the paradife into which they had 
 been admitted. Thus connected, they drove away the Saracens and 
 Lombards; and eredted a new kingdom. In the year 1060, Robert 
 Guifcard took the title of Duke of Calabria. His defcendants gradually 
 acquired povv^er; and, at laft, afTuming the regal title, ruled over the 
 kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. After the death of the laft of tlie 
 Norman Kings, William the Third, Conftantia, the lafc heirefs of this 
 kingdom, became the wife of the Emperor Henry the Sixth; who was 
 of the Suabian line ; and placed her fon the Emperor Frederic the 
 Second on the throne. Manfred, his natural fon, after the death of 
 his brother, Conrad the Fourth, took poffeflion of the kingdom. 
 
 The Pope, who hated the Suabian family, invited Charles of Anjou 
 to feize on both kingdoms ; and Manfred was killed in a battle. The 
 ufurpation of Charles was followed by tyranny ; but he was hated by 
 the people, and they invited the fon of Conrad the Fourth, the younger 
 Conrad, who is better known by the name of Gonradin, to take pclTef- 
 fion of the kingdom. The noble youth was imprifoned ; and, with 
 the concurrence of the Pope, beheaded in Naples: and Charles of 
 Anjou remained King, under the title of Chailes the Firft. 
 
 The French, whofe prefence even where they were not fovereigns was 
 welcome to no people, were guilty of pernicious tyranny, in Sicily. 
 John of Procida, the poiTeiTor of the ifland of that name, was at the 
 head ot a confpiracy which, among the antients, would have immor- 
 talized his name : a confpiracy which, even under our milder manners, 
 would have been celebrated and admired, had its end been to drive out 
 the French from the ifland, and not to aflaflinate them. On the third 
 day of Fafter, in 1282, while the bell rang the people to vefpers, they 
 
 4 were 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 4- 
 
 ■were all put to death ; and Peter of Arragon was chofeii King: whofe 
 luccefTors governed Sicily, till, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, 
 it was again united with Naples. Only one perfon '•- efcaped the ge- 
 neral maflacre ; William of Porcelets, Signor of Aries, who was an ad- 
 herent of Charles of Anjou ; but who, by his wifdom and virtue, had 
 rendered himfelf beloved and refpefled. That an embittered peoole, 
 in the exercife of vengeance, (liould honour wifdom and virtue in one, 
 is a proof of the guilt of the refl. 
 
 Charles the Firft, his fon Charles the Second, and Robert, grandfon 
 of the firft, remained in poffefiion of the kingdom of Naples. The 
 grandaughter of Robert, Johanna, firft married Andrew, King of 
 Hungary ; whom fhe v,"as fufpeded afterward to have ftrangled ; then 
 a Duke of Taranto ; after him Jacob of Arragon ; and at laft Otho of 
 Brunfwick. Her adopted fon was Charles Durazzo : but he revolted 
 againft her, and had the kingdom of Naples conferred on him by Pope 
 Urban the Sixth. The enraged Johanna then adopted Lewis of Anjou j 
 on which Durazzo marched againft her, befieged and conquered her, 
 and fhe died in prifon. According to fome, he put her to death. 
 
 Durazzo continued in poffeffion of the kingdom ; and his fon, La- 
 diilaus, was fucceeded by his fifter, Johanna the Second. She mar- 
 ried Alphonfo, king of Arragon and Sicily : by which the kingdoms of 
 Napiles and Sicily were again united. 
 
 Ferdinand the Second, the fourth who fucceeded after Alphonfo, was 
 dethroned by Charles the Eighth, King of France. Ferdinand once 
 more recovered his kingdom ; and was once more defpoiled of it, by 
 Lewis the Twelfth. 
 
 Gonfalo of Cordova conquered the kingdom for Ferdinand, King 
 of Spain, furnamed the Catholic; and it was governed by Spanifli 
 Viceroys, till the beginning of the prefent century. 
 
 Li the year 1707, Count Daun conquered the kingdom of Naples 
 
 * According to Henault, there were twoj Porcelets, and Philip Scalambre. See Notivel 
 Ahrege^ Is'c. de Henault. T. 
 
 Vol. L 3 P for 
 
474 TRAVFXS OK COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 for Charles of Auftria ; who was afterward the Emperor Charles the 
 Sixth. In the year 1720, he likewife became King of Sicily ; and, in 
 the year 1734, the Spaniards conquered both kingdoms for Don Carlos;:, 
 and the Emperor, Charles, folem.nly renounced his pretenfions. 
 
 In the year 1759, when Don Carlos became King of Spain^ he de^ 
 Glared his third fon, Ferdinand, King of Naples and Sicily ; and from 
 1 76 1 he has continued to govern both kingdoms, which have greatly 
 fuffered under the felfiili and fevere adminiftration of the Spaniards. 
 The prefent King, however, is beloved of both ; and, by the goodnefs 
 of his heart, is delerving of tlieir love. The w^ounds of the people, 
 inllided by the Spanifh Government, though ftill bleeding, begin to 
 heal. The country is the moll, fertile in Europe. It is favoured by 
 heaven, earth, and fea ; and is io well fituated, for trade, that it only 
 requires a litth time, and Vvife encouragement, which fliould rather 
 entice than compel, to bloffom in all that fulnefs of profperity to which, 
 if the will of nature be confuited, it is deflined. Above all things, the 
 tyranny of the grandees mufc be repreffed, the middle ranks more ho- 
 noured, and commerce unreftrained ; that it may aflume that animation 
 which liberty alone can give. The v\^ild and fimple countryman niuft 
 likev/ife be careffed, and humanized ;; in order to exalt a nation which, 
 from the time of the Normans, has been groaning. under oppreffion : 
 a nation quick in conception, ardent in feeling, and certainly not 
 wicked in propenfity. 
 
 A great city is a great evil. It is pernicious to population, the fmk 
 of morality, and the wide difpenfer of its own poifon. Naples is very 
 large, and extremely populous : it contains above four hundred thou- 
 fand, or probably as many as live hundred thoufand, inhabitants ; yet, 
 fo excellent is the foil, that the neceffaries of life are in great plenty, 
 and very cheap. Among thefe neceflaries, we mxuft include ice : the 
 want, or the dearnefs, of which would enrage the people. The common 
 people of Naples, and indeed of all Italy, are very moderate in eating 
 and drinking; they would rather fuffcr all the inconveniences of life 
 
 than 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 475 
 
 than remove them by their labour. This appears a very natural incli- 
 nation in a hot country. What enjoyment can be greater than that of 
 repofing in thefhade? Thofe, who repeatedly wonder at, and are dif- 
 gufted by, the indolence of this people, ihew that their remarks are 
 either the confequence of hafte or incapacity. That the effects of in- 
 dolence are prejudicial is undoubtedly true : but that the men, who, to 
 fatisfy fome of their artiiicial wants, labour a few hours more than others 
 are preferable to the laft, who prefer the mod natural of all pleafures, 
 reft, and flielter from the heat, is what I cannot difcover. 
 
 The principal wants of the Neapolitan are fupplied by benevolent 
 nature ; without requiring him fcarcely to ftretch out his hand. Ab- 
 ftemious in eating and drinking, the clothing he needs is trifling, the 
 fuel none, and he can even live without a habitation. The clafs of peo- 
 ple called La%aro7ii^ fome of whom you meet with even in Rome, are 
 here computed at forty thoufand. Many of thefe live in the open air ; 
 and at night, or in bad weather, take fhelter under gateways, porticos, 
 the eaves of houfes, or under the rocks. They cannot eafily be per- 
 fuaded to w^ork, while they have the fmallefl: coin in their pocket. 
 They think not of making provifion for to-morrow. The ferenity of 
 the climate, and the ever generous, ever fruitful lap of earth, fympa- 
 thife with their joyous hilarity. Their blood flows lightly through 
 their veins : with care they are unacquainted. Should any one ofFcr 
 money to a Lazaroni, when he is not preiTed by neceffity, he raifes 
 the back of his hand to his'Chin,and tofl'es his head upwards, being too 
 idle to fpeak, in token of refufal : but, if any thing delights him, I do 
 not fpeak of his pafl^ions, which may be kindled and extlnguifhed a« 
 eafily as a fire of ftraw, if he be invited to partake any pleafure, no man 
 is more talkative, more alert, more full of antics, than himfelf. 
 
 Thefc people have vv^ives and children. At prefent, there is one 
 among them v/hofe influence is fo great that they call him Capo dc gli 
 Lazaroni : The chief of the Lazaroni. He goes barefoot, and La tat- 
 ters, like the reft. He is the orator for the vvhole body, when they 
 
 3 P 2 have 
 
476 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBEP.G. 
 
 have any thing to demand of the Government. He then generally ap- 
 plies to the Eletto del Popolo : the reprefentative of the people : a kind 
 of tribune, as far as fuch an oflice can exift in an unlimited monarchy, 
 like that of Naples. He likewife appeals to the King in perfon. The 
 demands of the Lazaroni are moderate : they have a fenfe of right and 
 "wrong : which the people feldom want, when they arc not milled. To 
 difregard any juft remonftrance of this people, or not to comply with- 
 out ftating the grounds of refafal, would be dangerous. They love 
 the prefent King ; and 1 am aiTured that, in cafe of neceffity, he might 
 depend upon their ailiftance : of this, however, he is in no need. 
 
 Before the King laf): year made a journey to Germany, Nicola Sab- 
 bato, for fo is the prefent chief of the Lazaroni called, made him a 
 fpeech. He lamented that the King fhould be abfent fo long from his 
 people : yet rejoiced in a journey that fhould afrord pleafure to a priiice;, 
 who took fo much fatisfaxftion in the good of his fubjedls. " We are," 
 liiid he, " thirty thoufand flrong ; and, in your ab fence, v/-e.will preferva 
 ** the peace of the country. You certainly have nothing to fear from 
 ** any man ; but, fhould any one have the infolence to fpread inflam- 
 " matory opinions, we will tear him into as many pieces as we are 
 " men ; and each of us will have a morfel of him to fmoke in our 
 " pipes. 
 
 During the abfenee of the King, this Nicola Sabbato vifited the 
 Princes and Princefles ; that, as he faid, he might give the people an 
 account of their welfare. He likewife vifited the prime minifter, Mr. 
 A6ton ; and, on one occafion, came to him breathlefs, demanding to 
 fpeak to him. " I have juft feen a man,'* faid he, '* in the drefs of a 
 " pilgrim, in the great fquare, who is diftributing French hand-bills-; 
 " the meaning of which neither I nor any of us yet underftand ; and 
 " he is killing a ftone, which he has brought from the ruins of the 
 " Baftille. He will certainly excite an infurredtion. We would have 
 " thrown him into the fea, but I wilhed firft to hear your opinion : . 
 ^though I think we ought to have thrown him into the fea." 
 
 The. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 477 
 
 The minliler had much difficulty to make him conceive that a preli- 
 minary enquiry was necefTary. He continually returned to the necef- 
 fity of throwing the orator into the fea; and, when the minifter told 
 him he would fend foldiers to put the man in priibn, Nicola replied, 
 " There is no occafion for foldiers ; I \vill undertake that bufmefs." 
 
 The man accordingly was taken to prifon, by the Lazaroni, The 
 contents of the hand-bill were entirely feditious. The infurgent was 
 one of thofe emiffaries that were fent, by the too provident care of the 
 French clubs, over Europe ; to enlighten, improve, and make the people 
 happy. He had difguifed himfelf like, a pilgrim, and was fubjedl to the 
 gallows, according to the common rights of nations ; but the Govern- 
 ment only thought proper to baniili him to the iiland of Mar'itima ; 
 one of the JEgades\^ on the weft fide of Sicily. 
 
 The Lazaroni are devoted to the prefent King. A body of many 
 thoufand men, who have nothing to lofe, may reafonably be dreaded ; 
 and may keep a tyrannical King in very wholefom.e aw^e. A defpotic 
 conftitution may perhaps need a remedy like this : the terror of which 
 fhall preferve a balance between itfelf and a power that is equally blind, 
 and unwife. A free conftitution requires order ; for order is the foun- 
 dation of freedom. Bodies of people, like the numberlefs Lazaroni of 
 Naples, or the hags of the halls, the fifliwives of Paris, could not cxift 
 among a people that fhould be truly free.. 
 
 The ftreets are uncommonly crowded : yet the crowd is much lefs 
 inconvenient here than in other cities. The coachmen too are lefs in- 
 folent than fuch gentlemen ufually are ; when, mounted upon their 
 throne, they look down with contempt on the multitude beneath. 
 However, the number of coaches is fo great that the foot paflenger 
 muft be continually on his guard: which it is difficult to be, ftunned 
 as the ear is by the rolling of the carriage wheels. Yet the coaches are 
 much lefs dangerous than the little one horfe cabrioles ; Vifhich are- 
 driven through the city by the young gentlemen, who. imagine, that 
 
 the- 
 
478 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 the foot pafTengers fliould vaniili before them, as eafily, and as inftantly, 
 as the yielding air before the breath of their fnorting horfes. 
 
 There is great oftentation here of carriages and horfes : which laft 
 are juftly famous. They are fmall, but beautiful, full of fire, and are 
 treated with cruelty. Nothing is fo highly difpleafmg, in the Italians, 
 as the manner in which they treat their animals. 
 
 Horace called this city otlofa NeapoUs : the indolent Naples. I, and 
 my fellow travellers, were lately taking a walk on the fea (hore ; when 
 a great crowd of men and women made us imagine there was fome- 
 thing extraordinary in agitation. All preiTed forward to the fame place; 
 for curiofity is catching, and we got into the midft of the throng. The 
 objed: of enquiry was a fifhing boat, the people of which were drag- 
 ging up a large net ; and the fpeflators were in eager expectation to 
 know how many iiih had been taken. Had a man of war, after a fea 
 fight, returned to harbour, and had the mothers, wives, brothers, and 
 fifters, all crowded together on the ftrand, to enquire how many of 
 their deareft relations were on board, or how many were cut off, the 
 emotion in their countenances could not have affumed a more animated 
 appearance. The draught of fifh was found not to be very great ; and the 
 people retired in a difconfolate manner, with very evident tokens of 
 difappointment. 
 
 In general, the city is well built : you feel, however, the want of the 
 better ftyle of the Romans ; and ftill more of the more noble palaces of 
 Florence. The houfes are moft of them flat roofed. The pavement 
 confifts, as in moft of the citiejs .of Italy, of fquare flag flioncs o£ 
 lava. The royal palace is capacious, and has a noble appearance. The 
 fituation of the city is inexpreflibly. beautiful. No great city i:i Europe, 
 Confliantinople alone excepted, can^ in this refped, be compared with 
 Naples. 
 
 There is a long extenfive walk on the fea fhore ; from which the 
 whole high mountainous coaft is feen on the kft, and oppofite to the 
 
 city 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 479 
 
 city the promontory of Sorerifo, Mount Vefuvius likewlfe rifes to 
 the left ; and Porfici lies at its feet. On the right of the city, the hill 
 PofiUpo extends itfelf far into the fea. 
 
 The fortrefs of Cajlell del Uovo is built on an iiland, which is con- 
 nected with the city by a bridge. On this rock, which the antients 
 called Megar'is, and Magalla, Lucallus had his garden. From the 
 walk, tl^ profpea of the haven is concealed by this fortrefs. On the 
 right of the promontory of Sorento Hands the high ifland of Capri • 
 like a rocky mountain, in the open iea. 
 
 This walk on the fea fhore would be Hill more pleafant, were it 
 planted with lofty trees. Two long alleys of the Tprenfis-Ulmus^ with 
 its branches cut to form a trellis, and hung round with vine plants, 
 afford it a neceflary (hade in fummer. Small orange and oleander trees 
 are planted on each fide. In the centre of the place is the celebrated 
 group of white marble, known by the name of the Farnefian bull ; 
 which is one of the moft beautiful of the antiques. 
 
 This walk \^ z?\\^^ Villa Reale \ and, between this and the rocky 
 fhore at the foot of the PofiUpo, there is a large place w^hich is deftined 
 for the exercife of arms. What a delightful walk, v/ould this be, were 
 it fliaded by the fpreading plane tree ! The way is open as far as the 
 beautiful haven, and the coaft of Portici, on the left.. On the right, I 
 araufed myfelf among the rocks ; which I now climbed, and now ftood 
 waiting till the weaves fhould retreat. The Nymphs of this bay are a 
 little malicious. They fuffer you peaceably to approach the edge of 
 the fea, and fuddenly fend a rolling wave that dalhes over your feeto- 
 You flep back, and the fea affumes its former repofe. 
 
 The water either feels, or appears to feel, the charms of the climate.. 
 Varieties of fhell fifh abound upon its fhore, the forms and colours of 
 which are enchanting, . Many of the fpecies are eaten ; and fome of 
 thefe are very beautiful. . 
 
 Upon and betv/een the rocks, ever blooming nature buds and' 
 
 (prouts ;.and thefe rocks Hand at the foot of the hill Pofilipo, which is- 
 
 5, ornamented! 
 
^8o TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 ornamented with trees and country houfes. I have not yet been upon 
 this hill ; but I have been through it : for a large cavern toward the 
 fea ferves the city as a gate. When this cavern was made no man 
 knows ; but it is one of the moft wonderful and greateft of the works 
 of men. Imagine to yourfelf a grotto cut through a volcanic rock, 
 which grotto is nine hundred and fixty paces long, nine broad, and 
 of a very confiderahle height. Modern writers affirm that an infcrip- 
 tion has been difcovered, which attributes this work to a perfon of the 
 name of Cocccius. Strabo, who lived in the time of Auguftus, is the 
 firft wdio, to my knowledge, has mentioned this grotto. It is evidently 
 the work of man : but in what age was it executed ? Was it by Ro- 
 mans or by Greeks ? Were the inhabitants of the Greek town io pow- 
 erful as to be able to execute this work ? Would the Romans have 
 been at fo much labour, for the convenience of any city, except Rome ? 
 What muft we underftand from the filence of hiftory ? Windows from 
 above had been cut in the time of Strabo. Seneca complains of its 
 darknefs. The cavern was widened by Alphonfo the Firft, King of 
 Naples ; and after him by Charles the Fifth. 
 
 It is afcribed by the people to Virgil. The memory of this great 
 poet ftill flourilhes at Naples ; where he lived feven years, and w^here 
 his fepulchre is ftiewn, over the entrance of the Pofillpo grotto. Some 
 of the common pec^ple fuppofe him to have been a Saint ; others a 
 Necromancer. When Robert of Anjou, King of Naples, once pafTed 
 through this cavern with Petrarch, he afked him whether it were really 
 true that Virgil had effected this miracle by magic ? To which the 
 poet anfwered, ** I have never read that Virgil was a magician ; and 
 " the traces that I fee are thofe of the pickaxe, not of the Devil." 
 
 The road through this grotto leads to Poz^uoU ; the PuteoH of the 
 antients, a neighbouring place which I fhall foon vifit. Before you 
 ieave the road and enter the cavern, you find it furrounded with high 
 rocks, and in a place which refembles a hermitage. This appearance, 
 this calm, has a good efFed : efpecially as, but the moment before, you 
 
 have 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 481^ 
 
 liave been fliinned by the din of a city, the ftreets of wliich are pro- 
 bably the mod noify in Europe. 
 
 The magical profpedt of the fea, from its fituation and illands, which 
 are inexpreffibly beautiful, is heightened by the monotonous roar of its 
 waves, the mildnefs of the healthy air, the ferenity of the fky, and the 
 abundantly budding, ever blooming, ever fwelling, ever ripening, fer- 
 tility. Here, through the circling year, the friendly Hours dance, with 
 intertwining arms, to the fong of joy. When the Greeks difcovered 
 this country, they were enraptured by its beauties ; and fuppofed this 
 the fite of the enchanted Hefperian gardens, and the delightful Elyfian 
 fields. It was here that Homer made his Syrens fmg ; and his en- 
 chantrefs, Circe, inhabited an ifland on the Italian fhores. Rocks, 
 and whirlpro^s of the fea, were changed, by the intoxicated imagina- 
 tion of the godlike Elomer, to living monfters. All w^as breathing ; 
 all was life ; fancy was ever fed, and the heart inceflantly infpired, by 
 nature ; which here flourifhes in eternal youth. 
 
 Virgil mentions the time when he lived at the lovely Naples with 
 emotion — 
 
 Jlh VirgUium me tempore dulcts alehat 
 Parthefiope — — — — — 
 
 ViRG. Georg. iv. 563. 
 
 "While I at Naples pafs'd my peaceful days. 
 
 Dryden, v. 815. 
 
 And, when Ovid fends JEfciilapius ^ concealed under the form of 
 a ferpent, from Epidaurus to Italy, while defcribing the coaft, he 
 cafts a friendly glance on Parthe?iope; born for eafe and enjoyment — 
 
 ■ /'// otia natam 
 
 Parthenope?: • " ■ 
 
 Ovid. Met. lib. xv. 711. 
 
 Naples for foft delight and pleafure born. 
 
 Welsted, v. I cog, 
 Vol. I. ^3 0. * The 
 
482 TRAVELS OF COUNr STaLEERG. 
 
 The attiiofphere is here of a deep blue ; and the moon and Rars ap*- 
 pear to aQame a clearer light. All nature contributes to coLTibin.e the- 
 moft lovely benevolence with the hlgheft grandeur. The Greeks, who 
 had a keen fenfe and deep knowledge of the beautiful, early Vv^ent in 
 fearch of new lands on the fouthern coaft of Italy, and, feveral centuries, 
 afterward, their poetical defcriptions of the wonders of thefe countries 
 were abundant. Even the profound and ferious Arifiotle fpoke, in his 
 time, of this enchanting country as of a new world ; which, from its- 
 native charms and intoxicating poetry, was long to the inhabitants of 
 antient Greece a Peru : like as Peru, in the fixteenth century, w^as 
 fuppofed to be a necromantic Utopia. 
 
 LETTER LXir. 
 
 Naples,, T 4th February 1792, 
 rrt 
 
 JL O the north weft, and immediately facing the city, on a 
 Very commanding hill, ftands the fix Tided fortrefs called Caftello dt 
 Sant* Elmo ; which is entirely hewn out of a rock. From this, you look 
 down on the city beneath your feet ; with the haven, the furrounding 
 country, Mount Vefuvius and the whole gulph of Naples. Turning 
 to the left,, you purfue the hilly winding fhore, to the promontory of 
 Sorento ; to the right, the cape that extends itfelf and concludes in the 
 hill Pofilipo, and beyond this the coafts of Bai^^, and the high promon- 
 tory of Mifaiuniy which is connedted with the fhore by a long ifthmus. 
 The iflands of Capri, Ifchia, and Procida, embelliili this profpedt : 
 the magnificence of which rivets the eye, and animates the whole 
 frame. 
 
 All the iflands of the Mediterranean that I have yet feen, Elva, Gor^ 
 
 gona,. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 4S3 
 
 •gona, Ponza, and their companions, Ifchia, Capri, Proclda, and Nifida, 
 have very high lliores ; and ftand like rocks in the fea. This feems 
 to be the prevailing feature of all the illands of this fea. The pro- 
 montory of Circe has entirely the fame appearance ; it (lands alone, 
 feparate from all other hills : yet for a hill, in the midll of plains, to 
 rife and ftand thus detached is entirely contrary to the charadler of 
 Italian mountains. This promontory not only appeared in Flomer's 
 time to be, but really v^as, an ifland. 1 grant that Vefuvius, Ukewife, 
 ftands feparated from other mountains ; but Vefuvius is a volcano. 
 You remember that Menelaus would have prefented young Telemachus 
 with three horfes, and a handfome chariot ; but Telemachus declined 
 accepting the gift, becaufe they would have been of no ufe to him ia 
 Ithaca. After having expatiated on, the fertility of the continent, he 
 thus continues : 
 
 'El/ 3"' 'l^axYi OUT ap ^^o/xoi su^£sg, ours tj T^Ufxm' 
 'Ajyi^OTOj" Kai iJ.oc,>.>^ov k'^n^aroi; ^itttto^otoio. 
 
 'Aifl' «^^ KEfiXiixroii ' 'L&axji Je te km ttepi Tcamuv, 
 
 HoM. Od. b. Iv. 309-3 1 2» 
 
 The courfers for the champion fports retain j 
 That gift our barren rocks will render vain : 
 Horrid with cliffs, our meagre land allows 
 Thin herbage, for the mountahi goat to browfe ; 
 But neither mead nor plain fupplies, to feed 
 The fprightly courfer, or indulge his fpeed : 
 To fea-furrounded realms the gods aihgn 
 Small tra6ls of fertile lawn j the lead to mine. 
 
 Pope, Od. b. Iv. v.82r. 
 
 The urbane youth firft gave due praife to the country of Menelaus : 
 but then indulged the overflowing of his heart : Ka/ [jLaAXov eTrn^aros 
 IttttoGotoio* To him, the inconfiderable and ftony Ithaca is more dear 
 than all the world. The inhabitants of mountains and iflands are cha- 
 raderized by their partiality for their own country. Ithaca is a moun- 
 
 3 Qj2 tainous 
 
^5^ TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 tainous Ifland. How dearly mull Telemachus love his country I Oh 
 Homer ! what poet like thee was ever lb deeply inftruded, in phyfical 
 and moral nature ! 
 
 Thefe profpeds are feen with ftill greater eiTe6t from the top of the 
 hill Pofiiipo : for there the whole ifland of Nifida is open to the eye^ 
 and but a part of it can be feen from the Cajlcllo dl Saiif Elmo, ■ Add, 
 to this the charms of the place itfelf, and the diftridts that it overlooks. 
 In one diredion on the land fide, you fee the rock Gajola^ which the 
 Alexandrian mariners, in antient times, ufed to call Euplcea : or good 
 paflage : becaufe they were then almoft in port. 
 
 Lucullus had a country houfe, and fiih pond, on the" other fide of 
 the Pofiiipo ; and, that he might continually fupply it with fea water, 
 he caufed a paillige to be dug through the hill of Pofiiipo. Confider- 
 able traces of this work are ftill to be feen : for which the Stoic philo- 
 fopher, Tubero, called him. a Xerxes clad in the toga. Remains of 
 the buildin<-^ of the Villa of Lucullus are likewife vifible ; and are called 
 by the people La Saw/a di VirgUio : the fchool of Virgil. The appel- 
 lation is erroneous : but there is no doubt but that the finely feeling 
 poet, when he lived at Naples, ufed frequently to vifit thefe places ;, 
 the air and the fhady walks of which were delightful, and the profpedt 
 one of the moft beautiful in the world. 
 
 The name of Pofiiipo vras given to this hill by the Greeks : that is, 
 they called it Paufdipce : Care calming : from xausii/ and Kvidu A 
 Neapolitan pcet tells us it was a morfel of heaven, dropped upon earth,. 
 Its profped, its hills, and vales, which are partly covered with trees, 
 partly with vineyards produdive of excellent wine, and the fertility of 
 the foil, where the aloes and cadi us opiuitia grow wild, do indeed im- 
 part to this high cape a charm which, even in thefe regions of Para- 
 dife, is peculiar to itfelf. 
 
 The Latin and Itahan poet, Sanfiazaro^ who lived in the latter part 
 of the fifteenth and the beginning of the fixteenth century, had a 
 country houfe here ; which was prefented to him by King Frederic* 
 
 He 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. ^g- 
 
 He lies buried in a chapel, which was built by himfelf, and dedicated 
 to the Holy Virgin. 
 
 What is called the Tomb of Virgil is upon the Pofilipo ; befidc the 
 entrance of the cavern. Although fo near a great city it Hands in a 
 folitary place, among trees and rocks ; from which there is a profpecSt 
 toward the fea : a fituation worthy the delicate fenfibilitv of the ^reat 
 poer. How unwilling was I to refufe myfelf the fweet deception of 
 • imagining I flood befide the tomb of Virgil ! Addifon, and before him 
 Cluverius, have remarked that Virgil v/as buried on the fide toward 
 Vefuvius. Statius fays the fame. Donatus, in his life of the poet, 
 tells us that he died in Brundufium ; and was buried near Naples, at 
 his own requeft. Of the famous laurel, concerning which two of the 
 German literati, as I am told, have waged a war that has not been pro- 
 dudive of fame, there is no trace ; unlefs the fprigs of laurel that are 
 found among the high grafs. The old root may probably have over- 
 grown itfelf ; and, if this be fo, thofe who have maintained that no 
 laurel ever grew here, but that the owner of the place decorated the 
 tomb with its branches, will indifputably be wrong. 
 
 I quit v/ith reludance the defcription of this care calming place,- 
 which in the Spring I fhall behold in ilill higher beauty, to fend you 
 an account of a feftival, that has been repeatedly given during the 
 Carnival ; and by which the manners of the people are charaderized.- 
 
 On appointed days, gentlemen and ladies proceed, mafked, in open 
 carriages, to the long broad and ftraight fcreet called Toledo, Here 
 they wage facetious war; with each other, and with the fpedlators, 
 who fnev; themfelves from the houfes and balconies. There is a bal- 
 cony before each vjindow in this ftreet. The warriors hold a fhield 
 for defence in their left hand ; and pelt each other with fugar plums,, 
 and balls of bread fugared over, with the right. That they may 
 throw the farther and ftrike the furer, they make ufe of ladles ; and 
 are provided v;ith full baflcets of am.munition. The carriages and 
 horfes are in part fantaflically decorated j and the vv'hole ftreet is 
 
 1: thronged' 
 
486 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBKRG. 
 
 thronged with fpedators. The children run under the carriages, and 
 the horfes feet, to gather up the fcattered fugar plums. Dragoons are 
 Rationed to mahitaln order ; or rather perhaps to give the greater bril- 
 liancy to the fcllivaL T'hofe that we faw from a balcony were a de- 
 tachment of the body guard ; which entirely confifts of the nobility* 
 A troop of horfe was followed by numbers of the fine regiments of yf/^^- 
 nefe ; and after them came the body guard, onhorfeback. Both thefe and 
 the Albanefe were in the Hungarian uniform, and richly drelTed. The 
 beautiful Neapolitan horfes were fhewn highly to their advantage ; 
 while their native fire was thus increafed, by the clamour of the mul- 
 titude. To the body guard fuccceded a high carriage, drawn by 
 ej^ht horfes four abreaft, which confuled of feverai ftories ; in which 
 were perfons in allegorical habits, reprefenting Fame, Vidory, Peace, 
 and other poetic perfonages, who diilributed papers containing a 
 poem. 
 
 The whole feftival was very charming in its kind ; and the hilarity 
 of the people was more entertaining to me than the fped:acle. Neither 
 the coachmen, who were often detained by the preffure of the crowd, 
 nor the people, who were pent up by the carriages, teftified a mo- 
 ment's impatience. The dragoons were bufy in maintaining order; 
 but with mildness and good humour. In any other city, fuch a prefs 
 and multitude of people as w^re here collected would have occafioned 
 fighting, much mifchief would have happened, and the fliops would 
 have been fhut up; nothing of all which happened here. The fireet 
 is full of {hops; and they Vv^ere all left open. This unfufpicious mode 
 of adling fpeaks highly to the honour of the people ; and efpecially 
 in a city in which there are forty thoufand men all in tatters ; and 
 which is vv'ithout an army *. The feftival was in honour of the Hun- 
 garian 
 
 * Tl-.e author is miftaken, in fuppofing this honour peculiar to Naples. The crowds, 
 and, if you pleafe, the mobs of London, and moft probably of other cities, are equally 
 great, and equally harmlcfs ; though not fo full of whim and antick. in proof of this, 
 we only need recolkd illumination nights, in which party politics have no (hare, the 
 
 chairing 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 487 
 
 garian nation: for deputies from the Hungarian nobility are here at 
 prefent, and have brought the King a 'medal which they have ftruck • 
 III order to commemorate the vifit that he lafl: year paid them. 
 
 We have ievrral times vifited our countryman, the excellent land- 
 fcape painter, Philip Hackert. A painter of landfcape muft here be in 
 his true element: though a "man of Hackert's genius knov/s how ta 
 take advantage of every fituation. V/hen he lived in Berlin, where 
 the country has fo few charms, the park with its trees was the place 
 that offered itfelf to his imagination. This he aliiduoufly ftudied ; and 
 our thanks are due to him for the extraordinary excellence with which 
 he has painted the trees. He is at prefent employed on the fea ports 
 of the two kingdoms. 
 
 We fav/ feveral noble paintings by his hand. Among others a 
 grand reprefentation of Mount ^Etna ; from its fmoky fummit to 
 the fca that cools its foot. The difficulties of the lineal and aerial 
 perfpedlive that occurred, in executing this tafk, were greater than you 
 can imagine. 
 
 The ports of Otranto, of Ifchia, and of Syracufe, are excellent paint- 
 ings : I law him at work on the laft. Who can refrain from coveting 
 to poffefs, when he beholds, fach a pidlure ? 
 
 Over the door of his bed chamber, he has painted a moon-light fea- 
 piece, upon paper; which is reflected by double mirrors. When the 
 chamber is dark, and the front chamber is lighted, the deception pro- 
 duced by this pidiure is enchanting. The light of his moon appears 
 as clear as if it adually cad all the other objpdts of the chamber into 
 fhade. You abfolutely beheve you perceive its rays dazzling on the 
 fea ; and Its foft beams are difperfed over the dilFerent maffes with all 
 the reality of truth. The trees of the foreground caft Ihadows fuch as 
 are only proper to moon-light. The moon Itfelf is reprefented with all 
 
 chairing of aWeftminfter eledion, and other public occafions. Whether the mobs of 
 Naples, London, or any other great city,, are at all times placid, is a different queftion. T.. 
 
 itsi 
 
483 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 its rpots. The white clouds are fo relieved as to feem illuminated by 
 the dark blue of the atmofphere. How foft mull be the emotion, 
 how facred the calm, of the fleeper when he calls a nightly glance at 
 this pidure before he clofes his eyes! 
 
 The King honours the painter, and loves the man. He has very 
 pleafant apartments in a palace, with a profpe6l toward the fea. They 
 are in the attic ftory. From thefe he defcends into a charming garden ; 
 thus equally enjoying the lofty and the low, at pleafure, while the dia 
 of the ftreet is below him, at a diftance. ' 
 
 His views of the ports of the two kingdoms are engraved by his bro- 
 ther, George Hackert. He has a third brother, who lives at Geneva, 
 and is like wife a good landfcape painter ; and I have feen a very beau- 
 tiful landfcape here, which is the work of another brother who died ia 
 England, 
 
 The diredor of the Academy of Arts, at this place, is likewife a 
 German : his name is Tifchbein. Naples has long been unprodudive 
 of good artifts ; yet the nation certainly has much intelligence : and 
 what may we not exped from fuch a foil and fuch a climate ? 
 
 This fterility, in works of art, I afcribe to Spanifli tyranny 5 under 
 which the country fo long has groaned. 
 
 LETTER LXIII. 
 
 Naples, 18th February I'^gz. 
 
 N the 15th, we vifited thofe parts which hiftory has ren- 
 dered fo interefting, which, as the regions of poetry, are fo delightful, 
 and which arc mure interelling and more delighcful lliil by the gifts of 
 nature. 
 
 Faffing 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 48 <^ 
 
 Faffing through the long grotto of Pofillpo, we went by the Tea fide 
 to Po%%iiolo : the PutcoU of the antlents. This place was founded by 
 the former inhabitants of the ifland of Samos, under the condudt of a 
 certain Dlccearchos, at the time that the laft Tarquin reigned in 
 Rome ; five hundred and twenty-one years before the birth of Chrift ^. 
 Its Greek name was Dicaa^ Dica:archia^ or Dicarchia. The Ro- 
 mans called it FiiteoU: which name is probably derived from the nu- 
 merous wells that are found in its vicinity. Its prefent name appears 
 to me likewife to have this origin : for Fox-zo^ in Italian, has the fame 
 meaning as Ftiteus^ in Latin, and fignifies a well. 
 
 The town loft its freedom during the fecond Punic war. The 
 Romans fortified it, and ftationed a garrifon there of fix thoufand menf. 
 Hannibal, who had placed fo great a dependance in pofleffing a haven 
 on this coaft, failed in taking Puteoli, as he had done in his attack 
 upon Neapolis. A Roman colony was fent hither after the war \ and 
 it became a municipal city, during the times of Roman freedom. 
 
 Large pillars were erected on the haven, to refift the force of the 
 waves : feveral of which are flill remaining. 
 
 Not far from the town, by the fea fide, Cicero's villa was built ; 
 which he firft called his Futeolamim^ and afterward Academia : for here 
 he wrote his work entitled ^csjTiones Acadcmict^, 
 
 We proceeded leaving the hill Gaums ^ which the prefent Italians- 
 call Monte Barbara^ on our right and near the road. It is no unufual 
 thing for the wine of this country to be confounded with that of Fa- 
 lernum : though the true Falernian was produced on the north of 
 Capua. However, it is very good, will keep long, and has the name of 
 Falerno ; and indeed the grapes oi Gaums were celebrated by the an- 
 tients. 
 
 The hill Gaurus has been unfruitful fince the time of the great earth- 
 quake, which defolated Pozzuolo in the year 1538. The terrified in- 
 habitants fled naked to Naples ; and the town would have been entirely 
 
 * Cluv. Ital. Ant. iv. 2. ' f Liv. xxlv. 
 
 Vol. I. 3 R abandoned, 
 
4$Q TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 abandoned, had not Toledo, the Spanifli governor, caufed it to Be re-- 
 built ; and, by that means, detained the people. 
 
 Monte Nuovo was produced by this earthquake. It has a pyramidal' 
 form ; and rofe out of the Lucrine lake, after the earth had for ten days 
 fucceffively been in commotion. The country town of Tnpergole^ 
 which lay between the lake and the fea, was fwept away ; engulphed^ 
 by the waves. 
 
 We left Monte Nuovo on the left, and alighted from our carriage 
 befide the lake of Avemtis. This lake is nearly circular ; and, accord- 
 ing to the teftimony both of antients and moderns, is of aftoniihing' 
 depth. Its furrounding fhores are very lofty. They were overgrown 
 with thick woods, whofe dark ihades, in unifon with the high fhores 
 and the depth below, rendered the lake awful. Poetry profited by this 
 facred gloom. Homer makes the hero of the GdyfTey fail, in one day, 
 from the promontoiy of Circe to the Cimmerian abodes ; and this 
 lake was early held to be the entrance to the regions of Pluto. Here 
 it was that Virgil brought his hero, when he began his defcent to hell ; 
 and, from the forells which overhung the dark lake, he obtained the 
 goldfen branch, that had been defcribed by the Sibyl, and at the fight of 
 which Charon ferried him over the Styx. The high fhore on the 
 fouth fide was levelled, to a confiderable breadth, by Agrippa ; and' 
 from the north lliore we overlooked the Avernian and Lucr'me lake to 
 the fea. The latter lake lies between the former and the fea*; with 
 which it muft formerly have had communication. The dam, by which 
 it is feparated from the fea, was afcribed to Hercules. In later timeSj 
 this dam muft have been waftied away by the waters. 
 
 When Auguftus waged war againft Sextus Pompeius in Sicily, he 
 ordered Agrippa to renew this dam ; and accordingly part of the fhore 
 of the lake Avernus was cut away, to make a communication by a 
 canal whh the Lucrine lake ; and by means of both, to conftrudl a 
 haven. This was called /or/«j- Julius \ ; or the haven of Julius; and 
 
 * Dio. Sic. lib. v. vol i. p. 267. cd. Weflel.. f Suet, in Vita 0£l. c. 16. 
 
 mufl. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 491 
 
 muft have had fomethmg like the following form [J, The antients 
 were aftonilhed at the tranfparency and depth of the lake of Avernus. 
 Ariftotle remarks of it, as fomething wonderful, that, though it was 
 furrounded by high woods, not a fallen leaf was to be feen on its fur- 
 face : but, as the banks were lofty and funnel formed, and the woods 
 which were formerly here were defended on all fides from the wind it 
 was but natural that the leaves fhould fall to the ground and not into 
 the lake. From the fable, that no bird could fly over it and not drop 
 into the water, the Greeks gave it the appellation of Aornos ■ or bird- 
 lefs. 
 
 This quality is not afcribed by Virgil to the lake ; but to the cavern, 
 which was the entrance to the fhades below, and which poetry places 
 at the undermoft fhore of the lake. 
 
 SpettiTJca aha f lilt ^ vajloque inunams hiatii, 
 Scrupeoy tuta lacu nigra nemorumque tenebris : 
 ^amfuper baud ulla poterant hnpune volant es 
 Tender e iter pennu : talis fefe halitus atris 
 Faucihus effundens fiipera ad convexa ferebat, 
 Unde hcum Graii dixerunt nomine Aornon. 
 
 ViRG. -/En. vi. 237. 
 
 Deep was the cave ; and, downward as It went. 
 From the wide mouth, a rocky rough defcent ; 
 And here th* accefs a gloomy grove defends j 
 And here th' unnavigable lake extends : 
 O'er whofe unhappy waters, void of light. 
 No bird prefumes to ftcer his airy flight. 
 Such deadly ftenches from the depth arife. 
 And fteaming fulphur, that infefts the fkles. 
 From hence the Grecian bards their legends make. 
 And give the name Avernus to the lake. 
 
 Dryden, V. 338. 
 
 This defcriptlon was well applied, to a place where fuch exhalations 
 are frequent. 
 
 3 R 2 Not 
 
49a TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Not far from the lake of Avernus, a gate of the antlent town of 
 Cuma is ftill ftanding. It is called the Arco Felice^ is tolerably dlftant 
 from the fea, and denotes how large this celebrated antlent Greek town, 
 which was a fea port, muft have been. There are hills on each fide of 
 the gate, with fleps ; up which we mounted, to the top of the gate. 
 
 From this place, we had an uncommonly beautiful profped. To 
 the right are the gulph of Gacta^ the town of the fame name, MoLiy 
 and the iflands Pon%a and Ventofiefie. Right before us lay the Spiaggia 
 di Cumay or fhores of Camay and the high ifland oi Ifchia: to the left 
 the promontory of M'lfcniim^ the whole bay of Naples, and in it the 
 ifland of Capru 
 
 The place where Cumse flood, like the country round it, is embel- 
 lifhed with vineyards. How various is the fertility of this country 1 
 The vine clings round trees, which are many of them mulberry, and 
 none of them ufelefs : for their leaves will at lead ferve as fodder for 
 the cattle. Beneath thefe, the foil produces its manifold harveft. Here 
 the fig trees grow ; and there the large bean is in bloom. The lupine, 
 after the fruit is gathered, or the plant cut or eaten by the cattle, is now, 
 as in the time of Virgil, ploughed up to manure the land. The aloe, 
 which is plentiful, partly wild, and partly cultivated, is not w^ithout its 
 ufe : its leaves are dried, it is left to die, like hemp, and the foft fibres 
 that remain are ufed by thofe who make artificial flowers. 
 
 On the antient haven of Cums^, there is a fortrefs ; in which there 
 are a hundred men, who are relieved from Naples every fortnight. 
 They guard the coaft againft: the inroads of the Barbary corfairs. The 
 fea-water, which, during the great earthquake in the year 1538, over- 
 flowed, and has but little communication with the fea, made thefe 
 fruitful diftrids perhaps no lefs unhealthy for men than its exhalations 
 are cheering to vegetation. 
 
 The antient. town of Ciima^ Kvpmy was a colony from the city of 
 
 Chalcis^ in the ifland of Kubcea : the prefent Negroponte : but its origin 
 
 is lofl: in the darknefs of antiquity. Cumse was early a flouriihing and 
 
 i '• powerful 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 493 
 
 powerful place. In the firft year of the 64th Olympiad, at the thne 
 that MUtiades v/as Archon in Athens, 524 years before the birth of 
 Chriil, the Etr?ifci, the Daimi, and the TJinbrt^ envying the profperity 
 of thefe free towns of Greece, made a combined but ineffedual effort 
 tofubjed Cumse. In the third year of the 76th Olympiad, the year 
 472 before Chrift, the Tyrj'hcni^ or Etrnfci^ the prefent Tufcans, then 
 lords of the fea, according to the teftimony of Diodorus, made another 
 attack. The people of Cumse demanded fuccour of Hiero, the firft 
 King of Syracufe *. He fent them a fleet ; by the aid of which, with 
 their own fliips, they gained a great vidory over the Tyrrhcnu Pindar 
 mentions this vidory in his firft Pythian hymn. 
 
 What is now called the bay of Naples was then the bay of Ciima; : 
 fo named by the antients after the city, although Cumae was then fitu- 
 ated at a diftance, in the bay of Gaeta : but the people of Cumse like- 
 wife pofTefTed ports in the former bay. In the year of Rome 2>?)S'i ^^^ 
 418 before the birth of Chrift f, the people of Campania took Cumse, 
 The place muft have fufFered much from the antient arrogance of this 
 people : yet, as late as the time of Strabo, there were many traces re- 
 maining of Grecian art, cuftoms, and religion. 
 
 A road leads from this place tQ Baice ; which has in part been cut 
 through a hill, by the prefent King, We left the lake Fufaro on the 
 right, where the King often filhes, and by the fide of which he has 
 built an ornamental fifhing houfe, and purfued our way to Baise. 
 Of this town, which was fo beloved by the antient Romans, nothing 
 is remaining but its ruins : thefe however are confiderable. They 
 confift of baths, fome of which are ftill in ufe and have warm fprings, and 
 of the beautiful ruins of three rotundas. I fuppofe both thefe andthe 
 baths to be the remains of thenna^ which were built by the Emperors of 
 the firft century : though indeed the baths of Baise were celebrated even 
 in the times of the republic. The whole neighbourhood was embellifhed 
 with country houfes, in which the Romans fpent a part of the winter,. 
 
 * Diod. vol. a. p. 44 2. i Liv. iv. c. 44. 
 
 We 
 
494 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 We ftill find many embankments of the high fhore ; and Horace, m 
 various pallagcs, reproaches the vohiptuous pride of his contemporaries, 
 for the folly of fuch undertakings ; the greatnefs of which but ill ac- 
 cord with the fliortnefs of life : a remark that often recurs to the 
 man who contemplates the remains of Roman magnificence. 
 
 This coaft was the chofen refidence of the luxury of the Romans« 
 The poet thus complains : 
 
 ^am pauca aratro jugera regia 
 
 Moles relinqnent ; undique latius 
 
 Ex tent a vifenttir Lucrino 
 
 Stag/ia lacUf plataimfque coslehj 
 
 Evificet ulmos :••• 
 
 HoR. lib. ii. od. 15, 
 
 In royal pride our buildings rife. 
 
 The ufelefs plough neglefted lies ; 
 
 Ponds, broad as lakes, our fields o'erfpread, 
 
 Th' unmarried plan^ high waves the head 
 
 Above the elm 
 
 Francij. 
 
 Iq another ode he fays : 
 
 Tufecatida marmof^ 
 Locas fub ipjiim fimus y etfepulcri 
 
 Immemor Jlruis domoSf 
 Marifrpue Bails ohjirepentis urges 
 
 Summovere litora, 
 Parum lociiples continente ripa* 
 
 ^/idf quod ufque proximos 
 Revel/is agri termimSy et ultra 
 
 Limit^s client'ium 
 Salts avarus ? PelUtur paterms 
 
 In ftnu ferens deos, 
 Et uxor, et vir j [ordidofque natos» 
 
 Nulla certior tamen 
 Rapacis Orci fede dejlinata 
 
 Aula divitem manet 
 
 Herum, ^tid ultra tendis P Mqua iellut 
 
 Paupm 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 495 
 
 Pauperi recluditiii'f 
 Regumque pueris ;■—— 
 
 HoR.lib.il. od. 18. 
 
 But you, with thoughtlefs pride elate, 
 Unconfcious of impending fate,. 
 Command the pillar'd dome to rife. 
 When lo ! thy tomb forgotten lies : 
 And, though the waves indignant roar, 
 Forward you urge the Baian fhore. 
 The facred land-mark drives in vain 
 Your impious avarice to reflrain ; 
 You break into your neighbour's grounds^. 
 And overleap y Mf clients' bounds. 
 Driven out by ^hee, to new abodes 
 They carry- their paternal gods \ 
 The wife her hufband's forrow {hares. 
 And on her breaft her fqualid infant bears* 
 
 Yet deflin'd by unerring fate, 
 
 Shall death this wealthy lord await ; 
 
 Then whither tend thy wide domains ? 
 
 For earth impartial entertains^ 
 
 Her various fons, and in her breaft' 
 
 Princes and beggars equal reft. 
 
 Francis. 
 
 Horace elfewhere tells them, with ironical exaggeration, 
 
 ContraEla plfces aquora fentiunt y 
 JaSiis in altum molibus\ hue frequens 
 Camenta demittit redemptor 
 
 Cum famulis y dom'inufque terra 
 
 Fajiidiofus ; fed timer et minx ■ 
 Scandunt eodem quo dominus ; 7jeque 
 Decedit- arata triremi-) et. 
 
 Pojl equitem fedet atra Cura, 
 
 HoR. lib. iiit od. i. 
 
 The fifli affrighted, feel their waves 
 
 Gontratted by his numerous flaves, 
 
 Even in the vaft profound. 
 
 HIgl, 
 
496 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 High though his flru6tures rife In air, 
 Pa!e menaces, and black defpalr, 
 
 This haughty lord fliall find, 
 O'ertake his armed galley's fpeed. 
 And when he mounts the flying fteed. 
 
 Sits gloomy Care behind. 
 
 i'RANCIS. 
 
 The haven of BaLT, which was known long before the town itfelf 
 was built, derived its name from one of the companions of UlyfTes : a 
 teftimony that at leaft denotes its high antiquity. The fea, at length 
 revenging itfelf on Roman voluptuoufnefs, overflowed a part of the 
 fhore and very much injured the antient haven : but a new one has 
 been built by the prefent King. The fortrefs, which (lands on a height 
 befide the fea, was the work of Don Pedro de Toledo : a Spaniin go- 
 vernor of the fixteenth century. 
 
 From Baias, we crofTed the bay to Batili ; a fmail place, which lies 
 about the middle of the cape, the end of which is the promontory of 
 Mifenum. Here Hercules muft have landed, when he brought the 
 herds of the monfter Geryon from Spain to Greece. Many of the 
 principal Romans, Hortenfius, Calpurnius Pifo, Pompey, Cselar, and 
 Lucullus, here had country houfes. Here too Agrippina, by the com- 
 mand of Nero, her fon, was murdered during the night ; after he had 
 more than once vainly adminiftered poifon to her, and had fent her on 
 board a veflTel, which was fo conftruded that it would be overfet by 
 the leaft want of equilibrium. The circumftances which preceded this 
 mother's murder, and thofe by which it was followed, are fo inhumanly 
 black, that the very deed itfelf, from the perpetration of which nature 
 fhrinks with horror, by thefe were rendered additionally deteftable *. 
 
 Near Bauli are what were called the Elyfian fields. Lovely as they 
 are, thofe who are accuftomed to the beauties of tKe environs of Naples 
 will fcarcely think this Elyfmm itfelf extraordinary. Let us even fup- 
 pofe the delightful groves of the bleiTed, am&sna vireta^ to have been 
 
 * Tacit. An. xiv. cap. i— .9, and Suet, in Vita Ner. cap. 34. 
 
 here, 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 497 
 
 here, under the (hooting vhie which twines round the tall ehu, yet no 
 one, efpecially thofe who inhabit Italy, would think the dreaded repa- 
 ration between life and death rewarded by this Elyfium. 
 
 How does it happen that Virgil could have been fo mifunderftood ? 
 How could the inventive poet have imagined that his Avhole empire 
 of Death, the regions of Acheron, of Styx, of Cocytus, of Phlegethon, 
 and of the refidence of the damned, were included in the Avernus ; or 
 his whole Elyfian fields in what are called the vineyards ? I readily 
 grant that he, faithful to antient fable, places the entrance of hell at the 
 cavern of Avernus. Its deep w^aters, its high fhores, and the imper- 
 vious gloomy forefts that furround it, imprefled iEneas, imprefled the 
 readers of Virgil, a thoufand years afterward, with all the terrors of 
 the fubterranean empire : but the whole was fubterranean. So were 
 the mournful fields of the lovers, their fecret folitude and myrtle Ihades ; 
 where jEneas faw the w^andering Dido, or imagined he faw ; 
 
 Doubtful as he M'ho runs thro' dufky night. 
 Or thinks he fees the moon's uncertain light. 
 
 Dryden, JEn. VI. 614. 
 
 The feparate walk of the warriors was fubterranean ; as were the 
 treble walls that imprifoned the condemned fouls — 
 
 which Phlegethon furrounds 
 
 J 
 
 "Whofe fiery flood the burning empire bounds : 
 
 And, prefs'd between the rocks, the bellowing noife refounds. 
 
 Dryden, JEn. vi. 741. 
 
 All w^ere fubterranean ; and fubterranean likewife were the delight- 
 ful green lawns, and happy groves, which were the refidence of the 
 blefled— 
 
 The blifsful feats of happy fouls below : 
 
 Stars of their own, and their own funs they know. 
 
 Dryden, Mn. vi. 871. 
 
 Could the poet have better guarded himfelf againfl mifinterpreta- 
 
 tion ? Thofe, who impute to him an abfurdity fo grofs, do not pro- 
 
 VoL. I. 3S bably 
 
498 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 bably themfelves perceive hov/ Incapable he was of fending bis coun- 
 trymen to fee the fiiades of the blefTed in places that v/ere familiar to 
 them, and which he defcribes as furrounded by the ghofts cf the con- 
 demned : yet, fo ftrong is the currenl: of prejudice, that many even of 
 the learned readers of Virgil have imagined they could difcover the 
 whole of the kingdom of Pluto within the circumference of the little 
 lake ; and the Elyfian fields in the vineyards of the ftagnant fait water, 
 v/hich has but little outlet into the fea below^, and which is itfelf called 
 the dead fea. 
 
 Be it granted that Virgil was right in following antient tradition, 
 and profiting by the natural gloom of the places, and the difmal ideas 
 of the religion of the people concerning thefe places, the reUgio loc'i^ as 
 he elfewhere terms it : let it be proved, and nothing more can be 
 proved, that the entrance to his hell was at Avernus : it yet appears to 
 me, however great the authorities may be to the contrary, that the opi- 
 nions of thofe are unfounded who fuppofe the hell of Homer to have 
 the fame fituation. There is fcarcely any hypothefis which acutenefs 
 may not render probable : as this feems to have been rendered. Clu- 
 verius himfelf, a very intelligent reader and commentator of the an- 
 tients, encourages this dream. 
 
 " Elomer," fays he, " makes UlyfTes fail from the country of Circe, 
 *' to that of Chnmena in one day ; and likewife with a north v/ind. 
 " Put thefe circumftances together, and he could only fail to thefe 
 *' parts. The grove of Proferpine and the gloomy palace of Pluto, as 
 " mentioned by Homer, were at the lake of Avernus ; and the narrow 
 *i fhore ^vas what was called the dam of Hercules : that leads from 
 " the Tyrrhene fea to the Lucrine lake." 
 
 In his treatife on the wanderings of UlyiTes, he fays, " By the ocean, 
 " Homer here underflands the Lucrine lake and that of Avernus." 
 
 Various circumftances are thus brought together ; and, in a certaia 
 fenfe, it would give me great pleafure now" to be perfonally prefent on 
 the places where thefe fcenes have pafTed. How interefling would it 
 be, for a paffionate admirer and lover of Homer, to vifit thofe coun- 
 
 1 tries 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 499 
 
 tries that have been honoured by his boldefl: flights 1 But the mofl in- 
 terefting of all things is truth. 
 
 By the ocean of Homer, we now generally underftand the ocean 
 properly fo called. Our learned Vofs* has taught us that Homer, and 
 other poets, who lived long after Homer, by the word Oceanus, under- 
 flood the great ftream : which, "according to their opinion, flowed 
 round the earth. Now, in whichever fenfc we underfl:and it, we fliall 
 find how impoflible it was that the poet, in the above paflage, could 
 defcribe the Lucrine lake and the lake of Avernus by the term Occanus. 
 
 He w^as unacquainted with the Avernus, for he did not go up the 
 country ; and before Agrippa had levelled the high fhore of this lake, 
 on the iide next the Tea, and had united it with the Lucrine lake, it 
 w^as not vifible from the fea. 
 
 And even if Homer had afcended this high fhore, he would have 
 been convinced of the fmall circumference of the lake, and certainly 
 would not have called it the ocean. 
 
 That in later ages, though long before the time of Virgil, the refi- 
 dence of the dead was fought for in this country, I very well know. 
 It was later ages that dedicated to Proferpine her grove, and to Pluto 
 his gloomy palace. Livy tells usf that Hannibal led a part of his army 
 to Avernus, under the pretext of facrificing there ; but in realityto 
 make an attempt uipon Pufeoli^ and the Roman garrifonthat it contained. 
 
 I believe it is a very antient opinion that Homer led his UlyfTes to 
 this' place. The idea was flattering to the Greeks, who inhabited thefe 
 coafl:s; and very flight grounds would make it credited, by the people 
 of Gumse, Pateoli, Baiaj, and Parthenope : the prefent Naples. They 
 .were likewife interefl;ed in a political view : it made them refpedted. 
 Befide, offerings no doubt were brought to their temples; and the 
 nature of the country favoured the prejudice. The inundating, 
 noxious, vapour-exhaling, water of the fea and the rivers, the at that 
 time fiery Epomeus of the ifland of Ifchia, the caverns exhaling 
 
 * A Gerinan poet, who has tranflated Homer and Virgil. T. . t Liv. xxiv. cap. 12, 
 
 3 S 2 fulphur, 
 
50O TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG, 
 
 fulphiir, the volcanic traces of the country, where the inhabitants 
 flumbled as it were over the ruins of nature, the frequent earthquakes, 
 and add to thefe the vicinity of all the delights of nature contrafted 
 with all her horrors, thefe circumflances, taken collectively, gave rife 
 to, and food for, the imaginary fables and terrors of the Empire of 
 Death : an empire in which, according to the relation of Homer, the 
 abodes of the blefTed border on the confines of the damned. 
 
 As an attentive reading of the iEneid has long vindicated Virgil 
 from the abfurdity of having placed his entire hell in regions well 
 known upon earth ; fo likewife, had the travels of Ulyfles been at- 
 tended to in the fame fpirit, they w^ould not have led the reader to 
 difcover the fhades of death in this place. Without having recourfe to 
 the ftrange confufion of the lake of Avernus v/ith the ocean, this 
 hypothefis is felf-deftrud:ive. 
 
 What reafon could Ulyfles have to return from the fhades of hell 
 to Circe ? Had he paflled the Avernus, his navigating back to the god- 
 defs was unneceflary. His route led him fouthward, to the ifland of 
 the Sirens : Why did he fail back to the north, when he muft a fecond 
 time have neceflarily failed paft the Avernus ? Why did Circe tell him, 
 when he entreated her to fend him back to Ithaca, that he muft pre- 
 vioufly go another way, dXAw oS'ouy to the abode of Pluto, Aidaes ; 
 and to the terrible Proferpine, Ferfephoiieia ; to queftion the foul of the 
 prophet Tirefias *' ? UlyflTes informed his companions of this other 
 voyage. The intelligence grieved them to the heart ; fo that they 
 wept, and tore their hair. And why ? The danger of the defc^nt into 
 hell was the tafk only of UlyflTes : but this unknown voyage, over feas 
 which none of them had yet navigated, was equally terrible to them all. 
 
 Neither did thefe clamours in the leaft agree with a voyage to the 
 fliores cf Avernus, which lay in their way : and the fecond vifit to 
 Circe was ftill more abfurd. Should it be anfwered that Ulyfles re- 
 turned to inter Elpejior^ who had broken his neck in the palace of the 
 
 * Od. X. 490. 
 
 goddefs. 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG'. 501 
 
 goddefs, and whom, opprefTed by other cares, he had left unburied, 
 his meeting with the foul of Elpenor in the lower regions will fhew 
 the error of this opinion. He entreated UlylTes to remember him, 
 and to fee him buried : "for I know," faid he, " that thou wilt land 
 " on the Mcean ifland *." 
 
 Ulyfles promifes a ready compliance, as a thing eafilv to be per- 
 formed. Had he been excited by other cares, which had induced him 
 to leave him unburied the firft time, a ceremony that at the utmoft 
 would have required only the delay of a few days in order to afford 
 him this token of his affection, what could now induce him to perform 
 fuch a voyage for his fake ? Elpenor well knew that Ulyffes would not 
 unneceflarily wander over an unknown fea : but would more willingly 
 return by a route that he had already navigated, and afterward continue 
 a coafting voyage. 
 
 Where then was the hell of Homer fituated ? In anfwer to this I muf!i 
 refer you to the map of Vofs, which contains the countries defcribed 
 by Homer ; and to his own inquiries concerning antient geography* 
 The empire of Death may be concealed in that terrific and difmal 
 gloom in which the poet found it, among the records of tradition : or 
 he might have purpofely enveloped it in the darknefs of amazement, 
 and of horror. As fagacious in the condud: of his poem as he was 
 rich in imagination, he might welcome this holy horror as the proper 
 element for the creation of his boldefl imagery. The charaderiilic 
 marks of melancholy and gloom predominate through the whole of 
 the eleventh book of the OdyfTey. 
 
 Whether the people of Cimmerium and their city, as defcribed by 
 the poet 
 
 There in a lonely land and gloomy cells 
 The dulky nation of Cimmeria dwells. 
 The fun ne'er viev/s th' uncomfortable featSj, 
 When radiant he advances, or retreats. 
 
 * Od. xi. 69. 
 
 Unhappy 
 
502 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Unhappy vace ! whom endlefs night invades, 
 Clouds the dull air, and wraps them round in fliades. 
 
 Pope, Od. b. xl. 15. 
 
 whether the dark kingdom of this benighted people was the crea- 
 tion of Homer, or, which to me is much more probable, the picture 
 of m.ore early fable, I cannot determine : but it does not appear to me 
 that this paflage is appHcable to the Cimmerii of Italy ; who lived un- 
 der ground. The latter, whether they ad:ually buried themfelves in 
 fubterranean caverns or not, were probably fo called from the Cimmerii 
 defcribed by Homer. 
 
 I fhall again have occafion to fpeak of the Cimmerii of Italy ; and 
 of the light under which they have been confidered by the laft com- 
 mentators on the antients ; particularly the Italians. 
 
 Whoever has a juft notion of the ftate of geography among the 
 Greeks in much later times than thofe of Homer, whoever is fami- 
 liarized vv^ith oceanuSy in the Prometheus of JEfchylus^ with the Ari- 
 mafp'i^ and wath the daughter of Phorciis — he, I fay, who is but (lightly 
 acquainted with the antient Ionic bards, the contemporaries of Homer, 
 will know that they might imagine thofe places, though they were but 
 a day's fail beyond the promontory of Circe, that is, a day's fail to 
 W'hich the goddefs lent favourable winds, to be the limits of the earth. 
 Later times have thrown back Cimmerian ^darknefs farther to the 
 north. Hence the inhabitants of Jutland, and the Danifh illands, 
 have at length been called the Cimbri. 
 
 The fables of the antients have frequently wandered from place to 
 place ; and the motley multitudes of fyftem makers have been eager to 
 wander in their company. 
 
 Great fhade of the greateft of poets, out of whofe ever youthful ima- 
 gination the Iliad and the GdyfTcy fprang, blooming, v^ouldft thou 
 not, from thy real not fabulous Elyfmm, look down, and laugh, didft 
 thou, three thoufand years after the exiftence of thy Cimmerii, who 
 were thy own offspring, behold a tribe of learned infedts, induftrious 
 
 book- 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 bookworms, point out thy empire of hell on the map of Homan ? A- 
 empire which thou, with all the caution of wlfdom, hafi placed beyond 
 the ken of cold curiofity, in the necromantic darknefs of legend • 
 whofe nonexifung phantoms, embodied by thee, are pointed to a'^s rea- 
 lities, and as the traces of geographical truth ! 
 
 During the whole peregrinations of Ulyffes from people to people, 
 we can follow him without difficulty. How greatly is the poetical 
 truth of the OdyOey realized by this circumftance ! The wonderful 
 phenomena of Scylla and Charybdls^ which deterred the companions 
 of the hero from near enquiry, contribute to the poetical fidion of 
 their being living monfters. The Laearlgons, a wild people inhabit- 
 ing the northern fhores of Sicily, w^ere probably by the contemporaries 
 of the poet fuppofed to be giants : and was it a poet's bufmefs to repre- 
 fent them as common men ? 
 
 How fublime was the, fhall I call it poetical fidion, or, tradition of 
 the iiland, which was governed by the prince and lord of the wdnds 
 ^olus ! Homer took good care, that we might have no trace of any 
 fuch ifland, to leave it floating in the fea. Both modern and antient 
 commentators fuppofe the largeft of the Lipari iflands, near Sicily, to 
 be the place. What I have faid of the Lseftrigons is equally applica- 
 ble to the Cyclops, Homer might well, three thoufand years ago, with 
 apparent probability people an ifland with giants in which only two 
 hundred -years ago Fazello, a valuable Sicilian author, was perfuaded of 
 the truth of the fl?:eletons of giants having been found near Trapani, 
 in the year 1342 ; and that one of them was the giant Eryx, flain by 
 Hercules*. 
 
 The cautious poet likewife left the fituation of the Ifland of Ogygia 
 therefidence of the goddefs Calypfo, fo undetermined thatfome have 
 fuppofed it to be Malta^ others Go^o near Malta, others again a little 
 ifland below the bay of Taranto^ and others an ifland near Albania 
 tlie antient Epinis, 
 
 * Fazello, Hifloria di Sicilia, I. i. c. 5, 
 
 Yet 
 
304 TPAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Yet who fo determinate and clrcumftantlal as Homer, when he can 
 by tlmt means promote poetical efted ? Who fo lively, in defcrib- 
 ing and producing the Icenery, when he can thus give greater ani- 
 mation and reality to his charaders ? Who knows like him to favour 
 poetical illufion by light clouds, or by dark, that now conceal, now 
 ma"-nify and render objeds dreadful, and now glimmer lound them ; 
 while they communicate thofe tender trembling lights, which enchant 
 the curiofity that they excite ? 
 
 Children crv for the rainbow ; and the childifh in underftanding are 
 dilTatisfied whh the poet, whofe narrative is not as circumftandally bar- 
 ren as a Gazette, or as talkative as the tales of old women. 
 
 Near what are called the Elyfian Fields, there are great remains of 
 antient tombs. 
 
 The Pifc'uia M'lrahiUs^ as it is called, a fubterranean vault which 
 repofes on five rows of high arcades, is fuppofed.to have been a water 
 ciftern of the antients. What the purpofe of the fteps was, which 
 lead from the outward arcades to the inner, I am unable to divine : but 
 I am not of the opinion of thofe who imagine that this Pifchia was a 
 bath ; for I certainly have feen no bath to which this bears the leaft 
 refemblance. Befide, you evidently perceive that the depth of the 
 water was far greater than the height of a man. 
 
 Not far from this there are fubterranean walled avenues, which are 
 called he cento camerelh : the hundred little cells : and gli carceri di 
 JSlerone : the prifons of Nero : names that have been given them by a 
 people among whom the cruelty of the tyrant is ftill remembered. 
 What the ufe of thefe was is uncertain. The moft probable opinion 
 feems to be that of thofe who fuppofe them the lower part, or founda- 
 tion, of fome antient building ; the upper parts of which are deftroyed 
 
 by time. 
 ^ W^ 
 
TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBER.G. 505 
 
 We again proceeded, by fea, from Bmdi to Po%%uoli. Before we 
 entered our carriage, we faw an antient fqiiare pedeftal ; on which for- 
 merly a llatue of the Emperor Tiberius flood. It was erected to him 
 by the towns of Afia, that had been deftroyed by an earthquake, dur- 
 ing his reign, and were again rebuilt. It appears that flattery afcribed 
 a merit to the Emperor which, according to Tacitus, was much rather 
 due to the Senate. There are fourteen towns, in baifo relievo, on this 
 pedeftal ; which, after the antient manner, are perfoniiied by women, 
 in drapery. The names of the towns are infcribed under the 
 allegorical figures ; fome of which are defaced. I read the following : 
 
 Philadelphia^ Tmolus^ Cyma^ Cibyra^ Myrina^ Ephefus^ Apollonideay • 
 
 Cafarea : ( Hierocafarea) . 
 
 According to Tacitus, the number of the towns was only twelve: 
 but probably two others were added to them, from adulatory motives, 
 which might have received fome little fhock; and that there were only 
 twelve which had greatly fullered. Ephefus is not mentioned by Ta- 
 citus. This writer tells us that earthquakes, horrible in themfelves, 
 were on this occafion more horrible, by the midnight darknefs that 
 then happened : for it rendered all flight from the gaping earth impof- 
 fible. He relates that mountains were fwallowed up, that the earth 
 heaved, and that as it opened it vomited flames. Addifon remarks that 
 various learned men were of opinion that this was the earthquake 
 which happened at the death of Chrift. 
 
 Caligula, whofe idiot ideas of greatnefs continually led him Into fome 
 unheard of folly, caufed a bridge of boats to be built from Puteoli to 
 Bai^s^ on the oppofite fhore, and paved it like the Appian way. He 
 employed two whole days in traverfmg this fhort diftance, which only 
 confided of a few thoufand paces, backward and forward. The firfl: 
 day he was mounted on a caparifoned horfe, crowned with an open 
 garland, armed with a hatchet, fword, and fmall fliield, and drefled in a 
 gilded robe of war. On the fecond, he feated hlmfelf in a chariot, 
 drawn by two horfes, which was followed by his Prsetorian guard. 
 
 Vol. I, 3 T Suetonius 
 
5o6 TRAVELS OF COUNT STOLBERG. 
 
 Suetonius tells us that he was attended by his friends : but neither 
 fools nor tyrants are capable of acquiring friends. Cahgula was both ; 
 and his friends were courtiers. Some imagine that he imitated Xerxes; 
 others that, it being his intention to make war on the Germans and 
 Britons, he wifhed to appal them by the fame of his mighty exploit. 
 Suetonius, however, remembers to have heard his grandfather relate 
 that this Emperor wifhed to accomplifh the prophecy of the mathema- 
 tician, Thrafyllus ; who, to appeafe the fufpicious Tiberius, told him 
 that Caligula could as eafily be Emperor as horfes could walk over the 
 bay of Baise *. 
 
 * Suet. Cal. c. 19. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
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